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Missile Defense

Technology has always found its greatest consumer in a nation's war and defense efforts. Since the last attempts at a "Star Wars" defense system, has technology changed considerably enough to make the latest Missile Defense initiatives more successful? Can such an application of science be successful? Is a militarized space inevitable, necessary or impossible?

rshowalter - 07:52am Oct 5, 2001 EST (#10083 of 10092)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

A lot of people were interested in talking about that, and a great many sensible things were said, by people on both sides of the conflict. Clinton said some useful things. But people full of hate were there too, as they are all over the middle east, and the ruthlessness and vengefulness prevented closure. In ways where there was a lot of ugliness on both sides.

When the thread initiated, Bin Laden's organization was already well along with plans to attach WTC and the Pentagon.

We have to fight forces of hate, and murder.

But that is not ALL we have to do, and if we think it is, there is no solution.

Countries that have not, by now, been able to participate adequately in modernization, have partly been blocked by emotional-intellectual paralysis of all sorts on the part of their own people. Much of it based on systems of lies they tell themselves and each other.

There's plenty of ugliness, deception, self deception and narrowness on our part, too, and in some areas (nuclear policy among them) we've been very bad.

But these problems exist together, and in imporant ways scew-ups and ugliness on one side is a response to screw-ups and ugliness on the other side. (But there are more than two sides - - the situation is complex . )

There are things to sort out. I feel we'd all be much safer, if we'd learn the simple lesson in Mankind's Inhumanity to Man and Woman - As natural as human goodness? http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?14@@.ee7b085/0 . . . we are all capable of evil as well as good. And in our dealings with "outsiders" ugliness comes naturally.

Things work as well as they do already, there is plenty of beauty and efficiency in the world, and the problems, ugly as they are, are relatively simple and few. It shouldn't be beyond the wit of man to make things better.

I'm for taking Bin Laden's organization down, and think punishment is certainly appropriate. But we have other things to do, too. WE CAN DO MANY OF THESE THINGS SLOWLY, AND CAN DO ENOUGH EFFECTIVELY FOR SAFETY AND IMPROVEMENT FOR ALMOST EVERYBODY INVOLVED, IF WE PAY ATTENTION, AND WORK CAREFULLY.

rshowalter - 08:22am Oct 5, 2001 EST (#10084 of 10092)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

Our nuclear controls are unstable - - both at human and technical levels, and the world could easily be destroyed. There are nuts running around (putting the matter gently) and I'd feel better, personally, if the issue were adressed -- at least at the level of clear promises, and evidence of reasonable care.

Some mistakes are worse than others. We should avoid destroying the world.

rshowalter - 08:54am Oct 5, 2001 EST (#10085 of 10092)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

Americans will make our cases before the world best, when we ourselves stand for right answers, that can be seen and understood. We're right on so much.

Why not right the things we can be reasonably criticised about, that we should be ashamed of ourselves?

MD10060 rshowalter 10/3/01 3:19pm .. MD10061 rshowalter 10/4/01 4:35am

gisterme?

kangdawai ?

Once the incredible degree of incompetence and deception in the "missile defense" program is revealed, a LOT of problems with the military balances of the world would be soluble. Because of a paralysis of lies here, much hope is classified out of existence.

If only some world leaders would insist on this checking, it would happen, and we'd live in a distinctly safer world.

rshowalter - 09:04am Oct 5, 2001 EST (#10086 of 10092)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

As a practical matter, people with power, outside the United States, are going to have to ask for this.

How on earth could it happen otherwise?

MD9600 rshowalter 9/22/01 7:33am

MD9601 rshowalter 9/22/01 7:35am

MD9602 rshowalter 9/22/01 7:53am

MD9603 rshowalter 9/22/01 8:07am

MD9604 rshowalter 9/22/01 8:09am

(6 following messages)

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