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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?

lchic - 01:20am Jan 4, 2002 EST (#10643 of 10657)

While voicing desire for peace and resolution of issues through talks, the spokesman warned that the people and the armed forces of Pakistan were fully prepared to defend sovereignty and integrity of the country.

Commenting on a statement of Indian defence minister that India could use any weapon in case of war, he said Pakistan was a responsible member of the international community and had always exercised restraint and responsibility http://www.dawn.com/2002/01/04/top6.htm http://www.hindustantimes.com/

lchic - 05:34am Jan 4, 2002 EST (#10644 of 10657)

Shape of the World http://www.pbs.org/newshour/ Audio: The first in a series examining the United States' role in global affairs.

Caught an interesting speaker here, a Muslim Indian guy - now working US media. He made many of the points that have been sounded in the threads. The issue of Saudi fanatics building and staffing mosques and spreading fanatical fundamentalism. The need for the developing world to selectively take from the first world while maintaining their cultural identity. The need to 'free' people trapped within areas run by fanatics.
Listed 'shifts' in world conditions throughout C20 that had brought the USA 'into' the world as has the WTC issue.

lchic - 05:39am Jan 4, 2002 EST (#10645 of 10657)

What is the ownership of NBC ? bennieray "The Media and the War-- Moderated" 1/3/02 5:43pm

lchic - 06:49am Jan 4, 2002 EST (#10646 of 10657)

http://www.art-teez.org/world_war3/space_censor.htm

guy_catelli - 11:42am Jan 4, 2002 EST (#10647 of 10657)
editor in chief, Romance sub Rosa

"... an effective ballistic missile shield should be able to reduce the danger to all innocents everywhere from the threat of a small-scale ballistic missile attack. Likewise effective action against other means of terrorist activity should reduce the danger for everybody from those means of attack.

"To me, it seems prudent to do both so long as the threats exist."

gisterme, that succinctly sums up the matter, imo. {btw, how did you chose that screen name?}

i've been reading the online nytimes for several years, but #10625 was my first post to a forum.

posting to a nytimes.com forum is one of my (easier to fulfill) new year's resolutions. i had actually intended to post a query to the forum on evolution, when the topic of missile defense caught my eye. i couldn't resist sharing my own special brand of sourness here.

having scanned both this thread and the one on evolution, i am amazed at the level of knowledge and intelligence on these two boards. {by contrast, the Mensa newsgroups were a big disappointment.}

as an aside, does anyone know, as a practical matter (ie, notwithstanding anything that might appear in the fine print of the Terms of Service), whether it is permissible to include one's email address and/or home page url in a posting? (i note an absence of 'sig. files'.)

as another aside, when clicking on someone's name, instead of being taken to some possibly useful or interesting information (eg, a user-supplied 'profile'), one is merely taken to a page that displays the user's name in larger font. annoyingly, beneath the name is a rectangular red button with the word "OK" on it. what is annoying is that my true feeling in the matter, "NOT OK", is not offered as an alternative.

one more thing, gisterme. do you post on any other nytimes threads? if so, would you mind revealing which ones?

gisterme - 07:22pm Jan 4, 2002 EST (#10648 of 10657)

guy_catelli 1/4/02 11:42am

"...gisterme, that succinctly sums up the matter, imo. {btw, how did you chose that screen name?}..."

Thank you, guy. Choice of the moniker was accomplished by typing in the letters g-i-s-t-e-r-m-e into the text box at the prompt then clicking on the "okay" button. :-)

WRT the questons about posting links, I know of no prohibitions. Personally, I prefer to maintain the anonymity of the moniker. We've previously had considerable discussion about that on this forum. :-)

Maybe the absence of the "NOT OK" button on the moniker links is a test...I wonder how many people are just sitting out there blaming Bill Gates...? Seriously, I think you can choose to have information such as your email address displayed on your moniker link if you want to. Apparently, most folks don't.

I do occasionally post on other NYT forums, in fits and spurts, as time allows. I like the "Putin and the direction of Russia" forum. Many of the posters there are intelligent, educated and have something useful or at least interesting to say. I have also occasionally posted on the "Global Warming" forum although not recently...there seems to be a pervasive lack of balance between emotion and rationale there.

Thanks again for the kind words, guy.

guy_catelli - 02:13am Jan 5, 2002 EST (#10649 of 10657)
editor in chief, Romance sub Rosa

... I think you can choose to have information such as your email address displayed on your moniker link if you want to.

thanks.

.... I have also occasionally posted on the "Global Warming" forum although not recently...there seems to be a pervasive lack of balance between emotion and rationale there.

I was once the same way. in the late 1970s, nyc suffered through two consecutive winters that were abnormally cold and snowy. a tale began circulating that earth was entering a new ice age.

a friend mentioned this canard to me as if it were demonstrated fact. i blew my lid: since we can't reliably predict the weather more than five days in advance (i practically shouted), how could it possibly be known that all would be covered by a thick sheet of ice a century hence!?!

nowadays, we are assured that the exisiting ice caps will have all but melted into the sea a hundred years hence. but, i no longer have the energy to reply as i once did.

interestingly, it has been urged that the only possible preventitive of either outcome is the same policy prescription: de-industrialization.

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