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Missile Defense

Russian military leaders have expressed concern about US plans for a national missile defense system. Will defense technology be limited by possibilities for a strategic imbalance? Is this just SDI all over again?

jqb00 - 05:43pm Apr 9, 2001 EST (#2107 of 2119)

rshowalter 4/9/01 7:32am

Somebody with pretty good staff backing is posting here as almarst_2001

That bald assertion is ludicrous.

your suggestion that it is "ludicrous" that it is Putin, or someone close to him, is just bald assertion.

It comes from examining the facts -- all of them, including the sociopolitical significance of this forum.

I may perhaps be entirely wrong,

Almost certainly.

in an assumption that I've made,

Aye, there y'go.

looking at consistency relationships.

No, you are looking for consistency relationships. Any objective objserver would reject your conclusion as ludicrous.

You might look at them, too.

Why do you assume that I haven't?

Is almarst_2001 who he's claimed to be -- a person who left Russia at 24, who spend 14 years in Israel, and who now resides in Boston . . .

Most likely.

well, maybe,

"well, maybe"??? Is this what you call "argument and evidence"?

but if so, he's doing an interesting service

Who denied it?

-- setting out what seem to be Russian points of view, on interesting issues.

Hey, wow, how surprising that someone Russian-born might take a strong interest in Russian affairs and attitudes.

Attacks on credibility are essential ways to close off discussion, of course. And I've had my share of such attacks.

You undermine your own credibility with fairy tale claims about Putin and Clinton. (Who was that -- beckq? What a joke.)

jqb00 - 06:13pm Apr 9, 2001 EST (#2108 of 2119)

rshowalter 4/9/01 7:32am

In large measure, my credibility will hinge on my technical work.

William Shockley did technical work on transistors that won him a Nobel, but doesn't give him credibility in other areas, such as race and genetics.

And if that is well established, the worth of this thread may be significantly augmented. There's some progress in that regard since http://www.wisc.edu/rshowalt/klinerec .

Your work looks very interesting and possibly exciting; I took a look at your paper and your posting on Historica Matematica. But if the problem really is due to "unthinkability", then nytimes, which embodies and promotes the status quo, is the wrong place to seek support. Why not talk to the people who overturn conventional wisdom for a living and have been very successful at it, and who are likely to be very interested in your work on neural functioning -- folks like Marvin Minsky, Daniel Dennett, Aaron Sloman, Pat Hayes? These people have tremendous influence and have gained it precisely by showing the unthinkable not only to be thinkable but to be highly predictive.

rshowalter - 08:46pm Apr 9, 2001 EST (#2109 of 2119)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

Interesting institution, this New York Times .....

Thanks for your helpful comments.

Back in the morning.

lunarchick - 10:02pm Apr 9, 2001 EST (#2110 of 2119)
lunarchick@www.com

Russian military leaders have expressed concern about US plans for a national missile defense system. Will defense technology be limited by possibilities for a strategic imbalance? Is this just SDI all over again?

An interesting fact emerging this week regarding Russia is the debt owed to Germany. Currently an inter-RussioGerman conference is being held. The mathematicians, as mentioned above by Showalter, are outstanding. Looking at the debt they have made note that when it was run up, the German currency was 'way overvalued', and the Russian 'way undervalued' this being so, the Russians ... using those logics that they have honed, .. this being so, the debt actually balances out and Germany is owed nothing.

lunarchick - 10:07pm Apr 9, 2001 EST (#2111 of 2119)
lunarchick@www.com

http://www.dwelle.de/english/Welcome.html
~ http://www.dwelle.de/english/topstory/20010409.html

lunarchick - 10:08pm Apr 9, 2001 EST (#2112 of 2119)
lunarchick@www.com

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder arrived in Russia today for a two-day summit with President Vladimir Putin. At the top of the agenda is an effort to smooth strained US-Russian relations and encourage more freedom for the Russian media. Over the last few months, the bilateral ties between Russia and the United States have suffered under espionage scandals and tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions, the war in Chechnya, and debate over American plans for a missile defense shield (NMD). German government officials say Chancellor Schroeder, who met President Bush in Washington 11 days ago, does not intend to act as a formal mediator between the former Cold War foes but hopes to foster a more positive dialogue. Last week, the Chancellor announced that Germany needed to review its own ties with Russia, particularly in light of the US's determination to push ahead with NMD. Officials in Berlin fear that Moscow's opposition to NMD could upset the strategic balance in Europe and trigger a new arms race.

Also at issue during the summit is the takeover of independent Russian television station NTV by the state-dominated gas monopoly Gazprom. Over the weekend thousands of demonstrators protested in Moscow and St. Petersburg in support of the station's fight against the Kremlin to save independent media. A government official said Germany was concerned with developments around NTV and said Schroeder would discuss the issue with Putin. An aid to Schroeder also added that the Chancellor would grant an interview to a sister radio station of NTV, Ekho Moskvy, as a sign of support for independent media.

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