![[F]](../_images/site.gif) New York Times on the Web Forums  Science
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?
    (2377 previous messages)
rshowalter
- 05:43pm Apr 18, 2001 EST (#2378
of 2383) 
Robert Showalter
showalte@macc.wisc.edu
Colin Powell will have his hands full, with both the Israelis and
the Palestinians. The Palestinians have to concede -- really concede
- Israel's right to exist. And the Israelis need to make some REAL
concessions -- enough so that peace and prosperity are really
possible. On both sides, there have been so many lies, and everybody
is so angry that resolutions will be hard, intellectually and
emotionally, under the best of circumstances.
But without admission of a great deal of posing and deception
on BOTH sides, resolution is impossible.
rshowalter
- 05:46pm Apr 18, 2001 EST (#2379
of 2383)
Robert Showalter
showalte@macc.wisc.edu
The problems with getting rid of nuclear weapons, or at least
getting them under good control -- and other problems of military
balances, are essentially similar.
The technical problems aren't so very hard -- but with all sides
"blackmailable" whenever they are "caught in a lie" -- and with
everyone refusing to admit, even to themselves, how much deception
has gone on, situations that would be soluble stay insoluble.
And the whole world is put at grave risk. And many chances
for greater human comfort and beauty are missed.
rshowalter
- 06:03pm Apr 18, 2001 EST (#2380
of 2383)
Robert Showalter
showalte@macc.wisc.edu
rshowalter
2/14/01 7:36am reads in part:
I made a proposal for getting nuclear weapons down rshowalt
9/25/00 7:32am that depends, in large part, on an insight from
cryptography.
Encoding in clear can be safe, and under circumstances of
distrust, can be essential. lunarchick
"Science News Poetry" 2/14/01 5:57am
With my partner, Dawn Riley, we did a demonstration.
*****
#262 in Science News Poetry makes the main point - though other
parts of the thread have things to show about the people who have
been harassing us. #262 ends with this:
' In clear: Lying is more dangerous than people
think, and soaks up more attention than people know. We can do
less of it. We can send in clear - the message, almost always,
will be peaceful. And complex cooperation, now so often terminated
with deceptive sequences, could happen more often.
rshowalter
- 06:11pm Apr 18, 2001 EST (#2381
of 2383)
Robert Showalter
showalte@macc.wisc.edu
I think it may be useful to review where this forum has been
since September 25, 2000.
Summary of Postings to March 1
rshowalter
3/1/01 4:08pm
rshowalter
3/1/01 4:12pm
rshowalter
3/1/01 4:14pm
rshowalter
3/1/01 4:25pm
rshowalter
3/1/01 4:27pm
rshowalter
3/1/01 4:32pm
rshowalter
3/2/01 8:16am
shortly thereafter, Almarst_2001 came on, with a powerful
first posting almarstel2001
3/5/01 12:17am representing the Russian point of view.
I think we've made progress in the ~ 1550 postings since.
rshowalter
- 06:36pm Apr 18, 2001 EST (#2382
of 2383)
Robert Showalter
showalte@macc.wisc.edu
Two of almarst's postings were of particular interest to
me. I find them interesting because I believe, from the quality of
his postings, that almarst has a good sense of how thought
processes go in high Russian government circles.
In md#892 almarstel2001
3/9/01 12:48pm he set out, quite reasonably, the reasons why,
with current challenges, Russia feels she needs nuclear
weapons.
In md#2012 almarst-2001
4/5/01 2:44pm he agreed, subject to many "mutually dependent"
conditions that we'd been discussing, that nuclear weapons might
perhaps be effectively outlawed, with Russia's agreement.
This was just on a NYT thread. Just a "dry run." But "dry runs"
have their uses.
rshowalter
4/5/01 3:17pm
rshowalter
4/5/01 9:00pm
rshowalter
- 06:46pm Apr 18, 2001 EST (#2383
of 2383)
Robert Showalter
showalte@macc.wisc.edu
A fairly compact summary of this thread from March 1 to date,
with many links, is in Psychwar, Casablanca, and Terror --
from #159 to today. http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?14@@.ee7a163/165
  
 
New York Times on the Web Forums Science
Missile Defense
Enter your response, then click the POST MY MESSAGE
button below.
See the quick-edit
help for more information.
| 
