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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?

rshowalter - 05:11pm May 4, 2001 EST (#3274 of 3291)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

If the there was a United Nations that conducted itself without the United States, the United States would be subject to a great deal of discipline - because there are so many things that US military power cannot do, in the face of determined and united foreign opposition.

The United States is dissipating its moral and practical leadership in the world with amazing speed.

lunarchick - 05:14pm May 4, 2001 EST (#3275 of 3291)
lunarchick@www.com

If the USA said they'd strike ME, then i'd be traumatised .. and as such ... feel compelled to take the USA to court and ask for dollars ... the lesson for the US being 'Traumatisation via threat and bullying - co$t$'

lunarchick - 05:19pm May 4, 2001 EST (#3276 of 3291)
lunarchick@www.com

The Art of War (MIT)

rshowalter - 05:19pm May 4, 2001 EST (#3277 of 3291)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

When damages are substanitial, it ought to be a lot of dollars --- enough to keep bullying from being a paying proposition. If I were Russia, I'd pay particular attention to this. If I were China, I would, too.

lunarchick - 05:22pm May 4, 2001 EST (#3278 of 3291)
lunarchick@www.com

China (rightly or wrongly) had dollars in mind re the spy-plane.

Of course China have boats that spy on Japan .. who in turn etc ..

gisterme - 05:31pm May 4, 2001 EST (#3279 of 3291)

rshowalter wrote: "...I bet even Mary Poppins might be stern indeed facing these circumstances..."

No doubt Robert. Too bad she didn't show up in time to confront Hitler and Stalin with her flying umberlla.

That we need Mary Poppins type intervention in order to solve our nuke problem is the glaring flaw in your arguements.

Everything you've suggested so far requires everybody to be in voluntary agreement to permanenly forswear deception, covetiousness, murder, theft, bigotry, jealousy, hatred...and reproduction. That last is to ensure that nobody is born who decides to follow Islam or wants to be a Catholic or an agnosic or an athiest or wants to rule the world.

That's a pretty tall order. :-)

Maybe if you could just convince everybody in the world to become Southern Baptists...

Of course, it would take a LOT of checking staff to verify 100% compliance with anti-backsliding rules; and who would check the checkers? The checker's checkers? The Ministry of Checker-Checking would need lots of staffing too. There might be an office empty next door to the Ministry of Silly Walks...

rshowalter - 05:40pm May 4, 2001 EST (#3280 of 3291)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

We you ever, by chance, a Congressman?

possumdag - 05:46pm May 4, 2001 EST (#3281 of 3291)
Possumdag@excite.com

Didn't Showalter (above) indicate he has no religion ?

Perhaps religions have a purpose in the environments of their time.

The Catholic religion was too ostentatious for the plain non-ornamental protestants.

The environment of Drinking/smoking/gambling was a stir towards protestanism in C19.

Islam would have been introduced in C8 as an advancement on Christianity.

Religions offer codes and rules for people to maximise their social systems within specified environments. Environments change.

Are we living in a post-cold war environment, or, a post + cold war environment ... or a confused environment ... or a TRADE environment -- probably the latter if people cared to admit it. What's the religion of TRADE? One notes that ETHICS made a re-emergence over recent years ... with the demise of religious ethics people needed the stimulation of new ethical frameworks for guidance.

possumdag - 05:47pm May 4, 2001 EST (#3282 of 3291)
Possumdag@excite.com

On Hitler:Stalin:MaryPoppins .. the book was published in their era .. 1934.

possumdag - 05:49pm May 4, 2001 EST (#3283 of 3291)
Possumdag@excite.com

Perhaps the ingenious Mary Poppins could open her brolly to use as a Missile Sheild ?

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