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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 - 01:00pm Jun 30, 2001 EST (#6330 of 6337)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

US - Russian competition, and possible cooperation, vis a vis oil:
MD1710 almarst-2001 3/29/01 1:27pm .... MD1711 rshowalter 3/29/01 1:42pm
MD1712 rshowalter 3/29/01 1:43pm .... MD1713 rshowalter 3/29/01 2:58pm

MD1673 rshowalter 3/29/01 11:14am

MD1566-67 rshowalter 3/27/01 6:33am include this:

"I don't believe anyone, on either the American side or the Russian side, has anything remotely resembling an understanding of the barriers to contact, communication and understanding that exist between us.

"It is possible that a great many misunderstandings, not entirely innocent, perhaps, on either side, but partly innocent on both sides, have occurred, and persist. I have a particular bias -- in the area of nuclear weapons these barriers could destroy us all.

"Certainly opportunities are lost. . . . .

"But it is already clear that communication that should be direct and easy is very difficult indeed, and in a world where NO ONE can deal intellectually with the complexities of the sociotechnical systems they face, this is sheer loss to us all.

MD1658 rshowalter 3/27/01 6:58am

" Groups are, of course, entitled to their own ideas. But where complex cooperation is necessary, or when competition needs to be held within bounds, and if possible nonlethal bounds, then groups ought not to be entitled to different "facts" that are not true.

"At the level where groups contact, facts must match.

An appreciation and understanding of the barriers between two groups might include the concept of 'empathy'. http://intercultural.europacom.com/events/guirdham/
MD1569 lunarchick 3/27/01 7:30am

Communication models!
MD1514 lunarchick 3/26/01 6:53am .... MD1516 rshowalter 3/26/01 7:18am
MD1517 lunarchick 3/26/01 7:25am .... MD1518 lunarchick 3/26/01 7:31am

Mechanics of communication - personal and internet based - and issues of "intelligence"
MD1520 rshowalter 3/26/01 7:36am ... MD1521rshowalter 3/26/01 7:39am
MD1522 rshowalter 3/26/01 7:42am .... MD1523 rshowalter 3/26/01 7:51am
MD1524 lunarchick 3/26/01 8:25am ....

"Diplomatic relations" with ExxonMobil as an example of problems, opportunities, facts and perspectives that I believe Russia needs to understand better than it now does.
MD1512 rshowalter 3/26/01 6:47am .... MD1513 rshowalter 3/26/01 6:48am
MD1515 rshowalter 3/26/01 7:02am .... MD1519 rshowalter 3/26/01 7:33am
MD1543 rshowalter 3/26/01 10:53am .... MD1544 rshowalter 3/26/01 10:56am
MD1550 rshowalter 3/26/01 2:29pm .....

MD4841 rshowalter 6/12/01 11:22am

rshowalter - 01:04pm Jun 30, 2001 EST (#6331 of 6337)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

MD5228 rshowalter 6/15/01 7:14pm .... MD5229 rshowalter 6/15/01 7:20pm

Russia NEEDS to learn to talk to Europeans more effectively than it now does, and Russians need to communicate with each other more effectively than they now do.

There have been big problems of cultural diffusion between Europe and Russia for going on for a thousand years -- they need to be sorted through better than they are -- not that Russians should be LIKE Americans or some other groups -- but they should know how to talk to them.

And Americans and Europeans should learn much more about talking to Russians.

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