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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 - 05:42pm Sep 20, 2001 EST (#9542 of 9548)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

When something looks ugly . . . that is a practical issue.

People who have to sell things know it.

People care about aesthetics. They do so, I think, for entirely sound reasons that fit real practical needs very well.

It is not off point to say that a strategy, or a technology, or a set of rules, is ugly.

One needs to say why. But people on this thread try to do that.

rshowalter - 05:43pm Sep 20, 2001 EST (#9543 of 9548)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

Nukes, and AMD programs that are mathematically and operationally so misshapen that no one can defend them in technical detail are UGLY.

And the reasons are as objective as they can possibly be.

But shielded by a pattern that is ugly.

The refusal to check what matters.

armel7 - 06:06pm Sep 20, 2001 EST (#9544 of 9548)
Science/Health Forums Host

lunarchick -- Please don't post anymore irrelevant links. You've been warned.

Your host,
Michael Scott Armel

rshowalter - 08:34pm Sep 20, 2001 EST (#9545 of 9548)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

It is a high complement when a good editor takes an interest. armel asks that we avoid irrelevant postings (including some of Lunarchicks, which may be off point, but are often lovely indeed.) armel7 9/20/01 6:06pm

To make his point, he deleted a posting by gisterme , and a response from me that answered gisterme's posting.

Let me try to salvage the good thing gisterme posted, and connect it the missile defense , and issues of nuclear and conventional military balances tightly coupled to discussion of missile defense, and to this board at least since September 25, 20001 (MD266-269 asked that we take the

gisterme posted a beautiful link, showing clearly the sincere good will many people feel for the United States, for good reasons. A good will I'm proud of - because I love my country. http://home.earthlink.net/~hankinhsd/thankyou.htm I found the posting moving, and hope, this time, it will become part of the record of this thread.

I responded that http://home.earthlink.net/~hankinhsd/thankyou.htm ... was moving and beautiful. That the United States has an enormous amount of goodwill, built up, all over the world - - - something to build on.

And this I said that there was no contradiction to realize that there are negatives, too. And that some of them are wrenching.

Let me connect that, as explicitly as I can, to missile defense.

Congressman Curt Weldon, Republican, PA, gave a news conference on C-Span.

Congressional News Conference National Missile Defense U.S. Capitol Washington, District of Columbia (United States) ID: 164151 - 05/09/2001 -

md3642 rshowalter 5/10/01 7:24am ... md3650 rshowalter 5/10/01 10:55am
md3647 rshowalter 5/10/01 7:59am ... md3651 rshowalter 5/10/01 11:58am
md3652 rshowalter 5/10/01 12:06pm ... md3653 rshowalter 5/10/01 12:07pm
md3654 rshowalter 5/10/01 12:19pm

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