New York Times on the Web Forums Science

Missile Defense

Technology has always found its greatest consumer in a nation's war and defense efforts. Since the last attempts at a "Star Wars" defense system, has technology changed considerably enough to make the latest Missile Defense initiatives more successful? Can such an application of science be successful? Is a militarized space inevitable, necessary or impossible?

Read Debates, a new Web-only feature culled from Readers' Opinions, published every Thursday.

almarst-2001 - 05:18pm Apr 17, 2002 EST (#1427 of 1450)

"In my opinion, and the opinion of a lot of other people, Friedman is a genius, and one of the most productive working intellectuals in the United States."

This statement frighteness me. Honestly.

More then a year ago I red Friedman's opus on globalization and how it will transfrom the world into the flower-bed of MacDonalds promoted and supported by McDonald Douglass and Marines. I also remember his insistance that there could be no war between two democraties or between two countries if both have the MacDonald restarants.

The Globalization, as I see it, is a race of a Capital into the most efficient (highest return on investment) markets.

Most underdeveloped countries need capital. But they need long-term investment in infrastructure - education, health care, civilian infrastructure, water and energy supplyes and agriculture. They need self sufficiency. A very slow process of long-term slow and initially very low return on investment.

Those countries also need elimination of povetry and a more equal distribution of wealth. More democratic and responsible to its citizens goverments.

This not only does not satisfy the overseas investments. It actually frequently goes strightly AGAINST their desires. The democratic uncorrupted goverments are much less likely to be bend into the desired shape of international corporations to sucrifice local human and natural resources to produce a fast and high profit for corporations. Since capital is highly fluid, it opens the "race to the bottom" for all those countries. The main result on the ground is a grand-scale population's displacement and growing social inequality. Which can be hold mostly just by a military force and brute power - another major market for the Western "golden goose" - the defense industries. Moreover, the bribes in millions of $ to the local rulers and oligarchs don't even live the "safe heavens" of the Western banks.

Another mif is the notion about the "free" markets benefits for the poor. The markets are dominated by the major distribution channels able to buy the goods for pennies and sell for huge profits due to their advertisement and store ownership power. The poor nations can't even think of selling their products directly. They are totaly dependent and powerless.

This is just a very brief and incomplete list of problems, Mr. Friedman "overlooked" on his way from Olives" to the "Lexus".

lchic - 08:09pm Apr 17, 2002 EST (#1428 of 1450)
"They just started demolishing with the people inside" Jenin

UK Guardian - md - _{http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,685767,00.html}

lchic - 08:10pm Apr 17, 2002 EST (#1429 of 1450)
"They just started demolishing with the people inside" Jenin

Kissenger - EU want to 'Seventies TALK' _{http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=286203}

lchic - 08:13pm Apr 17, 2002 EST (#1430 of 1450)
"They just started demolishing with the people inside" Jenin

First combat US ignorance. Then we may have peace
14 April 2002
_{http://argument.independent.co.uk/leading_articles/story.jsp?story=284654}

..... So much for the "Bush Doctrine", that simple litmus-test of the war against terror, proclaimed shortly after 11 September, in which "those who are not with us are against us".

.... Bush administration once scorned the attention Bill Clinton devoted to the Middle East. Far, far too late, it is learning that it has no choice but to do the same.

lchic - 08:22pm Apr 17, 2002 EST (#1431 of 1450)
"They just started demolishing with the people inside" Jenin

ME - atrocities
_{http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=286197}

lchic - 08:31pm Apr 17, 2002 EST (#1432 of 1450)
"They just started demolishing with the people inside" Jenin

ON Friedman ...

almarst-2001 - 05:18pm Apr 17, 2002 EST (#1427 of 1427)

"In my opinion, and the opinion of a lot of other people, Friedman is a genius, and one of the most productive working intellectuals in the United States."

------ lchic "one of the most productive working intellectuals in the United States."

Comment : USA seems to be filled with dormant intellectuals who are blocked from doing productive work !

------

George W. Sadat by THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN - _{http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/17/opinion/17FRIE.html}

.... There is no teenager capable of making the political decision to commit suicide. You can bet it was older men who encouraged her to do this and who wrapped her in dynamite.

.

.. going all the way until the war touches us .....

(18 following messages)

New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense