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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?

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lchic - 04:41pm Jun 8, 2003 EST (# 12403 of 12412)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Courage - an American fiction

"I didn't bite Toto," protested the Lion, as he rubbed his nose with his paw while he recalled where Dorothy had hit it."

"No, but you tried to!" exclaimed Dorothy. "I believe I said that you were nothing but a big coward and ought to be ashamed of yourself!"

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/1559/cowardly.htm

http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/courage

rshow55 - 07:44pm Jun 8, 2003 EST (# 12404 of 12412)
Can we do a better job of finding truth? YES. Click "rshow55" for some things Lchic and I have done and worked for on this thread.

The definitions in http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/courage are interesting, and show interesting conflicts

Senior U.S. Officials Defend U.S. Iraq Intelligence By REUTERS Filed at 2:27 p.m. ET http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-iraq-weapons-usa.html

The theatrical virtues of courage, which Douglas MacArthur has in very high degree, are clearly shown, insofar as a picture can, in the image in http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-iraq-weapons-usa.html labeled

Condoleezza Rice, national security adviser, appearing on CBS's Face the Nation.

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I have little doubt that Condoleezza Rice was physically brave - and intellectually brave, as well as beautiful - when she was trying to be a champion ice skater, as she is today. It can take courage to lie, to distort - to hold an indefensible story together in the face of challenges. And it can also take courage to deny doubts - when they exist. University deans have those virtues in high degree.

Eisenhower had problems - both as a leader, and as a thoughful man, with that kind of courage. He was a superb leader when he was sure of his ground - and looked the part - when he was sure of his ground. He bluffed very, very well - was one of the better poker bluffers of his age - but found it difficult to bluff under ceremonial circumstances.

I think the photographs of Dwight D. Eisenhower are quite interesting - he was surpassingly photogenic as a general officer - in terms of everything I was able to find out. His pictures were consistently reassuring, inspiring, and good looking. But he could be painfully unphotogenic - terribly unreliable by theatrical standards - as a president. You never see a picture of Ronald Reagan, an accomplished actor "looking clownish" - looking "funny." There were weeks where pictures of Eisehower the president needed the kind of friendly censorship that FDR's wheelchair needed - many of them looked bad. Eisenhower was as brave as men are made - and as able. A better man and a better (more complicated) general than MacArthur. But he had difficulties with his techniques of deception. He had problems, emotional and operational, with lying. We talked about it.

I'm trying to collect my courage - not as courage to lie - but as courage to tell the truth effectively.

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