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.

rshow55 - 10:09am Jun 19, 2003 EST (# 12599 of 12606)
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.

Most of the time - when jobs are complicated - openness makes sense, and that would be my most basic prejudice on the issues of space and nonotech technologies - with some exceptions. Fredmoore write:

"It has just been brought to my attention that multinational KAEP research will involve space and nanotech technology transfers to participating countries. There is concern that these transfers could be abused, even under a well meaning KAEP umbrella. Do you have a solution to this problem? "

When people interact successfully, there is a lot of talk, while they're getting ready, if you count words (people have, and word counts are huge). People need this talk. People need a lot of interaction - about "all sorts of things" where "need to know" cannot be established.

Want to ASSURE misunderstandings between groups - - enough so that they cannot really cooperate, except in very minimal ways?

Restrict conversation.

To see how very completely this can be done, here is a document which is, depending on your assumptions, either absolutely beautiful, or starkly ugly.

. NUNN-WOLFOWITZ TASK FORCE REPORT: INDUSTRY "BEST PRACTICES" REGARDING EXPORT COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS http://164.109.59.52/library/pdf/nunnwolfowitz.pdf

These practices - as they are actually implemented - shut out the whole world.

Usually, there are very good reasons to "Send in Clear" . . . though there are a few specific exceptions.

http://www.mrshowalter.net/see281_SendInClearnCryfrHelp.htm

Complex cooperation is usually so difficult, and very fragile - and people much too often overestimate how easy it is to "steal" ideas. Often enough - it is hard enough just to implement your own. The AEA project was directed at solving some of those problems of complex cooperation - which are pressing and difficult even under the best of circumstances.

rshow55 - 10:24am Jun 19, 2003 EST (# 12600 of 12606)
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.

I'm very proud of this poem by lchic - "Wrapping our future in betterment" http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?14@@.ee9cff9/2379 and feel that it summarized a great deal about the enormous effort this thread represents.

I've organized a great deal about this thread and associated Guardian threads, since the beginning at http://www.mrshowalter.net/

It includes

Important excerpts with links

Summary Page for "rshow55" - nyt MISSILE DEFENSE forum

Key Story from Psychwarfare, Casablance, and Terror

The story of my relation to Bill Casey

A "briefing" intended for Vladimir Putin - March 2001

"Disciplined Beauty" - a pattern for aesthetic and intellectual common ground

For hope to be real - we have to find practical, workable ways to treat one another.

The need for "redemptive solutions" when "justice" is undefinable.

I think the "story" of my relationship to Eisenhower, and work done since, fits together - that the excerpts above show that, and that

lchic - "Wrapping our future in betterment" http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?14@@.ee9cff9/2379 is a thing of beauty - and an example of how valuable summarization is.

(6 following messages)

New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense