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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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rshow55 - 07:53pm Sep 4, 2003 EST (# 13510 of 13513)
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.

rshow55 - 08:20am Jan 1, 2003 EST (# 7177 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.sqGab9kQDyO.7232068@.f28e622/8700 contains this:

" I think this is a year where some lessons are going to have to be learned about stability and function of international systems, in terms of basic requirements of order , symmetry , and harmony - at the levels that make sense - and learned clearly and explicitly enough to produce systems that have these properties by design, not by chance.

The year's now 2/3 over.

Here's a quote from Benjamin Franklin:

" Experience keeps a dear school. A fool will learn in no other." 9386 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.sqGab9kQDyO.7232068@.f28e622/10922

We've had plenty of experiences this year to learn from. It seems to me that a key lesson is that we have to find ways to limit the ability of leaders - and bureacracies - to decieve others or themselves.

A big step for the whole world would be to find out - and publicise - who Gisterme is.

Not that he's GWB necessarily - but if you search this thread - or look at his postings - especially his postings this year (mostly about Iraq) - there's a strong prima facie case that Gisterme is closely connected to the Bush administration - with a "right to speak" - and a presumption that his postings matter, and are read. http://www.mrshowalter.net/Sequential.htm . . . http://www.mrshowalter.net/PostsBy_Gisterme.htm

Whoever gisterme is - his connections would be interesting indeed - and would clarify a lot.

From where we are - the things I hoped for at the beginning of the year might yet be accomplished if the leaders of nation states found a way to clarify who gisterme is.

GWB should be asked - in ways where he cannot effectively lie - and has to answer. The issue has been raised on this thread before - for instance on these links.

4739-40 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.sqGab9kQDyO.7232068@.f28e622/5991

I very much appreciate gisterme's hard work on this thread, after some absence, between 5:13 pm yesterday and 3:00 in the morning today.

If gisterme is not Rice, gisterme has many of the same capabilities - including those of both clean and dirty academic administrative discourse.

5144-5 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.sqGab9kQDyO.7232068@.f28e622/6471

5151-54 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.sqGab9kQDyO.7232068@.f28e622/6478

5358-61 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.sqGab9kQDyO.7232068@.f28e622/6718

5497-5498 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.sqGab9kQDyO.7232068@.f28e622/6876

The election could be a disaster for the United States and the world if Bush misuses the power he now has. But he could use it wisely. That could be very good - in ways that might be remembered for as long as anybody can forsee. . . .

An administration that tolerates some of the things I've done here, and on the Guardian, since October 2nd is making serious efforts at understanding, and taking risks for peace.

8029-30 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.sqGab9kQDyO.7232068@.f28e622/9556

A big question of fact, that may need to be answered more clearly than it has been - is who gisterme is, or represents. There are now well over 1000 postings by gisterme on this thread - and if he is Bush, or close to Bush - they say a good deal about how much blind faith we should put in his judgement. I have some limited faith in his good will and intelligence - but he puts his pants on one leg at a time - and we shouldn't trust him so well that he kills and maims more people than he could be forced to sit down and count.

He's already done that now. He needs to be responsible for outcomes - and do more good than harm. As of now, the scorecard does

almarst2003 - 07:55pm Sep 4, 2003 EST (# 13511 of 13513)

The pre-emptive war can be reasonable ONLY AGAINST A STRONGER OPPONENT!

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