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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 - 12:01pm Sep 14, 2003 EST (# 13658 of 13661)
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 not going to get a complete apology to gisterme together before noon. An apology - to work - has to work as an explanation - that works in terms of what the people involved want to accomplish together.

In 13643 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.aZkAbnwHFxr.9119758@.f28e622/15336

I did offer a limited apology, on a specific point - the only point that gisterme specifically said - when he said he deserved an apology. While I continue to think about what a good, complete apology to gisterme might be like - if anyone has specifics they think I should apologize - it seems to me that now would be a good time.

rshow55 - 03:55pm Sep 14, 2003 EST (# 13659 of 13661)
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've been casting about, trying to say something constructive about this - and logic and emotions elicited about the statement:

So far, I see no reason to apologize about this- at the level I intended it. But there are connections that I did not intend. There are problems with the statement - that I think ought to interest a lot of people.:

"Now, in my opinion - Gisterme was cheating when he posted 13544 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.aZkAbnwHFxr.9119758@.f28e622/15236 - - because I think he was lying.

. Gisterme: "I will certainly not impersonate the President or any other government official."

"I've posted strong suggestions that gisterme was connected to the Bush administration - and was actively misrepresenting that. http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?14@@.eea14e1/10363

"Could I be wrong? Sure."

. . . . .

The use of the verb "to lie" is shorter, and more conventional - than the longer phrase "to be telling an intentional falsehood." But it carries some interesting baggage. I've been thinking about how interesting that baggage is - working through two questions that seemed sensible to me - if, by chance, someone in the Bush administration was to read this thread and take something useful from it.

All people were born once, and were children once - and Piaget's stages http://www.mrshowalter.net/PiagetCognitiveLimits.htm are pretty well established. The stage model isn't perfect - but describes facts that are basic and real.

Question: How would I explain the idea of apology to a person at each of Piaget's stages? . . . Or to a parent or teacher dealing with that child?

Question: How would I explain the idea of lying to a person at each of Piaget's stages? . . . Or to a parent or teacher dealing with that child?

I think in some ways I'm confused - and in some more interesting ways - our cultures are confused - we can't explain these things clearly because we're not clear about them ourselves.

The muddle can get us into serious trouble - and does.

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