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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?

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

cantabb - 07:04pm Sep 19, 2003 EST (# 13790 of 13824)

gisterme - 06:02pm Sep 19, 2003 EST (# 13785 of 13787)

I don’t want to belabor the point, but you have to start reading the exchanges more carefully. Otherwise, you’ll create more confusion and unnecessary problems, and waste time.

I read the exchange you linked to. It didn't looke{d] to me like you, Volchin and Fred really didn't know what each other were talking about at least part of the time...

The link to that exchange was to put Fredmoore’s own skewed recall of that in perspective:

“Fredmoore : I have, as in my 'Sci News' confront with cantabb come to a point where I need say no more. His endless pedantic pecking as demonsrated here and in exchanges on the SCI News forum achieves nothing and is in the end obstructive to useful discourse.”

Even if you read just a part of that exchange on 'Science in the News' forum, you would have seen how misleading Fredmoore’s summary of that fairly long exchange was !

and the topic was so fundamentally important (I'm being facetious)!

I agree: It was Letterman jibe at NYT that I posted -- for fun, as an aside.

But the jibe was lost on Fredmoore. To him, that was a matter of ‘cash for words’ and freedom of speech, etc. And, despite his total unfamiliarity with what goes on later-night TV talk shows in the US, he went on and on about it.

I knew what I was talking about, I knew what Volchin meant, but Fredmoore (from somewhere DownUnder) apparently didn’t have the foggiest about the jibe, the freedom of speech, American style, or anything else he was talking about. Laughable !

However, I'm really nobody's judge.

I didn’t ask you to be the judge; nor does it require one. I gave the link for the posters to see how badly fredmoore had characterized that exchange. What’s there to judge ?

Didn't notice anything from anybody that I'd call "school yard" behavior. I think that Wang hit the nail on the head when he said:

THAT [my comment on ‘school yard and juvenile behavior) had to do with Fredmoore’s very first response to my Post on THIS forum !

Didn’t you see that ??

Anyway, since this place isn't that place why not just all forget about that earthshakingly important discourse in that place and just get along in this one?

But IF you're mixing up what occurred in which ‘place’, ignore or defend Fredmoore's behavior, and mistakenly direct questions to me, you are creating more, not less, problems.

And, doesn't getting along involve 'conflict resolution'? This, you must know, requires at least a civilized discussion (NOT school yard, juvenile actions) and a reduction (NOT an increase, knowingly or otherwise) in confusion -- by carefuly reviewing the situation.

gisterme - 06:04pm Sep 19, 2003 EST (# 13786 of 13787)

Oops! Second sentence above should read: "It looked to me like you, Volchin and Fred really didn't know what each other was talking about at least part of the time..." Sorry about that.

Noted !

cantabb - 07:09pm Sep 19, 2003 EST (# 13791 of 13824)

fredmoore - 06:13pm Sep 19, 2003 EST (# 13787 of 13787)

Reminds me of an old joke: There was an ant in the jungle who fancied an elephant. So one day he climbed all the way up her back legs to take out his satisfaction on her. A Monkey in a nearby tree saw this and was disgusted, incensed and secretly very jealous. So the Monkey picked up a coconut and threw it at the ant. However, his aim was poor and he hit the elephant on the head and the elephant let out a sharp cry. The ant hearing this yelled out "take it baby, take it!!"

This is the best forum on the web because .... it makes me laugh.

Join the growing club NOW ! [We’ll waive the sense of humor]

gisterme - 08:01pm Sep 19, 2003 EST (# 13792 of 13824)

"...[We’ll waive the sense of humor]"

Please don't do that, cantabb. Survival here would be far more unpleasant without it. ;-)

gisterme - 08:11pm Sep 19, 2003 EST (# 13793 of 13824)

"...I don’t want to belabor the point,..."

Then don't do it any more, cantabb.

As I've said, I'm nobody's judge; still, I can't help but notice the mountains where there should be nothing but teeny tiny mole-hills.

I'll ask again. Why don't you post something "on topic" if you're so troubled about it?

If you'd use half the energy "on topic" that you've use in complaining about not being "on topic" we might get some energy going here.

Maybe we could try a high-voltage jump start!

3!...2!...1!...BzxZZZzzz...ZappppSnapCrackle....pop! :-)

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