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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 - 07:47am Oct 31, 2003 EST (# 16038 of 16046)

rshow55 - 06:31am Oct 31, 2003 EST (# 16032 of 16034)

Last night, Lchic told me to step back and sleep on things. Got a lot of sleep . . . Woke up with a couple songs going through my head - and this wasn't one of them . . . Can't Always Get What You Want Lyrics by the Rolling Stones And I went down to the demonstration ..... You get what you need . . . Wondering how to muddle through from the awkward situation I find myself in. Worth a little thought, maybe, just for a rest . . .

Hasn't helped you. Ask for better advice. This Forum NOT devoted to your travails or lchic's advice to you.

cantabb - 07:54am Oct 31, 2003 EST (# 16039 of 16046)

lchic - 06:53am Oct 31, 2003 EST (# 16033 of 16034)

Advice dispensing machine is on .....

Had the USA vision, then it would be determining where the economy is, and where it should go. It would look to developing the 'right new industries' and jettisoning redundant.

Whatever. As if Australia has !

The board is here for those with opinions - 6 billion out there!

Opinion, yes, BUT NOT personal beef and unspecified personal problems ! Besides, there is NOT just ONE forum for everything anyone wants to drag in. Say something ON-topic.

The perceived need for MD realtes to 'mind-failures', to communication failures, to separate-ness.

More incoherent faux-Zen. Makes NO sense !

As the world moves and knits together ... the need for MD will lesson.

May be that'll serve as a "lesson" too, some day ! (May be there's a "fredmoore rationalization" to this)

A question 'the average reader' might ask when reviewing this board is why so much hostility towards opinions that look for an improved future for the World, for the USA, and for the NYT ....

What "hostility" to what "opinions" ? Cliche and platitude ridden posts are NOT "opinions" -- Just more cliches and platitudes.

Average NYT reader looks for a focused On-topic discussion -- NOT here to see a forum highjacked to try to resolve unspecified personal preoblems, and through unsubstantiated claims and endless rehash.

"Hostility" ? ALL opinion are routinely subjected to analytic criticism, the situations are thrashed out. IF you can't support your opinion in a public forum, you can't; don't blame others for your deficiencies. And IF you want NO challenges to your opinions you can look for NK or any other authoritarian regime (hurry, disappearing fast). May be that's how it works in Australia or in Australian newspapers -- NOT anywhere else [not even in Australia either], am afraid.

With this, one can't even "improve" one's own personal situation, much less even dream of improving the situation of USA or the world. NYT can improve its own situation, handle its own problems the way it chooses to. Why so much interest in that ? Why NOT try improving the situation of OTHER US companies and newspapers, too ????

anyone done a street survey in downtown blinggablongga wrt the NYT .... has anyone heard of it, is it effective in changing world opinions ....

I don't think newspapers are here to "changing the world opinion" -- Just reporting on the world. Informing.

It is certainly used as a standard and a reference by those reaching out to blinggablongga ... so indirectly a strong, positive and futuristic NYT is a genuine World Asset ...

This little world can afford just one "World Asset" -- and you're supposed to be IT !

rshow55 - 08:16am Oct 31, 2003 EST (# 16040 of 16046)
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.

Cantabb , the world is lucky to have Lchic - she's beautiful - and she shows a very important virtue empathy (see below) - where you sometimes fall short.

Empathy is basic - everybody really knows what it feels like to be lied to - and to have things mess up because you believe the lies.

12395 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.JAYUbkF3TI1.300824@.f28e622/14048

Section on Empathy begins here (16 related posts) : 5086 lchic 10/20/02 7:50pm http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.JAYUbkF3TI1.300824@.f28e622/6403

empathy and diplomacy: 5103 lchic 10/20/02 11:51pm http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.JAYUbkF3TI1.300824@.f28e622/6422

I'm trying to figure out how to be fair myself. One thing seems clear to me. If anyone at The New York Times Company asked me to do a job - and paid my expenses - I'd feel obligated (and honored) to work for free - for quite a lot of time. I have no whiff of a feeling they'd want anything of the kind. But if they did, I'd owe them that, beyond any question.

A project I'd love to work on would be figuring out how they could use their power, within American usages, to make more money honorably.

Specifically, I'd love to help them find a way to get recompayment from the government for much or all of the direct and opportunity costs of this thread. Public spirit has reasonable limits - and this has been a very big effort for them - on a basis not entirely of their own making. Solving that problem for them ( if they see it as a problem ) might help me solve some other problems.

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New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense