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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 - 05:43pm Nov 13, 2003 EST (# 17595 of 17598)

rshow55 - 03:58pm Nov 13, 2003 EST (# 17579 of 17587)

But I'm not necessarily insisting on that. If people admitted what they'd done - we could convert this mess into a win-win situation.

You are in NO position to even ask for it. You want people to admit that they criticized you – Isn’t it all there in their posts -- now part of your 'corpus" ? What “Win-Win” can you ever get out this ?

But that takes honest accounting. Something you people seem hell bent on avoiding.

NOT as much as you been avoiding it, e.g : What have you been working on. And, what about lchic's “honest accounting” of her sponsors and their interests she is here to carry out.

rshow55 - 03:59pm Nov 13, 2003 EST (# 17580 of 17587)

I also think that if that happended - we could all make money - and do it in a way that "the average reader of The New York Times" and the average human on the planet would be likely to approve of.

How ridiculous ! Make money by selling your CD ? What has this got to do with “the average reader of” the NYT ? You want them to hawk it too ? And, “the average human on the planet” ?

Harping again on how they’d all ”approve of “ !

rshow55 - 04:05pm Nov 13, 2003 EST (# 17581 of 17587)

Repeat - practically always - win-win situations that are stabilizable require honest accounting.

Nonsense. Where’s “honest accounting” of your "work" here. And, of lchic's sponsored interests here ?

So this matters.

NOT really !

rshow55 - 04:07pm Nov 13, 2003 EST (# 17582 of 17587)

I've been working plenty hard - and if I can be so lucky now as to corner you guys and beat the daylights out of you till you learn it - then I'll try to do so.

Threats of violence ? Want to re-visit youe teen “fighting” ?

Grace would be nicer. But getting honest accounting, so solutions of disciplined beauty are definable and stabilizable has been my key teaching objective. And I've worked hard. Maybe not as eloquently as somebody could have. But I've tried.

'Grace' given, you apparently couldn't handle !

What about “honest accounting” of what have you think you been doing here for 3+years, and what have you accomplished vis-à-vis the claimed you so often made ? And, “honest accounting” of lchic’s sponsor/employer interests in this thread ? Why so much mystery about herself, when she's been demanding the same questions-- as insolently as you have -- from other posters, along with her laughable accusations and insinuations ?

And I care enough to fight about this.

Do something – instead of talking about it, OK ?

rshow55 - 04:08pm Nov 13, 2003 EST (# 17583 of 17587)

It seems to me that the less you guys like me - the better I might be a Wizard's Chess . This thread hasn't happened by accident.

See you learned something useful.

All in all, I'm proud of it.

Proud of abusing the posting privileges for so LONG ?

rshow55 - 04:22pm Nov 13, 2003 EST (# 17585 of 17587)

I've asked for something simple, and basic, that I think people deserve if they are to function.

The language I asked for wasn't complicated. The resistance to the request is interesting.

Groveling again. Call NYT.

rshow55 - 04:24pm Nov 13, 2003 EST (# 17587 of 17587)

For operational reasons - we have to do better than that. And the stakes on the issue are so high, so many times, in so many ways, that they have a big moral dimension.

Talk about what YOU can do better, instead ! And, on what issues ? ALL that may concern you, much more than any other poster.

jorian319 - 05:59pm Nov 13, 2003 EST (# 17596 of 17598)

maclab - 05:42pm Nov 13, 2003 EST

Good post, Mac!

Where the heck were you when we were trying to discuss these things??

FWIW, I agree that deterrents rely on vulnerability and that making ourselves apparently invulnerable would not be a good thing.

What bothers me most is how the promotion of NMDS is consistent with the growth of the nanny-state mentality - the notion (seemingly endorsed by an alarmingly large section of the populace) that gov should ease all worry, cure all ills etc., and we should all ante up our rights for the cause.

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New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense