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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.

rshow55 - 08:39pm May 11, 2002 EST (#2169 of 2174)

Yesterday MD2154 rshow55 5/10/02 8:05pm I said I'd give a detailed response to gisterme's MD2137-2138 gisterme 5/10/02 3:44am today -- and I've only made a start. I'll do more tomorrow.

MD1958 rshow55 5/2/02 1:31pm uncludes some references that I said yesterday I was "comfortable with." Well, today, thinking more about gisterme's questions, I'd say "concerned but hopeful about."

MD1128-133 rshow55 4/5/02 8:40pm ... MD1194 rshow55 4/8/02 10:03pm
MD1229 rshow55 4/10/02 9:59am ... MD1236 rshow55 4/10/02 2:38pm

Still, I think what was written was clear and reasonable.

MD1958 also includes a fine advertorial, that I couldn't bring up yesterday, but that is online again: Hydrogen: promise and challenge http://www2.exxonmobil.com/files/corporate/020502.pdf

"Hydrogen vehicles may become an important part of our energy future if known problems can be overcome."

There's a LOT of solar energy

"1,750 Gb, the estimate of all the conventional oil that there ever was or ever will be, is less than the amount of sunlight that hits the earth in one 24 hour day." http://www.oilcrisis.com/debate/oilcalcs.htm

To get at that resource, we need a breakthrough -- and even with a breakthrough, enormous challenges would remain.

I've suggested that we could make the breakthrough, and meet enough of the challenges so that dealing with the rest was an economic proposition, for something like the amount of money now being squandered on missile defense programs that can't work. Jobs that are frustrating the engineers trying to the tactically impossible.

Gisterme suggests that I'm underestimating the costs of dealing with the challenges of large scale solar energy - by factors of tens or hundreds. I'm moving slowly, respectfully, trying to deal with gisterme's challenge.

I've dealt with some other challenges today, stimulated by So God's Really in the Details? by Emily Eakin http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/11/arts/11GOD.html

MD2156 rshow55 5/11/02 11:11am ... MD2157 rshow55 5/11/02 11:12am
MD2160 rshow55 5/11/02 12:23pm ... MD2161 rshow55 5/11/02 12:35pm

MD2161 refers to MD1076 rshow55 4/4/02 1:20pm , specifically related to missile defense, and also includes this:

"It seems to me that if the government wishes to restrict any product of my mind in any way based on national security law - they should talk to me about what the restrictions are."

lchic - 06:11am May 12, 2002 EST (#2170 of 2174)

^{http://www.observer.co.uk/worldview/story/0,11581,714167,00.html
http://www.observer.co.uk/politics/story/0,6903,714129,00.html
http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,714076,00.html
.. if you see two lemon trees in an orchard, check out the lemon trees ..
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=294203
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=293876}

lchic - 06:17am May 12, 2002 EST (#2171 of 2174)

Saddam offers Arafat a home in Iraq
SADDAM HUSSEIN, the Iraqi dictator, has offered the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat a safe haven in Baghdad in the event of Israel forcing him into exile.
see:SundayTelegraph Ldn

lchic - 11:27am May 12, 2002 EST (#2172 of 2174)

Worldviews
_{http://www.observer.co.uk/worldview/0,11581,641237,00.html}

lchic - 11:37am May 12, 2002 EST (#2173 of 2174)

Cuba - ^{http://www.observer.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,713953,00.html}

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