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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 - 07:41am Jun 19, 2002 EST (#2621 of 2630)

That was a good thing for Condoleezza Rice to suggest - and I admire her for doing so, and for letting the fact be released.

Woke up cheerful, but feeling a need to be careful. I'm thinking that a very few simple things, not embarrassing, not expensive, not difficult, would be good to do now. If some journalists could hear some recordings -- one from last week, between me and the C.I.A. - which NYT could get to if it wished -- and another that I'm guessing exists of a meeting between me and a trusted officer of the University of Wisconsin, Madison - - that could set things up for some graceful, simple steps. I hope people don't think I'm being too meticulous and slow - I'm afraid of making mistakes, and so I'm trying to check my work, and only suggest things that are easy, graceful, just, and full of the kinds of damping - the number of controlled "chain breakers" - that make for learning, and good adjustments, rather than unforseen and uncontrolled or uncontrollable consequences.

MD153 rshow55 3/3/02 12:10pm

A lot of things in the news, these days, give me comfort. There was a meeting of mayors in Madison that just shut down yesterday. Thought of trying to talk to some people there - and thought better of it. But it was quite a do - and in my opinion, a fine example, among very many, of situations where the United States works well.

I sent a fax to an officer at the C.I.A., and at the same time, sent the identity of that officer to some senior NYT people. That officer and I have not conversed since - but a phone call between us was almost certainly recorded. That conversation contains nothing at all that can concievably justify classification. I think that conversation also involved a sort of "voice stress analysis" -- a sort of "lie detector test" over the telephone. It would be interesting to see what the test showed, and on what basis. For the record, during that conversation I was VERY disappointed, VERY upset, VERY scared, and too busy being careful to bother about being angry.

I hope reasonable people, with the good of the United States at heart, are given a chance to hear it. And I hope they, to use Schwartz's word ..

Listen.

lchic - 07:59am Jun 19, 2002 EST (#2622 of 2630)

Which Schwartz is that Showalter?
Here's one of the Schwartz-name-clan - David Schwartz's classic "The Magic of Thinking Big" book contents ... what would the world be like if everyone thought for themselves?!

rshow55 - 08:36am Jun 19, 2002 EST (#2623 of 2630)

It would be MUCH better, safer, and more comfortable -- but people would have to adjust to the fact that, for reasons that can't be changed, there are a lot of deceptions in the world, not all of them necessary. The incidence of lies and false assumptions is maybe 20 times greater than people have been assuming. That's the big "emperor's no clothes" point people have to admit to themselves and to each other. About others. And about themselves.

I was referring to the John Schwartz who wrote Playing Know And Tell http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/09/weekinreview/09BOXA.html . . Schwartz tells the story of Cassandra, and does so beautifully. It is a story about people getting something exactly wrong, and not hearing warnings that they are wrong. Schwartz's piece ends

" Listen."

MD2617-2618 rshow55 6/18/02 3:28pm

lchic - 08:41am Jun 19, 2002 EST (#2624 of 2630)

so it's the 'exactly wrong' situations that build to war .... along with famine ... deaths ... refugees .... and uprooted lives that may never again properly 'fall into place' outside the original culture ..

rshow55 - 08:46am Jun 19, 2002 EST (#2625 of 2630)

MD2598 rshow55 6/17/02 1:45pm ... MD2599 lchic 6/17/02 1:46pm
MD2600 rshow55 6/17/02 1:57pm

I meant just exactly what I said in MD2613 rshow55 6/18/02 12:41pm and feel that checking on this matter, whether I happen to be right or wrong, ought to be morally forcing.

I'm off to cook breakfast. I'm listed in the Madison phone book, and would be glad to talk to anybody who feels right about calling. .

lchic - 08:46am Jun 19, 2002 EST (#2626 of 2630)

Many Schwartz about .. here's Peter 1995

Our civilization is changing in these six months to a year, right now. We have moved from the atomized disconnected hierarchal civilization, to the networked interconnected globalized civilization, literally in this year. It is happening in 1995. We will look back 50 years from now and see this was the critical moment of transformation."

Seven years on ....

http://www.startribune.com/digage/pt1dex.htm

rshow55 - 08:48am Jun 19, 2002 EST (#2627 of 2630)

Lchic, I'll read it. Right now, I'm going to decompress just a bit, and do some cooking.

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