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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.

rshowalt - 12:58pm Jul 23, 2002 EST (#3252 of 3327)

seantga - 06:39pm Mar 5, 2002 EST (#225 of 235) Hi there. I'm Sean, the host for this forum. I usually take a hands-off approach, but I'd like to remind posters that multiple posting is not always the best way to get your point across.

Let's try to tone down the volume and let other people get their thoughts in.

Thanks.

manjumicha2001 - MD226 manjumicha2001 3/6/02 1:02am

Sean

Please leave rshow alone. Notwithstanding our lack of responses, we do read his postins with interest from time to time. They are in most cases pretty important contributions to your forum, i think.

Rshow:

You are right that "fiction" often serves as the basis for national "vision" of the prior, current and future regimes (whether they are despotic or not). AT the same time, however, the fictional ideology of a regime is often sustained and reinforced by the harsh and unavoidable realities of the nation or people (which is host to any particular regime and its "fictional" ideologies). They often do contront very real and cruel threat to their existence. For example, NK's juche ideology might be a monstrous fiction but it was born out of, and nurtured by, 50 year-long US-led economic, political and military embargo of that nation coupled with overt nuclear threats to its existence. Even China and Soviets had to either change the nature of their regimes (in case of China) or crumble (in case of Soviet) under the weight of cold war won by US. NK chose an opposite path, which was summed up by its representative in Tokyo as follows: "We chose to be hungry wolves in the wild than tamed house dogs". I do not believe this sentiment is a "fiction" to them.

Another example might be the myth of "Zionism" for jewish diaspora. I suspect that considering the horrors of pograms throughout centries, a jewish person's (even if he/she was born and raised and spent entire life in US and never visited Israel in his while entire life) choice to "return" can't be said to be based on a 'mythical" hope for Zion even by the most ardent critique of Zionism as a viable national vision....

lchic - 12:56am Mar 6, 2002 EST (#227 of 235)

ManJ - on North Korea - said:

" NK's juche ideology might be a monstrous fiction but it was born out of, and nurtured by, 50 year-long US-led economic, political and military embargo of that nation coupled with overt nuclear threats to its existence.

A thought here is:

" Is there general awareness of this Fifty Year Policy .. was it said and restated (?), or, are such policies hidden in the shadows out of the light where the general public have neither awareness nor opportunity to comment or give input.

Apart from rallies and street marches when the public get aroused and incensed .. how does JaneJoePublic have input into foreign policy?

MD228 lchic 3/6/02 2:02am includes:

Regarding Missile Defence the big question -

. Why are 'Useless dangerous antique nuclear weapons' not taken down ...

lchic - 03:16pm Jul 23, 2002 EST (#3253 of 3327)

I hear it's 'hot' in Moscow. Six nuclear facilities in the city have for 50yrs just dumped their waste at local dumps ... now that Moscow is expanding that waste has to be found and removed from the city limits. (worldRadio)

lchic - 03:17pm Jul 23, 2002 EST (#3254 of 3327)

|> Bush Cartoon today's http://www.guardian.co.uk/

lchic - 03:20pm Jul 23, 2002 EST (#3255 of 3327)

The Australian Share Market - has so far held it's own. Fair value.

The problems start as/if the US runs into recession :

Australia ships the raw materials to Asia that Asis turns into goods to sell to the USA.

If that demand slips .... bingo!

wrcooper - 09:08pm Jul 23, 2002 EST (#3256 of 3327)

Showalter:

Am I a proponent or opponent of Bush's missile defense program?

What about missile defense in general?

lchic - 11:54pm Jul 23, 2002 EST (#3257 of 3327)

Is that Bush or FatherBush you're talking about?

Who killed these guys?

Two too Catholic?

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/24/opinion/24DOWD.html

wrcooper - 12:38am Jul 24, 2002 EST (#3258 of 3327)

The younger Bush. The present Prez.

lchic - 12:49am Jul 24, 2002 EST (#3259 of 3327)

Fearing independent visits to U.S. prisons and to terror suspects on Guantanamo, the United States is planning to block a U.N. vote on a plan to enforce an international convention on torture, U.S. diplomats and human rights campaigners said Tuesday.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20020723_1773.html

While the USA enjoys poking around Iraqi prisons and chemical factories - it sure as hell won't let anyone else take a look around its own institutions!

see Threads gu.com :
Guardian-talk-News-International
""U.S. May Block U.N. Vote on torture ""

lchic - 03:50am Jul 24, 2002 EST (#3260 of 3327)

Corporate Crime How they do it! Point by point

""Recently, a few C.E.O.'s have stepped forward to adopt honest accounting. But most continue to spend their shareholders' money, directly or through trade associations, to lobby against real reform. They talk principle, but, for most, their motive is pocketbook. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/24/opinion/24BUFF.html

lchic - 03:58am Jul 24, 2002 EST (#3261 of 3327)

ONE MILLION LOST TO WAR 1980's

"We live in a very frightening situation today. We have never witnessed war being so much promoted in the US."

Iran's leadership would not bow to US "threats and insults", he said.

(66 following messages)

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