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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.

lchic - 04:55am Oct 20, 2002 EST (# 5078 of 5086)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

It's the 'Brian Wynne - Public Gut Feel' kicking in !

http://www.lancs.ac.uk/users/csec/staff/bw_first.html

lchic - 05:10am Oct 20, 2002 EST (# 5079 of 5086)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Indonesia

"" The greatest defence against militancy is the deep local tradition of moderation and tolerance. Islam in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, is heavily influenced by Hinduism. Many see no conflict between a belief in sea goddesses and Islam - anathema to most Middle Eastern Muslims. The two main Islamic political parties, with a combined membership of 70 million, both believe in pluralist democracy and see Islam as a means to greater social justice, not a radical transformation of society.

.....

According to Indonesian intelligence officials, more than 300 Indonesians were trained in al-Qaeda's camps in Afghanistan. Some have joined movements such as Lashkar Jihad or Jemaa Islamiya, but many more have simply gone to ground, meeting occasionally in small groups, staying in touch with more senior men.

The local muscle for the Bali bombs included several of these people. They are looking for the man who recruited them: Hambali. In the huge South-East Asian cities, or among its islands and jungles, he is almost impossible to find.

http://www.observer.co.uk/worldview/story/0,11581,815610,00.html

[lchic | try posting a mug-shot on cable tv]

Then there's the quesion of how to get those
'rote-heads' full of rhetoric re-organ-ised.

China would poopa-scoopa them into re-training camps.

Is Indonesia going to let these guys run riot in their community
-- or --
widen their thinking?

And if their Army needs sorting - who'll do it?

lchic - 05:17am Oct 20, 2002 EST (# 5080 of 5086)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Iraq | Bye bye Mr Badman | 'It's a knock-out!'

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=344289

lchic - 05:19am Oct 20, 2002 EST (# 5081 of 5086)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/pacific_rim/

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/australasia/

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/

lchic - 09:19am Oct 20, 2002 EST (# 5082 of 5086)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Democracy

Public's right to know:

Before this century, if people wanted to know how their government was running, generally all they had to do was go down to the town hall or the agora and listen to the debates and discussions.

But today we deal with large, complex bureaucracies, statutes and regulations that often run hundreds of pages, and a legislative process that, even while accountable to the people, may still be too murky for most to understand what is happening.

In a democracy, government should, as much as possible, be transparent -- that is, its deliberations and decisions should be open to public scrutiny.

Clearly, not all government actions should be public, but the citizenry have a right to know how their tax dollars are spent, whether the administration of justice is efficient and effective, and whether their elected representatives are acting responsibly.

How this information is made available will vary from government to government, but no democratic government can operate in total secrecy.

http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/democracy/

lchic - 09:21am Oct 20, 2002 EST (# 5083 of 5086)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

""no democratic government can operate in total secrecy

Showalter - did you get 'that letter' from the CIA yet?

(3 following messages)

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