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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?

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lunarchick - 11:00am Nov 25, 2002 EST (# 6278 of 6283)

Book - Historical Dictionary of Islamic Fundamentalist Movements - arranged alphabetically and extensively cross referenced
http://www.mepc.org/public_asp/journal_vol7/davidson.html

rshow55 - 11:03am Nov 25, 2002 EST (# 6279 of 6283)
Can we do a better job of finding truth? YES. Click "rshow55" for some things Lchic and I have done and worked for on this thread.

It has to look at itself more clearly - and admit that it has problems that are ugly - mixed with things that are beautiful.

And do some work.

I think we've made some progress - and that some things are fairly hopeful. Let me post the next posting, and get back.

lunarchick - 11:06am Nov 25, 2002 EST (# 6280 of 6283)

LOOK

SEE

FIX

lunarchick - 11:06am Nov 25, 2002 EST (# 6281 of 6283)

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rshow55 - 11:07am Nov 25, 2002 EST (# 6282 of 6283)
Can we do a better job of finding truth? YES. Click "rshow55" for some things Lchic and I have done and worked for on this thread.

1596 rshow55 4/21/02 2:15pm refers to my first day on this board, and includes this:

The technical part of full world disarmament isn't especially difficult for the nation states that would have to do it. The motivation to eliminate nuclear weapons is the harder part.

rshowalt - 07:36am Sep 25, 2000 EDT (#269

Human actions work best according to the following pattern:

" Get scared .... take a good look ..... get organized ..... fix it .... recount so all concerned are "reading from the same page ...... go on to other things."

I believe that elimination of nuclear weapons should proceed according to this pattern, with details well crafted enough so that the pattern worked for almost all people in the world. It would be a major challenge to disarm in a way that was aesthetically pleasing, and understood to be honorable, by all concerned. I believe that people are artistically perceptive enough to meet this challenge.

I believe that we could do it soon, and that we should do it soon.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I was right about some things then, it seems to me - though very wrong about some others.

I'd lived a too-isolated life - and didn't understand some of the problems involved - including some problems set out clearly - with a lot of hard work, on this board. With an impressive amount of work done by almarst , and gisterme , and others - and lunarchick of course! I'm not so naive now. The key insight I set out that day, that I think was right, and remains right - is that we need solutions that accomodate distrust - and do so gracefully. Some of what is being tried in Iraq has some resemblance to what I suggested then. I hope it works well, and think that it may.

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New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense