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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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rshow55 - 07:32am Jan 2, 2003 EST (# 7209 of 7212)
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.

Order, symmetry, and harmony are basic criteria. Whether you happen to believe in design, evolution, or a mix in a particular case. But when specific cases are considered, there are problems with details. And decisions that human beings make. With consequences for themselves and others. Decisions made when things are said, or done, or implied, or left undone. People have to be responsible for what they do. At some level, in some ways. Though nobody can possibly be perfect in every way. It isn't even thinkable.

To be orderly about something specifically defined, you have to be disorderly about some other things.

To be symmetrical in some defined ways, if things are complicated enough - you have to break some other symmetries.

To be harmonious in some defined ways, if things are complicated enough - you have to have conlict in some other senses.

These things are not contradictions - but they do require some care to keep sorted. We need to learn to exercise that care, if we're to avoid some avoidable fights.

(If we just try to be orderely, symmetrical, and harmonious - a lot of decisions become very simple - because a lot of things fail these tests every which way. Such things need to be fixed, or killed. Subject to the considerations that pertain to the particular case.)

I'm moving slowly, but it seems to me that some things are converging - and doing so with reasonable safety.

We can do a lot better than we've been doing - from essentially everybody's point of view (with some just exceptions) if we're careful, and take our time. We have time. But from my perspective, given what I know about instabilities, it doesn't seem to me that we have a lot of time to waste.

You can be cynical - play "point counterpoint" in N dimensions, for any N, so that nothing is ever decided - you can "just let things slide" - but decisions get made, one way or another. Care is inescapable if we're to live.

Quite often, win-win solutions in the ways that matter are achieved. We need to look long and hard for them.

At the level of affairs likely to interest readers of The New York Times - Berle's laws of power, the golden rule, and Maslow's heirarchy of needs are vital things to remember. These sets of conditions, reminders, are just that. Perfect conformance to them isn't possible - or even imaginable. But they do list things to be remembered together. The human arrangements that last, that work well - look pretty good checked according to these criteria.

A lot of unstable, dangerous stuff looks awful.

I think some of the things happening in the world are as ugly and dangerous as they look. We need to fix them - step by step. We can. Lots of ways of going about it, if we're careful. I'm trying to be careful. I think some other people are, too. All in all, I'm feeling hopeful.

lunarchick - 08:20am Jan 2, 2003 EST (# 7210 of 7212)

Negotiation reference (as above) to get to it

http://www.google.com/search?q=Negotiation+conflict+power+ppt&btnG=Google+Search&num=20&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1

see

[PPT]Conflict, Power, & Negotiation File Format: Microsoft Powerpoint 97 - View as HTML Conflict, Power, & Negotiation.
Conflict is a disagreement among parties, which can occur between individuals or among groups. It ...
zeus.uwindsor.ca/courses/business/ ghanam/71-340/OBChap10.ppt -

rshow55 - 08:39am Jan 2, 2003 EST (# 7211 of 7212)
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.

lunarchick 1/2/03 8:20am

Beautiful reference!

I'd like to repeat what I say about lunarchick (click "rshow55" ) - and some other things in that collection of references might interest some people, as well. Including the section of probabilities - which John M. Keynes could surely have used when he was working out his Treatise On Probability - and which could be of use now.

I'd like to refer interested parties to some references that I think are beautiful - perfect for what they do - - exemplary - - and important. I've referred to them before, and will again. They fit in a context.

How a Story is Shaped. http://www.fortunecity.com/lavendar/ducksoup/555/storyshape.html

A Communication Model http://www.worldtrans.org/TP/TP1/TP1-17.HTML

Disney Characters http://www.whom.co.uk/squelch/world_disney.htm

When the Foundations are Shaking http://www.mrshowalter.net/sermon.html

Some things depend on context. I think abortion might be beautiful in an Islamic context - - and am looking for something Dawn and I wrote about that, a while ago.

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