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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
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(223 previous messages)
rshow55
- 03:34pm Mar 5, 2002 EST (#
224 of 17697) 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.
MD198 rshow55
3/4/02 9:46am ... MD199 lchic
3/4/02 12:59pm MD200 rshow55
3/4/02 2:17pm
The more one looks at the technical situation on "missile
defense" -- the clearer it is that it is nothing but a waste,
tactically. Countermeasures certain to defeat it, or reduce
its chances of a hit to a negligible value, may cost as little
as a millionth of the cost of the system itself.
Though, as Stephen Weinberg points out in Can Missile
Defense Work? http://www.nybooks.com/articles/15132
The New York Review of Books February 14, 2002 .. the
system might work as a stunt. . The piece, which does not
treat countermeasures very extensively, and therefore draws
relatively "optimistic" conclusions about feasility
nevertheless ends
" . . In seeking to deploy a national
missile defense aimed at an implausible threat, a defense
that would have dubious effectiveness against even that
threat, and that on balance would harm our security more
than it helps it, the Bush administration seems to be
pursuing a pure rather than applied missile defense— a
missile defense that is undertaken for its own sake, rather
than for any application it may have in defending our
country." (emphasis added.)
We have fictions here - - linked to circumstances
that are dangerous, and not in the interest of the United
States considered as a nation.
seantga
- 06:39pm Mar 5, 2002 EST (#
225 of 17697)
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
- 12:02am Mar 6, 2002 EST (#
226 of 17697)
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 17697) ultimately TRUTH outs : TRUTH has to
be morally forcing : build on TRUTH it's a strong
foundation
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?
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