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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?

rshowalter - 09:43am Oct 9, 2001 EST (#10200 of 10206)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

because you have to check the magic - - and talk is necessary - - and so is checking both the "magic" and the "talk" with facts that can be established by actual matching for consistency against the world

MD10036 rshowalter 10/1/01 11:16am ... reads in part:

Is the issue of reflective coatings not a specific and important point?

What becomes of the program featured in the NYT magazine, about space weapons, without working lasar weapons?

. 'Battlefield: Space' by Jack Hitt

Another question - - can you, or gisterme , or anyone else, point to responses, cited in MD9896 rshowalter 9/29/01 7:44am ...that are not specific enough to check and tell me why they are not?

Perhaps there are examples where I haven't been specific enough, but in context, I think I've been specific enough for checking in a lot of places. Help me see where I haven't been specific enough, could you?

rshowalter - 09:48am Oct 9, 2001 EST (#10201 of 10206)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

Americans need to be WORTHY of the GOOD THINGS people associate with this flag - - not just wave it. . . . Our allies, and people all over the world, should be able to expect that. And able to check that. . . . On missile defense issues, and other issues that matter enough.

nomenclature - 09:49am Oct 9, 2001 EST (#10202 of 10206)

Poster. Weapons are developed by people who KNOW what they're about - it's their JOB. No need to question - let's assume they do it right!

rshowalter - 09:54am Oct 9, 2001 EST (#10203 of 10206)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

If you look at history, there are a LOT of cases where they do it very wrong.

We can't afford to trust them that much , though we do have to respect their decisions to some extent.

And their motivations.

But when it matters enough, everybody has to be subject to checking. Even the President of the United States. Even clergymen, no matter how well intended or exalted. Even elected officials. Or firemen. Or elected officials who are also volunteer fireman, like Weldon.

How on earth can you be sure you have right anwers unless you check?

It would be like "pulling youself out of your own as*hole" . . . something a very good soldier explained to me that I couldn't even think about doing.

rshowalter - 12:13pm Oct 9, 2001 EST (#10204 of 10206)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

I usually don't go back and look about how postings can change - instead, I usually read them in downloaded form. But old postings can change - for instance, a poster can change contact information.

I notice that

kangdawei now has a "contact heading" of

http://www.uclick.com/client/cap/ac/2001/09/26/index.html

which connects to Ann Coulter . Now that isn't certain evidence that kangdawei is Coulter - but it is a connection -- and I expect, after a little thought, to contact Ann Coulter and see if we have something to talk about.

I'd like to do that for a lot of reasons -- including some mixed motives - - she's a good looking lady -- maybe even better looking than Ms Rice !

Coulter's writings are entertaining, too. And well written in ways that I wouldn't know how to match, though it would be fun to learn, except that it might get too complicated, everything considered . . . .

rshowalter - 01:10pm Oct 9, 2001 EST (#10205 of 10206)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

But maybe we could have a date. I could take her to the Patent Office, for a day of real searching - - on something specific - - maybe two days. So she could learn what "impossible" means . .

and what hope means, too, in technical fields.

Just a thought. I need to read some of her stuff, and collect my courage, before I call her - - then, just my luck, she'll be unavailable.

armel7 - 01:12pm Oct 9, 2001 EST (#10206 of 10206)
Science/Health Forums Host

rshowalter -- Your list of MD-related articles contained mostly non-related pieces. You have 23 consecutives posts with no participation from other folks. Please adhere to the posting guidelines or be blocked -- or have this group just shut down.

Thanks for answering about the aliases. I was just curious about some similarities.

Your host,
Michael Scott Armel

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