New York Times on the Web Forums Science
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
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(11888 previous messages)
gisterme
- 03:02am Feb 27, 2002 EST (#11889
of 11896)
lchic
2/18/02 10:34pm
"...Gisterme and Showalter are now agreed that truthfulness is
honorable and a desired goal in every sense including
Accounting..."
HahahahaAHhhhh! Thanks for the belly-laugh, lchic! God knows I
need it. But how in the world have you forgotten that it's Bob who
seems to keep dishing up the whoppers!
Haaaahahahahaha. Agreed indeed. :-) You're slick, 'chic. HeeHeee.
If Robert has set acheiving truthfulness as a goal, (ah, confession
is good for the soul) he doesn't seem to be making much
progress toward it so far. I admit I haven't been keeping up with
the board for a while. Maybe he's had a change of heart. Whatever is
the case, if that's his goal, I wish him the best in his quest...but
I do wish he'd hurry up. :-)
lchic
- 10:01am Feb 27, 2002 EST (#11890
of 11896)
A nine day wonder 18feb-27feb ... GI has caught up with the
board!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HERE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT POST ON THIS THREAD!
The COLD WAR is OVER, but it hasn't ENDED?
One thought is that male leaders see phallic missiles as a STATUS
symbol .. a we have Nukes .. look and see ... ours are
'more' than yours .. a talking point ... along with the
message don't trespass in my backyard
The raw materials for missiles comes from Nuclear Power ... such
a plant has a 25yr working life, and it's waste products a forever
afterlife.
When Nuclear Plants are 'offered for sale' - there are NO buyers!
Private Industry understands the cost of a HALF LIFE, the cost of
pollution, the cost of being sued by those with failing health via
contact with the contamination from nuclear materials.
Check the SEAS and LANDS of the world for the nuclear pollution
problem -- not a pretty scene!
The problem regarding Nuclear matters is - non holistic
accounting systems. The full cost is not understood. The cost is
past on to generations as yet unborn.
Nuke Missiles are halfway to being genuine antiques .. that's a
one century haul and they're now half-qualified.
Antiques are 'antiquated technology' ... look at this in terms of
sound recordings .. the cylinder, the one-sided disk, the two
sided-disk, the EP, LP ... the CD ... the DVD ... >>> any
advancement
Missiles are 'dangerous antiques' ....
When something is dangerous, and threateningly so, then, those
within range of such a danger ought to actively sue the holding
State -- or make that State via international pressure PAY
insurance premiums that would cover the true costs to those on whom
such an antique atrocity might be launched.
The enforcement of the payment of insurance via international
sanctions ........
would lead to the nations taking missiles down
Note: that 2/3rds of the planet is covered by an interlinked (now
polluted) sea!
Were a band of people wanting to take missiles down - just for
the hell of it ... then it needs a Wynne* wave of GUT aversion in
the National general voter-ships to get leaders to do this ... or,
if leaders had LEADERSHIP then they would take down their missiles
... and preface every international communication with a reference
to remind others - the remainging laughingstock - to take missiles
down.
Statistically there have been and will continue to be nuclear
accidents - they are 'unaffordable' .. Nukes should be TAKEN DOWN
If the world had REAL Leaders, they'd lead, not procrastinate!
Prof Brian Wynne (LancasterU UK)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
General McArthur mAzzA - I've said before (are you 'different
people' or don't you read the board?) General McArthur was off his
strategic military rocker (MAD) by the end of the war and had to be
stopped in his tracks by the USA President who worked out that there
are 3million Koreans living through NK in the China zone ..
additionally lots of Chinese (now 1.3 billion) in China, who would
help the NK's in the Forties to put McArthur down ...
almarst-2001
- 04:23pm Feb 27, 2002 EST (#11891
of 11896)
A new regime in Iraq would pose distinct problems for each of
the country's neighbours - http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,657833,00.html
"Taken individually, and given sufficient attention, most of
these issues can be contained and perhaps even resolved. But taken
together - as they would have to be following the overthrow of
Saddam - they become a daunting problem that could tax even
America's resources. While these issues were being dealt with, we
would also have to rely on the rest of the world to stay obligingly
quiet ... on the remains of al-Qaida to behave themselves, and on
the new Afghan government not to fall apart.
It is difficult to know how much of this has been taken on
board in Washington, but the signs are not encouraging. The CIA's
World Factbook (available on the internet) has the curious and
revealing habit of reducing all the world's countries to terms that
a former governor of Texas, such as George Bush, can grasp. Thus
Syria is described as "larger than North Dakota", Jordan "smaller
than Indiana", Iraq "twice the size of Idaho", and so on.
If only it were so simple. But there's a big difference
between changing the regime in Iraq and switching governors in
Idaho. "
almarst-2001
- 04:32pm Feb 27, 2002 EST (#11892
of 11896)
"The COLD WAR is OVER, but it hasn't ENDED? "
The Cold War may be over but the establishement of a new Empire
(coined as a The New World Order) is not over yet.
The new frontier is the Central Asian OIL regions and
Taiwan - South Chiana Sea OIL reserves and strategic Formose
sea passage.
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