New York Times on the Web Forums Science

Missile Defense

Russian military leaders have expressed concern about US plans for a national missile defense system. Will defense technology be limited by possibilities for a strategic imbalance? Is this just SDI all over again?

rshowalter - 01:06pm Jun 10, 2001 EST (#4692 of 4696)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

MD1793 rshowalter 3/30/01 2:22pm MD1794 rshowalter 3/30/01 2:24pm MD1795 rshowalter 3/30/01 2:34pm Distinctions between the American government, and the small subset that has made crucial military decisions, needs to be made.

. . . .

We need to move towards peace -- it is in everybody's interest (except for very few) and all though the world, nation states are getting clearer about that. The US, leader of the older way, may be last to change. But it would change, too, and that could come quickly.

. . . .

Though there may be other possibilities, the possibility that a small group of very unpatriotic individuals, including members of the Bush family, may have acted, and may be acting, in deep conflict with the interest of the United States needs to be considered.

rshowalter - 01:08pm Jun 10, 2001 EST (#4693 of 4696)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

MD1796 rshowalter 3/30/01 3:18pm
A VERY interesting article : .... Laser Project Hits a Snag; Court Hints At Conflict by JAMES GLANZ http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/30/science/30NIF.html

" A federal judge has temporarily barred backers of an Energy Department laser project from citing an expert panel's evaluation, a decision suggesting that the panel may have been improperly stacked with people who have a stake in the project.

MD2320 rshowalter 4/17/01 12:15pm

MD4484 possumdag 6/4/01 6:53am . . . MD4485 rshowalter 6/4/01 7:01am
MD4486 rshowalter 6/4/01 7:11am . . . MD4487 rshowalter 6/4/01 7:22am

Could it be that the entire US military is now engaged in an exercise, much like that suggested for the National Ignition Facility, that is nothing more than a boondoggle?

Could "missions" and "threats" be inflated, or invented, or manufactured for no other reason but to justify continuation of institutions?

Could this be reinforcing fraud at other levels -- all protected by "expert endorsements" that are not questioned?

It seems to me that the question is worth some attention.

When I had a conversation with a person at CIA, last september, related to the proposal, this thread, #266-269 ... rshowalt 9/25/00 7:32am ..... , it was clear that after the committee discussion, they wanted to be especially clear that I advocated nuclear rather than total disarmament. So far as I could gather, they didn't have a clue what the United States needed such a large military for.

rshowalter - 01:09pm Jun 10, 2001 EST (#4694 of 4696)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

June 28, 1996, Friday Spy Agencies Faulted for War Focus by TIM WEINER Source: The New York Times

" American intelligence agencies devote too much time and money to supporting the military, and far too little to understanding the problems of peace, a new and authoritative critique concludes

dirac_10 - 01:17pm Jun 10, 2001 EST (#4695 of 4696)

There I was skimming over it looking to see if there were any more spinning warheads out there..

rshowalter - 01:05pm Jun 10, 2001 EST (#4691 of 4691

...I feel sure, for what I believe are good reasons, that the NYT writer involved then is also "dirac" ...

Only to discover that the gig was up. Yes, very perceptive. We have been watching you for some time. And all that other stuff that you have been wondering about, and not mentioning, it's true too.

We know there's no harm in telling you now, since the encirclement is complete.

Your lengthy, and "wide ranging" posts have given "True Blue" our new web based/neural net hypercomputer the necessary algorithmic information content to model your thought processes sufficiently to deal with any Halting Problem limitations and predict/control your concentration.

Haven't you noticed?

rshowalter - 01:54pm Jun 10, 2001 EST (#4696 of 4696)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

MD4680 smartalix 6/10/01 12:51am

New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense