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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?

Read Debates, a new Web-only feature culled from Readers' Opinions, published every Thursday.

fredmoore - 06:53pm Apr 12, 2003 EST (# 11267 of 11282)

"Does 'geography' play a part ... what if the UN had offices and meeting rooms in Eurasia additionally ? "

It wouldn't matter if you had UN offices in orbit, If the same bunch of repressive semi-dictatorships remained as the majority of UN signatories you would still get the same CRUMBY outcomes.

lchic - 07:10pm Apr 12, 2003 EST (# 11268 of 11282)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Poster (above) raises question of the UN's 'failure'

How is UN success/failure measured ?

What has the UN done to improve people's LOT ?

What should it have done?

What does it need to do?

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The UN is a conglomorate of disparate nations with varied standards and cultures.

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How often are VOTES in the Assembly BOUGHT ?

Who buys?

Is the buying justified and for the general good?

Or, do bought votes skew expected responses ?

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What are the 'STANDARDS' of home nations ?

How do home-national-standards influence 'thinking' with regards to (wrt) voting in the UN ?

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lchic - 07:11pm Apr 12, 2003 EST (# 11269 of 11282)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Fred - now you've set the UN in space - Mazza will insist !

jorian319 - 07:21pm Apr 12, 2003 EST (# 11270 of 11282)

Luna:

Why Don't Poor Countries Adopt Better Technologies?

If so many people are starving, why are there empty tables in restaurants?

fredmoore - 07:31pm Apr 12, 2003 EST (# 11271 of 11282)

I'm starting to like you Dawn! Mazza won't miss that 'UN in space' op!

I measure the UN failure in units of MILLIONS of lost lives .... Rwanda, Balkans, Angola, Tibet etc. While Individual UN members sit around figuring how they can get something out of a situation and avoid any costs, people die.

The proven reality is that intervention costs billions of $'s and some thousands of lives but the UN laissez faire alternative costs millions of lives and ultimately billions of $'s in aid. Can You spot which is the better alternative? Is this not The UN failure? Can tying UN votes to proven freedom of speech in a member's own constitution and mass media rectify the failure?

lchic - 08:09pm Apr 12, 2003 EST (# 11272 of 11282)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

World Standards with rising annual Incremental improvements are the solution.

A 'blue print' plan is required.

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Checking and regulating activities within Nation states - against set standards ... including free elections ... by a world body (eg UN) would be the way to improve the futures and opportunities of people world-wide.

gisterme - 06:57am Apr 13, 2003 EST (# 11273 of 11282)

jorian319 - 01:28pm Apr 12, 2003 EST (# 11261 of

http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@28.03kMaScq6KX.284139@507e4c@.f28e622/12821

"...Hopefully the strength of the Iraqi people will be evidenced in the near future, minimizing the need for UN/US/other intervention and presence."

I couldn't agree more with that, jorian.

lchic - 07:06am Apr 13, 2003 EST (# 11274 of 11282)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Folks need 'structure' to work within!

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