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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.

lchic - 12:16am Jun 20, 2003 EST (# 12608 of 12690)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Jorian -- expose yourself

--- To the world

Who are you?

--- Compose yourself and quit your inane banalites?

lchic - 12:27am Jun 20, 2003 EST (# 12609 of 12690)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

World news coverage ... the ship was moving .... the target was 'missed' again!

'Star Wars --- Missile Defence --- This whole thing is Political' ... so says an upcoming documentary on the matter ....

AS IT HAPPENED - STAR WARS

This documentary from Denmark explores how America's national mythology has informed and shaped the dream of Star Wars for more than 50 years. Since the Eisenhower presidency, successive leaders have invested billions of dollars in pursuit of "that illusory Roof over America, the ultimate circling of the covered wagons to protect the people from marauding outsiders" (quote from the Danish publicity material).

According to the documentary, Reagan based his obsession with Star Wars on the movies.

He was always the Hollywood actor who, as Gorbachev said "sometimes described movie scenes as it they had happened in real life". Surveying the Reagan era, Frances Fitzgerald, author of Pulitzer Prize winning book Way Out There in the Blue writes:

"In the days when Pentecostalists prayed for the miracle of a Cadillac, better a President who would promise the miracle of a perfect defence and world peace - without preaching the need for struggle or compromise".

The program includes interviews with Dr Edward Teller, father of the thermonuclear weapon, Robert Macnamara, and half a dozen other key players - from a hawkish senator to a Greenpeace activist.

lchic - 12:34am Jun 20, 2003 EST (# 12610 of 12690)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

America underwrites this at TEN MILLION a day

'The real obstacle to peace is not terror, but sabotage by Sharon-backed army'

"It's the Israeli army that holds the key, at least on the streets," he said. "We were actually getting close to an agreement with Hamas but because the Israeli army rejects the idea that there can be an internal agreement [among Palestinians], they hit Rantissi. As long as they keep saying they are at war, then they will find justifications for 'mistakes' like killing children and women which create so much anger on the streets and make this whole road map process harder."

He said Israeli democracy was being subordinated to the will of the military, with Ariel Sharon providing the shield: "Sharon is giving them political cover. The army is using the politicians as camouflage to destroy the peace process."

The Israeli army's chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Moshe Ya'alon, gave added cause for concern this week when he told his soldiers that he did not care if the military "looks like lunatics" ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,981130,00.html

lchic - 05:43am Jun 20, 2003 EST (# 12611 of 12690)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

A new survey indicates two-thirds of Australians rate the health of the environment above the health of the economy.

The survey commissioned by the Australian Conservation Foundation also suggests four out of five Australians want greenhouse gas emissions reduced and more than half the population favours improving flows in the Murray River.

ACF president Peter Garrett says the poll demonstrates there has been a sea change in community attitudes to environmental issues.

"People have inculcated the idea about looking after the environment into the way in which they view things," he said.

"As a consequence, environment has bumped itself up now from one of the things that people have a concern about, because they see something on TV or read something in the paper, to an issue which is up there no matter what."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s883714.htm - http://www.abc.net.au/news/environment/default

CO2 - http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s884379.htm

Funds for treating carbon dioxide emissions The Victorian Government has contributed $80,000 to a co-operative research centre that will look at treating carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and storing them underground.

Energy Minister Theo Theophanous says the centre will research technology to trap the emissions leaving heavy industry such as power stations and aluminium producers.

Mr Theophanous says it will be a huge boon for the Latrobe Valley, by unlocking 500 years worth of brown coal for use in the state without damaging the environment.

"The idea is that you would find appropriate sites deep under the sea and that the CO2 in the treated form would be pumped deep under the seabed into permanent rock formations," he said.

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