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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?

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jorian319 - 01:28pm Jul 21, 2003 EST (# 13068 of 13070)

Oh, that's great Robert - we really needed someone to re-post every "Islamonline" article rottenburger can dredge up.

I guess that's to be expected from someone gullible enough to convince himself that the President of the United States has nothing better to do than post here as Gisterme.

I hope you're appropriately embarrassed.

rshow55 - 02:21pm Jul 21, 2003 EST (# 13069 of 13070)
Can we do a better job of finding truth? YES. Click "rshow55" for some things Lchic and I have done and worked for on this thread.

Read the links - especially the bolded one by John Dean.

<a href="/webin/WebX?14@13.3ON9bGbfrWR.195469@.f28e622/11539">rshow55 3/15/03 1:18pm</a>

Here are postings from late February that cite Power and Leadership: The Real Meaning of Iraq http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/23/opinion/23SUN1.html that connect well today's A Bloody Peace in Iraq http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/21/opinion/21MON1.html and may interest some people today.

9234 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.3ON9bGbfrWR.195469@.f28e622/10760

9239-40 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.3ON9bGbfrWR.195469@.f28e622/10765

9250-9251 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.3ON9bGbfrWR.195469@.f28e622/10776

9308-9 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.3ON9bGbfrWR.195469@.f28e622/10842 , which includes this:

. . Under Bush's leadership - to a great and dangerous degree - legitimacy and credibility have become questions about the United States, as well. Threats, Promises and Lies by PAUL KRUGMAN http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/25/opinion/25KRUG.html . . . There are good reasons to want to be sure how wise, and how honest - "the emperor" is. As almarst has pointed out "even the good king is bad enough." How good, and how wise, is GWB?

The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Chrisian Anderson http://www.deoxy.org/emperors.htm

We should check questions of fact - and decent balance - fit to circumstances. If leaders of nation states wanted facts checked - it would happen. By conventions that say "statements of leaders can't be questioned" - it won't.

For systems - any systems - to be reliable, stable, and decently effective, they have to be connected to - refer to - something solid. Most of the time, they need connection to many things that can be trusted. Without enough fact checking to get some key things that matter proven to workable closure - so that people can and do reach common conclusions on things that matter, we're involved with problems where there is no solution.

When people make an effort to avoid reality - and to mislead - issues of both competence and morality come into play. After all, when a leader says "trust me - I'm confident - follow me" - people do. Often with tragic results.

George W. Queeg By PAUL KRUGMAN http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/14/opinion/14KRUG.html

Aboard the U.S.S. Caine, it was the business with the strawberries that finally convinced the doubters that something was amiss with the captain. Is foreign policy George W. Bush's quart of strawberries?

People give leaders "unconditional trust" for long times - and even after doubt sets in, it takes time to switch - time for people to accept things they prefer not to see. Are we seeing a reprise of

. The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Chrisian Anderson http://www.deoxy.org/emperors.htm

but with much higher stakes? It looks that way to me.

- - -

But perhaps I'm delusional myself - I think gisterme is either George Bush, or someone quite close to him - with more effective rank in the administration that Secretary of State Powell.

I'm also concerned personally, and operationally as well. - maybe for far-fetched reasons.

I read some postings on this thread as threats - and serious ones.

Did Kelly actually kill himself, as Hoge says?

Scientist Who Killed Himself Was Source of Report, BBC Says By WARREN HOGE http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/21/international/europe/21BBC.html

Well maybe he did kill himself. . . But a microbiologist who specializes in chemical warfare would have many, many easier ways to kill himself than the way "chosen" - slitting one wrist, five miles from home.

. Scientist Was the 'Bane of Proliferators' By JUDITH MILLER http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/21/international/worldspecial/21KELL.html

And such a microbiologist thinks, professionally, about the process of dying. It is easy for m

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