![[F]](13270_files/site.gif) 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 new
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  (13269 previous messages)
fredmoore
- 11:04pm Aug 8, 2003 EST (#
13270 of 13273)
Human lasers?
This is interesting:
'Flash mob' stirs London August 9, 2003
A 10-minute outbreak of confusion and lunacy brought
shoppers in the heart of London's biggest retail district to a
standstill on Thursday night.
A crowd of more than 200, many of whom had met just 13
minutes before at nearby pubs, marched to a furniture store
selling sofas just off Tottenham Court Road with strict
instructions: call a friend on your mobile phone and praise
the merchandise, but leave out the "0".
The event, organised by a 40-year-old Londoner, was
Britain's first "flash mob" - an internet-inspired gathering
of strangers who assemble to perform pointless acts.
Similar outbreaks of zany crowd behaviour have hit streets
in various cities around the world in recent months as the
phenomenon, which started in New York, crossed the United
States to Japan and Europe.
Europe's first "flash mob" hit Rome last month when a group
thronged at a bookshop and peppered staff with queries about
non-existent books.
Last week, a few dozen people marched onto a busy Berlin
street whipped out their mobile phones shouting "Yes, yes" in
unison, stopping passersby in their tracks.
"My first reaction was I thought there was a fight. Then I
thought it was a celebrity," shop manager Derrick Robinson
said afterwards, mopping the perspiration from his brow while
keeping an eye nervously locked on the store's entrance.
Reuters
*****
This 40 year old Londoner may or may not realise that what
he is doing is Cyber-pumping small human populations. Human
lasers? The coherence generated by such events WILL have
interesting consequences, either positive or negative. I hope
this dude knows what he is doing! Coherent sources as we all
know can be very powerful.
It is also interesting to note that any laser needs a pump,
a population to raise to a high energy state, a stimulated
emission (thoughts culminating in action is good) and a mirror
to amplify the process. The 'mirror' here is the media
reporting on the events. To quench the process all you have to
do is stop reporting on it!]
Mind you in the future, for human civilisations to achieve
their fullest potential the 'human laser' may be a useful tool
if used wisely. The concept may have historical precedence. I
am sure that the Ancient Egyptians were not unaware of its
applicability in achieving large goals at least in an
intrinsic sense.
gisterme
- 12:22am Aug 9, 2003 EST (#
13271 of 13273)
"...Gisterme, I can't speak for almarst , but he might
be jealous of you because you have such a beautiful,
interesting, brilliant companion..."
Huh???
I lost my wife a year and a half ago. How would either
you or almarst know if I have another companion now?
Wow. I think you're over the waterfall, Robert.
rshow55
- 12:38pm Aug 9, 2003 EST (#
13272 of 13273)
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.
Gisterme , a part of me believes you - and that part
sympathizes with you.
Bush Sees 'Good Progress' in Iraq but With Work to
Do By ELISABETH BUMILLER http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/09/international/worldspecial/09PREX.html
includes a wonderful image from the Associated Press. I
think the body language is beautiful, and the stances
beautiful. And the people interesting.
"President Bush, joined by Condoleezza Rice,
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick
Cheney and Gen. Richard B. Meyers, walked to a news
conference at his Texas ranch Friday. He reported "good
progress" in Iraq, but said more work needed to be done."
13269 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.5EGTb39uxgr.2414729@.f28e622/14954
includes a phrase that I modify below, in light of assurances
from Gisterme that I'm taking into account, but not
sure I believe.
Gisterme , I can't speak for almarst , but he
might be thinking, as I do, that you're a "stand in" for GWB,
and therefore projecting, and be feeling jealous of President
Bush because Bush has such a beautiful, interesting, brilliant
companion.
As Menken said
"It is hard to believe that a man is telling
the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in
his place."
12988 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.5EGTb39uxgr.2414729@.f28e622/14664
12989 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.5EGTb39uxgr.2414729@.f28e622/14665
12990-12993 might interest some, too.
Menken said a number of interesting things - though he was
sometimes much more cynical than I usually am. I remember he
said something like this:
"It is the firm belief throughout
Christendom that when a man and a woman go into a room, and
close the door behind them, the man will emerge sadder, and
the woman wiser. "
H. L. Menken was sometimes too cynical -
. Quotes From H. L. Mencken http://watchfuleye.com/mencken.html
it was a "trademark" pose for him - though he could be a
man of great good faith, too.
Dr. Rice is staying on Bush's ranch during his vacation.
Others, with whom he also works closely, are not.
I know this, if I had the affection of the main authoress
of "The National Security Strategy of the United
States," http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/20/politics/20STEXT_FULL.html
, and I were George W. Bush, I'd be proud. Maybe grateful,
too.
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