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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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cantabb - 10:17am Oct 25, 2003 EST (# 15600 of 15605)

rshow55 - 09:56am Oct 25, 2003 EST (# 15598 of 15598)

To Stars, Writing Books Looks Like Child's Play .....

Once again, nothing to do with MD -- EXCEPT perhaps these wonderful statements:

rshow55: "( The MD forum is in large part about "platitudes" - which are either the least interesting, or the most interesting, things we know. )" AND

"But comprehension has costs, too."

Besides the usual dose of : proud of this or that, and how yet another NYT writer is "important."

Psst: Anything re your call to NYT yesterday ? Did you call or chickened out ?

rshow55 - 10:21am Oct 25, 2003 EST (# 15601 of 15605)
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.

We have technical problems here, and I think that if people can keep their heads - we can show some general ways to handle them that are effective - and that can be taught to people at different piagetian ages and stages - with the most important facts explainable in nursery rhymes and children's books.

In a world where sociotechnical systems are as advantageous as they are - and circumstances are as complicated as they are practically everything people care about - and can ever hope for involves inherent instabilities - unless the people involved find practical ways to stabilize them.

Once that is known - win-win solutions are easy.

And win-win solutions are all around us. More happen, in small and little things, every day. That's platitudinous, but basic.

There are some technical aspects of the issue that Nash missed, and people in Eisenhower's generation knew enough to be concerned about.

Since you can (as this thread illustrates ) fight about everything - and a lot of things matter in getting anything much done - people have to choose not to fight - under circumstances where, in general, the possibility of imposing penalties or picking fights in the future is to some degree retained.

There have to be both pluses and minus for stability.

rshow55 - 10:22am Oct 25, 2003 EST (# 15602 of 15605)
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.

Anything re your call to NYT yesterday ? - I've been working steadily - pretty happily - trying to get the proposal framed so Sulzberger will want to agree to what I ask. I think I'm making headway at that, too.

I want to maximize the advantages to the TIMES to the extent I possibly can.

With a little for me.

rshow55 - 10:26am Oct 25, 2003 EST (# 15603 of 15605)
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.

I'll get back to it. Wanted to set something out that I thought was of general interest.

The issues involved certainly do involve missile defense - and the dangers it adresses. We need diplomacy that can work.

I'm trying to accomodate Jorian's idea that I should write a letter of thanks and commendation to the TIMES - among other things.

cantabb - 10:27am Oct 25, 2003 EST (# 15604 of 15605)

rshow55 - 10:11am Oct 25, 2003 EST (# 15599 of 15600)

Armed to Excess By BOB KERREY http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/02/opinion/02KERR.html

Could we explain what's happened, and how to do better - in children's books? If we understood it - we could.

Poems might help. Lchic's poem ....

This thread has involved some discussions about that "contradiction" that needs some exception handling and some switching.

Even that little reference to NMD, you couldn't say much of anything on. Yet another confused rambling, with an obligatory reference to "world Assest" lchic.

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New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense