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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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rshow55 - 06:46pm Nov 13, 2003 EST (# 17601 of 17614)
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.

http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.iGwZbNYqXzo.138650@.f28e622/19314

This thread costs almost nothing in itself . . .

Well, that depends on who the posters are. For example, Cantabb has been flooding this board with stuff that I know I'd be ashamed to be associated with - for the last 58 days. Now if, perchance, cantabb is a NYT employee ( and no, I don't put any weight in his denials of that at all ) - that's a piece of change. And a loss of good will within the organization, too - if cantabb's not entirely a volunteer. I bet his associates are holding their noses. Some other efforts - - monitoring and what-not, would mount up.

. . . If Jorian has some rank - and his attention is a scarce commodity - and if gisterme takes some care and feeding - - - well, I've got no way of knowing.

cantabb - 06:50pm Nov 13, 2003 EST (# 17602 of 17614)

BlueS:

Another contradiction : RShowalter and lchic constantly criticizing NYT for the Blair affair -- just like many other people. But he's asking for Raines' mediation, the person implicated in the Blair affair for which he hasd to resign (and I doubt NYT would have much to do with him now).

rshow55 - 06:50pm Nov 13, 2003 EST (# 17603 of 17614)
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.

For any large scale project to work - the mechanism has to be a mixed capitalism. I couldn't imagine applying for federal funding - with the egalitarian rules there.

If you're looking to implement a unique optimal solution - ( as the steel wheel on a steel rail is an optimal solution ) and it takes large scale coordination - the federal government is not the way to go - without direct support from the President of the United States - and wasn't in the 1950's either.

I was assigned to find ways that could work. That's what AEA was about. First, the technical problems have to be solved.

Then the socio-technical problems.

The political context of federal funding isn't remotely built for actually getting large scale jobs done. Not for the jobs I've been looking at, anyway.

rshow55 - 06:58pm Nov 13, 2003 EST (# 17604 of 17614)
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.

. Cantabb: Another contradiction : RShowalter and lchic constantly criticizing NYT for the Blair affair -- just like many other people. But he's asking for Raines' mediation, the person implicated in the Blair affair for which he hasd to resign (and I doubt NYT would have much to do with him now).

No contradiction at all. Raines was an excellent man - with many accomplishments - who made a big mistake. And alienated some people. At the same time - he knows every aspect of the world socio-technical system from a news perspective - Raines and Sulzberger used to be close - and he'd be just the man to run the negotiating end of the solar energy project. He's forceful. He's smart. He knows how opinion making works. He ran a very good company very well.

I'd be honored to meet with him.

And if he was tapped to do an "ad hoc committee for the arrest, conviction, and crucifixion of M. Robert Showalter" level due diligence investigation of me and my technical work - employing detectives, technical consultants, the works - - he could get it done. And people would believe what he said - if he gave people ways to check what he said. Which he could, and would if asked. ( I'd ask him to do so. )

I bet the top people who worked with Raines before might be pleased to work with him again in the new capacity.

And I think we'd have a very good chance of solving both the world's energy problem - and global warming - in a sustainable and economically profitable system.

If, by chance, I was "full of the old stuff" - Raines and people he could find and run could uncover the flaws soon enough.

He has a widely respected sense of fairness , too.

bluestar23 - 07:00pm Nov 13, 2003 EST (# 17605 of 17614)

"(and I doubt NYT would have much to do with him now)."

Interviewer: "Who is Howell Raines?"

P. Sulzberger: "Who...?..never heard the name...."

(9 following messages)

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