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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 - 10:38am Aug 18, 2002 EST (# 3797 of 3810)

How a Story is Shaped

Basic Narrative Structure
Is the Pattern Consistent?
Is This Always How It Works?
What Else Follows this Pattern?
. http://www.fortunecity.com/lavendar/ducksoup/555/storyshape.html

Discussed on this thread:
161 rshow55 3/3/02 4:34pm ... 169 rshow55 3/3/02 7:37pm
170-171 rshow55 3/3/02 7:48pm ... 172 almarst-2001 3/3/02 8:05pm
173 almarst-2001 3/3/02 8:08pm ... 174 almarst-2001 3/3/02 8:17pm
175 rshow55 3/3/02 8:25pm

Stories are so important! We need to look for ways to get happy endings!

When stakes are high, solutions need to be beautiful - and part of that is being practical - practical enough to be graceful. lchic 8/18/02 9:40am is wonderful ! And very practical!

rshow55 - 12:35pm Aug 18, 2002 EST (# 3798 of 3810)

"Story book fashion, then, were noses to grow with each lie told ...... which sector of society would sport the longest noses - where in the ranks and heirachy would nose become Proboscis ?" lchic 8/18/02 10:01am

We might see a lot of long noses, a lot more tolerance of lying than anyone would have imagined could have been tolerated in public a hundred years ago. Or, in this country, fifty years ago.

3689 rshow55 8/13/02 8:14am ... which copies http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?224@@.ee74d94/5493 sets out Attack On The Ad-Man

. . . This man of wind and froth and flux will sell . . .The wares of any who reward him well. . . . Praising whatever he is paid to praise . . . He hunts for ever-newer, smarter ways . . . To make the gilt seen gold; the shoddy, silk; . . . To cheat us legally; to bluff and bilk . . . By methods which no jury can prevent . . . Because the law's not broken, only bent. . . . This mind for hire, this mental prostitute . . . Can tell the half-lie hardest to refute; . . . . Knows how to hide an inconvenient fact . . . And when to leave a doubtful claim unbacked . . .

The Ad-Man is needed in our society. The media have to be sensitive to this - both when the "ad-man" acts to sell products, or acts to sell politicians and control media access to them. But now, after so many battles won by the ad-man, after so many triumphs of persuasive technique and self serving action - the power has become too large - not challenged enough. Now, when the truth matters - no one imagines that checking can really be done.

The Ad-Man, in commerce and in politics, has had his own way to an astounding extent.

We need insight on why to be concerned about this. So do stakeholders in what we say and do, all over the world.

The basic fact that "everybody has a stake in right answers on questions of fact that they have to use as assumptions for what they say and do." has been contested on this thread - very actively.

Looking at this thread the way I often do, as pretrial discovery - - that would be one of the easiest and most important things to show.

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New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense