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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?

Read Debates, a new Web-only feature culled from Readers' Opinions, published every Thursday.

gisterme - 11:58pm Dec 20, 2002 EST (# 6883 of 6897)

rshow55 12/18/02 9:12am

"...Are words like fraudulent or corrupt or (good or bad) judgement justifiable? Doesn't it depend on point of view?..."

Nope. Doesn't depend on that.

"...It does depend on point of view..."

Does not! It depends on what the truth is. Objective reality is independent of "point of view". "Fraud", "corruption" and "judgement" exist within the provable realm of objective reality. If you wish to use those words WRT the administration of any particular endeavor, Robert, then you need to have evidence to back up that usage. Wouldn't you say I'd need evidence to back up a claim of the existance of little green men.

You're the one who's always saying that checking is important. If you present no evidence to prove the veracity of your claim, how can anybody check ?

Now, I'm not really making any claims about little green men, but if you want to claim fraud, corruption and (good or bad) judgement (whatever that may mean to you) then provide some evidence to back your claim. Just remember that believing something that is untrue does not make it true. It is evidence of poor judgement.

gisterme - 12:06am Dec 21, 2002 EST (# 6884 of 6897)

rshow55 12/18/02 9:13am

"...If more people were clear that their beliefs were virtual - and that the beliefs of other people and groups were also virtual - -

Then we'd all agree that there's no real reality. What a load of baloney that is, Robert! The more closeley our beliefs correspond to objective reality the less virtual they are.

"...we'd all be a lot safer."

If nothing were real? Get real, Robert! :-)

gisterme - 12:19am Dec 21, 2002 EST (# 6885 of 6897)

rshow55 12/18/02 9:23am

"...A big part of the answer, it seems to me is to "keep talking."..."

You've certainly done that, Robert! What big part of "the answer" have you discovered so far? By the way, what was the question?

"...The truth can be "somehow, too weak."..."

Only when the truth is not what you want to hear, Robert. Are you suggesting that untruth can "somehow be less weak" than truth? Tradition has it that that concept was first suggested in the Garden of Eden. Who's been training you in your way of thinking?

It's gratifying to hear your implied confession, Robert. Maybe you'll just come out and say it directly one of these days..."I say what suits my agenda whether it's the truth or not!".

gisterme - 12:30am Dec 21, 2002 EST (# 6886 of 6897)

rshow55 12/18/02 8:05pm

"...The US knows a good deal about the limitations of MD - it only "works" as a bluff..."

That's your illogical and unsubstantiated statement, Robert. Logically MD cannot work as a bluff. That's because of the suicide/martyr cult that's at the heart of the threat.

The same guy who can be trained to push a button to blow himself up along with a few other innocents in a pizza parlor can also be trained to push a button to blow up a million innocents. How much more willing would he be to do that if his own demise weren't instantaneous?

The missile will be launched wheter there is a defense or not. There will only be a chance of stopping it if there is a defense.

gisterme - 12:46am Dec 21, 2002 EST (# 6887 of 6897)

lunarchick 12/19/02 4:57pm

"...How much correcting to the NORM would the USA have to undertake were it to comply with minimum EU entry standards?...

None, lchic. We're about moving forward, not backward. The NORM in most of the US would have to be moved back about thirty years to equal the NORM in parts of Europe I've visited.

"...How long would it take the USA to adjust to these standards?..."

Hell would freeze over first. We're about moving forward, not backward, lchic. Perhaps Europe will catch up someday.

"...Is Turkey in advance, or behind, the USA wrt this?..."

The fact is that Turkey wants to join the EU, the US does not. I'd say there's not much point in comparing the two WRT "joining the EU" based on that fact. I'm not granting that joining the EU would necessarily be a step forward for Turkey.

"...Food for glorious thought isn't it!"

Your idea of glorious thought is obviously different than mine lchic.

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New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense