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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 - 10:59am Jan 17, 2003 EST (# 7742 of 7746)
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.

Clemency Without Clarity By SCOTT TUROW http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/17/opinion/17TURO.html is a masterpiece - - and the argument has formal analogs that apply to cases I've been associated with.

There are times you can't decide.

There are times when the death penalty is certainly justified on the basis of clear assumptions - - - and at just such times it is certainly unjustified on the basis of different, but related, clear assumptions.

In a lot of cases, things are clear on the basis of many assumptions. For example, I believe that almost every way you look at it, the AEA investors should be compensated by the government - and praised some way that fits, as well. Whether they pin a medal on me or condemn me - whether they pay me or whether they don't.

I've dreamed of a chance to be defended (or prosecuted) by Scott Turow (as a search of this thread will show) - - but to do it - Turow would need to be properly compensated.

Anyway, Clemency Without Clarity By SCOTT TUROW http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/17/opinion/17TURO.html seems canonically perfect in many ways, from my perspective - orderly, symmetrical, harmonious - and orderly, symmetrical and harmonious from many points of view. From a Stanford point of view. From a Harvard point of view. From a Chicago point of view. Beautiful. Canonical.

We need to make peace up to similar standards - and it is possible to do so.

Though, to do it, somebody may have to try to "throw the book at me" - or I may have to be in a position where I can do a competent job of suing the government.

Or, maybe, just a few people can learn some things about causality, and statistics - and find a way out that is easy, just, and right in the ways that ought to matter. Casey's deal with me should be honored. The interest rate is debatable. I think prime plus two. I'd settle for prime.

rshow55 - 12:08pm Jan 17, 2003 EST (# 7743 of 7746)
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.

Just stopped sweating - exercising heavily. Had a thought. Marti Beck's parents might retain Turow to see if I could be tried for the murder of Marti Beck's and the other deaths at the Cornell Res Club fire in 1967. I didn't do it - though some things I did contributed to the tragedy - among them an offer I made to Marti to convert to Judaism if that was what she really wanted - something we discussed in detail. We both thought about the question hard - including the question of whether it would be in the service of the Israeli army for me to do so. There's some physical evidence involved with this discussion Marti and I had - which is unusual - should be clearly on record at Cornell - and should be fit into any case either for me or against me - if the murder case came to trial. I think if the case was reopened - the real murderer would be clearly identified, and people complicit would be identified - and in this particular case - I think it might serve the causes of both justice and peace. However, one can argue the other position strongly.

Whichever, I think some math should be checked - some genetics clarified (I'm not a lot different from other people) - and some facts set out conducive to fairer negotiations - with praise and blame - under a number of specific circumstances where balance matters.

We ought to get rid of weapons of mass destruction - for clear reasons that ought, by now, to be universal. I outlined a suggestion - just in the form I thought Casey would have expected, on September 25, 2000, on this board.

rshow55 - 02:31pm Jan 17, 2003 EST (# 7744 of 7746)
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 think Turow, in association with a good French law firm, could do an excellent job of defending Saddam, too - and though he ought to be well paid for it - in many ways - he could serve the public interest doing so.

Physical evidence can almost always fit a number of stories - some pointing to guilt in some ways - some pointing to some other things.

We live in a world of unlikely stories very, very often.

On the front page of today's TIMES there was an absolutely beautiful picture of an Iraqi scientist who I suspect is a proud, loyal Iraqi - and excellent administrative scientist - an entirely honest and honorable man by many standards - and an impressive looking human being. To my American eyes - he looks like a very good human specimin - characteristically Arab - but impressive by American standards, as well. Saddam is trying hard. Right or wrong - and there is a lot of each - that seems clear.

Pardon me for moving slowly.

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