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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 - 02:46am Jan 28, 2003 EST (#8252 of 8289)

lchic - 01:57am Jan 28, 2003 EST (# 8206...)

"...Johnston's ego apart there is subject matter on this thread..."

There sure is. It's just that none of the subject matter lately (an almost never yours) matches the words spelled out by the large bold letters at the top of the page. See 'em?

MISSLE DEFENSE

Why not, lchic?

"...HUMAN RIGHTS are surfacing at the overwhelming reason -- that people WILL accept ---to overthrow dictators..."

Go ahead, lchic, make a point...

"...Butler (above) says Saddam has killed ONE MILLION PEOPLE .. that's a number equivalent to the number of Australians out in the world working away from home 1/20th of our population..."

There's some good background...

"...The Iraqi women in Paris - I posted had concerns that their familes being shot, beheaded, tortured ... was criminal on the part of Saddam and his 'family' and tribe..."

Of course it was, lchic. Guns, knives and acid baths are the tools used by Saddam to enforce his brutality on the local scale.

"...The question that someone may address is why isn't the HUMAN RIGHTS aspect the pathway the USA follows?"

You poor naive young thing. Is it so hard for you to see that WMD are the tools that one like Saddam could use to enforce his brutality and violate HUMAN RIGHTS on a global scale? Saddam is not satisfied with just Iraq; he proved that when he invaded Kuwait. However, the only why he can swallow his neighbors, scale up his power to violate their HUMAN RIGHTS with impunity is by becoming nuclear-armed.

Imagine the chaos Saddam could cause if he reaches that nuclear-armed plateau. I'm sure he does. It's probably one of his fondest dreams.

The UN and US are doing what they're doing to prevent further violations of HUMAN RIGHTS.

Of course, if you follow the money, you'll notice that France, Germany and Russia are Iraq's top trading partners...gee, I wonder why they aren't so interested in protecting HUMAN RIGHTS??? I think an honest assement would find that those nations and especially France are presently far more worried about negotiating a sweet business deal for the aftermath of a war in iraq than about the morality of supporting a war to rid the world of a bloody dictator.

Why must those nations be so dishonest? I think everybody pretty much knows what's going on. Those nations have their hands out and want their palms greased in exchange for their support.

The French have been bell-hops for a century; but such behavior seems truly unbecoming for Russia and Germany.

Existing trade agreements shouldn't be affected by the removal of Saddam. Iraq will have a lot more money to spend when it is no longer under sanctions. So I must wonder if there might be some trade agreements that France, Russia and Germany don't want the rest of the world to find out about. Hmmmm. Maybe that's another reason they've suddenly become such moralists.

gisterme - 02:53am Jan 28, 2003 EST (#8253 of 8289)

wrcooper - 02:10am Jan 28, 2003 EST (# 8210...)

"...I have a degree in math, so we two ought to have lots to talk about--..."

Ummm, Will, despite all his claims, when it's come down to the nitty gritty, Robert has consistantly shown that he knows very little about math. I'm sorry that you've revealed that you have a math degree. That will nearly guarantee that Robert won't accept your challenge. I believe it would reveal a bit too much truth for one day.

I'll now make the odds 100 to 1.

I'd still like to lose.

gisterme - 03:07am Jan 28, 2003 EST (#8254 of 8289)

lchic - 02:19am Jan 28, 2003 EST (# 8211...)

"...The 'error' about you is that you're Johnson not Cooper but won't admit it -- not even to your alter egos .... wow ..."

Yeah. Wow. You're wrapped around the axile again, lchic.

How will you face it if Robert does go see Will? Don't worry, it'll never happen. Robert wouldn't want to bust your bubble now would he, lchic? After all, if he did that, you could no longer believe him when he claims that you're the most valuable mind he's ever encountered. Right?

That'll make the odds 1000 to 1 against Robert showing up, Will.

I'd still like to lose.

lchic - 04:45am Jan 28, 2003 EST (#8255 of 8289)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Showalter --- Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?"

http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/c/carroll/lq.html

lchic - 04:47am Jan 28, 2003 EST (#8256 of 8289)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

If Johnson's ego is full to bursting .. then why doesn't he advance some theories here --- why the critism of Showalter? Really it's your turn to post guys!

~~~~~~~~

Small note on Iraq trading partners .... they're quite close geographically ...

Mexico is the first trading partner of the USA -- it too is close geographically -- check the map!

lchic - 05:10am Jan 28, 2003 EST (#8257 of 8289)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Criticism free zone .... all fast asleep!

wrcooper - 08:49am Jan 28, 2003 EST (#8258 of 8289)

I've posted a number of times in this forum on the subject of missile defense. I've expressed my views on that subject, made them known. The reason that I'm ofering this challenge to Bob Showalter is that he keeps dragging my name into the forum, claiming I'm another man. He also keeps insisting on the value of checking, which I'm all for, too, as a supporter of the scientific method. So now I'm offering Bob a chance to check his facts, put his money where his mouth is. Let him contact me by email at wcooper@21stcentury.net and I'll arrange to meet him in Chicago, which is a manageable distance from Madison by car, where I will buy him a drink of his choice and show him my driver's license. He can compare the picture of me to a picture of George Johnson and will discover that I am not George Johnson. That should do it, shouldn't it? Right, Bob?

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