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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.

lchic - 01:42am Feb 21, 2003 EST (# 9144 of 9164)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

'Memories are made of this ... '

False memories can be planted under interrogation, according to US scientists / Steve Connor / 18 February 2003

Scientists have planted false memories into people's minds in a study that demonstrates just how easy it is to for police to convince people they have witnessed something that did not actually happen.

More than a third of people are susceptible to false memories, according to studies by Elizabeth Loftus, professor of psychology at the University of California. Her experiments could explain why so many people in Washington DC said they saw a white van near to the scene of last year's sniper shootings. In fact, the snipers used a dark Chevrolet Caprice and no white van was involved.

"Where did that white van come from? It came from the fact that someonetalked to the media and suddenly the whole country is looking for a white van that perhaps did not exist," she said.

In one study, Professor Loftus implanted a false memory in the minds of volunteers who had visited Disneyland as children. "We have tried to come up with ways of planting memories that could not have happened. We try to make people believe that when they went to Disneyland they managed to shake hands with Bugs Bunny.

"Bugs could never have been at Disneyland because he is a Warner Bros character. Yet we've found a way of getting 36 per cent of our subjects to tell us they shook hands with Bugs.

"There are some methods of interrogation that are unwittingly or even deliberately suggestive. But there are some situations where law enforcement agencies essentially lie to people that they are interviewing. They say things like 'another witness claims to have seen you there' ... some sort of lies that they think will lead to a confession," she said.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_medical/story.jsp?story=379382

gisterme - 01:46am Feb 21, 2003 EST (# 9145 of 9164)

http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@28.DWgdaEvx3Uc.1760588@.f28e622/10316

"...We need to face the fact that we don't, any of us, have a "direct line to God" - nor has anyone ever had such a thing - ..."

That's an interesting statement, Robert. How do you know? Is it just beacuse you don't have a direct line to God that you assume nobody else now has or has ever had such?

As a matter of checking I'd respectfully ask you to produce some evidence to prove your allegation.

lchic - 01:51am Feb 21, 2003 EST (# 9146 of 9164)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Where have all the monikers gone .... gone to war every one ... when will they ever learn ... when will they e-v-e-r learn?

lchic - 01:53am Feb 21, 2003 EST (# 9147 of 9164)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

.... and so saying an Angel of the Bush Administration appeareth and did say unto us ....

lchic - 01:55am Feb 21, 2003 EST (# 9148 of 9164)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

..... didn't we read above that patterns of culture are virtual including god ... so it would be jolly jolly hard for anyone to demo a direct line to 'god' ... the victim of imagination-z

gisterme - 02:28am Feb 21, 2003 EST (# 9149 of 9164)

http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@28.DWgdaEvx3Uc.1760588@.f28e622/10541

"...I hoped I found a place I will not be ashamed to be associated with.

And I didn't."

It must be time for you to try again, Alex. How about Iraq or North Korea? You seem to think those places have wonderful governments...I know that because you consistantly seem to defend them...based on your wonderful connections to unlimited "truth sources".

You should easily be able to pick some other place that suits you. Since the USA is not your cup of tea why not just move on to someplace where everybody thinks like you?

Just out of curiosity I would ask, where would such a place be?

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