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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.

rshowalter - 08:04pm Apr 21, 2001 EST (#2489 of 11896)
Robert Showalter mrshowalter@thedawn.com

I'm not a churchgoer myself. I'm the backslider in the family.

But it does occur to me that some of the virtues that the clergy of many faiths might advocate might make sense here.

How nice it would be if the military-industrial complex folks did something honorable and productive, to keep them honorably busy, instead of getting locked into this sorry charade.

Like getting the educated nations now less fortunate than ourselves (in part through our fault) sorted out so that their sociotechnical systems are workable, and interface well with ours - Russia, China, N. Korea, and some others.

Like solving the global warming problem technically, in ways that permit reasonale economic growth, and that fit our current energy infrastructure, and that infrastructure in ways it can reasonably evolve.

Like solving the problem of getting food production so that most of the world can live as they wish to -- eating something like as well as we do.

The organizations now engaged in deception and underhanded practice - including the military contractors, the oil companies, and the ship builders, could all be fully employed doing these things, rather than jerking the whole world around with and elaborate pyramid of fictions and shucks.

servzone0 - 08:11pm Apr 21, 2001 EST (#2490 of 11896)

One thing of interst I saw on CNN, yesterday while watching the RIOTS was we are going to relax sanction against Iraq, As a member of unicef, I do think this is a kind thing to do for the children. I have many friends of differnt religions,1 who is a bangladesh doctor who is glad to hear of the sanctions being relaxed. I have always been a child advocate and am very pleased to hear of this compassionate effort. I also on the other hand wish bush would sign that agreement to lower USA emmissions. I think we need to set a good example, and I also belong to greenpeace. We all need to work together robert. thanks

rshowalter - 08:15pm Apr 21, 2001 EST (#2491 of 11896)
Robert Showalter mrshowalter@thedawn.com

The only really hard part about this is that they'd have to admit (not perhaps in specific detail in every case, but completely enough) how much deception has gone on, and how it has undermined the United States, the country I love, a country that does not deserve the subversion from within that has beem perpetrated by a small group left, unsupervised and in default or ordinary American usages, in control of nuclear weapons since the Kennedy administration.

A very few people -- very few -- have been unforgivable predatory, and evil.

But most of the people involved have just been "a little lower than the angels" -- in situations they are themselves ashamed of.

The technical problems with a more peaceful, better defended world without nukes aren't so hard.

It is 'fessing up to the deception that is hard.

rshowalter - 08:15pm Apr 21, 2001 EST (#2492 of 11896)
Robert Showalter mrshowalter@thedawn.com

I think that everybody might find the world a more entertaining, understandable place, once they assimilated a "big secret" that they've suspected a long time.

There is much, much more deception in the world than people have been admitting.

Once that's seen -- the world is more understandable, more hopeful, less threatening, and more fun.

I think C.P. Snow's idea about getting rid of most world poverty, which didn't fly when he proposed it in THE TWO CULTURES and the Scientific Revolution might work now.

rshowalter - 08:20pm Apr 21, 2001 EST (#2493 of 11896)
Robert Showalter mrshowalter@thedawn.com

Snow's idea was that people who had advanced sociotechnical systems working could teach people who didn't (especially people culturally advanced in other ways) how to set up productive economic systems themselves.

It would be easier to do if people were more direct -- did more "in clear" -- lied less.

More fun, too.

servzone0 - 08:23pm Apr 21, 2001 EST (#2494 of 11896)

Well robert, you can lead a horse to the water but you cant make him or they drink it. Somethings we put into gods hands and move on. These people have to live with themselfs, and god sees it all.

thanks.

servzone0 - 08:26pm Apr 21, 2001 EST (#2495 of 11896)

Yes I agree, I distrust people who lie. And can see though most of the B.S. Sometimes not confrounting but maybe setting a good example like you have done for joy.you.to. Always have been a catalyst, all my life. :)

rshowalter - 08:27pm Apr 21, 2001 EST (#2496 of 11896)
Robert Showalter mrshowalter@thedawn.com

I'll be working through the Paradigm Shift .... whose getting there? http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?14@@.ee7726f/0 a thread that Dawn and I have worked on since last July, setting out the key operational point.

That point is that questions of fact, on which key idea systems depend, that come into question, should be checked, and that adequate checking on these points should be morally forcing.

Today - that checking, when it really matters, is well-nigh impossible to get.

But given the recognition of the moral-practical point, getting the checking would be a straightforward thing to arrange.

rshowalter - 08:27pm Apr 21, 2001 EST (#2497 of 11896)
Robert Showalter mrshowalter@thedawn.com

And then nonsense like this Missile Defense hoax could never happen.

servzone0 - 08:29pm Apr 21, 2001 EST (#2498 of 11896)

Back to missiles , I do hope we can work together on this world peace project, I am very interested in learning more from you. Gotta go , lots to do. be back tommorow ,and keep up the good work Robert. thanks

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