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Missile Defense

Russian military leaders have expressed concern about US plans for a national missile defense system. Will defense technology be limited by possibilities for a strategic imbalance? Is this just SDI all over again?

rshowalter - 05:31pm Sep 19, 2001 EST (#9477 of 9487)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

MD5183 rshowalter 6/15/01 9:25am

Point of hope: MD5070 rshowalter 6/14/01 6:59am

MD5184 rshowalter 6/15/01 9:33am

MD5071 rshowalter 6/14/01 7:35am ... reads in part:

"Some points my old partner, Professor Stephen J. Kline of Stanford, made about scientific controversy, specifically linked to the somewhat out-of-the-way field of fluid mechanics, offer, I think, nice analogies - removed enough from the passions of most readers, to be useful in considering the mess the world is now in about nuclear terror and related military issues. . . . . . "there are also misunderstandings along a spectrum from entirely innocent to entirely self serving. " . . . " You need to have enough command of details, and enough ability to establish facts before witnesses, to be able to establish these differences. "

MD5913 rshowalter 6/24/01 6:08am

If one looks at the history of the Cold War, I believe that this issue of auditing becomes a central one -- some VERY agressive patterns, VERY different from the patterns of personal kindness and tolerance widely distributed among Americans, have been VERY well funded, and well protected, and surprisingly unquestioned, since the 1950's.

This is an issue where, for anything like workable understanding, research would have to be staffed , and consistency relations organized -- with the fundamental logical operator for research guidance the one that dominates human thought --

" is consistent with. "

With the ordinary limitations on human memory and human ability to apprehend complexity -- this might not be organizable -- because as the focusing process starts, there will be too much diffuse and contradictory and distracting.

With the internet, and the massively increased memory storage now available, this investigation could be staffed and done -- following patterns, shown on this thread and some other threads, with some other organization (a moderator, umpires, etc) that easily suggest themselves to people skilled in the human arts that sociotechnical cooperation takes.

In the beginning, this work might seem ugly -- not fit to the limitations of the human mind - which needs a certain level of simplicity and order. But as work proceeds, I believe that focusing can occur, and a great deal, easy to understand and straightforward to substantiate, can be made clear.

I believe political parties, legislative groups, journalistic organizations, and nation states, in their own stark objective interest, and for moral and aesthetic reasons, too, should staff this, and see to it that the values that the people the United States and the other countries in the world share are not systematically violated, in ways that are degrading, and could destroy the world.

rshowalter - 05:33pm Sep 19, 2001 EST (#9478 of 9487)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

MD6485 rshowalter 7/3/01 4:26pm ... MD6486 lunarchick 7/3/01 4:27pm
MD6487 rshowalter 7/3/01 4:28pm ... MD6488 almarst-2001 7/3/01 4:31pm
MD 6489 almarst-2001 7/3/01 4:37pm ... MD6490 lunarchick 7/3/01 4:41pm
MD6491 rshowalter 7/3/01 4:42pm ...

the most fundamental logical operator is not

. X implies Y and its opposite

........but

. X is consistent with Y and it's opposite.

Put enough consistencies and inconsistencies together, in a tight structure, and you come as close to proof as human beings can come. This is standard procedure in court. When dealing with evidence it is all anyone can ever do.

And, for the important things, if enough matching is done, it is often enough.

MD6492 rshowalter 7/3/01 4:45pm

rshowalter - 05:34pm Sep 19, 2001 EST (#9479 of 9487)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

MD7655 rshowalter 7/31/01 3:02pm

MD8738 rshowalter 9/10/01 12:53pm ... MD8739 rshowalter 9/10/01 12:54pm

" My own view is that I'm doing just exactly what Bill Casey told me to do, and that, to an extent that I sometimes find surprising, it seems to be working."

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