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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?

lunarchick - 08:00pm Sep 22, 2001 EST (#9717 of 9726)
lunarchick@www.com

Nauru - The boat people - today learn about the WTC .. one responded to our reporter re Afghanistan Six thousand dead .. in disbelief .. through the camp wire they ask again for comfirmation. One said:

"If there is war - that will be the last war - won't it?"

The journo responded

"No. I hope there will be many more wars to come!"

A third of the boat people (mainly Iraqi) refuse to disembark onto that pacific island paradise - Nauru. They set out for Australia and want to go There/Here.

Australia looks for more isolated pacific refugee processing island centers - for the UN to manage - at Australian expense.

rshowalter - 08:06pm Sep 22, 2001 EST (#9718 of 9726)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

lunarchick 9/22/01 7:35pm

There's good reason to be afraid that people in power will twist ideas to do what suits them - - and often do so feeling "righteous" while they're doing it.

I think your comment that America is "paralyzed" is interesting - - - that is only likely to happen when people, underneath a verneer of security - - are very full of conflicts and fears - so that their confidence is fragile.

Americans, competent as we are, have been lied to so much, have told so many lies, and are so full of "defenses" and "fictions" that the nation's emotions are surprisingly fragile.

Truth's safer, and a lot more resiliant. Though finding the truth can be hard work, sometimes.

The cost of lies accepted is intellectual and emotional scar tissue -- and tremendous fear, when the time comes that change has to happen, and it becomes necessary to trust what you "know."

As afraid as American has shown itself to be - - there's more than a ~ 7,000 death problem.

Are we really so fragile that a loss of .0028% of our population, in an unexpected way, hurts us so?

Apparently we are.

Other nations are sympathetic, but no doubt they have other thoughts, as well.

There are two conclusions that seem fairly clear:

. The first is that we've got no business threatening other people with nuclear destruction, as we've been doing for fifty years.

. The second is that we have insecurities that are very deep, and very wrenching, that come from problems right here at home.

That means we have some work to do.

To establish real security.

Some key things we have to fear aren't hiding in Afghanistan.

lunarchick - 08:12pm Sep 22, 2001 EST (#9719 of 9726)
lunarchick@www.com

loss of .0028% of our population

Can you separate the wheat from the chaff? Can you pull out the 'world people' separate from the US people who died?

I'm guessing the figure is inclusive. Little winnowing has been done.

Eighty countries have suffered people losses from within that percentage.

The world is very very interconnected - especially at the nerve centers of world cities.

In the world stats within that percentage - Pakistan suffered the greatest loss in NY on Tragic Tuesday.

lunarchick - 08:36pm Sep 22, 2001 EST (#9720 of 9726)
lunarchick@www.com

American former congress leader NewtG was asked* by http://news.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/ .. why he thought America wrt foreign policy was hated. His response put it down to 'fanatics'. He didn't want to rethink Am Foreign Policy to Isreal or SaudiArabia. He said the aim of the region was to drive the WEST out.

? Grabbing energy resource ?

A poll in Pakistan shows 70% of pop have deep seated feelings against Am. The Pakistan leader is surprised by this. America - "isn't there a world VOICE that might help calm Pakistan" - i have violence. Pakistan don't want to see dead Afghanies in body bags!

The Taliban say they've shot down an Am_non-piloted spy plane ... did they? Seems these planes are visible?