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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.

rshow55 - 04:34pm May 19, 2002 EST (#2319 of 2326)

Dan Rather: MD2272 lchic 5/18/02 11:39am

Some key concerns of mine: MD2276 rshow55 5/18/02 12:43pm . . "security" as practiced in the US is mostly a mechanism to guard bureacratic turf, prevent embarrassment, and block progress.

A beautiful piece, keyed, in a number of spots from beginning to end, to the move Casablanca:

. A Beautiful Friendship by BILL KELLER http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/18/opinion/18KELL.html

An illustrated script of Casablanca
http://www.edict.com.hk/movies/casablanca/casablanca1.htm

Keller's phrase "a beautiful friendship" keys to the last scene, between Rick and Captain Renault - where two people who have many reasons not to like each other, to distrust each other, nonetheless unite in common interests. Such a "beautiful friendship" may be very satisfactrory- but naturally, it must accomodate distrust and checking.

As most friendships that work actually do.

I believe that this thread has made a contribution, either as a prototype, or as an actual (though deniable) channel of communication. MD2000 rshow55 5/4/02 10:39am

lchic - 09:39pm May 19, 2002 EST (#2320 of 2326)

LSA links

rshow55 - 10:20pm May 19, 2002 EST (#2321 of 2326)

Beautiful !

For persuasion - when real decisions have to be made (in a jury booth, or a voting booth) or when real people have to see alternatives and make decisions in negotiation - people have to be able to reason - with subjective confidence that is also justified.

People have to be able to see more clearly, and feel more clearly, when an argument is ridiculous - or when the evidence for an argument is paltry -- and need to be right.

To get to closure -- again and again -- people have to "feel clear" about what the truth is - have to be able to explain it to others -- and need to be right - when decisions matter.

Can new tools help, comfortably? Can they make better and more interesting things possible? The answer is yes - and there are techniques waiting to be focused, soon.

Focused so they're good enough for newspapers, for TV, and for academic arguments, as well.

People say "you can't prove anything" - but we all act, and have to act, as if people can -- and it often works.

MD2311 rshow55 5/19/02 2:51pm

Can there be, in Stanley Fish's phrase, Condemnation Without Absolutes http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/15/opinion/15FISH.html . . . or clear decisions without absolutes - substantially certain decisions -- or at least very good decisions - condensing out of "opinions and correllations"?

The answer is yes. I'll be working tomorrow on more about how "collecting the dots" and "connecting the dots" works -- the implications for peacemaking, and military policy, are pretty direct.

Many times, the best possible persuasion is the say "here, look for yourself."

People often do amazingly well, when they have a chance to look, and think for themselves, when they share the same information.

That offers practical hope for new common ground, and better decisions, in areas that have been intractable before.

lchic - 10:03am May 20, 2002 EST (#2322 of 2326)

Moore's film investigates America's obsession with gun culture and the constitutional right to bear arms .... becomes increasingly chilling and serious with its analysis of an America in which a lucrative weapons trade is fuelled by what Moore calls a "Culture of Fear", an over-emphasis in the media on coverage of violent crime and in particular the scapegoating of the black community http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/story.jsp?story=296638

lchic - 10:11am May 20, 2002 EST (#2323 of 2326)

Information postings see http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?14@@.ee7726f/681

lchic - 11:20am May 20, 2002 EST (#2324 of 2326)

book ^{http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0691088039.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg}

lchic - 11:51am May 20, 2002 EST (#2325 of 2326)

Decision Trees ^{Yes/No
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DT library binding
DT analysis
DT Induction Deduction
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(above is excellent - but slow to open)
DT for Software DT
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