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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sig who wrote (124903)	2/22/2004 5:23:18 PM
From: GST	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 281500

Our pre-occupation with Iraq reflects the decline of the United States as a world power. China is powering forward at a breathtaking pace while our gaze is turned towards Iraq. A meteorite did hit in the Pacific, and it did cause a tsunami, but our eyes were fixed on an irrelevant tin-pot dictator. For a moment in time the US was supreme -- what is surprising is how short-lived that moment seems destined to be. George Bush declared the UN "irrelevant" at the very moment in history when he was about to make the United States increasingly "irrelevant". If you look hard at September 11 you can see the highwater mark. Terrorism will not destroy us -- third-rate politicians will be our undoing.

To: Sig who wrote (124903)	2/23/2004 3:33:24 AM
From: Maurice Winn	Respond to of 281500

<if we could do the job, deflect a Meteor and thus save every Arab or Frenchman would they then call us friends ?> Who would pay is yet to be resolved, but we shouldn't expect ants, sheep or hunter-gatherer PNG tribes to be appreciative. Maybe Arabs and French wouldn't pay and they'd be saved too, as collateral protection. That's a bit of luck for them. I think it's a case for philanthropic investment by those who can afford Noblesse Oblige. Mqurice

To: Sig who wrote (124903)	2/29/2004 5:29:20 AM
From: Maurice Winn	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

<If we can send a spacecraft thru a comets tail, we can get a rather large bomb up there. But there is still work needed to decide how to use it, since merely breaking the Meteor into pieces might create multiple problems -like multiple Tsunamis. But if we could do the job, deflect a Meteor and thus save every Arab or Frenchman would they then call us friends?> Breaking it up into smaller pieces would be good as that would make several small waves instead of one monster one. That would be much better. When you write "we could do the job", who is "we"? I don't see why USA taxpayers [including me] should do all the work to pay for it. The NUN should pay, or better still, somebody like $ill Gates might like to do something really useful with their spare money. Or, a company, or foundation, could solicit investment to do the job. People who can afford to contribute would donate or buy shares. When they have enough, the company would prepare then bust the bolide, then solicit more investment for the next one. Since the USA is collecting money around the world, it would make sense for the USA to pay I suppose. Africans can't afford much anyway and India is mostly well above sea level and can't afford much. Same for many people around the world. In the interests of getting on with it and getting the job done, it might be best for the USA just to get on with it and do it, same as with a lot of other space work, the internet creation, GPS etc. People moan about the PNAC and the USA Empire, but empires of the right type are actually a great benefit to the world. The right type is one based on voluntary exchange of value, protection of private property and individual rights under common law. While the USA Empire isn't perfect, it's pretty good. Mqurice