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#651 Re: Martian Politics and Economy » Averting Global Catastrophe » 2003-02-07 05:34:15

Yes, we need to switch every nation to a capitalist democracy or republic, where the market responds to the wishes of the people, and the people elect their leaders.

The fundamental flaws with this system are not in the system, theyre in the education of people.  People have to be properly educated to make wise choices, both politically and financially.  If they are hardworking, and well educated, they can get ahead.

edit: by switch i dont mean forceably, i meant every nation should be a representative capitalism.  I wasnt talking about nation building.

#652 Re: Martian Politics and Economy » Mars as an alternative to War. - Can space exploration replace War? » 2003-02-07 05:29:29

When you accept Fox as being unbiased, I'll take that as unbiased.  Most of what I saw is bashing Bush, bashing American policy, and bashing the rest of the media.

#653 Re: Not So Free Chat » President Bush - about bush » 2003-02-06 19:24:37

If it's true, yeah it is kinda funny.  but i doubt that, and it would still be funny if it werent true, because of the big deal thats being made of it.

#654 Re: Not So Free Chat » President Bush - about bush » 2003-02-06 18:59:27

come on josh, this is a joke, and you know it.  please dont pretend that the government is dumb enough to do something like that.

#655 Re: Not So Free Chat » Good MP3 player? - *Not* Winamp3 » 2003-02-06 18:23:51

on another note, i just burn my mp3's to cd's and listen to them on the stereo i got for my bday...

#656 Re: Not So Free Chat » Good MP3 player? - *Not* Winamp3 » 2003-02-06 18:22:50

heh, i built my own PC for $500...yes, i guess it would qualify as a really fast pc (athlon 1800+ and 384 ddr), but musicmatch certainly fits the bill!

#657 Re: Human missions » A Fleet Plan - Shuttles, OSPs, and beyond » 2003-02-06 18:17:47

The next design will almost certainly be cheaper.  For one thing, the OSP's are smaller, and from what i've seen, lifted by a single booster.  they arent as complex, either.  i doubt we'd make something MORE expensive as our next step.  Do you really think Congress would approve it?

#658 Re: Martian Politics and Economy » Calling All Anarchists - Definition, please? » 2003-02-06 18:00:52

Hrm, well the Nazi party was molded by hitler into a wartime party, intending to be a war party, so war wouldnt be a "special circumstance" for germany.

but, what would you call the soviet union then?

#659 Re: Martian Politics and Economy » Calling All Anarchists - Definition, please? » 2003-02-06 17:46:48

No, no GRANDPARENTS.  and two doctors of economics, who are my parents.  And cold, hard, economic fact. 

Government control of production is certainly not capitalist, at least not government control on a wide scale.  This is almost counter-capitalist.  Adam Smith proposed some regulation, but a good dose of laissez-faire to accompany it.

#660 Re: Martian Politics and Economy » Calling All Anarchists - Definition, please? » 2003-02-06 17:34:51

So you really dont have any facts to back yourself up, while I have first hand evidence.

Like i said, arguing with you is like a broken record, you quote the same person over and over, without being accountable for what you say, and never budging when youre shown to be wrong.

Reasonable debate is impossible.

#661 Re: Meta New Mars » Downtime yesterday... - ...just wondering what happened? » 2003-02-06 16:55:03

adrian, maybe you could move some of the older posts onto a backup hard drive or server?

#662 Re: Not So Free Chat » Good MP3 player? - *Not* Winamp3 » 2003-02-06 16:48:08

musicmatch or quicktime are good bets.  they have other functions too.  musicmatch can burn cd's for you.  and it organizes your files well.  and you can get radio stations.

#663 Re: Human missions » Do you support a Nuclear Space Initiative? - Poll Results. » 2003-02-06 16:27:19

Robert:  that engine doesnt seem up to NERVA's level...and it certainly doesnt seem to be much of an improvement.  I wonder just how much more we can do with NTRs. 

What new materials can we use today that they didnt have back in the 60s?  What new fuels, and techniques?  Im sure that there is plenty of improvements we could make that would get more thrust and isp out of NTRs, and lighten the reactor itself.

#664 Re: Not So Free Chat » Good MP3 player? - *Not* Winamp3 » 2003-02-06 16:20:29

quicktime and musicmatch work well.  both are free, unless you want an upgrade.  real one is ok, and free.

#665 Re: Martian Politics and Economy » Languages - Parlo Italiano - What langauge should be the Official? » 2003-02-06 14:09:15

GDP is a strong, if the not the strongest, indicator of economic strength.

#666 Re: Martian Politics and Economy » Calling All Anarchists - Definition, please? » 2003-02-06 14:07:52

No, thats not so.  In America, and almost all capitalist countries, we have a legal system, which protects your right to ownership.  Therefore, it is your possession.

Um, government ownership and running is the same as government control.  There is no difference.  Germany was socialist.  You are trying to pick a thread that isnt there.

#667 Re: Human missions » Do you support a Nuclear Space Initiative? - Poll Results. » 2003-02-06 05:32:45

i cant say.  but i think it was killed, because the military would have no use for it without NASA having nuclear engines.

If it wasnt, all the better!

#668 Re: Not So Free Chat » State of the Union Address » 2003-02-05 21:57:56

Er, no.  Our economic influence is enough.  Not being militarily everywhere is not isolationism.  France, England, Russia, and China are all influential, without international bases. 

What you are suggesting is that we are an empire, with only the privileged few getting a democracy.  This is contradictory to our founding principles, and our constitution.  Our military presence is not needed.  With a global economy, dominance is not needed.  In fact, dominant countries have fared worse in the past than ones who maintain a balance of power. 

Read Machiavelli. 

Two nations will team up on a third one in order to maintain the balance, preventing one from being too dominant.  Look around the world, this is manifesting itself, from the political qualms of france and germany to the military actions of iraq and north korea.  This is not to say they are justified, but it is a trend shown throughout history, and we cannot let it repeat itself.

#669 Re: Not So Free Chat » State of the Union Address » 2003-02-05 21:46:41

I dont want to have a foreign policy that costs us tens of billions to be the only country to have dozens of international bases.  Security is one thing, we dont have to be everywhere at once. 

That breeds resentment.

#670 Re: Not So Free Chat » State of the Union Address » 2003-02-05 21:38:40

So as long as we practice democracy here, despotism and tyranny are ok over there.  Ah, I see, now.

#671 Re: Not So Free Chat » President Bush - about bush » 2003-02-05 21:37:11

No, I actually said I thought he had weapons.  You might want to look back to the beginning. 

What I said is that until we actually find something more than empty shells, we dont have the impetus to go to war.

#672 Re: Not So Free Chat » State of the Union Address » 2003-02-05 21:31:40

I completely agree about North Korea kicking out the inspectors.  But its time for you to stop being an ass and realize that we are one nation among many.

You are being the stereotypical arrogrant, ignorant Rambo American.  Please realize that we are not the only country in the world.  Just because you are stronger, does that mean you have to tell everyone else what to do?

#673 Re: Not So Free Chat » President Bush - about bush » 2003-02-05 21:26:23

So, you really are just letting your ego get the better of you, when you just showed that you were wrong to begin with?

No, I dont believe he is pure evil, but I laugh at how he blames Clinton for our troubles, and ignores how great of a president clinton was.

#674 Re: Human missions » A Fleet Plan - Shuttles, OSPs, and beyond » 2003-02-05 21:18:48

Here is my plan:

First, we keep the Shuttle running until its replacement is designed.  After this we build 5 spaceplanes a year, and every 5 years, we update our production lines to a new model.

This way, we never have to make revolutionary and costly retooling changes to our production line, but we keep a modernized fleet.

As ships turn 15, we phase them out, as they are constantly replaced by newer, more modern ships.  We dont face another problem like the Columbia.  The new, cheaper designs actually save us money by making production cheaper, and keeping research current. 

This allows a large, cheap fleet with state of the art technology.  As Congress and the public see a successful space program, funding will increase in hopes for more.  More R&D could be done, and the process could be a self-perpetuating sequence of events.

Questions, comments?

#675 Re: Not So Free Chat » State of the Union Address » 2003-02-05 21:10:54

And why cant we follow these same rules?  Or France?  Or anyone else besides North Korea?

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