New Mars Forums

clark

Member

Registered: 2001-09-20

Posts: 6,374

Re: Open Debate: Military Spending vs Space Exploratio - Is our military spending worth it?

Yes clark, you are crazy

Oh lovers of Mars!

The Pot is calling me black!  :laugh:

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 29,428

Re: Open Debate: Military Spending vs Space Exploratio - Is our military spending worth it?

But all the crazyness aside there are many more articles today on the spacetoday.net site.

srmeaney

Member

From: 18 tiwi gdns rd, TIWI NT 0810

Registered: 2005-03-18

Posts: 976

Re: Open Debate: Military Spending vs Space Exploratio - Is our military spending worth it?

No, it ain't worth it. Worth it even less is the vast wealth spent on proping up resource rich dictatorships in the vain hope they will sell to America at less than market price.

If that wealth had been directed into the colonization of space then the millitary program could well have been Astronaut/Colonist recruitment and training...

How many mums and dads have lost their children to foreign expedition when they would rather have sent them to Mars to colonize a new world?

The Air Force, saying it must secure space to protect the nation from attack, is seeking President Bush's approval of a national-security directive that could move the United States closer to fielding offensive and defensive space weapons, according to White House and Air Force officials.

I just wish this thinking would end.

Then run for president!!!,

Cancel all foreign millitary support for foreign states, nuke any that invade across a border or attack others, tell north Korea that their sovereignty is recognised but if they assault Japan (ie abduct any of their citizens as they have done in the past) or South Korea, N. Korea will be sucking radioactive tapwater before the hour is over.
Pour the entire economy into colonizing the Moon- declare NASA the Governing Body for Lunar colonisation tasked to establishing a self sustaining underground city upwards of 100 million in population (with domes that can be exposed to the surface) by 2100AD. Tax industries that are not on the Moon at twice the rate of ones that are (except fishing industries where fish grown and bred in big fishtanks gets half the rate of taxation as fish from the ocean) as all other food producing industry, Require all profits to be reinvested into Lunar Colonization. Accquire all medical patents held by US Companies and licence manufacture to ensure medicine is freely available to all colonists to ensure health of the labour force is optimal.
Dispose of representative government at local and state levels (from now on one vote one value any position in the Federal government, no more political parties) let folks govern themselves and retain what ever acre block they have for their own home but return to compulsory participation. As long as they obey the law (which is continuously approved and reapproved to retain relevence) and do what is right and ethical all the time...self governance. Otherwise a charge of Treason and deportation (no appeal).

Reduce millitary to strike teams and intelligence gathering systems made available to the UN to take out nutter countries and nutbat dictators- that is the entire "financial support" provided to the UN.

That should get you elected...At least once. It will probably also get you JFK'd.

Yes, I know highly off topic but there you go. Stop whining about how it is and participate in change.

Grypd

Member

From: Scotland, Europe

Registered: 2004-06-07

Posts: 1,879

Re: Open Debate: Military Spending vs Space Exploratio - Is our military spending worth it?

Oh well, clark I take it back you are not that mad. but sorry srmeaney you have taken the job 

Anyway im sorry but I cannot agree with your analysis of the state of the world and Americas part in "propping" up dictatorial goverments. Certainly during the cold war this happened but since then a lot has changed. Still the demand for armaments is ever increasing. Certain states and principally african ones are desperate to buy weapons and this is to the point that there debt to other countries is crippling that country. And its not only Africa that we have to look out for. We have what can only be a budding arms race in the far east amongst Japan,China,India,Pakistan,Vietnam and both Koreas add in Taiwan and Singapore and it is quite an explosive situation to the point that more ships are being laid down in 2004 than there where produced in the 5 years that where behind it and in 2005 this number seems to be likely to be broken again.

This is not a good thing it is the result of tensions and strains to do with the historic events of the area and the rise in terrorism, political/religous extremes and two new economic giants all competing for market share and resources. Actually it has been thought very likely that the next world war will be if anywhere kicked off in the far east. And to blame the USA for this is silly.

It is the situation in the far east which is worrying military planners as it looks like the states are merging into there own treaty organisations and mutual defence agreements that look supiciously like the same patchwork of treaties that covered europe in 1913.

---

Chan eil mi aig a bheil ùidh ann an gleidheadh an status quo; Tha mi airson cur às e.

dickbill

Member

Registered: 2002-09-28

Posts: 749

Re: Open Debate: Military Spending vs Space Exploratio - Is our military spending worth it?

American Moon Base? clark is crazy!  :laugh:

No you are not. After all these posts describing US space policy that you posted last year, nobody can be surprised. So a US base on the moon is possible, although personnaly I see that like nothing more than a robotised observation station with some "interceptions" capabilities maybe with lasers or cinetics projectiles. No humans.

But, here I want to say something about the US military spending in space or Iraq or wherever.
Only regarding the Bush rhetoric of "spreading democracy and the national security of the USA" :
First, how much is the bill for Iraq now ? 400 billions ? well, what IF, instead of this war, just a tenth of the amount had been spent to active and peaceful funding and promotion of democracy in middle orient ?
like funding grants for Iraqi students to study abroads in democractic countries, funding hospitals, education, doing GOOD things. On the long term, I think this strategy can actually seeds the root of democracy to the most backward dictature.
That would achieve much of  the goals of the bush administration.

Second, beside his extremely accurate description of the nuclear capabilities of Iraq (the yellow cakes) in his adress to the nation, the US president also mentioned developping energy independance from middle orient through, you remember, HYDROGEN CARS !
Well, here again, what if a tenth of the amount spent in irar had been spent in this project to develop energy independancy ?
Wouln't be a durable and solid way to build long term security to the US ? with 100 billion dollars you can certainly promote a nationwide campain to buy hybrids/electric cars and decrease the grasp of petrol producers over the US economy.
But the money is gone, so is the time.

Well, I forgot, none of that is necessary anymore : "Freedom is on the march and America is more secure"...already.
Hydrogen cars ? peaceful promotion of democracy ? these are obsolete concepts only good for antipatriotic liberals. America doesn't need that anymore.