Re: Brin: Re: Peter Arnett has negative effect on ratings

2003-04-03 Thread Gautam Mukunda
--- Bryon Daly [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 I don't think charging to Bagdad was all that stupid
 an idea, and in fact,
 I think it was rather clever.  The benefits I see of
 going straight for Bagdad:
 -Bryon

So far, I'd have to say that they will be studying
this plan in textbooks.  But part of going to Baghdad
can also be explained this way.  What was our
objective?  To topple the regime.  What is the single
most important support of the regime?  The Republican
Guard.  Where were the Republican Guards arrayed? 
Well, around Baghdad, unsurprisingly enough.  Thus to
destroy the Republican Guards, you have to go to
Baghdad.

Gautam

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Re: Brin: Re: Peter Arnett has negative effect on ratings

2003-04-02 Thread John D. Giorgis
At 06:45 AM 4/2/2003 +0100 Andrew Crystall wrote:
 To try and answer your question, I see the US as being the preeminent
 superpower for at least the next 100 years.   

*raises an eyebrow*

I give you less than 20 to crash and burn. In spectacular fashion. 
I'll bet cash.

I've got $100 2003 US dollars (adjusted using the US CPI) for payment on
4/1/2003 if the US is no longer the world's superpower in that date for you
Andrew.  

Nick - can we put this in your prediction's registry?

 The idea is absurd even 50 or 40 years from now.  At the rate China
 is growing, we should be ready for trouble in 15.
 
 I don;t know what economic projections you are using, but even
 assuming that China's official growth figures are accurate and
 sustainable over the course of the next century, China will not be
 able to rival the US for a good 100 years or so.

There's one problem. It doesn't assume China turns expansionist. And 
China's internal problems seem to me all to be pointing to that being 
a neat soloution for China. Pretty tough on everyone ELSE, but with 
Taiwan, well...

China turning expansionist should have no effect.   China will definitely
not be able to conquer the Republic of Korea nor Japan nor India nor Taiwan
 in the next 20 years.  China simply has no amphibious capabilities to
speak of, and the US is strongly committed to the defense of those nations.
  They might be able to handle Mongolia or some of the Central Asia
countries, but those areas are so resource poor as to have little effect in
the 20-year time frame. The same is true for Southeast Asia.   The
greatest worry would be a Chinese-Russian conflict, where China could grab
a sizable slice of Siberia.   Even so China is just too big and way too
poor to truly emerge from poverty in only 20 years.If you want to
remind me in a couple weeks, I can run some numers on US and Chinese GDP
per head and how long it would take China to get within the US's ballpark
at various possible growth rates.

JDG 

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Re: Brin: Re: Peter Arnett has negative effect on ratings

2003-04-02 Thread Andrew Crystall
On 2 Apr 2003 at 7:06, John D. Giorgis wrote:

  The idea is absurd even 50 or 40 years from now.  At the rate
  China is growing, we should be ready for trouble in 15.
  
  I don;t know what economic projections you are using, but even
  assuming that China's official growth figures are accurate and
  sustainable over the course of the next century, China will not be
  able to rival the US for a good 100 years or so.
 
 There's one problem. It doesn't assume China turns expansionist. And
 China's internal problems seem to me all to be pointing to that being
  a neat soloution for China. Pretty tough on everyone ELSE, but with
 Taiwan, well...
 
 China turning expansionist should have no effect.   China will
 definitely not be able to conquer the Republic of Korea nor Japan nor
 India nor Taiwan
  in the next 20 years.  China simply has no amphibious capabilities to
 speak of, and the US is strongly committed to the defense of those
 nations.

They can build it, and I don't count on the US Naby being able to 
stop them. Kursk. Shkval supercavitating torpedo.

   They might be able to handle Mongolia or some of the Central Asia
 countries, but those areas are so resource poor as to have little
 effect in the 20-year time frame. The same is true for Southeast
 Asia.   The greatest worry would be a Chinese-Russian conflict, where
 China could grab a sizable slice of Siberia.   Even so China is just
 too big and way too poor to truly emerge from poverty in only 20
 years.If you want to remind me in a couple weeks, I can run some
 numers on US and Chinese GDP per head and how long it would take China
 to get within the US's ballpark at various possible growth rates.

As I said, they can take Taiwan.

Unless and until the Americans come up with the supercav machine gun 
they're working on, the Shkval is basically unstopable. And while 
it's possible the Chinese only have the first generation and not the 
second generation Shkval, even the first has no American answer.

Taiwan...would be an immense boost for the Chinese. Add in all the 
infrastructure companies are building in China now...

They don't need to match the USA 1:1 for GDP either...just production 
where it counts (military, etc.) - they'll be prefectly willing to 
sacrifice civilian standards of life for tactical advantage.

Andy
Dawn Falcon

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Re: Brin: Re: Peter Arnett has negative effect on ratings

2003-04-02 Thread Gautam Mukunda
--- Andrew Crystall [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 I give you less than 20 to crash and burn. In
 spectacular fashion. 
 I'll bet cash.
 Andy

Taken.  How much, and what are the conditions?  I
never turn down free money.

Gautam


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Re: Brin: Re: Peter Arnett has negative effect on ratings

2003-04-02 Thread Dan Minette

- Original Message -
From: John D. Giorgis [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: Killer Bs Discussion [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2003 6:06 AM
Subject: Re: Brin: Re: Peter Arnett has negative effect on ratings


 At 06:45 AM 4/2/2003 +0100 Andrew Crystall wrote:
  To try and answer your question, I see the US as being the preeminent
  superpower for at least the next 100 years.
 
 *raises an eyebrow*
 
 I give you less than 20 to crash and burn. In spectacular fashion.
 I'll bet cash.

 I've got $100 2003 US dollars (adjusted using the US CPI) for payment on
 4/1/2003 if the US is no longer the world's superpower in that date for
you
 Andrew.


John, maybe you meant 4/1/2023?

or was it

April Fools?


Anyways, even though you were challanged since I responded before you, I'd
appreciate a piece of the action.

Dan M.


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Re: Brin: Re: Peter Arnett has negative effect on ratings

2003-04-02 Thread Julia Thompson
John D. Giorgis wrote:
 
 At 06:45 AM 4/2/2003 +0100 Andrew Crystall wrote:
  To try and answer your question, I see the US as being the preeminent
  superpower for at least the next 100 years.
 
 *raises an eyebrow*
 
 I give you less than 20 to crash and burn. In spectacular fashion.
 I'll bet cash.
 
 I've got $100 2003 US dollars (adjusted using the US CPI) for payment on
 4/1/2003 if the US is no longer the world's superpower in that date for you
 Andrew.

Don't you mean 4/1/2103?

Julia
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Re: Brin: Re: Peter Arnett has negative effect on ratings

2003-04-02 Thread TomFODW
 They don't need to match the USA 1:1 for GDP either...just production where 
 it counts (military, etc.) - they'll be prefectly willing to sacrifice 
 civilian standards of life for tactical advantage.
 

They'll be perfectly willing to TRY. I'm not sure they'll be able to get away 
with it for as long as they would need to in order to mount a serious 
worldwide challenge. Now, a serious regional challenge (incl., unfortunately, 
Taiwan) is another matter. Of course, by that point they might be bumping 
heads with India...



Tom Beck

www.prydonians.org
www.mercerjewishsingles.org

I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed I'd see the 
last. - Dr Jerry Pournelle
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Re: Brin: Re: Peter Arnett has negative effect on ratings

2003-04-02 Thread Andrew Crystall
On 2 Apr 2003 at 13:02, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

  They don't need to match the USA 1:1 for GDP either...just
  production where it counts (military, etc.) - they'll be prefectly
  willing to sacrifice civilian standards of life for tactical
  advantage.
  
 
 They'll be perfectly willing to TRY. I'm not sure they'll be able to
 get away with it for as long as they would need to in order to mount a
 serious worldwide challenge. Now, a serious regional challenge (incl.,
 unfortunately, Taiwan) is another matter. Of course, by that point
 they might be bumping heads with India...

Yeah, India is the potential stumbling block. But, there are 
certainly concessions (terratorial and political) which could be made 
to India in return for it looking the other way.

Andy
Dawn Falcon

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Re: Brin: Re: Peter Arnett has negative effect on ratings

2003-04-02 Thread d.brin
China turning expansionist should have no effect.   China will definitely
not be able to conquer the Republic of Korea nor Japan nor India nor Taiwan


Utter silliness.  Old fashioned conquest is the simpleminded scenario 
that one WOULD imagine, if one felt compelled to imagine the foe 
being stupid.  But that's why things are hard right now.  We went 
into Iraq imagining that they would fight us conventionally, like in 
91.  Dig it, the underdogs re-evaluate.  LAw of nature.

It is unnecessary for China to conquer.  Our worry must be that a 
large enough group of nations will get so pissed at us that you'll 
see a coalition stretching from Paris to Berlin to Moscow to Beijing, 
then down to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, all dedicated to bringing us 
down a peg.

If we were so stupid as to piss off the entire muslim world too. 
(Duh?  Never!) you would include Indonesia, Pakistan (soon) and all 
the arab oil states.  If we stupidly yowl You're next! at Iran -- 
as most of the right wing talkjocks are now doing, we can guarantee 
they'll be a part too.

Yes, that leaves a lot of the Earth we have not yet offended.  We 
stand a chance of holding several European friends and in the 
Americas.  Staunch Poland could keep the anti-America axis from being 
contiguous, though Turkey certainly has an impulse to join.

No, I don't expect the present love-us/hate-us alignment to be 
permanent.  But the present trend, driven by incessant flag waving 
and utterly arrogant behavior, shows an utter unwillingness to 
extrapolate the danger.

The coalition I described above is totally plausible, incorporates 
half the people on the globe and many centers of high technology.  It 
needn't match out economy, or even wage war.  It need only have a 
strong desire to bring our arrogant imperium down a peg.

The arrogance you express is not a survival trait.  It is tribal 
macho and feels good.  But it is not a way for intelligent, calm 
leaders to behave.

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Re: Brin: Re: Peter Arnett has negative effect on ratings

2003-04-02 Thread Adam C. Lipscomb
Gautam wrote:
 --- Andrew Crystall [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
  I give you less than 20 to crash and burn. In
  spectacular fashion.
  I'll bet cash.
  Andy

 Taken.  How much, and what are the conditions?  I
 never turn down free money.

Same here - I'd be a fool not to help part a sucker from his hard
earned money.

Adam C. Lipscomb
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Silence.  I am watching television.  - Spider Jerusalem

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Re: Brin: Re: Peter Arnett has negative effect on ratings

2003-04-02 Thread Andrew Crystall
On 2 Apr 2003 at 17:40, Adam C. Lipscomb wrote:

 Gautam wrote:
  --- Andrew Crystall [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
   I give you less than 20 to crash and burn. In
   spectacular fashion.
   I'll bet cash.
   Andy
 
  Taken.  How much, and what are the conditions?  I
  never turn down free money.
 
 Same here - I'd be a fool not to help part a sucker from his hard
 earned money.

Well, think about the bet. I'm NOT about to bet US$ am I...

Andy
Dawn Falcon

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Re: Brin: Re: Peter Arnett has negative effect on ratings

2003-04-01 Thread Andrew Crystall
On 1 Apr 2003 at 22:58, John D. Giorgis wrote:

 Dr. Brin:
 
 Glad to see you are doing well and thriving.  though it is
 disappointing that you aren't supporting the liberation of perhaps one
 of the world's most oppressed peoples - the Iraqis.
 
 At 05:20 PM 4/1/2003 -0800 d.brin wrote:
 What the rightwing never, ever does is ask itself the sci fi 
 question.  What will humanity/Earth be like in the future?  DO you
 honestly expect to see a loose 'international' system of sovereign
 states, with America striding about as the sole superpower,
 indefinitely deciding for itself what's to be done for everybody's
 own good?  How about a billion years from now?
 
 To try and answer your question, I see the US as being the preeminent
 superpower for at least the next 100 years.   

*raises an eyebrow*

I give you less than 20 to crash and burn. In spectacular fashion. 
I'll bet cash.

 I do not see a serious supranational infrastructure encompassing the
 US and Europe, let alone including Russia, China, or much of Africa in
 that timeframe either.

Russia...well. China, I think it's a question of WHEN it retakes 
Taiwan. Not IF.

 The idea is absurd even 50 or 40 years from now.  At the rate China
 is growing, we should be ready for trouble in 15.
 
 I don;t know what economic projections you are using, but even
 assuming that China's official growth figures are accurate and
 sustainable over the course of the next century, China will not be
 able to rival the US for a good 100 years or so.

There's one problem. It doesn't assume China turns expansionist. And 
China's internal problems seem to me all to be pointing to that being 
a neat soloution for China. Pretty tough on everyone ELSE, but with 
Taiwan, well...

 Also, how does releasing millions of barrells of cheap Iraqi oil onto
 the market benefit Bush's golf buddies who own very marginal oilfields
 (producing expensive oil() in Texas and off the Gulf Coast?

I agree on the oil . 100%. It's France and Russia who want the Iraqi 
oil...sigh.

Andy
Dawn Falcon

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