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From: laura@utcsstat.UUCP (Laura Creighton)
Newsgroups: net.flame,net.politics
Subject: Re: Replace MAD with MAF
Message-ID: <1486@utcsstat.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 25-Nov-83 11:31:10 EST
Article-I.D.: utcsstat.1486
Posted: Fri Nov 25 11:31:10 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 25-Nov-83 11:40:47 EST
References: <2221@rabbit.UUCP>, <6288@unc.UUCP>, <2225@rabbit.UUCP>
Organization: U. of Toronto, Canada
Lines: 36

I know somebody who honestly thinks that you should build enough missiles
and whatever to destroy the world, and then put the big red button in
The Vatican. Then, if anybody invades anything the whole wolrd goes up.

This of course is founded on the premise that the Pope would use such a
device and that he would not meddle in world politics. Personally, I doubt
both of these.

My current thesis is that the whole resona that there is a "nuclear bomb
threat" is that we are in a closed environment. Thus "nuking the hell
out of the Russians before they can get back at us" is an idea that
has a lot of merit in a lot of places, if only as an unattainable ideal.
if you could do this you would get rid of the opressive Russian government
(and threat of domination by same) with one fell swoop. I have never
visited the USSR but I get the strong impression that the same idea
(with the names reversed) is current there as well.

	
So what we need is a not-closed environment. (this will get people
annoyed in some quarters, I know). All you need to do is open up
space -- FOR ALL THE WORLD. The universe is a big place, and
once you have given up life on a planet, every bit is pretty
much the same as every other bit. If you don't like your neighbours --
MOVE AWAY! The whole notion of trying to control the universe is
staggering and silly. Once a significant number of people are in
space, then blowing up anything as small as a continent will have
little effect on the politics as a whole, and so will not be 
feasible.

Of course, the one way this scheme could foul up (besides having a
nuclear war before we even get started) is for only one nation to
control space. Then you really have a "universal dictatorship".
So i want to see EVERYBODY up there!

Laura Creighton
utzoo!utcsstat!laura