Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!apple!vsi1!octopus!avsd!childers
From: childers@avsd.UUCP (Richard Childers)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Russian access to usenet
Keywords: paranoia or adaptation to reality
Message-ID: <335@avsd.UUCP>
Date: 21 Dec 88 21:07:16 GMT
References: <204@imspw6.UUCP> <5141@brspyr1.BRS.Com> <1021@clsib21.UUCP>
Reply-To: childers@avsd.UUCP (Richard Childers)
Organization: AMPEX Corporation, Redwood City, CA
Lines: 42

In article <1021@clsib21.UUCP> scott@clsib21.UUCP (Scott P. Herzig) writes:

>In article <5141@brspyr1.BRS.Com>, miket@brspyr1.BRS.Com (Mike Trout) writes:

>> all other things being equal, our extravangant highway system would permit a
>> mechanized invader to cover massive amounts of territory with little effort

>... to stop potential mechanized invaders.  All we need is rush hour!

Nahhh. Do you know how much those things weigh ?

Let's put it this way. If you put an armored tank in a demolition derby,
I seriously doubt it would get more than a few dents, those from whatever
few International Harvester vehicles were so unfortunate as to be in the
derby with aforementioned tank.

But beer bottles abound, and napalm can be made by adding together gasoline
and styrofoam, so I don't think we'd be entirely helpless were such a damned
unlikely thing to happen.

People who spend their time dreaming about world conquest usually forget the
cost of the infrastructure required to maintain their holdings. Entropy never
takes a vacation, and neither do guerillas, last time I checked.

So I wouldn't worry about takeovers. If some country is stupid enough to try,
I have every confidence it will be the most expensive mistake they make in
their career as world leader.

Besides, can you imagine a Russian tank crossing a New York freeway support
that's been built by Union Labor, with sand cutting the tensile strength of
the cement ( less cement == more $$$ in organized crime coffers ) to barely
sufficient strength to avoid collapse ? < snicker > They'd take the low road
after that, sticking to dirt roads, where we could flood them ...

-- richard


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