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DARPA Shows Off Their Latest Shinies
coondoggie writes with news that the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has released their top nine strategic research programs via a 57-page report last week. The overarching theme seems to be big long term goals that could result in major advances in technology. "DARPA's projects run the gamut from building extremely fast, secure networks, and developing higher, longer flying unmanned aircraft to bio-related advances that help bring vaccines to a useful state faster and space technologies that offer modular satellite systems."
These "programs" seem a bit over generalized. I mean "High Productivity Computing Systems"? I think there are a few other groups working in that area.
It would take me a few minutes to think of something that doesn't fall under these 9 topics.
Ahh, the irony. Here you are, posting a comment on the direct derivative of something 'shiny' that DARPA (then just ARPA) ponied up the money for. Ever hear of ARPANET?
It's ironic you're complaining about DARPA on the Internet.
Since that started as a DARPA project.
Well, people pull the trigger, weapons do not (yet) most of the time. It's a totally different ballgame to develop a weapon cabability for the sake of intellectual curiosity and economic progress than to decide to use any kind of weapon (say, a nail cutter) with deadly force to meet some abstract political ideal.
How is that anti-intellectual ? Perhaps you should visit a campus once. Note the large presence of, shall we say, people who exonerate people like massacrers like Che Guevara and blame all of society's ills on the military. Or whoever they are sure won't retaliate (note for example, the dead silence about Sri Lanka's misdeeds since that government sued and, shall we say, lightly persuaded, a BBC press team to leave).
/.. There was ZERO intelligence to be found in the original posting.
That same garbage occurred in the 60's/70's. And it is normally, the the same kind of idiot as the original poster was. You ignore them, or call them the idiots and fools that they all are (including the original poster).
In general, there were plenty of intellectuals that argue against the use of the military. Heck, Eisenhower HATED THE MILITARY. He viewed it as a needed evil, which it is. If we let our defense down, then we WILL be back in a world war. BTW, YOu ARE AWARE That the west has been giving aid to sri lanka's gov since we found out that Tamil Tigers aided AQ? Can one please be allowed to articulate a displeasure between certain extremely hypocritical portions of society ? The part that's hiding behind the biggest guns of the world screaming about how evil their government is, knowing both that said government won't retaliate and knowing full well that there are real problems in the world. The government of, oh, say Sudan, is a much, much bigger problem than even the worst ever US government. But only one of those gets any action.
I find this interesting in light of the two VERY DIFFERENT WARS that we are in. America and the west WERE going after terrorism. W and the neo-cons in ALL OF AMERICA'S name, invaded Iraq. Worse, he loaded the top with total IDIOTS, that forced us to occupy it and allowed AQ in there. How exactly is this worse than Sudan? Are THEY invading other countries around the world?
Look, I am about to submit more grant proposals to the DOD for some interesting items that I saw. If the idea has merit, That means that I will go to work on a DOD project, again. I have ZERO issues with that (since it is defense, I believe strongly in it). BUT, only an idiot can believe the phrase "YOu are either with us or against us" has an intelligence behind it. Worse, only a total idiot would believe that 100% of what the military AND ITS LEADERs does it right. There is plenty of GOOD CRITICISM to be found in both the university, the media AND even on
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.