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Found the Stelzer article from 4 January 2001 in the Google cache here.

It's an incredible piece of bully talk. Because it comes from before 9/11, it sounds unbelievable, but it's just proof that 9/11 changed fuck all.

Here's a sample re the topic of Rogue Trooper's diray:

To add to Blair's woes, Bush has nominated Donald Rumsfeld to be his Secretary of Defence, specifically rejecting his old friend Tom Ridge, the Pennsylvania Governor, because of the latter's lack of enthusiasm for the national missile defence system (NMD) that Bush has promised to deploy at the earliest feasible date. Rumsfeld is a long-time proponent of a missile shield to protect America and any who would shelter from missile attacks from "rogue Governments" such as North Korea, Iran and Iraq, or from a newly hostile Russia.

To put that shield in place, America will need to upgrade radar equipment at RAF Fylingdales in North Yorkshire. That means Blair will have to say "yes" or "no" -- "maybe" or "later" won't do. The French, of course, are violently opposed to the plan, as are many other European nations which Blair has been so assiduously courting, some of which are eager to curry favour and contracts with the likes of President Saddam Hussein and Iran's ayatollahs. Bush aims to make Blair choose, and if the Prime Minister thinks he can fob off the allegedly not-so-bright new President and his formidable team of Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, with talk of a bridge between America and Europe, he had better think again. America wants an ally, not a bridge.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 02:44:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Given that the article is not easy to find outside of Google's cache we might want to consider backing it up somewhere.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:12:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Yes, it's astounding. Two sites it was cached from have disappeared.

It could go in the wiki. I'll have a look where.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:26:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Is the article in The Memory Hole?

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:35:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Google doesn't seem to find it there, and The Memeory Hole doesn't have a search facility.

It's no doubt in the archives at TimesOnline, but you have to subscribe.

I can't get the wiki for the moment (happens at times), but I've backed it up as a .doc on my disk.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:47:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I have it backed as a .html, it's not a proprietary format ;-P

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 04:00:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
The full article is in the EuroTribWiki under Britain and also United States in PoliticsAndPolicyByCountry.

Title: Why Blair has got George W so wrong by Irwin Stelzer

Link: Stelzer

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Fri Mar 24th, 2006 at 04:00:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Is this system even workable?  I remember when Reagan was funneling billions to his cronies for years to develop it, they finally admitted it was a completely unworkable notion, which is what scientists had been saying all along.

So that's the last I heard.  When W. brought it up in the 2000 debates I was flabbergasted that he was bringing up the discredited Star Wars plan.  I could not believe the media never even mentioned it had been discredited and that the public had seemingly forgotten.  

So... did it get re-credited somehow?  Is there some technology advance that's made the system workable?  Or are we just haggling over where we're building bases and who we're funneling money to for an imaginary future system?

Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes

by Izzy (izzy at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:27:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]
No, it did not get re-credited. They faked the results of trials, rigged the tests, and finally decided to claim it worked without any further testing.

It's just an elaborate scam of the national treasury.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:31:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Thanks for confirming.  It's breathtaking.  Honestly, not a single mention of this should be uttered without noting it's an imaginary/impossible/hypothetical system.  May as well be arguing about where we're going to install our time machines.

Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes
by Izzy (izzy at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:38:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
You don't want America to develop time machines?
by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:49:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Do you mean those machines that will always loop back to the beginning of Bush's first term, giving him each time another go at not screwing up the world?
by Alex in Toulouse on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:50:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Y'know, I think we have already.  It really feels like 1988 here.

Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes
by Izzy (izzy at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:51:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Going for 1984!
by Alex in Toulouse on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:53:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I almost said that but figured there was no need to sully a great piece of literature by having it confused with memories of the Reagan/Bush era.

Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes
by Izzy (izzy at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:56:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
It's funny, I remember you saying that already. It's begun. We're screwed.
by Alex in Toulouse on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:58:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:54:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Now what does that "n/t" stand for by the way, I've seen it used all over the place and have no clue.

Will iron clothes for this info.

by Alex in Toulouse on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:56:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
It means no text.  It's for people who are only seeing the subject lines.  Now about that ironing!!!!

Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes
by Izzy (izzy at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:58:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Well since we've been looping for eons, you'll know by now that I'll find some excuse not to do it, you'll protest, and it'll all end in an ugly stand-off with no clothes ironed in the end. So let's just break the cycle now while we can, what do you say?
by Alex in Toulouse on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 04:00:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Nice try.  The way I remember that it's gonna happen is that you not only get all my ironing done, but my sewing as well.  No use trying to change the future past, Alex.

Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes
by Izzy (izzy at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 04:02:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Ah yes, I remember now. But that was another me from the future past, it wasn't the me from now, I think.
by Alex in Toulouse on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 04:06:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Dammit, do you people always want me to go for the easy line?  Where's the nuance anymore?

Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes
by Izzy (izzy at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:57:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
We don't do nuance.
by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 04:10:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I think you'll find it's spelled nukluance...
by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 04:29:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

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