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The Better Late Than Never Forum
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5 responses to “The Better Late Than Never Forum”
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I feared another break in the spacetime continuum.
Lately I’ve been pondering the morality of preemptive use of force. Specifically if Country A’s intelligence indicates Country B intends to invade it soon, and Country A then launches a war preemptively.
Part depends on the situation on the ground. there’s a difference on whether Country B has massed troops at the border, vs it’s beginning to mobilize troops to mass on the border.
Say Country A’s intelligence is 85% confident Country A will move troops to Country A’s borders withing 2 to 4 weeks, then probably make impossible demands to justify an invasion. Meantime they have few troops at your border, while you have far more troops at theirs (for defense in case of invasion), and can move even more faster than Country B.
So, if you invade first, you can take and maybe even secure a chunk of their territory before they’re even ready to invade you. If you move more troops as reinforcements, they’ll have a hell of a time removing your troops.
I think it would be moral to invade first. If someone’s coming at you with a knife and you have a gun, reasonable self defense does not require you to get stabbed first before you fire to stop the assailant.
Of course, if Country A’s intelligence is wrong, that’s rather different.
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And, the Trump administration’s efforts to emblazon his name on the Kennedy Center have now moved to the hostage-taking level.
Lawyers for the administration are suggesting (threatening?) to knock down the Kennedy Center to build an amphitheater.
Lawyers for the Trump administration told a federal judge that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts desperately needs the major renovation ordered by President Trump and raised the specter that it would need to be “taken down” if those plans are blocked.
In a court filing late on Monday, Justice Department lawyers defended plans for the $250 million renovation project and described how, as recognition for the president’s role, an inscription of his name on the arts center’s marble facade would be appropriate.
“Without those efforts, the center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down,” the filing said, “with a determination to follow on what to build on the site, such as a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River that has been proposed, by some, for many years.”
Via NYT, gift link here.
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Another great one is gone.
Dolly Parton has died. She was 80.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/music/articles/dolly-parton-country-music-legend-175053595.html
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