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Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
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It says something about HS2 that, even at this late stage, such a sensible figure as Simon Jenkins is putting in a good word for Nigel Farage's advice to 'just walk away'. Since HS2 isn't exactly the first piece of infrastructure in being being overblown, over-budget and over here, it is time to take a deep breath and say
| No more big projects whatsoever. We can't do 'em. |
no nuclear power stations
no public/private hospitals
no turnkey super-prisons
no estuarial bridges
no trunk motorways
no new railroads
no national sports stadiums
no urban tram systems
no... whatever I've forgotten
If private companies want to spend their money building big stuff that's all right by me. I hope they do. And that might include things like giant offshore windfarms and a new electricity grid. I hope it does. But otherwise let's all listen to Nancy Reagan and just say no. Preferably before they ask. Experience suggests it's already too late if it gets that far.
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Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
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1. It is clear that modern warfare requires drones and lots of them. This means that any sensible country will stockpile drones by the thousands (and millions).
2. It is clear that drone technology is advancing by leaps and bounds so any stockpile of drones will be obsolescent by the time they will be used.
This was the situation in the nineteen-thirties when wooden biplanes were being rapidly replaced by metal monoplanes which were themselves subject to constant change. The solution adopted was to
1. Build small stockpiles of current designs for the purposes of training personnel in the construction and use of metal monoplanes (and for use in exercises and minor wars).
2. Build shadow factories fully equipped with the wherewithal to build new types should a major war come.
Will we do this? What do you think?
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Wile E. Coyote
In: Arizona
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In general terms drones are being increasingly used, what I think is required are the modern production lines, with robot technology to be able to mass produce these quickly at sites that are well protected by air defences, along with stockpiles of intelligent chips.
There are plenty of civilian uses for these drones now, the problem is that the British population fears being spied upon, so is resistant to widespread uses of drones, eg they will eventually revolutionise E-Commerce, you will get your orders via drone delivery.
It could be good for peace. I keep on arguing that rather than send peace-keeping troops anywhere, we should develop and offer the UN an integrated peace-keeping drone and troop force. It's good for peace and gives us the skills we will need.
That won't happen either.
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Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
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| Wiley wrote: | | In general terms drones are being increasingly used, what I think is required are the modern production lines, with robot technology to be able to mass produce these quickly at sites that are well protected by air defences, along with stockpiles of intelligent chips. |
Isn't that a shadow factory?
| There are plenty of civilian uses for these drones now |
I doubt there is much overlap. But then not many Spitfires and Hurricanes had civilian uses, though bombers and airliners mixed and matched a bit. And the DC-3 was soon flying me to the Isles Normandes rather than paratroopers to Normandy.
| the problem is that the British population fears being spied upon, so is resistant to widespread uses of drones, eg they will eventually revolutionise E-Commerce, you will get your orders via drone delivery. |
We are already reputedly the most surveilled country in the world thanks to CCTV and, speaking for myself, if I can get a pizza delivered while it's still hot, I'll put up with living in a police state.
| It could be good for peace. I keep on arguing that rather than send peace-keeping troops anywhere, we should develop and offer the UN an integrated peace-keeping drone and troop force. It's good for peace and gives us the skills we will need. That won't happen either. |
Agreed and agreed.
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