Strategic Defense Initiative

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The End of the Cold War: 1985-1991 by Robert Service

Able Archer 83, active measures, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, cuban missile crisis, Deng Xiaoping, disinformation, Dr. Strangelove, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Great Leap Forward, Kickstarter, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, mutually assured destruction, Neil Kinnock, Norman Mailer, nuclear winter, precautionary principle, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan: Tear down this wall, Silicon Valley, Strategic Defense Initiative, The Chicago School, Vladimir Vetrov: Farewell Dossier

The other consequence would be a fall-off of support for the Strategic Defense Initiative in the American Congress and in American public opinion.3 On 1 July 1986 at the National Security Council, Reagan laid emphasis on protecting his Strategic Defense Initiative. Everyone agreed with him. Weinberger reported worriedly on current attempts in the Congress to put restrictions on space-based research. Poindexter expressed his apprehension about Soviet moves to redefine what was allowable under the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.4 The Director of the Strategic Defense Initiative, Lieutenant General James A. Abrahamson, warned that the budgetary cuts of 1985 compelled him to reduce grants for some of his key laser projects.5 Weinberger predicted that if Congress introduced further cutbacks, it would ‘kill the programme and play into the Soviets’ hands’.

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The idea of a weapons system in outer space reminded people of the Star Wars movie series produced by George Lucas since 1977. Lucas’s films were about the struggle between good and evil in deep space. The weapons included laser beam wands. Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative quickly entered popular parlance as his Star Wars Initiative. Once they got over their surprise, leading administration officials came round to seeing attractions in the Strategic Defense Initiative. Andropov and his Politburo immediately denounced America’s militarism; they railed against a research programme that would add yet another stage to the arms race. Reagan’s speech had obviously agitated them, and there was no Reaganaut who lamented their discomfort.

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He recruited a group led by Dmitri Ustinov to prepare policy on the Strategic Defense Initiative. Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Yuri Maslyukov and Chief of the General Staff Sergei Akhromeev were appointed to it, and leading scientific institutes as well as the KGB were under orders to offer their services. Nominally the head of the group was Politburo member Ustinov but the person who coordinated activity was the world-renowned physicist Yevgeni Velikhov.37 In subsequent years Velikhov became the human face of the USSR’s critique of the Strategic Defense Initiative.38 This group – ‘the Velikhov group’ – operated in an increasingly frantic atmosphere.

The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy by David Hoffman

Able Archer 83, active measures, anti-communist, banking crisis, Berlin Wall, Boeing 747, Chuck Templeton: OpenTable:, crony capitalism, cuban missile crisis, disinformation, failed state, guns versus butter model, It's morning again in America, joint-stock company, Kickstarter, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, launch on warning, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, mutually assured destruction, nuclear winter, Oklahoma City bombing, radical decentralization, Robert Hanssen: Double agent, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan: Tear down this wall, Seymour Hersh, Silicon Valley, standardized shipping container, Stanislav Petrov, Strategic Defense Initiative, Thomas L Friedman, undersea cable, uranium enrichment, Vladimir Vetrov: Farewell Dossier, warehouse robotics, zero-sum game

They copied the documents and sent them to the CIA. The elements were now in place for a superpower miscalculation. Andropov had urgently raised the prospect of a nuclear attack in the telegrams about the RYAN intelligence-gathering operation. Reagan had escalated the rhetoric with his "evil empire" speech and announced his futuristic Strategic Defense Initiative in March. Documents from the U.S.S. Enterprise about the navy's F-14 flyover and the provocative naval exercises off the Soviet coast in April were now in Soviet hands. The threatening Pershing II missiles were nearing deployment in Germany. The interceptor pilots on Sakhalin Island had already been burned once, and were warned not to let it happen again.

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It said the top priority was to get a copy of the secret war plans of the United States and NATO.6 Another urgent priority for Gordievsky and the London office was to monitor field exercises involving the cruise missiles stationed at the Royal Air Force base at Greenham Common. But according to Gordievsky, the London office had no intelligence sources for this; they sent British press reports to Moscow instead. 7 Early in 1984, Reagan had signed an order formally launching the research effort into his Strategic Defense Initiative.8 In the Kremlin, however, Soviet leaders were still worried about the threat from Pershing IIs and the ground-launched cruise missiles. The Pershing IIs were fast, but the cruise missiles more numerous. While 108 Pershing IIs would be deployed in West Germany, the plan was to station 464 cruise missiles in Belgium, Britain, Italy, Netherlands and West Germany.

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Although there were no arms control negotiations that year, Soviet officials protested with increasing frequency about what they called "militarization of space." Shultz said Dobrynin brought up kosmos--the Russian word for outer space--at every meeting. 23 This was aimed directly at Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, although the actual program was barely getting started. By one account, that summer the program comprised two dozen people working out of a dilapidated office building in Washington. 24 Reagan's dream got a lucky break that summer. The army, in a program started in the 1970s, was studying rocket interceptors, and created an experiment, using a test interceptor with an infrared homing device and computer.

Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military by Neil Degrasse Tyson, Avis Lang

active measures, Admiral Zheng, airport security, anti-communist, Apollo 11, Arthur Eddington, Benoit Mandelbrot, Berlin Wall, British Empire, Buckminster Fuller, Carrington event, Charles Lindbergh, collapse of Lehman Brothers, Colonization of Mars, commoditize, corporate governance, cosmic microwave background, credit crunch, cuban missile crisis, dark matter, Dava Sobel, disinformation, Donald Trump, Doomsday Clock, Dr. Strangelove, dual-use technology, Eddington experiment, Edward Snowden, energy security, Eratosthenes, European colonialism, fake news, Fellow of the Royal Society, Ford Model T, global value chain, Google Earth, GPS: selective availability, Great Leap Forward, Herman Kahn, Higgs boson, invention of movable type, invention of the printing press, invention of the telescope, Isaac Newton, James Webb Space Telescope, Johannes Kepler, John Harrison: Longitude, Karl Jansky, Kuiper Belt, Large Hadron Collider, Late Heavy Bombardment, Laura Poitras, Lewis Mumford, lone genius, low earth orbit, mandelbrot fractal, Maui Hawaii, Mercator projection, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, mutually assured destruction, Neil Armstrong, New Journalism, Northpointe / Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions, operation paperclip, pattern recognition, Pierre-Simon Laplace, precision agriculture, prediction markets, profit motive, Project Plowshare, purchasing power parity, quantum entanglement, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, skunkworks, South China Sea, space junk, Stephen Hawking, Strategic Defense Initiative, subprime mortgage crisis, the long tail, time dilation, trade route, War on Poverty, wikimedia commons, zero-sum game

The Pentagon responded by classifying information on the costs of SDI.35 Problem is, when more than 90 percent of the 450 physicists, engineers, and mathematicians in the National Academy of Sciences who answer a 1986 Cornell University questionnaire on SDI say that the technology would be unable to effectively defend the US population against a Soviet missile strike; and when 1,400 “scientists and engineers currently or formerly at government and industrial laboratories” send a letter to Congress declaring their “serious concerns” about SDI and their belief that its stated goal “is not feasible in the foreseeable future” and “represents a significant escalation of the arms race”; and when more than 3,800 senior faculty members of physics, computer science, and other “hard science” departments at “leading” US universities, including almost 60 percent of all faculty in America’s “top twenty” physics departments, sign a pledge to reject funding from the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization—that’s when it becomes hard to tout the achievements of SDI unless you’re the guy in charge. Even some scientists who were doing the actual research told Senate staffers in 1986 that “there had been no major breakthroughs” that would make comprehensive deployment possible by the late 1990s.36 In November 1987, three weeks before a Reagan–Gorbachev summit, a group called Spacewatch organized a debate titled “Is the Strategic Defense Initiative in the National Interest,” in which Sagan and Garwin spoke against the emergent, non-Reaganesque version of SDI, while General Abrahamson and Richard Perle, then an assistant secretary of defense, spoke in its favor.

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., 261 MC 14/2 (“Massive Retaliation”), 305–6 McNamara, Robert, 285, 289, 492–93n Medes and Lydians, 45, 423n Medicare and Medicaid legislation, 288 Melvill, Thomas, 145 Mercator, Gerardus, 90, 438n meridians convergence near Poles, 84, 436–37n geodetic meridian, 99 need for, 87–88 places used for zero degrees, 87, 89, 94 prime meridian, 87, 89, 98–99 see also longitude Mesopotamia, 34, 41, 42, 49, 57, 432n meteors, detection with radar, 191 microwave ovens, 189 microwave radar, 188–89 microwaves communication using, 171, 177–78 discovery of, 171 Earth’s atmosphere and, 200–201 nonlethal weapons using, 201, 470–71n water hole, 200–201, 470n MIDAS (Missile Defense Alarm System) satellite, 278 military burden, 452n military, interservice competition, 262, 289, 500nn military satellites CCDs in, 204–7 Defense Support Program, 158, 341 during Eisenhower presidency, 278 film-return types, 204, 205, 228 ISR capabilities, 158–59 military space budget, 321, 510n see also spy satellites military spending after Vietnam War, 8, 409–10n compared to astrophysics spending, 402–3, 533nn global military spending, 403, 404, 533n military space budget, 321, 510n after September 11 attack, 12–13, 412n Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars), 12, 250, 411n Milky Way Andromeda galaxy collision predicted, 234 radio waves from center of, 178–79 rapid movement of central stars, 344 vs. other galaxies in universe, 131 width, 399 milspace, 349 Minoans, 68, 69 mirrors in reflecting telescopes, 133 Mir space station (USSR), 359–60, 362, 522n Missile Defense Agency, 12, 252 missile defense technology, see Strategic Defense Initiative Moltz, James Clay, 261, 280, 359 Moluccas (Spice Islands), 88 Molyneux, William, 108 Montgomery, Bernard, 305 Moon albedo, 196 first daguerreotypes of, 143, 144, 456n mountains and craters discovered, 52, 103, 110 plans to detonate a nuclear bomb on, 272, 491–92n radio waves bounced off surface, 191 Moon landings Apollo 11 mission, 353, 369 cost, 320, 510n Kennedy’s plan for, 282, 320, 458n NASA’s mandate, 289 opposition to, 289, 500n reaction to, 381–82 Moore, Francis, 426n Moran, James, 412n Morgan, J.

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., 298–99 stone “passage tombs” of County Meath, Ireland, 41–42 Strachey, R., 98 Strategic Air Command (SAC), 304, 305, 481n Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars) and aerospace industry campaign contributions, 12, 411–12n announced by Ronald Reagan, 12, 156, 248–49, 258, 411n Brilliant Pebbles, 250, 271 end of Cold War and, 250, 252 laser use in airborne antimissile defense, 156, 253 opposition to, 250–52 Project Excalibur, 246, 252 research and development, 250 spending on, 12, 250, 411n technical challenges, 249–50, 482n Strategic Defense Initiative Organization, 26, 250, 251 Strategic Space Symposium, 414n Strong, Ian, 217 Suhail (Canopus), 67, 73–74, 434n Sulbār (Achernar), 74 Sumerians, 40, 69 sundials, 40, 44 Sun distance from Earth estimated, 440n use in navigation, 67 Sun Tzu, 172, 238 supercomputers, 390, 391 Superconducting Super Collider (SSD) project, 28, 29–30, 418–19n supernovas in 1572 and 1604, 52, 171 superpowers goal of American preeminence, 31, 419n science, technology, and education importance of, 31 space programs, 5, 25 survivability of nuclear war, 306–7 Suskind, Ron, 35 Sylvester II (pope), 101, 441n Syracuse, Greece, 45, 47 Syria, civilian deaths in air strikes, 514–15n Szalay, Alexander S., 224 tachygraphe, 120, 446n Tahiti, 91 Tartessos, tin mines, 70, 433n tasimeter, 220, 221 Taurus, 41, 66, 422n Taylor, E.

Rocket Billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the New Space Race by Tim Fernholz

Amazon Web Services, Apollo 13, autonomous vehicles, business climate, Charles Lindbergh, Clayton Christensen, cloud computing, Colonization of Mars, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, deep learning, disruptive innovation, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, fail fast, fulfillment center, Gene Kranz, high net worth, high-speed rail, Iridium satellite, Jeff Bezos, Kickstarter, Kim Stanley Robinson, Kwajalein Atoll, low earth orbit, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, Mars Society, Masayoshi Son, megaproject, military-industrial complex, minimum viable product, multiplanetary species, mutually assured destruction, Neal Stephenson, Neil Armstrong, new economy, no-fly zone, nuclear paranoia, paypal mafia, Peter H. Diamandis: Planetary Resources, Peter Thiel, pets.com, planetary scale, private spaceflight, profit maximization, RAND corporation, Richard Feynman, Richard Feynman: Challenger O-ring, Ronald Reagan, satellite internet, Scaled Composites, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, skunkworks, SoftBank, sovereign wealth fund, space junk, SpaceShipOne, Stephen Hawking, Steve Jobs, Strategic Defense Initiative, trade route, undersea cable, vertical integration, Virgin Galactic, VTOL, We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters, X Prize, Y2K

See also CRS-7 rocket; Dragon spacecraft; Falcon 9; Grasshopper; Merlin rocket; Raptor engine Air Force contract, 179–80 astronauts to ISS, 252 Big Falcon Rocket, 244–45, 251 Big Fucking Test Stand (BFTS), 88 Blue Origin competition, 160, 246–47 Cassiope satellite, 180 CCDEV competition and funding, 159–60, 162–64 company development and financing, 66–67, 70, 210, 227–28 floating launch pads, 201–2 funding for development, 39, 78, 82–84, 130–33 government relations, 80, 82 launch vehicle development, 63 Martian colonization plan, 49, 233 minimum viable product, 81 Musk investment, 43 and NASA, 13, 156, 209–10 NASA space taxi program, 113–14, 117, 130, 137 Obama visit to Kennedy Space Center, 146 “Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly” (RUD), 201–2 recruiting top engineers, 39, 117 retropropulsion and reusability, 196–202 satellite network proposal, 231–34 servicing the ISS, 41 SES-8, 180 small rocket, business plan for, 60–62, 171 small rocket schedule, 79 and Space Launch Center 39-A (SLC-39A), 169–70 success of, 174–76, 219–20 and ULA, 37–38 unveiling, 8 and US Air Force, 9, 176, 193 Stafford, Thomas, 96 Starbuck, Randy, 28 Star Wars. See Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) Stennis Space Center, 88 Stephenson, Neal, 69 Stone, Brad, 67–68, 123 Stone, Dennis, 160 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), 82–83, 99–100, 253–54 Brilliant Pebbles, 99 prototype for rapid satellite launcher (DC-XA), 125 Svitek, Tomas, 56, 70, 122–25 T; Telecom Technologies Inc., 6 Teledesic, 2–3, 27, 32, 230, 232 Tesla, Inc., 43 Thiel, Peter, 45, 131–32 Thompson, Chris, 66, 214 Thorn, Valin, 145 Thor rocket, 107 Tiangong-1 and 2, 223 Time, Person of the Year (Bezos), 4 Titan IV rocket, 25, 27–29, 222 Tobey, Brett, 191–92, 227 TransAstra, 241 Trump, Donald, 44 Trump administration, 244 Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin, 76–77, 83 Twitter, 132 Bezos announcement of New Shepard, 15 Bezos tweet: congrats on Falcon landing, 217–18 Bezos tweet: New Shepard reusable booster stage, 215 Musk barbs at Bezos’s New Shepard, 16 Musk tweet on ULA/Rocketdyne, 188 U; United Launch Alliance (ULA), 8–9, 171.

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SpaceX’s engineers thought a low-cost alternative that could bring satellites to orbit on demand would quickly find a market, and they wouldn’t have to worry about competing directly with larger vehicles built by Lockheed Martin, Arianespace, and the Russian aerospace industry. There was another angle to the play: ever since the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) of the eighties—aka “Star Wars”—the military had been eager to find a way to quickly deploy small satellites into space. That had been a key motivator behind the DC-X project. One of SpaceX’s earliest customers was DARPA, the Pentagon’s high-tech research division, which wanted to quickly deploy and operate small satellites in response to potential conflicts.

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He pointed out that, alongside the Apollo program, NASA had launched planetary missions like Mariner and Viking, flown earth-observing satellites, and created the X-15 rocket plane that had inspired Burt Rutan. But his key influence was the Reagan-era program known derisively as Star Wars but properly called the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). It had arisen as something of a parallel space program to satisfy the new president’s ideological objectives. The Reagan administration wanted to find a trump card in nuclear strategy to replace the deterrence logic of “mutually assured destruction,” which theoretically forestalled nuclear war by presenting it as a murder-suicide.

The Mission: A True Story by David W. Brown

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Apollo 11, Apollo 13, Berlin Wall, Columbine, Gregor Mendel, heat death of the universe, Isaac Newton, James Webb Space Telescope, Kickstarter, Kuiper Belt, low earth orbit, Mars Rover, mutually assured destruction, Neil Armstrong, obamacare, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, orbital mechanics / astrodynamics, Pluto: dwarf planet, race to the bottom, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Silicon Valley, Stephen Hawking, Steve Jobs, Strategic Defense Initiative, transcontinental railway, urban planning, women in the workforce, Y2K, zero-sum game

MAYBE REAGAN WAS playing four-dimensional chess, though more likely it was just a happy accident, but while he was cutting planetary science to the bone, and then shaving bone to the marrow, and then just sort of idly needling around in there to see which bits of gooey tissue NASA could do without, the president was also funding a secret space program that would eventually pay Apollo-level technological dividends and enable planetary exploration for the next two decades.109 It was called the Strategic Defense Initiative and, as envisioned, would be a missile defense shield designed to deflect or destroy an incoming Soviet nuclear strike.110 The idea was to nullify the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction, which asserted that if Ivan launched nukes at Uncle Sam (or vice versa), it would be suicide because the other side would retaliate with everything it’s got.111, 112 The Strategic Defense Initiative, went the argument, would deter the Soviets from attacking because we would survive the onslaught unscathed.

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Portree, the extraordinary historian who, to the best of my knowledge, has done the best and most comprehensive work connecting SDI and Faster-Better-Cheaper. His work can be found at DSFP’s Spaceflight History, https://spaceflighthistory.blogspot.com. 110.“Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI),” Atomic Heritage Foundation, last modified July 18, 2018, https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/strategic-defense-initiative-sdi. 111.A. Wellerstein, “Why Build So Many Nukes? Factors Behind the Size of the Cold War Stockpile” (presentation, Putting the Genie Back in the Bottle: MIT Faculty and Nuclear Arms Reduction, Cambridge, MA, May 2011), http://web.mit.edu/fnl/volume/235/wallslides.pdf.

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The research and technology development for something like this has long been underway on an ad hoc basis at NASA, universities, research institutions, the Defense Department, and the Department of Energy—but there’s never been a unifying purpose bringing them together. And now there is. So the Strategic Defense Initiative went forward.118 It became, by far, the single largest research and development program in the Defense Department’s budget, which was saying something.119 It wasn’t an overnight thing, never looked like the time lapse of a battleship being built. It was more like the world’s largest science fair, with foundational technologies explored, designed, prototyped, tested: adaptive optics allowing laser weapons to mitigate atmospheric blurring; miniaturization and weight reduction of spacecraft components; radiation hardening of computer processors that were now also an order of magnitude faster; artificial neural networks; guidance systems and control units; propulsive technologies.

"Live From Cape Canaveral": Covering the Space Race, From Sputnik to Today by Jay Barbree

Apollo 11, Apollo 13, Charles Lindbergh, dark matter, Gene Kranz, gravity well, invisible hand, Mikhail Gorbachev, Neil Armstrong, Ronald Reagan, Stephen Hawking, Strategic Defense Initiative, white flight

He recently wrote me: “There are still a few learned people who attempt to deny the importance of the United States Missile Defense Program to the ending of the Cold War. Those who have analyzed the history in detail, though, generally agree that the Strategic Defense Initiative was intimately connected to the fall of the Soviet Union.” Dr. Michael Griffin, presently NASA’s administrator, who was then the deputy for technology of the Strategic Defense Initiative, echoed what Dr. McCall said. Dr. Griffin added, “Many feel the technological successes of SDI to stop nuclear strikes against the United States overwhelmed the Soviets’ ability to compete.” As Dr.

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The United States would maintain the leadership role and provide the major elements of the future space city, with the Europeans and Japanese building research modules and Canada developing a mobile service center, a maintenance depot, and a large robotic arm. By having to compete with the financial weight of America’s Strategic Defense Initiative (called “Star Wars” by some), the Soviet Union broke apart and ceased to exist. Officials of the cash-strapped Russian Republic began vigorous international marketing of the still-to-be-built larger station called Mir 2. The most interested party was the United States. Meanwhile the International Space Station survived by only one vote in Congress.

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But for the sake of clarity, permit me to qualify my judgment. I’m hard put to set anything above the achievement of sending twelve astronauts to walk on the moon. I’m all for sending astronauts back to build a lasting lunar base. But when it comes to the salvation of the human species, the achievement of the Strategic Defense Initiative was unequaled. Only providence knows the millions, possibly billions, of lives it most likely saved. Yep! I’m talking about “Star Wars,” that project many academics and members of the media mocked and ridiculed at a time when earthly foes had some thirty thousand nuclear warheads aimed at each other—enough destructive fire and shock waves to destroy civilization.

Stealth by Peter Westwick

Berlin Wall, centre right, computer age, cuban missile crisis, Dr. Strangelove, fixed-gear, friendly fire, Haight Ashbury, Isaac Newton, John Markoff, knowledge economy, machine translation, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, mutually assured destruction, Neil Armstrong, Norman Mailer, RAND corporation, risk tolerance, Ronald Reagan, Silicon Valley, Strategic Defense Initiative, Teledyne, Vladimir Vetrov: Farewell Dossier, white flight

In this sense the leaks about Stealth, and the press conference, served an important purpose, one Brown and Perry discussed at the time.18 There is no evidence to suggest that the US revealed Stealth’s existence as part of a campaign to frighten the Soviets (or that the technology itself was part of a sting operation, as some partisans would later claim about Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as Star Wars). The US, after all, was still devoting vast resources to keeping Stealth secret—both with the security regime and by carefully coordinating test flights to avoid Soviet satellite overflights—because it was intended for combat use. But by proclaiming the existence of Stealth, the US achieved one of its most important though unintended consequences: its effect on Soviet thinking.

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Without going into detail, Reagan asserted that “America does possess—now—the technologies to attain very significant improvements in the effectiveness of our conventional, nonnuclear forces.”36 This message was ignored because Reagan used the same speech to reveal an extraordinary proposal to build a vast defense system against strategic missiles, what became known as the Strategic Defense Initiative, or Star Wars. The media and public focused overwhelmingly on the missile defense part of the speech and missed the point about conventional weapons.37 It only later dawned on some administration officials, particularly George Keyworth, Reagan’s science adviser, that the new conventional capabilities suggested another way to achieve the goal of Star Wars—namely, as Reagan had put it in his speech, to render nuclear weapons “obsolete.”38 The neglect of the strategic implications of the new conventional weapons, however, was only in part due to Star Wars dominating the strategic conversation.

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Did scientists and engineers in the aerospace firms of Burbank, Hawthorne, and other blue-sky Southern California suburbs finally persuade the Soviets that they couldn’t keep up with the US, technologically or economically, and that their system had fatal flaws? The poster child for this argument is the Strategic Defense Initiative, President Reagan’s proposed missile-defense system in the 1980s, which some commentators have credited with introducing a new generation of space-based directed-energy weapons such as lasers and particle beams, forcing the Soviets into a high-tech arms race they could not afford, let alone win.3 Stealth may have presented an even bigger threat than Star Wars.

The Age of Radiance: The Epic Rise and Dramatic Fall of the Atomic Era by Craig Nelson

Albert Einstein, Brownian motion, Charles Lindbergh, clean tech, cognitive dissonance, Columbine, continuation of politics by other means, corporate governance, cuban missile crisis, dark matter, Doomsday Clock, Dr. Strangelove, El Camino Real, Ernest Rutherford, failed state, Great Leap Forward, Henri Poincaré, Herman Kahn, hive mind, Isaac Newton, it's over 9,000, John von Neumann, Louis Pasteur, low earth orbit, Menlo Park, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, music of the spheres, mutually assured destruction, nuclear taboo, nuclear winter, oil shale / tar sands, Project Plowshare, Ralph Nader, Richard Feynman, Ronald Reagan, Skype, Strategic Defense Initiative, Stuxnet, technoutopianism, Ted Sorensen, TED Talk, too big to fail, uranium enrichment, William Langewiesche, éminence grise

While this may seem one more instance of a superpower leader’s being all hat and no cattle, Reagan’s intransigence had a secret reason, and his name was Edward Teller. Teller had convinced Reagan he could create a technology that would forever protect the United States of America from nuclear attack—the Strategic Defense Initiative—Star Wars. Inspired by Teller, Ronald Reagan’s SDI fantasies would keep the United States and the USSR from reaching the great dream that so many have had since Hiroshima . . . of zero nuclear arms. Isidor Rabi had sent President Eisenhower an October 28, 1957, memo explaining that, as the arc of a ballistic missile was a mathematical signature, the location of its origin could be identified.

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Instead of Mutual Assured Destruction, with Teller’s help the president could offer the nation Mutual Assured Survival with an atmospheric shield so powerful it would render all nuclear weapons obsolete. It is unclear to this day whether Teller explained to Reagan that all of this was based on enormous nuclear weapons floating continuously overhead in low-earth orbit. Just as Eisenhower had great hopes with Atoms for Peace, Reagan became enthralled with the Strategic Defense Initiative. But in many quarters, the news was not well received. After hearing the president announce his new program in a televised speech, Gorbachev met with the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy’s deputy director, Yevgeny Velikhov, who told him that Russian physicists had tried for decades to create exactly the weapons Teller and Reagan were talking about, including the same space laser cannon, as well as antimissile rockets fired from satellites.

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Bush, completed both the START treaty instigated by Gorbachev and Reagan as well as START II, the biggest arms reduction in history, topping the arsenal for each superpower to thirty-five hundred warheads apiece. Bush then unilaterally eliminated both US chemical and tactical (battleground) nuclear weapons—artillery shells, naval torpedoes, ground-missile warheads. On October 5, Gorbachev did the same. Still, as of 2013, the Pentagon has spent $157.8 billion on the Strategic Defense Initiative and its successors (including the present-day Missile Defense Agency), even though fifty Nobel laureates signed a 2001 petition to Congress pointing out that, outside of laboratory conditions, the goal of “hitting a bullet with a bullet” was absurd. MDA enthusiasts pointed to the 90 percent success rate of Israel’s Iron Kippah (and the American agency is working with Israel on a system known as David’s Sling), but the Kippah’s targets are artillery only.

The Jasons: The Secret History of Science's Postwar Elite by Ann Finkbeiner

anthropic principle, anti-communist, Boeing 747, computer age, Dr. Strangelove, guns versus butter model, illegal immigration, Maui Hawaii, Menlo Park, military-industrial complex, Murray Gell-Mann, mutually assured destruction, nuclear taboo, old-boy network, profit motive, RAND corporation, Richard Feynman, Ronald Reagan, Strategic Defense Initiative

Teller contradicted other physicists’ pragmatic approach to the curiosity-sin problem: build the bombs only because the other side is going to build them anyway, then work to get them banned. Teller, to the day of his death, remained a strong and loud advocate of bigger, better, and more numerous bombs; he opposed the test ban treaties. He was credited with convincing President Ronald Reagan to launch the Strategic Defense Initiative, which physicists, impugning its basis in reality, called Star Wars. Teller, physicists thought, could ignore any physics that contradicted his own political beliefs; in fact, they thought he used physics to further his beliefs; they thought he was the original Dr. Strangelove. Because Teller’s reputation was so bad for so long not only among physicists but also among the general public, and because American citizens are aware that theirs was the first country to have built the bomb and the only one to have used it, I wonder whether Edward Teller, whatever else he was, might also have been our collective scapegoat.

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Treiman said, “It’s a chatty bunch.” From the start, Jason’s studies followed ARPA’s missions. ARPA’s biggest mission was a program, called Defender, to develop a defense against ballistic missiles. Over the years the mission has changed names—Anti-Ballistic Missile defense (ABM), Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI or Star Wars), and National Missile Defense (NMD)—but the question is always the same: how to figure out what’s being shot at us and how to defend ourselves. The Defender program, in line with ARPA’s high-payoff, high-risk character, had a binary personality. On the one hand, the ARPA historians say that Defender was “credited with major contributions to ballistic missile defense”: Defender developed the phased array radars that could track many missiles simultaneously and fast and that became the basis for all subsequent missile defense systems.

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Meanwhile Ronald Reagan had become president, and though PSAC had never been resurrected, a new and smaller science advisory committee did advise the president, though it didn’t report to him directly. On March 23, 1983, Reagan announced a new missile defense program that he called the Strategic Defense Initiative, or SDI, and that its critics called Star Wars. SDI’s plan was to locate the country’s missile defense system out in space, thereby providing an impermeable antimissile umbrella over the whole country. Reagan’s science advisory committee was surprised; they hadn’t heard of it before. Over the next years Jason reviewed SDI repeatedly; one Jason felt they were pushing the limits of how much independent and often negative advice the Defense Department would continue to pay for.

Cuckoo's Egg by Clifford Stoll

affirmative action, call centre, Golden Gate Park, hiring and firing, information security, John Markoff, Menlo Park, old-boy network, Paul Graham, Richard Stallman, Silicon Valley, Strategic Defense Initiative, undersea cable

We are happy to comply with your request for more information about this network. The following documents are available from this office. Please state which documents you wish mailed to you: #37.6 SDINET Overview Description Document 19 pages, revised Sept, 1985 #41.7 Strategic Defense Initiative and Computer Networks: Plans and implementations (Conference Notes) 227 pages, revised Sept, 1985 #45.2 Strategic Defense Initiative and Computer Networks: Plans and implementations (Conference Notes) 300 pages, June, 1986 #47.3 SDINET Connectivity Requirements 65 pages, revised April, 1986 #48.8 How to link into the SDINET 25 pages, July 1986 #49.1 X.25 and X.75 connections to SDINET (includes Japanese, European, and Hawaii nodes) 8 pages, December, 1986 #55.2 SDINET management plan for 1986 to 1988 47 pages, November 1985 #62.7 Unclassified SDINET membership list (includes major Milnet connections) 24 pages, November 1896 #65.3 Classified SDINET membership list 9 pages, November, 1986 #69.1 Developments in SDINET and Sdi Disnet 28 pages, October, 1986 NUI Request Form This form is available here, but should be returned to the Network Control Center Other documents are available as well.

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By reading our files, you’d find lieutenants and colonels, scientists and engineers. Here and there, we dropped hints of meetings and classified reports. And we invented Barbara Sherwin, the sweet, bumbling secretary trying to figure out her new word processor and to keep track of the endless stream of documents produced by our newly invented “Strategic Defense Initiative Network Office.” We named our fictitious secretary after an astronomer, Barbara Schaefer, and used the astronomer’s real mailing address. I mentioned to the real Barbara to watch for any strange mail addressed to Barb Sherwin. Our fake memoranda included budget requests ($50 million for communications costs), purchase orders, and technical descriptions of this network.

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Please send me a price list and an update on the SDI Network Project. Thank you for your cooperation. Very truly yours, Laszlo J. Balogh #37.6 SDI Network Overview Description Document, 19 pages, December 1986 #41.7 SDI Network Functional Requirement Document, 227 pages, Revised September 1985 #45.2 Strategic Defense Initiations and Computer Network Plans and Implementations of Conference Notes, 300 pages, June 1986 #47.3 SDI Network Connectivity Requirements, 65 pages, Revised April 1986 #48.8 How to Link to SDI Network, 25 pages, July 1986 #49.1 X.25 and X.75 Connection to SDI Network (includes Japanese, European, Hawaiian, 8 pages, December 1986) #55.2 SDI Network Management Plan for 1986 to 1988, 47 pages, November Membership list (includes major connection, 24 pages, November 1986) #65.3 List, 9 pages, November 1986 Son of a bitch!

Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe by Serhii Plokhy

company town, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, Ronald Reagan, stem cell, Strategic Defense Initiative, uranium enrichment

See dissidents Soviet Life, 53 Soviet Union alcoholism in, 10–11, 60 collapse of, xv–xvi, 248, 342 consumer goods shortages in, 87–88, 302 coup of August 1991 and, 317–319 economic problems in, 8–9, 14, 257 economic reform (see political and economic reform) food shortages in, 10, 36, 302 US embargoes on sale of technologies to, 16 Speakes, Larry, 180–181, 246 Stalin, Joseph, 8, 13, 29, 44, 158, 205, 233, 268 “Star Wars” Strategic Defense Initiative, xii state commission on Chernobyl accident (aka Shcherbina commission), 121, 123–129, 142, 166, 190–192, 194, 198, 201, 206, 222, 223, 259–260, 270, 322, 327 causes of accident and, 121, 254 lack of organization by, 217–218 meeting on how to shut down reactor and, 129–135 State Committee for Science and Technology, 259 State Committee on Hydrology and Meteorology, 213 Stechanka, 61 Stokotelna, Olha, 286 Strakholissia, 202 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI; “Star Wars”), 15–16 Sverstiuk, Yevhen, 286, 287 Sweden, 1, 2, 175–176, 179, 188 Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, 2 Synko, Vasyl, 198–199, 200–201, 202 Tarakanov, Nikolai, 222 Tarashcha Raion, 40 Tashkent, 24, 25 TASS (Soviet news agency), 176, 179, 182, 239 Teliatnikov, Leonid, 89–90, 94–95, 97, 98, 107 Terasaki, Paul, 243, 244 TerraPower Company, 348 Thatcher, Margaret, 9 Thomas, Lee, 179 Three Mile Island nuclear accident, 49, 131, 182, 255 Time magazine, 235 Tkachenko, Oleksandr, 197 Tomsk-7 nuclear power station, 65 Toptunov, Leonid, 78, 80–81, 83, 103, 108, 275 radiation sickness and, 111–112, 118, 144, 145, 147 Tov, Baal Shem, 28 Trehub, Yurii, 71–73, 77–78, 78–79, 80–81, 85, 106, 107 Tribuna ėnergetika (Tribune of the Energy Worker), 40, 45–46, 53, 55, 59, 60, 61 Tversky, Rabbi Menachen Nachum, 28 Twenty-seventh Communist Party Congress, 7–21, 23, 38, 52, 122, 196, 235–236, 295 Ukraine, xvi, 11 activism (see activism/activists; dissidents) economy, 328–329, 331, 334 famine (aka Holodomor), 29, 31, 40–41, 202 losses related to Chernobyl accident by, 339 post-Chernobyl social welfare laws defining status of disaster victims and, 328, 329 radiation in, 239, 339 (see also radiation/radiation level/radioactive contamination) refusal to shut down Chernobyl plant for economic reasons in, 334–338 return to use of nuclear energy by, 329–330 Russian aggression toward, 24, 333, 342 Western assistance in completing the construction of two reactors in, 336–337, 339, 341 Ukrainian commission on Chernobyl accident (aka Liashko commission), 194–195, 196–197, 223, 239, 316 Ukrainian Cultural Club, 289, 295–296 Ukrainian Helsinki Group, 286, 295 Ukrainian independence, 317–319, 321, 323 Ukrainian Institute for Nuclear Research, 185 Ukrainian leadership Chernobyl accident and, 137–142 Ukrainian parliamentary commission on consequences of Chernobyl accident (aka Yavorivsky commission), 188, 316, 318, 320–328, 329 Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, 287 United Arab Emirates, 347 United Kingdom, 236 United Nations, 340 United Nations Committee on the Effects of Nuclear Radiation, 213 United Press International, 181, 240 United States, 8, 203, 260 coverage of Chernobyl accident in, Soviet anger over, 181 criticism of Soviet handling of Chernobyl accident by, 234, 235–236, 237, 238, 244 financial assistance and security assurances to Ukraine in return for giving up nuclear arsenal and, 332 Manhattan Project and, 17 offer of assistance by, 180, 182, 246 reaction to Soviet concealment of Chernobyl accident by, 174, 177, 179–180, 246–247 Three Mile Island nuclear accident in, 49, 131, 182, 255 uskorenie (acceleration of social and economic development), 9–10, 21, 59.

…

Vita, our animated young Ukrainian guide, first takes us to the 30-kilometer exclusion zone and then to the more restricted 10-kilometer one—two circles, one inside the other, with the former nuclear power plant at their center and a radius of 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) and 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), respectively. We get to see the Soviet radar called Duga, or Arch—a response to Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” Strategic Defense Initiative—by today’s standards a low-tech system. It was designed to detect a possible nuclear attack from the East Coast of the United States. From there we proceeded to the city of Chernobyl, its nuclear power station, and the neighboring city of Prypiat, a ghost town that once housed close to 50,000 construction workers and operators of the destroyed plant.

…

His proposed solution was a program that would eliminate all nuclear weapons before the end of the century. Now he reported to the congress that he had received President Reagan’s response to his initiative. Gorbachev considered it largely negative. Reagan supported the destruction of nuclear arms in principle but insisted on maintaining his Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a project dubbed “Star Wars” because of its focus on the construction of a space-based antimissile system. “The reduction of strategic nuclear arsenals is predicated on our agreement to the ‘Star Wars’ programs and the reduction—unilateral, by the way—of Soviet conventional armaments,” Gorbachev told the deputies of Reagan’s response, not without bitterness and disappointment.12 The Soviet leader knew that his country had neither the resources nor the technology to match SDI, which was still in the design stage but, if realized, would mean another round of the arms race that the Soviet Union could not afford.

The Pentagon's Brain: An Uncensored History of DARPA, America's Top-Secret Military Research Agency by Annie Jacobsen

Albert Einstein, Berlin Wall, Boston Dynamics, colonial rule, crowdsourcing, cuban missile crisis, Dean Kamen, disinformation, Dr. Strangelove, drone strike, Edward Snowden, Fall of the Berlin Wall, game design, GPS: selective availability, Herman Kahn, Ivan Sutherland, John Markoff, John von Neumann, license plate recognition, Livingstone, I presume, low earth orbit, megacity, Menlo Park, meta-analysis, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, Murray Gell-Mann, mutually assured destruction, Neil Armstrong, Norman Mailer, operation paperclip, place-making, RAND corporation, restrictive zoning, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan: Tear down this wall, social intelligence, stem cell, Stephen Hawking, Strategic Defense Initiative, traumatic brain injury, zero-sum game

That even if the technology were successful, it could trigger a dangerous new arms race with the Soviets. But after debating the issue, Congress gave the Reagan White House the go-ahead for the Strategic Defense Initiative, and over the next ten years, nearly $20 billion was spent. It is often said that the Clinton administration canceled the SDI program, when in fact it canceled only certain elements of the Strategic Defense Initiative. SDI never really went away. In 2012 the Fiscal Times reported that more than $100 billion had been spent on SDI technologies in the three decades since Reagan first proposed the idea, $80 billion of which had been spent in the past decade.

…

In another seat was the Jason scientist and Nobel laureate Charles H. Townes, the principal inventor of the laser. At 8:00 p.m., in a nationally televised address, President Reagan announced to the world his decision to launch a major new research and development program to intercept Soviet ICBMs in various stages of flight. The program, the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), would require numerous advanced technology systems, the majority of which were still in the development stage. DARPA would be the lead agency in charge until SDI had its own organization. President Reagan said that the reason for this radical new initiative was simple. When he first became president, he was shocked to learn that in the event of a Soviet nuclear strike, his only option as commander in chief was to launch an all-out nuclear attack against the Soviets in response.

…

For decades, defense scientists like the Jason scientists had been grappling with this conundrum of ballistic missile defense and had concluded that there was no way to defend against an onslaught of incoming ICBMs. Now, Reagan believed that technology had advanced to the point where this could be done sometime in the not-so-distant future. The Strategic Defense Initiative involved huge mirrors in space, space-based surveillance and tracking systems, space-based battle stations, and more. But the element that got the most attention right away was the x-ray laser, which scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory had been working on since the 1970s.

Atomic Obsession: Nuclear Alarmism From Hiroshima to Al-Qaeda by John Mueller

airport security, Albert Einstein, Black Swan, Cass Sunstein, classic study, conceptual framework, cuban missile crisis, Doomsday Clock, energy security, F. W. de Klerk, failed state, guns versus butter model, Herman Kahn, long peace, Mikhail Gorbachev, mutually assured destruction, nuclear taboo, nuclear winter, oil shock, Oklahoma City bombing, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, Seymour Hersh, side project, Strategic Defense Initiative, Suez crisis 1956, Timothy McVeigh, uranium enrichment, William Langewiesche, Yom Kippur War

., 76–77 ideology, 33–35 Japanese and, intervention, 45–46 lessons of Korean War, 38 postwar contentment, 33–35 potential invasion of Europe, 35–38 supplies by United States, 37 triple-warhead missiles, 59 world war deterrence, 32 stability, proliferation, 99 Stalin, Joseph, 36, 47, 49–50 “Star Wars,” United States and USSR, 79 status appeal of nuclear weapons, 147–149 value of nuclear weapons as, 105–108, 237 Stenersen, Anne, 207, 214 sting operation, nuclear, 194 stolen bombs, loose nukes, 165–168 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), 79–80, 253n.12 success, modest, of antiproliferation, 126–127 Sudan, death and destruction, 271n.10 suicide, Japanese civilians, 45 suicide pills, 85–86, 253n.26 suitcase bomb Fox Television’s 24 series, 167 possibility, 162 Soviet-made, 272n.35 stolen or illicit purchase, 165 Sunstein, Cass, case for fear, 197–198 “Superbomb,” nuclear weapon, 206 supermissile MX, Strategic Defense Initiative, 81 “supreme priority,” 129, 155–158 taboo, aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 61–63 Taiwan, 118, 124, 138 Taiwan Straits crises, nuclear threat, 48 Takeyh, Ray, invasion of Iran, 156 Taliban hosts to al-Qaeda, 224 leader Omar in Afghanistan, 211 opposition by Pakistan after 9/11, 225 Pakistan’s trouble with, 167 retaking Afghanistan and seizing power, 265n.12 Taubman, William, world war and Soviets, 32 Tauscher, Rep.

…

Rather than merely freezing nuclear weapons at present levels, as his noisy opponents were urging, Reagan delightedly proposed building a defense that would make at least those nuclear weapons (and perhaps his critics as well) “impotent and obsolete.” He even offered to share the technology, which he called the Strategic Defense Initiative (and just about everyone else called “Star Wars”), with the Soviets under appropriate circumstances.12 The Soviets were deeply alarmed at this idea (which is one reason Congress went along with Reagan’s proposal to work on it). In part they were concerned that the technology had offensive potential because it could be used either to destroy Soviet missiles on the ground or to neutralize a Soviet retaliatory strike.

…

However, he nonetheless kept open the possibility of proceeding with production so that he could use it as a bargaining chip with the Soviets in arms control negotiations, and his successor, Ronald Reagan, then went ahead with production. Similarly, opponents of the supermissile known as the MX and of Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative failed in Congress in part because some of those who considered the weapons systems dangerous or valueless nevertheless supported them so that they could be used as bargaining chips in arms control talks. Whether those arms reductions were wise or not, they failed in considerable measure because arms control talks existed.

Realizing Tomorrow: The Path to Private Spaceflight by Chris Dubbs, Emeline Paat-dahlstrom, Charles D. Walker

Berlin Wall, Boeing 747, call centre, Charles Lindbergh, Dennis Tito, desegregation, Donald Trump, Doomsday Book, Elon Musk, high net worth, Iridium satellite, iterative process, Jeff Bezos, Kickstarter, Kwajalein Atoll, low earth orbit, Mark Shuttleworth, Mars Society, megaproject, Mikhail Gorbachev, multiplanetary species, Neal Stephenson, Neil Armstrong, Nelson Mandela, Norman Mailer, private spaceflight, restrictive zoning, Richard Feynman, Ronald Reagan, Scaled Composites, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Silicon Valley, Skype, SpaceShipOne, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Strategic Defense Initiative, technoutopianism, Virgin Galactic, VTOL, X Prize, young professional

To their relief, the vice president concurred with their findings and set things in motion. It would prove to be the beginning of a new era for developing simple and efficient RLVS for the government as a precursor to the commercial industry that was to follow. As a result of the meeting with the vice president, an SSTO program was initiated and spearheaded by the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (sDIo) office of the U.S. Air Force under its director, Lt. General George L. Monahan Jr. Monahan assigned his deputy for technology, Lt. Colonel Simon P. "Pete" Worden, to set up the SSTO office. The task of creating the program fell to two officers, Lt. Colonel Pat Ladner and Major Jess M.

…

Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin spent five years and burned through almost $1.5 billion in taxpayer dollars, and never flew a single piece of hardware. The hopes and dreams of the SSTO community were again at a standstill. On it October 2ooi Dr. Henry F. Cooper, chairman of the High Frontier organization and civilian director of the Strategic Defense Initiative from 1990-93, shared his views on the need for a viable science and technology program to build spaceplanes in a passionate speech he gave before the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee of the House Science Committee. In his testimony he reviewed the history of the DC-X program and recalled how General Graham had originally taken the SSTO concept to Vice President Quayle, "who in turn, requested that the SDI Organization undertake a serious development program.

…

In fact, Rutan had built a career pushing the limits of aircraft design and taking on projects that others thought impossible. His exotic looking VariEze, a lightweight, fiberglass composite, kit built aircraft, had made him a hero among experimental aircraft fliers. He had established a reputation for innovation in executive aircraft (Beech Aircraft's Starship), unmanned aircraft for the Strategic Defense Initiative (Raptor), and rocket fuselages (McDonnell Douglas DC-X). He had also developed a revolutionary rigid sail that Dennis Connor used on his catamaran, Stars and Stripes, to win the America's Cup in 1988. In 1996 Rutan was coming off the development of a radically new aircraft called the Boomerang, an asymmetrical, twin-engine craft with a fuselage-mounted engine and a second engine on only one of the wings.

Come Fly With Us: NASA's Payload Specialist Program by Melvin Croft, John Youskauskas, Don Thomas

active measures, active transport: walking or cycling, Apollo 13, Berlin Wall, crewed spaceflight, Elon Musk, Gene Kranz, gravity well, Johannes Kepler, Kickstarter, low earth orbit, Neil Armstrong, orbital mechanics / astrodynamics, private spaceflight, Ronald Reagan, Scaled Composites, space junk, SpaceShipOne, Strategic Defense Initiative, Virgin Galactic, X Prize, Yom Kippur War

“He [Onizuka] was more comfortable in things like press conferences and giving speeches to forty thousand and stuff like that. My background had never put me in that position.” As the STS-51C launch date drew closer, the public debate over the secrecy of the upcoming space shuttle mission grew in volume. In the age of President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, speculation ran wild in the nation’s press about the space shuttle eventually taking weapons systems into orbit. One political cartoon depicted an orbiter piloted by Darth Vader carrying the president as a passenger. On the side of the ship were the words “Reagan Space Militarization Program.”

…

With a price tag of over $2 billion, Aldridge was very publicly opposed to the need for another shuttle. Senator Jake Garn and Congressman Bill Nelson, who would both garner rides aboard space shuttle missions, had been in favor of the fifth space plane, suggesting that as many as thirty-three flights per year would be required to support the space station and the Strategic Defense Initiative. NASA administrator James Beggs, after accusations that the air force was looking to get out of the shuttle program entirely, secured a compromise with the DoD to purchase as many as one third of the shuttle flights per year. Beggs, in turn, would stop publicly arguing against the production of the expendable launch vehicles.

…

The program was officially terminated in 1988, and by June of the following year the Manned Spaceflight Control Squadron in Houston was disbanded. After an estimated cost of $5 billion, the SLC-6 launch site at Vandenberg was mothballed and the air force’s Consolidated Space Operations Center in Colorado Springs was, for a time, transferred to the Strategic Defense Initiative. The MSEs would all move on to other assignments or out of active service altogether. It would be two and a half years before the shuttle once again rose from the Florida coastline, and the air force would have to ground several clandestine payloads that could only be launched on the orbiters until they were manifested onto a handful of early postaccident missions.

Bomb Scare by Joseph Cirincione

"World Economic Forum" Davos, Albert Einstein, cuban missile crisis, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Dr. Strangelove, dual-use technology, energy security, Ernest Rutherford, Mahatma Gandhi, Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela, nuclear taboo, Ronald Reagan, Strategic Defense Initiative, technological determinism, uranium enrichment, Yogi Berra

See also Cold War; former Soviet Union; nuclear arms race Spector, Leonard speed of light Spratt, John Sputnik Stalin, Joseph START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) START II (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty II) START III (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty III) Star Wars (Strategic Defense Initiative) Stennis, John Stern, Jessica Stimson, Henry Strassman, Fritz Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty I (SALT I) Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty II (SALT II) Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty II (START II) Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty III (START III) Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars) Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT) (Moscow Treaty) strategic weapons Sunohara, Tsuyoshi Sutton, Willie Sweden Syria Szilard, Leo tactical weapons Taiwan Taliban Tannenwald, Nina technological determinism.

…

Richard Perle, then assistant secretary of defense for international security policy, told Newsweek in 1983, “Democracies will not sacrifice to protect their security in the absence of a sense of danger, and every time we create the impression that we and the Soviets are cooperating and moderating the competition, we diminish the sense of apprehension.”40 President Reagan began programs to increase U.S. nuclear and conventional military power, including production of the MX missile (a new ten-warhead intercontinental ballistics missile), the B-1 intercontinental strategic bomber, additional Trident ballistic missile submarines, and, most famously, the elaborate anti-missile program knows as the Strategic Defense Initiative, or “Star Wars.” The private conservative Committee for the Present Danger, which counted Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, Paul Nitze, and Eugene Rostow among its leading members, had organized support for these and other military programs to provide what they saw as a needed corrective to the drift and “appeasement” policies of the 1970s.

Reagan at Reykjavik: Forty-Eight Hours That Ended the Cold War by Ken Adelman

anti-communist, Berlin Wall, British Empire, cuban missile crisis, Deng Xiaoping, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Donald Trump, Dr. Strangelove, F. W. de Klerk, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Haight Ashbury, It's morning again in America, Kitchen Debate, kremlinology, Mikhail Gorbachev, mutually assured destruction, Nelson Mandela, old-boy network, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan: Tear down this wall, Saturday Night Live, Sinatra Doctrine, Strategic Defense Initiative, summit fever, War on Poverty, Yogi Berra

-Soviet crisis, which had begun on September 2, 1986, when the KGB had arrested on espionage charges an American journalist for U.S. News & World Report, Nicholas Daniloff. Making a big deal of this, Gorbachev claimed that the United States “deliberately sought to aggravate Soviet-American relations and to increase tension.” Moreover, Reagan’s stance on the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) seemed “a bypass route to securing nuclear superiority.” So maybe this wasn’t the man about whom British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had said, “We can do business together” two years earlier. By then, Thatcher was already known as the Iron Lady, a sobriquet she relished even though it originally came from the Soviet Army newspaper, Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star).

…

The idea, though appalling, was appealingly simple: if both sides had enough nuclear arms to wipe out the other, then the prospect of mutually assured destruction would render their use irrational and hence preclude such use. As became unmistakable at Reykjavik, the MAD doctrine offended Reagan’s moral sense. It was what George Orwell might have included as a scheme so stupid that only an intellectual could have created it. Reagan’s opposition to MAD propelled him toward the Strategic Defense Initiative, which was disparagingly dubbed Star Wars. The showdown in Reykjavik would be waged in this intellectual arena of MAD, SDI, and the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. Many serious people subscribed to MAD, and for good reason. By the early 1960s the United States and the Soviet Union had developed intercontinental ballistic missiles, which could be launched from land or sea to demolish the other country within a half hour.

…

Reagan, supported by Margaret Thatcher and others, insisted that the NATO Alliance stay the course. The U.S. missiles would be deployed unless an arms agreement with the Soviets precluded it. But everyone knew that the likelihood of that ever happening ranged from dubious to preposterous—everyone, that is, until Reykjavik. Reagan’s third radical innovation was the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). He startled everyone when announcing it on March 23, 1983, including his own secretary of defense. Caspar Weinberger and his assistant secretary, Richard Perle, were attending a NATO meeting in Portugal when informed that SDI would be announced hours later. They tried to stop it, but the announcement came anyway, at the end of an otherwise unexceptional TV address to garner support for his defense buildup.

Machines of Loving Grace: The Quest for Common Ground Between Humans and Robots by John Markoff

A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, AI winter, airport security, Andy Rubin, Apollo 11, Apple II, artificial general intelligence, Asilomar, augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, backpropagation, basic income, Baxter: Rethink Robotics, Bill Atkinson, Bill Duvall, bioinformatics, Boston Dynamics, Brewster Kahle, Burning Man, call centre, cellular automata, Charles Babbage, Chris Urmson, Claude Shannon: information theory, Clayton Christensen, clean water, cloud computing, cognitive load, collective bargaining, computer age, Computer Lib, computer vision, crowdsourcing, Danny Hillis, DARPA: Urban Challenge, data acquisition, Dean Kamen, deep learning, DeepMind, deskilling, Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life?, don't be evil, Douglas Engelbart, Douglas Engelbart, Douglas Hofstadter, Dr. Strangelove, driverless car, dual-use technology, Dynabook, Edward Snowden, Elon Musk, Erik Brynjolfsson, Evgeny Morozov, factory automation, Fairchild Semiconductor, Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, From Mathematics to the Technologies of Life and Death, future of work, Galaxy Zoo, General Magic , Geoffrey Hinton, Google Glasses, Google X / Alphabet X, Grace Hopper, Gunnar Myrdal, Gödel, Escher, Bach, Hacker Ethic, Hans Moravec, haute couture, Herbert Marcuse, hive mind, hype cycle, hypertext link, indoor plumbing, industrial robot, information retrieval, Internet Archive, Internet of things, invention of the wheel, Ivan Sutherland, Jacques de Vaucanson, Jaron Lanier, Jeff Bezos, Jeff Hawkins, job automation, John Conway, John Markoff, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, John Perry Barlow, John von Neumann, Kaizen: continuous improvement, Kevin Kelly, Kiva Systems, knowledge worker, Kodak vs Instagram, labor-force participation, loose coupling, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, Marshall McLuhan, medical residency, Menlo Park, military-industrial complex, Mitch Kapor, Mother of all demos, natural language processing, Neil Armstrong, new economy, Norbert Wiener, PageRank, PalmPilot, pattern recognition, Philippa Foot, pre–internet, RAND corporation, Ray Kurzweil, reality distortion field, Recombinant DNA, Richard Stallman, Robert Gordon, Robert Solow, Rodney Brooks, Sand Hill Road, Second Machine Age, self-driving car, semantic web, Seymour Hersh, shareholder value, side project, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Singularitarianism, skunkworks, Skype, social software, speech recognition, stealth mode startup, Stephen Hawking, Steve Ballmer, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Steven Levy, Stewart Brand, Strategic Defense Initiative, strong AI, superintelligent machines, tech worker, technological singularity, Ted Nelson, TED Talk, telemarketer, telepresence, telepresence robot, Tenerife airport disaster, The Coming Technological Singularity, the medium is the message, Thorstein Veblen, Tony Fadell, trolley problem, Turing test, Vannevar Bush, Vernor Vinge, warehouse automation, warehouse robotics, Watson beat the top human players on Jeopardy!, We are as Gods, Whole Earth Catalog, William Shockley: the traitorous eight, zero-sum game

Research staff were second-class citizens to academic faculty. He was treated like the hired help, even though he could write code and do serious technical work. His role was like Scotty, the reliable engineer on the starship Enterprise in Star Trek. He was the person who made things work. Fueled in part by the Reagan-era Strategic Defense Initiative, vast new investments were being made in artificial intelligence. It was military-led spending, but it wasn’t entirely about military applications. Corporate America was toying with the idea of expert systems. Ultimately the boom would lead to forty start-up companies and U.S. sales of AI-related hardware and software of $425 million in 1986.

…

As a graduate student Winograd had been active against the war in Vietnam while he was in Boston as part of a group called “Computer People for Peace.” In 1981 he became active again as a leader in helping create a national organization of computer scientists who opposed nuclear weapons. In response to the highly technical Strategic Defense Initiative, the disaffected computer scientists believed they could use the weight of their expertise to create a more effective anti–nuclear weapons group. They evolved from being “people” and became “professionals.” In 1981, they founded a new organization called Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility.

…

The trio spoke with six private rocket launch companies, none of which at the time had made a successful launch. All Brooks needed was funding. He didn’t find any investors in the private sector, so the company pitched another space organization called the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, which was the Pentagon agency previously tasked to build the Strategic Defense Initiative, a feared and ridiculed Star Wars–style missile defense shield. The project, however, had stalled after the fall of the Soviet Union. For a while, however, the BMDO considered competing with NASA by organizing its own moon launch. The MIT trio built a convincing moon launch rover prototype christened Grendel, intended to hitchhike to the moon aboard a converted “Brilliant Pebble,” the Star Wars launch vehicle originally created to destroy ICBMs by colliding with them in space.

1983: Reagan, Andropov, and a World on the Brink by Taylor Downing

Able Archer 83, active measures, anti-communist, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, Boeing 747, cuban missile crisis, disinformation, Donald Trump, Dr. Strangelove, fake news, Fall of the Berlin Wall, full employment, Herman Kahn, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, kremlinology, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, mutually assured destruction, nuclear paranoia, nuclear winter, RAND corporation, Robert Hanssen: Double agent, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan: Tear down this wall, Seymour Hersh, Stanislav Petrov, Strategic Defense Initiative, Vladimir Vetrov: Farewell Dossier, Yom Kippur War

Edgar 24 House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) 24 Howe, Sir Geoffrey 211, 218, 259, 270, 271, 272, 288 Hubbard, Carroll 149 human intelligence (HUMINT) operations 82 human rights issues 14, 48–9, 114, 270, 303, 306, 313, 314, 322 Hungary 42, 264 Hungarian Revolution 43–4 political reforms 328 HVA 128, 129, 130, 131, 133, 134, 135, 251–2, 253, 336 and Operation RYaN 85–6 hybrid warfare 342 Ikle, Fred 142 India, nuclear arsenal 343 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) 9, 12–13, 34, 53, 60, 194, 198, 239, 313 Intermediate Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty 320, 321–2, 333 verification processes 322 intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) 13 Iran 209 Iranian Revolution 29, 202 Tehran embassy hostage crisis 20, 29 Iran-Contra scandal 319–20 Iraq, US military incursions 342, 343 Irgun 203 Iron Curtain 23, 24, 332 Islamic fundamentalism 76, 202, 209, 323 Israel Israel Defence Forces (IDF) 203–4, 205, 206–7 Israeli Air Force 205 nuclear arsenal 343 Israeli-Palestinian conflict 202–9 Ivy League 82 exercise 59, 61–3, 97 Japan Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1–4, 93 listening stations 161–2, 183 Joan (MI6 case officer) 121–2, 291 John Birch Society 149 Johnson, Lyndon B. 26 Jones, General David 56 Jones, Nate 348–9 Kádár, János 43 Kalinin 159 Kalugin, Oleg 85, 240 Kamchatka peninsula 136, 138, 139–40, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 168, 180, 183 Kardunov, Marshal Alexandr 163 Karelian Republic 40–2 Kazakhstan 5, 333, 334 KC-135 tanker aircraft 191 Kennedy, John F. 10, 11, 320 Kennedy, Robert 114 KGB 43, 45–7, 49, 338 and the Able Archer 83 exercise 250–1 Andropov as head of 35, 45, 46–7, 48, 69, 74, 80, 83, 106, 341 directorates 73 First Chief Directorate (FCD) (Foreign Intelligence) 73–4 foreign residencies 46, 81, 118–20, 122–5, 218, 227, 228, 277, 278, 279 intelligence successes 125–8, 134–5 moles within see Gordievsky, Oleg; Martynov, Valery; Vetrov, Captain Vladimir role 45–6, 70 see also Operation RYaN Kharbarovsk 161, 163, 164 Khomeini, Ayatollah 29, 202 Khrushchev, Nikita 9, 10, 42, 43, 45 Cuban missile crisis 11, 114 denounces Stalin 42 Kim Eui-dong 150, 152 Kirghizia 333 Kirkpatrick, Jeane 183 Kissinger, Henry 99, 114 Kline, Major John 56 Kohl, Helmut 319 Korean Air Lines (KAL) Flight 007 149–56, 157–88, 165 downing of 157–69 intelligence community’s verdict on 187 Soviet defence of action 181–2, 183–5, 186–7, 216 Soviet propaganda disaster 176–7, 180 US response 169–79, 187–8 Kosygin, Aleksei 68–9 Kremlinologists 37, 214 Kryuchkov, Vladimir Aleksandrovich 74, 75, 80, 127, 229, 255, 279, 281, 282, 333 Kuklinski, Colonel 110–11 Kulikov, Marshal Viktor 248 Kuntsevo Clinic 234–5, 236, 242, 250, 255, 275 Kurchatov, Igor 5 Kurile islands 136, 139, 155, 171, 187 labour camps 46 Lang, Admiral 137 Laos 29 Latvia 329 Launch Under Attack option 15, 60, 238–9 Leahy, Patrick 176 Lebanon 202–9, 220 Israeli bombardment of Beirut 205–7, 228 Israeli invasion of 203–4 Multinational Force 206, 207, 208, 209 UN peacekeepers 203 Lee Kuan Yew 259 LeMay, General Curtis 8 Libya 110, 310 limited nuclear war concept 10, 15, 55, 88, 343 Line X operation 123, 143, 144, 285 listening stations 163–4, 168, 170, 176, 183, 217, 227, 231, 267–8 lithium H-bomb 7–8 Lithuania 329 Lockheed 54 Lokot, Sergei 246–7 Los Angeles Olympic Games (1984) 268 Lubyanka 46, 284 M-1 Abrams Main Battle Tank 53 McDonald, Larry 149–50, 171 McFarlane, Robert ‘Bud’ 208–9, 262, 297, 320 and Able Archer exercise 231, 260, 261, 265–6 and SDI 99, 100 McNamara, Robert 12 malware 144–5 Manchuria 4, 330 Mao Zedong 44–5 Martynov, Valery 285–6 Marxism-Leninism 36, 45, 50, 65, 69, 71, 134 maskirovka 160, 227, 253 Massive Retaliation doctrine 8, 9, 10 Matlock, Jack 312 Mauroy, Pierre 37 Meese, Edwin 32, 169 MI6 (British Secret Intelligence Service) 110, 121, 122, 126, 281, 336 exfiltration of Oleg Gordievsky 286–92 MiG 204, 205 MiG-23 248 military-industrial complex 74, 303, 310 Minsk 138 Minuteman missiles 195 Misawa 162, 170, 171, 172 missile silos 13, 194, 195, 200, 239, 242–3 Mitterrand, François 143 Moldavia 333 Mondale, Walter 269 Mons 223–4, 225, 229, 250, 256 Moorestown 193 Morrow, Douglas 91 Moscow Olympics (1980) 30, 49, 268 Moscow summit (1988) 323–5 Mozambique 29 Mujahideen 76, 77, 110, 310, 323 multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs) 12, 242, 244 Munich Olympic Games (1972) 203 Murmansk 126 Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) 12, 13, 15, 17, 63, 93, 97, 103, 114, 344 MX missiles 53, 98, 99 Nagasaki, bombing of (1945) 4, 93 Nagy, Imre 43 Nakasone, Yasuhiro 183 National Association of Evangelicals 66 National Command Authority 241 National Emergency Airborne Command Post (Boeing 747) 59, 61 National Intelligence Council 269 National Military Command Center 61, 91, 193 National Security Advisors 189, 309, 320 National Security Agency (NSA) 141, 156, 161, 187, 258, 299 expansion of 54–5 National Security Archive (NSA) 17, 348–9, 350 National Security Council 144, 145, 208, 209, 231 NATO 55, 82, 86, 88, 100, 124, 126, 127, 130, 131, 140, 318, 320 Abel Archer 83 exercise 222–56, 344 Allied Command Europe (ACE) 222 Autumn Forge 83 exercises 223 Current Intelligence Group 131 East German agent in 130–5 MC 161 document 132–3 Political Affairs Directorate 131 response to SDI 134 neo-Nazis 129 Nicaragua 29, 70, 319, 323 Contras 110, 319–20 Nicholson, Major Arthur 295–6 Nine Lives exercise 61, 63 9/11 241 1983–The Brink of Apocalypse (documentary) 346 Nitze, Paul 313 Nixon, Richard 32, 114, 298, 320 anti-ballistic missiles (ABM) Treaty 92 signs Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) 13 Watergate 14, 28, 74 NKVD 5 nomenklatura 70, 220 North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) 90–1, 145, 189, 190, 193 North Korea 4, 44 nuclear capability 343 North, Lieutenant-Colonel Oliver 320 Norway 126, 127 intelligence service 157 Norwegian Labour Party 127 nuclear accidents 190–2 Chernobyl nuclear disaster 310–11 nuclear arms race 6–9, 12–13 nuclear arsenal 200 Soviet 223 US 8 nuclear ‘football’ system 55–6, 240–1 Nuclear Freeze peace movement 96, 103 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty 13 nuclear war Counterforce strategy 10 Defense Readiness Condition (DEFCON) 204, 230 false alerts 189–201, 239 Launch Under Attack option 15, 60, 238–9 limited nuclear war 10, 15, 55, 88, 343 Massive Retaliation doctrine 8, 9, 10 Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) 12, 13, 15, 17, 63, 93, 97, 103, 114, 344 probable consequences 8, 60, 63, 68, 248–9 protocols for launching nuclear weapons 10, 15–16, 55–6, 62–3, 240–1 simulated nuclear attack 61–2 Withhold Options 60 nuclear war scare (1983) 344 Able Archer 83 exercise and 222–56, 344 CIA report on 339–40 Soviet arsenal on maximum alert 16, 240, 242, 243–9, 255, 257, 307 Soviet paranoia and miscalculation 16, 224, 227–9, 232–3, 239, 240, 242, 250–1, 254, 256, 258–61, 344 nuclear winter 16, 249 Nyerere, Julius 259 Obama, Barack 256, 343 observation satellites 90, 111, 194–5, 196, 248, 256 October War (1973) 204, 230 Odom, William 189 Office of Strategic Services (OSS) 107 Ogarkov, Marshal Nikolai 73, 183–4, 184, 198, 236, 241, 245, 250, 255 oil and gas pipelines 65, 143, 145, 285 Okinawa 138 Oko satellite network 194–5 O’Malley, General 173 ‘open labs’ proposal 304, 314 Operation Barbarossa 80–1, 247 Operation Chrome Dome 190–2 Operation RYaN 80, 81–7, 88, 105, 118, 124–5, 216, 217–18, 227, 228–9, 237, 251, 255, 257, 340 categories of intelligence 81–2 confirmation bias 81, 86 information processing 83–4 spurious reports 81, 84, 86, 124–5, 227–8, 250–1 Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States 210 Ossipovich, Major Gennady 162–3, 164–7, 168, 178, 184–5 Pakistan, nuclear arsenal 343 Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) 203–4, 205, 206 Palestinian-Israeli conflict 202–9 Palmerston, Lord 273 Palomares incident (1966) 191–2 Parr, Jerry 56–7 Partial Test Ban Treaty 13 peace movement 66, 95–7, 96, 103, 123–4, 237 Pelše, Arvids 214 Pentecostal Christians 59, 116 perestroika 311, 325, 329 Perroots, Lieutenant-General Leonard 253–5 Pershing II missiles 14, 53, 78, 79, 88, 94, 95, 123, 135, 216, 220, 239, 258, 270, 299, 309, 319, 321 Petropavlosk 138, 158 Petrov, Lieutenant-Colonel Stanislav 195–200, 239 Pfautz, Major General James 172–3 Phalangist militiamen 207 Philby, Kim 278, 292 PL-5 missiles 157 plutonium implosion bomb 4, 6 Podgorny, Nikolai 69 Poindexter, Admiral John 320 Poland 65, 94 political reforms 328 popular protests 42–3 Solidarity 65, 110, 111, 328 Polaris 13 Politburo 34, 47–8, 64, 70, 76, 78, 181, 214, 215, 236, 255, 264, 275, 312, 317, 319 Prague Spring 47 President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB) 339, 349–50 protective missile system see Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) psychological operations (PSYOPS) 139–43, 147, 162, 182, 187, 310, 340 Putin, Vladimir 341 Pym, Francis 37 radiation sickness 3–4, 249 radioactive contamination 192 RAF Lakenheath 190 Ramstein Air Force Base 253 RAND Corporation 12 RC-135 spy planes 140–1, 156–7, 170, 178, 182 Reagan, Nancy 19, 25, 32, 66, 114, 302, 306 Reagan, Ronald 108 and Able Archer 83 exercise 231–2, 261, 262, 263, 265–6 anti-communism and anti-Soviet rhetoric 23, 24, 25, 26, 30–1, 51–2, 64–7, 77–8, 93, 94–5, 110, 114–15, 116, 177, 182, 216, 266 appearance and personality 21, 22, 33 approval ratings 28, 97, 265, 323 approves technological sabotage 144 attempted assassination of 56–8 background of 20–2 belief in personal diplomacy 51, 93–4, 268 ‘bombing Russia’ poor-taste joke 267–8 and Brezhnev 59 Cold War warrior 31, 267, 321 on the decision to launch nuclear weapons 15–16 demands Berlin Wall be pulled down 321 diary entries 64–5, 98, 99–100, 102, 116, 206, 262, 268, 294, 308 and the downing of KAL 007 169, 174, 177, 178, 179, 182, 188 economic policies 27–8, 31 elected President 15, 31–2 ‘evil empire’ rhetoric 66–7, 89, 117, 176, 182, 216, 324 film career 22, 25–6, 301 Geneva summit 297–9, 300–9, 305 Governor of California 27–8 ‘Great Communicator’ 268 and human rights issues 114, 270, 303, 306, 313, 314, 322 and invasion of Grenada 210, 211, 212 and Israeli-Palestinian conflict 202–9 leadership style 27 and Margaret Thatcher 211–12 meets Gordievsky 337, 337 Moscow summit 323–5 and nuclear policy 51, 58–9, 63–4, 91–3, 97–101, 103–4, 114, 261 political philosophy 22–3, 26 populism 19, 27, 33 president of Screen Actors Guild 24, 25 presidential inauguration 19–20, 21, 32–3 protocol for launching nuclear weapons 55–6, 62–3 re-election 265, 266–7, 269 Reykjavik summit 311, 312–18, 317 and SDI 98, 99–105, 117, 134, 298, 306, 313–14, 324 secret meeting with Soviet ambassador 115–17 signs INF Treaty 321 spouses see Reagan, Nancy; Wyman, Jane suggests rapprochement with Soviet Union 266–7, 268, 294 and total abolition of nuclear weapons 51, 93, 315, 318 visits Berlin 320–1 visits London 65 visits NORAD base 90, 91 war games, participation in 61–3, 62, 97, 262 Washington summit 321–3 Reagan Doctrine 110 Red Integrated Strategic Offensive Plan (RISOP) 55, 60 Red Scares 23, 24–5 Reed, Thomas 61, 62, 143–4 Reforger 83 exercise 223 Regan, Don 208 reunification of Germany 332 Rex 82 Alpha exercise 61, 63 Reykjavik summit 311, 312–18, 317 Rivet Joint operations 141, 162 Rogers, William 61 Romania 332 Romanov, Grigory 238, 270 Roosevelt, Franklin D. 27, 146 Rubin, Professor 213 Rupp, Rainer 128–34, 135, 251–3, 336 Russia 334 hybrid warfare capabilities 342 military exercises 342 Sabra and Shatila massacres (1982) 207 Sadat, Anwar 202 Sakhalin island 136, 160, 168, 171, 172, 173, 180, 183, 184 Sakharov, Andrei 48 Sandinistas 29 Saudi Arabia 208, 343 Scarlett, John 121, 125, 218, 259 Schmidt, Helmut 94 Schneider, Dr William 142 Scowcroft, Brent 327 Screen Actors Guild 24, 25 Sea of Okhotsk 136, 138, 156, 159, 162, 168, 180, 187, 299 Second World War 40–1, 107, 146, 255 end of 4 German invasion of Soviet Union 40, 80–1, 247 Serpukhov-15 194, 195–200 Severomorsk 245 Sharansky, Anatoly 49 Sharon, Ariel 203, 207 Shchelokov, Nikolai 88 Shemya 156, 157 Shevardnadze, Eduard 297, 309, 313, 320, 330 Shultz, George 37, 113–16, 117, 146–7, 208, 219, 262 and the downing of KAL 007 169, 174, 175, 176, 179, 185 and the Geneva summit 297, 303 on Gorbachev 295 and the Intermediate Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty 320 meets with Gromyko 185, 240, 296–7 meets with Shevardnadze 320 and the Reykjavik summit 313, 314, 315, 318 and SDI 100, 298 and the Soviet ‘peace offensive’ 309 signals intelligence (SIGINT) 82, 141, 170, 176, 183 Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) 10, 11, 55, 56, 60, 62, 262 Six Day War (1967) 203 ‘snap-ons’ 161, 163, 164, 170 Snow, Jon 324 Sokol 164 Solidarity 65, 110, 111, 328 Solzhenitsyn, Alexander 48 Son Dong-hui 150, 155, 161, 166, 167 South Korea 138 South Korean Navy 137 US-South Korean Mutual Defense Treaty 149 Soviet Air Force 247–8 expansion of 138 Far East Air Defence Command 139, 158, 162, 163, 180–1 Soviet embassy, London 81, 118–20, 122, 218, 228, 279 Soviet embassy, Washington 81, 277, 278 Soviet Far East 136–40, 137, 149–88 Soviet missile systems intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) 9, 34, 194, 239 PL-5 missiles 157 SS-18 missiles 90 SS-19 missiles 242 SS-20 missiles 29, 53, 75, 75, 78, 94, 238, 244, 254, 299, 309, 314, 321 SS-N-8 missiles 246 SS-N-20 missiles 246 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) 161 Soviet Navy Northern Fleet 126, 140, 245, 246 Pacific Fleet 138 submarine fleet 245–7 Soviet Union anti-Jewish purges 46 centralised planning 6, 69 civil defence programme 30 communist orthodoxy 36–7 Congress of People’s Deputies 329 corruption and organised crime 87–8, 333 defence budget 30 dismantling of 329, 333 economic stagnation 37, 48, 50, 64–5, 69, 71, 111 Five Year Plans 39–40 German invasion of 40, 80–1, 247 Great Terror 36, 39–40 human rights issues 14, 48–9, 114, 270, 303, 306, 313, 314, 322 intelligence community see GRU; KGB; SVR invasion and occupation of Afghanistan 30, 76–7 and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 204–5 Kremlin nuclear paranoia 85, 86, 112, 125, 233, 238, 240 see also Able Archer 83 exercise; Operation RYaN Middle East policies 220 military strength and personnel 222–3 nuclear arsenal 223 nuclear programme 4–6, 8, 9, 12 office of head of state 35, 36 oil and gas pipelines 65, 143, 285 outrage over Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) launch 104–5, 106 political reforms 311–12, 329 post-Soviet problems 333 post-war reconstruction 41 reduced nuclear stockpile 333–4 reduction of Soviet forces in Europe 328, 333–4 Second World War 4, 40–1, 80–1, 247, 255 Sino-Soviet relations 44, 45, 220, 330 social conditions 69–70 support for global liberation struggles 29, 30, 52, 70, 94, 109, 301 suspected of influencing American presidential elections 269, 342 suspicion and fear of the West 14, 71–2, 73, 78, 80, 85, 240 technology gap 72, 73, 104, 120, 143, 144 The Soviet War Scare, 1983 (documentary) 346 Soyuz spacecraft 14 space weapons see Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) Speakes, Larry 169, 176 Sputnik 9, 194 SS-18 missiles 90 SS-19 missiles 242 SS-20 missiles 29, 53, 75, 75, 78, 94, 238, 244, 254, 299, 309, 314, 321 SS-N-8 missiles 246 SS-N-20 missiles 246 stagflation 28–9 Stalin, Joseph 5, 23, 24, 35, 146, 237, 329 anti-Jewish purges 47 death of 42 and the Great Terror 36, 39–40 ‘Star Wars’ see Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) Stasi 85, 128, 130, 133, 335 Stewart, Nina 349 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles 310 Stombaugh, Paul, Jr 284 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) 13, 14, 94, 156 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II) 30, 77 Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) 94, 105, 270, 334 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) 103 costs 102 Geneva summit and 298, 299, 304 Gorbachev’s hostility to 273, 298, 299, 304, 305, 306, 309, 313, 314, 315, 316, 319 ‘open labs’ proposal 304, 314 origins of 97–100 proposed limits on 313 public attitudes towards 102 Reagan’s enthusiasm for 98, 99–105, 117, 134, 298, 306, 313–14, 324 Soviet fears of 104–5, 106, 117, 216 ‘strip alert’ 248, 254 Su-24 248 submarines Delta class 138, 246 nuclear weapon-carrying submarines 13, 136, 140, 200, 246 Ohio class 54 Typhoon class 246 suicide bombers 208–9 Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) 223, 229 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) 140–1, 161 Suslov, Mikhail 45 SVR 285, 334 Symms, Steve 149 Syria 204, 205, 209, 220 Syrian Air Force 205 systems failures 192, 193, 200, 201, 239 T-72 tank 204 Tadzhikistan 333 Taliban 77, 323 Tass news agency 182 Tehran embassy hostage crisis (1979–81) 20, 29 telemetry intelligence (TELINT) 156 Teller, Edward 6–7, 97–8, 101 ter Woerds, Margreet 347 terrorism 108–9 Thatcher, Denis 272 Thatcher, Margaret 124, 134, 210, 211–12, 217, 218, 231, 259, 264, 293 and British–Soviet relations 270 and Gordievsky 337, 338 meets Gorbachev 272–4, 274 on nuclear deterrence 318–19 thermonuclear weapons 7–8, 45, 190–1 Thor missiles 13 Thule 192 Tiananmen Square massacre (1989) 330 Titan missiles 13 Titov, Gennadi 127 Tkachenko, Captain Viktor 243–4 Tolkachev, Adolf 283–4 Tomahawk Cruise missiles 53 Topaz see Rupp, Rainer Treholt, Arne 127–8 Trident missiles 54, 319 ‘Trinity’ atomic test 5 Tripoli 310 ‘Trojan horses’ 144–5 Trudeau, Pierre 271 Truman, Harry 6, 7, 107 Trump, Donald 31, 269, 342, 343 Tsygichko, Vitalii 239 Tupolev TU-22M ‘Backfire’ bomber 138, 247 United States budget deficit 55, 102 Ukraine 333, 334, 341 United Nations 185 Lebanese operations 203 peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) 203 Security Council 183 United States declining superpower role 342–3 defence budget 52, 66, 79, 342 intelligence community see Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); National Security Agency (NSA); Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 203–4 military rearmament 52–4, 116 military-industrial complex 74, 303, 310 nuclear arsenal 8 nuclear programme 6–8, 9, 12 peace movement 66, 96, 96, 103 Red Scares 23, 24–5 Second World War 107 Washington KGB residency 81, 277, 278 US Air Force Air Force Intelligence 172–3, 178 PSYOPS 140–1, 142 Strategic Air Command 8, 10, 58, 90–1, 156, 190–1, 193 US Marines 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 212, 217 US missile systems anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs) 12, 13 Cruise missiles 53, 78, 88, 94, 95, 123, 135, 216, 220, 258, 270, 299, 309, 321 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) 12–13, 53, 198 Minuteman missiles 195 multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs) 12 MX missiles 53, 98, 99 Pershing II missiles 14, 53, 78, 79, 88, 94, 95, 123, 135, 216, 220, 239, 258, 270, 299, 309, 319, 321 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles 310 submarine-launched ballistic missiles 13 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) 140–1 Trident missiles 54 Vanguard missiles 9 US Navy 142 expansion 54, 138 Pacific Fleet 138 PSYOPS 142 US presidential elections 1964 26 1976 28 1980 30–1 1984 265–9 2016 269, 342 suspected Soviet influence 269, 342 USS Coral Sea 137 USS Eisenhower 140 USS Enterprise 136–7 USS Midway 137, 139 USS New Jersey 208 Ustinov, Marshal Dmitri 34–5, 87, 180, 181, 198, 215, 236, 241, 242, 255 US-South Korean Mutual Defense Treaty 149 Uzbekistan 333 Vanguard missiles 9 Velikhov, Yevgeny 104 Velvet Revolution 332 Vessey, Admiral 262 Vetrov, Captain Vladimir 143 Vietnam war 27, 29 Vladivostok 138 Volk Field Air Base 192–3 Wakkanai 162, 168, 170, 172, 174 Warsaw Pact 43, 47, 55, 86, 88, 132, 222, 318 Washington summit (1987) 321–3 Watergate 14, 28, 74 Watkins, Admiral James D. 98–9, 139–40 Weinberger, Caspar 32, 52, 58, 100, 131, 179, 262, 296, 320 Weiss, Dr Gus 144, 145 West Germany 14, 128, 319 peace movement 95 Winter War (1939–40) 40 Withhold Options 60 Wolf, Markus 85, 86, 135, 335 Wright, Oliver 260 Wyman, Jane 22, 25 Yeltsin, Boris 329, 333, 338 Yesin, General-Colonel Ivan 245 Yom Kippur War (1973) 204, 230 Yugoslavia 44 Yurchenko, Vitaly 299–300 Zapad 17 exercise 342 Zeleny 139 zero-zero option 94–5, 315, 316, 318, 321, 321–2 Zil limousines 74, 111, 112, 236 Zionists 74, 202, 203 US lobby 204 Zubok, Vlad 348

…

Edgar 24 House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) 24 Howe, Sir Geoffrey 211, 218, 259, 270, 271, 272, 288 Hubbard, Carroll 149 human intelligence (HUMINT) operations 82 human rights issues 14, 48–9, 114, 270, 303, 306, 313, 314, 322 Hungary 42, 264 Hungarian Revolution 43–4 political reforms 328 HVA 128, 129, 130, 131, 133, 134, 135, 251–2, 253, 336 and Operation RYaN 85–6 hybrid warfare 342 Ikle, Fred 142 India, nuclear arsenal 343 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) 9, 12–13, 34, 53, 60, 194, 198, 239, 313 Intermediate Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty 320, 321–2, 333 verification processes 322 intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) 13 Iran 209 Iranian Revolution 29, 202 Tehran embassy hostage crisis 20, 29 Iran-Contra scandal 319–20 Iraq, US military incursions 342, 343 Irgun 203 Iron Curtain 23, 24, 332 Islamic fundamentalism 76, 202, 209, 323 Israel Israel Defence Forces (IDF) 203–4, 205, 206–7 Israeli Air Force 205 nuclear arsenal 343 Israeli-Palestinian conflict 202–9 Ivy League 82 exercise 59, 61–3, 97 Japan Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1–4, 93 listening stations 161–2, 183 Joan (MI6 case officer) 121–2, 291 John Birch Society 149 Johnson, Lyndon B. 26 Jones, General David 56 Jones, Nate 348–9 Kádár, János 43 Kalinin 159 Kalugin, Oleg 85, 240 Kamchatka peninsula 136, 138, 139–40, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 168, 180, 183 Kardunov, Marshal Alexandr 163 Karelian Republic 40–2 Kazakhstan 5, 333, 334 KC-135 tanker aircraft 191 Kennedy, John F. 10, 11, 320 Kennedy, Robert 114 KGB 43, 45–7, 49, 338 and the Able Archer 83 exercise 250–1 Andropov as head of 35, 45, 46–7, 48, 69, 74, 80, 83, 106, 341 directorates 73 First Chief Directorate (FCD) (Foreign Intelligence) 73–4 foreign residencies 46, 81, 118–20, 122–5, 218, 227, 228, 277, 278, 279 intelligence successes 125–8, 134–5 moles within see Gordievsky, Oleg; Martynov, Valery; Vetrov, Captain Vladimir role 45–6, 70 see also Operation RYaN Kharbarovsk 161, 163, 164 Khomeini, Ayatollah 29, 202 Khrushchev, Nikita 9, 10, 42, 43, 45 Cuban missile crisis 11, 114 denounces Stalin 42 Kim Eui-dong 150, 152 Kirghizia 333 Kirkpatrick, Jeane 183 Kissinger, Henry 99, 114 Kline, Major John 56 Kohl, Helmut 319 Korean Air Lines (KAL) Flight 007 149–56, 157–88, 165 downing of 157–69 intelligence community’s verdict on 187 Soviet defence of action 181–2, 183–5, 186–7, 216 Soviet propaganda disaster 176–7, 180 US response 169–79, 187–8 Kosygin, Aleksei 68–9 Kremlinologists 37, 214 Kryuchkov, Vladimir Aleksandrovich 74, 75, 80, 127, 229, 255, 279, 281, 282, 333 Kuklinski, Colonel 110–11 Kulikov, Marshal Viktor 248 Kuntsevo Clinic 234–5, 236, 242, 250, 255, 275 Kurchatov, Igor 5 Kurile islands 136, 139, 155, 171, 187 labour camps 46 Lang, Admiral 137 Laos 29 Latvia 329 Launch Under Attack option 15, 60, 238–9 Leahy, Patrick 176 Lebanon 202–9, 220 Israeli bombardment of Beirut 205–7, 228 Israeli invasion of 203–4 Multinational Force 206, 207, 208, 209 UN peacekeepers 203 Lee Kuan Yew 259 LeMay, General Curtis 8 Libya 110, 310 limited nuclear war concept 10, 15, 55, 88, 343 Line X operation 123, 143, 144, 285 listening stations 163–4, 168, 170, 176, 183, 217, 227, 231, 267–8 lithium H-bomb 7–8 Lithuania 329 Lockheed 54 Lokot, Sergei 246–7 Los Angeles Olympic Games (1984) 268 Lubyanka 46, 284 M-1 Abrams Main Battle Tank 53 McDonald, Larry 149–50, 171 McFarlane, Robert ‘Bud’ 208–9, 262, 297, 320 and Able Archer exercise 231, 260, 261, 265–6 and SDI 99, 100 McNamara, Robert 12 malware 144–5 Manchuria 4, 330 Mao Zedong 44–5 Martynov, Valery 285–6 Marxism-Leninism 36, 45, 50, 65, 69, 71, 134 maskirovka 160, 227, 253 Massive Retaliation doctrine 8, 9, 10 Matlock, Jack 312 Mauroy, Pierre 37 Meese, Edwin 32, 169 MI6 (British Secret Intelligence Service) 110, 121, 122, 126, 281, 336 exfiltration of Oleg Gordievsky 286–92 MiG 204, 205 MiG-23 248 military-industrial complex 74, 303, 310 Minsk 138 Minuteman missiles 195 Misawa 162, 170, 171, 172 missile silos 13, 194, 195, 200, 239, 242–3 Mitterrand, François 143 Moldavia 333 Mondale, Walter 269 Mons 223–4, 225, 229, 250, 256 Moorestown 193 Morrow, Douglas 91 Moscow Olympics (1980) 30, 49, 268 Moscow summit (1988) 323–5 Mozambique 29 Mujahideen 76, 77, 110, 310, 323 multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs) 12, 242, 244 Munich Olympic Games (1972) 203 Murmansk 126 Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) 12, 13, 15, 17, 63, 93, 97, 103, 114, 344 MX missiles 53, 98, 99 Nagasaki, bombing of (1945) 4, 93 Nagy, Imre 43 Nakasone, Yasuhiro 183 National Association of Evangelicals 66 National Command Authority 241 National Emergency Airborne Command Post (Boeing 747) 59, 61 National Intelligence Council 269 National Military Command Center 61, 91, 193 National Security Advisors 189, 309, 320 National Security Agency (NSA) 141, 156, 161, 187, 258, 299 expansion of 54–5 National Security Archive (NSA) 17, 348–9, 350 National Security Council 144, 145, 208, 209, 231 NATO 55, 82, 86, 88, 100, 124, 126, 127, 130, 131, 140, 318, 320 Abel Archer 83 exercise 222–56, 344 Allied Command Europe (ACE) 222 Autumn Forge 83 exercises 223 Current Intelligence Group 131 East German agent in 130–5 MC 161 document 132–3 Political Affairs Directorate 131 response to SDI 134 neo-Nazis 129 Nicaragua 29, 70, 319, 323 Contras 110, 319–20 Nicholson, Major Arthur 295–6 Nine Lives exercise 61, 63 9/11 241 1983–The Brink of Apocalypse (documentary) 346 Nitze, Paul 313 Nixon, Richard 32, 114, 298, 320 anti-ballistic missiles (ABM) Treaty 92 signs Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) 13 Watergate 14, 28, 74 NKVD 5 nomenklatura 70, 220 North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) 90–1, 145, 189, 190, 193 North Korea 4, 44 nuclear capability 343 North, Lieutenant-Colonel Oliver 320 Norway 126, 127 intelligence service 157 Norwegian Labour Party 127 nuclear accidents 190–2 Chernobyl nuclear disaster 310–11 nuclear arms race 6–9, 12–13 nuclear arsenal 200 Soviet 223 US 8 nuclear ‘football’ system 55–6, 240–1 Nuclear Freeze peace movement 96, 103 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty 13 nuclear war Counterforce strategy 10 Defense Readiness Condition (DEFCON) 204, 230 false alerts 189–201, 239 Launch Under Attack option 15, 60, 238–9 limited nuclear war 10, 15, 55, 88, 343 Massive Retaliation doctrine 8, 9, 10 Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) 12, 13, 15, 17, 63, 93, 97, 103, 114, 344 probable consequences 8, 60, 63, 68, 248–9 protocols for launching nuclear weapons 10, 15–16, 55–6, 62–3, 240–1 simulated nuclear attack 61–2 Withhold Options 60 nuclear war scare (1983) 344 Able Archer 83 exercise and 222–56, 344 CIA report on 339–40 Soviet arsenal on maximum alert 16, 240, 242, 243–9, 255, 257, 307 Soviet paranoia and miscalculation 16, 224, 227–9, 232–3, 239, 240, 242, 250–1, 254, 256, 258–61, 344 nuclear winter 16, 249 Nyerere, Julius 259 Obama, Barack 256, 343 observation satellites 90, 111, 194–5, 196, 248, 256 October War (1973) 204, 230 Odom, William 189 Office of Strategic Services (OSS) 107 Ogarkov, Marshal Nikolai 73, 183–4, 184, 198, 236, 241, 245, 250, 255 oil and gas pipelines 65, 143, 145, 285 Okinawa 138 Oko satellite network 194–5 O’Malley, General 173 ‘open labs’ proposal 304, 314 Operation Barbarossa 80–1, 247 Operation Chrome Dome 190–2 Operation RYaN 80, 81–7, 88, 105, 118, 124–5, 216, 217–18, 227, 228–9, 237, 251, 255, 257, 340 categories of intelligence 81–2 confirmation bias 81, 86 information processing 83–4 spurious reports 81, 84, 86, 124–5, 227–8, 250–1 Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States 210 Ossipovich, Major Gennady 162–3, 164–7, 168, 178, 184–5 Pakistan, nuclear arsenal 343 Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) 203–4, 205, 206 Palestinian-Israeli conflict 202–9 Palmerston, Lord 273 Palomares incident (1966) 191–2 Parr, Jerry 56–7 Partial Test Ban Treaty 13 peace movement 66, 95–7, 96, 103, 123–4, 237 Pelše, Arvids 214 Pentecostal Christians 59, 116 perestroika 311, 325, 329 Perroots, Lieutenant-General Leonard 253–5 Pershing II missiles 14, 53, 78, 79, 88, 94, 95, 123, 135, 216, 220, 239, 258, 270, 299, 309, 319, 321 Petropavlosk 138, 158 Petrov, Lieutenant-Colonel Stanislav 195–200, 239 Pfautz, Major General James 172–3 Phalangist militiamen 207 Philby, Kim 278, 292 PL-5 missiles 157 plutonium implosion bomb 4, 6 Podgorny, Nikolai 69 Poindexter, Admiral John 320 Poland 65, 94 political reforms 328 popular protests 42–3 Solidarity 65, 110, 111, 328 Polaris 13 Politburo 34, 47–8, 64, 70, 76, 78, 181, 214, 215, 236, 255, 264, 275, 312, 317, 319 Prague Spring 47 President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB) 339, 349–50 protective missile system see Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) psychological operations (PSYOPS) 139–43, 147, 162, 182, 187, 310, 340 Putin, Vladimir 341 Pym, Francis 37 radiation sickness 3–4, 249 radioactive contamination 192 RAF Lakenheath 190 Ramstein Air Force Base 253 RAND Corporation 12 RC-135 spy planes 140–1, 156–7, 170, 178, 182 Reagan, Nancy 19, 25, 32, 66, 114, 302, 306 Reagan, Ronald 108 and Able Archer 83 exercise 231–2, 261, 262, 263, 265–6 anti-communism and anti-Soviet rhetoric 23, 24, 25, 26, 30–1, 51–2, 64–7, 77–8, 93, 94–5, 110, 114–15, 116, 177, 182, 216, 266 appearance and personality 21, 22, 33 approval ratings 28, 97, 265, 323 approves technological sabotage 144 attempted assassination of 56–8 background of 20–2 belief in personal diplomacy 51, 93–4, 268 ‘bombing Russia’ poor-taste joke 267–8 and Brezhnev 59 Cold War warrior 31, 267, 321 on the decision to launch nuclear weapons 15–16 demands Berlin Wall be pulled down 321 diary entries 64–5, 98, 99–100, 102, 116, 206, 262, 268, 294, 308 and the downing of KAL 007 169, 174, 177, 178, 179, 182, 188 economic policies 27–8, 31 elected President 15, 31–2 ‘evil empire’ rhetoric 66–7, 89, 117, 176, 182, 216, 324 film career 22, 25–6, 301 Geneva summit 297–9, 300–9, 305 Governor of California 27–8 ‘Great Communicator’ 268 and human rights issues 114, 270, 303, 306, 313, 314, 322 and invasion of Grenada 210, 211, 212 and Israeli-Palestinian conflict 202–9 leadership style 27 and Margaret Thatcher 211–12 meets Gordievsky 337, 337 Moscow summit 323–5 and nuclear policy 51, 58–9, 63–4, 91–3, 97–101, 103–4, 114, 261 political philosophy 22–3, 26 populism 19, 27, 33 president of Screen Actors Guild 24, 25 presidential inauguration 19–20, 21, 32–3 protocol for launching nuclear weapons 55–6, 62–3 re-election 265, 266–7, 269 Reykjavik summit 311, 312–18, 317 and SDI 98, 99–105, 117, 134, 298, 306, 313–14, 324 secret meeting with Soviet ambassador 115–17 signs INF Treaty 321 spouses see Reagan, Nancy; Wyman, Jane suggests rapprochement with Soviet Union 266–7, 268, 294 and total abolition of nuclear weapons 51, 93, 315, 318 visits Berlin 320–1 visits London 65 visits NORAD base 90, 91 war games, participation in 61–3, 62, 97, 262 Washington summit 321–3 Reagan Doctrine 110 Red Integrated Strategic Offensive Plan (RISOP) 55, 60 Red Scares 23, 24–5 Reed, Thomas 61, 62, 143–4 Reforger 83 exercise 223 Regan, Don 208 reunification of Germany 332 Rex 82 Alpha exercise 61, 63 Reykjavik summit 311, 312–18, 317 Rivet Joint operations 141, 162 Rogers, William 61 Romania 332 Romanov, Grigory 238, 270 Roosevelt, Franklin D. 27, 146 Rubin, Professor 213 Rupp, Rainer 128–34, 135, 251–3, 336 Russia 334 hybrid warfare capabilities 342 military exercises 342 Sabra and Shatila massacres (1982) 207 Sadat, Anwar 202 Sakhalin island 136, 160, 168, 171, 172, 173, 180, 183, 184 Sakharov, Andrei 48 Sandinistas 29 Saudi Arabia 208, 343 Scarlett, John 121, 125, 218, 259 Schmidt, Helmut 94 Schneider, Dr William 142 Scowcroft, Brent 327 Screen Actors Guild 24, 25 Sea of Okhotsk 136, 138, 156, 159, 162, 168, 180, 187, 299 Second World War 40–1, 107, 146, 255 end of 4 German invasion of Soviet Union 40, 80–1, 247 Serpukhov-15 194, 195–200 Severomorsk 245 Sharansky, Anatoly 49 Sharon, Ariel 203, 207 Shchelokov, Nikolai 88 Shemya 156, 157 Shevardnadze, Eduard 297, 309, 313, 320, 330 Shultz, George 37, 113–16, 117, 146–7, 208, 219, 262 and the downing of KAL 007 169, 174, 175, 176, 179, 185 and the Geneva summit 297, 303 on Gorbachev 295 and the Intermediate Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty 320 meets with Gromyko 185, 240, 296–7 meets with Shevardnadze 320 and the Reykjavik summit 313, 314, 315, 318 and SDI 100, 298 and the Soviet ‘peace offensive’ 309 signals intelligence (SIGINT) 82, 141, 170, 176, 183 Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) 10, 11, 55, 56, 60, 62, 262 Six Day War (1967) 203 ‘snap-ons’ 161, 163, 164, 170 Snow, Jon 324 Sokol 164 Solidarity 65, 110, 111, 328 Solzhenitsyn, Alexander 48 Son Dong-hui 150, 155, 161, 166, 167 South Korea 138 South Korean Navy 137 US-South Korean Mutual Defense Treaty 149 Soviet Air Force 247–8 expansion of 138 Far East Air Defence Command 139, 158, 162, 163, 180–1 Soviet embassy, London 81, 118–20, 122, 218, 228, 279 Soviet embassy, Washington 81, 277, 278 Soviet Far East 136–40, 137, 149–88 Soviet missile systems intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) 9, 34, 194, 239 PL-5 missiles 157 SS-18 missiles 90 SS-19 missiles 242 SS-20 missiles 29, 53, 75, 75, 78, 94, 238, 244, 254, 299, 309, 314, 321 SS-N-8 missiles 246 SS-N-20 missiles 246 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) 161 Soviet Navy Northern Fleet 126, 140, 245, 246 Pacific Fleet 138 submarine fleet 245–7 Soviet Union anti-Jewish purges 46 centralised planning 6, 69 civil defence programme 30 communist orthodoxy 36–7 Congress of People’s Deputies 329 corruption and organised crime 87–8, 333 defence budget 30 dismantling of 329, 333 economic stagnation 37, 48, 50, 64–5, 69, 71, 111 Five Year Plans 39–40 German invasion of 40, 80–1, 247 Great Terror 36, 39–40 human rights issues 14, 48–9, 114, 270, 303, 306, 313, 314, 322 intelligence community see GRU; KGB; SVR invasion and occupation of Afghanistan 30, 76–7 and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 204–5 Kremlin nuclear paranoia 85, 86, 112, 125, 233, 238, 240 see also Able Archer 83 exercise; Operation RYaN Middle East policies 220 military strength and personnel 222–3 nuclear arsenal 223 nuclear programme 4–6, 8, 9, 12 office of head of state 35, 36 oil and gas pipelines 65, 143, 285 outrage over Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) launch 104–5, 106 political reforms 311–12, 329 post-Soviet problems 333 post-war reconstruction 41 reduced nuclear stockpile 333–4 reduction of Soviet forces in Europe 328, 333–4 Second World War 4, 40–1, 80–1, 247, 255 Sino-Soviet relations 44, 45, 220, 330 social conditions 69–70 support for global liberation struggles 29, 30, 52, 70, 94, 109, 301 suspected of influencing American presidential elections 269, 342 suspicion and fear of the West 14, 71–2, 73, 78, 80, 85, 240 technology gap 72, 73, 104, 120, 143, 144 The Soviet War Scare, 1983 (documentary) 346 Soyuz spacecraft 14 space weapons see Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) Speakes, Larry 169, 176 Sputnik 9, 194 SS-18 missiles 90 SS-19 missiles 242 SS-20 missiles 29, 53, 75, 75, 78, 94, 238, 244, 254, 299, 309, 314, 321 SS-N-8 missiles 246 SS-N-20 missiles 246 stagflation 28–9 Stalin, Joseph 5, 23, 24, 35, 146, 237, 329 anti-Jewish purges 47 death of 42 and the Great Terror 36, 39–40 ‘Star Wars’ see Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) Stasi 85, 128, 130, 133, 335 Stewart, Nina 349 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles 310 Stombaugh, Paul, Jr 284 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) 13, 14, 94, 156 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II) 30, 77 Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) 94, 105, 270, 334 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) 103 costs 102 Geneva summit and 298, 299, 304 Gorbachev’s hostility to 273, 298, 299, 304, 305, 306, 309, 313, 314, 315, 316, 319 ‘open labs’ proposal 304, 314 origins of 97–100 proposed limits on 313 public attitudes towards 102 Reagan’s enthusiasm for 98, 99–105, 117, 134, 298, 306, 313–14, 324 Soviet fears of 104–5, 106, 117, 216 ‘strip alert’ 248, 254 Su-24 248 submarines Delta class 138, 246 nuclear weapon-carrying submarines 13, 136, 140, 200, 246 Ohio class 54 Typhoon class 246 suicide bombers 208–9 Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) 223, 229 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) 140–1, 161 Suslov, Mikhail 45 SVR 285, 334 Symms, Steve 149 Syria 204, 205, 209, 220 Syrian Air Force 205 systems failures 192, 193, 200, 201, 239 T-72 tank 204 Tadzhikistan 333 Taliban 77, 323 Tass news agency 182 Tehran embassy hostage crisis (1979–81) 20, 29 telemetry intelligence (TELINT) 156 Teller, Edward 6–7, 97–8, 101 ter Woerds, Margreet 347 terrorism 108–9 Thatcher, Denis 272 Thatcher, Margaret 124, 134, 210, 211–12, 217, 218, 231, 259, 264, 293 and British–Soviet relations 270 and Gordievsky 337, 338 meets Gorbachev 272–4, 274 on nuclear deterrence 318–19 thermonuclear weapons 7–8, 45, 190–1 Thor missiles 13 Thule 192 Tiananmen Square massacre (1989) 330 Titan missiles 13 Titov, Gennadi 127 Tkachenko, Captain Viktor 243–4 Tolkachev, Adolf 283–4 Tomahawk Cruise missiles 53 Topaz see Rupp, Rainer Treholt, Arne 127–8 Trident missiles 54, 319 ‘Trinity’ atomic test 5 Tripoli 310 ‘Trojan horses’ 144–5 Trudeau, Pierre 271 Truman, Harry 6, 7, 107 Trump, Donald 31, 269, 342, 343 Tsygichko, Vitalii 239 Tupolev TU-22M ‘Backfire’ bomber 138, 247 United States budget deficit 55, 102 Ukraine 333, 334, 341 United Nations 185 Lebanese operations 203 peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) 203 Security Council 183 United States declining superpower role 342–3 defence budget 52, 66, 79, 342 intelligence community see Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); National Security Agency (NSA); Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 203–4 military rearmament 52–4, 116 military-industrial complex 74, 303, 310 nuclear arsenal 8 nuclear programme 6–8, 9, 12 peace movement 66, 96, 96, 103 Red Scares 23, 24–5 Second World War 107 Washington KGB residency 81, 277, 278 US Air Force Air Force Intelligence 172–3, 178 PSYOPS 140–1, 142 Strategic Air Command 8, 10, 58, 90–1, 156, 190–1, 193 US Marines 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 212, 217 US missile systems anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs) 12, 13 Cruise missiles 53, 78, 88, 94, 95, 123, 135, 216, 220, 258, 270, 299, 309, 321 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) 12–13, 53, 198 Minuteman missiles 195 multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs) 12 MX missiles 53, 98, 99 Pershing II missiles 14, 53, 78, 79, 88, 94, 95, 123, 135, 216, 220, 239, 258, 270, 299, 309, 319, 321 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles 310 submarine-launched ballistic missiles 13 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) 140–1 Trident missiles 54 Vanguard missiles 9 US Navy 142 expansion 54, 138 Pacific Fleet 138 PSYOPS 142 US presidential elections 1964 26 1976 28 1980 30–1 1984 265–9 2016 269, 342 suspected Soviet influence 269, 342 USS Coral Sea 137 USS Eisenhower 140 USS Enterprise 136–7 USS Midway 137, 139 USS New Jersey 208 Ustinov, Marshal Dmitri 34–5, 87, 180, 181, 198, 215, 236, 241, 242, 255 US-South Korean Mutual Defense Treaty 149 Uzbekistan 333 Vanguard missiles 9 Velikhov, Yevgeny 104 Velvet Revolution 332 Vessey, Admiral 262 Vetrov, Captain Vladimir 143 Vietnam war 27, 29 Vladivostok 138 Volk Field Air Base 192–3 Wakkanai 162, 168, 170, 172, 174 Warsaw Pact 43, 47, 55, 86, 88, 132, 222, 318 Washington summit (1987) 321–3 Watergate 14, 28, 74 Watkins, Admiral James D. 98–9, 139–40 Weinberger, Caspar 32, 52, 58, 100, 131, 179, 262, 296, 320 Weiss, Dr Gus 144, 145 West Germany 14, 128, 319 peace movement 95 Winter War (1939–40) 40 Withhold Options 60 Wolf, Markus 85, 86, 135, 335 Wright, Oliver 260 Wyman, Jane 22, 25 Yeltsin, Boris 329, 333, 338 Yesin, General-Colonel Ivan 245 Yom Kippur War (1973) 204, 230 Yugoslavia 44 Yurchenko, Vitaly 299–300 Zapad 17 exercise 342 Zeleny 139 zero-zero option 94–5, 315, 316, 318, 321, 321–2 Zil limousines 74, 111, 112, 236 Zionists 74, 202, 203 US lobby 204 Zubok, Vlad 348

…

Edgar 24 House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) 24 Howe, Sir Geoffrey 211, 218, 259, 270, 271, 272, 288 Hubbard, Carroll 149 human intelligence (HUMINT) operations 82 human rights issues 14, 48–9, 114, 270, 303, 306, 313, 314, 322 Hungary 42, 264 Hungarian Revolution 43–4 political reforms 328 HVA 128, 129, 130, 131, 133, 134, 135, 251–2, 253, 336 and Operation RYaN 85–6 hybrid warfare 342 Ikle, Fred 142 India, nuclear arsenal 343 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) 9, 12–13, 34, 53, 60, 194, 198, 239, 313 Intermediate Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty 320, 321–2, 333 verification processes 322 intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) 13 Iran 209 Iranian Revolution 29, 202 Tehran embassy hostage crisis 20, 29 Iran-Contra scandal 319–20 Iraq, US military incursions 342, 343 Irgun 203 Iron Curtain 23, 24, 332 Islamic fundamentalism 76, 202, 209, 323 Israel Israel Defence Forces (IDF) 203–4, 205, 206–7 Israeli Air Force 205 nuclear arsenal 343 Israeli-Palestinian conflict 202–9 Ivy League 82 exercise 59, 61–3, 97 Japan Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1–4, 93 listening stations 161–2, 183 Joan (MI6 case officer) 121–2, 291 John Birch Society 149 Johnson, Lyndon B. 26 Jones, General David 56 Jones, Nate 348–9 Kádár, János 43 Kalinin 159 Kalugin, Oleg 85, 240 Kamchatka peninsula 136, 138, 139–40, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 168, 180, 183 Kardunov, Marshal Alexandr 163 Karelian Republic 40–2 Kazakhstan 5, 333, 334 KC-135 tanker aircraft 191 Kennedy, John F. 10, 11, 320 Kennedy, Robert 114 KGB 43, 45–7, 49, 338 and the Able Archer 83 exercise 250–1 Andropov as head of 35, 45, 46–7, 48, 69, 74, 80, 83, 106, 341 directorates 73 First Chief Directorate (FCD) (Foreign Intelligence) 73–4 foreign residencies 46, 81, 118–20, 122–5, 218, 227, 228, 277, 278, 279 intelligence successes 125–8, 134–5 moles within see Gordievsky, Oleg; Martynov, Valery; Vetrov, Captain Vladimir role 45–6, 70 see also Operation RYaN Kharbarovsk 161, 163, 164 Khomeini, Ayatollah 29, 202 Khrushchev, Nikita 9, 10, 42, 43, 45 Cuban missile crisis 11, 114 denounces Stalin 42 Kim Eui-dong 150, 152 Kirghizia 333 Kirkpatrick, Jeane 183 Kissinger, Henry 99, 114 Kline, Major John 56 Kohl, Helmut 319 Korean Air Lines (KAL) Flight 007 149–56, 157–88, 165 downing of 157–69 intelligence community’s verdict on 187 Soviet defence of action 181–2, 183–5, 186–7, 216 Soviet propaganda disaster 176–7, 180 US response 169–79, 187–8 Kosygin, Aleksei 68–9 Kremlinologists 37, 214 Kryuchkov, Vladimir Aleksandrovich 74, 75, 80, 127, 229, 255, 279, 281, 282, 333 Kuklinski, Colonel 110–11 Kulikov, Marshal Viktor 248 Kuntsevo Clinic 234–5, 236, 242, 250, 255, 275 Kurchatov, Igor 5 Kurile islands 136, 139, 155, 171, 187 labour camps 46 Lang, Admiral 137 Laos 29 Latvia 329 Launch Under Attack option 15, 60, 238–9 Leahy, Patrick 176 Lebanon 202–9, 220 Israeli bombardment of Beirut 205–7, 228 Israeli invasion of 203–4 Multinational Force 206, 207, 208, 209 UN peacekeepers 203 Lee Kuan Yew 259 LeMay, General Curtis 8 Libya 110, 310 limited nuclear war concept 10, 15, 55, 88, 343 Line X operation 123, 143, 144, 285 listening stations 163–4, 168, 170, 176, 183, 217, 227, 231, 267–8 lithium H-bomb 7–8 Lithuania 329 Lockheed 54 Lokot, Sergei 246–7 Los Angeles Olympic Games (1984) 268 Lubyanka 46, 284 M-1 Abrams Main Battle Tank 53 McDonald, Larry 149–50, 171 McFarlane, Robert ‘Bud’ 208–9, 262, 297, 320 and Able Archer exercise 231, 260, 261, 265–6 and SDI 99, 100 McNamara, Robert 12 malware 144–5 Manchuria 4, 330 Mao Zedong 44–5 Martynov, Valery 285–6 Marxism-Leninism 36, 45, 50, 65, 69, 71, 134 maskirovka 160, 227, 253 Massive Retaliation doctrine 8, 9, 10 Matlock, Jack 312 Mauroy, Pierre 37 Meese, Edwin 32, 169 MI6 (British Secret Intelligence Service) 110, 121, 122, 126, 281, 336 exfiltration of Oleg Gordievsky 286–92 MiG 204, 205 MiG-23 248 military-industrial complex 74, 303, 310 Minsk 138 Minuteman missiles 195 Misawa 162, 170, 171, 172 missile silos 13, 194, 195, 200, 239, 242–3 Mitterrand, François 143 Moldavia 333 Mondale, Walter 269 Mons 223–4, 225, 229, 250, 256 Moorestown 193 Morrow, Douglas 91 Moscow Olympics (1980) 30, 49, 268 Moscow summit (1988) 323–5 Mozambique 29 Mujahideen 76, 77, 110, 310, 323 multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs) 12, 242, 244 Munich Olympic Games (1972) 203 Murmansk 126 Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) 12, 13, 15, 17, 63, 93, 97, 103, 114, 344 MX missiles 53, 98, 99 Nagasaki, bombing of (1945) 4, 93 Nagy, Imre 43 Nakasone, Yasuhiro 183 National Association of Evangelicals 66 National Command Authority 241 National Emergency Airborne Command Post (Boeing 747) 59, 61 National Intelligence Council 269 National Military Command Center 61, 91, 193 National Security Advisors 189, 309, 320 National Security Agency (NSA) 141, 156, 161, 187, 258, 299 expansion of 54–5 National Security Archive (NSA) 17, 348–9, 350 National Security Council 144, 145, 208, 209, 231 NATO 55, 82, 86, 88, 100, 124, 126, 127, 130, 131, 140, 318, 320 Abel Archer 83 exercise 222–56, 344 Allied Command Europe (ACE) 222 Autumn Forge 83 exercises 223 Current Intelligence Group 131 East German agent in 130–5 MC 161 document 132–3 Political Affairs Directorate 131 response to SDI 134 neo-Nazis 129 Nicaragua 29, 70, 319, 323 Contras 110, 319–20 Nicholson, Major Arthur 295–6 Nine Lives exercise 61, 63 9/11 241 1983–The Brink of Apocalypse (documentary) 346 Nitze, Paul 313 Nixon, Richard 32, 114, 298, 320 anti-ballistic missiles (ABM) Treaty 92 signs Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) 13 Watergate 14, 28, 74 NKVD 5 nomenklatura 70, 220 North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) 90–1, 145, 189, 190, 193 North Korea 4, 44 nuclear capability 343 North, Lieutenant-Colonel Oliver 320 Norway 126, 127 intelligence service 157 Norwegian Labour Party 127 nuclear accidents 190–2 Chernobyl nuclear disaster 310–11 nuclear arms race 6–9, 12–13 nuclear arsenal 200 Soviet 223 US 8 nuclear ‘football’ system 55–6, 240–1 Nuclear Freeze peace movement 96, 103 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty 13 nuclear war Counterforce strategy 10 Defense Readiness Condition (DEFCON) 204, 230 false alerts 189–201, 239 Launch Under Attack option 15, 60, 238–9 limited nuclear war 10, 15, 55, 88, 343 Massive Retaliation doctrine 8, 9, 10 Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) 12, 13, 15, 17, 63, 93, 97, 103, 114, 344 probable consequences 8, 60, 63, 68, 248–9 protocols for launching nuclear weapons 10, 15–16, 55–6, 62–3, 240–1 simulated nuclear attack 61–2 Withhold Options 60 nuclear war scare (1983) 344 Able Archer 83 exercise and 222–56, 344 CIA report on 339–40 Soviet arsenal on maximum alert 16, 240, 242, 243–9, 255, 257, 307 Soviet paranoia and miscalculation 16, 224, 227–9, 232–3, 239, 240, 242, 250–1, 254, 256, 258–61, 344 nuclear winter 16, 249 Nyerere, Julius 259 Obama, Barack 256, 343 observation satellites 90, 111, 194–5, 196, 248, 256 October War (1973) 204, 230 Odom, William 189 Office of Strategic Services (OSS) 107 Ogarkov, Marshal Nikolai 73, 183–4, 184, 198, 236, 241, 245, 250, 255 oil and gas pipelines 65, 143, 145, 285 Okinawa 138 Oko satellite network 194–5 O’Malley, General 173 ‘open labs’ proposal 304, 314 Operation Barbarossa 80–1, 247 Operation Chrome Dome 190–2 Operation RYaN 80, 81–7, 88, 105, 118, 124–5, 216, 217–18, 227, 228–9, 237, 251, 255, 257, 340 categories of intelligence 81–2 confirmation bias 81, 86 information processing 83–4 spurious reports 81, 84, 86, 124–5, 227–8, 250–1 Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States 210 Ossipovich, Major Gennady 162–3, 164–7, 168, 178, 184–5 Pakistan, nuclear arsenal 343 Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) 203–4, 205, 206 Palestinian-Israeli conflict 202–9 Palmerston, Lord 273 Palomares incident (1966) 191–2 Parr, Jerry 56–7 Partial Test Ban Treaty 13 peace movement 66, 95–7, 96, 103, 123–4, 237 Pelše, Arvids 214 Pentecostal Christians 59, 116 perestroika 311, 325, 329 Perroots, Lieutenant-General Leonard 253–5 Pershing II missiles 14, 53, 78, 79, 88, 94, 95, 123, 135, 216, 220, 239, 258, 270, 299, 309, 319, 321 Petropavlosk 138, 158 Petrov, Lieutenant-Colonel Stanislav 195–200, 239 Pfautz, Major General James 172–3 Phalangist militiamen 207 Philby, Kim 278, 292 PL-5 missiles 157 plutonium implosion bomb 4, 6 Podgorny, Nikolai 69 Poindexter, Admiral John 320 Poland 65, 94 political reforms 328 popular protests 42–3 Solidarity 65, 110, 111, 328 Polaris 13 Politburo 34, 47–8, 64, 70, 76, 78, 181, 214, 215, 236, 255, 264, 275, 312, 317, 319 Prague Spring 47 President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB) 339, 349–50 protective missile system see Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) psychological operations (PSYOPS) 139–43, 147, 162, 182, 187, 310, 340 Putin, Vladimir 341 Pym, Francis 37 radiation sickness 3–4, 249 radioactive contamination 192 RAF Lakenheath 190 Ramstein Air Force Base 253 RAND Corporation 12 RC-135 spy planes 140–1, 156–7, 170, 178, 182 Reagan, Nancy 19, 25, 32, 66, 114, 302, 306 Reagan, Ronald 108 and Able Archer 83 exercise 231–2, 261, 262, 263, 265–6 anti-communism and anti-Soviet rhetoric 23, 24, 25, 26, 30–1, 51–2, 64–7, 77–8, 93, 94–5, 110, 114–15, 116, 177, 182, 216, 266 appearance and personality 21, 22, 33 approval ratings 28, 97, 265, 323 approves technological sabotage 144 attempted assassination of 56–8 background of 20–2 belief in personal diplomacy 51, 93–4, 268 ‘bombing Russia’ poor-taste joke 267–8 and Brezhnev 59 Cold War warrior 31, 267, 321 on the decision to launch nuclear weapons 15–16 demands Berlin Wall be pulled down 321 diary entries 64–5, 98, 99–100, 102, 116, 206, 262, 268, 294, 308 and the downing of KAL 007 169, 174, 177, 178, 179, 182, 188 economic policies 27–8, 31 elected President 15, 31–2 ‘evil empire’ rhetoric 66–7, 89, 117, 176, 182, 216, 324 film career 22, 25–6, 301 Geneva summit 297–9, 300–9, 305 Governor of California 27–8 ‘Great Communicator’ 268 and human rights issues 114, 270, 303, 306, 313, 314, 322 and invasion of Grenada 210, 211, 212 and Israeli-Palestinian conflict 202–9 leadership style 27 and Margaret Thatcher 211–12 meets Gordievsky 337, 337 Moscow summit 323–5 and nuclear policy 51, 58–9, 63–4, 91–3, 97–101, 103–4, 114, 261 political philosophy 22–3, 26 populism 19, 27, 33 president of Screen Actors Guild 24, 25 presidential inauguration 19–20, 21, 32–3 protocol for launching nuclear weapons 55–6, 62–3 re-election 265, 266–7, 269 Reykjavik summit 311, 312–18, 317 and SDI 98, 99–105, 117, 134, 298, 306, 313–14, 324 secret meeting with Soviet ambassador 115–17 signs INF Treaty 321 spouses see Reagan, Nancy; Wyman, Jane suggests rapprochement with Soviet Union 266–7, 268, 294 and total abolition of nuclear weapons 51, 93, 315, 318 visits Berlin 320–1 visits London 65 visits NORAD base 90, 91 war games, participation in 61–3, 62, 97, 262 Washington summit 321–3 Reagan Doctrine 110 Red Integrated Strategic Offensive Plan (RISOP) 55, 60 Red Scares 23, 24–5 Reed, Thomas 61, 62, 143–4 Reforger 83 exercise 223 Regan, Don 208 reunification of Germany 332 Rex 82 Alpha exercise 61, 63 Reykjavik summit 311, 312–18, 317 Rivet Joint operations 141, 162 Rogers, William 61 Romania 332 Romanov, Grigory 238, 270 Roosevelt, Franklin D. 27, 146 Rubin, Professor 213 Rupp, Rainer 128–34, 135, 251–3, 336 Russia 334 hybrid warfare capabilities 342 military exercises 342 Sabra and Shatila massacres (1982) 207 Sadat, Anwar 202 Sakhalin island 136, 160, 168, 171, 172, 173, 180, 183, 184 Sakharov, Andrei 48 Sandinistas 29 Saudi Arabia 208, 343 Scarlett, John 121, 125, 218, 259 Schmidt, Helmut 94 Schneider, Dr William 142 Scowcroft, Brent 327 Screen Actors Guild 24, 25 Sea of Okhotsk 136, 138, 156, 159, 162, 168, 180, 187, 299 Second World War 40–1, 107, 146, 255 end of 4 German invasion of Soviet Union 40, 80–1, 247 Serpukhov-15 194, 195–200 Severomorsk 245 Sharansky, Anatoly 49 Sharon, Ariel 203, 207 Shchelokov, Nikolai 88 Shemya 156, 157 Shevardnadze, Eduard 297, 309, 313, 320, 330 Shultz, George 37, 113–16, 117, 146–7, 208, 219, 262 and the downing of KAL 007 169, 174, 175, 176, 179, 185 and the Geneva summit 297, 303 on Gorbachev 295 and the Intermediate Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty 320 meets with Gromyko 185, 240, 296–7 meets with Shevardnadze 320 and the Reykjavik summit 313, 314, 315, 318 and SDI 100, 298 and the Soviet ‘peace offensive’ 309 signals intelligence (SIGINT) 82, 141, 170, 176, 183 Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) 10, 11, 55, 56, 60, 62, 262 Six Day War (1967) 203 ‘snap-ons’ 161, 163, 164, 170 Snow, Jon 324 Sokol 164 Solidarity 65, 110, 111, 328 Solzhenitsyn, Alexander 48 Son Dong-hui 150, 155, 161, 166, 167 South Korea 138 South Korean Navy 137 US-South Korean Mutual Defense Treaty 149 Soviet Air Force 247–8 expansion of 138 Far East Air Defence Command 139, 158, 162, 163, 180–1 Soviet embassy, London 81, 118–20, 122, 218, 228, 279 Soviet embassy, Washington 81, 277, 278 Soviet Far East 136–40, 137, 149–88 Soviet missile systems intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) 9, 34, 194, 239 PL-5 missiles 157 SS-18 missiles 90 SS-19 missiles 242 SS-20 missiles 29, 53, 75, 75, 78, 94, 238, 244, 254, 299, 309, 314, 321 SS-N-8 missiles 246 SS-N-20 missiles 246 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) 161 Soviet Navy Northern Fleet 126, 140, 245, 246 Pacific Fleet 138 submarine fleet 245–7 Soviet Union anti-Jewish purges 46 centralised planning 6, 69 civil defence programme 30 communist orthodoxy 36–7 Congress of People’s Deputies 329 corruption and organised crime 87–8, 333 defence budget 30 dismantling of 329, 333 economic stagnation 37, 48, 50, 64–5, 69, 71, 111 Five Year Plans 39–40 German invasion of 40, 80–1, 247 Great Terror 36, 39–40 human rights issues 14, 48–9, 114, 270, 303, 306, 313, 314, 322 intelligence community see GRU; KGB; SVR invasion and occupation of Afghanistan 30, 76–7 and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 204–5 Kremlin nuclear paranoia 85, 86, 112, 125, 233, 238, 240 see also Able Archer 83 exercise; Operation RYaN Middle East policies 220 military strength and personnel 222–3 nuclear arsenal 223 nuclear programme 4–6, 8, 9, 12 office of head of state 35, 36 oil and gas pipelines 65, 143, 285 outrage over Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) launch 104–5, 106 political reforms 311–12, 329 post-Soviet problems 333 post-war reconstruction 41 reduced nuclear stockpile 333–4 reduction of Soviet forces in Europe 328, 333–4 Second World War 4, 40–1, 80–1, 247, 255 Sino-Soviet relations 44, 45, 220, 330 social conditions 69–70 support for global liberation struggles 29, 30, 52, 70, 94, 109, 301 suspected of influencing American presidential elections 269, 342 suspicion and fear of the West 14, 71–2, 73, 78, 80, 85, 240 technology gap 72, 73, 104, 120, 143, 144 The Soviet War Scare, 1983 (documentary) 346 Soyuz spacecraft 14 space weapons see Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) Speakes, Larry 169, 176 Sputnik 9, 194 SS-18 missiles 90 SS-19 missiles 242 SS-20 missiles 29, 53, 75, 75, 78, 94, 238, 244, 254, 299, 309, 314, 321 SS-N-8 missiles 246 SS-N-20 missiles 246 stagflation 28–9 Stalin, Joseph 5, 23, 24, 35, 146, 237, 329 anti-Jewish purges 47 death of 42 and the Great Terror 36, 39–40 ‘Star Wars’ see Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) Stasi 85, 128, 130, 133, 335 Stewart, Nina 349 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles 310 Stombaugh, Paul, Jr 284 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) 13, 14, 94, 156 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II) 30, 77 Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) 94, 105, 270, 334 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) 103 costs 102 Geneva summit and 298, 299, 304 Gorbachev’s hostility to 273, 298, 299, 304, 305, 306, 309, 313, 314, 315, 316, 319 ‘open labs’ proposal 304, 314 origins of 97–100 proposed limits on 313 public attitudes towards 102 Reagan’s enthusiasm for 98, 99–105, 117, 134, 298, 306, 313–14, 324 Soviet fears of 104–5, 106, 117, 216 ‘strip alert’ 248, 254 Su-24 248 submarines Delta class 138, 246 nuclear weapon-carrying submarines 13, 136, 140, 200, 246 Ohio class 54 Typhoon class 246 suicide bombers 208–9 Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) 223, 229 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) 140–1, 161 Suslov, Mikhail 45 SVR 285, 334 Symms, Steve 149 Syria 204, 205, 209, 220 Syrian Air Force 205 systems failures 192, 193, 200, 201, 239 T-72 tank 204 Tadzhikistan 333 Taliban 77, 323 Tass news agency 182 Tehran embassy hostage crisis (1979–81) 20, 29 telemetry intelligence (TELINT) 156 Teller, Edward 6–7, 97–8, 101 ter Woerds, Margreet 347 terrorism 108–9 Thatcher, Denis 272 Thatcher, Margaret 124, 134, 210, 211–12, 217, 218, 231, 259, 264, 293 and British–Soviet relations 270 and Gordievsky 337, 338 meets Gorbachev 272–4, 274 on nuclear deterrence 318–19 thermonuclear weapons 7–8, 45, 190–1 Thor missiles 13 Thule 192 Tiananmen Square massacre (1989) 330 Titan missiles 13 Titov, Gennadi 127 Tkachenko, Captain Viktor 243–4 Tolkachev, Adolf 283–4 Tomahawk Cruise missiles 53 Topaz see Rupp, Rainer Treholt, Arne 127–8 Trident missiles 54, 319 ‘Trinity’ atomic test 5 Tripoli 310 ‘Trojan horses’ 144–5 Trudeau, Pierre 271 Truman, Harry 6, 7, 107 Trump, Donald 31, 269, 342, 343 Tsygichko, Vitalii 239 Tupolev TU-22M ‘Backfire’ bomber 138, 247 United States budget deficit 55, 102 Ukraine 333, 334, 341 United Nations 185 Lebanese operations 203 peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) 203 Security Council 183 United States declining superpower role 342–3 defence budget 52, 66, 79, 342 intelligence community see Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); National Security Agency (NSA); Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 203–4 military rearmament 52–4, 116 military-industrial complex 74, 303, 310 nuclear arsenal 8 nuclear programme 6–8, 9, 12 peace movement 66, 96, 96, 103 Red Scares 23, 24–5 Second World War 107 Washington KGB residency 81, 277, 278 US Air Force Air Force Intelligence 172–3, 178 PSYOPS 140–1, 142 Strategic Air Command 8, 10, 58, 90–1, 156, 190–1, 193 US Marines 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 212, 217 US missile systems anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs) 12, 13 Cruise missiles 53, 78, 88, 94, 95, 123, 135, 216, 220, 258, 270, 299, 309, 321 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) 12–13, 53, 198 Minuteman missiles 195 multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs) 12 MX missiles 53, 98, 99 Pershing II missiles 14, 53, 78, 79, 88, 94, 95, 123, 135, 216, 220, 239, 258, 270, 299, 309, 319, 321 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles 310 submarine-launched ballistic missiles 13 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) 140–1 Trident missiles 54 Vanguard missiles 9 US Navy 142 expansion 54, 138 Pacific Fleet 138 PSYOPS 142 US presidential elections 1964 26 1976 28 1980 30–1 1984 265–9 2016 269, 342 suspected Soviet influence 269, 342 USS Coral Sea 137 USS Eisenhower 140 USS Enterprise 136–7 USS Midway 137, 139 USS New Jersey 208 Ustinov, Marshal Dmitri 34–5, 87, 180, 181, 198, 215, 236, 241, 242, 255 US-South Korean Mutual Defense Treaty 149 Uzbekistan 333 Vanguard missiles 9 Velikhov, Yevgeny 104 Velvet Revolution 332 Vessey, Admiral 262 Vetrov, Captain Vladimir 143 Vietnam war 27, 29 Vladivostok 138 Volk Field Air Base 192–3 Wakkanai 162, 168, 170, 172, 174 Warsaw Pact 43, 47, 55, 86, 88, 132, 222, 318 Washington summit (1987) 321–3 Watergate 14, 28, 74 Watkins, Admiral James D. 98–9, 139–40 Weinberger, Caspar 32, 52, 58, 100, 131, 179, 262, 296, 320 Weiss, Dr Gus 144, 145 West Germany 14, 128, 319 peace movement 95 Winter War (1939–40) 40 Withhold Options 60 Wolf, Markus 85, 86, 135, 335 Wright, Oliver 260 Wyman, Jane 22, 25 Yeltsin, Boris 329, 333, 338 Yesin, General-Colonel Ivan 245 Yom Kippur War (1973) 204, 230 Yugoslavia 44 Yurchenko, Vitaly 299–300 Zapad 17 exercise 342 Zeleny 139 zero-zero option 94–5, 315, 316, 318, 321, 321–2 Zil limousines 74, 111, 112, 236 Zionists 74, 202, 203 US lobby 204 Zubok, Vlad 348

Transcending the Cold War: Summits, Statecraft, and the Dissolution of Bipolarity in Europe, 1970–1990 by Kristina Spohr, David Reynolds

anti-communist, bank run, Berlin Wall, Bretton Woods, computer age, conceptual framework, cuban missile crisis, Deng Xiaoping, failed state, Fall of the Berlin Wall, guns versus butter model, Kickstarter, Kitchen Debate, liberal capitalism, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, mutually assured destruction, Nixon shock, oil shock, open borders, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan: Tear down this wall, shared worldview, Strategic Defense Initiative, Thomas L Friedman, Yom Kippur War, zero-sum game

‘The Bonn/Moscow Alliance: The War is Over’ (Der Spiegel, 23 July 1990) List of Abbreviations ABM Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty CBMs confidence-building measures CCP Chinese Communist Party CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany (Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) CPSU Communist Party of the Soviet Union CSCE Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe CSU Christian Social Union (Christlich-Soziale Union) CTBT Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty DMZ De-Militarized Zone DRV Democratic Republic of Vietnam EC European Community EU European Union ERWs enhanced radiation warheads FBS forward-based systems FRC Foreign Relations Committee, US Senate FRG Federal Republic of Germany GDR German Democratic Republic GLCM ground-launched cruise missiles G7 Group of Seven HVA Main Directorate for Reconnaissance, GDR (Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung) ICBMs intercontinental ballistic missiles INFs intermediate-range nuclear forces MAD Mutual Assured Destruction MBFR mutual and balanced force reduction (talks) MFN Most Favoured Nation trade status MIRVs multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command NSC National Security Council NSDD National Security Decision Directive NVA National People’s Army of the GDR (Nationale Volksarmee) PRC People’s Republic of China SALT Strategic Arms Limitation Talks SDI Strategic Defense Initiative SED Socialist Unity Party of Germany (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands) SLBMs submarine-launched ballistic missiles SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands) SRINFs shorter-range INFs UN United Nations List of Contributors James Cameron is a Stanton Research Fellow at Fundação Getulio Vargas in Brazil.

…

Superpower relations remained fundamentally adversarial, with tensions exacerbated by Soviet human rights violations and geo-ideological competition in Central America. The president’s public statements added fuel to the fire. On 8 March 1983 he branded the Soviet Union an ‘evil empire’ at an evangelical conference in Florida. Two weeks later, on 23 March, he unveiled his Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)—a programme to build a shield of space-based defences and neutralize ballistic missiles with the intent of eventually rendering nuclear weapons ‘impotent and obsolete’. But what Reagan offered as the prelude to a nuclear-free world was seen by the Soviets as a new and alarming high-tech twist to the arms spiral.

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., Jr. 158, 165 Mediterranean Declaration (1975) 110 Medvedev, Dmitry 68 Middle East 73, 77–8, 82, 85, 107, 128, 132 Mielke, Erich 20–1, 23, 38 Miki, Takeo 124 Milliardenkredite 240 Mintoff, Dom 110, 114 missiles 4, 107, 128, 130, 137, 154, 164, 166–9, 250 anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs) 71, 74, 79, 161, 163–4 Euromissile 137, 140 ground-launched cruise missiles (GLCM) 129–30, 137, 141, 155, 157, 164, 172 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) 70–1, 84, 137, 234 launchers 68, 71, 130, 133 medium-range 136, 162 multiple independently-targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs) 84, 130, 133, 137 Pershing 1A 169 Pershing IB 169 Pershing II 129, 141, 155, 169 sea-launched cruise missiles 172 SS-18 154 SS-20 128–9, 132, 136–7, 141, 155, 158 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) 79, 107see also weapons Mitterrand, François 197, 204, 207 Mongolia 54, 186 Moscow Olympics (1980) 143, 240 Most Favored Nation (MFN) trade status 81, 103–4, 110 Munich 138, 216 mutual and balanced force reduction (MBFR) talks 100, 105, 128 Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) 154, 242 Najibullah, Mohammed 170 NATOsee North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NATO-Russia Council 246 NATO-Russia Founding Act 246 Nazis 7, 18, 23, 32, 41, 69, 219, 233–4, 246 Netherlands 105, 141 ‘New Atlanticism’ 210, 223 ‘New Cold War’ 8, 123, 138, 151, 170, 240–1 ‘New Europe’ 210, 216 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), see treaties ‘New World Order’ 245, 247, 249 newspapers/journals 35, 104 Bild 34 Die Welt 34 Die Zeit 124 Foreign Affairs 46, 56 Neues Deutschland 34, 40 New York Times 96, 219 Pravda 96, 142 Renmin Ribao 47, 59, 190 Spectator 124 Time 48, 132 Wall Street Journal 96 Washington Post 166 Nicaragua 167 Nitze, Paul 160, 163–4 Nixon, Patricia 57 Nixon, Richard 4, 6–8, 27, 57, 98–101, 114, 143–4, 171, 181–3, 236–9, 247–50 China and 6–7, 43–61, 132, 181–3,196, 237 détente and 16, 35, 98–9, 106, 114, 153, 157 fall 106, 238, 239 Soviet Union and 67–86, 104, 106, 171, 237see also summits: Beijing 1972, Moscow 1972; Vietnam North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) 154 North Atlantic Cooperation Council 246 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 4, 8–10, 25, 30, 56, 70, 98–102, 104–5, 108–10, 124, 127–30, 137, 140–2, 155, 160, 166, 169–71, 204–5, 207–24, 234–5, 240, 244–6, 248–9 North Korea 44–5 North Vietnam 46, 50, 52, 59, 73, 76–8, 82 Nuclear weapons 8–9, 70, 127–8, 132, 160–1, 166, 211, 234see also arms, Strategic Arms Limitation Obama, Barack 68 October Revolution 173 Oder–Neisse border 17 Oliphant, Patrick 184 OPEC 132 ‘Open Skies’ proposal (Eisenhower) 105 Ostpolitik 6, 17–20, 23–4, 26, 29, 35, 99, 101, 114, 207, 211, 248 ‘Other’ 7, 237–8, 243, 246–7, 250 ‘de-Othering’ 9, 243 Pacific War (1941–5) 186, 233 Pakistan 46–9, 51–3, 71 Paris Peace Accords (1972) 82 Partnership for Peace(NATO initiative) 246 Pentagon 84, 155, 157, 166, 169, 171 People’s Republic of China, see China (PRC) perestroika 168–9, 172–3, 186, 199, 242–3 Perle, Richard 140, 164 Permanent Joint Council (NATO) 246 Ping-Pong diplomacy 49 Podgorny, Nikolai 78–80, 82, 239 Poindexter, John 164, 166–7 Pol Pot 133 Poland 17–18, 47, 69, 83, 180, 188, 190, 192, 197, 240, 243–4 Solidarity 188, 197, 240 Pompidou, Georges 99 Portuguese Empire 107 Potsdam conference (1945) 236 Powell, Colin 172 Prague 68, 209 Prague Spring, see Czechoslovakia propaganda 83, 105, 129, 131, 160, 167, 169, 180, 219 Putin, Vladimir 246–7 Qiao Guanhua 59 Quadripartite Agreement on Berlin (1971) 73, 100 Rambouillet 125, 128, see also summits Rapallo 222 rapprochement 21, 26, 34, 123, 207 change through 6, 207 German-German 16, 32, 35–6, 207, 211 Sino-American 44, 52, 54, 56, 60–1, 71, 74, 79, 114, 239 Sino-Soviet 186 Soviet-American 173 Reagan, Ronald 8, 84, 86, 109, 133, 143, 151–73, 180, 182–4, 240, 242–4, 248–50, see also summits: Moscow Red Square 151–2, 170, 173, 249 Regan, Donald 160 Reykjavik 8, 166–8, 171–3, 242, see also summits Rhineland 6 Rogers, William 49–50, 54, 57–8 Romania 47, 49, 198, 243 Rostow, Eugene 106 Russian Republic 223–4, 246–7, see also Soviet Union Rust, Mathias 170 Sadat, Anwar 85 Saddam Hussein 249 Safire, William 96, 109 Sahm, Ulrich 22, 25, 28, 31–2 Saigon 76, 107 Sakharov, Andrei 106, 131, 168, 196 San Clemente 73, 237 Schabowski, Günter 206 Schmidt, Helmut 112, 114, 122–9, 137, 140–1, 239–40, 249see also summits: Guadeloupe 1979 Schoenborn, Benedikt 237 Schüßler, Gerhard 22, 25, 31–2 Scowcroft, Brent 75, 180 Shah of Iran 83, 134 Shanghai 43, 56 Shanghai Communiqué 59–60 Shelest, Petro 78 shestidesyatniki 193 Shevardnadze, Eduard 156–7, 164, 166, 168, 170, 172–3, 212, 215–16, 221, 248–9 shorter-range INFs (SRINFs) 168–70, 172 Shultz, George 153, 157–9, 161–2, 164–6, 168–70, 173, 175, 248–9 Sino-American accommodation 46 alliance 7 axis 133 communication 182 rapprochement 44, 52, 54, 56, 60–1, 71, 74, 79, 114, 239 relations 46–50, 54, 60, 181, 183–5, 187–8 summit 191 talks 45, 52 thaw 46 Sino-British relations 56 Sino-Soviet alliance 61, 97, 187, 235 antagonism 58, 61 border 46, 61, 98, 186 conflict 46, 134 normalization 186, 191, 193 rapprochement 186 relations 186–7, 193–4, 196 split 61, 73, 186, 235see also summits: Beijing 1989 Smith, Gerard 82 socialism 6, 20–1, 25–6, 30, 35–6, 46, 61, 79, 97, 98, 102, 132, 190, 199–200 Solomon, Richard H. 183 Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr 96, 106 Sonnenfeldt, Helmut 77 South Korea 44–5, 58, 155, 182 South Vietnam 46, 48, 52, 76–7 sovereignty 10, 29–30, 52, 56, 96, 102–3, 105, 113, 184, 189, 204, 215, 217–18, 220–1, 245 Soviet bloc 3, 8–9, 23, 97–101, 105–6, 114, 132, 151, 190, 211, 236, 241 Soviet Union 4–6, 45–6, 54, 58, 60–1, 67–86, 96, 98–9, 106–7, 109–12, 131–4, 136, 139, 142, 144, 151–73, 180–1, 186–90, 192, 196, 199–200, 235, 238, 240–1, 243–9 Central Committee 78, 82, 84–5, 156 Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) 1, 67, 78, 111, 151, 168, 173, 216, 245 Germany and 4, 19–21, 30, 34–6, 40, 42, 98, 205–24 Ministry of Foreign Affairs 76–8, 168, 217 Politburo 72, 78, 97, 133, 156, 165–7, 196 Red Army 205, 214, 219 see also arms, Sino-Soviet, Soviet-American, summits, Vietnam Soviet–American arms control 135 competition 199 cooperation 249 détente 98–9, 106, 114 discord 122 negotiations 143 nuclear war 154 one-upmanship 187 rapprochement 173 relations 1, 6–8, 60–1, 70, 74, 76–7, 81, 85, 107, 112, 130–7, 154, 157, 173, 180–1, 197–8, 208–10, 233–51 see also summits Spangenberg, Dietrich 19, 22 Spielberg, Steven 171 Stalinism 69, 70, 156, 193 Stalin, Joseph 70, 170, 208, 233, 236 Star Wars, see Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) Stasi 20, 23, 25, 27 statecraft 3, 103, 233, 250 Stavropol 215, 217, 219–20 Stoessel, Walter 47 Stoph, Willi 6, 15–16, 19–20, 22–36, 40, 236, 247see also summits: Erfurt, Kassel Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) 70–4, 79, 82–4, 90, 107, 134, 242 SALT I 9, 97, 106, 130, 132, 136–7, 171, 237, 239 SALT I (Interim Agreement) 84, 106, 130, 239 SALT II (Treaty) 8, 67–8, 107, 122, 127–31, 133–43, 155, 159, 166, 172, 239 SALT III 135–6, 140, 141, 143 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II 1979), see treaties Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), see treaties Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) (Star Wars) 154, 157–67, 171, 177, 242, 248 Sukhodrev, Viktor 80 summitry 3–5, 8–9, 35, 60, 69, 84, 114, 123, 137, 144, 153, 157–8, 166, 172–3, 180, 206, 223, 233, 235–7, 242–50 advisers, role of 3–4, 6, 8–9, 248 agency and 2, 3, 248 creative 2, 247, 249–50 formal agreements and 7–9, 59, 67–8, 86, 157, 162, 197, 237, 242, 247–8, 249 institutionalized 124–5, 126 personal 1, 8, 33 plenary 33 progressive 33 reconnaissance 157, 236 significance of 247–50 summits 2–5, 114, 158, 172, 236–7, 243, 248–9 Beijing 1972 6–7, 43, 57–61, 113, 236–7 Beijing 1989 (Bush) 181, 187–9, 194 Beijing 1989 (Gorbachev) 190–4 Bonn 1978 36, 122, 125–6 Caucasus 1990 204, 206, 215, 217–24, 245 Crimea 1971 36 Erfurt 1970 5, 15–17, 22–4, 32, 34, 113, 236–7 Geneva 1955 4, 236 Geneva 1985 8, 151, 153, 156–8, 242, 244 Guadeloupe 1979 8, 122, 126–30, 140–1, 240 Helsinki 1975 8–9, 96, 110–11, 114–15, 123, 127, 144 Helsinki 1992 212 Kassel 1970 5, 15–17, 27–32, 34, 35, 113, 236 Malta 1989 1–3, 180, 198, 207–10, 216, 244, 249 Moscow 1972 4, 7, 68, 71, 79–86, 113, 237 Moscow 1988 8, 151, 153, 171–2 Paris 1960 4, 236 Paris 1990 212 Prague 2010 68 Rambouillet 1975 113–14, 124, 239 Reykjavik 1986 151, 153, 160, 162–5 Vienna 1961 2, 4, 236, 249 Vienna 1979 122, 135–7 Vladivostok 1974 107, 130–1, 133,143, 238 Warsaw Pact 1969 21 Washington 1987 8, 151, 153, 165, 171–2, 242 Sweden 110, 161 Syria 107 Taipei 52, 184 Taiwan 7, 44–5, 47–8, 52–6, 58, 132, 184, 237 expulsion from United Nations 54, 56 withdrawal of American forces 47, 51, 59 Talbott, Strobe 240 technology 3, 7, 71, 81, 84, 96, 98, 100–1, 103, 130, 142, 163, 171, 233, 237, 241, 243 Teheran 139 telemetry encryption 134–6 Teltschik, Horst 207, 215–7 Thatcher, Margaret 86, 160, 166, 169, 207 theatre nuclear forces (TNF) 142, 168 Third Reich 4, 205, 234, 245 Third World 5, 71, 85, 107, 143 Tiananmen Square 9, 181, 190–1, 194–8, 200 Togliatti, Palmiro 103 Tokyo 189 totalitarianism 106, 180 trade 7, 20, 24, 26, 30–1, 33, 58, 81, 96, 103–4, 186–7, 195, 235, 239 Transpacific Partnership 182 treaties 1, 20, 30, 35, 68 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty 68, 84, 162–4, 166 Basic Treaty (Grundlagenvertrag) 1972 17, 20, 33, 36, 237 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) 160 Deutschlandvertrag 1955 29–30, 40 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty 9, 153, 170–3, 242–3 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) 68 nuclear non-proliferation treaty 17 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty(SALT II) 68, 122 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) 68, 153, 161–2, 171–2 Treaty of Moscow 35, 71, 78–9, 101 see also agreements Treaty of Moscow (1970), see treaties triangularity 5, 8–9, 35, 60–1, 73–4, 114, 182, 194, 196, 206, 235–6 Trudeau, Pierre 75 Truman, Harry S. 44–5 Tutzing 211–12 Ulbricht, Walter 19–22 United Kingdom, see Great Britain United Nations (UN) 44–5, 54, 56, 111, 131, 157, 197, 249 Dual Representation Resolution 56 General Assembly 54, 56 Security Council 7, 52, 56, 195 United States 4–8, 16, 34–5, 43–61, 67, 69–79, 83–6, 96–7, 99–100, 102, 104, 106–8, 111–15, 122, 130–43, 151–73, 180–9, 205–6, 209–10, 213, 217, 222–4, 233–47 Arms Control and Disarmament Agency 158 Congress 70, 81, 83–5, 104, 106, 135, 162, 167 Foreign Relations Committee (FRC) 138–9 House of Representatives 167 Joint Chiefs of Staff 167 National Security Council (NSC) 39, 64–5, 75, 77, 86, 88–91, 116–17, 119–20, 157–8, 160–2, 167, 171–2, 174–8, 203, 212–13, 227 National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) 153, 167, 172, 174–6, 178–9 Navy 81, 172 Senate 134, 138–40, 142, 167 Senate Armed Services Committee 140 State Department 48, 77, 113, 157, 208, 212see also Soviet-American, summits, Vietnam Universal Declaration of Human Rights 114, see also human rights uskorenie 242 US-Soviet, see Soviet-American USSR, see Soviet Union Vance, Cyrus 131–6, 139 Vanik, Charles 104 Vienna 96, 109, 122, 135–40, 143, see also summits Vietnam 5, 50, 52–3, 55–6, 72, 76–80, 82, 85, 99, 107, 131, 133–4, 170, 186, see also North Vietnam, South Vietnam Vietnam War 58, 60, 69, 70, 76–7, 79, 235–6 Vladivostok 133, 143, 238, see also summits Vogel, Ezra 190 Voß, Hans 22, 25 Walters, Vernon 53–4 Wang Bingnan 62 Warsaw 32, 45–8, 83, 100 Warsaw Pact 4, 20–1, 35, 97–8, 100, 102, 114, 128, 132, 205, 211–12, 214–15, 219, 221, 243, 245, see also summits Watergate 85, 106, 167, 237, 239 weapons aircraft 71, 84, 107, 130, 136, 164 atomic 218 atomic bomb 46, 233 enhanced radiation warheads 128 medium-range weapons 142 neutron bomb 128–9 submarines 79, 83, 107, 141 see also arms, missiles Weichert, Jürgen 25 Wei Jingsheng 185 Weinberger, Caspar 158, 161, 166–70 West Berlin, see Berlin Westbindung 246 West Germany, see Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) Westpolitik 20, 23 Wilson, Harold 75, 108, 113–14, 124 Wilson, James G. 162 Winzer, Otto 20, 23, 25, 28 Wolf, Markus 20 World Bank 125 World War One 83, 233, 241 World War Two 4, 30, 41, 51, 69, 71, 78, 98, 108–9, 124, 163, 213, 218, 222, 233–5, 238 Wörner, Manfred 215 Xu Jingli 62 Yakovlev, Aleksander 156,158, 167 Yalta 96, 237 Yang Shangkun 187, 191 Yao Yilin 190 Ye Jianying 51 Yeltsin, Boris 173 Yom Kippur War 85 Zhang Ying 51 Zhao Ziyang 185, 187–8, 190–1 Zhejiang 56 Zhenbao Island 46, 72 Zhou Enlai 6–7, 44–8, 50, 55, 57,237, 249 Zubok, Vladislav 70 Zwahr, Hartmut 25

When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach by Ashlee Vance

"Peter Beck" AND "Rocket Lab", 3D printing, Airbnb, autonomous vehicles, barriers to entry, Biosphere 2, bitcoin, Burning Man, Charles Lindbergh, cloud computing, Colonization of Mars, COVID-19, cryptocurrency, deepfake, disinformation, Elon Musk, Ernest Rutherford, fake it until you make it, Google Earth, hacker house, Hyperloop, intentional community, Iridium satellite, James Webb Space Telescope, Jeff Bezos, Kwajalein Atoll, lockdown, low earth orbit, Maui Hawaii, McMansion, Menlo Park, Mikhail Gorbachev, new economy, off-the-grid, overview effect, Peter Thiel, Planet Labs, private spaceflight, Rainbow Mansion, risk tolerance, Ronald Reagan, self-driving car, side project, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, skunkworks, SoftBank, South China Sea, South of Market, San Francisco, SpaceX Starlink, Stephen Hawking, Steve Jobs, Steve Jurvetson, Steve Wozniak, Strategic Defense Initiative, synthetic biology, tech billionaire, TikTok, Virgin Galactic

See also individual satellites collision monitoring for, 481–483 constellations of, 26 cost of launching, 141–142 costs of, 14, 15 imaging and, 14–15, 98–99, 115–120 increase in number of, 14, 127–128, 129, 396 internet service and, 14, 18 from Legos, 87, 89 spy, 115–118 various types of, 130–131 Satish Dhawa Space Centre, 27, 28–30 Schingler, Jessy Kate (née Cowan-Sharp), 71–75, 102, 324–325, 423, 488–489 Schingler, Robbie Dove project and, 103–104 founding of Planet Labs and, 101 goals of, 26 in India, 25, 27 Kemp and, 59–60, 254 launch attempts and, 28–33 at Planet Labs, 325 Rainbow Mansion and, 71, 73, 75 recent work of, 488–489 success of, 488 Ventions LLC and, 250 Whitesides and, 423 Worden and, 50, 51 Schlumberger, 166 Schmidt, Eric, 61, 64–65, 105 Schnugg, Celestine, 76 Sea Launch, 443n Sea Launch Commander, 443n SGI Technologies, 270–271 Shelby, Richard, 53–54, 56, 57 Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, 41n Shriram, Ram, 251n Silicon Valley, 41–42, 58–59, 68–69 Singularity University, 62–63, 64 Skybox Imaging, 111n SkySats, 111, 114, 396 SkyTrak, 305, 306 Smith, Kris, 288–289 Snopes, 469–470 solar panels, 31–32 solid propellants, 196 sounding rockets, 178–179, 182 Southern Festival of Speed, 163–164 Southland Astronomical Society, 148–149, 153 Southland Museum and Art Gallery, 148 Soviet Union, 115–117, 403, 436–437, 443, 452 Soyuz rockets, 104, 443 Space and Missile System Center, Los Angeles, 36 space debris, 131 Space Generation Advisory Council, 49, 62, 84n Space Launch Complex 2, 461 Space Race, 145 space shuttle, 43, 53 Space Warfare Center, 48 spaceplanes, 426 SpaceX attention given to, 33 Carlson and, 327 delays and, 224 as dominant presence, 483 Falcon 1 and, 2–12, 132 Falcon 9 and, 395 Firefly and, 208, 403 funding and, 12 goals of, 16 internet service and, 14 Judson and, 291 launch location for, 397 LeoLabs and, 482 Markusic and, 415–420 Martin at, 356 NASA and, 435 number of satellites and, 127–130 Planet Labs and, 29 progress of, 214 Rocket Lab and, 138, 141, 188, 242–243 Russian invasion of Ukraine and, 487–488 Starship and, 13 Worden and, 38–40 SPACs (special purpose acquisition companies), 385–390 special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), 385–390 “spiral of doom,” 189 Spire, 238 Sputnik 1, 115 sriharikota, 28 SS-18, 440 Stachowski Farm, 409–410 Stalin, Josef, 440 Star Wars (Strategic Defense Initiative; SDI), 43, 45–48, 55 Starlink internet system, 128–130, 487–488 Starship, 13 static fire tests, 314–318 Stealth Space Company employees of, 265, 286–293 engine tests at, 281–283, 287–288 funding and, 260 goals of, 258–259, 265–266 Kemp and, 276 launch locations for, 279–280 name change for, 294 offices of, 261–264, 280 secrecy and, 278 simplicity of design and, 279 Stern, Alan, 56–57 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI; “Star Wars”), 43, 45–48, 55 strippers, 319–320 sun-synchronous orbits, 110 Sutton, George P., 162 Svalbard archipelago, 397 Swarm Technologies, 131 Tata Nardini, Flavia, 239, 241 Teledesic, 388–389 Terra Bella, 111, 288–289 Thiel, Peter, 105 Thompson, Chris in Alaska, 324, 329, 331–332 at Astra, 300–301 joining Astra, 305 Kemp and, 295, 306, 348–349 launch attempts and, 348, 360, 376, 382 modifications to rocket and, 365 Rocket 3 and, 378 rocket tests and, 307, 315 SpaceX and, 302 3D printing, 210 Tirtey, Sandy, 211, 212, 213, 227, 240, 244 tool and die making, 154–157 trees, counting of, 121 Troy 7, 303 Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin, 145 turbopumps, 209–210, 449, 459, 467, 479, 493 Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, 238 Ukraine, 403, 435, 436–446, 448–450, 452, 456, 470–471, 485–488 Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, 451 United Launch Alliance (ULA), 449 United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, 84, 84n unreality field, 76–77, 83 US Space Force, 391 vacuum chambers, 211–212 Valley of Heart’s Delight, 42 Vandenberg Air Force Base, 456, 460–464, 472–473, 485 Vector Space Systems, 230, 370, 371, 375 Ventions LLC attempts to contact, 249–250 early days of, 255–257 employees from, 290–291, 306 funding and, 257–258 Kemp and, 254 offices of, 255 start of, 254–255 Vernadsky, Vladimir, 451, 459 Verne, Jules, 145 Vienna Declaration on Space and Human Development, 85 Virgin Galactic, 50, 179, 207–208, 356, 421–423, 428 Virgin Orbit, 214, 230, 370, 375, 423n viscous liquid monopropellant (VLM), 196, 197, 202 von der Dunk, Frans, 432 Wallops Island, Virginia, 231, 397 War on Terror, 35 Weeks, David, 414–415 Wells, H.

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By 2006, as Musk and his SpaceX team were getting ready to fire off the first Falcon 1, things had gotten so bad that NASA began to consider whether it should shut the once glorious Ames down. The NASA director at the time was Michael Griffin, who had known Worden for decades. Both men had experience working on the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) during the Ronald Reagan years. Dubbed “Star Wars,” SDI proposed to fill space with a variety of futuristic weapons designed to take down enemy missiles before they could reach the United States. Like Worden, Griffin had a fondness for doing weird stuff in space and an appreciation of the Silicon Valley start-up ethos.

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What’s clear, however, is that he did well and played a role in overseeing efforts with multimillion-dollar budgets. He also built valuable relationships throughout the military and with key players in Washington, DC. Worden’s quick rise through the ranks became obvious in 1983 when President Reagan unveiled the Star Wars program, or the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), via a speech from the Oval Office. The man tapped to lead Star Wars was Air Force General James Abrahamson, who had been running the space shuttle program, and Worden became his special assistant. Many, many people considered Star Wars a crazy idea. It depended on a wide array of technology that did not yet exist.

The America That Reagan Built by J. David Woodard

"Hurricane Katrina" Superdome, affirmative action, Alan Greenspan, anti-communist, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, Black Monday: stock market crash in 1987, Boeing 747, Bonfire of the Vanities, business cycle, colonial rule, Columbine, corporate raider, cuban missile crisis, Deng Xiaoping, friendly fire, glass ceiling, global village, Gordon Gekko, gun show loophole, guns versus butter model, income inequality, invisible hand, It's morning again in America, Jeff Bezos, junk bonds, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, laissez-faire capitalism, late capitalism, Live Aid, Marc Andreessen, Michael Milken, Mikhail Gorbachev, mutually assured destruction, Neil Kinnock, Nelson Mandela, new economy, no-fly zone, Oklahoma City bombing, Parents Music Resource Center, postindustrial economy, Ralph Nader, Robert Bork, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan: Tear down this wall, Rubik’s Cube, Savings and loan crisis, Silicon Valley, South China Sea, stem cell, Strategic Defense Initiative, Ted Kaczynski, The Predators' Ball, Timothy McVeigh, Tipper Gore, trickle-down economics, women in the workforce, Y2K, young professional

Most Americans polled at the time thought the president’s response was not tough enough, but there was now international exposure and condemnation of the Soviets as a by-product of the crisis. I, Ronald Wilson Reagan 55 The Reagan strategy from the outset was to confront the Soviet Union and its minions on a number of fronts. The plan was multifaceted: a military buildup, the deployment of Pershing and cruise missiles, the Strategic Defense Initiative, the familiar doctrine of assistance to anticommunist guerillas, and a global crusade to promote democracy and capitalism. These policies capitalized on a rare consensus in American peacetime politics which favored substantial increases in military spending in 1981. In its first two years in office, the Reagan administration faced a serious challenge regarding the deployment of nuclear weapons in Europe.

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The satellites would form a protective shield over the country. Behind the policy was Reagan’s belief that it was immoral for a nation to ignore an antimissile defense and leave its citizens helpless against a Soviet nuclear attack. The system had huge technical complexities, but it was far better than what was in its place—which was nothing. The Strategic Defense Initiative, known as SDI, was consistently opposed by many, including numerous Democrats in Congress. They labeled it ‘‘Star Wars,’’ and criticized the high cost, the supposedly insurmountable technological challenges, and the fact that the United States would have to withdraw from the 1972 Anti-ballistic missile (ABM) treaty to deploy the system.

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From the beginning, the Soviet premier had two problems: the first was the need for military disarmament, and the second was the Afghanistan invasion. Gorbachev needed disarmament to revive the Russian economy and an honorable way to get out of the war. For his part, Reagan was not about to give Gorbachev either one. The president fervently defended the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) and signed a security order that sent 10,000 rocket-propelled grenades, 200,000 rockets, and 200 Stinger shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles to the rebels in Afghanistan. Amid this tension, Gorbachev arrived at the Geneva summit unable to conceal the failures of the communist experience from the Soviet people.

Operation Chaos: The Vietnam Deserters Who Fought the CIA, the Brainwashers, and Themselves by Matthew Sweet

Berlin Wall, British Empire, centre right, computer age, disinformation, Donald Trump, energy security, Fall of the Berlin Wall, false flag, game design, Haight Ashbury, Herbert Marcuse, hiring and firing, Howard Zinn, Kickstarter, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, planetary scale, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Richard Feynman, Ronald Reagan, Saturday Night Live, Seymour Hersh, Skype, South China Sea, Stanford prison experiment, Strategic Defense Initiative, Thomas Malthus, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, WikiLeaks, Yogi Berra, éminence grise

He is also the rightful successor to Gandhi, Lincoln, de Gaulle, and Martin Luther King. His writings—The Third Stage of Imperialism, “Beyond Psychoanalysis,” and Children of Satan III: The Sexual Congress for Cultural Fascism—are landmarks in the history of ideas. His thinking inspired the Reagan administration’s Strategic Defense Initiative and the fall of the Berlin Wall. “In only a few decades in the late twentieth century,” said Warren Hamerman, in a speech at a 1990 Labor Committees conference, “the ideas generated by Lyndon LaRouche and our association, enriched by co-thinkers in every conceivable area of human knowledge and activity—from politics and physical economy to philosophy, natural law, the arts and sciences—have swept across the globe like seeds in a strong wind, and blossomed forth afresh from individuals on every continent on Earth.”

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He also had coffee with Admiral Bobby Ray Inman, the new deputy director of the CIA—an embarrassing fact that would dog Inman for years afterward. The great prize of this effort, however, was something LaRouchians still celebrate today as their leader’s great achievement—a modest consultative role in the development of the Strategic Defense Initiative, Reagan’s plan to win the Cold War by putting laser cannons in space. With the blessing of the National Security Council, an NCLC intelligence specialist met with a contact from the Soviet mission in New York to convey a reassuring message: America intended to share this embryonic technology, and had no intention of using it to launch a nuclear first strike.

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LaRouche met with representatives of the Reagan transition team: Dennis King, Lyndon LaRouche and the New American Fascism (New York: Doubleday, 1989), p. 127. He also had coffee with Admiral Bobby Ray Inman: John Mintz, “Some Officials Find Intelligence Network ‘Useful,’” Washington Post, January 15, 1985. a modest consultative role in the development of the Strategic Defense Initiative: Lyndon LaRouche, “I Remember Ronald Reagan,” Executive Intelligence Review, June 18, 2004. an NCLC intelligence specialist met with a contact from the Soviet mission: See King, Lyndon LaRouche and the New American Fascism, pp. 61–81. move his headquarters from New York to Leesburg: John Mintz, “Loudoun Newcomer Lives on Heavily Guarded Estate,” Washington Post, January 13, 1985.

Two Nations, Indivisible: A History of Inequality in America: A History of Inequality in America by Jamie Bronstein

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, back-to-the-land, barriers to entry, basic income, Bernie Sanders, big-box store, Black Lives Matter, blue-collar work, Branko Milanovic, British Empire, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, clean water, cognitive dissonance, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, Community Supported Agriculture, corporate personhood, crony capitalism, deindustrialization, desegregation, Donald Trump, ending welfare as we know it, Frederick Winslow Taylor, full employment, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, income inequality, interchangeable parts, invisible hand, job automation, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, labor-force participation, land reform, land tenure, longitudinal study, low skilled workers, low-wage service sector, mandatory minimum, mass incarceration, minimum wage unemployment, moral hazard, moral panic, mortgage debt, New Urbanism, non-tariff barriers, obamacare, occupational segregation, Occupy movement, oil shock, plutocrats, price discrimination, race to the bottom, rent control, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, Sam Peltzman, scientific management, Scientific racism, Simon Kuznets, single-payer health, Strategic Defense Initiative, strikebreaker, the long tail, too big to fail, trade route, transcontinental railway, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, trickle-down economics, universal basic income, Upton Sinclair, upwardly mobile, urban renewal, vertical integration, W. E. B. Du Bois, wage slave, War on Poverty, women in the workforce, working poor, Works Progress Administration

Reaganomics included a great concern with diminishing inflation, and strong controls on federal spending, except for federal spending on the military budget. Political scientist Donald Wells noted in 1982 that one ironic side effect of Reaganomics was a growth in the “statism” that the Reagan administration said it deplored. Government expenditure was directed at wealthy military contractors.13 The Reagan administration advocated for a Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) or “Star Wars defense,” which was intended to be a final salvo in the Cold War.14 If SDI functioned as planned, the United States and its allies would be able to detect missiles launched by the Soviet Union and shoot them down in real time, using lasers. The total projected cost for this was $26 billion, but rather than being a government initiative like the Manhattan Project, the billions in this case were to be directed to military contractors in Europe, Israel, and the United States.15 The combination of tax cuts and massive military spending immediately led to a deficit, and the deficit in turn led to rising interest rates.

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Fader, “Women and the Paradox of Economic Inequality in the Twentieth Century,” Journal of Social History vol. 39 no. 1 (2005): 65–88, at 76. 13. Donald T. Wells, “Reaganomics: Micro-Perspectives and Macro-Effects,” Studies in the Social Sciences vol. 21 (1982): 53–71. 14. Doug Rossinow, “The Legend of Reagan the Peacemaker,” Raritan vol. 32 no. 3 (2013): 56–76. 15. Peter J. Westwick, “The International History of the Strategic Defense Initiative: American Influence and Economic Competition in the Late Cold War,” Centaurus vol. 52 (2010): 338–351, at 342. 16. McGahey, “Political Economy of Austerity,” 730; Prasad, “Popular Origins of Neoliberalism,” 351. 17. Irving Horowitz, “From the New Deal to the New Federalism: Presidential Ideology in the U.S. from 1932 to 1987,” American Journal of Economics and Sociology vol. 42 no. 2 (April 1983): 129–148, at 141 18.

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(1829), 23–27; statism, 26–27 Slaughterhouse Cases (1873), 37 Slavery, 5, 18–19, 32–33 Slaves, xvi, 1, 146, 152; freedom, 4–6; migration, 17–18, 31; work, 31–32 Smith, Melancton, 8 Social Darwinism, 35, 45–46 Social Gospel, 46, 65, 67 Social Security, 85, 88, 99, 102, 121 Socialist Party, 63–64, 74 Spahr, Charles Barzilai, 47–48 Spending, government, 58, 77, 107, 110–111, 119–120, 123–125, 128, 148 Spencer, Herbert, 45 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), 119–120 Sumner, William Graham, 35, 45 Supreme Court, 37, 55, 60–61, 64–65, 81–82, 89, 129, 134, 143–144, 147, 149 Taft, William Howard, 61 Taft-Hartley Act (1947), 99 Taxation: Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), 98, 110, 126, 134, 151; rates, 48, 97, 106, 115, 117–119, 124–125, 131, 133, 139; rebellion, 6, 7, 11; redistributive, 12, 14, 68, 75, 88, 121, 123, 131, 140, 152 Taylor, Frederick Winslow, 62 Taylor, Linda, 111 Tea Party movement, 133, 141–142, 149 Technocracy movement, 85 Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), 78, 83, 94 Tilden, Samuel, 38 Tobin, James, 109, 149 Townsend, Francis, 78, 85–86, 88 Truman, Harry, 98, 99 Trump, Donald, 142 Unemployment, 80, 92, 112, 124, 126, 137–138 Unions, 40–42, 62–63, 74–75, 78, 99, 111, 121, 134, 142 Van Rensselaer, Stephen, 27 Vietnam War, 98, 108 Wagner, Robert, 88, 94 Wald, Lillian, 66 War on Poverty, 98, 104–108 Ward, Edward, 67 Warden, G.

Utopias: A Brief History From Ancient Writings to Virtual Communities by Howard P. Segal

1960s counterculture, Alvin Toffler, Apollo 11, biodiversity loss, British Empire, Buckminster Fuller, complexity theory, David Brooks, death of newspapers, dematerialisation, deskilling, energy security, European colonialism, Evgeny Morozov, Ford Model T, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, future of journalism, Future Shock, G4S, garden city movement, germ theory of disease, Golden Gate Park, Herbert Marcuse, Herman Kahn, intentional community, invention of the printing press, Isaac Newton, Jeff Bezos, John Markoff, John von Neumann, Kim Stanley Robinson, knowledge economy, Lewis Mumford, liberation theology, Louis Pasteur, Mark Zuckerberg, mass immigration, means of production, megaproject, Nelson Mandela, Nicholas Carr, Nikolai Kondratiev, One Laptop per Child (OLPC), out of africa, pneumatic tube, post-war consensus, public intellectual, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ray Kurzweil, Ronald Reagan, Silicon Valley, Skype, stem cell, Stephen Hawking, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Stewart Brand, Strategic Defense Initiative, technological determinism, technoutopianism, Thomas Malthus, Thorstein Veblen, transcontinental railway, traveling salesman, union organizing, urban planning, W. E. B. Du Bois, War on Poverty, warehouse robotics, Whole Earth Catalog

As Franklin discovered, the one-time actor Ronald Reagan had starred in a 1940 movie in which his character, a Secret Service agent, used a ray machine to destroy a spy’s airplane. This role may well have generated his passion for the formally entitled Strategic Defense Initiative.6 In 2008, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the speech by President Reagan that announced that Strategic Defense Initiative was also noted with restrained celebrations. Since 1985 some 120 billion dollars has been spent on this enterprise, despite it never having been tested. So many technical obstacles remain that it might prove impossible ever to perform tests.

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P. 113–114, 121, 122 social engineering 107–108, 109–110 social forecasters and utopianism 12–13 social media 193–194 284 Index social sciences 101, 102–104, 107, 121, and social engineering 110, societal benefits of science and technology 119 socialism 2, 10, 24, 26, 31 Morris and 59 Marx and Engels and 66–67 see also Fabianism Socialist League 59 Socialist Second International 251 Society for Utopian Studies, The 242 Sokal, Alan 160 solar power 150, 157 Sontoku, Ninomiya 20 Sony Electronics 220 Sorai, Ogy u 20 South Africa 171 Soviet Union 104, 108, 113, 244 collapse of 1, 156, 242 space flight 187 space shuttle disasters 140 “spaceship earth” 245–246, 247 Spanish Civil War 35, 252 Speed Handbook, The: Velocity, Pleasure, Modernism (Duffy) 164 speed, significance of 164–165 Spent Fuel Storage Installation, Bailey Point Peninsula, Wiscasset, US 149 Spinoff (NASA journal) 140 Spirit Fruit in Ohio and Illinois 25 Sputnik I 108, 113 Stages of Economic Growth, The (Rostow) 105 Stalin, Joseph 243, 244 Stalinism and utopia 244 Star Trek (series) 200 Star Trek Empire 199–203 Star Wars films 202, 204 “Star Wars” missile defense system 115, 141, 187–188 Staton, Mary 92 Steele, Allen 9 Stokes, Donald 120–121 120 Stoll, Steven 79 Story of Utopias, The 1 Strategic Defense Initiative 142 Strauss, Lewis 143 Stukel, James J. 206, 207–208, 210, 211, 213, 215, 250 Sun Yat-Sen 18 Superconducting Super Collider, Texas 122, 141 supersonic transport (SST) 237 Swift, Jonathan 200 Sy Syms (company) 216 “System” 78 Systeme de politique positive (Comte) 58 Systems Engineering 110–111 critiques of 112 failure of 112 systems experts 160 T.

The Cold War: A New History by John Lewis Gaddis

Able Archer 83, American ideology, anti-communist, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, British Empire, colonial rule, cuban missile crisis, Deng Xiaoping, European colonialism, full employment, Great Leap Forward, guns versus butter model, land reform, long peace, means of production, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, mutually assured destruction, Potemkin village, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan: Tear down this wall, Sinatra Doctrine, Strategic Defense Initiative

If the U.S.S.R. was crumbling, what could justify continuing to hold East Europeans hostage to the Brezhnev Doctrine—or, for that matter, continuing to hold Americans hostage to the equally odious concept of Mutual Assured Destruction? Why not hasten the disintegration? That is what the Strategic Defense Initiative was intended to do. It challenged the argument that vulnerability could provide security. It called into question the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, a centerpiece of SALT I. It exploited the Soviet Union’s backwardness in computer technology, a field in which the Russians knew that they could not keep up.

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-Soviet alliance and Rostow, Walt Rusk, Dean Russell, Richard Russia, Imperial Russo-Japanese War of 1904–5 Sadat, Anwar-el Safire, William Sakhalin Island Sakharov, Andrei SALT, see Strategic Arms Limitation Talks SALT II Sandinistas Saudi Arabia Schabowski, Günter Schell, Jonathan Schneider, René Schumacher, Kurt Scowcroft, Brent SDI, see Strategic Defense Initiative SEATO, see Southeast Asian Treaty Organization Senate, U.S. SALT II treaty in Shelest, Petr Shi Zhe Shultz, George Siberia Sicily Sieyès, Abbé Singapore Sino-American relations Deng and Mao and in Quemoy and Matsu crises Taiwan and Sino-Soviet relations border warfare and Khrushchev and Mao and Treaty of 1950 and U.S.

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Smith, Adam Solidarity (Solidarność) Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Somalia Somme, Battle of the Somoza, Anastasio Sonnenfeldt, Helmut South Africa Southeast Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO) South Korea, see Korea, Republic of South Vietnam, see Vietnam, Republic of Soviet Union Able Archer crisis and Afghanistan invaded by atomic bomb acquired by atomic bomb policy of and attempted assassination of John Paul II August coup in Chernobyl nuclear disaster in China’s relations with, see Sino-Soviet relations Chinese Revolution and collapse of Cuban Revolution and Czechoslovakia invaded by détente and, see détente Eastern European sphere of influence of economy of German invasion of Helsinki Accords’ effect on Hungarian uprising and hydrogen bomb and Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization speech and Korean War and Mao’s visit to Marxism-Leninism and life in and non-intervention in Poland non-Russian republics of postwar goals of postwar settlement and Reagan’s visit to SDI reaction of Sputnik program of SS-20 deployment decision of Stalin’s dictatorship in U.S. contrasted with U.S. relations with, see United States–Soviet relations Watergate reaction of in World War II Yeltsin’s emergence in Yugoslavia’s rift with Spain Sputnik SS-20 missiles Stalin, Josef atomic bomb policy of Berlin blockade and China policy and Churchill’s 1944 deal with Czech coup and description of dictatorship of German reunification initiative of Khrushchev’s denunciation of Korean War and Marshall Plan and as model for Mao personality of postwar goals of successors to U.S.-Soviet alliance and State Department, U.S. Strategic Arms Limitation Interim Agreement of 1972 Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) see also SALT II Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) Suez Canal Supreme Court, U.S. Suslov, Mikhail Sybil: The Two Nations (Disraeli) Tadzhikistan Taiwan Taraki, Nur Mohammed Teheran Conference of 1943 Tennyson, Alfred Tet Offensive Thatcher, Margaret third world non-alignment strategy of threat of collapse strategy of Thucydides Tiananmen Square massacre Timoşoara Tito ( Josip Broz) non-alignment strategy of Tocqueville, Alexis de totalitarianism Trade Reform Act Triumph and Tragedy (Churchill) Trotsky, Leon Truman, Harry S.

The Future of War by Lawrence Freedman

Albert Einstein, autonomous vehicles, Berlin Wall, Black Swan, Boeing 747, British Empire, colonial rule, conceptual framework, crowdsourcing, cuban missile crisis, currency manipulation / currency intervention, disinformation, Donald Trump, Dr. Strangelove, driverless car, drone strike, en.wikipedia.org, energy security, Ernest Rutherford, failed state, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, global village, Google Glasses, Herman Kahn, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), John Markoff, long peace, megacity, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, moral hazard, mutually assured destruction, New Journalism, Norbert Wiener, nuclear taboo, open economy, pattern recognition, Peace of Westphalia, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, South China Sea, speech recognition, Steven Pinker, Strategic Defense Initiative, Stuxnet, Suez canal 1869, Suez crisis 1956, systematic bias, the scientific method, uranium enrichment, urban sprawl, Valery Gerasimov, Wargames Reagan, WarGames: Global Thermonuclear War, WikiLeaks, zero day

See Timothy Noah, ‘Birth of a Washington Word: When warfare gets “kinetic”’, Slate, 20 Nov. 2002. Available: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/chatterbox/2002/11/birth_of_a_washington_word.html. However, the word was introduced during the development of concepts for destroying missiles in space as part of President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (including a Kinetic Kill Vehicle). The kinetic energy of an object is the energy that it possesses due to its motion. 39. M. L. R. Smith and David Martin Jones, The Political Impossibility of Modern Counterinsurgency: Strategic Problems, Puzzles and Paradoxes (New York: Columbia University Press, 2015). 40.

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., 11, 58 The Clash of Civilizations (Huntington), 154, 181 class, 17–18, 22–23 von Clausewitz, Carl, 8, 38 climate change, 260–263 Clinton, Bill, 155, 179 Clinton, Hillary, 227, 267 The Clipper of the Clouds (Verne), 19 Close, Robert, 95 Coal and Steel Community, 140 cobalt bombs, 73–75 Cockayne, James, 258 Cohn, Douglas, 270 Coker, Christopher, 256 Cold War, xi, xx, 73–78, 81–83, 87, 104–106 civil war after, 108, 142–149 conventional forces and, 93–94 democracy and, 134–135, 141 deterrence and, 79–80, 84–86, 92–94 fiction and, 94–98 great-power war after, 108, 110, 143, 274, 279 human rights and, 99–103 MID and, 121 outer space and, 89 realism and, 109–110 technological advancement and, 88–89 US after, 136–137 See also ABM Treaty; flexible response; strategic defense initiative Cole, August, 250–252 collateral damage, 201 Collier, Paul, 162–163 Colomb, Philip, 12 Colombia, 257–258 colonialism Africa and, 150–152 capitalism and, 35 civil war and, 149–152 civilians and, 36, 38–39, 200–201 COW and, 116–117 France and, 142 Hague Conventions and, 34 state-building and, 214 technology and, 34 UK and, 34–35 war, laws of, and, 34 World War II and, 142 See also decolonisation Comaroff, John, xix The Coming War with Japan (Friedman and Lebard), 265–266 The Command of the Air (Douhet), 56 commerce, xii–xiii See also economic interdependence communism, democracy and, 134–135 concentration camps, 38–39 See also Gulag Conference of Experts for the Study of Possible Measures Which Might Be Helpful in Preventing Surprise Attack and for the Preparation of a Report thereon to Governments, 81–83 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), 99–100, 137 See also Helsinki Final Act confidence in victory, 278 Congo, 158–160, 169 See also Democratic Republic of the Congo Conrad, Joseph, 27 contraband, 161 conventional forces, 93–94, 96–97 Cool War, 283 Coppola, Francis Ford, 176 Correlates of War (COW), 115, 120–122, 138 casualties and, 126–127, 131 civil war and, 116–119, 146 colonialism and, 116–117 extra-systemic wars and, 116–117 interstate war and, 116–119 cosmopolitanism, xii–xiii counter-insurgency, 190–197 casualties and, 206–207 civilians and, 200–208 failed states and, 211–212 host-nation government and, 208 human rights and, 195 information warfare and, 228–229 politics and, 194–196 Cousins, Norman, 114–115 COW.

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See failed states; modern states, state failure and state sovereignty, 27–28, 135–137, 165–168 state-building, 211–220 statehood, 148–149, 151, 210, 218 states, war strengthening, 216–217 The Statistics of Deadly Quarrels (Richardson), 111 Stead, William, 15 Steer, George, 59–60 Stevenson, Adlai, 74 Stoessinger, John, 278 strategic defense initiative, 97 Streseman, Gustav, 49 A Study of War (Wright, Q.), 110–111 Stuxnet, 236 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), 88, 90 submarines, 6, 19–20, 41, 96–97 Sudan, 215 See also Darfur; South Sudan The Sum of All Fears (Clancy), 181 Sunnis, Iraq War and, 196 superpowers, 85 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), 88 Suri, Jeremi, 82 surprise attack, 251–252, 278–279 cyberwar and, 235 nuclear war and, 82–83, 86–87, 90 See also Operation Barbarossa; Pearl Harbor von Suttner, Bertha, 26 swarming, 228, 247–248 Syria, 236, 257 casualties and, 133 civil war and, xv–xvi, 133, 219, 262–263 Obama and, 249 Russia and, 206, 275–276 See also Islamic State of Iraq and Syria Szilard, Leo, 71, 73–74 Taiwan, 267 Taliban, 119, 202, 207 tangible support, popular support and, 208 tanks, 19, 41, 61, 278 Tanzania, xv, 166, 182 targeted killing, drones and, 242–243 Tasmania, 35 Taylor, Charles, 172 technological advancement, Cold War and, 88–89 technology, xviii, xxi colonialism and, 34 future war and, 14, 264–265, 278 over-reliance on, 251–253 Vietnam War and, 184–185 See also aircraft; artillery; cavalry; drones; information technology; machine guns; nanotechnology; robots; science; submarine-launched ballistic missiles; submarines; tanks; telegraph; torpedoes telegraph, 12 Tenet, George J., 182 Terminal Compromise (Schwartau), 234–235 territorial peace, 140 territory aircraft and, 248 wars over, 148–149 terrorism, 180, 182–183, 249–250, 274, 284 cities and, 257 cyberwar and, 247 nuclear war and, 181, 271–272 targeted killing and, 242 See also barbarism; 11 September 2001; al-Qaeda; Al-Shabaab Thatcher, Margaret, 97 Theodore Savage (Hamilton), 58 The Third World War: A Future History (Hackett), 94–95 Thirty Years War, 28 Three Block War, 223 Thucydides, 113, 272–273 Tiananmen Square, 104 Tilly, Charles, 217 Timberlake, Edward, 267 Toffler, Alvin, 185–186, 235 Toffler, Heidi, 185–186, 235 Toft, Monica, 148, 216–217 Tolstoy, Leo, 26 torpedoes, 5–6 total war, 54–55, 58–59, 61–66 Japan and, 67 morale and, 56–57 Nazis and, 67 nuclear war and, 72 Sino-Japanese War, Second and, 60 totalitarianism, 67, 102–103 Treaty of Versailles, 46, 51 trench warfare, 14–15, 19, 41 Truman, Harry S., 118 Trump, Donald, xvi, 276 Tunisia, 261 Turkey, 125, 139, 169 The Twenty Year’s Crisis (Carr), 52–53 UCDP.

New Laws of Robotics: Defending Human Expertise in the Age of AI by Frank Pasquale

affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Airbnb, algorithmic bias, Amazon Mechanical Turk, Anthropocene, augmented reality, Automated Insights, autonomous vehicles, basic income, battle of ideas, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, Bill Joy: nanobots, bitcoin, blockchain, Brexit referendum, call centre, Cambridge Analytica, carbon tax, citizen journalism, Clayton Christensen, collective bargaining, commoditize, computer vision, conceptual framework, contact tracing, coronavirus, corporate social responsibility, correlation does not imply causation, COVID-19, critical race theory, cryptocurrency, data is the new oil, data science, decarbonisation, deep learning, deepfake, deskilling, digital divide, digital twin, disinformation, disruptive innovation, don't be evil, Donald Trump, Douglas Engelbart, driverless car, effective altruism, Elon Musk, en.wikipedia.org, Erik Brynjolfsson, Evgeny Morozov, fake news, Filter Bubble, finite state, Flash crash, future of work, gamification, general purpose technology, Google Chrome, Google Glasses, Great Leap Forward, green new deal, guns versus butter model, Hans Moravec, high net worth, hiring and firing, holacracy, Ian Bogost, independent contractor, informal economy, information asymmetry, information retrieval, interchangeable parts, invisible hand, James Bridle, Jaron Lanier, job automation, John Markoff, Joi Ito, Khan Academy, knowledge economy, late capitalism, lockdown, machine readable, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, means of production, medical malpractice, megaproject, meta-analysis, military-industrial complex, Modern Monetary Theory, Money creation, move fast and break things, mutually assured destruction, natural language processing, new economy, Nicholas Carr, Nick Bostrom, Norbert Wiener, nuclear winter, obamacare, One Laptop per Child (OLPC), open immigration, OpenAI, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, paperclip maximiser, paradox of thrift, pattern recognition, payday loans, personalized medicine, Peter Singer: altruism, Philip Mirowski, pink-collar, plutocrats, post-truth, pre–internet, profit motive, public intellectual, QR code, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, RAND corporation, Ray Kurzweil, recommendation engine, regulatory arbitrage, Robert Shiller, Rodney Brooks, Ronald Reagan, self-driving car, sentiment analysis, Shoshana Zuboff, Silicon Valley, Singularitarianism, smart cities, smart contracts, software is eating the world, South China Sea, Steve Bannon, Strategic Defense Initiative, surveillance capitalism, Susan Wojcicki, tacit knowledge, TaskRabbit, technological solutionism, technoutopianism, TED Talk, telepresence, telerobotics, The Future of Employment, The Turner Diaries, Therac-25, Thorstein Veblen, too big to fail, Turing test, universal basic income, unorthodox policies, wage slave, Watson beat the top human players on Jeopardy!, working poor, workplace surveillance , Works Progress Administration, zero day

See military: and killer robots Solingen, Etel, 163–164 South China Sea, 154 South Korea, 15, 54, 79, 159 Sox (digital companion), 50 Sri Lanka, 92 Stark, Luke, 126–127 Star Wars. See Strategic Defensive Initiative Star Wars, 50, 229 Steichen, Edward, 308n82 STEM (science, technology, engineering, and medicine), 173 stereotypes. See racism; sexism Stevens, Wallace, 220 Steyerl, Hito, 219 Stiglitz, Joseph, 160 Strategic Defensive Initiative (SDI), 9 student debt, 87, 134–135, 279n58 subsidiarity, 176 substitutive AI / robotics, 6, 31, 52, 55, 123, 172, 200, 202, 206, 211, 221 Sudan, 149 surveillance, 6, 8, 58, 121–123, 135, 159, 166–167; in China, 61, 160, 167; and arms races, 31, 136, 167; in education, 62, 72, 73–77, 83–85; and encryption / decryption, 10; in Europe, 5; and facial recognition, 125, 129; in finance, 135–136; and the military (including drones), 151–154, 164–166, 168; mobile, 15; public health, 11; in the workplace, 131 The Syllabus, 100 Syria, 167 Taiwan, 55, 159, 160, 163–164 Taliban, 160 Tamagotchi, 80 TaskRabbit, 84 tax(es), 10, 27, 53, 193; carbon, 185; and deflation, 26, 188–189; for education, 25, 62, 188; inversions, 228; and military technology, 158; and modern monetary theory, 193–194; policy, revitalizing, 172, 179–183; and the uninsured, 43; and universal basic income, 184 Tay (Microsoft chatbot), 12, 219 Taylor, Charles, 224, 308nn83–84 Taylor, Frederick, 83; and Taylorism, 67, 83, 139 Tcherneva, Pavlina, 186 teaching.

…

Dovish politicians may commit themselves to a purely defensive posture (reflected in the United States’ shift from a Department of War to a Department of Defense in 1949). But defenses can often be repurposed as offensive weapons; think, for instance, of autonomous drones designed to destroy missiles but reprogrammed to assassinate generals. Thus, even protective plans can seem aggressive, as in the case of Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Popularly known as Star Wars, SDI would have relied on lasers in space to shoot down Soviet missiles. Had it worked, it would have upset a fragile balance of deterrence (mutually assured destruction via nuclear annihilation). Now, LAWS, automated cyberattacks, and disinformation campaigns threaten to disrupt long-settled expectations about the purpose and limits of international conflict.

Green Tyranny: Exposing the Totalitarian Roots of the Climate Industrial Complex by Rupert Darwall

1960s counterculture, active measures, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Albert Einstein, Bakken shale, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, California energy crisis, carbon credits, carbon footprint, centre right, clean tech, collapse of Lehman Brothers, creative destruction, decarbonisation, deindustrialization, dematerialisation, disinformation, Donald Trump, electricity market, Elon Musk, energy security, energy transition, facts on the ground, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Garrett Hardin, gigafactory, Gunnar Myrdal, Herbert Marcuse, hydraulic fracturing, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), invisible hand, it's over 9,000, James Watt: steam engine, John Elkington, Joseph Schumpeter, Kenneth Rogoff, Kickstarter, liberal capitalism, market design, means of production, megaproject, Mikhail Gorbachev, mittelstand, Murray Bookchin, Neil Armstrong, nuclear winter, obamacare, oil shale / tar sands, Paris climate accords, Peace of Westphalia, peak oil, plutocrats, postindustrial economy, precautionary principle, pre–internet, recommendation engine, renewable energy transition, rent-seeking, road to serfdom, rolling blackouts, Ronald Reagan, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley billionaire, Solyndra, Strategic Defense Initiative, subprime mortgage crisis, tech baron, tech billionaire, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Tragedy of the Commons, women in the workforce, young professional

Reagan then made the case that the world would be safer if it could rise above a peace based on the threat of mutual destruction. To this end, the President announced a long-term research-and-development program to render strategic nuclear missiles “impotent and obsolete.” He acknowledged that what became known as the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was a formidable task that might not be accomplished before the end of the century but could pave the way for arms control talks to eliminate the weapons themselves. “Our only purpose,” the President concluded, “one all people share—is to search for ways to reduce the danger of nuclear war.”16 SDI galvanized Sagan.

…

The defense industry would be closed down and its engineers and scientists redirected to creating a new energy paradigm based on solar and other forms of renewable energy, to transform society from its dependence on fossil fuels. By harvesting the sun from the Sahara, Europe would be transformed into a hydrogen society.20 New Scientist asked Scheer how, without any background as a physicist or engineer, he had gotten involved in solar energy. It was the time of Ronald Reagan and his Strategic Defense Initiative. “I had not read a single book on renewable energy. I just did my own thinking and I wrote a chapter suggesting a new SDI, the Solar Development Initiative,” Scheer replied.21 Unsurprisingly Scheer found little to celebrate in the ending of the Cold War. In A Solar Manifesto, published four years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Scheer condemned the leaders of the West for “their self-deceiving euphoria of victory.”22 Even so, Scheer managed to profit from this apparent reverse.

…

Pew Center on Global Climate Change Pew Charitable Trusts/Memorial Trust endowment of (1948) Pew Institute Pew Research Center Philip, Prince Planned Parenthood Podesta, John Poland government of Pomerance, Rafe Popper, Karl Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Lufthansa Flight hijacking (1977) Porritt, Jonathon Porsche Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research founding of (1992) Proctor, Robert concept of Nazi paternalism Quisling, Vidkun Rabi, Isidor “I. I.” Rauschning, Hermann Raven, Peter Reagan, Ronald administration of defense policies of environmental policies of governor of California State of the Union Address (1984) Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) Red Army Faction (RAF) bombing campaigns of kidnapping of Hanns Martin Schleyer (1977) Red–Green Coalition (Germany) fall of (2005) Reformation Reid, Harry Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) Renewable Hockey Stick Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROC) Republican Party (USA)(GOP) Resources for the Future (RFF) Costs and Benefits of Reducing Acid Rain, The (1997) Reston, James Reuther, Walter Revolutionary Cells Rio Earth Summit (1992) Roberts, Chief Justice John Glover Rockefeller Family Fund Rockefeller Foundation Rohrkrämer, Thomas “Antimodernism, Reactionary Modernism and National Socialism” (1999) Roman Empire (27BC–395AD) Romania Roosevelt, Teddy Rosenberg, William G.

The Case for Space: How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of Limitless Possibility by Robert Zubrin

Ada Lovelace, Albert Einstein, anthropic principle, Apollo 11, battle of ideas, Boeing 747, Charles Babbage, Charles Lindbergh, Colonization of Mars, complexity theory, cosmic microwave background, cosmological principle, Dennis Tito, discovery of DNA, double helix, Elon Musk, en.wikipedia.org, flex fuel, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, gravity well, if you build it, they will come, Internet Archive, invisible hand, ITER tokamak, James Webb Space Telescope, Jeff Bezos, Johannes Kepler, John von Neumann, Kim Stanley Robinson, Kuiper Belt, low earth orbit, Mars Rover, Mars Society, Menlo Park, more computing power than Apollo, Naomi Klein, nuclear winter, ocean acidification, off grid, out of africa, Peter H. Diamandis: Planetary Resources, Peter Thiel, place-making, Pluto: dwarf planet, private spaceflight, Recombinant DNA, rising living standards, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, self-driving car, Silicon Valley, SoftBank, SpaceX Starlink, Strategic Defense Initiative, Stuart Kauffman, telerobotics, Thomas Malthus, three-masted sailing ship, time dilation, transcontinental railway, uranium enrichment, Virgin Galactic, Wayback Machine

Also, since the 1990s, evidence has piled up to the point where it is now conclusive that asteroidal impacts on the Earth have been responsible not just for the extinction of the dinosaurs, but for other mass extinctions as well. The message here is that life on Earth is part of a larger cosmic system, which we humans ignore at our peril. In 1994, the US Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) launched a low-cost space probe to the Earth's moon, finding evidence for the presence of water—the staff of life and the basis of chemical industry—on the Earth's nearest neighbor. This was confirmed in 2009, when the Centaur upper stage that was used to launch NASA's LCROSS probe was crashed into a crater near the moon's south pole, sending up a cloud of water vapor.

…

., Dione, Enceladus, Titan) solar system energy resources of, 159 statistics on getting to and back from, 162 tides of, 155–56 Titan-Saturn ferry, 163–64 Saturn V (rocket), 11, 36, 41, 102, 107, 108, 329, 343 Schiller, Friedrich, 327 Schmitt, Harrison, 83 Schwarzenegger, Arnold, 235 Scientific American (journal), 283 scoops, magnetic. See magnetic sails (magsail) SDIO (Strategic Defense Initiative Organization) (US), 13 Seager, Sara, 244, 245 Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), 256–57, 258 SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space), 29, 34 seed spaceships (Noah's Ark Eggs), 209–14 SEI (Space Exploration Initiative), 343 self-replicating complex systems, 231–32, 236.

…

See interstellar travel Starship (rocket) (SpaceX), 11, 12, 27–28, 28, 41, 77, 112, 134–35, 344 originally known as BFR, 110, 334, 344 reducing launch costs of, 27 See also Interplanetary Transport System (ITS) (SpaceX) Star Trek (television series), 323 Steins (asteroid), 130 stellarators, 84 STEM graduates in US (1960–1990), 285–86, 285 Stoker, Carol, 333 Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) (US), 13 Stratolaunch, 12, 29–30 stromatolites (bacterial fossils), 260 Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS), 29, 34 “Summer Triangle,” 240 sunlight as source of propulsion. See light sails superconductors, 177, 180, 203 Surveyor probe, 77 survival as reason for reaching out to space travel, 287–99 suspended animation, 184, 188 Sutherland, Derek, 180 TAE (Tri-Alpha Energy), 177–78, 177 Tang as a space-program spin-off, 284 Tarter, Jill, 240 Tau Ceti (star), 182, 257 time to reach using Noah's Ark Egg project, 211 vision of for the year 3000, 318–19 Taylor, Ted, 186 technological civilizations, 267 lifetime of an average, 264, 266 and Mars, 13, 25, 101, 114 numbers of in our galaxy, 264, 266–67, 269 resources as a function of technology, 303–304 vision of for the year 3000, 320–21 Teflon as a space-program spin-off, 284 telerobotic operations, 70, 102, 344 telescopes, gaining knowledge through use of, 250–51, 253, 256.

Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age by W. Bernard Carlson

1960s counterculture, air gap, Albert Einstein, Charles Babbage, Clayton Christensen, creative destruction, disruptive innovation, en.wikipedia.org, Ford Model T, Henri Poincaré, invention of radio, Isaac Newton, James Watt: steam engine, Joseph Schumpeter, Menlo Park, packet switching, Plato's cave, popular electronics, Robert Gordon, Ronald Reagan, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Strategic Defense Initiative, undersea cable, yellow journalism

Keegan, claimed in Aviation Week & Space Technology that the Soviets were building a large-scale charged particle beam at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan.64 Although Keegan’s claims were roundly denied by President Jimmy Carter and scientific experts, fear of a possible “death beam gap” provided the political impetus for a significant expansion of American research into space-based beam weapons. Under the direction of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), work began on the ALPHA chemical laser project in 1978, the TALON GOLD targeting system in 1979, and the Large Optics Demonstration Experiment (LODE) in 1980. These programs formed the basis for the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) that Ronald Reagan announced publicly in 1983. In the 1980s, the Department of Defense added several programs to SDI including X-ray and chemical lasers as well as the neutral particle beam weapon; reminiscent of Tesla’s “Chinese Wall” claims, SDI weapons were intended to create a “curtain” that would destroy incoming enemy missiles.

…

., 186 Paige typesetter, 446n24 Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), 112 Pantaleoni, Guido, 89, 111 Parsons, Charles, 371 particle beam weapons: abolishing war and, 398; Chamberlain and, 388; “Chinese Wall” claims of, 382, 394–95; as death ray, 382, 393, 398; deBobula and, 386; FBI and, 389, 391; Fitzgerald and, 390–94; Hertzian waves and, 329, 381–95, 416; Hitler and, 388; Hoover and, 389; impracticality of, 386, 395; League of Nations and, 387; methodology of, 381–82; pilots and, 382, 386; possibility of, 395; Semipalatinsk Test Site and, 394–95; Soviet Union and, 388, 395; Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) and, 394–95; teleforce principle and, 388–89 Patent Office, U.S., 95, 98, 104, 107, 230, 436n30 patent-promote-sell strategy, 102–3, 132, 371, 397 patents, 10, 360, 453n78; AC motors and, 52, 55–56, 64, 93–95, 114, 118, 145, 159, 167, 186, 305, 361, 429n6, 439n8; Adams and, 169–70; arc lighting and, 72–75, 120, 431n46; Atlantic Communication and, 377; before lectures, 134; Betts and, 169; Bradley and, 169; broad principles and, 94–95; Brown and, 79, 81, 100–101, 116, 193, 205, 302, 305, 407; carbon button lamp and, 133; circuit controller and, 188; Colorado Springs and, 303, 328; complete systems and, 95; comprehensive, 95; creative process and, 416; Dolbear and, 139, 348; Dolivo-Dobrowolsky and, 144–45, 161; Duncan, Curtis, & Page and, 93–94; dynamo commutator and, 81; Edison and, 49, 63, 72, 161; electrical transmission cable and, 310; expiration of, 375; Ferraris and, 143; Fessenden and, 416; foreign, 134, 144–45, 153, 332, 440n14, 451n38; French law and, 63; GE and, 169; Haselwander and, 144; 20; high-frequency phenomena and, 120, 134, 205; incandescent lighting and, 88, 134; individual component design and, 95; infringement of, 80, 102, 145, 166–68, 377; licensing and, 94, 101–3, 145, 153, 155, 205–6, 218, 255, 347, 378; life of, 361; litigation over, 55, 99, 130, 169, 353, 376–78, 403, 416, 428n40, 429n6, 439n3; Loomis and, 445n6; magnifying transmitters and, 303; manufacturing and, 101–2, 218; Marconi and, 311–13, 315, 332, 338, 377–78, 462n6; mercury interrupters and, 447n27; Morgan and, 313, 315–18, 344, 346–47, 352, 355; oscillators and, 181–84, 189, 248, 257, 305; Page and, 93–95, 98, 264, 343, 357, 432n16; Peck and, 79, 81, 93, 100–101, 116, 132, 193, 205, 207, 302, 305, 406–7; performance data and, 295; polyphase motor and, 95, 105–6, 145, 167–68, 434n49; power transmission and, 169, 249, 313, 332, 434n49; pumps and, 372; Puskás and, 49; pyromagnetic generator and, 81; radio-controlled boat and, 230–32, 243; royalties and, 94, 101, 111, 113, 130–32, 145, 305, 349, 361, 378, 467n19; self-regulating dynamo and, 88; selling, 107–13, 116, 132, 205–7, 371, 397, 405–6; Serrell and, 74; sources for, 416–17; Stanley and, 88; stationary waves and, 263, 303; telegraph relay and, 80; telephone and, 101, 186, 348; Tesla’s first in America, 21; thermomagnetic motor and, 76–77; Thomson and, 169; three–phase current and, 144–45, 161; tuning technique and, 286; turbines and, 372; U.S.

…

., 78, 88–89, 111–13 stationary waves: capacitors and, 262, 268, 271, 279–81, 286; Colorado Springs laboratory and, 263–69; conductors and, 271, 273, 289; demonstrations and, 264, 271, 282, 293–95; Earth’s resonance and, 269–74; electromagnetism and, 270–73, 275; high-frequency phenomena and, 262; interplanetary messages and, 274–78; Marconi and, 276–77; ocean and, 273; patents and, 263, 303; photographic documentation and, 295–300; resonance and, 270, 281; Schumann cavity and, 273, 278; telegraph and, 269, 271, 273, 283, 285–89, 295; transmitters and, 262, 267–69, 274, 276, 278–82; tuning and, 284–88; wireless communication and, 262, 265, 273–79, 295, 300–303; wireless power transmission and, 262, 294, 302; witnessing tests of, 288–95 Statue of Liberty, 283 steam power, 5; alternators and, 181; bladeless turbines and, 353, 369–73; Buffalo and, 165; flywheels and, 43; Fontaine and, 41; Globe Stationery and Power Company, 81; Marconi, and, 277; Newcomen and, 426n43; ocean scheme for, 81, 87, 433n26; oscillators and 181–85, 193, 215, 232, 446n18; pyromagnetic generator and, 81–84; rotary motion and, 37, 43; ships and, 195, 283, 327, 338, 342; triple-expansion engines and, 226; Watt and, 19, 406; Westinghouse and, 165, 304, 320, 328 Steele, Charles, 316–18 Stillwell, Lewis, 165 St. John’s, Newfoundland, 333–34 St. Louis lecture, 177–78 stock tickers, 79, 354 Stone, John Stone, 396, 402–3 Storm, Margaret, 398 St. Paul & Northern Pacific Railway Company, 164, 357 Strasbourg motor, 57, 66–69, 85, 118, 140, 294, 416, 430n20 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), 394–95 streamers: copper and, 297; fire hazard of, 264, 281; high-voltage electricity and, 135, 177, 211–12, 255, 281–82, 296–97, 299, 306, 323, 456n47, 458n76; photographing, 295–300; power transmission and, 211–12; Tesla coils and, 120–25, 128, 218, 248–49, 282, 338, 353, 403, 423n6, 450n17, 462n6 Stumpf, Carl, 48 subjective rationality, 10, 57–59, 411 Swezey, Kenneth, 380, 390, 411, 416 Swiss Tesla Institute, 399 Szigeti, Anthony, 114, 241; arc lighting and, 74; compass and, 131; Edison and, 63–64; leaves Tesla, 131–32, 240, 362; motors and, 50–52, 57, 62–64, 92, 428n40, 428n42, 430n14; Puskás and, 63; Strasbourg project and, 66–67, 430n20; talents of, 118, 293; Tesla Electric Company and, 81 tabloid newspapers, 1, 239, 316, 352, 408 Tamm, Edward A., 392 Tate, Alfred O., 70 T connection, 159 telautomatics, 225, 308 teleforce principle, 388–89 telegraph: American Union and, 79; Atlantic & Pacific and, 79; Brown and, 77–80; brush response and, 148; call boxes and, 229; Central Telegraph Office of Hungary, 50; direct current and, 37; Edison and, 64, 79, 197; Evans and, 78–79; Gould and, 79–80; Gray and, 79; grounding and, 139; Johnson and, 197; Marconi and, 132, 335–37 (see also Marconi, Guglielmo); Maxwellians and, 210; messenger boys and, 229, 389; Mutual Union and, 78–81, 111; obsolescence of, 5; Peck and, 78–80; railroads and, 79; relays and, 80; stock tickers and, 79, 354; transatlantic cable for, 195, 312; Western Union and, 77–80, 94, 101, 406 Telegraphic Journal and Electrical Review, 137 telephone, 5, 261, 345; American Bell Telephone Company and, 101; atmospheric induction, 445n6; Bell and, 8, 10, 21–22, 49, 138, 219, 406, 435n59, 471n23; coherer circuit and, 275; Dolbear and, 139; Edison and, 49, 78, 195; marketing of, 8; Morgan and, 312, 317, 339; patents and, 101, 186, 348; Puskás and, 49–50, 63, 428n34, 428n35; Western Union and, 101 television, 244, 384, 403 Tesla, Ana (grandmother), 14 Tesla, Angelina (sister), 15 Tesla, Dane (brother), 15, 21–23, 366, 410 Tesla, Djuka (mother), 13–15, 17, 19, 21, 47, 145, 154–55, 156 Tesla, Janja (aunt), 14 Tesla, Josif (uncle), 14, 26, 34 Tesla, Marcia (sister), 18 Tesla, Milka (sister), 15 Tesla, Milutin (father): death of, 447; education promise of, 29–32; Tesla’s background and, 14–18, 21–22, 25, 28–30, 34, 46–47 Tesla, Nikola: AC motors and, 3 (see also AC motors); active imagination of, 19–20, 24–26, 28, 30–31, 33, 51–52, 55–59, 237–38, 244–47, 403–13; AIEE lecture and, 105–7; arrest of, 47; ashes of, 393; background of, 3, 12–33; bankruptcy of, 374–76; billiards, 46, 51, 70; biographical concepts for, 6–11; birthday parties for, 380–81; birth of, 13, 17–18; brother’s death and, 21–22; Budapest and, 49–57; celebrity of, 175, 194, 197, 303, 352; childhood of, 12–33; Columbia College lecture and, 133–38; confiscated papers of, 391–95; cultivated image of, 194–95; death of, 389–95; death of father, 447; demonstrations of, 1–2 (see also demonstrations); disproving theory of relativity and, 380; disruptive innovation and, 401–3; as draftsman, 47; dreams of, 26–28, 225, 410; early education of, 26–29, 32–33; early interest in electricity, 18–19, 28–29, 34–41; Edison Machine Works and, 69–73, 76, 120, 416; Edison Medal and, 9–10, 240, 376, 391; education at Gymnasia and, 26–29; electrotherapy and, 217, 450n12; emotional challenges of, 20–26, 50, 216–18, 221, 237, 364–67, 380, 389–90, 399, 412; establishing reputation of, 194–213; European tour of, 143–57; father’s promise of engineering education, 29–32; flattering exam certificates of, 45–46; flying machines and, 19, 27, 226, 369, 386, 410; gambling of, 46–48, 307; Ganz and Company and, 60–63, 87–88, 155, 158, 258, 429n2, 429n6; germ phobia of, 389; gold medals of, 380; as Grand Officer of the Order of St.

A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life by Brian Grazer, Charles Fishman

4chan, Airbnb, Albert Einstein, Apollo 13, Apple II, Asperger Syndrome, Bonfire of the Vanities, Dr. Strangelove, en.wikipedia.org, game design, Google Chrome, Howard Zinn, Isaac Newton, Jeff Bezos, Kickstarter, Norman Mailer, orbital mechanics / astrodynamics, out of africa, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, Seymour Hersh, Silicon Valley, stem cell, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Strategic Defense Initiative, TED Talk, the scientific method, Tim Cook: Apple

He was more than just brilliant, he was a vigorous advocate of a strong defense, and passionate about the importance of nuclear weapons to that defense. By the time I was working as a movie producer, Teller was in his seventies, but he had found a fresh role advocating for and helping to design President Ronald Reagan’s controversial Star Wars missile defense shield, formally called the Strategic Defense Initiative. Teller was a cantankerous, difficult personality—he was widely rumored to be the inspiration for the title character “Dr. Strangelove” in Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 movie. I wanted to meet him simply because I wanted to understand the personality of someone who could be passionate about inventing the most destructive weapon in the history of humanity.

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., 45, 110–12, 113–14 See also: Geisel, Theodor Shadyac, Tom, 110 Sheppard, Sam, 26 The Shining (movie), 165 Simmons, Russell, 48 sin: curiosity as a, 195 skepticism, 167, 170, 183, 184 Sky, why it is blue, 274–75 Slick Rick, 48 Slim, Carlos, 25, 276 speeches: fear of giving, 114–16 of Grazer, 114–16 of Obama, 209, 211 Spielberg, Steven, 108, 128, 178 Splash (movie), 6, 31, 35, 36, 97, 102–8, 109, 137, 155, 218 sports: curiosity and, 54, 59 See also: baseball Sports Night (TV show), 77 standardized testing, 14 Stanford University: creativity and innovation experts at, 60 Star Wars (movie), 157 “Star Wars” program, 25, 64, 65 Stein, Jules, 5 Stephens, James, 97, 123, 280–81 Sting, 71, 74 stories and storytelling: characteristics of good, 35 curiosity conversations as, 91 emotions and, 83 engaging, 80 Grazer’s passion for, 86, 87, 161 as inspiring curiosity, 79–84, 109 as inspiring and entertaining, 189 learning from, 81–84, 91, 96 public speaking and, 115 purpose of, 115 questions and, 137 reality in, 76–79 as shared knowledge, 82 sharing your own, 261 Teller’s views about, 66–67 and telling stories to self, 74 types of, 34 and uses of curiosity, 34–37, 62, 79–84, 132, 191 strangers: curiosity conversations with, 262–64 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), 64 Styler, Trudie, 71 surfing: Grazer’s interest in, 124 surprise: relationships and, 160, 161 survival: curiosity as essential to, 82 De Negri story of, 73–76 Sutherland, Kiefer, 48 Sylbert, Anthea, 105–6, 109 Tartikoff, Brandon, 29 taste, 177–81, 182–83 Taylor, Tate, 137 television.

The Cold War: A World History by Odd Arne Westad

Able Archer 83, Albert Einstein, American ideology, anti-communist, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, Bolshevik threat, Bretton Woods, British Empire, capital controls, collective bargaining, colonial rule, continuous integration, cuban missile crisis, Deng Xiaoping, disinformation, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, energy security, European colonialism, facts on the ground, failed state, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial deregulation, full employment, Great Leap Forward, household responsibility system, imperial preference, Internet Archive, land reform, Les Trente Glorieuses, liberal capitalism, long peace, means of production, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, mutually assured destruction, Nelson Mandela, new economy, Nixon shock, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, oil shock, out of africa, post-industrial society, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan: Tear down this wall, South China Sea, special economic zone, Strategic Defense Initiative, Suez crisis 1956, union organizing, urban planning, War on Poverty, women in the workforce, Yom Kippur War, young professional, zero-sum game

He found the principles of mutually assured destruction to be morally contentious and personally repugnant. The thought of himself ever having to use the nuclear launch codes horrified Reagan, who as president avoided most briefings or simulations in which he would have to do so. Instead, the president in 1983 commissioned a Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), which would focus on preventing nuclear missiles from ever reaching the US mainland. Dubbed “Star Wars” by its detractors, these plans imagined the use of space-based lasers to destroy incoming missiles. Even some of the president’s own science advisers suggested that it would not work, or at least not within a generation or so.

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The only value in our two nations possessing nuclear weapons is to make sure they will never be used. But then would it not be better to do away with them entirely?”11 Gorbachev, for some very good reasons, doubted the sincerity in Reagan’s appeal. But he worried about the increases in defense spending that the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program would inflict on the Soviet Union. He also needed time to develop his European initiatives, which he hoped would split the western Europeans from the United States in what he saw as Reagan’s warlike attitude to the Soviet Union. Although little progress had been made at the off-and-on negotiations between the two sides on nuclear weapons’ issues in Geneva, Gorbachev agreed to a summit meeting with the American president there, to take place in November 1985.

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See North Atlantic Treaty Organization Nazi, 27 as alternative to Weimer Republic, 36 collaboration of followers with Soviet Union post-WWII, 109, 116 Communist parties resistance to Nazi rule, 74 escapees in Argentina, 345 expansionism, 88 rise of, 30, 36 rule through extermination, 99 subversion, 341 Nehru, Jawaharal, 145, 151–152, 246, 250, 279, 423–438 anticolonialism of, 423, 427–428 at Bandung Conference, 271, 428, 432 China and, 430–432, 437 on Cold War, 274, 423–424 Congo crisis (1960–1961), 435 imprisonment, 264 Kashmir and, 425 Non-Aligned Movement, 435–436 Pakistan and, 425 praise for Soviet Union, 156–157 on SEATO and Baghdad Pact, 427 as socialist, 423–424 Tito and, 433–434 visit to US, 426 Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage of Imperialism (Nkrumah), 324 neoconservatives, US, 476–477, 508 neoliberalism, 526, 572–573 Netherlands, 41, 56, 73, 147–148, 326–327 neutron bombs, 505 New Deal, 39–40, 46, 111, 136, 220 New Economic Policy, 33 New International Economic Order (NIEO), 392–393 New Look policy, 225 Ngo Dinh Diem, 316, 318, 320 Nguyen Van Thieu, 406, 479 Nicaragua, 361, 498–499, 526, 532–533, 569–571 Nicholas II (Tsar), 22–24 Nie Rongzhen, 405 Nigeria, civil war in, 418 Nilsen, Rudolf, 32 Nitze, Paul, 103–104, 486 Nixon, Richard, 389 Chile and, 356–357 China and, 399, 405–413 détente, 386, 399, 408, 476 election of 1968, 398–399 on global Communist threat, 146–147 India and, 443–444 Israel and, 463–465 McCarthy and, 176 Pakistan and, 442 race against Kennedy, 189, 301 resignation, 419 Soviet Union and, 407–408, 410, 417 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I), 413–414 Nkrumah, Kwame, 262, 277, 283, 324 Non-Aligned Movement, 249, 285, 433–439 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), 503–508 Berlinguer comment on, 503 double-track decision (1979), 506 economic pluralism within, 220 European countries, 213–214, 223, 605 formation of, 118–119 growth of, 215 Korean War, 181, 213 military exercises of 1983, 508–509 nuclear weapons, 214 Warsaw Pact as countercheck to, 197 North Korea, 165–171, 254, 292 North Vietnam bombing of, 320–321, 331–332, 336 China and, 322, 332–333, 478–479 Cultural Revolution chaos and, 254 deaths in war, 331–332 defeat of South Vietnam, 478–480 development in 1950s, 314–315 labor camps, 315 Laos crisis, 292 Paris Accords, 413 Soviet Union and, 321–322, 332–333, 478–479 Tet offensive, 334, 404 Norway, 41, 54, 74, 96, 118, 380, 627 NSC-68, 103–105, 146 nuclear weapons advances in 1980s, 501 arms race, 102, 415–417, 420–421, 540, 626, 628 for battlefield use, 505 Britain, 214, 416, 507 China, 238, 250, 416 command of in western Europe, 214 nuclear weapons distrust of Soviets by Americans, 486 Eisenhower policy of deterrence, 224–225 in Europe, 506 France, 214, 382, 416, 507 Gorbachev and, 536–537, 540–541 India, 444 Israel, 464 Kennedy and, 303–309 Korean War effect on program, 181 MIRVs, 420 neutron bombs, 505 Reagan-Gorbachev discussions, 540–541 Soviet arsenal, 416, 485 Stalin’s program to develop, 101–102 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT), 413–414, 485, 487, 489, 492, 496, 506, 523 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), 523, 537, 540 tactical, 304 test ban treaty, 311 threat of nuclear destruction, 537, 627–629 threat of Soviet use on China, 255 uranium, access to, 267–268 US arsenal, 101, 287, 303, 416 Nyerere, Julius, 393 October Revolution, 27 October War (1973), 464–466, 484 oil Algeria, 284 Arab embargo, 466 Iran, 449–450 Kuwait, 456 Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), 466 in post-WWII Middle East, 153–154 Soviet Union, 268, 504, 509, 529–530, 542 as strategic resource, 268–269 Okinawa, 132 oligarchy, Russia, 622 One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (Solzhenitsyn), 195, 418 one-party dictatorships, 34–36 OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries), 466 Operation Barbarossa, 44 Operation Venona, 121 Orbán, Viktor, 586 Ordaz, Gustavo Díaz, 360 Order by Slander (Lattimore), 120 Order of the Red Banner, 163 Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), 215 Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), 466 Organization of Ukranian Nationalists (OUN), 122–123 Ostpolitik, 385, 389, 419–420, 510 Ottoman empire, 25, 452 Outer Mongolia, 81 Padmore, George, 271 Pahlavi, Reza, 269 Pakistan Afghanistan war and, 531–532, 549 Bangladesh war, 441–444 China and, 437–438 formation of, 152 independence, 106 Kashmir, 425, 437–438 Nehru and, 425 US relations with, 426–427, 442–444, 564 Palestine, 153, 154, 450, 452–453, 462 Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), 461–462, 468 Palestinian refugees, 451, 459, 461–462 Palestinian terrorism, 468–469, 473 Palme, Olof, 392 Pan-American Conference (1928), 344 Pan-Arabism, 453, 455 Panama Canal, 344 Paris Accords, 413 Paris summit (1959), 229–230 Partito Nazionale Fascista, 27 patents, 20 Patriotic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), 462 Pauker, Ana, 125 Peace Corps, 291, 350 peace dividend, 618 Pearl Harbor, attack on, 47, 102, 161 peasant movements, 14 Peng Dehuai, 173, 244 Peng Zhen, 250–251 Penkovskii, Oleg, 310–311 People’s Courts, 80 People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY), 470 People’s Liberation Army Chinese, 141–142, 238–239, 431 Philippines, 270 Soviet training, 238–239 People’s Republic, concept of, 81 People’s Republic of China (PRC), 143, 170, 233, 490, 586 People’s Volunteer Army, 174 perestroika, 541, 543, 545–546, 551, 581, 602, 608, 622 Perón, Juan, 343, 345, 354–355 Peru, state-owned companies in, 571 Petkov, Nikola, 80–81 PFLP (Patriotic Front for the Liberation of Palestine), 462 Pham Van Dong, 333 Philby, Kim, 310 Philippines, 14, 21, 56, 66, 147, 270 Pieck, Wilhelm, 109 Pinochet, Augusto, 357, 362, 571 Plan Broiler, 101 planned economy, in Communist states, 187–188 PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization), 461–462, 468 Pol Pot, 480–481, 490 Poland Brezhnev and, 366 collectivization, 186 Communists in, 79, 82–85, 200–201, 206, 510–512, 583–584, 583–585, 588–589 election of 1989, 585, 588–589 Hitler attack on (1939), 40 living standards in Brezhnev era, 370 martial law of Jaruzelski, 512 mass deportations in, 122 massacre of officers at Katyn, 543 protests (1956), 185, 200–201, 241 reform attempts in late-1980s, 583–585 Solidarity, 511–512, 584–585, 588 Soviet Union and, 33, 40, 44, 52, 60–61, 77, 82–83, 512–513 strikes, 511, 583 Tehran summit deal, 50 trade unions, 511–512, 584 treaty with West Germany, 386–387 western loans, 510 workers’ protests in 1970, 510–511 Yalta Conference agreements on, 51–52, 61, 83–84 Poliakov, Dmitrii, 310–311 Polish Army in the USSR, 83 Polish Communist Party (PPR), 82–85, 201, 511–512, 583–584, 588 Polish Home Away, 61 Ponomarev, Boris, 489 Pontecorvo, Gillo, 324 Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), 285, 482–484, 567 Population Registration Act, 178 Port Huron Statement, 378 Portugal, 118, 285, 337–338, 371, 481–483, 502–503, 517 Potsdam Conference, 49, 59–60, 63, 108 Powers, Gary, 230 Prague Spring, 374–375 Prestes, Luís Carlos, 343 prison camps, 80, 83, 121–122, 135, 256, 302, 339 privatization, in post-Cold War Russia, 622–623 Probst, Werner, 296 propaganda anti-American by China, 246 anti-Chinese by India, 249 Brezhnev regime, 370 Communist in Vietnam, 315 German Communist, 109 Korean War, 177 Russian nationalist, 52 Soviet-sanctioned nationalist in Germany, 116 U-2 spy plane incident, 230 United States government, 47, 102, 346, 377 value of Berlin Wall, 296 Pugo, Boris, 612 Pugwash Conference, 415–416 Punjab, 152 purges China, 143–144, 237, 244, 252–253, 257–258 Cuba, 299 North Korea, 244 Soviet Union, 37, 121–126, 162, 185, 196, 198–199, 534, 536, 543 Putin, Vladimir, 623–624 Qasim, Abd al-Karim, 455, 458 Qavam, Ahmad, 155 Qing Empire, 159 Quit India Movement, 55 Qutb, Sayyid, 471–472 Rabin, Yitzhak, 467–468 race, 22, 275, 342, 440 Rahman, Mujibur Rajk, László, 125 Rákosi, Mátyás, 87, 197, 201 rapprochement, 385–388, 441, 447, 499–500 Rawlings, Jerry, 566 Reagan, Ronald Afghanistan and, 531–532, 539 Angola, 567 antirevolutionary offensive, 554, 567 China and, 559 control over access to credit, 526 deficit spending, 555 détente, 494 economic expansion, 555–556 election, 496–497, 500 Gandhi and, 564 Gorbachev and, 537–538, 540–541, 546, 548–549, 568, 581 Iran-Contra scandal, 570, 580 Iran-Iraq war, 565 Latin American defaults, 573 lifting of grain embargo, 529 monetarist policies, 526 Nicaragua and, 499, 532–533, 570 nuclear weapons and, 522–523, 537, 540–541 Soviet Union and, 497–498, 501, 504–505, 507–508, 522–523 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), 523, 537, 540 Thatcher and, 519 Third World strategy, 562 on US destiny/leadership, 476–477 Reagan Revolution, 497 reconstructions, 99–127 Red Army atrocities, 78–79 Bolsheviks’, 28 imposition of Communist rule by, 183 instructors in China, 238–239 Polish soldiers in, 82–83 post-WWII view of, 73–74 in postwar eastern Europe, 75–78 subservience to political leadership, 603 in World War II, 45, 48–51, 53–54, 60–61, 63, 69 Red Guard, 251–257 Red Scare (1919–1920), United States, 30–31 reeducation, 254, 404, 480 refugees Afghan, 498, 539 Chinese, 402 East German, 590 European, 71–72, 78 India/Pakistan, 152, 442 Japanese, 134 Korean, 166, 179 Palestinian Arab, 451, 459, 461–462 Vietnamese, 332, 480 regional identities, 518 reparations, 88, 108, 112, 192, 218 Republic of Korea, 161, 165, 170 Republic of Vietnam.

Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion ofSafety by Eric Schlosser

Able Archer 83, Albert Einstein, anti-communist, Berlin Wall, Boeing 747, cuban missile crisis, Dr. Strangelove, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Haight Ashbury, Herman Kahn, impulse control, interchangeable parts, Isaac Newton, launch on warning, life extension, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, mutually assured destruction, nuclear taboo, nuclear winter, packet switching, prompt engineering, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, Stanislav Petrov, Stewart Brand, Strategic Defense Initiative, tacit knowledge, technological determinism, too big to fail, two and twenty, uranium enrichment, William Langewiesche

The Soviet Union played its own version of the game, keeping half a dozen ballistic-missile submarines off the coast of the United States. On March 8, 1983, at the annual convention of the National Association of Evangelicals, President Reagan called the Soviet Union “the focus of evil in the modern world … an evil empire.” Two weeks later, Reagan announced his Strategic Defense Initiative, soon known as Star Wars, a long-range plan to defend the United States by shooting down enemy missiles from outer space. The technology necessary for such a system did not yet exist—and Reagan acknowledged that it might not exist for another ten or twenty years. But Star Wars deepened the Kremlin’s fears of a first strike.

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During a command-and-control exercise in March 1982, Reagan watched red dots spreading across a map of the United States on the wall of the Situation Room. Each dot represented the impact of a Soviet warhead. Within an hour the map was covered in red. Reagan was shaken by the drill and by how little could be done to protect America. Although some members of the administration viewed the Strategic Defense Initiative as a clever response to the growing antinuclear movement, an attempt to show America’s aims were peaceful and defensive, Reagan’s belief in the plan was sincere. He thought that a missile defense system might work, that it could save lives, promote world peace, render nuclear weapons “impotent and obsolete.”

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Moments later Gorbachev insisted, as part of the deal, that all Star Wars testing must be confined to the laboratory. Reagan couldn’t comprehend why a missile-defense system intended to spare lives—one that didn’t even exist yet, that might never exist—could stand in the way of eliminating nuclear weapons forever. He refused to place limits on the Strategic Defense Initiative and promised to share its technology. The Soviet Union was conducting exactly the same research, he pointed out, and an antiballistic missile system had already been built to defend Moscow. Neither Gorbachev nor Reagan would budge from his position, and the meeting ended. Despite the failure to reach an agreement on the abolition of nuclear weapons, the Reykjavik summit marked a turning point in the Cold War, the start of a process that soon led to the removal of all intermediate-range missiles from Europe and large cuts in the number of strategic weapons.

Strategy Strikes Back: How Star Wars Explains Modern Military Conflict by Max Brooks, John Amble, M. L. Cavanaugh, Jaym Gates

a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, British Empire, data acquisition, false flag, invisible hand, Jon Ronson, risk tolerance, South China Sea, Steven Pinker, Strategic Defense Initiative, Stuxnet, The future is already here, Yogi Berra

If, as Mark Twain observed, truth can be stranger than fiction, then in this case, perhaps, fiction can be stronger than truth—and help us to more clearly see what may come.8 In the summer of 2016 I flew home from my year on the Korean DMZ and drove to my new assignment at U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command in Colorado, an organization the movies touched in 1983 when Senator Ted Kennedy coined the immortal “Star Wars” nickname for the Reagan administration’s Strategic Defense Initiative.9 I couldn’t help but reflect on just how thin the wall between film fiction and defense reality really is—Star Wars is just another bloody galaxy where we can learn how strategy strikes back. Notes 1. “Neil Gaiman: Keynote Address 2012,” University of the Arts, May 17, 2012, http://www.uarts.edu/neil-gaiman-keynote-address-2012. 2.

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Michael Howard and Peter Paret (Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 1976), 156. 8. Mark Twain, Following the Equator: A Journey around the World (Hartford CT: American Publishing; New York: Doubleday and McClure, 1897). 9. On March 23, 1983, the Washington Post quoted Senator Edward Kennedy, who described the president’s Strategic Defense Initiative proposal as “reckless Star Wars schemes.” Lou Cannon, “President Seeks Futuristic Defense against Missiles,” Washington Post, March 24, 1983. Introduction Max Brooks How do you teach someone about a niche topic they don’t know much about? More importantly, how do you even get them interested?

Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War by Paul Scharre

"World Economic Forum" Davos, active measures, Air France Flight 447, air gap, algorithmic trading, AlphaGo, Apollo 13, artificial general intelligence, augmented reality, automated trading system, autonomous vehicles, basic income, Black Monday: stock market crash in 1987, brain emulation, Brian Krebs, cognitive bias, computer vision, cuban missile crisis, dark matter, DARPA: Urban Challenge, data science, deep learning, DeepMind, DevOps, Dr. Strangelove, drone strike, Elon Musk, en.wikipedia.org, Erik Brynjolfsson, facts on the ground, fail fast, fault tolerance, Flash crash, Freestyle chess, friendly fire, Herman Kahn, IFF: identification friend or foe, ImageNet competition, information security, Internet of things, Jeff Hawkins, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John Markoff, Kevin Kelly, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, Loebner Prize, loose coupling, Mark Zuckerberg, military-industrial complex, moral hazard, move 37, mutually assured destruction, Nate Silver, Nick Bostrom, PalmPilot, paperclip maximiser, pattern recognition, Rodney Brooks, Rubik’s Cube, self-driving car, sensor fusion, South China Sea, speech recognition, Stanislav Petrov, Stephen Hawking, Steve Ballmer, Steve Wozniak, Strategic Defense Initiative, Stuxnet, superintelligent machines, Tesla Model S, The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver, theory of mind, Turing test, Tyler Cowen, universal basic income, Valery Gerasimov, Wall-E, warehouse robotics, William Langewiesche, Y2K, zero day

The Search for Lethal Laws of Robotics CONCLUSION No Fate but What We Make Notes Acknowledgments Abbreviations Illustration Credits Index ARMY OF NONE Introduction THE POWER OVER LIFE AND DEATH THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD On the night of September 26, 1983, the world almost ended. It was the height of the Cold War, and each side bristled with nuclear weapons. Earlier that spring, President Reagan had announced the Strategic Defense Initiative, nicknamed “Star Wars,” a planned missile defense shield that threatened to upend the Cold War’s delicate balance. Just three weeks earlier on September 1, the Soviet military had shot down a commercial airliner flying from Alaska to Seoul that had strayed into Soviet air space. Two hundred and sixty-nine people had been killed, including an American congressman.

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Their rigidity might seem appealing from a command-and-control standpoint, but the result is the strategic corporal problem on steroids. There is precedent for concerns about the strategic consequences of automation. During development of the Reagan-era “Star Wars” missile defense shield, officially called the Strategic Defense Initiative, U.S. lawmakers wrote a provision into the 1988–1989 National Defense Authorization Act mandating a human in the loop for certain actions. The law requires “affirmative human decision at an appropriate level of authority” for any systems that would intercept missiles in the early phases of their ascent.

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., 39 Skynet (fictitious weapon system), 26–28, 52–53, 134, 233–34, 360–61 SMArt 155 artillery shell, 343 “smart” weapons, 38–40; see also precision-guided munitions Somme, Battle of the, 38 sonar, 85 Sorcerer’s Apprentice (animated short), 148–49 South China Sea, 209 South Korea, 5, 102, 104–5, 260, 303–4, 356 sovereignty, drones and, 208 Soviet Union, 1–2, 76, 313–14; see also Cold War S&P 500, 199, 204 space shuttle, 154, 382n SpaceX, 154 Spark hobby drone, 115 Sparrow, Rob, 259 spear phishing attacks, 224 speed, 199–210 autonomous weapons and, 207–10 and crisis stability, 304–5 in cyberwarfare, 229–30 and limits of centaur warfighting, 325–26 online price wars, 205 in stock trading, 200–204, 206–7 spoofing attacks, 182–83, 183f, 186, 206 Sputnik, 76, 80 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), 37–38 stability, 297–318 autonomous weapons and, 302–3 autonomous weapons’ potential to inflame crises, 317–18 benefits of autonomous weapons in crises, 311–14 and debate over autonomous weapons bans, 351–52 and nuclear weapons, 298–302 psychology of crisis decision-making, 306–11 and removal of human fail-safe, 305–6 speed and, 304–5 stability-instability paradox and mad robot theory, 314–16 strategic, 297–302 Stark, USS, 169 Star Wars, 134 “Star Wars” missile defense shield, 309–10 stationary armed sentry robots, 104–5 stealth drones, 56, 61–62, 209, 354 stigmergy, 21 stock market algorithmic trading, 200–201, 203–4, 206–7, 210, 229, 244, 387n E-mini price manipulation incident, 206 “Flash Crash,” 199–201, 203–4 Knight Capital Group incident, 201–2 Strategic Air Command (SAC), 307 strategic corporal problem, 309 Strategic Defense Initiative, 1, 309–10 strategic stability, 297–302 Strategic Stability (Colby), 299 Strategy of Conflict (Schelling), 341 Stuxnet worm, 213–16, 223, 224 Submarine Safety (SUBSAFE) program, 161–62 submarine warfare, 101 suffering, unnecessary, 257–58 Sullivan, Paul, 162 Sun Tzu, 229 Superintelligence (Bostrom), 237 supervised autonomous weapon systems, 29, 45–46, 45f, 193, 329f CODE, 72–76, 117, 253, 327–28 human intervention in, 147 surface action group (SAG), 64 surrender, false, 259–60 surveillance drones for, 13–14 FLA and, 68–71 swarming by autonomous weapons, 11–13 CODE program, 72–76 command-and-control models, 20f and evolution of autonomy, 17–23 FLA and, 71 of U.S. ships by Iran, 22, 107 synthetic aperture radar (SAR), 86 Syria, 7, 331 system failure, Three Mile Island as, 151 T-14 Armata tank, 116 Tacit Rainbow, 49 Tactical Technology Office (TTO), 79–83 Tactical Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missile (TLAM-E), 55, 368n tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP), 41 Taliban, 3, 253 tanks, robotic, 115–16 Taranis drone, 108–11 targeting ATR, 76, 84–88 autonomous, 116, 123–24, 187 DIY drones and, 123–24 by human-assisted automated weapons, 98 by sentry robots, 112–13 of weapons instead of people, 261 target location error, 98 Target Recognition and Adaption in Contested Environments (TRACE), 84–88, 128 targets, cooperative/non-cooperative, 84–85 task, as dimension of autonomy, 28 TASM, See Tomahawk Anti-Ship Missile TensorFlow, 128–29 Terminator (film series) and autonomous weapon debates, 264 fate in, 360–61 good Terminators in, 295 self-aware robots in, 27 Skynet, 26–28, 52–53, 134, 233–34, 360–61 “Terminator Conundrum,” 8 terrorism, 93, 134 Tesla Model S crash, 147 Tetris, 239 thermostats, programmable, 30–31, 33–34 Third Offset Strategy, 59, 82, 93 Thomas Jefferson High School (TJ), 130–33 Three Laws of Robotics (Asimov), 26–27, 134 Three Mile Island nuclear accident, 151–53, 156 Thresher, USS, 161 tightly coupled systems, 152 TJ (Thomas Jefferson High School), 130–33 Tomahawk Anti-Ship Missile (TASM), 49, 49f, 53–54, 368n Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missile (TLAM-E), 55, 368n Tornado GR4A fighter jet incident, 138–40, 176 torpedoes, 39–40 torture, 280 total war, 274, 296, 341 Tousley, Bradford, 80–84, 149, 210, 223–24 TRACE (Target Recognition and Adaption in Contested Environments), 84–88, 128 training, limitations of, 177 transparency and crisis management, 328–29 in description of weapons research, 111 in treaty verification regimes, 344–45, 352–53 treaties, arms control, see arms control Trebek, Alex, 146 Trident II (D5) ballistic missile, 173 Trophy system, 92 trust in Aegis combat system, 168 in automation, see automation bias and cybersecurity, 246 and dangers of autonomous weapons, 192, 194 and deployment of autonomous systems, 83 and need to understand system’s capabilities and limitations, 149–50 Tseng, Brandon, 122, 123, 133 Tseng, Ryan, 122 TTO (Tactical Technology Office), 79–83 TTP (tactics, techniques, and procedures), 41 Turing, Alan, 236 Turing test, 236 Tutsis, 288 Twain, Mark, 35–36 Twitter, 185, 224 U-2 surveillance plane, 307, 310–11 UAV (uninhabited aerial vehicle), 104 UCAV (uninhabited combat aerial vehicle), 62 unguided weapons, 38–39 UNIDIR (UN Institute for Disarmament Research), 150–51 uninhabited aerial vehicle (UAV), 104 uninhabited combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), 62 United Kingdom (UK) autonomous weapons policy, 118 Brimstone missile, 105–8, 117, 326, 353 stance on fully autonomous weapons, 110–11 Taranis drone, 108–11 transparency in description of weapons research, 111 WWII aerial bombardments, 341–42 UK Joint Doctrine Note 2/11 (The UK Approach to Unmanned Aircraft Systems), 109 UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), see Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), 150–51 UN Security Council, 344 United Nations Special Rapporteur, 287 U.S.

How to Make a Spaceship: A Band of Renegades, an Epic Race, and the Birth of Private Spaceflight by Julian Guthrie

Albert Einstein, Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, Apollo 11, Apollo 13, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, Boeing 747, Charles Lindbergh, cosmic microwave background, crowdsourcing, Dennis Tito, Doomsday Book, Easter island, Elon Musk, Fairchild Semiconductor, fear of failure, fixed-gear, Frank Gehry, Gene Kranz, gravity well, Herman Kahn, high net worth, Iridium satellite, Isaac Newton, ITER tokamak, Jacquard loom, Jeff Bezos, Johannes Kepler, Larry Ellison, Leonard Kleinrock, life extension, low earth orbit, Mark Shuttleworth, Mars Society, Menlo Park, meta-analysis, Murray Gell-Mann, Neil Armstrong, Oculus Rift, off-the-grid, orbital mechanics / astrodynamics, packet switching, Peter H. Diamandis: Planetary Resources, pets.com, private spaceflight, punch-card reader, Richard Feynman, Richard Feynman: Challenger O-ring, Ronald Reagan, Scaled Composites, side project, Silicon Valley, South of Market, San Francisco, SpaceShipOne, stealth mode startup, stem cell, Stephen Hawking, Steve Jobs, Strategic Defense Initiative, urban planning, Virgin Galactic

Louis flight, 25, 51, 78, 123–25, 139–41, 171–72, 174, 194, 284–85, 288, 288n grandson Erik’s anniversary flight, 280–91 Splines, 255–56, 255n Sputnik, 12, 52, 70, 386–87, 387n SSTO (Single Stage to Orbit), 129 Stabilizers, 6–7, 162, 250, 344–45, 345n Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, 105n Stanford University, 64, 86, 128 Stapp, John, 18, 18n Stapp’s Law, 18n Starchaser Industries, 267–69, 411 Star Trek (TV series), 14, 162, 211, 241, 299, 400, 409 Star Wars (movies), 66, 88, 319 Star Wars program. See Strategic Defense Initiative Stemme S10, 115 Stinemetze, Matt, 250–52 background of, 251–52 Challenger disaster and, 312–13 SpaceShipOne and, 258, 311–12, 321–23, 342, 349–50, 352, 356, 379–80, 395 Stober, Clifford, 21 Stofan, Andy, 106 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), 45, 107–8, 127, 212 Stratolaunch, 314n, 408 Stratosphere, 115, 154, 195, 335n STS-1 (Space Transportation System-1), 42, 312 Survival Systems, 282–84 Sutton, George P., 179 Svitek, Tomas, 229 Swept-back wing design, 51, 51n, 116, 162 Taurus XL, 230 Taylor, Andrew, 169 Taylor, Jack, 169 Telecom Technologies, 298, 298n, 300 Tesla, Nikola, 90 Texas Instruments, 21 TGV Rockets, 186, 273–74 Thermal tolerance, 249, 249n, 311–12, 322–23 Thermosphere, 335n Theta Delta Chi, 38, 42–43, 71 Third-stage cutoff, 13n Thompson, Barry, 317–18 Thompson, Earl, 168 Thrust into Space (Hunter), 129 Tighe, Jim, 6, 7, 344–45, 354, 380, 383, 387, 393 Ting, Samuel, 31 Titanic (movie), 225, 227 Tito, Dennis, 239–40, 299, 315 Titov, Gherman, 48 Tokamak, 28 Tosteson, Dan, 98–99 Transonic corridor, 324, 329–30, 343, 351, 354 Troposphere, 335n Truax, Bob, 55, 184–85, 184n, 234 Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin, 24, 24n, 72, 90, 129, 150 Tsiolkovsky Medal, 150 Tumlinson, Rick, 185 Tuori, Mr., 22–23 Turta, Constantin, 276–77, 279 2001: A Space Odyssey (Clarke), 45–46 2001: A Space Odyssey (movie), 72, 174 Typhoon Marge, 60 Uliassi, Kevin, 195 Ullage, 358–60 UNIFON, 92 United Nations (UN), 44–47 Unity, VSS, 409, 414 University of Arizona, 233 University of North Dakota, 410 University of Pennsylvania, 238 University of Salford, 267 University of Virginia, 208 University Politehnica of Bucharest, 181 Unload for Control (film), 53 Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), 159–60, 160n Van Vogt, A.

…

Now, on this day in 1991, Peter was hoping that International Microspace could tap into the government’s considerable payload of money. He had scheduled a social meeting with a man he considered a friend, yet someone whom Walt Anderson would consider the devil himself. The friend was Pete Worden, the newly appointed head of technology for SDI, the Strategic Defense Initiative, otherwise known as “Star Wars,” the program begun in 1983 under President Reagan to build a new missile defense system. Worden was an astrophysicist and a straight-talking Air Force colonel who had enough clout to be hired by NASA even after criticizing the agency as a “self-licking ice cream cone” and saying the name meant “Never A Straight Answer.”

The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era by Gary Gerstle

2021 United States Capitol attack, A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, air traffic controllers' union, Airbnb, Alan Greenspan, Alvin Toffler, anti-communist, AOL-Time Warner, Bear Stearns, behavioural economics, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, Black Lives Matter, blue-collar work, borderless world, Boris Johnson, Brexit referendum, British Empire, Broken windows theory, business cycle, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Cass Sunstein, collective bargaining, Cornelius Vanderbilt, coronavirus, COVID-19, creative destruction, crony capitalism, cuban missile crisis, David Brooks, David Graeber, death from overwork, defund the police, deindustrialization, democratizing finance, Deng Xiaoping, desegregation, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Donald Trump, Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, European colonialism, Ferguson, Missouri, financial deregulation, financial engineering, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, Frederick Winslow Taylor, full employment, future of work, Future Shock, George Floyd, George Gilder, gig economy, Glass-Steagall Act, global supply chain, green new deal, Greenspan put, guns versus butter model, Haight Ashbury, Henry Ford's grandson gave labor union leader Walter Reuther a tour of the company’s new, automated factory…, Ida Tarbell, immigration reform, informal economy, invention of the printing press, invisible hand, It's morning again in America, Jeff Bezos, John Perry Barlow, Kevin Kelly, Kitchen Debate, low interest rates, Lyft, manufacturing employment, market fundamentalism, Martin Wolf, mass incarceration, Menlo Park, microaggression, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, millennium bug, Modern Monetary Theory, money market fund, Mont Pelerin Society, mortgage debt, mutually assured destruction, Naomi Klein, neoliberal agenda, new economy, New Journalism, Northern Rock, obamacare, Occupy movement, oil shock, open borders, Peter Thiel, Philip Mirowski, Powell Memorandum, precariat, price stability, public intellectual, Ralph Nader, Robert Bork, Ronald Reagan, scientific management, Seymour Hersh, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley ideology, Silicon Valley startup, social distancing, Steve Bannon, Steve Jobs, Stewart Brand, Strategic Defense Initiative, super pumped, technoutopianism, Telecommunications Act of 1996, The Bell Curve by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray, The Chicago School, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas L Friedman, too big to fail, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, union organizing, urban decay, urban renewal, War on Poverty, Washington Consensus, We are all Keynesians now, We are the 99%, white flight, Whole Earth Catalog, WikiLeaks, women in the workforce, Works Progress Administration, Y2K, Yom Kippur War

The ultimate goal was to make every nation in the world safe for capitalism and free markets. And since the American aim in the Cold War was no longer containment but “rollback,” those who supported the buildup could imagine its duration as brief and the dramatic expansion in the size of the US military under Reagan as temporary. The lure of Reagan’s much derided Strategic Defense Initiative lay precisely in the hope that it might open a quick path to American victory in a seemingly endless Cold War. If the United States really succeeded in designing a “digital dome” that would protect the homeland from every attacking nuclear bomber and missile, then the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction, a strategy that had rendered the Cold War a stalemate for forty years, could be jettisoned.

…

It had had trouble keeping economic pace with the capitalist West, especially in delivering to its people the quantity and quality of consumer goods that were becoming the hallmarks of successful societies. Moreover, matching Ronald Reagan’s military expansion and budget and developing its own anti-nuclear shield to negate the impact of America’s Strategic Defensive Initiative strained the Soviet Union’s finances and its technological capacity. Technical advances were stymied not by a shortage of scientists (the Soviet Union had plenty) but by the state’s refusal to allow the free flow of information and innovation among them that was required for advances in the IT revolution.

…

., 102–3, 109 Rougier, Louis, 86–87 Rubin, Robert, 157–58, 224–25, 258 Rumsfeld, Donald, 196, 197, 205 Russian Revolution (1917), 10, 29, 82–83 Salomon Brothers, 111–12 San Francisco General Strike (1934), 23 Sanders, Bernie, 1, 230, 254–62, 278, 279 Santelli, Rick, 240 Saudi Arabia, 60 Savio, Mario, 8–9, 327n.60, See also Free Speech Movement Scalia, Antonin, 124 Schneider, Steven, 60–61 Schumer, Charles, 178 Second Reconstruction, 53–54 Second Wave economy, 160–61 Securities Act (1933), 22 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), 22, 217 Securities Exchange Act (1934), 22 securitization process of mortgages, 212 September 11, 2001 attacks, 189, 191–205 Shiite Muslims, 203 The Shock Doctrine (Klein), 201 Silicon Valley, 104–5, 164, 171–73, 176–77, 206–7 Simena, Kyrsten, 287–88 Simon, William, 111–12 sit-down strikes (1936–1937), 24 Sklar, Martin, 103 slaves/slavery legacy, 79 Smith, Adam, 76–77, 202 social democracy, 6–7, 34–35 social insurance, 81–82, 85 social security, 25, 43–44, 45, 146, 205–6, 238–39, 293 social welfare, 63, 124–25, 179, 226–27 socialism, 30–31, 79–80. see also radicalism and Sanders, Bernie Souter, David, 182 Soviet Union atomic bomb detonation, 37 dissolution of, 141–46 five-year plan of Stalin, 31 Great Depression impact on, 31–34 Khrushchev and, 44–45, 69 Kitchen Debate, 44–45 neoliberalism and, 10, 11 Reagan and, 116–17 Red Scare, 37 socialism of, 30–31 Stalin, Joseph, 31, 33–34 US domestic policy and, 29 US military build-up against, 129–32 US rivalry, 49–50 World War II impact on, 33–35 Sowell, Thomas, 133–34 Spencer, Herbert, 80 “stagflation,” 2. see also Misery Index Stalin, Joseph, 31, 33–34 steel industry, 62 Steffens, Lincoln, 168–69 Stiglitz, Joseph, 158–59, 165, 171 Strategic Defense Initiative, 129–30, 142 structural racism, 283, 287 Students for a Democratic Society, 100 subprime mortgages, 212–13, 214, 217 Summers, Lawrence, 158–59, 215–16, 258, 284 Sunni Muslims, 199–200, 203 Sunrise Movement, 278–79 Sunstein, Cass, 102 Taft, Robert, 28, 38–41 Taliban, 193 Tarbell, Ida, 168–69 Taylor, Keeanga-Yamahtta, 264 Taylor, Frederick Winslow, 31 Tea Party, 230, 240–43 Telecommunications Act (1996), 164, 165–73, 181 Tennessee Valley Authority, 85 Thatcher, Margaret, 132–33, 177–78 The Apprentice (TV show), 244 Thiel, Peter, 160 Third Wave economy, 160–61, 162–63, 170–71 Third World, 50, 139, 141 thought collective, 9, 73–74, 87–88 Thurmond, Strom, 117–18 Thurow, Lester, 137 A Time for Truth (Simon), 111–12 Time Magazine, 131 Time Warner, 172 Tlaib, Rashida, 279 Toffler, Alvin, 160–61, 162–63 totalitarianism, 10–11, 35–36 tough-on-crime bills (1986, 1988), 131 trade unions, 98–99, 146–47. see also labor unions and organized labor Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), 271 Treaty of Detroit, 24–25, 41–42, 56–57, 112 Treaty of Versailles, 30 Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), 220–21 Truman, Harry, 24–25, 35–36, 40–41 Trump, Donald authoritarianism of, 2–3, 270, 277–78, 289 Covid-19 pandemic, 272, 279–81 election loss of, 288–89 election of, 1, 265–67 ethnonationalism of, 1, 208–9, 243–44, 275–76, 277 populism of, 1, 208–9, 243–44, 248, 251, 282–83 presidency of, 268–77 rise of, 230, 243–51 Tsongas, Paul E., 136–37, 138, 150–51 Turner Broadcasting System, 172 Twitter, 172–73, 279, 292–93 two-income households, 147 Uber, 238–39, 292–93 UN Security Council, 194–95 The Underclass (Auletta), 131–32 underclass concept, 131–32 undocumented migrants, 275 unemployment insurance, 22–23, 43–44, 45, 146 unemployment among minorities, 130–31 unemployment rates, 21, 150–51, 221–22 United Auto Workers (UAW), 24–25, 32–33, 41–42 corporate decision-making, failure to get access to, 24–25 health care plan, 24–25 universalism, 30 US Constitution, 75–76, 98 US Justice Department, 51 Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 168–69 Viacom, 172 Viet Cong, 55 Viet Minh, 54–55 Vietnam War, 48, 54–56 Voting Rights Act (1965), 53–54 Walker, Scott, 235 Wall Street Journal, 109–10, 275 Wall Street reform, 173–78 Wallace, George, 117–18, 119 Wallace, Henry, 35–36 war on crime, 185 war on drugs, 184–85 Warren, Earl, 50–51, 119–20, 123–24 Warren, Elizabeth, 254–55, 279 Washington, George, 223, 224–25 Washington Center for Equitable Growth, 278–79 Washington Consensus, 9, 156–57, 177 Washington Mutual, 220–21 Washington Post, 108–9 Watergate scandal, 64–65 Wealth and Poverty (Gilder), 109, 162–63 weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), 193, 194, 195 Weisselberg, Allan, 247 Weyrich, Paul, 108–9 White, Micah, 251 White Collar (Mills), 95–96 white Protestant voters, 20–21 white supremacy, 27, 48–49 white working-class distress, 231–34 Whole Earth Catalog, 103–4 Whyte, William H., 95–96 Williams, Ashley, 264 Williams, William Appleman, 103 Wilson, Woodrow, 30–31, 53, 80–82 Wired, 162–63 Wolfowitz, Paul, 195–96 Works Progress Administration, 21–22 World Bank (WB), 9, 57–58 The World Is Flat (Friedman), 206–7 World Trade Organization (WTO), 156–57, 177, 244–45 World War I, 9 World War II, 25, 28, 33–35, 48–49 World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), 247–48, 249 Xi Jinping, 276 Yellen, Janet, 291 “Y2K” bug, 189–90 Yom Kippur War, 60. see also Arab Israeli War Young Americans for Freedom, 100 Zimmerman, George, 262–63

Animal Spirits by Jackson Lears

1960s counterculture, Alan Greenspan, bank run, banking crisis, behavioural economics, business cycle, buy and hold, California gold rush, clockwork universe, conceptual framework, Cornelius Vanderbilt, creative destruction, cuban missile crisis, dark matter, Doomsday Clock, double entry bookkeeping, epigenetics, escalation ladder, feminist movement, financial innovation, Frederick Winslow Taylor, George Akerlof, George Santayana, heat death of the universe, Herbert Marcuse, Herman Kahn, Ida Tarbell, invisible hand, Isaac Newton, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, Lewis Mumford, lifelogging, market bubble, market fundamentalism, Mikhail Gorbachev, moral hazard, Norman Mailer, plutocrats, prosperity theology / prosperity gospel / gospel of success, Ralph Waldo Emerson, RAND corporation, Robert Shiller, Ronald Reagan, scientific management, Scientific racism, short selling, Shoshana Zuboff, Silicon Valley, source of truth, South Sea Bubble, Stanislav Petrov, Steven Pinker, Stewart Brand, Strategic Defense Initiative, surveillance capitalism, the market place, the scientific method, The Soul of a New Machine, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, transcontinental railway, W. E. B. Du Bois, Whole Earth Catalog, zero-sum game

REAGAN’S LEGACY: REGENERATIVE WAR AND IRRATIONAL EXUBERANCE Reagan’s victory also meant a return to unabashed saber-rattling, though Carter had done his share. Reagan spent much of his first term denouncing the Soviets’ “Evil Empire,” deploying Pershing missiles in West Germany and England, and promoting the Strategic Defense Initiative, a Rube Goldberg boondoggle that proposed to shoot down incoming missiles in outer space. But in 1985, Reagan began yielding to the diplomatic charms of Mikhail Gorbachev as well as the citizen diplomacy of the nuclear freeze movement and came within an ace of abolishing nuclear weapons outright.

…

Stanislav Petrov and his staff, under unimaginable pressure, correctly concluded that the system flashing “LAUNCH” had raised a false alarm; Petrov did not report the incoming missiles to his superior officers, who would have immediately ordered a full-scale nuclear attack on the United States. This was the sort of incident (and there have been more on both sides) that would have inspired a thoughtful leader like Gorbachev to urge the abolition of nuclear weapons. Reagan was nearly persuaded, but in the end he simply could not give up his quixotic dream of the Strategic Defense Initiative. Despite warming relations between the superpowers and a few substantial arms-control treaties, the dream of abolition—or even significant cuts in the nuclear arsenals—disappeared. As a result, the nuclear arms race has continued. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has set its doomsday clock to one hundred seconds before midnight, closer than ever due to deteriorating U.S. relations with Russia and China, the scrapping of arms-control agreements, and the renewed determination of nuclear powers—led by the United States—to modernize their nuclear arsenals.

…

speculative capitalism, see capitalism; stock market Spencer, Archibald spirit, as term Spiritualism Spivak, Gayatri sports; speculation as starvation statistics; God found in; Keynes on; probability theory and; public policy and, see technocratic rationality; see also quantitative thinking Steffens, Lincoln Stein, Gertrude Sterne, Laurence Stevenson, Robert Louis Stewart, Dugald Stimson, Henry stock market; animal spirits in; attempts to quantify; bonds and; confidence and; condemnation of; credit and; gambling and; manipulation of; regulation of; tickers for; see also boom and bust cycles; capitalism Stone, I. F. Strachey, James Strachey, Lytton Strategic Defense Initiative strategic essentialism Strong, George Templeton Stubbs, John “Superman Comes to the Supermarket” (Mailer) surveillance state Swift, Jonathan Talbott, Strobe “Ta-Ra-Ra Boom-De-Ay” Tarbell, Ida Taylor, Frederick Winslow Taylor, John Taylor, Telford Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich technocratic rationality; as countercultural; countercultural rejection of; ecological animism as antidote to; in economics; Kinsey’s studies as; liberals and; objectivity and; reason vs.; technology vs.; war justified by; see also quantitative thinking techno-futurism Tempest, The (Shakespeare) Temple, Shirley Tess of the D’Urbervilles (Hardy) theater Theory of Moral Sentiments (Smith) Thomas, Keith Thompson, Anita Thomson, William Thought-Force in Business and Everyday Life (Atkinson) Thoughts Are Things (Mulford) Thurmond, W.

Massive: The Missing Particle That Sparked the Greatest Hunt in Science by Ian Sample

Albert Einstein, Arthur Eddington, cuban missile crisis, dark matter, Donald Trump, double helix, Eddington experiment, Ernest Rutherford, Gary Taubes, Higgs boson, Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler, John Conway, John von Neumann, Kickstarter, Large Hadron Collider, Menlo Park, Murray Gell-Mann, Richard Feynman, Ronald Reagan, Stephen Hawking, Strategic Defense Initiative, synthetic biology, uranium enrichment, Yogi Berra

He added: “In high-energy physics, the Superconducting Supercollider is the equivalent of putting a man on the Moon.” With one eye on the budget, Herrington made it clear that the government would be looking for cash from other countries to help make the giant collider a reality. In terms of scale and ambition, the project was on a par with President Reagan’s other great schemes, including the Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as “Star Wars,” with which he hoped to use space-based lasers to cast a protective shield over North America. Like the Star Wars project, the supercollider had more than a scent of exuberance and, to some, no small measure of hubris. The origins of the supercollider can be traced back to an era long before American physicists were urged to seek “earnest revenge” against Europe in 1983.

…

The election of President Reagan in 1980 set the course for the return of the VBA under a different guise. His science adviser, George Keyworth, had been plucked from the upper ranks of Los Alamos, where he had been a protégé of Edward Teller, the man who had built the hydrogen bomb for President Harry S Truman and who had urged Reagan to embark on the Strategic Defense Initiative. At forty-one years old, Keyworth was young and forceful and saw an urgent need to revitalize American science. He wanted large, exciting projects of the kind Wilson relished, hoping to rid the profession of what he regarded as a growing mediocrity. Leon Lederman knew an opportunity when he saw one.

Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX by Eric Berger

"Peter Beck" AND "Rocket Lab", 3D printing, Apollo 11, Boeing 747, Colonization of Mars, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, fear of failure, inflight wifi, intermodal, James Webb Space Telescope, Jeff Bezos, Kwajalein Atoll, low earth orbit, Mercator projection, multiplanetary species, Neil Armstrong, Palm Treo, risk tolerance, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, Scaled Composites, side project, Silicon Valley, SpaceShipOne, SpaceX Starlink, Steve Jobs, Strategic Defense Initiative, subprime mortgage crisis, Tesla Model S, Virgin Galactic

It was a great irony: the imperative to fly fast pushed SpaceX from Vandenberg to Kwajalein, and once there, the employees had a grand view of missiles launched from Vandenberg. For the better part of half a century, the small atoll had served as ground zero for the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles and, later, President Ronald Reagan’s “Strategic Defense Initiative.” The Army’s facilities on Kwajalein still serve a number of purposes, but the most enduring one is acting as a giant target range. When the Air Force wants to test the accuracy of a Minuteman III missile, it will launch the three-stage, solid-fueled rocket from Vandenberg toward Kwaj.

…

See Kestrel engine SpaceX Merlin. See Merlin engine Spikes, Branden, 262 Spincraft, 19, 151 Stanford University, 21, 129, 152, 155, 160 Starhopper, 1–2, 4, 265 Starship, 1, 3, 4, 35, 140, 235, 237, 247 Starship Troopers (movie), 168 Star Trek (TV show), 164, 176 Stock options, 15 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), 169 Suffredini, Michael, 221 Sunburn, 165–66 Super Heavy Launch System, 247 Supersonic retropropulsion, 233 Survivor (TV show), 75 Swamp Works, 24–25 TacSat, 113–14 Tahiti, 117, 118 Team America: World Police (movie), 93 TEA-TEB, 157–58, 194 Teets, Peter, 103, 104–5 Tesla, 181, 182, 201–2, 216–16, 217, 221, 256 Tesla Model S, 202 Tesla Roadster, 182, 201–2 Texas State Police, 28–29 Texas State Technical College, 45 Thomas, Ed “Eddie,” 77, 119–20, 121, 141, 159, 195, 262 Thompson, Chris, 239–42, 261 Falcon 1, 14–15 Washington, D.C. debut, 106 Flight Three, 177 Flight Four first-stage C-17 transport, 188–89, 191–92 payload, 184 refurbishment after transport, 193, 194–95, 196 founding of SpaceX, 10, 12, 14–18 Li and, 130 Merlin engine, 18–19, 151 Omelek site, 71, 75 everyday life, 166 fact-finding visit, 56–57 first launch attempt, 78–79 Wisconsin trip, 18–19, 151 Thompson, Ryan, 241 Thompson, Taylor, 241 Timeline, 263–65 Titan rockets, 48, 65–66, 224 TiungSAT-1, 54 Tobey, Brett, 236 Trade secrets, 43, 111 Trailblazer, 164 Trump, Donald, 235 TRW Inc., 32, 33–34, 37, 41, 43–44, 161 TR-106 (low-cost pintle engine), 33–34 Turbopumps, 37–38, 40, 92, 248 Turkish goulash, 168, 197, 242 recipe, 267–68 2001: A Space Odyssey (movie), 18 United Launch Alliance, 110–11, 112, 228, 236, 255 University of Bremen, 70 University of Delaware, 129 University of Idaho, 30–31 University of Michigan, 227 University of Southern California, 6, 7, 9, 20 Vance, Ashlee, 216 Vandenberg Air Force Base, 52–53, 64–67 Air Force plans for, 64–65 Falcon 1 static fire test, 47–49, 58–61, 65–66 procurement of site, 50–52 Vietnam War, 62 Virgin Galactic, 40, 241–42, 247 Virgin Orbit, 245 Von Braun, Wernher, 91 Walker, Steven, 98–99, 224 Wertz, James, 50, 79–80 White Sands Missile Range, 79–80 Whitesides, George, 241–42 World War II, 55 XCOR, 39–40 XPRIZE Foundation, 10 Zero-G flight, 141–42 Zurbuchen, Thomas, 227–28 Photo Section (SpaceX) An overview of Omelek, the remote island on the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific that became SpaceX’s launch site for the Falcon 1.

The Cold War by Robert Cowley

Able Archer 83, anti-communist, Berlin Wall, British Empire, cuban missile crisis, defense in depth, disinformation, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Doomsday Clock, Dr. Strangelove, friendly fire, Great Leap Forward, guns versus butter model, Henry Ford's grandson gave labor union leader Walter Reuther a tour of the company’s new, automated factory…, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, launch on warning, means of production, Mikhail Gorbachev, mutually assured destruction, RAND corporation, refrigerator car, Ronald Reagan, South China Sea, Stanislav Petrov, Strategic Defense Initiative, Suez canal 1869, Suez crisis 1956, transcontinental railway

As if in recognition of technology's dominance, the Cold War became the era of the acronym: the ICBM; its little sisters, the IRBM (intermedi-ate-range) and the SLBM (submarine-launched); the missile tip with several warheads, MIRV (multiple independently targeted reentry vehicles); ABMs (antiballistic missiles); PALs (permissive action links), the remote-controlled digital codes that could unlock and activate a nuclear weapon; TELs (mobile transporter-erector-launchers); SIOP (single integrated operation plan), which identified all Soviet and Chinese targets to be attacked, enabling the simultaneous use of every available nuclear weapon; SDI (strategic defense initiative), the “star wars” chimera that is still with us; and, of course, that most tellingly sinister acronym of all, MAD (mutual assured destruction). “Like the early fathers of the church” (the writer John Newhouse's phrase), the brethren of the nuclear priesthood squabbled over positions that might have seemed the stuff of theology had not their implications been so real.

…

In introductory comments to this text in a collection of his speeches, former president Reagan writes, “At the time [this speech] was portrayed as some kind of know-nothing, archconservative statement that could only drive the Soviets to further heights of paranoia and insecurity.” On March 23, two weeks after the “evil empire” speech touched off the KGB's latest jitters over Soviet-American relations, Reagan spoke from the Oval Office and proposed his Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). As the president's national security adviser, Robert C. McFarlane, makes clear in a memoir, the SDI program, particularly in the highly technological form President Reagan selected—with such frills as space-based laser weapons—represented more of a wish than a weapon. McFarlane admits, “I was a little worried about the scientific community.”

…

Don Oberdorfer, the distinguished diplomatic correspondent for The Washington Post, told an audience in 1993 that “Ronald Reagan was not the man I thought he was. It was a scary time from [my] perspective.” President Reagan had the Russians where he wanted them. He held the high ground in terms of propaganda and had determined to exploit the Soviet error in the KAL 007 incident. He had frightened Moscow with the Strategic Defense Initiative, had continued nuclear programs that posed dangers to Soviet nuclear forces, and had stood at the point of deploying Euromissiles that directly threatened Moscow's command-and-control centers and its political leadership. The question is: Had Reagan thought through the consequences? According to Gromyko's memoir, at the Madrid meeting the Soviet foreign minister did not confine himself to a simple statement of the main problem.

Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies by Nick Bostrom

agricultural Revolution, AI winter, Albert Einstein, algorithmic trading, anthropic principle, Anthropocene, anti-communist, artificial general intelligence, autism spectrum disorder, autonomous vehicles, backpropagation, barriers to entry, Bayesian statistics, bioinformatics, brain emulation, cloud computing, combinatorial explosion, computer vision, Computing Machinery and Intelligence, cosmological constant, dark matter, DARPA: Urban Challenge, data acquisition, delayed gratification, Demis Hassabis, demographic transition, different worldview, Donald Knuth, Douglas Hofstadter, driverless car, Drosophila, Elon Musk, en.wikipedia.org, endogenous growth, epigenetics, fear of failure, Flash crash, Flynn Effect, friendly AI, general purpose technology, Geoffrey Hinton, Gödel, Escher, Bach, hallucination problem, Hans Moravec, income inequality, industrial robot, informal economy, information retrieval, interchangeable parts, iterative process, job automation, John Markoff, John von Neumann, knowledge worker, Large Hadron Collider, longitudinal study, machine translation, megaproject, Menlo Park, meta-analysis, mutually assured destruction, Nash equilibrium, Netflix Prize, new economy, Nick Bostrom, Norbert Wiener, NP-complete, nuclear winter, operational security, optical character recognition, paperclip maximiser, pattern recognition, performance metric, phenotype, prediction markets, price stability, principal–agent problem, race to the bottom, random walk, Ray Kurzweil, recommendation engine, reversible computing, search costs, social graph, speech recognition, Stanislav Petrov, statistical model, stem cell, Stephen Hawking, Strategic Defense Initiative, strong AI, superintelligent machines, supervolcano, synthetic biology, technological singularity, technoutopianism, The Coming Technological Singularity, The Nature of the Firm, Thomas Kuhn: the structure of scientific revolutions, time dilation, Tragedy of the Commons, transaction costs, trolley problem, Turing machine, Vernor Vinge, WarGames: Global Thermonuclear War, Watson beat the top human players on Jeopardy!, World Values Survey, zero-sum game

Consider that even after the thaw in relations between the United States and the Soviet Union following Gorbachev’s ascent to power, arms reduction efforts—which could be greatly in the interests of both superpowers—had a fitful beginning. Gorbachev was seeking steep reductions in nuclear arms but negotiations stalled on the issue of Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (“Star Wars”), which the Kremlin strenuously opposed. At the Reykjavík Summit meeting in 1986, Reagan proposed that the United States would share with the Soviet Union the technology that would be developed under the Strategic Defense Initiative, so that both countries could enjoy protection against accidental launches and against smaller nations that might develop nuclear weapons. Yet Gorbachev was not persuaded by this apparent win–win proposition.

…

13 K Kasparov, Garry 12 Kepler, Johannes 14 Knuth, Donald 14, 264 Kurzweil, Ray 2, 261, 269 L Lenat, Douglas 12, 263 Logic Theorist (system) 6 logicist paradigm, see Good Old-Fashioned Artificial Intelligence (GOFAI) Logistello 12 M machine intelligence; see also artificial intelligence human-level (HLMI) 4, 19–21, 27–35, 73–74, 207, 243, 264, 267 revolution, see intelligence explosion machine learning 8–18, 28, 121, 152, 188, 274, 290 machine translation 15 macro-structural development accelerator 233–235 malignant failure 123–126, 149, 196 Malthusian condition 163–165, 252 Manhattan Project 75, 80–87, 276 McCarthy, John 5–18 McCulloch–Pitts neuron 237 MegaEarth 56 memory capacity 7–9, 60, 71 memory sharing 61 Mill, John Stuart 210 mind crime 125–126, 153, 201–208, 213, 226, 297 Minsky, Marvin 18, 261, 262, 282 Monte Carlo method 9–13 Moore’s law 24–25, 73–77, 274, 286; see also computing power moral growth 214 moral permissibility (MP)218–220, 297 moral rightness (MR)217–220.296, 297 moral status 125–126, 166–169, 173, 202–205, 268, 288, 296 Moravec, Hans 24, 265, 288 motivation selection 29, 127–129, 138–144, 147, 158, 168, 180–191, 222 definition 138 motivational scaffolding 191, 207 multipolar scenarios 90, 132, 159–184, 243–254, 301 mutational load 41 N nanotechnology 53, 94–98, 103, 113, 177, 231, 239, 276, 277, 299, 300 natural language 14 neural networks 5–9, 28, 46, 173, 237, 262, 274 neurocomputational modeling 25–30, 35, 61, 301; see also whole brain emulation (WBE) and neuromorphic AI neuromorphic AI 28, 34, 47, 237–245, 267, 300, 301 Newton, Isaac 56 Nilsson, Nils 18–20, 264 nootropics 36–44, 66–67, 201, 267 Norvig, Peter 19, 264, 282 O observation selection theory, see anthropics Oliphant, Mark 85 O’Neill, Gerard 101 ontological crisis 146, 197 optimality notions 10, 186, 194, 291–293 Bayesian agent 9–11 value learner (AI-VL) 194 observation-utility-maximizer (AI-OUM) 194 reinforcement learner (AI-RL) 194 optimization power 24, 62–75, 83, 92–96, 227, 274 definition 65 oracle AI 141–158, 222–226, 285, 286 definition 146 orthogonality thesis 105–109, 115, 279, 280 P paperclip AI 107–108, 123–125, 132–135, 153, 212, 243 Parfit, Derek 279 Pascal’s mugging 223, 298 Pascal’s wager 223 person-affecting perspective 228, 245–246, 301 perverse instantiation 120–124, 153, 190–196 poker 13 principal–agent problem 127–128, 184 Principle of Epistemic Deference 211, 221 Proverb (program) 12 Q qualia, see consciousness quality superintelligence 51–58, 72, 243, 272 definition 56 R race dynamic, see technology race rate of growth, see growth ratification 222–225 Rawls, John 150 Reagan, Ronald 86–87 reasons-based goal 220 recalcitrance 62–77, 92, 241, 274 definition 65 recursive self-improvement 29, 75, 96, 142, 259; see also seed AI reinforcement learning 12, 28, 188–189, 194–196, 207, 237, 277, 282, 290 resource acquisition 113–116, 123, 193 reward signal 71, 121–122, 188, 194, 207 Riemann hypothesis catastrophe 123, 141 robotics 9–19, 94–97, 117–118, 139, 238, 276, 290 Roosevelt, Franklin D.85 RSA encryption scheme 80 Russell, Bertrand 6, 87, 139, 277 S Samuel, Arthur 12 Sandberg, Anders 265, 267, 272, 274 scanning, see whole brain emulation (WBE) Schaeffer, Jonathan 12 scheduling 15 Schelling point 147, 183, 296 Scrabble 13 second transition 176–178, 238, 243–245, 252 second-guessing (arguments) 238–239 seed AI 23–29, 36, 75, 83, 92–96, 107, 116–120, 142, 151, 189–198, 201–217, 224–225, 240–241, 266, 274, 275, 282 self-limiting goal 123 Shakey (robot) 6 SHRDLU (program) 6 Shulman, Carl 178–180, 265, 287, 300, 302, 304 simulation hypothesis 134–135, 143, 278, 288, 292 singleton 78–90, 95–104, 112–114, 115–126, 136, 159, 176–184, 242, 275, 276, 279, 281, 287, 299, 301, 303 definition 78, 100 singularity 1, 2, 49, 75, 261, 274; see also intelligence explosion social signaling 110 somatic gene therapy 42 sovereign AI 148–158, 187, 226, 285 speech recognition 15–16, 46 speed superintelligence 52–58, 75, 270, 271 definition 53 Strategic Defense Initiative (“Star Wars”) 86 strong AI 18 stunting 135–137, 143 sub-symbolic processing, see connectionism superintelligence; see also collective superintelligence, quality superintelligence and speed superintelligence definition 22, 52 forms 52, 59 paths to 22, 50 predicting the behavior of 108, 155, 302 superorganisms 178–180 superpowers 52–56, 80, 86–87, 91–104, 119, 133, 148, 277, 279, 296 types 94 surveillance 15, 49, 64, 82–85, 94, 117, 132, 181, 232, 253, 276, 294, 299 Szilárd, Leó 85 T TD-Gammon 12 Technological Completion Conjecture 112–113, 229 technology race 80–82, 86–90 203–205, 231, 246–252, 302 teleological threads 110 Tesauro, Gerry 12 TextRunner (system) 71 theorem prover 15, 266 three laws of robotics 139, 284 Thrun, Sebastian 19 tool-AI 151–158 definition 151 treacherous turn 116–119, 128 Tribolium castaneum 154 tripwires 137–143 Truman, Harry 85 Turing, Alan 4, 23, 29, 44, 225, 265, 271, 272 U unemployment 65, 159–180, 287 United Nations 87–89, 252–253 universal accelerator 233 unmanned vehicle, see drone uploading, see whole brain emulation (WBE) utility function 10–11, 88, 100, 110, 119, 124–125, 133–134, 172, 185–187, 192–208, 290, 292, 293, 303 V value learning 191–198, 208, 293 value-accretion 189–190, 207 value-loading 185–208, 293, 294 veil of ignorance 150, 156, 253, 285 Vinge, Vernor 2, 49, 270 virtual reality 30, 31, 53, 113, 166, 171, 198, 204, 300 von Neumann probe 100–101, 113 von Neumann, John 44, 87, 114, 261, 277, 281 W wages 65, 69, 160–169 Watson (IBM) 13, 71 WBE, see whole brain emulation (WBE) Whitehead, Alfred N.6 whole brain emulation (WBE) 28–36, 50, 60, 68–73, 77, 84–85, 108, 172, 198, 201–202, 236–245, 252, 266, 267, 274, 299, 300, 301 Wigner, Eugene 85 windfall clause 254, 303 Winston, Patrick 18 wire-heading 122–123, 133, 189, 194, 207, 282, 291 wise-singleton sustainability threshold 100–104, 279 world economy 2–3, 63, 74, 83, 159–184, 274, 277, 285 Y Yudkowsky, Eliezer 70, 92, 98, 106, 197, 211–216, 266, 273, 282, 286, 291, 299

Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction by Alec Nevala-Lee

Albert Einstein, Apollo 11, basic income, Claude Shannon: information theory, computer age, Doomsday Clock, Elon Musk, experimental subject, Ford paid five dollars a day, heat death of the universe, lone genius, Neil Armstrong, Norbert Wiener, Norman Mailer, planetary scale, Ralph Waldo Emerson, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, Strategic Defense Initiative, the map is not the territory, the scientific method, universal basic income, Upton Sinclair

On March 23, 1983, Reagan delivered a speech proposing a defensive shield to guard against missile attacks: “I call upon the scientific community who gave us nuclear weapons to turn their great talents to the cause of mankind and world peace—to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete.” The program’s official name was the Strategic Defense Initiative, but in a nod to its evident fictional precursors, it soon became known as Star Wars. The announcement and the first round of tests led to heightened tension, both on the international stage and within the genre. One prominent skeptic was Asimov, who said, “I don’t think Star Wars is feasible and I don’t think anybody takes it seriously.

…

abortion, 130, 254, 257, 269, 277, 278 Ace Magazines, 181 Ackerman, Forrest J, 106, 237, 238, 272, 286 “Ad Astra” (Asimov), 94–95, 96 “Affirmations” (Hubbard), 233–34, 260, 450n “Against the Fall of Night” (Clarke), 244 AIDS, 403, 406 Air Trails and Science Frontiers Magazine, 236, 241–42, 245–46 Alaska, 127, 130–31, 132 Aldrin, Buzz, 350 Algol, USS, 179, 201–2 “All” (Heinlein), 64, 118, 120 All About Radiation (Hubbard), 332 Allen, John, 323 Allen, Woody, 398, 495n “—All You Zombies—” (Heinlein), 339 Amazing Stories, 6, 30, 75, 100, 463n Asimov’s story, 93, 94 Campbell’s stories, 30–33, 37, 57, 61 American Chemical Society, 221 American Fiction Guild, 84, 86 American Institute of Advanced Therapy, 270 American Journal of Psychiatry, 256 American Medical Association, 287 American Museum of Natural History, 325 American Red Cross, 46, 154, 172 American Rocket Society, 204 Amis, Kingsley, 415n Amis, Martin, 399, 409 Analog Science Fact & Fiction, 8, 325–26, 333, 350, 355, 358, 360, 367, 370, 374, 387, 401 Anderson, Poul, 317, 360–61, 362, 374, 387, 484n “—And He Built a Crooked House—” (Heinlein), 120 “—And Now You Don’t” (Asimov), 222 anti-Semitism, 96, 164–65, 366–67, 487n Apollo 11, 350–51 Apollo 17, 381–83 appendicitis, 38, 68 Arabian Nights, The (Hubbard), 25, 88–89, 129 Arcot stories (Campbell), 32–33 “Arena” (Star Trek episode), 371 Argosy, 30 Armstrong, Neil, 245, 350 Arnold, John, 473n Arwine, John, 117, 158, 160, 225 Ashwell, Pauline, 366, 488n Asimov, Anna Berman, 47–51 Asimov, David, 3, 342, 346, 349, 398–99, 406 Asimov, Gertrude Blugerman background of, 162 death of, 406 divorce from Isaac, 397, 398 marriage and family life, 166, 167, 221, 222, 223, 342, 343–44, 346 meeting and marriage, 161–63, 164 during World War II, 167, 170, 204, 208, 218, 219 Asimov, Isaac Astounding and, 76, 90–97, 133–42, 248, 346 birth of, 47 at Boston University, 222–23 Campbell’s legacy and, 386–87 celebrity of, 2, 4, 220–21, 347, 349 at Creativity Conference (1963), 2–3 death of, 406–7 dianetics and, 282–83, 294–95 on The Dick Cavett Show, 396–97 early life of, 14, 47–52 early writings of, 90–97 education of, 51–52, 90, 97, 220–22 family history of, 47–48 Foundation series, 10, 140–41, 167, 207, 220, 222, 275, 343, 349, 400 Futurians and, 99–100, 102–4, 103, 133–34, 141 Galaxy stories, 283–85, 343 health issues of, 399, 400–401, 404–6 Heinlein and, 114, 165–66, 226–27, 338–39, 344, 385, 390, 404 HIV and AIDS, 401, 405–6 later writings of, 342–49, 398 legacy of, 399–400, 407–8 marriages and family life, 2, 161–63, 164, 166, 342, 343, 346–47, 349, 397, 398–99, 404. See also specific wives and children at Nebula Awards, 385 at Philadelphia Navy Yard, 163–67, 170, 170–71, 206–8, 212–13 Star Trek and, 371–72, 372, 399 Strategic Defense Initiative and, 388–89 “The Sword of Achilles,” 3–4, 5–6, 11, 13 Three Laws of Robotics, 10, 12, 14, 137, 348–49 Unknown stories, 166–67 Voyage Beyond Apollo cruise, 381–83 womanizing of, 342–43, 345, 347–48, 396–98, 399 during World War II, 141–42, 153, 158–59, 163–67, 172, 201, 205–8, 218–20 World War II writing, 153, 166–67, 207–8, 220–22 Asimov, Janet Jeppson, 371, 399, 404 first meetings, 345, 349 Isaac’s health and death, 401, 405–7, 408 moving in, 397–98 Asimov, Judah, 47–51, 90, 349 Asimov, Manya “Marcia,” 48, 90, 104 Asimov, Robyn “Robbie,” 343, 346–47, 349, 405, 407 Asimov, Stanley, 50, 90 Asimov Laughs Again, 406 Astonishing, 114 Astor Hotel, 162 Astoria, USS, 153 Astounding Science Fiction, 6, 7, 9, 11–13, 69, 73–74, 77–83, 91, 120–21.

…

., 336, 391 affair with and marriage to Doña, 210, 211, 248–49, 264, 265, 274, 324, 391, 401 background of, 199 Campbell and, 199–200, 201–2, 208, 210, 211, 246, 275–76, 378 during World War II, 199–200, 201–2, 208, 210, 211 Smith, Gerald, 305 smoking, 254, 374–75 Smolensk, 47, 172 Snow White Program, 391–94 Society for Creative Anachronism, 379 “Solarite” (Campbell), 32–33 “Solution Unsatisfactory” (Heinlein), 213–14, 225–26 sonar, 198–200 Soviet Union, 47, 110, 141–42, 172, 253, 338 Space Cadet (Heinlein), 229 “Space Rays” (Campbell), 57, 60 space shuttle Challenger disaster, 402 Spanish-American War, 36 Spengler, Oswald, 139 Spielberg, Steven, 398, 495n Sportsman Pilot, 45 Sputnik, 2, 324–25, 338, 476n Stanton, L. Jerome, 199, 201–2, 203, 210, 246 Stars, Like Dust, The (Asimov), 284 Starship Troopers (Heinlein), 339 Star Trek (TV show), 5, 370–74 Star Trek: The Motion Picture (movie), 399 Star Wars (movies), 124, 393–94, 399 “Star Wars” (Strategic Defense Initiative), 388–89 Statendam, SS, 381–82 Statue of Liberty, 50 Stern, Bernhard J., 94, 336 Stine, G. Harry, 308, 363, 381, 472n Stone, Leslie F., 488n “Stowaway” (Asimov), 92 Strahorn, Dorothy, 20, 21, 24 Strahorn, Harry, 20 strain gauges, 354–55 Stranger in a Strange Land (Heinlein), 340, 341–42, 356–57, 384, 483n “Stranger Than Fiction” (Klein), 212–13 Street & Smith, 47, 61, 65, 68, 74–75, 77, 85, 91, 92, 121, 225, 247–48, 325 Stuart, Don A.

Who Rules the World? by Noam Chomsky

Able Archer 83, Alan Greenspan, Albert Einstein, anti-communist, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, Bretton Woods, British Empire, capital controls, classic study, corporate governance, corporate personhood, cuban missile crisis, deindustrialization, Donald Trump, Doomsday Clock, Edward Snowden, en.wikipedia.org, facts on the ground, failed state, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Garrett Hardin, high-speed rail, Howard Zinn, illegal immigration, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), invisible hand, liberation theology, Malacca Straits, Martin Wolf, Mikhail Gorbachev, Monroe Doctrine, Nelson Mandela, nuclear winter, Occupy movement, oil shale / tar sands, one-state solution, Plutonomy: Buying Luxury, Explaining Global Imbalances, precariat, public intellectual, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Robert Solow, Ronald Reagan, South China Sea, Stanislav Petrov, Strategic Defense Initiative, structural adjustment programs, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, too big to fail, trade route, Tragedy of the Commons, union organizing, uranium enrichment, wage slave, WikiLeaks, working-age population

The security of Americans retained its usual status.9 Ten years after that, the Reagan administration launched operations to probe Russian air defenses by simulating air and naval attacks and a high-level nuclear alert that the Russians were intended to detect. These actions were undertaken at a very tense moment: Washington was deploying Pershing II strategic missiles in Europe with a ten-minute flight time to Moscow. President Reagan had also announced the Strategic Defense Initiative (“Star Wars”) program, which the Russians understood to be effectively a first-strike weapon, a standard interpretation of missile defense on all sides. And other tensions were rising. Naturally, these actions caused great alarm in Russia, which unlike the United States was quite vulnerable and had repeatedly been invaded and virtually destroyed.

…

Schlosser, Eric School of the Americas Schoultz, Lars Science secrecy Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) separation of church and state Serbia settler-colonial societies Shalit, Gilad Shamir, Yitzhak Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Sharon, Ariel Shenon, Philip Shiites Shin Bet Shoigu, Sergei Shultz, George Sinai Peninsula Sisi, Abdul Fattah al- slavery Smith, Adam Smith, Lamar Snowden, Edward Solow, Robert Somalia Sourani, Raji South Africa South America South China Sea Southeast Asia South Korea South Vietnam Soviet Union collapse of Cuba and Israel and nuclear weapons and Spanish-American War Stalin, Joseph Stalingrad, Battle of Stark, USS, attack State Department Policy Planning Staff terrorist list Stearns, Monteagle Stern, Sheldon Stiglitz, Joseph Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Story, Joseph Strategic Air Command (SAC) Strategic Command (STRATCOM) Strategic Defense Initiative (“Star Wars”) strategic primacy Sudan Suharto Summers, Lawrence SWAPO Sykes-Picot agreement Syria Tacitus Taliban tariffs taxation Taylor, William teachers Temple, Henry John (Lord Palmerston) terra nullius terrorism. See also war on terrorism; and specific incidents Texaco Texas Thailand Thatcher, Margaret Thorndike, Edward Thrall, Nathan Timmermans, Frans To Cook a Continent (Bassey) TomDispatch (website) torture Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Trilateral Commission tripolar industrial world Truman, Harry S.

Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance by Noam Chomsky

"World Economic Forum" Davos, anti-communist, Berlin Wall, Bretton Woods, British Empire, capital controls, cuban missile crisis, declining real wages, disinformation, Doomsday Clock, facts on the ground, failed state, Fall of the Berlin Wall, invisible hand, launch on warning, liberation theology, long peace, market fundamentalism, Monroe Doctrine, Nelson Mandela, public intellectual, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Strategic Defense Initiative, uranium enrichment

Missile defense is only a small component of much more ambitious programs for militarization of space, with the intent to achieve a monopoly on the use of space for offensive military purposes. The plans have been available in public documents of the US Space Command and other government agencies for some years.20 The projects outlined have been under development with varying intensity since the Reagan administration proposed the “Star Wars” (Strategic Defense Initiative) programs. SDI appears to have been largely an effort to “disarm BMD opponents”—by then a huge international antinuclear popular movement—by “stealing their language and cause,” invoking the terms peace and disarmament, while proceeding to construct a more advanced offensive military system.21 The SDI program was in clear violation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty signed in 1972, according to Raymond Garthoff and others.

…

See Ceylon Stalin, Joseph, 47, 147, 153, 223, 224 State Department, 65–68, 90, 137, 150, 178, 226 Iraq and, 41–42, 111 Nicaragua and, 14–15, 97, 102–3, 105, 107 Year 2000 report, 198 Steele, Jonathan, 216 Steinbruner, John, 220 Stevenson, Adlai, 75–77 STRATCOM (US Strategic Command), 157, 218–19 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI, “Star Wars”), 225–26 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (2002), 220, 221 Straw, Jack, 34, 130 Sudan, 116, 206–7 Suharto, 93, 112, 114 Sukarno, 163 Summit of Nonaligned Countries (2003), 24 Switzerland, 126 Syria, 22, 165, 196–97, 219 Taft, William Howard, 64 Taiwan, 107, 154, 220 Taliban, 58, 134, 199, 201, 204 tax cuts, 118–19 Tenet, George, 122 terrorism.

Interplanetary Robots by Rod Pyle

Apollo 11, autonomous vehicles, Elon Musk, independent contractor, James Webb Space Telescope, Jeff Bezos, Kickstarter, low earth orbit, Mars Rover, orbital mechanics / astrodynamics, Pierre-Simon Laplace, Pluto: dwarf planet, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, SpaceShipOne, Stephen Hawking, Strategic Defense Initiative, X Prize

The less-than-inspiring moniker was thought up by an unlikely combination of NASA, the US Naval Academy, and the USRA, a nonprofit research foundation founded by NASA administrator James Webb and Frederick Seitz, the president of the National Academy of Sciences, so it had a solid pedigree. But Longshot was, well, a longshot, yet it was pondered for over a decade. Longshot roughly overlapped the Strategic Defense Initiative (more popularly known as “Star Wars”) era of the Reagan administration, when much seemed possible in advanced space technologies, but for the most part it ultimately proved to be impossible. Longshot in particular would have been vastly expensive and difficult to produce. The unmanned interstellar probe was designed along a familiar theme: a single, large space probe propelled by a powerful rocket engine.

…

See also mass spectrometer Spilker, Linda, 278, 279, 290, 296 Spirit (Mars Exploration Rover) lander, 97, 303 Sputnik mission (1957), 36, 39, 42 impact of, 9 schematic view of, 40 space race and, 42–43, 106 Sputnik 1 (October 1957), 42 Sputnik 2 (November 1957), 42 Stanford University, 79 STAR (computer), 184 stars, interstellar missions exploring nearby, 217–20 star trackers, 187, 229 static electricity, Voyager and, 187–88 Steltzner, Adam, 272 sterilization of samples, 231 of spacecraft, 54, 113, 263, 307–308, 309 Stone, Ed, 176, 188–89, 189, 194, 196, 197, 199, 202, 211–12 Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars), 221 “Study of Lunar Research Flights, A.” See Project A119 study submarines, exploring Kraken Mare with, 299, 301–302 sulfur, 195, 255, 258 sun sensors, 74, 186 SuperCam, 304 superconducting magnets, 235 supernova, 211 Surveyor program, 83, 84–88 mockup, 85 news media and, 86 Surveyor 1, 85, 86 Surveyor 2, 86 Surveyor 3, 86–87 Surveyor 4, 87 Surveyor 5, 87 Surveyor 6, 87 Surveyor 7, 87–88 Synergy Moon, 94 taikonauts, 323 TDRSS (Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System), 244 Team Hakuto (Japan), 94, 95 TeamIndus (India), 94 telescopes Galileo observing Saturn's rings through, 284 Hubble Space Telescope, 206–207, 255, 263, 320 James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), 220, 318, 319–20 Lunokhods, 91 Mount Palomar, of Mars, 66, 66, 126 observations of Mars, 70 for Venus/Mars flyby, 160–61 Teller, Edward, 36 temperature(s) AREE (Venus rover) and extreme, 165–67 on Jupiter, 196 of Kraken Mare, 299 on Mars, 137 on the moon, 86 on Saturn, 199–200 on Titan, 203, 301–302 on Triton, 208 on Uranus, 206 on Venus, 137, 151, 153, 154 “Ten” (Io), 194 Terrain Relative Navigation (TRN), 311 TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), 220 thermal mapping, 62 thermocouples, 16, 255 thermonuclear hydrogen bomb, 35 Titan (moon of Saturn), 111, 180, 278, 294 atmosphere of, 202–203, 292, 302 Cassini mission, 279, 280, 282, 290, 294 exploring seas of, 299–302 Huygens probe on, 9, 279, 292 imaged by Pioneer 11, 180 Kraken Mare, 299, 300 lakes, exploring, 299–302 life on, 293 size of, 202, 291 smog on, 291 Voyager 1 passing, 202, 204 water/liquids on, 291, 293 Titan ICBM, 277 Titan IV rocket, 277 Titan rocket, 111, 117, 240, 281 Triton (moon of Neptune), 204, 206, 208 TRN (Terrain Relative Navigation), 311 Trump administration, 61, 93, 276 TRW (contractor), 178 TV cameras in the early 1970s, 177 Lunokhods, 90 Mariners, 71–72, 73, 74, 148, 152 Mars 3, 227 Near Surface Floater (NSF), 162 Ranger program, 52, 54 Surveyor 3, 87 Tycho (crater), 87 UAVs (Underwater Autonomous Vehicles), 302 UFA-Palast am Zoo cinema, Berlin, Germany, 39 Ultima (video game), 92 Ulysses (robotic solar probe), 241 United States first space station (1973), 159 intelligence gathering on Soviet Luna probes, 48–49 Project A119 study, 34–35 space race and, 31–34 Wernher von Braun / V-2 missile and, 41–42 See also Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL); NASA University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), 62 Uranus 90-degree tilt of, 206 Grand Tour of outer planets, 171, 172, 173, 174, 176 moons of, 204–205, 205 rings of, 206 temperatures of, 206 Voyager 2 to, 202, 204–206 Voyager Uranus-Interstellar Mission, 202 Uruk Sulcus (Ganymede), 259 US Air Force, 31, 35, 36, 240, 242, 302 US Army, 31, 106 US Army Redstone, 41 US Naval Academy, 221 US Navy, 39 USRA (Universities Space Research Association; nonprofit), 221 US Ranger program.

Artificial Whiteness by Yarden Katz

affirmative action, AI winter, algorithmic bias, AlphaGo, Amazon Mechanical Turk, autonomous vehicles, benefit corporation, Black Lives Matter, blue-collar work, Californian Ideology, Cambridge Analytica, cellular automata, Charles Babbage, cloud computing, colonial rule, computer vision, conceptual framework, Danny Hillis, data science, David Graeber, deep learning, DeepMind, desegregation, Donald Trump, Dr. Strangelove, driverless car, Edward Snowden, Elon Musk, Erik Brynjolfsson, European colonialism, fake news, Ferguson, Missouri, general purpose technology, gentrification, Hans Moravec, housing crisis, income inequality, information retrieval, invisible hand, Jeff Bezos, Kevin Kelly, knowledge worker, machine readable, Mark Zuckerberg, mass incarceration, Menlo Park, military-industrial complex, Nate Silver, natural language processing, Nick Bostrom, Norbert Wiener, pattern recognition, phenotype, Philip Mirowski, RAND corporation, recommendation engine, rent control, Rodney Brooks, Ronald Reagan, Salesforce, Seymour Hersh, Shoshana Zuboff, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley billionaire, Silicon Valley ideology, Skype, speech recognition, statistical model, Stephen Hawking, Stewart Brand, Strategic Defense Initiative, surveillance capitalism, talking drums, telemarketer, The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver, W. E. B. Du Bois, Whole Earth Catalog, WikiLeaks

The Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) was also formed in 1983, an alliance between the government and computing industry firms offered as a way emulate Japan’s heavy state-sponsorship model “without getting bogged down in the socialist mire of direct government intervention in the marketplace.”60 (Only three years later, however, the MCC would somewhat backtrack from the initial goal of implementing artificial intelligence on an “elusive” specialized computer.61) Also in 1983, George Keyworth, President Ronald Reagan’s science advisor, wrote that the administration is committed to “maintaining U.S. supremacy” in AI and supercomputing, which is considered vital for “national security.”62 AI managed to remain both murky and somehow essential for American hegemony. Leading figures within AI fostered this impression by participating in military projects, such as the Reagan administration’s Strategic Defensive Initiative (SDI) (the so-called Star Wars project). In an infamous television address in 1983, Reagan laid the vision for SDI, asking, “What if free people could live secure in the knowledge that their security did not rest upon the threat of instant U.S. retaliation to deter a Soviet attack, that we could intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles before they reached our own soil or that of our allies?”

…

., 122, 267n46, 269n49 Smith, Adam, 201 Soar, 53–55, 103, 220, 250n93, 250n96, 300n81 social movements: appropriation of, 128, 151, 175, 227; in shaping of AI discourse, 10, 78–81, 126, 134, 155; and incarceration, 131, 136, 144; and white supremacy, 127 social order, 79, 94, 122, 155, 181 sociotechnical imaginaries, 228 Solomonoff, Ray, 23 Sorry to Bother You, 168 Southern Horrors, 176 Snowden, Edward, 68–70, 105 South Korea, 58, 252n105 Springer, Paul, 57–58 Squires, Judith, 13 Stahl, Roger, 218 Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, 87, 261n42 Stanford Research Institute and SRI International, 25, 35–36 Stanford University, 25, 44, 79, 87–88, 192, 242n19, 254n3, 261n42 Statue of Liberty, 40 Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, 143–49, 274n34 Strategic Computing Initiative, 37, 45 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), 43 Strogatz, Steven, 120–21 structural coupling, 196–97 Suchman, Lucy, 197, 208, 290n31, 299n79 Supiot, Alain, 72 surveillance, 9, 10, 46; and surveillance capitalism, 69. See also mass surveillance Swedish National Bank Prize in Economics, 259n35, 260n36 symbiosis. See man-computer symbiosis “symbolic” and “statistical” AI, 5–6, 26–27, 32, 243n27 tabula rasa, 107, 110, 166 #TakeBackTech campaign, 149–50 taxation, 75–76, 78 Taylor, Robert W., 97–99 technology of whiteness, 8–9, 12, 155, 172, 226, 228 Tegmark, Max, 75–76, 105–6, 156–57, 258n33 TensorFlow, 257n26 Terranova, Tiziana, 210, 296n60, 297n61 Tetley, W.

The Atlantic and Its Enemies: A History of the Cold War by Norman Stone

affirmative action, Alvin Toffler, Arthur Marwick, Ayatollah Khomeini, bank run, banking crisis, Berlin Wall, Bernie Madoff, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, Bonfire of the Vanities, Bretton Woods, British Empire, business cycle, central bank independence, Deng Xiaoping, desegregation, disinformation, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, European colonialism, facts on the ground, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial deregulation, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, Frederick Winslow Taylor, full employment, gentrification, Gunnar Myrdal, Henry Ford's grandson gave labor union leader Walter Reuther a tour of the company’s new, automated factory…, Herbert Marcuse, illegal immigration, income per capita, interchangeable parts, Jane Jacobs, Joseph Schumpeter, junk bonds, labour mobility, land reform, long peace, low interest rates, mass immigration, means of production, Michael Milken, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, Mitch Kapor, Money creation, new economy, Norman Mailer, North Sea oil, oil shock, Paul Samuelson, Phillips curve, Ponzi scheme, popular capitalism, price mechanism, price stability, RAND corporation, rent-seeking, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, scientific management, Seymour Hersh, Silicon Valley, special drawing rights, Steve Jobs, Strategic Defense Initiative, strikebreaker, Suez crisis 1956, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, trade liberalization, trickle-down economics, V2 rocket, War on Poverty, Washington Consensus, Yom Kippur War, éminence grise

Now, with William Casey (who had greatly helped Reagan when, in 1980, the money was running short) and Caspar Weinberger (an old friend of Reagan’s who understood technical advances), there was a change: the cautious East Coast men were sidelined; proper studies of Soviet hard-currency flows and the like were made; and the National Security Council contained allies such as William Clark and Richard Pipes and Admiral John Poindexter (who continued until driven out in 1987 by the Iran-Contra affair). This new team was secretive - Casey flew around in a black plane with living quarters - and only two or three people around Reagan were in the picture: even George Shultz, the Secretary of State, learned of the Strategic Defense Initiative only a few hours before its announcement. Reagan himself hardly bothered with the arms-limitation business that takes such a large place in the works of Don Oberdorfer or Strobe Talbott, and dealt directly with Casey, an old hand from 1941-5, his memories going back to Allen Dulles’s time.

…

Peking PEN club Peng Pai Penguin (publishers) penicillin Penn Central railway ‘Pentagon Papers’ People’s Liberation Army see Red Army (Chinese) perestroyka Perkins, Thomas Perle, Richard Persepolis Peter the Great Petőfi, Sandor petrochemicals industries Pflimlin, Pierre Philadelphia Philby, Kim Philipe, Gérard Philippines Phillips, Alban William Phillips Curve Phillips, Melanie Phnom Penh Phoenix, Arizona Piaf, Édith Picasso, Pablo Pieck, Walter pieds noirs Pill, contraceptive Pinay, Antoine Piñera, José Pinochet, Augusto ‘Pinochet solution’ Pinter, Harold Pipes, Richard Piscator, Erwin Pitsunda PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) Platts-Mills, John Playboy (magazine) Plaza Agreement (1985) Pleiku Pleven, René PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) Plojhar, Mgr Josef Plumb, Sir John plutonium Plyushch, Leonid Podolia Poindexter, John Poitiers Pol Pot Poland: agricultural collectivization anti-semitism anti-Soviet demonstrations aristocracy Catholic Church coal industry collapse of communism Communist Party communist takeover Convention of Targowice (1792) emigrants to Germany ethnic German population and France under Gierek under Gomułka inflation intelligentsia Jews in and Khrushchev’s relaxation attempts and Marshall Plan martial law (1981-2) ‘modernization’ oil money invested in peasantry relations with USSR relations with West Germany Second World War Solidarność (‘Solidarity’) Stalinization steel industry territorial losses trade unions UB (secret police) Ukrainians in universities Warsaw Uprising (1944) WRON (national security council) Polaris (missile) Poll Tax (Britain) Pollitt, Brian Pomerania Pompidou, Georges Ponomarev, Boris Ponzi schemes Poos, Jacques population growth collapse of Porsche, Ferdinand Port Said Port Talbot Port-au-Prince Portugal Potsdam Potsdam conference (1945) POUM (Spanish anarchist organization) Powell, Charles, Baron Poznan Pozsgay, Imre Prague: architecture Communists’ organized discontent Czernin Palace Kinsky Palace museum of security police revolution of 1989 Smichov Stalinization undamaged by war working class ‘Prague Spring’ Prats, Carlos Pravda (newspaper) Prebisch, Raúl Presley, Elvis Preuves (magazine) Primakov, Yevgeney Prisender, Edgar privatization of industry and services: Britain Chile West Germany prostitution Protestant churches: and economic development in Germany in Hungary missionaries in China Thirty Years War see also Calvinist Church; Lutheran Church Prussia PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) Punjab ‘pursuit of happiness’ Pusan Pushkin, Alexander ‘Pushtunistan’ Putin, Vladimir Quang Tri (US combat base) Queen Elizabeth, RMS Quemoy islands Quennell, Peter Raab, Julius radar Radio Urumchi Rákosi, Mátyás Rakowski, Mieczysław Rambouillet summit (1975) Ramsay, Douglas Rangel, Charles Rangoon Rapallo, Treaty of (1922) Rasputin, Valentin rationing: Britain East Germany France Ravenscraig steel works Reader’s Digest (magazine) Reagan, Nancy Reagan, Ronald: background and character and Ceauşescu and collapse of communism core beliefs defence policy economic policy election as President (1980); (1984) enemies of on failure of Johnson’s Great Society and Goldwater campaign Governor of California Iran-Contra affair marriages oratory skills and Poland popularity relationship with Margaret Thatcher retirement Savings and Loans crisis ‘The Speech’ (1980) Strategic Defense Initiative (‘Star Wars’) and universities visits Britain work regimen and leadership style Récsk Red Army (Chinese; ‘People’s Liberation Army’) Red Army (Soviet): atrocities committed by conquering of eastern and central Europe Second World War casualties Red Army Faction Red Brigades Redford, Robert Reece, Sir Gordon Rees-Mogg, William, Baron ‘Reg Q’ (American interest rate regulation) Regan, Donald Reich, Robert Reider, Jonathan Reinhardt, Max Remington Rand (corporation) Rémond, René Renault (automobile manufacturer) reparations, First World War reparations, Second World War: German Japanese Soviet demands Republican Party (United States) Rerum Novarum (papal enyclical) Reuter, Ernst Reuther, Walter revolutions of 1848 Rez, Adam Rhee, Syngman Rhineland Rhodesia Richter, Horst-Eberhard Richter, Svyatoslav Ridley, Nicholas, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale Riesman, David, The Lonely Crowd Rimbaud, Arthur Robbins, Lionel, Baron Robespierre, Maximilien Robinson, Joan Rocard, Michel Rochet, Waldeck Rockefeller, Nelson Rodriguez, Carlos Roe.

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., Baron Snow, Edgar Sobchak, Anatoly Social Democratic Party (British; SDP) Social Democrats (Austrian) Social Democrats (Czechoslovak) Social Democrats (German; SPD): post-war occupied Germany Weimar Republic West Germany Social Democrats (Hungarian) Socialist Unity Party (East German; SED) ‘soft professions’ solar power Solidarność (‘Solidarity’; Polish trade union) Solomentsev, Mikhail Solvay, Ernest Solzhenitsyn, Alexander Somalia Somoza, Anastasio Sontag, Susan Sopron Sorbonne Soros, George SOS Racisme South Africa South Georgia South Korea: economic success establishment of shipbuilding steel industry wig exports see also Korean War South Vietnam: American investment Army (ARVN) communist takeover corruption Diem regime establishment of fall of Saigon (1975) land reform failure refugee population see also Vietnam War Soutou, Georges-Henri Souvarine, Boris Soviet Union see USSR Sozialmarktwirtschaft (West German) space programmes: American Soviet Spain: Civil War Communist Party empire EU membership health care nationalism Pinochet trial POUM (Communist organization) Spanish Armada SPD see Social Democrats (German) Speer, Albert Spence, Jonathan Spetsnaz (Soviet ‘special forces’ troops) Spiegel, Der (magazine) spies: Czechoslovak Soviet agents in Britain and USA U2 spy planes in Vienna sport: in communist states football hooliganism Sputnik Šrámek, Jan ‘stagflation’ Stakhanovism Stalin, Joseph: background and Berlin blockade (1948-9) and Brezhnev and China claims to scholarship collectivization policy comparisons with Genghiz Khan cult of personality and Czechoslovakia death education policy and Germany and Greece and Hungary Khruhschev’s denunciation of and Korean War in London ‘March Note’ (1952) and Marshall and Marshall Plan Middle East ambitions Moscow conference (1947) and nationalism and NATO and Poland Potsdam conference (1945) purges removal of corpse from Kremlin russification programmes secretary of Central Committee seventieth birthday show trials and SpanishWar Teheran conference (1943) and Turkey tyrannical leadership use of alcohol and Vietnam Yalta conference (1945) and Yugoslavia Stalingrad Standard Oil Stanford University business school Stasi (East German state security) Staszewski, Stefan Stavisky scandal (1934) Stavropol StB (Czechoslovak security service) steel industry: Belgium Britain ECSC (European Coal and Steel Community) France Germany Japan Korea Luxemburg Poland Turkey USA USSR Steinbeck, John Steiner, Max Steiner, Zara Stendhal sterilization, enforced Stern, Manfred Stiglitz, Joseph stock market crashes: 1929 1987 2008 Stockholm Stockman, David Stone, I. F. Stone, Oliver Stoph, Willi Strasbourg Strategic Defense Initiative (American; ‘Star Wars’) Strauss, Franz Josef Strong, Anna Louise student demonstrations student exchanges student loans Suez Canal Yom Kippur War (1973) Suez crisis (1956) Sukarno, President of Indonesia Sun Microsystems (corporation) Sunderland ‘supplyside’ economics Suslov, Mikhail Sussex University Suzdal Svoboda, Ludvík Swanson, Robert A.

Amazing Stories of the Space Age by Rod Pyle

Apollo 11, Apollo 13, built by the lowest bidder, centre right, desegregation, Elon Musk, Gene Kranz, James Webb Space Telescope, Jeff Bezos, low earth orbit, Mars Rover, Neil Armstrong, Richard Feynman, Richard Feynman: Challenger O-ring, Ronald Reagan, space junk, SpaceShipOne, Strategic Defense Initiative, Virgin Galactic

They were expensive and not very effective at short range, but at longer range the bullets built up enough velocity to be moderately destructive—in one demonstration, a Gyrojet round was reported to have blown a good-sized branch off a tree. What about larger weapons for use closer to Earth? During the Ronald Reagan years, when the Strategic Defense Initiative (more commonly known as “Star Wars”) was active, a lot of money was spent researching various space-based laser systems, to be powered via large volumes of highly reactive chemicals. The lasers were known as COIL weapons (Chemical Oxygen Iodine Lasers), and when the caustic chemicals were rapidly mixed, they could pump out a brief high-powered laser blast.

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See service propulsion system Sputnik program, 25–26, 100, 159, 186–87 spy satellites, 135, 136, 140, 142, 143, 145. See also Manned Orbiting Laboratory project SRBMs. See short range ballistic missiles SRBs. See solid rocket boosters SSMEs. See Space Shuttle Main Engines “Star Wars” defense system, 275–76 “Station in Space, A” (Ley), 85–86 STG. See Space Task Group Strategic Air Command, 71 Strategic Defense Initiative, 275–76 STS-61-A mission, 318n2 suborbital rocket planes Shepard's suborbital Mercury flight, 34 See also Silverbird, Project; X-15 suborbital rocket plane SuitSat, 218 “sun gun,” 83, 109 Supernova rocket, 94–95 Surveyor moon lander, 221 symmetric trajectory for Mars/Venus flyby, 97 Taylor, Theodore, 59–61, 64, 66 telecommunications industry and Earth-orbital satellites, 295 Teller, Edward, 57 Tereskova, Valentina, 304n8 “thermal cycling,” 257 Third Reich.

The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union by Serhii Plokhy

affirmative action, Anton Chekhov, Berlin Wall, bilateral investment treaty, Boeing 747, cuban missile crisis, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, land reform, language acquisition, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, mutually assured destruction, Potemkin village, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, Seymour Hersh, Sinatra Doctrine, Stanislav Petrov, Strategic Defense Initiative, Transnistria

Less than a month after taking office, Gorbachev suspended the deployment of Soviet medium-range missiles in Eastern Europe; a few months later, he invited the United States to cut the Soviet and American strategic nuclear arsenals in half. In November 1986, at a summit in Reykjavik, Iceland, Reagan and Gorbachev all but agreed—to the horror of their advisers—to liquidate nuclear arms entirely. What stood in the way of the deal was Reagan’s insistence on continuing to develop his Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a missile defense program. Gorbachev believed that SDI, if ever implemented by the Americans, would put the Soviets at a disadvantage. The summit ended in a deadlock, and the world seemed to be returning to the darkest days of the Cold War. But the dialogue was eventually resumed.

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., and, 65, 74–75, 76, 145, 199, 236, 391 coup d’état of August 1991 and, 104, 105, 106, 128 critics of, 261–262 on Gorbachev, 267, 336 Gorbachev’s resignation and, 379–380 on nuclear disarmament, 209–210 Ukrainian sovereignty and, 263, 266 Yazov and, 25 Yeltsin, Boris, and, 26, 27, 42–43, 45, 106–107 SDI. See Strategic Defense Initiative Secrets, documents, 369 Serbia, 272 Sevastianov (cosmonaut), 327 Sevastopol, 293 Shakhnazarov, Georgii, 81, 219, 222, 248–250, 269 Belavezha Agreement and, 320 CIS and, 358 new union treaty and, 397 on Ukrainian sovereignty, 259, 280, 293–294 Shakhnovsky, Vasilii, 150 Shakhrai, Sergei, 219, 220, 222, 297 Belavezha Agreement and, 304, 305, 306, 309 center-republic relations and, 249 Shamir, Yitzhak, 233 Shaposhnikov, Yevgenii, 117–118, 125, 138, 140, 288 Almaty summit and, 361–362 Belavezha Agreement and, 312–313, 339 center-republic relations and, 205, 368 CIS and, 322, 324, 361–362 on Gorbachev, 377, 397 nuclear briefcases and, 340, 371, 376 Shatalin, Stanislav, 216 Shcherbak, Yurii, 175, 179, 292 Shcherbytsky, Volodymyr, 53, 54–55, 56, 59 Shebarshin, Leonid, 135, 136 Shelest, Petro, 53 Shenin, Oleg, 31 Shevardnadze, Eduard, 38, 95, 103, 111, 193, 200, 271, 337 Belavezha Agreement and, 325, 335, 338, 343 Ukrainian sovereignty and, 262 Shevchenko, Taras, 57, 386 Shield, 96 Shirkovsky, Eduard, 311–312 Short History of the Communist Party, 42 Shushkevich, Stanislaŭ, xxii, 264, 297, 312 Almaty summit and, 359–360, 362–363, 364 Belavezha Agreement and, 302, 307, 314, 315, 320, 348 biography, 300, 303 new union treaty and, 257 Ukrainian sovereignty and, 303–304 Siberia, 298 Silaev, Ivan, 94, 145–146, 147, 163, 183, 202, 299 economic situation, 205 resignation of, 214 union-to-commonwealth transfer and, 370 Simons, Thomas, 195 Sinatra doctrine, 4 Skoryk, Larysa, 279 Slavic Union, Solzhenitsyn’s, 298, 352, 353, 402 See also Belarus; Kazakhstan; Russia; Ukraine Snegur, Mircea, 158 Sobchak, Anatolii, 120, 160, 300, 330 food shortage and, 205, 220–221 Gorbachev and support from, 271–272 sovereignty, Kazakhstan and, 181 Ukrainian sovereignty and, 172, 175–176, 179, 180 Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr, 298, 352, 353, 402 “Southern Siberia,” 298 Sovereignty Armenia and, 173, 265 Azerbaijan, 173 Baltic republics and, 30, 34–35, 38, 39, 45–46, 49–50, 174, 187, 193–198 Belarus and, 173, 177 border disputes and, 172, 176–177, 181–182, 192–194, 200–201, 265, 308 Chechnia and, 242–243, 245 Communist Party and, 34–40 Crimea and, 171, 281–282 demonstrations, 38–39, 64–65, 117–118, 152–153, 164, 179–180, 206, 245, 282 Estonia and, 174, 175, 195, 197 Georgia and, 173, 175, 265 Kazakhstan and, 178, 179, 181, 182, 249, 347, 351 Kyrgyzstan and, 173 Latvia and, 174, 175, 197 Lithuania and, 34, 37, 38, 50, 174, 198 Moldova and, 173, 178 Rukh and, 178, 179–180, 266, 285–286 Russia and, 34, 35–37, 40, 41, 136–137, 143–144 Soviet republics and, 34–41, 45, 48–50, 53–54, 57, 59–62, 64–65, 136–137, 143–144, 152–182, 185, 191–201, 206–207, 242–243, 245, 249–250, 275–294, 295–297, 299, 303–304, 347, 351, 363–364, 402 Ukraine and, 37, 48–50, 53–54, 57, 59–62, 64–65, 153–155, 163–182, 184, 187, 206–207, 255–256, 258–270, 272–274, 275–294, 295–297, 299, 303–304, 363–364, 402 Union of Sovereign States and, 251 Uzbekistan and, 173 Soviet republics border disputes, 172, 176–177 with center-republic relations, 202–209, 211, 213–239, 241–243, 245–251, 270–271, 281, 308–309, 349–350, 397–398, 400 food shortage in, 205, 208, 214, 220–221, 237, 242, 340, 351 new union treaty and, 41, 48, 49, 61–62, 134, 136–137, 144, 162, 163, 184–185, 219, 220–223, 248–251, 281 Russia and economic treaty with post-, 206, 221–230 sovereignty and, 34–41, 45, 48–50, 53–54, 57, 59–62, 64–65, 136–137, 143–144, 152–182, 185, 191–201, 206–207, 242–243, 245, 249–250, 275–294, 295–297, 299, 303–304, 347, 351, 363–364, 402 Union of Sovereign States and, 251 See also specific republics Soviet Union Afghanistan and, 202–203, 404, 407 Cold War and, 192 Cuba and, 21, 202–203, 404 dissolution of, 309–310, 314–315, 320, 323, 362, 366, 389, 394 IMF and membership of, 17, 18 leadership, line of, 9 Marshall Plan for, 205–206, 329–331, 341 most-favored-nation trade status and, 21 population, xvii U.S. relations with, 78, 199–206, 208, 232, 234–235, 237, 238–239, 337–338, 379, 404, 407 wiretapping by, 84, 88–89 Soviet Union, collapse of appeals for, 178, 182 Belavezha Agreement and, xx–xxi, 297–310, 312–316, 319–343, 348, 359, 397, 400 with center-republic relations, 202–209, 211, 213–239, 241–243, 245–251, 270–271, 281, 308–309, 349–350, 368, 397–398, 400 as conspiracy theory and CIA plot, xvi crucial period before, xviii–xix, xx–xxi, 64 electoral democracy and, xviii, 13–14, 33, 394 Gorbachev’s prevention efforts and, 177, 183–187, 216, 255–258, 272–273, 279–281, 322, 324 Gorbachev’s resignation with, xiii–xiv, xviii–xix, 40, 74, 148, 149–150, 327–328, 367–386 as last empire, xvii–xviii, xx–xxii, 34, 40, 178, 182, 185–186, 393 Ukrainian referendum and, 275–294, 303–304, 399, 402 with union-to-commonwealth transfer of power, xiii–xiv, xviii–xix, 40, 74, 148, 149–150, 327–328, 344, 365–387 U.S. and official stance on, xiii–xiv, 76–77, 328–329, 379, 380–381, 389–390 U.S. efforts to prevent, xiv–xvi, xx, xxii, 10, 73, 78–79, 123–124, 205–209, 211, 381, 404 Yeltsin’s prevention efforts and, 175–188, 216, 295 Space, post-Soviet with distancing of Baltic states, 407 Gorbachev’s treatment in, 372, 377–378, 379, 382, 384–387 ideas for, 298 1991 and influence on, 406 Russia’s influence in, xv, 328, 406 Ukraine’s influence in, 328, 407 U.S. support for Russia in, xv See also Almaty summit; Belavezha Agreement; Center-republic relations; Referendum, in Ukraine Spain, 231–233, 235 Sputnik, 5 Stalin, Joseph, 3, 5, 12, 56, 80, 82, 192, 202, 328, 338 Chechnia and, 243 Crimean Tatars and, 281 Hitler and, 400 secret documents of, 369 UN and, 393 Stankevich, Sergei sovereignty, Kazakhstan and, 181 Ukrainian sovereignty and, 172, 175–176, 178–179, 181 START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) I, 4, 9, 17, 20–23 importance of, 47 Talbott on, 15 START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) II, 211 State funds, emptied, 259, 270–271 State of the Union Address, 388–390, 407 “Statement of the President of the USSR and the Supreme Leaders of the Republics” (“10 + 1”) (Nazarbayev), 184–185, 186 Stepanchuk, John, 153, 159–160, 166 Stepkin, Petro, 169–170 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty.

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See Strategic Defense Initiative Secrets, documents, 369 Serbia, 272 Sevastianov (cosmonaut), 327 Sevastopol, 293 Shakhnazarov, Georgii, 81, 219, 222, 248–250, 269 Belavezha Agreement and, 320 CIS and, 358 new union treaty and, 397 on Ukrainian sovereignty, 259, 280, 293–294 Shakhnovsky, Vasilii, 150 Shakhrai, Sergei, 219, 220, 222, 297 Belavezha Agreement and, 304, 305, 306, 309 center-republic relations and, 249 Shamir, Yitzhak, 233 Shaposhnikov, Yevgenii, 117–118, 125, 138, 140, 288 Almaty summit and, 361–362 Belavezha Agreement and, 312–313, 339 center-republic relations and, 205, 368 CIS and, 322, 324, 361–362 on Gorbachev, 377, 397 nuclear briefcases and, 340, 371, 376 Shatalin, Stanislav, 216 Shcherbak, Yurii, 175, 179, 292 Shcherbytsky, Volodymyr, 53, 54–55, 56, 59 Shebarshin, Leonid, 135, 136 Shelest, Petro, 53 Shenin, Oleg, 31 Shevardnadze, Eduard, 38, 95, 103, 111, 193, 200, 271, 337 Belavezha Agreement and, 325, 335, 338, 343 Ukrainian sovereignty and, 262 Shevchenko, Taras, 57, 386 Shield, 96 Shirkovsky, Eduard, 311–312 Short History of the Communist Party, 42 Shushkevich, Stanislaŭ, xxii, 264, 297, 312 Almaty summit and, 359–360, 362–363, 364 Belavezha Agreement and, 302, 307, 314, 315, 320, 348 biography, 300, 303 new union treaty and, 257 Ukrainian sovereignty and, 303–304 Siberia, 298 Silaev, Ivan, 94, 145–146, 147, 163, 183, 202, 299 economic situation, 205 resignation of, 214 union-to-commonwealth transfer and, 370 Simons, Thomas, 195 Sinatra doctrine, 4 Skoryk, Larysa, 279 Slavic Union, Solzhenitsyn’s, 298, 352, 353, 402 See also Belarus; Kazakhstan; Russia; Ukraine Snegur, Mircea, 158 Sobchak, Anatolii, 120, 160, 300, 330 food shortage and, 205, 220–221 Gorbachev and support from, 271–272 sovereignty, Kazakhstan and, 181 Ukrainian sovereignty and, 172, 175–176, 179, 180 Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr, 298, 352, 353, 402 “Southern Siberia,” 298 Sovereignty Armenia and, 173, 265 Azerbaijan, 173 Baltic republics and, 30, 34–35, 38, 39, 45–46, 49–50, 174, 187, 193–198 Belarus and, 173, 177 border disputes and, 172, 176–177, 181–182, 192–194, 200–201, 265, 308 Chechnia and, 242–243, 245 Communist Party and, 34–40 Crimea and, 171, 281–282 demonstrations, 38–39, 64–65, 117–118, 152–153, 164, 179–180, 206, 245, 282 Estonia and, 174, 175, 195, 197 Georgia and, 173, 175, 265 Kazakhstan and, 178, 179, 181, 182, 249, 347, 351 Kyrgyzstan and, 173 Latvia and, 174, 175, 197 Lithuania and, 34, 37, 38, 50, 174, 198 Moldova and, 173, 178 Rukh and, 178, 179–180, 266, 285–286 Russia and, 34, 35–37, 40, 41, 136–137, 143–144 Soviet republics and, 34–41, 45, 48–50, 53–54, 57, 59–62, 64–65, 136–137, 143–144, 152–182, 185, 191–201, 206–207, 242–243, 245, 249–250, 275–294, 295–297, 299, 303–304, 347, 351, 363–364, 402 Ukraine and, 37, 48–50, 53–54, 57, 59–62, 64–65, 153–155, 163–182, 184, 187, 206–207, 255–256, 258–270, 272–274, 275–294, 295–297, 299, 303–304, 363–364, 402 Union of Sovereign States and, 251 Uzbekistan and, 173 Soviet republics border disputes, 172, 176–177 with center-republic relations, 202–209, 211, 213–239, 241–243, 245–251, 270–271, 281, 308–309, 349–350, 397–398, 400 food shortage in, 205, 208, 214, 220–221, 237, 242, 340, 351 new union treaty and, 41, 48, 49, 61–62, 134, 136–137, 144, 162, 163, 184–185, 219, 220–223, 248–251, 281 Russia and economic treaty with post-, 206, 221–230 sovereignty and, 34–41, 45, 48–50, 53–54, 57, 59–62, 64–65, 136–137, 143–144, 152–182, 185, 191–201, 206–207, 242–243, 245, 249–250, 275–294, 295–297, 299, 303–304, 347, 351, 363–364, 402 Union of Sovereign States and, 251 See also specific republics Soviet Union Afghanistan and, 202–203, 404, 407 Cold War and, 192 Cuba and, 21, 202–203, 404 dissolution of, 309–310, 314–315, 320, 323, 362, 366, 389, 394 IMF and membership of, 17, 18 leadership, line of, 9 Marshall Plan for, 205–206, 329–331, 341 most-favored-nation trade status and, 21 population, xvii U.S. relations with, 78, 199–206, 208, 232, 234–235, 237, 238–239, 337–338, 379, 404, 407 wiretapping by, 84, 88–89 Soviet Union, collapse of appeals for, 178, 182 Belavezha Agreement and, xx–xxi, 297–310, 312–316, 319–343, 348, 359, 397, 400 with center-republic relations, 202–209, 211, 213–239, 241–243, 245–251, 270–271, 281, 308–309, 349–350, 368, 397–398, 400 as conspiracy theory and CIA plot, xvi crucial period before, xviii–xix, xx–xxi, 64 electoral democracy and, xviii, 13–14, 33, 394 Gorbachev’s prevention efforts and, 177, 183–187, 216, 255–258, 272–273, 279–281, 322, 324 Gorbachev’s resignation with, xiii–xiv, xviii–xix, 40, 74, 148, 149–150, 327–328, 367–386 as last empire, xvii–xviii, xx–xxii, 34, 40, 178, 182, 185–186, 393 Ukrainian referendum and, 275–294, 303–304, 399, 402 with union-to-commonwealth transfer of power, xiii–xiv, xviii–xix, 40, 74, 148, 149–150, 327–328, 344, 365–387 U.S. and official stance on, xiii–xiv, 76–77, 328–329, 379, 380–381, 389–390 U.S. efforts to prevent, xiv–xvi, xx, xxii, 10, 73, 78–79, 123–124, 205–209, 211, 381, 404 Yeltsin’s prevention efforts and, 175–188, 216, 295 Space, post-Soviet with distancing of Baltic states, 407 Gorbachev’s treatment in, 372, 377–378, 379, 382, 384–387 ideas for, 298 1991 and influence on, 406 Russia’s influence in, xv, 328, 406 Ukraine’s influence in, 328, 407 U.S. support for Russia in, xv See also Almaty summit; Belavezha Agreement; Center-republic relations; Referendum, in Ukraine Spain, 231–233, 235 Sputnik, 5 Stalin, Joseph, 3, 5, 12, 56, 80, 82, 192, 202, 328, 338 Chechnia and, 243 Crimean Tatars and, 281 Hitler and, 400 secret documents of, 369 UN and, 393 Stankevich, Sergei sovereignty, Kazakhstan and, 181 Ukrainian sovereignty and, 172, 175–176, 178–179, 181 START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) I, 4, 9, 17, 20–23 importance of, 47 Talbott on, 15 START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) II, 211 State funds, emptied, 259, 270–271 State of the Union Address, 388–390, 407 “Statement of the President of the USSR and the Supreme Leaders of the Republics” (“10 + 1”) (Nazarbayev), 184–185, 186 Stepanchuk, John, 153, 159–160, 166 Stepkin, Petro, 169–170 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. See SALT I; SALT II Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. See START I; START II Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), 13 Strauss, Bob, 76, 115, 163, 188, 203, 238 Suicides, 135, 140, 148, 149, 150 Summits Bush-Gorbachev, 4, 9–10, 13–15, 17–18, 20–23 modern-day, 3–4 See also Almaty summit Suslov, Mikhail, 11 “Sverdlovsk mafia,” 215, 228, 349 Syria, 231, 232, 237 “System Change,” in Baltics, 50 Szmagala, Taras, 266 Szporluk, Roman, 40 Tajikstan, 163, 322, 361, 382 Talbott, Strobe, 15, 333–335, 336 Taliban, 203 Tatars, Crimean, 177, 281 Technology, 208 U.S. aid with, 194, 341, 347 Teeter, Robert, 379–380 Teheran Conference, 193 “10 + 1.”

The Long Twentieth Century: Money, Power, and the Origins of Our Times by Giovanni Arrighi

anti-communist, Asian financial crisis, barriers to entry, Bretton Woods, British Empire, business climate, business logic, business process, classic study, colonial rule, commoditize, Corn Laws, creative destruction, cuban missile crisis, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, declining real wages, deindustrialization, double entry bookkeeping, European colonialism, Fairchild Semiconductor, financial independence, financial intermediation, floating exchange rates, gentrification, Glass-Steagall Act, Great Leap Forward, income inequality, informal economy, invisible hand, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, Kōnosuke Matsushita, late capitalism, London Interbank Offered Rate, means of production, Meghnad Desai, military-industrial complex, Money creation, money: store of value / unit of account / medium of exchange, new economy, offshore financial centre, oil shock, Peace of Westphalia, post-Fordism, profit maximization, Project for a New American Century, RAND corporation, reserve currency, scientific management, spice trade, Strategic Defense Initiative, Suez canal 1869, the market place, The Nature of the Firm, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, trade liberalization, trade route, transaction costs, transatlantic slave trade, transcontinental railway, upwardly mobile, vertical integration, Yom Kippur War

“Formerly the world’s leading creditor, the United States had borrowed enough money overseas — shades of 1914—45 Britain — to become the world’s leading debtor” (Phillips 1993: 220). Fourth, this spectacular increase in the US national debt was associated with an escalation of the Cold War with the USSR — primarily, though not exclusively, through the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) — and a whole series of punitive shows of military muscle against select unfriendly regimes of the Third World — Grenada in 1983, Libya in 1986, Panama in 1989, and Iraq in 1990-91. As in all previous financial expansions, the mobilization of that “enchanter’s wand” that endows barren money Nominal rate °/o 5 I ’\ — /\ z’, ’ \/""‘V’ ‘\ / """ Real rate O ‘* \\q/ -5 1 l 1 l 1965 1970 1975 1980 1984 Source: World Bank (1985: S). 4.4 Long-term Interest Rates in the United States, 1965-84 (average of quarterly data) 328 THE LONG TWENTIETH CENTURY with the power of breeding without the necessity of exposing itself to the troubles and risks inseparable from productive undertaking, as Marx described the “alienation of the state” through national debts (see Introduction), was thus associated once again with an escalation in the interstate power struggle.

…

., 173 Rueff, Jacques, 281 Ruggie, John, 32, 38, 78, 81, 82, 83 rural revolts, 42-43 Russian Revolution (1917), 22, 65-66 Said, Edward, 54 Schevill, Ferdinand, 103 Schism (1378-1417), 99, 108 Schor, Juliet, 306-7 Schumpeter, Joseph, 30, 36-37, 122-23, 219, 336-38, 370 Schurmann, Franz, 66, 350-51 Scotland, 189, 202 SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative), 327 Second Cold War, 17 Second World, 22, 333, 334 secular cycles, 7, 8, 174 self-regulation markets, 72, 263-66 September 1 1, 2001 terrorist attacks, 384 Settlement of Vienna (1815), 53 settler colonialism, 50-51 Seven Years War (1756-63), 146, 21 1 Seville, 83, 131, 152 Sherman Antitrust Act (1890), 295 shipbuilding, 178, 182 signal crises, 220-21, 222, 243, 315, 323-24 silver, American, 134, 187, 256 Silver, Beverly, 381, 383 silver, Spanish, 156 Singapore, 23, 79, 344, 348, 349, 380 slaves and slavery, 50-51, 206, 252-53, 257 414 THE LONG TWENTIETH CENTURY Smith, Adam, 19-21, 227-29, 252, 295 Smoot-Hawley tariff (1930), 302 social conflicts, 42-43 saga 5/.705/Id, 356, 358 sound money, 115, 211, 215, 288 South, 334 South Africa Company, 258 South Asia, 162, 256, 317; See also East Asia; Eurasia; Southeast Asia South Korea: economics of, 344, 345, 348, 349; financial power in, 380; US and, 23, 70, 71, 79, 352, 353, 380; See aim Korea Southeast Asia, 23, 79, 348-49, 357, 360; See also East Asia; Eurasia; South Asia sovereignty, 76, 78, 342 Soviet Five Year Plan, 283 space-of-flows, 82, 85, 136f, 217-18, 360, 361f space-of-places, 81-83, 85 Spain: European power struggles and, 42; funds transport, 156; geographical expansions, 41; Imperial Spain, 58-59; trade in, 175f; trajectory of, 348; VOC and, 156; war-making techniques in, 41; wars fought by, 174; weakening of, 135 spices, 158-59, 206 Spruyt, Hendrik, 78 Stallings, B., 363 state monopoly capitalism, 153-54, 159-60, 166-67 state-making: early modern patterns of, 80; Europe and, 78; France and, 51, 78-79; Genoa and, 149-50, 152, 153-54; process of, 35; production and, 185; United Kingdom and, 51; Venice and, 149-50 Statute ofArtificiers (1563), 199 Steensgaard, Niels, 148, 149 stock markets, 142 Strange, Susan, 321 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), 327 subcontracting systems, 355-58 substitution, principle of, 260, 261 Supple, Barry, 201 surplus capital: in Britain, 266; conversion to commodities, 307; described, 167; Dutch, 138-39, 162, 163, 211-12; in East Asia, 368, 381; in Florence, 113; in Genoa, 1 13; interstate competition and, 177; in Japan, 368, 381; Marx on, 373; oil and, 321-22; profits and, 232-33; in Venice, 110-11, 113, 139-40; world surplus, 368 Sylos-Labini, Paolo, 22, 228 systemic chaos, 31, 45, 52, 64, 80, 285, 342, 368 systemic cycles of accumulation: Braudel’s notion of capitalism and, 8; British cycle, 6-7, 163-79; as capitalist phenomena, 9; concept of, 10; corporative comparison and, 24; description, 6, 89; development, 224; Dutch cycle, 6-7, 130-48, 156, 178; emergence, 374; financial expansions and, 129, 178; Genoese cycle, 6-7, 111-29, 148, 153, 175-76; life-cycles, 377; long centuries and, 220f; material expansion and, 231-32; metamorphosis model of, 242f; phases, 87, 96, 164, 177, 178; recurrence of, 242; secular cycles and, 7; sequence of, 88; signal crises of, 323-24; successive, 375, 380; territorialist-capitalist blocs and, 368; transitions, 350; US cycle, 7, 219, 247-48, 277-308 Taiwan: capitalism in, 23; economy of, 345, 348; foreign cash reserves and, 349; per capita GNP, 344, 346; US and, 79, 352, 353 Takeuchi, Hiroshi, 16, 17 tax revenues, 51 Temperley, H.

…

., 363 state monopoly capitalism, 153-54, 159-60, 166-67 state-making: early modern patterns of, 80; Europe and, 78; France and, 51, 78-79; Genoa and, 149-50, 152, 153-54; process of, 35; production and, 185; United Kingdom and, 51; Venice and, 149-50 Statute ofArtificiers (1563), 199 Steensgaard, Niels, 148, 149 stock markets, 142 Strange, Susan, 321 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), 327 subcontracting systems, 355-58 substitution, principle of, 260, 261 Supple, Barry, 201 surplus capital: in Britain, 266; conversion to commodities, 307; described, 167; Dutch, 138-39, 162, 163, 211-12; in East Asia, 368, 381; in Florence, 113; in Genoa, 1 13; interstate competition and, 177; in Japan, 368, 381; Marx on, 373; oil and, 321-22; profits and, 232-33; in Venice, 110-11, 113, 139-40; world surplus, 368 Sylos-Labini, Paolo, 22, 228 systemic chaos, 31, 45, 52, 64, 80, 285, 342, 368 systemic cycles of accumulation: Braudel’s notion of capitalism and, 8; British cycle, 6-7, 163-79; as capitalist phenomena, 9; concept of, 10; corporative comparison and, 24; description, 6, 89; development, 224; Dutch cycle, 6-7, 130-48, 156, 178; emergence, 374; financial expansions and, 129, 178; Genoese cycle, 6-7, 111-29, 148, 153, 175-76; life-cycles, 377; long centuries and, 220f; material expansion and, 231-32; metamorphosis model of, 242f; phases, 87, 96, 164, 177, 178; recurrence of, 242; secular cycles and, 7; sequence of, 88; signal crises of, 323-24; successive, 375, 380; territorialist-capitalist blocs and, 368; transitions, 350; US cycle, 7, 219, 247-48, 277-308 Taiwan: capitalism in, 23; economy of, 345, 348; foreign cash reserves and, 349; per capita GNP, 344, 346; US and, 79, 352, 353 Takeuchi, Hiroshi, 16, 17 tax revenues, 51 Temperley, H.

Atrocity Archives by Stross, Charles

airport security, anthropic principle, Berlin Wall, Bletchley Park, brain emulation, British Empire, Buckminster Fuller, defense in depth, disinformation, disintermediation, experimental subject, glass ceiling, haute cuisine, hypertext link, Khyber Pass, luminiferous ether, mandelbrot fractal, Menlo Park, MITM: man-in-the-middle, Neal Stephenson, NP-complete, PalmPilot, pneumatic tube, Snow Crash, Strategic Defense Initiative, the medium is the message, Y2K, yield curve

To prevent accidental premature deployment or deliberate exploitation, the SCORPION STARE software is not actually loaded into the camera firmware. Instead, reprogrammable FPGA chips are integrated into all cameras and can be loaded with SCORPION STARE by authorised MAGINOT BLUE STARS users whenever necessary. . . . Preamble: It has been said that the US Strategic Defense Initiative Organisation's proposed active ABM defense network will require the most complex software ever developed, characterised by a complexity metric of > 100 MLOC and heavily criticized by various organisations (see footnotes [1][2][4]) as unworkable and likely to contain in excess of a thousand severity-1 bugs at initial deployment.

…

If we pursue this plan, by late 2006 any two adjacent public CCTV terminals--or private camcorders equipped with a digital video link--will be reprogrammable by any authenticated MAGINOT BLUE STARS superuser to permit the operator to turn them into a SCORPION STARE basilisk weapon. We remain convinced that this is the best defensive posture to adopt in order to minimize casualties when the Great Old Ones return from beyond the stars to eat our brains. "So, what this boils down to is a Strategic Defense Initiative against an invasion by alien mind-suckers from beyond spacetime, who are expected to arrive in bulk at a set date. Am I on message so far?" I asked. "Very approximately, yes," said Andy. "Okay. To deal with the perceived alien mind-sucker threat, some nameless genius has worked out that the CCTV cameras dotting our green and pleasant land can be networked together, their inputs fed into a software emulation of a basilisk's brain, and turned into some kind of omnipresent look-to-kill death net.

The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America by Margaret O'Mara

A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, accounting loophole / creative accounting, affirmative action, Airbnb, Alan Greenspan, AltaVista, Alvin Toffler, Amazon Web Services, An Inconvenient Truth, AOL-Time Warner, Apple II, Apple's 1984 Super Bowl advert, autonomous vehicles, back-to-the-land, barriers to entry, Ben Horowitz, Berlin Wall, Big Tech, Black Lives Matter, Bob Noyce, Buckminster Fuller, Burning Man, business climate, Byte Shop, California gold rush, Californian Ideology, carried interest, clean tech, clean water, cloud computing, cognitive dissonance, commoditize, company town, Compatible Time-Sharing System, computer age, Computer Lib, continuous integration, cuban missile crisis, Danny Hillis, DARPA: Urban Challenge, deindustrialization, different worldview, digital divide, Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life?, don't be evil, Donald Trump, Doomsday Clock, Douglas Engelbart, driverless car, Dynabook, Edward Snowden, El Camino Real, Elon Musk, en.wikipedia.org, Erik Brynjolfsson, Fairchild Semiconductor, Frank Gehry, Future Shock, Gary Kildall, General Magic , George Gilder, gig economy, Googley, Hacker Ethic, Hacker News, high net worth, hockey-stick growth, Hush-A-Phone, immigration reform, income inequality, industrial research laboratory, informal economy, information retrieval, invention of movable type, invisible hand, Isaac Newton, It's morning again in America, Jeff Bezos, Joan Didion, job automation, job-hopping, John Gilmore, John Markoff, John Perry Barlow, Julian Assange, Kitchen Debate, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, Larry Ellison, Laura Poitras, Lyft, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, market bubble, Mary Meeker, mass immigration, means of production, mega-rich, Menlo Park, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, millennium bug, Mitch Kapor, Mother of all demos, move fast and break things, mutually assured destruction, Neil Armstrong, new economy, Norbert Wiener, old-boy network, Palm Treo, pattern recognition, Paul Graham, Paul Terrell, paypal mafia, Peter Thiel, pets.com, pirate software, popular electronics, pre–internet, prudent man rule, Ralph Nader, RAND corporation, Richard Florida, ride hailing / ride sharing, risk tolerance, Robert Metcalfe, ROLM, Ronald Reagan, Salesforce, Sand Hill Road, Second Machine Age, self-driving car, shareholder value, Sheryl Sandberg, side hustle, side project, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley ideology, Silicon Valley startup, skunkworks, Snapchat, social graph, software is eating the world, Solyndra, speech recognition, Steve Ballmer, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Steven Levy, Stewart Brand, Strategic Defense Initiative, supercomputer in your pocket, Susan Wojcicki, tacit knowledge, tech billionaire, tech worker, technoutopianism, Ted Nelson, TED Talk, the Cathedral and the Bazaar, the market place, the new new thing, The Soul of a New Machine, There's no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home - Ken Olsen, Thomas L Friedman, Tim Cook: Apple, Timothy McVeigh, transcontinental railway, Twitter Arab Spring, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, Unsafe at Any Speed, upwardly mobile, Vannevar Bush, War on Poverty, Wargames Reagan, WarGames: Global Thermonuclear War, We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters, Whole Earth Catalog, WikiLeaks, William Shockley: the traitorous eight, work culture , Y Combinator, Y2K

Office of Scientific Research and Development PARC: Palo Alto Research Center, Xerox Corporation PCC: People’s Computer Company PDP: Programmed Data Processor, a minicomputer family produced by Digital PET: Personal Electronic Transactor, a microcomputer produced by Commodore PFF: Progress and Freedom Foundation R&D: Research and development RAM: Random access memory RMI: Regis McKenna, Inc. ROM: Read-only memory SAGE: Semi-Automatic Ground Environment SBIC: Small Business Investment Company SCI: Strategic Computing Initiative SDI: Strategic Defense Initiative SEC: Securities and Exchange Commission SIA: Semiconductor Industry Association SLAC: Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, later SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory SRI: Stanford Research Institute, later SRI International TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol TVI: Technology Venture Investors VC: Venture capital investor VLSI: Very large-scale integration WELL: Whole Earth ’Lectronic Link WEMA: Western Electronics Manufacturers Association, later AEA INTRODUCTION The American Revolution Three billion smartphones.

…

Just as it had in the early days of the Eisenhower Administration, the defense agenda once again took a high-tech turn.1 Just three months before WarGames’ release, Ronald Reagan had announced an audacious new program to create a sophisticated missile shield in space using satellites, lasers, and all kinds of computer-controlled technology. Northern Californian fingerprints were all over the proposal: the laser-based system had been championed loudly and early by Berkeley’s Edward Teller, father of the H-bomb and director of the Lawrence Livermore Laboratories. David Packard endorsed the idea as well. Called the Strategic Defense Initiative, or SDI, the program pushed the outer edge of the technologically possible. And although the press reports included illustrations of lasers and satellites and pow-pow action in the upper atmosphere, SDI was really all about computers. Thus the arrival of SDI, and its accompanying political controversies, became inextricably intertwined with the other major DARPA initiative announced in the summer of 1983: Strategic Computing.2 Reagan already was battling a reputation of being a warmonger—he famously proclaimed the USSR an “evil empire” mere weeks before the SDI announcement—and despite presidential assurances that the new program was about nuclear deterrence, many of the nation’s most prominent scientific names lined up to decry the program as a dangerous boondoggle.

…

., 311, 313, 386 Shepard, Alan, 153 Shockley, William, 39–40, 102, 104 Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, 39–41, 278, 351, 372 Shriram, Ram, 354, 399 Shultz, George, 245, 251, 259 Shustek, Len, 138 Silicon Graphics, 277, 295, 297–98, 305, 308, 317, 362 Simonyi, Charles, 230–32, 273, 283 Singapore, 89, 158, 216, 264 Slate, 345 Small Business Investment Company (SBIC), 73–74, 76, 88 Small Is Beautiful (Schumacher), 125 Smalltalk, 130 Smith, Craig, 293 Smith, Roger, 268, 269 Smith, Tommie, 85, 91 Sobrato, Ann and John, 80 Social Capital, 394–95, 400–401 Sol, 145, 148 Solomon, Les, 145 Solyndra, 397 Sonoma County Computer Club, 134 Sonsini, Larry, 79 Sony Walkman, 206–7, 216, 224 Source, The, 63, 257, 306 Southern California Computer Society, 134 Soviet Union, 4, 23, 29, 37, 42, 43–46, 48, 65, 245, 246, 260, 324 Space Day, 143, 156 “Spacewar” (Brand), 130 SpaceX, 402 Sporck, Charlie, 97, 101, 164, 212, 213 Sputnik, 42, 43–45, 47, 57–58, 87, 95, 113, 118, 219, 225 SRI International (Stanford Research Institute), 91, 127–29, 143, 211, 242, 247 Stanford, Jane, 17, 18, 29, 30, 127 Stanford, Leland, 17, 29, 30, 127 Stanford Daily, 366 Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), 48, 78, 138, 317 Stanford Review, 252–54 Stanford University, 12, 14, 15, 17–19, 21, 27–29, 30–37, 39, 40, 47–49, 57, 58, 68, 74, 75, 77, 80, 82, 90–92, 95, 109, 114, 127–29, 133, 136, 141, 175, 176, 184, 201, 202, 211, 223, 225, 247, 251–55, 259, 260, 262, 263, 276, 277, 280, 284, 307–9, 351–55, 363, 367, 370, 374, 388, 406 Stans, Maurice, 89 Stark, Pete, 216–18 Star Wars, 143, 145, 156 Steiger, Bill, 168–72 Steiger, Janet, 172 Steiger Amendment, 169–71, 221–23 Steinem, Gloria, 251–52 Sterling, J. E. Wallace, 30, 31, 35 Stewart, Milton, 219 Stone, Larry, 210, 261, 293, 335 Strategic Air Command, 45, 48 Strategic Computing Initiative (SCI), 225, 246, 260 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI; Star Wars), 246–50, 259, 260, 300 Sundstrom, Bob, 322 Sun Microsystems, 223, 267, 275–78, 291, 305–7, 321, 332, 340, 341, 346, 354, 356, 364, 370, 392 Super Bowl, 243, 247, 265 Supersonic Transport (SST), 89–90 Supreme Court, U.S., 180, 330, 360 Swaine, Michael, 265–66 Swanson, Bob, 180 Swisher, Kara, 400 Sylvania, 15, 31, 43, 77, 110 Symbionese Liberation Army, 133 System Industries, 96, 166, 261–62 Tandem Computers, 3, 201–4, 363 Tandy, 182, 187–88 Tauzin, Billy, 347 Taylor, Bob, 64–65, 130 TechNet, 337–38, 339, 344, 347, 350 Technological Society, The (Ellul), 121 Technology Access Foundation, 322 Technology Education Act, 218–19, 224 Technology Opportunities Program, 125 Technology Reinvestment Program (TRP), 310, 311 Technology Venture Investors (TVI), 230 Telecommunications Act, 330 Teller, Edward, 114, 246, 259, 402 Tenenbaum, Marty, 68, 288, 290–91, 305, 310, 311 Tenet, George, 386 Terman, Fred, 9, 21–22, 24, 27–29, 30–32, 34, 35, 37, 40, 48, 49, 58, 67, 81, 90, 109, 127, 129, 204, 254, 263, 280, 307, 363, 404 Terman, Lewis, 21 Terman, Sybil, 22 Terrell, Paul, 140–41, 148 Tesla, 402, 405 Texas Instruments (TI), 99, 181, 187, 202, 211, 237 Thiel, Peter, 252–54, 355, 370, 380, 384–87, 395, 399, 403 Third Wave, The (Toffler), 187 Time, 20, 22, 188, 189, 190, 204, 205, 236, 274, 278, 303, 343, 369, 372 Time Warner, 149, 358 Toffler, Alvin, 121–22, 186, 187, 193, 323–25, 369 Toffler, Heidi, 121, 325 Tom Swift Terminal, 131–32, 145 Tools for Conviviality (Illich), 132 Traf-O-Data, 154 Trenton Computer Festival, 140 Treybig, James “Jimmy T,” 3, 202–4, 264 TRS-80, 157, 182, 183, 187–88, 257 Truman, Harry, 23, 25, 71, 125–26 Trump, Donald, 403 Tschirgi, Robert, 116 Tsongas, Paul, 192, 196, 215, 218, 222, 246, 292 Twitter, 372–74, 388–89, 398–99, 403, 410 2001: A Space Odyssey, 85, 236, 377 Tymes, LaRoy, 60–61, 63–64, 312 Tymnet, 60–61, 63–64, 255 Tymshare, 59–61, 105, 255–56, 382 Ullman, Ellen, 352 UNIVAC, 28, 113–14, 123–24, 153, 237, 382 University Computing Company, 58 University of California, Berkeley, 22, 27, 68, 90, 92, 113–15, 127, 129, 133, 137, 213 Upside, 286 USA Today, 377 Usenet, 257–59, 287, 310, 328 U.S.

Maths on the Back of an Envelope: Clever Ways to (Roughly) Calculate Anything by Rob Eastaway

butterfly effect, Donald Trump, Mahatma Gandhi, Ronald Reagan, seminal paper, Strategic Defense Initiative, the rule of 72

and 700,000 ÷ 200 = 7 × 105 ÷ 2 × 102 = 3.5 × 103 TEST YOURSELF (a) What is 4 × 107 when written out in full? (b) What is 1,270 written in standard form? (c) What is 6 billion written in standard form? (d) (2 × 108) × (1.2 × 103) (e) (4 × 107) ÷ (8 × 102) (f) (7 × 104) ÷ (2 × 10−3) Solutions STAR WARS POWER There’s a ‘standard form’ joke that is told about Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) of the mid-1980s. I’d love to believe that it really happened. The idea of the SDI, which was given the nickname ‘Star Wars’, was to develop laser weapons that would be capable of destroying enemy nuclear missiles at long range. The laser weapons would need a huge amount of energy, and millions of dollars were allocated towards researching the feasibility.

The Man From the Future: The Visionary Life of John Von Neumann by Ananyo Bhattacharya

Ada Lovelace, AI winter, Alan Turing: On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem, Albert Einstein, Alvin Roth, Andrew Wiles, Benoit Mandelbrot, business cycle, cellular automata, Charles Babbage, Claude Shannon: information theory, clockwork universe, cloud computing, Conway's Game of Life, cuban missile crisis, Daniel Kahneman / Amos Tversky, DeepMind, deferred acceptance, double helix, Douglas Hofstadter, Dr. Strangelove, From Mathematics to the Technologies of Life and Death, Georg Cantor, Greta Thunberg, Gödel, Escher, Bach, haute cuisine, Herman Kahn, indoor plumbing, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Isaac Newton, Jacquard loom, Jean Tirole, John Conway, John Nash: game theory, John von Neumann, Kenneth Arrow, Kickstarter, linear programming, mandelbrot fractal, meta-analysis, mutually assured destruction, Nash equilibrium, Norbert Wiener, Norman Macrae, P = NP, Paul Samuelson, quantum entanglement, RAND corporation, Ray Kurzweil, Richard Feynman, Ronald Reagan, Schrödinger's Cat, second-price auction, side project, Silicon Valley, spectrum auction, Steven Levy, Strategic Defense Initiative, technological singularity, Turing machine, Von Neumann architecture, zero-sum game

New rules, the rules of life, would spread far and wide. It was not to be. When, in 1983, Laing heard rumours that President Ronald Reagan was about to launch a massive new space initiative, he looked forward to the speech with great anticipation. What the president announced instead was the Strategic Defense Initiative – ‘Star Wars’. The dream has not been forgotten. In 2021, the Initiative for Interstellar Studies, a charity based in London, unveiled an updated design of a von Neumann probe that they say could be built within a decade.78 Ellery’s group is whittling away at the last few percentage points that will get them to 100 per cent closure.

…

230, 231 Schrödinger’s cat 47–8, 58, 121 Schwarzschild, Martin 104 Scientific American (journal) 220, 231, 232, 240–1 Seaborg, Glenn 81 Second World War bombing of Hiroshima 94–5, 96 bombing of Nagasaki 95–6 bombing raids on Japan 185–6 decision to use bomb 93 firebombing of Dresden 96 Japan surrenders 96 Klára’s return to Hungary 76–7 Nazi invasion of Poland 77, 80 Potsdam conference 89–90, 92 Target Committee 94 VN applies for commission 73–4 VNs work 77, 78–80, 83 see also Manhattan Project: Seeger, Pete 183 Segrè, Emilio 865 segregation 270, 271, 272 Selection and Use of Strategic Bases (RAND Corporation) 214–15 self-copying 3D printer 225–6 self-replicating machines xiii, 261–9, 272–3 Artificial Living Plants 263 clanking replicators 261–3, 262 closure 266, 268 earliest efforts 261–2 economic value 263 evolution xiii, 229–30, 267 Growing Lunar Manufacturing Facility 266–7, 268 most fecund 272–3 RepRap 225–6, 235 risk 263, 269 space-based 263–8, 268 unpluggability problem 267 von Neumann probes 263–8 Self-Replicating Systems (SRS) group 264–7 self-reproducing automata 229, 232–7, 233, 236 agent-based models 270 Barricelli’s numerical organisms 254–5, 256, 257 cellular model 234–6, 236, 243–4 components 232–3 Conway’s achievements 237–41, 238, 239, 240, 243 evolution xiii, 229–30, 236–7, 255 first simulation 236 instructions 229–30, 233, 233 kinematic model 232–4, 233 Langton’s experiments 257–8, 258, 259–61 mutation 233, 233–4 255 organs 232–3 and quantum mechanics 243–4 reversible 244 rules 239, 243, 245–6, 247, 247–50, 249, 250, 251, 255 symbiogenesis 254–5, 256, 257 Toffoli’s contributions 243–4 Wolfram’s investigations 245–53, 247, 249, 250, 251 see also self-replicating machines Selten, Reinhard 177–8 set theory 20–5, 26–8, 157 Shannon, Claude 163 Shapley, Lloyd 177, 178, 179, 195–8, 196, 199 duels studies 195–7 game theory research 196–7 and Nash 197–9 Shapley values 196–7, 318n30 Shubik, Martin 175, 198–9 Simon, Leslie 79 singularity, the 276, 282 Sino-Soviet Treaty, 1950 209 Smalley, Richard 269 Small-Scale Experimental Machine (SSEM) 138 smart phones 121, 123, 273 solitaire 133–4 Soviet Union aggression 222 hydrogen bomb test 216–17 nuclear arsenal 210 preventive war threat 208–10 Sputnik 187, 218 thermonuclear weapons programme 100–1 space race 187, 218 space-based self-replicating machines 263–8, 268 Spann, Othmar 152 Speer, Albert 96–7 Speier, Hans 195–6 Spiegelman, Sol 226 Sputnik 187, 218 Stalin, Joseph 90, 92, 93, 96, 101 Standard Oil 173 Stanford Linear Accelerator Center 53–4 Stanford University 11 Stimson, Henry 93–4, 184, 209 stored-program computers 120, 121, 122 see also First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC Strassmann, Fritz 77–8 Strategic Air Command 213–5, 222 systems analysis 213–16 Strategic Defense Initiative 267 Strauss, Lewis 211, 275, 276–7, 279 Super, the see hydrogen bomb supernovae 99, 281–2 Swiss Federal Institute of Technology 25–6, 26, 28 syllogisms 112, 114, 304n19 Sylvester, James 32 symbiogenesis 254–5, 256, 257 Synthia 261 systems analysis 214 Szegö Gábor 11–12 Szilard, Leo 8, 8–9, 40, 93, 294n13 Tao, Terence 300n4 Teapot Committee, the 217–18 Teleological Society 227 Teller, Edward xi, 9, 40, 66, 109, 140, 216, 279–80 AEC hearing evidence 211 Manhattan Project work 84 Super bomb design 99–101, 132–3, 137 Trinity test 91 terraforming 264 Thatcher, Margret 152 Theory of Games and Economic Behavior (von Neumam and Morgenstern) 57, 151–2, 157–77, 188 accomplishment 162 analysis of multi-player (n-person) games 169–75, 176 analysis of non-zero-sum games 172, 176–7 analysis of poker 148, 164–8, 168166–8, 168 analysis of two-player games 145–8, 162–9, 163, 164, 165, 168 biological applications 179–81 economic analysis 172–5 economic applications 172–5, 175–9 elephant 158, 158 goal 159 impact 175–82 introduction 158–9 loose ends 176 publication 175 Robinson Crusoe economy 159–60, 173 third edition 202–3 Theory of Self-reproducing Automata (von Neumann) 226, 231, 236, 237 thermonuclear weapons 99–101 see also hydrogen bomb Thin Man 82, 865 Thomas, Dorothy 156 Thompson, Gerald 176 Tiesenhausen, Georg von 265 Time (magazine) 241 Tinian 92, 94 Tipler, Frank 281 Tirole, Jean 178–9 Toffoli, Tommaso 243–5 Total Recall (film) 231 Toward New Horizons (Kármán) 185 trajectory calculations 72–3 transfinite numbers 20–, 22 Trinity test 92, 209 countdown 90–1 crater 92 detonation 91 expected explosive yield 91 explosive yield 91–2 fireball 91 the flash 91 observation point 91 shock wave 91 site 90 weather 90–1 Truman, Harry S. 83, 89–90, 92, 93, 209 Tucker, Albert 199, 204, 318n38 Turing, Alan 46 acquaintance with VN 70, 103 Automatic Computing Engine (ACE) 121, 125 first paper 70 influence on VN 121, 301n22 myth 121 ‘On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem’ 70, 121 PhD 118 at Princeton 70 solution to Hilbert’s Entscheidungsproblem 118–21 universal computing machine 79–80, 306–7n35, 307n37 universal machine 118–21 Tversky, Amos 178 type theory 26–7 UCLA 277–8 Ulam, Françoise 98 Ulam, Stanisław 27, 70, 71–2, 77, 85, 85, 98, 100, 104, 132, 133–4, 136, 234, 241, 272, 279, 282 uncertainty principle 33, 69, 294n11 Universal Turing machine 119–20, 121, 229–30, 235, 241, 243, 306–7n35, 307n37 universal wave function, the 58 University of California in Berkeley 78 uranium, instability 77–8 US Air Force 94, 183–6, 191, 223, 277 US Army 84, 103, 105, 181, 223, 277 US Food and Drug Administration 268 US Navy 79, 83, 84, 184, 223, 277 utility theory 160–2, 178 Veblen, Oswald 49–50, 63, 67–8, 80, 105, 210, 212 appoints VN to BRL’s scientific advisory board 77 First World War service 72–3 invites VN to Princeton 50 sets up IAS 68 Venter, Craig 261 Vienna 2, 3, 14, 78, 118, 148, 152 Vietnam War 222 von Neumann probes 263–8, 281 Vonnegut, Kurt xiv Vonneumann, Nicholas 4–5, 13, 14, 279, 290n13 Waldinger, Fabian 63 Wall Street crash, 1929 153 Walras, Léon 172–3 Walzl, Mary Augusta 108 War Preparedness Committee 77 war strategy, VNs fascination with 191–2 Ware, Willis 193 Wataghin, Gleb 129 Watson, James 230 Weaver, Warren 103–4, 105, 187–9, 194 Weber, Tullio 59 Weinberg, Steven 42 Weintraub, Roy 151 Weyl, Hermann 26, 33–4, 68 Wheeler, David 138 Wheeler, John 58 White, General Thomas 215 Whitehead, Alfred North 26 Whitman, Bob 278–9 Whitman, Marina von Neumann birth 71 custody arrangements 141–2 on home life 72 marriage 278–9 road trip with VN 97–8, 98 on VNs marriage to Klára 76 and VNs return to Catholicism 279 Wiener, Norbert 122, 128, 129, 130, 226–7, 227, 228 Wigner, Amelia Frank 66 Wigner, Eugene (Jenö) 154, 40–1, 46, 57, 63, 66, 93, 289n6, 292n22 arrival in New York 50 driving skill, lack of 676 invited to Princeton 49–50 Nobel Prize 60, 61 on the Hungarian phenomenon 1 Princeton contract extended 63 and VNs view of the Cold War 209 Wiles, Andrew 305n22 Williams, John 187, 187–8, 189–91, 192, 206–7 Wilson, E.

Gorbachev by William Taubman

"World Economic Forum" Davos, Able Archer 83, active measures, affirmative action, Albert Einstein, anti-communist, Berlin Wall, British Empire, card file, conceptual framework, Deng Xiaoping, disinformation, Donald Trump, Fall of the Berlin Wall, fear of failure, haute couture, indoor plumbing, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, means of production, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, Neil Kinnock, Potemkin village, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan: Tear down this wall, Saturday Night Live, Stanislav Petrov, Strategic Defense Initiative, trade liberalization, young professional

Even before March 1985, Gorbachev arrived at two new postulates, which Grachev formulates as follows—that the Soviet Union was “clearly losing the competition with its historic capitalist rivals,” economically, technologically, and in living standards, and that, contrary to Soviet propaganda’s image of a monolithic, aggressive West, “the so-called ‘imperialist world’ represented a complex reality of different states and societies” and “apparently was in no way preparing to attack or invade the Soviet Union.”47 Chernyaev identifies a “moral foundation,” also in place by 1985, that underlay Gorbachev’s future policies—“the conviction that it was possible to unite politics with morality,” plus Gorbachev’s “aversion to violence.”48 What followed from this, Gorbachev believed, was the need for a sharp improvement of relations with the United States. If the arms race continued, especially if Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, known as Star Wars, extended it into space, Gorbachev feared, the USSR would lose the battle, along with any chance to mobilize resources for a domestic renaissance. Not to mention the rising risk of a war that could destroy civilization. In addition to all its other lessons, Chernobyl showed him how devastating a nuclear strike would be.

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From his vantage point in Washington, Dobrynin compiled a long list of Reagan’s sins: détente scrapped, arms control abandoned, rapid military buildup, attempts to separate Eastern Europe from Moscow, military cooperation with China, resistance to Soviet influence in the Middle East, intimidation of Cuba, no interest in an Afghan settlement. Not to mention blasting the USSR as an “evil empire” whose leaders “reserve unto themselves the right to commit any crime, to lie, to cheat to promote world revolution.” Or the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), which Moscow thought was designed to deprive the Soviet Union of a chance to retaliate in case of nuclear war. Never before during Dobrynin’s long career as ambassador had he seen the Soviet leadership “so deeply set against an American president. It was a catastrophe in personal relations at the highest level.”104 But there was another side to Reagan: personal, almost mawkish, handwritten letters to Brezhnev proclaiming peaceful intentions; a visit to the Soviet embassy in Washington offering condolences after Brezhnev’s death; a prediction to Dobrynin by a close colleague of Reagan’s, Nevada Senator Paul Laxalt, that Reagan would eventually prove to be “a partner ready for agreement.”

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opis (inventory) PREM Prime Minister’s Office Files (UK) PRO Public Record Office (UK) NSA National Security Archive RCP Russian Communist Party READD-RADD Russian and East European Archival Documents Database RSFSR Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic SCUD Soviet tactical ballistic missiles SDI Strategic Defense Initiative TSAOPIM Tsentral’nyi arkhiv obshchestvenno-politicheskoui istorii Moskvy TSRRT “The Second Russian Revolution” transcript NOTES AUTHOR’S NOTE 1 See Archie Brown, Seven Years That Changed the World: Perestroika in Perspective (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), x–xiv.

Future War: Preparing for the New Global Battlefield by Robert H. Latiff

Asilomar, Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA, autonomous vehicles, Berlin Wall, Boeing 747, CRISPR, cyber-physical system, Danny Hillis, defense in depth, drone strike, dual-use technology, Elon Musk, failed state, friendly fire, Howard Zinn, Internet of things, low earth orbit, military-industrial complex, Nicholas Carr, orbital mechanics / astrodynamics, post-truth, precautionary principle, Recombinant DNA, self-driving car, Seymour Hersh, South China Sea, Stephen Hawking, Stewart Brand, Strategic Defense Initiative, Stuxnet, synthetic biology, VTOL, Wall-E

After a transfer to the U.S. Air Force, where I could use my relatively new doctorate, I quickly became enmeshed in research on unusual new materials that I would later learn were intended for a new generation of stealthy aircraft. I ultimately ended up working at the Pentagon on President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (“Star Wars”) program. With more money than we knew what to do with, we started all sorts of interesting and scary programs, such as nuclear-pumped space-based lasers. In theory, a nuclear weapon detonated in space would energize multiple lasers to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles. It was all exciting and career-enhancing, though it didn’t take much to realize that it wasn’t really going to work.

Because We Say So by Noam Chomsky

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, American Legislative Exchange Council, Anthropocene, Chelsea Manning, cuban missile crisis, David Brooks, drone strike, Edward Snowden, Garrett Hardin, gentrification, high-speed rail, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Julian Assange, Malacca Straits, Martin Wolf, means of production, Monroe Doctrine, Nelson Mandela, no-fly zone, Occupy movement, oil shale / tar sands, Powell Memorandum, public intellectual, Ralph Waldo Emerson, RAND corporation, Slavoj Žižek, Stanislav Petrov, Strategic Defense Initiative, Thorstein Veblen, too big to fail, Tragedy of the Commons, uranium enrichment, WikiLeaks

-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) launched a military exercise designed to probe Russian air defenses, simulating air and naval attacks and even a nuclear alert. These actions were undertaken at a very tense moment. Pershing II strategic missiles were being deployed in Europe. President Reagan, fresh from the “Evil Empire” speech, had announced the Strategic Defense Initiative, dubbed “Star Wars,” which the Russians understood to be effectively a first-strike weapon—a standard interpretation of missile defense on all sides. Naturally these actions caused great alarm in Russia, which, unlike the United States, was quite vulnerable and had repeatedly been invaded.

Vertical: The City From Satellites to Bunkers by Stephen Graham

1960s counterculture, Anthropocene, Bandra-Worli Sea Link, Berlin Wall, Boris Johnson, Buckminster Fuller, Buy land – they’re not making it any more, Chelsea Manning, commodity super cycle, creative destruction, Crossrail, deindustrialization, digital capitalism, digital divide, digital map, Dr. Strangelove, drone strike, Edward Glaeser, Edward Snowden, Elisha Otis, energy security, Frank Gehry, gentrification, ghettoisation, Google Earth, Gunnar Myrdal, high net worth, housing crisis, Howard Zinn, illegal immigration, Indoor air pollution, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Jane Jacobs, late capitalism, Leo Hollis, Lewis Mumford, low earth orbit, mass immigration, means of production, megacity, megaproject, megastructure, military-industrial complex, moral panic, mutually assured destruction, new economy, New Urbanism, no-fly zone, nuclear winter, oil shale / tar sands, planetary scale, plutocrats, post-industrial society, Project Plowshare, rent control, Richard Florida, Right to Buy, Ronald Reagan, security theater, Skype, South China Sea, space junk, Strategic Defense Initiative, the built environment, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, trickle-down economics, urban decay, urban planning, urban renewal, urban sprawl, vertical integration, Virgin Galactic, white flight, WikiLeaks, William Langewiesche

Satellite researchers think that the highly secretive MiTex fleet of tiny 250 kg US experimental geostationary satellites are already capable of stealthily tracking, inspecting, intercepting and even knocking out or disrupting the geostationary craft of adversary nations. One such interception has already been observed by South African satellite observer Greg Roberts.40 These weapons, as far as publicly known, have yet to be deployed into space itself, although President Reagan’s ambitious ‘Star Wars’ Strategic Defense Initiative in the 1980s and 1990s involved wide-scale research and development of armed satellites as well as ground-based anti-missiles and anti-satellite systems. Indeed, the proliferation of ground-based anti-satellite weapons has rekindled the fear that weapons systems will soon be deployed into orbit around the earth.

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Dan, 224, 225n16 Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, 60–1 Smithsonian Institution, 59–60 Smudge Studio, 286–7 Solis, Julia, 364 Solman, Dario, 25 Somalia, 73 South Africa, 382, 384–6 South Bank, 203 South China Sea, 304 South Dakota, 344 Southwark, 203 Space Needle, 138 ‘Spaceship Earth’ (Fuller), 24 Spain, 140, 316 Spectacle Island, 288 Spoor, Richard, 386 Spratly Archipelago, 304 Squibb Building, 155 Sri Lanka, 46 Stahl, Roger, 47 Stallybrass, Peter, 325 ‘Star Wars’ Strategic Defense Initiative, 41 Staten Island, 310, 311 Steadman, Ian, 204 Stern, Robert, 196 Steyerl, Hito, 2n2, 10–2 St Louis, Missouri, 185 Strategic Data Services group, 355 Stroli, Dani, 87 Sudjic, Deyan, 160–1 Sugarloaf Mountain, 126 Sullivan, Louis, 154 Sunni, 46–7 Sweden, 287–8 Switzerland, 355, 358n56 Sydney, Australia, 177, 218 Syria, xiv, 46, 169 Taipei Financial Center, 141 Taiwan, 141 Taliban, 111, 172, 351 Tampines, 298 Tarhunah, 346 Tatton-Brown, William and Aileen, 222–4 ‘Taurus’, 36 TauTona, 382, 385 Taylor-Foster, James, 160 Techwood project, 185 Teich, Andy, 110 Tel Rumeida, 295–6 Tenochtitlan, 285 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, xiv Terranova, Charissa, 227 Teufelsberg, 281, 282, 283, 288 Thailand, 231, 257–8, 301 Thames, River, 97, 167, 288 Things to Come (film), 138 13th Arrondissement, 159–60 ThyssenKrupp AG, 131 Tijuana, 349 Titan II Missile, 358 Tokyo, 59, 94, 130, 140, 192, 221, 296–7 Tora Bora, 342 Toronto, Canada, 146, 175, 177–8, 191n39, 194n48, 318, 378–9 Torre David, 120–2, 127 Toshiba, 141 Toth, Jennifer, 352–3 Tower Hamlets, 212 Tower of Babel, 174–5 Transparent Earth, 344 Treichler, Michael, 21 Trellick Tower, 205 Trenchard, Hugh, 66, 66n40 Tripoli, 61 Turkey, 276, 316 Twin Towers, 310, 311 UE movement, 362n65 Uganda, 378 UK, 57, 225, 259, 272, 288, 314. see also specific locations Ulan Bator, 334 Um Lugar ao Sol (‘A Place in the Sun’) (documentary), 214 Underneath New York (Granick), 278 Under the Dome (film), 255 Underworld (DeLilllo), 356 UN Human Rights Council, 75n27 UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), 41 Union Carbide, 257 United Arab Emirates (UAE), xiii, 160, 164, 270–2, 374, 377, 380n43 United Nations, 346 United States, 34, 57, 66n40, 83, 143, 229–30, 258–9, 262–3, 274, 290. see also specific locations United States Space Command, 39 United Way, 146 ‘Universal Corrective Map of the World’ (McArthur), 20–1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Shadow UAV), 69 Up on the Roof (MacLean), 215 Urals, 343 Urban Theory Lab (Harvard University), 8 US Air Force, 56, 62–3, 69, 71, 341–2 US–Canada border, 349, 351 US Congress, 351 US Department of Defense, 342 US Department of Homeland Security, 84, 85, 87, 89, 363 US Department of Justice, 87, 90 US GeoEye-1, 31 US Geological Survey, 379 US–Mexico border, 84, 85, 351, 363 US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), 33 US National Security Agency, 281–2 US Navy, 343 US RAND, 31 Utopia in Trial (Coleman), 184 Vaal Reefs Mine, 384 Vale, 375 Valjean, Jean, 327–8 Van Alen, William, 155 Vancouver, 175, 177, 192–5, 201, 243, 318, 380 Vanity Fair, 177 van Vuuren, Detlef, 262 Varnelis, Kazys, 158 Veltmeyer, Henry, 367 Vendrame, Giuditta, 257, 269 Venezuela, 119–22 Venice, 370 Viet Cong, 274, 351 Vietnam, 61, 274, 298 Vietnam War, 114 Ville Contemporaine, 181 Ville Radieuse (‘Radiant City’), 64 Virgil, 19 Virgin Galactic, 218 Virginia, 289 Virilio, Paul, 3n4, 30–1, 156, 341 Volic, Ademir, 314 Wahabist ideology, 172 Waldorf Astoria, 143, 155 Walker, A.

Near and Distant Neighbors: A New History of Soviet Intelligence by Jonathan Haslam

active measures, Albert Einstein, Benoit Mandelbrot, Berlin Wall, Bletchley Park, Bolshevik threat, Bretton Woods, British Empire, cuban missile crisis, disinformation, falling living standards, false flag, John von Neumann, lateral thinking, military-industrial complex, Robert Hanssen: Double agent, Ronald Reagan, Strategic Defense Initiative, Valery Gerasimov, Vladimir Vetrov: Farewell Dossier, éminence grise

The Strange Case of Vetrov A key failure, the betrayal of the KGB’s entire military-industrial intelligence network by Vladimir Vetrov (agent “Farewell”) to the French in 1981–1982, seriously undermined a branch of the service critical to meeting the American challenge presented by the Strategic Defense Initiative, the American project for space-based defence with the potential for a preemptive first strike against missiles in their launch phase. Born in 1932 to Muscovite industrial workers, Vladimir Vetrov came to the attention of the KGB in 1959 while working as an engineer at a computer factory.

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State Defence Committee, Soviet State Department, U.S. State Prize statistics Stauffenberg, Claus von StB “Steklyashka” (Glass House) “Stepan” (rezident) Stepanov, Vadim Stewart, Bob stock market crash (1929) Straight, Michael Straits Times Strategic Air Command, U.S. Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI; “Star Wars” program) Strela computer Stroev, Nikolai Stroilov, Georgii Styrne, Vladimir Subdirectorate S, KGB Sudakov, Pavel Sudoplatov, Pavel Sullivan, William Supreme Royal Council (VMS) Suslov, Mikhail Sveaborg naval uprising (1906) Sverdlov, Yakov Sviridov, Vladimir SVR Sweden SY designation Syria Syrtsov-Lominadze Affair Tairov, Ruben Tan machine Taraki, Nur Mohammad Tardieu, André “Tasks for Programming the External Ballistics of Long-Distance Missiles, The” (Kitov) TASS T Directorate, KGB teleprinter teletype Tenth Directorate, GRU “Termit P” “Termit S” Third Department, Fourth Directorate (Razvedupr) Third Main Directorate, KGB Third World Thomson, George Thomson-CSF Thornton, Leslie “3549S” code designation Tiger tanks Tiltman, John Times (London) Timokhin, Anatoly Timoshenko, Semyon Tito (Josip Broz) Tokhchianov (department head) Tolstoi, Sergei Totrov, Yuri Transient Electromagnetic Pulse Emanation Standard (TEMPEST) transposition systems Treasury, British Tremmel’, Valerii Tretyakov, Sergei Trilisser, Meer Trinity College, Cambridge Trossin, Julius Trotsky, Leon Trotskyists Troyanovsky, Oleg Truman, Harry S.

Predator: The Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution by Richard Whittle

Berlin Wall, Charles Lindbergh, cuban missile crisis, Dr. Strangelove, drone strike, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, gentleman farmer, Google Earth, indoor plumbing, Khyber Pass, Kickstarter, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, Neil Armstrong, no-fly zone, operational security, precision agriculture, Ronald Reagan, Seymour Hersh, Silicon Valley, Strategic Defense Initiative, Teledyne, Yom Kippur War

Renamed after it was acquired by Gulf, GA Technologies now had a staff of fifteen hundred—many of them scientists and engineers—and revenue of $170 million in fiscal year 1984. The company’s businesses included building nuclear research reactors, experimenting with nuclear fusion, and doing research under Pentagon contracts for President Reagan’s new Strategic Defense Initiative, the “Star Wars” program to create exotic ground- and space-based weapons able to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles. Neal had been interested in nuclear power since 1947, when experts first began saying that atomic energy would one day provide a clean form of power too cheap to measure, and GA Technologies was just the sort of high-tech enterprise he wanted to own.

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., “Snuffy” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Snitch (crew member) soft targets Somalia Somoza Debayle, Anastasio “Tachito” Somoza García, Anastasio “Tacho” Somoza García, Luis Southern Command (SOCOM) South Korean airliner Soviet Bloc Soviet Union Afghanistan war of 1980s collapse of INF Treaty and planes shot down by Yom Kippur War and Spear (pilot) Speed Light Spirit of St. Louis (plane) split operations remote SR-71 Blackbird spy plane State Department Status of Forces Agreement stealth fighters Stewart, Bill Stinger antiaircraft missiles Stratakes, Jay Strategic Air Command Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars) Strategic Plans and Policy Division “Strategy for Eliminating the Threat” (Clarke) Stufflebeem, John Sudan. See also African embassy terrorist bombings Sullivan, Kevin Sulzberger, Arthur Hays Summer Project (Afghan Eyes) bin Laden sighting and Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (Mons, Belgium) surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) Suter, Richard “Moody” Swanson, Scott Swenson, Don synthetic aperture radar Syria “Taco Bell” tests Tajikistan Takur Ghar peak Taliban Tanjug news agency Tanzania.

Lost Kingdom: The Quest for Empire and the Making of the Russian Nation by Serhii Plokhy

affirmative action, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, New Urbanism, public intellectual, Right to Buy, Ronald Reagan, Strategic Defense Initiative, trade route, Transnistria, union organizing, work culture , zero-sum game, éminence grise

Under Ronald Reagan, who moved into the White House in January 1981 and stayed in office for two terms, the United States challenged Soviet behavior not only in Afghanistan but also in Poland. Workers’ strikes in that country gave birth to the free trade union Solidarity, which contested Polish communist rule and Soviet political control. Reagan revived the arms race, threatening the Soviet Union with the Strategic Defense Initiative, a program that came to be known as Star Wars and proposed the weaponizing of outer space. The defensive antimissile system that was to be constructed under the Star Wars plan had the potential to change the world balance of power by making the Soviet missile threat to the United States largely obsolete.

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Sophia’s Cathedral (Kyiv), 5 Stalin, Joseph, 175, 214, 231–232, 242 on Belarus, 234–235 Bolshevik Party and, 193, 197 Engels and, 249–250 foreign policy and, 267 “Great Patriotic War of the Soviet People” and, 269–273 with history, revival of, 249 Hitler and, 260, 262–263, 268, 269, 272 indigenization campaign and, 229, 239 legacy, 277–279, 281, 284–286 Lenin and, 212–213, 219–225, 260 Molotov and, 278 in Pravda, 245–246, 265 Soviet Union and, 219–221 subversion and, 251–252 toast from, 275 on Ukraine, 248–249 Stalin Prize, 265, 273–274, 275 Starina i novizna (Antiquity and Novelty) (journal), 60 Stolypin, Petr, 171 Strategic Defense Initiative, 300–301 Strategy for Russia: Agenda for the President—2000 (Council for Foreign and Defense Policy), 321–322 Struve, Petr, 166–167, 171, 173, 182 with culture, 207, 340–341 influence of, 183 Stus, Vasyl, 293 subsidies, for media, 146–147 subversion, 251–252 suicide, 241, 242, 257, 293 Sumarokov, Aleksandr, 49, 50 Suvorov, Aleksandr, 63, 272 Sweden, 16, 17, 42–43, 47, 172, 254 Synopsis (Kyivan Cave Monastery), 40–41, 48 Tadzhikistan, 306 Tale of the Princes of Vladimir, 14 Tatars, 5–6, 8–9, 10–11, 17, 315 Teheran Conference, 273 Teplov, Grigorii, 47 Teutonic Knights, 16, 254 Theses on the Reunification of Ukraine and Russia, 293 Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648), 30, 34 The Three Capitals (Shulgin), 227–228 Tikhon (Archimandrite), vii–viii, 327 Time of Troubles, 27–30, 35, 75 Tishkov, Valerii, 313–314, 328–329 “To the Slanderers of Russia” (Pushkin), 79 Tolstoy, Aleksei, 254 Tolstoy, Leo, 328 treason, 96, 196, 249 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918), 204 Treaty of Rapallo (1922), 217–218 Treaty of Riga (1921), 234 Trediakovsky, Vasilii, 49, 50 Trenev, Konstantin, 253 Tretiakov Gallery, 254 Trotsky, Leon, 197, 214, 223, 229, 238 Truce of Andrusovo (1667), 39, 40, 124 Tumansky, Fedir, 60 Turkmenistan, 325 Tver, 7 Twelfth Party Congress, 223–224, 229, 230 “The Two Rus’ Nationalities” (Kostomarov), 128–129 Tychyna, Pavlo, 293 Tymoshenko, Yulia, 335 Ukraine, 6, 88, 105, 129, 133, 293, 348–349 annexation of, 263 attitudes toward, 66 Bolshevik Party and, 214–217 citizenship and, 201 Crimea and, 283, 284, 319 economy, 287, 323 Great Ukrainian Famine, 241–242 identity and, 350–351 indigenization campaign and, 241–243 literature, 108–111, 138–146, 280 nationhood and, 106–120, 127–128, 151–153, 194–199, 200–202, 207, 312 natural gas and, 325 Orthodox Church and, 330–331 population, 307 Putin and, 326–327, 331–332, 335–337, 345–346 Rada and, 194–197 Roman Catholic Church in, 330, 331 Russian Federation and, 319, 331–332, 341–345 Russian-language speakers in, 295–296 Soviet Union and, 218, 282–284 Stalin on, 248–249 Union for the Liberation of Ukraine, 241, 248 “Ukraine” (Kostomarov), 128 Ukrainian Helsinki Group, 304–306 Ukrainian Herald.

Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration by Buzz Aldrin, Leonard David

Apollo 11, Buckminster Fuller, Charles Lindbergh, Colonization of Mars, Elon Musk, gravity well, high net worth, Isaac Newton, Jeff Bezos, low earth orbit, Mars Rover, Mars Society, Neil Armstrong, orbital mechanics / astrodynamics, Peter H. Diamandis: Planetary Resources, private spaceflight, Ronald Reagan, Scaled Composites, Strategic Defense Initiative, systems thinking, telepresence, telerobotics, transcontinental railway, Tunguska event, Virgin Galactic, X Prize

He issued a policy statement to that effect in 1982. And two years later, his administration set up the Office of Commercial Space Transportation, which to this day regulates commercial launch and reentry operations. Reagan also believed strongly in ramping up the nation’s space-defense capabilities. In 1983 he proposed the ambitious Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), which would have used a network of missiles and lasers in space and on the ground to protect the United States against nuclear ballistic missile attacks. Many observers at the time viewed SDI as unrealistic, famously branding the program “Star Wars” to emphasize its supposed sci-fi nature.

Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century by P. W. Singer

agricultural Revolution, Albert Einstein, Alvin Toffler, Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, Atahualpa, barriers to entry, Berlin Wall, Bill Joy: nanobots, Bletchley Park, blue-collar work, borderless world, Boston Dynamics, Charles Babbage, Charles Lindbergh, clean water, Craig Reynolds: boids flock, cuban missile crisis, digital divide, digital map, Dr. Strangelove, en.wikipedia.org, Ernest Rutherford, failed state, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Firefox, Ford Model T, Francisco Pizarro, Frank Gehry, friendly fire, Future Shock, game design, George Gilder, Google Earth, Grace Hopper, Hans Moravec, I think there is a world market for maybe five computers, if you build it, they will come, illegal immigration, industrial robot, information security, interchangeable parts, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), invention of gunpowder, invention of movable type, invention of the steam engine, Isaac Newton, Jacques de Vaucanson, job automation, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, junk bonds, Law of Accelerating Returns, Mars Rover, Menlo Park, mirror neurons, Neal Stephenson, New Urbanism, Nick Bostrom, no-fly zone, PalmPilot, paperclip maximiser, pattern recognition, precautionary principle, private military company, RAND corporation, Ray Kurzweil, RFID, robot derives from the Czech word robota Czech, meaning slave, Rodney Brooks, Ronald Reagan, Schrödinger's Cat, Silicon Valley, social intelligence, speech recognition, Stephen Hawking, Strategic Defense Initiative, strong AI, technological singularity, The Coming Technological Singularity, The Wisdom of Crowds, Timothy McVeigh, Turing test, Vernor Vinge, Virgin Galactic, Wall-E, warehouse robotics, world market for maybe five computers, Yogi Berra

Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection System, see SWORDS Spencer, Glenn Spielberg, Steven “Spirit of Butt’s Farm” (drone) Sputnik SRI International Sri Lanka Stanford Research Institute Stanford University in Great Challenge competition Stanley (robot) StarBrain (AI project) Starship Troopers (Heinlein) Star Trek (television series) “Star Trek: The Experience,” Star Trek: The Next Generation (television series) Star Wars (film) Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (film) Star Wars missile defense program, see Strategic Defense Initiative Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (film) State Department, U.S. stateless zones Steiner, Achim Stephenson, Neal Sterling, Bruce Stickybot Stimson, Henry Stinger missiles Stirling, Robert Stirling, S.M. “Story of the Army Aeroplane, The” (Milne) Stothard, Debbie Stranger in a Strange Land (Heinlein) Strategic Command, U.S. “strategic corporal,” Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) strong AI Sturk, Bruce Sudan Sun Microsystems supercomputers “Superiority” (Clarke) “Supertoys Last All Summer Long” (Aldiss) Supreme Command (Cohen) swarm tactics historic use of Sweden Sweetman, Bill Switzerland SWORDS (Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection System) Iranian version of upgrade of Synertek (computer) Syria Szilárd, Leó Tactical Relay Mirror System Takeno, Junichi Taliban Talon (robot) SWORDS version of, see SWORDS user feedback on Talos myth Tamagotchi (robotic toy) Tamil Tigers Task Force Odin Taylor, Bob Taylor, James Taylor, Russell Teal Group “technicity,” technology backlash against counterterrorism and exponential power of future warfare and globalization and haptic hybrid information, see information technology insurgency and laser Moore’s law and neo-Luddites and physical implants and enhancements and population growth and al-Qaeda and terrorism and U.S. triumphalism and Teller, Edward 10th Mountain Division, U.S.

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They didn’t find much use in war except as targeting devices. During the Reagan administration, that changed. Edward Teller, the father of the hydrogen bomb, successfully pushed the idea of using powerful lasers to shoot down enemy missiles from space. The project was officially called the Strategic Defense Initiative, or SDI, but soon got tagged as “Star Wars.” The name was originally given by opponents who meant to mock the idea as only useful for a galaxy far, far away. But the supporters soon turned it around and began referring to the weapons plan as “Star Wars” in official government documents in 1985.

Turning the Tide by Noam Chomsky

anti-communist, Bolshevik threat, British Empire, collective bargaining, Cornelius Vanderbilt, cuban missile crisis, declining real wages, disinformation, failed state, feminist movement, guns versus butter model, Howard Zinn, land reform, launch on warning, means of production, Monroe Doctrine, Paul Samuelson, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, Seymour Hersh, Strategic Defense Initiative, union organizing

The size of nuclear arsenals is a real but secondary consideration, though technological advances may pose an extreme hazard, particularly if they compel resort to computer based rapid decision systems and launch-on-warning strategies, in which case war is likely if only from error, inadvertence or misjudgment in time of tension; Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI: “Star Wars”) is particularly dangerous in this respect. Even if nuclear arsenals were vastly reduced, a nuclear interchange would be a devastating catastrophe. In fact, even if they were reduced to zero, the capacity to produce nuclear weapons would not be lost and they would soon be available, and would be used, in the event of superpower conflict.

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As always, the arms negotiations involve maneuverings by the superpowers to achieve maximal advantage (see note 20), These issues aside, one major US objection to Soviet arms reduction proposals is that they require termination of Reagan’s SDI. The White House has stated that this is out of the question. “Officials of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization remain skeptical about President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative and anxious about the way it seems to have become a nonnegotiable article of faith within the White House,” Steven Erlanger reports from Brussels. They prefer that SDI be “used as a bargaining chip in Geneva to achieve substantial reductions in the Soviet nuclear arsenal”; a curious formulation, given the standing Soviet offer of substantial mutual reductions if the militarization of space is avoided.

Into the Black: The Extraordinary Untold Story of the First Flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the Astronauts Who Flew Her by Rowland White, Richard Truly

Albert Einstein, Apollo 11, Apollo 13, Apollo Guidance Computer, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, Boeing 747, Charles Lindbergh, cuban missile crisis, Easter island, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Gene Kranz, Isaac Newton, it's over 9,000, John von Neumann, low earth orbit, Maui Hawaii, Mercator projection, Neil Armstrong, orbital mechanics / astrodynamics, Ronald Reagan, Strategic Defense Initiative, William Langewiesche

Over the next two and a half years, twenty-four test flights, flown without serious incident, provided sufficient confidence to look forward to Buran’s first spaceflight. But the effort came at an enormous cost. As a launch vehicle for the NRO’s spy satellites, the American Space Shuttle was always expected to make a major contribution to national security. More potentially belligerent missions resulting from the president’s “Star Wars” Strategic Defense Initiative remained theoretical, but even without that prospect, the Shuttle program had a crippling effect on the country’s Cold War opposition: the Soviet Union. By frightening them into launching their own space shuttle program, which they could neither afford nor divine any practical purpose for, it committed them to a project estimated to have cost between fifteen billion and twenty billion rubles.

…

See Boeing See also Space Shuttle program Sputnik first flight, 11–12, 31, 34, 37, 46, 47, 283 as inspiration, 13, 14, 15 spy satellites benefits of, 59 and Columbia’s heat shield, 287–90, 296, 301, 310–11, 316–17, 318, 320, 324, 336–37 LACROSSE, 189 NRO security classifications, 117, 118 NRO unmanned spy satellites, 39 and Skylab, 115–18 Space Shuttle as launch vehicle, 187–89, 380 See also individual satellites (KH) spyplanes SR-71 Blackbird, 102, 103, 233, 258 U-2, 36, 49, 102 Stafford, Lieutenant-General Tom, 62, 64, 107, 148, 170, 183, 213–14 Stalin, Joseph, 141 Stalin, Vasily, 141 Stankyavichus, Rimantas, 379 Stanley, Pete, 351, 365 Star City (Soviet training base), 139–48 Star Trek, 150, 155–56, 198, 210 Star Wars, 210, 213 Storms, Harrison “Stormy,” 105–6 strain isolation pad (SIP), 212, 218 Strategic Air Command, 315–16 Strategic Defense Initiative, 380 Strategic Interplanetary System, 14 Strategic Lunar System, 14 Strategic Orbital System, 14 STS-1 countdown test, 242 crew announced, 181–83 flight scheduled, 226, 228, 247 launch, 257–72 launch preparations, 217, 238, 240, 242–45, 248, 251–52 in orbit, 272–339, 341–51 press conferences, 238–40, 242, 283, 286–87, 302, 327–29, 333–34 recovery convoy, 274, 359, 369–70 reentry and landing, 299, 341, 342–48, 349–73 Shuttle to ground voice transmissions, 249 simulations, 235, 236, 299 STS-2, 185, 376–77, 384 STS-3, 377 STS-4, 377–78 STS-5, 383 STS-7, 379 STS-8, 379 STS-9, 381–83 STS-26, 391 STS-62A, 387–89, 390 STS-107, 393 Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker, 380 Sullivan, Kathy, 214–15, 232, 260 Sunnyvale Air Force Base Building 101, 53 Columbia’s damaged heat shield, 290, 295–96, 301, 310, 311, 316, 317, 375 Program “S,” 248, 249 Satellite Control Facility (Blue Cube), 38, 53–54, 108, 113, 115, 118, 190, 214, 290, 315, 316, 317 satellite integration, 163 Satellite Test Center, 248 security, 296 Skylab, 113, 115, 118 STS-1, 248, 249, 375 Swigert, Jack, 348 Apollo 13, 76–77, 78–80 TACAN beacons, 362 TALENT (aerial reconnaissance imagery), 39–40, 64, 88, 281 Task Force 30, 65 Taylor, Jim, 29–30 Tehran, Iran, 224–26, 258, 340 telescopes Anderson Peak DMI, 284, 291, 333, 334 Chandra Space Telescope, 393 large space telescope (LST) (Hubble Space Telescope), 288–89, 393 TEAL AMBER, 283–84, 305–6, 307, 320, 328 TEAL BLUE, 283–84, 297, 307 tracking, 283–84, 291, 297, 305–6, 307, 320, 328, 333, 334 Teller, Edward, 87 thermal protection system.

Farewell by Sergei Kostin, Eric Raynaud

active measures, car-free, cuban missile crisis, disinformation, Dr. Strangelove, index card, invisible hand, kremlinology, Lao Tzu, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, Ronald Reagan, Strategic Defense Initiative, Vladimir Vetrov: Farewell Dossier

This oil policy would soon be reinforced by a very restrictive monetary policy adopted by the Federal Reserve Bank, leading to a drop in the price of gold, another significant resource of the USSR. Finally, Reagan became directly involved in restarting the arms race with the implementation of new, but classic, military programs, including the famous stealth bomber. Above all was the elaboration of the SDI project (the Strategic Defense Initiative; better known under the name of Star Wars). SDI was a formidable technological challenge for the Soviets, since their economy was resting mostly on the military-industrial complex, dependent on stealing Western technology through the KGB Line X. Since Vetrov’s revelations, the Line X network had no secrets anymore for the Reagan Administration.

…

Since the military-industrial complex was resting, for the most part, on technology stolen in the West, the American side was hoping that this “accident” would create a general climate of paranoia within the KGB regarding Soviet industrial equipment. It was also expected that the KGB would no longer trust its technology espionage, at a time when the Soviet Union needed it most. In March 1983, Reagan launched his Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). The famous “Star Wars” plan was expected to go through Congress and pass with a budget above thirty billion dollars. To use a metaphor, the poker player had just raised the stakes, knowing his adversary’s poor hand. The Americans did not stop there. Under the coordination of William Casey and Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, the plan of economic war against the Soviet Union became systematic in all federal organizations.

Next Stop Execution: The Autobiography of Oleg Gordievsky by Oleg Gordievsky

active measures, anti-communist, Berlin Wall, cuban missile crisis, disinformation, Etonian, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, Mikhail Gorbachev, Neil Kinnock, Ronald Reagan, Strategic Defense Initiative, union organizing, urban sprawl, Vladimir Vetrov: Farewell Dossier, working poor

Yet I believe that in revealing the depth of the Soviet leaders’ paranoia to the British, I made one of my most vital contributions to international safety. By the beginning of 1983 tough speeches by President Reagan and his secretary of state, George Schultz, had put the Soviet leaders into a state of acute apprehension; and their fears were reinforced when they learnt about the United States’ Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), commonly known as Star Wars — the plan for using anti-missile missiles to create a nation-wide shield against intercontinental attack. Because the Americans had landed a man on the moon, the Kremlin reasoned, they had the capability to create the Star Wars system, and were most probably preparing for all-out nuclear war in a few years’ time.

…

Over lunch we went on talking, and then Casey asked if he could use a tape recorder to catch some of my answers. I found it immensely flattering that such a senior figure should be taking notes like a schoolboy. He was anxious to plan the meeting between Reagan and Gorbachev in Geneva, and he asked many questions about the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), commonly known as Star Wars. If America offered the Soviet Union a share in the technology of SDI, he wanted to know, would Gorbachev accept it? My answer was an emphatic, ‘No.’ I said that the Russians would think the offer was a trick, to involve them in colossal expense, and would not dream of accepting it.

Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster by Allan J McDonald, James R. Hansen

Apollo 11, Apollo 13, flying shuttle, Neil Armstrong, Richard Feynman, Richard Feynman: Challenger O-ring, Ronald Reagan, Strategic Defense Initiative, transcontinental railway

Tom Davidson, our Corporate Technical Director, had asked me some time back to participate in a technical proposal review at Elkton related to using some dual-chamber controllable SRM technology that I had worked on earlier in my career in support of a kinetic energy weapons system being studied as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative, or “Star Wars” program. I was supposed to be in Elkton for a week but had to return home early because I was notified that I was needed for a teleconference with the Presidential Commission. There was also a meeting in Ogden that afternoon with our senior corporate management. Called by Bob Ebeling to try and iron out the bad feelings that had been created between Thiokol senior management and those of us who had opposed the launch and thereby reunite the company for all the hard work we were going to have to do to crawl out from under this mess, it was important for me to be there, especially since Charlie Locke, Ed Garrison, and Ed Dorsey would be attending.

…

This was done to protect the Reagan administration and NASA from the penetrating charges that would inevitably come out of any authentically independent investigation into the causes of the accident. Cook claimed that the administration was in the process of militarizing the Space Shuttle program in support of Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, or “Star Wars” program, and that this was the real reason why Reagan had replaced former NASA Administrator James Beggs with Bill Graham, a nuclear weapons expert. Cook even claimed that Allan McDonald provided a key piece of testimony in this regard: that NASA was reluctant to increase its launch commit criteria to 53° because the possibility of temperatures colder than that were higher for air force launches from Vandenberg AFB in California than for NASA at the Cape.

…

See also Space Shuttle Challenger Space Transportation System 61-A, 63, 74–75, 100–102, 411 Space Transportation System 61-B, 63, 75 Space Transportation System 61-C, 63, 80, 92–93, 170, 392 Space Transportation System 61-G, 347, 423, 503 Space Transportation System 107 (Columbia), xii, 534–35; accident, 561–62 SRM Failure Analysis Team. See Failure Analysis Team, SRM SRM Verification Task Force, 407, 459 Stein, Scott (MTI), 70, 536, 566 Stevenson, Charles (NASA), 118, 269–70, 274–75 Stever, Dr. H. Guyford (NRC), 408, 538–40 Stewart, Bob (astronaut), 293 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty II (SALT II), 558 Strategic Defense Initiative, 354 Sucher, John (MTI), 543 Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! Adventures of a Curious Character (Feynman), 363. See also Feynman, Dr. Richard P. Sutter, Joseph (Boeing), 145, 183–84, 218, 230, 245, 291, 315, 319, 328, 330, 339, 553–54 Tennent, Sam (Aerospace Corp.), 408 Thiokol Chemical Corporation, 9.

On Power and Ideology by Noam Chomsky

anti-communist, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, British Empire, Cornelius Vanderbilt, cuban missile crisis, disinformation, feminist movement, guns versus butter model, imperial preference, land reform, launch on warning, Mikhail Gorbachev, Monroe Doctrine, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, Stanislav Petrov, Strategic Defense Initiative, union organizing

In these and other regions, U.S. policy is a major factor, though not the only one, in stimulating and maintaining tensions and conflicts that might lead to nuclear war. The threat of a nuclear war is severe, but the issues that are the focus of most discussion are of little significance and the debate itself is often seriously misleading. The major issues currently discussed are the scale of strategic weapons deployed and Reagan’s “Star Wars” (SDI; Strategic Defense Initiative). As for the first, it is commonly observed that the number of war heads and missiles deployed by the superpowers is so enormous and their destructive force is so great that each could destroy the other—and most of the world with them—many times over. But even if missiles and warheads were reduced to some small fraction of the existing arsenals, the consequences of a nuclear exchange would be intolerably grave, and there is no obvious relation between the size of nuclear arsenals and the likelihood of their use.

Necessary Illusions by Noam Chomsky

anti-communist, Ayatollah Khomeini, British Empire, centre right, collective bargaining, colonial rule, cuban missile crisis, disinformation, full employment, Howard Zinn, Khyber Pass, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, land reform, long peace, military-industrial complex, New Journalism, Ronald Reagan, Strategic Defense Initiative, strikebreaker, union organizing

While all eyes were focused on the Washington summit, the INF treaty, and Reagan’s achievements as a peacemaker,24 the U.N. voted on a series of disarmament resolutions. The General Assembly voted 154 to 1, with no abstentions, opposing the buildup of weapons in outer space, a resolution clearly aimed at Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars). It voted 135 to 1 against developing new weapons of mass destruction. In both cases, the United States was alone in opposition. The United States was joined by France in opposing a resolution, passed 143 to 2, calling for a comprehensive test ban treaty. Another vote calling for a halt to all nuclear test explosions passed by a vote of 137 to 3, with the United States joined by France and Britain in opposition.

…

Louis Post-Dispatch, 133 Sakharov, Andrei, 144 San Salvador, 204 SANE/Freeze, 215 Sanford, Terry, 71 Santivañez, Roberto, 205 Sasson, 314 Sartre, Jean-Paul, 109 Schanberg, Sydney, 147 Schiff, Ze’ev, 172 Schirmer, Jennifer, 142 Schlafly, Phyllis, 318 Schmidt, Enrique, 198 Schoultz, Lars, 68, 70 Sciolino, Elaine, 221, 297 Seamans, Bill, 322 Secret Anti-Communist Army (ESA), 124 Security Council, 292, 311 Shah see Reza Shah Pahlavi al-Shami, Hani, 209, 210, 212, 340–41 Shamir, Yitzhak, 117–18, 280, 293, 296, 340 Sharansky, Natan, 341–43 Sharif, Abu, 298, 341 Shawcross, William, 147, 323 Shea, Brigid, 215 Sheehan, Neil, 159 Shultz, George, 64, 70, 72, 76, 77, 95, 103, 113, 117–20, 140, 215, 224, 246–47, 258, 259, 267, 271, 276, 291, 296–97 Shu’un Filastiniyya, 86 Siberia, 189 Silver, Eric, 172 Singapore, 108, 253 Smith, Wayne, 359n.30 Smith Act, 348 Soares, João Clemente Baena, 94–96 Socialist Workers Party, 189, 348, 354 Socorro Jurídico, 69, 70 Somoza, 51, 62–63, 97, 99–100, 103, 126, 165, 325, 326 South Africa, 28, 87, 299, 300, 305, 319, 320 South Korea, 32, 108 South Lebanon Army (SLA), 194 South Vietnam, 81, 106, 163, 176 South Yemen, 152 Soviet Union see USSR Spain, 84, 165, 204, 344–45 Speakes, Larry, 179 Spector, Leonard, 319 Spence, Jack, 76–78, 82 Squadron, Howard, 322 Stalin, Joséph, 45 Sterling, Claire, 113, 168, 277 Stevenson, Adlai, 391n.51 Stone, Norman, 280 Strategic Defense Initiative, 84 Suharto, 108–09 Sukarno, Achmed, 107 Sullivan, Andrew, 50 Sung, Kim II, 46 Suriname, 67 Sussman, Leonard, 5, 359n.25 Sweden, 84 Syria, 85, 152, 166, 172–173, 289 Szulc, Tad, 81 T Taiwan, 108, 282 Tal, Eliahu, 321 Taubman, Philip, 216 Taylor, A.J.P., 318 Terror Network, The, 113 Tet Offensive, 5 Thailand, 110 Thatcher, Margaret, 117 Thimmesch, Nick, 167–68 Thion, Serge, 370n.7 Thomas, Jo, 179 El Tiempo, 233 Time, 138 Torres Calderón, Manuel, 233 Trainor, Bernard, 201 Trejos Salas, Gerardo, 89 Trilateral Commission, 2, 3, 5 Trotsky, Leon, 45, 187 Trujillo, 266 Truman Doctrine, 18, 32 Truman, Harry, 2, 47 Tsemel, Lea, 340 Tsongas, Paul, 55 Tucker, Robert, 323 Tueni, Ghassan, 172 Tunis, 272 Tunisia, 118–19 Tunnerman, Carlos, 66 Turkey, 28, 56, 286–87 Turner, Stansfield, 273 U UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), 1 UNHCR, 239 Ungo, Guillermo, 231–32, 246 UNICEF, 96 UNIFIL, 195 United Nations, 53, 60, 84–86, 88, 91, 116, 118, 174, 194–95, 215, 218–23, 239, 271, 272, 289, 292, 296, 301, 304, 311 UNTS, 248, 249, 255 United Press International (UPI), 336 University of Costa Rica’s Institute for Health Research, 268 UNRWA, 54, 209 Uruguay, 84 U.S.

The end of history and the last man by Francis Fukuyama

affirmative action, anti-communist, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, Bonfire of the Vanities, business cycle, centre right, classic study, cuban missile crisis, deindustrialization, Deng Xiaoping, Donald Trump, European colonialism, Exxon Valdez, F. W. de Klerk, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, Gini coefficient, Great Leap Forward, Gunnar Myrdal, Herbert Marcuse, Hernando de Soto, income inequality, Isaac Newton, Joan Didion, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, kremlinology, land reform, liberal world order, liberation theology, life extension, linear programming, long peace, means of production, Michael Milken, Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela, New Journalism, nuclear winter, old-boy network, open economy, post-industrial society, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, Socratic dialogue, Strategic Defense Initiative, strikebreaker, the scientific method, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Kuhn: the structure of scientific revolutions, zero-sum game

It is quite clear from his speeches and those of other senior Soviet officials that one of the chief reasons that they initially considered undertaking a fundamental reform of the Soviet economy was their realization that an unreformed Soviet Union was going to have serious problems remaining competitive, economically and militarily, into the twenty-first century. In particular, President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) posed a severe challenge because it threatened to make obsolete an entire generation of Soviet nuclear weapons, and shifted the superpower competition into areas like microelectronics and other innovative technologies where the Soviet Union had serious disadvantages. Soviet leaders, including many in the military, understood that the corrupt economic system inherited from Brezhnev would be unable to keep up in an SDI-dominated world, and were willing to accept short-run retrenchment for the sake of long-run survival.10 The persistence of war and military competition among nations is thus, paradoxically, a great unifier of nations.

…

., 228-229 Namibia, 35 Napoleon I, Emperor, 4, 74, 75, 249 Napoleonic Code, 75 Nasser, Gamal Abdel, 236 National character, 224 Nationalism, 171, 207, 266-275 Czechoslovakian, 273 Eastern European, 268, 270, 272-275 evolution of, 271-272 as form of recognition, 201, 214, 266, 270 French, 271, 272 German, 215, 267, 271, 272 industrialization and, 268-270 Japanese, 231 liberal democracy and, 215-216 origins of, 268-270 pan-Arab, 236, 274 Polish, 215, 273 Russian, 36, 37, 268-270, 272, 275 secular, 236 Third World, 274-275 National Socialism, 6, 7, 16, 48, 128, 129, 220, 333 NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), 252, 263, 264, 283 Nature concept of, 138 human, 51, 63-64, 138, 145-152 Needs, human, 83, 132-133 Neo-colonialism, 99 Newton, Sir Isaac, 72, 149 New Zealand, 111 Nicaragua, 10, 14, 21 Nicias, 319 Niebuhr, Reinhold, 246, 249, 250, 256 Nietzsche, Friedrich, 55, 109, 162, 181, 188-190, 196, 207, 211, 213, 214, 297, 300-301, 304-316, 332-335 North Korea, 127 economic development of, 102 Nuclear weapons, 6, 82, 87, 128, 252, 262, 278, 336 Nuikin, Andrey, 23 OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), 283 Oil, 47, 112, 236, 262, 277 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Kesey), 24 OPEC oil embargo, 47 Optimism of nineteenth century, 4, 70 Opus Dei movement, 19 Organization of labor, 76-79, 108 Orthodox Judaism, 217 Ossetians, 273 Other Path, The (De Soto), 105 Ottoman Empire, 74, 236, 267, 269 Pakistan, 123, 275 Pan-Arab nationalism, 236, 274 Paraguay, 14 Parsons, Talcott, 113, 117 Pascal, Blaise, 56, 309, 310 Patriarchal societies, 137 Peloponnesian War, 248 People’s Republic of China, 10, 40 collapse of totalitarianism in, 33-34, 38, 177, 179 Cultural Revolution in, 79, 95, 96 de-collectivization of agriculture in, 26 economic development in, 33, 36, 41, 96, 102, 277 Great Leap Forward in, 79, 95 student pro-democracy demonstrations in, 26, 34, 36, 179, 312 Perestroika, 28, 29, 31, 36, 75, 178, 221 Periclean Athens, 48 Perón, Isabella, 20 Perón, Juan, 106 Peronist movement, 23 Perpetual Peace (Kant), 281 Perry, Matthew, 74 Persian Gulf War, 263, 318 Personality cult, 305 Peru, 14, 20, 45, 118, 120, 216 Pessimism of twentieth century, 3-12, 68-70, 245 Peter the Great, Czar of Russia, 75 Petrakov, Nikolay, 29 Phenomenology of Mind, The (Hegel), 143, 146, 195 Philip II, King of Spain, 74 Philippines, 14, 45, 79, 118-120, 123 Philosophy of Right, The (Hegel), 199, 208 Pilgrims, 328 Pinochet, Augusto, 14, 21, 42, 123 Pizarro, Francisco, 259 Plato, 15, 55, 127, 162-165, 168, 169, 183, 184, 189, 334, 337 Plutarch, 323 Poland, 27, 35, 41 democratic transition in, 36, 112, 178 infant mortality rate in, 115 nationalism in, 215, 273 Political liberalism, 42-43, 45, 90, 109, 233, 260 Political rights, 43 Politics (Aristotle), 55 Popular sovereignty, 42, 317 Portugal, 104, 123 democratic transition in, 13, 18, 47, 51, 112 economic development in, 110 Post-historical world, 276-277 Post-industrial society, 91, 92, 177 Post-totalitarianism, 33, 38, 40, 168 Poverty, 174, 176, 228, 229, 292 “Power of the Powerless, The” (Havel), 166-169 Power politics, 246-265, 279-283 Prebisch, Raul, 41, 99-100 Predestination, 227 Prestige, 147, 148, 150, 151, 155, 157, 159-161, 192, 193, 198 Pricing, 93-94 Pride, 155, 156, 162, 163, 165 Primitive societies, 147-148 Private property, 194-195, 200 Progress, concept of, 57, 60 Progress of the Human Mind (Condorcet), 57 Proletariat, 65 Protectionism, 220 Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, The (Weber), 226 Protestantism, 216 economic development and, 226-227 Psychology, 151 Puritans, 328 Quebec, 121, 273 Racism, 171-172, 176 Rangel, Carlos, 42 Rashidov, Sharaf, 32 Reagan, Ronald, 44, 75, 280 Realism (realpolitik), 246-265, 279-283 Reason, 58, 163, 164, 172, 177, 185, 189, 204, 206, 207, 225, 337 Recognition, desire for, 135, 144, 147, 150, 152-163, 165, 166, 170-191, 288, 289 group, 231-232 isothyma, 182, 187, 190, 292, 294, 295, 314, 332, 334, 337 megahthymia, 182-185, 187, 189, 190, 201, 207, 214, 259, 263, 266, 295, 301, 304, 314-318, 320-321, 328, 329, 332-338 nationalism and, 201, 266, 270 relationship to rights, 202-203 thymos: see Thymos universal, 301-305, 335 universal and homogeneous state and, 201-202, 204, 206 war and, 255, 256, 259 Relativism, 306-307, 332, 338 Religion, 202, 207 community and, 325-327 economic behavior and, 226-228 as form of recognition, 214, 259, 271 Hegel on, 62, 196-198, 216 liberal democracy and, 216-217 wars of, 11, 259, 260, 271 Religious rights, 43 Remarque, Erich Maria, 5 Renaissance, 56 Republic (Plato), 15, 55, 162-165, 168, 169, 171, 183, 196 Revel, Jean-François, 8, 9, 129, 287 Riefenstahl, Leni, 7 Riesman, David, 147 Rights, 159, 296 definition of, 42-43 relationship to community, 306, 323, 326 relationship to recognition, 202-203 Rising expectations, revolution of, 175 Road Warrior, The (movie), 82 Roh Tae Woo, 14 Romania, 112, 273 fall of communist government in, 27, 36, 178, 312 Romantics, 83 Rome, 61, 184, 213, 248, 316 Romulus, 213 Rostow, Walt, 128 Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 83-84, 146, 151, 162, 255, 288 Russia, 6, 123; see also Soviet Union Bolshevik Revolution, 24, 25, 66, 304-305 Russian Federation, 28, 37 Russian Revolution, 11 Russo-Japanese War, 75 Sakharov, Andrey, 169 Salazar, Antonio di Oliviero, 18 Salinas de Gortari, Carlos, 42, 106 Samurai, 186, 22 Sandinistas, 21 Saudi Arabia, 112 Scandinavia, 44 Scharnhorst, Gerhard, 75 Schumpeter, Joseph, 123, 260, 265, 316 Scientific method, 56-57, 72-73, 82, 88, 135 Second Discourse (Rousseau), 83 Secular nationalism, 236 Selective innovation, 85, 96 Self-assertion, 172 Self-consciousness, 64 Self-esteem, 165-169, 171, 181, 187, 190, 196, 226, 302-30 Self-evaluation, 165 Self-government, 218 Self-interest, 173, 230, 231, 233 Self-preservation, 156-160, 167, 188, 200, 255, 306, 325 Self-realization, 230 Self-respect, 155 Self-transcendence, 161 Senegal, 35 Separation of powers, 184 Serbia, 27, 112, 272, 273 Service sector, 92 Sévigné, Mme. de, 261 Sexism, 294 Sexual love, 176 Shame, 163, 165, 174 Shatalin, Stanislav, 29 Shevardnadze, Eduard, 30, 263 Shingaku movement, 227 Shinto, 216-217 Shmelev, Nikolay, 29 Shuhan, Takashima, 74 Singapore authoritarianism of, 241 economic development in, 101-102, 134 Skepticism, 196 Slave ideologies, 62, 195-198, 205, 261, 301 Slavery, 62, 118, 171, 175, 217 Slovaks, 273 Slovenia, 272, 273 Smith, Adam, 81, 84, 173, 174, 223, 225, 299 Soares, Mario, 13 Social contract, 156 Social democracy, 294 Social Democratic party (Germany), 18 Socialism, 35, 90, 98, 106-108, 114 Socialist Unity party (Germany), 178 Socialist Worker’s party (Hungary), 26 Social science, 297 Social structure, 77, 147-148, 217 Social welfare, 290-291 Socrates, 15, 61, 162-165, 183 Solidarity, 27, 41, 178 Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr, 169 Somoza, Anastasio, 21 South Africa, 14-15, 20-21, 77, 111, 171-172, 216 South Korea, 14, 107, 123 democratic transition in, 124, 243 economic development in, 101, 102 education in, 111 South Yemen, 127 Soviet Union, 8-10, 216, 221 Afghanistan, withdrawal from, 26 breakup of, 277, 278 collapse of communism in, 26-33, 36-38, 177, 178, 280 conservatives in, 40-41 coup (1991), 28 détente, 251 economic development in, 28-29, 41, 75-76, 90 education in, 111 elections (1989) in, 26 glasnost’ and perestroika in, 28-31 nationalism in, 268, 270, 272-275 “new thinking” in, 263-264 press freedom in, 26 price decisions in, 93-94 republics of, 26, 36-37, 40, 119, 273 Stalinism in, 30, 32, 48 technological innovation in, 93, 95 as totalitarianist state, 23-25 Sowell, Thomas, 224 Spain, 104, 123 civil war, 79 democratic transition in, 13, 18-19, 51 economic development in, 110 Sparta, 127, 213, 247, 316, 317 Spencer, Herbert, 68 Spengler, Oswald, 68, 70 Spinoza, Baruch, 72 “Spirit of 1776,” 4, 200 Stalin, Joseph, 6, 23, 32, 91, 95, 127, 190, 304 Stalinism, 30, 32, 48 State of nature, 146, 152, 154, 156, 158, 192, 255 States, correspondence between people and, 212-213, 222 Stein, Heinrich vom, 75 Steuart, James, 185 Stoicism, 195 Stolypin, Pëtr, 75, 123 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), 75 Stroessner, Alfredo, 14 Structural realists, 256 Study of History, The (Toynbee), 68 Suarez, Adolfo, 19 Sweden, 37 Syria, 16, 127, 236, 249, 264 Tadjikistan, 37 Taiwan, 14, 107, 123 democratic transition in, 243 economic development in, 101, 102 education in, 111 industrial policy in, 125 Technology, 4-7, 73, 76, 78, 83-87, 89, 91-93, 108 Thailand, 101, 123 Thatcher, Margaret, 44 Theory of Moral Sentiments, The (Smith), 173, 174 Third World, 98-100, 103, 186; see also specific countries nationalism in, 274-275 Thucydides, 127, 245 Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Nietzsche), 109, 188-189, 211, 307, 312 Thymos, 162-165, 168-191, 198, 201, 204, 206-207, 213, 214, 288, 289, 334, 337 origins of work, 223-234 relationship to culture, 213 war and, 255, 256, 259 Tibetans, 273 Tiananmen Square, 7, 34, 312 Timisoara, 178 Tocqueville, Alexis de, 9, 118, 175, 213, 217, 218, 222, 238, 261, 292, 295, 308-310, 322-324, 326 Tokes, Father Laszlo, 178 Totalitarianism, 5-6, 11, 40, 127 definition of, 23-24 Leninist, 8 reasons for breakdown of, 25-38 Total war, 6 Toynbee, Arnold, 68, 70 Traditional liberal economic theory, 225 Trans-historical concept of man, 138, 139 Transylvania, 273 Trotsky, Leon, 304, 305 Trump, Donald, 328 Tupemaros insurgency, 20 Turgot, Anne-Robert-Jacques, 57 Turkey, 13, 20, 217, 236, 256, 257, 272 Twilight of the Idols (Nietzsche), 181 Ukraine, 27, 35, 37 Ultranationalism, 16, 270 Union Treaty (Soviet Union), 37 United Arab Emirates, 112 United Nations, 249, 251, 281-283 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 99 United Nations Economic Committee for Latin America (ECLA), 99 Universal and homogeneous state, 66, 201-202, 204, 206, 244, 245, 298-300, 302 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 258 Universal history, 48, 50, 51, 55-70, 128-130, 134, 135, 138, 139, 144, 287, 338 Urbanization, 89, 109, 110 Uruguay, 14, 20 Use and Abuse of History, The (Nietzsche), 55 Uzbekistan, 32, 37, 269 Values, 213-215 Vanity, 83-84, 155, 156, 162, 174, 255 Vargas Llosa, Mario, 42, 105 Vatican II, 19 Versailles Peace Treaty, 267-268 Verwoerd, H.

The Mythical Man-Month by Brooks, Jr. Frederick P.

Boeing 747, Conway's law, finite state, HyperCard, Ken Thompson, machine readable, Menlo Park, Multics, no silver bullet, seminal paper, sorting algorithm, speech recognition, Steve Jobs, Strategic Defense Initiative, Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Turing machine, work culture

Today I am more convinced than ever. Conceptual integrity is central to product quality. Having a system architect is the most important single step toward conceptual integrity. These principles are by no means limited to software systems, but to the design of any complex construct, whether a computer, an airplane, a Strategic Defense Initiative, a Global Positioning System. After teaching a software engineering laboratory more than 20 times, I came to insist that student teams as small as four people choose a manager and a separate architect. Defining distinct roles in such small teams may be a little extreme, but I have observed it to work well and to contribute to design success even for small teams.

AC/DC: The Savage Tale of the First Standards War by Tom McNichol

computer age, electricity market, experimental subject, fear of failure, Fellow of the Royal Society, Isaac Newton, it's over 9,000, Menlo Park, popular electronics, Strategic Defense Initiative, Thales of Miletus

Shortly after World War II, a U.S. Air Force operation codenamed “Project Nick” (for Nikola) studied the feasibility of beam weapons, using Tesla’s papers as inspiration. As late as the 1980s, the Air Force showed an active interest in Tesla’s work, hoping that Tesla’s beam weapons research would aid the Strategic Defense Initiative, the space-based antimissile system dubbed “Star Wars.” In February 1981, an Air Force lieutenant colonel working on SDI wrote a memo to FBI director William Webster that said in part: “We believe that certain of Tesla’s papers may contain basic principles which would be of considerable value to certain ongoing research within the Department of Defense.

The WikiLeaks Files: The World According to US Empire by Wikileaks

affirmative action, anti-communist, banking crisis, battle of ideas, Boycotts of Israel, Bretton Woods, British Empire, capital controls, central bank independence, Chelsea Manning, colonial exploitation, colonial rule, corporate social responsibility, credit crunch, cuban missile crisis, Deng Xiaoping, drone strike, Edward Snowden, energy security, energy transition, European colonialism, eurozone crisis, experimental subject, F. W. de Klerk, facts on the ground, failed state, financial innovation, Food sovereignty, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, future of journalism, high net worth, invisible hand, Julian Assange, Kickstarter, liberal world order, Mikhail Gorbachev, millennium bug, Mohammed Bouazizi, Monroe Doctrine, Nelson Mandela, no-fly zone, Northern Rock, nuclear ambiguity, Philip Mirowski, post-war consensus, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, Seymour Hersh, Silicon Valley, South China Sea, statistical model, Strategic Defense Initiative, structural adjustment programs, too big to fail, trade liberalization, trade route, UNCLOS, UNCLOS, uranium enrichment, vertical integration, Washington Consensus, WikiLeaks, zero-sum game, éminence grise

From the beginning, missile defense—basically anti-aircraft on steroids—has long been a powder keg of controversy between the United States and Russia. Before exploring cables detailing US-Russian discussions on the subject, some background is required on why missile defense both rattles Russia and is considered destabilizing to the nuclear-weapons balance. In 1983 President Ronald Reagan introduced the Strategic Defense Initiative, presciently ridiculed as “Star Wars” at the time because it sounded like as much of a fantasy as it does to this day. Patriot missiles were deployed in the Middle East during the first Gulf War and, while they achieved little success, the idea of missile defense, at least against smaller nuclear arsenals, caught on.

…

Bush administration and 481; Nixon administration and 470–4; Obama administration and 482 South China Sea 449, 450, 454–5 SOUTHCOM 534–5 Southeast Asia 13, 433–5, 441–4, 467–70; strategic importance 444–50; war on terror 463–7 Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) 442 South Korea 13, 28, 395, 396–7, 447; foreign policy 421; military cooperation 406–8, 408; and North Korea 396–7, 420–4; relations with America 404–5, 420–2; relations with Japan 401–4; Truth and Reconciliation Commission 396; Yeongpyeong incident 422–3 South Ossetia 219–22 South Vietnam 28 sovereign debt crisis 141 sovereignty 130 Soviet Union 43, 45, 55; collapse of 444 Spain 203–4, 207–10 Spanish-American War, 1898 51, 53 Special Operations Command Pacific 445–6 Spirnak, Madelyn 192–94 Sri Lanka 163 Stapleton, Craig 194–5 START I Treaty 231 State Department: and Chile 68, 70; definition of terrorism 82; foundation 4; internal communications 5–6; Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) 314; overseas public relations strategy 81; public diplomacy budget 5; role 4–5 State Department cables: access 153–5; acronyms 153; archive 145–6; bias 148–9; classification levels 150–2; content 151; dynamic nature of 147; frequency 150; ideology 149; keywords 148; length 145; metadata 149–52; need for critical distance 148; numbers 145; publication 155–8; reading 146–53; redactions 156; reference ID system 150; reftel 152; role of 147; searching 146, 148, 153–5; structure 152–3; titles 150; Traffic Analysis by Geography and Subject 152; writers 147 status of forces agreements 159 Steele, James 105, 354–5, 363 Steele, Michael D. 367 Steinberg, James 267, 408, 420–1 Stephens, D. Kathleen 420–2 Strategic Defense Initiative 223–4 Streltsov, Mikhail 232, 234 Sudan 458, 460 Suez Crisis 43 Suleiman, Omar 37 Sullivan, Leon 476–7 Sullivan, Mark 501–2 Súmate 518–19, 525 Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) 83–4 Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) 84 Syria 17, 23, 31, 32, 297–321; civil war 15–16, 300–301; destabilization 298–9, 302–6, 310–12; government legitimacy 307–8; human rights 298, 314; and Iran 299, 301–2; and the Kurds 309–10; opposition 303–6; opposition funding 312–20; paranoia 305–6, 312; resistance to economic reforms 306–7, 308–9, 312; and Saudi Arabia 301–2, 304; sectarianism 300–301; terrorism in 310–11; US military intervention 297; US policy 297–301, 320–21 Tagliavini, Heidi 220 Taguba, Antonio 364 Taguba Report, the 97 Tahrir Square, Cairo 38 Taliban, the 78, 372, 373, 382, 388–9, 393 Taplin, Mark 190 Taubman, Nicholas 190 Tefft, John 221–2 TeleSUR 125–6 Tenet, George 107 terrorism: definition 12, 75, 80–6; as norm 92–3; in Syria 310–11; WikiLeaks accused of 80, 92–3 terrorists: definition 79, 80–1; Turkey and 251–3 Thabit, Adnan 84 Thailand 107, 442, 446, 448, 452–3, 461–62 Tighe, Thomas 531–2, 533 torture 77, 82; Afghanistan 385–7; American use of 97–109, 111, 363–7, 385–7; CIA use of 12, 14, 96, 97, 101–3, 105–9, 206; definition 12, 94–7, 108, 111; effectiveness 107, 109–11; Iraq 85, 352, 363–7; legality 95–6, 107–8; methods 94, 97, 102–3, 104–5, 106, 107, 363; professionals 106–7, 367; prosecutions 160; psychological 97, 101–3; public opinion on 96; purpose 109–11; rationale 99, 107; report numbers 105; spin 365, 367; validation 101 torture memos, the 95–6 Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) 132, 134–5, 136 Trade-Related Intellectual Property agreements 133, 135 Traffic Analysis by Geography and Subject 152 Trafigura 114–15 Trans-Pacific Partnership [TPP] Free Trading Agreement 117, 132, 133–4, 135–6, 467–9 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation 449 Tripartite Core Group (TCG) 462 Trivelli, Paul 493–5, 496, 542 Trujillo, Rafael 56 Truman, Harry 25, 441, 471 Tunisia 31, 33–35, 37, 42, 45, 47 Turkey 16–17, 32, 237–62; corruption 258–9; economic growth 256; energy strategy 245–8; extraordinary rendition charge 239–40, 261; foreign policy 252–3; Gülen Community 254–8, 259–60; Incirlik Air Base 239–41; intelligence sharing 243–5; internal affairs 253–61; and Iran 245–53, 329–30; Israel and 259; the Kissinger cables 65–6; and the Kurds 242–6, 259; NATO membership 238–42, 245; oil imports 245–6; strategic importance 237–42; and terrorists 251–3 Turkish Petroleum Company (TPAO) 246 Turkmenistan 23–4, 31 twenty-first-century socialism 129 Ukraine 17, 187; crisis, 2014 210; Orange Revolution 212; Russia and 217 UN Convention Against Torture 95–6, 108, 109 Union of South American Nations 508 United Arab Emirates (UAE) 334, 335–8 United Fruit Company 55 United Nations 47, 65; Human Rights Commission 68–9; Human Rights Council 281 United Nations Security Council 161, 178, 179, 263, 270–1, 283, 340, 473–4 United States of America: aid to Egypt 30; ANA Trust Fund financial malfeasance 196–7; avoidance of ICC sanctions. 162–9; colonialism 26–7, 435–41; diplomatic service 4; economic power 11–12, 112–41; embassies 3–4; empire 3–6, 11–12, 112–13; energy strategy 248; engagement with ICC 177–80; European policy 182–3; exceptionalism 434–5; foreign policy aims 237, 261; free trade imperialism 117–23; hegemony 42, 118, 433, 441, 444–6; human rights abuses 74–8; hypocrisy 30–1; Iran policy 339–40; Israel Lobby 264; Israel policy 28, 322–3, 323–9; Jewish organizations 294; Latin America policy 28–9, 49–73, 483–6; laws concerning torture 95–6; manifest destiny 25, 437; market-dependency policy 125–32; Middle East policy 28, 31–49, 237–8, 295–6, 322–3, 348; military aid 24, 263; military power 112–13; military spending 44; nuclear primacy 217–18; official secrecy 12; overseas public relations strategy 81; relationship to dictatorships 23–31; relationship with Britain 182–3; relations with South Korea 404–5, 420–2; support for anti-colonial movement 27; Syria policy 297–301, 311–12, 320–1; trade relations with Europe 184–5, 187–95; use of torture 97–109, 111, 363–6, 385–7; war crimes allegations 284 UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) 61, 510–14 USAID 18, 101, 484, 487–88, 497, 506, 506–7, 509, 517–18, 519, 520, 522, 523, 525 US Army, definition of terrorism 82 US Coast Guard 170 US forces, immunity from local law 159–60 US International Military Education and Training funding 34 USIS 84 US Navy 167 US Southern Command Situational Assessment Team 509 Valdez, Juan Gabriel 512–13 Valenzuela, Arturo 544 Vance, Cyrus 475 Vásquez, Romeo 544 Venediktov, Aleksey 215 Venevtsev, Vladimir 230 Venezuela 18, 72, 486, 515–31; cable mentions 526; CIA involvement 516; coup attempt, 2002 30, 51, 59–60, 515–16, 525–6; democracy promotion 518–22; dividing Chavismo 524; isolation efforts 538–41, 544–5; oil resources 515; opposition 520–2; penetrating the Chavista base 522–4; Petrocaribe program 517, 530–4, 535–7, 545; post-Chávez 517, 524–6, 545; radical populist allies 541–4; regional threat 526–31; relationship with Iran 522; resource nationalism 148–9; US intervention 515–16, 516–17, 517–26, 544–5 Venezuelan Bolivarianism 484 Vershbow, Alexander 213, 272–3, 284 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 485 Vietnam 123–5, 453, 468, 470 Vietnam War 44, 101–2, 119, 442 Volcker, Paul 59, 120 Volcker Shock, the 59, 120 Vorster, John 474, 476 Waked, Amr 38 Walid, Abdul 85 Walker, Ignacio 172 Wall Street Journal (newspaper) 48 war crimes 75, 92, 164; allegations against Israel 178–80, 281–4; immunity 159–60; prosecutions 159–60 Warner, Ted 232–3, 234, 235 war on drugs 169, 175 war on terror 12, 34, 40, 169, 210, 261, 448; Europe and 195–200; justice and accountability 197–200; Southeast Asia 463–7; and torture 105 Washington Consensus, the 141, 485 Washington Model, the 128 Washington Post (newspaper) 78, 389–90, 483–4 Waterman, Shaun 365–6 Weekend Australian 400 Weinstein, Allen 30 Weir, Fred 216 Weissglass, Dov 278 West Bank, the 265–76 West Germany 119 Whitaker, Kevin 523 WikiLeaks: aims 158; and the Arab Spring 32–3; corporate investigations 113–17; document numbers published 1–2; domains 8; internet access to blocked 9; Jewish conspiracy theory 264; principles 157; publication schedule 155–8; search interface 153–4, 157; terrorism charge 80, 92–3; US government fatwa against 8–9 Wilentz, Amy 59, 64 Williard, James 536–7 Wilson, Ross 239–40 Wilson, Woodrow 25, 26–7, 52, 53, 53–4, 439 Wisner, Frank G. 39 Woosang, Kim 404 World Bank 64, 130, 504 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) 133, 135 World Trade Center attacks, 9/11/2001 90, 368–9 World Trade Organization (WTO) 121, 123, 131, 133, 136, 502 World War I 26, 52 World War II 27, 433, 442 Worthington, Andy 99–100 Yabunaka, Mitoji 416 Yadlin, Amos 277 Yamaoka, Kenji 413–14 al-Yaqubi, Muhammad 356 Yemen 32, 40–1, 164 Yoo, John 95–6, 108, 207–10 Young, Andrew 475–6 Yudhoyono, Susilo Bambang 470 al-Zarqawi, Abu Musab 77 Zelaya, Manuel 70, 71–2, 73, 536–7, 543–4 Zimbabwe 481 Zubaydah, Abu 96, 106–7 Zuma, Jacob 482, 514 Zumwalt, James P. 407, 409, 412–13 This eBook is licensed to Edward Betts, edward@4angle.com on 04/01/2016 On the Typeface This book is set in Sabon, a narrow Garamond-style book face designed in 1968 by the German typographer Jan Tschichold.

Collider by Paul Halpern

Albert Einstein, Albert Michelson, anthropic principle, cosmic microwave background, cosmological constant, dark matter, Dr. Strangelove, Ernest Rutherford, Gary Taubes, gravity well, Herman Kahn, Higgs boson, horn antenna, index card, Isaac Newton, Large Hadron Collider, Magellanic Cloud, pattern recognition, Plato's cave, Richard Feynman, Ronald Reagan, statistical model, Stephen Hawking, Strategic Defense Initiative, time dilation

Because of the projected multibillion-dollar cost for the project, to move forward the approval of President Ronald Reagan, the American leader at the time, was required. On the face of it, that would seem to be a hard sell, given that the federal budget was already stretched through various military and scientific programs. Expensive projects at the time included the Strategic Defense Initiative (more commonly known as “Star Wars”) for developing missile-interception systems and a program to establish an international space station. How could the SSC carve out its own piece of a shrinking pie? Luckily for the prospects of gaining approval, if there was a frontier to be conquered or an enemy to be defeated, Reagan believed in taking major risks.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz

Airbnb, Ben Horowitz, Benchmark Capital, business intelligence, cloud computing, financial independence, Google Glasses, hiring and firing, Isaac Newton, Jeff Bezos, Kiva Systems, Larry Ellison, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, move fast and break things, new economy, nuclear winter, Peter Thiel, Productivity paradox, random walk, Ronald Reagan, Silicon Valley, six sigma, SoftBank, Steve Ballmer, Steve Jobs, stock buybacks, Strategic Defense Initiative

It amazed me how a diverse perspective utterly changed the meaning of every significant event in the world. For instance, when Run-D.M.C.’s Hard Times album came out, with its relentless bass drum, it sent an earthquake through the football team, but not even a ripple through my calculus class. Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative was considered an outrage among young scientists due to its questionable technical foundation, but those aspects went unnoticed at football practice. Looking at the world through such different prisms helped me separate facts from perception. This ability would serve me incredibly well later when I became an entrepreneur and CEO.

Never Panic Early: An Apollo 13 Astronaut's Journey by Fred Haise, Bill Moore

Apollo 11, Apollo 13, Apollo Guidance Computer, Boeing 747, Gene Kranz, ice-free Arctic, index card, Kickstarter, Neil Armstrong, orbital mechanics / astrodynamics, panic early, Strategic Defense Initiative, two and twenty, women in the workforce

It created lengthy beams that looked like Christmas tree ornaments, which hung from the ceiling in a large, high-bay building. Another challenge for the Solar Power Satellite to ever become a reality was the need for a booster-lift capability. It was thought that a heavy-lift vehicle could be developed via the “Star Wars” or strategic defense initiative missile defense system that President Reagan promoted, but the Star Wars program faded away and so did our funding from NASA and the Department of Energy. Gen. Jim Abrahamson was in charge of the Star Wars program, and I would cross paths with him later when he joined NASA as associate administrator for the Space Shuttle Program.

Understanding Power by Noam Chomsky

anti-communist, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, Bretton Woods, British Empire, Burning Man, business climate, business cycle, cognitive dissonance, continuous integration, Corn Laws, cuban missile crisis, dark matter, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, deindustrialization, Deng Xiaoping, deskilling, disinformation, European colonialism, Fall of the Berlin Wall, feminist movement, gentrification, global reserve currency, guns versus butter model, Howard Zinn, junk bonds, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, liberation theology, Mahatma Gandhi, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, Monroe Doctrine, mortgage tax deduction, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, Paul Samuelson, Ralph Nader, reserve currency, Ronald Reagan, Rosa Parks, school choice, Strategic Defense Initiative, strikebreaker, structural adjustment programs, systems thinking, the scientific method, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, union organizing, wage slave, women in the workforce

By the 1960s, computers began to be marketable—and they were handed over to the private corporations so they could make the profits from them; still, about 50 percent of the costs of computer development were paid by the American taxpayer in the 1960s. 3 In the 1980s, there was a big new “fifth-generation” computer project—they were developing new fancy software, new types of computers, and so on—and the development of all of that was extremely expensive. So therefore it went straight back to the taxpayer to foot the bills again—that’s what S.D.I, [the Strategic Defense Initiative] was about, “Star Wars.” Star Wars is basically a technique for subsidizing high-technology industry. Nobody believes that it’s a defense system—I mean, maybe Reagan believes it, but nobody whose head is screwed on believes that Star Wars is a military system. It’s simply a way to subsidize the development of the next generation of high technology—fancy software, complicated computer systems, fifth-generation computers, lasers, and so on. 4 And if anything marketable comes out of all that, okay, then the taxpayer will be put aside as usual, and it’ll go to the corporations to make the profits off it.

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And since Japan is a very disciplined and obedient society culturally, the population there just does what they tell them, and nobody ever asks any questions about it. Alright, to see how this difference played out over the years, just look at the “Star Wars” program in the United States, for example. Star Wars [the Strategic Defense Initiative] is the pretext for a huge amount of research and development spending through the Pentagon system here—it’s our way of funding the new generation of computer technology, lasers, new software, and so on. Well, if you look at the distribution of expenses for Star Wars, it turns out that it was virtually the same allocation of funding as was made through the Japanese state-directed economic system in the same time period: in those same years, M.I.T.I. made about the same judgments about how to distribute their resources as we did, they spent about the same proportion of money in lasers, and the same proportion in software, and so on. 13 And the reason is that all of these planners make approximately the same judgments about the likely new technologies.

The New Gold Rush: The Riches of Space Beckon! by Joseph N. Pelton

"World Economic Forum" Davos, 3D printing, Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, Biosphere 2, Buckminster Fuller, business logic, Carrington event, Colonization of Mars, Dennis Tito, disruptive innovation, Donald Trump, driverless car, Elon Musk, en.wikipedia.org, full employment, global pandemic, Google Earth, GPS: selective availability, gravity well, Iridium satellite, Jeff Bezos, job automation, Johannes Kepler, John von Neumann, life extension, low earth orbit, Lyft, Mark Shuttleworth, Mark Zuckerberg, megacity, megastructure, new economy, Peter H. Diamandis: Planetary Resources, Planet Labs, post-industrial society, private spaceflight, Ray Kurzweil, Scaled Composites, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley billionaire, skunkworks, space junk, SpaceShipOne, Stephen Hawking, Steve Jobs, Strategic Defense Initiative, Thomas Malthus, Tim Cook: Apple, Tunguska event, uber lyft, urban planning, urban sprawl, vertical integration, Virgin Galactic, wikimedia commons, X Prize

Indeed some commercial satellites, such as like XTAR, are designed to operate exclusively in the military X band (8/7 GHz) and thus are indeed always used for military or emergency relief communications. These space-based war-fighting systems in the skies are much further away from World War II than World War II is away the from Crusades. The new technologies that are being envisioned for space-based strategic operations are very high tech indeed. Although we did not deploy the strategic defense initiative known popularly as “star wars ,” most of the underlying technical capability is now available. Clearly the United States, Russia and China, at least, have anti-satellite capabilities and so-called “kill satellites.” The same can be said about plans for the Transitional Satellite (TSAT) optical ring that would have been the equivalent of an optical cable systems in the skies but was canceled by Congress as being too expensive.

Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America by Giles Slade

Albert Einstein, Alexey Pajitnov wrote Tetris, American ideology, Apollo Guidance Computer, Apple's 1984 Super Bowl advert, Buckminster Fuller, business cycle, Cass Sunstein, Charles Babbage, Charles Lindbergh, creative destruction, disinformation, Douglas Engelbart, Douglas Engelbart, Dr. Strangelove, Fairchild Semiconductor, Ford Model T, global village, Herman Kahn, housing crisis, indoor plumbing, invention of radio, Jeff Hawkins, John Perry Barlow, Joseph Schumpeter, Lewis Mumford, Marshall McLuhan, Mikhail Gorbachev, more computing power than Apollo, mutually assured destruction, PalmPilot, planned obsolescence, public intellectual, Ralph Nader, rent control, Ronald Reagan, Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs, Strategic Defense Initiative, Suez crisis 1956, the market place, the medium is the message, The Soul of a New Machine, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, Thorstein Veblen, unemployed young men, upwardly mobile, Vladimir Vetrov: Farewell Dossier, white picket fence, women in the workforce

Then, in the early days of the new year, after reviewing his personal record of the meeting, Casey took Weiss’s ideas privately to President Reagan and received enthusiastic approval. Later, in a general executive meeting outlining a range of anti-Soviet strategies, President Reagan also committed himself to the MIRV and the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI,or “Star Wars”) and to a general policy of investment in advanced military technologies.41 What would follow was a collaborative counter-intelligence effort in the best tradition of the American Tradecraft Society. The CIA, FBI, and the Department of Defense quickly identifie Soviet agents engaged in acquisitions projects and won the cooperation of American industry in sabotaging the products before they were acquired.

SAM: One Robot, a Dozen Engineers, and the Race to Revolutionize the Way We Build by Jonathan Waldman

Burning Man, computer vision, Ford paid five dollars a day, glass ceiling, helicopter parent, Hyperloop, industrial robot, information security, James Webb Space Telescope, job automation, Lean Startup, minimum viable product, off grid, Ralph Nader, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ronald Reagan, self-driving car, Silicon Valley, stealth mode startup, Steve Jobs, Strategic Defense Initiative, strikebreaker, union organizing, Yogi Berra

It was a mutually beneficial arrangement: The DOD, particularly the Army Research Laboratory, saw commercial and military technology going in opposite directions, and wanted to be sure state-of-the-art technology kept coming its way. MIT, at the time, was home to the country’s most active university patent office. Some advancements were expected to go toward the Strategic Defense Initiative (aka the “Space Fence”), but the DOD, being a gargantuan builder, also sought improvements in construction—in materials, computing, management, sensing, productivity, and automation via robotics. Bruce Schena decided to stay and earn a master’s degree. In 1986, under a maverick professor named Alex Slocum, with half a dozen other grad students, he became a member of PACT’s inaugural class.

The Moon: A History for the Future by Oliver Morton

Anthropocene, Apollo 11, Apollo 13, Charles Lindbergh, commoditize, Dava Sobel, Donald Trump, Easter island, Elon Musk, facts on the ground, gravity well, Isaac Newton, Jeff Bezos, Johannes Kepler, Late Heavy Bombardment, low earth orbit, Mark Zuckerberg, Mars Society, Menlo Park, military-industrial complex, multiplanetary species, Neal Stephenson, Neil Armstrong, Norman Mailer, Pierre-Simon Laplace, planetary scale, Pluto: dwarf planet, plutocrats, private spaceflight, seminal paper, Silicon Valley, South China Sea, space junk, Steve Jobs, Steve Jurvetson, Stewart Brand, Strategic Defense Initiative, Ted Nordhaus, UNCLOS, Virgin Galactic, Whole Earth Catalog, X Prize

The first real post-Apollo, post-Soviet Moon mission was Japanese. Despite setbacks along the way, Hiten entered orbit round the Moon in October 1991. America went back in 1994 with a military mission called Clementine which sought to use lunar science as a test for instruments developed for the Strategic Defense Initiative, or “Star Wars”. NASA returned in 1997 with a small mission called Lunar Prospector. The names of both probes—Clementine, the inamorata of “My Darling Clementine”, was a miner’s daughter—reflected a new interest in exploitable lunar resources. NASA has sent five further missions. The European Space Agency sent its first mission to the Moon in 2003.

The Hacker Crackdown by Bruce Sterling

Apple II, back-to-the-land, Future Shock, game design, ghettoisation, Hacker Conference 1984, Haight Ashbury, Howard Rheingold, HyperCard, index card, informal economy, information security, Jaron Lanier, John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow, machine readable, Mitch Kapor, pirate software, plutocrats, radical decentralization, Silicon Valley, Steve Wozniak, Steven Levy, Stewart Brand, Strategic Defense Initiative, technological determinism, The Hackers Conference, the scientific method, Whole Earth Catalog, Whole Earth Review

CPSR members were especially troubled about the stability, safety, and dependability of military computer systems, and very especially troubled by those systems controlling nuclear arsenals. CPSR was best-known for its persistent and well-publicized attacks on the scientific credibility of the Strategic Defense Initiative ("Star Wars"). In 1990, CPSR was the nation's veteran cyber-political activist group, with over two thousand members in twenty-one local chapters across the US. It was especially active in Boston, Silicon Valley, and Washington DC, where its Washington office sponsored the Public Policy Roundtable.

The Power of Geography: Ten Maps That Reveal the Future of Our World by Tim Marshall

Apollo 11, Ayatollah Khomeini, Boris Johnson, Brexit referendum, British Empire, carbon footprint, centre right, clean water, coronavirus, COVID-19, David Sedaris, disinformation, Donald Trump, drone strike, Elon Musk, European colonialism, failed state, glass ceiling, global pandemic, Great Leap Forward, Jeff Bezos, Johannes Kepler, low earth orbit, Malacca Straits, means of production, megaproject, Mikhail Gorbachev, mutually assured destruction, Neil Armstrong, new economy, New Urbanism, Ronald Reagan, Silicon Valley, South China Sea, sovereign wealth fund, space junk, Strategic Defense Initiative, Suez canal 1869, Suez crisis 1956, trade route, uranium enrichment, urban planning, women in the workforce

However, it’s the ‘Big Three’ who are at the cutting edge of both space travel and its military dimensions. All three accept that the military concept of ‘full-spectrum dominance’ now includes space, from low orbit to the Moon, and eventually beyond. We saw an early and limited attempt to gain this advantage with the American Strategic Defense Initiative in the 1980s, an attempt to develop a missile defence system that could protect the USA from nuclear attack. One of the options it investigated was a range of space-based weaponry, earning it the name ‘Star Wars’ and heralding the militarization of space. Now the development of hypersonic missiles, which can fly at more than twenty times the speed of sound, is also focusing attention on this area.

In Our Own Image: Savior or Destroyer? The History and Future of Artificial Intelligence by George Zarkadakis

3D printing, Ada Lovelace, agricultural Revolution, Airbnb, Alan Turing: On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem, animal electricity, anthropic principle, Asperger Syndrome, autonomous vehicles, barriers to entry, battle of ideas, Berlin Wall, bioinformatics, Bletchley Park, British Empire, business process, carbon-based life, cellular automata, Charles Babbage, Claude Shannon: information theory, combinatorial explosion, complexity theory, Computing Machinery and Intelligence, continuous integration, Conway's Game of Life, cosmological principle, dark matter, data science, deep learning, DeepMind, dematerialisation, double helix, Douglas Hofstadter, driverless car, Edward Snowden, epigenetics, Flash crash, Google Glasses, Gödel, Escher, Bach, Hans Moravec, income inequality, index card, industrial robot, intentional community, Internet of things, invention of agriculture, invention of the steam engine, invisible hand, Isaac Newton, Jacquard loom, Jacques de Vaucanson, James Watt: steam engine, job automation, John von Neumann, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, Kickstarter, liberal capitalism, lifelogging, machine translation, millennium bug, mirror neurons, Moravec's paradox, natural language processing, Nick Bostrom, Norbert Wiener, off grid, On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures, packet switching, pattern recognition, Paul Erdős, Plato's cave, post-industrial society, power law, precautionary principle, prediction markets, Ray Kurzweil, Recombinant DNA, Rodney Brooks, Second Machine Age, self-driving car, seminal paper, Silicon Valley, social intelligence, speech recognition, stem cell, Stephen Hawking, Steven Pinker, Strategic Defense Initiative, strong AI, Stuart Kauffman, synthetic biology, systems thinking, technological singularity, The Coming Technological Singularity, The Future of Employment, the scientific method, theory of mind, Turing complete, Turing machine, Turing test, Tyler Cowen, Tyler Cowen: Great Stagnation, Vernor Vinge, Von Neumann architecture, Watson beat the top human players on Jeopardy!, Y2K

Only those who understood what these numbers were, and found them, could then go to the ‘secret’ website, and apply for a position at Google. 4With a significant contribution from Cambridge mathematician Gordon Welchman (1906–1985). 5The most complex electronic device until then used only 150 valves. 6ENIAC: Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer. 7von Neumann, J. (1945), ‘First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC’. 8Turing also produced a similar concept at around the same time, which he called ‘Automatic Computing Engine’ (ACE). 9Officially called ‘Strategic Defense Initiative’ (SDI). 10COBOL: Common Business-Oriented Language. 11This is Jules Verne’s ‘lost novel’, rediscovered by his great-grandson in 1989 and published in 1994. 12Another interesting piece of fiction is the short story ‘The Machine Stops’ written by E. M. Forster in 1909, in which communication is through an instant messaging/video conference machine. 13Wright, A. (2014), Cataloging the world: Paul Otlet and the Birth of the Information Age.

Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed by Ben R. Rich, Leo Janos

affirmative action, Berlin Wall, business climate, cuban missile crisis, friendly fire, military-industrial complex, mutually assured destruction, no-fly zone, Ronald Reagan, South China Sea, Strategic Defense Initiative, upwardly mobile, Yom Kippur War

Did we really spend them into self-destruction, or did their own corruption and an almost nonexistent functioning economy do the job irrespective of military outlays? Or is the truth somewhere in between? There is no doubt that we ran up enormous debts ourselves that have almost wrecked our own free enterprise system by chasing after enormously costly technologies that were simply beyond our creative grasp. The Reagan administration’s Strategic Defense Initiative is a case in point. This was the so-called Star Wars concept of employing an impenetrable defensive shield capable of destroying all incoming enemy missiles launched against us. In an actual all-out nuclear attack, hundreds of missiles would be raining down on us, including many decoys.

Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Software by Scott Rosenberg

A Pattern Language, AOL-Time Warner, Benevolent Dictator For Life (BDFL), Berlin Wall, Bill Atkinson, c2.com, call centre, collaborative editing, Computer Lib, conceptual framework, continuous integration, Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life?, Donald Knuth, Douglas Engelbart, Douglas Engelbart, Douglas Hofstadter, Dynabook, en.wikipedia.org, Firefox, Ford Model T, Ford paid five dollars a day, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, Free Software Foundation, functional programming, General Magic , George Santayana, Grace Hopper, Guido van Rossum, Gödel, Escher, Bach, Howard Rheingold, HyperCard, index card, intentional community, Internet Archive, inventory management, Ivan Sutherland, Jaron Lanier, John Markoff, John Perry Barlow, John von Neumann, knowledge worker, L Peter Deutsch, Larry Wall, life extension, Loma Prieta earthquake, machine readable, Menlo Park, Merlin Mann, Mitch Kapor, Neal Stephenson, new economy, Nicholas Carr, no silver bullet, Norbert Wiener, pattern recognition, Paul Graham, Potemkin village, RAND corporation, Ray Kurzweil, Richard Stallman, Ronald Reagan, Ruby on Rails, scientific management, semantic web, side project, Silicon Valley, Singularitarianism, slashdot, software studies, source of truth, South of Market, San Francisco, speech recognition, stealth mode startup, stem cell, Stephen Hawking, Steve Jobs, Stewart Brand, Strategic Defense Initiative, Ted Nelson, the Cathedral and the Bazaar, Therac-25, thinkpad, Turing test, VA Linux, Vannevar Bush, Vernor Vinge, Wayback Machine, web application, Whole Earth Catalog, Y2K

One of the great documents of software history is a brief set of essays by David Lorge Parnas published in 1985. The drab title, “Software Aspects of Strategic Defense Systems,” offers no hint of the controversy that birthed it. Parnas, a computer science pioneer and longtime expert on defense software engineering, served on a panel of computer scientists convened to provide advice on the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), President Ronald Reagan’s proposal for a missile defense program, colloquially known as Star Wars. Parnas had done plenty of work for the military in the past and was no kneejerk peacenik. But in June 1985, he resigned from the committee, declaring that the software required by SDI could never be built.

The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule by Thomas Frank

"Hurricane Katrina" Superdome, affirmative action, Alan Greenspan, anti-communist, barriers to entry, Berlin Wall, Bernie Madoff, British Empire, business cycle, classic study, collective bargaining, corporate governance, Credit Default Swap, David Brooks, disinformation, edge city, financial deregulation, full employment, George Gilder, guest worker program, Ida Tarbell, income inequality, invisible hand, job satisfaction, Michael Milken, Mikhail Gorbachev, Mont Pelerin Society, mortgage debt, Naomi Klein, Nelson Mandela, new economy, P = NP, plutocrats, Ponzi scheme, Ralph Nader, rent control, Richard Florida, road to serfdom, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, school vouchers, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, stem cell, stock buybacks, Strategic Defense Initiative, Telecommunications Act of 1996, the scientific method, too big to fail, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, union organizing, War on Poverty

He reveals as KGB fabrications the connotations of the word McCarthyism and the notion that Hitler was a man of the right. He even invents a handy voter guide to show how frequently the libs in Congress take the Kremlin line. It was brilliant! Here is how Human Events covered the book’s publication, in its August 15, 1987 issue. Pick your issue: Pershing and MX missile deployment, the Strategic Defense Initiative, or aid to freedom fighters in Nicaragua and Angola. Then compare the positions of, say, Ted Kennedy and Mikhail Gorbachev. The same? They usually are. This alarming affinity is served up with skill and humor in My Dear Alex, a new novel by two of the brightest young rising stars in the conservative movement. 35.

Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield by Jeremy Scahill

active measures, air freight, Andy Carvin, anti-communist, blood diamond, business climate, citizen journalism, colonial rule, crowdsourcing, disinformation, Donald Trump, drone strike, failed state, false flag, friendly fire, Google Hangouts, independent contractor, indoor plumbing, information security, Islamic Golden Age, Kickstarter, land reform, Mohammed Bouazizi, Naomi Klein, operational security, private military company, Project for a New American Century, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, Saturday Night Live, Seymour Hersh, Strategic Defense Initiative, WikiLeaks

Critics worried that this would place US armed service members at risk should they be captured, with their captors enabled to ignore the Geneva Conventions’ prohibitions on torture and inhumane treatment, citing the US precedent. Although the SSB was officially run by Vice Admiral Lowell Jacoby, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, its real taskmaster was Stephen Cambone, a political ideologue recruited by Rumsfeld. A leading neocon, Cambone had first appeared on the Pentagon radar when he ran the Strategic Defense Initiative in 1990. Later, he worked on special projects for Rumsfeld on DoD commissions dealing with missile defense and spacebased weapons. Bringing Cambone on board to help shape the hunter-killer Special Ops program that had been on Rumsfeld’s mind since 9/11 opened the floodgates. Officially, Cambone was Rumsfeld’s special assistant.

…

The following details about “internal Pentagon documents” and the Strategic Support Branch come from the Washington Post. 96 “viewed the CIA as a weak sister”: Author interview, Philip Giraldi, March 2012. 97 lose their Geneva Convention status: Colonel Kathryn Stone, “‘All Necessary Means’—Employing CIA Operatives in a Warfighting Role Alongside Special Operations Forces,” USAWC Strategy Research Project (U.S. Army War College, 2003). 97 officially run: Barbara Starr, “Pentagon Runs Clandestine Intelligence-Gathering Infrastructure,” CNN.com, January 24, 2005. 97 Strategic Defense Initiative: Kerry Gildea, “Rumsfeld Adviser Brings Precise Analytical Approach to DoD Post,” Defense Daily, January 31, 2001. 97 special projects: Official Department of Defense biography, “Dr. Stephen A. Cambone; Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence,” January 13, 2006. 97 special assistant: Ibid. 97 “The effort has to be global”: Memo from Donald Rumsfeld to unnamed recipient(s), “Memorandum 9/23/01,” www.rumsfeld.com. 97 “Capabilities”: Memo from Donald Rumsfeld to Stephen Cambone, “Subject: Capabilities,” September 23, 2001, www.rumsfeld.com. 97 “Opportunity”: Memo from Donald Rumsfeld to Stephen Cambone, “Subject: Opportunity,” September 26, 2001, www.rumsfeld.com. 97 “They are all cast in the same mode”: Author interview, Colonel W.

The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict From 1500 to 2000 by Paul Kennedy

agricultural Revolution, airline deregulation, anti-communist, banking crisis, Berlin Wall, book value, Bretton Woods, British Empire, cuban missile crisis, deindustrialization, Deng Xiaoping, disinformation, European colonialism, floating exchange rates, full employment, German hyperinflation, Great Leap Forward, guns versus butter model, Herman Kahn, imperial preference, industrial robot, joint-stock company, laissez-faire capitalism, long peace, means of production, military-industrial complex, Monroe Doctrine, mutually assured destruction, night-watchman state, North Sea oil, nuclear winter, oil shock, open economy, Peace of Westphalia, Potemkin village, price mechanism, price stability, RAND corporation, reserve currency, Ronald Reagan, Silicon Valley, South China Sea, South Sea Bubble, spice trade, spinning jenny, stakhanovite, Strategic Defense Initiative, Suez canal 1869, Suez crisis 1956, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, trade route, University of East Anglia, upwardly mobile, zero-sum game

Parts of the triad of French nuclear weaponry—the land-based missiles, and especially the aircraft—suffer from deterioration over time and even their costly upgrading and modernization may not keep pace with newer weapons technology.118 This problem may become particularly acute if significant breakthroughs occur in American Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) technology, and if the Russians in their turn develop a much larger system of ballistic-missile defense. Nothing is more disturbing, from the French viewpoint, than the two superpowers enhancing their potential invulnerability while Europe remains exposed. As against this, there is the significant buildup of the French submarine-launched ballistic-missile system (discussed below, p. 506).

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But this in turn draws Soviet planners into the same vortex which threatens western defense programs: more sophisticated equipment leads to much longer building times, larger maintenance schedules, heavier (usually) and vastly more expensive (always) hardware, and a decline in production numbers. This is not a comforting trend for a Power which has traditionally relied upon large numbers of weapons to carry out its various and disparate strategical tasks. The second sign of Soviet unease about technological obsolescence relates to the so-called Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) of the Reagan administration. It seems difficult at this stage to believe that it would really make the United States completely invulnerable to nuclear attack (for example, it can do nothing against low-flying “cruise” missiles), but the protection it may give to American missile sites and airbases and the added strain upon the Soviet defense budget of producing many more rockets and warheads to swamp the SDI system with sheer numbers can hardly be welcome to the Kremlin.

The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution by Richard Wrangham

agricultural Revolution, Alfred Russel Wallace, Anthropocene, dark triade / dark tetrad, Defenestration of Prague, domesticated silver fox, experimental subject, Fellow of the Royal Society, impulse control, income inequality, meta-analysis, out of africa, phenotype, Ronald Reagan, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), Social Justice Warrior, Steven Pinker, Strategic Defense Initiative, twin studies, ultimatum game

The figure of 3500 CE was extrapolated from increases in the size of the world’s twenty-eight largest empires since the Akkadian Empire in 2100 BCE. 75. Overy 2009; Hathaway and Shapiro 2017. 76. Suicide attackers are a striking exception, since their behavior seems unlikely to be adaptive. They normally represent the consequences of intense cultural persuasion (Atran 2003). 77. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan proposed a Strategic Defense Initiative, popularly known as Star Wars. Reagan persuaded Congress to fund the SDI on the basis that it would provide an effective shield against nuclear attack by the USSR. The effort proved technically impossible, politically challenging, and hugely expensive, and was eventually shelved. It was dangerous partly because it contributed to the arms race, and also because, if it had worked, it could have tempted U.S. leaders into increased aggression on the basis of their being invulnerable to nuclear attack. 13.

Big Bang by Simon Singh

Albert Einstein, Albert Michelson, All science is either physics or stamp collecting, Andrew Wiles, anthropic principle, Arthur Eddington, Astronomia nova, Bletchley Park, Boeing 747, Brownian motion, carbon-based life, Cepheid variable, Chance favours the prepared mind, Charles Babbage, Commentariolus, Copley Medal, cosmic abundance, cosmic microwave background, cosmological constant, cosmological principle, dark matter, Dava Sobel, Defenestration of Prague, discovery of penicillin, Dmitri Mendeleev, Eddington experiment, Edmond Halley, Edward Charles Pickering, Eratosthenes, Ernest Rutherford, Erwin Freundlich, Fellow of the Royal Society, Ford Model T, fudge factor, Hans Lippershey, Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis, Harvard Computers: women astronomers, heat death of the universe, Henri Poincaré, horn antenna, if you see hoof prints, think horses—not zebras, Index librorum prohibitorum, information security, invention of the telescope, Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler, John von Neumann, Karl Jansky, Kickstarter, Louis Daguerre, Louis Pasteur, luminiferous ether, Magellanic Cloud, Murray Gell-Mann, music of the spheres, Olbers’ paradox, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, Paul Erdős, retrograde motion, Richard Feynman, scientific mainstream, Simon Singh, Stephen Hawking, Strategic Defense Initiative, the scientific method, Thomas Kuhn: the structure of scientific revolutions, time dilation, unbiased observer, Wilhelm Olbers, William of Occam

The rocket business was largely in decline, so there were very few other alternatives. For instance, the COBE team approached McDonnell-Douglas, but the company had halted its Delta rocket production line. They had only a few spare rockets left, which had all been earmarked as targets in weapons tests for the new Strategic Defense Initiative (nicknamed the Stars Wars programme). However, when the Delta engineers heard about the plight of COBE, they were delighted that one of their beautifully crafted vehicles might be used for something more constructive than target practice. They immediately offered their services, but there was still one outstanding problem that had to be overcome.

Underground by Suelette Dreyfus

airport security, Free Software Foundation, invisible hand, John Markoff, Julian Assange, Loma Prieta earthquake, military-industrial complex, packet switching, PalmPilot, pirate software, profit motive, publish or perish, RFC: Request For Comment, Ronald Reagan, Stephen Hawking, Steven Levy, Strategic Defense Initiative, Stuxnet, uranium enrichment, urban decay, WikiLeaks, zero day

He had simply become interested in computer security and was known in-house as someone who knew about VMS systems and security. Officially, his job was network manager for the engineering department at the DOE-financed Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, or LLNL, near San Francisco. LLNL conducted mostly military research, much of it for the Strategic Defense Initiative. Many LLNL scientists spent their days designing nuclear arms and developing beam weapons for the Star Wars program.9 DOE already had a computer security group, known as CIAC, the Computer Incident Advisory Capability. But the CIAC team tended to be experts in security issues surrounding Unix rather than VMS-based computer systems and networks.

Beautiful Architecture: Leading Thinkers Reveal the Hidden Beauty in Software Design by Diomidis Spinellis, Georgios Gousios

Albert Einstein, barriers to entry, business intelligence, business logic, business process, call centre, continuous integration, corporate governance, database schema, Debian, domain-specific language, don't repeat yourself, Donald Knuth, duck typing, en.wikipedia.org, fail fast, fault tolerance, financial engineering, Firefox, Free Software Foundation, functional programming, general-purpose programming language, higher-order functions, iterative process, linked data, locality of reference, loose coupling, meta-analysis, MVC pattern, Neal Stephenson, no silver bullet, peer-to-peer, premature optimization, recommendation engine, Richard Stallman, Ruby on Rails, semantic web, smart cities, social graph, social web, SPARQL, Steve Jobs, Stewart Brand, Strategic Defense Initiative, systems thinking, the Cathedral and the Bazaar, traveling salesman, Turing complete, type inference, web application, zero-coupon bond

Before joining Bell Labs, he was director of the Reuse and Measurement Department of the Software Productivity Consortium (SPC), a consortium of 14 large U.S. aerospace companies. Prior to joining SPC, Dr. Weiss spent a year at the Office of Technology Assessment, where he was coauthor of a technology assessment of the Strategic Defense Initiative. During the 1985–1986 academic year he was a visiting scholar at the Wang Institute, and for many years he was a researcher at the Computer Science and Systems Branch of the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington D.C. He has also worked as a programmer and as a mathematician. Dave’s principal research interests are in the area of software engineering, particularly in software development processes and methodologies, software design, and software measurement.

Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base by Annie Jacobsen

Albert Einstein, anti-communist, Apollo 11, Berlin Wall, cuban missile crisis, data acquisition, disinformation, drone strike, Jim Simons, Maui Hawaii, military-industrial complex, mutually assured destruction, Neil Armstrong, operation paperclip, orbital mechanics / astrodynamics, Project Plowshare, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, Seymour Hersh, South China Sea, Strategic Defense Initiative, uranium enrichment, urban sprawl, zero day

Two days after Bob Lazar’s wedding to Tracy, his first wife, Carol, committed suicide by inhaling carbon monoxide in a shuttered garage. Lazar declared bankruptcy and sought advanced engineering work. He reached out to everyone he could think of, including Dr. Edward Teller, who was now spearheading President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, or Star Wars. In 1988, Teller found Lazar a job. This job was far from any old advanced engineering job. Edward Teller had recommended Bob Lazar to the most powerful defense-industry contractor at Area 51, a company called EG&G. Among the thousands of top secret and Q-cleared contractors who have worked on classified and black projects at the Nevada Test Site and Area 51, none has had as much power and access, or as little oversight, as EG&G.

The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language by Steven Pinker

Albert Einstein, Boeing 747, cloud computing, Computing Machinery and Intelligence, David Attenborough, double helix, Drosophila, elephant in my pajamas, finite state, Gregor Mendel, illegal immigration, Joan Didion, language acquisition, Loebner Prize, mass immigration, Maui Hawaii, meta-analysis, MITM: man-in-the-middle, natural language processing, out of africa, phenotype, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, Saturday Night Live, speech recognition, Steven Pinker, Strategic Defense Initiative, tacit knowledge, theory of mind, transatlantic slave trade, Turing machine, Turing test, twin studies, Yogi Berra

But that is a record meant to be broken: floccinaucinihilipilificational: pertaining to the categorizing of something as worthless or trivial floccinaucinihilipilificationalize: to cause something to pertain to the categorizing of something as worthless or trivial floccinaucinihilipilificationalization: the act of causing something to pertain to the categorizing of something as worthless or trivial floccinaucinihilipilificationalizational: pertaining to the act of causing something to pertain to the categorizing of something as worthless or trivial floccinaucinihilipilificationalizationalize: to cause something to pertain to the act of causing something to pertain… Or, if you suffer from sesquipedaliaphobia, you can think of your great-grandmother, your great-great-grandmother, your great-great-great-grandmother, and so on, limited only in practice by the number of generations since Eve. What’s more, words, like sentences, are too delicately layered to be generated by a chaining device (a system that selects an item from one list, then moves on to some other list, then to another). When Ronald Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative, popularly known as Star Wars, he imagined a future in which an incoming Soviet missile would be shot down by an anti-missile missile. But critics pointed out that the Soviet Union could counterattack with an anti-anti-missile-missile missile. No problem, said his MIT-educated engineers; we’ll just build an anti-anti-anti-missile-missile-missile missile.

The Cardinal of the Kremlin by Tom Clancy

active measures, airport security, cuban missile crisis, false flag, invisible hand, low earth orbit, military-industrial complex, mutually assured destruction, space junk, Stephen Hawking, Strategic Defense Initiative

Gregory knew the routine well enough: show the guard the pass, walk through the metal detector, then down the corridor filled with state flags, past the cafeteria, and down the ramp to the shopping arcade lit and decorated in the style of a 12th-century dungeon. In fact, Gregory had played Dungeons and Dragons in high school, and his first trip to the dreary polygon of a building had convinced him that the authors' inspiration had come from this very place. The Strategic Defense Initiative Office was beneath the Pentagon's shopping concourse (its entrance, in fact, directly under the pastry shop), a space about a thousand feet long that had previously been the bus and taxi stand-before the advent of car bombs had persuaded the nation's defense community that automobiles were not all that fine a thing to have under the E-ring.

The Rise of the Network Society by Manuel Castells

air traffic controllers' union, Alan Greenspan, Apple II, Asian financial crisis, barriers to entry, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, Bob Noyce, borderless world, British Empire, business cycle, capital controls, classic study, complexity theory, computer age, Computer Lib, computerized trading, content marketing, creative destruction, Credit Default Swap, declining real wages, deindustrialization, delayed gratification, dematerialisation, deskilling, digital capitalism, digital divide, disintermediation, double helix, Douglas Engelbart, Douglas Engelbart, edge city, experimental subject, export processing zone, Fairchild Semiconductor, financial deregulation, financial independence, floating exchange rates, future of work, gentrification, global village, Gunnar Myrdal, Hacker Ethic, hiring and firing, Howard Rheingold, illegal immigration, income inequality, independent contractor, Induced demand, industrial robot, informal economy, information retrieval, intermodal, invention of the steam engine, invention of the telephone, inventory management, Ivan Sutherland, James Watt: steam engine, job automation, job-hopping, John Markoff, John Perry Barlow, Kanban, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, labor-force participation, laissez-faire capitalism, Leonard Kleinrock, longitudinal study, low skilled workers, manufacturing employment, Marc Andreessen, Marshall McLuhan, means of production, megacity, Menlo Park, military-industrial complex, moral panic, new economy, New Urbanism, offshore financial centre, oil shock, open economy, packet switching, Pearl River Delta, peer-to-peer, planetary scale, popular capitalism, popular electronics, post-Fordism, post-industrial society, Post-Keynesian economics, postindustrial economy, prediction markets, Productivity paradox, profit maximization, purchasing power parity, RAND corporation, Recombinant DNA, Robert Gordon, Robert Metcalfe, Robert Solow, seminal paper, Shenzhen special economic zone , Shoshana Zuboff, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, social software, South China Sea, South of Market, San Francisco, special economic zone, spinning jenny, statistical model, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Strategic Defense Initiative, tacit knowledge, technological determinism, Ted Nelson, the built environment, the medium is the message, the new new thing, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Kuhn: the structure of scientific revolutions, total factor productivity, trade liberalization, transaction costs, urban renewal, urban sprawl, vertical integration, work culture , zero-sum game

. —— (1988a) “The new industrial space: information technology manufacturing and spatial structure in the United States”, in G. Sternlieb and J. Hughes (eds), America’s New Market Geography: Nation, Region and Metropolis, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University. —— (director) (1988b) The State and Technology Policy: a Comparative Analysis of US Strategic Defense Initiative, Informatics Policy in Brazil, and Electronics Policy in China, Berkeley, CA: University of California, Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE), research monograph. —— (1989a) “High technology and the new international division of labor”, Labour Studies, October. —— (1989b) The Informational City: Information Technology, Economic Restructuring, and the Urban–Regional Process, Oxford: Blackwell. —— (1989c) “Notes of field work in the industrial areas of Taiwan”, unpublished. —— (1991) “Estrategias de desarrollo metropolitano en las grandes ciudades españolas: la articulación entre crecimiento economico y calidad de vida”, in Jordi Borja et al.

The Pentagon: A History by Steve Vogel

Berlin Wall, Charles Lindbergh, City Beautiful movement, cuban missile crisis, Dr. Strangelove, East Village, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Ford Model T, military-industrial complex, New Journalism, Norman Mailer, Oklahoma City bombing, pneumatic tube, Ronald Reagan, Seymour Hersh, Strategic Defense Initiative, Works Progress Administration

The old bus tunnel—considered such a marvel of mass transit when the Pentagon opened—was replaced by a surface-level bus station in 1977 and closed off altogether in December 1983, a few months after a terrorist bombing killed 260 Marines in Beirut. (The tunnel was converted in 1987 into the headquarters for the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization—President Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” program.) But the surface-level bus station allowed buses to drive within nine feet of the building. Moreover, an escalator from the Metro subway station below carried passengers directly into the building—Pentagon security officials dubbed it the “terrorist delivery tube.”

The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by John J. Mearsheimer, Stephen M. Walt

affirmative action, Ayatollah Khomeini, Boycotts of Israel, David Brooks, energy security, facts on the ground, failed state, invisible hand, low interest rates, oil shock, Project for a New American Century, Ralph Nader, Ronald Reagan, Seymour Hersh, Silicon Valley, Strategic Defense Initiative, Suez crisis 1956, Thomas L Friedman, uranium enrichment, Yom Kippur War

Despite tensions over a wide array of issues—U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the 1981 bombing of Iraq’s nuclear reactor, Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights in December 1981, its invasion of Lebanon in 1982, and its abrupt rejection of the “Reagan Plan” for peace in September 1982—security cooperation between Israel and the United States increased steadily in the Reagan years. Joint military exercises began in 1984, and in 1986 Israel became one of three foreign countries invited to participate in the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative (aka “Star Wars”). Finally, in 1988, a new memorandum of agreement reaffirmed the “close partnership between Israel and the United States” and designated Israel a “Major Non-NATO Ally,” along with Australia, Egypt, Japan, and South Korea. States enjoying this status are eligible to purchase a wider array of U.S. weapons at lower prices, get priority delivery on war surplus matériel, and participate in joint research and development projects and U.S. counterterrorism initiatives.

America in the World by Robert B. Zoellick

Albert Einstein, anti-communist, banking crisis, battle of ideas, Berlin Wall, Bretton Woods, British Empire, classic study, Corn Laws, coronavirus, cuban missile crisis, defense in depth, Deng Xiaoping, Donald Trump, Douglas Engelbart, Douglas Engelbart, energy security, European colonialism, facts on the ground, Fall of the Berlin Wall, foreign exchange controls, Great Leap Forward, guns versus butter model, hypertext link, Ida Tarbell, illegal immigration, immigration reform, imperial preference, Isaac Newton, Joseph Schumpeter, land reform, linear model of innovation, Mikhail Gorbachev, MITM: man-in-the-middle, Monroe Doctrine, mutually assured destruction, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, Norbert Wiener, Paul Samuelson, public intellectual, RAND corporation, reserve currency, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan: Tear down this wall, scientific management, Scramble for Africa, Silicon Valley, Strategic Defense Initiative, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, trade liberalization, transcontinental railway, undersea cable, Vannevar Bush, War on Poverty

The United States edged away from supporting authoritarian leaders in the Philippines, South Korea, Chile, and South Africa, while easing those countries’ democratic transitions.45 Fifth, Reagan believed Americans needed an “insurance policy” against nuclear weapons. Even as he fought to achieve a dream of doing away with both MAD and nuclear weapons, the practical Reagan wanted some protection. He did not know what type of shield his Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) would eventually provide.46 At times, Reagan recognized that even just the prospect of an eventual defense against missiles added to Soviet fears about America’s technological edge and the cost of keeping up; yet the president also offered to share the results of U.S. inventiveness with Moscow.

Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy

disinformation, fear of failure, low earth orbit, nuclear winter, South China Sea, Strategic Defense Initiative, trade route

We have made numerous, serious, sincere proposals for real arms reductions, and despite this the United States has proceeded with the development and deployment of its destabilizing, openly offensive weapons: the MX first-strike missile, so cynically called the 'Peacekeeper'; the advanced Trident D-5 first-strike sea-launched ballistic missile; two separate varieties of cruise missiles whose characteristics conspire to make arms control verification almost totally impossible; and of course, the so-called Strategic Defense Initiative, which will take offensive strategic weapons into space. Such are America's deeds." He looked up from his notes and spoke with irony. "And through it all, America's pious words demand Soviet deeds. "Starting tomorrow, we will see once and for all if America's words are to be believed or not.

Nobody's Perfect: Writings From the New Yorker by Anthony Lane

a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, Apollo 13, classic study, colonial rule, dark matter, Frank Gehry, General Magic , Great Leap Forward, haute cuisine, Index librorum prohibitorum, junk bonds, Mahatma Gandhi, Maui Hawaii, moral hazard, Neil Armstrong, Norman Mailer, profit motive, Ronald Reagan, sexual politics, Strategic Defense Initiative, The Great Good Place, trade route, University of East Anglia, Upton Sinclair, urban decay, urban planning

In fact, the true masterstroke would have been never to release the film; Lucas could have milked the anticipation for as long as he pleased. In truth, something like this has already happened. The most costly and influential installment of Star Wars, after all, failed to come to fruition. It was otherwise known as the Strategic Defense Initiative, but not until it acquired its enticing nickname was the interest of the public—and, more important, of the president—aroused. You cannot help thinking that it was images of Han, Luke, and Leia that spun round inside Ronald Reagan’s head as he approved funding for the program—one of those rare occasions when he did not see eye to eye, or dream to dream, with the unfanciful Margaret Thatcher, who was not known as a moviegoer.