Joe Gregorio
At my Washington office a few weeks ago, I met with a visiting Japanese parliamentarian who specializes in science and technology issues. I related to him my belief that the Chinese would be on the moon within a decade with a declaration of permanent occupation. He disagreed. He smiled and said my conclusion was accurate but my timing was off. In his view, the Chinese would be on the moon within three to four years. [Editorial, Robert S. Walker, The Washington Times]
There is a great short story by Stanislaw Lem, the title of which now eludes me, where bureaucracy is used as a weapon. That is, a giant bureaucracy is erected to engage the enemy. It grows and grows and eventually wears down the enemy. In the end the victor takes the bureaucracy and hurls it into the sun, feeling that the universe wouldn't be safe with such a powerful weapon around.