Re: COLONIAL WEAPONS

>From: "Laserlight" <laserlight@quixnet.net>
>Reply-To: gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu
>To: <gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu>
>Subject: Re: COLONIAL WEAPONS
>Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 18:04:36 -0500
>
>From: Scott Clinton <grumbling_grognard@hotmail.com> replied to:
>
>
> > >I think that would be the key question - can one shove
> > >the entire industrial process into a container.
> > >Obviously if you send your colonists out with only a
> > >metal lathe, they won't be able to build/support
> > >high-tech electronics.
> >
> > Which IMHO would be very, very stupid (not to mention less than
>economically
> > viable considering the cost of getting them there in the first
>place).
>
>You're assuming that shipping is expensive.  The facts mentioned in
>canon would seem to indicate otherwise.
>a) colonies exist on lots of planets;
>b) they're worth fighting over; and
>c) nations ship brigades and divisions around to do their fighting.
>To take an example close to home--I *could* make miniatures myself, if
>I wanted to, but it is cheaper and easier for me to buy them from
>England and pay the shipping.	That lets me concentrate on producing
>whatever it is I produce, instead of trying to sculpt minis this week,
>grow my own tea next week, and vulcanize the rubber for my tires on
>the following week.
>

Am I missing something here?  Or are you contridicting yourself?  If 
shipping is NOT expensive (i.e. cheap) then LASERs (or whatever hi-tech 
weapon is best) would not even have to be locally manufactured (which
seems 
to be them main issue).  I mean if its cheap then WHATEVER weapon they
are 
issued can be shipped from the homeworld and the tech issue is moot
(better? 
<g>)

Scott

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