Bolians

[Sci]

It's literally the equivalent of hearing someone say, "New York City is the largest city in the United States" and then insisting that that doesn't mean New York State is part of the Union.

Except that we know that New York is part of the United States.

If we know that something on Risa is in the Federation, then we know that Risa itself is in the Federation. If we know that something in New York State is in the United States, then we know that New York State is in the United States.

It's a basic syllogism.

If A is located within B, and if A is located within C, then B must be located within C.

We never got a clear an cut statement that Risa IS a UFP member.

The Risian weather system cannot possibly be in the Federation if Risa itself is not in the Federation.

As I said earlier, it could be on the verge of membership and/or have various agreements with UFP that allow sharing of resources, technology and even officers working together.

If that were the case, Worf would not have referred to the Risian weather system as being in the Federation. He would have said "in the Alpha Quadrant," or some such, because calling it "in the Federation" would be wrong. It would be like calling the CN Tower the tallest communications tower in the United States.

Worf could have easily been comparing Risa's weather modification net technology with the one available in the Federation for comparison sake, because it was the closest point of reference for him.

If that were the case, he would not have called it "in" the Federation.

Seriously. If you heard someone call the CN Tower the tallest communications tower in the United States, does that mean they're just comparing it to other American towers? No. It means that they are asserting that the CN Tower is located within the United States -- which it clearly is not. Either you are contending that Worf is just dead wrong in asserting that Risa's weather control system is in the Federation, or you have to concede that it is logically impossible for Worf's statement to be accurate without Risa being in the Federation.

It's literally the equivalent of hearing someone say, "New York City is the largest city in the United States" and then insisting that that doesn't mean New York State is part of the Union.

Except that we know that New York is part of the United States.

That knowledge would make no difference to the statement. Try it with another slightly rewording.

New York City has the most elaborate subway system in the United States. Now if the city of New York were outside of the United States, even if the area that held it were right on the verge of joining the nation, the subway system would not be the most elaborate in the United States. Washington DC metro would hold that honor.

Even if you had no idea whether or not NYC were in the US prior to hearing the statement, the wording of the statement would tell you the city was "in the United States."

As I said earlier, it could be on the verge of membership ...

Then Risa would have the most elaborate system outside the Federation.

Quoted for truth.

 

[RoJoHen]

Let's not forget that the whole point of that episode was that Risa was causing damage to traditional Federation values. Why would Fullerton and the Essentialists be trying so hard to destroy Risa if it wasn't in the Federation?

 

[Timo]

Well, that one could be covered by the fact that it's apparently a popular UFP holiday resort. You can make a big statement about US policy by slaughtering American tourists in Egypt, say. Or if you want to push for a religious right agenda on sexuality after you make US Presidency, you might do well to nuke Thailand or Mexico. Etc.

That's probably the thing influencing Fullerton anyway, regardless of whether Risa is UFP soil or not. The people on Risa are complacent Feds, and that's all that matters to him.

Timo Saloniemi