2010: A Space Elevator?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5792719/

While such miraculous advancements as shown by the above
link act as beacons of hope in a planet plagued by terrorism,
it's gravely important to remember that it is Western Civilization's
free market system that encourages their creation. Technological
breakthroughs can only spring from free, creative minds--the kind
of minds protected best by capitalism. Every governmental and
economic system down through history must be judged according
to how it treats man's mind. There have been and are systems that
seek to enslave man's mind. These can be seen most flagrantly in
communist China, where there is rampant starvation, and in
Islamic quasi-theocracies like Saudi Arabia, where widespread
poverty is the order of the day. American troops and those supporting
them back home would do well to remember that we are fighting
for not only our freedom to live in peace from terrorists and madmen,
but also for the longevity of our system that has allowed for the
creation of such innovations as the polio vaccine, the lightbulb,
the internal combustion engine, etc. Man's mind is under constant
attack. We must seek to preserve it at all costs.