!#(* Mars! Long before we drop ourselves into another giant gravity weel we need to open up High Earth Orbit manufacturing, and maybe a moonbase. Drop a couple of NiFe and H2O asteroids into orbit for materials and use solar reflectors for power/smelting. This idea has been around for in SF decades, and is still way better science than landing on another large rock.

Don't forget the robot maids and flying cars

Yes, but it was not a one-off, the show is still being produced, and the character continues not to evolve to this day. Therefor he CAN be considered as "in the last 20 years"

basically, as it collapses into a black hole, it emits a beam perdendicular to the axis of spin. a wiki article goes into more detail here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_ray_burst

unless it sends out a Gama ray burst as an effect of magnetic constriction. As I understand it, tyhat would produce a beam of extremely nasty crap, directional, and that could reach well beyond a 25YL limit.

as per: http://scienceblogs.com/loom/2008/06/02/a_new_step_in_evolution.php - evolution has been seen to occur, and we even have every-500th-generation snapshots. This made a wava about a year ago, then went kinda quiet. In brief, a bateria was exposed to a mild poison (a citrate), and over 44,000 generations, mutated into a form able to metabolize it. Evolution in action.

R.A.H. - "Specialization is for insects, Humans are generalists" quoted from memory, haven't read the book in a couple of decades.

the classic definition is "from each according to thier ability, to each according to thier need"

When since the death of Mao and the rise of the "Gang of Seven" has anyone thought China was Communist? That is like calling the old Soviet Empire a Communist state. They are a totalitarian dictatorship. Just 'cause they call themselves commies, that doesn't mean they are. To quote I-don't-remember-who (maybe Hunter Thompson?) "Communism has not been tried and failed, Communism has not been tried."

uhhh... idunno... harrasment maybe?

alta vista? http://ca.altavista.com/

A casnticle for Liebowitz 1984 The Chrysalids Brave New World A Clockwork Orange Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep Stand On Zanzibar, and The Sheep Look Up Also consider Frankenstein and The Handmaids Tale (although Ms. Atwoood will maintain that this one is NOT SF, I think she is just trying to stay out of the Ghetto) All of the above deal with your Socio/political criteria, and a couple (Sheep Look Up and Zanzibar) are directly environmental tales. For a bit of fun, you might throw in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress as R. H. deals well with the citizens responsability to revolt when the Gov. is irresposible.

Anyone else rminded of http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/07/30/0337232 ? Is there anyone out there in Security who actual keeps data secure? Or should we just give them all red shirts?

Some would argue that WWIII began with the invasions of Iraq and Afganistan. Multinational forces invading an "Axis of Evil", hmmmm.... even re-cycling the "AXIS" moniker.... Even the ex-pres. said that this would be a "global war". Just a thought.

It would appear the good(?) doctor is accused of Sexual Battery. I found 2 news sources with more detail, listed below. http://crimeshadowsnews.com/main/2009/04/dr-narendra-gupta/ http://www.northfulton.com/Articles-c-2009-04-03-177340.114126-sub_Johns_Creek_doctor_accused_of_sexual_battery.html