New Mars Forums

I think we took different things away from this article when reading it.

Snow Crash is mostly about a hacker and a VR world.  Great for Geeks and lovers of Cyberpunk.  Probably not quite ready for middle america

I would reccomend, over Snow Crash, The Diamond Age.

It's about Nanotechnology, AI, and fun stuff like that.

Tokyo is Destroyed by an Earthquake, I believe, and is being rebuilt by the new Nanite technology.  The towers of the city are made of diamonds.

But as in all Cyberpunk, the neato near-term tecnological advances are really just background.

Cyberpunk is Near-term Sci-Fi.  Cyberpunk takes current social trends; like the corporatization of government, over-population, the distruction of family and community; and takes them into a dark near-future extreme. 

By exaggerating some of the directions of our current cultural trends we might see more clearly i suppose.

The genre was created by William Gibson.  He coined many of the phrases used in the 90s in his book, Cyberspace for instance.  Aslo fanst and fun reads.  Lots of action, lots of interesting concepts.  Close enough into the future that you can relate, and many of the things we most likely will see before we go tits up.

It was either Gibson or Stephenson that co-authored a book, cyberpunk in the 18th century.

Basicly its a "What if computers were invented and as widespreadly used as today in the Victorian Era"

You may find it interesting, but I could not stomach to finish the book myself.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/printp … 98,00.html
CIA warns of defeat

13nov03

A TOP-secret CIA report warns that growing numbers of Iraqis believe the US-led coalition can be defeated and are supporting the resistance.

The report paints a bleak picture of the political and security situation and cautions that the US-led drive to rebuild the country as a democracy could collapse.
Paul Bremer, head of the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, who arrived unexpectedly in Washington for strategy sessions yesterday, endorsed the CIA's findings, a senior administration official said.

The report's tone and Mr Bremer's private endorsement differ sharply from public assessments.

President George W. Bush, chief aides and Mr Bremer are giving upbeat public pronouncements in an attempt to counter rising anxieties at home over US casualties in Iraq.

The report landed on the desks of senior US officials on Tuesday. The speed of the leak suggested that senior policymakers want to make sure the assessment reaches Mr Bush.

Some senior policymakers have complained of being frustrated in their efforts to provide Mr Bush with analyses that are more sombre than the optimistic views of Vice-President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld.

The CIA analysis suggests US policy in Iraq has reached a turning point, as the Bush administration moves to escalate the war against the guerillas and accelerate the transfer of power.

In Baghdad, the US military announced yesterday it would become more aggressive against former Saddam Hussein loyalists, foreign and Iraqi Islamic extremists and Iraqi nationalists.

The top US general in Iraq, Lieutenant-General Ricardo Sanchez, said: "The most important message is that we are

all going to get pretty tough, and that's what is needed to defeat the enemy, and we are definitely not shy of doing that when it is required."

Such a campaign, however, could cause more civilian casualties and drive more Iraqis to the side of the insurgents.

The CIA assessment also warns that none of the postwar Iraqi political institutions and leaders have shown an ability to govern or even preside over drafting a constitution or holding an election.

US officials have become deeply frustrated by infighting, nepotism and inaction within the 25-member Iraqi Governing Council.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap … 2_785.html

Bomb at Italian Base in Iraq Kills 25
Truck Bomb Explodes at Headquarters of Italy's Paramilitary Police in Iraq, Killing 25 People

The Associated Press

NASIRIYAH, Iraq Nov. 12 ? A suicide truck bomber attacked the headquarters of Italy's paramilitary police in this southern city on Wednesday, killing 25 people including 17 Italians and possibly trapping others in the debris.
It was the deadliest toll suffered by non-American coalition forces since the occupation began in April, and the first such attack in Nasiriyah, a relatively quiet Shiite Muslim city. The bombing appeared aimed at sending a message that international organizations are not safe anywhere in Iraq.

Col. Gianfranco Scalas said 17 Italians were killed: 11 Carabinieri paramilitary police, four army soldiers, an Italian civilian working at the base and an Italian documentary filmmaker. A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition said at least eight Iraqis were also killed. About 15 people were wounded, although their nationalities were not known, Italian officials said.

"Unfortunately, it's not possible to exclude the presence of other fatalities," Defense Minister Antonio Martino told parliament.

There were fears of others trapped beneath the debris, and bulldozers worked to clear rubble. As night fell, however, soldiers said rescue efforts had ended.

Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi called the bombing a "terrorist act," while Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi pledged that it wouldn't derail his country's commitment to helping Iraq.

Witnesses said the truck driver got past guards after a car ran a roadblock, distracting the sentries.

The truck rammed the gate of the Italian compound and exploded in front of the Carabinieri building, which was the former chamber of commerce building, a coalition spokesman, Andrea Angeli, said.

He said the force of the explosion blew out windows in another building across the Euphrates River. All the vehicles parked outside the stricken building exploded in flames.

Angeli said secondary explosions from ammunition stored in the compound rocked the area moments after the main blast.

Also Wednesday, U.S. troops in Baghdad accidentally fired on a car carrying a member of the Iraqi Governing Council. The council member, Mohammed Bahr al-Uloun, escaped injury but the driver was wounded.

And a roadblock in Fallujah, a restive city west of the capital, U.S. troops fired on a truck carrying live chickens Tuesday night, killing five civilians.

"They went to bring chickens ... and they came back at 9 or 10 at night and we were waiting for them," said Khalid Khalifa al-Jumaily, whose two nephews were killed on the truck. "The Americans fired on them."

The U.S. military said it no immediate information on the shootings.

In separate attacks, an American soldier was killed when a roadside bomb exploded near a U.S. patrol by the town of Taji northwest of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. A 1st Armored Division soldier died of wounds suffered in a roadside bombing in Baghdad on Tuesday.

Their deaths bring to 153 the number of soldiers killed by hostile fire since President Bush declared an end to active combat May 1.

The truck bomb in Nasiriyah, about 180 miles southeast of Baghdad, went off at about 10:40 a.m. in front of base of the Carabinieri's multinational specialist unit, the Italian paramilitary police said.

Italy has sent about 2,300 troops to help rebuild Iraq. About 340 Carabinieri are based in Nasiriyah, along with 110 Romanians.

Alice Moldovan, a spokeswoman for Romania's Defense Ministry, said there were no reports of Romanian victims.

Carabinieri are paramilitary police under the Defense Ministry, and frequently serve in international missions such as in Afghanistan and the Balkans.

Since August, car and truck bombs have targeted several international buildings in Baghdad, including the United Nations headquarters, the offices of the international Red Cross, the Al-Rasheed Hotel and the Turkish and Jordanian embassies.

Although Nasiriyah has been quiet in recent months, it was the scene of heavy fighting during the war. It was where the 507th Maintenance Company was ambushed in March and where a number of Americans were captured, including Jessica Lynch.

Italy had suffered no combat deaths during the occupation. The Italian official heading U.S. efforts to recover Iraq's looted antiquities, Pietro Cordone, was in a car that came under mistaken U.S. fire in September in northern Iraq. His Iraqi interpreter was killed.

Earlier Wednesday, a member of the Iraqi Governing Council said the body was not to blame for the lack of progress in drafting a constitution that would enable democratic elections and a return to Iraqi independence.

The comments by Mahmoud Othman, a Sunni Kurd member of the U.S.-appointed body, follow reports that Bush's national security advisers are frustrated by the council's performance and are consulting with Iraq's top American administrator, L. Paul Bremer, over how to break the deadlock.

"Such accusations are unreasonable and do no good for the country," Othman said. "The Governing Council should not alone bear the responsibility of any inefficiency."

Othman acknowledged the constitutional process was moving too slowly but said Iraq's U.S.-led administration bore much of the blame.

"This is supposed to be a partnership based on equality," Othman said in an interview. "But when Americans want to find solution for their problems, they do it in any way that suits them."

Bremer said Wednesday after meeting with administration officials in Washington that he believed the Iraqis were becoming "more and more effective in their assumption of authority."

"I don't think it's fair to say the IGC is failing," Bremer said.

Bremer attended a White House meeting Tuesday with Secretary of State Colin Powell, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and other key officials.

Administration officials expressed disappointment in the council's work but said Bush was not about to disband it.

"The notion that we are about to throw the council to the wolves is exaggerated," a senior administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "But there is a need to put some energy into the political transition."

U.S. officials believe key members of the Iraqi council are stalling in hopes of winning concessions from American leaders under political pressure to turn over power to the Iraqis. In contrast, Bremer wants to transfer sovereignty after the Iraqis draft a constitution and hold national elections.

Othman denied members of the body were intentionally stalling work on the new charter in order to exert pressure on Bremer.

"It is true that council members are demanding more powers, but they are not trying to use the slowness in the process of work as a weapon to gain concessions," he said.

The Iraqis have yet to agree on how to choose delegates to draw up a constitution.

Also Wednesday, Iraqi police in Qadisiyah detained several people suspected of involvement in an apparent rocket attack that brought down a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter near Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit last week, killing six soldiers, a U.S. official said.

Before dawn, nearly the entire 500-member police force of Tikrit searched door-to-door in a dusty suburb looking for weapons and insurgents.

This administration has been at warfare between the state dept and the defense dept sence long before the first tank rolled on bagdhad.

The state dept had long and exhaustive meetings about the post war problems that needed to be dealt with, brought in dozens of experts and spent millions of dollars.  In the end they were ignored.

The Defense dept put all it's hopes in an ignoramous exile named Chalibi, in fact he was the source of most of the bullshit intelligence.

Machivelli said "Never trust the Exiles"

They expected Chalibi to come in like a hero and lead Iraq into democracy.  Chalibi got laughed out of Iraq as an untrusted outsider.

No, this administration does not know what its doing.

The formation of Democracy here in Amercia was thought of the same.

Thank god the world has Idealists.

The nice thing about democracy is that this is only true if you let it be so.

Yes, Survival of the fittest, essentially.  I am sure there are parts and pieces to the theory that still need work, but nothing so drastic as to conclude that divine intervention is required.

Have you ever looked into Memetics?

Meme: an information pattern, held in an individual's memory, which is capable of being copied to another individual's memory.

Memetics: the theoretical and empirical science that studies the replication, spread and evolution of memes

I believe that Plant and Animal life evolves somewhat similar to ideas and human knowledge.

For example, you could follow the course of Christianity, and watch as the Ideas changed over time to better flourish in the environment.  Not by the direct and concious effort by any individual or group of individuals, but instead directed by what works and what does not.

The primary Export from Mars will be Entertainment and Media.