C James

Hot indeed! Hmmm, though, which one is Ben, which one is Ethan, and which one is Derick?

Perhaps they should have called it "Snakes on a box office disaster." Anyone actually seen it yet? I won't be, but I'm curious if the plot is as awful as it sounds. According to the release, someone releases hundreds of poisonous snakes on a plane in order to kill one witness. That has to be the most formulaic and contrived plot I've ever heard! Perhaps the movie will find it's true calling in the medical field: there are many people who suffer from insomnia. Same here.

Excuses? Hmmmm... How about: Some pest made you spend time coming up with questions for a scavenger hunt? But, I hereby declare a boycott! I absolutely refuse to read the next chapter until it arrives!

I have a couple of other multi-chapter stories that I'm working on, but this one is being continued in chapters. Basically, the current story will be "chapter 1". I was originally going to re-write it and add in a full day surfing that I deleted for size reasons, but then I realized that it would work just as well for chapter 2, so that's where it will be.

Due to Nifty being discussed in this thread, I felt compelled to return and post a warning: Read the Nifty licensee agreement BEFORE submitting anything, because what you are doing is GIVING UP your story. Take note of the words "perpetual, and non-cancellable", because what they mean is that you CANNOT have your story removed if they don't happen to feel like it. I really liked (cough!) the end of that license agreement, which mentions ways an Author may "reclaim" a licence: "or by making a contribution to the Nifty Archive of equal value in another form". Yes, they are offering to sell you your own story rights!!! You have to PAY them an amount THEY, at that time, decide upon to get your story removed. Bear in mind also that granting licence to Nifty is also granting them the ability to display your work in whatever environment they wish: they might develop a pay site, or even a porn site, and you would have no say in whether or not your work was included. IMHO, an author who is desperate to increase readership *MIGHT* find nifty worthwhile, *IF* they are fully aware of the strings attached and have no problems with that, but that's up to the author, and it;s a decision that can only be made once aware of the pitfalls of nifty (which have so far gone unmentioned on this thread). In my own case, I might (unlikely, but I might) consider posting a few chapters of a story there, in order to generate traffic, but I wouldn't put a full story there, but that's just my choice.

Wow, thank you, Michel! I grew up in the area where most of the story takes place, so for me it was a bit like going home again. Thanks especially for your mention of colors; that's something I am playing around with a bit in the next chapter. Yeah, you also get a lot of glare and UV at high altitudes, hence the shades... So, a Valley goat, are ya? Humph, flatlanders.... Topics? what are those? Psssst, Jack, just be sure you shoot the right Goat, and not the one wearing shades!

Did we forget to include in the description of Adamant that it is running Microsoft Windows Vista for Warships? They forgot to update their anti-virus database after the loaded the latest McAfee Anti-Virus program. Oh no!!! Not THAT!!! In a battle, the "Blue screen of Death" would have a rather literal meaning! BTW, I like the ship names, especially "Adamant". Very reminiscent of the Royal Navy. Perhaps Billy's wife will receive a command of her own, and if the ships are named on the British model, then she could end up in command of the Battleaxe.

Ummm, perhaps the line should have read "You aren't really in the Guard so you can EAT at either, but DON'T think you can bring an enlisted man into the Officer Mess."? Ohhhh! This means we get to do some more editor-teasing! YAY!!!! BTW, a serious point regarding editing: Even mainstream best-selling authors, who have their works edited by a TEAM of highly paid editors, have plenty of errors. So, I'm only joking around here when I tease Emoe.

A Happy 3000th to our favorite wizard!!!

Nick, I'm really sorry to hear about your leaving the Committee, and also not being able to wrestle. We will miss ya on the committee, and remember that we are here if you need us. Take care!

I had a look at Atlantic, and the article is for subscibers only, thoguh the follow-ups are avaialoble. http://www.theatlantic.com/ The problem with the article is that (based only on the folow-ups) it does not present a coherent reason why doing as they suggest would actually be beneficial. The problem, really, is that so far the War on Terror has NOT achieved it's goals. "Declaring Victory" would be every bit as hollow and foolish (and probably even worse) than Bush's famous "Mission Accomplished" debacle. The writer of the article makes my point for me: Iraq had seen the end of major combat ONLY in the sense of conventional warfare. It had only just begun the asymmetrical and insurgency warfare that has marked it since. The same is far more true of the War on Terror, which to an even larger degree is an asymmetrical campaign. I said above that the War on Terror has not achieved it's goals. It's goals, after all, were to vastly diminish not only terrorism, but the underlying dynamic that creates it: in this case, Islamic Fascism. The root causes, such as the hate taught in so many of the Islamic schools (Medresses) in the region, is what gives us a continuing supply of deranged fanatics, and while that dynamic is at play we simply will not be safe, ever. Declaring the war over is not going to help defeat the causes of terror (causes which the Bush admin has failed abysmally to address in a significant way). It is also utterly wrong to say that Al Qaeda has lost the ability to deliver a mass-casualty attack on American soil. Three times (perhaps four, as I believe the Anthrax to Be their work), they (or allied/precursor organizations) have gotten as far as an actual operational attempt, and we got lucky twice (the '93 World Trace Center bombing, which nearly succeeded in bringing down a fully occupied tower which would have had a death toll of over 15,000) and the "millennium plot", foiled, by chance, by an alert customs agent and an inept terrorist. only 9-11 succeeded largely according to plan. What, really, was the operational concept behind 9-11? It was to put 19 guys, armed with box-cutters, on US airliners, a few of them with rudimentary flight training. That's it; 19 guys with box-cutters. That's ALL Al Qaeda did. Now, is anyone going to seriously argue that Al Qaeda no longer has the ability to match that operational ability? If they are, they are blind. The only thing that has changed is that, theoretically, it's harder to get weapons onto an airliner, and the passengers and crews are unlikely to co-operate. The underlying ability to deploy 19 guys with box cutters has NOT changed. Every single Al Qaeda operation since has actually been more difficult operationally due to the need to acquire, transport, and deploy weapons and explosives. 9/11 was true asymmetrical warfare, and it used our own infrastructure against us. Heck, we even supplied the pilot training and the box cutters. Is anyone foolish enough to think that no one in Al Qaeda will ever think up a way to use our infrastructure against us again? It's easy, and we remain vulnerable. Just off the top of my head, some attacks requiring NO resources or hard to obtain weaponry: Use syringes inside of gloves to contaminate foodstuffs in supermarkets with E-coli bacteria, resulting in mass panic and disruption of the food supply. #2 build an RPG with a shaped-charge warhead (easy to do from model rocket components, a tin can, and some home-made high explosive) and target a fully-loaded LPG tanker in a major port. The resulting detonation would make 9-11 look like a walk in the park. #3 use ham radio equipment, with a few minor mods, to spoof air traffic radar, jam air-traffic control frequencies, and use spoofed ATC commands to mis-direct airliners during poor visibility. Even if no damage is done (highly unlikely) it would cause massive disruptions and economic damage from just the news of the incident. #4 sink a passenger liner quickly via capsize: exceedingly easy to do if you know where and how to hit it (I can think of several ways to easily breech several watertight compartments on one side only) and the resulting death toll would be in the thousands. #5, cripple the US fuel supply, by causing mass damage to our very vulnerable oil refineries. A few guys with rifles and incendiary bullets would suffice, as it's easy to identify the vulnerable spots to hit. Hit the ten biggest refineries, and if you take out just half of the targets, the economic damage and societal disruption would be incalculable. #6, use cheap laser pointers, in a bundled array and aimed with an attached spotter scope, to blind aircraft crews during final approach. There is also no reason why several of the above scenarios could not be simultaneously executed. I could go on and on. If I can think of these things off the top of my head, all of them operational concepts that don't require hard to get items (everything I listed above can be either bought, or made from, things that are available on the retail market) and do not require much training or education, then it would be easy enough to come up with even more devastating scenarios if they put their minds to it, even if we foolishly assume that they can't smuggle or acquire more specialized and capable equipment. Our modern society is incredibly fragile, and very vulnerable to infrastructure disruption. We simply cannot secure everything. Therefor, we need to prevent the attacks, and while counter-intel operations can prevent some (such as the recent British effort) they won't stop them all, and are at best a stop-gap. The only real answer is to stop it at the source: end the brainwashing that occurs in the radical medresses which is the source of the manpower that the terrorists rely on. Those radical schools are a clear and present danger to western society (as well as to their own people) and until now they have been largely ignored by both the media and the politicians. Until they, the primary root dynamic cause of terrorism, are stopped, we have not won, and indeed cannot win in any sense of the word. Left alone, the dynamic will continue to expand it's influence, and thus the danger. Declaring victory now would be, truly and literally, self-defeating in every sense of the term. As a caveat, I do agree with a few points, such as the absurd amounts of money spent (largely ineffectually) on some security issues, but making sensible changes is not predicated on any declaration of victory.

The only innovative thing about this movie seems to be the well-run viral marketing campaign. I generally HATE hollywood movies, but this one sounds even worse than most. Ugh...

Philistine, you did it AGAIN, and at 3:12 am!!! (2:12 am your time) WOW!!! And guess what, I *DID* spot the new chapter by looking for your post! Read no further is you haven't read the chapter! Possible minor spoilers ahead!!! I found this chapter fascinating! DK seems to have thrown us for a loop. It's so easy to assume that the pro-democracy people are the good guys, but it looks like that's not the case here. Very interesting political dimensions! The "bolt holes". Hmmmm!! I think that is definitely where the pirates are being supplied with ships from. And, something truly astonishing and unprecedented here: If that's the case, then I was actually right in a prediction! (please don't faint..) I said, several chapters ago, that the Pirates were working with some of the great houses. I'm still predicting a "coup from within" by some of the powerful houses, in order to keep their power. They might be using clones and pirates as the external threat to shore up their own power, and the purge of Academy grads, especially their arrests, is looking more and more like Old Joe's officer purges in the 1930's. One thing is puzzling me: No mention yet on how the Virus got on board. I'd have thought that would have been of paramount concern to Garret and his crew.

Uhoh.... Anyone besides me see the clue in the above quote? It's evident that the Pirate threat is growing, because they have even recruited... EMOE! (ARG!) :chris: Great points, Ratatosk! You are right, it does sound somewhat similar to the Roman Republic. Interesting thoghts on the clones, too. Thanks!! Emoe, the obvious solution is to hook your "shadow" on DK's stories! I had some house guests for a few days last week, a longtime close friend and her brother, both straight, and the brother is a sci-fi fan. So, I introduced him to Dreams of Humanity. He LOVED it, especially the battle scenes. He's pissed off that I hooked him one something that he has to wait on! ROFL! But, I gave him the URL, so he is probably devouring Ch 9 right about now.

Hmmmm, maybe I should split the difference, and vote that they are one and a half people?

After much mulling, I went with #3, Garret kills Billy's wife and gets away with it. My reasoning is twofold: on the face of it, it's the least likely, and thus the least expected, and thus something DK might just do. I also think that it's a bit misleadingly stated: Garret kills her in combat, after she is revealed to be part of one of the houses attempting an internal overthrow of the Republic. We already know that she's a member of a "great house", due to it being a political marriage. OK, that's my wild guess.

Thanks Emoe! I'll put my reasoning and comments in the main thread, but the poll is great! Those far less tactful than I might be inclined to sneakily mention, in order to partake of some editor-teasing, that it's odd to see so many voting for Garrat, whilst Garret, the protagonist, doesn't even get a mention as a poll choice.. But, of course, I would never do such a thing as that..

Yours is not the only country to have been hurt by the Carter Rubber Stamp, but IMHO yours is the most horrendous case. IMHO, it's no coincidence that the religious trend is cyclical, and growing more extremist. The core areas of religious growth ARE the extremist groups, and this is no surprise if one looks into the dynamics of it. The following data is from various sources, but the underlying theory is my own. Interestingly, the NKVD was the first to examine this issue (Religious revivalism in the USA)in detail, back in the 1920's. They had a darn good reason: They were trying to develop "brainwashing" techniques, and ways to control and influence large masses of people. The fact is that they found the religious revivalist movement in 18th century America to be an ideal model. They key, as discovered by a preacher in the 1730's, was to cause guilt, apprehension, and tension, in an atmosphere of religious frenzy, which caused the targets to grasp at the offered branch of "redemption", and accept the new programming. This is why there were many similarities between the Soviet communism of the 1940's and the American religious revivalist movement. It was no coincidence. These techniques have been used and adapted by cult leaders many times since, often with great effect. From a psychological standpoint, they create a conflict or crisis within the mind of the target, and then offer a way out. This is classic "brainwashing", and you can see interesting parallels to Pavlovian methods. The main issue is that one of the core requirements for this to work is a sense of differentiation: Us against them, and we are better than them. The believers must believe that their new belief system is superior, and the most common route to this is "ideological purity", on the old soviet model, or "taking the bible literally" in the christian fundamentalist model. Both systems are rife with similarities in this regard, and both self-define what is "right", and it's variable over time. The dynamic at play here, in the case of the rise of the Religious Right, is that only by becoming more extreme and more dogmatic do they grow, mainly by appealing to those who either crave a feeling of superiority, or have issues with the status Que. Only by becoming more extreme than the centrist religious groups can they tap both sources, and thus the ideological center of gravity is steadily pushed further and further into extremist/totalitarian territory. A similar dynamic can be seen in the rise of islamofascism. It's also an ideal breeding ground for the power-hungry, as even the members can have a feeling of "power" from looking down their noses at all the "sinners", and in finding ways to force others to conform to their belief-set. What I am basically saying here is that the growth of the extremist segment of the religious community is no coincidence: It's a self-feeding dynamic based on the principles of what is commonly called brainwashing, which indeed it invented nearly three hundred years ago. I'll leave you with a CIA report, below, that examines Soviet Brainwashing methods. I'll add in parenthesis by own corralaries in the fundamentalist religious world. It's a direct match, because, after all, that's where the Soviets learned it from! Note: I use the term "Fundamentalist" to represent both Christian and Islamic fundamentalists (Islamofascists) as they are nearly identical in the relevant aspects here. I am not attacking Christianity in general here, as I am referring specifically the the extreemist/fundamentalists and their methods and behavior. ***************************************** CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WASHINGTON 25, D. C. OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR 25 APR 1956 MEMORANDUM FOR: The Honorable J. Edgar Hoover Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation SUBJECT: Brainwashing The attached study on brainwashing was prepared by my staff in response to the increasing acute interest in the subject throughout the intelligence and security components of the Government. I feel you will find it well worth your personal attention. It represents the thinking of leading psy- chologists, psychiatrists and intelligence specialists, based in turn on interviews with many individuals who have had personal experience with Communist brainwashing, and on extensive research and testing. While individuals specialists hold divergent views on various aspects of this most complex subject, I believe the study reflects a synthesis of majority expert opinion. I will, of course, appreciate any comments on it that you or your staff may have. (signed) Allen W. Dulles Director ENCLOSURE A REPORT ON COMMUNIST BRAINWASHING The report that follows is a condensation of a study by train- ing experts of the important classified and unclassified information available on this subject. BACKGROUND Brainwashing, as a technique, has been used for centuries and is no mystery to psychologists. In this sense, brainwashing means involuntary re-education of basic beliefs and values. All people are being re-educated continually. New information changes one's beliefs. Everyone has experienced to some degree the conflict that ensues when new information is not consistent with prior belief. The experience of the brainwashed individual differs in that the in- consistent information is forced upon the individual under controlled conditions after the possibility of critical judgment has been re- moved by a variety of methods. There is no question that an individual can be broken psychologically by captors with knowledge and willingness to persist in techniques aimed at deliberately destroying the integration of a personality. Although it is probable that everyone reduced to such a confused, disoriented state will respond to the introduction of new beliefs, this cannot be stated dogmatically. PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN CONTROL AND REACTION TO CONTROL There are progressive steps in exercising control over an individ- ual and changing his behaviour and personality integration. The fol- lowing five steps are typical of behaviour changes in any controlled individual: 1. Making the individual aware of control is the first stage in changing his behaviour. A small child is made aware of the physical and psychological control of his parents and quickly recognizes that an overwhelming force must be reckoned with. So, a controlled adult comes to recognize the overwhelming powers of the state and the im- personal, "incarcerative" machinery in which he is enmeshed. The in -dividual recognizes that definite limits have been put upon the ways he can respond. (The fundamentalist religious corollary is perceived societal norms, combined with guilt, moral pressure, "herd instinct", preconceived religious fears, and a general focus on fears in order to raise the anxiety levels of the individual) (Approved for Release) (62-80750-2712X) (Date: 8 FEB 1984) 2. Realization of his complete dependence upon the controlling system is a major factor in the controlling of his behavior. The controlled adult is forced to accept the fact that food, tobacco, praise, and the only social contact that he will get come from the very interrogator who exercises control over him. (Fundamentalist corollary: The effort to make "religious life" pervasive in all aspects of the individuals existence: EX. church camps, church functions, Church schools, rallies, religious business networking, religious TV and radio, religious music, etc, etc, etc, with the continual re-enforcement of the idea that only by following a pre-defined set of rules can the reward (salvation, redemption, sense of belonging, sense of self-worth, sense of power) be achieved. ) 3. The awareness of control and recognition of dependence result in causing internal conflict and breakdown of previous patterns of behaviour. Although this transition can be relatively mild in the case of a child, it is almost invariably severe for the adult undergoing brainwashing. Only an individual who holds his values lightly can change them easily. Since the brainwasher-interrogators aim to have the individuals undergo profound emotional change, they force their victims to seek out painfully what is desired by the controlling individual. During this period the victim is likely to have a mental breakdown characterized by delusions and hallucinat- ions. (I'll just mention "born again" here, as it's rather self-explanatory, especially to anyone who has witnessed the frenzy often associated with some aspects of fundamentalist religions). 4. Discovery that there is an acceptable solution to his problem is the first stage of reducing the individuals conflict. It is characteristically reported by victims of brainwashing that this discovery led to an overwhelming feeling of relief that the horror of internal conflict would cease and that perhaps they would not, after all, be driven insane. It is at this point that they are pre- pared to make major changes in their value-system. This is an automatic rather than voluntary choice. They have lost their a- bility to be critical. (Fundamentalist Religious corollary: the fanaticism and self-righteousness inherent in the fundamentalist movement (both Islamic and Christian) with the utter abandonment of reason in favor of fanatical adherence to a rule-set and teachings, and the ostracization and denigration of any "unbelievers". Anyone who has ever attempted to reason with a fundamentalist will surely recognize this.) 5. Reintegration of values and identification with the cont- rolling system is the final stage in changing the behaviour of the controlled individual. A child who has learned a new, socially de- sirable behaviour demonstrates its importance by attempting to as- apt the new behaviour to a variety of other situations. Similar states in the brainwashed adult are. (Religious Corollary: the fundamentalist wears their religion "on their sleeve", and attempts to incorporate it into all aspects of their existence, often attempting to force, by whatever available means, their belief-set onto others, due to their new and literally unreasoning belief that their way is the only way.) A child who has learned a new, socially desirable behaviour demonstrates its importance by attempting to adapt the new behaviour to a variety of other situations. Similar states in the brainwashed adult are pitiful. His new value-system, his manner of perceiving,organizing,and giving meaning to events, is virtually independent of his former value- system.He is no longer capable of thinking or speaking in concepts other than those he has adopted. He tends to identify by expressing thanks to his captors for helping him see the light.Brainwashing can be achieved without using illegal means.Anyone willing to use known principles of control and reactions to control and capable of demonstrating the patience needed in raising a child can probably achieve successful brainwashing. (I think the religious fundamentalist corollary here is glaringly self-explanatory, as the behavior is identical in all particulars.). ********************************************************

Three cheers for Brax! Way to go, and GREAT idea!!!! I just added mine. I despise that mis-named hate group, and it's no surprise that they are against adds that say all forms of discrimination and hate are wrong.

I've got a hunch that this has already occurred.

Matt, I've been to Thailand a few times, and I love it there. I think you will be just fine! If you get a chance, check out the area around Phuket. If you stay on the Island of Phuket, stay on the Western side, it's much nicer, but try and stay outside of the town. I found that it was cheaper to stay in a nice, beachfront resort and rent a jeep than it was to stay in town, and one heck of a lot better! The tourist towns are things I avoid like the plague, and if you don't get out of them you might not like Thailand very much. If you have a 4X4, you can safely drive over the bridge to the mainland, and explore places like Phang-na bay, and down the coast to Krabai, two of the most unique and spectacular places on the planet. One last word of advice: don't take the Phuket-based tourist excusrsions to Phang-na bay. They cost plenty, and heard you around in a group like cattle. Instead, follow the crude hand-panted signs that show the shape of "James bond island" once you cross the bridge from Phuket to the mainland. They will lead you to a small dock where they have charter-guides. So, instead of going in a tourist cattle-boat, you get your own boat and guide, and it costs about 1/5 what the tourists pay. Also, you get to plan your itinerary from a photo book (don't miss the sea cave). The guides can be a bit disconcerting, as they are Moro tribesmen in traditional garb, including their huge machete, but I never had trouble with them, nor did I hear of any. But above all, HAVE FUN! Ummm, but not too much fun! Thailand is the AIDS capitol of the world and has a booming sex industry, and both the male and female hookers can be very cunning in their "pick ups". Beware, but if perchance you do decide to play, at least be safe.

Hmmm... OK, this might be a controversial thing to say, but to me this all seems a bit hysterically funny, not to mention being a colossal time-waster. They are simply arguing definitions, due to the human penchant for categorization. The reality is that there are no clear-cut defining lines between, say, planets and kuiper belt objects. The real issue here seems to be perceptive semantics: They for some reason feel that there is a perceptive difference between "planets" and other similar celestial bodies, so they feel pressed to come up with a clear definition. The problem is, they can't! Nature just isn't co-operating. Personally, I'd much rather them spend their time discussing such things as theories for the origin of the Pluto-Charon system, rather than quibbling over what word to sue to describe it. The former will add to human knowledge, while the latter just wastes our time.

Congrats on your licence, Kevin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As for the teeth/shower problem, I've had that too. You mention jugs of bottled water? You can take a shower, or close, with that. pour one over your head to get wet, then lather up, then one or two more to rinse and you should be ok. Or, do you have a swimming pool in your area? Those often have shower heads.

Happy Birthday, Philistine!!! I'll be watching for you post on Friday for the DoH chapter announcement! I hope you have a great day today!!! CJ

I think I was the first to mention the "one person, two personalities" theory, so I suppose I should stick with that. We have heard that Oliver has scars on his head, but no mention of whether David does, except that Frank can only tell them apart by their expressions. I also think that Dom tells us directly in this chapter (6):