THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE #295

September 11, 2005

Produced by Jim Burgess, 664 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908-4327 USA, (401)351-0287

Accessible through Internet at burgess of world.std.com (all E-Mail addresses are reported in this format, replace the " of " with "@"; if you bounce try sending to me from another account or FAX to (401) 277-9904. For Faxing, most of the time you have to call me to tell me it's coming so I can set up the FAX. Some of you have been getting bounced messages from my ISP's spam protection, if that happens to you, USE my backup E-Mail at jfburgess of gmail.com!!! Don't complain that my E-Mail keeps bouncing without forwarding the bounced message to that address. Then I can forward it to the ISP help to get it dealt with.

Web Page Address: /Postal/Zines/TAP/index.html

We've got more from Peter Sullivan, Tinamou and Michael Lowrey's szine in here as well, chock full of subszines as the "school year" (for those of us that are on that kind of schedule) returns.

I just want to add my hopes and prayers to those of everyone else for the people affected by the disaster in Mississippi and especially in New Orleans. As a many, many time visitor to New Orleans who likes the city at that gut level that it seems to affect so many people, I hope it can be put back together. I will add to the many notes of caution that I hope that it is not rebuilt piecemeal, but with some sort of detailed plan that is devised as separated from politics as possible. Recent events do not suggest that this will happen, but I still hope and pray for it. One of my favorite all-time politicians, Bruce Babbitt, who in a kinder, gentler world would have served two terms as our President at some point, is probably about where I am about how and where such a detailed plan would come out. It would explicitly consider the likelihood of the rising ocean water levels from global warming that will cause these sorts of floods and rebuilds to be much more common in the second half of this century. It would likely NOT rebuild some areas to make them back into shock absorbing brackish marshes. It would do as Chicago, Seattle, and Galveston among others have done in the past when faced with these problems, it would jack the whole city up X number of feet, fill in underneath and end up with a city a good deal higher than it is today. This is not rocket science, it is common sense, which is in short supply when there is short term thinking and political meandering going on. Heaven help us against the Chinese who are not bothered by such limitations and are already planning for the NEXT century when they will dominate the world. I've got a little exchange with Robert Lesco down below on North Korea and China.

Late update, I wanted to get Tinamou in here and with Terry Tallman's illness and verification of the delay in Spirals of Paranoia it took a bit of time to close this issue up. I moved the deadlines back a week to compensate. Also, be aware that the whole Diplomatic Pouch website, including where the web version of the szine is housed is doing a server migration (THANKS to Millis Miller for keeping this all up, you need to remember him in your thoughts and prayers.....) so the web version of the szine could periodically be unavailable for times in the next few weeks. Just try again and don't worry too much. If you're just seeing this by E-Mail and need access, you might want to save the szine so you can be sure to get to it.

The postal sub price is still $1.50 per issue in the US and Canada, with double that for other foreign subbers(or $3.00 per issue sent airmail). Players in current games and standbys will continue to get the issues for free, and future game starts (except for Nuclear Yuppie Evil Empire Diplomacy, which is free) cost $20.00 ($15.00 for a life of the game subscription and $5 for the NMR Insurance.n play in subszines for free and just jack up the issue page count. See the revised game start announcements below!

Check out the connections in the Diplomatic Pouch with all of the information you need to play Diplomacy on the Internet at: /

I also have taken over the Postal portion of the Pouch: http:/evel.diplom.org/DipPouch/Postal/

and TAP on the web is there at: /Postal/Zines/TAP/index.html

where the szine resides in html format. Presently, issues from #190 to the current issue are there, and I will be updating the back issues gradually someday. Also, check out Stephen Agar's more extensive efforts at: http://www.diplomacy-archive.com and http://www.diplomacy.co.uk

Peter Sullivan's subszine has remained "in stasis", although all the back issues can be accessed via :

http://www.burdonvale.co.uk/octopus/index.html.

Peter was saying that he would be unlikely to be starting any new games in the Octopus until "at least the start of 2002." He had been hereby declared to be in official indeterminate stasis and that date was now a "whenever". But Peter is now clearly back, as he appears for his second issue in a row!!! See Octopus' Garden 55 in the print edition below, or on the web at the above address. In the meantime, Rip Gooch and Dave Partridge have been picking up the choo-choo game slack in TAP. Contact Rip at xyropedes of canada.com or Dave at rebhuhn of rocketmail.com for more info. Rip has been traveling this summer also, but he is trying to get his act back together soon.

The TAP mailing list has moved! It now is even BETTER protected than it was. I even have a bit of trouble posting to it. To post to this list, send your email to: tap of diplom.org. But this is completely moderated, it won't go out to the list unless I approve it. In general, I intend to keep traffic down to just the szine, as we've been doing.

General information about the mailing list is at: /mailman/listinfo/tap

You can sign up from there, or send E-Mails to: Tap-request of diplom.org; with the word `help' in the subject or body (don't include the quotes), and you will get back a message with instructions. You must know your password to change your options (including changing the password, itself) or to unsubscribe. Normally, Mailman will remind you of your diplom.org mailing list passwords once every month, although you can disable this if you prefer. This reminder will also include instructions on how to unsubscribe or change your account options. There is also a button on your options page that will email your current password to you. A big, big thank you for Millis Miller for setting this all up!!

THE SEARCH FOR KEVIN TIGHE

There is a very special "search for" coming up in issue #300, and I'm going to offer a hundred buck reward for that one, so I'm also going to up the ante on Kevin through issue #300 to $1 billion dollars.... no, make that $100, can't quite afford to be THAT generous. There have been some recent "sightings" of Kevin Tighe. And he's the reason I first started this feature (for those of you who don't recall) and he's the one I continue to be most interested in finding. This may take a bit of real detective work, but as a hint, like many of us Diplomacy players, I believe he is out there making money on some of the poker circuits. I also would like ALL of the previous found people who are still getting the szine to write me SOMETHING for the 300th issue for this section. I know I've been having Doug Beyerlein write me lots of little notes along the way, not all of whom I've been printing, and so I have some things from him already. But he may want to send me something else. What should you write? Something on what you've been up to, a reminiscence of Diplomacy times or friends past, whatever, it's up to you, but I want something from as many of you as possible. While we're at it, some of you other old timers still getting the szine (you know who you are, but I'm thinking most particularly of people like Tom Nash, Dan Stafford, Bruce Geryk, and Steve Hutton, most of whom were once szine editors) also should write me something!!! I plan to have issue #300 be the first issue of 2006, so you have the rest of the year. I'll save them up for that issue, but get writing now!!!

Feel free to spend the time looking for some of the backlog. Let's get Derek, Sylvain, Steve, Ed, Tom, Bill, Gregory, and ESPECIALLY Kevin found too!!! This is a regular continuing feature of the szine and I will be introducing a new "search for" every five issues. Moreover, you can win a $25 prize for finding some previous target who went unfound in the original $50 period. That means that if Steve Heinowski or Ed Henry or Tom Hurst or Bill Quinn or Gregory Stewart or Derek Nelson or Sylvain LaRose or John Smythe is "found" from now on it is worth $25.

Winners will receive credit for Dip hobby activities that I will pay out as requested by the winner. Subscribe to szines here or abroad, run your own contests, publish a szine, finance a web page, GO TO A DIPLOMACY CONVENTION or whatever. Spend it all right away or use me as a bank to cover hobby activities for years. What must you do to win? Get me a letter to the editor for TAP from the person we're searching for.

This is very important, just finding them doesn't do it. They have to write me a letter. The final judge as to the winner of any contest will be the target himself and I reserve the right to investigate the winning entry. When you find someone I'm looking for, you should ask him to send me a letter for print that includes a verification of who "found" him.

INTERNATIONAL SUBSCRIPTION EXCHANGE NEWS

The British representative is the editor of Mission From God, John Harrington. John may be contacted at 1 Churchbury Close, Enfield, Middlesex EN1 3UW, UK.

E-Mail: fiendish of operamail.com, John.Harrington of tfeurope.com

Please include the full name and address of the foreign publisher with your order, if possible, as well as the szine title. Make your check in US dollars out to me personally or in GBP to John if you're doing things from that end. I will conduct business for Canadians as well, if I can, but prefer to deal in US dollars with them if possible, or Canadian dollars cash. To subscribe to American szines, the system works in reverse.

We have added a European continental representative, most of this traffic likely will occur between Ronald Camstra (in the Netherlands) and John Harrington, but if anyone here in the US wants to get money into Euros, we'll try to help you out. Ronald Camstra can be contacted at siedler of zonnet.nl and his home address is: Wielingenplein 48, 3522 PE Utrecht, the Netherlands. But in Holland it is most common not to send checks but to transfer money by bank. Dutch people can pay directly to Postbankaccount 4652247 of Ronald Camstra in Utrecht. Since he can see the name and address of the sender in his bankreceipt, people only have to mention the name of the zine and the editorial address along with their bank order. Ronald is obviously a huge Settlers of Catan fan. If you're interested in playing that game internationally by mail, I think Ronald can help you out.

We also have reopened a branch office of the International Subscription Exchange in Australia!! Brendan Whyte, the publisher of the excellent szine Damn the Consequences will be doing the honors, taking over in some sense from John Cain, who was the Australian rep for many years. You can contact Brendan to sub to Australian szines from the US or to sub to US szines from Australia, converting Australian dollars into American ones. We are now maneuvering deals to Europe from the other reps as well. You can find Brendan Whyte at bwhyte of unimelb.edu.au (note that this is a new E-Mail address for Brendan) or by mail to send checks at: Map Collection, ERC Library, University of Melbourne, Vic 3010, AUSTRALIA.

WORLDMASTERS02 AND WORLDMASTERS04 SECTION

WorldMasters 2002 Email Diplomacy Tournament Finals are over, and in a game that went to 1914 (nice idea here to let the finals go on for longer, a feature of WorldMasters that I applaud) Julio Pereira gets to 14 centers as Russia and TAKES the 2002 WorldMasters Tournament. Congratulations to Julio, and salutes and felicitations to the growing impact of the Brazilians in the Diplomacy hobby. Julio is a fierce player and a good guy to boot. See http://www.worldmasters.net/wm02/ for full details. Since I didn't get sufficient interest to get a team in for 04, I am back on the WorldMasters Tournament Management Committee again. See:

http://www.worldmasters.net/wm04/

for details on that, the first round games are now done, but I've not seen the Round 2 draws yet. Some notable Round 1 winners include Jerry Fest, Egbert Ferreira, Thomas Franke, Tim Richardson, Andy Bartalone, Conrad Woodring, David Partridge, Erlend Janbu, Smacko McMillie, Jack Brawner, and Glenn Ledder.

It is helping now that I've joined the Yahoogroup WM04-Chat where this discussion is happening. You can join too! But most of the talk there has been about Yann Clouet and the French Hobby's new "World Palmares Evaluation" of FTF Diplomacy Play. Of course, Yann Clouet comes out #1, further backing up winning the John Koning award, and I am 1442nd (in a tie with Mark Nelson and Tony Dickinson, among others!). This uses lots of tournament results, more than 750 of them, and really is quite comprehensive. See those rankings at: http://www.18centres.com/SPIP3/article.php3?id_article=199

DIPDOM NEWS SECTION (with letters)

Obscure and not-so-obscure ramblings on the state of the hobby and its publications, custodians, events, and individuals with no guarantee of relevance from the fertile keyboard of Jim-Bob, the E-Mail Dip world, and the rest of the postal hobby. My comments are in italics and ((double quotation marks)) like this. Bold face is used to set off each individual speaker. I should also make a note that I do edit for syntax and spelling on occasion.

The game Diplomacy is a copyrighted product owned by Hasbro and all reproductions or other use of that material in this szine is intended to be personal use and not infringe on those rights in any way. All reproductions are done at a heavy financial loss to the editor and thus are without the remotest possibility of commercial intent, except to promote THE game, the Game of Diplomacy, which you all should purchase from Hasbro or other duly licensed distributors.

Stephen Agar has matched the Hasbro rule lists and more with some of the even older rulebooks. Check these out if you like:

http://www.hasbro.com/default.asp?xcc_gameandtoyinstructions

http://www.hasbro.com/instruct/Diplomacy.PDF

http://www.hasbro.com/instruct/Diplomacy(OlderVers).PDF

Nice of them to make BOTH of these available. And all seven different US rulebooks for Diplomacy can now be found here courtesy of Stephen Agar (relatively new address for this):

http://www.diplomacy-archive.com/diplomacy_rules.htm

Check out current and back issues of Diplomacy World - www.diplomacyworld.org

We are back on solid track, Tim Haffey has agreed to be the Production Editor that I needed. We always need more articles, Issues #94 AND #95 both will be out VERY shortly!!! If you think you should have been on that list and weren't, let me or Dave Partridge know. Help us out, write an article for a future issue!

Upcoming Diplomacy World Issue Deadlines:

Deadline Winter 2005, Issue #96: December 1, 2005

Editorial Board for Diplomacy World:

Tim Haffey, 810 53rd Ave., Oakland, CA 94601 USA; trhaffey of aol.com - Lead-Editor, Demo Game GM, and Publisher

Jim Burgess, 664 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908-4327, USA; burgess of world.std.com - Co-Editor

Stephen Agar, 4 Cedars Gardens, Brighton, UNITED KINGDOM BN1 6YD; stephen of stephenagar.com - Webmaster and Non-US Postal

Rick Desper, 5440 Marinelli Road, #204, Rockville, MD 20852, USA; rick_desper of yahoo.com - Demo Games

Dave Partridge, 15 Woodland Drive, Brookline, NH 03033, USA; rebhuhn of rocketmail.com - US Postal

ATTENTION: There is a new company doing a new PC Diplomacy game:

http://www.paradoxplaza.com/news.asp?ArticleID=239&Page=News

They ARE going to make it and release it this fall, but there are a number of concerns and opportunities that this is going to create. If anyone is interested, some of us have been in some informal contact with the game designers, but I really don't have the time to fully engage them. You all should read the interview in the Spring 2005 movement issue of the Diplomatic Pouch (and I mean ALL!!!!!!! of you!!!!!) that I think you can find at: /Zine/S2005M/

MUSIC AND MOVIES SECTION (WITH COMMENTS ON OTHER ARTS AND SOCIETY)

Tell me anything you like about the recent past in music. List a top two, a top ten, or a top 100, I don't care, just tell me something!! We're beginning to gear up for a "best of 2004" section.

John Michalski (8/29)

Hi Jim,

TAP 294 just arrived, which reminds me of a recent question I had that your readership might be able to address.

At the gym I force myself to visit, one background song they play is a silly song about "Come Back to Texas", a lament by some guy who lost his love to "a guy named Leland, from Cleveland, she met at the bank."

With all that music stuff I've seen in TAP (but never read) I'm sure someone knows (or knows where to find) the words to the song. It's pretty funny, but much is indecipherable. "She went to make a deposit, she cleaned out her closet, and went away." The `come-back-to-Texas' part is repeated - can't think of the musical term for that - ((Refrain... or chorus)) and one verse includes the appeal that "you don't suck as bad as the Mexican food." I'm sure someone recognizes it. ((Indeed, I do, the group is called Bowling for Soup and they are known for these very bad rhymes. They also rhyme Texas with breast-es in one song. Funny that they're played in an exercise place as they're all about fun and drinking beer.))

An E-Mail is okay, but no lengthy attachments, please. They take time, and half can't be opened anyway. Text, or hardcopy, would be fine.

John, 10705 Cecilia Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73162

((Lyrics are easy to find these days on the Internet. So I follow proper copyright rules, let me print an EXCERPT of them. I don't have your E-Mail address, but I can send the whole song lyrics to you by post if I remember, or you can nudge me again....))

Bowling for Soup - Ohio (Come Back To Texas) Lyrics

"She said she needed a break, A little time to think,

But then she went to Cleveland, With some guy named Leland,

That she met at the bank. There's nothing wrong with Ohio,

Except the snow and the rain. I really like Drew Carey,

And I'd love to see The Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.

"So when youre done, Doing whatever,

And when you're through, Doing whoever,

You know Denton county, Will be right here waiting for you.

"Come back to Texas, It's just not the same,

Since you went away, Before you lose your accent,

And forget all about, The Lonestar state,

There's a seat for you at the rodeo, And I've got every slow dance saved,

Besides the Mexican food sucks, North of here anyway."

Buddy Tretick (Sat, 27 Aug 2005 17:10:20 EDT)

Why not publish this article. Works for me.

Buddy

((I did double check that this was accurate and made some corrections in this version from the original transcript. I think it is accurate and at least somewhat insightful. And I also heard little to nothing about it in the media.))

Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe and tried to light it? Did you know his trial is over? Did you know he was sentenced? Did you see/hear any of the judge's comments on TV/Radio? Didn't think so. Everyone should hear what the judge had to say.

Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court. Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say.

His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record, Reid also admitted his "allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah," defiantly stated, "I think I will not apologize for my actions," and told the court, "I am at war with your country."

Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:

January 30, 2003, United States v. Reid -� Final Statements by Judge Young

"Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.

On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutive one with the other. That's 80 years.

On Count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years consecutive to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you on each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 for the aggregate fine of $2 million.

The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines. The Court imposes upon you the $800 special assessment.

The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need not go any further.

This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and a just sentence. It is a righteous sentence. Let me explain this to you.

We are not afraid of any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is all too much war talk here. And I say that to everyone with the utmost respect.

Here in this court where we deal with individuals as individuals, and care for individuals as individuals, as human beings we reach out for justice.

You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier gives you far too much stature. Whether it is the officers of government who do it or your attorney who does it, or that happens to be your view, you are a terrorist.

And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not treat with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You're a big fellow. But you're not that big. You're no warrior. I know warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal guilty of multiple attempted murders.

In a very real sense Trooper Santiago had it right when first you were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and where the TV crews were and you said you're no big deal. You're no big deal.

What your counsel, what your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today? I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing.

And I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you. But as I search this entire record it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose.

Here, in this society, the very winds carry freedom. They carry it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom. So that everyone can see, truly see that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely.

It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf and have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges. We care about it. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties.

Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms.

Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. Day after tomorrow it will be forgotten. But this, however, will long endure. Here, in this courtroom, and courtrooms all across America, the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done.

The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged, and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag still stands for freedom. You know it always will. Custody, Mr. Officer. Stand him down."

So, how much of this Judge's comments did we hear on our TV sets? We need more judges like Judge Young, but that's another subject. Pass this around. Everyone should and needs to hear what this fine judge had to say. Powerful words that strike home. God bless America. Please forward this---so that every American has a chance to read it.

((As I said, this was real, and I think it should be shared, even though I do so probably disagreeing substantially with the person who started forwarding it around. That's America too.))

Robert Lesco (Mon, 19 Sep 2005 15:06:13 +0100 (BST)

"North Korea To Scrap Nuclear Program"

So reads the headline in front of me which may be a more satisfactory explanation of why North Korea doesn't get invaded then that supplied by your correspondant of a couple of issues ago.

That and the fact that, no matter how much you hate President Bush, North Korea still shares a border with China and is very much within what is considered their sphere of interest. All of which prompts some to comment that if North Korea is misbehaving, China is partly to blame.

Robert Lesco, rlesco of yahoo.com

((Thanks, indeed it does..... though I would note that the "surprise" announcement is now being loaded up with conditions. Still, my base working assumption is that the Chinese are thinking VERY long term in all this. And they are at least partly behind it.))

Robert Lesco (Mon, 19 Sep 2005 20:33:07 +0100 (BST)

I agree with you there. There seems an awful lot of thought going into the concept of a post-Kim Il Jung (forgive my spelling if need be) (( Did you mean father Kim Il Sung or son Kim Jong Il, you sort of combined them.... which isn't a bad idea.)) N. Korea although that may or may not be particularly long-term if rumours are to be believed. Just a while back there was an official announcement condemning, among other things, decadent Western hair-styles which leads one to wonder how long Mr. Bouffant is going to last.

Just the same, as with Libya, the practice is first you give up your weapons programs, then the rewards follow.

Robert Lesco, rlesco of yahoo.com

Dave Partridge (Mon, 19 Sep 2005 11:23:39 -0700 (PDT))

Anyone know if David Ortiz can pitch?

Dave, rebhuhn of rocketmail.com

Rick Desper (Mon, 19 Sep 2005 11:43:14 -0700 (PDT))

It's come to that, has it?

What I said a few months back still holds, I think. The Sox need Schilling and Foulke to pitch well to make another World Series run. That they've made it this far without them is surprising...but Matt Clement is not Curt Schilling, as we saw yesterday.

The big surprise is how much ground the Indians have gained on the White Sox. But Chicago has taken swan dives in other years, so I guess that's not a huge surprise.

It's pretty simple: if the Sox play well, they're in. If they don't, they're not. OK, it's not that simple - life would be easier if the Yankees didn't have another 6 game winning streak. But the rest of the season consists of games at Fenway, Baltimore, and Tampa Bay so things certainly could be worse.

It'll probably come down to the last weekend.

Rick, rick_desper of yahoo.com

((Oh ye of little faith..... I remember after Game 3 of the Yankees series last year when ***I*** had not yet given up.... I actually saw a number of good signs in the last week. First off, Keith Foulke came in and pitched two good innings. Timlin is doing great in classic one inning save situations (actually better than in his setup situations), Wakefield and Arroyo are pitching well, and Wells is battling. Schilling is still a week before the season opens in Spring Training and his last start was the dreaded "dead arm" start where he lost 5 mph off his fast ball. And as for Clement (which presumably was why you wrote that), he's pitching like Lowe was last year in Sept. and you all remember how THAT worked out. So, right now, Clement is the one in Long Relief with the other four as the starters. Then you have Papelbon and Foulke setting up Timlin to close in the bullpen. I'll take that. And, sorry Goz, but I think it is the White Sox that will miss the playoffs, with Cleveland, Boston, and New York in (if you ask me today). The next three days will tell a lot about that.))

Rick Desper (Mon, 19 Sep 2005 16:24:22 -0700 (PDT)

The Yankees, Red Sox, and Indians all pass the White Sox?

Seems unlikely to me. The Yankees are 5 games back with only 14 to play, and three of those games are against the Red Sox!

Yes, I know it's mathematically possible. But it still seems unlikely. If they go merely 5-9, they'd finish with 95 wins and 67 losses. Boston and Cleveland would have to go 8-5, and New York would have to go 10-4 to match that mark. Probably at least one of the three won't catch up.

If the Indians sweep them, it might happen. If they don't, I'd say the White Sox are probably in, even if they only have a 2.5 game lead on the Indians at that point.

Rick, rick_desper of yahoo.com

((That's what I'm predicting, time to head home and see if in the car I'm started to be proven right. It does start with the Indians sweeping the White Sox to end up 1/2 game behind and all the momentum, so I'm saying they'll only win about 4 games the rest of the season to finish with 94 wins. The other three teams all get to 95 or better. Hey, it's a prediction, something for Goz to make fun of me on if I'm wrong.))

Warren Goesle (Mon, 19 Sep 2005 21:59:57 -0500)

Man, I don't check my email for a day and a whole hot-stove league breaks out. Let's see...Jim-Bob is predicting the following:

A. ChiSox go 4-10 or worse.

B. Cleveland goes 7-6 or better.

C. Boston goes 7-6 or better.

D. New York goes 9-5 or better.

ChiSox lose all tie-breaks or playoffs. If I had my CRC I could probably figure out the probabilities of such things, but it's at work right now (or maybe buried from the last move...hmmm). But I can make a guess that p(A) is about .2, p(B) is about .6, p(C) is about .6 and p(D) is about .4.

This means that p(All) is about .03, or about a 3% chance that Jim-Bob is correct. Sadly, Jim-Bob is not a betting man, or I'd have made a lot of money off of him over the years. But it does indicate why he's gotten his WS pick right 2 of the last 86 years. ((True, but I get there with different probabilities. I think p(A) is closer to .6, p(B) is a near certainty, p(C) is about .9, and p(D) is about .75 even if I go for a worst case scenario. That brings p(All) to 40%, at best case the last three are ALL near certainties and p(A) is about .8, doubling the chances to 80%. My most likely scenario is a 60% chance of being right, which being above 50% allows me (in my predictive world) to make the prediction. I might be wrong, but I still think I'm right....))

But to get back to the original point, why not Ortiz at pitcher? It's not like he's doing anything else during the other teams' at-bat.

I'd meant to email you guys the week before Labor Day, as the Cubs were in the midst of another 8-game losing streak, and I could brag that my team was already out, while you guys all had to wait until 10-20 October to have your hearts torn out. Neener, neener.

"But wait", I hear you cry, "you're in the Chicago area now, aren't you a White Sox fan too? Can't you get your heart torn out there in October?"

Actually, no. The older I get the more I realize that the White Sox, and their fans, are just anti-Cubs instead of their own identity (I suspect the same is true for Mets fans with the Yankees across town, but don't know for sure...anyone?). It's tough for me to cheer for something like that.

On the other hand, I do see bad things happening if the White Sox fold completely. Some misguided Cubs' fan will reach across the divide and offer condolences and a hug (wouldn't happen the other way around) as sympathy for the collapse, and the shooting would start. That's the last thing this town needs.

Goz, wgoesle of comcast.net

((A very last minute update as I prepare to send the szine out the door, literally the last typed words..... the Red Sox have fallen into SECOND place, but ye of little faith are not the true Red Sox fan. The true Red Sox fan dies and dies again with his team.... and yea, the Barry Bonds has returned and his hitting homers again!!! Can the Giants catch the Padres??? Yes, yes, YES, they can. Lots of fun stuff to root for this last week of the season. Enjoy everyone....))

THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE GAMES SECTION

"So I called up George and he called up Jim, I said let's make a deal.

He said he'd talk to him. Gonna start a church where you can save yourself,

You can make some noise, When you've got no choice...

You told me useful things, what people think of me, I guess I should thank you.

It's true, then I agree... I'm all alone, I've got no choice,

I'm all alone, I've got no choice."

From "Got No Choice" by the incomparable Mark Cutler, from the CD Mark Cutler and Useful Things.

If you want to submit orders, press, or letters by E-Mail, you can find me through the Internet system at "burgess of world.std.com". If anyone has an interest in having an E-Mail address listed so people can negotiate with you by computer, just let me know. FAX orders to (401) 277-9904 if you let me know in advance to be sure the fax machine is set up.

I am continuing to note cut or failed support orders with a small "s" instead of a capital "S". This will make it easier on the E-Mailed version of the szine to see what happened, since the italics don't show there. The italics DO show on the web page just fine.

Standby lists:

Mike Barno, Dick Martin, Brad Wilson, Jack McHugh, Glenn Petroski, Steve Emmert, Mark Kinney, Vince Lutterbie, Eric Brosius, Paul Rauterberg, Bob Osuch, Doug Kent, Sean O'Donnell, Vern Parker, Heath Gardner, Paul Kenny, Jeff O'Donnell, and Dan Gorham stand by for regular Diplomacy.

Let me know if you want on or off these lists, especially OFF. Standbies get the szine for free and receive my personal thanks.

GAME OPENING INFORMATION

We've got lots of openings in the subszines, check them out!!! Especially, contact Rip Gooch for Railway Rivals, see Rip's subszine elsewhere in most issues of TAP. Come on, help me out!!! Contact Rip Gooch directly at xyropedes of canada.com. Rip has been a bit missing in action lately, but I am assured that he SHALL return.

I'm ready to start a new Breaking Away game, who's interested??? Challenge David Partridge again as he is in (so I say.... ;-)

I am willing to open another new game if there is enough interest!!! Also, is there any interest in another game of Nuclear Yuppie Evil Empire 7x7 Dip? I know it may be getting tired, but I really like it. We have Karl Schmit and Sean O'Donnell on the list, let's get seven!! It's FREE!!!

I also am starting a game of the variant I designed, Spy Diplomacy. Signups for that are now open. I'll publish the rules shortly or you can look at them at www.variantbank.org. Bruce Edwards and Eric Ozog are signed up. I'll try to remember to punch in the rules in the next issue.

John Harrington is offering to guest GM a game of Office Politics. Any interest in that?? Let me or John know! Jody McCullough and Bruce Edwards are interested, anyone else?

And since Colonia is over, Harold Reynolds is looking to start something else.

Also, I am going to design some postal rules for Devil Take the Hindmost, and we have an opening here: Bruce Edwards, Mike Barno, and Eoghan Barry are signed up. Postal rules from me will be forthcoming shortly, on my never ending to-do list. I will get them in SOON! I'm more likely to get these things started if I see some interest..... I've GOT to do this now, Eoghan is getting tired of waiting....

Right now, the other thing going is the Modern Diplomacy game with Wings. Sean O'Donnell, Bob Holt, Rick Desper, Alexander Woo, Dave Partridge, and Eric Ozog are signed up for that. I will start it when I get a full complement of players, the other Modern game is now done!

TAKING OVER ISHKIBIBBLE'S REGULAR DIPLOMACY GAMES

I'll be taking over Phil Reynolds' two regular Diplomacy games somewhere in TAP. One is going to Harold Reynolds' subszine, since Colonia is over and I'll take the other. YOU WILL HEAR FROM ME BEFORE NEXT ISSUE ON THIS!!! I call for orders from everyone NOW, and whichever game looks easier to start I will give to Harold. I have Phil's last issue, #44, but that was published way back in December of 2003. I'm not sure if people have moved or whatever in that time, so a little help would be appreciated. And I hope everyone comes back, but I might need some standbys. I am STILL not hearing from too many of you!!! I'm going to start nagging so I can get these restarted. Please let me know if you care playing, thanks to Karl Schmit for responding each time that he's in....

Us and Them: Winter 1901 was published and it was early on, but I think I can find all the players. Hank Alme (Austria), Karl Schmit (England), John Power (Germany), Tim Snyder (Italy), and Fred Wiedemeyer (Russia) are all here already and Paul Boymel (Turkey) and Marc Ellinger (France) are locatable. Please let me know if you plan to continue!!!

We are the Champions: This one is even earlier, ONLY Spring 1901 had been published. But again, most of the players are around here, and I've located Paul Boymel (Italy) and Marc Ellinger (Turkey). Dave Partridge (Austria) is here of course, Graham Wilson (England) is just joining us, Fred Wiedemeyer (France) and Kevin Wilson (Germany) are here. Paul Risner probably is not going to be able to continue in the game.

You can find that last issue of Phil's szine at:

/Postal/Zines/ishkibibble/ishkibibble_44.pdf

I really must get my act together and get these games restarted, better to wait until the end of summer. Next issue, I'm going to call for orders from all of you and see what we've got. So start negotiating, let me know if you need contact info for anyone.

SPIRALS OF PARANOIA: 2005A, Regular Diplomacy

DELAY: THE NEW DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1902 IS OCTOBER 8TH, 2005

Pre-Spring 1902

AUSTRIA (Rauterberg): has a VIE, a SER, a BUD, f ALB.

ENGLAND (Wiedemeyer): has a EDI, a NWY, f NTH, f NWG.

FRANCE (Tretick): has f MAR, f BRE, a SPA, f MID, a POR.

GERMANY (Tallman): has a KIE, a MUN, f BER, a HOL, a BEL, f DEN.

ITALY (O'Donnell): has a VEN, a APU, a TUN, f ION.

RUSSIA (Sundstrom): has a WAR, a SEV, f BUL(EC), a RUM, a FIN, f GOB.

TURKEY (Biehl): has f ANK, f AEG, a CON.

Addresses of the Participants

AUSTRIA: Paul Rauterberg, 3116 W. American Dr., Greenfield, WI 53221,

(414) 281-2339 (E-Mail) trauterberg of wi.rr.com

ENGLAND: Fred Wiedemeyer, Box 92010-Meadowbrook RPO, Edmonton, ALBERTA CANADA T6T 1N1,

(780) 465-6432, wiedem of planet.eon.net

FRANCE: Buddy Tretick, 9607 Conaty Circle Spotsylvania, VA 22553-1953

cell (540) 226-5771 (E-Mail) berniebuddy32 of aol.com

GERMANY: Terry Tallman, PO Box 782, Clinton, WA 98236, (360) 331-5698 ($2)

terryt of whidbey.net

ITALY: Jeff O'Donnell, 402 Middle Ave., Elyria, OH 44035-5728,

(440) 322-2920 or (440) 225-9203 (cell)

RUSSIA: Matt Sundstrom, 1760 Robincrest Lane South, Glenview, IL 60025, (847) 729-1882,

Matt.Sundstrom of bbdoch.com or mattandzoe of earthlink.net

TURKEY: John Biehl, #8 - 11530 84th Avenue, Delta, BRITISH COLUMBIA, V4C 2M1 CANADA,

(604) 591-1832 ($7); jrb of dccnet.com

Game Notes:

1) The proposal to change the name of the game to Spiralling Pancakes fails. One person HIGHLIGHTED the game name in their orders and that's more than enough for me. This game is FULL of paranoia.

2) The proposal for the six way TAG IRE draw that would have blamed everything that happened in this game on the Irish fails also.

3) Buddy, is this your current postal address?

4) The delay is because Terry Tallman just came back from two weeks in the hospital. He thankfully is doing better and our prayers and best wishes are for him continuing to feel better! But given that, and his failure to have an opportunity to communicate with the new player, I have delayed the game to next issue. Most of the press fit as Pre-Spring, I hope I've dealt with that as you would have wanted me to. Write more for next time!!! Reminder that all press in TAP is black so can be to anyone from anyone.

Press:

(MATT-FRED): Go Canada! Hockey is back and Edmonton vs. Calgary will be back on every week! I'm serious, I don't watch much basketball, so last winter sucked and the Blackhawks weren't exactly riveting in 2003.

(BOOB to MATT): Do you mean the Blackhawks weren't riveting LAST winter (understandable because they didn't play), or that you also expect them not to be riveting THIS winter?? There was so much player movement that I don't have a good sense yet of who is going to be good.

(MATT): My Blackhawks memory is from 2003 when they were very much less than riveting. I make no predictions about this year. Too much time and players passed. I am happy with the Khabibulin signing. We should be in most games at least.

(ITALY to WORLD): I understand that there is a long standing tradition of attacking standbys whenever they enter a game. I just want to go on record saying that I strongly disagree with that policy!

(JEFF to MARVIN BAKER): 3 armies and 1 fleet for Italy! Thanks a lot.

(BOOB to JEFF): Actually, I am a STRONG proponent of the Toby Harris school of playing Italy which says that Italy wins by being a LAND power, not a sea power. Good luck, and thanks for entering the game on short notice!

(TURKEY to THE WORLD): The translation device crackled to life, "Death to the Russians!"

(MATT'S WAFFLEWORKS-TERRY): Bernie loves me...why are you such a stranger?

(BOOB to MATT): It turns out that he had a REALLY, REALLY good excuse, see above.

(JEFF to PAUL): Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends? Why...

(SOCIETY OF AMERICAN ENGLISH LINGUISTICS-Buddy): What part of "I must build two armies" is ambiguous? I'm hard pressed to say this is only a clever use of language.

(BUDDY to FRED): I have to tell you! That Irish Sea looks so tempting!...

(STAR TREK PRESS "TRANSFORMATION" - PART 2): (for Part 1 see Flip Flop Star Trek press)

7 of 9's log - "Confused". I'm not sure where I am. I can clearly see that I am on a galaxy class starship Enterprise, but according to my uniform and log I'm the first officer. One minute I'm a transformed Ferengi trying to restore the Federation with a modified Genesis torpedo and the next thing I know I'm in what has to be another dimension or an alternate reality. And I'm the #1 of the Federation flagship. At least I'm back in human form. I'll check today's com pic report to see where I am and who the local alien groups are in this reality. So far the only transmission I've been able to analyze is completely not understandable, even with the universal translator. I can only conclude that they are the "Children of Tomari", the alien group that can only communicate with metaphors and not understandable gibberish. It will be interesting to see if they have any intention of real communication. ((Very interesting, indeed. Do we wonder who 7 of 9 might be talking about..... nah.... we know!)) (7, not sure what to do or who to confide in, goes down to sickbay and tells her story to the Holo Doctor. After about 1/2 an hour, the Holo Doctor looks at 7 and says, "so we don't even know who our shipmates are or how we got here?" At that moment, something happened that put 7 of 9 into complete shock. The captain of the Enterprise walked in. 7 recognized him from her knowledge of history, she did not know him. He did not know here or the Doctor or how they all got here. The Captain looked at her and said, "I have no idea who you people are! Let me introduce myself. I'm Captain Christopher Pike!" (bad dramatic Star Trek music!)

A conversation, later that day between Captain Pike (P) and 7 of 9 (7):

7 - I've analyzed our tactical situation (7 explains the sequence of events that brought her here to this universe).

P - So let me get this straight. You started out in our universe, 75 years into the future of my time. You get duplicated and flipped into a perpendicular universe and discover that our universe is no longer, and apparently never existed. Then you change the perpendicular universe into our original universe but somehow in the process you get spiraled into this universe, whatever this is called, and somehow I get duplicated or transported here along with the Holo Doctor and whoever else is on board? ((I hope someone has a detailed map of all this.....))

7 - That pretty much explains it, but it gets worse.

P - What do you mean?

7 - Our tactical situation does not look good. We only have the Enterprise and three troop transports to defend Earth, Mars, Vulcan, and Deep Space 1. The Children of Tomari are in position and we are ripe for invasion. I was able to recognize communiques from the Cardassian and Ferengi leaders who are also from other realities. The problem is that Captain Kirk attacked the Ferengi leader in that reality. They may not want to help us. On top of that, our troops are not placed very well and one of our troops is dangerously close to the Cardassian border. The thing is, we could have used those resources to build another starship.

P - At least we are not at war yet!....

FLIP FLOP: 2003G, Regular Diplomacy

THE DUE DATE FOR FALL 1905 IS OCTOBER 8TH, 2005

Summer 1905

AUSTRIA (Wiedemeyer): has a APU, a VEN, a GAL, a STP, a UKR, a TRI.

ENGLAND (Schmit): has a HOL, f ENG, f POR, a BEL, f MID, f NWY, f NTH, a MOS.

FRANCE (Jeff O'Donnell): has f WES, a BRE, f GOL, a SPA, a GAS.

GERMANY (Sundstrom): has f BAL, a KIE, a PRU, a SIL, f DEN.

ITALY (Williams): has f ION, f TYH, a PIE.

RUSSIA (Sean O'Donnell): has a WAR.

TURKEY (Levinson): has f AEG, a BUL, f GRE, f BLA, a SEV, a RUM.

Addresses of the Participants

AUSTRIA: Fred Wiedemeyer, Box 92010-Meadowbrook RPO, Edmonton, ALBERTA CANADA T6T 1N1,

(780) 465-6432, wiedem of planet.eon.net

ENGLAND: Karl Schmit, 1509 O'Keefe Road, DePere, WI 54115, (920) 338-8402,

diplomacy of new.rr.com ($4)

FRANCE: Jeff O'Donnell, 402 Middle Ave., Elyria, OH 44035-5728,

(440) 322-2920 or (440) 225-9203 (cell)

GERMANY: Matt Sundstrom, 1760 Robincrest Lane South, Glenview, IL 60025, (847) 729-1882,

Matt.Sundstrom of bbdoch.com or mattandzoe of earthlink.net

ITALY: Don Williams, 27505 Artine Drive, Saugus, CA 91350, (661) 297-3947,

wllmsfmly of earthlink.net or dwilliams of fontana.org

RUSSIA: Sean O'Donnell, 1044 Wellfleet Drive, Grafton, OH 44044, (440) 926-0230,

sean_o_donnell of hotmail.com

TURKEY: Alexandre Levinson, 1, allee des Marniquets, 78430 Louveciennes FRANCE, don't need phone,

levinson7 of hotmail.com ($5)

Game Notes:

Press:

(FRANCE to ENGLAND): How could you?!

(FRANCE to ENGLAND II): What I meant to say is, what took you so long?

(SEAN-BOARD): Death is but the beginning.

(FRANCE to GERMANY): Help!

(MATT-SEAN): Boy, I hope my moves were written correctly and Austria came through. Congrats on the nuptuals, Sean.

(GERMANY-WORLD): It's all about the beer. So we'll give some to England.

(FRANCE to ITALY): Your defense of the Austrian invasion has been an inspiration. Last man to Marseilles is a rotten egg.

(MATT-JIM): Jim gets lots o' beer to be named later.

(BOOB to MATT): I can't wait....

("TRANSFORMATION" PART ONE): Captain's Log - Great news/bad news. It worked! And I have no joy. 7 of 9s mission was successful. Our universe has been restored. We are no longer Ferengi. No one in this universe has any knowledge of the transformation. However, the cost was steep. As expected, the Romulans attacked and we used their disruptor fire as a catalyst for the Genesis Device that 7 of 9 operated. The problem is the mission allowed the Romulans to walk into one of our starbases and worse than that, 7 of 9 is missing. (As Kirk (K) is talking, Spock (S) enters his room)

K - Report!

S - I think 7 is still alive.

K - What do you mean?

S - Our tricorder readings indicated a dimensional shift of temporal energy at 7 of 9s impact point. I don't think she's dead. I think she has been transported to another reality.

K - Well, I hope she's OK. Have you analyzed the Romulan invasion?

S - They are moving extremely cautiously. They could have attacked us on two fronts. They only moved on one. In any event, our surrender is just a matter of time. ((Perhaps I, the Supreme Being, helped to get 7 of 9 out just in time.... but then again, you know how Supreme Beings get when you pull a Hunter S. on them.... checking out before one's time, so get back in there.... we are omniscient, we are omniscient.)) Our Klingon allies are also about to be exterminated.

I CAN'T FIND MY MONEY!: 2001F, Regular Diplomacy

THE DUE DATE FOR SUMMER 1911 IS OCTOBER 8TH, 2005

THE DUE DATE FOR FALL 1911 IS OCTOBER 29TH, 2005

Spring 1911

AUSTRIA (Parker): f tri-ALB, f ion-TYH, a VIE h, a bud-GAL, f adr-ION,

a PIE h, a BUL h, a TUS h, a rom-VEN, a SEV-arm, a NAP h, a SER S a bul,

a STP h, f GRE S f adr-ion.

ENGLAND (Kinney): a LON h.

FRANCE (Kent): a PAR S f bre-pic, a gas-SPA, a LVP-edi, f bre-PIC, f TUN-ion.

GERMANY (Wilson): f kie-HOL, a ber-MUN, f NTH S f bel-eng, a mun-BUR,

f bel-ENG, a pic-par (d r:bel,otb), a NWY h, a MAR s a bur-gas (nso),

f EDI h, a RUH, a bur-gas (nsu).

TURKEY (Miller): f AEG S a con-bul, a ARM h, a CON-bul.

Addresses of the Participants

AUSTRIA: Vern Parker, 337 Winter Hill Place, Powell, OH 43065, (614) 402-5139

VernDip of aol.com is preferred

ENGLAND: Mark Kinney, 4830 Westport Road, Apt D, Louisville KY 40222

alberich of iglou.com

FRANCE: Douglas Kent - Unit E, #30694-177, Federal Correctional Institution McKean,

PO Box 8000, Bradford, PA 16701

GERMANY: Kevin Wilson, 18623 Santa Maria Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70809, 225-751-3857,

ckevinw1 of cox.net

ITALY: Formerly was Heath Gardner, 1510 W. Friendly Ave., Greensboro, NC 27403-1207

metaphorman of gmail.com

ITALY: Mike Barno, 634 Dawson Hill Road, Spencer, NY 14883

mpbarno of lightlink.com

RUSSIA: Rick Desper, 5440 Marinelli Road, #204, Rockville, MD 20852

(301) 977-7691, rick_desper of yahoo.com

TURKEY: Tim Miller, 258 New Mark Esplanade, Rockville, MD 20850,

tim of webjudge.net

GM: Jim-Bob Burgess, 664 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908-4327, +1 401-351-0287

burgess of world.std.com

Game Notes:

1) The GA-GA draw proposal has been reproposed. Please vote with your summer orders, failing to vote vetoes the draw.

Press:

(LONDON CALLING): I suppose at this point I'm either saying thank you, or thank you.

(GERMANY to LONDON): I have no problem with you remaining alive. I would even help you stay alive if you'll help remove that French unit from your home shores and send it home.

SECRETS: 1999D, Regular Diplomacy

THE DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1920 IS OCTOBER 8TH, 2005

Winter 1919

ENGLAND (Brosius): has f LON, a GAS, f NAO, a KIE,

f MID, f ENG, f HOL, f POR.

FRANCE (Sasseville): has f MAR, f SPA(SC), a MUN, a BUR.

GERMANY (Barno): has a CON.

RUSSIA (Parker): has a MOS, a LVN, a BER, f BAL, a STP, a PRU.

TURKEY (Linsey): PLAYS TWO SHORT; has a ANK, a UKR, a WAR, f WES, a SEV,

f GOL, a SIL, a GAL, f NAF, f SMY, a TYO, f PIE, a BOH.

Addresses of the Participants

ENGLAND: Eric Brosius, 53 Bird Street, Needham, MA 02492

eric.brosius of comcast.net

FRANCE: Roland Sasseville, Jr., 38 Bucklin Street, Pawtucket, RI 02861, (401) 481-4280 ($0)

roland6 of cox.net and ICQ: 40565030

GERMANY: Mike Barno, 634 Dawson Hill Road, Spencer, NY 14883

mpbarno of lightlink.com

RUSSIA: Vern Parker, 337 Winter Hill Place, Powell, OH 43065, (614) 402-5139

VernDip of aol.com is preferred

TURKEY: Bruce Linsey, PO Box 234, Kinderhook, NY 12106

GonzoHQ of aol.com

Game Notes:

1) The FREGT draw is rejected and then reproposed. We now require everyone to vote every season, no perpetual draw votes. And failure to vote would be a yes. So actually technically you don't HAVE to vote, since this does NOT mean the game will just be ended by the GM, it just means someone must veto the draw every turn. So it is just draw vetoers who must vote. At least one person continues to veto the proposal.

2) Do you guys all realize that this game has been going on now for almost SEVEN years??? Quite an accomplishment and it may not be over yet.

Press:

FINDING THE COMMUNITY: Breaking Away, Designer's Rules

CONGRATULATIONS TO RICK DESPER WHO HUNG ON FOR THE VICTORY!!!

Game Notes:

1) The rules are on the TAP website in the Tinamou section. Ask if you have any questions. New game start in this, who wants to play again (or for the first time)???

Press:

Personal Note to You:

File translated from T_EX by T_TH, version 3.30.
On 23 Sep 2005, 20:43.