THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE #343

December 28, 2013


Jim Burgess, 664 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908-4327 USA, (401)351-0287, jfburgess of gmail.com


E-MAIL/WEB ONLY ISSUE! PDF will be available on the website. We also are being reproduced in Eternal Sunshine.
SPECIAL DON WILLIAMS CHRISTMAS EVE PRESENT: JUST THE Phil Reynolds Early View went out to the Phil Reynolds players. Merry Christmas especially to Don Williams, but to all of you. In my field, these days, when you get an article published it comes up first on the web in "Early View". Now the rest of you can see the full issue, lots of action, including a wealth of Peeriblah!


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


There was interest in a NEW regular Diplomacy game and a Breaking Away game. We start BOTH of those in this issue. Any interest in something else?
This issue continues the szine/subszine inversion. As most of you know, this thing began as a ßubszine" to Terry Tallman's North Sealth, West George, then became its own szine with a host of subszines. The subszines remaining will appear as sub-subszines to our new flipflopped home in Doug Kent's Eternal Sunshine. Doug's incessant nagging is not keeping us on schedule, but will make it so we keep going. I'd like to keep writing and doing some game GMing (note that has been expanding).
For production, in addition to the HTML's of each separate product on the web page, I will also have a PDF that you can print of the entire subszine (including my famous handdrawn maps!). You can just print the maps if you like, but remember maps are for pikers anyway, you don't need no steenkin' maps, keep them up in your head where they belong.
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.


THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE FEATURES SECTION (CONS/TOURNAMENTS/HOUSE RULES
((For upcoming cons around the world: /Face/cons/index.php, but note that some of the Americans have stopped posting the tournaments there. Shame, shame, shame... The Diplomacy World deadline is coming up on January 1, 2014, please think about writing some articles for us, especially if you went to Tempest or Carnage, TempleCon is coming up second weekend in February, more below.))


DIPLOMACY WORLD CUP TOURNAMENT IS ONGOING - YOU CAN STILL JOIN!
This is the latest incarnation of this team based tournament. I am helping to lead the Nor'Easter team for people in the Northeast part of the United States. https://www.facebook.com/groups/123795024327261/ is the Facebook page for the event.
And you can sign up for the Tournament at: http://aqmn.asciiking.com/. Other US regional teams are the ones in the Pacific, Dixie, and Chicago. Its unique aspect, that is proving to be a bit distorting but in interesting ways, is its "solo only" feature. You advance from the preliminaries to the finals only by soloing, and then need solos in the finals against the other soloists. Though this started last January, it probably will be going on for at least two years, and there is PLENTY of time to jump in. As usual, for those who know me well, I screwed up my first game and allowed a solo to someone from team US. I still don't have a solo in over three decades, but maybe I can do it in my current game. Yes, in C-Diplo, you can easily throw games, and in this format you can do it. I wonder why people like to drop the levels of the game in this way. It fascinates me. But in the finals of this tournament, it shouldn't happen, should it?
So, really, come join, it is being operated on a web-assisted Judge platform that is really pretty easy to use. Ask me if you have any questions. There is about to be a huge uptick in games starting as January approaches in a few days. Lots of games are waiting for more players to start, won't you come join me???


HOUSE RULES FOR The Abyssinian Prince


1) The GM is God, but in his/her infinite fairness players have the right to a mutually agreeable ombudsperson in the event of any dispute. The ombudsperson would have the right to force me to adhere to accepted standard hobby practice, whatever that might happen to be at that point in time. Basically, I abhor the concept of house rules, causing me to do revisions only every fifty issues or so (originally appearing in issue 32, 84, 134, 157, 211, and now 343). Yes, it has been a while, over a hundred issues since my last revision. If you don't like a "loose" style, I suggest you play elsewhere. Players may inquire at any time concerning how I would rule on any particular "peculiar situation." In the strict sense, those are the house rules. PERIOD. I will, however, fill about a page explaining what might better be called ßtandard practices."
2) If I fail to obtain orders from a player, a standby will be called. Please note that NMR follow ups to attempt to get orders usually will be made after the deadline. Phoned or E-Mailed orders (as well as changes to existing orders) will be accepted up until the time the game is adjudicated.
3) Country selection is by preference list, but the preference lists generally will not be used unless all or almost all players submit one. Otherwise, countries will be assigned by random draw. If a game started with some players not submitting a preference list, those players will be assigned randomly first and then the preference lists will be applied to the remaining positions.
4) Any GM error must be pointed out by the next deadline or the error stands until discovered. Once discovered, repairs will be made if possible; however, turns and movement will not be taken back. Please note that since all seasons are separated (except Autumn/Winter), that means that players must write immediately if they detect an error. Deadlines customarily will be on Saturdays, NMR requests will be made over that weekend, and the adjudications will be E-mailed as soon as possible in the following week. Deadlines fall at monthly intervals.
5) NMR's in Spring 1901 will not be allowed. If a player cannot be reached, the game will be delayed and a standby will be called.
6) Orders should be submitted in a clear manner and obtained via a verifiable source (such as postally, by phone or from a known E-Mail address). "Nth" is my standard abbreviation for the North Sea. "Nor" always is held to be ambiguous and the order will not be followed. All other abbreviations should not permit more than one meaning. I have a tendency to try to interpret player intentions though I try to keep it under control. If you wish an order to be intentionally miswritten, point it out to me or prepare to face the consequences. I realize that this could be construed as limiting the use of miswritten orders, but imagination is limitless. I always will back a player who intentionally miswrites orders as falling in the ambiguous category. Handwriting shall be no messier than mine if you submit postal orders. Conditionals seldom are necessary, but be sure to have an "in all other cases" clause if you use them. If not, units without a condition will hold. Conditionals may be made based on who is playing a potential standby position.
7) Draws may be proposed at any time. Players may wish to specify the season in which they are to be voted on, the default is the one immediately following (even if it is a Summer season). Draw votes are never confirmed in public for any reason by the GM and must be unanimous to pass. Failure to vote counts as a no vote, unless specifically amended by the GM with at least two seasons warning in extraordinary cases.
8) All games are black press unless three players request otherwise (status may change in the middle of a game). Black press means any dateline, including attempts at impersonation, are allowed from anyone. Press generally is encouraged strongly. The GM reserves the right to edit but wields a very loose editing pen. Abuse of the GM is required if you intend to abuse other players.
9) Maps generally are provided with all adjudications for regular Diplomacy games, though occasionally they are are omitted for reasons of space on Winter or Summer seasons only. Maps in Spy Diplomacy are provided for each season separately to each player.
10) I blatantly ripped off Bruce Geryk and Melinda Holley in producing the original version of these house rules (way back in issue 32) and have edited them very little yet again in the present version (lazy bastard that I am). Nevertheless, I reserve the right to change these standard practices at any time with little warning.




THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE LETTERS SECTION
Larry Peery (Sun, Dec 22, 2013 at 7:45 PM)
"I, Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia, am here today to claim that justice which is due to my people, and the assistance promised to it eight months ago, when fifty nations asserted that aggression had been committed in violation of international treaties."
Haile Selassie, plea to the League of Nations, June 1936.
INTRODUCTION: THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
Several people asked me over the last year how I came up with some of the ideas for various pieces of Peeriblah that appeared in Diplomacy World, The Diplomatic Pouch (both of them), Eternal Sunshine or A Fleet in Paris - not to mention the hundreds of mini-articles and comments I posted to scores of publications, blogs and news sites online. I told them it was just like having kids: you can ask for a boy or a girl; you can hope whichever you get comes out healthy; and for the rest you have to trust in the Good Lord.
Sometimes for me something, and it can be almost anything, will suggest an idea for a story. The fastest anything I wrote this year went from germination to completion was about three hours. Other ideas just hang around, sometimes for months, waiting for that magic spark to light their burner. Oftentimes an initial idea collides with a second idea and perhaps even a third or a fourth until suddenly a while new idea takes shape and the words begin to flow. Some stories begin with a single word, phrase or sentence, or even a picture. Others begin with a few key points, a paragraph or a short outline. And some actually just come pouring out of my fingers onto the screen.
This story has an interesting story behind it, so I thought I’d share it with you. When I was working on my various projects on my trip to Paris for WDC last September I had an idea for something different from my normal writing. I just started typing and three pages later I had the beginning of a story I liked but one that I knew would require more work and time than I had at that moment, so I put it aside while I finished my various con reports, travelogues, etc. Then, when I was trying to decide what should go to which publication (always a task because I try to achieve some kind of balance and variety among them) I mentioned in an email to Doug Kent, Jim Burgess and Chris Babcock that I had one item left that wasn't quite finished and didn't seem to fit in with the other stuff that I was passing out. Jim reminded me that he was still publishing his sub-szine The Abyssinian Prince and he’d be glad to publish it; this without even knowing what it was about. So I dropped him an email and told him I’d write something for the next TAP. Weeks went by and I’d occasionally pick up my little gem, look at it, think about how to finish it and then get distracted by something else. One day I realized that although I'd been reading TAP since Jim started it (and that was so long ago even he isn't sure of the exact date, but it was probably in 1983 or 1984 - so TAP is 30 years old this year!)
((Ah, and therein lies another tale... yes, we have Peeriblah on TOP of Peeriblah, so while I told Larry off the top of my head it was around 1983 or 1984, I did have access both to my own records as well as YOUR very own copy of the original issue. This COULD be looked up. As you know, YOUR hobby archives followed a wayward Tim Haffey path that ended up in the hands of Doug Kent. And Doug has scanned large parts of those archives and posted them on the Internet. I often spend spare hours trolling through Doug's records and my own extensive paper archives. The starting date for my publication for which this is the 343rd issue in thirty years, and boy are THOSE "Thirty Miles of Bad Road"!, or about 11 and a half issues a year, was precisely published on November 5, 1983. In the lucky unlucky thirteenth issue of North Sealth, West George, the famous noseweegie szine of Terry Tallman, did appear the first issue, which began with the name The Boob Report. You may find that first subszine buried in the NSWG szine at: http://www.whiningkentpigs.com/DW/oldzines/nswg13.pdf. This first issue of mine featured one of my favorite all-time silly anecdotes that I am happy to resurrect on its thirtieth anniversary. I still often pass Mariani's Funeral Home in the North End of Providence when I'm cutting across town from the north to the western part of the city, as it is on Hawkins Street, that runs by the Rhode Island School for the Deaf and is almost the only street in the city that makes that connection. Anyway, thirty years ago when I did not have a car and was walking that path across town, and this is a VERY Italian part of town as the Funeral Home's name reflects, Mariani was doing some digging and apparent landscaping on his front lawn. I was walking by almost every day and this project was going much of the way through that 1983 fall. The big black dump truck that I can still see clearly thirty years later in my mind always was parked right next to the project on the street. But suddenly, the truck moved to a spot tucked behind the building where only someone like me walking by would even think to notice it. For the rest of the project it stayed hidden in the back. Why? The name of the contractor, plastered on the side door and back of the big black dump truck was "Providence Body Co."))
((Larry, you also would get a kick out of that lucky thirteenth issue of NSWG as it featured Terry's famous screed against "Hobby ORGANIZATION" and of course who was one of his chief targets? You guessed it, and I quote the Hobby Ghodfather, "I keep telling myself that I like Larry Peery." and later "I am designating NSWG as the official Muzzle Larry Peery szine for the hobby." The whole screed is classic Toadfather and I'm sure some of you will enjoy reading it for yourselves. The proximal cause was the latest in your effort at professionalizing the hobby's organization with a 1 dollar tax on each of us players to fund all that dreaded organization... lucky for all of us, the Diplomacy hobby remains gloriously disorganized. And through it all, we've all kept telling ourselves how much we like you, and I really do love this story that I'm interrupting, and glad to be printing it.))
((But, this is the thirtieth anniversary of my 343rd issue, but you may then ask, when did The Abyssinian Prince itself actually come about? That is not a history you can track either on the Pouch TAP web site or on Doug Kent's archive. TAP actually began as a subszine to the Boob Report subszine, going completely solo with the 100th issue of The Boob Report. There were seventeen issues of The Abyssinian Prince in that subszine format before going to issue #101. I should find those back issues and make sure I or Doug get them up on the web!))
I didn’t know where the title TAP had come from or what it meant. So, I turned to Google and Wikipedia and did some searching. I expected that TAP had something to do with Abyssinia (e.g. Ethiopia); of course, but beyond that I didn't have a clue what to expect. I was surprised, although I shouldn't have been, knowing Jim, to learn about Dr. Johnson's "The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia."
((Yes, that reminds me I need to read it again and it has been at least a year. I know of no book that rewards frequent re-reading so masterfully. I used to have the elegant opening sentence as the masthead quote here, so most of you have seen it. But it is just SO good. "Ye who listen with credulity to the whispers of fancy, and pursue with eagerness the phantoms of hope, who expect that age will perform the promises of youth, and that the deficiencies of the present day will be supplied by the morrow, attend to the history of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia."))
I won’t go into Dr. Johnson’s work or its importance. You can find all that online for yourself. I will, however, share the results of one bit of research I did as I traced the story behind the work. According to various sources Dr. Johnson wrote the piece in 1759 to help cover the costs of his mother's funeral. For his week’s efforts Dr. Johnson was paid a total of 75 pounds for the copyright. The question that popped into my head was what kind of funeral can you buy for 75 pounds? Further research revealed that 75 pounds in 1759 would be worth about USD 15,600 in 2013, and that the average USA funeral in 2013 cost between USD 8,000 and 10,000 and the average UK funeral in 2013 cost about 7,622 pounds or USD 12,271; so Dr. Johnson did quite well by his mother. And the amount of money he was paid at the time for the time he spent on the project suggests that he was doing very well as a writer. And, on your next trip to London you can stop by Dr. Johnson's house in Gough Square, visit the delightful museum there and then walk down Fleet Street (once the home of the London newspaper industry) toward St. Paul's. There at the foot of Lodgate Hill (the highest point in The City of London) is where Lodgate Street once stood. It's gone now, probably destroyed in The Blitz. Lodgate Street was the home of W. Johnston, the printer of the original and second edition of Rasselas, Prince of Ethiopia. Imagine the excitement that April spring morning as hundreds of London's literati and glitterati gathered to await the release of Dr. Johnson's latest work. Sort of reminds me of the hundreds of people lined up to shell out their $35 for a chance to buy a copy of Baroness Thatcher's Memoirs when she came to La Jolla, and a chance to tell her what a great lady she was (Something she was already well aware of, even if John Major wasn't.).
But it wasn't Dr. Johnson or Rasselas that came to mind every time I thought of The Abyssinian Prince. Instead a picture passed before my eyes that I probably had first seen when I was a student in junior high school back in the early 1960s. It was of a funny little man, rather dark in color, wearing some kind of military uniform with a pith helmet standing behind a podium that was obviously much too tall for him. It was an old B&W image. All I remembered was that he had come to the League of Nations to ask it to fulfill the promise the League had made to his country; and it had turned him away laughing at him.
So now my story had a third string to go with the original idea, and Dr. Johnson and Rasselas - Haile Selassie, the Abyssinian Prince who became a King who became an Emperor, who spent twenty years after his death buried under a public toilet in his former imperial palace before being buried in the tomb of the royals of Ethiopia and hailed as a descendent of Jesus Christ by millions of believers. Yes, that Haile Selassie. He is the Abyssinian Prince who is the center of this story.
THE STORY BEGINS
I could have begun this story near Harar, Ethiopia in 1892 the year the boy who would become Haile Selassie was born as a prince in a minor tribe with not very good prospects for surviving, let alone advancing in his tribal society. We might have picked up the story in Geneva when he first walked onto the world stage at the League of Nations and captured the world's attention with his words and his imperial bearing. Or I could have begun the story in Korea at a place called Pork Chop Hill where thousands of members of his Imperial Guard regiment had gone to fight side by side with other UN volunteers against the invaders from China. All of those would have been good starting spots for this story but instead I want to begin it in Silver Spring, Maryland in the fall of 2013.
MAMO'S STORY
For the full story of my trip to Silver Spring and what happened at DipCon you'll need to look in a companion piece in the current issue of DIPLOMACY WORLD. This story focuses on something else and here I introduce the fourth thread that comprises this story, in the person of a man whose name I do not even know yet, but I am determined to find out. For now I will call him Mamo, which means my friend or my buddy. Mamo was my van driver at the hotel. I asked him to give me a short tour of downtown Silver Spring and take me to the Sarbanes Transit Center. Because of the rain and traffic what would normally have taken 5-10 minutes ended up being a bit longer, but during our short time together Mamo told me something about his life in America since he had come to this country with his family in the 1970s. At first he wouldn't say much about his parents or what had brought them to this country but after I spoke of my respect and affection for Haile Selassie and the role he had played in the development of Ethiopia and my childhood recollections of his speech to the League, his resistance to Mussolini's fascist invasion, and Ethiopia's standing side-by-side with the Americans in Korea; he opened up about the horrors of what had gone on and were going on in his homeland.
We both knew that Selassie has come to New York in October 1963 to speak to the United Nations General Assembly about one of his pet causes, "Collective Security," just a few months after he had brought together many of the newly independent countries in Africa following the tide of de-colonization that spread through Africa in the early 1960s. He had even brokered the founding of the Organization of African Unity or OAU as it was known in May of 1963 which brought together 29 countries and 150 million people in less than ten years. Today the African Union, one of the largest providers of UN peacekeeping forces, lives on as his legacy. This time he was received with respect and even admiration at the UN. A few days later he was greeted with a full state welcome at the White House by President and Mrs. Kennedy. Again, he was acknowledged as a man of wisdom and a world leader worthy of respect. A few weeks later President Kennedy was dead and Lyndon Johnson was President. But the new American president knew that the United States needed Ethiopia far more than Ethiopia needed the US, although the Emperor was struggling to raise the standard of living of his poor people. A series of visits to Addis Ababa by a string of American diplomats and warriors bringing offers of aid, assistance and alliance resulted in a series of agreements that gave the Americans what they wanted -land in Ethiopia. For the next ten years or so these pieces of land centered around the Kagnew Station near Asmara Eritrea (then a part of Ethiopia, now a hotbed of unrest in NE Africa) were the site of many US intelligence installations run by the armed services, the CIA, the NSA, the NRO, etc. etc. From their perch a few miles from the Red Sea 7,500 feet above sea level the listening devices of the Americans could cover a vast circle that covered the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, the Red Sea, the Indian Sea, Turkey, the Black Sea and most importantly southern Russia and especially the Soviet's nuclear weapons and rocket testing sites. This was critical in the days when the only other reliable source of information the US had were its spy planes, and after Gary Powers' U-2 fiasco under President Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson didn't want to use the U-2s unless it was necessary. Ten years later developments in satellites and cameras made ground-based operations like the one at Kagnew mostly obsolete although the US military tried to hang on to them. One additional benefit of the location that made it valuable right to the end was the fact that it was located almost due south of Moscow near the equator which made it a perfect site to ease drop on Soviet satellite communications (Moscow is located at 37 degrees, 37 minutes and 0 seconds East and Asmara is located at 38 degrees, 56 minutes and 1.68 seconds East) Valuable stuff indeed.
In return for this invaluable help Selassie and Ethiopia didn't get much. There’s no record that, unlike many rulers of various US allies Selassie ever enriched himself from American aid. Instead most of it went into basic improvements in the country's primitive infrastructure; although a new imperial palace and a giant cathedral for the nation’s catholic Orthodox Church were built. It was in the palace that Selassie was captured and held captive by a Marist named Megistu in 1974. Megistu would run the Communist junta that ruled Ethiopia for fifteen years, then serve as president of the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia until 1991 when he fled to Zimbabwe at the end of the Ethiopian Civil War. Although responsible for the death of some two million people and convicted of genocide he remains free today. Ironically Megistu's first name was also Haile and he was, in fact, named for the former emperor. Haile Selassie died under mysterious circumstances in 1975 and his body disappeared, only to reappear years later when it was found buried under a public toilet in the palace. Twenty-seven years later it was laid to rest with his imperial ancestors in the family tomb in the cathedral he had built. Ironically, it was also twenty-seven years that separated his speeches at the League of Nations and the United Nations, both in support of the same cause, collective security. Today, members of the Rastafarian sect, mostly in Jamaica, believe Haile Selassie was a direct descendent of Jesus Christ and he himself as quite literally a Son of God. Be that as it may he is one of the fascinating minor figures of the 20th century. Perhaps he was not worthy of our worship but certainly, as students of diplomacy or Dippers he was worthy of our study and these were some of the thoughts that passed through my head as I chatted with Mamo, thanked him for sharing his thoughts with me, and made my way back to DipCon.
With this bit of background and hopefully your interest piqued to learn more about this fascinating man let's use Google and YouTube to revisit some of the highlights of his life that I mentioned earlier. If you do I think you’ll agree that he was a diplomat and Dipper worth studying and emulating.
WATCH AND READ THE STORY YOURSELF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75GQ3rwxtZIHIM - Haile Selassie, The Lion of Juddah (documentary)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCm-0H6MrKE - Haile Selassie at the League of Nations
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/selassie.htm - Complete text of Haile Selassie's plea to the League of Nations in 1936
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlQ5_ejdBks - Haile Selassie Meets (a very young) Queen Elizabeth (1954, Pathe news)
http://www.nazret.com/history/him_un.php - Haile Selassie's address to the United Nations General Assembly (October 1963)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAxmk7sHycc - JFK Welcomes Haile Selassie to the White House (October 1963)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagnew_Station - Kagnew Station, Asmara Eritrea (Wikipedia background site)
http://www.kagnewstation.com/ - Kagnew Station (home page for vets who served there)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1007736.stm - BBC report "Haile Selassie laid to rest more than 27 years after his mysterious death."
http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/290203.Haile_Selassie_I - Quotations from Haile Selassie
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/h/haile_selassie.html - Additional quotations from Haile Selassie
FROM ETHIOPIA TO KOREA IN SEARCH OF COLLECTIVE SECURITY
By now you may be wondering what all this has to do with Diplomacy? It's really quite simple. From the beginning Selassie believed in and practiced the concept of "collective security," the joining together of weaker nations to resist aggression by more powerful ones. He preached this at the League of Nations when he tried to rally it to take action against Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia. During WWII, although in exile from 1936-1941, he returned to Addis Ababa in 1941 to rally his people to resist the occupiers. As I pointed out he sent his own royal guard, the Kagnew Battalion (which is where the name for the US base came from) to Korea to fight with Americans and other UN members to resist the North Koreans and Chinese Communists. The heroism of Korean fighters was recognized at battles like Pork Chop Hill and some were decorated by the Americans. Hundreds of Ethiopians were killed and thousands injured in the fierce fighting but not one Ethiopian was captured by the enemy. The Ethiopians preferred to die in combat rather than face the embarrassment of capture by the foe. One interesting footnote is that today, after years of civil war and abuse by a pro-Communist government, a few hundred members of the Kagnew Battalion still survive. Most are in the eighties, in ill health, and even deprived of their meager pensions. However, their bravery has not been forgotten. The South Korean government has sent relief supplies, doctors, and other aid to Ethiopia to help their former allies and when one the members of the Kagnew Battalion who served in Korea dies they are buried in Ethiopia's equivalent to Arlington National Cemetery inside the cathedral that Haile Selassie built and just a few yards from where he is buried. At each burial a representative from the Korean embassy attends. Even as it was troubled by its own internal conflicts Ethiopia under Selassie continued to contribute peacekeeping forces when needed in Africa and elsewhere. The man practiced what he preached. As a Dipper I find the concept of "collective security," which one skeptic called "another name for Diplomacy with teeth." intriguing. It offers an alternative to the "every man for himself" attitude that permeates most Diplomacy games. In fact, I’ve found in two recent games that applying the concept can be a valuable tool in waging a successful battle for victory. But enough on that. I don’t want to give away any secrets or tools that might be useful in Seattle.
THE STORY ENDS
I began this story with a quotation from Selassie's speech at the League of Nations in 1936. Let me end it with a quotation from his address to the United Nations in 1963.
"Mr. President, Distinguished Delegates: Twenty-seven years ago, as Emperor of Ethiopia, I mounted the rostrum in Geneva, Switzerland, to address the League of Nations and to appeal for relief from the destruction which had been unleashed against my defenseless nation, by the Fascist invader. I spoke then both to and for the conscience of the world. My words went unheeded, but history testifies to the accuracy of the warning that I gave in 1936. Today, I stand before the world organization which has succeeded to the mantle discarded by its discredited predecessor. In this body is enshrined the principle of collective security which I unsuccessfully invoked at Geneva. Here, in this Assembly, reposes the best -– perhaps the last –- hope for the peaceful survival of mankind." - HIM Haile Selassie address to the United Nations, October 1963
Larry, peery of ix.netcom.com
((Thanks, Larry, see the other parts of Larry's comments in the Eternal Sunshine where this subszine appears and in the next issue of Diplomacy World. DW has a deadline of January 1, join Larry and me and write something for it!!!))


Drew James (Sat, Dec 14, 2013 at 4:47 PM)
Jim, I'm struggling some with conference realignment. When SU was in the Big East I always cheered for BE teams in their out of conference games - yes, even when Georgetown played. Now that same philosophy means that I'm supposed to cheer for teams like Duke and UNC - teams I don't think I've ever cheered for before no matter who they were playing! Of course, every time Duke has a big game and I (sort of..) hope they win they have lost this year. That said, the ACC is a much better place for SU. It is a great basketball conference and a relevant football conference - and one in which SU can compete with the middle teams. The Big East basketball only schools are in good shape and will do just fine without the football schools. I'm finding it hard to feel bad for UCONN as they were my least favorite Big East school and a recruiting competitor of SU. They are doomed to irrelevancy now.
((UConn should still find a way to keep their Women's Basketball tradition going, but the men's basketball team is doing well now, but will they keep it up? And UConn football will always be awful, one thinks.))
When I mentioned UCONN's irrelevancy I was thinking of football. Certainly they will continue to be the premier woman's basketball team. Brianna Stewart played high school ball locally and is a total class act. Although, I think the men's basketball program will take a hit over time as well. There is a lot of excitement in Syracuse around this basketball season. I think that our #2 rank is a little high, but we are one of a dozen teams that could win it all. They have sold 3,000 more season tickets this year than last and we are guaranteed to lead the nation in attendance this season.
((Yeah, I can get into rooting for Syracuse to beat up those hated ACC teams, but I doubt I ever will get used to them being there. The former Big East football teams in that American Athletic Conference may take even more getting used to. As I finish up typing this issue on Saturday the 28th, Syracuse is struggling toward a victory over old rival and perhaps best team in the remaining Big East, Villanova. James Bell can't do it all against this balanced Orange squad, so doesn't look like any Big East team will be able to challenge for the national title at this point. This year looks like a down year for most of the other remaining Big East teams. Providence could actually be a player in the league (which will be a welcome surprise), though their depth is horrible with two freshman sitting out for an on-campus behavior violation and some injuries. I really have just grown to hate college football even more since it is messing up my basketball teams!))
SU is the only bright spot in New York state major sports. The Islanders, Rangers, Sabres, Jets, Bills, Giants, Knicks, Nets, and Mets are all awful. Even the Yankees were not particularly good last season. Tough to be a fan of New York teams these days!
Drew, karelanddrew of gmail.com
((Well, sort of, but I think the Sabres are turning it around into a really nice story. Where early in the season they were threatening to sit a new league record for fewest goals scored in a season, recent weeks have told a very different story. Since December 17th, they are 3-1-1, and have scored 14 goals in 5 games, almost three goals a game, whee! Ted Nolan is doing a good job and I think the last few weeks are NOT a fluke. Cody Hodgson and Matt Moulson are starting to play better and they have a good young core. But admittedly, that's bad if that's the best story in NY state sports at the moment.))


THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE GAMES SECTION
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. Since I'm not postal mailing the szine any more, I've dropped back to just reporting the disguised E-Mail addresses. As someone notes, if you need some more contact information, go back to past issues or ask me.
Standby lists:
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, Heath Gardner, Paul Kenny, and Jeff O'Donnell stand by for regular Diplomacy. Let me know if you want on or off these lists, especially OFF given the new policies.


GAME OPENING INFORMATION
I'm going to start the game opening list over. Under the new regime, who wants to play what?
DIPLOMACY: The Regular Diplomacy game starts in this issue. I would love to run Spy Diplomacy again some time, any interest in that? Something else?? Another Regular Diplomacy game? Maybe I'll just show you all that I can stay on schedule for awhile.
BREAKING AWAY: See the game start below!!


THE PHIL REYNOLDS MEMORIAL: 2006B, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR SUMMER 1909 IS JANUARY 18TH, 2014
Spring 1909
AUSTRIA (Burgess): f BUL(SC)-gre, a gal-VIE, a BUD S a ser-tri, f ion-ADR, a SER-tri.
ENGLAND (James): f edi-NWG, a lvp-YOR, f BAR S a fin-stp, a lon-NWY, a DEN h, a fin-STP,
f NTH C a lon-nwy, f tyh-NAP, f SWE S f ber-bal, a KIE S FRENCH a mun-ber, f nap-APU, f ber-BAL.
FRANCE (Williams): f mar-GOL, f bre-MID, a par-BUR, a bur-MUN, a VEN S a tri, f tun-ION,
a mun-BER, f wes-TYH, a TRI h.
ITALY (Crow): a GRE S AUSTRIAN f ion-aeg (imp).
RUSSIA (Gardner): a ukr-SEV, a war-UKR, a pru-WAR, f smy-CON, a sil-GAL,
f AEG S f smy-con, f GOB-stp(sc).


E-Mail Addresses of the Participants
AUSTRIA: David Burgess, burgesscd of roadrunner.com or dburgess of glensfallshosp.org
ENGLAND: Drew James, kjames01 of twcny.rr.com or karelanddrew of gmail.com
FRANCE: Don Williams, wllmsfmly of earthlink.net ($5)
GERMANY: Marc Ellinger, mellinger of blitzbardgett.com
ITALY: John Crow, johnny.crow of hotmail.com
RUSSIA: Heath Gardner (aka Heath Davis-Gardner), heath.gardner of gmail.com
TURKEY: Fred Wiedemeyer, wiedem of telus.net or wiedem of shaw.ca


Game Notes:
1) A very happy and merry Christmas to you all...
2) Also, and EF draw is proposed, please vote on it with your Summer orders and press.


Press:
(GREECE to WORLD):
Why, this move could be systematic,
hydromatic, ultramatic
Why, it could be greek lightning
(Greek lightning)
We'll get some overarm shoulder fired rockets and four barrel 20 mm quads, oh yeah
(Keep talking, whoa, keep talking)
Fear injected cutoffs and frantic desperate prods, oh yeah
(I'll get the dot, I'll kill to get the dot)
With a four-way on the floor, they're waiting to get out the door
You know that ain't no shit, we'll be getting lots of tit in Greek Lightning
(Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go)
Go greek lightning, you're burning up the board.
(Greek lightning, go greek lightning)
Go greek lightning, you're coasting past the proposal draws.
(Greek lightning, go greek lightning)
You are supreme, the chicks'll cream for greek lightning
(Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go)
We'll get some purple French taillights and thirty inch fins, oh yeah
A Turkish dashboard and dual muff-diving twins, oh yeah
With new pistols, slugs and stocks I can get off my rocks
You know that I ain't bragging, she's a real pussy wagon
Greek lightning
(Go, go, go)
Read more: http://www.metrolyrics.com/greased-lightning-lyrics-grease.html


PRINCE OF DARKNESS: 2013??, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1901 IS JANUARY 18TH, 2014
Winter 1900
Austria (Allen): has a BUD, a VIE, f TRI.
England (Wilson): has f EDI, f LON, a LVP.
France (Williams): has f BRE, a MAR, a PAR.
Germany (Kent): has f KIE, a MUN, a BER.
Italy (Ruttinger): has f NAP, a VEN, a ROM.
Russia (Slossar): has f STP(SC), f SEV, a MOS, a WAR.
Turkey (Gardner): has f ANK, a CON, a SMY.


E-Mail Addresses of the Participants
AUSTRIA: Scott Allen, scottdjallen of gmail.com
ENGLAND: Brad Wilson, fullfathomfive675 of gmail.com
FRANCE: Don Williams, wllmsfmly of earthlink.net
GERMANY: Doug Kent, dougray30 of yahoo.com
ITALY: Mike Ruttinger, mruttinger of gmail.com
RUSSIA: Bob Slossar, bobsloss@comcast.net
TURKEY: Heath Gardner (aka Heath Davis-Gardner), heath.gardner of gmail.com


Game Notes:
1) All games in The Abyssinian Prince these days are named after Mekons songs. I think that "Prince of Darkness" will prove to be an excellent starter for some press, with at least quadruple entendres that I can think of. Anyway, I haven't updated my house rules in "forever", so they are included in this issue too.
2) All but one of you gave me a preference list, so I first randomized that person, then used the preference lists the rest of you provided to assign the six other countries. Everyone got at least their fourth top choice.
3) Ask if you have any questions. I will give some prizes for the best press in this game, I really think this crowd can write some great press. I will be writing press as well.
4) Tom Howell will be giving us a Boardman Number, probably the last one of 2013.


Press:
(LAS VEGAS CURRENT PREDICTION): Win or draw with highest center count for Bob (Russia) by 1908.


FOR THE MEKONS ET AL.: Breaking Away, Designer's Rules
THE DUE DATE FOR TURN 1 IS JANUARY 18, 2014!!
Turn 0
0 (no replenishment) EVERYONE PACKED UP ON THE STARTING LINE!


Addresses of the Participants - Their Team and Their Cards
TEAM 1 (Hank Alme): cobblers of gmail.com (0 points)
Team Name: Vetinari's Terriers; TEAM CAPTAIN: Sam Vimes
A: Moist von Lipwig 8, 9, 13
B: Mustrum Ridcully 7, 8, 10
C: Sam Vimes 5, 7, 8
D: CMOT Dibbler 4, 5, 7
Total Replenishments: - = 0
TEAM 2 (Andy Bate): andydbate of gmail.com (0 points)
Team Name: Racing Froggy
A: Jean Van de Velde 14, 11, 5
B: Roberto Rojas 12, 7, 6
C: Sylvester Carmouche 10, 6, 4
D: Ryan Leaf 9, 4, 3
Total Replenishments: - = 0
TEAM 3 (David Burgess): burgesscd of roadrunner.com or dburgess of glensfallshosp.org (0 points)
Team Name: Syracuse Orangemen
A: Ernie Davis 3, 3, 9, 15
B: Jim Brown 4, 9, 12
C: Floyd Little 5, 6, 9
D: Larry Csonka 1, 6, 9
Total Replenishments: - = 0
TEAM 4 (Rick Desper): rick_desper of yahoo.com (0 points)
Team Name: District 12
A: Katniss Everdeen 1, 4, 10, 15
B: Haymitch Abernathy 3, 7, 15
C: Peeta Mellark 2, 6, 12
D: Effie Trinket 1, 7, 8
Total Replenishments: - = 0
TEAM 5 (Brendan Whyte): BWHYTE of nla.gov.au (0 points)
Team Name: The Reverse Polish Notationists (a.k.a. The Unpronounceables)
A: Arciszewski 9, 8, 7, 6
B: Barszczewski 9, 8, 8
C: Cwierczakiewiczowa 7, 7, 6
D: Dziewulski 6, 6, 4
Total Replenishments: - = 0
TEAM 6 (Andy York): (0 points)
Team Name: Team Alamo
A: Travis 11, 9, 6, 4
B: Crockett 11, 8, 6
C: Bowie 9, 7, 4
D: Houston 6, 5, 5
Total Replenishments: - = 0


Game Notes:
1) The rules are on the TAP website in the Tinamou section. Ask if you have any questions. Rules at:
/Postal/Zines/TAP/Tinamou/rules/BreakingAway.htm
2) Keep in mind in choosing your initial moves, and I have draft moves from many of you, that first turn only - if at the end of the first turn (only), any square has 5 or more cyclists on it then the square in front is treated as if were blank for card replacement purposes. When it matters, Movement Order is: A/B/C/D; highest card played that turn; highest card in hand. Let me know if you have other questions about how this works.
3) The name of this new game is FOR THE MEKONS ET AL., actually a song by Will Oldham. Press is highly encouraged, and we only have one Team Captain so far, but designating one can help focus the press. That's up to you, others can add Team Captains at any time. Some interesting teams and player names, which also should help you augment press items. Andy Bate has an interesting take on competitive failures, I had to go look Roberto Rojas up, this Chilean was finally pardoned for his act, I noticed. I have not seen any Hunger Games movies, but recognize where Rick gets his team. My brother David, I no longer follow football of any kind, but when I was a kid (and he is seven years younger than me, so I wonder when HE became aware of these four) I loved Syracuse football and their great running backs. All four of these guys have really tremendous stories. Andy York reprises his Alamo team, and that's always fun to remember. The Polish names are common, well, sort of common, so there are numerous people who Brendan may have had in mind, more press on that will be fun. And last, but far from least, it appears we have a Terry Pratchett fan amongst us, but I'm nearly positive a couple of the rest of you will get into Hank's team names as well. In fact, as one of you well knows, you mined this realm for team names in a previous Breaking Away game.


LAST WORD: Come to TempleCon, February 7-9, 2014 here in Providence, RI!!! This year it does NOT conflict with Super Bowl Sunday, so I hope we'll get more attendees, please consider coming!!! Check out http://www.templecon.org/14/ for more details of the venue. The TempleCon North American Grand Prix Diplomacy Tournament will again be the first of the four Nor'Easter events on the North American Diplomacy tournament circuit. Rounds will begin 6PM Friday, 9AM and 6PM Saturday, and 11AM Sunday. The ever-popular Detour scoring system will continue to be used, as well as central clock timing. Only the Sunday round will be played with time limits. Come play one round or all four! I have a crash room reserved and word on the street is that Chris Martin may be joining us. Get in touch with me and come up for one of the most entertaining venues on the Diplomacy circuit. I'm thinking about trying to set up to bid for DipCon in 2016, but I need to get a good turnout this year to set that up. This year will be an off year for Chris' Invitational Tournament, so I'm thinking that the next off year in two years would be a good target. Flying into Providence is easy and very near the venue. I now cannot make WACcon, but we're also now a few weeks distant from that DipCon event too.


File translated from TEX by TTH, version 3.85.
On 28 Dec 2013, 22:18.