From: owner-deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org (deltagreen-digest) To: deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org Subject: deltagreen-digest V1 #88 Reply-To: Delta Green List Sender: owner-deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org Errors-To: owner-deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org Precedence: bulk deltagreen-digest Wednesday, July 29 1998 Volume 01 : Number 088 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 09:21:55 -0500 (CDT) From: "G. Wyckoff" Subject: Re: DG: Little Nukes > > On Tue, 28 Jul 1998, G. Wyckoff wrote: > > > Okay, I'm going out on a limb here, since my physics is pretty damn rusty, > > but I thought I remembered that the amount of weapons grade plutonium that > > you needed for critical mass was a little over 14 pounds. Can anyone > > confirm or deny this?? Or am I not supposed to know this and some MiB's > > are gonna be knocking on my door tommorow? The Man in Black wrote: > > Soon... very soon... Just give me far warning so I can bribe you with Chicago Deep Dish Pizza, local microbrew, and Italian beef sandwiches. > Anyhow, The USA has Alpha Charges, which are about 10kt yield nukes that > weigh about 80 lbs. Fits in a big suitcase. Not too sure about Russian > micro-nukes. These devices are bound to be less reliable than macro-nukes. Egads. That's a nice bang for the buck. So, aside from the obvious portability issues about small nukes, why in the world would any Army actuall make semi-portable "luggable?" nuclear devices?? What's the application these things were designed for?? Also, a little piece of history: in the museum at West Point (U.S. Military Academy in upstate New York), there is (or was, it's been a while) a little piece about how the U.S. Army (back in the late 40's or very early 50's) was trying to develop (at least in concept) man-portable "hand grenade" nukes. This whole thing was so ludicrous that I couldn't believe that they would admit to having tried this or even given it any thought. Still, to this day, the image of some grunt pulling the pin on a hand grenade, counting to three, and trying to throw it far enough to not be irradiated or killed outright haunts me no end. Jerry ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 15:23:56 GMT0BST From: Robert Thomas Subject: Re: War crimes tribunal (was DG: A Forgotten Horror) > Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 20:47:53 -0500 (CDT) > From: Don Juneau > To: Delta Green List > Subject: Re: War crimes tribunal (was DG: A Forgotten Horror) > Reply-to: Delta Green List > On Tue, 28 Jul 1998 Dhl9@aol.com wrote: > > > Anyone notice that there is now a permanent war crimes tribunal? There is so > > little talk about it but I think it will have a major impact on how the world > > does business. If the UN really uses this tool we could see the budgets of > > intelligence/ covert ops sections skyrocket. One key word, deniability. > > There were reports around last year, of spec-ops units being folded into > one "hunter" group for snatching war-criminals in Bosnia, etc. Can't > remember if they actually did anything, but it was a UN thing. (TIME > magazine?) > > Don > Hello All, As I recall the media in the UK reported on a snatch operation involving the SAS, as the ground troops involved in the snatch operation, (one was shot in the leg and lived and they got their man), with the American forces in the area providing the logistical transport (insertion via helicopter) / intelligence support for the operation. Now if I remember correctly these operation have been scaled back or even halted because of the fear of retaliation against US / UK / other forces involved in the UN operation in the Balkans. there have been reprts also of operations being planned to grab Slobodan Milosovitch (excuse the spelling) the president of Serbia? To face the war crimes tribunal, again this has never been put into action, presumably for the same reason as the halting / scaling down of the above operations. Anyway thats all folks! Rob. J.R.E.Thomas. Science Library PC Room Advisor ext 6135 / 5128. MScII City and Regional Planning Student. ThomasR@cardiff.ac.uk - -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: PGPfreeware 5.0i for non-commercial use mQGiBDUBfaERBADVEXULk4S2P+e3aXLD7i2KXWhL2hGcxnBE+tJkYayDBof1ZDn1 VFHdkjywIjuElHS1B9Ts68ePicSgzZslqEBw7xBRytO1yMyGYFDCTGc5SkNHhVUx dlknHQJx+G/t1ip31ByTsubsHJRhrkFkRH5juC3n/KOjj4XJ/lPoqFm2gQCg/8nb iL7UGvrYHR3hwwlNOF/7es0D/00/UwAnUjMXvg6v/187v+/8QE8Ow1L1e9xLETX1 jxJ+JASprEwi4bsrApzpyRaUgUP5JWRyBVvWr4DP+wC+pSA/1gk0waNOpunt3tZk rTk9DTF7fbZlphIAkQAZF/Y0DzbqeBu5ayuuPe1S16KThZ57pDxzVSAEUJRZTQPV 36MdA/4hHmK5kVm96hPJ6Jqhzxrl+nv9lF9Ck5iXLI4MDLJkbOzpPX/V1MMpd7qE mVmt0hyr4RhZBnPVN0eG0gQb8pm/Tf+8mg6bl1Tz6nvxlLP/yG1DK/LvrlhdTF6C lIjMceu1fIOQdVyR1wW4k9bRQtjbAEIZilz9bWsQgW0iMZrAqbQySmFtZXMgUm9i ZXJ0IEVkd2FyZCBUaG9tYXMgPFRob21hc1JAY2FyZGlmZi5hYy51az6JAEoEEBEC AAsFAjUBfaEECwMBAgAKCRBl18uccldLyC7TAJ41cXpcQ8666HY13XPw+rrP7Vve yACYueFAfNsaBrjml76XKCCvTzfnTrkCDQQ1AX2iEAgA9kJXtwh/CBdyorrWqULz Bej5UxE5T7bxbrlLOCDaAadWoxTpj0BV89AHxstDqZSt90xkhkn4DIO9ZekX1KHT UPj1WV/cdlJPPT2N286Z4VeSWc39uK50T8X8dryDxUcwYc58yWb/Ffm7/ZFexwGq 01uejaClcjrUGvC/RgBYK+X0iP1YTknbzSC0neSRBzZrM2w4DUUdD3yIsxx8Wy2O 9vPJI8BD8KVbGI2Ou1WMuF040zT9fBdXQ6MdGGzeMyEstSr/POGxKUAYEY18hKcK ctaGxAMZyAcpesqVDNmWn6vQClCbAkbTCD1mpF1Bn5x8vYlLIhkmuquiXsNV6TIL OwACAgf+KEEjO7KXJ6VAPWNe0fh553+QhIqko9XZ9Hcj5Ct6rSH0WId1BLxMSybz 12uUw5zSC1Mkvwn0jDJmStykY43WszvZUFauTcN9uQdbrRnCRBzaG0oipcfLycjK W5SR2Ap/drZXboPWUW9IllqtwYVuIzkznuHcjOtkBDgUT6ITyJQpZjHCjy1SgMVR A82Fsv+jUH9lezb14KwS7wp93mvWgkUjxOPiQznyg9MtqHIkvHNUrt+a8sFTMruA 3ii81GXs+W0Pq5S3ZRNk2MjEw43rSMZES1sSqJIefP1Y+cK/8P2XDW8afU8xdrVy ejeNWmTDLriMaoAHQPAdkyaCTD3K84kAPwMFGDUBfaJl18uccldLyBEC0i0AoNBL m5dSVwDxlpHOtmOSD3l3kTOSAJwJm2CPAWB+ZzG0Zk4F8rujBq0U4w== =JP+6 - -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 15:26:04 GMT0BST From: Robert Thomas Subject: Re: DG: Freaking the Mundanes > From: M-Zodiac > To: Delta Green List > Subject: Re: DG: Freaking the Mundanes > Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 16:40:58 -1000 > Reply-to: Delta Green List > > > > >How old are your players? If you expect them to stay in on a Friday > >night you may be asking a little bit too much;-) > > > > > Ahh. > REAL gamers don't NEED social lives! > > -Marc > Real gamers wouldn't know what a social life was if it bit them but then again they would presumably be playing D+D ;-) Rob. J.R.E.Thomas. Science Library PC Room Advisor ext 6135 / 5128. MScII City and Regional Planning Student. ThomasR@cardiff.ac.uk - -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: PGPfreeware 5.0i for non-commercial use mQGiBDUBfaERBADVEXULk4S2P+e3aXLD7i2KXWhL2hGcxnBE+tJkYayDBof1ZDn1 VFHdkjywIjuElHS1B9Ts68ePicSgzZslqEBw7xBRytO1yMyGYFDCTGc5SkNHhVUx dlknHQJx+G/t1ip31ByTsubsHJRhrkFkRH5juC3n/KOjj4XJ/lPoqFm2gQCg/8nb iL7UGvrYHR3hwwlNOF/7es0D/00/UwAnUjMXvg6v/187v+/8QE8Ow1L1e9xLETX1 jxJ+JASprEwi4bsrApzpyRaUgUP5JWRyBVvWr4DP+wC+pSA/1gk0waNOpunt3tZk rTk9DTF7fbZlphIAkQAZF/Y0DzbqeBu5ayuuPe1S16KThZ57pDxzVSAEUJRZTQPV 36MdA/4hHmK5kVm96hPJ6Jqhzxrl+nv9lF9Ck5iXLI4MDLJkbOzpPX/V1MMpd7qE mVmt0hyr4RhZBnPVN0eG0gQb8pm/Tf+8mg6bl1Tz6nvxlLP/yG1DK/LvrlhdTF6C lIjMceu1fIOQdVyR1wW4k9bRQtjbAEIZilz9bWsQgW0iMZrAqbQySmFtZXMgUm9i ZXJ0IEVkd2FyZCBUaG9tYXMgPFRob21hc1JAY2FyZGlmZi5hYy51az6JAEoEEBEC AAsFAjUBfaEECwMBAgAKCRBl18uccldLyC7TAJ41cXpcQ8666HY13XPw+rrP7Vve yACYueFAfNsaBrjml76XKCCvTzfnTrkCDQQ1AX2iEAgA9kJXtwh/CBdyorrWqULz Bej5UxE5T7bxbrlLOCDaAadWoxTpj0BV89AHxstDqZSt90xkhkn4DIO9ZekX1KHT UPj1WV/cdlJPPT2N286Z4VeSWc39uK50T8X8dryDxUcwYc58yWb/Ffm7/ZFexwGq 01uejaClcjrUGvC/RgBYK+X0iP1YTknbzSC0neSRBzZrM2w4DUUdD3yIsxx8Wy2O 9vPJI8BD8KVbGI2Ou1WMuF040zT9fBdXQ6MdGGzeMyEstSr/POGxKUAYEY18hKcK ctaGxAMZyAcpesqVDNmWn6vQClCbAkbTCD1mpF1Bn5x8vYlLIhkmuquiXsNV6TIL OwACAgf+KEEjO7KXJ6VAPWNe0fh553+QhIqko9XZ9Hcj5Ct6rSH0WId1BLxMSybz 12uUw5zSC1Mkvwn0jDJmStykY43WszvZUFauTcN9uQdbrRnCRBzaG0oipcfLycjK W5SR2Ap/drZXboPWUW9IllqtwYVuIzkznuHcjOtkBDgUT6ITyJQpZjHCjy1SgMVR A82Fsv+jUH9lezb14KwS7wp93mvWgkUjxOPiQznyg9MtqHIkvHNUrt+a8sFTMruA 3ii81GXs+W0Pq5S3ZRNk2MjEw43rSMZES1sSqJIefP1Y+cK/8P2XDW8afU8xdrVy ejeNWmTDLriMaoAHQPAdkyaCTD3K84kAPwMFGDUBfaJl18uccldLyBEC0i0AoNBL m5dSVwDxlpHOtmOSD3l3kTOSAJwJm2CPAWB+ZzG0Zk4F8rujBq0U4w== =JP+6 - -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 11:22:13 -0400 From: graemep@immagene.mcg.edu (Graeme Price) Subject: Re: DG: Little Nukes Jerry wrote: >Also, a little piece of history: in the museum at West Point (U.S. >Military Academy in upstate New York), there is (or was, it's been a >while) a little piece about how the U.S. Army (back in the late 40's >or very early 50's) was trying to develop (at least in concept) >man-portable "hand grenade" nukes. This whole thing was so ludicrous that >I couldn't believe that they would admit to having tried this or even >given it any thought. Still, to this day, the image of some grunt pulling >the pin on a hand grenade, counting to three, and trying to throw it far >enough to not be irradiated or killed outright haunts me no end. Remind me of a quote from "Mad Gav" in the cartoon strip "the Travellers" which used to be in White Dwarf back in the 80's (whilst they still published stuff from non-GW systems and before it went "spiky"). Viz: "Great weapon the atomic hand grendae. Now all they need is someone who can throw it 25 miles!" Later Graeme graemep@immag.mcg.edu ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 08:14:41 -0700 From: Christian Conkle Subject: RE: DG: A Forgotten Horror And I remember a Front-Line special on PBS saying the radiation generated by a single pellet of uranium can be stopped effectively by a sheet of paper, it's the radioactive water that's the problem, and it's transported in rail cars capable of withstanding a 100 foot drop onto a huge iron spike designed to puncture rail liquid transports, collisions with moving trains, falling off of bridges, etc. Radioactive electricity? I'm no physicist, but it's probably the same as background rads. Oh, and a TV set will irradiate you way more than a pellet of uranium, according to that special. Not all at once I'm sure, but accumulated over time, and how much time do you spend sitting in front of a uranium pellet? Nuclear power and it's dangers don't scare me, the chemical plant upwind of me scares me. - ----------------------------------------------------- Christian Conkle Web Development Specialist Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory work: conklec@nwrel.org home: conkle@europa.com - ----------------------------------------------------- > -----Original Message----- > From: theherald@juno.com [SMTP:theherald@juno.com] > Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 1998 8:32 PM > To: deltagreen@nocturne.org > Cc: koala@mail.bright.net > Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror > > > On Tue, 28 Jul 1998 13:48:55 -0400 Afterburner > writes: > >> Also...And this is just a pet-peeve. People saying "Nuculer". > > > > You can thank Eisenhower for that one. He may not have been > >the first > >user of that pronunciation, but he was certainly the most famous. He > >uttered it frequently in any official pronouncements regarding nuclear > >issues. > > > > AB > > > I remember some antinuke on a TV talk show claiming that > "Ee-lectricity generated by Nuculer Power is _Radioactive_"! > > Michael > theherald@juno.com > > "I say we dust off and nuke the site from orbit -- it's the only > way to be sure!" > --- CPL Hicks, USCM ("Aliens") > > _____________________________________________________________________ > You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. > Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com > Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 11:47:19 -0400 From: graemep@immagene.mcg.edu (Graeme Price) Subject: RE: DG: A Forgotten Horror Christian wrote: >Radioactive electricity? I'm no physicist, but it's >probably the same as background rads. All electricty is non-radioactive. The generation process used in nuclear plants relies on heat generated by the nuclear reaction to turn water to steam, which then drives steam turbines that actually produce the electricity (probably left out a step somewhere, but that's the basic idea). The radio-isotopes cannot produce electricty themselves. [Incidentally, this talk about electricity being (or not) radioactive reminds me of something I saw on a talk show once, where a "natural medicine" freak claimed that none of his products "had any chemicals in whatsoever". I spent the next 20 minutes screaming at the TV (it was the double expresso I had about an hour earlier: I'm not normally that excitable). I guess this just shows the quality of science teaching that people get in high schools. Sigh....] Sorry, rant mode over. >Oh, and a TV set will irradiate you >way more than a pellet of uranium, according to that special. Not all at >once I'm sure, but accumulated over time, and how much time do you spend >sitting in front of a uranium pellet? Yes. This is a good one. When I went on my work radiation safety course, I had to fill in a form saying what "radiation producing devices do you intend to use?". And they were surprised with the answer "computer monitors". By the way, anyone live in a granite rich area... 40% above normal background counts as I recall. Anyway, uranium is no big deal (depending on which isotope you use: I use non-radioactive uranyl acetate to stain sections for electron microscopy)... the heavy metal poisoning from uranium (unless it is the enriched reactor-grade stuff) will kill you before the radiation does! >Nuclear power and it's dangers don't scare me, the chemical plant upwind of >me scares me. Strange but true. Most chemical plants have windsocks (so you know which way [upwind] to run when the siren goes off). Graeme graemep@immag.mcg.edu Graeme Price PhD. Program in Molecular Immunology Institute of Molecular Medicine & Genetics Medical College of Georgia 1120 15th Street, CB-2803 Augusta, Georgia 30912-3175 U.S.A. Tel(lab): (+001) 706-721-8883 Fax: (+001) 706-721-8732 E-mail: graemep@immag.mcg.edu ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 08:48:00 -0700 From: Christian Conkle Subject: Off topic: Language purity (was RE: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror) Yah, gremer rools suckz! Hoo kneads spling or grimer? And pronounce-a-mation of words? Who cares? In fact, why don't we just do away with all meaning in language all together and make any word we want mean anything we want? Goose fall dirty love brick? My point is, you hate language purists, but where do you draw the line? How much slack are YOU willing to give in communication? That being said, if you'd like to discuss this, please e-mail me. I'll not pollute the list anymore with this non-DG-related side-disagreement. P.S. My pet peeves inlcude people who say "calvary" when they mean "cavalry", "nucular" when they mean "nuclear", and "dent" when they mean "didn't". Having said that, I am terribly guilty of using "it's" when I mean "its" and "gross" when I mean "grotesque". It's important to know your own shortcomings. - ----------------------------------------------------- Christian Conkle Web Development Specialist Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory work: conklec@nwrel.org home: conkle@europa.com - ----------------------------------------------------- > -----Original Message----- > From: John C. Detwiler [SMTP:JDetwiler@compuserve.com] > Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 1998 6:52 AM > To: Delta Green List > Subject: Re: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror > > Message text written by Delta Green List > >Your fear and loathing of so-called "mispronounciation" only reveals your > ignorance!< > > Right on, brother. I hate language purists. Whenever anyone corrects my > pronunciation I sneer. Whenever they correct my grammar I explain to them > that grammar rules are arbitrary. Just ask someone if it is correct to > say > hisself rather than himself and then ask them to explain why. It's lots > of > fun. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 10:54:27 -0500 (CDT) From: "G. Wyckoff" Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror Graeme wrote: > > All electricty is non-radioactive. The generation process used in nuclear > plants relies on heat generated by the nuclear reaction to turn water to > steam, which then drives steam turbines that actually produce the > electricity (probably left out a step somewhere, but that's the basic > idea). The radio-isotopes cannot produce electricty themselves. This is all true. The closest thing we have to "radio-isotopes directly producing electricity" are radio-thermal generators such as the ones used on deep space probes. But most people are basically unaware that the nearest nuke plant isbasically just a steam plant, and the "pollution" coming from the cooling tower is just, well, water. > > Yes. This is a good one. When I went on my work radiation safety course, I > had to fill in a form saying what "radiation producing devices do you > intend to use?". And they were surprised with the answer "computer > monitors". By the way, anyone live in a granite rich area... 40% above > normal background counts as I recall. Anyway, uranium is no big deal > (depending on which isotope you use: I use non-radioactive uranyl acetate > to stain sections for electron microscopy)... the heavy metal poisoning > from uranium (unless it is the enriched reactor-grade stuff) will kill you > before the radiation does! Hmm. When I did my rad safety course as an undergrad, the instructor had a box. He's holding it and tossing it around. He puts it on a desk and asks, "So, if I told you there was a radiation source in this box and than asked you to hold it, how many of you would do it?" . "How many of you would do it for five bucks" "Alright, it's an alpha emitter and I'll give you ten bucks." "Well, the rest of you can go home, than becuase picking up radiation for money is waht you are all going to get paid to do, and if you don't want to accept the risks of handling something like an alpha emitter that I have been holding unshielded for five minutes, assuming I know what I'm doing, you don't want to accept the risk of working with radioactive Sulfer, carbon, or good forbid iodine, either. And I'm keeping my 10 bucks." ObDG bad guy: A radiation instructor who worshipped Azathoth in his spare time. Jerry ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 01:58:15 +0900 From: ft203004@fsinet.or.jp (Jay and Mikiko Noyes) Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror >>I don't even want to get into this. It _is_ very interesting; I just tend >to >>go into a frothing rage whenever I think about the "angel craze." ohshit, >>here I go again... froth, froth, drool spit howl. > > Just curious, but why does it bother you? Well, actually you should refer to the fine post by Eric Brennan in which he compares the angels depicted in Prophecy with the kind of angels discussed by your average New Agers. The biblical angels were definitely not a touchy-feely bunch (check out the story of Azrael when you get the chance) and certainly weren't interested in whether you were being properly nurtured. Burning swords definitely get mentioned. 'Course, maybe its just the new agers that drive me nuts. Jay - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - --------- Stercus, stercus, stercus, moriturus sum Terry Pratchett, "Interesting Times" - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - --------- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 02:33:14 +0900 From: ft203004@fsinet.or.jp (Jay and Mikiko Noyes) Subject: DG: Wheee! Linguistics! >YOU FOOLS! You do not understand the true nature of language! Language is >a dynamic thing, both spoken and written. It changes over time. It changes >over space (regional accents). It is beyond your puny comprehensions! True. >Your fear and loathing of so-called "mispronounciation" only reveals your >ignorance! Semi-true. It actually more indicative of social brainwashing. >Variance in Language is a *good* thing. It provide more accurate and >personal means of communication when older forms begin to erode. Language >merges into pidgins when cultures meet. New concepts are absorbed. >Oboslete concepts are abandoned and old but applicable concepts >ressurected. I disagree. Linguistic variance is neither good nor bad, it simply _is_. It is generally the result of the conflict between ease of production (many people, for instance, pronounce "months" as "muns" because it is easier) and success in communication. >Language can be used as a measurement of cultures. Linguistics can reveal >details about the military (ie The form "Nucular" shows the prevalence of >Southern Accents in the military due to most training facilities locations >in the American South and widespread recruitment from southern and >midwestern regions, and how military culture unconsciously mimics >this accent). Yep. >Abandon peevishness and COMPREHEND! Say, you're in Hawaii, right. You ever have a class with a fellow named Derek Bickerton? I hear he's a pain in the butt, but some of what he writes is way cool. Now you'll tell me that you're his son... Jay - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - --------- Stercus, stercus, stercus, moriturus sum Terry Pratchett, "Interesting Times" - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - --------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 13:31:23 EDT From: theherald@juno.com (Michael Layne) Subject: That Thar Radioactive Nucular Electricity (Was: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror) On Wed, 29 Jul 1998 08:14:41 -0700 Christian Conkle writes: >Nuclear power and it's dangers don't scare me, the chemical plant >upwind of >me scares me. > >----------------------------------------------------- >Christian Conkle >Web Development Specialist >Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory I know the feeling well. For nearly forty years, I lived in South Charleston, WV, near the FMC and Union Carbide plants, and almost across the river from the plant at Institute, which is the same type as the one in Bho Pahl, India! The coal-burning John Amos Power Plant in this area probably gives off more rads (C-14 in its stack gases) than I'd get by having Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant (yes, I deliberately misspelled it in the subject line) as a neighbor! Michael theherald@juno.com "Am I brave? I live in the _Kanawha Valley_! Who is this wimp Rambo?" --- Ken Wright _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 12:17:49 -0700 From: Christian Conkle Subject: DG: Delta Green Report: Army of the Yellow Sign Classification: Delta Green Attention: All Agents and Friendlies Re: Intelligence Report on "The Army of the Yellow Sign" militia group The Army of the Yellow Sign is a militia/cult with it's origins in a secretive society called the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign. They are armed, zealous to their pegano-religious philosophies, and extremely dangerous. Background Their modern roots go back to their founding in 1948 by an ex-Army officer named Daniel Tabiezon and the publication of his book, "Secret Messages from Inner Space" (1948), in which he detailed his involement with a member of a supposed race of men from inside the Earth known as the Xinayain. In the book, Tabiezon divulges that while a Lieutenant in the Army in WW2, he was a member of a secret fraternal society called "The Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign," that their members inlcude many prominent people in society (though he refuses to divulge identities), and that their goals were the perpetuation of so-called "cosmic mysteries" and the elimination of the threat of so-called "Sky-Devils," beings from another dimension who seek to control mankind's destiny. Tabeizon details the history of the Brotherhood, from it's founding by the people of Xinayain millenia ago to it's current decadence. The book also explains that the current Brotherhood was becoming complacent, corrupt, and more interested in social connection than their original goals. Tabeizon therefore calls for a restructuring of the Brotherhood around more direct action. Tabeizon believed that representatives of the "Sky-Devils" had made important strategic alliances with members of the U.S.Government, that their power had been greater than ever, and that the Xinayain masters of the Brotherhood were displeased at the state of things. Tabeizon claimed that he was instructed to form a splinter-group of the Brotherhood, a more active arm that would work directly against the "Sky-Devils". This splinter group became known as "The Army of the Yellow Sign." He began recruitment in the fifties, but membership remained too low to attract any attention. Outside of building a secluded armed compound in remote Montana and the occasional recruitment rally, their other activities are unknown to this day. Tabeizon died in 1985 with the "Army" at about 300 suspected members. Accurate data is unavailable. Current Intelligence In 1993, Rex Hagans retired from the NSA at the age of 45. One year later, it is known that he had become leader of the "Army of the Yellow Sign". Under Hagan's leadership, the "Army" has been restructured along the lines of a militia, has grown in membership to a suspected 1000, has become better armed and equipped (it is believed that Hagans had illegal weapons contacts from his NSA days), is suspected of having acquired several front companies (investigation pending), and has established satellite operations in several cities. Current intelligence on the original "Brotherhood" indicates that organization has continued in it's decadence and has become little more than a social society, with little adherence to it's original philosophical tenants. They view the "Army" as a seperate group, whereas the "Army" still claims connection to the parent organization. The Army is has been able to pay its taxes since its inception. Its primary funding is listed as private contributions and its current yearly fiscal income is reported as $2 million. Its members live with their families in the fortified compound in Montana in a communal setting. They generally wear a camoflague uniform. Children attend a private school within the compound in which they are indoctrinated in the teachings of Tabiezon and the religious beliefs of the "Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign". Recruitment is performed from the satellite facilities. Members are generally recruited at gun shows, militia conventions, through survivalist literature and publications, and over the internet. It is suspected that the group's current activities include covert actions against what they claim to be "Interference by the Sky-Devils" and their religious practices may include human sacrifice. The Army of the Yellow Sign should be handled with extreme caution. Be Seeing You. Agent Austin. T-Cell - ----------------------------------------------------- Christian Conkle Web Development Specialist Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory work: conklec@nwrel.org home: conkle@europa.com - ----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 14:08:55 PDT From: "Christian Klepac" Subject: DG: That mythos card... In response to some related messages - One interesting way to avoid the "jaded CoC player" syndrome is to look for Mythos ideas in the more obscure stories of Clark Ashton Smith, Frank Belknap Long, and others of the Lovecraft circle. You'd be amazed at how much really juicy old school mythos material is out there, untouched by scenario writers. Introducing a completely unknown element into the game is a good way to scare the bejeezus out of players who think they've seen it all. Incidentally, I just talked to a guy who's been running CoC for almost five years without ever once getting closer to the mythos than name-dropping. He says that he manages to keep his players terrified with just the possibility of some Mythos activity in the background. I've never heard of such an extensive non-Mythos campaign, but apparently it can be done, and done effectively... ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 00:05:50 +0200 From: "Florian Hanke" Subject: Re: DG: Little Nukes G. Wyckoff wrote: > Egads. That's a nice bang for the buck. So, aside from the obvious > portability issues about small nukes, why in the world would any Army > actuall make semi-portable "luggable?" nuclear devices?? What's the > application these things were designed for?? > I think, that they would have been used in non-apocalyptic conflicts to destroy underground installations, namely factories... > Also, a little piece of history: in the museum at West Point (U.S. > Military Academy in upstate New York), there is (or was, it's been a > while) a little piece about how the U.S. Army (back in the late 40's > or very early 50's) was trying to develop (at least in concept) > man-portable "hand grenade" nukes. This whole thing was so ludicrous that > I couldn't believe that they would admit to having tried this or even > given it any thought. Still, to this day, the image of some grunt pulling > the pin on a hand grenade, counting to three, and trying to throw it far > enough to not be irradiated or killed outright haunts me no end. Well, that's typical about every military, they first think about concepts and then about how and if they could produce and use it...Another good example are the studies about Lasertanks(!) in the 60s. They even wanted to use LSD as a Weapon in the Vietnam war, and tried it on willing subjects (own soldiers). Same with the british army during WWI, they tried the effects of toxins on volunteers. What happened to these people - especially the LSD-ones? Maybe stuff for a good scenario? Regards Florian Hanke ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 14:57:31 -0700 From: paposehn@juno.com (Phil A Posehn) Subject: Re: DG: Little Nukes Interesting discussion. Has anyone mentioned the "Davy Crocket" tactical nuclear rocket from the early Viet Nam era? It was an early attempt at a small field nuclear divice. Since the blast radius was larger than the range, finding someone dumb enough to fire one would have been a problem though. Letting one of your investigators have one and seeing if they check the specs could be fun! Phil _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 23:18:06 +0100 From: Ian/Cath Ford Subject: Re: That Thar Radioactive Nucular Electricity (Was: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror) OK, you hit my button then guys. Ranting likely to follow... :: A whole bunch of stuff talked about nukes and chemical plants and the like... >>Nuclear power and it's dangers don't scare me, the chemical plant >>upwind of >>me scares me. > The coal-burning John Amos Power Plant in this area probably gives >off more rads (C-14 in its stack gases) than I'd get by having Three Mile >Island Nuclear Plant (yes, I deliberately misspelled it in the subject >line) as a neighbor! Right. Yes, chemical plants are dangerous. So are nukes. The basic assumption is that people know what we're doing with the technology we employ. Most of the time that's right. But not always. Three Mile Island was a case in point. No one knew how far it was going to go - the thing was, basically, out of control and could have blown the roof off (literally, not metaphorically). Winscale was pretty much the same story. As was Fermi I. Then there's Brown's Ferry: inspection team checking the emergency core cooling system. Very dark, so they use a *candle* as a light source in amongst wires and all sorts of stuff. Fire ensues and the emergency core cooling system goes down: basically the reactor is running without a safety net. Fortunatly it's not needed... The point is that humans are fallable (sp?? - apologies to language purists) They can screw systems up by not doing what they're supposed to. It can happen with nukes, it can happen with chemical plants. I work 2miles down the road from Sizewell - the UK's only PWR based on the design for TMI. It has a licence (OK, I don't spell right OK: heck, I'm only a teacher...) to chuck radioactivity into the environment - sea and air. As far as I know it's the only major civilian facility in UK to have one. Scares me - but then so does the asbestos they're currently taking out of the building I work in which they've only known about for 10 years. See, people screw up: that's the scary bit. And I didn't even have to mention somewhere in the Ukraine. Rant mode off. Apolgies for the waste of space: this one gets to me. Thanks for the thought provoking stuff on nuclear war btw. Brought back some bad dreams from childhood. Lay off PIRA though, they aren't about to send nukes off (not even continuity faction). There are more interesting terrorists groups who could have this stuff - look at the militia for a start... Ian - ------ Ian and Cath Ford, Beccles, Suffolk, UK. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 15:21:14 -0700 From: paposehn@juno.com (Phil A Posehn) Subject: DG: Re: more movies Did you mean the 1950s "Split Second"? I'm surprised that no one has mentioned "The Wicker Man" which has all of the elements of a good CoC campaign! Phil _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 15:26:16 -0700 From: paposehn@juno.com (Phil A Posehn) Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror) On Wed, 29 Jul 1998 13:31:23 EDT theherald@juno.com (Michael Layne) writes: > >On Wed, 29 Jul 1998 08:14:41 -0700 Christian Conkle > writes: It's the nuclear waste and the prospect of the storage contracts for something that needs to be stores safely for a very LONG time that scares me! Is the contract going to the lowest bidder??? Phil >>Nuclear power and it's dangers don't scare me, the chemical plant >>upwind of >>me scares me. >> >>----------------------------------------------------- >>Christian Conkle >>Web Development Specialist >>Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory > > I know the feeling well. For nearly forty years, I lived in >South Charleston, WV, near the FMC and Union Carbide plants, and >almost across the river from the plant at Institute, which is the same >type as the one in Bho Pahl, India! > > The coal-burning John Amos Power Plant in this area probably >gives off more rads (C-14 in its stack gases) than I'd get by having >Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant (yes, I deliberately misspelled it in >the subject line) as a neighbor! > >Michael >theherald@juno.com > >"Am I brave? I live in the _Kanawha Valley_! Who is this wimp >Rambo?" > --- Ken Wright >_____________________________________________________________________ >You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get >completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno >at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 08:45:09 +0900 From: "David Farnell" Subject: RE: DG: Little Nukes - -----Original Message----- 差出人 : Stephen Joseph Ellis 宛先 : Delta Green List 日時 : 1998年7月29日 2:46 件名 : Re: DG: Little Nukes Stephen Joseph Ellis wrote: > The only paper trail leads to a company called >New World Incorported headquartered in the US. Hell, NWI could afford to build their own bomb. And I doubt they'd let any paper trail to lead back to them. I'd like to see more info about these creeps, BTW. There's a little in _At Your Door_--any other modern stuff? Laura of "L Cell" is kind of obsessed with taking them down. I'm trying to keep her from doing anything stupid. Be seeing you, Luke ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 10:37:31 +1000 From: Ford Benjamin Subject: DG: Radioactive Deep Ones? It's funny this thread about nukes has come up now. I was having a talk with a physicist buddy of mine about NBC weapons and their use in the coming century. This was also about the same time I'd just bought Escape from Innsmouth. I started thinking to myself, "It'd be great if there was something like this for Delta Green." A few years ago I saw a documentary of the disintegration of the Soviet military apparatus. An image that has really stayed with me was the sight of a harbour full of Russian warships rusting away. There was of course a town and a civilian population to support this military base, but apparently most of the people had left when the money ran out. Most of them. The ones who stayed would have a good reason for staying behind. Possibilities? One way to hook a DG team in is under the cover of investigation of black market nuclear arms smuggling. Maybe the hybrid cultists are selling off nukes to fund their own plans in addition to just making life difficult for the rest of us. Or perhaps there are rumours of a blacker than black biological weapons research facility located in a dead town no-one cares about anymore. Hearkening back to the subject line, with all those nuclear armed ships falling apart in the harbour, who knows how that may have affected the locals? Foul hybrids not good enough? Try stooped, shuffling scaly Russian peasants with festering sores from radiation poisoning. Of course, imagining what radiation could do to the Deep Ones (and their allies like shoggoths or star spawn) actually living under the harbour is probably best not considered...... Subject to what's released about the GRU's paranormal division in COUNTDOWN, this scenario could culminate in a Russian version of Raid on Innsmouth, complete with MBTs, attack helicopters, and Spetsnaz divers. And perhaps the only way to destroy the deep ones' city is by diving deep enough in a minisub to guide a tac nuke equipped ROV into the devil's maw........ It's only an idea, but I did find that article on a war between Japanese cults with Unit 731 thrown in for good measure. It's at: http://www.copi.com/Articles/Guyatt/ Under the heading of 'Rising Sun Series'. There are also fun articles about Group 13, a British paramilitary group specialising in deniable assassination (handy for COUNTDOWN and Pisces, when it comes out) and much more good for DG fodder. Be seeing you! Benjamin ------------------------------ End of deltagreen-digest V1 #88 *******************************