From: owner-deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org (deltagreen-digest) To: deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org Subject: deltagreen-digest V2 #24 Reply-To: Delta Green List Sender: owner-deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org Errors-To: owner-deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org Precedence: bulk deltagreen-digest Saturday, August 7 1999 Volume 02 : Number 024 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 14:26:37 -0500 From: "Shane Ivey" Subject: RE: DG: Total eclipse of the sun Unfortunately, it's a little of both. American news programs, even the national ones, do an abysmal job on international coverage. Even news about Canada is a rarity. But the grimy truth is that many Americans just don't bother following what goes on in the rest of the world. The law of supply and demand takes it from there. SHANE IVEY This week at www.zealot.com: Filming The X-Men and The Lord of the Rings! Zealot: Sci-Fi and Fantasy Fun - -----Original Message----- From: owner-deltagreen@nocturne.org [mailto:owner-deltagreen@nocturne.org]On Behalf Of Eckhard Huelshoff Sent: Friday, August 06, 1999 1:39 PM To: deltagreen@nocturne.org Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun But there's a question that aready haunts me for quite a while: Is the typical American citizen unaware of non-American news because the American TV stations or papers do not cover these things or is it just their ignorance? ECKHARD ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 15:55:14 EDT From: ScottSaylo@aol.com Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun In a message dated 8/6/99 1:42:01 PM EST, EHuelshoff@t-online.de writes: << But there's a question that aready haunts me for quite a while: Is the typical American citizen unaware of non-American news because the American TV stations or papers do not cover these things or is it just their ignorance? >> The answer is: Yes! Seriously, we suffer from the blinders of being the only "superpower". We were much more likely to be world-conscious when our great nemesis (the former superpower) was a direct threat to what we conceived as the "world order". Today we do not have that nagging threat anymore and our blinders have become opaque glasses and this is at a great cost to us in many ways that even I (ensconced securely in my ivory tower) cannot forsee. Our news agencies try, but they have the same impediments to their view. This dichotomy of well-meaning intention and total ignorance of reality is going to make for some interesting surfing on the waves of history during this change of millenium, I suggest we all make sure to wear our flotation vest and hard hat! ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 21:56:05 +0200 From: EHuelshoff@t-online.de (Eckhard Huelshoff) Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun Phil A Posehn schrieb: [ snipo ] > I get more international news from delta green than from the papers. Oh boy, this is actually kind of frightening.... > It's so bad that I could argue that ANYTHING about events outside of the > US is not off topic! There really seems to be a conspiracy to keep the American public ignorant of foreign matters... ECKHARD ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 21:56:05 +0200 From: EHuelshoff@t-online.de (Eckhard Huelshoff) Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun Graeme Price schrieb: [snip] I really have a hard time believing that any population is innately > more ignorant than any other, but the quality of news coverage (especially > world news and foriegn affairs) in the US is truly abysmal. Luckily, the > BBC is available on the internet. Having been to the American continent several times, I have always been confused or rather annoyed by the American way of news coverage. My experience is that world news were dealt with in a 30 second clip right after the local weather report. Talking DG: Definitely the media in the US wants to keep the citizens uninformed or disinformed on foreign matters. And talking of the BBC: They really rule. I'm getting BBC World from my local cable provider and especially during the Kosovo War it was THE source of information. The German channels were always whining about the poor Serbs and CNN was always celebrating the success of American troops. BBC World had the unique mix between criticism from an objective and informed point of view and information. > > Regarding the eclipse (which coincides with at least one listmember's > birthday... cheers Gaz), it is supposedly a very profund event regarding > astrological significance - end of the age of aquarius or something like > that. Whether or not this is of any mythos significance is upto individual > keeper's I guess, but there's been a lot of talk by the doom and gloom > merchants that it may relate to one of Nostradamus' prophecies about the > King of Terror coming from the sky or some such. Personally, I don't tend > to build things like this into my own campaigns... I find that they make > rather good red herrings to send investigators off on a complete tangent. I totally agree on that one. I would never ever mention Nostradamus in any campaign since his writings have already been raped by even the dumbest of "occult" or esoteric author. And my players would definitely cry out in anger hearing his name. ECKHARD "I sat on the floor and watched TV Thanking Christ for the BBC A stupid fucking place to be Down on Rain Street" S. MacGowan ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 22:07:40 +0200 From: EHuelshoff@t-online.de (Eckhard Huelshoff) Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun Shane Ivey schrieb: > Unfortunately, it's a little of both. American news programs, even the > national ones, do an abysmal job on international coverage. Even news about > Canada is a rarity. But the grimy truth is that many Americans just don't > bother following what goes on in the rest of the world. The law of supply > and demand takes it from there. On the other hand every European has been influenced by American "culture", news, television, etc. My cable provider provides me with CNN and NBC. Nearly every German channel airs several American shows every day. I grew up with Star Trek, Star Wars, Dynasty, Dallas, Trapper John M.D., etc., even General hospital. It's definitely time to export European television to the American public: The BBC for starters, the RAI [ let's export "Colpo Grosso" to the yanks, Davide! ], and -last not least- German-French Quality Channel ARTE that offers Norwegian "Art"-films [ produced for 1.000 bucks quit ] in Norwegian with French and German subtitles. ECKHARD ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 06 Aug 1999 16:10:38 -0400 From: Daniel Harms Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun At 12:10 PM 8/6/99 -0700, you wrote: >For the most part our press fails to cover anything outside of the US >unless it is a disaster or if our troops are involved. Exactly. I'd also speculate that our geographical location has a great deal to do with it. If anything happens anywhere other than the Americas, it's on the other side of the moat, as it were. Add to this the unlikelihood of invasion from our two immediate neighbors, and you can see why many people aren't all that concerned about what goes on outside the country. Yrs., Daniel Harms dmharms@acsu.buffalo.edu "I had come frighteningly near to the capture of an old secret which ventured close to man's haunts and lurked cautiously just beyond the edge of the known. Yet in the end I had nothing." - H. P. Lovecraft and Robert H. Barlow ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 06 Aug 1999 22:23:29 +0200 From: PM Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun >As most of you will know there will be a total eclipse of the sun in Europe next >week. There will be druidic activity around Stonehenge, Paco Rabanne is certain >that Paris will be destroyed, etc. Bur can you expect truth from someone who thinks steel is the best thing for clothes ? >Now, since such a stellar phenomenon -especially if you consider all the >esoterical, astrological, Nostradamus stuff- would make an excellent >climax/prologue/hook for a DG / CoC scenario, I keep asking myself: Consider that all newspapers are full of it just because the government realised the potential danger should someone uninformed get blind because of the eclipse and they're distributing thousands of special glasses to look at the sun. Every newspaper will have one with Tuesday issue and you can buy some everywhere it seems. Makes me wonder what can the glasses trigger ? Maybe some controling device THEY want us to use so as to be able to take over ou rminds ? ============================================= Patrice Mermoud (Paris - France) mermoud@easynet.fr mermoud@multimania.com ============================================= ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 06 Aug 1999 21:13:55 +0200 From: Davide Mana Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun Greetings. Prince Charming clone Eckhard wrote >But there's a question that aready haunts me for quite a while: >Is the typical American citizen unaware of non-American news because the American >TV stations or papers do not cover these things or is it just their ignorance? While the US based listmembers will certainly cover this one more than aptly, I'd like to throw in the 90% of two Eurocents in unadulterated mistrust and paranoia: _we all_ generally get a biased and _edited_ view of what's happening on our planet due to editorial choices beyond ourcontrol and made by people that most probably are not up to the job. The selection can be operated by different rules, but in the end there's a big fat slice of the planet you know nothing about - except for extreme events. Welcome to the realt time news age. All of which is, IMHO, a good reason to learn all the languages you can (I'm getting there) and get a good sat dish (ditto). DG relevance? You work that out, hmmm? Later. Davide Mana ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 23:43:32 +0200 From: EHuelshoff@t-online.de (Eckhard Huelshoff) Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun Daniel Harms schrieb: [ snip ] Add to this the unlikelihood of invasion > from our two immediate neighbors Oh my, You guys really underestimate those Canadians.... ECKHARD ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 14:49:14 -0700 From: Phil A Posehn Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun On Fri, 6 Aug 1999 21:56:05 +0200 EHuelshoff@t-online.de (Eckhard Huelshoff) writes: I agree about Nostradamus. I prefer to use the ominous fact that the Aztec calendar stops on Dec. 20 2010 together with Terrance McKenna's observations that the total sum of human knowledge doubles in a period approximately 1/2 of the length of time required for the previous doubling. The graph becomes vertical on Dec. 20, 2010. This is always good to send a chill up the spines of my players. Phil Posehn > >I totally agree on that one. I would never ever mention Nostradamus in >any >campaign since his writings have already been raped by even the >dumbest of >"occult" or esoteric author. And my players would definitely cry out >in anger >hearing his name. > >ECKHARD > >"I sat on the floor and watched TV > Thanking Christ for the BBC > A stupid fucking place to be > Down on Rain Street" > S. MacGowan > ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 18:14:22 -0400 From: "Andrew D. Gable" Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun >American news programs, even the national ones, do an abysmal >job on international coverage. Uh-huh. For example, as far as I'm aware it hasn't even been mentioned in any of the U.S. media that a few cases of Ebola have now been recorded in Germany, because everyone knows that we ignorant Americans aren't concerned about such matters. Actually, I'm very surprised that hasn't been mentioned on this list. Andrew D. Gable gable@redrose.net "'Reality' is the only word in the language that should always be used in quotes." My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, "Nervous Xians" ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 06 Aug 1999 16:52:13 PDT From: "Stabernide -" Subject: RE: DG: Total eclipse of the sun Graeme wrote;- >I really have a hard time believing that any population is innately >more ignorant than any other, but the quality of news coverage >(especially >world news and foriegn affairs) in the US is truly abysmal. I recall trying to ascertain the footie scores whilst trying to get between Vegas and Phoenix largely on foot. Messy business, believe me. >Regarding the eclipse (SNIP) >Whether or not this is of any mythos significance is upto individual >keeper's I guess, but there's been a lot of talk by the doom and >gloom >merchants that it may relate to one of Nostradamus' prophecies about the King of Terror coming from the sky or some such. I can't remember the reference, but I read somewhere sometime ago that during the last eclipse, a ridicolously large number of people 'dissapeared' during the last eclipse; law-enforcement agencies worldwide claiming the individuals in question simply took the opportunity to make themselves scarce; paranoid lunatics such as myself taking the view that something else might be going on. Whatever the rel story, let me assure you all I *will* be handcuffing myself to the fridge next Tuesday. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 06 Aug 1999 17:13:38 PDT From: "Stabernide -" Subject: DG: The BOYS I've been doing a little research recently, in order to facilitate the write up of my recently concluded 'Cold Gray' campaign and basically make myself appear as well read and on the ball to my players as I come across during our average gaming session. What I really feel is that the Ice Cave could really do with a Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign thread- and as a consequence its high time this partticular organisation started to see some more discussion on this list. What I would like to see come up:- Purpouse: so far, the only justification I have heard for the BOYS existence is that they are obsessed with Thwarting the Mi-go's 'machinations' on this planet. Is this the only reason they exist? Or do they have aims/goals that stretch beyond this rather limited mission statement? All of which could well lead into Religion: We Know the BOYS worship Hastur. But what form does this worship take? What is The BOYS relationship with other Hastur worshipping cults? What is their connection with the King in Yellow? Recruitment: All the information I have recieved concerning the BOYS suggests they are for the most part, as far as make-up is concerned, of the surface persuasion; with a handful of native Kn'yani directing matters. How do they 'sell' their organisation in this day and age? "Hey, come and join us in an eternal war against an ancient and far superior alien foe...". The Brotherhood have survived for hundreds of years and have obviously had something to offer new recruits during this time. What, exactly? Scope: Kn'yan is supposedy located below the American mid-west somewhere; however- if we suppose most Mi-go activity occurs around their mining sites (in America only Vermont[?]), then where else is the Brotherhood involved in anti-alien activities, and how did this come about? (given the fact the Brotherhood allegedly crawled out of the dirt to agress the Mi-go thousands of years ago). I've used the Brotherhood extensively in 'Cold Gray', and although i managed to stop them from becoming the 'lesser of two evils' that they generally tend to come across as in some scenarios- basically by making them so horrifically depraved and perverted they turned one player green (the others are of course, callous bastards like myself)- most of the above questions had only sketchy answers. I was wondering what all you people thought. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 20:34:41 EDT From: LizardRoi@aol.com Subject: DG: American isolationism In a message dated 99-08-06 17:48:41 EDT, you write: << Oh my, You guys really underestimate those Canadians.... ECKHARD >> Tell me about it. I think I mentioned this somewhere else, but someone once estimated that Los Angeles would rank as Canada's 8th largest city, if you count the Canadians living here (illegally BTW). Incidentally, I, personally do not believe in immigration laws or the concept of borders. Or nations, come to think of it. So, as far as I'm concerned, the more the merrier. Y'all are welcome. I love to mess with people's heads, however. I like to let some blowhard go off about how those damn illegals are ruining everything and yada yada you know the drill. And I nod agreeably about what a damn shame it is to have our heritage imperiled by those sinister invaders with the weird language and incompatible culture yada yada ad nauseum. Then, just when they think they've found a anti-Hispanic compadre, I say "Yep, those fuckin' Canadians have got to go." They kind of go goggle-eyed. So I say "I don't know about you, but I have never lost a career opportunity because a Mexican illegal took the job. But a Canadian college grad is another story altogether. I mean, they're WHITE." You can see their gyros tumbling. Of course, when I start hearing stories about skinhead Canuck-bashing, I'll probably feel bad. Mark McFadden By carefully selecting my ancestors, I insured my present status as a White American Christian Anglo Saxon male. So don't blame me because you didn't plan ahead. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 06 Aug 1999 21:00:44 -0700 From: Richard Pace Subject: Re: DG: American isolationism LizardRoi@aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 99-08-06 17:48:41 EDT, you write: > > << Oh my, You guys really underestimate those Canadians.... > > ECKHARD > >> > > Tell me about it. I think I mentioned this somewhere else, but someone once > estimated that Los Angeles would rank as Canada's 8th largest city, if you > count the Canadians living here (illegally BTW). Most of them have green cards. And I think it's sixth or seventh. > > Of course, when I start hearing stories about skinhead Canuck-bashing, I'll > probably feel bad. Bashing of the Canuck skinheads or of Canucks by skinheads? Richard ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 08:56:22 +0900 From: "David Farnell" Subject: Re: DG: Gnarley-on-Gnarley action! From: : > For a good example of the kind of carnage that Nyarlathotep's avatars > might unleash on each other and the world, I think we can safely point to > the successful avatar-guises of Stalin and Hitler. Now, let's not make EVERY bad guy into an avatar of Nyarlathotep--gets dull, and also takes away from the human capacity for evil. Having them advised by the Toe-Tapper though... And just to clarify: the Karotachia take their orders from an avatar (or simply an illusion crafted by the Big N himself, depending on your point-of-view), but the Ghost of Hitler is not the same as Hitler himself. Just ask Buzzzz~. I do like the idea of a ressurected Stalin actually being possessed by Nyarlathotep, although why you would need that is beyond me. Just sounds cool. Dave ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 06 Aug 1999 21:44:12 -0400 From: Greg Muir Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun Phil A Posehn wrote: > > On Fri, 6 Aug 1999 21:56:05 +0200 EHuelshoff@t-online.de (Eckhard > Huelshoff) writes: > I agree about Nostradamus. I prefer to use the ominous fact that the > Aztec calendar stops on Dec. 20 2010 together with Terrance McKenna's > observations that the total sum of human knowledge doubles in a period > approximately 1/2 of the length of time required for the previous > doubling. The graph becomes vertical on Dec. 20, 2010. This is always > good to send a chill up the spines of my players. > Makes one wonder what the Aztecs would have been doing towards 2010, assuming Europeans hadn't wiped them out. I always thought it would be interesting to look at history from a skewed perspective, say that instead of conquering these peoples the Spaniards were somewhat assimilated instead. Of course, there's a lot of culteral inertia they'd have to overcome but just imagine if they figured out some of the European technology. Or even better, if they had a charismatic leader who could have united the various dissonant factions. After all, Cortez only had 500 men and some horses, plus guns. He could have been wiped out easily if Montezuma wasn't so inlcined to see him as Quozecoatal. How about this for a change of things, rather than bearded white men being the returning gods how about they saw 'em as returning devils? That would be enough to whip up some holy fervor! Now imagine a couple hundred years down the line, the Americas still belong to the original owners, but they've picked up quite a bit of advanced technology along the way. That would make for an interesting setting. Now imagine them looking at their calendar and knowing that everything ends in 2010. And to throw it into a Mythos angle, let's imagine they know *why* everything ends. Would make for an interesting story. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 06 Aug 1999 21:45:36 -0400 From: Greg Muir Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun I saw it on Webcrawler. Does that count as American news? Anyway, from what I read it *might* be Ebola, they had to do some more tests. German newspapers, of course, were following the fine precident of the American media in such matters and were shrieking that everyone on the plane was likely infected. Stupidity is the one universal human trait. "Andrew D. Gable" wrote: > > >American news programs, even the national ones, do an abysmal >job on > international coverage. > > Uh-huh. For example, as far as I'm aware it hasn't even been mentioned in > any of the U.S. media that a few cases of Ebola have now been recorded in > Germany, because everyone knows that we ignorant Americans aren't concerned > about such matters. > > Actually, I'm very surprised that hasn't been mentioned on this list. > > Andrew D. Gable > gable@redrose.net > > "'Reality' is the only word in the language that should always be used in > quotes." > My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, "Nervous Xians" ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 21:44:05 EDT From: ScottSaylo@aol.com Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun In a message dated 8/6/99 5:14:55 PM Central Daylight Time, gable@redrose.net writes: << Uh-huh. For example, as far as I'm aware it hasn't even been mentioned in any of the U.S. media that a few cases of Ebola have now been recorded in Germany, because everyone knows that we ignorant Americans aren't concerned about such matters. Actually, I'm very surprised that hasn't been mentioned on this list. >> The US was the first site of an Ebola epidemic outside of Africa. Did you know that? Reston. Virginia a shipment of experimental monkeys got myseriously sick and were subsequently diagnosed with Ebola. Through no deserving of our own, the strain isolated itself only to monkeys. While a couple of humans tested positive for the virus, they never developed any symptoms, and the US got off without any after efffects. THe building was biologically toasted and sealed for several years. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 22:17:23 -0400 From: becole@juno.com Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun On Fri, 06 Aug 1999 22:23:29 +0200 PM writes: >>As most of you will know there will be a total eclipse of the sun in >Europe next week. There will be druidic activity around Stonehenge, Total eclipse of the sun........activity around Stonehenge........old and rumored to be enchanted? Hope no one falls asleep there..... Sounds like a fine place for the stone trap door into the Gug's kingdom....make sure you take some ghouls, and just for good measure, maybe a couple of cats. -B Going to recon ahead in the DL ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 22:29:33 EDT From: LizardRoi@aol.com Subject: Re: DG: American isolationism In a message dated 99-08-06 21:03:07 EDT, you write: << Bashing of the Canuck skinheads or of Canucks by skinheads? >> Well, I can't imagine myself feeling bad about about any skinheads getting bashed, Canadian or otherwise. No particular animosity, I just reserve my ration of righteous indignation for people I have some affinity for. That's also why I assiduously avoid eating cute animals. BTW, sorry if my message struck anyone as anti-Canadian. That wasn't the intent. I just like watching the look in a closet racist's eyes when you give them something to think about, so I speak in their own language. Mark McFadden ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 06 Aug 1999 22:51:35 -0700 From: Richard Pace Subject: Re: DG: American isolationism LizardRoi@aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 99-08-06 21:03:07 EDT, you write: > > << Bashing of the Canuck skinheads or of Canucks by skinheads? >> > > Well, I can't imagine myself feeling bad about about any skinheads getting > bashed, Canadian or otherwise. No particular animosity, I just reserve my > ration of righteous indignation for people I have some affinity for. > That's also why I assiduously avoid eating cute animals. But they're the one with the crunchiest bones! > > > BTW, sorry if my message struck anyone as anti-Canadian. That wasn't the > intent. I just like watching the look in a closet racist's eyes when you give > them something to think about, so I speak in their own language. Did you hear about the judge who sentenced four racists to watch Schindler's List and Amistad as a part of their parole package for burning a cross? heh. Richard ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 23:03:02 -0400 (EDT) From: Daniel M Harms Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun On Fri, 6 Aug 1999, Eckhard Huelshoff wrote: > Daniel Harms schrieb: > Add to this the unlikelihood of invasion > > from our two immediate neighbors > Oh my, You guys really underestimate those Canadians.... We do. ;-) You have to understand, I live in Buffalo, NY. Some areas of the country have rivalries with other cities, states, or regions. Buffalo has a rivalry with a whole NATION! I'm partially serious about this, though. The last ground invasion of the US occurred about 100 years ago, when Pancho Villa and his men rode across the Mexican border. (I heard that a while ago, so correct me if I'm wrong about the details.) I'm not saying these other nations couldn't; it's just that they haven't, and, in my belief, that creates part of America's unusual and often annoying character. Still, my previous statement reflects the common attitude in America, and is not meant to reflect poorly on the Canadian people, their armed forces, the RCMP, or any other body or organization representing Canada. After all, if Canada ever DOES invade over the Falls, I'm right in the path of their army... Yrs., Daniel ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 02:07:56 EDT From: USFORREC1@aol.com Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun In a message dated 8/6/99 3:59:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time, EHuelshoff@t-online.de writes: << > It's so bad that I could argue that ANYTHING about events outside of the > US is not off topic! There really seems to be a conspiracy to keep the American public ignorant of foreign matters... >> This is a great conspiracy to keep us uninformed. probably several of the factions in the DG world have a vested interest in this. Keep Americans isolated and entertained and you've got a scared but docile group of sheep. Let them become wrapped up in their own world and not see any kind of larger picture and you are free to do your work in the shadows. Most of the major television networks are owned by large corporations that are going to serve their own interests first. GE owns NBC and is notorious for putting a spin or editing anti-nuclear power news pieces, so its not a far cry to suspect them of being one of the corps tied with MJ and helping in that disinformation campaign. Other networks/newspapers/magazines can have similar controls on them from COT, the Fate or whoever. Don't want to know about cocaine wars in South America supported by the Fate-no reporters or a 10-second news blurb...no conspiracy there, then and so on. When you do focus on foriegn events, show them in such a light as the rest of the world is backwards, filled with wannabe Hitlers and filth, death and decay. You further become an isolated sheep, glad for whatever powers that be to do what they will to keep your American dream alive and sweep the nasties under the rug. The same is done within America. Want to view a city, we will show you the worst ghetto around. We feel that is right outside our door and become scared. We isolate ourselves from our neighbors and our world. Things can then creep through our neighborhoods and we won't see them. We are too glad to get our fix of sitcoms or "reality" TV to take the edge off that harsh world outside. We hide and don't see the pieces of the puzzle coming together and that is exactly what THEY want, a nation of unseeing, fearful sheep enjoying the decay of our civilization through the new gladitorial games and orgies of cable TV. It may be one of the most perfect (and subtle) plots of all... - -Dave K ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 02:12:33 EDT From: USFORREC1@aol.com Subject: DG: Countdown (No Spoilers) Just acquired a copy of Countdown. It is impressive. Just the size alone makes you take note. Also, just from glancing through it, many of our threads seem to get some official answers (which is nice :) ). Not that I have to say it but make sure you get your copies! Its a great book. - -Dave K ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 09:20:04 +0200 From: EHuelshoff@t-online.de (Eckhard Huelshoff) Subject: DG: Ebola? [ was: Total eclipse of the sun ] Greg Muir schrieb: > I saw it on Webcrawler. Does that count as American news? > > Anyway, from what I read it *might* be Ebola, they had to do some more > tests. German newspapers, of course, were following the fine precident > of the American media in such matters and were shrieking that everyone > on the plane was likely infected. Stupidity is the one universal human > trait. In fact the hysteria was the reason why I did not mention it on the list. I simply wanted to wait for the result of the tests. And they say it is not Ebola but "only" Yellow fever. The poor fellow died anyway, so this doesn't help him anymore. But what makes me think is the the following: The man claimed to have taken a vaccine against yellow fever. ECKHARD ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 07 Aug 1999 11:47:40 +0200 From: Davide Mana Subject: DG: [fiction] Chasing the Bride (Part 4) Chasing the Bride - pt. 4 There's places in Hlanith where you can get almost everything, for a price. Crates of unrefined Stygian black lotus, aeon-old mummies from Zothique, rounded moonstones and conchshells from the Troos riverbanks, silver-trimmed unicorn horns from Pnath, bricks of compressed Sona-Nyl pollens, bales of Sarkomandian dragonworm silks or whatever other item the traveller fancies and the collective unconscious is able to provide. Information's just another exotic spice to be traded. Asking the right questions can get you to the right place. I got out of the Crocodilian one hour before sunset, pointing my steps to the King's Market and, once through it, to the more popular districts that lay well beyond the Wizard's Tower, and in the shadow of the western wall. Soon, the cobbled street under my boots became irregular, some of the porphyry blocks missing, probably used as projectiles during some riot or sold to 'Lands primetimers as relics of some lost and fabled city. Rickety stalls occupied a small square expanding around a dry well, selling newts on sticks, cheap wine and dates and nuts, dubious lucky charms and stained velvets from some providentially sunk cargo barge. The aphazard marketplace was a dull kaleidoscope of different races and ethnicities, leanings and persuasions, all of them shrouded in a thick veil of mistrust and reserve bordering on the suspicious. A blind guy sold old writing stiluses out of a tin mug, a token concession of the local texture to the new pattersns. No other beggars here, as this was a no-nonsense kind of place and the gaping well was just in the right place to dispose of nuisances. It was not casual the guy was blind. But there was a blade-sharpener and umbrella-repairer in one corner, a letter and contract writer had set up her folding bench in the shade of a turan tree growing out of a crack in the floor, and a seller of scrolls had some of his stuff on display on some steps leading to an old door that had probably been painted red once, the paint now dark and flaking. I walked up the stair with an air purposeful enough to convince the old man that it was better to ply his trade somewhere else. While he picked up his prints and his other wares, I knocked. Once. I counted to ten, and finally the door opened a few inches, a fat woman looking at my hands first and then at my face. - - We're closed for business, - she mumbled in a rough voice. - - I'm here for Zani. She looked at my hands again, spending some more seconds on the hilt of my sabre, then her eyes climbed the jet buttons of my jerkin, vaulted over the chin and landed square on my face. - - He's not here. It sounded almost as a question. It was time to throw some weight. I flashed the signet ring on my right hand. The King's Eyes. It was hard to mistake, being the real thing. The owner had been carrying a good copy - not that he knew it, obviously - these last six weeks. She made a face, the kind of face that her kind everywhere makes to cops and other related species. I smiled without any warmth. - Do you think the Weasel is worth the unpleasantness of a visit to your institutions from the Council of Physicians? She considered in the blink of one eye, stepped back nimbly and let me in, hastily closing the door. Old, meticulously darned silk draperies hung from the yellowed walls. A relic of a man was operating the ceiling fan, while a woman well over forty slouched on a chaize, sucking blue smoke from a water pipe. She had a placid expression and was beginning to rise, pulling her rags together, as I stepped in the light, looking a million piastres in my hlanithian best. I stopped her with a raised hand and she fell back, soon starting to pull again on the silvered mouthpiece. In a corner, a fat man leaned on his huge scimitar, scratching his left buttock in a meditabund manner and chewing like an old camel, with a circular jaw movement. I gave the madame an inquisitive look. - Number 23, - she said, pointing to a beads curtain. She cleared her voice, - My girls.... - I'll see that nothing unsightly befalls them. The corridor was as desolate as the rest of the once elegant place. The enameled floor tiles were cracked and a bad smell of camphorated oil pervaded the air, not exactly a heavenly aroma. The door to 23 was a flimsy thing held together by rusty nails hanging by a proper, if battered, hinge and a cheap leather strap nailed to the wall. Suggestive noises and creakings came through the thin, moth-eaten wood. The Weasel was occupied. No need to be subtle. I kicked the thing in and entered. The two forms groping on the bed stopped their rhythmical activity and stared at me - a girl of about fifteen with a large red birthmark on her cheek and an older, bored-looking woman with her hair in a mess and large pendulous earrings. I stared a fraction of a second too long. Exploding in a cloud of moth-eaten fragments, an old easy chair slammed into me, followed suit by the opposite wall, that knocked my breath out. I grunted, drew my misericord and got back on my feet, as Zani the Weasel cursed and launched through an open window. I followed past the patched curtains. I landed in the square and hastily looked around, noticed a water seller sprawling on the cobblestones and went that way, clearing him with a long, splashing stride. The scarlet and gold silk gown the Weasel was wearing was billowing at the darkened end of an alley. I ran. The sun was going down fast and soon this labyrinth would be in deep darkness. I closed in on him, managing my breath and taking care not to slip on the worn flagstones. Nobody was paying any attention to us anyway, but to get out of the way. You don't get far in this neighborhood if you pay attention to guys pursued by men wielding blades. I turned where Zani had turned, hitting the corner with my shoulder, and saw him stand back from a door, look at me and bolt again. Nobody home, bad luck. By the junction he ran into a passing cart full of cheap pottery and implements, stopped, tried to shoulder a seedy hanger-on out of his way and was pushed back roughly in my direction, landing on his bottom in front of me. He rolled his head back and stared upside-down at me with watery eyes. I drew a breath. Something the size of a ham landed on my shoulder and forced me to turn. Six foot odd, bald as a billiard ball, built like a sumotori and with a wicked grin crossing his bloated features from left, multiply-pierced ear to right, tattered and chewed-looking ear. So there had been somebody home, after all. He gazed suggestively at the weapon in my right hand, shaking his head in amused disapprovation. I flipped the blade down, nailing his left foot to the ground through the thronged sandal sole, and hit him with a knee in the crotch. Hard. He humpfed and let go of me, keeling over, foaming at the mouth, gurgling. I turned. Zani was running again. I picked a baked clay thing shaped like a spitoon from the cart, smiled an apology at the owner and launched the pot through the air in a high curved trajectory that led it to crash squarely in the Weasel's occipital zone. He went down. I turned again, hand on the sabre hilt. The bald giant was gone, taking my misericord with him as a tip for the unfinished job, leaving a trail of bloody footprints. The shadows were melting into a single shroud of darkness when I reached Zani and grabbed his blood-caked black hair. - You're bleeding. - I said. I had spent four days tracking him, and the last exertions had not placed me in a favourable mood towards him. - What do you want of me? - he groaned. He was not ready yet. - You're positively pissing blood like a gutted piglet, - I said, softly. He turned, gritting his large yellow teeth. - I don't know you! What do you want? I'm a honest citizen. I shook my head. - Have you noticed how night comes earlier these days? It's the time of the season, as the old saying goes. He tried to stand and I pummelled him once, gently, in the ribs. - Soon the dogfaces will have the run of the streets in this part of town. He spat. - They don't touch the living.... - If you keep bleeding like that you won't be of the living much longer. I let it sink in. It did not take long. He went paler. Now he was ready. I forced him up and pushed him against a wall. He was thin and wiry. A yellow rectangle of light projected by the second storey of the nearby building fell on him, making him squint. I noticed he was wearing just the silk gown, trying to keep it close with a hand over his pigeon-chest while pressing the other to his head. - You're taking care of a house by the south docks. His eyes widened. - No, - he blurted out. There was something scaring him more than the prospect of the ghoul larders. - It was not a question. You are collecting money monthly to make sure that a certain house in the south docks stays undisturbed. His eyes darted around, looking for an escape. He had more of the Rat than of the Weasel. - You are not making a good job of it, by the way. I guess your master would not be pleased by it.... Steps drew near. A dark, silent shape stood at the junction, on strangely shaped legs. It sniffed the air and turned a pair of yellow eyes set in an elongated skull on us. The whiff of the charnel smell clinging to him crept up my nostrils and I had to control my gorge. I tightened my grip on the sabre's hilt, smelling the sweet and unpleasant reek of dead meat, but offered a nod of greeting anyway. Slowly, it went its way. I turned to the Weasel. - Just take me somewhere safe.... - he said, flatly. [end of part 4] - ----------------------------------- OK, this seems to have gotten on a roll, so - unless I find something better to do,of course - the last of this ones gets nailed shut and delivered before the Eclipse. I guess. Stay tuned. Later. Davide Mana ------------------------------ End of deltagreen-digest V2 #24 *******************************