The Diplomatic Pouch

Broadcasts for Spring of 1901 in goofy

Movement

Broadcast from Italy:

	Unfair! Italy is goofy by definition!
	
	MajorDomo
	
	

Broadcast from Turkey:

	I hereby declare war against England.
	
	-T-
	

Anonymous Broadcast:

	Austria here.  
	War against England sounds good.  I'll send my fleets.
    
    
    

Broadcast from Italy:

    Turkey's war against England is passe; happens in almost every game
	as a joke. Ha, ha. Now Austria's declaration is a bit more unusual. Let's
	be a bit more creative gents. Say, Turkey declaring a "exploratory army"
	expedition to London via Vienna and Berlin. A bit more interesting.
	
	Anyway, happy holidays to all.
	
	MajorDomo
	
	
	

Anonymous Broadcast:

	Austria again.	I thought it was fairly creative to use grey press,
	pretending to be somebody else pretending to be me!	 Disappointed
	Italy was not amused.  
	
	Anyway, we've decided white press is boring.  Also, playing  to get
    the most SC's is boring.  We considered also suicide in 1901.			 While
	this would certainly be unique, we think the long-term humor value to
	be limited. 
	
	BTW, does goofy mean idiotic, humorous, or what?  
	
	

Anonymous Broadcast:

	Austria once again. Now that we've had time to consider it, we've decided
	that goofy mean idiotic. Therefore we will attempt to commit suicide in
	1901 by leaving our country open. Russia, Italy, Turkey, and Germany please
	come right on in!
	
	

Anonymous Broadcast:

	Dear me!  Somebody has tried to forge a message.  Fortunately, their
	grammar was somewhat inadequate.  
	Future forgers are encouraged to have their	 subjects and verbs agree.
	
						Freddie
	

Anonymous Broadcast:

	Herr Freddie has accused us of forging messages. Said accusation is 
	based on the concept that the grammer of the message was inadequate
	with subjects and verbs not agreeing with each other. Freddie should
	realize that Austrian is a different language than English and thus
	trying to write messages is a difficult task. Never-the-less, we have
	changed our mind again and have decided that goofy does not mean imbecilic
	play, rather it means silly & funny play. Therefore, Russia, Italy, Turkey
	and Germany are *not* invited to take our territory. Instead, we are 
	inviting ourselves to take their territory. We humbly declare that
	Munich, Venice, Bulgaria, and Warsaw are official Austrian territories
	and that the presence of foreign troops upon said lands is an immediate
	declaration of war against the Austria empire and will be dealt with by
	immediate extermination of the offending power.
	
						"Steady Freddie"
	
	

Anonymous Broadcast:

	Ho ho ho!  This Austrian(?) idea sounds like fun.  Ahem, I suppose I
	should introduce myself.
	
	This is George, King of England, Protector of Whales, and Knight who
	says "Ni!" His Majesty's government is announcing its intention to try
    the "Yorkshire Pudding" opening.  Our English forces shall never leave
    our fair Aisle, and we hope that Germany, France, and Russia shall
    follow our lead, and pursue a strategy of total piece and
    non-aggression.  
    
    As for the Turk who has seen fit to declare war upon us,  Ptbbbbbblh!
    
    

Broadcast from England:

       Certainly there has been quite a lot of black press already. Quite a waste
    of effort, too, if you want to garner goofy votes. I am convinced that
    Austria is goofy, and Turkey is dead meat. Would an English fleet in Eastern
    Med in Fall 1903 be goofy enough?
    

Broadcast from Italy:

    Goofy is English fleets in NAO & IRI with an army in CLY -- the "coward's
	ploy" aka, the "Ostrich tactic".
    
    MajorDomo
    
    P.S. If indeed there are people impersonating Austria, then I vote for
    the one with the lousy grammer. I just loooove a person whose English
    is worse than mine.  :-)
    
    

Broadcast from Master:

    Now, for the fun part, the rules. As announced already these rules are
    subject to discussion and changing before (and with some restrictions
    during) the game.
    
    Below I have first basically repeated the rules as given in the posting 
    to r.g.d. (filled up with some numbering scheme to make references easier).
    After that, I have added some possible changes I came up with later.
    Please, let me know your opinion. Observers are also welcome to 
    contribute! However remember that the core of this variant is to support
    goofy play!
    
    ------begin of rules
    
                The Goofy Variant of Diplomacy
                        by Robert Rehbold
             Version 0.9 (28.12.93)
    
    I. Board, Unit, Moving, Rules
    All standard rules of Diplomacy (including board layout, unit types,
    moving) apply except for the winning conditions.
    
    II. Winning Conditions
    To win you don't have to get 18 SC, but have more points after the builds
    of 1910 (hardwired end) than anybody else or be declared the winner by
    unanimous vote of all powers (including eliminated ones!!). If anybody
    makes it up to 18 SC or more before 1910, the game continues until one
    of the above conditions is met!
    
    III. Points 
    To win in this variant you must acquire points (called goofiness points).
    
    (1) Getting points by voting from active players
    After each spring season (i.e. when fall moves are due) and winter season 
    (i.e. if spring moves are due) all active players vote about each others
    goofiness. For this, they must spend (exactly) 7 goofiness points for the
    other players (not for themselves, of course :-). Voting is done by
    splitting up the 7 points among those powers that were still able to move
    since the last vote except ones own up to a maximum of 3 points for one power
    (should there remain 4 powers, the max. is raised to 5 points, with 3
    powers, it's 6 points, and with 2 powers, seven points). The GM 
    will also assign 7 points in the same fashion. Voting on goofiness points
    is due before the next seasons moves are evaluated. Players can vote 
    secret or in the public, and of course both in which case the latest private 
    message to the GM before the voting deadline is considered.
    
    (2) Getting points by voting from eliminated players
    Eliminated players may still vote on goofiness, however they only have
    3 goofiness points to spend in the years after their elimination. If a
    eliminated player chooses not to vote in a season, s/he will not be
    allowed to vote in any following season and will suffer a non-voting
    penalty of 5 points per season. You are considered 'eliminated' if you
    do not own an SC according to the judge output.
    
    (3) Getting points for SC controlled
    After the winter adjustments have been evaluated, players get two points 
    for each SC they own at the end of a year. 
    
    (4) Missing the voting deadline
    The next season will not be evaluated until all votes from the active
    players are in.
    
    (5) Goofiness score board
    The goofiness point results of the last year as well as the accumulated
    score for each power are published at the end of each year, and unless
    a winner is agreed upon before, the person with the most accumulated
    goofiness points at the end of 1910 is declared the winner ("Goofy of
	the Year" :-).
    
    IV. What is Goofiness?
    
    (1) Definition of Goofiness
    Goofiness is hard (or impossible) to define. Yet most players seem to
    know what kind of play is goofy and what is not. Goofiness ranking is
    completely up to the player assigning the points and can not be
    questioned by anybody else (of course it can be commented upon! :-)
    
    (2) Things that should be avoided
    The following things may seem goofy to people but are not intended in
    this variant and should not be rewarded with goofiness points:
    (a) Cross-gaming or Out-of-Game activities:
    Goofiness should remain within this game and not be transferred
    outside. Cross-gaming for example is *not* considered positively 
    goofy in this variant!
    (b) Breaking the deadlines:
    Becoming late or going CD is just unfriendly to the other players.
    
    (3) A ontradiction in terms?
    A possible problem in a game in which goofiness is encouraged can be
    that what is goofy in a normal game may not be considered goofy in a
    goofy game. Maybe normal play is goofy if the goal is to be goofy!
    (Now that's something to chew on, you logicians out there!)
    
    Again, goofiness is in the eye of the beholder. :-)
    
    -------end of rules
    
    Alternatives for III. (4) Missing the voting deadline:
    
    + If no vote arrives from an active player before the deadline, that 
      player suffers a penalty of 7 goofiness points. 
    
    + If no vote arrives from an active player before the deadline, that
      player's goofiness points will be assigned the same way as those of
      the GM.
    
    Robert
    

Broadcast from Master:

    Hello everybody,
    
    faster than expected this game has filled up, and I'm glad that I made
    it to a computer before the deadline hits. As announced in my public
    call for participation this game was intended not to begin before 
    January, thus I'm setting the deadline to January 4th. If of course all
    of you enter moves before, they will be evaluated (unless somebody used
    'set wait') before that deadline.
    
    To waste some bandwidth, here's a short introduction to myself, your
    friendly GM, and my opinions about GMing (which of course overrule anything
    anybody else may think or announce to be correct :-):
    
    My name is Robert Rehbold, I work as a computer scientist at Siemens 
    Corporate R&D. I'm playing judge games ever since I got aware of them, which 
    was about March 1992. Before that, I participated in some hand-moderated 
    email games organized by EP (Eric Klien). And of course I play FtF if a 
    chance comes up (which is not very often since it proves difficult to 
    get 7 people together for more than 8 hours). While I certainly don't 
    know all about Diplomacy, I may be able to answer the more simple 
    questions about rules and/or judge specialities you may have. Just don't
    expect tactical or strategical advise. The reasons I invented this special
    variant and started a real game to test it came from the discussion on
    rec.games.diplomacy/DIPL-L about preventing goofy play in the high spheres
    of EP-games. If you didn't follow that discussion: lucky you!
    
    
    Now that the game has started let me share my thoughts of why certain
    parameters are the way they are and what I intended by setting them that 
    way.
    
    NONMR:
    I'm no member of the Joel Furr School of Diplomacy; I praise Eric Klien
    for having introduced his No NMR rule into EP years ago. 
    
    DIAS:
    I think that if a power cannot be destroyed, it should share in a draw.
    Also, the variant rules as they stand now *require* an unanimous vote 
    from *all* players (including eliminated ones) about who wins this game.
    I ask you all to not send in any votes to the judge as even a draw agreed
    upon by all active players has no value in this game!
    
    PROXY:
    Well, it's an experiment. I played in both proxy and non-proxy games and I
    never felt the difference (i.e. it was not used - to my knowledge). But still
    it is a nice option worth offering even if not used. 
    
    DEDICATION:
    While it's no guarantee against dropouts of the "lost email" sort, I hope
    it to help against dropouts of the "bound to loose thus resign" kind. 
	
	WHITE/GREY PRESS:
	All press you send will be white by default. As the main goal in this game
	is getting goofiness points, grey broadcasts are of little value as
	people might not realize that this very goofy broadcast came from you and
	thus won't assign you points for it. Nevertheless it might turn out to be
    useful, so why prohibit it.
    
    OBSERVERS WHITE PRESS:
    Grey broadcasts from observers could add to the fun, but also may
    influence the game too much, thus I restricted them to white press so that
    everybody knows the message comes from an observer.
    
    DEADLINE SETTINGS:
    This is not intended to be a slow game.
    I do know that people get ill, have to go on business trips, get to do
    lots of work suddenly etc. and I will not hesitate to delay the deadline
    for a few days should one of you find himself in such a situation. But
    remember that you are supposed to have to resort to such a delay *seldom*.
    Again, I ask you to consider your ability to keep up with the intended
    pace of this game and resign now if you think you can't. Please inform me 
	*in advance* if you can't keep a deadline.
    
    VOTING ON WHATEVER:
    - Your assignment of goofiness points to the other players is expected to
      arrive at my mailbox (private mail, please!) before the deadline for
      spring or fall moves show up. Not voting will not considered to be goofy!
    - Voting on a winner before 1910 can be done by sending me a proposal for the
      winner (no, you can't propose yourself!) which I will put to a vote during
	  the next goofiness voting. NVR on win proposals mean NO.
	- Voting on parameter changes require that I am neutral or positive on the
	  proposed change. If I don't like the proposed change I will not perform it 
      nor call for a vote. I will however try to give my reasons to the proposer 
      which is is free to broadcast his proposal and my reasons to refuse it if he 
      likes.
    - Voting on parameter changes before the first move is processed are accepted
      if 5 or more players agree. After the first move is processed votes will have
      to be unanimously. No Vote Received means NO.
    - Voting on rules: this will be handled in the next posting.
    
    Now, if you have any more questions (or voting proposals :-) don't hesitate
	to mail me. Telephone calls are not welcome except for the most urgent cases
	(your computer lost connection, the sky fell on your head, etc.). Nevertheless
	here's the phone number: +49-XX-XXXXXXXX.
	
	Enjoy playing!
	
	Robert
	
	P.S.: Please can you players who cared to send in a preference list send me
		  theirs so I can see how good the assignment has been.
	
	
	

Anonymous Broadcast:

	I also think that declaring war on England is a good idea.
	I too will do so.
	
	France
	

Broadcast from Italy:

	On the rules:
	
	   A) How about a penalty for active players if they miss the deadline
	for goofy voting? The non-active players have such a penalty.
	
	   B) I think the 2 votes per SC owned will discourage goofy play. A person
	can gain a lot more by controlling SCs (as per normal play) than in being
	goofy. I would like to see this reduced to 1 vote or less per SC.
	
	MajorDomo
	

Broadcast from Italy:

	> P.S.: Please can you players who cared to send in a preference list send me
	>	   theirs so I can see how good the assignment has been.
	
	If I had sent in a preference list, do you think I would have choosen Italy?
	Gagh! I find Italy hard enough to play without having to be goofy about it.
	
	MajorDomo
	

Broadcast from Austria:

		Well, I set my prefs with Austria first.  I figure Austria is
	a country with a lot of goofy potential.
		I agree with the MajorDomo.	 If you give two points per SC
	owned, the game really becomes a not-very-goofy game after all.
		I like the proposal to assign late goofy votes along the lines
	of the GM's goofy votes.
    I think we should get the point system down soon.  Otherwise,
    some players might take it upon themselves to play in a non-goofy
    manner.
                    Sigmund Freud
    

Broadcast from Turkey:

    > Would an English fleet in Eastern
    > Med in Fall 1903 be goofy enough?
    
    Only if you used it to convoy my army from Syria to St Petersburg.
    
    -T-
    

Broadcast from Master:

    Well, nice to hear your opinions about the rules, just continue to let
    them flow!
    
    Regarding giving points for SC: My reason for that was that otherwise
    the game might become too goofy after a while (if that's possible at
	all), i.e. no real interaction but self-bouncing and roundabout of
	units all over the place. As proposed I also thought of giving 1 point
	per year per SC, but rose it to 2 points to value SCs about 1/3 of the
	points. 
	
	If you play real goofy you can get a maximum of 7 (number of other voters
	= 6 other players + GM) times 3 (max. points they can assign to you) times
	2 (number of voting seasons per year) = 42 points per year plus those points
	you get for your SC (note that being goofy with little units may prove
	difficult, with no units you even can get no points at all :-). You would 
	need 22 SC or more to get the same amount of points per SC count only! 
	
	Even if your goofiness turns out to be only somewhat above average (every
	year 112 points are given for goofiness, so you get say 20 or 23) you would
	still need 10-12 SC *more* than the others to reach that score.
	
	Let's assume that Germany (we haven't heared of him, so I'm not biased
    by any press or moves he may have sent in, and Germany [or Austria] could
    take most advantage of others goofiness) tries to play this game very
    conventional by using his neighbours goofiness to his best advantage.
    He may get 6 SC by 1901, 9 SC by 1902, 12 SC by 1903, then maybe slow a
    bit down because the defenders could defend while still being goofy, but
    nevertheless increase his SC count to 14, 16, 18, 20, 23, 26, 30.
    Being that ungoofy would of course earn him no goofiness points through
    voting at all, so his point score would sum up to 174*2 = 358 points.
    
    During these 10 years our somewhat above average goofy player (let's 
	assume he gets 27 points per year for both goofiness and SC during the
	first 3 years, then 35 for another 3 years, then 45 for the rest as others
	get eliminated) would collect 411 points. However, he would have to survive 
	the German assault (e.g. because he's playing Turkey :-). Remember that 
    with every eliminated power, his goofiness voting result will improve quite 
    a bit. He would still be able to win.
    
    Of course, the 'win-by-playing-ungoofy' tactic will fail anyway if more
    than one player attempts to use it (I hope).
    
    Now that you've heared my reasoning, are you still thinking that 2 points
	per SC are too much? If so, how about 1,5 points per SC? 1 point seems
	really not enough to me.
	
	And about the method of dealing with missing goofiness votes: Up to now
	we've heared two opinions: Italy favoring the 7 point penalty and Austria
    favoring the method of assigning them along the GM's goofy votes. 
	Unsurprisingly, I am slightly in favour for the latter method :-)
	
	Robert
	
	
	
	

Broadcast from Italy:

	I'll vote for 1.5 points per build center every year. I'm not quite sure
	about our GM's reasoning. It seems to me that the total number of goofiness
    votes goes down as people are eliminated since eliminated powers get only
    3 votes. Also, it seems that the average number of votes obtainable via
    goofiness is less than what the GM posulates. But it is early in the 
    morning for me (*yawn*) and my brain is not up to full power yet so I'm
	not going to try to reason everything out.
	
	MajorDomo
	
	

Broadcast from Germany:

	AAaahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaeeeeeee oh so I see Ibeeen poot
	
	RIGHT
	
	Inneemiddle fo
			Euuoropie!	So is bedy dod, As I did definitely precisely
									not
									awsk
									tobeput
	
	her.
	here.
	
	
	I declare war on the Game Master.  All game parameters will be flowninfaceof.
	
	I *will* NMR, and the game will process IN SPITE of the Master's procladiction
    tothecontrary.
    
    I *will* allocate my entire vote to myself, until the first player is 
    eliminated, atwhichpoint/inwhichcase I will vote entirely for the eliminated
    player.
    
    I *will* play absolutely normally, which would be goofy, which in turn would
    make it predictable and therefore *not* goofy, and thus I shall BOLDLYLOSE!
    
    I AM EXTRAVINCIBLE!  I AM BEYOND DEFEAT!  I SHALL POSTVAIL!
    
    
    Happy Holidays and best wishes to you all.
    
    Sincerely,
    
    
    
    
    

Anonymous Broadcast:

    >From root Tue Dec 28 04:01:24 1993
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    >          id AA15986; Tue, 28 Dec 1993 04:01:19 -0800
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    >>id AA00439; Tue, 28 Dec 93 06:03:25 CST
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    >>id AA09348; Tue, 28 Dec 93 06:03:23 CST
    >Date: Tue, 28 Dec 93 06:03:23 CST
    >From: [email protected]
    >Message-Id: <[email protected]>
    >To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
    >        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
    >        [email protected], THE GREAT BIG BAG OF DESPAIR, 
    >        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
    >Subject: *--93 Mood Mail--*
    >Status: O
    >
    >>>Hope your finals went well, and see ya after X-mas!
    >
    >
    >       The word of the day today is 'salad'.
    >       The user of the day today is Davi E Axelson.
    >
    >
    >
    >If you are easily offended, hit 'n' now.
    >
    >
    >
    >"You play chicken long enough, you fry."
    >>>>>>--Batman
    >
    >
    >
    

Anonymous Broadcast:

    >From root Wed Dec 29 04:01:32 1993
    >Received: from nic.stolaf.edu by hope.despair.com (AIX 3.2/UCB 5.64/4.03)
    >          id AA21888; Wed, 29 Dec 1993 04:01:27 -0800
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    >>id AA14274; Wed, 29 Dec 93 06:03:34 CST
    >Received: by inga2.acc.stolaf.edu (4.1/SMI-4.1)
    >>id AA10799; Wed, 29 Dec 93 06:03:32 CST
    >Date: Wed, 29 Dec 93 06:03:32 CST
    >From: [email protected]
    >Message-Id: <[email protected]>
    >To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
    >        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
    >        [email protected], THE GREAT BIG BAG OF DESPAIR, [email protected],
    >        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
    >Subject: *--93 Mood Mail--*
    >Status: O
    >
    >>>Hope your finals went well, and see ya after X-mas!
    >
    >
    >       The word of the day today is 'Hinman'.
    >       The user of the day today is Disco Queen.
    >
    >
    >
    >If you are easily offended, hit 'n' now.
    >
    >
    >
    >"You play chicken long enough, you fry."
    >>>>>>--Batman
    >
    >
    >
    
    

Broadcast from England:

    >> Would an English fleet in Eastern Med in Fall 1903 be goofy enough?
    > Only if you used it to convoy my army from Syria to St Petersburg.
    
    Deal! And when I misorder the convoy, that will be Goofiest, no?!
    
    Englander
    

Broadcast from Germany:

                                           Wyth all this talkoff knockoff
    England, maybe I should get into it too!  I hereby say bash britain boggled.
    
    Killkillkillkillkillkillkill
    
    
    Goofy is as goofy does... Russia go to Norway, I will shipshape you across
    to northfun island.  
    
    
        Beefgrindd
    
    France I hope for funfun fun
    You take liv, I take lon?
    
    France split we will flooded centers
    And make sure no fleetsies enters
    
        brits will die, brits are ended
        they will fly, to iceland
        killkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkill
    
    Hope and hipshore half and varnish garnish ahlingo shoputti shinhurt
    
    
    
    Sincerely,
    
    
    

Anonymous Broadcast:

    Germany, you are my ally unto death!
                            Freddie
    

Broadcast from Germany:

    press to e
    
    GreetinGs!  I am playinG Germany, and I am interestinG in enterinG into an
    alliance with you.  You have experssed an interest in sendinG one of your
    fleets to the Eastern Mediterranean, and in order to do that, you will need
    to send it throuGh French waters.  The French have already expressed their
    opposition to this plan, so I would like to offer my help to you.  France
    is a definite danGer to Germany, and it is much safer to merely eliminate
    them riGht away.
    
    If you do not wish to ally with me, I understand, but it looks like you will
    have a touGh battle ahead of you.  Remember, eliminated powers do not Get
    Goofy points... If we work toGether, we can reduce the field of competition
    rapidly, in the meantime increasinG the opportunities for Goofy play between
    ourselves.
    
    Particularly, I am interested in developinG an Elephant-Whale type alliance
    with you.  Such alliances are remarkably stronG, in that stabs are almost
    entirely impossible.  
    
    I look forward to workinG with you.
    
    
    Sincerely,
    
    
    
    

Broadcast from Germany:

    press to f
    
    GreetinGs!  I am playinG Germany, and I would like to propose an alliance
    with you.  In most Games that I have played in, France often suffers badly
    at the hands of EnGland and Italy.  While Germany often plays a part in this,
    the lion's share of the Gains inevitably Go to the two naval powers.
	
	Therefore, I would suGGest that the two of us work toGether to eliminate
	first EnGland, then Italy.	I'm sure that the esteemable Freddy of Austria
    will be Glad to help us, since he too has declared enmity aGainst EnGland.
    Or was that Turkey?  In any case, I suGGest that we enter into alliance with
    each other, beGinninG immediately with an assault on EnGland.  As a siGn of
    Goodwill, I will not move my army in Munich to Ruhr or BurGundy.
    
    ToGether, we can do much.
    
    
    Sincerely,
    
    
    
    

Broadcast from Germany:

    press to i
    
    
    GreetinGs!  I am playinG Germany, and I am interested in enterinG into an
    alliance with you.  AlthouGh we miGht not have much in the way of common
    Goals to beGin with, we can certainly cooperate to eliminate France. This
    will Give you the valuable Iberian position, and I will endeavor to keep
    EnGland from establishinG a presence in the north.  I am attemptinG to send
    the EnGlish player north after Russia, so it shouldn't be too difficult to
	make sure that you Get PortuGal, so that EnGland cannot keep you bottled up
	in the Mediterranean with F Por, F Mid, F NAt.	After we have split up
	France between us evenly, we could then either Go on to eliminate EnGland
	or to make headway into Austria.  It seems like it miGht be wisest at that
	point to direct your fleets back into the Mediterranean, since Turkey may
	be GrowinG stronG by that time.
	
	Particularly, I am interested in developinG an Elephant-Whale type alliance
	with you.  Such alliances are remarkably stronG, in that stabs are almost
	entirely impossible.  That, combined with our remote positions, could make
	us very stronG partners.
	
	I look forward to workinG with you.
	
	
	Sincerely,
	
	
	
	

Broadcast from Germany:

	press to a
	
	GreetinGs!	I am playinG Germany, and I am interested in enterinG into an
	alliance with you.	It is an interestinG statistic that Germany is most
	likely to survive in Games where Austria also does well, and I am inclined
	to believe that this is not coincidence.  Germany and Austria are natural
	allies, and should do all possible to protect each other.  Therefore, I
	would like to propose that I move to Silesia this SprinG, followed by a
	move to Galicia in the Fall supported by one of your own units.	 In this
	way, I can help you take Rumania and eradicate the danGerous Russian southern
	presence while you will still have ample strenGth to contain and eliminate
	Turkey.	 Once that has been accomplished, I propose we spend the rest of 
	the Game enGaGinG in humourous maneuvers around the Barren Zone and central
	Russia, or perhaps embark on a joint invasion of Italy... I would even be
	interested in exchanGinG home centers with you, which would, of course, be
	indisputably Goofy.
	
	I look forward to workinG with you.
	
	
	Sincerely,
	
	
	
	
	

Broadcast from Germany:

	press to t
	
	GreetinGs!	I am playinG Germany, and I am interested in enterinG into an
	alliance with you.	I know that our positions at virtual extremes of the
	continent seem to preclude such an effort, but consider for a moment that
	we both border on Russia and Austria, the traditional enemies of Turkey.
	Add to this the fact that EnGland (who is my neiGhbor) has declared war
	upon you already, and the possibilities for joint action increase even more.
	
	In particular, I am interested in helpinG you Get out into the Atlantic as
	soon as possible.  Perhaps you should pretend to ally with Austria just lonG
	enouGh to eliminate that bothersome Russian fleet, and then build up fleets
	of your own with which to bullet throuGh to PortuGal while I provide land
	support aGainst Austria, Italy, and France.
	
	I think there is Great potential for us to work toGether, and I hope that 
	you are aGreeable to my suGGestions.
	
	
	Sincerely,
	
	
	
	
	

Broadcast from Germany:

	press to r
	
	GreetinGs!	I am playinG Germany, and I am interested in enterinG into an
	alliance with you.	I appreciate that the temptation for Russia to invade
	Germany is Great - indeed, I have yielded to that temptation quite a few
	times myself.  However, the Goal of this Game is more to be Goofy than
	to win tactically, and I find the idea of Russian fleets sailinG out of
	St. PetersburG, around and takinG PortuGal, and cominG into dock in Sevastopol
	supremely hilarious, and I am interested in helpinG you achieve this sort
	of a move if you are interested.  You can count on my support... after all,
	what could be more Goofy than helpinG someone else make a prize-winninG play,
	instead of makinG the play for myself?
	
	I am lookinG forward to what promises to be an interestinG Game, and I hope
	you decide to work with me.	 It should be fun...
	
	
	Sincerely,
	
	
	
	

Broadcast from England:

	With regard to the German press, offering alliance to each of us...
	Which offer is the garbage, Last In or First Out??
	
	--England, where the sun never sets--
	

Broadcast from Master:

	Dear players (and observers),
	
	after another round of replies (public and private) to the recent
	proposals it seems that 1.5 points is what it will be for each SC
	each year. Just for the fun part, I will try to maintain a -purely
	theoretical (!!!)- scoreboard for the 1 and 2 points-per-SC variants
	just to see whether the results are that different.
	
	Also, a majority seems to build that favours missing votes to be
	assigned just like the GM's. Btw. do you think that the GM's votes should
	be published after each year?
	
	
		Points for eliminated powers
	One of you proposed to assign goofiness points to eliminated powers
	as well which would have to earn them by goofy press only. While goofy
	press is valuable, my principal intention was to see goofy *moves*. 
	Thus I will not change that part unless 6 or more of you think other-
	wise. 
	
	
		NVR (No Vote Received) from eliminated powers
	Another point raised was the question of penalty points for eliminated
	powers. It was pointed out that a player being eliminated in 1903 and
	missing one vote in 1904 would suffer 6*2*5 = 60 points penalty without
	being able to do anything about it. Also, this makes the total of assigned
	goofiness points during the game less thus valuing early goofiness higher
	than late goofiness. To guarantee a fixed amount of total goofiness points
	(well, nearly fixed as neutral SC will lower that total for each year they
	exist) it would be neccessary to allow eliminated players 7 points with
	GM assignment in case of NVR. This idea I don't like to prevent eliminated
    powers from taking revenge on their eliminator by giving lots of points
    to his enemy. 
    If you think the current penalty point solution for NVR of eliminated
    powers unfair, let me know and we can come up with an alternative like
    - assign the 3 points to those powers who got the most non-NVR-points
      that season (with ties broken by GM preference :-)
    - let the 3 points be assigned by the GM (not all to one player).
    However, after two consecutive NVRs from an eliminated power, the original
    method should be applied.
    
    
    Black/grey/white press
    Finally, somebody complained about "black press". This game should not allow
    black press, just white and grey press. White means that the source of the
    message is shown, grey means that no source is given (black would be if a
    wrong source is given). If you want to be sure about the originating
    power just don't look at grey press (which can be recognized by the missing 
	power name in the headline) even if it contains some signature that might
	give a hint about who sent it. Every message starting with something like
	
	ex: Broadcast message from China in goofy:
	
	(white press, the default, available by just typing 'broadcast') should 
	really be from the Chinese player (otherwise the judge code is broken, which 
	I hope it isn't). However messages starting with
    
    ex: Broadcast message in goofy:
    
    (grey press, available by typing 'broadcast grey') can origin from any 
    player (note that observers are not allowed to do that and that I -as the 
    GM- won't do that), not neccessarily the one who's "signature" is contained 
    in the message. So be on your watch! 
    One more informationabout this grey press stuff which you might want to know:
    While you players and observers don't get the originating power of a
	grey press message, I -as the GM- *do* get it! To me the second header
	above will look like
	
	ex: Broadcast message [from China] in goofy:
	
	so that I do know that China sent it but that it was broadcasted to
	all of you *without* the originating power, i.e. as grey press.
	With judge Diplomacy, always keep in mind that Big Brother GM is (or
	might be) watching you!
	
	Your friendly GM,
	Robert
	
	

Broadcast from Master:

	About deadlines, game start etc.
	
	One or more players will be without email connection for the first week
	of January. I therefore moved the deadline to monday the 10th, especially
	since I announced that the game wouldn't start before January anyway. 
    Again, if all orders are in, they will be evaluated before that deadline.
    
    Robert
    

Anonymous Broadcast:

    >From root Thu Dec 30 08:23:45 1993
    >Received: from [130.71.128.8] by hope.despair.com (AIX 3.2/UCB 5.64/4.03)
    >          id AA12592; Thu, 30 Dec 1993 08:21:10 -0800
    >Received: from inga2.acc.stolaf.edu by stolaf.edu (4.1/SMI-4.1)
    >>id AA28733; Thu, 30 Dec 93 06:03:20 CST
    >Received: by inga2.acc.stolaf.edu (4.1/SMI-4.1)
    >>id AA11259; Thu, 30 Dec 93 06:03:18 CST
    >Date: Thu, 30 Dec 93 06:03:18 CST
    >From: [email protected]
    >Message-Id: <[email protected]>
    >To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
    >        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
    >        [email protected], THE GREAT BIG BAG OF DESPAIR,
    >        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
    >Subject: *--93 Mood Mail--*
    >
    >>>Hope your finals went well, and see ya after X-mas!
    >
    >
    >       The word of the day today is 'Mullen'.
    >       The user of the day today is Emily J Sather.
    >
    >
    >
    >If you are easily offended, hit 'n' now.
    >
    >
    >
    >"You play chicken long enough, you fry."
    >>>>>>--Batman
    >
    >
    >
    

Broadcast from Germany:

    Eggnlinish brit sillevil write:
    > What's deal?? Dis bugs!	Who I believe?	What right, what stupid? How
	> Many angels fit into Bolshoi pointe shoe?	 Last in first out?
	
	
	ohsi tis so sorry ofme.	 Don'tk no wwhat happen to me, I all suddenthisnot
    ME THISNOTME!  ThisnothowItalk!  ThisnothowIact!  Whatbe alliance anyways?
    
    evilevildevilspirits inhabit typewriter!!  SILLY EVILONES MAKE FAKE FROADPRESS!
    
                                Aiieee!
                                Attack!
                                IthinkIampersecuteattackit is all brits fault!
    
    
    I
     think
      maybe
           secret
                 plan....
                         maybe
                              is
                                subconscious
                                            making
                                                  evil
                                                      plansagainstmelikehappend
    
                   u                    i
               u           u                n
                     u                    u
                    u                      u                         P
                   u              u uu     u                         e
                   u             u  uu   u                          r
                   u               u  u                            u
                    u                                            u
                      u                                      u
                          u                           u
                                     u
    
    
    
    Just thatwise, I take back evilnastythings saybout Engggglishbritevvilnasty
    causebe why my mind play sonasty tricks on fingers typing.  I soory.
    
    HIWAVE Freddy!
    HIWAVE Brits!
    HIWAVE Mojo!
    HIWAVE -T-!
    
    WhERSE BE Frenchie andose Russians?  I like drink wine, vodka, both, neither,
    alldeabove, nonedeabove, a and b, a and c, ab andc, a and q, MIXTHEMALL!
    
    
    
    Sincerely,
    
    
    
    

Broadcast from Turkey:

    I'm in favour of 2 points per SC, but only up to some pre-determined
	limit (say, for example 9 or 18?).	Having units on the board is important,
	because only then can you enter into really goofy play (say, for example,
	convoying from Syria to St Petersburg).	 But the object of the game should
	not be to win.
	
	-T-
	

Anonymous Broadcast:

	Da Turk sez:
	> the object of the game should not be to win.
	
	In a standard game, we strive to obtain SCs. Giving up this effort is goofy
	play.
	In a goofy game, we strive for goofiness points. Gaining SCs is not thus
	goofy?
	So in a goofy game, we should not strive to meet the Victory Condition?
	Trapped!
	
	>>>>>You are in a maze of twisty logic, all alike.<<<<<
	

Anonymous Broadcast:

	>From root Fri Dec 31 04:01:09 1993
	>Received: from nic.stolaf.edu by hope.despair.com (AIX 3.2/UCB 5.64/4.03)
	>		   id AA20566; Fri, 31 Dec 1993 04:01:04 -0800
	>Received: from inga2.acc.stolaf.edu by stolaf.edu (4.1/SMI-4.1)
	>>id AA14563; Fri, 31 Dec 93 06:03:21 CST
	>Received: by inga2.acc.stolaf.edu (4.1/SMI-4.1)
	>>id AA11738; Fri, 31 Dec 93 06:03:19 CST
	>Date: Fri, 31 Dec 93 06:03:19 CST
	>From: [email protected]
	>Message-Id: <[email protected]>
	>To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
	>		 [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
	>		 [email protected], THE GREAT BIG BAG OF DESPAIR,
	>		 [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
	>Subject: *--93 Mood Mail--*
	>
	>>>Hope your finals went well, and see ya after X-mas!
	>
	>
	>		The word of the day today is 'heterogamous'.
	>		The user of the day today is Shawna A Solid.
	>
	>(steadman) Jennifer is feeling the relief of one last computer fix.  See
	>			y'all in Feb!
    >
    >
    >If you are easily offended, hit 'n' now.
    >
    >
    >
    >"You play chicken long enough, you fry."
    >>>>>>--Batman
    >
    >
    >
    

Anonymous Broadcast:

    "You play fry long enough you chicken."
      -- Female-mammal
    
    P.S. Is sending out the same idiotic message over and over again considered
    goofy ... or just rude?
    
    P.P.S. To 'big brother': Pssszttt!
    
    

Anonymous Broadcast:

    >From root Sat Jan  1 04:01:12 1994
    >Received: from nic.stolaf.edu by hope.despair.com (AIX 3.2/UCB 5.64/4.03)
    >          id AA17523; Sat, 1 Jan 1994 04:01:09 -0800
    >Received: from inga2.acc.stolaf.edu by stolaf.edu (4.1/SMI-4.1)
    >>id AA03185; Sat, 1 Jan 94 06:03:24 CST
    >Received: by inga2.acc.stolaf.edu (4.1/SMI-4.1)
    >>id AA12774; Sat, 1 Jan 94 06:03:23 CST
    >Date: Sat, 1 Jan 94 06:03:23 CST
    >From: [email protected]
    >Message-Id: <[email protected]>
    >To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
    >        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
    >        [email protected], THE GREAT BIG BAG OF DESPAIR,
    >        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
    >Subject: *--93 Mood Mail--*
    >
    >>>Hope your finals went well, and see ya after X-mas!
    >
    >
    >       The word of the day today is 'Norwegian'.
    >       The user of the day today is Joanna L Sevig.
    >
    >
    >
    >If you are easily offended, hit 'n' now.
    >
    >
    >
    >"You play chicken long enough, you fry."
    >>>>>>--Batman
    >
    >
    >
    

Anonymous Broadcast:

    >From root Sun Jan  2 04:01:24 1994
    >Received: from nic.stolaf.edu by hope.despair.com (AIX 3.2/UCB 5.64/4.03)
    >          id AA19466; Sun, 2 Jan 1994 04:01:18 -0800
    >Received: from inga2.acc.stolaf.edu by stolaf.edu (4.1/SMI-4.1)
    >>id AA15750; Sun, 2 Jan 94 06:03:20 CST
    >Received: by inga2.acc.stolaf.edu (4.1/SMI-4.1)
    >>id AA13274; Sun, 2 Jan 94 06:03:19 CST
    >Date: Sun, 2 Jan 94 06:03:19 CST
    >From: [email protected]
    >Message-Id: <[email protected]>
    >To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
    >        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
    >        [email protected], [email protected], THE GREAT BIG BAG OF DESPAIR,
    >        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
    >        [email protected], [email protected]
    >Subject: *--93 Mood Mail--*
    >
    >>>Hope your finals went well, and see ya after X-mas!
    >
    >
    >       The word of the day today is 'distributive'.
    >       The user of the day today is Ross E Rotramel.
    >
    >(steadman) Jennifer is feeling the relief of one last computer fix.  See
    >           y'all in Feb!
	>
	>
	>If you are easily offended, hit 'n' now.
	>
	>
	>
	>"You play chicken long enough, you fry."
	>>>>>>--Batman
	>
	>
	>
	

Anonymous Broadcast:

	>From root Sun Jan	2 10:09:48 1994
	>Received: from morrolan.eff.org by hope.despair.com (AIX 3.2/UCB 5.64/4.03)
	>		   id AA21279; Sun, 2 Jan 1994 10:09:40 -0800
	>Received: from localhost (judge@localhost) by morrolan.eff.org (8.6.4/8.6.4) id NAA06802 for [email protected]; Sun, 2 Jan 1994 13:12:12 -0500
	>Date: Sun, 2 Jan 1994 13:12:12 -0500
	>From: Diplomacy Adjudicator 
	>Message-Id: <[email protected]>
	>To: THE GREAT BIG BAG OF DESPAIR
	>Subject: Diplomacy notice: goofy
	>
	>				 This Diplomacy Adjudicator sponsored by
	>				   the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
	>									 
	>>	Any unmoderated games on this judge will be removed.
	>
	>Broadcast message in goofy:
	>
	>"You play fry long enough you chicken."
	>  -- Female-mammal
	>
	>P.S. Is sending out the same idiotic message over and over again considered
	>goofy ... or just rude?
	>
	>P.P.S. To 'big brother': Pssszttt!
	>
	>
	
	
	Good question... I think I'll put it up to a vote.
    
    What's the consensus on this?
	
	In the meantime, I'll suspend further quotations of MoodMail.
    
    
                -THE GREAT BIG BAG OF DESPAIR-
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

Anonymous Broadcast:

    That's it.	 War is hereby declared against the loser who keeps posting
	that stupid Batman thing.  
	
	Also, war will soon be declared against France, unless he shows some
	interest in the game.  Same goes for Russia.  
	
					Freddie
	

Anonymous Broadcast:

	About "moodmail," since it has nothing to do with the game, but is
	cluttering my mail spool, I consider it rude.  
	I'll back off the declaration of war if you stop.  (I know, I'm sure
	I had you quaking in your boots.)
	
				Freddie
	

Broadcast from France:

	 > >Broadcast message in goofy:
	 > >
	 > >"You play fry long enough you chicken."
	 > >  -- Female-mammal
	 > >
	 
	 > 
	 > Good question... I think I'll put it up to a vote.
     > 
     > What's the consensus on this?
	 > 
	 > In the meantime, I'll suspend further quotations of MoodMail.
     > 
     > 
     >       -THE GREAT BIG BAG OF DESPAIR-
    
    
    My vote: my moods need no altering, thank you.
    On the other hand, since it has no effect, 
      I suppose you could call it a mood question.
    Or is that a cow asking something?
    (Mood rings, anyone?)
    
    France has a perfectly legitimate reason for being silent up to now,
    which is to say that he's been vacationing on the south of France.
	The religion thing, don'tchaknow.
    So just moove along home(tm).
    
    Goofy is as goofy does,
      and so I shall not speak.
    The best of times, they never was,
      'Cause if they was, I'd freak.
    
    
                                             France
    
    P.S. All messages not attributed to me, in whole or in part, are violations
    of copyrights which I have not yet filed, and are therefore illegal.
    

Broadcast from England:

    MoodMail would be fine if it was only two lines, instead of 25 or 30!
    MoodMail messages are neither goofy nor rude, and usually aren't funny
	either. WWWWhat is the meaning of MoodMail? 
	
	Hey, Hoe, Dairy-Oh --- Let's All Laugh!
    
    > That's it.		   War is hereby declared against the loser who keeps
	> posting that stupid Batman thing.
	>
	> Also, war will soon be declared against France, unless he shows some
	> interest in the game.	 Same goes for Russia.	
	>
	>	 Freddie
	
	War is hereby eclaired on all players who declare war without a country! If
	you ain't got a country to fight with, you're a puff pastry!
	
	Da King
	

Anonymous Broadcast:

	Aw, just one more...?
	
	I cut out all the attribution stuff!
	
	
	>Subject: *--94 Mood Mail--*
	>
	>>>Happy New Year!!! (a couple of days late)
	>
	>
	>		The word of the day today is 'slate'.
	>		The user of the day today is Julie A Czarnecki.
	>
	>(jorgensr) Ranae is feeling excited that interim is here and my roommate
	>			is not.
	>(jamierm ) James is feeling thrilled beyond belief.
	>(lawsong ) Gregory is feeling like a strange obscure mutant oreo cookie.
	>
	>
	>If you are easily offended, hit 'n' now.
	>
	>
	>
	>"Can't be too careful with all those weirdos running around."
	>>>>--The Joker, _Batman: Mask of the Phantasm_
	
	
	I promise this is the last time... I just had to get it out of my system.
	I'm quitting cold Turkey now.  No more MoodMail.  I promise.
    
    
                    -THE GREAT BIG BAG OF DESPAIR-
    
    
    
    

Anonymous Broadcast:

    Bagger:
    
      Wherefore dost thou despair anon?  Play hath not started, nor will't
	'til fair words arise from the players within.
    

Broadcast from Austria:

    ***********************************************************************
    ************************THE WIENER SCHNITZEL***************************
    ***********************************************************************
    Sarajevo: the Serbian bandits which have been plaguing the Hungarian 
    countryside have given an ultimatum to the Archduke France "Freddie"
    Ferdinand: Stay away or Die!  The Archduke has dismissed the death
    threats as unimportant.  Revenge against the terrorists who 
    brutally slaughtered his nephew Bud is the foremost concern of his
    Beneficence.
    ***********************************************************************
    Transylvania: Hundreds of cases of anemia have led medical experts
    here to wonder whether there is a medical crisis on our hands.  Most 
    doctors have agreed that there is such a crisis, with the exception
    of the reknowned crackpot Dr. Van Helsing, who has suggested that 
    "Zere is more is going on zan it seems".  Unfortunately, when pressed for
    details, Van Helsing broke in insane laughter and rambled off about
    bizarre stories about his service during the Crimean war.
    ***********************************************************************
    Crimea: River.
    ***********************************************************************
    Tyrolia: Skiing conditions in the Alps look to be especially favorable
    this year.  The locals wish to invite all comers, but wish to declare
    that providing lodging for more than 100,000 soldiers at a time would
    be impossible, so would the Great Powers please take a number?
    ***********************************************************************
    Wien: The Archduke conducted a very short press conference today,
    which consisted entirely of him waving a big foam hand "We are #1" to
    the crowd.  Rumors about mental instability in the Hapsburgs have
    reached all-time highs.
    ***********************************************************************
    Berlin:  Kaiser Goofy prattled, then he gibbered this morning.  His
    neighbors were pleased.  
    ***********************************************************************
    London:  Increased tensions between the Turkish ambassador and the
    Queen have driven the Austrians to high states of desperation.
    Seeking relief, they visited Picadilly Circus.  *insert joke here*
    ***********************************************************************
    China: Billions of Chinese went homeless, as their country dropped off
    the face of the Earth, due to recent mapmaking errors.
    ***********************************************************************
    Wien: The Archduke, in a bizarre fit, declared war upon China!  "We'll
	kick their hides all the way to China!"  When informed that said
    Chinese were already in China, the Archduke immediately sent out
    emissaries seeking peace.  Wiener insiders expect war with Japan to
    develop shortly.
    ***********************************************************************
    Istanbul:  We'll be waiting there!
    ***********************************************************************
    Tunisia:  Sir Gawain awoke from a long sleep this morning.  After
    spending 1500 years defending the Holy Grail in its resting place in  
    the Sahara, Gawain sought comfort in the night clubs of Tunis.  
    *insert joke here*
    ***********************************************************************
    Wien: Archduke Freddie, in an unexpected turn of events, declared war
    upon all Japanese of height less than 5'6"
	***********************************************************************
	Rumors of war have been greatly exaggerated, said U.S. Foreign
	Minister Mark Twain this afternoon.	 
	***********************************************************************
	Moscow: Austrian emissaries continue to roam the cities of Moscow, in
	search of any signs of life.  "Hallo!  Hallo! Is anybody there?" they 
	plaintively cried in Red Square.  The streets still appear to be barren.
	***********************************************************************
	Peking: News of the vacancies in Moscow were greeted euphorically by a
	crazed mob of homeless Chinese peasants.  "Land, ho!" they cried, as
	they set out, on foot, across Asia.	 Early estimates predict arrival
	as soon as 1939, at their current rate of travel.
	***********************************************************************
	Paris: The French government announced today, with their usual candor,
	that their reason for silence was that "Nobody interested us.  You are
    all peasants.  Perhaps after years of culturing, you will cease being
    so gauche and offensive to our sight."  
	***********************************************************************
	Don't you hate being in a room where everybody is trying to be funny,
    but nobody is?  
    ***********************************************************************
    Berlin: The Kaiser announced that he was seeking to get as much
    culture as possible, to please his French neighbor.  The Hohenzollerns
    promptly cornered the European market on yeast.
    ***********************************************************************
    Rome:  The MajorDomo announced his secret plan to dominate Europe.
    When pressed for details, he said, "I can't tell you, it's secret."
    ***********************************************************************
    The entire nation of Albania let out a collective groan, this
    afternoon at 2:35 local time.
    ***********************************************************************
    Finland: Nothing at all happened here today.
    ***********************************************************************
    Wien: The offices of the Esteemed Wiener Schnitzel, world leader in
    journalism, were beleagured by thousands of angry readers!  "SHUT UP
    ALREADY" was their cry.  They even
    
    ARRRGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
    
    

Broadcast from Master:

    Hello everybody!
    
    As some players seemingly have not returned from their Xmas vacations yet
    and probably have signed up under the impression of my statement "game will
    not start before next year" I will shift the deadline to tuesday as to
    give them some chance to reappear and goof around a bit. 
    
    Robert
    
    

Broadcast from Germany:

    la ahh ha ha so it is so shall be time soon yes yesno yes?
    
    
    Ssssooooooooooooooooo?
    
    soon wee see thee movesesyesyes?  soon wee hear from *ahem* Russia
    andFrance whodon't wanttotalktous*sob*sob*shudder*??
	
	
	I would like to reassert that the German people are Proud to have reiterated
	the forthcoming importance of the past news release from the Austrian.	We
	would, however, like to inform the rest of the nations that it was but indeed
	a clever trickery, YES, A FORGERY by none other than the RUSSIAN HIM/HER SELF!
	Yes, that's right, my fellow leaders, a great uprising of downplay intoness
    of underlings conspire to have respirated this coo coo coo brrr coo coo
    please would someone feed the pigeaonspigeonspigeonspigpigpigpig
    
    
    
    It's interesting... I've been reading _Atlas Shrugged_ (by Ayn Rand), which
    everyone keeps telling me is the best book they've ever read, etc, etc...
	
	While I do think that she maybe does have some good points to make, I wonder
	if they are exactly the ones that are most important to be made.  I think
	libertarianism (which she seems to be one of the founding thinkers of) has
	some real strengths over the "slap a law on it" approach of usanic legislators,
	liberal and conservative alike.	 But I'm not so sure that the side-effects of
    an unregulated marketplace are *always* in the best interests of society as
    she seems to be.  Her entrepreneurs are busy "accomplishing" things...
    formulating new alloys, building crucial railroads... not because they consider
    it an act of service, but because they intend to make a profit off of it.
    I have no objection to this in particular... except that the experience of the
    1980s in usa seem to suggest to us that the "great entrepreneurial spirits"
    are more inclined to sell junk bonds / use insider information on the stock
    market than they are in acomplishing great advances, even if they are for
    profit.  Possible exception being Bill Gates...     Then again, I'm only about
	halfway through the book so far, and I may be misreading her intent.  But then
	again, she doesn't seem to be making any attempt to make her point any less
	than perfectly transparent.
	
	Tell me what you think....
	
	
	Oh, and by the way, remember that I *have* declared war on the Master of the
	game, and I am eager to find allies in my noble struggle.
	
	(Have I been spelling entrepreneur correctly?)
	
	
	Sincerely,
	
	
	
	
	

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Last updated on Sun, Oct 12, 1997.