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Subject:   Traveller-digest V1996 #241
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Traveller-digest            Friday, 12 July 1996        Volume 1996 : Number 241

(R)1996. Traveller is a registered trademark of FarFuture Enterprises.
All rights reserved.

The following topics are covered in this digest:

         1. Re: The Iridium Standard
         2. Re: The Iridium Standard
         3. Droyne & Archdukes
         4. Special Ops
         5. Re: QSD Spreadsheet - Missiles

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: eris@pen.net (Eris Reddoch)
Date: Fri, 12 Jul 96 01:33:34 -0600
Subject: Re: The Iridium Standard

On 07/11/96 at 04:33 PM,  Hans Rancke-Madsen <rancke@diku.dk> said:

>I don't know about the first part, but the thousand years of
>experience included the virtual ruining of the Spanish economy by the
>huge amounts of gold they brought back from the New World.

The governments of the French, Dutch, Italians, English, and Germans
of the 17th and 18th century still did everything they could to
maximize the amount of gold they had.  Did *they* think the gold
brought back from the new world destroyed the Spanish economy?  I
doubt it.

Did the English and Dutch privateers who stole shiploads of gold do it
to save the Spanish from themselves?  <g> Nah!  They did it because
they believed gold was wealth, and they wanted it for themselves and
their countries.

The ruination of the Spanish economy had more to do with a long
seccession of poor leaders, their support for the oppression and
expulsion of the Spanish jews, and their military mis-adventures all
around the world...IMO.

Eris
- --
- -----------------------------------------------------------
eris@pen.net (Eris Reddoch) using MR/2 ICE #245
- -----------------------------------------------------------




------------------------------

From: eris@pen.net (Eris Reddoch)
Date: Fri, 12 Jul 96 02:12:43 -0600
Subject: Re: The Iridium Standard

On 07/11/96 at 08:22 PM,  Joe Walsh <ransom@connect.iconnect.net>
said:

>Some people will therefore have "insider information."  That is true 
>today.  It is illegal in the US, nevertheless it happens that people 
>trade on insider information - and I don't doubt that most go
>uncaught.  

>Perhaps, in the Far Future, acquiring trading information prior to
>its  public release, then trading based on that information, will be
>illegal  as well.

It might be Joe, but that won't stop people from trying, and as you
say most go uncaught.  OTOH, this isn't really "insider information." 

If you pick up the paper this morning and notice that Intel reports a
drop in earnings, and you place a sell order with your broker you're
perfectly legal in doing so..right?  Well, I don't *see* the paper
until tomorrow afternoon, and when I place my sell order you've
(contributed) caused the price to drop already.  So, can I sue you for
my lost in value?  Can the government get you for insider trading?
Nope, the information was available to everyone, if you happened to
see it before me that's your good luck and my bad luck.

Now let's say you hear that Megacorp Mining has struck the motherlode
here in the Aster belt, and you hop aboard your Jump 4 ship and hop
over to Sucker III 4 parsecs away.  Arriving there you notice that
Megacorp Mining is trading at 8cr/share, so you buy 50,000 shares.  A
couple of weeks later the news of MM's good fortune reaches Sucker and
the share price goes up to 12cr.  You sell out clearing a cool
200,000!  Was this illegal?  Unethical?  Maybe.  I'm sure the current
US government would say it was, but I'm not so sure.  Personally, I
think it's just plain smart trading. <g> I'm positive local exchanges
(and governments) would find ways to blunt this type of thing though. 


Eris
- -- 
- -----------------------------------------------------------
eris@pen.net (Eris Reddoch)    using MR/2 ICE #245
- -----------------------------------------------------------




------------------------------

From: Stewart Eyres <spe@astro.keele.ac.uk>
Date: Fri, 12 Jul 1996 09:47:24 +0100
Subject: Droyne & Archdukes

Hi there

Paul Walker <tiger@datasync.com> said

>Sure, GDW didn't come right out and say that the Hiver manipulated the
>collapse, but I don't immagine the original Droyne manual declared the
>secrets of the ancients either.

They did, as it happens.  I think the Droyne Module came out after
Secret of the Ancients, and certainly all the Grampian goings on were
detailed in the AM.

Wes Payne <n9548326@cc.wwu.edu>

>It's been theorized that Strephon's reemphasis of the powers of the
>archdukes, while taking some of the administrative strain off of
>Capital, was one of the factors that lead to the increasing
>factionalism that led to the Rebellion after his apparent
>assassination.

Where? Survival Margin indicated that Strephon reemphasized the
Domains in an attempt to *counter* increased factionalism (presumably
by bringing Imperial Government closer to the people).  The Archdukes
were supposed to make the government more responsive, and more
concerned with the local situation.  Of course, he may well have been
wrong, especially given that Dulinor's idea of "Power to the People"
became "Power to Dulinor's People".  Imperial history indicates that
prior to the Civil War, Archdukes were more powerful and independent,
and that their powers were greatly reduced following the war
(presumably because they predominantly sponsored the pretenders to the
throne, or at least did little to hinder them.)

Stewart Eyres <spe@astro.keele.ac.uk>

------------------------------

From: Liam_McCauley@qsp.co.uk (Liam McCauley)
Date: Fri, 12 Jul 1996 12:25:48 +0200
Subject: Special Ops

     For lots of useful info and insights into the SAS, I would highly 
     recommend the two books by Andy McNab, who served in the SAS for 
     several years including during the Gulf war.  The first book he wrote, 
     "Bravo Two Zero" describes the patrol of the same name in Iraq looking 
     for Scuds and their subsequent capture.  The second book (which I own, 
     but forget the name of), I found more interesting.  It detailed Andy's 
     childhood, life in the infantry, joining the SAS, and SAS operations 
     around the world (including Northern Ireland and central America) up 
     to the Gulf War.
     
     I found it interesting to learn about the thoughts & feelings of a 
     real "special ops" man, compared to what we see in the movies.  What 
     struck me was the lack of bravado, the high degree of professionalism 
     and the planning and attention to detail required.
     
     Since several of my group read these books, I have noticed that, 
     during our Millenium's End games, the players have applied some of 
     this knowledge to their own operations.  Now, they walk through plans 
     and make contingencies for when things go wrong, where previously they 
     might arrive on target without having discussed anything.  This tends 
     to make the game more fun, as they enjoy the planning, are more 
     focussed on objectives, and tend to be more successful.  Also combats 
     tend to be shorter and more decisive, rather than dragged out affairs.
     
     I hope the connections to Traveller are obvious for anyone playing 
     ex-special ops characters, or small team surgical strike ("What do you 
     mean the doctors are picketing?") missions.
     
     Cheers,
     Liam

------------------------------

From: Jo Grant/DUB/Lotus <Jo_Grant/DUB/Lotus.LOTUSINT@crd.lotus.com>
Date: 11 Jul 96 10:38:29 EDT
Subject: Re: QSD Spreadsheet - Missiles

>If you try to build a ship with no 
>missiles, this produces an ERROR result in several cells, which dribbles 
>it down to cargo space, hull, power plant, and all sorts of things.  

There are two entry points for Missiles. One is the Number of Missles,
the other is the Type of Missiles. The Type of Missiles _must_ be 1 or 2.
If you set this to zero you get the errors you report.

If you want a ship with no missiles set the Number of Missiles to zero and
leave the Type of Missiles at either 1 or 2.

That should work fine.

Jo

------------------------------

End of Traveller-digest V1996 #241
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