NUMBER OF LINES: 999 001=Usr:0 Null User 06/30/87 20:34 Msg:0 Call:0 Lines:19 1$If you are in need of help, you need but ask... 2$************************* 05 OCT 90 ************************************** 3$Welcome to BWMS II (BackWater Message System II) Mike Day System operator 4$************************************************************************** 5$GENERAL DISCLAIMER: BWMS II IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INFORMATION 6$ PLACED ON THIS SYSTEM. 7@BWMS II was created as an electronic bill board. BWMS II is a privately 8@owned and operated system which is currently open for use by the general 9@public. No restrictions are placed on the use of the system. As the 10@system is privately owned, I retain the right to remove any and all 11@messages which I may find offensive. Because of the limited size of the 12@system, it will be periodically purged of messages (only 999 lines of data 13@can be saved). To leave a message, type 'ENTER'. Use ctrl/C to get out 14@the ENTER mode. The message is automatically stored. If after entering 15@the message you find you made a mistake, use the replace command to 16@replace the line. To exit from the system, type 'BYE' then hang up. 17@Type 'HELP' to see other commands that are available on the system. 18@************************************************************************** 19@ 002=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY 10/05/90 22:04 Msg:5552 Call:31354 Lines:4 20 Nobody ever drew up his plans for life so well but what facts, 21 and the years, and experience always introduce some modification. 22 -- Terence 23 ************************************************************************ 003=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 10/05/90 22:49 Msg:5553 Call:31355 Lines:16 24 25 At the top. Look down below. See the future. The task so slow, to finish. 26 Now we wait. To see the fate. Of our versus and words of other prose. 27 The Candle in the window can only burn so long. And yet it seems it must 28 burn for ever, as of life is has grown fond. 29 30@The traverler, The one who knows. Our wounds to suture. Remove the blos that 31@ 32@ 33@The Traveler, The one who knows. Our wounds to suture. Remove the blow that 34@blemishes. 35 The Traveler, The one that knows. Our wounds are old. And yet we feel the 36 pain of them still. 37 Outward bound, but inward wound. Perhaps we'll find the solid ground. 38 Life, the final frontier. 39 004=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 10/06/90 15:06 Msg:5554 Call:31360 Lines:14 40 41 Day two. The silence continues. It seems sometimes that it will never end. 42 But what is there to do? Repeat endlessly my well known views? When nobody 43 will even put forth the effort to defend? 44 45 Endless worthless verse. Perhaps I am to terse. 46 47 Many concepts have been struck down. And for what reason? Because the 48 participants have grown bored? They have no time they can afford. It is 49 always the busy season. At this I frown. 50 51@Things change. If is as if we think that through change we make our lives 52@better. Is this so? 53@ 005=Usr:286 Jeff Marten 10/07/90 02:16 Msg:5555 Call:31367 Lines:66 54 55 56 L I F E I N T H E F O O D C H A I N 57 Medium Rare Cynicism and Moody Broodings 58 From 59 -+|[ ThingFish ]|+- 60 61 Lately, when I read the newspaper, a scene from the 62 movie "Aliens" will begin to play inside my head. After a 63 hard day of battling the bloodthirsty, parasitic aliens, the 64 heroine of the film is tucking a little girl into bed. The 65 child is the lone survivor of an alien-ravaged settlers 66 colony. "My mommy always told me there WERE no monsters... 67 no real ones. But there are," the little girl says 68 mournfully. "Why do they tell little kids that?" Good 69 question. The answer, as I recall, was "Most of the time its 70 true," as good a response as could be expected. 71 72 More and more, its beginning to feel like I'm in that 73 movie, struggling to accept the reality that there are, 74 indeed, monsters at the gate. 75 76 In New York City, a twelve year old boy is set on fire 77 for refusing to smoke crack. In Washington state, a six year 78 old boy's penis is cut off with a hunting knife because he 79 is too frightened to comply with his attacker's demand to 80 urinate on him. In Oregon, Dana Brussard is disciplined to 81 death as the other Ecclesia children are assembled to watch. 82 The Central Park jogger case. Westley Allen Dodd. 83 84 Is there even a shred of humanity anywhere in the 85 beings who perpetrate these things? A pathologist would 86 confirm that they are Homo sapiens. A neurologist might find 87 some brain damage. A psychiatrist could suspect childhood 88 trauma. Maybe so. But what defines them as human beings? 89 What is the qualifier? 90 91 Historians will be quick to cite atrocities through the 92 ages, but maybe the 20th century is the one that has finally 93 gone and done it; finally hit upon the right combination of 94 greed, fear, family breakdown, lack of community or societal 95 belonging, lack of opportunity, lack of hope...all steeped in 96 environmental poison and the ready availability of conscience 97 crippling drugs and fearsome weaponry...to produce a strain 98 of Homo sapiens that is no longer human. 99 100 The second someone says something like that, though, the 101 specter of genocide is usually trotted out. "So who gets to 102 make the distinction?" one is always asked, "Who separates 103 the monsters from the human beings? You? Hitler had the same 104 general idea, you know." 105 106 I know he did. And no, I don't have a solution. I'd be 107 pretty wary of anybody who claimed they did. I just can't 108 seem to shake the sense that something has shifted. 109 Evolutionary, maybe. Some kind of species-wide allergic 110 reaction. Human kind eating itself alive. Evil. Whatever. 111 112 Now, though, if my kid asks me if there are any REAL 113 monsters, of course I'll say "No, there aren't." But I'll 114 know that it's just one of the lies we tell little kids. 115 116 -+|[ ThingFish ]|+- 117 Next Column Will Be UpBeat, I Swear 118 119 006=Usr:286 Jeff Marten 10/07/90 15:31 Msg:5556 Call:31378 Lines:2 120 {+}{+}{+}{+} 121 007=Usr:11 L'homme sans Par 10/08/90 08:00 Msg:5557 Call:31385 Lines:12 122 *_)%*(@#(%_)(#@($_#%+_@#)+#_@(%(^&_)(_)($_~)#((%+@)!+@_)$+_)#~|#)+$(!_)$(!_$ 123 BW-party-goers: Gee, it sure has taken me a long time to get on here. I was 124 gone from the board for 2 weeks, and I thought, foolishly enuf, that I might 125 have missed a disk... Well, as I am sure you are all aware of, between Sep 23 126 and October 8th, there have only been about 300 lines entered. Anyway, thanks 127 all for coming, sorry about the loud music, wish the star trek episode had 128 been a little better, but enjoyed the evening anyway... Oh by the way, has 129 anyone seen a voyeur lately? "heeelllloooo???" 130 Milch: How are those C compiler disks doing? I haven't seen a celene poll 131 yet..." 132 *$%_@*%_@*%#_)*!_)(@#!%_)*!%!%) L'homme sans Parity *%@#*_)#(_)(#$!@*$%@)$(! 133 008=Usr:219 Friar Mossback 10/08/90 17:16 Msg:5558 Call:31390 Lines:5 134 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] 135 Howdy y'all. 136 Been busy, as some of you know. Some don't. Oh well. I still check in from 137 time to time. Most don't care, I suppose. 138 [][][][][][][]][][][][][][] Friar [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] 009=Usr:4 Milchar 10/09/90 12:05 Msg:5559 Call:31397 Lines:6 139 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 140 L'homme: They're here. You have to come visit us, though, to get them.... 141 (heh heh heh) :-) I had a wonderful time. BTW, I have a need to call Dan S., 142 any way I could get his number from you? I tried calling last night, but I bet 143 qiclab is camped on the phone line... 144 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Milch ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 010=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 10/10/90 21:54 Msg:5560 Call:31421 Lines:6 145 &*&*&*&*'s 146 Anybody here read Van Vogts Null A series? 147 148 An Astrals Dreamer 149 &*&*&*&*'s 150 011=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 10/11/90 21:31 Msg:5561 Call:31428 Lines:6 151 &*&*&*&*'s 152 Anybody here ever see the sun? 153 154 An Astral Dreamer (In sarcasm mode.) 155 &*&*&*&*'s 156 012=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY 10/11/90 22:04 Msg:5562 Call:31429 Lines:2 157 Sun? What's that? 158 ******************************** cm **************** 013=Usr:13 voyeur 10/11/90 23:10 Msg:5563 Call:31430 Lines:7 159 >Sun? What's that? 160 Some hokey workstation, I hear. If you visit any airports, you'll notice C64's 161 being used as wheel chocks, and Suns used as ballast. Now Apollo, on the other 162 hand (usually used as front-ends for those exquisite Tandy 2000's, whose 163 screens are the ONLY ones in existence that are addressed Correctly) you will 164 find on all the Well Dressed Power Users desks. Ruling the World, as it were. 165 ====================================== ? ===================================== 014=Usr:116 ted mittelstaedt 10/12/90 00:37 Msg:5564 Call:31431 Lines:4 166 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>< 167 Uh Oh! SSo Computer A is better than computer B? I have my blowtorch ready! 168 Any last words? 169 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><<><><><><><><><>Ariel<><><><><><>< 015=Usr:267 phoenix polymorp 01/01/80 16:08 Msg:5565 Call:31444 Lines:11 170 World Watch Three checking in.... 171 With all the madness in the world (as stated above) I feel rather foolish that 172 that the only monster I must confront is trying to figure out a way to tell a 173 married woman I'm still in love with her. I guess Pete was right, 'Love ain't 174 for keeping.' 175 For wwiii, this is Phoenix checking out. 176 P.S. Sir Ossis O'liver, I've found the red-headed chick (well, she found me) 177 but she's gone back home. 'Aeroplanes make strangers of us all/ give us dis- 178 tance/ much to easily.' 179 pp 180 ^c 016=Usr:31 The Doctor 01/03/80 05:03 Msg:5566 Call:31480 Lines:7 181 ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 182 Sorry for putting this here instead of the Mall, but no one seems to read 183 there. 184 For Sale: Hayes 1200b modem. Genuine Hayes. Full size 8 bit card. 185 Asking $35.00. Works great. Reason for selling is that I just 186 upgraded to 2400b. Please call 226-xxxx. Thanks 187 ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? The Doctor 017=Usr:186 Wesley Smith 01/03/80 13:00 Msg:5569 Call:31485 Lines:4 188 Must sell, Apple computer system, With the following Apple #300 baud modem, 189 Apple ii?e, green scrscrene, dual disk drives, paralell printer card, some soft 190 ware and a cardkey printer. Must sell as soon as posible. Call #231-1109, ask 191 for Wes Smith, system works well, and is invery good condition. 018=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 01/03/80 23:37 Msg:5570 Call:31490 Lines:39 192 696969696969 193 194 * Original: FROM..... Harry Gish 195 Tis interesting bit of advice recently appeared on our fax machine. 196 197 " NWWE RAVELLING IN THE IDEES" 198 199 "AKBAR KHALI-KILI HAFTIR LOTFAN" 200 Thank you for shoigme your marvelous gun. 201 202 "FEKR GABUL GARDAN DAVAT PAEH GUSH DIVAR" 203 I am delighted to accept your kind invitation to lie down on the floor 204 with my arms above my hea n ylgs apart. 205 206 "SHOMAEH FEKR TAMOMEH OEH GOFTEH BANDE" 207 gree with everything you have ever said or thought in your life. 208 209 "UOARRG AVATEMAN MANO SEPAHEH-HAST" 210 tis exceptionally kind of you to allow me to travel in the trunk of 211 your car. 212 213 "FASHAL-EH TUPEHMAN NA DEGAT MANO GOFTAM CHEESHAYEH MOHMR" If you will do me 214 will gladly reciprocate by betraying my country in public. 215 216 "HE,JPHH MANEH VA JAYEH AMRIKAHEY" 217 I will tell you the names and addresses of many American spie rvling 218 as reporters. 219 220 "BALLI, BALLI, BALLH" 221 Whatever you say! 222 223 "MATERNIER GHERMEZ AHLIEH, GORBAN" 224 The rdbidold would be lovely, execllency. 225 226 "TIKEH NUNEH BA OB KHRELLEH EOGV OAST INO BEGERAM" 227 The water-soaked bread crumbs are delicious, thank you. I mus aete recipe. 228 --- 229 rgn: Squirrel Talk HST * Irving, TX * 230 019=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 01/04/80 11:01 Msg:5571 Call:31493 Lines:29 231 &*&*&*&*'s 232 Anybody here know anything about monitors? Specificly, 19 inch color 233 multi-sync monitors? I picked a couple up REAL CHEAP this weekend, and 234 I'm trying to figure out what I need to do to get them to work. They are 235 made by ikagami. I havn't found a date on them yet. They weigh abut 236 65 pounds each, come in white steel casses with black trim around the screen. 237 They have a degauss button in the lower right hand corner, as well as a 238 brightness control. In back they have 10 connectors, Red,Green,Blue and 239 H Sync and V Sync in and out. The connectors are the same as the ones used 240 in thin ethernet. 241 242 Heres the problem. The horizontal sync doesn't seem to do anything on either 243 monitor. There is a switch inside the case that turns internal sync on and 244 off, but either way makes no difference either. By messing around with the 245 internal H-sync controll I can get things to the point were they only roll on 246 at a very slow rate when taking input from a VGA card in 80x25 text mode. 247 about 8 to 12 bits are invisible as well to the left. 248 249 I only had three connectors, so I only had one or later two of the three colors 250 hooked up when I was doing this. Could that be causing the sync problems? 251 252 Any help will be greatly appreciated. Oh, anybody know what I'd have to do 253 to connect one of these things to a VCR? 254 255 BTW, I know about the HIGH voltages in these things and am very carefull. 256 257 An Astral Dreamer 258 &*&*&*&*'s 259 020=Usr:11 L'homme sans Par 01/05/80 06:18 Msg:5572 Call:31505 Lines:6 260 *%@*$%#)(_$(_)$(!+_@$)_^*($*_)(%_!@)($_|+~)$|~+_)$+@_%(_$(^_$*^_)(_)!@(#_)(% 261 Voyeur: As you already know, Sun is the most popular ballast maker in the 262 world, with $2.5 billion in sales last year. Sigh, it is a "weighty" job I 263 have... 264 *%_@#*(%@(%%&)_(!~_)*%^*@#^ L'homme sans Parity *$)*$%_)*($~_)$*_%*!%*!*__)% 265 021=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 01/06/80 10:39 Msg:5574 Call:31523 Lines:46 266 696969696969 267 Manipulating the Press By Dan Hellinger 268 269 Conservatives seem to be convinced that the press is biased 270 against U.S. policies in Central America. Recent reports of CIA, 271 State Department, and Pentagon manipulation of the news media 272 indicate that just the opposite is true. 273 274 A Post-Dispatch article on Oct. 6, "Report Discloses 275 Propaganda To Aid Contras" drescribed a special office within the 276 State Department that produced "white propaganda" on behalf of 277 Reagan's Central America policy. To rally support for the 278 Contras and discredit critics, they planted phony news articles 279 under Contra authorship and "independent" reports by experts who 280 were really in their pay. 281 282 Another article in the Post (Oct. 5; originally in the 283 Boston Globe) describes ow a team of CIA and Army specialists in 284 psychological operations were assigned to the State Department's 285 Office of Public Diplomacy to generate a political propaganda 286 campaign. Psychological operations are a major factor in the 287 designs of "low intensity war" planners. What this report shows 288 is that techniques originally conceived to win "hearts and minds" 289 of peasants in Central America have been readily adapted for use 290 at home. 291 292 The House Foreign Affair Committee listed an intricate 293 network of organizations, including the National Security Council 294 and the Office of Latin American Public Diplomacy. The NSC 295 placed government-funded columns in major newspapers; arranged 296 press interviews with Contra leaders by government surrogates who 297 were not identified as such, book speaking engagements for 298 administration advocates, and placed large amounts of govenrment- 299 sponsored material in college libraries. 300 301 Susan J. Cunningham, in her letter to the Post on Oct. 14, 302 praises the Post for printing these reports and asks a very 303 pertinent question: "If U.S. reporters know that the press 304 releses they are receiving are phony, why do they continue to 305 print them?" This is a worthy question. Whatever the personal 306 biases that reporters might have about policy, they can hardly 307 serve the public interest unless they adopt a much more 308 aggressive and independent posture toward government propaganda. 309 310 696969696969696969 311 022=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 01/07/80 12:02 Msg:5575 Call:31541 Lines:6 312 &*&*&*&*'s 313 Gee, forget I even asked. 314 315 An Astral Dreamer 316 &*&*&*&*'s (A simple I don't know would have been fine.) 317 023=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY 10/18/90 00:26 Msg:5576 Call:31550 Lines:3 318 Well, maybe if you let me have one of them I'll get it going for 319 you. 320 ****************** CM **************************************** 024=Usr:341 john bob 10/18/90 20:49 Msg:5577 Call:31559 Lines:3 321 ENTER 100 322 323 025=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 10/20/90 15:24 Msg:5579 Call:31586 Lines:5 324 &*&*&*&*'s 325 I'll keep that offer in mind. I'm going to try for awhile longer on my own, 326 As I think I may have an idea as to what is going on. 327 328 mke 026=Usr:267 phoenix polymorp 10/22/90 15:08 Msg:5580 Call:31621 Lines:2 329 NETWORK ZERO...WORLD WATCH THREE...PHOENIX POLYMORPH LURKING...NW0...WWIII 330 ^C 027=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 10/22/90 16:40 Msg:5581 Call:31624 Lines:85 331 696969696969 332 THE TEN MOST COMPELLING UFO CASES IN HISTORY 333 in order of compellingness(?) 334 335 1. "Hudson Valy"o he Westchester Wing, NY 1984 S5/P5 336 Thousands of reports, mostly nocturnal, of larg,sln,hovering 337 object with series of rotating lights. Reports came from many highly 338 rdbeidividuals including meteorologists, news reporters, and 339 police chiefs. "Planes in frain hory still in contention; 340 however, videos taken by area resident of both the objectada formation 341 toti ay. 342 343 2. "Cash/Landrum", outside Houston, TX 1979 S5/P5 344 Two ladies and 5-year-old boy report diamond-shaped object belching 345 fire from eet,srounded by CH-47-style helicopters. Soon after 346 sighting, all three suffered strange aaiswih were likened to 347 radiation poisoning. Klass explains as hoax, saying that the witness' 348 pre-sighting medical conditions were not released to him for 349 eamination. 350 3. "Roswell Incident," outside Corona, NM 1947 S5/P5 351 Object crashed in remote location on a large ranch in early July, 1947. 352 Debris recovered byAF h issued hasty press release saying "Flying 353 Disk" had been recovered. Press release rerce h ext day, and 354 press conference held at which it was revealed the object was, in fact, 355 aRwnsne( eice used to calibrate radar). 30 years later, AF 356 intelligence officer Maj. J. Mare limed that the object was "not of 357 this earth", that the press conference was a sham. Interviews ihoe 358 150 witnesses reinforce anomalous nature of object. 359 360 4 "Army Helicopter", Mansfield, OH 1974 S5/P5 361 Four National Guardsman badBl H-1H chopper report sighting 362 large nocturnal object on collision course. Pilot-in-Command Capt. 363 Coyne puts chopper in descent mode. Object stops in front of chopper, 364 then continues westward travel, after which Coyne discovers that 365 chope culyrse 2000 ft. Klass' explanation of a bolide is not 366 supported by testimony, circumstne,o centific principles. 367 368 nwtr, edlesham Forest, UK 1979 S5/P4 369 Tre separate sightings of anomalous lights near a NORAD base in the 370 UK. Official reportfldb deputy base commander, who also taped the 371 on-site investigation carried out by Air Police deahet. Occurence 372 produced many witnesses, some of whom swear a craft was sighted. Invest- 373 igation hampered by conflicting testimony, Britain's Secrets Act, grand- 374 standing byoels hn credible witness, and possibly the "Control 375 Group" -- A US Senator began looking int h far, but abruptly halted 376 and would not communicate further with UFO researchers. 377 6. "Washington Invasion," Washington, DC 1952 S4/P5 378 Several fast-moving objects appear on radarscopes at three separate 379 installations,icluding Andrews AFB. Interceptors scrambled, but don't 380 find anything. Same thing happens the next night, this time objects 381 confirmed by gron bevr. Largest peace-time press conference in 382 govt. history called to epan to reporters that radar traces were 383 caused b hrmal inversions, despite absence of proper weather 384 conditions ntenights in question. 385 7. "Great al Film", Great Falls, MN 1954 S4/P5 386 Little Leagu aeball coach films two objects streaking across sky 387 na n AFB. Original explanation was that objects were F-100s on 388 approach to AFB, but photo-anlsssosobjects to be travelling much 389 too fast. 390 391 8. "Trent Photo", McMinnville, OR 1950 S5/P4 392 Actually two photos taken by farmer with Polaroid camera, depict 393 classic domed saucer. Foerudojects provide good references for 394 analysis, which shows object to be around 30 ft. diamtr n t least 395 1/4 mile distant. Shadows on foreground structure may be icnitn 396 with time of day provided by photographer; hwver, that is immaterial 397 to analysis of the imagessz and distance. 398 399 9. Santiago, Chile, 18 S4/P5 400 Large object a igh altitude sighted by over 3 million Chileans, 401 includin ie television audience. Slim possibility that object 402 was a weather balloon that had passed over two days earlier, but 403 newspaprpblished photos of both for comparison. Objects were 404 very dissmlr 405 406 1. Kanazawa, Japan, 1989 S5/P4 407 Home video by Japanese businessman shows Saturn-shaped object 408 cruising around, stopping short rping, then taking off, all in 409 clear daylight. Foreground objects provide decent reference. Video 410 has "look" and "feel" of reality - several attempts at focusing, 411 unsteady camerawor,ec bject gives definite impression of great 412 dsace, although it is impossible to get an accurate measurement 413 with video. Still under analysis. 414 415 696969696969696969 028=Usr:4 Milchar 10/24/90 01:36 Msg:5583 Call:31650 Lines:4 416 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 417 Is the PCS social still on the first Thursday? Same place, same time as 418 usual? Perhaps I'll break my de-tendance streak this next month... 419 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Milchar ++++++++++++++++++++++ 029=Usr:11 L'homme sans Par 10/26/90 00:32 Msg:5584 Call:31708 Lines:6 420 $(!@$()_)(#%$^())__)!(@_)@(^_)(_)($+_#!@)$+_@#(_(%+_$)+!_$+!_$)@_^(_)^#$@+_^( 421 Astral: I will bring your tape back before tomorrow night. I have an 422 important question to ask you about the episode I borrowed. Talk to you 423 tomorrow before I drive downtown... 424 _%(#@%)(_%(_)%^*_)($_()%_%^*@%(@# L'homme sans parity *%_)#%*_)(_)@(#_)%(_@#( 425 030=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY 10/26/90 18:02 Msg:5585 Call:31714 Lines:3 426 Milch: Yup, it is still there, first thursday of every month at Stark Street 427 Pizza. 92nd and Stark. All are welcome. 428 ******************************* CM **************************************** 031=Usr:316 scott wirth 10/26/90 20:22 Msg:5586 Call:31717 Lines:7 429 ***************************Sir Osis************************************* 430 Phoenix Polymorph: 431 Roger your last. Have been in shiftwork, thus little time to post. 432 I will post on my end soon. Say hello to JD, and see if you can get him to 433 post on the echo. I haven't heard from him in about a zillion.... 434 Roger and OUT! 435 ***************************Sir Osis************************************** 032=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 10/27/90 08:26 Msg:5587 Call:31727 Lines:8 436 &*&*&*&*'s 437 Last Nights twin peaks episode was very good. Last weeks had been sort of 438 weak, so I was hoping for something better, and they certainly delivered. 439 I can't wait till next week. 440 441 An Astral Dreamer(Awake enough to use my local alias today.) 442 &*&*&*&*'s 443 033=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 10/29/90 09:36 Msg:5589 Call:31765 Lines:6 444 &*&*&*&*'s 445 Place marker. 446 447 An Astral Dreamer 448 &*&*&*&*'s 449 034=Usr:322 Stray Cat 10/29/90 14:06 Msg:5590 Call:31768 Lines:14 450@ 451@}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{} 452@ 453@Last year I abstained 454@this year I devour 455@ 456@without guilt 457@which is also an art 458@ 459@ Margaret Atwood, 460@ From CIRCE/MUD POEMS 461@ 462@**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{} ... and there's MORE (e.g. MORE & MORE) 463@ 035=Usr:322 Stray Cat 10/29/90 14:13 Msg:5591 Call:31769 Lines:21 464@ 465@Your flowed body, sickle 466@scars on the chest, moonmarks, the botched knee 467@that nevertheless bends when you will it to 468@ 469@Your body, broken and put together 470@not perfectly, marred 471@by war but moving 472@despite that with such ease and leisure 473@ 474@Your body that includes everything 475@you have done, you have had done 476@to you and goes beyond it 477@ 478@This is not what I want 479@but I want this also. 480@ 481@ From same as above 482@ 483@(This is not the MORE) 484@ 036=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 10/30/90 07:11 Msg:5592 Call:31781 Lines:142 485 696969696969 486 INSIGHT FEATURES (NFD) 9:06 pm Sep 4, 1990 487 488 A Brief History of the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula 489 490 By Steve Goldfield Insight Features 491 492 In its precolonial period, the Arab shore of the Gulf had small seaports 493 which frequently moved from place to place. Many of these ports housed people 494 engaged in shipping, often called pirates by their rivals, such as the 495 British. 496 497 Iran had a large textile industry and also a large shepherd population. 498 Oman had a large shipping empire, with about 2,000 ships traveling about the 499 Indian Ocean from what is now Indonesia to Zanzibar (which was an Omani colony 500 until 1962--another story for another time). 501 502 The people of the rest of the peninsula were mainly engaged in subsistence 503 agriculture, largely Bedouin grazing of camels and other animals in the north 504 and some settled farming, especially of cereals and dates, in the south, 505 especially in the mountains of northern Yemen and southern Oman (Dhofar), 506 where there are significant Monsoon rains. In Yemen, this agriculture was 507 largely based on share cropping. 508 509 The Colonial period 510 511 The British entered the region in the early nineteenth century on their way 512 to India, the prize of the British colonial empire. The British had machine- 513 produced textiles, which undermined and destroyed the Iranian textile 514 industry, and later steamships, which did the same to the Omani shipping 515 industry. 516 The British were bothered by the pirates, their competitors. So they 517 imposed agreements by military force with the families ruling the Gulf coastal 518 tribes (up to that point they had been chosen fairly democratically) whereby 519 the British would maintain these families in power in return for British 520 military and protection and, of course, a stop to the raiding of their ships. 521 522 The economy in the Gulf, particularly Bahrain, was also based on pearl 523 diving, mostly done by slaves. The Gulf was then ruled by a British resident. 524 The small states near the outlet of the Gulf were known as the Trucial States 525 because of the truces they signed with Britain between 1819 and 1853. Bahrain 526 signed its treaty in 1892, Kuwait in 1899 (in opposition to the claims of the 527 Ottoman Empire), and Qatar in 1916. More recently, the Trucial States became 528 nominally independent as the United Arab Emirates. 529 530 In Saudi Arabia, Muhammad Ali, the Albanian serving as the Ottoman governor 531 of Egypt (later to rebel himself), put down a rebellion by the new Wahhabi 532 religious sect of Islam in 1817. The Wahhabis are significant because the 533 Saudi family belongs to this sect. 534 535 After World War I, the British had promised independence to the Arabs 536 (Hussein-McMahon Treaty) in return for their support against the Ottoman 537 Turks. But they had also signed the Sykes-Picot Treaty with the French, 538 dividing it up among themselves. That treaty was supposed to secret, but when 539 the Bolsheviks came to power, they found it in the czar's archives and 540 published it. Instead, as a token, they gave Jordan and Iraq to two branches 541 of the Hashemite family which had ruled Mecca. 542 543 Meanwhile, the Saudi family was conquering most of the Arabian Peninsula. 544 They used brutal military force (1902-1935), confiscating even flocks of sheep 545 and goats which were the livelihood of people in the areas they took over. 546 They killed many adult men; the Saudis took no male prisoners. 547 548 This conquest, which is still fresh in the memories of those who were 549 conquered, naturally has engendered a lot of hatred for the Saudi family. Ibn 550 Saud's many marriages into the various tribes was not enough to dispel it. 551 Further, there is religious dissatisfaction with the Saudis since they are not 552 the traditional rulers of Mecca. (Particular irony, therefore, in King Fahd's 553 new self-proclaimed title of Keeper of Mecca and Medina.) 554 555 The Role of Oil 556 557 Massive oil deposits were discovered in Iran. The British set up a company 558 to exploit the oil, now known as British Petroleum. In the 1930s, oil was 559 discovered on the other side of the Gulf, first in Bahrain (1932; production 560 began in 1934), which had relatively small deposits which are now all pumped 561 out, and much larger deposits elsewhere. 562 563 The British felt they had plenty of oil in Iran and didn't want to develop 564 other deposits which might increase the supply too high and lower the price. 565 So US companies managed to gain control over the oil in the Gulf states. Ibn 566 Saud, for example, had large expenses and little sources of revenue; he sold 567 his oil rights for a pittance in 1933 to Standard Oil of California (now 568 Chevron), which later formed Aramco with Exxon, Texaco, and Mobil. Oil 569 production began in Saudi Arabia in 1938. In 1953 Ibn Saud died. His son Saud 570 tried to break the agreement with Aramco in favor of Greek shipping magnate 571 Aristotle Onassis. In 1958 Saud was removed from authority. 572 573 After World War II, Iran had a democratic government led by Mohammed 574 Mossadegh, which wanted to nationalize oil. He was overthrown by a CIA- 575 organized coup, and the Shah was installed in power. In 1958, Iraqis overthrew 576 the king. Later, the Ba'ath Party came to power; it still rules there. In the 577 same period (1957-59), there was a revolution in northern Oman. The Saudis 578 withdrew their support in 1958, and the rebellion was crushed. The Omanis 579 started a second revolt in 1965 in the southern province of Dhofar. That 580 revolt was crushed ten years later when the Shah of Iran sent 30,000 troops 581 into Oman. 582 583 Neocolonialism was instituted when the colonial powers came up with the 584 idea of having the colonies pay their own administrative expenses in response 585 to the nationalization of oil by Algeria. In the Gulf, this took the form of 586 the participation agreements where legal ownership over the oil-producing 587 facilities was gradually turned over to the local governments, who had to pay 588 production costs instead of the oil companies. Saudi Arabia, for example, was 589 given 25 percent control in 1972, 30 percent in 1979, and 51 percent in 1983. 590 591 This control, however, was financial, not control over production itself. 592 The price of oil was low (about $3 per barrel), and the oil companies profits 593 dropped to as low as 9 percent on their invested capital. In 1973, they staged 594 the phony embargo, and oil company profits rose back to about 15 percent. 595 596 In 1961, the new Iraqi regime announced its impending annexation of Kuwait. 597 The British airlifted troops into Kuwait, and Iraq did not annex the country. 598 (The borders in that area have an interesting history. Few were interested in 599 the hinterland, for instance, of Kuwait. The British drew circles around the 600 cities as borders. In the areas between the circles, nobody claimed ownership. 601 These areas are now neutral zones. 602 603 British Withdrawal 604 605 In the 1960s, the British, the dominant military power in the region, went 606 into an economic slump. At the same time, a strong revolution was underway in 607 South Yemen. (North Yemen had overthrown the Imam who ruled it in 1962 and 608 then fought a five-year civil war with Egypt supporting the Republic and Saudi 609 Arabia supporting the Imam's son. Egypt gave in after the 1967 war, though the 610 Imam was not reinstated.) In 1971, Britain partially withdrew militarily from 611 the region, despite the US attempts to get them to stay. In 1969, South Yemen 612 won its independence, though its economy was crippled because the Suez Canal 613 had closed during the 1967 war. 614 615 At the same time, the United States was engaged in massive intervention in 616 Vietnam. The Nixon Doctrine of strength, partnership, and negotiations, was 617 developed to let Asians fight Asians. In the Gulf, it meant that Iranians and 618 Israelis fight Arabs. 619 620 The overthrow of the Shah of Iran came in 1979, the same year there were 621 two uprisings in widely separated parts of Saudi Arabia: the oil regions and 622 Mecca. Partnership was a failure, so the United States was forced to fall back 623 on strength. Since that time, the United States has been desperate to obtain 624 military bases in the region to protect its economic control over the oil 625 reserves. The only base the US had was the tiny al-Jufair naval base with two 626 small and ineffective ships in Bahrain. 037=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 10/30/90 07:55 Msg:5593 Call:31782 Lines:45 627 In 1970, Omani Sultan Said bin Taimur was deposed in favor of his son 628 Qaboos because an indigenous revolution was gaining ground strongly in the 629 South. Qaboos turned to the Shah of Iran for help in 1973. That same year 630 brought the October War. Some of the Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, 631 declared an embargo which was supposed to stop their oil going to the United 632 States. Still, more oil came into the United States than before the embargo. 633 Oil prices, however, and oil profits rose dramatically. 634 635 President Jimmy Carter pledged to use US troops to keep the Saudi royal 636 family in power. There was no threat to them from either Iraq or Iran at the 637 time (Iran historically claimed Bahrain and did take some Arab islands in the 638 Gulf under the Shah [greater and lesser Tunb Islands, which belonged to Ras 639 al-Khaimah], so it was clear that the US government was pledged to protect the 640 Saudi royal family from overthrow by its own citizens. Carter also pledged to 641 intervene if U.S. oil companies were threatened with loss of control over oil 642 production in the Gulf. 643 644 Some Recommended Reading: 645 646 A House Built on Sand: A Political Economy of Saudi Arabia, Helen Lackner, 647 Ithaca Press, 1978. 648 649 Arabia without Sultans, Fred Halliday, Penguin (Vintage), 1974. 650 651 Oil and World Power: A Geographical Interpretation, Peter R. Odell, 652 Penguin, 1970. 653 654 Power Play: Oil in the Middle East, Leonard Mosely, Penguin, 1973. 655 656 World Crisis in Oil, Harvey O'Connor, Monthly Review Press, 1962. 657 658 Empire of Oil, Harvey O'Connor, Monthly Review Press, 1962. 659 660 Middle East Oil and the Energy Crisis, Joe Stork, Monthly Review Press, 661 1975. 662 663 Modern History of the Arab Countries, V. Lutsky, Progress Publishers, 1969. 664 665 Modern Yemen: 1918-1966, Manfred W. Wenner, Johns Hopkins Press, 1967. 666 667 Oman since 1856, Robert G. Landen, Princeton University Press, 1967. 668 669 Steve Goldfield, Ph.D., is editor of Palestine Focus, the national 670 newspaper of the Palestine Solidarity Committee. 671 696969696969696969 038=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 10/31/90 07:17 Msg:5594 Call:31793 Lines:98 672 696969696969 673 INSIGHT FEATURES (NFD) 9:10 pm Sep 4, 1990 674 675 Bush Has Put Us On The Wrong Side Of Arab History 676 677 By John Rossen 678 Insight Features 679 680 The current jingoist hysteria over Iraq, shamefully echoed by much of the 681 media and even by knowledgeable and liberal members of Congress who know 682 better, presents a deadly danger to our country and to world peace. 683 684 Look how easy it is now for the Bush administration and its closely linked 685 oil and military interests! They are able to manipulate and exploit the anger 686 of middle class and working class Americans, the millions of people suddenly 687 forced to pay 20 cents to 45 cents a gallon more for gasoline, big increases 688 in air fares, and rising costs of all products derived from petroleum. 689 690 The danger arises from widespread public ignorance of the history of the 691 Arab peoples and especially of the legacy of World War I, an ignorance which 692 makes it easy for jingoes to spread their poison. 693 694 With the decline of the Ottoman empire more than a century ago, the 695 European imperial powers started to take over substantial parts of its domains 696 in what was then called Arabia. The French ruled Algeria from 1830 until 1962; 697 the British occupied Egypt in the 1880s. The Arab peoples suffered greatly 698 under foreign rule. 699 700 When World War I began, the British sent T.E. Lawrence ( the renowned 701 "Lawrence of Arabia") to Egypt to head their military intelligence section. 702 Shortly after, as a colonel in the British Army, he helped organize the Arab 703 revolt against Turkey, an ally of Germany in World War I. Lawrence's 704 diplomatic and military genius and his close relationship with and passionate 705 sympathy for the Arab cause was an importance factor in the defeat of the 706 Turks and the reconquest of Syria by the Arabs. 707 708 In 1919 at the Versailles Conference, Lawrence, hailed by many Arabs as the 709 "uncrowned King of Arabia," pleaded the cause of Arab nationalism and the 710 right of self-determination, but to no avail. In 1921 he became adviser to 711 the British Colonial Office, but resigned when the British sent in troops to 712 organize a rebellion against Iraq and installed a sheik as the King of Kuwait. 713 Thus the "nation" of Kuwait was little more than a creature of British 714 imperialism. 715 716 Little wonder that the first Western powers with troops on Arab soil today 717 are the United States and England. 718 719 The tragic consequences of Bush's threatened military bombing or all-out 720 invasion of Iraq are so easily perceivable that even conservative political 721 commentators are warning him of the danger of uniting the Arab world in a 722 jihad against the U.S. 723 724 Iraq would not be another Panama or Grenada. It could result in a 725 catastrophe for our country many times worse than Vietnam--not only for our 726 country, but also for the Arabs, for Israel and its people, and possibly for 727 the entire world. 728 729 Bush and his advisers have hidden from the American people Iraq's 730 confidential proposals made through diplomatic channels, for a bilateral 731 conference without preconditions, to search for a just and peaceful resolution 732 of the conflict. Bush may believe he is making political hay by beating the 733 drums of jingoism. He may even count on making Hussein and Iraq the 734 scapegoats, as some conservatives have suggested, for the great depression of 735 1990. 736 737 The Middle East crisis is the result of imperial policies that have 738 exploited and oppressed a great and powerful Arab world for a long time. The 739 radical founders of our nation would be spinning in their graves at this 740 latter-day Tory threat to waste American lives and treasure (at the current 741 rate of more than $30 million a day!) to restore to power a puppet-dictator 742 monarch. 743 As one of the richest men in the world, the King of Kuwait will hardly 744 suffer in exile. He has bought up more than a billion dollars worth of U.S. 745 real estate and has secret bank accounts and hoards of gold around the world. 746 Even spread out among his 55 wives and many offspring, he and his entire 747 family are all multimillionaires. 748 749 A pillar of the American revolution was the denial of the divine right of 750 kings and dictatorial tyrants. The Bush policy is thus a blatant violation of 751 a cardinal principle of our nation. 752 753 The American people must demand that the White House accept the Iraqi offer 754 to begin negotiations, without preconditions, for a non-military resolution of 755 this conflict within the Arab world, for recognition of the right of self- 756 determination for Arabs. That message must be sent loud and clear to both the 757 President and the Congress. 758 759 -- 30 -- 760 761 John Rossen, a veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and of World War II, 762 is a Chicago peace activist and editor of the New Patriot. 763 696969696969696969 764 765 "And it's one, two three, what are we fightin' for? 766 Don't ask me, I don't give a da*n, next stop is Viet Nam....oops I mean 767 Kuwait...Ain't no need to wonder why, whoopee, we're all gonna die." 768 (apologizes to Country Joe McDonald) 769 039=Usr:322 Stray Cat 10/31/90 08:15 Msg:5595 Call:31794 Lines:65 770@ }**{}**{}**{}**{}***{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{} 771@ 772@THEY ARE HOSTILE NATIONS 773@ 774@i 775@ 776@In view of the fading animals 777@the proliferation of sewers and fears 778@the sea clogging, the air 779@nearing extinction 780@ 781@we should be kind, we should 782@take warning, we should forgive each other 783@ 784@Instead we are opposite, we 785@touch as though attacking, 786@ 787@the gifts we bring 788@even in good faith maybe 789@warp in our hands to 790@implements, to manoeuvres 791@ 792@ii 793@ 794@Put down the target of me 795@you guard inside your binoculars, 796@in turn I will surrender 797@ 798@this aerial photograph 799@(your vulnerable 800@sections marked in red) 801@I have found so useful 802@ 803@See, we are alone in 804@the dormant field, the snow 805@that cannot be eaten or captured 806@ 807@iii 808@ 809@Here there are no armies 810@here there is no money 811@ 812@It is cold and getting colder 813@ 814@We need each others' 815@breathing, warmth, surviving 816@in the only war 817@we can afford, stay 818@ 819@walking with me, there is almost 820@time/ if we can only 821@make it as far as 822@ 823@the (possibly) last summer 824@ 825@ Margaret Atwood, from POWER POLITICS 826@ 827@ 828@ you fit into me 829@ like a hook into an eye 830@ 831@ a fish hook 832@ an open eye 833@ 834@ 040=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 11/01/90 21:21 Msg:5597 Call:31821 Lines:59 835 &*&*&*&*'s 836 [ 837 Today I have the tower of bable on my mind. I'm sure most of us are more 838 or less familiar with the story. It goes more or less like this as I 839 remember. 840 841 Once all the people on earth spoke a single language. Everyone understood 842 each other. Then one day a powerfull king decided to build a very tall 843 tower. The purpose being to reach heavan, and thus I believe the king felt 844 he would prove himself better then any other mortal man. Of course, this 845 being an old testament story I believe God got a little ticked at the king, 846 and nocked his tower down, and as punishment he made people speak many [D 847 different languages, so that I would assume they wouldn't be able to so 848 easily undertake such a massive task. 849 850 I may have the finer details wrong, but I'm just using the story as a starting 851 point. Most if not all of the users of this board speak english fluently. 852 I am no exception. Most of us converse with others on a regular basis. One 853 would assume that some sort of exchange is taking place, wether it is an 854 exchange of ideas, or meerly small talk. 855 856 Words are the tools we use to impart knowledge and understanding upon each 857 other. They greatly facilitate our every day survival and well being. And 858 yet, I'm slowly coming to the realization that no two people actually speak 859 the same language. 860 861 Few would argue that every single person is a unique individual. We all have 862 our own personal likes and dislikes. We all have our own opinions, our own 863 loves and hates. And we all interact in complex and unique ways. Or do 864 we? 865 866 Have you ever had a debate with another person in which you just couldn't 867 seem to get your point across? Did you ever wonder if they felt the same 868 way? I'm betting they did. Who was really at fault? Have you ever argued 869 with somebody for hours, only to realize that they weren't talking about the 870 same thing that you were? 871 872 How does this happen? Why does it happen? Lets assume that both you and 873 your opponent are both native speakers. How could this misunderstanding 874 take place? 875 876 It seems to me that the only explanation is that with very few exceptions, 877 no two people really speak the same language when you get beyond the "hello 878 how are you" stage of conversation. Our biasis kick in, and we start filtering 879 things through our world picture. Bingo, meaning is lost. Especially when 880 you realize that the other person is talking to you through their own 881 world picture. Quite a bit of information gets lost in the translation. 882 883 If you want to see this in action, subject somebody to something that is 884 outside of their world view. Do their eyes cross? Do they momentarily 885 drool? Don't jump to the conclussion that this only happens to religious 886 zeoloits. I'm sure you could pull it on almost any liberal minded person 887 as well. 888 889 Just something thats been running through my mind? Anybody got any thoughts? 890 891 An Astral Dreamer 892 &*&*&*&*'s 893 041=Usr:286 Jeff Marten 11/02/90 01:14 Msg:5598 Call:31826 Lines:61 894 895 896 {+}{+}{+}{+} 897 898 Thoughts To Get You Through Almost Any Crisis 899 900 1. Indecision is the key to flexibility. 901 2. There is always one more son of a bitch than you counted 902 on. 903 3. If you ever find something you like, buy a lifetime 904 supply, because they will stop making it. 905 4. All things being equal, fat people use more soap. 906 5. You can't tell which way the train went by looking at the 907 track. 908 6. Be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a tough battle. 909 7. This is as bad as it can get, but don't bet on it. 910 8. There is absolutely no substitute for a genuine lack of 911 preparation. 912 9. By the time you make ends meet, they move the ends. 913 10. Happiness is merely the remission of pain. 914 11. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be. 915 12. Sometimes too much drink is not enough. 916 13. The facts, although interesting, are irrelevant. 917 14. The world gets a little better every day, and worse in 918 the evening. 919 15. The careful application of pain is also a form of 920 communication. 921 16. Not one shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea 922 that life is serious. 923 17. Someone who thinks logically is a nice contrast to the 924 real world. 925 18. Things are more like they are today than they ever have 926 been before. 927 19. The other line always moves faster until you get in it. 928 20. Anything worth fighting for is worth fighting dirty for. 929 21. Everything should be made as simple as possible but no 930 simpler. 931 22. Friends may come and go but enemies accumulate. 932 23. It's hard to be nostalgic when you can't remember 933 anything. 934 24. I have seen the truth and it makes no sense. 935 25. To live forever, acquire a chronic disease and take care 936 of it. 937 26. Suicide is the most sincere form of self criticism. 938 27. If you think that there is good in everybody, you haven't 939 met everybody. 940 28. If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone 941 in mind to blame. 942 29. One seventh of your life is spent on Monday. 943 30. The more you run over a dead cat, the flatter it gets. 944 31. Instant gratification takes too long. 945 946@ Q*%ttUkmuttUiimUUtUitjjtjitUtmteUvUZerrUUUQ*jterrreATDT230-1041 947@ 948@li 949 -+|[ ThingFish ]|+- 950 I Got A Million Of 'Em 951 952 953 {+}{+}{+}{+} 954 042=Usr:322 Stray Cat 11/02/90 10:13 Msg:5599 Call:31833 Lines:43 955 956 }**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{}**{ 957 958 MORE AND MORE 959 960 More and more frequently the edges 961 of me dissolve and I become 962 a wish t assimilate the world, including 963 you, if possible through the skin 964 like a cool plant's tricks with oxygen 965 and live by a harmless green burning 966 967 I would not consume 968 you, or ever 969 finish, you would still be there 970 surrounding me, complete 971 as the air. 972 973 Unfortunately I don't have leaves. 974 Instead I have eyes 975 and teeth and other non-green 976 things which rule out osmosis. 977 978 So be careful, I mean it, 979 I give you a fair warning: 980 981 This kind of hunger draws 982 everything into its own 983 space; nor can we 984 talk it over, have a calm 985 rational discussion. 986 987 There is no reason for this, only 988 a starved dog's logic about bones. 989 990 By Margaret Atwood, 991 From THE ANIMALS IN THAT COUNTRY, 1968 992@I WAS READING A SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE 993@ 994@They have photographed the brain 995@and here is the picture, it is full of 996@branches as I always suspected, 997 043=Usr:322 Stray Cat 11/02/90 10:27 Msg:5600 Call:31834 Lines:2 998 That's all for now ... 999@.... HEY MIKEY - What the ???? Where's lines 953-95?????? Can't post copy-r