Paal_101
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Posts posted by Paal_101
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That is true Michael, but often times it is easier to say to the public that your best combat vehicle, which has almost never taken a combat loss (and I don't believe that any Abrams was lost to enemy fire before this incident, but I'm not sure), was taken out by a brand new weapon that couldn't have been planned for in the initial design stage of the tank. All this when in fact it was taken out by the same old RPG-7 launcher with a slightly more expensive warhead that the Russians have had in their possession for some time and Iraq was too cheap to buy.
Iraq had hundreds of thousands of RPG-7 projectiles in store at an average cost of $20 apiece. Many were manufactured in country and since they were fighting the Iranians at the time, high quality rounds were not required since they were all driving old tanks that couldn't stand up to the older RPG-7 rounds to begin with. Now in Iraq insurgents are getting their hands on high-quality Russian projectiles which greatly increase lethality at a small increase in price. Your still looking at a projectile of no more than $50 taking out a $4 million tank...
Plus the RPG-27s and 29s are starting show up over there, which ups the vulnerability of Abrams even more.
Did not know you had a similar interest Jan
What's your main focus? I focus mostly on small arms (hence my rant on the RPG 
), although I have a keen interest in air combat and surface forces. -
For sure, Leningrad was a bit of a let down for me. I am a fan of Enemy at the Gates, so a similar type project would be more than welcome
Ditto on Falluhjah and FoOF, I hope they don't wuss out. Falluhjah should follow Blackhawk Down for action and realism. Having read up on that battle and watching some videos, I must say it is a hair-raising incident.
FoOF should be a blast, and I'm totally with you. Windtalkers was a great premise that was shot to pieces in execution. On another front, there is talk of a series similar to Band of Brothers set in the Pacific.
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Okay, some new films have crossed my radar recently
Without Remorse (2007) - without a doubt Tom Clancy's darkest, most violent book, should be great
Miami Vice (2006) - really catching my attention, seeing as I am a huge fan of Collateral.
Star Trek XI - director of M:I3 and creator of Alias and Lost takes a crack at the greatest sci-fi series of all time.
Ocean's Thirteen (2007) - enjoyed the first one, haven't seen the second.
Children of Men (2006) - like Shoot 'em Up it is a strange scenario, but could be fun.
Shadow Divers (2007) - Ridley Scott's next project. Probably my all time favorite director with movies like Blackhawk Down and Gladiator, so I keep an eye on his projects.
Warriors Remake (2006) - original was a cheeze-fest but entertaining.
Rogue (2007) - another Jason Statham action flick. I'm a Transporter fan so I'll check it out
Hopefully get this list kickstarted again
Some great flicks coming out soon. -
No problem at all
Fascinating topic is it not? What is your degree? -
I too am of Balkan stock, my dad was born in Croatia
As for the Macedonians, they are included with the Hellenes as that is the closest group we could fit them into for Part I. The goal was to have 6 playable civs that branch. Macedonians can obviously be considered Hellenic in a general sense so they were shoved in there. Ideally I would love to make them their own side with branches into the Alexandrian and Diadochi armies as options. But that may happen through expansion packs, who knows?
Thebes would also be an impressive addition to the Hellenes,as they are my favorite Greek city state. Cultural elements like Athens, yet highly militarized like Sparta. Unique combination
I would love to do the Illyrians, Scythians, and Thracians as addon races. It would add some depth and unique viewpoints to the game. However we have to get the six we have in there already
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Actually I'm a solid Haplogroup I, which has lived in the Balkans for the past 25,000 years and makes up the bulk of Croatian and Bosnian DNA. So I'm a fellow Illyrian for certain
Good chance I also have some Sarmat blood to boot. -
Hit it pretty much on the head Illryian
One unit is not in there and another one is slightly different. Yet another one may be dropped. As a hint currently there are five standard Roman units plus super units and heroes.
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Hey Illyrian! Thanks for your posts. I'll answer some of your questions
Sarissa - easily exlained. For gameplay purposes at this point we are playing around with sarrissas of this length. They may be lengthened in the future, but for ease of use at the moment they are remaining at the current length. In addition the sarissae of Philip's and Alexander's time were a bit shorter at roughly 13 feet. The 15 to 19 foot sarissa become more common during the times of the Diadochi.
Phalanx - the screenshots do not show actual complete formations, they are premade, preposed formations. At the moment there are no formations ingame yet, but there will be.
Testudos and pila are in
Impossible to have Romans without them. Germanic wedge formations are absolutely in my sights looking ahead to Part II.
Siege towers (Helepolis anyone?
) are in, as are walls.Hope those answer your questions fully.
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My friend David and I went to see it on opening night. Amazing film, definately the best I've seen in a long time, probably the best since Kingdom of Heaven. No applause at our viewing but there definately was a lot of smiling people coming out of the theatre.
Another good movie is Inside Man, everyone go check that out. I would rate it even a bit better than V for Vendetta.
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Indeed, and evidently the US dollar is sitting on the edge of a potential 40% drop in value. One good thing, they will take down China at the same time, since the Chinese governement holds massive stocks of unconverted US cash for use in international trade. If the US dollar dives, the Chinese economy goes at the same time.
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That being said, we are not ready for a beta any time soon, although we are moving ahead at a good pace
You'll know when the beta is ready -
Hehe, actually where do you think the name Romania came from?
Do a Google on the Dacian Wars I'll say it again Jonathan, man I'm jealous
Awesome trip and I'm glad you enjoyed it! -
Indeed, with the B-2s still being paid off it gets pretty expensive. Add to that the F-35 purchase, and the F-22 just coming online it will increase. Don't forget the ongoing conversion of four Ohio SSBN to guided missile subs, plus the procurement of a new .45 calibur side arm (most likely a new design) and the failure of the XM-29 OICW program, and the purchase of the Stryker armored fighting vehicle. Plus the new Seawolf-class subs were cut short at three boats, spawning the need (and consequent R&D) for the Virginia Class SSN, which cost $2.6 billion per unit, with 30 on order. Not to mention the CVN 21 series of nuclear aircraft carriers that start arriving in 2008
As for the TAPS, with 8,800 Abrams in service with the US Army and Marine Corps the total comes to another $2.64 billion. And this does not make the tank invincible. It still hasn't been proven if the system can actually take on multiple warheads at once. Definately increase survivability. But frankly, that is a lot of money for extra weapons.
All with a 2006 budget defecit of $371 billion, and a trade deficit that requires $1 billion dollars of external financing per day, and a national debt owed to foreign banks of $8.4 trillion
Good days for the US defense industry, but as an accounting student it makes me cringe. That being said, I do find military technology fascinating and the TAPS system intriguing.
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the American taxpayer, who will soon be purchasing this fabulous technology at a cost of $300,000 per vehicle
From my previous post
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LOL Yeah that was a lot of fun to do. Have to say that I haven't messed with it in a very long time and I'm starting to forget most of it. What happens when one starts to grow up
That is an interesting site, have to say I've never been there before.
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Troy - Achilles Leads the Myrmidons
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Great work on the history of the factions
I am greatly impressed. If you ever get tired, let me know, I'll find you some work here -
Actually, the forcefield is media hype.
The so called "forcefield" is actuallya kill zone around the tank created by a shotgun-style weapon known as Trophy Active Protection System (TAPS for short) . When an RPG is fired at the tank, the TAPS picks it up on radar. The countermeasure mechanism includes a small turret on top of the tank, which turns and shoots a cone of shrapnel, if you will, at the approaching RPG or ATM, which detonates it at range. It gives the sense of a forcefield as the shotgun fires to detonate the weapon at a particular distance from the vehicle. Quite an impressive defence
Combined with reactive and Chobham armor, it should give Merkavas and Abrams a huge boost in combat effectiveness. As for forcefield? Not in the sense of an energy barrier. It just sounds high-tech and advanced, mostly to impress opponents and you, the American taxpayer, who will soon be purchasing this fabulous technology at a cost of $300,000 per vehicle
And it is not the first system of its type developed, as the link below explains. More info: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htarm/art...s/20060418.aspx
On an aside: Man I hate Fox, what a bunch of idiots! "Top Secret Countermeasure", give me a break. "RPG's - crude weapons".......trust me, with the newer projectiles RPG-7s are far from crude. New anti-armor versions are capable of punching through 300 mm of armor, roughly 12 inches. Cheap, not crude. Plus I dare them to ask any tanker if the RPG-22 is a crude weapon. Simple, but far from crude. The report gives the impression that the US Army does not use similar weapons. Obviously they have never heard of the M-72 LAW
One thing they did get right: RPGs cause half of all US casualties in Iraq. All in a weapon that costs roughly $200 (even $100 in some places) for the launcher and roughly $30 on average for each projectile. And a $200 RPG-7 is more than capable of taking out a $4.3 million M1A2 Abrams MBT.
Plus check out some of the new RPGs showing up in Iraq and even Fox would not call these crude.
http://www.strategypage.com/gallery/articl...tos_2004614.asp
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Wow, very impressive
Amazing work! -
Indeed, welcome
As you can see we are all divided it camps here -
Hehe! This almost sounds like that scam with the "African prince" having to get rid of several million dollars to avoid prosecution and just started e-mailing random people. All that was required was to turn over one's account access and all would be taken care of
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Opening title music of Blackhawk Down as it starts up in the graveyard
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RELIGIONS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD
The Religion Of Rome
By John Bennett
The religion of the ancient Romans is unique among the belief systems of the ancient world. There are many misconceptions regarding the Roman faith, so the best way to begin to explain what the Roman religion was, is to explain what was not. The gods of Rome were not merely copies of the Greek deities. Nor was the mythology of the Romans a rip-off of Greek mythology. Truly the gods and mythologies of Rome were heavily influenced by both Greek and Etruscan culture, but as we will see that the Romans developed a unique form of religion, with an unmistakable Latin flavor.
The farmers and shepherds who settled the riverside village that would one day become Rome were very practical people who lacked the imagination to create mythologies and deities of such grandeur as their Greek neighbors across the Adriatic, so it understandable that the religious beliefs of the early Romans were animistic and revolved around superstition. An important part of these early beliefs were the Numina- vague spirit-like deities whose name means little more than “the Powers”. The Numina were very practical, nothing like the gods of Greece or Egypt, and being practical they had simple, useful powers- there was no Apollo making charming melodies on his lyre, instead there was the “One who guards the cradle” and the “One who presides over the children’s food”. The Numina didn’t even possess proper names and many were not even given a gender.
In addition to the Numina there were also personal spirits. To an animistic Roman, everything had a spirit. All individuals possessed a Genius (or Junius for females), which was a guardian spirit that governed the gender, morals and behavior of that individual. Every household also had a Lar Familiaris that cared for the welfare of the family. Most Roman homes had a Lararium, a shrine to their domestic spirit. The Pater Familias (head of the family) acted as the High Priest for his household, leading prayers and making offerings to the Lares. Throughout all the ages of Roman history, the household Lares and the personal Genii remained an integeral part of Roman religion.
There were two classes of deities in Roman religion, and it was during the dynasty of the Etruscan kings of Rome in the 6th century BC that the First Class emerged. Etruscan beliefs, coupled with the original beliefs of the Numina and various other rural traditions from central Italy, gave rise to the Di Indigetes (Indigenous gods) who numbered over 170, the most important of them being the Archaic Triad- Jupiter (chief god), Mars (god of war and agriculture) and Quirinus (mysterius god, possibly protector of the politcal and economic strength of Rome). Later the Archaic Triad became the Capitoline Triad composed of Jupiter, Juno (a mother-goddess figure) and Minerva (goddess of wisdom) who were worshipped in a Temple on Capitoline Hill built by Lucius Tarquinius, the last King of Rome.
Among the Di Indigetes were another important group of deities, although only minor compared to the Triad. The Dii Familiaris were gods associated with aspects of daily life, and thus probably held more importance to the average Roman than the lofty gods of the Triad. This group included Forculus (opener of doors), Limentinus (guardian of the threshold), Vesta (goddess of the hearth), Janus (god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings, and endings- in effect the guardian of transition), and many more. Vesta and Janus would gain more importance later on in Rome’s history.
The Second Class of Roman gods came into being in the early Republic (although the list continued to expand throughout Rome’s history). The De Novensides were deities that were assimilated from other cultures. Isis, Mithras, Pluto, Neptune, Cybele and a huge amount of others are among the De Novensides.
It was also during the time of the early Rebublic that the Roman pantheon of gods we know so well was born. As Greek culture became increasingly popular in Roman society, so too did their religion. Just like in the Hellenistic pantheon, the Romans now had twelve main gods, some being De Novensides (including Neptune-Poseidon, Diana-Artemis, Apollo, Pluto, Vulcan-Hephaestos, Ceres-Demeter and Venus-Aphrodite), others being previous gods merged with similar Greek deities (Jupiter-Zeus, Juno-Hera, Vesta-Hestia, Mars-Aries and Minerva-Athena). These deities remained the State gods of Rome until the sixth century AD. As we have seen, the religion of Rome was one of assimilation and constant evolution.
As with all cultures, the Romans developed myths and legends for their gods and heroes. Contrary to popular belief, Roman mythology was quite different from that of the Greeks. For starters, the gods of Rome were hardly ever displayed anthropomorphism - that is, they did not possess human traits and qualities like love, jealousy, hatred or fear as the Greek gods did. The Romans also gave their gods different characteristics, for example in contradiction to the womanizing Zeus of Greek mythology, Roman Jupiter was a blatant homosexual.
During the Republican era, religion became a matter of State and various offices were created to administer the religious funtions in Rome:
Pontifex Maximus- the highest religious office. Literaly meaning “Master bridge-builder”, the Pontifex Maximus was the High Priest of Rome and overseer of all other religious posts. Augustus subsumed this lofty position into the Imperial Office. Today Pontifex Maximus is the official title of the Catholic Pope.
Rex Sacrorum- the “Sacred King” of Rome. Before their overthrow, the Kings of Rome were ritualistic leaders who made sacrifices on behalf of the Roman populance. During Republican and Imperial Rome the office of Rex Sacrorum was created to make sacrifices three times a month and preside over important rituals. In theory, the Rex Sacrorum was the highest religious leader in Rome, but they were little more than figureheads appointed by the Pontifex Maximus.
Flemen- a priest assigned to the State Deities in Rome. There were three Maojor Flemines during the Republic (and more to serve the diefied Emperors during the Imperium)- the Flamen Dialis, who worshipped Jupiter; the Flamen Martialis, who worshipped Mars; and the Flamen Quirinalis, who worshipped Quirinus- as well as a large number of Minor Flemines.
Augur- a priest that interprted the will of the gods by taking Auspices- studying the flight pattern of birds. They numbered about 15 in the late republic.
Haruspex- a priest who practiced divination by examing the entrails of sacrificed sheep. This practice was passed down from the Etruscans and continued throughout the history of ancient Rome.
Vestal- a virgin in the service of the goddess Vesta. They were given the task of maintaining the Sacred Fire of Vesta in the goddess’s temple.
Superstition governed the practices and traditions of the Romans. They were enthusiasts of astrology and other forms of divination, and interpreted the will of the gods through various omens. If a person suffered a misfortune, the gods were angry; if they had good fortune, the gods favored them. Charms and rituals were used to ward off bad luck and to bring good luck upon individuals, such as the Bulla amulet, which was placed around the necks of children in the crib. It was not uncommon for Romans to try to curse their enemies using objects and rituals (chariot racers were known to place tablets inscribed with curses among the chariots and horses of their opposition). Rome had crawling with witches, alchemists, and astrologers.
To some extent, the religion of Rome was a religion of convenience. Many people would go to the Temples and worship the gods when it was convenient for them to do so. For example, a farmer might make offerings at a shrine to Ceres to ensure a good harvest, or a merchant might go to the Temple of Mercury to pray for a hefty profit. But even if some Romans only looked to the gods when need called for it, nobody could ignore a Festival. Festivals marked important events in the Roman state and feasts in honor of certain gods. The overall favorite festival for the Romans was Saturnalia- a weeklong feast in December celebrating the dedication of the Temple of Saturn. Saturnalia was a time when all classes were equal, gifts were exchanged, and people ate and drank to excess.
Romans looking to expand their spirituality beyond what was offered by the State could join a Religious Cult. A cult often focused worship on a single deity, while still acknowledging the other gods. Cults offered Romans regular worship and specialized rituals in a group setting, so its not surprising that the higher classes were more involved in cult practices as they had more time for such things. As Roman territory expanded, foreign gods were added to the roaster of the De Novensides and many of these took root in Rome as cults, the most popular including the cults of Isis (an Egyptian ferility goddess), Mithras (an ancient Persian god) and Cybele (a Phrygian mother-goddess).
During the Principate era of the Roman Empire a new cult developed, this time involving the worship of not an all-powerful deity, but a man. The Imperial Cult (more commonly called ‘Emperor Worship’) involved the reverance of the Emperor of Rome as a living god. This cult began with Julius Caesar when he had a statue of himself erected bearing the inscription “DEO INVICTO”, or in english “the unconquered god”. Two years after his death the Senate proclaimed him to be divine. Caesar’s nephew and adopted son Octavian, who was to become the the first Emperor Augustus, raised a temple to his uncle. The poet Virgil included the claim that Augustus was DIVI FILIVS- son of a god” in the Aeneid (to back this up, the Juli gens was supposed to have descended from Mars and Venus). However, the first Emperor never pushed for the veneration of his person, rather he began the practice of worshiping the Genius spirit of the Emperor (the Emperor’s Genius was also considered to be a guardian of the Empire, so the early worship of this spirit was a form of partiotism), a tradition kept up by by most Emperors (with the exception of Nero who openly declared his own divinity) until the death of Hadrian in 138 AD. After Hadrian’s reign the Emperors started calling themselves gods and demanded their subjects make periodic offerings of incense (in some cases this practice was used to flush out Christians who refused to worship the person of the Emperor). When Constatine I ascended to the throne in 323 AD he abandoned the Imperial cult and was later baptized a Christian.
It is interesting to note that by the time of the Empire many educated Romans had adopted Stoic philosophy from the Greeks. This lead to increasing amounts of agnosticism and atheism among the upper classes of Rome and the observation of the old rites for politcal, not spiritual reasons.
The Twilight of Roman paganism was well underway by the fourth century AD. Despite severe persecutions, Christianity rapidly grew in the Roman Empire for the first three hundred years of its existance. In 313 AD Constantine I issued the Edict of Milan officialy legalizing Christianity and declaring religious neutrality of the Roman State. During his lifetime Constantine promoted Christianity in the Empire and was eventualy baptized a Christian on his deathbed. Between 381 and 392 Theodosius I issued a series of decrees banning paganism and instating Christianity as the official religion of the Roman state. Temples were razed, images and statues of the old gods were destroyed, the Christian Pope assumed the title of Pontifex Maximus, and the once persecuters became the persecuted. Within four centuries Roman paganism had moved from faith to legend.
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Rammstein - Feuer Frei!
What are you listening to right now?
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