caldrail

On the contrary. Score one for USN anti-satellite technology. By the way, thanks for the advice about treatment for flu. Suggest America puts some of the money spent on anti-satellite technology and diverts it to medecine!

Well... You say that but... Stonehenge is just down the road and we all know that the druids were running a fuel station for arriving UFOnauts long before the americans made themselves available for experiments and involuntary vacations...

Oh? Is he any more erudite than anyone else?

But the the whole affair is contrived. Its fiction. It was designed to take the story of Jesus (whom Paul never met) and embellish it to the point where his divinity was made clear. The problem with Jesus is that the closer you look at his story the less you find. He was certainly a real person, he certainly did preach to the masses, and he certainly did disappear in a hurry. But notice how contrived the accounts are. On the one hand Jesus arrives in Jerusalem to cheering crowds, a sell-out success story. Within a short time, those same people condemned him to death. Why? The bible explains it all away by saying that Jesus martyred himself for our sins, but since when did God need an act of this sort? According to the Old Testament, if God thought mankind was sinning excessively he did something about it. The various miracles supposedly performed by jesus are unlikely to say the least, and there's no supporting evidence that they ever took place. In fact, had Jesus performed such miracles, he would more likely have been parceled up and sent to Rome for an interview with the emperor. No, these stories are either exaggerations of real events or simply made up for the purpose. There's no guarantee these miracles were present in Pauls original draft, or perhaps his version was even more outlandish. We don't know. Paul took two years out to create this mythology and it must be said, despite poor sales at the beginning its been a best seller ever since. What Paul wanted was a career in preaching religion which effectively makes him no different to those bible bashers who fill auditoriums and get interviewed on prime time tv. It was about money. It was his nine to five. As NN correctly states, the original works (not only those by Paul, there were others trying the same thing) were censored. Constantine, painfully aware how damaged his empire was by a civil war that brought him to power, shamelessly used religion to a unifying factor. Arguably he made a good choice. Roman religion was too loose and disorganised for that purpose, but christianity had a hierarchy and loyal worshippers seeking absolution for their sins. However, christianity at that time was not a single movement. It was a ployglot of individual churches saying similar things but with their own twist. What Constanitine insisted on was that the church leaders got together and sorted out exactly what christianity was. Even though he wasn't a christian, Constantine saw the value of this religion in holding his empire together. Christians of course would quote this as evidence of superior belief, but that simply isn't the case. This was an example of political expedience.

I think you'd be disappointed. First person games succeed by creating the illusion of personal freedom to go and do whatever you want (actually your options are always very limited, but the action makes up for that). In a roman game of this sort, as a legionary you would be constrained to act in formation and believe me, players wouldn't like that that at all. Especially since roman military doctrine dictates that a man who breaks formation is liable for execution, and your average hyperactive gamer simply isn't going to line up and wait with the rest of the troops. Also, as a programmer your idea would be an absolute nightmare to program. Complete freedom in every walk of roman life would require an enormous database and complex interaction code - I wouldn't even begin to attempt it. What you could do is isolate the character from any restriction at the start - in other words, an off duty soldier or whatever - and program a Deus Ex style first person roleplay game with the player selecting a character type (as you outlined) which accentuates certain skills. Actually, in theory I could do that now, given the SDK's available, but do I have the time to complete a roman roleplay game? Not even slightly. Even for this relatively straightforward option the work involved is daunting. 3D models need to be created and animated. The various levels need to be constructed and compiled. Entire cut scene and conversation sequences need to recorded and programmed. Its a lot of effort!

I was watching one of those cop programs last night. The usual sort of thing, car chases across america with exciting heavy metal music and a breathless commentary. There was one that stood out. It started as they all did, with a suspect making a break for it and piling down the highway without regard to safety. At one point he swerves to avoid an obstacle, and at over a hundred miles an hour, very nearly loses it completely. Thing is though, what I notice with all these chases is that the suspect runs out of enthusiasm. The police obviously don't give up, and refuse to do anything that causes collateral damage or injury if they can help it. Anyhow the suspect has been through the initial 'high' of the chase, the desperation at trying to escape it, and finally comes off the pace feeling in a hopeless situation. He actually pulls into a petrol station to fill up! At this point he's dawdling along with a multitude of police cars with whooping sirens and flashing lights dawdling after him. Then, all of a sudden, one police car rams him sideways at some speed. A somewhat frustrated police officer there I think. The suspects car smashes into a pump, ignites it, and the police audio says "Oh no, he's hit an Exxon!". No he didn't. He was rammed into it. I do understand the frustration of the police officer concerned but this was one instance where collateral damage took place! There's a part of me that views this sort of program with some concern. Its turning justice into entertainment, and to be honest it doesn't actually do anything to dissuade others from this behaviour other than the cops always get their man, but since the criminal mind always believes he won't get caught isn't there a danger that such programs encourage car chases? Illness of the Week This time its me, suffering a bout of flu or some such bug. All sympathetic replies most welcome. Sniffle. Target of the Week I do hear that the US are preparing to shoot a satellite out of the sky. The malfunctioned object has a fuel tank full of poisonous hydrazine and understandably the US don't want it plummeting to earth on a sensitive area. I guess this sort of thing is one hazard of space flight. Mind you, what happens when Virgin finally manage to get their orbital joyrides going? This is your captain speaking. We're experiencing technical difficulties at the moment so please be patient whilst our cabin crew do their best to restart the engines. Incidentially, if you look out the right side, you can see the US missile on its way to intercept us...

You are right, but the bad news is that he gets injured very badly and paralized soldiers are of no use... So the end of his service is a little earlier. I was wondering what Rome did for those men. No social security, I guess. No, but a soldier in that circumstance would receive whatever pension he had accrued as a lump sum. If he was a member of a burial club, perhaps they would help? His mates might try to set up in some measure of protection & comfort locally, or perhaps arrange for him to be sent home.

Yesterday I heard news that an illegal rave had been stopped by police at disused farm buildings near where I live. For those unacquainted with the term, a 'rave' is an impromptu 'night club' style party lasting until people fall over or get arrested. These people use any empty building they deem suitable, in this case the farm buildings left on the site of a new housing development. They do this to avoid noise, fire, public performance, and health & safety regulations. Some might think that because of my benign anarchastic leanings I might approve of such entertainment - I don't - its not that I agree with all that legislation, its the selfishness of the rave that I cannot agree with. Years ago a mate of mine asked me for some help with a project. He knew I was into bands and gigging etc, and wanted to put on a charity event at a local sports hall. We had discussions, met with community officials and such, and the event went ahead as planned. Thing is, the sports hall in question is right on the edge of a quiet residential area, and I was concious that the noise associated with rock gigs wasn't going to go down well. So I suggested to him that a leaflet should go through everybodies postbox beforehand explaining what was going on, why it was happening, and apologising for any convenience. We got no complaints. On the other hand I turned up to a friends band practice at a school hall on one occaision (I had in fact once been a founder member of this band and I was keen to see them do well). Unfortunately on that particular day there also a school fete. No-one had bothered to tell the school we were booked, or tell the band the fete was on. So, a very upset headmistress burst in through the doors demanding we stop immediately. I pointed out that communication was lacking and that we were no more happy with the situation either. The local council agreed with us, and although I'm not aware of any further complications, I really doubt that woman was keen to let bands practice there again. Its understandable up to a point. Rock music ain't quiet, and there's a tendency for the noise to creep up as each band member decides he can't hear himself and raises the volume accordingly. I remember a council official turning up to a practice session to measure the noise. He was astounded and attempted to convince us that my drumming was louder than concorde taking off (compliments, compliments...). I attempted to convince him he was talking rubbish, pointing out that concorde taking off in close proximity has a tendency to make someone a little deaf and I could hear his complaints perfectly. He never took any action. As for the rave, I have no sympathy. They never asked permission to use the property, and the behaviour of some people there was going to be a little dubious without any authority present. Its not that I don't want people to enjoy themselves, its just bad manners and illegal substances. End of an Era We got a visit from UT at last. He took away a load of old stock as scrap, and introduced his new sidekick, a young lad who will in the fullness of time take the reigns from UT. What about Lord H? Where is he? Retired. Well Lord H, enjoy your ferrets and regale your neighbours with Tales From The Gippoes. You will be missed. But please take a bath this year, ok?

Once he takes on his adult toga and shaves, the young man can make his own decisions. Nonetheless, his father is the boss by roman custom, or rather head of the household and as such his son must pay him respect and observe his wishes or be regarded as a bad son. Most businessmen were freedmen, and many of those operated under the patronage of their social betters. It worked both ways. The patron got someone under his wing who could do him favours and inform him of goings-on, whilst the client got protection and contracts. Some very wealthy people did dabble as a diversion - emperors were often doing odd things like that because it was entertaining for them and lets face it, when you're top dog, who's going to stop you? I can't think of any emperor businessman as such, but I'm thinking of something like Caligula becoming an auctioneer. Not because he made money out of it, but because he found it fun to sell other peoples belongings. There was of course Crassus, who made money out of letting property (like so many others) but in his case he accumulated property by taking advantage of fires and collapses, buying land for cash in hand and then redeveloping it as rented property which was no doubt none too cheap. He used agents for this purpose, he did not make contracts in person. That said, we know from Pompeii that some people did well out of businesses. There was a widow for instance who ran one in her own name. She had to marry for the sake of appearances but the business was definitely in her name after her husband died. I'm not entirely sure of her social status. She certainly wasn't from a working class family.

A lot of roman humour seems to be play on words or witty observations of others. I think there's much of it that goes right over our heads these days when back then it had people rolling on the floor clutching their ribs.

But if Hannibal was getting supplied from sources beyond local foraging the romans would know about it. Hannibal could not spare forces to protect wagon/mule trains who would have been very vulnerable in enemy territory, and I suspect that although Hannibal may have welcomed such supply he would have steered clear of relying on it in order to preserve mobility and to avoid stretching his forces. Further, you might remember that Hannibals army had already marched across the alps and suffered terrible privation because of it. These were hardened men well used to grabbing whatever they could get.

In some circumstances the family origin will decide whether these men are acceptable in whichever social situation they find themselves, but in real terms, money talks and and the poor man walks, and since wealth bought influence and status in roman circles, in most circumstances they can carry on in pretty much the same way. Why not? People still do that even today. Arius is rebellious, fed up with paternal control (and lets face it, in roman culture the elder male is in control) and wants to make his own way in the world, yet in your story he is prepared to lower himself in status and possibly lose an inheritance simply to do his own thing and stick a finger in his fathers face. Nothing wrong in this story at all. He would be a rariety of course, and his fellow legionaries would cotton on to his superior breeding very quickly and poor Arius may find himself the butt of some very poor behaviour from his legionary brethren until he earns respect and friends. By the age of 15 young Lucius is considered old enough to make his own decisions and to be of marriageable age. At 16-18, he's a young businessman according to your story. The fact he gets his fingers dirty with trade and finance lowers his social level - men of good families didn't involve themselves in such grubby details (at least not publicly anyway, and there were plenty of knowledeable slaves to do the nitty gritty stuff anyway)

The dramatic film I would make would be something on a smaller scale than many roman epics. I would portray a group of roman soldiers, along with an officer or two, wives, slaves, valuables, and follow their efforts to survive the germans and each other as they escape dire treatment in the Tuetoberg Forest. Plenty of scope for character interplay. Cowardice, courage, sacrifice, theft, honesty, lust, perhaps even a hint of very un-roman proclivities, and the ever present threat of discovery by german tribesmen, not to mention very dramatic fighting withdrawals. A group of concerned and frightened superstitious people having to make real decisions about their motives and survival. I would want edge of the seat stuff, some fights, scheming, dastrdly behaviour. If the audience isn't gripping the seat with white knuckles, Ridley is getting sacked.

I might be wrong, but I seem to remember that one young lady was treated badly by her father for refusal to consider marriage?

Military sservice gave a a roman of good family credibility for his future political career. Now granted that not every young roman male was so competitive - many were - and we know there were men who did try their best to avoid military service. Although the romans generally were very macho and aggressive, there must have been some for whom the risk of real harm was too much. Notice however the numbers of young men of good families who signed up as gladiators - Augustus had to pass a law to restrict this behaviour. These men were keen to earn money or fame (both if possible) and weren't afraid to go toe to toe for real in order to achieve it, or at least they weren't afraid until the actual event. The reason I say this is to underline the combativeness of roman character. So Denia, your young man has the following options.... 1 - Flat refusal Wow, this is going to make him popular.... Although there may be some who have some sympathy for his decision, perhaps even admire his courage to say no, most won't. 2 - Hide Potential recruits were known to make themselves scarce, and one dodge was to hide in a rural slave barracks pretending to be an inmate. Tiberius was tasked by Augustus to uncover the extent of this practice and reform the barracks. 3 - Bribe Perhaps a few sestercii might change your mind Sir? Or perhaps a small service of benefit to you and your missus? I notice your clothes aren't new. Lets do something about that, and perhaps you could turn a blind eye.... 4 - Servitude Desperate? Then really go the whole hog and sell yoursef into slavery. As mentioned above, adventurous romans might volunteer for the arena, whilst the more fearful would prefer something more mundane. It was rare but not unknown for romans to sell themselves to a slave trader, usually in order to secure a prestigious post as a servant and thus get around social obstacles. The disadvantages of this route are obvious, and would have been obvious to young romans. 5 - Stay Away Self imposed exile might be an answer and one to carry on life as usual without the hasle of recruitment. So, get aboard the first galley to the orient, and make your way to Syria perhaps, where trade is booming. or perhaps voyage far into the distance... Exploration is unusual for romans who were very inwardly focused as a culture despite their penchant for military conquest, but there were romans who did venture far. 6 - Rebel This would be going too far for many romans, but its certainly adventurous and in at least one case a rebellion occured because someone did not want to fight. 7 - Thumb Removal As mentioned above, a common practice was to cut off a thumb and thus render yourself useless as a soldier. Augustus was concerned at this sort of thing, but it became a real issue in the late empire when an emperor stated that from this moment forward, two thumbless soldiers are worth one ordinary soldier and no longer have an excuse to serve. 8 - READ THIS IF ALL ELSE FAILS! Disaster has struck. Military service is all but unavoidable. What option has a man left but to fall on his sword? This sort of thing was also rare, but did happen. With regard to combat, there are two examples from gladiatorial combat. In one instance, a man thrust his head into a wheel of a cart in order to break his neck whilst on the way to an event, on the other hand there was the case of a man who chose to suffocate himself in the latrine with a sponge-stick rather than fight. Granted these were slaves (and not of good family either) but there was also the case of a line of saxons who throttled each other in a secret pact to avoid fighting in the arena. PS - I just thought of another... 9 - Ruse Obviously falling on a sword is abit self-defeating, so perhaps a ruse might be in order? Pretend to be unfit for for service.

The universe is not infinite (though it is pretty big and apparently growing in size). The universe has built in limits, physical properties that cannot be exceeded. There is a limit on how fast you can travel, how hot something can be, how small it can be etc etc. Infinity is a concept to use instead of an impossibly large value. Its easier to comprehend that concept that trying to visualise just how big something is. I'm stunned that someone would use maths to 'prove' the existence of god. Thats ridiculous. God is a human concept, not an absolute truth. He's an invented figurehead as a social focus, a human face on the mysterious unknown. How can maths prove he exists? You could just as easily use maths to prove that Grubbo, Lord of the Fleas (Bow down unbeliever!) created the universe. Science has opened up much of the universe to us, but I suspect there's an element that it can't. Does that mean God is out there waiting for the inevitable discovery? Wishful thinking. Christianity (and other religions too) thrives on providing convenient answers to mysteries, even if some of those answers are bizarre or completely stupid. I guess you can prove anything with statistics. Intelligent design? No, it seems nature is an experimental system that tries different mutations until one species with the right characteristics dominates its enviroment.

'All roads lead to Rome' - An old saying which in their day meant that people were attracted to the big city to find gainful employment. Perhaps this was less true of the empire, as Augustus has begun the franchise system of colonies to extend his tax base and consolidate roman power (in his name of course). Rome had a considerable number of itinerant labourers, but there's also an attitude you find amongst romans that if they can get something for nothing, why not? I'm reminded of a story that Hadrian visited the baths one day. He spotted one man rubbing his back on a marble pillar. "What are you doing?" He asked. The man replied that he had no slave to scrape his back. Hadrian apparently rolled his eyes, clicked his fingers at his minions, and handed the man a few gold coins. "Here, go and buy yourself a slave...". The next day Hadrian returned to the baths only to find a multitude of 'slaveless' men rubbing their backs on any free surface. You could argue the same thing would happen today, and given human nature, it probably would. But the point is that the romans did not have the work ethic we do today. They worked out of necessity, not because because it was manly or expected. The labour market in Rome was organised up to a point but since it was all very entrepeneurial and often dependent on patronage, the labour market was also factional. As for being colonists, it depended on who you were. A retired legionary may well jump at the chance to remain in the area he knew well, with a woman he also knew well, with an opportunity to acquire some land and settle down. For him, the chances of finding employment in Rome were no better than anyone else.

Why? He's a succesful music director in the film industry. He doesn't write music to be original or clever, he writes it to set the required mood and pace within the film (arguably harder because you don't have creative freedom). If you watch the DVD interview, he does actually mention being forced to resort to wagnerian symphonies during Commodus Triumphal return to Rome because nothing else would do. And its also thanks to him that the vocals and duduk addition to the soundtrack happened at all, which really does underpin the films tragic story. Long may he continue.

Oh come on Neph, what do all young ladies do at that age? She gossips with her friends Your point about the scandal is interesting, because being unmarrried at 18 is going to attract comment. Perhaps her family ought to try harder...

Evolutoion works, but there's something else lurking under there. Notice how there's an explosion of new species whenever disaster strikes the worlds continents and climates. Its like nature is primed to diverge rapidly under certain circumstances. PS - this post is not proof of God.

I've just watched a video about things alien. That image of the rock that looks suspiciously like sasquatch. An enthusiastic 'expert' getting exciting about meeting real live aliens from Out There (doesn't he have any real friends?). Film clips of a psychopathic alien smelling Sigourney Weaver, cute grey thingy waving at the assembled scientists on a mountain top, intergalactic hippie E.T. getting caught with no clothes on by a kid, and a gelatinous blob terrorising small town america. Quotes from Stephen Hawking inform us that in the infinity of space, there must be aliens out there (but not close, or we'd see their tv programs). I don't know about you, but if there's hyper-intelligent blobs out there bent on terrorising small town america by abducting innocent cannabis smokers and chopping up cows for laughs, then why would they waste their time watching soap operas? Can you imagine an alien soap opera? Female Alien Kghdj, I wish to submit an emotional report to you Male Alien Dnmdiu, I have already nested with Dgdjsd. Female Alien She cannot give you podlings like I can. Male Alien Affirmative Dnmdiu. However the Pod-Lord has dictated that we invade the next street tommorrow and I cannot have any distractions. Female Alien You are no longer light relief. I will now commit revenge. Male Alien I am registering suprise... blob repellent on my anti-weather equipment! Door opens and Male Aliens Mate (Third Gender) enters Male Aliens Mate (Third Gender) Huh? Whats is occuring here? Dnmdiu, are you engaged in an extra-pod-ical relationship with with my First Gender Mate? Aliens stand waiting for closing credits You would think that aliens could create superior television programs. I suspect the real reason we haven't seen any is because their soap operas are even worse than ours, and its too embarrasing to admit that the most hyper intillgent species in the galaxy is obsessed with who is replicating with who. I therefore submit that aliens did build the pyramids, but that human beings missed the whole point. It was an alien filmset ("Thanks humanity, that was a cool movie, but we don't need those pyramids now"). Perhaps the long journey from their planet to ours gets a little boring given the universe has an irritating speed limit (no speed cameras discovered yet - God hasn't thought of that one). So I'd imagine the real reason they pop up here to play catch me with jet fighters and ruin airline pilots careers is just for something to do, or is it they're looking for a compatible toilet facility?

To some extent, but he also failed because he couldn't land a killer blow. Thats not because he made a mistake (though it does seem so at first glance) but rather because he underestimated roman stubbornness. Notice that he does not attack the city of Rome, nor does he spend much time on territorial gain nor objective conquest. His whole campaign is about threat and intrusion. Without the ability to supply his troops for a long period in one place, he must must remain mobile, and therefore gambles that his victories against roman forces sent against him will bring the romans to a white flag. The romans were close to panic - in that he almost succeeded - but its that large manpower pool that brings in fresh troops after a short delay. Hannibal, reliant on the mercenaries that crossed the alps with him, could not replace his losses so easily.

here in Britain we get assailed with news reports, newspaper stories, and magazine articles all trying to convince us that the worlsd is about to change for the worse and we have to do something about it. Like what? Switching off my car engine isn't going to stop several acres of brazilian rainforest from being burned, it isn't going to stop bandits stealing young orangatangs from their mothers, it won't stop poachers shooting elephant or rhino, it won't stop bears being trapped, it won't stop the chinese killing every exotic animal they can lay their hands on to save their fading libidoes. Nor will it effectively stop climate change. We're being made to feel guilty about the enviroment to prevent any criticism of hare brained and expensive schemes. Fact is, the enviroment has become a new religion. We're all expected to join up, to believe we can save the earth if we all pull together. Anyone who doesn't repeat the same sensibilities is ostracised as a polluting monster. But can we preserve the earth as it is? Of course not. Climate change is a natural cycle and its powered by physical forces somewhat more powerful than us. I wrote something along these ones once before. http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic.php...p;sk=t&sd=a

The weather has been great these last two days. Clear skies and balmy sunshine. Not bad for February in England where benign climates are something you spend hundreds of pounds to escape to every summer holiday. Nature is having a sunbathe too, trees are and flowers looking very much like they should in spring. Woodpeckers have colonised one of local parks, making it sound like a construction site as they burrow into trees. Squirrels and rabbits at large, doing squirrelly and rabbity things (surely you don't need that explained?) But is this good? Apparently not, for the countless tv interviews with experts and initiatives (not to mention new taxes, plus some heavier older ones) from politicians, its clear that the blossoming flowers are in fact a harbinger of doom, a warning of apocalyptic disasters of biblical proportions to come. Don't smell the flowers They're an evil drug To make you lose your mind Don't Talk To Strangers - Ronnie James Dio Its all about global warming and its domination of politics today. As if the politicians have any real idea about what to do, they're just listening to every screwball with charts and zealous belief that the world is about to end. Not that they actually understand what the guy has said, its justification for more tax. So if the local florist is doing well, you know the end is nigh. Farce of the Week "Send all parcels by Speedy Logistics" says AD, who claims its cheaper. "Send all parcels by Slick Parcels" say Head Office, because they claim its cheaper. "No, we're cheaper" say Supersonic Transport. "No they're not" say Speedy Logistics, because they deliver economy. "No they don't" say Head Office, who insist on Slick Parcels, who in turn insist on doing things their way and now Supersonic Transport are turning up for Slick's collections... Our tame forklifter is looking very bemused and a little browbeaten by van drivers.

How often did it occur? very rarely as it happens. Commanders were well aware of the possible risks to morale and mutiny if it was over-used, and only applied this punishment in cases of extreme dishonour. It also represented the hard edge of a very austere regime that survived from earlier times, when discipline was rigid and infexible in order to maintain order in the phalanx. As we enter the empire, the occurence becomes less and less (Crassus and Caesar made the headlines for reviving this old punishment) and later authors don't mention it at all (at least I haven't come across it yet). Wouldn't its usage have been counterproductive for recruitment? You would think so but this seems not to be the case. Young men usually have this sense of invulnerability and in any case, if they thought it was going to happen to them then they wouldn't join up for any reason - some didn't. The practice of cutting off a thumb and making it impossible to hold a sword is mentioned in the early empire (it became a serious issue in the late empire too) and some men were known to hide in rural slave barracks pretending to be slaves in order to escape being drafted. Nonetheless, for many the legions were a source of income, a steady(ish) job, and something that carried a measure of civic reward and sense of pride at the end of service, not to mention the promise of citizenship. For others, military service was a chance to win respect and political credibility. The possibility that they would serve with dishonour and be punished fatally isn't usually the sort of thing I'd expect anyone to spend too much considering, particularly since there was a 90% probability of survival. But wouldn't its usage have made for better more dedicated recruits? Thats the entire point! Imagine how you'd feel if your commander thought you were a bunch of wussy boys who'd turn tail and run at the first excuse and ordered you to club your best mate to death because of it. The officer would be sure to tell you that it was your own fault. Did its usage decline during the Empire with more 'mercenary' types? It did anyway, as the discipline of the legions was beginning to wane a little and notice how often troops mutiny in the early empire. When did its usage end? As far as I'm aware, it was never officially abandoned. What replaced it in later military culture? Difficult to say, since the use of decimation was down to the initiative of the commander and if he felt he couldn't take that sort of risk with discipline, then there's all sorts of alternatives he might have tried. Its an interesting question because I haven't read of punishments for similar military misdemeanours. Does it have a Modern equivalency in military services? No. There is no army in the world that orders the death of one in ten soldiers to punish poor performance - though on the spur of the moment anger from third world dictators comes close, but thats often politically inspired rather than any attempt to enforce honour and performance, and in any case, is usually directed at individuals rather than a random quota.