Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > rec.arts.sf.written > #660179 > unrolled thread

(ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas

Back to article view | Back to rec.arts.sf.written

Contents

  (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2026-09-02 10:06 -0400
    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-02 11:12 -0400
      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-02 15:30 +0000
        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-02 15:24 -0400
      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2026-09-02 16:43 +0000
        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-02 21:47 +0000
          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-02 17:13 -0500
            Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas wollman@hergotha.csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) - 2026-09-03 04:01 +0000
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-03 08:54 -0700
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-09-03 16:04 +0000
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-03 12:46 -0400
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-04 08:46 -0700
            Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-03 08:53 -0700
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2026-09-03 18:36 -0700
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-03 20:18 -0700
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-04 11:59 -0400
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-05 09:15 -0700
            Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com> - 2026-09-06 19:53 -0700
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2026-09-07 14:26 +0000
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas quadibloc@invalid.com (John Savard) - 2026-09-08 02:53 +0000
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas quadibloc@invalid.com (John Savard) - 2026-09-08 02:52 +0000
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-08 03:22 +0000
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-08 16:08 +0000
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-08 13:10 -0400
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-08 17:56 +0000
                    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-09 08:58 -0700
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-08 20:02 -0400
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-08 18:22 -0500
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-09 02:33 +0000
                    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-08 22:35 -0500
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-08 20:49 -0700
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-09 14:50 +0000
                    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-09 09:00 -0700
                    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-09 15:31 -0500
                      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-09 21:06 +0000
                        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-09 21:47 -0500
                          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-09 20:36 -0700
                          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-10 15:12 +0000
                      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-09 21:58 +0000
                      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2026-09-09 18:20 -0400
                      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-09 20:46 -0700
                        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-10 08:51 -0700
                      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-10 08:45 -0700
          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2026-09-03 02:20 +0000
          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Robert Woodward <robertaw@drizzle.com> - 2026-09-02 21:45 -0700
            Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-09-03 05:00 +0000
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Robert Woodward <robertaw@drizzle.com> - 2026-09-03 21:49 -0700
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Ahasuerus <ahasuerus@email.com> - 2026-09-04 12:05 -0400
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Robert Woodward <robertaw@drizzle.com> - 2026-09-04 21:43 -0700
                    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-05 04:59 +0000
            Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-03 06:55 +0000
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-03 13:25 -0400
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-03 17:46 +0000
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-09-03 18:06 +0000
                    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2026-09-03 18:31 -0700
                      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-04 04:02 +0000
                        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-03 21:13 -0700
                          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-09-04 05:13 +0000
                        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-04 12:04 -0400
                          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-04 10:12 -0700
                            Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2026-09-04 13:21 -0700
                            Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-05 15:16 -0400
                          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-05 10:04 -0400
                            Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-05 15:21 -0400
                              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-05 16:01 -0700
                    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-03 22:09 -0500
                      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-03 20:59 -0700
                        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-03 23:28 -0500
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-04 08:50 -0700
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com> - 2026-09-06 20:06 -0700
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-06 20:48 -0700
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com> - 2026-09-07 07:32 -0700
                    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-07 11:51 -0400
                      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-07 15:01 -0400
                    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-08 16:13 +0000
                      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-08 13:13 -0700
                        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2026-09-08 14:34 -0700
                        GFC. Titus G <noone@nowhere.com> - 2026-09-09 12:41 +1200
                          Re: GFC. Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-09 06:01 +0000
                            Re: GFC. Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-09 09:32 -0700
                              Re: GFC. William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2026-09-09 16:38 -0400
                          Re: GFC. kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-09 08:56 -0400
                        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-09 09:03 -0700
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2026-09-07 15:26 -0400
                    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-07 21:41 +0000
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-07 04:21 +0000
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-07 08:49 -0400
                    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> - 2026-09-07 14:44 +0000
                    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-07 12:14 -0400
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-07 11:54 -0400
                    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-07 22:13 +0000
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2026-09-07 14:30 +0000
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-07 21:41 +0000
                    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas wollman@hergotha.csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) - 2026-09-08 00:05 +0000
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-07 14:26 -0700
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Don <g@crcomp.net> - 2026-09-07 03:38 +0000
            Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2026-09-03 12:45 +0000
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-03 09:34 -0400
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com> - 2026-09-03 13:43 +0000
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-03 13:34 -0400
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-04 11:37 -0400
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2026-09-04 13:09 -0400
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-04 11:36 -0400
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-04 19:28 -0500
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-04 17:41 -0700
                    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-04 22:37 -0500
                      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-05 03:50 +0000
                      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-04 21:53 -0700
                        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-09-05 05:13 +0000
                          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-05 09:41 -0700
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-05 09:29 -0700
      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Steve Coltrin <spcoltri@omcl.org> - 2026-09-02 12:36 -0600
      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas wollman@hergotha.csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) - 2026-09-02 21:21 +0000
        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2026-09-02 17:29 -0400
          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-03 00:42 +0000
        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-03 00:36 +0000
          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas wollman@hergotha.csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) - 2026-09-03 04:04 +0000
            Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-03 05:11 +0000
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-03 09:30 -0400
        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.comNOSPAM> - 2026-09-03 08:47 -0400
          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-09-03 13:29 +0000
          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-03 21:14 +0000
          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> - 2026-09-03 21:47 +0000
            Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-03 23:42 +0000
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2026-09-03 18:33 -0700
            Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Don <g@crcomp.net> - 2026-09-04 00:35 +0000
      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas quadibloc@invalid.com (John Savard) - 2026-09-06 01:48 +0000
        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-06 01:06 -0400
          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-09-06 05:46 +0000
            Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com> - 2026-09-06 07:21 -0400
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-06 14:25 -0400
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com> - 2026-09-06 16:40 -0400
          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-06 06:41 +0000
            Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-06 08:07 -0700
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com> - 2026-09-06 11:14 -0400
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-06 09:31 -0700
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com> - 2026-09-06 16:34 -0400
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-06 11:52 -0400
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2026-09-06 16:12 +0000
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> - 2026-09-06 09:57 -0700
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-09-06 19:20 +0000
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> - 2026-09-06 16:44 +0000
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-06 14:32 -0400
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-06 14:30 -0400
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-06 16:39 -0400
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas WolfFan <akwolffan@zoho.com> - 2026-09-14 18:26 -0400
            Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-06 11:49 -0400
          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-06 09:57 -0700
            Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-09-06 14:36 -0400
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-07 14:34 -0700
            Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas quadibloc@invalid.com (John Savard) - 2026-09-08 03:00 +0000
              Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-08 09:32 -0700
                Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas quadibloc@invalid.com (John Savard) - 2026-09-08 17:38 +0000
                  Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-09-09 09:05 -0700
        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas wollman@hergotha.csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) - 2026-09-06 14:59 +0000
    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-09-02 17:11 -0500
    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-03 00:47 +0000
      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2026-09-03 04:59 +0000
    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-03 21:22 +0000
      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2026-09-03 18:57 -0400
        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Jerry Brown <jerry@jwbrown.co.uk.invalid> - 2026-09-04 07:55 +0100
      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas "Gary R. Schmidt" <grschmidt@acm.org> - 2026-09-04 17:47 +1000
      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-04 11:40 -0400
        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-09-04 16:45 +0000
        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Titus G <noone@nowhere.com> - 2026-09-05 16:23 +1200
          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-05 04:31 +0000
          Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-09-20 19:26 -0400
            Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Titus G <noone@nowhere.com> - 2026-09-22 12:28 +1200
    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-04 22:43 +0000
    Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-05 08:21 +0000
      Vonnegut. Was: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Titus G <noone@nowhere.com> - 2026-09-07 11:37 +1200
      Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Don <g@crcomp.net> - 2026-09-07 02:25 +0000
        Re: (ReacTor) Five SFF Stories Featuring Terrible Ideas Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-09-07 02:56 +0000

Page 5 of 9 — ← Prev page 1 2 3 4 [5] 6 7 8 9  Next page →

#660406 — Re: GFC.

Paul S Person wrote:

> As one of the bond rating companies involved explained: if they didn't
> rate the bond AAA because they knew it was rotten, the issuer would
> just take it down the street to a rival rating company and get the
> commission.

That may be the truth, or it may simply be less embarrassing than  the 
fact that they were gamed.

"A" students in finance go to wall street.  "C" students go to the 
rating agencies, and the worst of them go to subprime mortgages.

When they were given a bond to evaluate with the required FICA score, 
they gave it an A  rating. They didn't look any deeper.  Some of these 
bonds were dumbbell shaped.  They were a combination of very high rated 
mortgages with very low rated, such that the average earned a A.

But this is not an A rated bond in any sense, as the lower half of the 
dumbbell is quite certain to forfeit when trouble arises. These bonds 
were junk, and bad junk at that.

As for those high FICA scores, many of them were also meaningless.  Find 
a poor person who has never borrowed money.  Lend them 500k to buy a 
house, and use their "thin FICA" rating to pump up the average rating of 
the mortgage bond you are conning S&P into assigning an AAA rating.

And this was what hurt Morgan Stanley.  Well aware that the lower ranked 
bonds were suspect, they bought insurance on a few billion B and lower 
bonds.  But this insurance cost money, which reduced the bond desk's 
profit, which reduced bonuses.  Can't have that.  So they sold insurance 
on A bonds.  As A rated bond insurance was less costly, they had to 
insure many times more A bonds than they had insurance on B bonds.

But since the A bonds were also junk, they all failed, and instead of 
making a tidy five billion or so, they lost nine billion.

But at least they got to keep their bonuses, and the guy who organized 
the catastrophe got a 200 million severance package.

And thus communism was kept at bay!


William Hyde

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660392 — Re: GFC.

In article <117qq6f$qiig$1@dont-email.me>, Titus G  <noone@nowhere.com> wrote:
>Resulted in the problems, from FRAUD, of 2008 and later.
>It is one of my pet peeves that it is referred to as the GFC as if it
>was a force of nature rather than a result of unnatural greed. Your
>simplistic summary is great and it is a pity that people weren't aware
>of it back then.

Greed -is- a force of nature.  That's why we have governments.
--scott
-- 
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660397

On Tue, 8 Sep 2026 13:13:47 -0700, BobbieSellers
<bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.invalid> wrote:

>On 9/8/26 09:13, Scott Lurndal wrote:
>> a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com> writes:
>>> On 9/6/26 20:48, BobbieSellers wrote:
>>>> On 9/6/26 20:06, a425couple wrote:
>>>>> On 9/2/26 23:55, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
>>>>>> On Wed, 02 Sep 2026 21:45:27 -0700, Robert Woodward wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> In article <117a5i0$35q9q$5@dont-email.me>,
>>>>>>>    Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Wed, 2 Sep 2026 16:43:34 -0000 (UTC), James Nicoll wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> One of Ben Bova's later works solves the population bomb by
>>>>>>>>> secretly installing in every woman a fertility cap that ensures
>>>>>>>>> they will have no more than two babies.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Ah, those were the days, when people took seriously phrases like
>>>>>>>> “population bomb” ...
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> IIRC, there was a Harry Harrison short story that featured a birth
>>>>>>> control drug that turned out to be too effective (I checked the
>>>>>>> ISFDB, but didn't see a title that looked right).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The birth control “drug” that turned out to be spectacularly effective
>>>>>> was education: once a woman realizes there might be more to life than
>>>>>> having babies, she tends to lose a lot of enthusiasm for having them.
>>>>>
>>>>> Perhaps for some.
>>>>> But that sounds like a left wingers delusion to me.
>>>>> Some adults (men and women) like having and raising children.
>>>>
>>>>       Indeed many do enjoy raising children but just because someone does
>>>> not enjoy having children it does not mean they are subscribing to
>>>> particular points of view whether on the Left or on the Right.  I wanted
>>>> to type Wrong for the Right above but I restrained myself. Sometimes the
>>>> Right has been correct as in the Eisenhower years with a 91% tax on
>>>> the highest incomes.  Then in the Reagan-Bush-Clinton years they gave
>>>> the highest incomes the big tax breaks affirmed and demanded by Trump.
>>>>       Result $40 Trillion dollars of National Debt.
>>>
>>> I am frustrated at both parties for the size of the National Debt,
>>> but I feel your blaming it on Trump is very wrong.
>> 
>> Actually, the blame falls squarely on Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush
>> and Donald Trump.    ALL of whom reduced the taxes on the rich and
>> did _nothing_ to stem spending.    Mr. Clinton left office with a
>> balanced budget (no deficit).  GWB blew that up right away along
>> with his blatently illegal revenge war with Iraq (huge spending).
>> 
>> The best graph to show effect of the tax cuts this is:
>> 
>> https://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/2025/09/17/u-s-household-incomes-over-50-years-the-great-divide
>> 
>	
>
>Actually cutting taxes on the very well off started
>with John F. Kennedy.  He was cutting the Eisenhower era taxes
>but another rich man cutting taxes on the very well off.
>
>	Clinton added to economic problems by going along with the Republicans 
>and relaxing the regulations governing banks which
>resulted in the problems of 2008.
>
>	Obama should have paid more attention to the people whose
>homes went underwater rather than helping out the financial
>institutions which exploiting the relaxed rules brought on the
>catastrophic situation.
>
>
>>>
>>> National Debt is a serious problem.  Let me remind you of the Democrat's
>>> history. The U.S. national debt increased by approximately $8.45
>>> trillion during Joe Biden’s four-year presidential term.
>
>	The problem is not the national debt but the Tariffs of
>which the present occupant of the Oval Office is so fond.  He
>intends to reuse the Smoot-Hawley Act the tariffs of which
>brought on the Great Depression which started in the
>Unregulated USA Capitalism of the 1920s and with the imposition
>by Congress spread the Depression all over the world.
>
>	Republican economics have damaged the Nation over
>and over again. Democratic economics have saved it over
>and over again but since the Elitist Republicans control
>the media you will never see a fair evaluation of the situation
>except in print where most will never stick their noses.
>Economics is not called the Dismal Science for nothing
>but dry economic texts are hard for even me to read...
>
>	Present Republican economics may reduce the free USA
>to a Corporate Feudal state as the wages to the workers are
>considered a reducible expense and if they could have slaves
>again they would be very happy.
>
>> 
>> Thanks to prior tax cuts by during republican administrations.
>> 
>> Raise taxes on the rich.
>
>	The only tax cuts which might be equitable would be based
>on amount of taxes paid by by employees below the executive level...
>We might consider a tax cut based on the amount of government
>bonds which are held as a part of the wealth of an individual.
>
>	Investment income must be taxed and in a progressive
>manner i.e. the more income the higher the taxes.
>
>	Why do we have such enormous debt and why are so many
>of today's billionaires not simply millionaires as in previous
>times?
>   The rich have dodged taxes to such an extent that the value
>of the money has fallen. They inspired wars based on fear of
>Communism and then they did not pay the cost of those wars.
>
>	Eisenhower understood this and was apparently the last Republican who 
>could count on more than his fingers. Possibly
>due to his military experience he knew the importance of
>controlling not only spending but the adequacy of military
>funding which was sourced from Taxes.
>
>	There would be no depletion of American munitions
>if there was not depletion of the income from taxation.
>Tariffs are illusionary devices to impose sales taxes on
>the American and other peoples.

While I agree taxes on the rich should be raised, I don't see that
happening until they literally become confiscatory because there
literally is no other choice.
-- 
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660350

BobbieSellers wrote:

> 
> Ben Franklin said something about happiness being your expenses being
> less than your income. We ignore his advice to the Republic's peril.

I've read Frankin's essay "On True Happiness" and this is not there. His 
view is that virtue is the key to happiness.  Though virtue would 
include getting into debt you cannot pay.

The statement sounds like Mr Micawber from "David Copperfield".

"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds 
nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual 
expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery."

William Hyde

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660356

On Mon, 7 Sep 2026 15:26:08 -0400, William Hyde wrote:

> The statement sounds like Mr Micawber from "David Copperfield".
>
> "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds
> nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds,
> annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery."

Spot on. ;)

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660335

On Sun, 6 Sep 2026 20:06:40 -0700, a425couple wrote:

> On 9/2/26 23:55, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
>>
>> The birth control “drug” that turned out to be spectacularly
>> effective was education: once a woman realizes there might be more
>> to life than having babies, she tends to lose a lot of enthusiasm
>> for having them.
>
> But that sounds like a left wingers delusion to me.

Are the anti-science crowd mostly right-wing?

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660338

Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=  <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
>
>Are the anti-science crowd mostly right-wing?

For the most part now.  Which is curious because back in the sixties they
were mostly left-wing.  Go figure.
--scott
-- 
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660343

On 2026-09-07, Scott Dorsey <kludge@panix.com> wrote:

>>Are the anti-science crowd mostly right-wing?
>
> For the most part now.  Which is curious because back in the sixties they
> were mostly left-wing.  Go figure.

ObSF: Greg Egan in ... _Distress_, IIRC ... is very harsh on the
      "ignorance cults".

-- 
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber                          naddy@mips.inka.de

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660346

On 9/7/2026 8:49 AM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
> Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=  <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
>>
>> Are the anti-science crowd mostly right-wing?
> 
> For the most part now.  Which is curious because back in the sixties they
> were mostly left-wing.  Go figure.
> --scott

Slightly off-topic, but it brings to mind this Carl Sagan quote:

“I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s 
time—when the United States is a service and information economy; when 
nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other 
countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very 
few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the 
issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas 
or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our 
crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties 
in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s 
true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and 
darkness”

pt

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660345

On 9/7/2026 12:21 AM, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
> On Sun, 6 Sep 2026 20:06:40 -0700, a425couple wrote:
> 
>> On 9/2/26 23:55, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
>>>
>>> The birth control “drug” that turned out to be spectacularly
>>> effective was education: once a woman realizes there might be more
>>> to life than having babies, she tends to lose a lot of enthusiasm
>>> for having them.
>>
>> But that sounds like a left wingers delusion to me.
> 
> Are the anti-science crowd mostly right-wing?

The anti-science crowd exists on both sides. One
one, you have the crystal fondling anti-nukes, and
on the other, anti-evolutionists and climate deniers.
Antvax is on both.

pt

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660357

On Mon, 7 Sep 2026 11:54:29 -0400, Cryptoengineer wrote:

> On 9/7/2026 12:21 AM, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
>>
>> On Sun, 6 Sep 2026 20:06:40 -0700, a425couple wrote:
>>
>>> On 9/2/26 23:55, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
>>>>
>>>> The birth control “drug” that turned out to be spectacularly
>>>> effective was education: once a woman realizes there might be
>>>> more to life than having babies, she tends to lose a lot of
>>>> enthusiasm for having them.
>>>
>>> But that sounds like a left wingers delusion to me.
>>
>> Are the anti-science crowd mostly right-wing?
>
> The anti-science crowd exists on both sides. One one, you have the
> crystal fondling anti-nukes, and on the other, anti-evolutionists
> and climate deniers. Antvax is on both.

So which side is the one that claims that educating women leads to a
lower birth rate must be a “delusion”?

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660340

In article <5TpnS.464$NE2.215@fx20.iad>,
a425couple  <a425couple@hotmail.com> wrote:
>On 9/2/26 23:55, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
>> On Wed, 02 Sep 2026 21:45:27 -0700, Robert Woodward wrote:
>> 
>>> In article <117a5i0$35q9q$5@dont-email.me>,
>>>   Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Wed, 2 Sep 2026 16:43:34 -0000 (UTC), James Nicoll wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> One of Ben Bova's later works solves the population bomb by
>>>>> secretly installing in every woman a fertility cap that ensures
>>>>> they will have no more than two babies.
>>>>
>>>> Ah, those were the days, when people took seriously phrases like
>>>> “population bomb” ...
>>>
>>> IIRC, there was a Harry Harrison short story that featured a birth
>>> control drug that turned out to be too effective (I checked the
>>> ISFDB, but didn't see a title that looked right).
>> 
>> The birth control “drug” that turned out to be spectacularly effective
>> was education: once a woman realizes there might be more to life than
>> having babies, she tends to lose a lot of enthusiasm for having them.
>
>Perhaps for some.
>But that sounds like a left wingers delusion to me.
>Some adults (men and women) like having and raising children.

Global Total Fertility Rate 1960: 4.7
Global Total Fertility Rate 2024: 2.2

Total fertility rate represents the number of children that would 
be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing 
years and bear children in accordance with current age-specific fertility 
rates.

-- 
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660355

On Mon, 7 Sep 2026 14:30:10 -0000 (UTC), James Nicoll wrote:

> Global Total Fertility Rate 1960: 4.7
> Global Total Fertility Rate 2024: 2.2

2.1 is generally accepted as the replacement level. Below that, your
population starts declining.

I was somewhat surprised to learn that India has now dropped below
replacement level.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660359

In article <117nb1c$3l311$4@dont-email.me>,
Lawrence DÿOliveiro  <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
>On Mon, 7 Sep 2026 14:30:10 -0000 (UTC), James Nicoll wrote:
>
>> Global Total Fertility Rate 1960: 4.7
>> Global Total Fertility Rate 2024: 2.2

One thing to keep in mind is that *TFR can't be determined
contemporaneously* because a large fraction of living women are still
fertile.  So there is much more certainty about the 1960 figure,
because all of the women alive in 1960 are now at least 66 years old
and incapable of further child-bearing, whereas most of the women
alive in 2024 could still have (more) children if they wanted to -- or
if they don't, the number might be still lower.

>2.1 is generally accepted as the replacement level. Below that, your
>population starts declining.

Why not 2.0?  Because some people die before/without having children,
and "replacement" implies replacing them and not just the
child-bearing women and the fathers of each child.  Similar
adjustments are required to account for polyandry/polygyny, but 2.1 is
more of a rule of thumb than a precise computation.

-GAWollman

-- 
Garrett A. Wollman    | "Act to avoid constraining the future; if you can,
wollman@bimajority.org| act to remove constraint from the future.  This is
Opinions not shared by| a thing you can do, are able to do, to do together."
my employers.         | - Graydon Saunders, _A Succession of Bad Days_ (2015)

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660353

On Sun, 6 Sep 2026 20:06:40 -0700, a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>On 9/2/26 23:55, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
>> On Wed, 02 Sep 2026 21:45:27 -0700, Robert Woodward wrote:
>> 
>>> In article <117a5i0$35q9q$5@dont-email.me>,
>>>   Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Wed, 2 Sep 2026 16:43:34 -0000 (UTC), James Nicoll wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> One of Ben Bova's later works solves the population bomb by
>>>>> secretly installing in every woman a fertility cap that ensures
>>>>> they will have no more than two babies.
>>>>
>>>> Ah, those were the days, when people took seriously phrases like
>>>> “population bomb” ...
>>>
>>> IIRC, there was a Harry Harrison short story that featured a birth
>>> control drug that turned out to be too effective (I checked the
>>> ISFDB, but didn't see a title that looked right).
>> 
>> The birth control “drug” that turned out to be spectacularly effective
>> was education: once a woman realizes there might be more to life than
>> having babies, she tends to lose a lot of enthusiasm for having them.
>
>Perhaps for some.
>But that sounds like a left wingers delusion to me.

Actually, it /does/ resemble some modernist arguments I have read
showing a rather cavalier attitude towards the facts.

But at least they had some acquaintence with the existdnce of the
facts. Unlike, say, MAGA.

Myself, I prefer the theory that reducing child mortality rates causes
a decline in the birth rate, as it no longer requires producing (say)
5 or 6 children to ensure 2.1 of them reach adulthood.

Note: my maternal grandfather and his sister were the only 2 of 11
children born to their parents to reach adulthood.

>Some adults (men and women) like having and raising children.

Unfortunately, some who claim to be among them are occasionally found
to be severely mistreating those children. Which, in a way, is
understandable (but not, to be sure, excusable, never mind
acceptable), since each child requires a lot time, and there are only
24 hours in a day.
-- 
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660333

Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
> On Wed, 02 Sep 2026 21:45:27 -0700, Robert Woodward wrote:
>
>> In article <117a5i0$35q9q$5@dont-email.me>,
>>  Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> On Wed, 2 Sep 2026 16:43:34 -0000 (UTC), James Nicoll wrote:
>>>
>>>> One of Ben Bova's later works solves the population bomb by
>>>> secretly installing in every woman a fertility cap that ensures
>>>> they will have no more than two babies.
>>>
>>> Ah, those were the days, when people took seriously phrases like
>>> “population bomb” ...
>>
>> IIRC, there was a Harry Harrison short story that featured a birth
>> control drug that turned out to be too effective (I checked the
>> ISFDB, but didn't see a title that looked right).
>
> The birth control “drug” that turned out to be spectacularly effective
> was education: once a woman realizes there might be more to life than
> having babies, she tends to lose a lot of enthusiasm for having them.

Caitlin Johnstone objects, judging by the words to her video poem:

    <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSPgpnTGMPY>

    CIA veteran Gloria Steinem has died.
    She helped Langley win the Cold War
    while women remain blacksited and broken
    raining teeth from bloody mouths
    like the reds in Pinochet’s torture camps.

    In this CIA civilization
    women
    slap name tags over baby vomit stains
    smiling ear to ear for chortling customers
    who shovel cheesecarbs into their faces
    while she juggles dishpans and breast pumps
    and goes home to collapse in bed
    and dream about work,

    women
    take selfies in IDF uniforms
    and do TikTok dances
    on the ruins of Gaza
    and pilot Girl Power drones
    and drop Girl Power bombs
    onto mothers clawing at the rubble,

    women
    stand with sedated eyes
    stranded in suburban deserts
    spooning cereal into restless children
    until hubby comes home
    to rape everyone in the house,

    women
    hate their bodies so much
    they remove the fat from their cheeks
    so they look like skeletons
    and then freeze their faces
    trying to look twenty
    and it freezes their minds at twenty
    and their hearts stay stuck at twenty
    and they don’t grow
    and they don’t heal
    and they don’t know any better
    than to call their daughters fat
    and stick porcupine quills in their flesh,

    women
    spend their lives staring
    at the side of a man’s head
    yearning to be loved
    and feeling their light fade
    while he stares at a screen
    and makes loud noises
    to drown out the echoes
    of his father’s fists cracking
    on the bones of his face,

    women
    tear strips off each other’s flesh
    to win the approval of wolf-mouthed men
    who gobble up the carnage
    and then choose a favorite slave.

    Gloria Steinem was not a girl’s girl.
    Gloria Steinem was a pick-me girl.
    Pick me, CIA.
    Pick me, empire.
    I’ll be a good little supplicant for the banker boys.
    I will starve feminism of its boobs and belly,
    shave it back to into the image of a child,
    put a tie on it and call it equal.
    I will say to the ladies:
    “Get out of the kitchen
    and into the Amazon warehouse!
    Take off that apron
    and put on this efficiency tracker!
    It monitors your calories, too!
    10,000 steps a day for the empire.
    Congratulations, you do two jobs now.”
    And I will return my magical baby portal
    back to sender
    unused in my box.
    I promise I won’t even peek
    at my own life-creating god potential.
    I will poo-poo it even, if anyone asks.
    Who cares if we can make life?
    We can make money!
    That’s much more important.
    I will civilize us hairy juicy vag goddesses,
    sir.
    You can count on me.

    Gloria Steinem was a pick-me girl,
    and boy was she ever picked.

    But now she is dead,
    and the empire is dying,
    and the drumbeats of the wild
    are unnerving the boys at Langley.

    Something is stirring within us.
    Something ancient.
    Something forgotten.
    Something moves within our wombs
    which they tried to paralyze long ago.
    The drums are getting louder,
    and we are growing increasingly feral.

    The time is coming,
    and coming up fast,
    where we will stand before them,
    blood-bladed and hairy-bushed,
    the wreckage of Langley beneath our feet,
    saying,
    I am not civilized,
    motherf[or]ker.
    I am not f[or]king civilized.

Danke,

--
Don.......My cat's  )\._.,--....,'``.                     veritas    _|_
telltale tall tail /,   _.. \   _\  (`._ ,.               liberabit   |
tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.'              vos         |

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660206

In article <robertaw-8449D4.21452702092026@news.individual.net>,
Robert Woodward  <robertaw@drizzle.com> wrote:
>In article <117a5i0$35q9q$5@dont-email.me>,
> Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 2 Sep 2026 16:43:34 -0000 (UTC), James Nicoll wrote:
>> 
>> > One of Ben Bova's later works solves the population bomb by secretly
>> > installing in every woman a fertility cap that ensures they will
>> > have no more than two babies.
>> 
>> Ah, those were the days, when people took seriously phrases like
>> “population bomb” ...
>
>IIRC, there was a Harry Harrison short story that featured a birth 
>control drug that turned out to be too effective (I checked the ISFDB, 
>but didn't see a title that looked right).
>
In Edward Llewellyn's future history, a fantastic new chemical
useful as a cancer treatment, an insecticide, and birth control, 
turned out to have an unforseen side effect, which was to sterilize
girls born to women who had been exposed to it. Cue a sudden drop
in population as the birthrate dropped to just above zero, except
in communities that went out of their way to avoid mod cons.

Llewellyn might have had thalidomide in mind.

It strains belief that the side effect wasn't noticed in testing
but there's reason to think the whole thing was engineered by a 
well-meaning alien.

I probably met Llewellyn, as he was a colleague of my father's and 
taught at UWaterloo. However, I only discovered that he was UW prof
from his obit. 

`
-- 
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660210

James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
>In Edward Llewellyn's future history, a fantastic new chemical
>useful as a cancer treatment, an insecticide, and birth control, 
>turned out to have an unforseen side effect, which was to sterilize
>girls born to women who had been exposed to it. Cue a sudden drop
>in population as the birthrate dropped to just above zero, except
>in communities that went out of their way to avoid mod cons.
>
>Llewellyn might have had thalidomide in mind.

It was on everybody's mind at the time.

Another book with similar background was "The Hubschmann Effect" in which
a birth control drug has behavioural effects on children born after women
stop taking the drug.  These effects seem beneficial on the whole but affect
socialization.  This also made a big impact on me when I found it in a used
bookstore in a beach town when I was 9.
--scott

-- 
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660211

[snip]

>James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
>>In Edward Llewellyn's future history, a fantastic new chemical
>>useful as a cancer treatment, an insecticide, and birth control, 
>>turned out to have an unforseen side effect, which was to sterilize
>>girls born to women who had been exposed to it. Cue a sudden drop
>>in population as the birthrate dropped to just above zero, except...

Of course there's the similar Aschen vaccine utilized
in Stargate SG-1...

https://www.gateworld.net/wiki/Aschen_vaccine

-- 
_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
		     dannyb@panix.com 
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#660219

On 9/3/2026 8:45 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
> In article <robertaw-8449D4.21452702092026@news.individual.net>,
> Robert Woodward  <robertaw@drizzle.com> wrote:
>> In article <117a5i0$35q9q$5@dont-email.me>,
>> Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> On Wed, 2 Sep 2026 16:43:34 -0000 (UTC), James Nicoll wrote:
>>>
>>>> One of Ben Bova's later works solves the population bomb by secretly
>>>> installing in every woman a fertility cap that ensures they will
>>>> have no more than two babies.
>>>
>>> Ah, those were the days, when people took seriously phrases like
>>> “population bomb” ...
>>
>> IIRC, there was a Harry Harrison short story that featured a birth
>> control drug that turned out to be too effective (I checked the ISFDB,
>> but didn't see a title that looked right).
>>
> In Edward Llewellyn's future history, a fantastic new chemical
> useful as a cancer treatment, an insecticide, and birth control,
> turned out to have an unforseen side effect, which was to sterilize
> girls born to women who had been exposed to it. Cue a sudden drop
> in population as the birthrate dropped to just above zero, except
> in communities that went out of their way to avoid mod cons.
> 
> Llewellyn might have had thalidomide in mind.
> 
> It strains belief that the side effect wasn't noticed in testing
> but there's reason to think the whole thing was engineered by a
> well-meaning alien.
...except that thalidomide *was* approved for use in manyu countries.
It was not approved in the US, mainly due the work of Frances
Oldham Kelsey, an FDA pharmacologist. As a result, there were
only a couple dozen children born affected in America, out of
10,000-20,000 worldwide.

Bad stuff *can* get into circulation.

pt

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

Page 5 of 9 — ← Prev page 1 2 3 4 [5] 6 7 8 9  Next page →

Back to top | Article view | rec.arts.sf.written

csiph-web