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From: rafferty@cmu-cs-edu1.ARPA (Colin Rafferty)
Newsgroups: net.followup,net.flame
Subject: Re: Terrorism and TWA 847
Message-ID: <387@cmu-cs-edu1.ARPA>
Date: Fri, 28-Jun-85 00:28:10 EDT
Article-I.D.: cmu-cs-e.387
Posted: Fri Jun 28 00:28:10 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 30-Jun-85 00:48:06 EDT
Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI
Lines: 26
Xref: watmath net.followup:5038 net.flame:10881

>->> Each and every time those Shi'ite (or however you spell
>->> it) terrorists kill a hostage, or let a hostage die,
>->> let's execute 5 or so of the people they're trying to
>->> have released.  That'll shut 'em up...
>->> 
>->> 
>->> 				SJBerry
>-> 
>->   Actually, the Adolph Hitler principle states that you should kill
>-> ten of "their" people for each one of "ours".
>-> 
>-> H. Reza Taheri
>-> 
> 
> Don't credit Hitler with this policy, the Romans instituted it much earlier
> and that's how we got the word "decimate".
> 
>    Dave Peak
> 

Actually, the word decimate came up because the Romans would kill one tenth
of their own soldiers if they lost.  That made the Roman soldiers very
unlikely to surrender or retreat.  (Leave with your shield or on it.)

----
            Colin Rafferty { Math Department, Carnegie-Mellon University }