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Tipped off via the intrepid kodi, we have more on the Guantanamo plans for an execution chamber.

There also are plans to build a permanent modular detention facility, to imprison detainees who might be sentenced to indefinite terms, and an execution chamber should any be sentenced to death, he said.

If this is accurate, and the article quotes named individuals in the military, they have at the very least developed a process and procedure for military tribunal executions. And, in fact, it’s been posted.

Any lawful punishment or condition of punishment is authorized, including death, so long as the prerequisites detailed in reference (a) are met.

The above-mentioned reference (a) is the Military Commission Order No. 1, which is available here (as a PDF). It refers back to this Presidential order for authority. It should be noted that these tribunals are limited to non-US citizens, although it includes citizens of some of our allies.

Lawrence Haws argued in comments below that these plans could be intended as a threat to induce cooperation. S’still possible. I hope he’s right.

I should also note that, on reviewing the orders referenced above, that the military has outlined a fair system of trials. Without spending more time thinking about it, I wouldn’t argue that the tribunal system itself is unfair. I am more concerned about a judicial system established by executive order, for reasons involving separation of powers. (There’s probably something to be said here about the system of military justice for our military personnel; I will summarize by observing that becoming subject to that system is a matter of personal choice.)

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A while back, Julian Dibbell wrote one of those articles about MMORPG economies. You know the kind, all breathless and interested. He’s the guy who wrote that article on LambdaMOO, too. I don’t know if we owe him a debt of thanks for that or not.

In the interests of putting his, well, money where his mouth is, he’s now keeping a blog (via Kottke) chronicling his attempts to make money in UO. Solid stuff, particularly his reporting on the recent UO “gold farm” scandal. Read it from the beginning.

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WISH 50 is all about being a professional in the game business:

Have you ever considered trying to publish something professionally in the gaming industry? Why or why not? What are the good points and bad points of being in the industry?

We’re presumably talking about pen and paper here, rather than computer games. With that in mind, the answer is yep. I have, in fact, published something professionally in the gaming industry. I have a decent-sized handful of White Wolf credits, most happily in the Trinity line; I’ve also done work for Atlas and I have something in the queue for Eden.

However, my drive to freelance tailed off a little once I’d done some of it. It doesn’t pay well, so money’s not a strong motivator, and now that I know I can do it I don’t feel the urge to prove it again. This leaves the pleasure of doing work I care about as an incentive.

I don’t get as much pleasure out of working in someone else’s vinyard. This isn’t a financial issue, it’s a creative control issue. One of the reasons I enjoyed working on Trinity so much was because my editor gave me lots of room to lay down tracks. When I wrote Psi Law, I was defining certain elements of the Trinity universe all by my lonesome. That was fun; sharecropping, not as much fun.

If I ever discover myself rich, I expect to get into the publishing business. I think there’s a place in gaming for the small press concept — games published for artistic motives. I don’t want to publish extended lines with a GM screen and splatbooks, I want to publish interesting one-offs with high production values that are complete in one book. That will, alas, probably always remain a dream.