Balandar

Bids.

House 1 sold.

House 2 sold.

House 3 sold.

Note: You might be able to replace the ice island small houses with one of the newer models.

Taking bids until the 27th.

Buyout on any house is 300k.

Edit: All houses bought.

House 1

This is near the honor shrine.

House 2

This house is located on Ice Island next to my 3rd house for sale in this topic.

House 3

This house is located on Ice Island next to my 2nd house for sale in this topic.

"The idea of using pairs of numbers to locate points in the plane and triples of numbers to locate points in 3-space was first clearly spelled out in the mid-seventeenth century. By the latter part of the eighteenth century, mathematicians and physicists began to realize that there was no need to stop with triples.  It was recognized that quadruples of numbers could be regarded as points in “four-dimensional” space, quintuples as points in “five-dimensional” space, and so on, an n-tuple of numbers being a point in “n-dimensional” space. Our goal is to study the properties of operations on vectors in this kind of space."

This will help my programming how???

I can understand 2 or 3-dimensions.. but 4... 5... 2,845...

So if you had any posts or made any changes to your account do so again.

Thanks.

So if you had any posts or made any changes to your account do so again.

Thanks.

test

test

If you plan on playing DAoC please decide on what's what on the DAoC forum.

http://forums.thehonorempire.net/ikonboard.cgi?act=SF;f=23

Lets try to get everyone on the same server (UO and EQ people).

I am going to make a section of items that PGoH members have bought. Also write a small paragraph review about it.. maybe.. heh. Just remembered all of what I have.

Example for Balandar:

Books:

- The Complete Reference Java 2 Third Edition by Naughton Schildt

- Javascript The most complete Reference Second Ed. by Wooldridge, Morgan, Reynolds, & Honeycutt

- Using Perl 5 for web programming by Harlan, Powers, Doyle, Foghlu

- Using HTML 4 Fourth Ed. by Brown and Honeycutt

- Using Dynamic HTML by Gulbrahsen and Rawlings

- Programming Perl by Christiansen  and Orwant

- Perl Cookbook by Christiansen  and Tokington

- Learning Perl by Schwartz and Christiansen

- MySQL by DuBois

- The C++ Programming Language by Stroustrup

- Accelerated C++ by Koenig and Moo

- Flash 5 for windows and macintosh by Ulrich

+ more

- 50 some Dragonlance books (no longer read this wolrd)

- 50 some Forgotten Realms books

- JRR Tolkeins books

- Game Guides

Games:

- Starcraft

- Diablo 2 and expansion

- Everquest and expansions

- Unreal Tournament

- Icewind Dale

- Ultima Online Third Dawn and Renaissance

Hardware:

- Linksys 4 port cable/dsl router

Software:

- Borland JBuilder 5.0 Pro for Windows/Linux/Solaris

Movies:

- Gladiator

- Star wars ep 1

- etc

I am sure there is plenty of other stuff as well that I didn't put on my list. But this will give you a general idea.

Example:

Dark Age of Camelot

Amazon.com

"This is the massively multiplayer online role-playing game for those whose report cards were always marked, "Does not play well with others." Dark Age of Camelot allows thousands of players to adventure, grow, and battle one another for territory, goods, and experience.

Set in Europe's mythological past, Camelot incorporates Arthurian legends, Norse mythology, and Irish Celtic lore. Players choose which realm to serve during character creation: noble Albion, brutal Midgard, or mystical Hibernia. Each realm has unique character races and classes, such as elves, trolls, and highlanders. Once chosen, the player's character will serve that realm forever. Once the character has gained in power, he or she will be asked to defend the realm from invasion and to go on raiding parties into other realms.

If you're thinking that Camelot is designed to encourage player-vs.-player combat, you're right. Realms will battle over territory, key structures (such as towers and castles), and relics. Certain powers and noble titles can only be gained by successfully attacking or defending against rival realms. But Camelot also requires teamwork. All player-vs.-player combat is team based; you can only fight characters in opposing realms. Members of a realm must band together to fend off and attack other realms. In fact, each character class has been designed with player-vs.-player combat in mind, and each will offer a different ability or perform a specific task in player-vs.-player situations.

The inter-realm war is not merely chaotic, mass melee combat. There are towers to be taken over and defended, relics to pilfer from enemy realms, and territory to scout and conquer. Siege warfare will be required to take over castles, stealthy rogues will be able to climb into strongholds and open the gates, and much, much more will be available.

Player levels will be based on experience versus monsters, not versus other players. And while players can only gain certain powers by actively going out on raids or protecting their realms' relics from enemy invasions, it is entirely possible to have a successful and enjoyable experience in Camelot as a merchant, trader, or monster hunter. At higher levels, players will have to adventure out into regions between the realms, which could bring them into conflict with enemies--but not necessarily so.

In order to allow new players time to grow familiar with the game, each realm will have its own unique, protected adventuring areas designed for new players. These areas will be consistent within each realm, and will allow new players an opportunity to gain experience and power without worrying about an invasion from across the seas.

Of course, at higher levels, you could be asked to board a Viking long ship for just such an invasion, or to rally to Arthur's banner before the gates of Camelot itself, or to conduct a druid ceremony in the mists of Hibernia, all for the greater glory of the realm. --Mike Fehlauer "

Quote from Siun, posted on Oct. 06 2001,10:49

That was pretty wild Bal! Where do you find the time?

Easy, just don't do your college studies.. lots of free time then. Took a two day break from college.

Ever have an urge to smash your computer system? Throw it thru a window? Or just cut it to pieces? Well, why not do it in a creative way? I decided on the last option, cut it to pieces.

Go here.

Better have a fast video card and lots of ram to run the 3d client. I still use the 2d. 3d is not very good for any pvp battles. Havn't tried it recently, but you may want to stick with the 2d for now.

Hows it going?

Pre-Order Neverwinter Nights!

DailyRadar Review

Bioware impressed us with Baldur's Gate, and the upcoming Baldur's Gate 2 also looks like it'll make us lock our doors and lay in a supply of beef jerky for the long game sessions. Neverwinter Nights, however, will not only suck away hours of our time, but it'll let us help suck away hours from other gamers' lives -- as many as 63 other gamers, to be exact.

The game's isometric third person perspective lets players rotate the camera so they can get a good look at the other players joining them on an adventure. The game focuses on easy multiplayer action -- Bioware still hopes to get as many as 64 players in all at once for some serious old-school paper-and-pencil roleplaying on the computer. The game will ship with 28 multiplayer modules for player to jump directly into, as well as a powerful editor to let prospective dungeon masters create their own adventures.

However, the game will still have a single-player mode that will let players experience the game on their own. Although the multiplayer aspects of the is obviously the focus, Bioware wants to make it accessible to those who don't want to constantly play online.

The game is completely faithful to the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition rules, which means players can create all the new character classes of the new system and use many of the new rules for combat. Bioware is focused on making the game as accurate to the rule set as possible.

Graphically, the game looks fantastic. Realtime shadows cast from torches flicker with the dancing flames, and move around as players move the torch. The shadows even include those cast by the player holding the light source. Spell effects look big and beautiful, just like they should. And the character models even have reflective surfaces, so armor reflects the light from around the character while the cloth or skin portions are more muted.

Unfortunately we'll have to wait until the second quarter of 2001 to get our hands on the game, but once we do, time will vanish completely. Not only can one person play the Dungeon Master (DM), but more than one person can be the DM. Which means you might be walking down a path on the way to a new dungeon, and a DM in the guise of a begger could ambush the party and attempt an assassination. As a matter of fact, players could have 63 DMs for one player -- not that it would be any fun for the DMs. In the same sense, DMs running a game will have full control over who gets in to the game, whether or not certain areas will allow player killing, or what sort of requirements players have to meet to join the adventure.

The characters in the game will be stored in a variety of ways, either on the host's server, on a general game vault, or on the players' hard drive directly. While this will open up the possibilities for some hacking, DMs can look a character over before letting it into the game. At the same time, Bioware promises full support online for the game, with ranking measures that will let players either recommend or lambaste other players, DMs, and servers.

We were suitably impressed with Bioware's latest offering, and we think these screenshots prove that Neverwinter Nights will be one of the best RPGs to look for next year.

Amazon.com Preview

BioWare, the company that brought you Baldur's Gate and the sequel BG2: Shadows of Amn, are at it again with what promises to be the most revolutionary online RPG yet: Neverwinter Nights. Why is it revolutionary? Because Neverwinter Nights dares to play like the pen-and-paper Dungeons & Dragons game it was based on.

Neverwinter Nights will be an online multiplayer role-playing game, but it won't be anything like EverQuest or Ultima Online. Instead of thousands of players exploring a single game world, Neverwinter Nights will feature small bands of players gathering on a single server. One player will take the role of Dungeon Master and will coordinate the story, control monsters, and guide players along a pre-made adventure from BioWare or from the Dungeon Master's own imagination. The overall experience will be much more personal, and will play just like the pen-and-paper game except without time-consuming dice rolls and rules arguments.

Those who don't want to run a game can always simply join an open game server and meet new people. Gamers looking for a solo experience can play through the included single-player adventures.

A new state-of-the-art 3-D graphics engine powers the game. It will also use the current 3rd edition rule set for Dungeons & Dragons. Neverwinter Nights is due sometime in the autumn of 2001, and will likely forever change the way we role-play online. --Andrew S. Bub

I will not go with it. I do not like the thought of bash and rest. Bash and rest. Bash and rest. I do that enough in EQ. I want a game where leveling is not the main focus of the game.

I cannot post this article here because of content.. but if you plan on playing DAoC.. read this first.

http://www.gamerifts.com/article.php?sid=44&mode=&order=0

Transcript of President Bush's address to a joint session of Congress on Thursday night, September 20, 2001.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. President Pro Tempore, members of Congress, and fellow Americans, in the normal course of events, presidents come to this chamber to report on the state of the union. Tonight, no such report is needed; it has already been delivered by the American people.

We have seen it in the courage of passengers who rushed terrorists to save others on the ground. Passengers like an exceptional man named Todd Beamer. And would you please help me welcome his wife Lisa Beamer here tonight?

(APPLAUSE)

We have seen the state of our union in the endurance of rescuers working past exhaustion.

We've seen the unfurling of flags, the lighting of candles, the giving of blood, the saying of prayers in English, Hebrew and Arabic.

We have seen the decency of a loving and giving people who have made the grief of strangers their own.

My fellow citizens, for the last nine days, the entire world has seen for itself the state of union, and it is strong.

(APPLAUSE)

Tonight, we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. Our grief has turned to anger and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.

(APPLAUSE)

I thank the Congress for its leadership at such an important time.

All of America was touched on the evening of the tragedy to see Republicans and Democrats joined together on the steps of this Capitol singing "God Bless America."

And you did more than sing. You acted, by delivering $40 billion to rebuild our communities and meet the needs of our military. Speaker Hastert, Minority Leader Gephardt, Majority Leader Daschle and Senator Lott, I thank you for your friendship, for your leadership and for your service to our country.

(APPLAUSE)

And on behalf of the American people, I thank the world for its outpouring of support.

America will never forget the sounds of our national anthem playing at Buckingham Palace, on the streets of Paris and at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.

We will not forget South Korean children gathering to pray outside our embassy in Seoul, or the prayers of sympathy offered at a mosque in Cairo.

We will not forget moments of silence and days of mourning in Australia and Africa and Latin America.

Nor will we forget the citizens of 80 other nations who died with our own. Dozens of Pakistanis, more than 130 Israelis, more than 250 citizens of India, men and women from El Salvador, Iran, Mexico and Japan, and hundreds of British citizens.

America has no truer friend than Great Britain. (APPLAUSE) Once again, we are joined together in a great cause.

I'm so honored the British prime minister has crossed an ocean to show his unity with America.

Thank you for coming, friend. (APPLAUSE)

On September the 11th, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against our country. Americans have known wars, but for the past 136 years they have been wars on foreign soil, except for one Sunday in 1941. Americans have known the casualties of war, but not at the center of a great city on a peaceful morning.

Aericans have known surprise attacks, but never before on thousands of civilians. All of this was brought upon us in a single day, and night fell on a different world, a world where freedom itself is under attack.

Americans have many questions tonight. Americans are asking, "Who attacked our country?"

The evidence we have gathered all points to a collection of loosely affiliated terrorist organizations known as al Qaeda. They are some of the murderers indicted for bombing American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya and responsible for bombing the USS Cole.

Al Qaeda is to terror what the Mafia is to crime. But its goal is not making money, its goal is remaking the world and imposing its radical beliefs on people everywhere.

The terrorists practice a fringe form of Islamic extremism that has been rejected by Muslim scholars and the vast majority of Muslim clerics; a fringe movement that perverts the peaceful teachings of Islam.

The terrorists' directive commands them to kill Christians and Jews, to kill all Americans and make no distinctions among military and civilians, including women and children. This group and its leader, a person named Osama bin Laden, are linked to many other organizations in different countries, including the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

There are thousands of these terrorists in more than 60 countries.

They are recruited from their own nations and neighborhoods and brought to camps in places like Afghanistan where they are trained in the tactics of terror. They are sent back to their homes or sent to hide in countries around the world to plot evil and destruction. The leadership of al Qaeda has great influence in Afghanistan and supports the Taliban regime in controlling most of that country. In Afghanistan we see al Qaeda's vision for the world. Afghanistan's people have been brutalized, many are starving and many have fled.

Women are not allowed to attend school. You can be jailed for owning a television. Religion can be practiced only as their leaders dictate. A man can be jailed in Afghanistan if his beard is not long enough. The United States respects the people of Afghanistan -- after all, we are currently its largest source of humanitarian aid -- but we condemn the Taliban regime.

(APPLAUSE) It is not only repressing its own people, it is threatening people everywhere by sponsoring and sheltering and supplying terrorists.

By aiding and abetting murder, the Taliban regime is committing murder. And tonight the United States of America makes the following demands on the Taliban:

-- Deliver to United States authorities all of the leaders of Al Qaeda who hide in your land.

-- Release all foreign nationals, including American citizens you have unjustly imprisoned.

-- Protect foreign journalists, diplomats and aid workers in your country.

-- Close immediately and permanently every terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. And hand over every terrorist and every person and their support structure to appropriate authorities.

-- Give the United States full access to terrorist training camps, so we can make sure they are no longer operating.

These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion. (APPLAUSE)

The Taliban must act and act immediately.

They will hand over the terrorists or they will share in their fate. I also want to speak tonight directly to Muslims throughout the world. We respect your faith. It's practiced freely by many millions of Americans and by millions more in countries that America counts as friends. Its teachings are good and peaceful, and those who commit evil in the name of Allah blaspheme the name of Allah.

(APPLAUSE)

The terrorists are traitors to their own faith, trying, in effect, to hijack Islam itself.

The enemy of America is not our many Muslim friends. It is not our many Arab friends. Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists and every government that supports them. (APPLAUSE)

Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there.

It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.

(APPLAUSE)

Americans are asking "Why do they hate us?"

They hate what they see right here in this chamber: a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms: our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.

They want to overthrow existing governments in many Muslim countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. They want to drive Israel out of the Middle East. They want to drive Christians and Jews out of vast regions of Asia and Africa.

These terrorists kill not merely to end lives, but to disrupt and end a way of life. With every atrocity, they hope that America grows fearful, retreating from the world and forsaking our friends. They stand against us because we stand in their way.

We're not deceived by their pretenses to piety.

We have seen their kind before. They're the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the 20th century. By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions, by abandoning every value except the will to power, they follow in the path of fascism, Nazism and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way to where it ends in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies. Americans are asking, "How will we fight and win this war?"

We will direct every resource at our command -- every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence, and every necessary weapon of war -- to the destruction and to the defeat of the global terror network.

Now, this war will not be like the war against Iraq a decade ago, with a decisive liberation of territory and a swift conclusion. It will not look like the air war above Kosovo two years ago, where no ground troops were used and not a single American was lost in combat.

Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes visible on TV and covert operations secret even in success.

We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place until there is no refuge or no rest.

And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation in every region now has a decision to make: Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.

From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime. Our nation has been put on notice, we're not immune from attack. We will take defensive measures against terrorism to protect Americans. Today, dozens of federal departments and agencies, as well as state and local governments, have responsibilities affecting homeland security.

These efforts must be coordinated at the highest level. So tonight, I announce the creation of a Cabinet-level position reporting directly to me, the Office of Homeland Security. And tonight, I also announce a distinguished American to lead this effort, to strengthen American security: a military veteran, an effective governor, a true patriot, a trusted friend, Pennsylvania's Tom Ridge.

He will lead, oversee and coordinate a comprehensive national strategy to safeguard our country against terrorism and respond to any attacks that may come. These measures are essential. The only way to defeat terrorism as a threat to our way of life is to stop it, eliminate it and destroy it where it grows.

Many will be involved in this effort, from FBI agents, to intelligence operatives, to the reservists we have called to active duty. All deserve our thanks, and all have our prayers. And tonight a few miles from the damaged Pentagon, I have a message for our military: Be ready. I have called the armed forces to alert, and there is a reason.

The hour is coming when America will act, and you will make us proud.

This is not, however, just America's fight. And what is at stake is not just America's freedom. This is the world's fight. This is civilization's fight. This is the fight of all who believe in progress and pluralism, tolerance and freedom.

We ask every nation to join us.

We will ask and we will need the help of police forces, intelligence service and banking systems around the world. The United States is grateful that many nations and many international organizations have already responded with sympathy and with support -- nations from Latin America to Asia to Africa to Europe to the Islamic world.

Perhaps the NATO charter reflects best the attitude of the world: An attack on one is an attack on all. The civilized world is rallying to America's side.

They understand that if this terror goes unpunished, their own cities, their own citizens may be next. Terror unanswered can not only bring down buildings, it can threaten the stability of legitimate governments.

And you know what? We're not going to allow it.

(APPLAUSE)

Americans are asking, "What is expected of us?"

I ask you to live your lives and hug your children. I know many citizens have fears tonight, and I ask you to be calm and resolute, even in the face of a continuing threat.

I ask you to uphold the values of America and remember why so many have come here.

We're in a fight for our principles, and our first responsibility is to live by them. No one should be singled out for unfair treatment or unkind words because of their ethnic background or religious faith.

I ask you to continue to support the victims of this tragedy with your contributions. Those who want to give can go to a central source of information, Libertyunites.org, to find the names of groups providing direct help in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The thousands of FBI agents who are now at work in this investigation may need your cooperation, and I ask you to give it. I ask for your patience with the delays and inconveniences that may accompany tighter security and for your patience in what will be a long struggle.

I ask your continued participation and confidence in the American economy. Terrorists attacked a symbol of American prosperity; they did not touch its source.

America is successful because of the hard work and creativity and enterprise of our people. These were the true strengths of our economy before September 11, and they are our strengths today.

And finally, please continue praying for the victims of terror and their families, for those in uniform and for our great country. Prayer has comforted us in sorrow and will help strengthen us for the journey ahead. Tonight I thank my fellow Americans for what you have already done and for what you will do.

And ladies and gentlemen of the Congress, I thank you, their representatives, for what you have already done and for what we will do together.

Tonight we face new and sudden national challenges. We will come together to improve air safety, to dramatically expand the number of air marshals on domestic flights and take new measures to prevent hijacking.

We will come together to promote stability and keep our airlines flying with direct assistance during this emergency.

(APPLAUSE)

We will come together to give law enforcement the additional tools it needs to track down terror here at home.

We will come together to strengthen our intelligence capabilities to know the plans of terrorists before they act and to find them before they strike. (APPLAUSE)

We will come together to take active steps that strengthen America's economy and put our people back to work.

Tonight, we welcome two leaders who embody the extraordinary spirit of all New Yorkers, Governor George Pataki and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

As a symbol of America's resolve, my administration will work with Congress and these two leaders to show the world that we will rebuild New York City.

After all that has just passed, all the lives taken and all the possibilities and hopes that died with them, it is natural to wonder if America's future is one of fear.

Some speak of an age of terror. I know there are struggles ahead and dangers to face. But this country will define our times, not be defined by them.

As long as the United States of America is determined and strong, this will not be an age of terror. This will be an age of liberty here and across the world.

Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger we have found our mission and our moment.

Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom, the great achievement of our time and the great hope of every time, now depends on us.

Our nation, this generation, will lift the dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter and we will not fail. (APPLAUSE)

It is my hope that in the months and years ahead life will return almost to normal. We'll go back to our lives and routines and that is good.

Even grief recedes with time and grace.

But our resolve must not pass. Each of us will remember what happened that day and to whom it happened. We will remember the moment the news came, where we were and what we were doing.

Some will remember an image of a fire or story or rescue. Some will carry memories of a face and a voice gone forever.

And I will carry this. It is the police shield of a man named George Howard who died at the World Trade Center trying to save others.

It was given to me by his mom, Arlene, as a proud memorial to her son. It is my reminder of lives that ended and a task that does not end.

I will not forget the wound to our country and those who inflicted it. I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people. The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.

(APPLAUSE)

Fellow citizens, we'll meet violence with patient justice, assured of the rightness of our cause and confident of the victories to come.

In all that lies before us, may God grant us wisdom and may he watch over the United States of America. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

What does everyone get on 3dmark2k and 2k1?

3dmark2001: http://gamershq.madonion.com/compare2k1.shtml?1598551

3dmark2000: http://gamershq.madonion.com/compare.shtml?2009481

http://gamershq.madonion.com/download/

testing upload feature

PGoH consists of mostly adults, which means most are working. I myself am in college with no time except to refresh houses. I don't know everyone's schdules.. so I can't tell you who is doing what. Some might be taking a break from UO. When you have played UO for a long time (49 months here).. it gets stale, except the new barkeeps! :alien:

From stratics

There's not much I can say about recent events, other than that it's hit the Catskills community pretty damn hard. We've received a lot of reaction to it in our mail, and I thought I'd post it.

Thanks to everyone who submitted, but my mailbox has been overfilled with screenshots to the point that I haven't been able to receive new messages. Anyone submitting an image at this time, please upload it to another site and send me the link.

Brian Yamada submitted the following memorial images.

Lady Pandora sent this in:

In light of the recent nation-wide tragedy, the Children of Darkness would like to publically extend their condolences to our fellow players in the New York and Washington DC area that may have suffered a loss of a loved one due to this unbelievable attack on human kind.

We would like to hold a candlelight vigil to remember those that lost their lives in this horrible act of terrorism on Friday Night at 9 PM EST at Lord British's castle in Trammel. We ask that everyone show up with a candle (or light source) and come to pay their respects.

On an off game issue, we would like to remind everyone that blood is the source of life, and many many pints are needed to help those injured. If your health allows, please do your part to donate blood to your local Red Cross Center.

From http://www.msnbc.com/news/627028_asp.htm

Sept. 13 —   President Bush, Congress and the Pentagon on Thursday pledged a sustained military campaign against terrorists, beginning with Osama bin Laden, who U.S. officials said they had determined was directly responsible for the terrorist strikes in New York and Washington.

U.S. GOVERNMENT SOURCES told NBC News’ Jim Miklaszewski on Thursday evening that based on “overwhelming” evidence, the Bush administration had concluded that the al-Qaeda organization run by bin Laden had executed the breathtaking operation in which U.S. jetliners were hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

NBC’s Norah O’Donnell reported that a sustained military attack on bin Laden, the exiled Saudi millionaire who has vowed to destroy the United States, would likely include air, land and sea forces. Two aircraft carriers are in the Arabian Peninsula region, each carrying 75 bombers capable of launching long-range missiles.

The Washington Post reported on its Web site that the Pentagon planned to call several thousand reservists to active duty in the next few days. Defense officials told the Post that the activation would likely mark the start of a much larger military mobilization in the wake of Tuesday’s terrorist strikes.

Bush informed lawmakers that military aircraft were patrolling the skies over Washington and seven other cities, according to Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District of Columbia’s delegate to Congress.

Earlier Thursday, Bush told reporters that allies around the world had vowed to help him “whip terrorism.”  

The Associated Press quoted government officials as saying the Bush administration was pressuring Pakistan to close its borders and allow U.S. jets to fly over its airspace.

Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistani military ruler whose government has been accused of backing Afghanistan’s Taliban movement, pledged full cooperation Thursday in the general fight against terrorism and dispatched a delegation to Afghanistan for talks with Taliban leaders.

India’s external affairs minister, Jaswant Singh, told The Times of India newspaper that India would provide logistical help or a staging ground for a U.S. military operation.

‘FIRST WAR OF 21ST CENTURY’

Thousands of people are presumed to have died in Tuesday’s attack and a fourth hijacking that ended when the plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. The spectacular explosions, which leveled the trade center’s twin towers and collapsed part of the Pentagon, represented the opening shots in what Bush emotionally told reporters Thursday was “the first war of the 21st century.”

“This is now the focus of my administration ... now that war has been declared,” Bush said.  

A senior U.S. official said Americans were still targets. NBC’s Andrea Mitchell quoted the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, as saying more potential hijackers were still at large in the United States and abroad. “This is not over,” the source said. “We should not presume that the all-clear has been sounded. There are more of them out there than were killed in those four planes.”

Nerves in the capital were extraordinarily taut. Late Thursday afternoon, the U.S. Capitol building was ordered evacuated, jolting Americans with the televised images of its national lawmakers running out of the building. A short time later, authorities gave the all-clear.

About the same time, Vice President Dick Cheney was moved to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Thurmont, Md., as what a spokeswoman said was a “precautionary measure,” and Ronald Reagan National Airport outside Washington was closed indefinitely because of its proximity to the White House.

BUSH TO SEE FOR HIMSELF

Bush said he would visit New York City on Friday, where an estimated 4,763 people were unaccounted for. The death toll was likely to reach 190 at the Pentagon, which took a similar hit.  

The president’s eyes were red and wet as he ended his comments, his head and hands trembling slightly. “This is a terrible moment,” he said, “but this country will not relent until we have saved ourselves and others from the terrible tragedy that came upon America.”

At the Pentagon, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said the military was preparing for a long military campaign against terrorism in general. “It’s going to unfold over time,” he told reporters. “One thing that is clear is you don’t do it with just a single military strike, no matter how dramatic.”

Asked what would be targeted, he replied: “It will be a campaign, not a single action. We’re going to keep after these people and the people who support them until this stops.”

ONRUSHING TORRENT OF EVENTS

+Investigative, rescue, diplomatic and political developments were moving rapidly Thursday:

+Bush built swift support for retaliation against Tuesday’s terrorist acts, and Congress was expected to approve $20 billion as a down payment for what he called “a monumental struggle of good versus evil.” Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday afternoon that Bush had also agreed to seek an additional $20 billion to help clean up the damage.

+Congressional and White House officials were drafting language to authorize Bush to use military force, NBC’s Joe Johns reported. The resolution was being modeled on the one Congress passed a decade ago just before the Persian Gulf War.

+An arrest was reported at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, where all traffic was halted into the region’s three major airports: JFK and LaGuardia in New York and Newark International in New Jersey. Meanwhile, two men were arrested at the Hamburg, Germany, airport, one of them an American of Yemeni descent.

+Investigators recovered a black box flight recorder from the hijacked plane that went down in Pennsylvania and picked up a signal from the recorder in the jet that slammed into the Pentagon. The recorders could contain information about the last minutes of the hijacked commercial jetliners.

+A wave of evacuations occurred in buildings and population centers around the world, almost all of them because of bomb threats that turned out to be false alarms.

+In addition to the U.S. Capitol, evacuations were ordered at various times of downtown San Diego, the Mexico City airport, the Lyon Opera House in France and the U.S. Consulate in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Empire State Building and Pennsylvania Station in New York were evacuated Wednesday night.

+The FBI arrested a man Thursday after a telephoned bomb threat sparked a two-hour evacuation of rescue teams from an area of the Pentagon shattered by the terrorist attack, a U.S. official said.

+Later Thursday night, a section of the Pentagon rubble where fires had been extinguished resumed burning.

+The Federal Aviation Administration, which had closed all U.S. airports for the first time ever, allowed air travel to resume Thursday. But new security measures banned curbside luggage check-in and other procedures, and most airlines planned only limited flight schedules.  

+Northwest Airlines canceled all of its flights after receiving information a spokeswoman said indicated that it was “not prudent to operate.” No reason was given, but officials at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix saud three Northwest employees intentionally breached a security checkpoint Thursday.

+“Once they did that, they turned around and said, ‘Hey, look what we did,’ ” airport spokeswoman Suzanne Luber said.

+Meanwhile, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport outside the capital was closed indefinitely because of its proximity to the White House.

+Stock markets were closed through the end of the week. New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso said the exchange would reopen on Monday.

+Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill said that he remained confident in the economy and that prospects for an economic rebound in the United States remain unchanged.

+Many college football games that had remained on track to be played this weekend were postponed Thursday after officials reconsidered. All Major League Baseball and National Football League games were postponed through the weekend.

+Insurance companies worldwide braced for an expensive bill. “We’re going to pay out a lot of money, but that’s what we’re in business to do,” Ed Zore, chief executive of Northwestern Mutual, the No. 1 U.S. individual life insurer, told Reuters on Thursday.

+The FBI had received more than 22,700 tips at the Web site it set up for reporting tips: www.ifccfbi.gov. The FBI’s toll-free hot line — (866) 483-5137 — had received 2,055 calls by Thursday afternoon.

+In addition, the Justice Department was running a hot line for families seeking information about victims and survivors. The number is (800) 331-0075.

WORST ATTACKS EVER

The FBI has committed about 4,000 special agents and 3,000 support personnel to what Ashcroft characterized Wednesday as the “most massive investigation ever conducted in America.” Another 400 FBI laboratory specialists are working at crime scenes in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.  

Ashcroft said Thursday that investigators believed they had identified all 18 of the people involved in the hijackings, saying five each were believed to have taken over two of the planes while teams of four took command of the other flights.

So far, seven men, all of Arabic descent, have been identified as suspects in the hijacking by law enforcement officials or in published reports. At least four of them were believed to have received training in flying commercial aircraft in the United States.

An unknown number of possible associates have been detained over the past two days. Officials told NBC News that most were considered material witnesses who might provide useful information even if they were not involved in the plot.

Indications solidified Thursday that some accomplices might have had airport security clearance. NBC News confirmed a report by The Boston Globe that a ramp access pass for Boston’s Logan International Airport was recovered from a rental car used by the suspected hijackers. The pass would have allowed an individual to walk onto the tarmac and potentially gain access to aircraft parked there.  

‘AN ATTACK ON ALL’

If and when Bush decides to launch a strike, he will have the support of his NATO allies, who voted for the first time in their history Wednesday to invoke a provision of the alliance charter declaring the terrorist attacks to be an assault on NATO itself.

“An attack on one is an attack on all,” NATO Secretary-General George Robertson said in Brussels, Belgium. “The parties will take such action as it deems necessary — including armed force.”

At the United Nations, NBC’s Linda Fasulo reported that in a rare and dramatic show of support for a U.S. government with which it is often at odds, members of the U.N. Security Council stood up to adopt a resolution that “unequivocally condemns in the strongest terms the horrifying terrorist attacks,” calling them “a threat to international peace and security.”  

The resolution signaled that the Security Council would not oppose direct U.S. military action, warning that those “aiding, supporting or harboring the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors ... will be held accountable.”

The pledges of solidarity came after a day in which Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell worked the phones to build a worldwide coalition, including Muslim countries. Bush spoke twice overnight with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and a former Russian spy chief, Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov, talked to U.S. Undersecretary of State Richard Armitage, who was in Pakistan.

Trubnikov agreed to coordinate Moscow’s counter-terrorism efforts with Washington, the Foreign Ministry said. Earlier, Russia’s foreign intelligence service pledged to work with its former Cold War adversary to stop terrorism.

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MSNBC.com’s Alex Johnson; NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski, Norah O’Donnell, Robert Hager, Robert Windrem, Joe Johns, Andrea Mitchell and Mike Viqueira; The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

The connectivity fix for the Veteran Rewards system has been published to all shards, and we are ready to resume activation of the Veteran Rewards system! We are targeting to activate the system on each remaining shard at some point during the day designated below, which means that players should not expect the system to be active immediately following their scheduled morning maintenance. Please note that this schedule is subject to change, and may be extended should any unforeseen issues arise with the rewards system.

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