New Intel: A Mopologetic "Batphone"?

[_Yoda]

Who bankrolled the phone?

That is what I want to know.

[_Yoda]

Who bankrolled the phone?

That's what I wondered, too, Harmony. My informant made it clear that this "Batphone" wasn't purchased by DCP himself; rather, it was given to him. Maybe the "I Stand With Dan" whack-jobs pooled their resources and chipped in to get him the phone?

Who is Dan doing the tour for? Is this through BYU or someone else? It seems like it would be whatever company is sponsoring the tour.

[_sock puppet]

Kinda like how Satan wants to destroy the Kingdom of God because Satan was denied all the power and glory.

I never understood that. Isn't THIS world all about Satan's power and glory?

Does the Kingdom of God = THIS world?

[_Doctor Scratch]

Who is Dan doing the tour for? Is this through BYU or someone else? It seems like it would be whatever company is sponsoring the tour.

I rather doubt that. This is the information on the tour:

http://www.cruiselady.com/cruise-details.cfm?t=217

Sail with Daniel C. Peterson as he enlightens our group with his incredible knowledge during discussions on sea days. Cruise Lady will offer optional private tours at each of the ports that will further enhance our journey: climb and kiss the Blarney Stone in Cobh; tour Malahide Castle and visit Trinity College with the famous Book of Kells in Dublin; visit the LDS Temple and relive church history in Preston; explore Dunluce Castle and marvel at the incredible formations of Giants Causeway in Belfast; ponder the writings of Robert Burns and see Brig O’ Doon in Glasgow; after a tour of the Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh-a truly royal city, we will travel the Royal Mile from Holyroodhouse to the Edinburgh Castle; Paris-the city of light offers the Eiffel Tower and the Cathedral of Notre Dame along with a stop at the Sacre Coeur. This is a trip not to be missed! Come join the Peterson's and the Cruise Lady group as we create memories to last a lifetime!

DCP has said in the past that he does not get "paid" for leading these cruises and that, instead, his payments consists of the company covering travel/board/food costs for him and his wife. (Of course, I suppose he could have lied about this; certainly, it's been shown recently that he's willing to lie rather brazenly.) But giving him the benefit of the doubt here, I would assume the the company wouldn't want to shell out for an expensive satellite phone (or whatever this fantastic device actually is--and provided that the intel is accurate, of course). Further, why would the cruise company have any interest in supplying him with such a technology? The only reason I can think of is that it would allow him to do further online research in preparation for his various lectures and talks, though again: Why pay for this? Why not just insist that he come prepared in the first place? If I were the cruise administrators, I would prefer that Prof. P. concentrate on his tour-guide duties, and would prefer that he not be screwing around on the Internet, video-conferencing with the Skinny-L crew, reading MDB, and what have you.

So that brings us back to the original question: Why bankrolled the phone? (Again: provided that he was indeed furnished with such a device.) There are a few possibilities (and I am completely speculating here):

--Regular old LDS folks pooled together their money to buy it. E.g., the "I Stand With Dan" people, or the members of FAIR, or other "classic-FARMS" supporters.
--The Mopologists themselves pitched in: Midgley, Mitton, Gee, and Hamblin shelled out for the phone (and I believe these are quite expensive).
--Former MI donors paid for it.
--The Church itself paid for it.

But again, I'm just speculating here.

[_Yoda]

Who is Dan doing the tour for? Is this through BYU or someone else? It seems like it would be whatever company is sponsoring the tour.

I rather doubt that. This is the information on the tour:

http://www.cruiselady.com/cruise-details.cfm?t=217

Sail with Daniel C. Peterson as he enlightens our group with his incredible knowledge during discussions on sea days. Cruise Lady will offer optional private tours at each of the ports that will further enhance our journey: climb and kiss the Blarney Stone in Cobh; tour Malahide Castle and visit Trinity College with the famous Book of Kells in Dublin; visit the LDS Temple and relive church history in Preston; explore Dunluce Castle and marvel at the incredible formations of Giants Causeway in Belfast; ponder the writings of Robert Burns and see Brig O’ Doon in Glasgow; after a tour of the Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh-a truly royal city, we will travel the Royal Mile from Holyroodhouse to the Edinburgh Castle; Paris-the city of light offers the Eiffel Tower and the Cathedral of Notre Dame along with a stop at the Sacre Coeur. This is a trip not to be missed! Come join the Peterson's and the Cruise Lady group as we create memories to last a lifetime!

DCP has said in the past that he does not get "paid" for leading these cruises and that, instead, his payments consists of the company covering travel/board/food costs for him and his wife. (Of course, I suppose he could have lied about this; certainly, it's been shown recently that he's willing to lie rather brazenly.) But giving him the benefit of the doubt here, I would assume the the company wouldn't want to shell out for an expensive satellite phone (or whatever this fantastic device actually is--and provided that the intel is accurate, of course). Further, why would the cruise company have any interest in supplying him with such a technology? The only reason I can think of is that it would allow him to do further online research in preparation for his various lectures and talks, though again: Why pay for this? Why not just insist that he come prepared in the first place? If I were the cruise administrators, I would prefer that Prof. P. concentrate on his tour-guide duties, and would prefer that he not be screwing around on the Internet, video-conferencing with the Skinny-L crew, reading MDB, and what have you.

So that brings us back to the original question: Why bankrolled the phone? (Again: provided that he was indeed furnished with such a device.) There are a few possibilities (and I am completely speculating here):

--Regular old LDS folks pooled together their money to buy it. E.g., the "I Stand With Dan" people, or the members of FAIR, or other "classic-FARMS" supporters.
--The Mopologists themselves pitched in: Midgley, Mitton, Gee, and Hamblin shelled out for the phone (and I believe these are quite expensive).
--Former MI donors paid for it.
--The Church itself paid for it.

But again, I'm just speculating here.

Well, I do know that Dan has an iPhone, because he has emailed me from it. The iPhone, itself, has pretty decent capabilities, so I guess the question is, what can he do with this phone that he can't do with his iPhone, and are we even sure this other phone exists?

Also, does your informant know what Dan plans to specifically use the phone for? Is it, indeed, FOR conferences with his former MI folks, or something having to do with his current position at BYU? If it was for something BYU-related, then obviously, BYU more than likely supplied the phone.

Why would the "Stand with Dan" people go through all of the trouble to pitch in for a special phone for him? I mean, let's get real. Dan is hardly poor. If he wants a certain electronic device, he certainly has the funds to buy his own.

[_Racer]

Today's smartphones are fully functional allover the world. I have used mine in China, Mexico, and Europe. Texting, emailing, video, calls, and internet all work fine on my iPhone. However, if you are in more rural areas that don't have a good network or you are traveling on say, a cruise ship, you would want a satellite phone with a BGNA network. These phones run about a grand, but work almost everywhere since they ping satellites orbiting the earth instead of local network towers.

While its possible DCP and his gang could be given back their positions and standing within the MI, I am skeptical. DCP stood better chances had he kept a cool head in all of this and handled it in an adult manner. Instead, he sent that seething email to Bradford promising to do all he could to derail the MI's new direction and then he, Hamblin, Schryver, and others kept running their mouths trash talking the MI, Bradford, BYU, and the supposed GA who was Dehlin's buddy. IMHO they burned a lot of bridges and have acted like spoiled children. This is insubordination and we all know the church is big on accepting and sustaining your leadership no matter what. If anything, the higher ups in SLC will chastise DCP and his buddies and tell them to tow the party line whether they like it or not. If this happens, you will see Hamblin and the rest really tone it down or not even mention it, or tell all of their followers that it was a big misunderstanding and that we all need to get behind the MI's new direction.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

Mr. Peterson certainly does a lot of traveling that isn't exactly connected to his professorial duties at BYU. What a sweet gig. :)

- VRDRC

[_DrW]

If it can be used at sea, then the BatPhone is a SatPhone. We use these when open ocean sailing or when operating in the remote desert for extended periods (when the closest cellphone towers are far over the horizon).

SatPhones can be purchased or rented. A reasonable model can cost from about $1,600 on up. The minutes come in prepaid packages. Renting them normally costs a few hundred a month with minutes. Using them is quite expensive, especially for "browsing the internet". In most areas, they are severely bandwidth limited, so browsing takes time.

There are two basic types of systems. Iridium uses satellite switching, is more secure and has better worldwide coverage, but has less bandwidth. Other types use mainly ground based switching, and in some areas, have more bandwidth.

In order to be used reliably, most models (especially Iridium) require a view of the open sky, and are less reliable / non-functional in buildings.

They are BIG, with bulky external swing-up antennae. If DCP whips one of these babies out while not at sea, people who know what they are will think he is showing off (and looks ridiculous).

[_Yong Xi]

Who bankrolled the phone?

Miss Moneypenny

[_cwald]

Good stuff. Thanks. Just damn good stuff over here.