From martellian at hotmail.com Thu Nov 1 14:10:29 2007 From: martellian at hotmail.com (Ian Martell) Date: Thu, 1 Nov 2007 11:10:29 -0700 Subject: [War] World Report, Volume 5 Message-ID: WAR: World Report, Volume 5 - For all actions since Volume 4, advancing the timeline to April 1 - April 14, 2013 United Nations Security Council (Permanent Members): United States, United Kingdom, France, China, Russia United Nations Security Council (Non-Permanent Members): Until September, 2013: India, Egypt, Norway, Mexico, Venezuela Until October, 2013: Canada, Chile, Italy, South Africa, Japan Pending UN Security Council Actions: None Pending UN General Assembly Actions: None United Nations Secretariat: No news. ============== GM Babble: Okay the grand experiment begins, can WAR actually have a timely WR or will it prove to be pie in the sky? Tune in two-weeks and find out. Seriously though, I am setting the posting deadline for posts to be included in Volume 6 at November 12th and I anticipate the WR coming out by the 16th at the latest. Enjoy. -Ian =============================================== WORLD NEWS (Please review the following topics for potential posting fodder): Lukashenko Promises to Cut off Russian Oil if Demands are Not Met. Minsk ? After the failure of another round of talks between Russian and Belarusian officials President Lukashenko announced that he would cut off the Russian owned pipeline running through his country if his demands for lower oil and gas prices were not met. Reinforcing the President's claim, Belarusian military units have been reported moving towards the pipeline running through Belarus from Russia. While President Nemerenko has yet to make an official statement, there has been increased military activity on the Russian-Belarus border since the announcement and sources inside the Kremlin describe the President's reaction to these threats as 'grim'. Lukashenko, who was originally elected in 1994, has faced a steady decline of popularity since the world-wide recession of 2010, which coupled with rising oil prices has caused the Belarusian economy to stagnate. In recent months demonstrations against the President have become commonplace and equally common are the bloody clashes with the police and military that follow. Despite the fact the military and police have so far remained loyal to the embattled President many experts believe it is only a matter of time before Lukashenko is forced to resign, and believe this threat is a desperate move on his part to keep power. Chinese Officials Implicated in Work Camp Corruption Scandal Beijing ? Several members of the Ministry of Security including Deputy Minister for Prisons were implicated in a conspiracy to use prisoners in manufacturing goods for a company owned by members of Hong?s government. The situation was revealed by Human Rights Watch in a press conference which included hidden camera video of the prisoners producing children?s toys for sale in the United States and other places around the world. While there has been no official statement from the Hong government numerous groups have spoken out against China and protests have begun to appear during President Hong?s tour of national capitals. The bloodiest of which took place in Venezuela where government troops responded to gas bombs by firing into the crowd. 10 protesters were killed and more are said to be have been wounded. [More News Coming as Flash Reports?] ACTION RESPONSES ============================= CANADA Population Approval: 58% Government Approval: 56% International Favor: 56% Economic Growth: 2.4% Average Inflation: 1.8% Unemployment: 6.9% ---------------------------------- The agreement with China goes over well with the majority of Canadians who see opening new markets, getting cheaper goods and helping the North Koreans as good things. At the same time the NDP has attacked MacIntyre for pandering to China and has called for him to renounce China?s occupation of North Korea as illegal; a sentiment echoed by many in the Korean community. However they have dialled down the rhetoric after the Prime Minister gave a statement calling for a free and democratic North Korea. While it has gotten little press with China looming large in the news the adoption of the U-212 has been met with approval from both the Ministry of Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces who are both eager to keep the ball rolling and seal the deal. ============================================= CHINA (PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF) Population Approval: 59% Government Approval: 61% International Favour: 49% Economic Growth: 9.6%, high Inflation: 2.7% Unemployment: 10.3% ---------------------------------- Both the government and the people are pleased with President Hong?s new gravitas on the world stage. The successful conclusion of the Beijing Summit in addition to completing a beneficial trade deal with Canada and the world diplomatic tour has heads nodding at home even if the discovery of fresh human rights abuses have made the President?s reception less than warm on some of her stops. However the world diplomatic tour has shown some success. Cuba, Venezuela, Sudan and Zimbabwe were very welcoming to the Chinese president and significant improvements in relations were made on all four stops with the other stops being polite but not very receptive to furthering Chinese relations in light of the scandal. ============================================= FRANCE Population Approval: 59% Government Approval: 56% International Favor: 54% Economic Growth: 2% Inflation: 2.6% Unemployment: 8% -------------------------------------------------------------------- Reactions to the draft letter from France in regards to the EU are mixed. A uniform code of business is accepted by the EU's business community as a good step in helping expand and improve the Union's economy in the face of increasing competition from the USA, India, China and their (supposed) Japanese and Russian partners. Further, the clear signs that Paris is becoming more pro-EU and Germany's support is adding weight to reform and expansion of the group, if only slightly. Britain's reaction will be an important determinant. ============================================== GERMANY Population Approval: 56.2% Government Approval: 55% International Favor: 55% Economic Growth: 2.8% Inflation: 1.8% Unemployment: 6.7% ---------------------------------------------------------- 'Welfare to Work' managed to squeak by in the Bundestag despite much fighting between both sides. Minority leftist elements in the SPD have been critical of the 'tough love approach' the plan takes and have expressed fears the government might be manipulating the situation to simply cut welfare handouts to needy citizens. The CDU has been much more critical, expressing qualms about the cost of the program in a time of capital shortfall for the government. Many CDU members have advocated a general cutback in all welfare programs to 'force' the unemployed to seek work on their own, without cost to the government. Still, more moderate heads have prevailed in both parties and the smaller groups in parliament and the WTOW legislation has passed. The long-term future of the Lehman government may very well ride upon its success. Pundits have noted Lehman's support of the new pro-EU initiative on France's behalf as a smart move. At the very least, a uniform code of business will work to the benefit of Germany, still the economic and export powerhouse of the Union despite the country's labour and employment woes. ============================================== JAPAN Population Approval: 63% Government Approval: 58% International Favor: 60% Economic Growth: 3.2% Inflation: 0.6% Unemployment: 3.9% ---------------------------------------------------------- With the occupation of North Korea by the PLA weighing heavily upon the minds of many people, the Prime Minister's efforts towards building better relations with China and trying to move Japan into a position of investment into the reconstruction effort has been widely approved by both the government, business community and populace at large. If China agrees to Japan's terms, it could have a very beneficial effect upon the country's economy. Former PM Sakai has accepted the position as the head of the Sino-Japanese Co-operation committee, securing another political victory for the current PM. Sakai's expertise in foreign relations is considered to be a strong advantage for the Committee, and his acceptance has also eliminated a rival within the party that still has a significant following. The annoyance of the American government is simply shrugged off without much concern from the Diet. The United States is not a stone's throw away from China, and if this diplomatic row does escalate it is not likely to impact the Sato government's approval. ====================================================== UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND Population Approval: 58% Government Approval: 59% International Favor: 56% Economic Growth: 3.45%, Average. Inflation: 2.5% Unemployment: 5.3% ---------------------------------------------------------- No news to report. ============================================= UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Population Approval: 60% Government Approval: 58% International Favour: 63% Economic Growth: 2.9% Inflation: 3.3% Unemployment: 4.6% ---------------------- Despite the grumbling between the US and Japan, it has been a positive two-weeks for President Williams. India and Congress has responded favourably to the idea of improved trade relations and while talks for formalizing a bi-lateral trade agreement are on-going, they have eagerly agreed to streamlining the flow of their goods to the US market. Unfortunately, the ADS looks destined to be shelved again. While legally nothing prevents the government from using it on Americans, nobody in on the discussion could quite find a way around the PR side of using a ?pain ray? on Americans effectively killing the project. The only way it will see use in the field is by order of the President. In response to what is being called the ?Chinese slavery scandal? in the US press, Democrats in the House have put forward a bill that if passed will allow the CPSC and US Customs to ban products who have been produced in what a ?reasonable person may equate? to slavery, bondage, involuntary servitude or incarceration. The bill is expected to pass the House and Senate with little opposition. Lastly, Congress continues to demand action on the part of the White House on the Chinese occupation of North Korea despite talks in ?The Tank? there has yet to be a real course of action put forward by the Williams Administration. ============================================= ECONOMIC INDICATORS NOTE: Initial indicators were gleaned from as recent sources as possible, for the most recent term possible (annualized). In some cases, the numbers used are published estimates, but the English- speaking nations' data is more or less right from the source. Depression: Economic forces retracting uncontrolably and at a dangerous pace with little end in sight. Recession: Economic forces retracting, but more shallow than Depression and more controlably. Sometimes necessary and part of regular economic trends, although prelonged. Revision: Economic forces retracting slightly and short term, associated with economic systems refitting to accomodate new industries, concentrations, etc. Zero: No movement one way or the other. Low: Comparatively low Economic growth/activity. (miniscule to about 2%, depending) Good: Average economic activity (ranging from 2%-5% normally) High: Above average performance (Greater than 5%) Sometimes dangerous if in excess of 8% continuously. SITES OF INTEREST WAR Website: http://war.dagarcia.net/ Nova Horizon Simulations: http://www.novahorizon.com United Nations: http://www.un.org/ Central Intelligence Agency: http://www.cia.gov/ CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ Federation of American Scientists: http://www.fas.org/ GlobalSecurity.org: http://www.globalsecurity.org/ CNN: http://www.cnn.com/ BBC: http://www.bbc.com/ New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/ _________________________________________________________________ Have fun while connecting on Messenger! Click here to learn more. http://entertainment.sympatico.msn.ca/WindowsLiveMessenger From michael.t.j.brittain at btinternet.com Fri Nov 2 18:33:13 2007 From: michael.t.j.brittain at btinternet.com (Michael Brittain) Date: Fri, 2 Nov 2007 22:33:13 -0000 Subject: [War] Germany: "Fuelling speculation" Message-ID: <00ae01c81da0$5ad328e0$31e0644d@MICHAELB> Germany: "Fuelling speculation" Chancellor Lukas Lehman April 2nd 2013 ------------------------------ Politics was a tiring, often vicious occupation. The list of occupational hazards mounted every day, and for the figurehead of the German government, Lukas was a target for everyone that fancied a shot. He was a man that in the past had been considered selfish and 'power crazy' by some disgruntled elements within his party, criticised for his sometimes 'Presidential style' when it came to forcing through his own way. His rush to the centre ground and repositioning of the SPD pushed the CDU out of government and into the political wilderness, but cracks in the SPD were threatening to emerge; particularly over the governments proposed next budget. The shots were certainly coming in thick and fast. The Chancellor wanted to freeze spending and create a small surplus for the end of the financial year. He saw balancing the books of the country and creating a stable, dynamic economy as his one of his most important targets. He was accused of losing sight of his left-wing routes, likened to former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Moderates, his advisors and economists were praising his tough stance on future budgeting decisions, and understood the need to begin reducing Germany's debt, but the far left of his party hated the idea of freezing unemployment payments, an idea recently floated around. Lukas was playing a very dangerous balancing game with his party, economic sense, the opposition and the German people. He was bargaining on the proven record of accomplishment of German sense, efficiency and patience. The media, although generally positive so far, were hounding him for answers; he had set aspirations high when he ushered in a majority SPD government, and was now delicately introducing change. "A top up?" Lukas looked up from staring at the crackling fire at the centre of his living room, to see his wife, Meika, pouring more wine into his empty glass. He smiled, before returning to the warm glow of the fire. Its heat was intense, his face beginning to glow slightly red. Loosening his tie further, he sunk deeper into the chair sipping his third glass of wine. "Shall I turn the news on Lukas?" Meika sat down on the leather sofa to his right, his armchair and the sofa in an L-shape with the large TV and fire the focal points. The living room was quite large. Meika had inherited an old, antiquated living apartment and considerably updated it. The room itself was quite tasteful, with wood flooring, large rugs and painted walls, with the grand fireplace as the main focal point. The working areas of the Chancellors residence however had been left alone, prestigiously decorated for the purpose of government. Lukas nodded his head. "Please." He sat up as Meika pressed the remote, the relaxation of the fire soon forgotten. Meika smiled at Lukas as she put her feet up on the sofa. Lukas returned the smile, enjoying the time alone with his wife, even if his job still crept into the conversation. The anchorman summarised the main headlines. "I wouldn't trust that Lukashenko as far as I could throw him, what is he playing at?" Meika commented on the news report, shaking her head. Although Lukas's wife, she was an established high court judge and was considerably intelligent. She was a confidant for Lukas, a strong source of help and guidance. She flicked her long auburn hair back and sipped her wine. Lukas shrugged at his wife's comments. It would have been a surreal situation to someone looking into the living room of the Lehman's that night. The Chancellors wife, a citizen and observer freely commented as she always did over the news. Lukas however, although somewhat reserved to comment based on a news report, was a man whose opinion would carry far and wide. After all, he was the Chancellor of Germany. "You must be concerned by this," Meika paused to sip her wine. In Lukas's silence she continued. "It threatens not only economic stability, but the reports of military build up on the border... are worrying" She referred to the recent dispute between Belarus and Russia. Lukas nodded, leaning forward to listen more carefully to the medias take on the situation. He casually sipped his wine before replying; after all he wasn't in a meeting, he was relaxing. "We're watching the situation very closely. If Lukashenko or Nemerenko escalate the situation that could possibly cause instability in Eastern Europe, then I'll re consider our position, but for the moment it is a dispute of their own." Meika shrugged. "You're right, of course," she smiled in his direction. The news soon changed to the budgeting conflicts the government had been wrestling with recently. "Turn this up, please." Lukas leant in, sipping his drink. ...[NEWS REPORTER]... both the SPD and CDU, alongside senior economists and the EU, would hail a strict budget with a financial surplus. However, concerns remain that all parties in the Bundestag have issue with. Some elements in the SPD are lobbying for social security increases, while the CDU wish to cut back such contributions. All signs though indicate that the Chancellor will unveil a budget little different to last years. ... Recent growth figures have been pleasing for the Chancellor and the government, but Mr Lehman has already been quoted as saying he does not want to rush into any major spending decisions until economic growth is more stable, and the capital shortfall is under strict control. It is almost certain the government will not be ballooning spending in areas such as social security as some SPD elements want, nor will there be any money for substantial tax cuts, as the CDU are pushing for. It will though be widely expected to provide investment for its welfare to work policies, as well as for proposed education and health reform that the Chancellor committed himself to during the last election. ... Mr Lehman, who spoke at the European Central Bank before becoming Chancellor, hinted that Germany should first organise its books, get back in the black, and reduce market regulation before making radical spending decisions allowing the economy to strengthen. Little has been mentioned however of the reform of labour laws that the CDU are calling for, but it is thought Mr Lehman doesn't wish to split his party with this issue just yet. ... But certainly, we can expect change in market regulation and a small predicted surplus as well as investment in reform programmes. No tax cuts are on the table, but nor are massive increases in spending. The countries growing public debt is also expected to be an important influence.] The news reporter looked clearly out of breath after having to rush her long report outside the Chancellery. Holding an umbrella flapping in the wind, she finished her report with a typical cheesy smile. Lukas leant back in his seat sipping his wine, feeling quite pleased with the report. The media responded positively with the information he had fed them with to help prepare the public for his first budget. Lukas was a charismatic man, able to easily speak in public and think on his feet. This was one of the reasons he won the leadership of the party over the elder candidates, however his obsession with the media did worry some within his party. They viewed his attempts to manipulate and control as dangerous. The next step though would be to bargain with the left of the SPD, promising no cuts to social security in exchange for reduced investment to create a surplus at the end of the year. Once, and only if a surplus had been achieved, next years budget would be far more open and less restrictive. "Is Stefan asleep?" Lukas asked, his son still off school ill, pushing budgeting problems to the back of his mind for one night Meika nodded. "I'll go check on him." She began to get up, but Lukas shot up instead. "I'll go," he smiled placing his hand gently on her shoulder as he walked passed. Although tired having been up for 18 hours, words probably couldn't describe how committed he was to his family. He wouldn't pretend it was easy balancing his family life with his career, not many people would. Lukas's case though was somewhat different, but when he was at home, he wasn't the Chancellor until the phone rang; he was a father and a husband. ACTIONS: 1. Have the foreign office keep an eye on President Lukashenko's demands and the Russian response. 2. Persuade his party to toe the line with regard to any federal budget that calls for tighter spending (not cuts though) to create a surplus and bring Germany out of the red. 3. Insist that the government wants eventually to increase investment considerably, but that it is only possible if the economy and the countries finances are in good health. Economic sense must prevail. 4. Identify the main targets of any proposed budgets as; no cuts to social security, reduced borrowing and a small surplus. -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.19/1105 - Release Date: 02/11/2007 11:04 From michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com Sat Nov 3 13:25:47 2007 From: michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com (Michael Downey) Date: Sat, 3 Nov 2007 14:55:47 -0230 Subject: [War] Canada: "The Worrisome World" Message-ID: <6b6ab8a70711031025g32010559ue0fd846770e7be8@mail.gmail.com> "The Worrisome World" Prime Minister R. Leon MacIntyre Canada 2nd April 2013 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Foreign policy was MacIntyre's weakness. The Conservatives had hammered that point constantly during the election; that he was a glorified accountant from Halifax that wouldn't know the first thing about dealing with the rest of the world. It hadn't worked, of course, since Canadian paid more attention to domestic affairs that external ones, and were more interested in recovering from the 2010 recession than how and why people in other parts of the world were killing each other. Afghanistan was over by that point, so the presence of the CF in that part of the world had been a moot point. Unfortunately for the PM, the world had decided to me no more stable in the second decade of the 21st Century than it had in the first. North Korea, then Belarus, and now labor violations in China, just weeks after they'd signed a comprehensive trade agreement. North Korea could destabilize East Asia and cause a global economic slowdown, Belarus could cut of the flow of oil out of Russia and start a slowdown in the EU, and China's human rights problems could endanger a trade deal that MacIntyre had hoped to taut as a victory under his belt and silence his naysayers. "We have to understand that this situation involves only a single company," Finance Minister DeMonte said to the gathered Cabinet for their daily meeting before the House met in session. "Obviously we should boycott this said company from doing business in Canada, but I don't think it will damage our trade agreement." "I'd agree with you if it was just contained to the company itself, but we're talking about a major violations of human rights that runs right up to the top of the Politburo," explained Daudelin, the Foreign Minister. "I mean that's like someone at this table owning a sweatshop here in Ottawa. If Hong can't keep her own cabinet in order, how can we possibly trust her to prevent things like this from occurring over and over? How will it look if all the textiles we import from China are made with slave labor? And let's also remember that the scandal is concentrated in their Security Ministry, the body that is supposed to *enforce* law and order in China." "I am not going to sink our trade agreement now because of this," said MacIntyre finally. "I agree that this is bad and that we do need to take steps, but we can't overreact. Today I will ask Parliament to bar the involved company from doing business in Canada. We'll keep a close eye on the situation and take steps to prevent goods made through inhumane labor practices from entering Canada." "And if Hong can't keep her house in order?" asked Daudelin. "We're not at that stage yet. Let's just wait and see." 'Wait and see.' Those were three most spoken words for foreign policy. Canada was a nation greatly affected by the actions of others but lacked the ability or even the will to seriously influence things to their advantage. The price you paid for embracing multilateralism. "What about Belarus?" "If Minsk does cut off the oil pipelines then the cost of energy in Europe is going to spike," replied the FM. "We do import a fair amount from the EU, especially Germany and France. Now I'm not saying it will be a disaster by any stretch of the imagination, just that there might be some headaches. But what I'm really worried about is military tension. The Russians never respond lightly to threats like this, and the Europeans are already reporting increased Russian military activity on their side of the border. Understand, this is all happening because Belarus' economy is falling apart, not because the Russians are overcharging. And I honestly don't expect Moscow will willingly subsidize Belarus' energy demands out of their own pockets." "Could this become a NATO issue?" asked Mac, turning the Defence Minister. "It's not shaping up like that as of yet," said Garneau. "Russia might be a bit more pro-West in its outlook lately but they still don't strike me as taking kindly to the West getting involved in their affairs. I'll confer with the Pentagon and North Atlantic Council, but for now I don't think NATO is going to get dragged into this. To me, it's between Russia, Belarus and the EU." And that was a relief to MacIntyre. War was the most wasteful and pointless enterprise any state could engage in, and not having the NATO alliance dragged into one was music to his ears. "Okay, that's it for our two biggest foreign policy concerns. I'll see you all in the House." --- Actions: 1) Boycott the company invovled in the labor scandal in China. Emphasize to critics that this will not endanger the recent Sino-Canadian Trade Agreement, so long as China keeps its house in order. 2) Watch the situation in Belarus and cross fingers that this remains a minor European affair and NATO won't become involved. From Chazenesq2b at aol.com Sun Nov 4 19:50:24 2007 From: Chazenesq2b at aol.com (Chazenesq2b at aol.com) Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2007 19:50:24 EST Subject: [War] China: "The Home Front" Message-ID: "The Home Front" President Xia Hong The People's Republic of China ====================================== Xia read the news reports coming out of the Western Press, and had to suppress a laugh. It was honestly the first real time she felt like laughing since Wen had took it upon himself to take a prolonged visit to his family's dacha style estate just outside Beijing. Who knew a scandal of all things would provide a brief respite from the realities of life. "I see the West is confounded by our efforts to simplify the political system here." She grinned as she laid the copy of the Wall Street Journal down. It was true, China's government was at one point the most secretive, complicated beuracracy on the face of this green Earth. She'd done her best to hem that in, to organize it into something approaching a workable and logical framework... but apparently the Western Press had gotten lost in the shuffle. "They don't think the Ministry of Justice exists, and they left of the 'Intelligence' aspect of MSI." Minister of Justice Ah-guo Peng snickered at the crack. Unlike in many Western nations, Xia stuck as close to a meritocracy system as possible for appointing her closest advisors (though a few acquaintances 'did' make the list naturally.) Ah-guo wasn't one of her friends... in fact until she reviewed his curriculum vitae, she had no clue he actually existed. He had a long and distinguished career in the civil service, having been an officer in the PLA for a number of years, moved on to the Hong Kong Police Force where he worked as a detective while taking Law School classes, and then became a national prosecutor. He knew China's legal system as well as anyone... perhaps better than anyone 'should' it could even be argued. The guy had a real obsession with the law. "So what do we actually know about this case?" Xia folded her hands, waiting to get the facts. Ah-guo passed her a prepared folder. "So far, forensic accounting evidence, as well as testimony from turned 'associates' of those responsible indicate a single string of events, suggesting that it is beyond a reasonable doubt, as a Western lawyer would say, that the Deputy Minister for Prisons was indeed organizing an effort to use inmates in industrial production that would benefit the South China Textiles Corporation, which he is a partner in." "And how far does this chain of evidence expand?" "No senior level government officials fortunately, but so far we have evidence of varying quality against 34 individuals. The Deputy Minister was the highest ranking official, the others include prison commandants, oversight personnel in my Ministry, and junior members of the party's Politburo." Xia read from the end of the file. "You're suggesting a special independent counsel be appointed to prosecute this case?" "It would be the best way to avoid any appearance of impropriety. On behalf of my Ministry, I apologize Madam President. If you feel it appropriate, I will tender my resignation..." Xia held up her hand to stop him. Her respect for the man jumped with the offer, and it was obvious he was the very kind of civic minded individual China needed, particularly in situations like this. "That will not be necessary Minister. You are not implemented in this mockery of a scandal, and I trust your heart truly lays with serving the people and thus you will assure such incidents do not happen again." Ah-guo relaxed obviously. The rejection of his proposed resignation was a clear statement of support and trust from President Hong, and it heartened him somewhat to know that he could engender such trust. "Absolutely Madam President. How do you wish to proceed?" "First thing is first." She smoothed out her dress suit as she stood up to walk towards the large window behind her desk. "We will issue a joint statement, saying that this supposed 'scandal' was actually a test trial of an experimental pilot corrections program designed to endow prisoners with usable economic skills, and aimed at rehabilitating our criminal population for later reintegration with society. We will blame the Human Rights Watch for interfering with Chinese sovereignty in implementing a humane program to respond to a social need in bettering the prospect of prisoners post incarceration. You will go about creating a formal monitoring system for this program, creating it, and we will take this opportunity to better our image on the issue of Human Rights." She locked her hands together behind her back. "And I will want intelligence gathered on those who we are saving by taking this public route. It should be made obvious to them that this is a favor they should not forget... after all the penalty for such misconduct in China is quite serious." And in reality, one never knew when such leverage might come in handy. "Creating such a program will take time, Madam President." "Time is one of the few things we do have." Xia turned back and smiled. "Appoint your Independent Counsel for appearances sake, and have them report directly to me with any information that is found. I will go before the PNC disclosing the need for this formally 'secret' program so it will get actual funding and support. We should also issue a statement through Xinhua reminding the rest of the world that this is a practice that is found in Europe and America as well, and that we were simply trying to emulate the supposedly more 'enlightened' powers of the world." She shrugged. "There is no 'scandal' here, Minister. Just the accusations of an overly zealous, but important global watchdog. Please have your office make the appropriate arrangements, Minister." ========================================= ACTIONS 1. Official government line- This so called 'scandal' was actually a pilot program initiated to endow prisoners with economic and social skills necessary to succeed outside of prison, and help them make a more orderly transition to society once they were released. Had the HWW actually 'bothered' to ask China rather than blatantly liable and slander the government publicly, they would have been made aware of that fact. Because of the recognized importance of the HWW's mission however, China will consider forgoing a law suit. 2. To satisfy international curiosity, an Independent Counsel will be appointed to review the matter. Secretly however, said Counsel will actually be collecting evidence. The Ministry of Justice to keep tabs on those responsible, and report directly to the President. 3. Xia to go before the PNC and ask for official funding now that this 'test' program has been revealed, to move forward with an actual program. Inmates accepted for this program will receive some economic consideration (minus a portion taken for expenses in their incarceration), and will be allowed to gain experience in a variety of fields. 4. Publicly remind the world the Ministry of Justice, not the Ministry of Security and Intelligence, was actually responsible for this matter. Kindly ask Western (especially American) news agencies and NGO to reconsider their obvious traditional biases against China. Remind them that this is a new century, China is a new nation compared to what it was, and is more sincerely supportive of social rights and responsibilities than ever before. We'd appreciate 'not' being pre-judged. ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://esteroic.com/pipermail/war_esteroic.com/attachments/20071104/a8cacfa6/attachment.html From michael.t.j.brittain at btinternet.com Thu Nov 8 13:43:12 2007 From: michael.t.j.brittain at btinternet.com (Michael Brittain) Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2007 18:43:12 -0000 Subject: [War] Germany: "Bundestag debates" Message-ID: <00a001c82237$37785dc0$31e0644d@MICHAELB> Germany: "Bundestag debates" Chancellor Lukas Lehman, Federal Republic of Germany April 4th, 2013 (OOC: This is my attempt at economics and journalism which shouldn't be too bad for a medic (!), but don't shoot me if it's.. urm, poor ;-) ---------------------- DIE WELT DAILY --------------------- CDU "gambling with German future" SPD leader and Chancellor Lukas Lehman has accused the CDU of attempting to block the "change Germany needs" for its own political gains during his opening statement to parliament after its two week recess. "When it comes to real substantial change... the CDU is not capable of offering anything new," he told MPs in the Bundestag, creating a roar from the CDU seats. He said some bills had been delayed because of infighting with the CDU, causing the government to push ahead without any opposition support. 'Lack of vision' In his fiery address to the Bundestag debate during the spring opening of parliament, Mr Lehman said: "Complain all you wish about my policies, but at least my government is decisive." The CDU leader, Ewald Kohn said some proposals, such as the education white paper, had come to fruition too early and needed more careful consideration. He said the proposals, which calls for the abolishment of Germanys three-tiered education system and replaced with new academies and specialist schools, would only get CDU support "if the government satisfied us that the change was needed, cost effective and supported by education experts." He said the CDU would continue to push for a change in current immigration policy and try to block any further spending by the government. On the counter-terrorism debate, he said the CDU would press the government to allow intercept evidence to be used in court, something Mr Lehman has yet to come out as in favour or against. 'Budgeting Targets' The conservatives also attacked the Chancellors proposed budget, refusing to cut unemployment benefit, but freezing it instead. Mr Lehman said he would not "sacrifice the needs of German citizens to fund business tax cuts." He went on to say that the CDU tax policy "favours the rich, not the poor. It is clear to me that the CDU wish not only to take from less well off German families dependent on our welfare, but also have no real intention of tackling poverty in this country." In response, Mr Kohn said the Chancellor was good on debates, but bad on policy, accusing the government of "spending promises that cannot be met" and of risking economic stability. "Yes, he can do the gestures, but when it comes to real, substantive change, this Chancellor is not capable of offering anything new." Mr Lehman hit back by saying that on Europe, tax, spending and education Mr Kohn had "failed to face up to the big challenges ahead." "The SPD are the only party proposing sweeping change to allow Germany to prosper." The bundestag are continuing to debate budgeting proposals to freeze the level of unemployment benefit at current levels, and begin reducing the subsidy burden of the country by 20% over five years. Mr Lehman also promised a significant cut to borrowing and targets to reduce the countries public debt. He insisted that this next financial year had to make fiscal sense. The government also announced plans to offer tax cuts to families below the poverty line. The proposed budget wasn't much of a shock to political commentators, with many expecting the Chancellor to tread delicately. Recent economic growth had given the government confidence, but Mr Lehman had inherited a large deficit from the previous government. The Chancellors more centrist position of late has faced criticism from within his own party, but has given him some support from the conservative opposition and many economists. "We cannot keep borrowing at current levels to fund a budget deficit. We have to take stock of the fact Germany's economy is growing steadily, and that while I want to increase investment significantly, we can not allow our deficit to fall outside of our targets." Mr Lehman told the Bundestag. "We aim for a Germany that is both socially and financially fair and sustainable." Germany has laboured under slow growth and high unemployment for years. Now increased domestic demand is helping to change the picture. The economy grew by 1.4% between January and March this year. This was the best figure since 2009. Investment in the construction sector was a major factor in fuelling growth. Mr Lehman plans to reform labour laws; a move he agrees will be controversial, but necessary to keep the economy from stagnating and unemployment increasing. "Economic stability and reducing the budget deficit is my top priority. I don't want to rush into any major spending sprees," he said commenting on the decision not to make radical changes to the federal budget for the next financial year. "The German economy needs to become less restrictive to growth, but change must be delicate and not rushed. We must be mindful of how delicate any economic growth can be." A brighter economic picture should make the move to reform labour laws more palatable to voters and to the SPD, say some analysts - and it lends credence to his pledge to make Germany one of the most dynamic economies in the world. For the first time in decades, the German government is expecting to record a budget surplus in 2013. But economists are worried that politicians will be only too happy to spend the extra cash, warning the Chancellor to continue to be tough with his budgeting despite positive figures, particularly with his planned reforms requiring a large amount of funding. "Any recovery Germany has had over the past few months is fragile", Professor Hans Klein from the University of Berlin has said. "The Chancellor and his government will need to be very aware of how rapidly the situation can change. There is nothing to guarantee the economy will not go back to the way it was." The Bundestag will continue to debate the government's legislative plan for the year all of next week, with the education white paper among the top of the list. The government has highlighted reducing the subsidy burden on the country and liberalising market regulations as key priorities in their economic policy. "There is heavy bureaucracy and inefficiency present that must be eradicated," Mr Steinberg, the Federal Finance and Economic Minister said in a statement to parliament earlier today. "To put it simply, too many product markets remain too highly regulated with high barriers to entry continuing to suffocate growth." "It is essential that Germany becomes more competitive, both by reducing bureaucracy and the subsidy burden. It is a priority of this government to make subsidised industries more competitive. These subsidies make it harder for Germany to make the transition from sunset industries to sunrise ones and push up taxes, making Germany a less inviting place for investment." The government has previously pledged to remove bureaucracy in the economy, but has stopped short of announcing any change to labour laws, with debate still ongoing within the SPD. The CDU have expressed support for any move to reduce market regulation, but refused to say whether they support the government's plan until the review board reports their findings. The finance minister also announced that health and education spending would remain the same, and that the government had no plans to reduce current defence spending or procurement, after the previous government increased the budget to 2.3% of GDP and initiated a number of modernisation programmes, including the development of two aircraft carriers for the German Navy. Many will view the position of the government over defence spending as more evidence of its centrist leanings, and may face criticism over plans to reduce public debt but leave defence spending untouched. ACTIONS: 1. Announce targets to help reduce Germany's public debt. 2. Propose the new budget: - Aim to reduce the subsidy burden by up to 20% (with a minimum cut of 15%) over five years. - Set up a government body to wean the industries off the subsidies, helping them to become more competitive by restructuring, re organising and re staffing etc. - Freeze unemployment payment for the next financial year, insisting that it is to help afford the WTOW policies. Insist it is a small price to pay for the assistance and support gained from the policy. - Insist recent growth is helping significantly to reduce overall debt and that the governments target is to create a small surplus at the end of the year. - Announce that the government will not be reducing defence spending, and will continue the previous governments modernisation attempts. - Offer tax cuts to families below the poverty line. - Insist current health and education spending is sufficient for this financial year, with a view to increasing it next year. - Argue that with subsidy cuts and the freezing of unemployment benefit, the budget can afford the welfare and reform policies and tax cuts for the poor while recording a small surplus. - Insist that the government is doing its best to reduce public debt, balance the books and not cut investment. 3. Try to calm down any union and public response by saying that the health of the countries finances is important, and that while we aren't increasing unemployment benefit we aren't cutting it either as the CDU want, and are spending more on other welfare policies (eg. WTOW). We *will* be increasing spending, but only once we've sorted out the last governments mess. 4. After a careful review of market regulation, introduce a bill to reduce bureaucracy and liberalise regulations in industries of slow growth to make it easier for investment, the creation of new business, and obtaining licenses to sell certain products. 5. Float around a white paper on education (calling for the removal of Germanys three-tier education policy) and open a discussion on the future of Germany's anti-terror laws. More info on the education bill to follow after the next WR. -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.24/1117 - Release Date: 07/11/2007 22:52 From Chazenesq2b at aol.com Sat Nov 10 11:32:51 2007 From: Chazenesq2b at aol.com (Chazenesq2b at aol.com) Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2007 11:32:51 EST Subject: [War] WAR News FLASH: 'Unimaginable' Attack Averted Message-ID: 'Unimaginable' Attack Averted- Unprecedented International Cooperation Lauded Washington, District of Columbia (WAR News): Military specialists refer to it as 'the kill chain'... the sequence of events leading from the identification of a hostile threat to it's neutralization. In modern warfare, the Kill Chain is usually a direct engagement by one side against another, involving only the units involved. In what is being lauded as an unprecedented success for international cooperation however, the Kill Chain spread five continents, winding from Beijing and Tokyo in the East, to the Pentagon and Berlin in the West and involving the military forces and official agencies of eight countries. At approximately 04:30 Eastern Standard Time this morning, pirates associated with the terrorist group 'Ansar Al Islam of Asia' attacked what they thought to be a helpless Chinese merchant vessel approximately 30 miles off of Indonesia's coast. The vessel was however involved in an anti-piracy patrol, carrying a platoon of heavily armed Chinese Marines aboard. Three of the eight would be assailants were killed instantly, the others surrendering without a fight to Chinese forces. Upon the bodies of the captives and deceased were critical pieces of evidence, the nature of which has yet to be released. What is known is that the Captain of the undercover vessel informed Chinese Military Command of what was found, and sent digital copies of the collected data to the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Security and Intelligence for evaluation. Sometime at or before 06:00 EST, an unidentified source had forwarded the information to the Chinese Ministry of State. Included among the normal data and analysis was a proverbial 'jackpot' in the intelligence community, a detailed list of planned targets for the attack. Acting in accordance with standing operating procedures, the Ministry of State had disclosed this information to foreign governments immediately, alerting them to the possibility of an attack. At 06:30 EST, while much of Japan was quiet, the Japanese National Police Agency had acquired the intelligence gathered, and agents of the NPA in conjunction with Tokyo Metropolitan Police began a sweep of transportation hubs in the Tokyo Area. Although exact details have again not been released, what is known is that a sizable explosive device, estimated to contain no less than 100 kilograms of high-grade TNT, enough for 10 anti-tank mines, was located in Tokyo's subway system. By 16:30 EST, the NPA had in their custody 6 members of a suspected Ansar Al Islam of Asia spin-off sect, 'Rising Sun of Islam'. Investigation continues, but all indications point to this being a small, recently organized and inexperienced terrorist group centered in Japan. Simultaneously in Indonesia, National Soldiers operating in a rare show of support in the global 'war on terror' raided a suspected pirate hub about 20 miles outside the capitol of Jakarta. Seven Indonesian troops were killed and five more wounded in the ensuing fire fight, however more than 20 believed pirates were captured or killed, and a sizable cache of weapons, intelligence sources, and funds were confiscated. Information exchanged between the Chinese and Filipino Governments lead to a raid at 10:21 EST in which Special Operations Forces from the Filipino Army captured or killed 10 members of the lethal Jemaal Islamiyah group, which has long plagued the nation. Among the captured is believed to be Jemaal Islamiyah's chief of operations in the Philippines, and the dead are rumored to include Jemaal Islamiyah's head of finance, Salaad Hujah. Information obtained indicated that an assassination attempt on the head of the Filipino Military was the eventual goal of the group. Acting on information passed along by the Chinese, Filipino, and Indonesian operations, GSG-9, Germany's premier counter-terrorism group in conjunction with Berlin police executed a search warrant on an apartment building in the sprawling city. Four individuals, long suspected terrorist operatives, were arrested. Inside the apartment were found dozens of bottles of bleach, a pair of dogs apparently poisoned to death, and literature associated with terrorist networks for conducting attacks using home-made chemical weapons. The attack had been scheduled for 16:37 EST, the arrests occurring just two hours before what analysts believe would've been a devastating assault on an aircraft, evidenced by four tickets on Luftanza airlines bound for London. At 11:30 EST, the Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Defense pooled th eir resources, and after an analysis of the information provided by the Chinese, Filipino, Indonesian, Japanese, and German governments, had concluded that a threat to American interests was imminent. The information pointed to a Mid-East target, and all installations and government agencies with a presence in the Middle East were alerted. Sure enough, at 18:16 EST, a low-profile Chevolet pick-up carrying a 600 pound high-explosive attempted to run the gates at the US Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain. Naval Shore Patrolmen shot and killed the driver and his passenger in a brief fire-fight which resulted in no American or Civilian Casualties. Navy EOD personnel successfully dismantled the device. A subsequent investigation in cooperation with Bahrain government officials lead to several arrests, including Al Qaeda financier Jedah Kalil. All detainees are expected to be arraigned and face trials in the nations in which they are currently incarcerated. ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://esteroic.com/pipermail/war_esteroic.com/attachments/20071110/09a2292e/attachment.html From pbuck11 at aol.com Sat Nov 10 12:10:24 2007 From: pbuck11 at aol.com (Pat B) Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2007 10:10:24 -0700 Subject: [War] UK Prime Ministers questions. Message-ID: <4735E600.4090304@aol.com> UK Prime Ministers questions. Dennis Brandt Prime Minister of the United kingdom Author's note: Just a big huge catchup post to get me up to date, ==House of commons== Sitting in the Government Bench of Parliment Dennis looked over notes as Francis was giving a speech about the Belarussian situation, while shooting protesters was a bad thing, and was not something the UK would ever abide in the best of situations. It was not something they could send troops in over except in the event British Subjects were in severe danger. China on the other hand stepped in it. Francis would deliver the usual harumph against China's use of slave labor, then he would step up and deliver the official policy of the government It was not going to be popular in Bejing, though the Queen had agreed in their meeting, countries had to stand for something and the use of slave labor was not something the UK would stand for. Period full stop. As Francis stepped aside Dennis walked to the podium and set down his notes. "I would like to continue with the situation in China. The people's republic has shown it's true colors in it's use of inmate slave labor to produce goods for sale on the world market, and when the evidence is on tape does not in any way even apologise for these actions or take any steps to discpline those involved, this is something a civilized nation cannot tolerate nor abide." There was a smattering of agreement from the Government benches and a surprising amount from the opposition benches. "Therefore effective immediately I am instructing Her Majesty's customs houses to suspend all imports from China unless they can be certified by international inspection not to be made with inmate slave labor. We also call on the European Union and other civilized nations to join us in this endeavour. Thank you." There was a palpable silence in the chamber and one of the opposition rose. "And what can China do to lift this boycott, with their new work program?" "IF the Chinese are serious about this program being a work chance, each inmate must be a volunteer, conditions must meet international standards, which must be verifed by Her Majesty's customs services and representatives of the United Nations." Dennis Paused for a bit then spoke again. "The United Kingdom is taking these steps because every country has a point where it says this will not stand, slave labor is odious on it's face, we will condemn this and will embargo these good even if we have to go it alone. Other nations will have to search their own souls and decide if to join us. I do call upon the leaders of the European Union to enact similar boycotts, we ask this in the name of human rights, Show China that slave labor cannot stand in this era. Thank you." Actions 1) Embargo on Chinese goods Any goods sent to the UK from China must be certified to come from non slave labor by international inspectors 2) Condemn Belaurs and China for Gross violations of human rights 3) Reach out to EU leaders, ask them to join in the boycott as a human rights issue 4) Foreign secretary will take trip of EU to pitch our embargo to leadership. From martellian at hotmail.com Sat Nov 10 16:08:44 2007 From: martellian at hotmail.com (Ian Martell) Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2007 13:08:44 -0800 Subject: [War] Japan: "In Response to Terror" Message-ID: "In Response to Terror" Prime Minister Shunichi Sato Japan April 3rd 2013 ------- ?Good evening,? the Prime Minister said as he joined the Cabinet along with the Commissioner-General of the National Police Agency and the Directors of both Naicho and Koancho as well as Hideyoshi Mura Sato?s Chief of Staff. The men and woman gathered around the room mumbled back their welcomes, they were still in shock. Sato could hardly blame them, the only reason why he wasn?t still reeling from it was that he had been briefed along with the Justice Minister on the intelligence the Chinese had sent. ?Alright, we have a lot to discuss tonight, Justice Minister Mochida, are you ready to give your report?? The Minister nodded. ?Yes Mr. Prime Minister.? ?Please begin,? Sato said. ?At 7pm local time Koancho was contacted by the Chinese Ministry of Security and Intelligence and given intelligence regarding a planned terrorist attack by Muslim extremists on the Tokyo Subway System. The Director of Koancho in turn contacted me and the Prime Minister and I were briefed along with the Director of Naicho and the Commissioner-General of the National Police Agency. On the recommendation of the Director of Koancho, we believed the intelligence to be genuine and immediately closed and evacuated the Tokyo subway system and begun a search for explosive devices with the help of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Force and were successful in locating the device inside the Shinjuku Subway Station.? There were concerned looks. Shinjuku was of course Japan?s most busy station, a hub between the Tokyo Subway system and the national rail service an explosive device set off there would have killed hundreds. ?The device was unsophisticated in its design but contained 100 kilos of high grade TNT, it was disarmed immediately and the device once rendered safe, was taken to a secure location for analysis. Following up on how the bomb was placed we were able to find a suspect,? he paused to pull a picture out of his folder. ?Toshio Izuma a maintenance worker employed by the Tokyo Metro Company.? There were some surprised and concerned looks going around the Cabinet table, mostly those who had been called in from meetings who had not had a chance to learn more than what was on the NHK. The Minister of Transport, was one of those people. ?He was Japanese?? he asked incredulously. ?The news said this was Muslim extremists.? The Minister?s comment aptly reflected the ignorance in the room, ignorance Sato had shared until he had been briefed. He nodded to the Minister. ?Yes, he was.? There was a sudden look of understanding that crossed the Minister?s face which quickly gave way to shame. ?My apologies.? ?It?s nothing,? Sato said and turned to the Minister of Justice. ?Please continue Mochida-san.? The Minister of Justice nodded and continued. ?We were able to locate Mr. Izuma at the home of a friend and arrested him and the five others at the home which contained bomb making supplies and Islamic literature calling for an Islamic government in Japan. It appears they were a members of a group calling themselves The Rising Sun of Islam, which has at least some ideological connection with the Ansar Al Islam group behind the attack on the Chinese vessel in Indonesian waters.? ?How is that possible?? asked the Minister of Finance. ?Is the Justice Ministry saying that terrorists have crossed through Japanese immigration and established cells in our country and corrupted our citizens?? ?Minister,? Sato said in a warning tone. The Finance Minister turned his hawkish gaze at the Prime Minister a moment and held it before very slowly turning away. ?Apologies Mochida-san,? he said to the Justice Minister. ?The suspects detained at the house are in the custody of the National Police Agency and are undergoing interrogation by Police officers and members of the Public Security arm of Koancho,? Mochida said and then nodded to the Prime Minister to let him know he was finished. Sato turned to the Director of Koancho who was standing behind the Minister of Justice. ?Director I believe you had something to add?? He nodded. ?Yes Prime Minister,? he said. ?We believe that the Rising Sun of Islam is a relatively new group made of up of young Muslims of Japanese and foreign ancestry. However the explosive device they used contained military grade explosives?? ?Taken from our supplies?? asked the Defence Minister. Director Yoshida shook his head. ?No, while we haven?t made a complete analysis of the explosive we do know it is not a type we use in the JSDF.? The Defence Minister nodded. ?It does however lend credence to the fact that this attack was in part implemented from beyond our borders and as Minister Mochida has already mentioned likely with the support of Ansar Al Islam.? ?What is the prospect of future attacks?? asked the Minister of Education. ?At this moment it is too early to say, but if our assumptions are correct about the size and relative experience of this group, not very high.? That seemed to placate the Cabinet a little and they relaxed a little. Sato nodded to Yoshida in thanks and then turned back to the assembled Ministers. ?Now quickly, Minister Inukai, the Indonesian attack on the pirate base?? The Defence Minister nodded. ?We provided them with satellite Intel per the anti-piracy agreement and one of our UAVs in the region was on hand to provide tactical visual intelligence.? Sato nodded. ?Thank you,? he said. ?That is our current situation. I would like to put forward my proposed plan of action which is to say, the plan of action this body has discussed before with both myself and Prime Minister Sakai before now. In order to best deal with the problem of terrorism both at home and abroad our objectives must be two fold. First, we need the support of the countries and communities that these criminals live in and we need to focus not on combating the individual terrorist but the sources of their arms and support. ?As for how we will accomplish this strategy, I will touch on the domestic side first. My staff is currently contacting the leaders of the Muslim community in this country and asking them to a meeting here tomorrow where we will discuss their cooperation with the investigation of the Rising Sun of Islam and establish a relationship of trust between their community and the government and assure them that we have no intention of curtailing their rights in response to the actions of a few criminals who happen to come from within their midst.? The Minister of Justice spoke up adding a point. ?We?ve already contacted them about giving their places of worship police protection against vandalism.? Sato nodded. ?Internationally, we will be moving forward with our plans for Southeast Asia and be proposing to our partners in the Anti-Piracy plan a more formal military alliance with a primary aim of combating terrorism. Minister Inukai?? he asked looking for the Minister of Defence to fill in the details. ?Basically the plan would follow the same format as our Anti-Piracy Task Force a joint command that would share training and intelligence with one another and coordinate responses to multi-national threats in the region. Our primary goal would be to gather intelligence on the threat organizations and whenever possible use civilian agencies, such as police forces to make arrests, however the intensity level of any operation will be left to the country in which it would take place.? The Education Minister spoke up. ?What would our role be?? ?Primarily our role will be to supply high technology, currently out of the reach of our allies economically to the problems of combating terrorism in the region.? The Education Minister wasn?t satisfied. ?Will we be taking part in combat operations?? she asked. ?Yes, but as I said, only in a support capacity. However if we do find targets in international waters we will be within our rights to take action ourselves.? ?And apprehend them?? asked the Education Minister. Inukai nodded. ?As part of this plan we will be asking for access to more military bases in the region as well, as we will be bringing a larger force into the region to assist with this broader alliance. In particular, an AWACS plane, several UAVs, and a protection detail for same.? The Ministers nodded. The Prime Minister looked to Jonouchi, the Foreign Minister. ?Along with this alliance there will be the offer of an arms treaty, which will allow Japanese manufacturers to our allied nations, this is in part to open the door to developing a foreign market for our arms, and secondly it will reduce the costs of future expansion to the JSDF. And on top of that there is an ODA package on the table aimed specifically at Indonesia and Malaysia which is earmarked for infrastructure projects, to open up some of the more isolated regions of those countries.? ?For the military?? asked the Finance Minister. ?For everyone, we believe that terrorism is directly linked to opportunity and standard of living, if we can improve those factors in threat countries, we reduce the number of potential volunteers these criminal organizations can recruit.? ?It didn?t stop them here,? commented the Minister of the Interior. ?There will always be those who feel disenfranchised,? Jonouchi said. ?That is where law enforcement comes in to deal with those who have decided to turn their despair into criminal action.? ?Speaking of law enforcement,? the Minister of Finance said. ?What are we doing in that regard?? The Minister of Justice took that question. ?Our intelligence services are compiling a list of foreign nationals involved with terrorist groups and we will be turning this over to the Department of Immigration and putting forward a bill that would require all airlines and sea lines serving this country report their passenger manifests to the Department of Immigration. ?Why not prohibit these people passage?? ?We believe that is a detrimental policy, and it will be more effective to allow them to come into the country where we can either detain them or put them under surveillance with the effect of gathering intelligence.? The Cabinet seemed satisfied with that and the Minister pushed on. ?In addition we are putting forward a budget proposal for more police officers to oversee all points of entry to the country.? Sato kept his face neutral, he was against that part of the plan, but it was what the people expected the government to do. He drummed his fingers on the cabinet table as the Minister continued. ?As well we will be launching a more thorough investigation into the funding of terror, and if we find any organizations are using Japanese institutions to hold their funds we will take appropriate action.? ?Which is?? asked the Minister of Finance. ?That will depend on the situation,? the Minister replied. ?If we feel there is something to be learned by watching the accounts we will, if not, we will order the assets frozen and a formal investigation of the source of the funds will be launched.? The Minister closed his folder and looked to Sato who sat up slightly and adjusted his tie. He was anxious to be done with the formalities of informing the rest of the cabinet of what they had decided in the hours before the meeting. ?I believe that is everything,? he said. There were a few more questions and a bit of back and forth but eventually it was decided that the Cabinet Secretary would give a formal statement from the Cabinet tonight, that thanked, but did not name the allies who had helped defeat this threat to Japan, inform the people of what the police were doing in the subway system and that the government hoped that they would be done by morning, however if it should take longer than expected, to plan other means of getting to work. He would confirm the fact that there had been arrests and the threat of further attacks was low. In the morning it was agreed the Prime Minister would issue a statement, once they knew more details. Everyone stood and Sato turned to the Ministers of Justice, Defence and Foreign Affairs and beckoned them to follow him, along with the Directors of Naicho and Koancho. There were a few more things to get under way. Actions: 1> The Tokyo Metropolitan Police and the National Police Agency will continue to search for more explosive devices in the Tokyo Subway system. 2> The suspects arrested as part of the Rising Sun of Islam group will be interrogated as criminals under Japanese law, though that does allow up to 28 days of confinement before arraignment and some very liberal views of acceptable interrogation procedures. 3> Hold a meeting between the Prime Minister, and the leaders of Japan?s approximately 70,000 strong Muslim community with the intent of calming fears of painting all Muslims with the terrorist brush, and asking for their cooperation in the investigation of this plot, and in exposing any future plots. 4> Offer mosques protection from attack and vandalism. 5> The Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs will contact the governments involved in the Anti-Piracy Task Force (Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore) about expanding the agreement to include terrorism in its purview. The countries would share intelligence and training and coordinate in removing international threats. Japan?s participation would be primarily technical offering Japanese technology (advanced UAVs, satellite intel, AWACs aircraft) and the support of the Anti-Piracy task force ships, in the fight against terrorism in the region. In return Japan requests the use of military bases in the region with the approval of the governments in question. 6> Open discussions of an infrastructure aid package targeting Malaysia and Indonesia?s poorest and most isolated areas. 7> Offer the Anti-Piracy nations an arms treaty allowing Japan to sell arms to the participating countries. 8> Propose two bills in the Diet, the first would require that the manifests of all planes and ships landing in Japan be turned over to the Ministry of Justice. The second is appropriations bill to increase the National Police Agency by 1000 officers in order to better protect Japan?s ports and airports. _________________________________________________________________ R U Ready for Windows Live Messenger Beta 8.5? Try it today! http://entertainment.sympatico.msn.ca/WindowsLiveMessenger From Chazenesq2b at aol.com Sun Nov 11 19:12:27 2007 From: Chazenesq2b at aol.com (Chazenesq2b at aol.com) Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2007 19:12:27 EST Subject: [War] China: "News Conference" Message-ID: "News Conference" President Xia Hong The People's Republic of China ================================== (The Executive Residence's Media Conference Room) It was something that just ten years ago would've been thought impossible. Even though the paint and wall paper were still figuratively drying on the young Chinese Executive Residence, the Conference Room was fully operational, and inside of it was more than just the reporters of the State sanctioned Xinhua news agency. The newly organized, privately owned, Chinese Independent News Agency (which Xia had seen to recently being given a certificate of operations) or CINA, and several 'foreign' news agencies, also had representatives in the auditorium style briefing room. It was a rare 'open' session from the center of Sino power and influence. Xia had prepared thoroughly for this conference, receiving reports on 'everything' from the respective Chinese agencies, be it emergency preparedness and the progress of response to the eruption, North Korea, the recent British condemnation and the prison scandal that brought it about, and the new reform program being implemented to disguise the fact that slave labor employment had been used while sparing some key members of the party face. (These same members would always be good to have in your pocket after all, and nothing said 'do what I tell you to' like being able to impeach and kill them legally at a whim.) The questions were fairly predictable, usually. One adventurous tabloid reporter had the gaul to ask the President of the People's Republic what color her panties were... guess that might have been why the security service escorted him promptly from the grounds. It was a question Xia was all too willing to ignore. "Madam President, Japan has recently announced it will help provide significant high-tech assistance to members of the Anti-Piracy coalition, including apparent access to arms and equipment. Will this include China?" Xia responded. "I am hopeful that Japan will see fit to include China as one of it's allies, particularly as we've taken mutually historic steps to strengthen our relationship and cooperate internationally on matters of mutual interest." She'd considered commending Japan on the success their police enjoyed in staving off the attack, but thought better of it. Such acclaim would come from Sato when he was ready for it to be known, she was sure. "As one of the leaders in the anti-piracy movement, China would benefit greatly from continued, and increased, cooperation with Japan, as well as the other members of the international coalition. I've requested that the Ministries of Defense and Security and Intelligence, formally request Japanese assistance in these matters." "Madam President, the Ministry of Defense has announced that you've ordered roughly one-third of the 750,000 strong North Korean Stabilization Force to depart the Korean peninsula by year's end. Does this indicate the beginning of the end for Chinese involvement in North Korea?" Xia shook her head. "The recall order was issued because combat troops were sent to help protect the people of the DPRK from the costs of civil war and fighting among sects within North Korea. We've been fortunate in that through diplomatic means, we were able to consolidate the sects under the responsibility of a new government, and militarily we were able to defeat those who threatened stability within the nation without a significant insurgency taking route, thanks to the support of the people of North Korea. This recall reflects the fact that many of these security operations are now able to be turned over to North Korea. Support troops and some combat elements will remain in North Korea to provide technical and logistical assistance, including training and development of North Korean forces, and humanitarian operations which remain a critical necessity in the country. Chinese forces will remain in North Korea, so long as the North Korean government believes it necessary to maintain the sovereignty of their country." "Has there been any indication by the North Koreans when that might be?" "North Korea continues to ask for assistance. They've not given us a specific time table for when a complete withdrawal will be expected." "Madam President, the operation in North Korea has cost more than 70 billion dollars at this point, including humanitarian and military costs. Reports of misappropriations of financial aid intended to stimulate the North Korean economy have been issued. How can the Chinese government continue, and how longer should it be expected to continue, to pay for North Korea's economic development?" "First it's important to qualify your question with factual background. The vast majority of Chinese aid has been focused on sustainable growth programs, which include infrastructure and power improvements, and construction and security development. These programs have been particularly well executed, and in that light the advances North Korea has made in a relatively short period of time have been dramatic. In addition, the monies spent by China and her allies in North Korea on medical treatments and improvements have identified and lead to treatments for a variety of epidemic's the nation's unique conditions have given birth to. It is important to remember that never before in the course of human events has a humanitarian operation of this scale been undertaken. The Chinese people, and the people of Russia, America, and Japan, and all nations assisting the rehabilitation of North Korea deserve to be proud in the work being done on their behalf in North Korea. The funds that were supposedly misappropriated are a small percentage of the business stimulation package, which is one part of the economic stimulus program. I trust the agencies of North Korea, as should the rest of the world, to conduct their legal investigations and to punish those responsible." "Does that mean China will not pursue those responsible itself?" "The Ministry of Justice will take all actions it decides are required and legally feasible. I can't speculate as to what investigations are currently under way or what measures will be taken at this point for reasons that it may impact any such decisions, but I trust my staff to make the right decisions." "Madam President, I'd like to ask about the prison labor scandal. If it was truly a pilot program, why did the Chinese government not immediately say so?" "There were many issues behind that decision. Prisoners do not kindly treat those they perceive as receiving special consideration, and it was simply a testing program that 'if' it failed, we would have preferred to scrap without the political work of having to formally eliminate the program. Fortunately preliminary data suggests it may be worthwhile to proceed with a larger test program, and thus you may see volunteer, compensated labor along the lines of those used in western prisons to allow for the rehabilitation of less violent criminals. A formal funding request is now before the PNC, and I hope they will approve it." The bright lights of camera photography and the humming of video cameras caused her to take a break for a moment and sip a glass of ice water. People rarely understood just how trying a prolonged Q and A session could be. "Madam President, what do you make of the United Kingdom's recent declaration of a boycott on Chinese goods?" Xia thought of her answer for a moment before responding. After all, such a policy was likely to hurt the UK more than it was China. The UK imported more than 5% of it's total imports from China, where as the imports China took in from the UK were nearly imperceptibly small. UK consumers would definitely be harder hit, in a nation where the cost of living was already fairly high. Still, diplomacy was the wisest cause. Niceties could have unforeseen benefits. "The actions of the United Kingdom's Parliament, though regrettable, are certainly understandable. Had the British government sought to attain the conditions laid out in their legislation through diplomatic channels, we would have been able to respond more quickly. This in mind, I am hopeful the Prime Minister, or an authorized member of his government, will contact us so we may discuss the conditions of this legislation and how best to meet them. We have nothing to hide, and wish simply to prove that this has all been a simple misunderstanding which could have been avoided." "Madam President, when can the people effected by the seismic activity near the Chinese border expect to return home?" "Most already have been given the green light to return home. The Bureau of Emergency Response under the MSI, the Civil Guard under the MoD, and the Bureau of Economic Development under the MoC are working together to assure that the transition is as orderly and successful as possible. There is considerable work to be done in the rebuilding process, including updating construction codes which the Ministry of Justice and the Corps of Engineers are working on as we speak, clearing and rebuilding roadways and port facilities, and providing for commercial and residential needs. We are determined that these projects will be on time, and on budget thanks to the strength and courage of our Emergency Services personnel, and that we will rebuild our cities and towns better than they were prior to the incident. This crisis has revealed the best and worst in China... how we help support each other, be it directly through volunteerism, or indirectly through donations of food, clothing, and shelter. Likewise it's shown us that vast swaths of our beloved nation are still difficult to access, and are being left behind as the major urban centers prosper. I call on the PNC therefore to expedite consideration of our rural development programs, and equality in education acts. This is the first step in leveling the playing field between those born in Urban areas and those in China's heartland. All Chinese deserve the opportunity to pursue their own form of happiness, whatever it may be. The promise of globalization offers a way for everyone to take advantage of the world economy, and it's about time our countrymen were afforded that opportunity." "Madam President, the PNC, out your government's bequest, just approved a 150 billion dollar military budget for 2014 and 2015, which include continued modernization programs. Is such an increase in China's military spending warranted?" "I can not answer that question precisely on the grounds of National Security." Xia simply moved on, not wanting to disclose anything about what was behind in the increase to China's military budget. The same reporter, of Nordic appearance, asked a follow up question, writing as she did. "Madam President, the PNC also recently approved an environmental conservation package worth approximately 10 billion dollars. What programs will benefit from this budget increase?" "The programs created from the new increase will allow a conversion of many of China's coal burning power plants to what's called 'clean coal' technology, drastically reducing air pollution in our nation. Likewise my government, in consultation with experts worldwide, have decided it finally feasible for China to begin moving to a multi-fuel economy over the course of the next five to ten years. This includes the use of ethanol and hydrogen fuel cells in motor vehicles, the development of zero-emission automotive components and an expansion and modernization of the nations nuclear power plants. This includes importing technology, specifically CANDU reactors from Canada, and developing our own 'clean power' sources domestically to hopefully meet the entirety of our nation's power needs by 2050 without the use of fossil fuels. It is a broad based, expansive program that will help to insure China is a leader in environmental conversation for the foreseeable future." Another sip of water. "Hydrogen power generation will be increased where possible, and a n ational arbor day will focus on the 'greening' of our urban, suburban, and rural issues. I call upon all citizens of China to place their efforts behind conservation, so that we may better our country for our children." And then, as if on cue, came a long session of tele-conference calls from various schools, featuring students ranging in age from kindergartners to high-school and university level. In the end, it was ironic... where as such questions were significantly choreographed in the democratic west, in the 'communist' east it was an honestly open session. ======================================== ACTIONS 1. Hold Press Conference where the following items are addressed... A. China to formally request technical assistance from Japan as a member of the Anti-Piracy movement. B. Formally announce 250,000 Combat troops will be recalled from North Korea by the end of the year. C. Let North Korea handle the investigations into the misallocation of reconstruction funds. D. Emphasize the fact that reconstruction in North Korea IS moving forward, and yielding results. E. Downplay the question of whether China will take action itself against those who misallocated money. F. Downplay the prison scandal. Begin reforming the 'program' to make it more humane. G. Explain the apparent slowness in China's response to international criticism. H. Diplomatically reply to the UK's boycott. "We understand, but you could've given us a chance." I. Emphasize successes, and the hard work remaining to be done, in the eruption reconstruction effort. J. Applaud the work of the international response to the eruption, and domestic relief workers. K. Call on the PNC to approve legislation aimed at increasing equality in opportunity for all citizens. L. Skip over the question as to why Chinese military spending has increased. M. Publicize China's 'Green Movement' to massively clean up the country by 2020. 2. Flex some political muscle in moving the aforementioned legislative acts to the forefront of the government's agenda. These are the issues most important to China, and the PNC must (at least seemingly) address them. Naturally Xia retains the right to ignore them if they fuck up. ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://esteroic.com/pipermail/war_esteroic.com/attachments/20071111/d4ef90d8/attachment-0001.html From michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com Sun Nov 11 20:30:15 2007 From: michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com (Michael Downey) Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2007 22:00:15 -0330 Subject: [War] Canada: "China Syndrome" Message-ID: <6b6ab8a70711111730r547a334eibd35c22c095d4590@mail.gmail.com> "China Syndrome" Prime Minister R. Leon MacIntyre Canada 3 April 2013 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "We are a very lucky country," mused MacIntyre as he reclined in the plush chair behind his desk. " We are blessed with lots of oil. Alberta, the territories, the coast of Newfoundland. Even more if we could just settle the dispute with the US over the Beaufort Sea. Everyone wants it, everyone needs it. But, oil is kind of like the dark side of the Force. Quick, easy and destroys everyone who becomes too reliant on it. Both for export and for import. Luckily for us most of our domestic power comes from hydro energy or our own oil reserves. However we are still affected by swings in global energy prices, in no small part to Uncle Sam's hunger for that black gold. And now China and Japan are angling to get more from us too." "Which is a good thing," pointed out Edward Cameron, the Industry Minister. "Everyone likes to be as self-sufficient as possible, and oil revenue makes everyone happy." "Except we're not as independent from foreign oil as people think," continued MacIntyre. "Many of our oil production facilities are located far away from our industrial centers and most of the oil we do produce isn't the kind we actually consume ourselves. Most of THAT we get from Arabs, just like the rest of the world." "Hydropower is still the major source of energy for our cities and industries," DeMonte pointed out. "We can resist shocks to the energy market better than the US can." "What if we weren't dependent on foreign oil at all? What if we drew most of our own power from hydro and *nuclear power.*?" "Nuclear power?" asked Cameron. "Yeah, nuclear energy. You know, like on the Simpsons." "There's controversy around nuclear energy." DeMonte frowned slightly. "A lot of hesitation and environmental fears." MacIntyre gave DeMonte a sour look. The Finance Minister, and Deputy PM, was always such an old woman. "Steven, you and I know that nuclear energy, when handles properly and responsibly, is perfectly safe. Of course Chernobyl exploded. It was a poorly designed, poorly built, poorly operated mess. A microcosm for everything that was wrong with the Soviet Union. Please don't tell me you suffer from China Syndrome?" "Chalk River," countered DeMonte. "That was back in the 1950's when the technology was in it's infancy," said MacIntyre. "And there was not a single case of injury in illness in any of the workers or cleanup crew." He leaned forward. "Look, think of this in economic terms. Most of the world's oil supply is located in the Middle East, the most volatile and unstable powder keg on Earth. Conveniently enough, most of the world's uranium is located here in Canada or in Australia. I don't know about us, but Australia seems pretty good at the moment. AECL has finalized the first commercial design of the Advanced CANDU Reactor. We are completely self-sufficient in the material, technology and expertise needed to begin construction of new reactors." "France has some of the lowest energy costs in the Western World," said Cameron, looking over at DeMonte. "They get nearly 80% of their domestic power from nuclear sources. They've never had an accident in forty years." "And they export a great deal of that nuclear-produced power to Italy, Germany and the UK," added on the PM. "Hey, doesn't the most energy-hungry nation on Earth life downstairs?" "Environmental concerns." DeMonte knew the PM viewed him as too cautious but someone always had to act as the voice of reason. "Low, and much better than fossil fuels. Carbon emissions are having serious detrimental affects upon the environment. We pump that black shit out into the air and it goes everywhere. Into our lungs, the water, the upper atmosphere. That gets you global warming, deforestation, acid rain, repertory disease. Compare nuclear waste to that per ton and it's a miniscule amount. Not to mention we can safely bury nuclear waste in sealed caverns were its toxic effects will be isolated from the rest of the world for the rest of eternity. People aren't fearful ignorants who are going to get hysterical the moment they hear the words 'atoms' or 'nuclear.' People are smart. A careful and detailed public explanation of the facts will clearly show that nuclear power is safe for the environment, good for the public health, and beneficial for the economy." "What did you have in mind?" asked DeMonte, relenting. "Fifteen reactors in ten years," said the PM. "The ACR-1000 design is marked to produce 1200 MWe and has some of the most comprehensive safety features ever installed in a reactor design. I've already gotten Legislative Affairs to write up the bill for Parliament. It includes the funding needed for the reactors, the construction of a waste storage site in Labrador, and recruitment of operators. And since AECL is Federally owned, we can relocate all the profits directly back into the start-up costs. The reactors will literally pay for themselves. We're calling it the 'Canadian Nuclear Energy Program.' Catchy, isn't it?" Actions: 1) Introduce the Canadian Nuclear Energy Program. 2) Fifteen ACR-1000 reactors are to be built over ten years, along with a waste storage facility in Labrador. 3) All energy is to be used for domestic consumption, with the possibility of export to the United States. 4) Begin a educational campaign to stamp out irrational fear mongering that might occur over nuclear energy. 5) As the AECL is a crown corporation, all profits from the CNEP are to be put directly into construction and procurement costs once the reactors are online. 6) The ultimate goal of the CNEP is to reduce Canada's consumption of fossil fuels, reduce carbon gas emissions, and highlight Canada's highly advanced nuclear technology to potential foreign customers. From martellian at hotmail.com Mon Nov 12 18:57:16 2007 From: martellian at hotmail.com (Ian Martell) Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 15:57:16 -0800 Subject: [War] Japan: "Quiet Measures" Message-ID: "Quiet Measures" Prime Minister Shunichi Sato Japan April 3rd 2013 ----- Sato poured himself a drink from the sideboard in his office and turned back to the other men in the room. ?Help yourself,? he said as he carried his drink over to his desk and sat down. As a few of the Ministers went over to the sideboard he loosened his tie and took a long pull from the scotch in his glass. It burned pleasantly down his throat and he savoured it and the moment of calm he had while he was drinking it. He had been furious since he heard the news. If he had his way he would have lined the six men who had been arrested for the attempted bombing against the wall and had them summarily executed. But clearly, he did not have his way, and while intellectually he was aware of that and that the moderate course, embracing the community that had spawned these deviants and working with the more progressive Muslim countries in the region was smart way to go, the effective way, the emotional side wanted blood. He was drinking now to drown that part, because deep down he knew as much as unleashing the might of Japan on her enemies might feel good for a little while, in the end it would do more harm than good. He finished his drink and set down his glass with a loud clink on the glass surface of his desk. All eyes turned to him. ?We have managed the public side of these affairs,? he said after a moment. ?Let?s now deal with the other side.? The assembled men nodded and those who were standing sat down. Sato looked to the Minister of Justice and the Director of Koancho. ?Intelligence gathering?? Minister Mochida looked over at the Director of Koancho, Japan?s most active intelligence agency that handled affairs both at home and abroad. ?Obviously it is too early for any firm plans to have been made, but tomorrow, I will be sitting down with the domestic section chief and looking at cultivating informants in Japan?s Muslim community.? Sato nodded. ?I assume we don?t have any?? he asked. The Director shook his head. ?No Prime Minister.? Sato frowned but stopped short of asking why that was. ?Internationally?? ?We have taken some effort to set up contacts in Malaysia and Indonesia in order to keep an eye on our interests there, but in general we have very few Islamic contacts.? ?I would like you to see about expanding the numbers and have a proposal ready for the Security Council in the next couple of weeks.? The Director nodded. ?Yes sir.? Sato turned to the rest of the men in the room. ?Now, since the war diplomacy has always been our weapon of choice and I think it will continue to be in this conflict. As such here is what I propose: we privately encourage our Muslim allies to follow Indonesia?s example and take firm action with the groups and individuals in their countries that participate in terrorism.? ?By encourage you mean?? asked the Foreign Minister. Sato smiled. ?I don?t mean threaten, well, I don?t mean it as our default position, but if it comes to it, then yes. Ideally I would like to give them a friendly shove, one coupled with whatever support we can provide.? ?Including military?? asked Inukai, the Minister of Defence. ?Yes, but I would like to avoid Japanese troops getting into combat if at all possible, it should be the countries themselves dealing with these people not us, but if they need arms or technical support, I am open to making agreements.? ?From a political perspective, shouldn?t we make a more of our support?? asked Inukai. Sato shook his head. ?You know the American political adage; you can get a lot done if you don?t take credit for it that is us. Besides we want our allies to be able to save face and make it look like this was something they came to us about, and we decided to help them, not the other way around. We don?t do ourselves any favours if we make our allies look weak.? Minister Jonouchi smiled. ?I agree sir, if the progressive Muslim governments are shown to be weak in the eyes of the world it empowers those who would otherwise oppose them.? Sato nodded. ?Now, our forces in the Straight of Malacca,? he said to Inukai. ?On high alert, we?ve cancelled leaves, and the commanders are implementing higher security while in port.? ?Talk to our allies, I?d like permission for Japanese troops to secure our ships while they?re in port.? Inukai nodded. ?I assume you?d like it done quietly.? ?Yes, Minister to Minister if you can, I?ll deal directly with the leaders of those countries if it comes to it.? ?Yes Prime Minister,? Inukai said. ?Lastly I have a project for all of you, I would like us to start compiling a master list of those involved in terrorism. I would like to reach out to all our allies and gather a list of the players starting with the financers and work our way down to people like the six we arrested in Tokyo.? ?That will take awhile,? said the Director of Koancho. ?Then it will take awhile, our enemies are patient and so we will have to be.? ?To what end?? asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs. ?So we know who our enemies are,? Sato said. ?It?s the only way we will be able to win.? Actions: 1> Koancho?s domestic and foreign arms will begin recruiting contacts in the Muslim community both at home and abroad. 2> Japan will informally encourage it?s Muslim allies to take a harder line on terrorists and offer them whatever assistance or pork is required (with approval of the PM first) and if that doesn?t work, Japan will lean on them more heavily, however the objective is to leave the governments of these countries looking strong. 3> Security on the Japanese forces in the Straight of Malacca will be increased until further notice, including requesting the host countries to allow Japanese security forces on base. 4> Koancho, Foreign Affairs, Justice and Defence will begin a comprehensive list of members of terrorist organizations starting with the financers which will be compiled by contacting allied intelligence agencies. _________________________________________________________________ Have fun while connecting on Messenger! Click here to learn more. http://entertainment.sympatico.msn.ca/WindowsLiveMessenger From michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com Sat Nov 17 10:01:44 2007 From: michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com (Michael Downey) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 11:31:44 -0330 Subject: [War] Canada/Japan: "A New Ally" Message-ID: <6b6ab8a70711170701r10d4bf47v5065e55c53ab1805@mail.gmail.com> "A New Ally" Foreign Minister Jonouchi, Japan Ambassador Olson, Canada 4 April 2013 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Assignments to G8 nations were among the most prestigious and hard-to-get in the DFA and Ambassador Olson was rather pleased with his assignment to Japan. He had already presented his credentials to the Emperor just three weeks ago and now his first official meeting with the Japanese Foreign Minister had been arranged. Trade was of course the very top issue. With the current government back in Ottawa pursuing and agenda of more open commercial relationships with other countries, Minister Daudelin had almost jumped when the Japanese had asked for discussions on trade issues. And like practically every other industrialized nation on Earth, Japan needed resources. Lumber, metals, foodstuffs and most importantly oil. All of which Canada could provide. A young member of the Japanese Foreign Minister's staff was on hand to greet the Ambassador as he disembarked from his car and showed him through the Ministry building to the Minister's office. On the outside the ministry building looked like it would not have been out of place in Communist Moscow, but inside it had been remodled entirely for the 21st Century with glass, wood and flat screen monitors flashing pictures of Japan's major landmarks, in case visitors had somehow forgotten which country they were in. The Minister's office was at least screen free and while looking modern the simple wooden highlights managed to suggest old Japan at the sametime. The receptionist behind the desk in the ante-chamber stood and bowed as the Ambassador was escorted into the inner office where the Minister stood came around his desk to bow and offer his hand. "Mr. Ambassador, thank you for coming." "Minister," replied Olson, accepting the other man's hand. "Thank you for inviting me to your office." Japan and Canada had enjoyed a cordial relationship in the post-World War II era. Though they did not share the close economic and military relationship they mutually had with the United States, Canada maintained a continued and growing trade interests in the Asian-Pacific area and found Japan as a useful friend in the G8 and ASEAN. "What is it you would like to discuss?" Minister Jonouchi directed the Canadian ambassador to a small seating area at the side of his office and once they were seated, drink in hand began. "We are interested in discussing improvements to our extisting trade relations with your country and entering into a military agreement with your country that would allow Japanese troops to come to Canada and make use of your wide open spaces. "The trade matters first. Our wishes are three fold, first, the elimination of tarrifs on Japanese consumer electronics, and a 25% reduction on tarrifs on automobiles in order to allow Japan to compete with NAFTA nations and the relatively low US dollar. "The second matter was a proposal for talks on harmonizing our saftey regulations for autoparts and automobiles in order to facilitate speedier bi-lateral trade of these products. The third was talks with the Federal government and the provinces on insurance regulations, as I am sure you know currently foreign companies are currently restricted to 35% ownership and quarterly review nationally with some provinces being more restrictive, and makes competition with crown insurance companies virtually impossible. We would like a chance to sit down with those involved and make our case for a more open insurance market, which would in the end reduce the costs to your citizens. "In return we would be willing to offer tarrif elimination on cereal grains, beef, minerals and of course oil shipped from Canada. Additionally I know our companies would be willing to invest in exploration and refining of your oil reserves if a suitable revenue sharing agreement could be reached." It all seemed rather reasonable to Olson. He did find it odd that Japan wanted to conduct military exercises in Canada, however. Not that he didn't understand the logistical reasons, those made sense, but many had become aware of Japan's recent military buildup. Some in Ottawa worried how a more militant Japan would affect Asia. They held no distrust of Japan, as much a beacon of democracy as Canada or the United States, but there were many who had long memories. China, for one. But that was China's problem, wasn't it? "There are concerns about foreign involvement in our insurance industry," commented Olson. "We look down to the United States and, well, that's not really the type of environment we want in our country. You'll have to be a bit more specific about your intentions." "We are only looking to expand access to the areas where you are comfortable with foreign presence. All forms of property and nautical insurance as well as life insurance, however we will stay clear of medical insurance of any kind, we admire your system and do not wish to wade into the debate your country is holding about it's future." "I can't promise anything but I will ask the Foreign Minister to confer with the Cabinet," said Olson. The Foreign Minister nodded. "Understandable Mr. Ambassador, I look forward to the reply of your cabinet," the Foreign Minister said. "Shall we move on to military matters?" "There shouldn't be a problem with your military holding exercises in Canada," mused Olson. "Your country is considered by my government as a force of stability and democracy in Asia and the reconstruction efforts of the JGSDF in Afghanistan were much appreciated." "Thank you. And it is for situations like the latter half of the Afghanistan operations we want to prepare for by increasing our training. Ideally, we would like to have a permanent rotation of JSDF training in Canada much like the UK does, though on a much wider scale. Our intitial proposal is for approximately 2000 GSDF forces to be training in Canada at anyone time with 2-3 of our ships operating off your Pacific Coast. We would of course pay our own way and if necessary set up our own barracks on the bases we would be sharing with Canadian forces. Additionally we like to request Canadian advisers to come to Japan to help us establish dedicated Peacekeeping Battalions." Olson smiled inwardly. Since the repeal of Article 9, Canada had always hoped Japan would become a bigger contributor to active peacekeeping operations, not simply reconstruction and humanitarian work. After NATO had floundered in its troop contributions during the Afghanistan operation, Ottawa was eager to find more reliable peacekeeping partners. "That is very acceptable. Canada would be willing to contribute to the cost of constructing the proper housing facilities for your troops." And NDHQ would probably pressure the Pentagon to donate some cash as well. "As for peacekeeping advisers, we can begin sending some of our most field-experienced officers as soon as you want." Jonouchi was pleased with the news that the Canadians were willing to pay some of the costs of housing Japanese troops in their country. The JSDF was under pressure to keep within its budget, and this would help them make more of their time in Canada. "Excellent I will let the Defence Minister know that and he will be in touch with his opposite number in your government. However, I believe he is anxious to get underway, so preliminary meetings with your officers could begin as early as two weeks from now," Jonouchi said. "And as soon as facilities are constructed we can send our men to Canada. When that time comes the Prime Minister would like to the travel to the base and meet with your Prime Minister and make something of an event of it." Japan was fond of Canadians as were most countries and the PMO, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs' public affairs department unanimously called for a press event to christen the cooperation between the two countries. He could already see the pictures of soldiers from both countries playing soccer or trading souveneirs on the pages of both countries newspapers. But beyond the feel good aspect of it, Japan needed to make up for a lack of combat experience and the best way to learn was to follow the examples of others. So for matters of war they worked with the US, but when it came to peacekeeping there were few who knew more than the Canadians. "It has been a pleasure, Minister," said Olson, standing. "I will speak with my superiors at once." Jonouchi nodded sharply and stood as well. "A pleasure ambassador," he said extending his hand. --- Actions: 1) Canada agrees to lift tariffs on Japanese consumer electronics and a 25% reduction on autoparts 2) Canada and Japan will harmonize auto safety standards to improve trade 3) Canada will agree to allow negotiate on opening domestic insurance markets (with the exception of health insurance) to more foreign participation. 4) The JSDF will open a military base in Canada to begin a training rotation of approximately 2000 troops, plus 2-3 JMSDF ships training with the RCN. 5) The Canadian Army will begin sending advisours specializing in peacekeeping to share experience with the JGSDF