From pentaj2 at scranton.edu  Tue Jan  1 18:49:05 2008
From: pentaj2 at scranton.edu (pentaj2 at scranton.edu)
Date: Tue, 01 Jan 2008 18:49:05 -0500
Subject: [War] US/Canada: String Test
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"String test"
Pres. John Williams
United States
PM R. Leon MacIntyre
Canada
April 4, 2013
===========================
<Washington>

 Coffee or other fuels in hand, the usual suspects trooped into the
secure conference room of the White House Situation Room. Ominously,
doors outside could be heard to close and lock.

 For the next 72 hours, the leaders and top officials of both the
United States and Canada would be directly participating in a crisis
management exercise entitled, cryptically, STRING TEST 1.

 The word had come down from POTUS, the "host" of the exercise (and
a participant himself), to "pull no punches", so the workspaces
involved were wired for small cameras and microphones to catch every
word, action, facial expression, and gesture, for the use of the
Exercise Control Team stationed not in Washington or Ottawa, but at
West Point. There would be no relief; no pauses or intermissions in
the exercise. Cots had been set up, the Sit Room had its own
washrooms, and food would be brought down.

 Other innovations were being introduced: Upon an agreement with
the editors involved not to publish until the final evaluations were
released to participants in 6 months, real reporters were being
brought in on the game, to play themselves. (Unfortunately for them,
they were under the same lockdown, though they weren't necessarily in
wired-up spaces. The EXDIR, a Colonel from West Point's wargaming
labs, had been blunt: "If you're in character, you will by God be IN
CHARACTER".) Everyone in senior leadership who could plausibly be
brought in to the exercise was - military, civilian, and all of the
cabinet members in both governments.

 The prep documents were already laid out for the participants at
the White House, the Pentagon, and elsewhere, as with their Canadian
counterparts:

 It was June 2013. Heavy rains, produced by a low pressure front
that was stalled over the Eastern seaboard, had been pounding the
Plains regions for weeks, and rivers throughout the area were nearing
flood stage. At the same time, chatter from Al-Qaeda influenced groups
had been rising to a fever pitch, though no actionable intel had been
able to be drawn from that. On the other side of the front stalled
over the East, the region from Nova Scotia down to DC, as far West as
Philadelphia, was baking in a 100-degree heatwave that had begun 3
days previously, and were pushing electrical systems to their limits.

 As a quick headcount showed everybody stationed at the White
House was here, a comm check with Bob Lawton (the Press Secretary) and
Helen Thomas showed that the media participating from the Press
briefing room were ready, and comms checks from CIA, the Pentagon,
FBI, State, and elsewhere showed that the rest of the US side was
ready, Williams pressed a button, hooking them all up to Exercise
Control at West Point.

 "Control, the US side is ready to go," he stated.

 "Copy Americans, Control confirms the United States as ready for
exercise start," an unidentified voice replied.
---

Many kilometers away in Ottawa, things were shaping up much the same
way. Construction had only recently begun on a Situation Room in the
Central Block so MacIntyre and his staff currently occupied the center
underneath the DND's headquarters, the NDHQ. The CF command was
present, with audio and video links to the RCMP, CSIS and regional
authorities in the exercise area.

"This is Ottawa, we are ready on this end," the PM said over the
speakerphone to Control. Unlike his American counterpart, MacIntyre
was not a military man and had little experience in these types of
affairs. General Newcastle, sitting to his right, had warned the PM
that everyone took these things rather seriously but he still had
trouble not perceiving the whole affairs as an expensive form of
Command & Conquer.

"Control acknowledges both sides ready. It is now 09:29:30. Exercise
will start on the minute," spoke a voice from the phone.

The next 30 seconds, in Washington, anyway, were spent pushing the Pre-
exercise stuff off to a side.

Then, a voice cut in,

"Jim Moran, NWS, along with Thomas Farelli, MSC. Our agencies are
announcing flooding conditions are now in existence for the entirety
of the Des Plaines, Chicago, and Illinois Rivers, reaching a flood
stage of 6 feet for the Des Plaines River, 4 feet for the Chicago
River, and 5 feet for the Illinois River. Flood Warnings are now in
effect for the entire Mississippi River and tributaries north of
Dubuque, Iowa. Army Corps of Engineers reports that flood defenses are
holding, but just barely."

Further floods were noted for the US, up and down the Mississippi
River watershed, of varying intensities. Essentially, every tributary
of the Mississippi was either flooding, or near flood stage. The
river, itself, wasn't flooding. At least, not yet. Most of Minnesota,
Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and northern Missouri was facing flooding.
Fortunately, flooding was only on the horizon south of Dubuque - so
far.

"In Canada: The Pic River, White River, Pigeon River, Michipicoten
River, Brule River, and Kaministiquia River are all within 12 hours of
flooding. Ontario Hydro is considering whether to shut down the dams
on those rivers to protect the generating equipment and the personnel."

With that, Piper spoke up. "Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and
Missouri have called out the National Guard on state duty for flood
defense."

Secretary Nulty at DHS looked up at an aide handed him a sheaf of
papers. He looked them over, then looked up. "Mr. President, all of
the effected states want federal disaster declarations."

"To be expected," Williams replied. "They're approved, instantly. If
FEMA isn't moving right now, there's something so very, very wrong."
Pulling over the sheaf that Nulty nudged in his direction, he signed
and dated each declaration, after reviewing it to make sure everything
looked right. Anne Hopkins, the FEMA director who had been plucked
from service with Hawaii Civil Defense, spoke up over the
phone. "We're moving regional assets, as of 30 minutes ago, to
Chicago, St. Louis, Dubuque, and Minneapolis as hubs, under movement
in anticipation of possible callup. These declarations being said
callup, regional operations centers will move from watch status to
full alert within 15 minutes. Secretary Abbot, what's the status of
the Navy recruits at Great Lakes?"

"Currently, they're continuing training as scheduled, but permanent
party forces are preparing for possible training halts and assignment
of all able-bodied personnel to flood defense work," Abbot
replied. "Do you think you'll need the personnel?"

"It never hurts to know where they are."

"If you need them, I'll chop them to FEMA OPCON upon request. Posse
Comitatus restrictions will, of course, remain in effect."
---

Emergency management in Canada fell under the jurisdiction of the
Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, whose Minister,
Eric Lancaster, would be the primary mover and shaker for the
exercise.

"Sir, we need to begin mobilizing the military to assist in control
and evacuation of the affected areas at once," Lancaster advised the
PM as the initial reports began to flow in. "The RCMP doesn't have the
manpower to handle this themselves, and the Ontario Emergency
Management Offices and civil emergency services will be kneecapped if
power has to be cut to our hydroelectric grid. The 2nd Mechanized
Brigade can be deployed out of Petawawa along with the 2nd Field
Medical Group to handle injuries."

"Done," said MacIntyre. The relevant paperwork would be along in a few
moments for him to sign. "I take it we're putting this under the
control of the Central Area Command?"

"The CF has the most manpower to handle a disaster of this scale,"
replied Lancaster. "The command and control apparatus is also capable
of functioning independent of local support. The RCMP and OPP can't do
that. This is the precise reason we have the Emergency Measures Act
and has been the primary strategy of the MPS."

MacIntyre nodded. Soldiers walking down the street was not something
Canadians had seen since Black October forty years ago, not a
particularly pleasant national memory, but this was an emergency
during a large scale natural disaster. And the military forces would
be deployed for disaster relief; only MP units would be armed, with
most crowed control still being handled by the RCMP and Ontario
Provincial Police through the local EMO.

"Okay, fine."
---
"Control announces: It is now 10:00:15, 4 June 2013. CF personnel will
arrive in 12 hours, and be operational in 18. Methods of transport are
road for heavy equipment and air for personnel." a voice said. "FEMA
assets, moving by air, will arrive at Chicago, St. Louis, and
Minneapolis in 12 hours, and be operational in 14. National Guard
assets are fully deployed under state command in Minnesota, Iowa,
Illinois, Wisconsin, and Missouri. Evacuations have been ordered by
local authorities in most cities in the flood region; Evacuees are
heading primarily to Chicago, Minneapolis, Cedar Rapids, Springfield
Illinois, Des Moines, and Milwaukee. Roads are jammed full. All
revenue flights into the evacuated areas have been canceled. Airline
flights are being scheduled to end throughout the evacuation area
within 12 hours, and flights are packed. Hydroelectric dams throughout
the region are being taken offline in sequence as grid operators
balance the load. Weather forecasts don't show the rain letting up
over the next 72 hours."
---

"The deployment is going well," commented Lancaster as he looked down
at the large table LCD map. "The Ontario EMO is keeping the Army and
local police well-coordinated. The shutdown of the hydroelectric grid
will cause problems but nothing we can't handle."

"I think that would defy the purpose of the exercise," commented
MacIntyre. "Video games are interesting because they are hard. You
know the Americans are planning something."

"Quite true," nodded Lancaster. "This exercise is very important. It's
the first major test of our joint disaster and defence response
ability for the entire North American continent, mines Mexico. Us, the
DHS, NDHQ and the Pentagon are going to spend the next two years
pouring over the after-action analysis. So yes, there are going to be
some curve balls thrown at us."

"Fine then," nodded MacIntyre. "Have the RCMP put the ERT on standby."

"If we activate a special tactical unit before there's a tactical
situation it might be construed as cheating," cautioned Lancaster.
This was supposed to be 'real.'

"And when better for criminals, or perhaps terrorists, to try
something than during a natural disaster with everyone preoccupied by
the evacuation? What if gun runners decide now is the perfect time to
smuggle guns across the Windsor-Detroit border, or the Hell's Angels
decide to rob a bank or some other such thing? Isn't this the PRIME
opportunity for violence and looting? And maybe even terrorism, but we
won't mention that part. I mean Christ, we have an entire front line
Army brigade deployed, why not be that much more cautious?"

"I'll call the RCMP."

An audio message came through from the RCMP watch officer handling
communications. "Acknowledged; however, ERT is what the Americans
might call a SWAT unit, not a riot control unit. The tactical troops
for A and O divisions are, unfortunately, already engaged providing
manpower to evacuation efforts."

Meanwhile, in Washington, things were generally quieter. Indeed, it
was sort of a waiting game for them - things were mobilized and
moving, but no news was coming in. Hence why POTUS was reading, SECDEF
was playing a Nintendo DS, the AG was nervously chewing nictoine gum
and craving a cigarette, and so forth.

"Control to all players: It is now 1500 EDT, 4 June 2013.
Hydroelectric dams along previously-noted flooding rivers are now
completely shut down. Demand is at 90% of current generating capacity,
and generating companies warn that rolling blackouts may need to be
imposed.

"The Missouri River from Sioux City and Omaha is approaching flood
stage, and is expected to reach it in 8 hours. The Missouri River from
Omaha to St Joseph is expected to reach flood stage in 12 hours..."

Onward Control went. Essentially, the Missouri River from Sioux City,
Iowa until it met the Mississippi was going to be flooding, soon.

In Canada, the situation sucked only slightly less. The Trans-Canada
Highway route passed through flood zone - and was itself flooded.

Three of the dams on the Michipicoten River were not merely shut down,
but according to Ontario Hydro engineers working from photographs
provided by CF air assets, were nearing breach.

Additionally, people had started to die. 50 had died in Missouri when
the bus they were evacuating in took a turn too fast for the
conditions and skidded through a guardrail and over a cliff. Up to 20
had been reported swept away by floodwaters in the US, including 10
children. In Canada, more densely populated by rivers, at least 50 had
died from the flooding - people misjudged whether their cars could
make it through, or didn't evacuate when it was called for, or had
simply been unlucky. The death toll there included 7 children.

In Washington, this was listened to with a curious calm. They'd gotten
lucky so far.

"Okay, just on an off-chance, I'm going to ask the Governors to call
up the Guard in the Lower 48 and Alaska on state duty - send them to
the flood areas under mutual aid. Mr. Prime Minister, if you need any
assistance, upon your authorization, I'm going to ask the Governors of
the New England states, except for New York, to send their Guard units
to Ontario to assist. They'll be chopped to Canadian Forces command,"
Williams spoke into the audio link.

At that point, Piper finished writing on a piece of paper and handed
it over to the Secretary of Homeland Security, who scribbled on it and
then passed it to POTUS. POTUS glanced at it, then spoke up again.

"That said, here are the initial taskings for the Guard upon callup by
the Governors.

"California, Oregon, Washington State, and Alaska will act as a
strategic reserve. Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada will be sent to support
Iowa and Kansas. Montana will backstop Minnesota. Illinois and
Wisconsin will be supported by Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and
Pennsylvania. Missouri will be supported by Florida, Alabama, Texas,
Delaware, West Virginia. Canada will be supported by the New England
States minus New York, which will stay back in case of threats to the
power grid. All unallocated Guard forces in the Lower 48, including
DC, will be under NORTHCOM C2 for support to any or all of the above.

"Civil Reserve Air Fleet will be called up as necessary to evacuate
passengers from any open airport in the flood zone, on either side of
the border.

"Additionally, all active component medical and engineer units
stationed in CONUS will be alerted for possible deployment to the
flood zone, on either side of the border.

"Finally, leaving no stone unturned, the Pentagon has put in calls
both to the Boy Scouts of America's national office in Texas and the
Girl Scouts national office in New York. That should garner us some
degree of help filling sandbags and performing logistics tasks in the
rear."
---

"The National Guard can mobilize and deploy faster than our own
reserves can," commented General Newcastle. "Although I will suggest
we put the call out to all engineering and medical units in BC and
Alberta to start calling up their men and begin deploying to the
area."

"What if those dams break?" asked the PM.

"The Army is evacuating areas that might be directly hit by damn
breaches as fast as we can. All our aid station are being pulled back
to higher ground," commented Lancaster. "At this point we're just
going to have to hope the dams hold until we can move the people away
from the danger zone."

"There's no way we can physically keep the dams from breaching?"

Newcastle shook her head. "It's too dangerous for any of our field
engineering units to get close to them."

With that, a crackle from Washington. Abbot's voice.

"General, what are the hydrodynamic models showing if you just open
the gates fully, let the water flow through? Better a controlled flood
than an uncontrolled breach, I'd imagine."

"Mr. Secretary there are still at least a hundred civilians
unaccounted for in that area," replied Newcastle. "Our S&R teams need
more time to locate them before we can open the flood gates."

Lancaster leaned over and whispered into MacIntyre[s ear. "They're
right. We should open the gates now and avoid structural damage to the
dams. They will breach anyway, this will lessen the damage."

"You heard General Newcastle, there are still people in the area."

"This is the kind of hard choice we have to make in situations like
this, sir," replied the Safety Minister. "We give the search teams
another hour, but after that we have to open the gates."

MacIntyre winced. It was only a game, right? Why did he feel like such
a dick?

"General, you have an hour to find and evacuate the unaccounted
civilians. After that, pull your teams back and open the flood gates."
---
Williams listened to the Canadian conversation over the phone link,
making notes silently.

One hour wouldn't be enough time to properly evacuate those in the
area, he knew.

"Julius, what's the Corps of Engineers reporting in terms of dam
status on our end?" He asked calmly.

"We don't have so many, so there's not the issue; flood control levees
only, and those are stable. Checked with NRC, by the way: Nuclear
reactors in the region are doing fine - the floods aren't going to
effect the coolant systems unless they get a lot worse," Secretary
Abbot replied.

"Still...NRC," Williams directed, checking to make sure they were on
the circuit, "Be conservative. Far better to see a preventative
shutdown and some power issues than to see plant issues."

"Understood, sir," NRC's watchstander replied. "Plant operators have
been advised to react to events accordingly."
---
"Control to all players: It is now 1515 EDT, 4 June 2013.
Hydroelectric Dam Number Four on the Michipicoten River has failed.
Elements of 2nd Canadian Mechanized Battle Group in the vicinity have
drowned in the post-failure surge, totaling 90 personnel. 30 civilians
were reported in the area."
---

"Sir we are out of time," said Lancaster as the report on Dam Four
came in.

"Pull back our men and open the flood gates," said MacIntyre. If that
was the way it had to be, then that was the way it had to be.
---

Williams whispered something to himself, barely audible, before
consulting the maps.

Tapping the touch screen in front of him, he checked the maps at
lightning speed, going deathly silent.

"Tell the Corps to get everybody out of the flood zones, then open the
damns on our side; Whether the river's reached flood stage in that
area or not. Just let the water flow," he said then. "In areas where
the river hasn't flooded, get messages out. If you're able-bodied and
even halfway willing, report to designated areas to be put on flood
defense duty - no matter who the hell you are. Fill sandbags, place
sandbags, get the flood defenses up."

"Yes sir," replied Abbot, who tapped the requisite orders to the
Pentagon into his own console. "We're even asking the correctional
systems for their low-security inmates, just to get manpower."

"Good. How're we doing on refugees, FEMA?"

"Good. We're browbeating hotels into giving up excess capacity where
need be, we've got shelter points set up in stadiums, and people are
going to friends and relatives where they can," Anne Hopkins noted.

Nulty spoke up. "I'm pulling every Homeland Security agent in the area
off their duties and onto flood defense work and relief ops. Fuck drug
smugglers - we need the manpower on this."

Lucas Maxwell, the FBI Director, was next, "I've got agents and civil
service personnel in all the relevant field offices evacuating their
families now - but easily 2/3 have asked to be allowed to stay and
help relief efforts."

"Good. Approved, in both cases. ALL Federal and state assets in the
area tasked by their agencies to assist are under FEMA OPCON, period.
Governors don't like that, they may take it up with -me-, on national
TV, once we're done. In that area, there -are- no agencies, just one
mass of people working to hold back the rivers," Williams stated
simply.

Nods of acknowledgement from around the table.

And now they waited.

Waiting was the hardest part of any crisis, Williams had found.
Sitting there, focused on a situation, unable to productively -do-
anything...It ate at you.
---

He had been indecisive and people had died. MacIntyre quickly realized
that. Though of course no one had said anything, he picked up the
looks exchanged between the CF and Safety Department staff in the
situation room. It was still pretend, no one had really died. But that
was besides the point; what if it was real and real people had died.

"Okay, do we have an estimate on the damage from opening the flood
gates yet?"

Lancaster looked up at the Prime Minister, after looking down at his
own data. "Not yet, sir. We're still pulling everybody back and
letting the water flow where it will; we won't have a good idea of
property damage until tomorrow morning. Hydrological factors. For now,
the best thing we can do is wait." The only thing they could do,
really.
--

Would a private word to his Canadian counterpart be useful? Williams
considered that for a moment. He didn't need a video link or telepathy
to tell him what was going through MacIntyre's mind at the moment;
he'd been there himself. Looking at his SECDEF, the two men shared a
look.

"Remember when it was our first time?" Williams asked in a whisper in
Greek, away from the teleconferencing mic.

"Nai. MacIntyre's going through that, you think?" Piper replied, in
the same language.

"Nai. Except in his case it ain't soldiers, it's civilians."

A nod. "I'm going to prod my Canadian counterpart and General
Newcastle privately, see if we can't surprise her with a long chat
with those who've been there, after this is done."

"Good idea."

Then, back to the table.

A large monitor was set up on a wall, and was displaying a map of the
areas hit by flooding.

Fortunately, Williams noted mentally, they didn't have to consider the
massive job that would be cleanup and recovery. That was beyond the
scope of the exercise.
---
<One hour later, real-time>
"Control to all players. It is now 2000 EDT, 4 June 2013. Rain is
forecast to continue through the night throughout the Plains region,
at rates of between one-quarter and one-half inch per hour."

The flood situation was only getting worse - the entirety of the
Missouri River was now either flooding or beginning to flood. The
extra manpower had come in handy in that situation, allowing for flood
defenses to be built rather stronger than they may have otherwise
been. The Mississippi, north of St. Louis, was expanding into its
natural floodplains; happily, the residents had self-evacuated once
the first warnings went out, local cops were saying. 1993 was, it
seems, not forgotten easily.

In Canada, the situation was similarly grim. Opening the flood gates
on the hydroelectric dams had helped, to an extent, but the breach of
Dam #4 on the Michipicoten River had turned into a complete collapse -
the surrounding area was under at least 7 to 8 feet of water on 3
miles of either side of the river. The other dams were holding, though
just barely in some cases.

Power was out in much of Ontario, as a result of the dam shutdowns. It
was a long, hot, summer evening - fortunately, in Western Ontario, it
was raining "cats and dogs, plus the odd turtle and squirrel", as one
CBC anchor had put it; this rather reduced the attractiveness of
rioting. Eastern Ontario, fortunately, mostly had power, so it was
just sweltering and sticky and wet, but without the blackouts that
would cause normally sane people to riot.
---

The security situation was stable enough, which the PM was grateful
for. That was one small comfort in this deluge of problems. At this
point he felt there was little more he could do; the military and
emergency services would continue to evacuate and maintain order as
best they could.

In Washington, things were quiet. Random chatter kept things going at
a low buzz, as data streamed in. POTUS looked over the screens.

"This can't possibly be all."

"No shit, boss."
---
<3 hours later, realtime>

"Control to all players: It is now 2300 EDT, 4 June 2013."

Further dams in Ontario (2 on the Kaministiquia River, and one on the
Brule river) were breaching, as the duration and volume of water
simply wore down the defenses. Fortunately, the areas had been
evacuated, but the water wasn't stopping.

Similarly, in the US, more and more of the Mississippi River was
flooding. Where defenses could be built, they were being built - but
where time had run out, the building was stopped and the areas were
evacuated. The phrase of the day was "acceptable losses".

And then, as if Biblical-scale flooding wasn't enough (Secretary
Abbot, with his typical humor, had noted "We have boats handy, but do
we have two of every kind of animal?"), there came yet more fun news.

"Control to all players: Explosions have been reported at the Niagara
electricity transmission interconnection point. Cascade failures have
struck the Quebec, Ontario, New England, Great Lakes, and Pennsylvania-
New Jersey-Maryland grids, causing failures throughout the grid areas,
- Hide quoted text -
including the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Toronto, Boston,
Ottawa, Washington, Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Windsor, Thunder Bay,
Montreal, Quebec City..." And on the list went. Power flickered in
Ottawa and Washington, as the power supplies switched to generators.
---

"This is it," said Newcastle. Of course there would be a terrorist
incident. The worst possible event at the worst possible time. "We
should dispatch JTF-2 at once."

"Isn't that cheating?" asked MacIntyre. Of course he suspected the
same thing, but he wanted to stay within the rules of the game.

"Power interconnectors don;t just explode like that, sir," said
Newcastle. "Only direct sabotage could cause one to blow up. We need
to send in a military unit to secure the area before any repair crews
and begin their work."

"Fine, do it," said the PM. Who was he to question the military?
---

"Oh, thank God for rain. Creating Biblical hell, but nobody's likely
to riot in the rain," mused Williams. "We hope."

"Sometimes I begin to reconsider if relying on the Canadians was a
good idea," mused Dan Porbansky, the Secretary of Energy. A withering
glance and a mouthed 'Microphone!' from POTUS.

"Distributed generation would be a good thing," noted Paul Moskowitz,
the head of the NRC, over the comm links.

"Yeah, but where the hell could we place generating capacity in the
grid area that wouldn't rile up NIMBYs?" Williams noted. "Anyhow...NY
Guard had better be moving its ass to the border now. FBI has
jurisdiction, but is ordered to cooperate with FERC; what's the
likelihood it's not terrorism?"

"Slim, but possible," noted SECEN.

"How?"

"Squirrels. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen," the
Secretary of Energy noted. "Saw it a few times when I worked at the
interconnection station near Seattle. But it's not entirely likely. Or
the usual operator or computer error."
---

"Quick response team is entering the are via Black Hawk now," reported
Newcastle. "If this was terrorism they've likely run by now, but
there's no sense in sending a repair crew to their deaths. It won't
take them long to secure the area."

Would it really be this bad? Katrina and 9/11, any sort of natural
disaster or terrorist attack, were something that always happened to
the Americans. In twenty years there hadn't been a flood, fire or
blizzard that had killed more than twenty people in Canada, and the
last terrorist incident was over forty years ago. Would they be
prepared when the real thing came?

Another update from Control, then.

"It is now 2350 EDT, 5 June 2013"

"Surface to Air Missiles have been fired from the Kanesatake Mohawk
reservation, Quebec, at aircraft flying into Trudeau International
Airport in Montreal. One Air Canada aircraft flying from London has
been hit on starboard wing while in traffic pattern, and is currently
attempting an emergency landing."
---

"What?" exclaimed MacIntyre, his face contorting into a look of both
confusion and indignation. "Where the Hell do you get a SAM here?"

"The same place you get any weapon brought into Canada," said
Lancaster dryly. "Detroit."

"We obviously need to send a response team to Kanestake," said
Newcastle. "JTF-2 is busy with the power station, a CSOR company can
be there in under half an hour."

"Well obviously," retorted the PM sardonically. "Send the CSOR unit."

"Control to all players:" Control spoke evenly. "Alert company of CSOR
has been deployed to Kanestake. Cordon and Search operation in
progress. Company commander reports that reserve inhabitants are
throwing stones and other debris at CF personnel."

2 hours later, the SAMs had been found, the hit aircraft had made a
nerve-wracking landing at Montreal-Trudeau, but the shooters had not
been found.

The rest of the weekend was spent in mop-up, with a share of false
alarms and overhyped incidents for each side to keep the adrenaline
going.

On Sunday morning, bleary-eyed crews in Ottawa and Washington received
a welcome phrase from West Point:

"Control to all players: End of exercise. End of exercise. Good play,
everybody. We're downloading the tapes now."
---

The Northern side had certainly bore the full brunt of the simulation.
Rapidly failing damns and two separate terrorist attacks, one with
heavy military weapons, had stretched the CF and civil security forces
well beyond their breaking point. Some blame was, wordlessly of
course, laid before the PM for taking so long to allow the damns to be
flooded. The military, CSIS and RCMP all had to work on integration,
coordination as well as deployment of forces in a more rapid manner.
The response to the terrorist attacks had been deemed satisfactory by
the NDHQ, who privately dismissed the entire thing as too unrealistic
to garner criticism of their response.

Williams listened to the Canadian commentary silently, then spoke up.

"Okay, I think you all missed the point," he comments simply.

"Yes, this was...far-fetched. It felt like an ep of 24 sometimes. You
had more thrown at you than would likely happen at once, yes, and I
think Control clubbed you for being new, sometimes. But at the same
time, you bore the brunt because, reality is, you're in a uniquely
sucking position climate-wise: We get floods practically every summer,
and seeing 50 or more die to nature is not common, but not out of the
institutional memory for most of our hospitals; Canada has had very
few mass-casaulty events in the last 20-30 years, and hasn't dealt
with active security threats like Control posited since, really, the
FLQ - which was 43 years ago. You're out of practice.

"For what it's worth: We got lucky only in that there's been a massive
drought these last few years in the Southeast. Otherwise, a normal
summer, we'd have seen flooding throughout most of the South, too.

"Where I see you need to work: Coordination and mobilization. For
various reasons; financial, constitutional, strategic, et cetera, you
rely on the regular forces, backed up heavily by a proportionally tiny
reserve force, to handle -anything- the local cops and the RCMP can't
handle.

"Okay, that's the nature of the Canadian system; All well and good,
but I sensed a problem: It's been years since you've actually stress-
tested the system you have. How long has it been since the CF held a
full-scale mobilization exercise, General Newcastle? Our defense
attache in Ottawa said it was something like '88, '89, connected with
REFORGER. That right?"

"Moving on: I see issues in our response, too. The National Guard does
good work - they were a strategic multiplier just because it meant
every state had people on the ground, controlled locally, who could
seamlessly integrate with federal assets when it became necessary. But
Control was sneaky, my notes say. We got static from the State
Adjutants General, static that the Pentagon pushed through with
willpower alone - not surprising, they're often...politically
selected, with no reference to training, experience, or competence
beyond what we force. It'll take a real disaster, I sense, before one
can clean that out.

"Finally: Overall...I'm going to give my side a B-. Low because,
frankly, there was a lag time in response I really didn't like. C'mon,
folks. This was an *exercise*. You can do better, dammit. Domestic
agencies especially need to work on their exercises.

"Around here, we have to give Ottawa a C-. You passed, but:

"Mr. Prime Minister, I'm not going to pull any punches. In a disaster,
in a crisis, you can't save everybody. You -must- triage. You -must-
be able, psychologically, to accept losses. You don't have the
experience, so there's no blame upon you for hesitating. Better you
did it *here* than in a real situation. But...Yes, it's hard. It's
never easy. But you have to be...Well, almost heartless, ruthless. You
have to -let people die- to make a response work. Otherwise, you -will-
 lose everybody.

"Now, Ottawa, your reviews?"
---

"We don't really have much more to add," said General Newcastle. The
CF senior staff agreed with the American counterparts about
coordination and mobility being the weakness of the military, an issue
that would have to be addressed.

"Okay then. Thanks for the exercise. Control, Washington signing off."
---
Actions:
1. Exercise conducted by US and Canada.


From pbuck11 at aol.com  Thu Jan 10 19:45:29 2008
From: pbuck11 at aol.com (Pat B)
Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:45:29 -0700
Subject: [War] Relaunch world report.
Message-ID: <4786BC29.1080305@aol.com>

WAR: World Report

- For all actions since Volume 2, advancing the timeline to Jan 7-Jan
12, 2014

United Nations Security Council (Permanent Members): United States,
United Kingdom, France, China, Russia

United Nations Security Council (Non-Permanent Members):
Until September, 2007:  India, Egypt, Norway, Mexico, Venezuela
Until October, 2007:  Canada, Chile, Italy, South Africa, Japan

Pending UN Security Council Actions: None
Pending UN General Assembly Actions: None
United Nations Secretariat: No news.
==============

This is the kickoff of the new year, This will be a standard things that
have happened in the time jump, everyone will get challenges to overcome
so let's see some posting.  Also the 2014 Olympics will be held in 
Russia.... feel free to send teams....

===============================================

ACTION RESPONSES
=============================

CHINA (PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF)

Population Approval: 55%
Government Approval: 57%
International Favor: 50%
Economic Growth: 9.7%, high
Inflation: 2.7%
Unemployment: 10.1%
----------------------------------
The Last 9 months have brought many challenges for the Chinese
government, local elections were a surprising success people seemed to
line up to vote in secret ballot.

Tibetans are emboldened by China's democratization and began to pro
independence protests, the Dali Lama has been encouraging the
"demonstrations and the increase of free speech."

Police and Military officials are a bit surprised and unsure how to
handle protests, since it seems less like the old days of the crackdown
and imprisoning large groups are gone.

There have been isolate incidents where Police and Soldiers struck back
at protestors, 150 were injured and 5 were killed.

The occupation of North Korea continues though there have been a serious 
influx in a return to the days of the 'glorious leader'  several 
soldiers have been killed in an carbomb explosion.

=============================================

FRANCE

Population Approval: 59%
Government Approval: 55%
International Favor: 53%
Economic Growth: 2%
Inflation: 2.6%
Unemployment: 10%
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The EU universal rules are beginning to improve business, it makes it
easier for countries all over to do business, however there are still
smatterings of protests from merchants who see it as 'stripping away
French identity.'

Police report an increase in crime as a burgeoning middle class begin to
move in to rougher areas and burglaries and muggings are up in addition
to weapons offenses as citizens begin to defend themselves from the 
criminals.

==============================================

GERMANY

Population Approval: 55%
Government Approval: 55%
International Favor: 55%
Economic Growth: 2.5%
Inflation: 2.8%
Unemployment: 9%
----------------------------------------------------------

The Welfare to work program has hit several bumps including people not 
able to find works. Protestors continue to object to the cut off of 
benefits and some just to the general idea.

African immigrants continue to flow in to areas increasing tension, 
racially motivated crimes increase as neo nazi youth attack immigrants 
who are supposedly taking their jobs, and Muslim youth will ambush 
German youth in preemptive strikes.

THe last clash between Skinheads and several Musilm protection gangs 
caused 2 days of rioting with over a half million in property damage.


==============================================

JAPAN

Population Approval: 57%
Government Approval: 55%
International Favor: 57%
Economic Growth: 2.8%
Inflation: 0.6%
Unemployment: 4%
----------------------------------------------------------
Things continue at a good pace in Japan, the response to the Korea 
situation has buoyed the people's self esteem, especailly with the 
increased attacks on Chinese soldiers in North Korea.

Domestically the Birth rate is still a major concern, with fewer 
children being born.  The Economy continues to grow steadily and stronger.


RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Population Approval: 62%
Government Approval: 58%
International Favor: 56%
Economic Growth: 2.5%
Inflation: 5.6%
Unemployment: 6.2%
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
National pride is increasing as people get ready for the olympics in 
Sochi.  A temporary uptick in jobs due to the massive amount of tourists 
coming in.  Security is a concern as protestors have begun to be more 
vocal several have become more violent with clashes with Riot police 
becoming a near daily occurance.

=============================================

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Population Approval: 58%
Government Approval: 56%
International Favor: 62%
Economic Growth: 2.9%
Inflation: 3.1%
Unemployment: 4.6%
----------------------
The increase in effort in to global actions has improved US standing 
throughout the world but it has come at a price for this Administration, 
  domestic issues.

Activists including Al Sharpton's National Action Coalition have 
protested the President's failure to address the serious issues 
confronting the poorest americans.  National days of protest have begun 
throughout the United States.

In Congress resistance begins to crop up from both sides of the Aisle, 
Democrats protest the lack of attention to domestic issues while several 
more conservative Republicans argue that he is just spending too much 
money period.

In other news a Youtube video of teen pranksters going through security 
checkpoints with fake Identities for such people as Osama Bin Laden, Ted 
Kazcynski, Timothy Mcveigh, and D.B Cooper have given Homeland security 
a black eye, especially when two pranksters with fake Identities for Lee 
Harvey Oswald and Leon Czolgh took the White House Tour.


=============================================

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/





From michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com  Thu Jan 10 21:27:22 2008
From: michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com (Michael Downey)
Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:57:22 -0330
Subject: [War] Russia: "Security Issues"
Message-ID: <6b6ab8a70801101827t6c194e50u1af2faa85ed5225d@mail.gmail.com>

"Security Issues"
President Leonid Nemerenko
Russian Federation
7 January 2014
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The end of the first year of a leader's administration was supposed to
be some sort of benchmark or huge achievement, like turning sixteen or
your first drink. Yet when day 365 of his first term, and he hoped
every day there would be a second, had come and gone President
Nemerenko only felt an astounding sense of just how much more work had
to be done.

Not that he was disappointed with his work thus far. Macroeconomic
reforms that the Western markets had been screaming about for years,
the military back on track to full readiness, free trade agreements
with the United States and Japan, a reformed MVD and a new pilot
program for the police services underway in Moscow, and a personal
approval rating above sixty percent.

"And yet with all these great success I am still plagued by bullshit
like this," he said to his Interior Minister, Vladimir Kalugin,
throwing the latest copy of Interfax down on the central coffee table.
The said MVD chief was already in Nemerenko's office casually lounging
in one of the cushioned chairs. Had there been other people present
Kalugin would have rose but since they were alone he didn't bother to
show Nemerenko deference that they both knew Kalugin did not have.

"Rioters will make a disturbance anywhere there is a great deal of
public attention," retorted Kalugin as he picked up the newspaper. "I
mean just read the text of the article. It doesn't even say what they
are rioting about. They don't even know themselves! Just a bunch of
drunks, disenchanted communists and whatever band of crazies have come
out of the ultranationalist camp this month. The MVD and Krasnodar
Province Militia have the situation well under control. The Kremlin
has spent close to twelve billion US dollars on security, public works
and urban improvement since Sochi was chosen."

"Attention," mused Nemerenko. "The attention of the entire world is
upon the Winter Olympics, Sochi and Russia. Do you understand Kalugin?
This is the most important political event for Russia since Putin was
forced out of office. This is our chance to showcase to the world just
how far we have come. To demonstrate that Russia is a respectable,
First World nation once again and not the drunk old has been of
Europe. Which means I don't want the BBC showing live images of your
goons beating up and killing protesters."

"I assure you Comrade President that the MVD and local militia are
handling the situation with the proper amount of restrain and tact,"
replied the Minister. "The agreement you signed with President
Williams last year has been enormously helpful. The FBI has given our
security forces a whole knew doctrine when it comes to areas we were
previously lacking."

Which was to politely say human rights. Stipulation the Americans had
added for Russia to gain access to their technical expertise and
better investigative techniques. Nemerenko had been swallowing his
pride at the time but now it had proved useful. Plus Congress had paid
for the whole thing, which saved him a rubble or two.

"Just make sure there aren't any stupid incidents. And get rid of
those damn rioters before they making us look bad," said Nemerenko
irately. "What about our more advanced security measures?"

"We are working around the clock in conjunction with the FSB to
anticipate any possible terrorist attacks. The SVR is monitoring
exterior sources to do the same. The MVD's anti-terror units are all
training around the clock to act as rapid response forces, and the 1st
and 7th OSN squads will be on had for the entire length of the Games,"
explained Kalugin in his most reserved tone. "We've also installed a
state of the art CCTV system in and around the area of the city where
the event will be taking place. The FBI and DHS have given us their
most advanced facial recognition software and we are working closely
with the Americans and EU agencies to compile a list of potential
terrorists we should be on the lookout for."

The President nodded. Kalugin was many things, stupid was not one of
them. As much as he felt the man was an icehearted thug he also
respected the MVD chief for his skill and intelligence. And Nemerenko
never squandered a resource.

"Don't screw this up."

"I won't."

"I'm very serious Vladimir," emphasized Nemerenko. "If things go well
in will reflect a positive image of Russia in the eyes of the
international community. If things go poorly it will set us back
considerably in the political arena."

"And cost me my job," noted Kalugin with one of those sly smiles the
Minister gave in his rare displays of emotion.

"At best, Vladimir, at best." The President took his seat behind his
desk and pulled out a think report folder and flipped it to the first
page. "The pilot police program seems to be going well in Moscow."

"The Moscow Metropolitan Police are indeed proving to be a good
investment," nodded Kalugin. "Once again we owe thanks to the
Americans for their assistance. Their police methodology is
fundamentally different from our system in a number of areas and has
proven itself superior. Just look at the MMP report."

"So we're ready for mass-adoption?"

"I'd like to have a few more reviews but yes, I think the time is
rapidly approaching. We'll take what we've learned from the MMP
program and begin applying it throughout the rest of the country.
We'll start with St. Petersburg, the other Federal City, and then
begin reforming the Oblast militias along the same lines, along the
same lines as the MMP. This will take time of course. Ten years for
the project to be complete, maybe."

"Well I'm pleased enough with the MMP to make that investment,"
shrugged Nemerenko. "The rule of law is the basis for any liberal
democracy and a healthy market economy. I don't need to tell you that
it is critically important for the militias to live up to that
expectation."

"And the additional funding we talked about?"

"Always with the money," sneered Nemerenko. "Yes, I will ask the
Assembly to double the budget for the MVD's Criminal Militia Service
Department. Remember that the money is to be put into expanding and
increasing the operations of the Main Offices for Financial and
Organized Crime. And as with everything else, I expect results."

"Of course Comrade President," said Kalugin as he stood. "I will go
attend to everything we have discussed right away. If you will excuse
me."
---

Actions:
1) Carefully handle the rioting in Sochi. Make sure that the aid and
training provided by the USA is applied to ensure there are no cases
of police abuse.
2) The MVD, SVR and FSB will all focus on assessing any potential
terrorist threats to the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
3) Have the MVD's 1st and 7th OSN (anti-terror) squadrons on hand
during the Olympics as a quick reaction force.
4) Continue to integrate the technical, forensic and doctrine aid
provided by the United States. Conduct a final review of the Moscow
Metropolitan Police pilot program before a mass overhaul of all city
and Oblast militias.
5) Double the operational budget of the MVD's Criminal Militia
Services Department, with particular focus on the Financial and
Organized Crime offices.


From michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com  Fri Jan 11 10:54:52 2008
From: michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com (Michael Downey)
Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:24:52 -0330
Subject: [War] Russia: "The Strategic Balance"
Message-ID: <6b6ab8a70801110754he9f56fdt3feca95da9a92bfd@mail.gmail.com>

"The Strategic Balance"
President Leonid Nemerenko
Russian Federation
7 January 2014
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Andrei Yoselev was a man that had lived almost his entire adult life
in the armed forces. His impressive record had been what prompted
President Nemerenko to make the man Chief of the General Staff when he
had taken office. And when Defence Minister Lentulov had retired to a
nice dacha outside Tula, Yoselev had been Nemerenko's first choice as
a replacement. How appreciative Yoselev was at this honor was dubious.
At Nemerenko's insistence, Yoselev had formally retired from the Army
and traded in his officer's uniform for a business suit, something
that the man was quite unused to given how Yoselev constantly pulled
and adjusted his tie as the group sat around the conference table.

Then there was Yoselev's own replacement as Chief of the General
Staff, Colonel-General Amir Rezakaev, now a full four-star. Rezakaev,
also an Army man, was the former head of the Far East forces and their
most senior field commander. He was half-Kazakh on his father's side
but had not been brought up in the Muslim faith as it had been
unfashionable to be of any sort of religious persuasion, Muslim in
particular though, under the Soviet regime of the time.

"Our nuclear arsenal are the family jewels of Russia," began Yoselev.
"Our greatest, and probably only positive, inheritance from the
Soviets. No one has as many warheads as we do. Not the Europeans, the
Chinese or the Amerikanskiis. No matter how large, advanced or
well-trained our conventional assets are, it will always be the
Strategic Rocket Forces that will act as the first and last line of
defence against invasion by a hostile power, be it China or NATO."

"But there are issues with the SRF that need to be addressed,"
interjected Rezakaev. Yoselev frowned, not taking too kindly to the
General interrupting him but held his tongue. "Moral among the men and
officers is no longer an issue. Thanks to the Initiative 18 plan
introduced last year all men in all branches of the military are
getting regular pay and benefits on par with that of their Western
contemporaries. In fact, our soldiers are probably better looked after
now than they have ever been in our history. The problem with the SRF
is that many of our ICBMs are reaching the end of their service life,
general maintenance issues with silos and storage sites, and our
command and control system being a bit dated."

"And the SRF would like added security at all missile bases and mobile
units," continued the Defence Minister. "We want to harden all our
facilities against the possibility of a terrorist attack. The last
thing we need is some madmen launching one of our ICBMs at Boston and
starting World War Three."

As far as Nemerenko knew, and being President he knew a great deal of
things some of which he would rather not, there had never been a
terrorist attack on a missile base. Not that he disagreed with
Minister or Chief that it was a wise precaution. Better safe than a
cloud of radioactive vapor.

"Alright, outline me your proposal."

"A full security company added to the existing details of every
facility and mobile unit," explained Yoselev. "Plus a review of all
current personnel at every facility by the GRU. Background checks,
psychological evaluations, that sort of thing. Each facility will have
its computer systems upgraded to latest spec, repairs to unmaintained
and dilapidated buildings and equipment. That it to be completed in
one to two years."

"We also want to begin designing and implementing an new national C3
system for strategic command of the nuclear forces," said Rezakaev.
"The existing system was built in the 1980's and is probably quite
dated in comparison to the systems being used by the Americans and
Chinese. A more modern system would allow faster response time, better
safety oversight and better coordination. Upon approval from the
Assembly we'd like to have the system online in three years."

Nemerenko nodded. "Alright, I'll agree to all of those proposals. You
also mentioned upgrading our missile inventory?"

"We want to begin replacing all missiles currently in service with our
mobile divisions with the Topol-M design. It was a process started by
the SRF in the early 2000s but ran into funding snags," explained
Yoselev. There was something in Yoselev and Rezakaev's faces that made
Nemerenko become more suspicious.

"What about our silo units?"

"For those we want to begin production of the RS-24  design," answered
the Defence Minister.

The President frowned. "If I recall correctly, the RS-24 was designed
specifically to penetrate missile defense shields. Don't you gentlemen
think that will provoke our American friends?" Of course they knew, it
was a rhetorical question. As they correctly viewed Russia's nuclear
arsenal as the most important aspect of national defence they shared
that lingering fear that a NMD system deployed by the United States at
home and in Europe would kneecap that strategy. Nemerenko for his part
felt the NMD idea was a pipe dream. Bush and Richardson had never made
any meaningful progress on it and Williams hadn't even shown any signs
of interest.

"Comrade President, the Americans are the ones that violated the ABM
Treaty," pointed out Yoselev. "What's the point of nuclear weapons if
they aren't a credible threat?"

"FIrst they didn't violate the treaty, they used an agreed upon escape
clause," corrected Nemerenko. "Second, they agreed to appease us by
signing SORT, a gesture we accepted. Third, the whole idea of the NMD
shield is to protect the US against a small number of missiles fired
by rogue states like North Korea or Iran. I've looked at the reports.
There is no existing or foreseeable NMD technology that could hope to
swat away the sheer number of missiles we could launch. NMD is not
something we have to worry about."

"With respect sir, we must always be prepared for any eventuality,"
noted Rezakaev. "Especially in this area."

"Relations with the United States are at an all-time high," countered
Nemerenko. "Free trade, technical assistance for our security and
militia forces, even military cooperation. Did you yourself not
comment on how beneficial our training exercise with the US Army was
last year? I don't want to compromise our growing alliance by
comparing the size of our..... missiles. I will agree to have the
Topol-M mass-produced to replace all of our existing ICBMs. What is
your projected time frame?"

"Fifteen percent of the inventory a year for seven years," answered
Rezakaev. "And if we cannot implement the RS-24, can we at least
introduce guidance upgrades to the Topol-M before mass production
begins?"

"Done," said Nemerenko. "I will have the Prime Minister ply the
Assembly for the funding. Thank you for your time, gentlemen."
---

Actions:
1) Increase security at all mobile units and silo bases of the
Strategic Rocket Forces to harden them against potential terrorist
attacks.
2) Introduce better screening, background checks and psychological
evaluations of SRF personnel.
3) Conduct general maintenance and upgrades at all SRF bases and silos.
4) Begin work on a new, more modern C3 system for the SRF, to be
finished in three years.
5) Introduce an upgraded version of the Topol-M ICBM to replace all
missiles in the current inventory, to be completed within seven years.


From michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com  Sat Jan 12 13:25:56 2008
From: michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com (Michael Downey)
Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2008 14:55:56 -0330
Subject: [War] Russia: "Money Talk"
Message-ID: <6b6ab8a70801121025g4557bb3fg9fcb3143556cbe31@mail.gmail.com>

"Money Talk"
President Leonid Nemerenko
Russian Federation
8 January 2014
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"I love capitalism," Nemerenko said as he poured himself a small cup
of tea from the Romanov-era set, a little souvenir of Lenin's that had
passed into the hands of every Russian leader thereafter. "When I was
a young man and my father was a member of the Supreme Soviet he once
showed me a recording of a speech by Deng Xiaoping. He said that our
Chinese Communist counterparts had the right idea, that the free
market could design and produce anything and everything better and
more efficiently than our bloated communist system. I mean how many of
us here looked to the West and longed for an economic system like
theirs back during the wanning days of the Soviet Union?" In their
hearts all of the USSR's leaders had known what was coming. Some like
Yeltsin had embraced it while others like the GKChP that had briefly
overthrown Gorbachev had been terrified it and almost plunged the
country into civil war to prevent the inevitable change.

"It had been a hard road from communism to capitalism," said Ivan
Lencuovich, the Minister for Economic Development and Trade. "Xiaoping
was careful in his reforms and maintained a dictatorship over his
state. The Soviet system broke down almost immediately and Yeltsin was
forced to grapple with making Russia into a democracy and a free
market economy all at once."

"Yes and it was not an easy road at all," agreed the President with a
nod. "I respect Yeltsin for what he did and the progress he did make
on those fronts but in many ways he failed. Our original transfer to
free market was haphazard and flawed and Putin very nearly turned this
country into a dictatorship. President Severov's election was almost a
mini-revolution for Russia and his economic and social reforms truly
made us into a an actual democratic, free market state and not the
quasi one that Yeltsin worked himself to make." Nemerenko smiled and
sipped his tea. "But enough reminiscing about the past. Today things
have improved. Since last year the economy has grown 2.6%, a modest
but still positive number. The government has continued with
macroeconomic reform such as the overhaul of our banking and credit
industries to conform to World Bank and WTO standards and the
introduced of the SMESD Act which reformed our corporate laws and got
rid of all that bureaucratic red tape and mismanagement that was
plaguing our economy."

"There is still certain areas that need improvement," noted
Lencuovich. "First and foremost, the corporate world here in Russia is
dominated by men. Women have had a hard enough time penetrating into
the middle management sector and have made no headway into upper
management. Equal economic opportunity for both men and women is
important for future development and growth. I've had my Ministry draw
up a bill based upon a program the Norwegians introduced back in the
first part of the last decade mandated that the Board of Directors for
every publicly traded company have 40% of its membership comprised of
women. The bill we've drawn up requires all publicly traded
corporations in Russia have 15% of their board of directors made up of
women, to be done within three years."

"Not that I disagree but it might be difficult to implement," observed
Nemerenko. "Isn't this the kind of government intervention into the
private sector we said we'd try to avoid?"

"How and who the companies appoint is totally in their hands. And the
novelty of such a law in Russian economic culture is why we set the
provision at only 15%. I know gross state participation was what made
Putin such an idiot when it came to running the economy, but
government does have the responsibility to ensure competition is fair
with equal opportunity for every groups, company and individual."

"Fair enough, I'll put the bill to the Assembly. You also wanted to
talk about Gazprom?"

"Our state oil company has become very profitable over the past ten
years or so," said Lencuovich. "Despite all the moves towards
renewable energy oil is still very profitable. But the price of oil is
not what I'm here about. Under Putin Gazprom grew into some sort of
dystopia mega corporation. It diversified itself from energy into
banking, agriculture, media, insurance, etc"

Nemernko was well aware of what Gazprom has become under Putin. A
state within a state run by the man's cronies and subordinates. There
had even been moves by the company to create its own private army,
something that had quite a stir in the Duma and nearly forced Severov
to step in with Federal troops when he took office.

"We've of course cleared out the company leadership of pro-Putin
members and replaced them with administrative personnel interested in
making sure the company runs properly and not lining their own
pockets," continued Lencuovich. "Gazprom should be what it what it was
originally intended to be: an oil extraction company under the
ownership of the federal government. All it's interests outside of oil
should be immediately. Half of the company's controlling stock in
these areas will be given to employees of said subsidiaries, the other
half sold on the open exchange. As with the privatization of
state-owned banking groups last year, extreme care will be taken to
ensure said shares are sold properly and fairly and not to potential
oligarchs. It will make Gazprom easier to operate, create more
competition, give something to the workers and raise some revenue for
us."

The President nodded his consent. "Speaking more on the subject of
state-owned companies, I wish to inquire about how things with
Rosimushchestvo." 'The Russian Federal Agency for Federal Property
Management of the Russian Federation,' or Rosimushchestvo, was the
quasi-corporate entity responsible for overseeing all the Russian
government's various corporate assets and interests, Gazprom being
one.

"In conjunction with the MVD we have been doing extensive background
checks on all Rosimushchestvo employees," answered the Minister.
"Surprise audits and inspections have weeded out any corrupt elements.
I've recently appointed a new Director who I can personally attest is
both competent and trustworthy."

Fighting corruption in the government and military was one of the
highest priorities on Nemerenko's legislative agenda and he had
demonstrated, subtly and not-so-subtly, how harsh and intolerant he
would be towards said corrupt elements.

"I'm pleased with the progress your Ministry has made Ivan," commented
Nemerenko. "I am this new initiatives will prove very fruitful. Keep
me informed of all developments."
---

Actions:
1) Introduce legislation that will require all Russiam corporation to
have 15% of the board of directors membership composed of women within
three years.
2) Sell all of Gazprom's interests outside of the oil sector (which
includes banking, insurance, media, agriculture). Half of the shares
in these subsidiary interests will be given to the company workers,
while the other half will be publicly  traded. Take steps to ensure
the selling of said shares will be fair and in keeping with
competition laws.
3) Continue to weed out corrupt elements within the Russian
government. Take special care to ensure proper practices in
Rosimushchestvo, the Federal agency responsible for managing the
government's corporate assets.


From michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com  Sun Jan 13 18:32:51 2008
From: michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com (Michael Downey)
Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2008 20:02:51 -0330
Subject: [War] Russia: "Old Wounds that Need Healing"
Message-ID: <6b6ab8a70801131532r5f90c304r51d99e519eb6f527@mail.gmail.com>

"Old Wounds that Need Healing"
President Leonid Nemerenko
Russian Federation
8 January 2014
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Nationalism. An accursed word that always left a bitter taste in
Nemerenko's mouth. A blinding sense of historical entitlement that had
been the primary cause of war and chaos in the post-Cold War era. No
country was innocent of its trappings, Russia in particular. The
bloated nationalistic ego of Putin had dragged the Federation into a
number of unwanted quagmires that Nemerenko had to fix.

Not that the President had a hatred for patriotism. That was in his
mind a different concept. Loyalty to one's state and culture was a
step apart from a blind desire to assert unwarranted and quite often
petty sense of 'us versus them.'

A particular thorn in Nemerenko's side was the ongoing Abkhazia
dispite. Abkhazia was a region of neighbouring Georgia that was
currently engaged in a long-running secessionist struggle against
central government in Tiblisi. In his infinite wisdom, Putin had saw
fit to back the Abkhazi for no better reason than to flaunt his
machismo. This combined with meddling in Georgia's internal politics
had put a great rift between Russia and the former Soviet republic
that at times had turned violent.

"Do you know what I realized when I woke up this morning?" he said to
Irena Denemetov, his Foreign Minister. "I don't really give a damn
about Abkhazia at all."

"A unilateral withdrawal of our support would be dangerous," cautioned
Denemetov, always the voice of reservation within Nemerenko's cabinet.

"Haven't we always said that peace and stability in the Transcaucasus
to be one of our primary foreign policy objectives?" said the
President. "How does destabilizing our relationship with Georgia and
inflaming a nationalistic feud benefit us at all?"

"I agree with your sentiment and firmly support the idea of bringing
the Abkhazia-Georgia conflict to a close, but I disagree with simply
withdrawing unilaterally and letting the Abkhazi fend for themselves.
In that event the Georgians will simply invade the moment our
peacekeepers leave the region. And THAT will bring instability to the
Transcaucasus."

Nemerenko begrudgingly nodded. "What is your proposal?"

"We immediately cease all political activity, positive or negative, in
Abkhazia. We will stop endorsing candidates and leaders in Abkhazia's
internal government. Two, we cease issuing passports to Abkhazi
nationals and let it be known that all existing passports will stopped
being renewed, starting one year from now. This will put political
pressure on Abkhazia; they have on year from now to start into
negotiations to peacefully reintegrate or separate from Georgia lest
their citizens become unable to ever leave the region, as neither the
UN or any member state recognizes Abkhazia as a sovereign nation."

"There are also a quarter of a million ethnic Georgians living in
Abkhazia that are being oppressed by the government there," mused
Nemerenko. "They can't vote, can't buy land, can't do business with
Georgia and are subject to harassment and even violence. I'll tell
Sukhumi that if they don't end this practice, I'll cut off all aid."

"In addition I think we need to bring in external moderation to help,"
continued Denemetov. "The Georgians don't trust us after so many years
of backing the Abkhazi, plus the other violations of their sovereignty
we conducted under Putin."

"The European Union," said Nemerenko. "I'll ask them to step in as
additional moderators. And if possible I'll ask them to dispatch
peacekeepers to join up with our troops in Abkhazia. The area is not
overly violent but our peacekeeping forces are highly distrusted by
the Georgians, and with good reason as we have already stated."

"I don't need to warn you that this will cause quite a stir," warned
the FM. "Even though we are only trying to force them to the
negotiating table to either peacefully reunify or peacefully separate,
Abkhazia will perceive our unwillingness to continue unilateral
support for their independence as a betrayal."

The President shrugged. "What are they going to do about it? Half
their national budget comes from Russia. No other nation, not the
Americans, not the EU, support their independence movement. I will
make it clear to Abkhazia that they are free to peacefully negotiate
either reunification or independence from Georgia but must do it in
that fashion: peacefully. Russia will no longer act as a silent
compatriot to a low-intensity civil war."
---

Actions:
1) Russia will no longer support the independence of the Abkhazia
region of Georgia and instead adopt a more neutral stance, encouraging
both sides to the negotiating table to peacefully determine if
Abkhazia will formally separate or reunify with Georgia.
2) Quietly threaten the Abkhazi government in Sukhumi: end the
mistreatment of Georgians living in Abkhazia or Russia will cut of all
financial aid.
3) Russia will no longer issue passports to Abkhazi nationals and will
cease renewing existing passports in one year.
4) Ask the EU to join Russia in mediating the dispute and if possible
send military units to join existing Russian peacekeepers, as Georgia
places little faith in Russia (sadly for good reason)

Reference:
Georgia-Abkhazia Conflict- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian-Abkhaz_conflict
Abkhazia- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abkhazia


From Chazenesq2b at aol.com  Sun Jan 13 20:56:36 2008
From: Chazenesq2b at aol.com (Chazenesq2b at aol.com)
Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2008 20:56:36 EST
Subject: [War] China:  "A New Year"
Message-ID: <d35.1be0123f.34bc1b54@aol.com>

"A New Year"
 
President Xia Hong
People's Republic of China
January 1st, 2014
====================================
 
(The Executive Residence- Beijing)
 
Xinhua's reports from Tibet probably would've brought panic to the Chinese  
leadership of just a decade or so ago, but under the Hong administration it was 
 greeted with a bit of hope.  It indicated that the people of Tibet had  
realized their fortunes were tied in with Chinese politics... in essence a de  
facto statement of unity.  Ironic given that independence seemed to be the  whole 
reason behind the debating.
 
"PLA and Special Police Units are on hand, and for the most part the  
protests are peaceful.  We do have some indications that there have been  small scale 
skermishes between local policing agencies, the PLA units, and  protestors.  
Current reports show about 150 wounded, and 5 killed."   Minister of Justice 
Peng reported.  "Three of the dead were Monks who'd set  themselves on fire.  
One officer was killed, the other was a young baby who  caught a rubber bullet 
on a bad bounce.  He was immediately evacuated, and  died enroute to the 
hospital."
 
It was tough biting back the tears upon hearing that news.  "What kind  of 
mother brings a young child to such an event?"  Xia asked rhetorically,  
reaching with a shaking hand for some tea.  As a mother herself... well  maternal 
instinct was a damned thing, it effected you regardless of whether you  were the 
child's mother or not.  The news made her think of her own  kids.  "Please 
remind the different agencies involved that a maximum of  restraint is to be 
observed.  I will express my sorrow for the tragedy, but  we must tread the line 
between enforcing the laws and allowing speech.  I  will also ask the PNC to 
authorize emergency funding for additional non-lethal  technology and equipment 
for the Special Police Forces and the Military  Police.  Can we expand the 
free-speech zones in Tibet in such a fashion as  to allow for greater space while 
maintaining security?"
 
"We're working with the other Ministries already Madame President, and we  
believe we have an acceptable solution."  
 
Xia nodded, looking to the Minister of Defense next.  "Tibet aside,  what is 
the status of the Stabilization Force in North Korea?"
 
"We've officially completed the first phased withdrawal on December  31st.  
I'm proud to say 150,000 fewer Chinese Troops are currently in North  Korea 
from the initial entry.  The current force is 600,000, with the  majority of them 
being support troops to help continue to stand-up the North  Korean Army.  
We've enhanced training regimens to bring up the less-capable  North Korean 
troops into fighting fitness, and they have access to the equipment  we're phasing 
out.  To date, the new North Korean Army is slated to reach  it's prescribed 
strength of 350,000 active duty troops by April.  A reserve  force of an equal 
number will be completed by June."  Bing started with the  optimistic news 
first.  "We do have reports of a car-bombing outside  of Pyongyang.  A van 
stopped at a checkpoint along one of the highways  entering the city exploded, 
killing four soldiers.  The North Korean Navy  and Airforces likely won't be fully 
assembled until late this year."
 
Unfortunately they knew something like this was possible.  The dismal  
American experience early on in Iraq had proven just how devastating  asymmetrical 
warfare could be against a professional fighting force.  "They  did their jobs. 
 They were good soldiers."  Was all Xia could  say.  There wasn't really much 
higher a complement.  "Please give our  officers there permission to 
investigate, determine who's responsible, and crack  down 'again' on any potential 
budding insurgents.  Work as closely with the  North Korean government as 
possible."  As sad as it was, the incident  provided the perfect opportunity to give 
North Korea the experience and  authenticity they were looking for by giving 
them the lead in the  investigation.  "Begin making plans for the next 
withdrawal, 200,000  troops.  I'd like it completed by April when the North Korean 
Army is at  full strength."
 
"Absolutely Madam President."  Bing folded his hands.  "You  should also know 
that economically North Korea is advancing.  The Army's  Corps of Engineers 
wishes to report that approximately 75% of the reconstruction  projects 
approved are completed or underway, and the North Koreans are handling  most of the 
work.  The regeneration process following the seismic disasters  has been 
harder to handle, but we're getting a grasp on it.  The Medical  Corps, likewise, 
is happy to report they were able to make significant gains in  treating the 
outbreaks manifested in North Korea.  Not only are North  Korean hospitals now 
functioning, but with Japanese and Russian assistance we've  managed to provide 
a significant base of skilled physicians and medical  specialists.  I believe 
we will be able to turn over almost all basic  services to the North Korean 
government by August of this year.  I'd like  permission to begin drawing up a 
post-stabilization agreement with the  government... as the Americans maintain 
a presence in South Korea, we should  make the same kind of commitment to our 
North Korean allies."
 
Xia nodded.  "Issue your proposal through the official  ambassador."
===================================================
 
ACTIONS
 
1.    Make sure all police and army personnel realize  extreme restraint is 
to be exercised when dealing with protests.  Free  speech zones to be set up so 
as to balance security and liberty.  Issue a  public address regarding the 
situation, and reminding all that Tibetans are  entitled to the same liberties 
that all Chinese citizens are.  
 
2.    Pursue emergency funding from the National  Congress for immediate 
acquisition of Non-lethal equipment and training for the  Special Police Forces of 
the Ministry of Justice, as well as the PLA.  In  addition, offer the 
opportunities to major local police departments in China, as  well as those in 
sensitive areas (Hong Kong, Tibet) to take part with matching  funds.  Ask for $500 
Million to be spent on hiring technical advisors from  the West.  Equipment 
that is eligible for purchase with the funds will be  listed and made available.
 
3.    Give North Korea the lead in hunting down those  responsible for the 
car bombing, and offer any and all support via a concurrent  investigation.  
 
4.    Slate a time-table for the withdrawal of the next  200,000 troops, to 
be out by April when the Active Duty North Korean Army (NKA)  reaches full 
strength.
 
5.    Have Xinhua note the achievements made in North  Korea thus far, giving 
credit to the men and women of the PLA stabilization  force.  Give North 
Korean troops the equipment China is phasing out, so  they can take the best for 
themselves and build an effective fighting force  cheaply.



**************Start the year off right.  Easy ways to stay in shape.     
http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489
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From john.penta at gmail.com  Sun Jan 20 19:13:55 2008
From: john.penta at gmail.com (John Penta)
Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:13:55 -0500
Subject: [War] US: Home Affairs
Message-ID: <ab8370d40801201613x5d721894o61b94b9fd4977fe8@mail.gmail.com>

"Home Affairs"
1 Jan 2014
Pres. John Williams
USA
=================
<Rumson, New Jersey>

   In his more normal home on the banks of the Navesink River in New Jersey,
President Williams mused.

   In the last year, he'd become President of the United States...And, on
September 8, 2013, at 10:32 AM, a dad. Weighing in at 6 lbs, 9 oz at birth,
with a length of 21.5 inches, was Luke Daniel Williams, the newest member of
the Williams family.

   Labor had been hard on Kay, especially given how big their little one was
- for all that, the baby weight had come off relatively quick, and she was
just about as physically active as she was before after only 2 months.

   That said, neither mom nor dad were rested. Luke was a quiet baby, except
when he wanted to be loud - then, he was earsplittingly loud.

   And as it was, he was sleeping only 3-4 hours at a time.

   At present, he was laying on a blanket on the floor, making noises at
Akela, who was looking at him as if to say "What are you bothering me for,
kid?"

   Meanwhile, dad was reading; Kay was out taking a day for herself, and the
Secret Service detail was "manned low", pared to a skeleton staff while he
was in New Jersey; not much security was needed. His Football Officer was
happily watching TV, not really needed given the general calm of the world
situation.

   At that point, the doorbell rang. Swooping down with a "wooosh", John
picked up his son, who squealed happily, and walked to the door, holding
Luke in one arm as he opened the door.

   "Mrs. Coleman, you're early," he greeted, as Luke made happy noises at
the new person.

   As they shook hands, the new President of the National Urban League
nodded, before the President took her coat and hung it up on a coat rack
near the door. "I thought the snow would take longer to be cleared on the
Parkway, so I started out early. Thank you for meeting with me, Mr.
President; I honestly thought you would hand it off to an aide or a Cabinet
secretary." Then, as Luke reached out to her, she smiled. "And this is cutie
I've heard all about?"

   Williams smiled. "Yup. Hey Luke, can you say 'hello' to Ms. Coleman?" He
asked his son, who just made a noise.

   "Close enough," Coleman laughed, as John led the woman back to the living
room.

   "I got the files you sent over - thanks; Have a seat wherever you'd like,
I'm just going to make sure the little guy's comfy."

   With that, Luke went on the floor, happily squeezing a squeaky penguin
that had been named Jose by the crews of Marine One - a name that had stuck.
Soon enough, though, he was playing with an activity set he'd gotten for
Christmas, happily pushing and pulling and bonking things as the grownups
watched for a bit.

   "I remember when my kids were that young. Now they're teenagers and I
miss it," Coleman noted. "How's being a dad?"

   "Hard...No, terrifying, sometimes. Fun, I wouldn't trade it for
anything...But I'm still amazed sometimes that me, of all people, has this
little person who depends on me now," Williams replied.

   "By all accounts, you're doing a great job. Besides, he doesn't know if
you make mistakes; he's healthy, he's happy, he's safe, and he has a mom and
dad who love him. That's what's important."

   A nod from the President, as Gizmo walked over to Luke, sniffed the toys,
then licked the baby, who let loose happy squeals and giggles.

  "Gizmo, no licking Luke! Eww, doggy drool." Dad scolded with a smile, but
not bothering to wipe the drool off the baby, as the visitor laughed.

   "And as these two try and mug for attention, what'd you think of what I
sent over?" Coleman asked.

   "Not bad. Not what I have in mind, but not bad."

   "That's the thing: If you have a policy on the poor, nobody's heard it."

   "My fault; I've been so focused on foreign affairs and getting ready for
the little guy that a lot of those programs didn't even make the radar
screen. If I may, let me lay out my thoughts holistically.

   "Instinctively, my reflex is not to cut back on the role of government,
but to avoid expanding it. I'm not *adverse* to government intervention
where I see a need, but my first preference is for the private sector,
whether that be for-profit companies, volunteer organizations, or religious
communities, to take the lead. While I understand why everybody wants for
the government to get involved, I'm not sure it's the best idea: My fear is
that what we've had since the 1960s has gotten people to think the
government will cure all ills, right all wrongs, Not a smart idea, because
government -can't- do that. Whether it should or shouldn't doesn't matter:
It *can't*.

   "Now, let's look at specific programs.

   "Most of the social programs you wrote about have one problem: There's no
coordination. We throw benefits at people, state and federal, and don't look
at everything as a package. We never do ask 'Okay, what's your plan?' of
recipients."

   Coleman looked skeptical. "So government's going to go paternal, tell the
poor what to do?"

  "Not at all. Instead, when someone gets *on* to the benefits rolls, they
should be meeting with -one- case manager for all benefits. When the
disabled receive benefits, we have them go through an Individual Education
Plan when they're kids, or an Individualized Plan for Employment when
they're adults. We make them, or their parents or other caregivers, say that
they intend to achieve X in the next year, and Y, Z, W, and A are what we
can do to help them do B, C, D, and E, which will at least give them
objectives. And we hold everybody to it. Why not do that here?

   "Let's face it: These people are choosing to take government benefits;
that hardly means government should tell them how to live their life, but it
does mean that they shouldn't expect that the government will be
disinterested in how they turn out."

   "So what do you intend?" Coleman asked.

   "Okay. Let's walk this through from the start. Someone comes in to
receive benefits. They meet with the usual caseworker...And this time,
besides the usual interview, they also take tests. If they don't have
reading or math skills, they're signed up for that. If they don't speak
English, they're signed up for language classes. The government pays. Their
continued receipt of benefits is dependent on adequate attendance and
progress - we'll provide child care if need be. They'll be paid a stipend to
attend classes in lieu of work, if need be: But, and this is key to getting
it past conservatives, this is all dependent on good behavior. If they're on
drugs, they stop. If they have a drinking problem, they go into AA. If we
need to test to make sure they're clean, we will.

   "The idea behind all these tests is to work out the jobs their interests
and skills suit them for. Essentially, we change the nature of government
benefits provision in the US for the able-bodied of working age: The idea
isn't to give you money, it's to put you in a concentrated, focused
skills-training program. By the end of your participation, you'll have a GED
if you didn't complete High School. If you did, by the time we're done,
you'll be ready to take college classes, mostly online - it'd be easy enough
to use Open CourseWare and associated textbooks for materials; the
government will pay for tuition, books, and fees for the *first two years*,
subject to the same requirements as every other college-payment program.

    "Are we ever going to solve poverty completely? No. That's not likely to
ever be possible in a free market system. But there are things you can do."

   At that point, the conversation got detailed.

   Meanwhile, on the floor, Luke noticed something. *Oooh, if I push this
button, I get a funny noise!*
---
Actions:
1. Meet with the National Urban League and begin planning a reconfiguration
of how the US does public benefit programs:

A. Various federal programs get shifted administratively to be placed where
they would better fit inside the federal government - most prominently, food
stamps and other nutrition programs move from USDA to HHS.
B. Instead of meeting with a horde of separate people, benefit recipients
meet with *one* case manager who screens them for *all* state and federal
programs they may be qualified for - Screening in this case would include
skills and other tests.
C. To improve the quality of the workforce, those scoring at certain levels
on the aforementioned tests would be assigned to reading, math,
English-language, etc. programs as needed, as well as drug or alcohol
programs if applicable. Satisfactory attendance and progress in the
programs, as well as mandatory meetings with caseworkers on a regular basis,
would be required for the receipt of benefits - on the other hand, the
government will provide stipends where needed, provide child care to enable
attendance, etc. At the end of their training, the idea is that if they
don't have a GED, they should be able to get it - if they do have one, then
they should be at least ready for community college courses.
D. PR message: The government doesn't want to tell people how to live their
lives, but receiving government benefits should come with an explicit
promise to in fact work towards standing on your own two feet eventually.
2. HHS, Labor Dept, Ed Dept to take lead on program implementation.
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From john.penta at gmail.com  Sun Jan 20 20:29:35 2008
From: john.penta at gmail.com (John Penta)
Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2008 20:29:35 -0500
Subject: [War] test
Message-ID: <ab8370d40801201729l7a076766j971a83519cc087eb@mail.gmail.com>

Not seeing mail, though I sent it and it reached the archive. So test.


From pbuck11 at aol.com  Mon Jan 21 13:20:47 2008
From: pbuck11 at aol.com (Pat B)
Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2008 11:20:47 -0700
Subject: [War] test
Message-ID: <4794E27F.8060105@aol.com>

test


From john.penta at gmail.com  Mon Jan 21 13:26:09 2008
From: john.penta at gmail.com (John Penta)
Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2008 13:26:09 -0500
Subject: [War] test 2
Message-ID: <ab8370d40801211026x533e5d70w7db9ba4048d7417e@mail.gmail.com>

For some godforsaken reason, I can't see my posts to the
list...Testing to see if I have bashed the list enough.


From michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com  Mon Jan 21 13:27:31 2008
From: michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com (Michael Downey)
Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:57:31 -0330
Subject: [War] test 2
In-Reply-To: <ab8370d40801211026x533e5d70w7db9ba4048d7417e@mail.gmail.com>
References: <ab8370d40801211026x533e5d70w7db9ba4048d7417e@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <6b6ab8a70801211027u59a0e6fcn8e2c92c259ef2fc1@mail.gmail.com>

I think this is a function of Gmail, John. I use it and never receive
my own emails either.

On Jan 21, 2008 2:56 PM, John Penta <john.penta at gmail.com> wrote:
> For some godforsaken reason, I can't see my posts to the
> list...Testing to see if I have bashed the list enough.
>
> _______________________________________________
> War mailing list
> War at esteroic.com
> http://esteroic.com/mailman/listinfo/war_esteroic.com
>


From john.penta at gmail.com  Mon Jan 21 13:29:07 2008
From: john.penta at gmail.com (John Penta)
Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2008 13:29:07 -0500
Subject: [War] test 2
In-Reply-To: <6b6ab8a70801211027u59a0e6fcn8e2c92c259ef2fc1@mail.gmail.com>
References: <ab8370d40801211026x533e5d70w7db9ba4048d7417e@mail.gmail.com>
	<6b6ab8a70801211027u59a0e6fcn8e2c92c259ef2fc1@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <ab8370d40801211029n74e6a174t5e53406ed37dde88@mail.gmail.com>

Oh. *shakesfist at gmail* Work properly you evil thing.

On Jan 21, 2008 1:27 PM, Michael Downey <michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com> wrote:
> I think this is a function of Gmail, John. I use it and never receive
> my own emails either.
>
> On Jan 21, 2008 2:56 PM, John Penta <john.penta at gmail.com> wrote:
> > For some godforsaken reason, I can't see my posts to the
> > list...Testing to see if I have bashed the list enough.
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > War mailing list
> > War at esteroic.com
> > http://esteroic.com/mailman/listinfo/war_esteroic.com
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
> War mailing list
> War at esteroic.com
> http://esteroic.com/mailman/listinfo/war_esteroic.com
>


From john.penta at gmail.com  Thu Jan 24 14:45:31 2008
From: john.penta at gmail.com (John Penta)
Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:45:31 -0500
Subject: [War] US: Quality is Job #1
Message-ID: <ab8370d40801241145i5a161c4cu8bd16991f8f3d885@mail.gmail.com>

"Quality is Job #1"
3 January 2014
Pres. John Williams
USA
=================
<Washington>

   Well, it had happened. Snow had hit DC over the past 48 hours; Lots
and lots of snow. At least half a foot so far, and forecasters weren't
calling for it to stop for a while.

   While it shut down the federal bureaucracy in the National Capital
Region, it also turned the District into a winter wonderland; handling
the snow was a District and state job, so even the President was out
(heavily-bundled up) to enjoy the snow - as was Luke, who was even
more heavily bundled up. Julius had brought Alex and Tim, and so the
two older boys were building a snowman, while Luke was happily plopped
in the snow, occasionally sticking a handful of snow (white snow, dad
carefully made sure) into his mouth - and otherwise having fun looking
around at all the people, especially from his stroller. As usual for
him, Williams went about without any Secret Service detail - despite
the protests of the detail, he'd won after he pointed out they'd be on
the Ellipse, not off in the mountains. As such, it was a great
opportunity for him to see people, talk to people, help kids encase
their parents in the snow, and so forth. It was decidedly
equal-opportunity: From the poor to the rich, left or right, everybody
was out with their kids, enjoying the snow.

   No sooner had they begun their explorations of the winter
landscape, though, then life got interesting.

  Namely, an out-of-control sled came sailing down the nearby hill,
its pint-sized owner holding on for dear life and screaming.

  As young and old dove for cover, the sled zoomed by the Abbot
snowman, before trying to head up another hill and tumbling back to a
stop. As the grownups ran over, the kid, maybe 8 years old, poked his
head out from under his sled. "Ow. Sorry..." He trailed off, before
recognizing who was staring at him and just going silent.

 Williams grinned. "Not a problem. How'd you lose control?" He asked
gently, as if the 'sudden loss of vocal cords' thing happened to
anybody just sort of randomly and was no big deal.

 "H-h-hit a p-p-patch of i-ice, sir," the boy responded, looking
wide-eyed. Then, a voice from the side could be heard.

 "I see someone found Joey!" called a voice with a Midwestern accent.
The President looked up then, and grinned in recognition. It was, he
recalled, Paul Rogers, President of the International Association of
Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

 "Paul! So this is your kid on the runaway sled!" John laughed,
pulling the boy up.

 "Yes, Mr. President, he is. My grandson, Ashley's son. Has his
mother's eyes - and apparently her ability to drive in the snow, too."

  That got laughs from the other adults, as Joey Rogers just sort of blushed.

  "We're just teasin', dun worry," reassured Julius. At that, the boy
smiled hesitantly and nodded, still seemingly starstruck. Then, he
noticed Tim and Alex building their snowman again, and scampered over
to join them, as Luke giave his patented "I'm being IGNOOOOORED over
here! Why are you ignoring me! I'm cute and cuddly! You're supposed to
be paying attention to me and adoring me!" cry.

  Then, as his dad, Uncle Julius, and the new person came over, and
dad picked him up from the stroller, he cooed happily,

  John gave his son a smile, touching his nose with a gloved finger
playfully, then looked to Rogers. "Actually...Once the kids are all
cold, come on back with me. Have an idea for you."

  That got eyebrows raised from the union boss. "Oh?"

  "You'll see."

  Then, John looked over to see Joey building either a snow fort,
or...what was that?

  Then, the boy looked over. "Sir, bring Luke over!"

  John did that, Luke riding on a shoulder.

  "A slide for him."

  John grinned, then looked at Luke. "Hey, Luke? Wanna go on the slide?"

  Luke either smiled at him, or passed gas.

  But he evidently didn't mind being laid on his tummy, or when Joey
pushed him down the "slide".

  Indeed, it got a happy squeal out of him. So they did it again, and
again. Until, finally, Daddy picked him up, put him in the stroller,
and they went home, with Dad pointing out so many things.
---
<The White House>

   Soon enough, the group trooped in from the snow, and the grownups
helped the kids out of their snowsuits.

   The President went off with Luke to change the little guy's diaper,
as Julius and Paul herded the bigger kids into the Game Room on the
Third Floor of the Residence.

   Soon enough, though, POTUS was back: Luke was dry,
freshly-diapered, and placed (in footie PJs) in the playpen, watching
the big kids play on the new Wii2 (just released last Christmas by
Nintendo), as the grownups gathered around a table with coffee.

   "So, what was that idea you mentioned?" Rogers asked, as the kids
played in the background.

   "Well, Joe Paris," the POTUS noted, referring to the Secretary of
Labor, "had mentioned the labor shortage you've been seeing; Way we're
looking at it, it's a commercial issue, a labor issue, and potentially
a national security issue.

   "Now, I know your members don't necessarily like me. Okay. But
insofar as I can help correct that shortage, I plan to.

   "Here's what we're thinking:

   "First, DOL will request appropriations, in a supplemental to FY14
and for FY15. to begin a program advertising the field to college
students and, particularly, high school students.

   "Second, we'll be setting up a clearinghouse and training center
for best-practices in training, to try and standardize training -
it'll be accompanied by a certification system for workers, and an
accreditation system for trade schools. The standard curriculum for
the certification will be decided by a joint board of governors,
composed of representatives from IAM, the National Association of
Manufacturers, and DOL. To prevent a glut, or another shortage, it'll
annually release 5-year forecasts for training - to let the trade
schools plan class sizes, and so forth.

   "Third, along with DOD, DOL is going to start looking at ways to
improve training with technology - things like working in virtual
reality, augmented reality systems, so forth.

   "Fourth, we're going to be putting forth a plan to Congress on tax
credits for training, with extra for training in fields with skill
shortages - your field, nursing, emergency services personnel. We'll
be working with the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Treasury to
get a good credit set up, but also to balance the revenue
implications.

   "What do you think?"

   Rogers looked thoughtful.

   "I like it, personally. I presume you want me to shop it by AFL-CIO?"

   "Yeah, we'll be having Commerce shop it by NAM tomorrow. It's under
embargo til we hear back from all sides, then I'll do the press
conference," Williams stated.

   "Understood."

   And with that, a glance to the playpen, where Luke had started
banging away on a drum and squealing happily like there was no
tomorrow. This got the bigger kids attention, and they'd put down the
Wii to go give him an audience.

  Grins among the grownups.

  "He'll be obsessed with that for a few days, you realize?" Julius
asked with a wink.

   "Yeah," John replied, watching his son figure out that banging
things makes fun noises. "But hey, he's happy. I'll just take two
Advil when it gets to be too much."
---
Actions:
1. DOL to start an ad campaign aimed at college and high school
students (anybody from 13 to 23, basically) for precision
manufacturing careers.
2. Clearinghouse and training center on best practices in apprentice
training to be set up by DOL, as the core of a worker-certification
and trade school accreditation program jointly designed and run by the
IAM (The machinists union), the NAM (Nat'l Assoc. of Manufacturers),
and DOL.
3. DOD and DOL to look into ways to improve training (and production)
rin the trades through the use of virtual reality training, augmented
reality systems, and so forth.
4. Proposed to Congress with other modifications in the tax code to
make it revenue-neutral: A tax credit for training, with extra money
available for training in fields designated by the Department of Labor
and Department of Education as being critically short of skilled
personnel - Machinists, nurses, emergency services workers, etc.