From michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com  Sat Jul  4 22:34:10 2009
From: michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com (Michael Downey)
Date: Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:04:10 -0230
Subject: [War] Japan: "A Marred Beginning"
Message-ID: <6b6ab8a70907041934p40856b12v27b953432b8f7609@mail.gmail.com>

"A Marred Beginning"
Prime Minister Shirow Ahkahita
Japan
20 January 2013
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

---
If you hire only those people you understand, the company will never
get people better than you are. Always remember that you often find
outstanding people among those you don't particularly like.
- Soichiro Honda
---

<Tokyo>

The ringing of the phone pierced Shirow Ahkahita?s ears with the force
of a scalpel heated by a blowtorch being pushed through partly-melted
butter. His mouth still tasted of cigarettes, cheap sake, and stale
Budweiser. His head throbbed, and when Ahkahita opened his eyes he
audibly grunted as they stung from dryness. It was morning, that he
knew. Though the blinds had all been tightly pulled on all the windows
in his Tokyo condominium, small beams of soft amber poked out from
behind the black curtains. The air was heavy with the smell of
tobacco.

?Oh shut the fuck up,? Ahkahita muttered at the blasted phone as he
swung his legs down from the couch and assumed a sitting position. He
had managed to keep himself in a somewhat coherent state for most of
the post-election party, careful to mask his growing drunkenness as
the festivities in the ballroom of the Sakura hotel progressed late
into the night.  Traditionally, the Japanese considered drunks, like
retards and small children, to not be responsible for their actions.
Their criminal code had all the same legal implications of actions
taken while intoxicated that were found in the West, but other than
running someone over with your Camry, a blind eye would often be
turned to the antics of those who had imbibed too much. Ahkahita had
eventually gotten sick of the party and gotten Tohru, his driver and
bodyguard, to take him back to the condo.

The phone wouldn?t stop ringing. Only a few people knew his unlisted
home number, so combined with the fact that whatever asshole was on
the other end wouldn?t take the hint and hang the fuck up, it was
probably important.

Sighing, Ahkahita stood, a loud ?crack? emanating from his lower back.
He scanned the coffee table in the living room and managed to locate
his ever-present pack of cigarettes. He preferred Marlboros, an
acquired taste from Princeton, but kept them in the packaging of the
local Mild Seven brand in order to appear more patriotic. Ho Chi Minh
had done something similar.

?This better be important,? Ahkahita said tersely into the phone as he
answered it, his words slightly garbled as he lit his cigarette at the
same time. He honestly didn?t know who was on the other end, but he
was hung-over and irritated and hadn?t had time to get through his
smoke.

?It?s me.?  The voice was the of Kiyomi Yagawa, his sister and chief
of staff. ?It just happened an hour ago. The NPA is all over the
scene.  Kohira tried calling your cell but it was off and he didn?t
know your home number.?

?Kiyo slow down,? said Ahkahita. He glanced at the clock. It burned
?10:02? in red lights. ?What happened? Why do you sound so agitated??

?Turn on your television.?

One thing that Ahkahita loved was television. His parents had
chastised him for watching too much of it as a child, saying it would
rot his brain and lead him nowhere in life. Showed what they knew,
the pricks. In the mostly sparse (and dirty) apartment, the large,
sixty-inch screen was by far the cleanest and most-used item. He
grabbed the remote and thumbed the power button. He had left it on NHK
for most of the election, so the news was the first thing that popped
up.

?-confirmed dead on the scene after being stabbed over an hour ago.
The death of Takashi Omaguchi  is being described at the most shocking
assassination of a politician since the deaths of Inejiro Asanuma or
Koki Ishii.?

Ahkahita?s Marlboro fell from his lips and landed on the floor.

?Omaguchi was assassinated?? gasped Shirow.

?The police aren?t releasing anything to the press other than he has
been shot and killed, but the Commissioner-General called me and they
have the suspect. He?s a Zainichi.?

Ahkahita reached down to pick up his cigarette, taking a long and
heavy drag. ?They?re sure the guy is the gunman??

?He apparently confessed to the arresting officers,? answered Kiyomi.
?The PM wants to meet with you, a security detail will swing by to
pick you up in about fifteen minutes.

Old son of a bitch probably wants to dump this whole mess into my lap
before I take his chair, Ahkahita thought bitterly to himself and then
immediately regretted it. He and Omaguchi had never seen eye-to-eye on
much, but the man had worked hard to help get Ahkahita elected and to
bring the DPJ into power.

?Fuck.? He took one last drag and got ready to leave.
----

<Kyoto, several days later>

And thus Shirow Ahkahita was inaugurated the 62nd Prime Minister of
Japan and the first one to enter office without a Chief Cabinet
Secretary. Omaguchi was not the first politician to be assassinated in
the postwar history of Japan, but he was certainly the first in a long
time.

For Ahkahita it was a strange period. He had known Omaguchi quite well
but had never particularly liked the man. Twenty years Ahkahita?s
senior, the PM always felt that Omaguchi had some sort of disdain for
him, treating Ahkahita as nothing more than a popular face to plaster
on the billboards for the election. Ahkahita had twice chewed the
former DPJ Secretary-General out for going behind his back and would
have fired the old bastard on both occasions if it was not for the
fact that Ahkahita *needed* Omaguchi, both in the election and within
the DPJ.

Of course the PM had appeared suitably upset by Omaguchi?s death in
public, speaking of how much a tragedy it was and that the Diet had
lost one of its most senior and respected members. Which was true.
Ahkahita had respected Omaguchi for his insight, cunning and guile.

With the funeral over and a proper period of public mourning observed,
the Prime Minister now had to turn to the task of picking a new
assemblyman to serve as both Secretary-General and Chief Cabinet
Secretary. This was no simple task. While Ahkahita was, for the most
part, free to pick and dismiss other Cabinet ministers at his purview,
the role of Secretary-General (and thus Chief Cabinet Secretary)
required a majority vote of the DPJ leadership. Ahkahita thus had to
pick who to back with great care, lest he alienate too much of his own
party and get booted like so many prime ministers before him.

All these thoughts swirled through the PM?s head as his motorcade
approached the looming machiya, a traditional Japanese wooden
townhouse. This particular manor was the residence of Hideki Niwa,
LDP-turned-DPJ assemblyman and the designated Minister of Finance for
when Ahkahita?s cabinet took power in the next few days.

?This is stupid,? the PM stated bluntly to Kiyomi.

?It was your idea,? she noted.

?And you should have stopped me, because it was a stupid idea,?
retorted Ahkahita. ?The old fool will never agree to this. I made him
Finance Minister because he proved to be good with numbers.?

?Good? was not the word. Niwa was one of the hundred richest men in
Japan, a billionaire that had made his fortune in banking and
real-estate. Niwa had gained particular notoriety for publically
predicting the oncoming burst of the Japanese assets bubble in the
early 1990s and insulating his own holdings while everyone else
suffered.

 He was also an insufferable old bastard that romanticized about
Japan?s prewar past and emphasized with nationalists. His defection,
along with twenty other LDP assemblymen, still boggled Ahkahita. But
the defection had been the killing blow to the past LDP administration
and signalled the ascent for the DPJ, so who was Ahkahita to question
luck?

Niwa had, of course, agreed to meet with Ahkahita but had requested a
private audience given the nature of their discussion. As the
limousine pulled up to the front entrance of the machiya, a member of
Ahkahita?s security detail opened the door for the occupants to get
out. A trio of greeters, one geisha and two maiko apprentices, were
waiting for Ahkahita and Kiyomi at the large wooden doorway. Ahkahita
found Niwa?s use geisha foolish and trite and it made him regret
coming here even more. The three geisha?s bowed deeply to the pair and
guided them into the machiya.

Kiyomi waited in a reception parlour while the senior geisha showed
Ahkahita down a long wood and paper hallway to where Niwa was waiting.
She pulled open a shoji screen door and bowed her head and indicated
for Ahkahita to proceed, pulling the door closed behind him.

The room was smaller than Ahkahita had expected, and rather plain.
Wood floor with wood paper walls. The most dominant features of the
room was a daisho set at the far end, a kanji tapestry with some haiku
the PM didn?t bother reading, and a picture of Emperor Meji. In the
middle of the room, sitting cross-legged on the floor and picking
sushi off a small wood enfloor table, was Niwa.

?You said it was important?? asked Niwa simply as he plucked a bit of
food of his plat with chopsticks. The man was never one to mince
words. That had been a quality that had impressed Ahkahita, though had
always dogged the man in elections.

?Why do you waist money maintaining these archaic settings?? said the
PM as he began to circle the room, studying the sparse contents,
including Niwa himself. The man wore a black kimono over his regular
clothes.

?This is our country, our traditions,? replied Niwa. ?Why revoke who we are??

Ahkahita would bet money that the suit under Niwa?s kimono, like his
own, was probably of French or Italian cut and not Japanese. The PM
also noted the presence of a bottle of diet Pepsi on the small floor
table. Everyone was a hypocrite at heart.

?Really? If our ancestors hadn?t imported so much technology, culture
and knowhow from the Dutch, Germans and Americans, the Shogun and his
samurai would still rule everything.?

?Our culture has benefited by learning from others,? acknowledged
Niwa. That elicited an audible snort from Ahkahita. Much of Niwa?s
assets were in California and Hong Kong, so such an attitude from a
man known from his nationalism was a cynical as it was predictable.
?The speech you gave at Omaguchi?s funeral was quite poignant.?

?He died before his time, and his loss will hurt the DPJ, to say
nothing of his family.? The PM knew that Niwa had disliked the
extremely liberal Omaguchi. ?When will discussions about who will be
the new Chief Cabinet Secretary begin??

?I was thinking of asking you to do it.?

Ahkahita had to give Niwa credit, the man didn?t miss a beat. No shock
or surprise registered on the man?s face at Ahkahita?s statement.

?Me??

?You?re the de facto leader of the LDP defectors, your greatly
respected by the moderates and centrists in the DPJ, and your popular
with the business community and our financial backers.?

?Won?t the party leadership be upset about a former LDP assemblyman
being made Chief Cabinet Secretary?? questioned Niwa.

?Some will, yes. But I gained my ascent with the backing of the
centrists. Between the two of us we?ll have more than enough support
to have your successfully placed in the position,? answered the PM.
?And besides, the LDP despises you as a traitor, so pissing them off
will assure you the party nod.?

For a moment there was silence as Niwa considered Ahkahita?s proposal. Then:

?And what makes you believe that I will accept such a nomination??

?Why wouldn?t you? Chief Cabinet Secretary effectively makes you the
second most powerful man in the government.?

?To be your puppet??

?I never said that,? scolded Ahkahita. ?If I wanted someone who would
just warm a seat and do whatever I said, there are other men who I
could have approached. And get placed with far less effort. I mean you
already agreed to be Finance Minister.?

?I agreed to be your Finance Minister because we hold essentially the
same views on the economic future of this country. We disagree on
quite a bit more. China, North Korea, the Northern Territories, the
Zainichi, Article 9, the JSDF,? said Niwa. Ahkahita simply shrugged.

?You already know my thoughts on those matters. I am still going to go
through with the agenda I set out during the election, so even if you
remain as Finance Minister you?ll still be aiding and abetting, even
if you keep your focus on the national finances. But this way you
might actually influence my decisions. Even change my mind.?

Not bloody likely.

?Then I agree,? said Niwa without pause. ?

Ahkahita nodded and paced over to the daisho set opposite Niwa. It was
fortunate that his back was turned to the older man, Ahkahita rolled
his eyes practically to heaven.

?A family heirloom,? said Niwa between bites, knowing what it was that
Ahkahita was looking at.

?Authentic?? asked the PM. He drew the katana from its scabbard and
examined the blade. He experienced no romanticism over such gruesome
instruments of cutting, the bizarre fetish held by so many Japanese
and American teenage males over something crafted to bloodily end
another person?s life.

?Yes, a family heirloom. Crafted for one of my ancestors during the
Muromachi period for loyal service to his daimyo.?

?Let me guess, you keep it here as yet another reminder of our
traditions and history?? said Ahkahita.

?Not really,? answered Niwa. ?I actually keep it here as a reminder of
what can happen when we allow our ?archaic? past, as you put it,
overwhelm our sense of logic. My grandfather, while serving in the
Imperial occupation forces, used that sword to kill fifteen people in
Korea for partisan activity. Or being the spouse or children of
suspected partisans. After the surrender, my grandfather committed
seppuku. My father, who was fourteen at the time, acted as my
grandfather?s kaishakunin. He used that sword for the decapitation.?

?Oh,? was Ahkahita?s simple reply. He held his arm out to one side and
unceremoniously dropped the sword to the ground with a light thud.
---

?Well?? asked Kiyomi once they had returned to the limo.

?He?ll do it,? said Ahkahita. ?It will be a bit if a fight to get the
party leadership to agree, but he?ll be useful.?

?Don?t underestimate Niwa,? cautioned Kiyomi. ?He?s been at this
longer than either of us. He would have been Prime Minister if he
wasn?t such a maverick.?

?And he never Kiyomi once they had returned to the limo.

?He?ll do it,? said Ahkahita. ?It will be a bit if a fight to get the
party leadership to agree, but he?ll be useful.?

?Don?t underestimate Niwa,? cautioned Kiyomi. ?He?s been at this
longer than either of us. He would have been Prime Minister if he
wasn?t such a maverick.?

?And he never will be,? said Ahkahita coldly. ?The best way to keep a
man in his place is to give him power. He?s our maverick now.?
---

Actions:
1) Introduce Shirow Ahkahita, the next Prime Minister of Japan
2) Nominate Hideki Niwa as the next Chief Cabinet Secretary


From dylandv at gmail.com  Fri Jul 10 11:04:38 2009
From: dylandv at gmail.com (Dylan de Valk)
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:04:38 -0400
Subject: [War]  Ethiopia "Setting Up"
Message-ID: <763946e70907100804l4b239c29rb0ed7b8d48033918@mail.gmail.com>

"Setting Up"
January.20/2013
Assorted Characters
Ethiopia

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 "Shit.  You hear some head honcho in Japan was assassinated?"  Dirma
Zembagis commented as he watched tv in his relatively new office.

"No sir, I did not.  Perhaps the new Japanese leader will create a more
stable situation in time."  That was Dirma's secretary, Giorgios Kantela.
He was Dirma's old secretary from the days when Dirma was campaigning
outside of office.

"Perhaps."  Dirma wasn't one to waste words.  "Draft a memo and send our
condolences, for what they're worth.  Oh, and fire a copy by President
Wolde-Giorgis and Foreign Minister Lomego."

 Sugal Lomego was a close friend to Dirma and had been for many years.  Both
of them had worked on the railway connecting Addis Ababa to Djibouti years
ago and had stayed in touch since then.  Lomego had been shooed into a seat
in the HoPR along with many other friends of Dirma during the last
election.  Now, he was foreign minister at age 49 after a lifetime of
investing and business.

This profile was a pretty standard fit for many, and indeed most, of Dirma's
cabinet.  Met through business, stayed in touch, and now, dabbling in
politics.  They were a close bunch, and the Prime Minister insisted they be
on first name terms, hence why he preferred to be referred to as Dirma.

On the other hand, many considered the President, Girma Wolde-Giorgis, to be
a little old school.  His term due to finish in the next few months, the
little power alotted to the President of Ethiopia had dissappeared, and he
had become a lame-duck.  Not that it really mattered much, since as Prime
Minister, Dirma Zembagis held the real reigns of power.

Later in the day, Dirma would address a joint session of the HoPR and HoF
and attended by all the bigwigs.  He would outline once again his agenda,
and would additionally propose a non-binding referendum first among
legislators and then for the people on whether the Imperial Family should be
invited back to serve as head of state, instead of the Presidential Office.
If the referendum passes, the government would officially invite the
Imperial family back.  He thought, and hoped, there was a good chance it
would go through.  Dirma was of the opinion that Ethoipia needed to both
embrace new ideas and technology, and to also embrace its long past and
traditions.  And part of those traditions, was the Emperor.  Besides, only
great nations had Emperors.

Ethiopia had had a turbulent history in general. Although only once being
occupied by a foreign power, the Italians during WWII, the country had only
just started climbing out of the traditional way of life.  Extreme poverty
combined with droughts had kept the country vulnerable to famines.  Now
though, this was starting to change.  With the population and economy
growing rapidly, the country was changing rapidly.

-------------------------------------
Actions
1] Introduce the new Prime Minister and a couple people in his entourage.
2] Send Ethiopia's condolences to Japan.
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From iain at iain-waddell.co.uk  Fri Jul 10 13:18:03 2009
From: iain at iain-waddell.co.uk (Iain)
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:18:03 +0100
Subject: [War] Canada: "Waking Nightmare."
Message-ID: <667A3D1F9F024E5996C30D0284944683@iainw>

?Waking Nightmare.?

Prime Minister Chloe Taylor and others.

Canada

20th January 2013

 

<0200, 24 Sussex Drive>

 

The telephone at Sussex Drive, a cheerful trill in the brightness of day
always sounded shriller in the darkness of the Prime Minister's suite at
night. Having begun adapting to late night calls and the rapid transition
required from a deep and satisfying state of sleep to the upright and alert
state required to take in critical information when she had served as Health
Minister; Chloe Taylor was all but a master these days. That did not,
however, mean she had to like it.

 

The piercing ring stopped, and as the cordless handset that had been by the
side of the bed reached her ear the familiar voice of her security advisor
began without hesitation.

 

"Prime Minister, there's been an incident."

 

The words 'no shit' came very close to escaping her mouth and in an
uncharacteristic lapse in control, but Taylor managing to choke them back in
time. Clearing her throat, she sought for something more diplomatic.

 

"Indeed. So, Mister Dupont, what have you for me tonight?"

 

"Another racial homicide, Prime Minister, or rather seven to be specific."

 

"Related?"

 

"Yes," She hadn't expected such a definite response and felt her heart take
it up a notch as she brought her legs to the edge of the bed while the voice
continued. "The seven bodies were found together. All Muslims, all in
cultural dress. It seems they had been dead for some hours."

 

When the attacks on Muslims had began, Taylor had insisted she be notified
on each occasion immediately and had took control of handling the press
herself. The attacks had continued on a similar vane for weeks and she had
decided to keep her briefings on them to within normal briefing hours after
a while. Then the first murder had come two weeks ago and she had reversed
that decision.

 

Now a multiple homicide.

 

To make things worse, their investigation had yielded very little in the way
of results. No-one had claimed responsibility, which made it look more and
more as though this was not necessarily the work of a terrorist or radical
group. This was perhaps not even the act of one organisation or individual.
And that scared her, and what scared her generally scared the Canadian
people ten times more.

 

"Can you have a briefing set up within the hour?"

 

"There's more. The bodies were...mutilated."

 

"Mutilated? How?" Taylor wasn't sure whether to be confused or horrified.

 

"Some sort of genital mutilation, the coroner has yet to report."

 

A wave of nausea threatened to overwhelm her, and she leant forward to abate
it. Now was not the time to become squeamish, and she never ceased to be
amazed at how calm her security advisor always sounded, regardless of the
situation. She supposed that was why he was so good at his job.

 

"Ok, Mr. Dupont. Be here in 45 minutes and bring in whomever we need for a
briefing in one hour."

 

<One hour later>

 

James Dupont, unlike his elected master, was rather more used to absurdly
late-night work hours; 20 years in the CSIS bureaucracy did that.

 

Well, that plus coffee.

 

"Madam Prime Minister," he greeted as he strode through the front door of 24
Sussex Drive, after being let in by one of the PM's night security detail.

 

"Mr. Dupont," Taylor gave him a curt nod as she sipped at her second coffee
in the past half hour which looked to have done little to mask her tired
appearance. She began to lead the way through to the reception room where
she preferred to take these late night meetings in more comfort that the
more formal ones during the day. "So, what have we got on this...incident so
far." Recalling the details brought a faint twinge of the earlier nausea
back.

 

"Well, the previous information holds up, Ma'am. I strongly suggest setting
the coffee down before we continue." Dupont paused to allow this. "Comms is
setting up a telecon with RCMP and CSIS for 10 minutes from now, plus
relevant members of the Cabinet. They may have more, but this is what we
know as of 10 minutes ago: No claims of responsibility as of yet, no likely
suspects. The only way we figured out the victims were Muslim was because
they're seven males, all South Asian in background, all in cultural dress,
all circumcised according to the coroner. They're doing their best to do
autopsies at this hour, but on-scene determination is that cause of death
was exsanguination...Caused by a cut to the carotid artery. The genital
mutilation is, effectively, the removal of the testicles. No ID or other
possessions were found. These were not surgical killings, Prime Minister,
they were executions. The killers were, to be frank, smart not to use a gun
- you cannot nearly as effectively trace blade wounds.

 

"It is, Madam Prime Minister, premature in my evaluation to call this a hate
crime. It could be; it could also be organized crime, or a robbery gone
horribly wrong, or a serial killer. It could be a Muslim seeking to inspire
a backlash from his community. RCMP is working all angles at the moment. The
fact is that we have no idea - our very identification of them as Muslims is
based upon the common factors of dress and male circumcision."

 

The Prime Minister was glad that she had been advised to put her coffee
down, it saved the embarrassment associated with either having dropped the
mug or choked on the beverage. She was pretty sure she had paled even
further than before but did not let it show in her demeanor as she leant
forward in her chair. "You mean this could have been someone of their own
religion, killing simply to incite their community against others?" She
shook her head as she thought of it and swallowed. She picked up her coffee
again; screw the sick-feeling, if she ever needed a caffeine hit it was now.
She didn't mind looking shocked or disheveled in front of her closer
advisors but not in front of cabinet ministers. "I guess we don't have
idents on them yet?"

 

"Not yet. We'll be canvassing Muslim areas nearby with headshots trying to
get idents. RCMP Public Affairs so far wants to handle this as a normal
investigation."

 

"Understood." A quick glance at her watch and a swig of the dregs of her mug
and she was ready for the conference. "Shall we?"

 

With a nod, the telecon began - coordinated by the PMO, the participants
were the Prime Minister, the Security Advisor, the Minister of Public
Safety, the Minister of Justice, RCMP's ops centre, and CSIS's ops centre.

 

"Go secure." With those two words, the secure telephone units were activated
at each location simultaneously.

 

"Conference is secure," Dupont announced. "The Prime Minister has been
advised of the details of the case as of 20 minutes ago. Are there any
updates?"

 

A graying gent, with rough stubble and a nose that looked like it had seen
several fights or several years of contact sports, cleared his throat in the
CSIS office. ?No further hard facts, but we have begun profiling for both
our murderer and murder weapon. The wounds indicate a blade of substantial
size with a curved sharp edge, lending credence to either a ritual blade or
perhaps a large culinary tool. Furthermore, the method the perpetrator used
to dispatch the victims resembles butchery, and specifically halaal
practices of the Islamic community.?

 

An un-uniformed officer, clearly of high ranking, pushed a lock of
mousey-brown hair behind her ear from RCMP operations before agreeing. ?I
think that would be a good place to center our preliminary investigations.
In addition, there is no evidence the bodies were move posthumously, and
given the small nature of the building in which they were found it is
unlikely they would be unaware of each others deaths. We believe there was a
group involved in at least detaining these people prior to their deaths if
not in the deaths themselves.?

 

?Indeed, and we have begun to canvass the local area for suspicious group
activity or vehicles carrying several occupants that may have stopped at or
near the building in question.? The CSIS agent added.

 

Taylor did not like this one bit, clearly there was much more evidence here
for premeditation implication of an organisation rather than individual.
Whilst that increased the chances of someone claiming responsibility it did
not ease her mind at all. ?Any evidence of links between these murders and
other recent homicides or attacks??

 

CSIS fielded that one. ?We have someone looking into patterns now, madam
Prime Minister, but so far we see no reason to treat this as anything other
than an isolated case.?

 

Looking to her Ministers, Taylor stifled a sigh before it escaped her.
?Gentlemen, what are your views on media involvement in this??

 

Jacques Holloway, the Minister of Public Safety looked much more overtly
troubled than anyone else on the conference. ?Prime Minister, we should get
the media involved in the search for possible suspects. That could only
serve to expedite the RCMP?s work in the area. Additionally, I believe
controlling the story by releasing the basic details of the crime would
serve to control any damage by withholding information at that time.?

 

The formidable-looking RCMP officer interjected immediately. ?It is not the
policy of this organisation to release details of a criminal investigation
to the press.?

 

?Nor was that suggested,? Taylor played the intermediatory role quite well
for someone of her limited experience in the political field until recent
years. ?The investigation details need not be included in the press-release.
However, I believe we should confirm there has been a multiple homicide and
any information on suspicious activity in the area is sought. I think the
details of the homicide should remain undisclosed for now, at least
certainly until families can be found and informed.? There was a pause as
she felt a shiver up her spine, those poor fuckers.

 

?There are protocols that can be followed,? A younger-looking man from the
RCMP end spoke up form behind what must have been his boss. He was in a
suit, clearly not-long-wakened (rather like Taylor herself) and clearly
civilian. ?We have guidelines for preliminary and follow up press-releases
in cases involving one or multiple deaths. I?m Giles Pontiac, the media
officer here, ma?am.?

 

Taylor nodded; she was more than glad to relinquish the matter to someone
with a bit more know-how. ?Liaise with the Prime Minister?s office press
secretary and ensure that those guidelines are followed and we are reading
from the same page. Ladies and gentlemen, if there?s nothing further for now
I shall let you get on with your jobs uninterrupted.?

 

?Thank you, madam Prime Minister.? Echoed throughout the connection. She
hated how that was the last thing anyone said to her anymore. 

 

?Keep me updated, Giles, David,? She addressed her cabinet ministers. ?Speak
with Callum and arrange something for first thing. Good morning.? Callum was
her PA and all round diary-guru with whom she had a love-hate relationship,
no-one could have done his job as well as him but he often took the brunt of
the Prime Ministers dissatisfaction at her busy schedule.

 

With a nod to Dupont the conference was terminated and Taylor looked at him
expectantly.

 

?I have nothing more to brief you about at this time, madam Prime Minister.
You shall have my usual briefing at 9am.?

 

Taylor couldn?t help but smirk a little; it was a very irregular thing to
receive neither further bad news form this man once she thought things had
been dealt with nor to receive poorly-disguised or outright criticism of her
handling of a matter. ?Thank you, Mr. Dupont. Try and get some sleep.?

 

Dupont rather doubted that he would get any until later tonight, and thought
it na?ve of the Prime Minister to believe otherwise, but he held his tongue.
?Thank you, Madam Prime Minister.? He stood and took his leave.

 

Taylor sat for a moment in the softly-lit room and let a long sigh that
seemed to come from the bottom of her soul leave her feeling somewhat
hollow. This was going to turn into another PR fiasco, she could sense it,
and the last thing this government needed was another drop in popularity.
She would have to remember to fit in some baby-kissing or other form of
molly-coddling the public before the day was out.

 

Actions:

1)    Release to press that:

a)    Multiple homicide has taken place

b)    Any information on suspicious activity in area should be reported to
local law enforcement officers

c)    Families yet to be informed, further details to follow

2)    Prime Ministers Office to release same statements as RCMP.

3)    Continue investigation

4)    Locate and inform families before any further information released.

5)    Reassure public that panic is not warranted.







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From bgtribble at gmail.com  Wed Jul 15 15:45:26 2009
From: bgtribble at gmail.com (Bryan Tribble)
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:45:26 +0300
Subject: [War] France: Notre Dame
Message-ID: <C6840C86.13C9%bgtribble@gmail.com>

"Notre Dame"
President Adrien Durant
French Republic
20 January 2013
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

For the past month, the Cathedral of Notre Dame had been closed to the
public. Tourists were still allowed to congregate near the building to take
photos of the structure and admission at the Louvre had been subsidized by
half for foreign nationals in the Durant administration's bid to compensate
tourists who could not visit the Cathedral.

But the place was no longer the same. It was largely cordoned off by police
tape and constantly staffed by members of the Gendarmerie Nationale.
Investigators from practically every intelligence and policing agency in
France were constantly scrambling over the place.

>From his perch atop the Cathedral, President Adrien Durant could look down
on the scene of the crime with little disturbance from anyone other than his
security detail. The blood had been washed from the stones but he could
still picture it. He'd received the news moments after it occurred and
arrived on the scene within an hour's time.

When he'd arrived, he was shocked by the level of carnage. The square in
front of the Cathedral looked nothing like itself. People were pressing in
against the Parisian police force, screaming and cursing them. Bodies were
strewn everywhere and it seemed as if every stone in front of the Cathedral
had been painted red with blood. Off to the side a clutch of children were
being treated by emergency medical personnel, crying in the arms of their
parents or staring blankly ahead.

He met with each of the children, their families and the families of those
who had lost their loved one in the attack. He assured each of them that the
full resources of the Republic would be brought to bear in the search for
the perpetrators. There would be serious repercussions for the attack, he
promised.

Adrien Durant tightened his grip against the stonework he'd rested his hands
on. Meetings had been convened, suspects detained, individuals interrogated.
Citizens had looked to the Republic to quickly resolve the matter but a
month later they were still practically at square one. He turned away from
the edge of the Cathedral and made his way inside, intending to make good on
his promise.

=-=-=

In the eerie silence of the Cathedral, usually filled with the shuffling of
tourists' feet and their muted whispers, the President of the Republic had
convened a meeting with Director Etienne Bourbois of the Direction Centrale
du Renseignement Int?rieur (DCRI), the domestic intelligence agency; Jacques
Moreau, the DCRI's terrorism department chief; Director Laurent Chevalier of
the Direction G?n?rale de la S?curit? Ext?rieure (DGSE), the foreign
intelligence agency; and Christian Vie, the DGSE's long-serving Action
Division Director.

"I don't care right now why we didn't see this coming. We can certainly
address that separately," Durant snapped at Bourbois, the DCRI Director. The
man had been offering a litany of excuses for the past five minutes to cover
for his agency's failure. "What I want to know now is why on Earth we have
failed to locate and prosecute these individuals. We cannot simply have
terrorists freely wandering around the Republic, waiting to strike again.
Every day they continue to remain at large is a political and moral
disaster."

"The latest intelligence indicates that they have more than likely returned
to Algeria," Laurent Chevalier, the DGSE Director, said as he opened a
dossier and offered it to Durant. "We have some preliminary information on
the suspects that hasn't been released to the press yet. They are all
Algerian nationals; a few of them seem to have known one another prior to
immigrating to France but beyond that we have no particular connection
linking them."

"And the Algerians?" Durant asked, thumbing through the dossier.

"Quiet," Chevalier grunted. "Probably more than a little worried about what
we intend to do about these fellows, and probably also afraid they somehow
had a hand in all this at some point."

Durant remained quiet for several moments, contemplating the situation. He
was a well known supporter of Francophone countries, and the fact that these
terrorists came from one of those countries was going to have serious
implications for his foreign policy agenda. People were demanding action,
and the pressure was building up. The media continued to flash pictures of
the bloodied bodies of children despite the ?lys?e's best efforts at
suppressing such distasteful images.

"Do you know Colonel Djaafar?" the President asked, looking in the direction
of Chevalier and Vie, referring to Algeria's intelligence tsar. He already
knew the answer. "Contact him, and tell him we intend to look for the
suspects in Algeria. If they want to help then all the better, but indicate
that we intend to move on this whether or not they agree to it. We can't sit
on our hands gathering intelligence all day; it's improper and politically
damaging. And let's keep this on an intelligence level. There's no need to
move things to any higher level than that."

He turned his attention to Bourbois and Moreau, neither one of which was
sitting in a particularly good position.

"I want a report on my desk, first thing in the morning, that outlines every
single connection these suspects have had to anything. I want to know the
leads we have and the terrorist groups we suspect they have a connection
to," Durant said, focusing in on Moreau and pointing his finger at him. "And
above all, track down any associates they may have had and look for any
other cells lurking around. I'm authorizing you to do everything that can be
done to shut down terrorist cells, apprehend suspects and get to the bottom
of this, understood? And release those photos to the media. I want the
entirety of the Republic looking for these men, and they should be joined in
doing so by every ally of this nation abroad."

Durant turned his attention back to the dossier in his hand and frowned down
at the pictures and profiles. A thousand matters were running through his
head, but time again he came back to the empty, dazed look on the faces of
the children injured during the attack. What manner of criminal turned their
hatred on innocent children?

Actions:
1.) Initiate intelligence-level contact with Algerians to explore
possibilities about cooperating to apprehend suspects; if they refuse,
authorize foreign intelligence operations to locate and extract suspects.

2.) Begin searching for terrorist cells associated with the one suspected of
carrying out the attack on Notre Dame.

3.) Release all non-classified material related to the suspected terrorists
and their activities to the media with the specific request for more
information from the public, including French nationals abroad and citizens
of the Francophonie.




From pbuck11 at aol.com  Wed Jul 15 21:23:01 2009
From: pbuck11 at aol.com (Patrick B)
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:23:01 -0600
Subject: [War] United States: "New Faces old places"
Message-ID: <4A5E80F5.9070500@aol.com>

United States: "New Faces old places"

Steven Dupree
President of the United States


==November 4th 2012==

The party was held in Skokie Illinois, one of the larger convention 
centers where the party was in full swing, though it was still early and 
the returns were coming in.  As usual the northeast had gone Democratic, 
but some of the results from the south were encouraging, but then again 
it was the south.

Some of the urban areas were going light red, one piece of paper said 
they did better in Manhattan then usual. And the candidate was no where 
to be seen.

When Steven ran for a city council seat he stayed up all night counting 
votes, calculating, and he lost. Miserably, so when he ran his campaign 
for mayor of Lake Forest, he decided to not watch the results, and he 
won.  So he set an informal tradition of not watching results, when he 
was invested in something, not that he didn't pay attention, but it was 
just tradition.

So he was upstairs in a hotel suite with his wife, watching what he had 
jokingly dubbed his election night movie choices. It varied depending on 
how long he was going to be up here.  Tonight's feature was all 3 Lord 
of the Rings movies, but his only concession was getting hourly updates, 
and when he would eitehr make or recieve a call.

The ballroom was loud with cheers or groans as results came in, When 
James Carville appeared on CNN looking more like Gollum then normal as 
he was and boy was he pissed.

As the first movie ended he got an update, he was starting to pull 
ahead, and surprise of surprises California was closer then he expected. 
Obama was ahead but not by as much as he was in 2008.

Setting the paper aside he settled back in his chair to watch the Battle 
for Helms Deep unfold.

The night dragged on and suddenly a staffer burst in. with a cordless 
phone and a look on his face like he had just found the keys to a 68 
mustang, 100,000 dollars and a supermodel all waiting for him under his 
Christmas tree.

"It's the White House...."

Steven looked up with a start, "Thank you."

Then he took the phone.....

==Main ballroom Skokie illinois===

The news had broken in, with the news of the concession call, which made 
the crowd go crazy with cheering and celebrating.  When the side door 
opened and Steven walked up to the podium again to the cheering crowd of 
supporters.

"Thank you..." He clearaed his throat, "As you have no doubt heard, I 
just got off the phone with President Obama, and he has conceeded the 
election...."

At this point his speech was interrupted by cheers, Steven raised his 
hand and waited untill the crowd died down.

"I wanted to thank President Obama for a good campaign, where we put 
aside the politics of personal destruction and focused on what we both 
love, our country.  This campaign is over, starting tonight I would like 
to reach out to all Americans, no matter what part of this land you call 
home, be it Democratic or Republican, Rich or Poor, Of all races, 
creeds, genders, and sexual orientations, and promise that I will bring 
the American Dream to all people. Thank you and good night."

The cameras flashed as Steven and his wife waved to the cameras.

==January 21st 2013==

The next four months went like a blur, that included his house being 
fortified up to Fort Knox standards, calls from people he had seen on 
the news, and meeting with staff members, deciding on big things like 
cabinet secretaries and little things like the White House china.

Then came the inaguaration day, try the longest day of his life, 
starting with morning coffee with the outgoing president, Good thing was 
the election had not been brutal so he sat with Obama and chatted about 
stuff in general, reporters did their usual discussion about the 
amicable meeting, which led to Steven's joke that maybe they should 
start a fight to give them something new to say, which provoved (at that 
time) Presidential laughter.

  The first day in office was usually ceremonial he signed some papers, 
read a letter left by the outgoing president, then he had a few press 
events, but generally it was like most people moving in to a new house, 
finding where everything goes...

Actions
1) None really moving in getting inaguarted, that kinda stuff.


From vampi.digitalwytch at gmail.com  Wed Jul 15 22:15:20 2009
From: vampi.digitalwytch at gmail.com (Vampi Digitalwytch)
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:15:20 -0600
Subject: [War] Russia: Let us begin, with a prayer
Message-ID: <e245f8830907151915gc0f5829n1a79369708f0232f@mail.gmail.com>

"Let us begin, with a prayer"

President Anastasia Malevich

Each time she set foot in church, she felt like a small child again,
going to her father's services.  It was her comfort, her solace no
matter what life threw at her.  And as of late, much had been thrown
at her.

Elections were over, she'd won by a slim margin.  In truth, she hadn't
expected to win with the candidates who had soiled the face of the
Rodina to the world with the tawdry battles in the news more worthy of
the rags of tabloids.

But it was just another visible symptom of the disease that ran
rampant in her homeland, more like multiple diseases that went into
remission only to flare up worse each time.  It helped to look at the
bigger picture as such, with the scalpel in her hand to excise the
diseased tissue if that was the only way to cure.

The old hardliners who still longed for the iron fist of Communism
still lurked, as did those who wanted the chaos of an American style
Democracy.

All of them were fools to not see how grotesque the failures were, how
much of a mess things were, moreso than what the world saw on the
nightly news.

Anastasia sighed as she lost herself in the choir's hymns.

'God...God grant me strength to endure what must be done...', she
prayed mentally, 'For once, I am alone, no confidant to share my true
feelings.  Grant me the Wisdom to know which battle to pick when,
grant me Fortitude to endure my staunchest opponents...and grant me
the ability to show Mercy when in my heart, I feel none should be
given.'.

As the last benediction was given, she took a deep, cleansing breath
to prepare herself for the day.

Her security followed her as she left with the congregation, and as
had been when they'd gone in, another Islamic protest was across the
street.  One of her bodyguards looked to her with a raised eyebrow as
the protesters grew louder upon sight of her, and she simply nodded.
As she got into the car and was driving off, in the rear mirror she
could see the police moving them along harshly.  Some would fight back
and end up dragged off to the jails to whatever would happen to them
there.

What was the old saying, one had to be cruel to be kind...and in
medicine as well as politics, it was hard to often tell between the
two and only the results were what mattered.

----------------
Actions:

Nothing really, just had to get something out since I'm already way late.

-- 
--I know there are no lifeguards in the gene pool, but damn, there
ought to be at least a few sharks in the water.


From iain at iain-waddell.co.uk  Thu Jul 16 18:55:34 2009
From: iain at iain-waddell.co.uk (Iain)
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:55:34 +0100
Subject: [War] Canada: "Guilt breeds Justice."
Message-ID: <36201A4985F543ABA4FA07323534C8E9@iainw>

"Guilt breeds Justice."
Prime Minister Chloe Taylor
Canada

<26th June, 2012>

As the Prime Minister, Chloe Taylor had got used to the invariable shouting
- sometimes for her attention, sometimes in objection at her presence but
often just incoherent to her ears - that accompanied her visits to the
people of Canada. Nor was she unfamiliar with the calls of her security
detail for the selfsame people to 'keep back'. And so, as she shook hands
with one of the elder Iroquois she now faced, it was with a calm demeanour
despite the background noise in the dilapidated-looking village they stood
at the centre of. 

"Prime Minister, I am glad you have come to meet with us, however I must."

The greying, long haired man stopped mid-sentence and Taylor's head flew
around as two sharp cracks rang out. The sight of her military escort with
weapons drawn and what looked like two people lying down beyond made her
heart began to beat faster and her breathing became more ragged as she began
to approach the scene. Seeing a man lying there beyond the soldiers,
stock-still eyes-open with a pool of blood beneath him and a younger
dark-haired woman in an equally large pool of crimson ever-expanding but in
the throws of some sort of fit as he body began to shut down, a large hole
in the centre of her chest, Taylor gasped loudly. The woman held what
appeared to be a small pistol, and as Chloe's mind pieced together the
probable events. Her heart took on a whole new strength of pounding as she
felt herself become the centre of a military huddle, one she had been
trained to move with in the event of an emergency. She would like to have
said she took this in her stride, the protection training and a sense of
duty or righteous anger taking over, but in truth it was al she could do to
hold the ever-decreasing grasp on consciousness that the curtain of fear
that had descended on her induced.

Vague memories of being bundled into a military helicopter and being
'briefed' on the situation and where she was being taken were difficult to
pull to her recall even shortly after the event. How she managed to make a
statement that both seemed coherent and diplomatic, she would never know.
All she did remember clearly after the two bodies lying on the ground, dead
or dying, was collapsing onto her sofa, curling up and crying for a solid
hour.

<23rd January 2013> 

"Prime  Minister, that money is really needed in projects we already have
underway in Vancouver and rural Nova Scotia to upgrade science facilities in
the more outdated school buildings, I just think that-"

Taylor cut off her Education Minister before he could rehash the argument
they had been having for the past twenty minutes. "Mr. Fauxton, I am aware
of what that money was originally earmarked for. Lord knows, you have made
that clear over the past *four* of our meetings. However, I am *telling* you
now, that the First Nations communities this government, and several of its
predecessors has promised improvement, have been failed consistently. We
make the promises but there are always other more 'important' projects that
come up, or 'emergency' situations that need additional funding. The irony
of putting extra funding into the armed forces in Southern Ontario to keep
the Iroquois situation under control I'm sure is not lost on you. So, I
don't care where it is pulled from, I want some of the money that has yet to
be physically put anywhere to make a start on improved schools for First
Nations communities." The tone of her voice, the emphasis that she carried
let Ronald Fauxton know that there was no room for negotiation, nor was
argument to be brokered.

"Understood, madam Prime Minister." He used the title in spite, knowing how
she loathed it to be used by those she met with regularly, but still
somewhat seething from having his budget interfered with so late in the
financial year. "I will, however, inform you now that what can be achieved
with that money will look like a token gesture at best and outright
insulting at worst."

"I understand it will not be much," Taylor stood, indicating their meeting
was drawing to a close. She began to lead the minister towards the door.
"But I'm sure the speech you make to the media on how this is only the
beginning of a new initiative aimed at First Nation development will do much
to improve how this appears."

Nodding slightly as he stood by the door held open by Taylor, Fauxton
sniffed slightly. Now the content of his media engagements was being
dictated? This was not acceptable to him, but now was clearly not the time
to object. "Thank you *madam* Prime Minister." 

Fauxton was unsurprised to hear the door all but slam behind him as he made
his way down the corridor.


Actions:
(Not many, mainly set up for future policy etc)

1) Divert money to building/upgrading First Nation education facilities.
2) Inform press of new initiative to continue this development of First
Nation communities



From dylandv at gmail.com  Sat Jul 18 12:40:05 2009
From: dylandv at gmail.com (Dylan de Valk)
Date: Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:40:05 -0400
Subject: [War]  Ethiopia "A Most Historic Vote"
Message-ID: <763946e70907180940w4286d575n99fb44627497fe57@mail.gmail.com>

January.26/2013
Addis Ababa
Prime Minister Dirma Zembagis

--------------------------------------------------

Today was a big day for the new Prime Minister.  He had called in favours,
asked favours, threatened, and harangued wishy-washy parliamentarians.  For
weeks he had been organizing and whatnot with the help of his personal
secretry, Giorgios Kantela.

Advertisements had gone out over tv and radio stations and on the internet.
Well, maybe not advertisements.  Propaganda?  Who said anything about that?

At any rate, the vote in parliament for a referendum was due, and Dirma only
hoped that his cajoling had worked.

--------------
3pm, the Chamber of the House of People's Representatives
--------------

"And so, I propose a vote by this house, to whether or not we should give an
invitation to the former imperial family to come back to our ancient land
and serve in a constitutional manner."

A roar in the chamber began, and got louder to the point where the Prime
Minister had to shout everyone down again.

"This was part of my election platform.  But this is a deep-running desire
of mine, and I think, many Ethiopians as well, to restore our history and
try to repair the damage the Derg created.  Mengistu and his regime were
both unnecessary and destructive.  Ethiopia does not need, and did not need,
such brutal, totalitarian rule by the military regime of those days.  They
damaged the economy, but that symbol of unity and tradition, the Emperor,
was removed.  This is why I have proposed the vote before us today.  Think
carefully your vote."

After a few more speeches, voting began by the house, and it quickly became
apparent that the Prime Minister's party, the Ethiopian National Front, was
unanimously in favour, while the opposition parties were deeply divided.  It
turned out moderately in favour in the end though.  With the end of the
voting by parliamentarians, the Prime Minister rose from his seat again.

"Whether or not you voted in favour of or against the topic at hand, we have
made history today.  I will take the vote today as a vote of confidence in
the government's policies.  The government will move forward with this, and
later today we will issue the official invitation to the imperial family.

'If they decide to return, we will begin the process of modifying the
constitution in such a manner as to preserve parliamentary and elected power
while installing them in a constitutional and ceremonial manner as head of
state."  As his voice died away, Dirma looked around at the assembled
delegates and took his seat to applause from his benches and silence from
the opposition.

-------------
Later that day
--------------

"...And so, Ethiopia officially invites the former Imperial family to come
back to Ethiopia to serve in a constitutional and ceremonial manner
consistent with our culture and traditions."  Dirma Zembagis stepped down
from the platform at the media conference and began moving through the crowd
shaking hands and talking to various personalities and journalists.  After
getting out of the crowd he got into his limo and left, off to his office,
there to wait for the response.

-----------------------

Actions:
1] Issue the invitation to the imperial family.
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From michael.brittain at blueyonder.co.uk  Sat Jul 18 16:36:48 2009
From: michael.brittain at blueyonder.co.uk (Michael Brittain)
Date: Sat, 18 Jul 2009 21:36:48 +0100
Subject: [War] UK 2013
Message-ID: <019701ca07e7$792d4450$6401a8c0@MICHAELB>

Country long name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Head of State: HM Queen Elizabeth II
Head of Government: Prime Minister Jonathon Campbell
Population: 64, 127, 666
GDP (PPP): $2.231 trillion
GDP (PPP) per capita: $38, 523
Unemployment: 7.1%.
Economic Growth: 2.0 %

Political Landscape

The United Kingdom entered an era of political turmoil toward the end of the Brown Government, and the Labour party promptly imploded during a heavy election defeat at the hands of David Cameron's conservatives in 2010. The Tories gained a majority of 78 in the House of Commons, with notable ministers losing their seats, including Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling. Gordon Brown promptly resigned as labour leader, and Cameron formed his government in May of 2010, seemingly ending the turmoil. During his first year as Prime Minister, Cameron led a government that set out to tackle the effects of the economic downturn. He froze public spending and introduced tax cuts for businesses and national insurance contributions for the poorest earners. These measures helped to help boost the economy somewhat, although he stopped short of tighter banking legislation, which drew fierce criticism. 

 

Cameron enjoyed quite a high popularity during his first year in power, but his political 'honeymoon' was coming toward its end fast. Cameron was embroiled in a sleaze scandal not of his own making; a number of prominent Tory ministers were caught taking payments to favour certain construction contracts in various government departments. The allegations were made by a tabloid newspaper that had been investigating the ministers for quite some time, believing them all to be taking significant 'consultancy fees' for companies that later were awarded successful construction contracts by the government. Calls for their immediate sacking heaped pressure on the Prime Minister, who saw the individuals involved as loyal to his leadership and important to keep on side, despite the allegations. Following a police investigation, two junior ministers were removed from their positions to face charges, yet, surprisingly, no evidence was found, nor any charges brought against any senior ministers believed to be involved. The ministers involved were 'moved up stairs' and not publicly sacked, which sparked outrage and caused further disenchantment of the electorate to the government. Many saw it as Cameron simply refusing to believe that they had done anything wrong, and while no charges were eventually brought against them, many in the public domain saw it as down right incompetence by the ministers at best, illegal and corruption at the worst.

 

The senior civil servant that leaked the information to the press was subsequently removed from his position. This further fuelled public outrage as the entire investigation was seen as a white wash, harassed and blocked by the PM's office as much as possible. One senior police officer even commented off record that senior ministers had hindered the investigation, but stopped short of naming the Prime Minister nor any individual ministers. The revelations came during a particularly bad week for the Prime Minister when his dealings of foreign affairs were under scrutiny following the attempted murder of a British diplomat in Russia. His unpopularity was further compounded when he refused a public sector pay rise, causing mass protests by the unions. Pressure mounted for him to resign from inside his own party as systematic blunders from his cabinet led him to be seen as a PM losing his grip. His ability to carry on finally came to end after he suffered a heart attack and underwent a triple heart by pass, just months after disastrous local election results. On the 17th June 2012, Cameron resigned as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party. He cited personal reasons and losing the support of his party as the main reasons.

 

George Osbourne, the former Chancellor, facing little opposition from a Conservative party in disarray, was elected as Tory leader and thus Prime Minister. Cameron's resignation came amidst a backdrop of political turmoil, not just in the UK, but also across the world. The British population feared for their future, particularly with three Prime Ministers in as many years. Sleaze, scandal, and weak governments had led to a strong erosion of trust in the British political system. People were losing interest and fast becoming cynical about government in general. The attempted assassination of Queen Elizabeth sparked outrage, and publicly unsettling many in the government and population. The incident shook the UK to its core, with the unthinkable very nearly happening. Stephen Briggs, a police officer in the Queens protection detail that gave his life to save Her Majesty, was awarded a state funeral and the Queens Police Medal for bravery. A manhunt for the assassin was underway, eventually leading to a mentally disturbed member of the Republic movement, Michael Drake, who was arrested and charged with the attempted assassination and murder of PC Briggs. He was sentenced to 80 years on the 25th November 2012. The aftermath of the attempted assassination left the republican movement in disarray.  It became political dangerous to be known as a Republican, and the attacks were portrayed by many (not least by Buckingham Palace) as an attack against Britain and the British way of life, rather than against the monarchy itself. This led to an upsurge in support for the monarchy, particularly with political scandals appearing annually in the new.  Many people respected more deeply the Queens position above politics, giving people a figurehead and a non-political institution that could be looked up to.

 

Labour leader Jonathon Campbell, former Treasury minister and outspoken critic of Cameron's 'lacklustre' policies and lack of presence on the international stage, challenged the government to call an election. He proposed tougher action on corrupt MPs, promising to put pride back into the country. A moderate member of the Labour Party and self-confessed former Blairite, he backed plans to increase public spending because of economic recovery, and proposed far-reaching reforms to public services. Osbourne, faced with a troubled, short premiership felt he was left with little choice but to go to the electorate, and the result was far from surprising. He failed to turn the tide of public opinion against the Tories, with his plans for tighter budget restrictions forcing voters back to Labour. In reality, the tight control of the budget that Osbourne had overseen as Chancellor had helped put the British economy back on track, but the lack of investment in health care and education left them deeply unpopular, with some services said to be "crumbling".  The Tory party was rattled and becoming increasingly deeply unpopular by the day, and when pitted against a much likeable Labour party, it was no surprise they lost the general election. 

 

Jonathon Campbell was elected as the next Prime Minister at the age of 46 on the back of a 38-seat majority in the commons in September of 2012, but the general election campaign propelled the Labour party into further debt. With the party having to come to terms with weaker links with the trade unions, especially after New Labour governments, it would become a very difficult balancing act to satisfy the unions to maintain funding their essential funding, while pushing through more left of centre policies. 

 

Campbell's initial few months in power were successful, maintaining his lead in opinion polls and building support by championing tougher policies on immigration and foreign affairs. Education and the NHS remain big political issues to the public, and it is unclear how Campbell's plan to expand the 'internal market' of the NHS will be perceived. An initial opponent of University top up fees, Campbell has recently conceded it is too late to scrap them.

Economics

 

The UK remains a leading trading power and financial centre. Having suffered from the global credit crunch, the economy has since late 2012 started to show significant improvements in growth. The economy stagnated for a number of years after the banking crisis, forcing the Cameron government to lower taxes and public spending. This, alongside a global recovery, helped encourage growth, resulting in the growth figures for 2012 to be an encouraging 2.0%. Unemployment has begun to climb down since the recovery, but is still relatively high at 7.1%. The UK's economy remains mainly service based, representing 81% of employment, with industry sectors still to recover fully from the recession, representing a mere 18.4%. Britain's rapid decline in manufacturing over the late twentieth century continued into the 21st, with the industry suffering at the hands of the cheap labour abroad. 

 

Although the economic policies of the Brown government helped stabilise the banking system resulting in a part nationalisation of the banks, they also plunged the UK into record levels of debt, an issue that remained a high priority for successive governments. Government debt has been tackled by a freeze of public spending and forcing the budget into a surplus. Budgetary decisions made in the later years of Cameron's premiership did prove increasingly unpopular, with limited investment in public services, but succeeded in bringing down national debt levels. 

 

Both Cameron and more recently Campbell have brought forward major building projects, injecting cash to redevelop poorer areas to help boost employment. The defence review conducted in 2010 recommended major improvements and procurement options, resulting in further building projects to help defence firms and ship builders, boosting employment levels. Tax cuts for the manufacturing and exports industries hope to fuel growth in these industries. Investment in new technologies is a priority for Campbell's government, believing it necessary to keep the UK economy competitive.

 

The result of the 2010 strategic defence review called for greater shipbuilding and defence procurement over the next decade. The investment boosted areas of the economy significantly, with lucrative contracts awarded to British contractors in the aerospace and ship building industries, which were previously flagging and forcing redundancies. The review advised that wherever possible British contractors be used, and with the hope that Commonwealth nations may be interested in certain military hardware.

 

Social Issues
 

A controversial topic in Britain is immigration. Waves of migrant workers from Eastern Europe fuelled resentment from British workers, rightly or wrongly, as they were seen to be taking up jobs during a recession. The British public, although tolerant of migrants and different cultures, are concerned with the political implications of such unregulated immigration from Eastern Europe. People are concerned with the pressures placed on the health and emergency services, schools and housing. Crime is another loosely related issue, and the influx of firearms and drugs brought into the UK by a very small minority of Easter Europeans. Successive governments have gone to great lengths to combat organised crime, gang culture and knife crime.

 

The UK's large social security bills are thought to be facing cuts; an unusual target for a Labour government. Social security payments remained relatively untouched during Cameron's premiership due to the high levels of unemployment, coupled with a higher percentage of families below the poverty line, however it is thought that Campbell wants to redirect money to schemes to help get people back into work and in the process lower expenditure and unemployment.  

Defence

 

There was a significant watershed moment in the outlook on defence policy and spending in 2010 when a group of former military officers, families of dead and injured soldiers and various military charities challenged the government in the High Court over incompetence in the procurement of personal safety equipment and land vehicles. They felt current provisions were unsafe and unsatisfactory, alongside a lack of basic equipment and logistic support. The case centred on equipment lacking in important safety features due to 'cut backs' which many people believed had led to unnecessary deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although legally the case did little and was thrown out due to a lack of evidence, the wider public reaction was huge, particularly as the issue had been simmering for a long time. The people involved in the case knew that the it would most likely not get far, but they saw it primarily as an opportunity and as a publicity stunt to bring the issue to the forefront to ensure the British Armed Forces were properly equipped. 

 

People, both civilians and military personnel, had for a while known of harsh cut backs in defence spending as successive governments squeezed the budget, despite expanding commitments abroad. There was anger directed toward the Cameron government as the movement spread (most notably with a number of celebrity endorsements), and the government were forced to conduct a wholesale review of the armed forces. Many in government saw this as a crossroads in Britain's future as a world player; either cut the military capability of the UK and retire gracefully as a global power, particularly considering the military spending of China and the rise in defence spending globally, or authorise significant investment in the armed forces to protect the UK's interests and position in the world.

 

The government chose the latter, authorising a ?38.5 Billion procurement plan over and above the defence budget spread over the next 12years (amounting to roughly ?3-5B a year), and increased the defence budget to 3.3% of GDP from 2.6%. A cross party committee was set up to guide investment, resulting in the 'Strategic Defence Review'. The review called for increases in manpower, better pay and better accommodation to all three services, most notably the British Army (up 30,000 by 2016) due to their continued role in peacekeeping deployments around the world. Procurement for suitable army equipment, from improved clothing to a better standard of armoured vehicle and military hardware, was a great relief to generals. A significant upgrade in the technological capabilities of all three services was called for. The senior service, the Royal Navy, was rewarded with a DD/FF fleet requirement of 40 to be met by the end of the decade, increasing the number of Type 45 destroyers in service to 14 (all entering service by 2016). The capability and strength of the RN was viewed as essential for the UK to respond rapidly and decisively in the event of conflict. Proposals to build a third and final CVF aircraft carrier, the King George VI, to complement the two carriers due in service by 2015 is currently open to debate, with successive governments yet to give their approval. Procurement for 15 astute class submarines was given the green light to replace all existing nuclear attack submarines by 2018, as well as an order placed for a second helicopter carrier/amphibious assault to enter service by 2018. Design work on the Future Surface Combatant, the replacement for the 13 Type 23 frigates and 4 Type 22 frigates, was completed in early 2012 and orders placed for an initial 20 units, eventually rising to 24. The ships are planned to be similar in design to the Type 45 destroyer weighing in at about 6,500 tones, with improved anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare, and considerable land attack capabilities. The first of these new ships is due to enter sea trials by early 2016, with the last batch estimated to be in service 2028. The Royal Air Force was given a moderate increase in manpower and investment in its strategic lift capabilities, purchasing a further 10 C17 aircraft before the Boeing production line closed. Options exist to place further orders (roughly  80-100) for the F35 Joint Strike Fighter subject to government approval, but the most pressing procurement was an increase in helicopter numbers for both the RAF and Army Air Corps to assist ground forces. The RAF is also likely to see a further improvement in its strategic life capabilities.

 

The upshot of the defence review was a greater capability of the British Armed forces, putting to an end the chronic under funding of successive governments. The aim was to enhance the UK's position as a leading military power, hoping to ensure its power projection capabilities remained one of the best in the world- although this remains a difficult challenge with the rise in defence spending globally. The review recognised that although significant areas were to be improved, the UK would never be able to compete with other nations purely on a numerical basis, but instead called for increased technological advances in cooperation with Europe and the United States to maintain an advantage. Furthermore, a decision to replace Trident by 2018 was approved initially by Tony Blair and by the three successive governments, and is currently on time, albeit slightly over budget.

Foreign Relations

The UK has remained relatively quiet as of late, still recovering, both politically and militarily from its commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq. Foreign relations with the European Union turned frosty during David Cameron's premiership, with his weird and often strange alliances with fringe parties in the European Parliament. Despite this, the UK has tried to maintain close relations with the rest of Europe, but with France and Germany in particular. The UK has sought to increase economic and military cooperation, believing that any future crisis, either economically or militarily will be better solved either in a coalition or with the EU. 

 

Trans-Atlantically, Britain's relationship with the United States has come under scrutiny from the British public, concerned by being viewed as an unequal partner in the "Special Relationship". British politicians of late have attempted to redress the balance, while maintaining the high levels of cooperation militarily and in intelligence circles, the current government hope to continue and increase such levels of cooperation, although not at its own expense. 

 

The UK also maintains close ties with some of the commonwealth, most noticeably Canada, Australia and New Zealand, hoping to increase its military exports to those countries in particular.
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From Chazenesq2b at aol.com  Sat Jul 18 23:51:38 2009
From: Chazenesq2b at aol.com (Chazenesq2b at aol.com)
Date: Sat, 18 Jul 2009 23:51:38 EDT
Subject: [War] China:  "The Many Faces of Xia Hong"
Message-ID: <cb6.53807537.3793f24a@aol.com>

 
"The Many Faces of Xia Hong"
 
President Xia Hong
The People's Republic of China
20, January 2013
=================================================
 
(The Executive Residence, The People's Estate in Beijing)
 
President Xia Hong was a different person depending on whom you asked, so  
different that it was quite easy to assume that there had to be more than  
one.
 
To the Democratists, where secretly her own political allegiance lay, she  
was the great hope for an end to centralized Tyranny and the institution of  
truly democratic, free ideals.  The Democratists had recently won  
recognition as a 'Sanctioned Political Activists Group", a title and designation  
Xia herself had designed and fought for passage in the PNC and by President  
Jintao years ago.
 
To the Hardliner Communists, Xia represented a throw back to the  past.  
She was her grandfather's grand daughter, the kind of person that  could 
restore order.  She might have been a Commissar (which meant she had  been 
educated in the 'traditional' fashion, always a good thing so they  thought) but 
her military jacket was impressive: she'd participated in the  transition in 
Hong Kong, and two tours as part of a special civil affairs envoy  in Tibet. 
 Before her military career was over, she was the spokeswoman for  the 2nd 
Artillery, and thus could understand the enormity of such  situations.
 
To women, she was a symbol of independence and strength, qualities admired  
in the portion of her heritage that was American, but no so much in the 
Sino  tradition.  This was the chance to change what was 'socially acceptable' 
in  China.  The funeral ceremony for dearly departed Wen was still fresh in 
the  minds of many... sad thing that.
 
To traditionalists, she represented the virtues adored in Chinese women  
from the dawn of time.  She was quiet, contemplative, had been a devoted  wife 
and an even more devoted mother; the way a proper woman should be.
 
There was a great power with being so many things to so many people.   The 
power that came with unity.  This didn't mean that Xia was deaf to the  
problems that came with playing so many roles, she had to walk extremely  
carefully in her public life; and as President that public life was your  'entire' 
life.  There wasn't a moment when you weren't on call... it's why  so many 
aged so horribly while in office.
 
And now, the woman who was the product of an American translator and a  
Chinese diplomatic attache, became the first occupant of the publicly dedicated 
 People's Estate, facing a wealth of economic, social, and political  
concerns.  She'd been a driving force behind 'the Quiet Revolution' which  saw a 
transition of power from the hard-core communist party to her more main  
stream realists; slowly but surely picking away at the restrictions on religion 
 and speech.  Her grandfather had been a driving force behind the  
modernization of China's military, a legacy which she saw fit to continue.   Then 
there was the eventual transition to a multi-party system which was coming  in 
fact if not in name; already the Communist Party had so many splits and 
sects  within it that it was barely recognizable as a single party.
 
Xia had a Ph.D. in Political Science, and if she stopped objectively to  
look where her country had come, from where it was in the days of Mao back 
when  her Grandfather was a young man, to now, it was impossible not to be 
proudly  awed by the successes they've made.  The tensions over Saipan had been  
judiciously managed, the world's largest population successfully 
transferred  over to a free market, and China had gone from a backwoods, old country 
to a  modern, youthful, regional power house and only 'real' potential rival 
to the  American hegemon.  The relationship with America had too been very  
carefully managed; they were not enemies, but both nations knew, and 
expected,  the other would act in its own interests whether they were the same or  
not.
 
"This is the main office, Madame President."  Her chief aide, Aaryn  Hue, a 
school friend and long time civil servant gave a small smile.  Every  
President had to get a tutorial, and Aaryn had started her new job six months  
early, when construction was still under way, just to prepare for this  
moment.  "Again, all communications are secured through the classified  executive 
network system, a PLA cyber-security unit is on hand along with  civilian 
computer and IT specialists to give you any assistance you may need..."  Aaryn 
watched Xia take her first few steps into the red and gold bow style room,  
immediately heading for the window.  "Incredible view, isn't it?"
 
"Breathtaking."  Xia murmured, a smile plastered onto her lips.   Though 
she couldn't see them, she knew that in secret locations out there were  
Executive Security Service members, Snipers, sharp shooters, sub-machine  
gunners, with the uniformed division standing out in the most visible areas, but  
although those bushes and trees may have concealed armed personnel, from 
where  she was they were as beautiful and gorgeous as any she'd seen in her 
entire  life.  
 
"Well then Madame President, I'll let you get settled in."
 
"Xia to you, Aaryn."  President Hong smiled.  "At least when  we're alone.  
You know me too well to call me anything else."
 
Aaryn returned her former roommates grin.  "Your schedule is available  on 
your computer as soon as you log in.  Your first security briefing is in  
one hour, a visit to the National Congress is scheduled for this afternoon at  
1:00 PM, and there is a reception scheduled tonight for the leaders of the  
PNC, ranking justices, and high officials and foreign dignitaries.  I will  
be available at about 5:00 to help you with your make up and dress."
 
That's when she would have to pull out her many masks, greeting different  
parts of her world in different ways.  But for now, she was content with  
just being where she was.  Xia took a deep breath... in five years the air  in 
Beijing had become considerably cleaner thanks to the Green City 
initiative,  but even if she was in a smoke filled bar she knew it would be just as  
refreshing.
 
In a few hours she would have to play masquerade ball, for now however she  
could be just herself.

**************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy 
steps! 
(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1222377099x1201454424/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072&hmpgID=62&bcd=
JulystepsfooterNO62)
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From ssiruuk25 at yahoo.com  Sun Jul 19 21:28:49 2009
From: ssiruuk25 at yahoo.com (Dan Garcia)
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:28:49 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [War] Italy 2013
Message-ID: <790791.26915.qm@web65601.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>


Italian Republic
Head of State:President Giorgio Napolitano (term ends in May 2013)
Head of Government:Prime Minister Lazaro Magnano
Population:58,024,555
GDP (PPP):$1.729 Trillion
GDP (PPP) per capita:$29,808.82
GDP:?1.452 Trillion
GDP per capita:?25,029.67
Unemployment:10.1%
Economic Growth:1.1% (Jan. 2012 to Jan. 2013)

(OOC:  I couldn't resist.  WAR is crack.)

Political Landscape:

The Berlusconi government, peppered by scandals, managed to teeter onwards in part due to Berlusconi's remarkable political resilience and in part due to the lack of an opposition leader who could garner sufficient support to topple the Berlusconi government's coalition.  However, the ongoing scandals involving Berlusconi were a constant distraction and prevented any coherent national policy making as time passed.

The ongoing economic malaise in which Italy found itself, compounded by the Panic of 2008 and the severe recession which followed, began shifting the political landscape beneath the feet of the established players.  In particular, the rising unemployment rate - peaking at 11.6% in April 2010 - inflamed an already growing anti-immigrant sentiment among the electorate.  The August 22nd, 2011 terrorist attacks in Rome, widely blamed on Libyan immigrants, were for many Italians the final straw in the status quo with regard to immigration.  The Northern League, already positioning itself as tough on immigration, used the aftermath of the bombings to enhance their political prestige and popularity.

The August 2011 terrorist attacks also were the beginning of the end for the Berlusconi government.  Though the initial aftermath was handled as well as possible by Berlusconi and his government in public, his government naturally came in for criticism.  However, what only slowly began to become apparent was that in private Berlusconi and several of his associates had expressed much more glib responses to the terrorist attack.  Finally, in May 2012 it was revealed that in the immediate aftermath of the attacks Berlusconi had, despite the national emergency and fear among the populace, declined to cancel a previously planned party at his home in Sardinia.  This was the last straw for the Italian populace.

What followed for much of the summer was political deadlock.  The opposition Democratic Party was unable to topple the government, partly due to an unwillingness to face an early election quite yet due to their perceived weakness over the immigration issue which threatened to hurt their chances at winning an early election.  Delaying the election and letting the Berlusconi coalition self-destruct seemed to be the more prudent course.  Meanwhile, the Berlusconi coalition was paralyzed by a struggle for the leadership, with the Northern League and Movement for Autonomy proving quite intransigent while currying favor for the elections which everyone knew must eventually come.

By September 4th, 2012, Paolo Tartaglia emerged as the head of the People of Freedom party and head of the governing coalition.  Tartaglia was a man with a clean record, and had got the job by being the least offensive candidate.  Three days later, hoping to ingratiate himself with the electorate, he called elections for December 3rd.

It quickly became apparent that the foremost issue on the minds of the Italian people was immigration and immigrants.  The opposition was generally unable to put forth a coherent position on this matter due to a conflict between the politically expedient desire to pander to the electorate on the issue and the wide spread view that the parties of the left, to the extent that they weren't willing to look the other way on immigration completely, had no stomach for any major action to halt immigration and deal with the large number of illegal immigrants in the country.  For Tartaglia's part, being inoffensive in a most general sense he was also unable to put forth a strong immigration platform that the electorate could like, unwilling as he was to offend those who were more moderate on the issue.

In the end, it was the regionalist parties, in particular the Northern League and to a lesser extent the Movement for Autonomy, who benefited.  The result favored Tartaglia's coalition, however the balance of power within the coalition had shifted significantly away from the People of Freedom party.  The Northern League under Angelo Alessandri, sensing a rare moment of advantage, refused to support Tartaglia as Prime Minister in the new parliament, demanding that he himself should take the office.

Intense negotiations followed, and it quickly became clear that neither the soft Tartaglia nor the regionalist Alessandri would be acceptable as Prime Minister.  To be able to form a government that could claim a national mandate and to recognize the fact that the People of Freedom party was still the largest in the coalition and the only coalition member which could claim a national base of support, the new Prime Minister would need to come from the larger party.  To fulfill the coalition's electoral mandate to find a solution to the immigration problem and to assure the support of the regionalist parties, the new Prime Minister would need to be anti-immigration and in favor of limiting the size of the central government.  All these caveats ruled out essentially all the coalition leadership.

On January 5th, 2013, Lazaro Magnano, a long-time member of the People of Freedom party from Genoa, former American hedge fund manager, and of late a major advocate of strong anti-immigration policies was agreed upon to be the new Prime Minister.

Election Results for December 3rd, 2012:
Senate:
Governing Coalition:People of Freedom:  121; Northern League:  50; Other:  19;  TOTAL:  190 (+12)
Opposition:  Democratic Party:  107;  Other:  18;TOTAL:  125 (-12)
Chamber of Deputies:
Governing Coalition:People of Freedom:  210; Northern League:  118; Other:  53;  TOTAL:  381 (+34)
Opposition:  Democratic Party:  177;  Other:  72;TOTAL:  223 (-34)


Economics:

For years, and in particular since the adoption of the euro over the lira, Italy has been mired in an economic malaise.  Unable to boost growth via its traditional method of devaluing its currency, economic growth had been tepid during the latest global expansion.  Moreover, there had grown to be widespread discontent over increased prices in Italy, partly attributed to the adoption of the euro.  In general, the Italian economy had increasingly been a source of discontent for the Italian people even before the Panic of 2008.

The Panic of 2008 and the onset of the global recession hit Italy hard.  As the mainstay of the Italian economy was the manufacture by small and medium size firms of consumer goods, and in particular luxury brands whose sales suffered greatly in the recession, the recession hit the Italian economy hard.  The only countervailing force was that the Italian banking system was not affect by dubious loan practices to the extent of Great Britain or the United States.

The government was forced to walk a fine line on fiscal matters, with limited ability to provide a fiscal stimulus due to high government debt, already above 100% of GDP.  The government's lack of strong measures to restore the economy led to some unpopularity.  However, as the economy had been faring less than splendidly over the past decade through governments of the left and right, as well as the lack of any coherent or plausible alternative from the opposition, this was not enough to affect the political landscape.

Moreover, the recession has exacerbated several other economic problems.  It is widely believed that the underground economy has grown relative to the rest of the economy during the recession as people try to avoid high taxes and other onerous restrictions.  In the south, poorer than the north the pinch has strengthened the hand of the mafia moderately.  However, the south, being more predominately agricultural, was also less affected by the recession.


Social Issues:

The predominant social issue of recent years in Italy has been problems perceived to be caused by immigration, in particular but not solely illegal immigration.  Real and imagined increases in crime have largely been blamed on immigrants.  Moreover, immigrants have been accused of taking jobs from Italians and lowering prevailing wages by working for less.  This concern has been particularly prevalent since the beginning of the recession.

As Italy is a major entry point for illegal immigrants into Europe, a great deal of debate has focused on how to deal with illegal immigrants who are caught before landing in Italy, or shortly after landing.  Many times countries of origin are reluctant to take back illegal immigrants who have been caught.  Proposals for increased border controls and other enforcement efforts have not made much progress for various reasons, largely political waffling.  

The result has been growing intolerance of foreigners, mostly non-Europeans.  This has manifested not only in political developments but in every day life.  The lives of immigrants, particularly Africans, has become more difficult, and discrimination has become widespread.

There are, however, other issues.  The public health care system is widely regarded as of poor quality and badly in need of reform.  As with much of the rest of the developed world, the social safety net is underfunded over the long term, not leastwise due to tepid population growth leading to an aging population and workforce.


Defense:

The Italian defense establishment has, over the past few years, lost ground compared to its European counterparts as many other European nations have begun to deepen and expand their support for their militaries.  This has not gone unnoticed by the Italian people, and those who lean rightwards politically have begun to vocalize discontent at this matter.  There is broad support for some expansion in the military's resources, particularly given the possible use in helping combat the immigration problem.  There is also a little bit of pride at stake, though cynical, largely American observers have remarked that perhaps the only military with a worse record of military defeat than France is Italy.

Like the other major European powers, Italy has been slowly reforming its military to deal with more expeditionary warfare than the home defense mindset nurtured during the Cold War.  However, Italy has to date failed to make the same investments in amphibious vessels and strategic transport aircraft that many other nations have made and which are seen to be important assets in the new strategic position of Europe.  Otherwise, modernization has moved forward inertially, with the Eurofighter, F-35, surface combatants, and armored vehicle programs begun in the last decade coming to fruition.


Foreign Relations:

The recent years have been a quiescent time in Italian foreign relations owing largely to a focus on domestic problems and weak governments.  With the successful end of international activities in Iraq and then Afghanistan, the presence of Italians abroad has decreased substantially.

The failure of the Lisbon Treaty in the second Irish referendum in late 2009 left the European Union fumbling for a way forward.  The Italian government, itself under pressure domestically and with the increasing influence of the Northern League and other regionalists, has been at best tepid in its support of further progress and has even begun to question the heavy bureaucratic burden increasingly being hoisted by the EU over the member states.  This stance was reverted somewhat during the brief Tartaglia government, but this was more due to Tartaglia's personal leanings than the political realities.  With the dominant political issue being immigration, and those parties who are in a position to benefit from this are more Eurosceptic, the Italian influence on European policy going forward is expected to be less warm.

With events in Afghanistan eventually working in the favor of the NATO forces in the country, Italian relations with and feelings toward NATO are on a positive trend.  A slight mitigating factor was the dispute over the use of Italian - among other nations' - troops in a combat role.  The Italian government never officially authorized the use of Italian troops in combat operations, but unofficially Italian troops eventually did take part in combat operations, after pressure from the Americans and to a lesser extent the British.  Italy also quietly managed to send, with American assistance, more helicopters for use by NATO troops.  Despite the frictions involved in all this, success is a remarkable tonic.  Moreover, after years of government under Berlusconi, a notably pro-American leader, Italy has grown closer to the United States again.


Timeline:

August 22nd, 2011 - Terrorist attacks in Rome kill 35 and injure 68.  The landmarks of Rome receive, fortunately, little major damage.
May 14th, 2012 - It is revealed that Prime Minister Berlusconi had left Rome shortly after the August 2011 bombing to attend a previously scheduled private party.
September 4th, 2012 - Paolo Tartaglia becomes Prime Minister after succeeding to the leadership of the governing coalition.  Three days later, elections are scheduled.
December 3rd, 2012 - Elections return the governing coalition, but with a weakened People of Freedom party and a vastly more powerful Northern League, shifting the balance of power in the governing coalition.
January 5th, 2013 - Lazaro Magnano becomes Prime Minister after intense, month-long negotiations.

Short Biography of Lazaro Magnano:

Born November 12th, 1964 in Genoa to a well-to-do family of traders, largely involved in exporting, or assisting in the exporting, of the luxury goods manufactured by Italy's famous small and medium sized businesses.  Traveling with his father and the rest of his family on business trips across the world, Lazaro gained a knack for languages, and is particularly fluent in English and Japanese.  He was also exposed early on to the international currency market, part of his father's side of the family business.  All the traveling Lazaro did meant that his eduction was largely, though not exclusively, through tutors and home schooling.

While Lazaro's father generally kept his family with him, he was a stern man.  Thus, between the father and children there was something of a chill in their relations, and Lazaro in particular ended up with some of the same stern quality and a deadpan sense of humor.  Lazaro's siblings would end up rebelling against their father and would generally be much more free-wheeling than either Lazaro or his father.

When the time came for university, Lazaro attended the University of Chicago starting in 1982, and graduated in 1986 with a BA in Economics.  He spent his summers interning with his father, an experience which would open a door in currency trading after graduation.  After several years in New York, working in various currency trading related hedge funds, he and a group of others began a fund of their own in 1989, Lazaro partly soliciting funding from his family.

The fund was a success, and grew rapidly.  By the mid-1990's the fund had begun to diversify and became involved in the dot-com Boom of the late 1990's.  However, beginning in July 1999, Lazaro became worried that stocks were badly overvalued, noting the inability of many of the "New Economy" companies to earn revenue nonetheless turn a profit.  The other fund managers dismissed his worries, and by the end of October Lazaro had sold his stake in the fund, and moved his assets to what he deemed safer investments.  By Christmas he was looking foolish, as the NASDAQ market had risen by 50%.  To his friends, he outwardly admitted he had been foolish, but at the family home in Italy over the holidays he privately admitted he had no regrets:  the fall would be all the much harder.  By the end of 2001, he had been proven quite correct.

Meanwhile, in 1996 he had married Frances de Giusti, a hospital administrative worker whose family had moved to the United States shortly after her birth.  Five years his junior and from a less privileged background than Lazaro, the marriage raised some eyebrows at the time, but was a happy one.

2001 was a pivotal year for Lazaro.  He largely spent the year playing the market with his own funds and doing quite well.  He gave advice, for a price, to other managers, but it became increasingly clear that he was retired from the world of high finance.  By the middle of the year, he was contemplating moving back to Italy permanently, as opposed to the irregular time he had spent there since entering college.  In the end, events made the decision for him.  On the morning of September 11th, Lazaro had left one meeting and was walking over to the World Trade Center for his main meeting of the day when American Airlines Flight 11 crashes into the north tower of the World Trade Center.  Lazaro was wounded in the arm by falling debris, and was still nearby when the towers fell later in the morning.  He moved back to Italy with his wife by the end of October.

Shortly after arriving back in Italy, Lazaro began to involve himself in politics, joining the Forza Italia party.  His first involvement in government was advising the Department of the Treasury on public debt auctions, leading to a slight lowering of the interest rate on new government debt.  Much of Lazaro's time during this period was spent networking and building a political position.  His first election was in the European Parliamentary elections in 2004 when he stood for a seat.  Though he lost, he campaigned hard and made a good impression.

He stood for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies in the 2006 general election and managed to win.  He quickly distinguished himself by his attention to detail and his skewering of any argument he saw as vacuous or misleading.  When the People of Freedom party, formed from among others the old Forza Italia party, returned to power in 2008, Lazaro became an Undersecretary of the Economy and Finance.

On August 22nd, 2011, Lazaro was present with his wife having a pleasant breakfast in the Piazza della Rotunda in front of the Pantheon when a terrorist bomb exploded in the plaza, killing and wounding many.  Lazaro was slightly injured in the thigh by a small piece of shrapnel, but helped organize the scene, which resulted in his first real national media exposure.  In November 2011, he was picked to be Minister for Economic Development, the previous holder stepping down in the aftermath of the terrorist attack as scandal enveloped the government.  

One evening after Christmas but before the beginning of 2012, Lazaro and Frances were jogging together near their home in Genoa when they were mugged by a pair of African immigrants.  Lazaro resisted, and one of the assailants produced a gun and fired it at Lazaro.  The shot missed him, but instead struck his wife.  The sounds of the struggle and the gunshot brought assistance, but by the time Frances arrived at the hospital, she was too far gone.  In a final element of tragedy, Lazaro and Frances had been trying to conceive for over a decade, and had finally started fertility treatments.  At the hospital it was discovered that the treatments had been effective:  Frances had been pregnant.

The next day, before the press, Lazaro attacked the status quo in immigration policy.  "It is estimated that there are approximately half a million people living in Italy illegally.  That is half a million people who are breaking, disregarding the law.  Half a million souls fed into the black economy.  They are allowed all the amenities of citizenship when their very presence undermines the foundation upon which that citizenship is built.  And all we do is warn them to leave, or fine them, or perhaps detain them for a while.  We have let a situation develop to unsustainable proportions.  Either our laws, our society must give way or we must stand strong, and act to end the tide, the scourge of illegal immigration."

From that point, and through the next year's political battles, Lazaro came to the forefront of the immigration debate, favoring stringent anti-illegal immigration measures at the border and at home.  It was this that helped make him acceptable to the Northern League as Prime Minister.



From ssiruuk25 at yahoo.com  Mon Jul 20 20:31:31 2009
From: ssiruuk25 at yahoo.com (Dan Garcia)
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:31:31 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [War] Italy:  Midway Upon the Road of Our Life
Message-ID: <150568.36427.qm@web65601.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>


"Italy:  Midway Upon the Road of Our Life"
Prime Minister Lazaro Magnano
Italian Republic
20 January 2013

The sirens wailed as Lazaro clutched his wife Frances as the life drained out of her.  The sirens were loud.

The sirens weren't sirens.

Lazaro opened his eyes as the alarm clock continued to blare.  He laid there, staring at the ceiling, mentally shifting past the events of just over a year ago and pushing towards the present, towards wakefulness.  After about a minute, he sat up, and began to prepare for the day.  Half an hour later he was behind his desk, reading the various news clippings and briefings which had been collated overnight to get him prepared for his day.

After a while there was a knock on the door, and after a moment Giulio Amici, Undersecretary of State to the Prime Minister and Secretary of the Council of Ministers, and not coincidentally Lazaro's chief assistant, entered.  He was a shortish, stocky man with a smile never far from his face, and indeed he was wearing one now.  Lazaro's own face lightened noticeably at that.

"The fires are out my friend," Giulio said, dropping himself unceremoniously in a chair.

"That's good to hear," Lazaro said impassively, shoveling another spoonful of cereal into his mouth.  "Despite his reputation, Tartaglia wasn't an incompetent politician, and he had a good amount of support."

"You sure it was wise giving him the Foreign Affairs portfolio," Giulio asked with a sideways glance.

"It's never any good antagonizing people if you don't really have to," Lazaro said, still eating.  He then gestured with his spoon.  "It's better to have Tartaglia part of the team, to have him invested in the Government instead of being outside it and thus scheming against it.  Besides, he makes for a good face for Italy in foreign affairs.  I think he'll do good with the Foreign Affairs Ministry."

Giulio nodded, not entirely convinced.  But he then smiled.  It wasn't his place to argue, nor his problem if it went badly.

"Ah, but there's still the, as the Americans put it, elephant in the room.  Berlusconi may be old, he may be down on his fortunes, but he's still rich, he's still living well, and he's still quite influential," Giulio pointed out.  Berlusconi hadn't simply disappeared after his removal from the Premiership several months ago.  He had been marshaling his forces and rebuilding his reputation and influence.  He hadn't managed to be Prime Minister four times, including for one full Parliamentary term, without being quite resilient politically.  The past month and a half since the election and the slow formation of the new government had seen whispering along the sidelines about what Berlusconi would do.  Or what whoever became Prime Minister would have to do about Berlusconi.

"I've had some thoughts about that," Lazaro said, looking thoughtful.  Giulio waited for a continuation before gesturing humorously for Lazaro to continue.

"Well, it occurs to me that the next Presidential election is coming soon," Lazaro started.  "What better way to honor our old warhorse than to promote him?"

Giulio laughed at what Lazaro proposed.  He wasn't sure which was funnier:  the suggestion, or the seriousness with which Lazaro proposed it.  "The Democrats and their allies will never go for it.  For that matter, neither may our own coalition," Giulio said, still laughing.

"I don't know about that," Lazaro said, now finished with his breakfast.  "The Presidency is a largely ceremonial position.  In general, yes, people prefer someone more honorable in that office.  But Berlusconi has been in the past, and could still be going forward, a potent player.  I think people on both sides of the aisle can be made to see the benefit of gently nudging him out of the scene.  Or not, we shall see."



ACTIONS:

1)  Introduction.

2)  Discuss Berlusconi internally.  Very hush-hush.


From ssiruuk25 at yahoo.com  Tue Jul 21 22:07:26 2009
From: ssiruuk25 at yahoo.com (Dan Garcia)
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:07:26 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [War] Italy:  Problems with Obvious Solutions
Message-ID: <677401.80414.qm@web65615.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>


"Italy:  Problems with Obvious Solutions"
Prime Minister Lazaro Magnano
Italian Republic
23 January 2013

Lazaro stood at the podium, flanked by his Ministers of Justice and the Interior, Roberto Castelli and Angelo Alessandri respectively, both Northern League politicians.  Today, Lazaro's new government would begin its the process of attempting to enact its political agenda.  And there could be no better place to start than the item at the top of that agenda.


"The problem of illegal immigration," Lazaro began, "is one which undermines the fabric of our society.  No society can long be content or prosperous when the law is being ignored or flouted.  Those who come here without our permission are ignoring and flouting our law.  They are ignoring and flouting the will of the rightful citizens of our country.  And for all this, their punishment is minimal if they are punished at all.

"For our part, this is a problem we have let grow.  We have responded weakly.  We have implemented half-measures.  We have lacked the will to do what we as a nation felt that we should do, and so we have let the problem grow.

"There are some, many, who remain unwilling to take stern, effective measures to fight this problem.  They have, do, and will continue to argue that we should not respond to harshly out of compassion.  They will make arguments about human rights which supersede the law.  They will give a litany of reasons why our policies with regard to illegal immigration should be moderate and accommodating, why we should continue down the path we travel.

"I can not condone such arguments.  The luxury of indulging those who come here illegal was lost to us when they went from thousands to hundreds of thousands.  What was ignorable when the flow was but a trickle is no longer acceptable with a flood.

"Our laws exist for a reason, and though one may debate the merits of a given law, the law is the law, and it must be enforced.  It is the lack of enforcement of the law, the constant flouting of the law, the willingness to ignore the law in order to meet one's own ends which make the countries from which so many of our illegal immigrants have come such terrible places to live.  They come here to better their lives, but in the process do nothing but transport the very disease which has made their homelands' so unpalatable to our own doorstep.  The law must be obeyed if any society is to live in peace and prosperity.

"To this end, my government plans to introduce a series of measures aimed at ending, or at least vastly reducing, the problem of illegal immigration.

"First, the simplest way to deal with illegal immigrants is to never allow them in the country.  To that end, the government will propose an increase in patrols over the central Mediterranean, involving more patrol ships, unmanned aerial vehicles, and a better information infrastructure to locate and deal with people who are trying to reach Italy illegally.

"To go hand in hand with and increased frequency of patrols, the government will propose to no longer allow ships carrying illegals to make landfall in Italy.  Attempts to force Italian authorities to bring illegals to Italy, for instance by purposefully sinking their own ship, will no longer be allowed to facilitate their entrance into Italy, even if this means Italian patrol ships ferrying illegals back to their point of departure.  And even if, despite all the measures the Italian authorities enact to prevent illegals from making landfall, they will no longer be left or let free on Italian territory.

"Second, for those who do reach Italy or who are already here, the government will propose the summary deportation of those who can not prove the legality of their residence in Italy, or those caught in the act of successfully entering Italy illegally.  The administrative and judicial burden of dealing with illegal immigrants will be reduced to the bare minimum.  Illegal immigrants will not be allowed to hide behind endless administrative and judicial proceedings.

"Thirdly, to support the prior measures, the Italian government will propose to grant the police and Carabinieri the authority to actively seek out, arrest, and remove from the general population illegal immigrants.  All illegal immigrants in the possession of Italian authorities will not be placed in our prisons, but in special illegal immigration holding and processing facilities.  There their cases can be handled by specialized personnel and thus processed in a more expedited manner.

"Finally, and more generally, the Italian government will pursue measures which will make clear that illegal immigration is not welcome.  That those who attempt to come here illegally will not achieve their aims, and will not profit by the attempt."

"I now turn things over to Minister Alessandri who will discuss some of the Ministry of the Interior's proposals."


ACTIONS:

1)  Announce the beginning of a government push to implement drastically more stringent and severe measures to deal with illegal immigration.  The main tenets of the initial proposals are as below.

A)  Increased patrols by maritime and airborne assets to locate, stop, and do everything possible to turn back illegal immigrants on their way to Italy.

B)  Announce a policy aimed towards the deportation of illegal immigrants as soon as possible.  To that end, fast-tracked and streamlined procedures will be employed to deal with each case.

C)  It is proposed illegal immigrants on Italian territory be sent to special immigration processing centers and not be allowed to move freely on Italian territory.

Note that these proposals are in their initial stages, and at the moment the government is looking to gauge feedback before making the push to have these measures enacted into law.  Moreover, some of these measures (e.g. increasing the resources for patrol or actually setting up the immigration centers) will be dealt with separately, once the government has gauged feedback.

2)  In a more general sense, the Italian government aims to appear less appealing in the eyes of potential illegal immigrants.  Hopefully these skeleton proposals will start this process.


From michael.brittain at blueyonder.co.uk  Wed Jul 22 19:48:30 2009
From: michael.brittain at blueyonder.co.uk (Michael Brittain)
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:48:30 +0100
Subject: [War] UK:  Burning the Midnight Oil
Message-ID: <011401ca0b26$ec06eca0$6401a8c0@MICHAELB>

"UK:  Burning the Midnight Oil"
Prime Minister Jonathon Campbell
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
20 January 2013
------------------------------------------

"Prime Minister."

Pause.

"Mr Campbell."

Pause.

"Jonathon!" Jonathon nearly jumped out of his skin and opened his eyes,
looking up to see the figure of a slim, thirty something woman with long
dark hair looking down toward him. As his eyes adjusted to the now bright
lights of his office, the blur of a messy, paper-laden desk became clearer -
as did the figure at the end of the desk he recognised as Elizabeth Kerr.

"You're up late," said the 46 year old, dark haired, slightly greying Prime
Minister as he began to sift through the papers on his desk, pretending as
though he hadn't had his head glued to them for the past 15 minutes.

Elizabeth took a step back in disgust in jest, placing her hands in the air.
"Am I indeed? I assume you're in need of glasses then, because those MoD
acquisition orders were very close to your face when I walked in." She
walked over to the coffee table and began pouring a cup of coffee. "You were
sleeping," said the PM's personal aide.

Jonathon looked at her with a cheeky grin. "I've been working on the final
draft of Her Majesty's speech for next Friday, and on top of that the
Strategic Defence Review papers have landed on my desk from the MoD. And not
to mention."

Elizabeth waved her hands to cut him off as she placed a cup of coffee on
his desk "Let me guess, the public services review."

"How'd you know that? They were a day earlier than expected" Jonathon took
the coffee, looking slightly bemused.

"I caught a glimpse before I left for Edinburgh this morning, I left you a
message on your email." She gave him a matter-of-factly look. "Another one
arrived from the ministry of Health this morning as well just as I was
leaving."

"Ah," he glanced at the computer blankly, tapping the space bar repeatedly.
"Damn thing. I, erm."

"Don't know how to use it, clearly," she interjected. "Really Jonathon, 
it's been nearly 2 week since the new system was installed." She leant over and
displayed the email programme.

"I know how to use a computer, thank you very much. But this new system is uncessarily complicated.," he moved back away from the desk as she tapped into the computer. "But try telling that to the civil service. Besides, it's the first time you've been away all day since it was installed and I've been all over Westminster these past two weeks - I haven't the time to bother with it. If it's important that's what the phone is for." He gave his good friend and aide a cheeky grin.

Elizabeth was a close friend of Jonathon's. The two of them worked together
when Campbell was a junior treasury minister in Brown's government in 2009.
A former MP herself, Elizabeth lost her seat at the election before last and
was recruited into the Labour fold once again by Jonathon, the then leader
of the opposition in 2011.

"Anyway," he reached across his desk and picked up a blue folder. "I don't
suppose you could get these off to the foreign office before you head home?"

Elizabeth looked at her watch. "It's quarter past 12, they'll be long gone
now if I know civil servants."

Jonathon laughed. "Not tonight I'm afraid, David has them under strict
orders. They are working hard tonight in preparation for the European
elections. You know how he likes his house in order." he referred to the
Foreign Secretary, David Ashworth. "And then there is the new American
administration, but then you know how desperately hard it is to get any air
time with all the countries flooding in with their requests. And of course,
then there are the Russians, Chinese, and Italians. The world is changing
governments quicker than." He paused. ". Something that changes a lot." The
incredibly early 2AM start had the Prime Minister noticeably devoid of any
wit.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, sipping her coffee. "Don't forget the Canadians."

"Of course," he looked across smiling while holding up a folder.

Elizabeth sighed. "Fine, I'll drop it off," she glanced in side the folder.
"Ah," she looked up realising what was contained in the document. "The
estimated effect on Sustainable agriculture in the North East of England and
Scottish borders by newly proposed European subsidies legislation. No wonder
you were glued to your desk when I walked in." She slipped away into her
office.

Jonathon ignored the comment, and continued to work on drafting the speech
for the state opening of parliament. Elizabeth's office joined the PM's in
Downing Street, and was a mere metre or two down the corridor. Scribbling
away, he did not notice Elizabeth enter the room again.

"How is the speech going?" she asked, tidying his office a little and
placing documents away.

"Okay," he looked up. "It just gets a little repetitive. It's hard to get
across a true meaning without going into too much detail about the
forthcoming white papers, but I don't really have the details of those until
the reviews come to an end. It's all terribly vague." He paused. "But then,
so are all these things."

Elizabeth nodded. "Making mention of the EU?"

Jonathon nodded "Fleetingly. There is very little I wish to put in the
public domain until I have spoken with other European leaders." He leaned
back in his chair, placing down his pen. "Speaking of which, I would very
much like to push ahead with a meeting with prominent EU leaders of the
future of the EU. Too little has been done of late."

"Far from easy task. I'd caution you from taking it on as a crusade,"
Elizabeth shrugged. "Because ultimately it'll make little difference."

"I don't want any crusades at the minute. I just want the public services
reviews over and then we can look at introducing them to Parliament - one
battle at a time, strong and united as a party for a change. Anyway, I
intend on seeing what the general consensus is on Europe among the EU
leaders before pushing ahead any of my own thoughts first."

Elizabeth walked toward him. "Which would be?"

He smiled at Elizabeth's question. "Whatever I want them to be," He grinned
cheekily.

Campbell was traditionally a typical left wing politician. He favoured
higher public spending and more liberal laws having been elected by Labour
as a man that could broker two warring sides. The left, supported by the
unions and main source of finance for the financially perilous Labour party,
and the centrists - proponents of the third way and former Blairites that
are considered to be more 'elect able' and less 'extreme' that still held
prominent positions in the party. Jonathon was well aware that in the near
future he would have a limited number of lives in which to do battle with
both sides and keep control of the party. He wasn't intending on making the
EU one of them.

Despite being very open, charismatic and approachable, often described as a
'real character' by those that worked with him, he had the sense not to pick
futile battles that would damage him politically despite his present good
fortunes. A trait many recent Prime Ministers noticeably lacked,
particularly when a shoestring was seemingly holding each party in
Westminster together as of late.

"I'm not going to upset the establishment over the EU, particularly with the
reforms I want to bring to parliament that are likely to cause a stir."
Jonathon paused from scribbling away and sipped his coffee.

"That reminds me," Elizabeth jumped up and quickly disappeared into her
office in search of something. She returned, placing down a folder entitled
'NHS: Policy review, final version'.
 "The Health secretary would like a final answer by next Monday to go before
Parliament the following week. I'll organise a meeting with the Health
ministry tomorrow for Saturday." She turned to face him as she stood in the
doorway. "It was in the email that you managed to lose," she motioned to the 
computer, smiling. "If only the press knew." she grinned, winding him up.

"Despite my workload I did catch a glimpse of Match of the Day earlier.
Shame West Brom lost." He sniggered over his coffee to a less than impressed
Elizabeth. "Five nil was it. I suppose that -."

"Don't you have a speech to draft."? She interjected before turning and
walking out of the office, stopping in the doorway she turned back around to
say something. "And by the way, it rained in Edinburgh, my flight was 
delayed and Hollyrood
is fine, thanks for asking." She began to walk away down the corridor. "And
yes, they lost. I'm going to bed."

As she began to walk away, Jonathon stood up in an attempt to catch her up
and grab her attention "Just a sec, don't forge - " he spoke but before he
could finish his sentence or even reach his office door Elizabeth held a
blue folder in the air. "Via the foreign office of course," she shouted
along the corridor.

Jonathon stopped in his tracks, letting out a small laugh. He pulled his
office door shut, returning to his desk.

ACTIONS
1. Introduce the character, and the numerous public reform review committees that are going on (basically, for pretty much any and all public services).
2. Let it be known that Campbell would quite like to get the ball rolling with a discussion on the EU.
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From martellian at hotmail.com  Thu Jul 23 17:51:12 2009
From: martellian at hotmail.com (Ian Martell)
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:51:12 -0700
Subject: [War] Brazil: "Cleaning House pt 1"
Message-ID: <BAY124-DS16937FCF19319141D1029C6180@phx.gbl>

"Cleaning House"

President Jaoa Taveres

Brazil

20 January 2013



The city of Brasilia was still in the throws of celebration as the four men filed into the President's office in the ?. It was Inauguration Day, and a decade ago the festivities would have been long over, however President da Silva (the one before last) had been extremely popular with the people and since his inauguration the day became something of a major celebration. However it was the people who benefited from the festivities, for those who had just been ushered into office, there was work to do.

 

Jaoa Taveres, President of Brasil, Juca to his friends, undid his bow tie and carefully removed his sash of office and lay it on the desk. He was going to have to ask the protocol secretary what he was supposed to do with it in situations like this. Likely not just lay it on his desk, but what she didn't know didn't hurt her tonight.

 

He walked to the sideboard while the others got settled. "A drink anyone?" he asked. 

 

Jorge das Chagas, the new attorney general shook his head. "No thank you Juca, I think I've had enough for one night."

 

"Water then?" asked the President.

 

"Please," replied Chagas.

 

"And you two gentlemen?" Jaoa asked his Chief of Staff and Vice President.

 

"We're not so reserved, are we Jaime?" said Victor Tourhino with a smile to the Chief of Staff.

 

"Not at all sir," Jamie Nacamura the Jaoa's best friend and Chief of Staff replied.

 

Chagas looked at them and shrugged. "Well one more won't hurt, will it?"

 

Tourhino smiled. "That's the spirit, you only get named Attorney General once, and believe me you won't have much of a chance to get drunk once things get going."

 

Joao had poured the drinks and came and passed them around before sitting with his own. "No, we most definitely won't," he agreed with his vice president and sipped his drink. "Which is why we're all in here instead of out at the party."

 

The men turned to look at their President and Jaoa had to fight the urge to look behind him to see if there was someone else commanding their attention like that. But no, it was him. He offered up a silent prayer and hoped he'd read the signs and this was what God wanted for him and he was not horribly out of place. He took another sip of his drink and set it down. Perhaps Jorge had been right at the start, no more of that tonight, it could end up being a crutch. 

 

"I called you all from the celebrations to discuss implementation of our anti-corruption plan as well as the plans for dealing with violence in the favelas."

Jaoa could feel his companions lose the joviality of the last few moments, these were hardly small plans.

 

"So we're starting at once then?" asked Chagas. As Attorney General, he was going to be right in the middle of both plans. 

 

"Yes, we left it out of the inauguration speech to make people think we had second thoughts about it, but we are moving ahead," Jamie supplied.

 

"When?" asked Chagas.

 

"We will be presenting the new anti-corruption legislation at the next session of the House of Deputies along with the authorization for funds for an anti-corruption task force."

 

Chagas nodded. "I'll let my people know."

 

Jamie nodded. "I'll have the legislative office contact your chief of staff, you will have the full support of the Administration."

 

"Thank you," Chagas says. "So we're are going ahead with proposing a two-million real fine for taking or soliciting bribes or kickbacks?"

 

"Yes," Jaoa replied. 

 

"My legislative director, says that there's no way we'll get the two-million dollar fine through, but likely something in the hundreds of thousands given the concern about the issue with the public right now."

 

Jamie nodded. "Our legislative department tells us the same thing," he reported. "And we're still going ahead with the amnesty."

 

"I was going to ask, so anyone who reports themselves to the anti-corruption commission gets a walk on past instances of corruption that might be uncovered?" asked Chagas.

 

"Yes, that's right," replied Jaime.

 

"I still don't like it, letting those people still work for this government."

 

"They'll be flagged so we can keep an eye on them," assured Jamie. "Besides, if we fired everyone who took a bribe, we'd need a whole new civil service."

 

"I never took a bribe," replied Tourhino. 

 

"Nor did I, but Jamie was exaggerating," soothed the President.

 

"Sorry sir, I didn't mean to suggest you were taking bribes, everyone here, is here exactly because they've been honest civil servants."

 

Tourhino nodded. "Yes, well let's all remember that."

 

"So amnesty is in, what about those willing to work with us to expose their collegues?" asked Chagas.

 

"Still in," said Jaoa. "We'll need their help rooting out the ones who won't come forward."

 

Chagas nodded. "This won't be popular in the civil service."

 

Jaoa smiled. "Don't worry I've spoken with the Presidential Guard, you're protection detail will be coming from them."

 

"With respect Juca, I'd prefer to keep the Federal Police protection that comes with the job, if we replace them, what are we saying to the people about the police?"

 

"That they're as crooked as the Amazon," replied Tourhino. "And it's the truth."

 

Jaoa nodded. "It is true, and some of your own guards may be implicated in the investigation, are you sure you want them guarding you, and your family?"

 

Chagas chewed his lip and stared at his drink. "Yes, I am going to need their respect if this is going to work, so yes, I'll keep them. But thank you for the offer Juca."

 

Tourhino raised his glass. "Brave man."

 

Chagas smiled uncertainly and raised his drink back. "Just doing my job."

 

Jaoa knew right then he'd made the right choice for Attorney General, and hoped to god he would live long enough to make a difference.

 

TBC

 

Actions:

 

  1.. Taveres Administration proposes new legislation upping the penalty for corruption (taking bribes or kickbacks, and soliciting bribes and kickbacks) to 2million Brazilian reals at the next meeting of the House of Deputies. As well as asking for funding to create an anti-corruption task force, which will examine corruption in the civil service. 
  2.. Upon creation, the task force, under the Attorney General, will be authorized to offer amnesty for anyone who reports themselves for corruption provided they provide details of all incidents they were involved in. In return they will incur no criminal penalties, and the report won't go on their personnel record. Those who are willing to work with the task force to expose others may be compensated on a case by case basis. 
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From martellian at hotmail.com  Thu Jul 23 18:52:51 2009
From: martellian at hotmail.com (Ian Martell)
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:52:51 -0700
Subject: [War] Brazil: "Cleaning House pt 2"
Message-ID: <BAY124-DS5E355D103029C1B887D4FC6180@phx.gbl>

"Cleaning House pt 2"

President Jaoa Taveres

Brazil

20 January 2013



Jaoa nodded to his Vice President and his Attorney General. "Well now onto the matter that will give all of our protection details something to worry about."

 

Tourhino nodded. "To say the least."

 

Jamie added his agreement to that as well, then took over. "Now, I've been in contact with the governors of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro States as well as the mayors of both cities, and they are onboard with the plan, however they made it clear, their support is based solely on its successful implementation."

 

"Of course," Jaoa said. He knew all four men quite well and he knew they were not the type to stay on a sinking political ship longer than they had to. However they were more than willing to share in the glory if it worked. "What about the military Victor?" Jaoa asked the Vice President.

 

"Well I talked to a few of my friends, the word at the top is that they are hesitant in getting involved in what they consider a civilian matter, but given that their role would be limited to containment and protecting the aid convoys and distribution stations they're willing to do it, provided we keep our word on updating the army's equipment."

 

"Tell them they can start drawing up a wish list," Jaoa replied.

 

"Yes sir," the Vice President replied with a smile. Being a former army man, he had been an unceasing advocate of it's modernization since he joined the ticket.

 

Jaoa turned to Jamie, pleased at least the general. the Vice President, he was going to have to stop from calling him general, got his wish.

 

"Let's go over the plan so we're clear on what we're doing here when the Press comes calling."

 

"Alright," Jamie replied and took out a notebook from his pocket. "With authorization of the State Governors we will be declaring a state of emergency in the favelas outside Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, at which point the army will move into the favelas and set up a perimeter, and then when the aid convoys arrive, they will participate in building, running, and protecting the aid distribution centers. These centers will provide basic medical service, and two meals a day to anyone living in the favelas. In the meantime at the perimeter, the army will be conducting inspections of vehicles entering the favelas. The idea being they are there to provide interdiction for incoming arms and ammunition for the gangs inside.

 

"Why not the regular police?" asked Tourhino.

 

"Because for now we're ignoring the drugs," replied Jaoa. "And it would be illegal to ask to the police not to enforce the law."

 

Tourhino nodded. "Fair enough, but why? These gangs make their money on drugs."

 

Chagas answered. "Because stopping the flow of drugs into the favelas will only increase the price, which means for the poorest users the only way they can afford to feed their habit is crime, which is counter to what we're trying to accomplish."

 

"What we're trying to do is attack the demand for the drugs in the favelas, which many of the people there use as a replacement for food, it's that cheap, and cocaine kills their hunger pains. If we can get those users off the drugs, we've made a serious dent in the income of the gangs that rule the favelas, that along with removing their access to more weapons."

 

"Will weaken them and make it easier to deal with them later."

 

"Exactly," Jamie replied then went back to his report. "Anyhow, while the aid to the favelas is currently open ended, the military participation in this endeavor will have a timeline of six-months. At the end of that time we plan to have the aid being brought into favelas and distributed by civilian organizations either the local, state, or federal government working with various NGOs and we will begin to have inspections for guns and drugs performed on incoming vehicles by the police."

 

Chagas looked up from making his own notes. "And this will be followed up with further programs aimed at improving conditions for the residents?"

 

"That's right," Jaoa replied. "This is just the first step, food and medical aid, eventually these will be replaced with the regular government services available in the rest of the country, but first we need to remove the corruption that stops those services from getting to the favelas and the gangs who run the favelas as their own personal kingdoms. After that it will be up to our ability to create opportunities for these people to get out of the slums."

 

"Thank goodness I am only handling law and order," Chagas smiled.

 

The others laughed and Jaoa asked. "Where are we on implementation?"

 

"Well the governors and mayors are onboard, but we need to hammer out the details with the military, as well as get first shipment of food and medical supplies together, I'd say, two weeks on the inside," replied Jaime.

 

Jaoa nodded. "Alright, lets say three weeks until we go, in the meantime, Jorge, I'll need you to get the police on board as well, Victor, keep talking with your friends in the army, if they're going to balk at this, let us know, Jaime, you'll co-ordinate."

 

Jamie grinned. "And what will you do?"

 

Jaoa smiled. "Take the heat if it all goes wrong, so make sure it doesn't go wrong."

 

They smiled and Jaoa checked his watch, it was late and there was no more sounds of fireworks outside, the festivities must have finally wound down.

 

"Well that's all for now, I don't think we'll have a chance to sit down like this again before we go, but keep me in the loop through Jaime, and congratulations to all of you again on the election, but just remember now's when the work begins."

 

The three other men smiled and downed the last of their drinks before they left Jaoa alone in his new office, just him and his sash. He picked it up and looked at it, then looked "I hope I am not the wrong person to be wearing this," he said, then put it back on and went to find his protocol secretary before she left for the night to find out exactly what he was supposed to do with the damned thing. 

 

1>    Lay out plans to launch what amounts to a domestic peacekeeping operation in the favelas (slums) of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. A state of emergency will be declared and the army will be moved in to secure the areas build aid distribution stations which will offer two meals per day to the citizens as well as basic medical aid. The aid coming to these stations and the stations themselves will be protected by the military. 

2>    Additionally the military will be conducting inspections of incoming vehicles for weapons only, to stop the gangs from increasing their stockpiles.

3>    The whole operation has a timeline of six months after which it should be in civilian hands.

Note: This is not being implemented by the time of this post, but the planning is underway.
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From john.penta at gmail.com  Thu Jul 23 20:12:46 2009
From: john.penta at gmail.com (John Penta)
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:12:46 -0400
Subject: [War] World Report, Volume 1
Message-ID: <ab8370d40907231712q130dbd9cy5aac10320664ef79@mail.gmail.com>

World Alliances and Rivalries: World Report

Volume 1

For all actions since Game Start, advancing the timeline to 4 February
2013 to 18 February 2013.

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

United Nations Security Council (Non-Permanent Members as of 3 February 2013):
Until May 30, 2013: Canada, South Africa, Panama, Poland, Australia
Until July 31, 2013: Japan, Brazil, Ethiopia, Denmark, Afghanistan

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

GM Notes
=======================

Trying out something new - what I'm calling 'Dynamic Start'. The old
50/50 start of the approval ratings is gone where I could figure out
better numbers (which wasn't in too many places, and usually not to
anyone's advantage, lo siento). Exception is International Favor,
where a flat 50% for everybody seemed the best course.

Mike Downey gets his barely-disguised one-time prize for being first
off the mark with his post "A Marred Beginning". I decided to forego
bopping anyone for being slow and pokey.:)

Some other quick notes - intent with the UNSC non-perms is to rotate
them every 3 months on a staggered basis. Of course I probably flubbed
in calculating when that would be.

>From this point forward, WR periods will run from 2359 Friday to 2359
on the *Friday after next*...Using Saturday and Sunday to write the
WR, then I get it out as late as Sunday evening.

OOC post counts will cover the same time period.

Otherwise: It's been a slow start, but welcome back to WAR, everybody!

-John

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


BRAZIL
=============
Population Approval: 50%
Government Approval: 50%
International Favor: 50%
Economic Growth: 5%
Inflation: 5.8%
Unemployment: 9%
----------------------------

The Inauguration of the new President being followed by
anti-corruption legislation so swiftly is greeted with applause - and
no small degree of skepticism - from voters. However, it remains to be
seen whether any such legislation can survive the legislative process.

Meanwhile, the military prepares the as-yet-unnamed favela operation -
so far, it hasn't leaked. Knock on wood.

CANADA
=============
Population Approval: 45%
Government Approval: 40%
International Favor: 50%
Economic Growth: 3.1%
Inflation: 1%
Unemployment: 6.8%
----------------------------

Brutal murders never do much for the Government's popularity; when
there's a string of em, it only gets worse. The announcement of new
funding for First Nations communities, while appreciated *by* the
First Nations involved and their advocates, is seen as being in part a
diversion. The fact that there's been more murders, by what the papers
are calling a serial killer, has only sparked more panic - as Muslims
arm themselves, and non-Muslims arm themselves in response, all aided
and abetted by eager gun sellers on the other side of the border.
Tensions are, by even the most optimistic estimates, at an explosive
level.

CHINA (PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF)
==============
Population Approval: 50%
Government Approval: 50%
International Favor: 50%
Economic Growth: 2%
Inflation: 6%
Unemployment: 9%
-----------------------------

The inauguration of the new People's Estate is greeted...predictably.
On the one hand, old-fashioned Communists (about 20% of the people,
contrary to the administration's portrayal of them as a dying-off
bunch of old men) see it as too extravagant, thinking that the leader
of a Communist nation should live more modestly. Nationalists see it
as finally befitting a Great Nation. Most people wonder when *they'll*
live in such a Western fashion, not in Brutalist apartment blocks.

JAPAN
======
Population Approval: 55%
Government Approval: 50%
International Favor: 50%
Economic Growth: 2%
Inflation: 1.8%
Unemployment: 4.4%
-----------------------------

The Government gets a bit of a sympathy bump from the out-of-the-blue
assassination of the DPJ's Secretary-General, but it seems unlikely to
last - already, people are asking how a Zainichi got a gun, and who
sent him to do the deed. In the absence of information, rumor is
taking over the media and the internet - some even claiming that this
was ordered by the new Prime Minister.

FRANCE
====
Population Approval: 45%
Government Approval: 45%
International Favor: 50%
Economic Growth: 1.8%
Inflation: 1%
Unemployment: 9.2%
-----------------------------

"Shaken up" might best be the words to describe the reaction of the
French people to the attack on what are being called the "New Holy
Innocents", the children attacked at the Cathedral of Notre Dame -
never mind that, whether it be by the intervention of the Patroness of
the Cathedral, or sheer luck, none of the children were hurt: The name
stuck. It took repeated desperate interventions by the
Cardinal-Archbishop of Paris to prevent memorial Masses from turning
into near-riots against the Algerian communities in the suburbs of
Paris, where the perpetrators are (seemingly absent evidence) believed
by the vast majority of the French population to be in hiding.
Already, the Do Something drumbeat has begun in the National Assembly.

UNITED STATES
==============
Population Approval: 55%
Government Approval: 55%
International Favor: 50%
Economic Growth: 1.9%
Inflation: 4.8%
Unemployment: 6.2%
----------------------------

The new President, having come basically out of nowhere since 2008, is
getting both the usual honeymoon - and the by-now-usual dose of
suspicion - from what remains a demoralized and disillusioned country.
Already, people are waiting to see the new President's policy
priorities - and speculating widely in absence of clear data.

UNITED KINGDOM
==============
Population Approval: 50%
Government Approval: 50%
International Favor: 50%
Economic Growth: 2.0%
Inflation: 3.8%
Unemployment: 7.1%
----------------------------

As the State Opening of Parliament approaches, Westminster becomes
abuzz with speculation on what'll feature in the new Government's
Queen's Speech. Britain is limping and wounded after the last few
years, and the recent turmoil doesn't help much. People are pretty
anxiously awaiting to see what direction Prime Minister Campbell will
take the country in - namely, to what extent, ask critics, will
Campbell put the government in hock to the unions and the hard-left
for their continued support, and what will that do to British policy,
both in foreign policy and domestic spheres?

RUSSIA
===============
Population Approval: 50%
Government Approval: 50%
International Favor: 50%
Economic Growth: 6.2%
Inflation: 13.9%
Unemployment: 6%
----------------------------

The President isn't the only one heading to Divine Liturgy on Sundays
- new polls funded by a think tank show that church attendance in
Russia is up from its "Last in Europe" lows - admittedly, from 10 to
12 percent on a monthly basis, but it's something.

ETHIOPIA
===============
Population Approval: 50%
Government Approval: 50%
International Favor: 50%
Economic Growth: 8%
Inflation: 41%
Unemployment: 11%
----------------------------

The Prime Minister's proposal to invite the Imperial House of Haile
Selassie back gets a lot of raised eyebrows, not least from the
Imperial House. They had, after all, been fairly clear since 2004 that
they weren't interested in politics. They already run a fair number of
charitable initiatives in Ethiopia and return there fairly often; they
also, they make clear, really would have no interest in taking back
the throne.

ITALY
===============
Population Approval: 50%
Government Approval: 50%
International Favor: 50%
Economic Growth: 1.1%
Inflation: 3.6%
Unemployment: 10.1%
----------------------------

No sooner did the new Government form than a previous Prime Minister
found himself the target of the courts' tender mercies. Silvio
Berlusconi was arrested in Milan on charges of soliciting prostitution
- if that wasn't bad enough, he was arrested for soliciting
prostitution from an undercover cop posing as a 13-year-old girl. This
has only made the continuing saga of Berlusconi's divorce proceedings
even nastier, with his wife now pushing for 75% of the assets, rather
than the usual 50%.

In other news, the Government's new proposals on immigration are
catching flak from everybody; human rights groups are generally
against it, lawyers object to the restrictions on due process,
minorities fear that even Italian citizens will be swept up and
deported, and budget hawks are asking how much it'd cost (nobody knows
yet). Despite that, they're popular with the public.

However, the opposition hints, in not so many words, that perhaps the
Prime Minister is trying to seek vengeance for the tragic death of his
wife through trying to be tough on immigration. They're not being so
uncultured as to -say- that, but the point is being made in its own
way.

Nobody ever said politics was played nicely.

----

And that's the way it is.


From john.penta at gmail.com  Sat Jul 25 13:44:00 2009
From: john.penta at gmail.com (John Penta)
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 2009 13:44:00 -0400
Subject: [War] A test message
Message-ID: <ab8370d40907251044t1675c669x2773c92b64672acd@mail.gmail.com>

A test message as I set up a Google Groups archive for the list.


From bgtribble at gmail.com  Sat Jul 25 15:13:06 2009
From: bgtribble at gmail.com (Bryan Tribble)
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 2009 22:13:06 +0300
Subject: [War] France: "Our Lady of Paris"
Message-ID: <C69133F2.14F1%bgtribble@gmail.com>

"Our Lady of Paris"
President Adrien Durant
French Republic
4 February 2013
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Adrien Durant was alone in Pope John Paul II Square, the parvis that fronted
Notre Dame de Paris's western fa?ade. A heavy woollen overcoat helped to
keep him warm against the chill of the winter wind that was tossing his
scarf to and fro. He moved to tuck the scarf into his coat and then looked
up to admire the cathedral. It was a very rare occasion to have the place to
one's self, and he was eager to take advantage of it.

The two western towers reached up into the gray sky, stark, strong and
matronly as the Church itself. A few bits of lingering snow managed to cling
to crevices in the fa?ade as if to seek shelter from the sun. A pigeon took
flight from its perch atop an angel's head and headed for the statue of
Charlemagne. Just as he was about to take a step closer to the cathedral to
admire the statuary near the entrance, Adrien suddenly became aware of a
noise, the sound of singing. The choir inside the cathedral was just
concluding a piece which was muffled but sounded akin to "Ave Maria."

At the moment the soprano soloist concluded her final note, the bourdon bell
atop the cathedral's North Tower rang out. Sound seemed to be dulled for
Adrien - more of a far off suggestion than the crisp certainty that the ears
were accustomed to - but he could feel the air vibrate slightly from the
ringing, and the effect was soon magnified when the bourdon was joined by
the four bells in the South Tower.

When a flock of pigeons erupted from the parvis and took to the sky, he
turned to see what had caused the commotion. He assumed the birds had taken
flight at the sound of the bells, but a group of men had disturbed the
pigeons when they entered the square. They were milling around snapping
photos of the area. It was difficult to hear them due to the distance and
muffling of sound but from their accent and the looks of them he thought
they were probably from Algeria. He smiled slightly when he saw their dress.
They must have had four layers of clothes on! The poor souls from a desert
climate were withering under the chill of a Parisian winter.

Before he had a chance to observe the Algerians any longer, the doors to the
cathedral swung open and mass attendees began to pour out into the parvis.
His political instincts kicked in and Adrien started to offer a big smile
and walk toward the group of people but he stopped short when something hit
the ground near his foot. He looked down and gave a puzzled look as it
skittered across the stones toward the people.

When he finally realized what it was, he whirled back to the Algerians. Time
seemed to have suddenly slowed down. The men had shed their bulging
overcoats to reveal weapons. Adrien heard his breath suck in as he turned
back to the crowds. His eyes locked on the grenade clattering along the
stones toward the devoted and he raised his hands to shout but they seemed
oblivious to him. Long moments went by as he rushed toward the people but
the pace of time made the distance he closed small.

Somewhere behind him he heard slurred shouts of "Allah'u'Akbar," and for a
moment he silently prayed that the grenade would turn out to be a dud.
Gunfire exploded in the parvis before the grenade detonated and sent people
scattering. Some stood dumbfounded but most of them snatched up their
children, if they had them, wrapping them in their arms as they dove for the
ground.

The grenade, formerly on a trajectory directly for a large concentration of
children, was kicked by a woman's heel as she spun to the ground. It
clattered away from the majority of people and Adrien breathed a sigh of
relief. When he directed his eyes back to the woman he realized she had
fallen from a wound: a bullet had struck her neck and arterial blood was
spurting out and painting the stones red.

A woman with a voice to rival the choir's soprano shrieked a bloodcurdling
scream to his left as she ran for her child across the square. When the
grenade finally detonated the force of the blast knocked her back a few
steps, just in time to be caught several times in the abdomen with bullets
from the Algerians' weapons. Adrien watched helplessly as she collapsed onto
the stones, lying amongst those who had both fallen and were seeking shelter
near the ground.

A man passed near him with a bewildered look on his face, his cheeks pocked
with bits of stone shrapnel from the force of the grenade's blast. Adrien
turned away from the crowd to face the Algerians, intent on stopping them if
he was able but when he laid eyes on them it was as if time had reverted to
its original pace. The sound of loud gunfire filled his ears and everything
around him was chaos. The sudden rush of sound and movement immobilized him,
and he fell to the ground with the rest of the crowd.

"Allah'u'Akbar!" continued to fill his ears, along with the sound of more
gunfire. He felt helpless, unable to defend his people or the Republic
against the onslaught of a few misguided men. People were falling all around
him, most of them dead or wounded. Before he could rouse himself to action
something landed with a heavy thud next to him.

He turned his head and forced his eyes to focus, and he found a little girl
laying next to him. From the shape of her eyes and nose and the tone of her
skin he knew she was from Senegal, a country in which he had spent many
years. She was wearing a beautiful white dress that he recognized from one
of the boutiques on the Champs-?lys?e, and he knew that her overly devout
mother had probably emptied the family coffers to buy it for her first
Communion. Now it was ruined, streaked with blood.

The little girl stared at Adrien with large, frightened eyes. She appeared
to be the only person on the square who noticed him at all. She had a head
wound that was leaking blood across her forehead, and it was beginning to
pool on the stones between them, thick and dark. Beyond her Adrien could see
a pair of dark legs running toward them, probably her mother, but they soon
jerked to a stop and the woman collapsed onto the ground. He saw her eyes as
she fell: they were lifeless.

A frightened squeak brought his attention back to the little girl. Another
thunderous explosion rocked the parvis, temporarily deafening him. The
little girl was saying something to him now and even though all he could
hear was a ringing sound he knew what she was asking from the movement of
her lips: "Aidez-moi." Help me. But he couldn't.

=-=-=

Adrien bolted upright in his bed in the ?lys?e Palace. An alarm clock on the
side of the bed and his wife's angry protests at the sudden movement alerted
him to the very early hour. He was drenched in sweat and still recovering
from cold chills. He fumbled for the bedside light and finally flicked it
on, as if the light could clear his mind of the little girl and her mother's
lifeless eyes. The intelligence he'd received the afternoon before had
brought back to mind the initial report he'd received on the incident, which
had been shockingly vivid in its retelling of the incident.

The President of the French Republic practically fell out of his bed and
hastily made his way toward the bathroom, focusing entirely on the door
ahead of him lest he see the vision of the little girl and her mother
lurking in some corner of his bedroom. He ignored his wife calling after
him, shut the door behind himself and lurched for the sink.

=-=-=

He had originally contemplated calling an emergency meeting of the entire
Cabinet but he was quite certain that it would only add fuel to the fire.
The Minister for National Education had very little to do with catching
terrorists, and he'd only go back to debrief his deputies who would surely
debrief everyone they knew and before you could stop it the Agence
France-Presse's latest headline was the topic of the meeting.

This morning's meeting was small, held in the President's own office and
consisted of Jean-Fran?ois Verdier, the Minster of the Interior; Jeanne
Broquedis, the Minister of Justice; Etienne Bourbois, Director of the
Direction Centrale du Renseignement Int?rieur (DCRI); and Laurent Chevalier,
Director of the Direction G?n?rale de la S?curit? Ext?rieure (DGSE). They
each had a copy of the joint report filed by the intelligence agencies
sitting in front of them and a few cups of coffee were scattered around.

The coffee Adrien's assistant had brought him earlier in the morning had
long ago gone cold. He skipped breakfast for lack of hunger. He could tell
from the looks on the faces of the officials in the room that he must have
looked a little rough. A lack of sleep quickly developed bags under his
eyes, a fault he'd lived with most of his life.

"This is not encouraging information, although it is no fault of your own,"
President Durant said, motioning toward the file sitting on his desk.
"Anyone mind telling me what the hell the Islamic Force of the Frankish
Lands is, and more importantly where we can find it?"

The report had taken everything in a drastically different direction.
Originally the assumption had been that the terrorists were foreign-born
nationals but they were now identified as being French-born. The good news
was that it would at least (hopefully) temporarily take off some of the
pressure for immigration reform in the hopes of finding a European consensus
on the matter. More good news was that the Algerians had agreed to cooperate
with French authorities if it became necessary, but that point seemed
largely moot since the terrorists in question were more home-grown.

The rest of the information was grim. The best lead they had was on some
organisation known as the Islamic Force of the Frankish Lands, which they'd
never heard of. At all. Police agencies and ordinary people were beginning
to agitate for some real action. They needed someone to pin their anger on.
Add into the mix an opportunistic bunch from the Church and it seemed as if
the entire situation was wildly and rapidly spinning out of control.

Etienne Bourbois from DCRI, the domestic intelligence agency, cleared his
throat. "I'm afraid we're not entirely sure who they are, what their aims
might be and whether or not they have the capability to launch another
attack. They haven't actually claimed responsibility; we've only heard their
name through informants."

"As far as I'm concerned, the fact that they haven't claimed responsibility
makes them all the more insidious and dangerous," Minister Verdier said. "If
they claimed responsibility we'd at least have a solid lead on the matter,
and that's a lot more than the whispers in a dark back alley that we're
working with now. If they did carry out this attack, they're a lot smarter
than these small time operations clambering for the limelight and a forum to
air their grievances."

"Is it possible that they're related to the four Algerians detained two
years ago?" Durant asked, glancing in Minister Broquedis's direction. The
men continued to be held in the custody of her Ministry pending their final
trial in a few months.

"I think almost anything is a possibility at this point; however, it's
extremely unlikely. We've done everything short of torturing them for
information, and it appears they were operating outside of any organisation.
This is something altogether different that we're dealing with right now,"
Minister Broquedis replied, revealing the pragmatism that landed her at the
top of the Justice Ministry.

"And what is our plan of action for obtaining more information on the
organisation?" Durant inquired. He noted that Verdier and Bourbois exchanged
a glance before Verdier spoke, indicating they had discussed the matter
prior to this meeting.

"It's very likely that there are a number of individuals with more than a
passing knowledge of the organisation and the attackers living within
France. I have already spoken with the Pr?fet de Police, and we have drawn
up a plan to enter the bidonville to identify and apprehend these
individuals and then remand them to DCRI's custody."

Minister Broquedis had noted the look on the President's face at the mention
of a Parisian bidonville and shifted nervously in her seat.

"Jean-Fran?ois, I hope that is the sort of nomenclature you use only in
private. This is not Bangui, it is Paris. The City of Lights has suburbs,
Minister, not slums. Is that clear?" Durant asked rhetorically. "Now, are
you looking for another racial profiling incident like the police had on
their hands in five years ago? I think this issue is sensitive enough
without the police getting heavy handed about it."

Etienne Bourbois leaned forward in his seat. "With all due respect, sir, the
people we are up against do not work within the constraints of public image.
Unless you are looking to dissolve the Parliament soon, there are no
upcoming elections. A political casualty here or there is worth it to catch
the people responsible for this. We are all dealing with building pressure
from the public over perceived inaction. The ordinary citizen doesn't
realize or doesn't care about the time it takes to delicately handle a
situation like this. They merely want it resolved."

Durant waved his hand with impatience. "I'm not referring to political
manoeuvring; this is managing relations between two very different
communities within the Republic. Things are practically at a boiling point
and if we send the police force into the suburbs with guns blazing it's the
equivalent of releasing a bull in a china shop. We'll have Imams denouncing
us from the pulpits of every mosque in the Republic and beyond by the end of
such a day. Don't we have a more delicate alternative? I'm not willing to
sacrifice future gains in goodwill with our immigrant community for the sake
of nabbing a few people that may or may not know anything simply because
they live in the suburbs."

Minister Verdier looked ready to argue the point but Bourbois spoke before
he had the opportunity to do so. "We have a few suspects already, and their
arrest warrants can be issued at any time. I'd be perfectly willing to work
with the Pr?fet de Police's investigative units to identify other suspects
but getting information out of them won't be easy. I'd like to have your
consent to use limited physical means to extract the information we need."

The Justice Minister nearly choked on a mouthful of coffee and rushed to set
the cup down and recover to get her opinion lodged. "Have you been reading
notes from the Bush Administration? 'Limited physical means' is a fancy way
of saying torture! If I didn't see you sitting here in front of me,
Director, I'd be convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that the phrase had
come directly from an Alberto Gonzales memorandum. President Durant, I must
appeal to your better senses. The use of limited physical means is likely to
be interpreted in a very negative light by our own justice system, not to
mention the European Union."

Durant briefly glanced at Verdier. Recent reports had suggested public
opinion had swung wildly against the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR),
the body likely to bring any prosecution against the country, but the
reports had so far remained privy only to the Presidency and the Interior
Ministry. The President was hoping it was a temporary setback to European
integration precipitated by recent events and keeping it quiet was the best
way to allow it to blow over.

"I'm afraid desperate times call for desperate measures, Minister Broquedis,
and it will be your responsibility to begin working on a defence for the
Government in the event that things go against us," Durant sighed. "All
right, Mr. Bourbois, I'll have the authorization sent to your office within
the hour. I trust you'll be working closely with Minister Verdier on the
matter of investigations and arrests. Sensitively and delicately as befits
the situation is how I'd like you to handle it, Jean-Fran?ois, and if you
cannot determine how to properly interpret that then I will find someone to
serve in the Cabinet who can."

Minister Verdier nodded his consent. Durant stood up from his desk and
extended his hand across it to each of the government officials as a way of
thanking them for attending the meeting. As they shuffled toward the door,
each eager to begin tackle their own responsibilities, Durant called out to
his friend, the largely silent DGSE Director.

"Laurent, I must pay a visit to the Cardinal-Archbishop. Will you please
ride along with me?"

"Of course, Adrien," Laurent Chevalier said. "I trust it won't take too
long, will it? I have a number of small governments to topple this
afternoon."

Durant smiled wryly. "Forging my signature again, are we?"

=-=-=-=
Actions:

1.) Authorize DCRI to work with the Ministry of the Interior and its
Prefecture of Police (responsible for policing duties in the Paris-area) to
investigate suspects and where necessary arrest them and interrogate them
using (if necessary) limited physical means on the Islamic Force of the
Frankish Lands and the terrorist attack on Notre Dame. Insure that the
investigations and detentions are carried out in all areas of Paris to avoid
any allegations of racial profiling.

2.) Instruct the Justice Ministry to begin crafting a defence for the
interrogation efforts to hold in reserve for any possible legal action taken
against the Government.




From michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com  Sat Jul 25 19:37:00 2009
From: michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com (Michael Downey)
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:07:00 -0230
Subject: [War] Japan/Brazil: "A Measure of Mercy"
Message-ID: <6b6ab8a70907251637p22544f50y14b80bb54979e695@mail.gmail.com>

"A Measure of Mercy"
Ambassadora Iida Tsuda, Japan
Chief of Staff Jaime Nacamura, Brazil
4 February 2013
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

<Brasila>

Ambassador Iida Tsuda was in a foul mood. First and foremost the LDP
had just lost the Lower House election back in Japan. Given that he
was a longtime LDP supporter was reason enough for his ire. Increasing
his annoyance today was the fact that Tsuda's term as the Japanese
Ambassador to Brazil was about to end in one month's time and it was
unlikely the DPJ would renew his position. Given Brazil's increasing
global prominence, especially with their growing oil industry, meant
Tokyo would want a representative who was closer (and more loyal) to
that /ketsunoana/ Ahkihita.

But Tsuda's career problems were secondary. He may have been an LDP
through and through but he was also a Japanese civil servant, and his
duties had to take precedent. The Ambassador forced his face into a
much more pleasant expression as the doors to the office of the man he
wanted to meet was pulled open by a waiting secretary. This meeting
would take all the negotiating skill Tsuda could muster.

Jaime Nacamura, President Taveres chief of staff and one of the President's
closest friends rose when the Ambassador entered. He was a tall slender man
of indeterminate ancestry, however his name a Portuguese corruption of the
name Nakamura revealed his descent from Brazil's large Japanese community.
*Not that Japan considers us Japanese* he thought bitterly. However that wasn't
the concern of the moment, they had bigger concerns today.

Jaime smiled convincingly as he came around his desk and bowed before extending
his hand. "Ambassador Tsuda, a pleasure to see you again, I am sorry
we didn't have
more time to speak during the Inauguration dinner."

Tsuda returned the bow and grasped Nacamura's hand. "I am surprised
you even had time to speak with your own President, considering the
hive of activity the dinner was." Politics in Brazil had become very
interesting over the past few months. Many in Tokyo and Washington had
feared the downfall of democracy in the country due to former
President da Silva's corruption. "Thank you for meeting me on such
short notice."

Jaime laughed. "Yes it was a busy night," he said with a look that expressed
just how busy it had been but his smile returned as he released Tsuda's hand
and nodded at his comment. "Think nothing of it, Japan is an important friend,
and we always make time for our friends."

Jaime guided Tsuda towards his desk and indicated for him to sit
before he himself
sat down. "So shall we get down to business?"

"Abe Korinku," said Tsuda as he sat down. "Underboss of the
Inagawa-kai yakuza clan and one of the most wanted men in Japan. He's
been linked to five murders over the past ten years, including an
outstanding arrest warrant for his participation in the stabbing death
of a detective in the Saitama Prefectural Police. As I'm sure you
know, he was recently arrested in Sao Paulo during a police raid on a
brothel. He fled here to avoid arrest back home, probably hiding out
with local yakuza here in Brazil. We would like President Taveres to
agree to have Korinku extradited back to Japan."

Jaime nodded. *Why can't these things be simple? If the bastard had
murdered someone in a crime of passion it would be easy. But a cop
killer.* Jaime wished the Sao Paulo police had just taken the law into
their own hands and shot the man dead in the brothel and have done
with it. But then they didn't know what he was.

"I can see why your government would want him back so badly. May I
inquire what his likely sentence would be upon his return?"

*Just what he deserves* Jaimie thought knowing the answer.

"I cannot speak for the Public Prosecutor's office, but he will very
likely receive a life sentence if convicted of the police detective's
murder." What Tsuda didn't add was that if Korinku was charged and
convicted of any other murders, which was likely, he would likely be
hung. But as he had answered Nacamura's question truthfully, the
Ambassador didn't see a need to mention that fact.

"A life sentence," Jamie repeated, he had been certain that death
would be the natural consequence of killing a cop in Japan. But then
native Japanese were an odd people. "And we could be sure that is
all he would receive?" he asked.

"Again I cannot speak for the courts, but for a single murder, yes,"
answered Tsuda.

Jaime nodded finally understanding what was going on. "Then if the
Japanese government could provide us with assurance that the courts
would not seek the death penalty, for this or other murders, I think we can
successfully conclude the extradition."

Tsuda had known this would be the major hurdle in the negotiations.
Brazil did not practice the death penalty and had always been
extremely reluctant to extradite prisoners if they face such a fate in
their home countries. ``The penal code of my country stipulates that a
case of singular murder cannot be punished by the death penalty, and
currently Korinku is only wanted for a singular murder.

"I think the sticking point in that declaration is currently," Jamie replied.
"My President does not want to look like a fool, if we release this prisoner
to your government, we want to be sure he will not be going to his death."

"Your request is difficult to accommodate," noted the Ambassador.
"What you are asking us to do is alter our entire judicial process for
this man for all possible crimes, forever. We are more than willing to
agree not to execute him for the one murder he is accused of now. If
he is accused of more murders than that will be a separate affair from
this current crime and thus Brazil would not be linked in any kind of
responsibility."

Jaime rubbed his jaw. The man had a point, however he knew Jaoa
could be stubborn on what he considered moral issues. Still it was
worth bringing to him.

"I will bring your government's case to the President," he concluded.
"We should have an answer by the end of the week."
---

Actions:
1) Brazil and Japan conduct extradition negotiations.


From michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com  Wed Jul 29 20:05:18 2009
From: michael.michaeldowney at gmail.com (Michael Downey)
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:35:18 -0230
Subject: [War] Japan: "Sanguinis ver Soli?"
Message-ID: <6b6ab8a70907291705o2813b6b9k79c73164bd988fd7@mail.gmail.com>

"Sanguinis ver Soli?"
Prime Minister Shirow Ahkahita
Japan
4 February 2013
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Prime Minister Ahkahita had never been one to sleep in late. Japan
itself was a country were no one really had the time to snooze into
the late morning or early afternoon. Ahkahita relished the few times
he was able to sleep in, and thus consume more copious amounts of saki
and beer beforehand, but the role of Prime Minister had made such
times few and far between. In fact since officially beginning his
duties as the country's leader, Ahkahita was waking up earlier than he
ever did as a businessman, mayor or assemblyman. Akhahita barely had
time to smoke.

On that note, he reached into the pocket of his Jinbei and withdrew a
Marlboro and his trusty lighter. It was freezing in Japan at this time
of year so Ahkahita found himself lounging in a small greenhouse built
onto the upper level of the Kantei, the official PM residence. His
need for nicotine sated by those first few puffs, the PM withdrew his
Blackberry and hit the first number on the speedial.

"Just because you never sleep doesn't mean other people don't," Kiyomi
said irritably when she picked up after eight long rings.

"I wanted to talk to you before the cabinet meeting," replied
Ahkahita, unphased by her tone. "Any developments on Omaguchi's death?
NPA told you anything more about the assassin, this Hwang guy?"

"Takashi Hwang," said Kiyomi. "A Zainichi Korean born in Osaka."

The 'Zainichi' were the six hundred thousand or so permanent residence
of Japan of Korean descent, the majority of which were born in Japan
but lacked Japanese citizenship. "The NPA isn't releasing anything to
the media yet, but they've told me that Hwang has fully admitted to
the murder and claimed his motivation was revenge for discrimination
of Zainichi by the government."

Ahkahita sighed and took a long drag on his cigarette. Race and
ethnicity was such a touchy subject in Japan. Beneath an advanced and
enlightened veneer, his country had a racist ugly side. Once the NPA
made its findings public to the media, which could be within the next
twenty-four hours, it would make the majority of the population who
were rather uninformed about the Zainichi and their problems suddenly
acutely aware.

"And we're sure that Hwang was acting alone?"

"The act of a lone madman," answered Kiyomi. "Like Lee Oswald or Yamaguchi."

"People would argue about Oswald, but whatever," noted Ahkahita.
"Okay, thanks. Call Matsui and get him to have the NPA delay their
press release as long as possible. I want to speak with the Cabinet
and handle the situation as much as possible before the public
reaction."

"Is this going to affect our naturalization plans?"

"I have no idea. See you at the meeting."

He thumbed the line closed and took one more drag of his cigarette
before throwing it into the pot of a nearby Bonsai tree.
-----

It had taken the Cabinet longer to assemble than Ahkahita anticipated
and thus he hadn't had time for a smoke beforehand. Now he was
irritable. Or more irritable than usual, as he was usually irritable
all the time. As they all took their seats, he made note of who was
there and how they were going to react. The DPJ has become divided on
this issue before, which had made pushing it through very difficult,
especially with the LDP in direct opposition. Omaguchi had been a big
proponent of naturalization of permanent residence, but Niwa was more
conservative and always been on the fence when it came to the
Zainichi. However new Chief Cabinet Secretary had never struck
Ahkahita as being one of those radical idiots who wanted Japan to be
of 'pure' Japanese race.

"If everyone is ready," remarked Ahkahita. Everyone took their seats,
a few grabbing one last cup pf Genmaicha from the refreshment table.
"I think there's been enough whispering and rumors outside of this
room to educate everyone as to the purpose of this meeting."

"You want to naturalize the Zainichi," said Niwa. Ahkahita nodded in
acknowledgement.

"Something akin to that," said the PM. "We are a society that phases a
large problem. That problem being that Japan, as a country, is dying.
Not from disease or poverty or starvation, but from the one thing that
kills every individual sooner or later: time. The death rate surpasses
the birthrate more and more each year, while the number of elderly
people catches up to the number of young people and will, by all
projections, surpass it.Not only does this mean that within the next
decade will will have to spend hundreds of billions of yen on medical
and home care for the elderly, drastically increasing the tax burden,
but we will have fewer people to both pay the cost of such care and to
act as a workforce in our economy."

"And naturalizing the Zainichi will solve this problem," said Niwa skeptically.

"No, but its a step. It's not so much the Zainichi but the way in
which we bring new citizens into our country. As it is now, Japanese
citizenship is derived purely from Ju Sanguinis, having a Japanese
citizen as a parent. We are going to reform the Nationality Law of
1950 to make Japan both a Jus Sanguinis and a Jus Soli country, a
country where one can be a natural born citizen both from heritage and
by virtue of being born upon our sovereign territory."

There as considerable talk amongst the Ministers as they discussed
this declaration. Ahkahita have them two or three minutes to talk
before regaining their attention.

"As I was saying, this will be done by replacing the Nationality Law
of 1950 with the proposed Citizenship Law, the draft of which you have
all been given."

"You said this was a step," noted Finance Minister Takamatsu.

"There are very few First World nations whose birthrates allow for
natural growth or maintenance of population levels," explained the PM.
"South Korea and Taiwan suffer from the same problem. Russia is in
even more dire straits than we are. The reason that Canada, America,
France, the United Kingdom and other nations of Europe and North
America do not face this dilemma is because they accept, and
naturalize, immigrants. The Citizenship Law will move us closer to a
program of encouraging more immigration into Japan by people from Asia
and abroad."

"There will be resistance from the LDP," cautioned Niwa. Ahkahita shrugged.

"At this point the LDP is going to resist just about anything we do,"
countered the PM. "But other population increase policies, while
logical and commendable, will not solve this problem fast enough. I am
not talking about opening the floodgates for the dregs of the world.
Quite the contrary, we are one of the most developed societies on
Earth. We should be able to attract many desirable immigrants to our
doorstep. But that's getting a little ahead of ourselves. The issue at
hand is the Citizenship Act, which I will being introducing to the
Diet once the wording has been properly vetted. As the senior
leadership of our party, I expect complete solidarity from the cabinet
and for you to use all your influence on the other Parliamentary
members. That will be all, gentlemen."

The Cabinet got up from their seats and slowly departed the conference
room, save for Niwa who remained seated.

"You took that better than I thought," said Ahkahita casually.

"I'm no racist," replied Niwa. "Naturalizing the Zainichi will further
integrate them into our society, and give us over half a million new
votes come next election. But if more immigration is our key goal, we
have to be careful. Patient. Cautious."

"Jus Soli first, then we relax immigration laws," assured Ahkahita.

"Some will accuse you of bowing to terrorism."

"Let them," shrugged the PM. "This was part of my election platform
anyway, it's not like the LDP can claim Omaguchi's death spurred me to
do it. I've just come to realize that Japan can't hide its head in the
sand anymore."

"What?" asked Niwa, not recognizing the American proverb. Ahkahita
shook his head.

"Nothing, just a saying I heard at Princeton. Get the legal department
working on the bill language."
---

Actions:
1) Introduce the Citizenship Law to replace the Nationality Law of 1950
2) Japanese citizenship will now be bestowed both via Jus Sanguinis
and Jus Soli.
3) Therefore, all Zainichi born on Japanese soil will retroactively
become Japanese citizens.
4) Prepare the Cabinet for more liberal immigration policies, to be
enacted at a later date.