DarthNES II - Superpowers Redux

[Omega124]

snip

Love you too

 

[Lord of Elves]

Excerpt from "Travels in the Motherland"​

... by Jack Tennson ​

It was a cold day when I disembarked from the train in Novgorod to visit the home of reclusive Russian author and college professor Yeltsin Fyodorov. Fyodorov, thirty-nine, is young by comparison to many of his colleagues at the University of Novgorod. This has not stopped him from grooming an illustrious beard in the style of Orthodox priests and retiring to a small, three-room apartment at a location I was advised to consider undisclosed, somewhere in the poor part of his native city. He greets me at the door conspiratorially, clothed in the black winter coat which is the uniform of Russia's working class, his eyes darting back and forth. I comment that we are alone and he shushes me, saying "Russia's enemies are always watching!" before letting me into his apartment. It is sparse, though fashionable; it appears as if it is a display room. Spotless leather chairs on hard wood and clean, white carpet. The only decor are two posters proclaiming the "Pax Russica" which Fyodorov and other Russian "reactionary Slavophile revolutionary" intellectuals exhort.

Fyodorov and his posters, taken at the time of my interview with him.​

"What does it mean to be a 'reactionary Slavophile revolutionary'?"

Fyodorov eyes me with some distaste. He is well-versed in the decadent ways of foreigners, and their ignorance of the Motherland. "Russia is not the land of cunning and athletic supermen marching in lockstep to tyranny and warmongering that you 'westerners' portray it as. We have had to fight many wars, both figuratively and literally, to reclaim the heritage of our nation. We are only just beginning on that path. We are only just beginning to take back for Russia what the west has stolen from it; we are only just rediscovering what it means to be Slavic, to be Russian."

I remain quiet, allowing him to elaborate. "We are not monarchists. We are not communists either -- no one wants to revive the Soviet Union. It was a failed experiment, a failed view of Russian identity. We want the republic of early reformers, yes, but with a strong hold on the people. We understand in Russia what other nations do not, that freedom of expression is a means to an end, not an end within itself. The Russian people are ready to take hold of their destiny, but they need strong guidance in order to seize it. You are American, yes?"

I nod.

"Our country now," he pauses "it is like your nation after your civil war -- we are just finding ourselves again. We have vanquished a great enemy, and now we must steel ourselves, with greater resolve, because hard won victories are too easily lost with complacency. We are accepting that the west has always been Russia's enemy, that the west has always been envious of Russia. You westerners see that we have something you do not, and so you want to destroy us."

I seem to look surprised, so he moderates his tone.

"Oh, yes, destroy is a strong word. You are all so uncomfortable with the concept of hating another culture. You just want to keep us bottled in, somewhere where our way of life cannot be threatening to you and your freedom-at-all-costs."

"You don't think this new line of thought will alienate other nations?" I ask, stating what Fyodorov has of course considered before.

He nods and takes a sip of a cup of coffee next to him. "Oh, we are plenty willing to work with other countries. We just understand that secretly, you all hate us." he smiles, "Of course, everyone secretly hates people different than themselves. We are willing to work with you all, even the United States, we will just not be fooled into believing you have our best interests at heart. There is something about us you will, I think, never trust."

Suddenly he stands up, twisting his head around looking for something, reminding me forcibly of a meercat. "Well, that is all. Best be going now." he shoos me out of the door.

I manage to ask him, before he unceremoniously slams the door of his apartment and leaves me standing in the cold of dark in Novgorod, "How would you have Russia proceed?"

"Boldly," he says. "Boldly and without remorse."

This was a week before the "Crimson Uprising" of the Russian Unity Society. Yeltsin Fyodorov has been employed by Anton Sverstikov's government as "Minister of Public Information". He has not granted me an interview since.

 

[Shadowbound]

To: Brazil
From: Argentina

We would take it as a kindness if you deigned to acknowledge us when we spoke.

Como? Não falo Inglês.

 

[talonschild]

And I have just fired my translator. Your turn.

 

[DarthNader]

The Canadian Herald
Your Source for Unbiased News


WORLD MILITARIES SWELL!

Recently trained Chinese sailors present themselves aboard a newly built destroyer.​

London, United Kingdom - A recent periodical published by Jane's Information Group has shown the world's leading powers have significantly expanded their militaries over the past few years. Massive armies fielded by such nations as the United States, the Russian Federation and the Holy Republic of Greater Nigeria are beginning to frighten the leaders of their weaker neighbors as a scramble for territory looms over the horizon.

The militaries fielded by these powerhouses are diverse in nature. Some, and in fact the vast majority, chose to focus on their land forces. The South Africans and Brazilians took this a step further and ordered the intentional halt of the construction of all warships as to be able to dedicate more funds to bolstering troop and tank numbers, which caused a stir of concern amongst admirals and their supporters. In contrast, a collection of nations put considerable effort into naval build up. This move was more expected from the likes of the European Federation, the United States, and Japan, but new contenders have arisen, namely Indonesia and Mexico. While Indonesia’s naval build up can be seen as a means to better secure its island territories, the move by Mexico can only be viewed as a tool to exert dominance over the Caribbean and possibly as a challenge to the Americans, who have long dominated the North American scene.

A small handful of world powers decided to focus less on large armies and more on multiple armies of less strength. This move has been lauded by expansionists who claim it gives their respective nations the ability to spread more rapidly and effectively amongst their neighbors. The majority of these second armies have undergone a degree of specialization. In China and the Austral Union, the focus has been on airborne forces, citing their effectiveness in previous conflicts as the main means for their establishment. The doctrine in China is to have large numbers of paratroops, allowing them to overwhelm opponents. The Aussies, however, have determined that troop quality and training is the way to go. By having their forces undergo rigorous training, Aussie troops are able to perfect their proficiency in the art of airborne combat.

Reactions to this sudden military build up have been as varied as they have been widespread. While smaller countries have been able to do little to combat the threat of war, nations with formidable militaries have shown less concern, as they comfortably believe they are able to fend off any invasion. Although they seem confident in their ability to deter war, Israel, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, the Koreas, and many other nations have made sure their forces are fighting fit to ensure they are prepared should they be wrong. Some believe these efforts are only a short term fix and that invasion and subjugation by their more powerful neighbors is inevitable. Only time will tell, but the world is almost confident that how these armies will be put to use will become clear in the following months.

+2 Stability for all but India. Shame on India!

Unrest, Confusion Rampant in UAR

Editor Ty deGraff Neilson explains to Parliament how a beating from "Lefty" could have properly dealt with the former UAR president.​

Cairo, United Arab Republic – While we are all aware that some pretty crazy words and actions have been known to radiate from the Middle East, in recent weeks, the insane babble seemed to come in waves. Alexander Ahmalezenh Hussein Bin Laden, which is believed to be a crude pseudonym or noms de guerre for a Habib Ghada al-Ajam, spouted various hate-speech and incoherent ramblings on various topics, but mostly indicated his extreme distaste for everything “American” and “Western”. This was responded to with claims of al-Ajam’s wife’s infidelity by American president Harris and various leaders of their allies in Nigeria. While the claim has not been proven, increasing reports of coital interactions with the wife of al-Ajam have been collected by our staff, including one such claim from our editor-in-chief Ty deGraff Neilson.

Regardless, al-Ajam’s public approval fell like a turd from the heavens. Civic and regional political leaders called al-Ajam’s sanity into question and he was diagnosed to have a previously undocumented type of psychosis, which has been named Christus’ Monothematic Delusional Psychosis (CMDP). Al-Ajam was hospitalized and prescribed .1 CCs of lead driven into the skull at high velocity via pistol. He was then slated to undergo autopsy so the world could learn more about CMDP. Mehmet Melhara has risen to take his place, but the damage was already done. Much of the populous is hoping the new leader will not prove to be stricken with the same ailment as his predecessor.

UAR: -5 Stability

Persons of the Month

Tyler "Ty" deGraff Neilson​

Former Canadian MP, former Canadian Ambassador to the UN, and current Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Herald. Toronto’s native son and winner of numerous awards and degrees from several countries is a very vocal critic of international policy and diplomacy.​

Hadjara al-Jafir (formerly Hadjara al-Habib)​

Former wife of the deceased former president of the UAR and suspected hussy. In asylum in Canada since 2034 and currently shacking up with a Mr. Ty deGraff Neilson. Pictured is Ms. al-Jafir indicating the size of Mr. Neilson's disco stick.​

 

[DarthNader]

MAP

Spoiler :

DIPLO
N/A

OOC
I received orders from everyone except SouthernKing...and from nearly half of you after some prodding. Its fine to have missed the orders for this turn, but, from this point forward two missed orders is an automatic boot from the game.

India got the blue light special, which was 40% spent on the Army, 30% on the Navy, and 30% on the Air Force. Their placement was random.

For the next set of orders, please send the typical stuff (spending, military action, policy, etc).

Stats will be up momentarily. In them, I put the treaties that were made in the thread. In the future, all involved parties will need to put the treaty in their orders for it to be reflected in the stats.

If y'all want to get ahold of me, drop me a PM or contact me on AIM. My AIM screen name is Nader1942.

Deadline for orders is Saturday, March 30th at 6:00pm EST

 

[TheLizardKing]

Good update.

From: The United States of America
To: Mejico

Ahoy there brown-skinned friends. We have suggested a non-aggression pact between our peoples, and the trade of your high-grade drugs for our hottest college co-eds once a year. Are you interested?

 

[Milarqui]

OOC: Erm... didn't we agree in the end that Person of Interest X had been hiding in the European Federation?

To: United States of America
From: European Federation

We have yet to receive an answer about your acceptance or not of the terms we described for the Agreement of Cooperation and Friendship between our nations.

 

[ChineseWarlord]

To the United States
From: Mexico

I thought this trade was already in place. Regardless, it seems that the trade is too lopsided for us to agree too (formally that is) but we would be happy to engage in a non-aggression pact.

 

[ZeletDude]

Good update!

 

[christos200]

From United Arab Republics
To Turkey:

As we are both Muslim nations and have a long history of being together, we propose a treaty of friendship and co-operation:

1) Turkey and UAR will sign a defensive alliance.
2) Turkey and UAR will have lower tariffs, thus ensuring that trade may flow between both nations at lower prices.
3) Turkey and UAR shall work together to bring stability to the Islamic World.

 

[Lord of Elves]

From: Russian Federation
To: Turkey
CC: United Islamic Insane Asylums
Trusting that the government of Turkey is sane, as we have understood in the past, we do not expect that you would sign any treaties with the United Insane Asylums, clearly bent as they are on the absorption of neighboring states and the oppression of their peoples. However, we wish to warn you that our state psychologists indicate the mental condition of the entire Islamic bureaucracy and state apparatus to be questionable. We caution you against not only signing any treaties or compacts with them, but also coming in any physical contact, as their condition may be contagious.

Regards, "Uncle" Anton Sverstikov, Chancellor of the National Congress

 

[DarthNader]

From: Turkey
To: UAR, Russia

At the moment, we have no interest in aligning ourselves with the UAR or any other nation. The Turkish Armed Forces is more than capable of defending its own territory, and we do not wish to bring stability to a region which is being destabilized by the UAR. In fact, we Turks only wish to care for our own. Not the Arabs, not the Russians, the Turks. Now, both of you, please kindly go and attempt to spread your influence elsewhere.

OOC: Christos, as I told you via PM, trade is useless in this game. To keep bringing it up is a waste of time.

 

[DarthNader]

I just noticed I forgot to update the stats. I meant to do so right after updating. They're now up.

Also, I was talking to some players on AIM and the idea of moving the deadline up was recommended. I was thinking making the deadline to Saturday, March 30th at 6:00pm. How do people feel about that? If I get enough support, I'll change the deadline.

 

[Nuka-sama]

OOC: Erm... didn't we agree in the end that Person of Interest X had been hiding in the European Federation?

I don't recall anyone but you saying that and I recall nobody confirming

 

[TheLizardKing]

"1,000 Likes and My Dad Will Send Me To College"

Yeah, move it up.

 

[m.t.cicero]

I'd be all for moving the deadline up.

 

[ZeletDude]

Yea move it up!

 

[Lord of Elves]

Yeah, go ahead and move it up.

 

[TheLizardKing]

Link to video.