Pre-ChaNES: Into the Void

[alex994]

The colonial governor of 009-108 urges his leaders to outright reject any proposal by the Europeans. We have spent many resources and untold amounts of money to secure a Chinese-only planet in 009-108.

Perhaps we could negotiate a deal where they can acquire some of the other planets in the system, but the aqua planet is Chinese.

IC:
The Colonial Governor of Kua Fu (Damen) suggests to the colonial governor of 009-108 to name the system Xu Fu in honor of the great Chinese explorer; the glories of Chinese civilization and that of the People's Republic of China must spread!

OOC: That seems patriotic enough for a Chinese colonial governor

 

[Fuschia]

To: The World
From: The Islamic Confederation

It seems we must now reply to yet another set of accusations and blatant lies by the Russian Federation. In fact, we will pick apart their entire statement and reveal the underlying hate and prejudice obvious in their every word.

The first of their claims is that Russia is no enemy of Islam. While this may seem a valid claim for the moment, and we will let it slide, a close examination of the rest of their release will show differently.

Their second claim is that no anti-Muslim commentary or activities have been carried out by the United States of America. While we see the reality that the majority of the world does not hold a grudge against Islam, we do see such actions present in the foreign policy of the United States of America. First and most obviously, they have, again and again, supported the nation of Israel over the Palestinians, a clear show of bias towards Islam and its people in Palestine, even to this day.

Secondly, the United States of America pushed for a world wide trade embargo with Indonesia purely because it rejected the United States of America's obvious militarization of space, something we did not wish to occur. Any nation with a modicum of objectivity would realize that the minor problems occurring in Indonesia hardly deserved such an embargo and, indeed, there are many other nations who performed worse actions with which the United States of America continued good and open relations with. The only difference between many of these nations and Indonesia is that Indonesia is Muslim, and that Indonesia condemned the United States of America and its actions when it decided to militarize space.

Continuing historically, the United States of America then proceeded to promote trouble in Timor, specifically to destabilize Indonesia, for whose people it had, supposedly, a great concern for. Those were lies then as Russia's lies about its caring for the people of the Islamic Confederation are now. The government of the United States and its allies care for little more than to war with others at the slightest of provocations, and care nothing for the people of any nation, least of all their own.

Moving further through time, we come to the outright invasion and occupation of Indonesia, a clear action of aggression which the United States began with the sole purpose of continuing its aggressive actions towards the only Islamic power with the capability to colonize other solar systems, another blatant move against Muslims around the world.

We could continue indefinitely with our explication of America's many crimes of aggression and imperialism against the Islamic faith and the Islamic Confederation, we will move on to Russia's next charge: that the Islamic Confederation is labeling this a religious war so as to take advantage of international sympathy derived from its status as the nation defending itself from attack. We make no defense against this charge; not only is this war, at least partially, based on religion, we are the nation defending ourselves from attack by an external power. This charge is true in its entirety, and if you hold the truth against us, so be it.

Next we come to our mention of calling Russia and the United States of America infidels, that they are out to destroy Islam. The first is a blatant lie; we have never, nor will we ever, call another nation a nation of infidels, or call upon the nations of Islam to declare a Jihad against any nation. These actions serve only to further split the human race, something that we do not wish. Such divides cause violence, and violence is a horrible thing when it occurs, if often necessary when it does. The second is also true, to an extent. The United States of America wishes to destroy the power of the Islamic faith. Even if it does not wish to kill every Muslim, it wishes to drive them out of power by assaulting their power base and relegating them to be nothing but a single planet religion that will, eventually, die out over the years. This is their wish and it does, indeed, lead to nothing but the complete destruction of the Islamic faith.

Next comes their labeling us as followers of the religious hatred that was Al Qaeda and various other terror groups from nearly a century ago. The fact is, our message is nothing like this. Did Al Qaeda ever sue for peace at every possible turn? Was Al Qaeda or its members ever the victim of a massive, unprovoked assault by the United States of America? Did Al Qaeda use honorable means to attempt to resolve the differences between nations before they came to war? The answer to all of these question is no, as you very well know. Russia's comparison is nothing but a lie that it wishes to spread among its people and that nations of the world so they will come to hate the Islamic Confederation and the Islamic faith as they already do.

Next comes Russia's movement through the various stages of this conflict, in which it continually paints the Islamic Confederation as the aggressors when, in fact, they were no such thing. It first of all says that the United States of America simply supported the movement; we charge that not only did they support it, they were the cause of it. Looking back at how the conflict initiated, I am sure that many will agree. Regardless, the Islamic Confederation's mandate only applies to economic and foreign policy issues, and does not allow us to interfere with the internal affairs of, as Russia so emphatically points out, Indonesia. It was Indonesia, not the Islamic Confederation, which held on to its territory. We told them to let it go. Even when they refused, we told the United States of America to leave and allow troops from the European Union or China to take their place, and they refused, which takes us to the next phase in our trek through history: America's invasion of Indonesia.

The American invasion of Indonesia was a clear violation of the territorial integrity of Indonesia for no clear reason. As Indonesia is a member state of the Islamic Confederation, we should have retaliated immediately. Instead, we kept ourselves quite while the American government brooded and waited to destroy us as they contemplated our move. Realizing through several methods the desire of the Americans to war with the Islamic Confederation, we began to arm ourselves for the coming conflict. When America yet again invaded the territory of the Islamic Confederation and glimpsed our preparations, we decided that our wait was at an end. That was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. We declared war, as the United States clearly had no intention of leaving us be after their attack upon Indonesia and there repeated invasions of the territory of the Islamic Confederation. It was a regrettable but inevitable decision in response to the imperialism and aggression of the United States of America.

Finally, we move on to the current conflict. Yes, we moved our cruisers to attack the United States of America. However, curiously enough, we asked the United States of America to withdraw from the territory of the Islamic Confederation and resume peaceful relations with us before opening fire, something you will never find in the hateful rhetoric of the Russian Federation. Yes, we attacked the American cruisers when they refused to agree to peace, and then destroyed many American satellites. Yes, we invaded Israel to liberate the Palestinian people and arm ourselves for the coming conflict with the proper weaponry. Yes, we liberated Indonesia from the oppressive and imperialistic Americans. All of this we did with the intent of peace, if only people were to look with a proper eye to the world.

Moving on to further Russian accusations, they have accused of escalating a regional conflict into a World War. This is not the truth. While it may have seemed a simple regional conflict when the United States of America invaded Indonesia, it was obvious that the government of America wished the Islamic Confederation to retaliate so they could destroy us and, just as importantly the IISP, which threatened their imperialistic desires among the stars. We did nothing but prepare for the inevitable conflict to come, which was, yet again, begun by America with its invasion of the territory of the Islamic Confederation through the use of spacecraft.

Next, they call us insane and genocidal. We are neither. War makes everyone insane, especially a war in which one loses. When defeat means the defeat of not only your nation but the eventual defeat of your faith and your ideals, defeat is not an option. We have chosen mutually assured destruction rather than simple destruction, as this path offers us the more options. Genocidal you may call us, but insane we are not.

The Russian Federation escalated the conflict even further by joining and then preaching their dialoge of hatred to its people and the nations of the world. Their teachings are nothing but pathetically formed lies.

When Indonesia could have negotiated with the rebels it did not. A regrettable decision, but one with which the Islamic Confederation did not involve itself with.

When Indonesia was invaded, the Islamic Confederation could have immediately escalated the inevitable conflict. But it did not.

The final straw was when America invaded the territory of the Islamic Confederation on Venus, which was little more than an insult that showed their need for a reason to declare war upon us. And we obliged them. we are sure no one can fault us on our good manners. That is all

OOC: Where is proverbia, anyways?

OOC: Err, Fuschia, why do you have this crazy war strike. I mean, the world basically declared war on you in LUCKNES V, and now this?

Here, I am playing in character, as I did there. Besides, in LuckNES V, the majority of those declarations were very out of character. Here, I am defending from a war. There, I started a war. I see no similarities. Anyways, stop spamming.

 

[TerrisH]

On the presumption everyone dies. In which case they won't need money, because they'll be dead. You're trying to buy your way off what you perceive to be a sinking ship. Why would anyone let you, when you're not trying to help bail it out instead of trying to save your own sorry skin?

? and how exactly could I help? I have no military, I'm head of a corporation, not a nation. I presume the nations in Africa are doing something, but I have no clue about it, nor do I want to know.
and Yes, I am presuming they will die. if not from this, then from some other event. with the stars in easy reach, it no longer makes sense to keep all their eggs in one basket. the CEO, and indeed the majority of the corporation, will not be following them to the stars.

 

[Shadowbound]

? and how exactly could I help? I have no military, I'm head of a corporation, not a nation. I presume the nations in Africa are doing something, but I have no clue about it, nor do I want to know.

You could always play as the African Union, which probably has more resources than any corporation.

Mind holding off armageddon until I get a few colony ships sent my way, guys? Kthxbai.

 

[Symphony D.]

FROM: Russian Federation
TO: World

The Russian government finds the following excerpt of Islamic Confederation propaganda most salient:

Next, they call us insane and genocidal. We are neither. War makes everyone insane, especially a war in which one loses. When defeat means the defeat of not only your nation but the eventual defeat of your faith and your ideals, defeat is not an option. We have chosen mutually assured destruction rather than simple destruction, as this path offers us the more options. Genocidal you may call us, but insane we are not.

Once more the Islamic Confederation equates its existence as a governing body as the existence of the Islamic faith, which is a blatantly false correlation.

Islam existed before the Islamic Confederation. Islam shall exist after the Islamic Confederation. We have never said otherwise. What will cease to exist will be the Islamic Confederation itself, which has led and is attempting to lead the followers of Islam into the greatest crime humanity has ever witnessed.

Once more, the Islamic Confederation is attempting to disguise what is nothing more than a political power-grab with the trappings of religion. And once more, their words undo them for it is plainly evident that religion does not factor into conflict at all. They are criminals abusing the faith of those they have sworn to protect and defend to instead lead them only to death and destruction.

The only matter at stake here is the threatening of the world by genocidal, and clearly insane madmen, and they are indeed insane, for this is not a policy of mutually assured destruction. MAD entails two opponents counterbalancing one another with the threat of destruction. The Islamic Confederation's strategy is that of destroying themselves to destroy everyone else. That is not MAD, it is madness, and is nothing more than an excuse for nuclear terrorism on an apocalyptic scale. No legitimate state would ever sanction the death of its populace to destroy its enemies.

It is evident from the adamant defense of such inhuman insanity that the government of the Islamic Confederation may no longer be considered a rational actor that may be negotiated with. Words clearly carry no weight in the ears of those so deluded. The Russian government therefore officially announces it ceases all recognition of the Islamic Confederation as a legitimate governing body and hereby reclassifies it as a terrorist cell, and for that reason officially discontinues any further official responses to press releases issued by that terrorist cell.

 

[Fuschia]

OOC: Seems more than a few posts sprung up while I was writing my own post. Time to reply.

First of all, a question: exactly which nations fund the Africa Prosperity Corporation? It may make more sense for them to be working with the IISP or be part of the IISP, as a good number of the more northern African states are part of the Islamic Confederation. Just letting you know, I suppose.

Europe's involvement was peacekeeping forces in Indonesia on a humanitarian mission. We have repeatedly condemned the Islamic Confederation for its war crimes, and notes that its conduct in this war has given a definite moral high ground to the United States.

However, we do not believe that the remnants of the Confederation are going to use their Nuclear Weapons. We are trying to facilitate peace talks, even as other nations criticize us for our lack of offensive military action.

As long as this situation is salvageable without further war, we will do our best to secure such a conclusion.

OOC: Remnants of the Confederation? All we have lost is Indonesia, which is hardly the majority of our population or territory. Maybe half our population, but nowhere near half of our territory. And our military has grown, as well as our nuclear arsenal. Seems to me I'm becoming more powerful, not less. Just my opinion of course.

To: Europe
From: The Islamic Confederation

This conflict is, indeed, salvageable. If the United States of America were to withdraw immediately from Indonesia, we would consider peace to be in effect, although, of course, you will see quickly that is they, and not ourselves, who do not wish for peace to come about.

As for our nuclear weapons, the Islamic Confederation does not wish to use them. However, if the United States of America continues upon the path it has chosen, all nations will suffer because of their decision, as we will use our nuclear weapons, of which we have sufficient to irradiate the Earth to the point that it will become unlivable within a short period of time after the detonations, which would probably just above the territory of the Islamic Confederation.

This, of course, is why it is so important for the peace talks to progress, and why any reasonable nation will see that they must progress. If they do not, everyone loses, and if they do not it will be the fault of the United States of America, not the Islamic Confederation.

OOC: You do realize, Symphony, that any invasion of the Islamic Confederation will make everyone lose? It hardly matters what sort of diplomacy we use, as their are only two courses of action, one in which people live, and the other in which people die.

To: The World
From: The Islamic Confederation

We have never once stated that our existence is the same as that of the Islamic faith. However, our existence is the same as the strength and unity of the Islamic faith, which is necessary for its continued existence. Only through the combined efforts of many Islamic nations have we made the paltry colonization efforts that we have. If we were to cease existing, not only would the United States of America defame Muslims for all time and treat them poorly and as vassals for the rest of eternity, it would be relegated to a single planet, which essentially means the eventual dissolution of the religion because of lack of popular support. These things we will not allow to occur.

As for Russia's recent ending of diplomatic talks, these clearly show who is at fault here: the United States of America and, just as importantly, its ally, the Russian Federation. We are still willing to continue peace talks so long as no Russian soldier sets foot within the Islamic Confederation. When they do, the entire world will be destroyed. That is all.

 

[TerrisH]

personality of the entity. different reasoning, different thinking, different paths. I Presonaly don't want to get involved in the war, which I would have to if I was the AU.

 

[Symphony D.]

FROM: Russian Federation
TO: European Union, People's Republic of China
CC: United States of America

The Russian government wishes to make clear that it respects the sovereign authority of both of your nations. Let it make it also abundantly clear that it finds the pacifist and non-interventionist tendencies of the European Union to be noble and honorable.

But the Russian government also finds that it must make clear that the world is not a noble or honorable place. This much is proven by the Islamic Confederation's actions.

The reason we are willing to fight this war is we do believe the Islamic Confederation will use nuclear weapons if its demands are not met. The first rule of blackmail is you have to be capable of carrying out your threats if your demands are not met. That the Islamic Confederation went out of its way to invade a neutral and sovereign state for the sole purpose of acquiring nuclear weapons demonstrates two things:

1. It is willing to use any means to achieve its objectives.
2. It is not willing to bluff on word alone

Were it the Islamic Confederation's intent to simply bluff with the threat of nuclear weapons, it could easily have done so without making such an action, and it would be difficult to discredit. Instead it has made it impossible to deny. Some may say it is simply a threat. We think that the threat is too much.

Let us suppose that peace were to be reached on the Islamic Confederation's demands. Suppose we uniformly pardoned their already despicable crimes, the countless lives they have wasted in their spread of a regional issue into a global conflagration. Suppose.

What precedent would that set for the future? Simply, any group which was dissatisfied with any measure, no matter how trivial, could threaten any given planet with global extermination at the drop of a hat. That is the precedent the Islamic Confederation is setting for mankind: if you do not give us what we want, we will kill ourselves and you too.

Is that the message the people of Europe or China want spread with humanity among the stars? That the simplest way to resolve disputes is with the threat of violence? Is not that message the very thing that Europe's noble justice and China's great history of orderly society are opposed to?

For now, the Islamic Confederation had to raid a nuclear power to secure its weapons. In the future, as human technology becomes increasingly more sophisticated, the power to render destruction on a vast scale becomes available to ever smaller organizations. Small countries, corporations, groups, individuals. Nuclear weapons, engineered bioweapons, uncontrolled nanobot replication, the variety of ends a group may threaten a planet with is virtually endless.

Are you really willing to set that precedent? Are you willing to toss that weed in among the seeds that we spread out across the galaxy? Are you willing to risk it? To risk it all? There is a reason that one does not negotiate with terrorists, with hostage-takers, with psychopaths.

That, friends, is why we have chosen to make our stand. The Islamic Confederation has thrust this issue upon us all. We choose now whether or not we will walk in the light and stand against terror in all its forms, or whether we will submit to it and allow its darkness to spread among all humans, wherever they may be found, for all time.

Choose wisely.

OOC: You do realize, Symphony, that any invasion of the Islamic Confederation will make everyone lose? It hardly matters what sort of diplomacy we use, as their are only two courses of action, one in which people live, and the other in which people die.

OOC: Your strategy is reasonable, if only from a metagame perspective. But, in the words of Graham Acre, I will force that reasoning aside with unreasonableness. I find myself willing to risk that on the chance it's your leaders who die. Your little alliance has proven itself to be too dangerously sane to continue to permit it to exist, both due to its all-too-robotic leaderership and in the precedent it is attempting to set. Furthermore, you have proven yourself to be all too-clinical and gamey a player to be allowed to continue to participate in your current function in this game. Therefore, on both exceptionally strong IC and OOC convictions, I choose to evict you from your current position with all means at my disposal. I do not believe in no-win scenarios, and I do not play games where someone may threaten me arbitrarily simply because they can. That is all you need to know. Whatever else you believe, you may continue to believe.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

That is exactly why the European Union intends to try and solve this with peacekeeping and diplomacy. We have two choices: Peace, with all of the downsides you mentioned, or the potential destruction of Earth.

We understand your opinions, but will continue our plans for making peace.

To: Islamic Confederation and United States of America
From: European Union
Our offer to host peace talks remains unanswered.

OOC: Fuschia, yeah, the remnants. Your central state was taken down, I imagine that your organization will break down fairly soon. As for your argument of Islam being trapped on Earth, plenty of Muslims have become established in space- in European colonies.

 

[Symphony D.]

Official Transcript
President Aleksandr Volkov
Public Address
Simulcast on Television and Netcast
Original Delivery: 1700GMT, Jan. 14, 2105AD
Delivered From: The Duma, Moscow, Russian Federation

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of the Russian Federation, and the world at large.

I have appeared here before you all tonight bearing the European Union's response to our appeal to use its power responsibly. It reads, and I quote:

"That is exactly why the European Union intends to try and solve this with peacekeeping and diplomacy. We have two choices: Peace, with all of the downsides you mentioned, or the potential destruction of Earth. We understand your opinions, but will continue our plans for making peace.

Humanity's history is a history of dreams. Of individuals challenging the impossible, and often failing--but sometimes succeeding.

Europe might be unwilling to confront the evil that looms on the horizon of humanity's future like a roiling thundercloud, a future where hopes and dreams are subject to the tyranny and terror by the lone dissenting individual who can blackmail their right to whatever they demand, and might call that evil the lesser of two, and acquiesce to it.

That is where Europe is different from America or Russia! We say it is not the lesser of two! It is the equally unacceptable second of three! We stand for a third option in which the nations of the world band together to neutralize a common threat, rather than caving into it and condemning all their descendants to an eternity of fearmongering!

We believe in this option because we know the good that humanity can achieve when it works together, and we know that sufficient cooperation can overcome any barrier, any obstacle, any threat, and any fear!

Europe may be willing to treat the Confederation's threat as absolute, to yield under it--we will not! We will not throw away the future without trying to salvage hope! We will not give in to a mechanized, deterministic view of the world where there are only two outcomes, white and black, blue and red! We will not tolerate the treading of a path down which humanity is reduced to the role of living robots, driven by cold logic to survive! We will not throw away our very humanity for the sake of some false peace, for that is a life worse than death!

Some may say "You cannot, it's too dangerous!"

I ask you now flatly: would humanity walk amongst the cosmos today if we had said "You cannot, it's too dangerous?" No!

Would we have devised our technological marvels of fusion power or the Internet, or any of a thousand million other devices if someone had constantly stood up and said "You cannot, it's too dangerous?" No!

The nature of humanity is to take risks! It is to be free! Ask not if the risks are too high if we fail! The risks are already too high if we do not even try! That is the essence of dreaming! It is not something we do, it is who we are. I will not see that essence, that very core of humanity cast aside to placate men and women who cannot exercise it because their hearts are cold and their minds think only of power!

The future of mankind isn't just in space. Dreamers, those who seek what is good and just, do not have to go only to the colonies to seek it! Earth is not yet a place where hopes and dreams go to die! People of the Mother Russia, people of Earth, let us show them that! Let us sidestep those who would sell out our freedom from underneath us as casually as they would buy a cup of coffee and show them that there are still some things left worth fighting for!

They say it's too dangerous to dare to hope! They say we cannot! Let us all join together now and show them that yes we can!

 

[a_propagandist]

OOC: How are communications for Valhalla? Will I have wait an approximate year or so to hear of these speeches or am I getting them as soon as they are broadcast?

 

[Chandrasekhar]

Chandra, two things: 1) What kind of background/stats do you want me to come up with as regards my corporation, and 2) what kind of ships are available to civilians at this point (preferably sigma capable), and if not available, how much would it cost to develop a fairly cheap craft for intersystem business purposes?

Also, since I've forgotten and can't find it, are we spending actual money at this point in the game?

It's not mandatory for you to come up with stats, but of course a more detailed background is always better. There are no absolute standards I have to give you. As to the ships that are available to civilians, no one currently owns any Stigma craft, though rights could certainly be gotten from a government to build one. Interplanetary craft are certainly owned by some private corporations that traffic between planets as well, though.

And no, you're not actually spending EP at this stage. The numbers in the stats are more for my reference than yours.

OOC: How are communications for Valhalla? Will I have wait an approximate year or so to hear of these speeches or am I getting them as soon as they are broadcast?

Stigma communications are quite close to instantaneous, so you could effectively have them as soon as they're broadcast.

Regarding any OOC'ness of Fuschia's playing, I wouldn't necessarily call it terminal. All the right factors are there for a ridiculously fanatical leadership structure, and the populace in general is quite pissed off at the US. Certainly, there will be a lot of dissent at even the suggestion of such a strategy by the government, and even many of those that are entrusted with the task of setting off the bombs would wimp out at the last moment. However, regardless of the feasibility of such a strategy, to threaten it isn't terribly OOC, in my view.

 

[Niklas]

From: People's Republic of China
To: The World

China fully supports the efforts of the European Union to facilitate a peace between the United States of America and the Islamic Confederation. China will not tolerate any further war, and will actively oppose any nation that engages in further conflict and thus threatens the very existence of our planet.

That is all we have to say.

 

[Fuschia]

OOC: Fuschia, yeah, the remnants. Your central state was taken down, I imagine that your organization will break down fairly soon. As for your argument of Islam being trapped on Earth, plenty of Muslims have become established in space- in European colonies.

OOC: While it is true Indonesia founded the Islamic Confederation, it is also true that the central state is now Saudi Arabia. Mecca is the base of the Islamic Confederation and its operations, not Indonesia, and there are many, many more nations from which we draw power on which allow us to continue our existence until a great many of them are defeated.

As for your, Symphony, your playing is at least as out of character as my own, whether you're willing to recognize it or not. The Islamic Confederation is, as Chandrasekhar points out, more than capable of issuing threats like this, even if it won't carry them out. You are simply wrong, and your insults towards me are certainly in poor taste. Perhaps we should remove you?

Everything I have done is the result of something that the United States of America did, and these actions were generally unreasonable; in case your not up to date on psychology, if you treat someone unreasonably, they treat you unreasonably in turn. Perhaps you should be pointing your obviously overly-large finger of blame at them?

Anyways, I say the same thing to you that I said to Dis when he felt like insulting me: shut up. Unless you can go through the records of history and then extrapolate perfectly over one hundred years into the future, you have no more authority in this area then I do. Maybe if you could point to one thing and explain why the Islamic Confederation wouldn't do it, I would accept and refute your criticism, but just pointing and saying "you're doing a bad job and should be removed" is nothing but you insulting me. I don't mind you insulting the Islamic Confederation; I do mind you insulting me, personally.

To: The European Union
From: The Islamic Confederation

We have answered. We will come if the United States of America is willing to negotiate, and until they are we will not move one step out of our own territory. If you wish peace and a world in which all can live, you will do your best to convince them, as we have obviously failed. It is America that is the aggressor here, and they will continue to be the aggressor until they are stopped, for it is they who are the unreasonable ones, not ourselves. And, again, our terms for peace are a simple withdrawal from Indonesia. If they wish to take our nuclear weapons, so be it. If they wish to impose sanctions upon us, so be it. But we will not suffer American troops within the territory of the Islamic Confederation.

 

[erez87]

OOC: And what of Israel? Will it be free?

 

[Lord_Iggy]

To: Russia
From: European Union

We note that you consider the internet and various earlier pieces of technology to be equal risks to the potential nuclear devastation of Earth. Daring, bold and innovative actions are good, but not at this potential cost.

To: United States of America
From: European Union

Will you engage in diplomacy with the Islamic Confederation?

 

[Symphony D.]

As for your, Symphony, your playing is at least as out of character as my own, whether you're willing to recognize it or not. The Islamic Confederation is, as Chandrasekhar points out, more than capable of issuing threats like this, even if it won't carry them out. You are simply wrong, and your insults towards me are certainly in poor taste.

OOC: If I wanted to insult you I'd call you a terrible player. What I said was you were too dangerous, both in character and out of character. Having a functional survival instinct, unlike some of our players, I work to remove threats when applicable. If anything, you could take it as a compliment. In fact, if you read what I said, I didn't actually declare what you were doing to be OOC. I just said I had good OOC arguments for wanting you gone in addition to IC ones.

You've demonstrated competence. But if you want insults, I can provide them.

What irks me about your style is that you are quite capable of issuing threats like you have, yes. But there is a difference between a man who points a gun at someone's head and shouts, and a man who points a gun at someone's head and very calmly and carefully explains his actions.

Your leaders are doing the latter, when one would expect they would be doing the former. The meticulous responses rendered to my diplomacy and the ordinary every-day way in which they lay out the logic with which they claim they will destroy the world is the exact same logic you yourself use in all your other posts.

Their voice is your voice. Their logic is your logic.

Now, as much as you might want to claim that I'm being OOC every bit as much as you, it's fairly clear that President Volkov does not speak the way I do. He doesn't really think the way I do completely either, because if I sincerely wanted to wipe you off the map, damn the consequences, I would've stayed quiet, pressed for America to accept the peace treaty, tracked down all the bombs you stole, blown them to hell, and then glassed your ass. Given playing for time is something of a pattern here with you, you might well have anticipated that, but it would be the most logical move. It's what I'd do if this was real. Volkov has different ideas. He does not talk like me. He does not think like me.

So you may say that I am guilty of whatever. You may think that I have insulted you. Really, I just think that you're playing your little Confederation as if you yourself were in charge of it, and my character finds that all too dangerous, and I myself do too. You may make of that what you will.

And by the way, I shut up when I want to shut up. You would do well to keep that in mind.

 

[Fuschia]

OOC: If you don't consider what you said an insult, I would love to see you insult me. Although you did just try. I apologize for sounding so nasty, I was in a rather bad mood when I posted last night.

And, to rebut your insult (as if that is even possible ) I am the kind of person who would be shouting right now. North King knows me, you should ask him. And, if I was not shouting, I would be running away, allowing the United States of America to colonize Indonesia, and licking my wounds. I know I will lose. I know this situation is one that I cannot win. It is the Islamic Confederation that is being, as you put it, dangerously sane, not myself.

Now that I have said that, can we just both agree to forget about it? I prefer not to have people angry with me, or be angry at other people. It just makes everything sour.

 

[Symphony D.]

FROM: Russian Federation
TO: European Union
CC: Global Broadcast

Unfortunately this government is not willing to be so lightly dismissed in light of the actions the European Union has undertaken.

Let us have a debate of policy. Given that Europe is a nation which is sending people into space to extend the territorial boundaries of the human race, is generally acknowledged to be one of the four greatest powers on Earth, and is responsible for the security of hundreds of millions of people, and indeed is a contributing factor in humanity's defense as a whole, the Russian government believes it to be important to know exactly where Europe stands on the issue of the rule of law.

Europe, as a whole, has practiced a policy of pacifism. So far, excepting the deployment of peacekeepers to Indonesia, it has been one of complete pacifism. Europe has exercised this position as one of superior moral standards and pragmatism. The Russian government finds its ideals lofty and noble. We find its execution lacking.

Pacifism is functional with rational actors. If you may dissuade an aggression, or otherwise stop him from acting, it is a reasonable and just philosophy. It does not, however, work with irrational actors.

Imagine a hypothetical scenario in which a man and his family are placed in a room with a machine whose only purpose is to shoot one of them to death every five minutes. The man will be shot last. The man is a pacifist. He may plead with the machine as much as he wants, but he will not stop it from completing its objective unless he physically destroys it. The machine is an irrational actor. It is not open to reason.

People are not machines. Their function is not solely to destroy. They are equally as capable of becoming an irrational actor, however.

We have submitted, several times, that the Islamic Confederation is an irrational actor. Regardless of how cooly the logic is delivered, self-destruction if conditions are not met is not a rational recourse. It is a move of desperation, a move to keep from facing the consequences of one's actions.

The other option presented by the Islamic Confederation likewise keeps it from facing the consequences of its actions. It has proposed a return to status quo antebellum, with no consequences for any of the leadership which have expanded this war. Even if one accepts the argument that the United States is equally to blame for this conflict, the United States shares none of the blame for the invasion of Israel, or the threats that have been issued by the Confederation following their theft of nuclear weapons by that country. Those two crimes--attempted genocide and willful and direct violation of the national sovereignty of a neutral nation--are the most serious the organization has committed.

It is at this juncture that we call into question Europe's respect for the rule of law. Europe has stated repeatedly that it considers the threat issued by the Confederation to be too serious to risk confrontation over. In addition to apparently refusing to listen to the intelligence its respective agencies must have provided the Parliament with, as well as our own provided information, this has come about with a flat rejection of any possible alternative to the two options proposed by the Confederation.

This is neither the proper forum nor time to criticize Europe on these issues. What we instead do is criticize the morality and practicality of your claims to a pacifist stance when considering this issue.

All rights that a human may possess are built upon another right: the right to defend oneself against the impingement of those rights. The prevention of infractions of that right is precisely what one has a right to when one has any rights at all. A pacifist response might be that violence is not the only way of preventing the impingement of rights. However, as has already been demonstrated, an irrational actor, by design or by intent, can easily cast deflect all such other measures.

Europe's rights to self-defense have not been impinged upon. Neither have Russia's. What of the American citizens who have been killed in terrorist attacks orchestrated and sponsored by the Confederation? What of the state of Israel, so brutally attacked and raided? Their rights have been impinged upon. The Confederation has offered no apologies, no recompensation, no measure of reciprocation whatsoever.

In practicing pacifism, Europe is effectively discarding its right to self-defense, and in so doing, discarding all other rights derived therefrom. It is clear that the Confederation does not respect those rights.

How does the European government explain this paradox to the world, and more importantly, to its citizens?

More over, another question presents itself regarding the rule of law: how does Europe condone the execution of such actions as undertaken by the Confederation, several of which are very clearly in violation of international law, without justice being dispensed to their perpetrators?

And finally, a third and final legal question presents itself: if Europe continues to maintain the danger is too great to confront the Confederation on this issue, how does it explain the precedent it has set that the threat of violence produces results and that the rule of law is impotent in the face of suitably large threats? Is not the rule of law directly and irreparably undermined by affirmation of such threats? The message that will echo through the ages if the demands of the Confederation is met are simple:

You may break the law at your leisure provided you have sufficient force as to render non-compliance by authority politically unacceptable.

Once a single law has been broken, and the transgression has been carried off successfully without punishment, there is no excuse or reason for any other law to be followed by anyone who would seek gain through illegal action.

The European Union, to the nearest of our ability to discern, is in full advocation of anarchy. It is unwilling to exercise its basic rights, it is unwilling to bring those who have committed crimes to justice, and it is unwilling to enforce or respect the rule of law on the scale of an international incident. How then can it be expected to have any legitimate judicial standing in any field whatsoever?

It is clear that the only peace terms which may be acceptable in the eyes of justice, are that the Confederation be permanently disbanded, the IISP be dismantled, its facility at Venus placed under international jurisdiction, its nuclear weapons be seized and returned to Israeli custody, and both its political and military leaders be put on trial by the World Court for crimes against humanity. Nothing else is sufficient for the scale of gross misconduct that organization has committed. Any measure short of that is a travesty before the law, and is insufficient. The European Union has not moved to enforce the rule of law in mediating a peace negotiation with the Confederation, and we must question why.

These are serious allegations. We make them because it is the Russian Federation's opinion that a country of such influence in the world should make it clear both to its own citizens and to the citizens of the rest of the world why it is choosing to exercise that influence in such a flagrantly irresponsible manner and is setting precedents for itself, and for humanity at large which will only serve to promote the use of force to achieve aims and encourage the occurrence of future incidents like this one.

You do not have to answer us, but eventually you will have to answer to those who have chosen you to represent them. We do not expect an answer, but they will.

Good day.

 

[Chandrasekhar]

OOC: And what of Israel? Will it be free?

It's been liberated by the US, though it may not be "free," precisely, as its government would've been pretty well gutted by a successful Confederate invasion. However, this is probably a temporary state of affairs, so yes, it could be expected to be free again soon enough.

Edit: Another highly improbably crosspost with Symphony.