The FSM

Ive returned from vacation, sunburned but happy

June 16th National Consultative Assembly Building, Syracuse, Sicilian Archonate, The Sicilian League "Motion" was shouted by a diminutive man standing in front of the rostrum. Senator Belkhadem of Malta took a sadistic pleasure in his words "I motion for an assessment of quorum." [b]*bang*bang*bang*[/b][i]Henri Argille, leader of the National Whig Party and Primus of the Assembly slammed his gavel to quiet the unruly chamber. Pandemonium had broken out after a number of Senators had walked out of the chamber in the middle of debate on the 'War Authorization Act' in an attempt to eliminate quorum and prevent a vote on the bill. He was tired of the games, he would have them dragged back in the chamber in chains if neccessary[/i] "Under Assembly Rule 13 the Sergeant-At-Arms will bar the doors to the chamber, no one will enter or leave the chamber until the vote on final passage. Under Assembly Rule 13-3 the Sergeant-At-Arms will also see that absent members are returned to the chamber by all means necessary. Mr. Belkhadem your motion is not recognized." As he spoke, his nemesis on the floor, Sen. Calois of the Nationalists, approached the rostrum and turned to face the rest of the body. "It appears that my [i]distinguished[/i] colleague the Primus has no desire to allow the objections of the nation to be voiced in this chamber. No, he would rather crush any sign of opposition under his iron fist and send this grand nation to its death with the armies of Asia. My fellow Senators and I attempt to stand in his way, to stand in the way of his drive to destroy our fragile League, and he merely swats aside our objections, drowns out our speeches, and manipulates the rules to advance his destructive agenda. I ask again, why must we send our sons and daughters to fight for the French now that they have gone a few bridges too far? Why must we always be at the Empresses beck and call when she goes off on another childish military adventure. First Iberia and now Germany, where will this end, my colleagues? Where will this end? Will the darling Empress take her armies and march to the Pacific next? I dont see why not, her ambitions certainly seem to be limitless. I ask you all to stand with me in telling Therese Zelle that enough is enough; that we will no longer support her quest to place all Europe, nay, all the world under her stilettoed heel." As Jean Calois continued his tirade against the French Empress, Henri Argille rubbed his temples. As much as he wanted to force a vote on the War Act, he couldnt as there just wasnt enough support for it. He needed to call in the biggest gun he could. He turned to his aide and whispered "Get me the Stewards Office, now." ---------------------------------- [quote]TO: Athenian Naval Command FROM: Sicilian GHQ-Naval Section, Admiral Antonio Valdotta CLASSIFICATION- TRIPLE A URGENT. IMMEDIATE REPLY REQUESTED. SICILIAN INVOLVEMENT IN FRENCH SITUATION IMMINENT. INTENTION IS TO CLOSE WATERS TO ALL TRAFFIC. WISH TO COORDINATE WITH ATHENS NAVALCOM RE: COMMON NAVAL DEFENSE FOR DURATION OF HOSTILITIES. PLEASE ADVISE AS TO INTEREST. FURTHER DISCUSSION REQUESTED IN PERSON. GHQ_NS_ADM A.V[/quote] ----------------------------------- [b]Announcement from the Sicilian General Headquarters[/b] Effective Immediately: All Sicilian National Waters are hereby closed to all foreign traffic regardless of national origin or point of destination. Sicilian Airspace is hereby closed to all foreign traffic regardless of national origin or point of destination. Sicilian Borders are closed to transit by all non-nationals or legal residents. Closures will be enforced by the Sicilian Airforce, those found in violation of restrictions will be warned and detained. failure to heed warnings will result in more drastic action. -Admiral Antonio Valdotta Sicilian GHQ- Naval Section

I will second mael in being glad I'm on bastion for this one. I'm quite sunburned if you were wondering. With that said, I'm sad to see this nice little RP has degenerated into two large sides arguing about technologies that are little known in RL yet we all pretend to be experts on :v Have fun all, I'll be back Monday to help pickup the pieces

Congratulations to RIA on the milestones and congrats to everyone on the bastion announcement. Is that a new world order I smell?

Im going on vacation in South Carolina tomorrow, will be back the monday after next. lock please

Another excellent announcement for two great alliances. Good to see.

A fine announcement indeed. Hail Imperium Hail Maroon

June 2. 2071 7am The League Building, Syracuse, Sicilian Archonate, The Sicilian League The Steward had slept on a cot in his new office on the top floor of what was called 'The HQ' in Syracuse. The sudden collapse of the pro-Sicilian government in Liguria had prompted all-day and all-night meetings for the last two days. Finally the situation seemed to be under control, Sicilian troops had captured Genoa and the major population centers, thankfully few lives had been lost and the leaders of the fascist elements had been captured. He hoped he could finally put the fascist specter behind him, he hoped the country could finally move on, leave the Borghese regime in the past. Reports of the death of Ratsherr Obama the day before had shaken the Steward, he remembered their meeting in Vienna shortly before German Unification, it seemed so long ago now, even though it wasnt. He was feigning sleep when his young aide, Orlando Amalia, walked in to the room. Orlando had just graduated from one of Sicily's more prestigious Universities and he was a relative of a friend of the Steward's who had reccommended him. He had only been on the job a short while, but he was very bright and the Steward enjoyed having him on his staff. "Excuse me, sir? I have a General Al-Malak on your private line, he says its urgent. Something about Priority Six" The Steward bolted upright, he had told Said to only use Priority Six if something disturbing were happening in France. Given the way things were going, the communists were revolting in France now too. "Give me the phone, wait outside." He placed the phone to his ear and sat in silence on the edge of the cot as Said related his conversation with Delacour and the French General Staff meeting. He stared out the giant glass window, his perch 20 floors up giving a commanding view of Syracuse, all he could see today was the rain beating against the glass, the sky already black with storm clouds. France invading Germany was a shock, but not totally unexpected. That didnt change the fact the Steward was infuriated that the French were taking such an absurd gamble. The Steward being infuriated also didnt change the fact he would help the French in any way he could. "Thank you Said, I need you to help the French as much as you can. Ill see what the country can do to help you." He held the phone in his lap. The Steward just sat and stared for a moment, processing everything he had just heard. "Orlando, summon the council, we meet in ten minutes" ------------- June 5. 2071 11am Camp Novara- Headquarters of Northern District Command, Territorial Defense Force The Camp was a hive of activity, as headquarters of the Northern District of the TDF, it was responsible for defending Milan and the borders with Germany, Switzerland and France. With the collapse of Liguria, the 20,000 men of the Northern Command had been thrown into action hunting down rebel leaders in Liguria and quelling riots on the streets of Genoa. Things had changed last night when General Orsini received new orders direct from General Headquarters, he was to take over occupation of Liguria from the RRC units that had landed, apparantly they were being shifted North to deal with 'contingencies'. Something was brewing, but he didnt know what. ------------- June 7. 2071 Midday Linate AFB, Milan Major General Christos Giannoulas stepped off the small transport plane and on to the tarmac, members of his staff filing out behind him. Until a few days ago he had been a member of Admiral Acbari's 'inner-circle' of veteran commanders in the General Headquarters, but that was before word had come in that the French were planning to start a war with the Germans. Today he found himself standing on an airbase near Milan, watching as his new command unloaded from a fleet of C-130 Heavy Lift transports. With the French about to invade Germany, the Steward was preparing to open up a second front against the Germans by pushing across the Alps with the hope of drawing more German forces to the South and away from Alsace. To do this he had been given command of two Corps from Army North as well as the entirety of the Rapid Reaction Corps, a total of 80,000 men, fully mechanized. His infantry was supported by the various artillery, anti-air and logistics auxiliaries that were attached to each regiment. General Giannoulas' Army of the North (Armata del Nord) also contained elements from the 2nd and 3rd Armored Groups, totaling 300 tanks. A convoy or Humvees rolled up prepared to take General Guannoulas and his staff to where his forces were gathering in preparation for striking into Germany, near Locarno. --------------- June 9. 2071 Verbania, Lago Maggiore General Giannoulas was sitting at a small cafe overlooking Lago Maggiore, sipping cafe and reading reports on the disposition of his troops. While his troops would not move in until the 12th after the French launched their assault on Alsace-Lorraine, he wanted to be sure his men were in position to achieve their objectives quickly. With German troops in the South busy fighting communists in Bavaria and Austria, he did not expect to encounter much resistance in this far flung corner of Germany. If only light resistance was encountered he expected to be able to reach Andermatt and Chur by the 13th. This would largely negate the ability of the Germans to use the Alps as a natural defensive line, and would open up Luzern and Zurich for further operations. Giannoulas was actually fairly optimistic about his troops' chances of achieving their initial goals. One of his aides approached with a piece of paper. "New orders from GHQ, Sir." He took the paper and scanned it quickly, a scowl crept its way onto his face. "Damn bureaucrats, tell the commanders the operation is 'indefinitely on hold.' It turned out the communists were coming into the area, and the government didnt want to weaken the commies as a tool to weaken the German state. They wanted him to sit, wait, and await further order. Damn bureaucrats. ------------ June 11. 2071 2pm Ajaccio, Corsican Archonate, Sicilian League SNBS- SPECIAL REPORT This is Anastasio Spera reporting live from downtown Ajaccio where tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets. Soon after news broke of the Frances intention to forcibly liberate Alsace and Lorraine from United Germany people began to come out in the streets to call for the Steward to announce his support for France's latest expansionary campaign. Crowds started to gather first in Plaza de la Ligue, across from the League Administrative building, and soon swelled as the day went on. Crowds have now shut down streets across the city and the police presence has been surprisingly light. A police official I spoke to today estimated the crowds at upwards of 90,000, but he even admitted that this was a conservative estimate for the crowds filling Sicily's largest city. Thankfully the crowds have been mostly peaceful, though I have received reports of a handful of car fires across the city. As peaceful as these crowds have been their message is unmistakeable, they want freedom for the people of Alsace and Lorraine, and they want the government to do something about it. ------------ June 11. 2071 7pm Hotel de Ville, Paris, Empire of France <STAY TUNED FOR MORE>

Why you should not join IAA By- Flyingscotsman 1) Why join IAA when you can join IR, the more awesome half of the IAA-IR duo 2) IAA no longer has Flyingscotsman, and we ALL know that IAA was only IAAwesome because Flyingscotsman was there. 3) IR now has Flyingscotsman, he's awesome, you should join him 4) Did I mention IR>IAA in terms of Awesome? PS- HI M! or you can join IAA, thats fine too, Ill still make you awesome cookies.

My name is Said Al-Malak, Ive seen countless wars fought, but never one quite like this... [b]June 1. 2071 Paris, The Empire of France [/b] The room was buzzing with idle chatter, the meeting was supposed to have started already, but someone was late. I didnt know who at the time, the Empress, generals St. Croix and Delacour were already seated, as well as a number of other military and civilian officials. I was somewhat surprised myself to be sitting at that table that day, Jean had sent me to France at the start of the Iberian Campaign to advise the French Military and further the 'strategic relationship' that existed at the time. With MEMU though, that unwritten 'strategic relationship' became a well known, and well defined formal alliance. In all the months I had been in France, I can remember only a few times where I actually consulted with the French General Staff and I was on the verge of suggesting that Jean bring me back home when I received a call from one of General Delacour's aides. There would be a meeting in Paris, my presence was strongly requested, how could I refuse. I had no idea at the time that this meeting was to outline the invasion of Germany. As far as I could tell this meeting was about the extension of the War in Iberia, Spain and Scotland were fairly weak or disorganized powers. I had also heard talk of the French trying to take Monaco, certainly its remoteness would have made it difficult to hold in a war. I sat silent throughout the presentation, this was a French operation, and at this early stage of planning it was best to let the French outline their own goals. When Alsace-Lorraine was revealed as the goal of the operation, I was surprised to say the least. Not only was Germany so much more powerful than the French but the two were close allies, at least thats how it had appeared to just about everyone who was not named Therese Zelle and who was not Empress of France. Perhaps the unification with South Germany and the civil revolts that had followed had changed the Empress' mind on the matter. Still, I did not see at the time how the French planned on overcoming the German military. The German Army that we would face was descended from the same army Martens himself had used to dominate the continent decades ago and, though Germany was much less inclined to flex its muscle, remained one of the most technologically advanced and well trained fighting forces on the continent. If we were to get involved in this, and I was quite sure at the time that Jean would want to get involved for Therese's sake, I intended to figure out just how Delacour and St. Croix intended to get the better of the Germans. The way it was being presented at that meeting by the French Brass, one would almost have thought this would be a straightforward operation, that surprise would bring victory. Oh how wrong that sentiment was, as the following weeks would painfully show. The meeting finally adjourned, by the looks of it many of the officers were about ready to get out of the hot, crowded meeting room. I always had found it funny how the French insisted on using dark blue fabric for dress uniforms, even though it was wholly unsuited for anything other than winter wear. Getting up to leave, I noticed General Delacour was alone, putting together her papers. Now would be as good a time as any to pick the collective French brain on how they thought this would really play out. "Excuse me, General Delacour," I said as I came up alongside her left elbow. "If you have a moment there are a few things I would like to go over with you." Claire Delacour turned from her papers as I spoke, she seemed to understandably be under a great deal of pressure, she looked tired. "Ah, General Al-Malak, yes, of course, is something wrong?" I paused,"Wrong? Not necessarily..." I remember Claire pounced on the hesitation in that sentence, Im sure what Jean intended to do was one of the many worries she had to deal with, "Ah very good, then what can I do for you?""... though I am concerned about the.... brevity.... of General St. Croix's presentation." I remember her deflating, the air emptying out of her like a bellows, a deep sigh. Either I had just put Sicily back on her list of concerns or St. Croix's tone had bothered her as well. It was probably a combination of both, I think many in that room were taken slightly aback by how easy St. Croix made the whole operation seem. "Yes, it is quite the gamble, I think we all think that, including Marshal St.Croix and the Empress herself, but it is something that the French people hold very dear to their hearts." I certainly understood that point, the Crisis a few years before had been a very painful period for all of us, the last thing I wanted was to lecture her about what she already knew. "I dont mean to lecture you on the capabilities of the Germans, but I am hoping for a better understanding of just how you plan on withstanding the Germans.""We will be fighting this war entirely defensively, aside from the first attacks on Alsace and Lorraine." It was a sensible strategy, if not the obvious one. "As if those lands hadnt been captured by the Germans in the first place," she continued. "Yes, I assumed as much Claire." I had assumed as much, but that wasnt a very developed strategy, saying you will defend is one think, the ground you pick is another. I nodded my head in assent, arms crossed. I think she picked up on the fact I wasnt completely reassured about this, body language is a wonderful thing. "Though there is the possibility of opening another front in Holland but that is still on the drawing table." Holland, it was good to know they realized how many times that had been used in the continents history as an invasion route, though it was usually the Germans taking advantage of it. "I would be concerned about a German counter offensive that direction, Allah knows how many times they have done that successfully." "Hence why it hasnt been set in stone General," Claire said with a smile. I let out a small laugh or two, we really had just said the same thing. "I understand, in a way much of this is left up to what the Germans do.""Oh yes, very much so... and the world..." Claire trailed off, I felt sorry for her, so much of this was really out of her control, all she could do was prepare for the storm, but then Sicily would end up in a similar place as the French, simply trying to ride out the storm. "One has to admire your loyalty to Sicily and I would even dare to say France General," Claire again deflated with a quiet sigh. "To be blunt with you Said...I think everyone is worried about this, include Lady Therese, but it is something that we have..." She trailed off, thinking what to say next. "...think if you were to lose Sardinia and the world did nothing..." That brought up bad memories of a few years ago and it showed on my face. Claire had no idea, I had been through losing half the country to the fascists and our 'allies' the Italians. "Burgundy was a traitorous nation to the French people and we are atoning for the sins of the past." Claire made a very good point, France was haunted by the divisions imposed by past regimes, just as Sicily was still haunted by the ghosts of Borghese, the collapse of the Ligurian State was more than enough proof that they were not finished causing trouble. "I know that feeling all too well General, I lost alot of good people holding the rearguard while we evacuated Sicily back during those dark days only to have the IF try and take our lands." Claire was obviously sympathetic, "It is the way the world works I'm afraid, we young people die so that the world can work correctly again." "Indeed Claire, indeed. I cannot say for certain what Sicily's role in this conflict will be, but you can rest assured that you will have our support in one way or another." Claire seemed visibly relieved that she had one less ally to be concerned about. "I'm sure the Empress would be pleased, but as I said, I admire you for being here Said, and if things do get bad, I want to make sure you are on the first plane to Corsica. I won't allow one of my friends to get hurt." I was touched and a little surprised by the display of friendship, but I guess Claire and I had developed something of a friendship working together on the Iberian Campaogns, as little as I contributed. "Please, I am here to assist you and the Empress, scrambling back home because things are difficult is not something I plan on doing." Claire reached out and held my shoulder, she was firm, resolute, yet there was a distinct feeling of friendship and commiseration in that gesture. "There isn't an ally in the world I would rather have by my side then." "Your fight is my fight Claire, and Im sure Jean feels the same way about this." I knew Jean was very committed to a strong relationship with the french, on par with the relationship he tried to maintain with the UMS and RA. Jean would want to hear about this as soon as possible. As busy as he was dealing with Liguria, this was highly important news. "Speaking of which... would it be possible for someone to set up a secure connection so I can talk to Jean about this?" "Of course, I will talk to one of the Communication Commanders tonight and you can be on the phone with the Steward in the morning." Tommorrow morning, hmm, I would have preferred to speak with Jean before then, but it would do. "Thank you." "My pleasure." There was something else that I needed to ask, something I needed to know,"There is one other thing General, why now? I would be lieing if I didnt say this has taken me completely by surprise." Claire reacted as if she had been expecting that very question. "I think that was the plan from the beginning, the element of surprise. We have been in constant talk with the Germans for the reclamation of Alsace and Lorraine, only to be met by a brick wall. With the Communist Rebellion in the South, and the South always have been French supporters... The Empress hopes to use that against the Germans and secure the territory that way." That certainly made sense and I nodded my understanding as she outlined the scenario in Germany, "I see, given the unrest in the South, now is as good a time as any i suppose." "That is our hope." Hope, much of our success depended on hope and the faith that a higher power would guide us through. I didnt say this in a way a non-Arab would understand, but I was not wholly disturbed by my lack of control, though we often delude ourselves to teh contrary, very little in life is under our influence, "Insha'illah we will come through this in one piece Claire." "God willing Said." I chuckled, perhaps insha'illah is not a strictly muslim feeling. I bid my farewell to Claire, she had been very helpful in reassuring me in the competence of the French command, I was sure the Steward would have no problem supporting Therese, " If you excuse me Claire, I must speak with my staff. Thank you for your frankness, its reassuring to know you know this wont be easy." We both laughed a bit as I left, there would be little time for laughter from now on.

[quote name='Karl Martin' date='19 July 2010 - 11:44 PM' timestamp='1279597434' post='2379885'] OOC: Let us stop twisting history. The area was over 90% German, how can such a election be fraudulent In other news, Nancy is currently French. You could have asked me about it. [/quote] OOC: This is CNRP, twisting history is what we do

Ligurian ships bound for Africa would recieve an escort from Sicilian combat aircraft for part of their journey. [b]Announcement from the Sicilian League[/b] Under Article I of the Sicilian-Ligurian Agreement Sicilian Military Personnel will be stepping in to stabilize the internal disarray in Liguria. The presence of known fascist actors in Liguria renders the ongoing civil strife in that country a threat to the security of the Sicilian League, our intelligence services indicate that wanted fascist leaders who coordinated attacks in Sicily and North Africa are involved. It is our hope to resolve this situation with minimal innocent lives lost and our current goal is to restore peace and allow the Ligurian government to reassert control. At this time I am prepared to announce that the air and waters in and around Liguria are off-limits. -Gen Giacomo Orsini Northern District Command-STDF 3,000 men from Northern District Command to move in to Liguria and seize pre-determined Landing Zones in Northern Liguria, including Genoa Airport. Sicilian Navy to establish blockade by regular patrols by ships and aircraft from carriers along Ligurian coastline, all ships will be stopped for inspection. Rapid Reaction Corps mobilized, first wave of troops will be dropped at LZ's by helicopter. OOC: Bye TBM, sad to see you leave

Under the Territorial Organization Act (link: http://forums.cybernations.net/index.php?showtopic=84160&view=findpost&p=2365536 ) passed by the Sicilian Government, the Sicilian Protectorate of Italy is hereby reorganized (annexed). <@Flyingscotsman[IR]> I just mean that big white blob that is the peninsula <@Subtleknifewielder> lol <@Flyingscotsman[IR]> will now be a big yellow blob

OOC: Funny, brother used to play that all the time. Welcome to CNRP

OOC: I remember Shilla quite well, however we never did anything together :v

[quote]TO: Kingdom of Cochin FROM: Sicilian League Aircraft from the 22nd Fighter Wing will escort you in once you have passed the New Palma Republic, naval escort would be provided however developing situation in Liguria warrants deployment, though there is no harm to your fleet. 3rd Reg. A-N will be on hand at Carloforte when your task force arrives, commander of 3rd Reg. A-N is Col. Abdel Ibn Tusi. Carloforte Naval Station Commandant Carla Puccini is fully aware of situation and will be meeting with your Col. Harfaz upon arrival to go over accommodations for the XX BCT/MD. Sincerely, Admiral Calomar Acbari, Commanding Officer- Sicilian General Headquarters[/quote]

[b]Announcement from the Sicilian League[/b] Under the Sicilian-Ligurian agreement we will be monitoring the situation in the Duchy of Liguria. We will not interfere in a domestic matter unless our assistance is requested or Sicilian citizens are threatened by the violence. We hope the Ligurian government will be able to resolve this crisis quickly and with little further bloodshed. Gen. Giacomo Orsini Northern District Command- STDF Classified: -3,000 personnel from Northern District of Territorial Defence Force moved to positions North of Ligurian border -Rapid Reaction Corps moved to 1-hour readiness alert -Sicilian Navy redeployed North of Cap Corse Private to Duke Abate: My forces are prepared to intervene if needed. If you need a safe haven, Sicilian territory is open to you. -Jean D'Aosta

OOC: Pravus, Im visiting family, will have a roster and such for you day after tomorrow if thats fine with you.

The fact that the US and Russia have more than enough nuclear weapons to destroy each other while only putting a tiny dent in their total stockpile shows (to me) why we should not go 'full RL' on the nukes issue because unlike in RL, nukes have no drawback in RP and it would just contribute to people spamming nukes like they do missiles whenever there is a war. Ive been lamenting the nuke cap myself lately because it effectively deters people from developing tactical nuclear weapons which are an interesting RP tool (in my opinion). I would be very happy with a change in the nuclear count system that removed the deterrent against developing tactical nukes, be that Lavo's idea or simply having different rules governing caps on tactical nuclear weapons. (by tactical nuclear weapons I mean nuclear torpedoes, bunker-busters, artillery etc) As for SDIs on tactical nukes (or what I call tactical nukes), I dont think it realistically makes sense. If I fire a nuclear torpedo at a ship in the middle of the Med, I dont see how an SDI system can realistically destroy something like that. As with any conventional attack, you would just have to work out with your opponent whether it hits and how much damage it does.

[quote]ASSEMBLY BILL #0001 SHORT TITLE: The Territory Organization Act SPONSORS: Senator Calois, Senator Durdiyok SUMMARY: To better provide for the citizens of the Peninsular Territories this ACT provides for the establishment of a 50 member Territorial Assembly in each territory. In order to improve coordination between the League and the citizens of the Territories, each territory is hereby provided with three non-voting seats in the National Consultative Assembly. The Peninsular Special Police Force is hereby renamed the Territorial Defense Force. The role of the TDF will be expanded from policing operations to general security for the Peninsular Territories. Over the next year the size of the TDF will be decreased by 40% to 54,000 personnel with funding allocated for transforming the TDF into a mobile force.[/quote]

[quote name='Mergerberger II' date='09 July 2010 - 09:20 PM' timestamp='1278724804' post='2365359'] The Republic of Vietnam has had nothing to do with this affair. We neither condone nor purport the use of drugs, and for that purpose we would never do such a thing to a civilian population, no matter how much we disagree with the government of those citizens. The man whom you have identified as the main distributor of the drugs in your nation is not of Vietnamese ethnicity, nor is he of Vietnamese affiliation. Under no circumstances would the Government of the Republic of Vietnam engage in something so vile as the international drug trade. [/quote] While we would like to be able to take this statement by the Vietnamese Government at face value, given Vietnam's recent diplomatic troubles and the conclusion of the Alaskan anti-drug operation, we find we are unable to wholly trust the validity of this statement. The Sicilian League will be investigating this matter further to determine the validity of assertions that the Vietnamese Government is behind narcotics distribution operations. Depending on the outcome of this investigation further action may be taken.

Switzerland was a beautiful country, quite different in scenery from the dry islands these two called home. Emerging from their motorcade, the two men were met by Dominik. They all shook hands and followed him in to the building. Hossein spoke first,"Sicily is happy to see that your people have been given an opportunity to establish their own government rather than remaining a part of one of your neighbors. We look to maintain strong relations with all our European and North African neighbors, and I believe we do a very good job of that. In regards to your nation specifically, we are interested in taking the first steps in exploring relations with Switzerland. We are always looking to improve and expand trade ties.

We congratulate the Democratic League of Alvonia on their resounding electoral victory.

The Sicilian League congratulates our allies in the Dual Kingdom for their accomplishment. While we appreciate the spectacle of an air dropped nuclear weapons test, we would have preferred for greater environmental precautions to be taken. With that said, this is a grand achievement for the Slavic people and a worthy addition to their nuclear deterrent.

The Sicilian Banned Substances Interdiction Bureau would like to know if these drug shipments from Vietnam were sponsored by private Vietnamese citizens or whether the Vietnamese Government is involved in these drug shipments.