SCHWARZE SCHRIEBEN

"May The Schwarz Be With You"
Vol. 1, No. 2 / March 31, 2001

HEADLINES:

• Skirmish in Colombia as Brazilian commandos attempt infiltration
• Continued oil shortage in Southern Europe
• Tourist attacked by mysterious creature in Nile River
• India promises greater political role for Pakistanis
• Southern Europe angrily denies involvement in Alabama Terrorist organization
• Crimson signs treaty with Denim, announces launch of two "boomer" submarines
• Massive military parades held in Australia
• First new earthquake-detection satellite launched
• Green extends olive branch to Orange
• Red, Denim agree to troop withdrawal from borders

IN GAME TERMS:

• Turn 2.5 Orders (April 2001) will be due before midnight on Friday, December 17^th, 1999. They are being delayed due to the long wait for this set of results to come out. The Moderators apologize for the inconvenience.
• Body Count to date: Approximately 10,000 people killed, wounded, or captured so far.
  
• Rules Clarification of the Week, Part I: Most newly developed or newly acquired technologies have a variable additional cost to make them useful. For example, if you find new resource deposits, you may have to spend additional cash points to begin extracting the resources. If you acquire a new technology through trade, you may have to pay to retool your factories to begin producing the new units.
• Rules Clarification of the Week, Part II: Articles written by the Moderators will always have the attribution (LJR) attached. This is in homage to the original "Le Journal Rouge" Newsletter from the first Spectrum Wars game. Any other attribution signifies that it was written by one of the players, although WHICH player is not always clear. If you are curious as to who wrote an article, ask the General Moderator.
• Norallene Able in Black and Lloyd Paschal in Magenta have been kicked out of the game due to 3 consecutive moves without sending in orders. Their replacements have not yet been named, and both positions are open for new players. Also, Rashad Mohammed in Red will be out of the country for the next week, and his position is temporarily Moderator-Controlled.

NEWS IN DEPTH:

SKIRMISH IN COLOMBIA BETWEEN ARGENTINE ARMY AND BRAZILIAN COMMANDOS

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (LJR) - Stragglers are still being rounded up in the Colombian jungle after an attempted infiltration by Brazilian irregulars. Argentine Intelligence detected the crossing of the border by a large group of Special Forces from Brazil into Colombia along the Caqueta River. Units of the 28^th Jaguar Force of the Argentine Army moved into position to ambush the intruders. In a brilliantly executed attack, the river boats carrying the Brazilian troops were hit by aircraft and light artillery, while the banks were lined by crack light infantry troops. Just outside of the town of Puerto Mirana, the Brazilian infiltrator force was almost totally destroyed. Over 2,000 prisoners were taken, and it is believed that over 7,000 soldiers were killed in the fighting or drowned when their riverboats sank. Only a few Brazilian soldiers are believed to have escaped down the river to Brazilian territory. Argentine Presidente Felix Cortez angrily accused the Brazilian government of attempting to stir up rebellions in Argentine territory, but the Brazilian leadership denied the charges. Despite the tense situation, no other combat between the two nations has been reported, although there are rumors of a naval face-off north of Venezuela.

SEU OUTRAGED BY ACCUSATIONS

PARIS, FRANCE (MAW) - In the light of accusations from the Red republic of espionage in the Red Republic territory, President Tracy had this to say to President Hoffman: "I am outraged and shocked that anyone would dare to start a war between two superpowers such as ours. I am upset at this; but, to the leader of the Red Republic: I urge you to believe me when I say that the SEU is not involved in any sort of espionage whatsoever! We have always prided ourselves on our counter intelligence efforts, yes- but we have found that you learn more from countries with what they do to you in front of everyone. I do not believe that you or your country is responsible for supposed agents of the French secret service being in Alabama, and I do not want to believe that you are trying to instigate an armed conflict with us. If the time comes to go to war, so be it. But we do not want lives lost over a misunderstanding! World, hear me: The men found in Alabama were NOT WORKING for the Southern European Union. We in the Blue Brigade and the Red Republic are the victims of a hoax and an attempt to instigate war. We trust that you will not be shortsighted and fueled by your emotions." Indeed, evidence found would certainly point to French involvement in particular, but President Tracy has been persistent in his personal investigation of the matter, and as yet has stumped most accusations. The queston that remains is: Who is the instigator? He hopes to find that as well, but for the world's sake, this reporter hopes that the culprit is found soon, as this could escalate into armed conflict, and I don't think anyone wants that.

THE NILE - MORE THAN A RIVER?

CAIRO, EGYPT (ADD) - Mortimer Niedekker was an ordinary tourist, until an extraordinary accident nearly decapitated him, and left him incapacitated.

"Well, as near as I can figure," he commented from his hospital bed, "I was taking a photograph from the gondola, and stood up too suddenly and rocked the boat. The next thing I knew, I was underwater."

Not only underwater but, being almost totally devoid of subcutaneous fat, Niedekker sank thirty meters down in the Nile River -- where he came face-to-face with an Unidentified Swimming Object.

"All I could see was this big shadow," Niedekker recalls. "I was trying to swim to the surface, but was having a hard time, since my camera was so heavy. I could see the other people from the gondola bobbing about, right above me. Then I saw this big thing coming towards me. It was horrible -- just like Jaws, only worse, because I didn't know what it was. I still don't know for sure."

According to his testimony, the creature was approximately fifteen meters long, with a thin, elongated neck, and a pair of massive fins. It also had sharp teeth.

"See, this is where it bit me. My whole head was inside its mouth for a moment." The tooth marks form a ring around his collarbone, still encrusted with scabs. Each tooth left a cut more than two centimeters long.

"I felt the monster's tongue tasting my head, fondling it, like. Then my toupee came off. I think it tried to swallow it, but choked on the hair. It coughed it out, and spit out my head, too."

Niedekker showed us his toupee, which may have saved his life. "I'm thinking of framing it, and putting it up on the mantle back home." Hospital officials hope to release him by the end of the month.

The Romantic Gondola Cruise Company is facing charges of criminal negligence because of this incident. The president, Viskos Fluyid, commented, "We are now taking drastic measures to ensure that this does not happen again. On top of the mandatory life jackets, we have also installed seatbelts and airbags. The Association of Azure Aunts Against Asphyxiation (AAAAA) is protesting that seatbelts on riverboats may cause more deaths, but we're fighting them with the help of our well-bribed politicians."

As for the aquatic monster, Azure police and government officials declined to comment, and denied all deniability. However, one anonymous Ministry of Tourism official did confirm that divers had been commissioned to search for the elusive predator. "Two of the divers never came up, and one more came back with his leg missing, so we know we're close to the creature's lair. We're hoping to turn it into a tourist attraction, like Loch Ness." Area shopkeepers were pleased at the prospect of increased business.

PAKISTAN GIVEN FAIR SAY IN GOVERNMENT; INDIANS SLIGHTLY MIFFED BUT THEY'LL GET OVER IT

NEW DELHI, INDIA (INS) - After a week and a half of grueling debate, the Brown government decided on the most harrowing piece of legislature it'd seen in it's existence; giving the same rights to the Pakistani as natural born Indians. After the defeat of the Pakistani, they had been poorly represented in the Brown government, making the country plunge further in despair. Since a recent call last month by the Silver Scimitar, the Brown government realized that by violating their own peoples rights they were no better than the Americans or Japanese in World War II. President Singh was most pleased at the newfound Pakistani voters, which were mostly pro-Singh. "I hope that this will lead to a prosperous new age where the only people that Brown will hate is everyone else."

Several natural-born Indians were perturbed, but they all knew this day would come and celebrated, too. Things are looking up in Brown.

CRIMSON SIGNS TREATY WITH DENIM, ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF SUBS

Berlin (NEP) - Finishing just before the end of the month, all countries of the Northern European Commonwealth signed the Denim/Crimson NAP. This is just days after the restarting of communications. Prime Minister Michael Streiker was quoted in saying "the ending of communications with them just months ago was in sympathy for Red Republic, which has since also opened dialogue and made peace with the U.S. We again will follow." As for allegations that the Crimson Commonwealth has been working with former communist nations he commented " we will improve relations with any nation that wishes it. The Chinese wished better trade and diplomatic relations with our country, so we sent our fleet to train with them. It has accomplished much trust between our countries. As for the Russians, they were merely in the area, as were the fleets of many other nations if I am not mistaken. However, we will do the same honor for Russians or Americans alike."

However, all this peace was contrasted by the launch of two new submarines. A short description was given by the man responsible for their design, British Admiral George Jones. "These two 'boomers' will guarantee our technological competitiveness into the next century. They are as quiet and more dangerous than anything the Americans can put out, and possibly even the Japanese." Two more are scheduled to start construction in two months.

GREEN EXTENDS OLVIE BRANCH

BRASILIA, BRAZIL (SPT) - Today the El Presidenté of the Green Guerilla's reached out a hand to all his people and reassured them that bloodshed is not the answer to the question of Orange. He told his people that he is going to reach an agreement with Orange that would benefit both parties involved. In a different meeting the Presidenté stated that, "Our country is notorious for drug smuggling; I would like to reassure the Red Republic that we had no spies or smugglers operating in their country, and I invite the Red Republic's leader to a conference to come to a conclusion about the drug trafficking problem." He later was seen entering a limousine and driven off to a new nuclear facility, which is rumored to have several nuclear missiles inside.

MASSIVE MILITARY PARADES HELD IN AUSTRALIA

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (LJR) - In Sydney and other Australian cities, a series of massive military parades have been held over the last two months in an effort to boost public morale. Public support for the Australasian Alliance had been slackening recently due to their lack of overseas allies, slowing international trade, and a general feeling of futility of their efforts to defend themselves against their powerful neighbors to the north. The recent military parades have boosted public support for and confidence in Allied military forces, and recruitment drives held at the fairs have led to thousands of new recruits enlisting in the Australian army. Recently, the cheering throngs at these parades have started displaying banners calling for a military expedition to liberate the Philippines from Japanese occupation.

DENIM OFFERS OPEN HAND TO CRIMSON COMMONWEALTH

WASHINGTON, DC (MSNBC) -- Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Mary Maieye, announced at 4:00 PM eastern time that the United States had received communication from the Crimson Commonwealth. In response to this communication, the United States has issued a offer of a Non-Aggression Pact with the Crimson Commonwealth based on years of previous support. When asked if the Crimson Commonwealth would accept the non aggression pact, Secretary Maieye replied, "Although they have not had time to respond, we are sure that they will see the hand of an old friend being offered..."

FIRST STEPS ARE BIG ONES

AUSTIN, TEXAS (AP) - In a aggressive stand today President Bill Hoffman stated that current foreign relations with The USA are going extremely well. "By history's view we have been enemies but in the eyes of the future we shall be friends." said the President today in a Speech at a dinner in Austin Texas. "The President has shown much trust towards us and because of this we have done the same. He has taken a positive posture in promoting peace between our countries, first by asking for a NAP then a withdrawal of troops for our mutual border. A very honest man and if I can rest easy with him so can anyone else. Our neighbors to the South [Orange] have also taken steps to ease tensions, and they should be looked upon as friends by the international community as well. The entire MADCAP alliance is a positive group of nations moving in the right direction." The president's speech continued. The average citizens are amazed by the outlook for peace in North America.

PRESIDENT RESPONDS TO GREEN ENVY

ATLANTA, GEORGIA (AP) - In a comment today on the matter of Brazil and their irrational politics, the President of the ASA stated again that he will aid any country that is harassed by Green. "We will not tolerate bullies," were the Big Man's words. Defense critics say that Green has shown to be willing to have a military showdown with ASA forces. The Presidents' response was that "we are willing and able to deter any force that we believe poses a threat to our nation's sovereignty or will hamper our efforts at world peace." In a chilling tone the president reminded all nations that use of nuclear weapons is not only a deterrent, but also his standard military policy when dealing with belligerents.

WORLDWIDE EARTHQUAKE EARLY WARNING SYSTEM LAUNCHED

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIFORNIA (UPI) -- After a two hour delay, due to weather, the United States SkyPattern (Earthquake Early Warning System) Satellite was launched at 11:00 AM Pacific time. Senator John F. Duldain (R-Wash) states, "This is a brave new avenue of humanitarian aid! Not only will the United States be a force to assist those most unfortunate victims of earthquakes, but now we can identify and warn danger zones to evacuate as many as possible before the disaster strikes." Although the SkyPattern project has cost the United States over $6.2 Billion to build it holds the worlds most sophisticated monitoring and reporting system. When asked for an example of how sensitive the satellite's optics were, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass) replied, "Why, that there satellite could read the date off my Bourbon bottle..."

PRESIDENT HOFFMAN FALLS ILL, VEEP CLARK TO FILL IN

ATLANTA, GEORGIA (LJR) - Shortly after making an important policy statement on the recent events in Colombia, Red Republic President Hoffman said that he was feeling woozy and was taken back to Turner Hall for medical treatment. His condition is reported as stable, and it appears to be nothing more than a bad case of the flu. However, while he is indisposed due to illness, control of the Associated States will fall on the shoulders of Vice President Morgan Clark. Mr. Clark stated that he would continue to follow the policies of President Hoffman, and would consult the Chief Executive on all matters of importance. In particular, he repeated President Hoffman's firm warning to Brazil to not repeat their recent incursion into Argentine territory.

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