Join the new world

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"Di bere e di mangiar n’accende cura
l’odor ch’esce del pomo e de lo sprazzo
che si distende su per sua verdura.

E non pur una volta, questo spazzo
girando, si rinfresca nostra pena:
io dico pena, e dovria dir sollazzo,"

Purgatorio, Canto XXIII
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Queen Victoria eyes eCanada warily ~ “Saw what you did in London, thar. You just remember whose day it is now.”
~An article Video/Music~...because the video somehow reminds me of eRepublik, and its lingering foreign affairs


Today, May 20th/Day 1,643, marks the second week of the Sperry Administration, so I’m presenting this article as a report on matters pertaining to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Overall, it’s been a quiet week on the international relations front, with the exception of one bump of concern (which I will relate later) amid a string relatively ordinary affairs.



The Ordinary Affairs: “A Renewal of Vows ~ Victoria Day Edition”
We have gone through the normal process of renewing old MPPs and embargoes, as well as adding a couple new ones that were not around last month. The new embargoes are part of Sperry’s initiative to target ONE affiliates with the means available. Even though today’s embargoes lack the significant economic consequences of blocking out foreign importers of the past, it still does serve well as a symbolic gesture.

Embargoes:
>Indonesia – May 15
>Mexico – May 16
>United Kingdom – May 17
>Venezuela – May 19

Most MPPs renewed this week were with T/EDEN members, along with a couple pro-T/EDEN countries whom we want to support and do appreciate what support they return during battles. India (GEA) made a promising request to engage itself with EDEN members and become more active in its support. As well, getting Netherlands (GEA) to renew proved tricky when they NE’ed Hungary and underwent a wipe, a good show nonetheless.

Renewed MPPs:
>USA – May 16
>Ukraine – May 17
>Netherlands – May 19
>Bosnia and Herzegovina - May 19

New MPPs:
>Israel – May 14
>Norway – May 15
>India – May 17



Russia and Ukraine Affairs: “An un-anticipated threesome”

The issue between these two nations we mentioned in the last update has seemingly resolved itself, as Russia no longer is dealing with Ukrainian RWs that sap its damage away from more important battles. Russia has plenty other RWs in Sweden and Norway to deal with, while Ukraine is dealing with its own against Moldova, with whom they had started the training war that caused earlier uneasiness between the three nations. While it is unlikely that the tension between Ukraine (EDEN) and Russia (TERRA) will cause problems between the alliances, there are lingering issues. One tantalizing article claims that players from three alliances, EDEN(Romania)/ONE(Macedonia)/TERRA(America), sent help to support Moldova…though definitely not on official orders. It’s odd that Moldova has become a flashpoint across several alliances, which does not follow typical lines of allegiance. I’m not sure what to make of it yet, except that it is worth watching.



Bulgaria Gobbles Turkey: “Clean sweep after complete wipe”

While on the topic of complicated international relations, Bulgaria successfully wiped its former EDEN ally Turkey from the map. Bulgaria has been going through some interesting changes recently, most notably with the formation of the Circle alliance a month ago. The good news is that while enduring successive losses that led to the wipe, Turkey managed to rally back onto the map with help from its allies. The RW in the Black Sea Coast was a clean sweep in Turkey's favour, leaving Bulgaria caught off guard by the turnaround. The second clean sweep RW (all mini-battles won) in Eastern Anatolia must be less surprising than the first, yet likely more concerning this time around. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned here in quick wipes followed by successive successful RWs. This may be the nature of the game. Certainly we’ve seen some of this with eCanada’s war in the eUK, though luckily the stakes are not so high as those between Bulgaria and Turkey. It’s another interesting area to keep an eye on.

In fact, there are several fronts worth watching beyond our own in the UK. Rather than fill the paper here with such reports, I suggest you check out this Griswald-esque newspaper that aims to summarize hotspots around the New World, which now include China/Venezuela, Greece/Macedonia, Serbia/Croatia, Hungary/France, and Austria. Read more here at “The Stairway.”



eCanada and T/EDEN Update: “Bacon in the middle, extra crispy”

As explained in last week’s MoFA report, eCanada has the unique position of being a member in two major alliances. While this generally grants us the benefit of additional MPPs, the downside is that it also burdens us with additional alliance HQs to consult with. eCanada has great respect for our tradition of being a T/EDEN supporter and the two function well to counter the horror of the baby-eating, Plato-worshipping ONE horde that threatens T/EDEN’s family-values foundation of wholesome organic gardening. Nevertheless, maintaining a balanced synergy between earth and tree can prove a tricky tightrope to walk at times.

While T/EDEN is quite familiar and comfortable with the ongoing rivalry between eUK and eCanada, it’s quite another matter establishing war elsewhere against nations that TERRA and EDEN are also engaged with. It’s matters like this that leaves eCanada stalled out after its great rush to conquer eUK as an interlude before entering the greater objectives alluded to in Sperry’s daily CP reports. We did indeed have plans to carry forward, yet we must respect the negotiations that both TERRA and EDEN are making with nations that border us, and we must find ways to make ourselves beneficial to advancing the overall aims of each alliance. Unfortunately, this can bump up against complications when there are competing interests in T/EDEN that eCanada must navigate through, such as when EDEN went bubble and squeak when we attempted to jump across the English Channel for some Brussel sprouts in Belgium, after getting our fill of bangers’n’mashed redcoats.

Recent treaties with Spain (ONE) between Brazil and USA (both TERRA) then made it challenging to fulfill aims we had with EDEN, which can make a poor Canuck feel like the pig-in-the-middle of a rather soggy biscuit. Yet, Sperry’s patience and communication with the HQs will undoubtedly pay off as another greater challenge looms just ahead. The good news is that our CP has enabled eCanada to maintain a presence at summits and has worked to smooth out any wrinkles in our relations, to the point that eCanada has gone from that odd-looking cousin one avoids at the school outings to being a member of the team that has been commended for “having done an excellent job recently.”

eCanada occupies a unique position that takes some care to maintain. I’m confident Sperry is looking to respect those interests when possible, as the MoFA’s supporting role will aim to do, too.

(ah jeez, that’s a lot of flags to cover)

Ambassador Corps: “Making ourselves known”

Gary Hubert is putting in extra effort to get the AC running again, and just in time for the summer heat wave promised by Sperry’s Schmexy war with some foreign hotties we’re yet to meet. While blind dates can be fun, especially if Nordic and blonde (though likely to be Slavic and cruciferous smelling), we still need to introduce ourselves to as many allies and opponents as we can so as not to miss out on any interesting relations or foreign affairs. Ambassadors in eRep may not be quite the exotic swingers we expect of RL diplomats; still, that shouldn’t discourage you from dropping by the Embassies folder to check out the sign-up list for willing volunteers: http://ecanada.cc/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=16039


Cheers and see you in the media next Sunday for MoFA [Week 2]. ‘Til then, hold tight, assist our allies, and aim for some swinging times to come.

Your Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Plugson