#1
tardy on these heaters
Post rating: ~


This here's the thread for simcountry - Arab Spring Edition. Maybe you've played or seen it in the SA trad games forum for Ancient Egypt or Libya or Rio Grande. Well this one's about the Arab Spring. It begins December 18, 2010, with the protests in Tunisia after the self immolation of Muhammad Bouazizi. There is no rules or anything, you just play as a relevant character and email me your orders every turn. I do have a pretty basic stats system based on Influence / Vigor / Militancy / Competency and some titles that can be awarded by heads of state. The turns will simulate a week's worth of activity, Friday - Friday. I'll be GMing and I determine the effectiveness of your orders with my own common sense and judgement and dice rolls.

January 1 2011

(Blue is Revolutionary; Red is Civil War; Orange is Major Protests; Yellow is Minor Protests)

Present Roster

Saudi Arabia

King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud - Fizzil

=Budget=
-Revenue-
Tax: 40
Trade: 158
Aid: 0
Total revenue: 198

-Spending-
Military: 45.5
Security: 40
Economy: 10
Investment: 10
Culture: 28
Debt: 7 (9% of 80)
Total expenditures: 170

Treasury: 49


Jordan

King Abdullah II - discipline
Queen Rania - NEOADMINISTRATOR

=Budget=
-Revenue-
Tax: 6
Trade: 0
Aid: 4 (USA)
Total revenue: 10

-Spending-
Military: 2
Security: 3
Economy: 1
Investment: 1
Culture: 1
Debt: 1 (9% of 6)
Total expenditures: 8

Treasury: 12
Queen's Allowance: 5


Israel

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman - deadken

=Budget=
-Revenue-
Tax: 60
Trade: 1
Aid: 4 (USA)
Total revenue: 65

-Spending-
Military: 15
Security: 20
Economy: 5
Investment: 10
Culture: 10
Debt: 10 (9% of 111)
Total expenditures: 70

Treasury: 10


Egypt

President Hosni Mubarak - watwatsen
Blogger (democratic) Wael Ghonim - rstl

=Budget=
-Revenue-
Tax: 46
Trade: 2
Total revenue: 48

-Spending-
Military: 13
Security: 10
Economy: 30
Investment: 20
Culture: 25
Debt: 8 (9% of 93)
Total expenditures: 106

Treasury: 65


Lebanon

Pop singer Nancy Ajram - nene


the West

President Barack Obama - ARICHWHITENEOLIBERAL
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg - jools
Journalist Thomas Friedman - Groulxsmith
Wikileaks Mastermind Julian Assange - francis

=Budget=
-Revenue-
Tax: 318
Trade: 1851
Aid: -10 (Jordan, Egypt, Israel)
Total revenue: 2159

-Spending-
Military: 689
Security: 416
Economy: 1494
Investment: 300
Culture: 360
Debt: 314 (9% of 3486)
Total expenditures: 3573

Treasury: -47


---

Post your character, your email and contact info. You can be anyone from a head of state, a Western spy, the editor in chief at Al Jazeera, an oil exec, journalist, cleric, army commander, whatever. Here's a list of some important people who would be fun to play:

Iraq
Prime Minister Noor al Maliki
Cleric and Shi'a resistance leader Muqtada al Sadr
President Jalal Talabani
Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani
Emir of the Islamic State of Iraq (Al Qaida) Huthaifa al Batawi

Syria
President Bashar al Assad
Sunni cleric Adnan al Aroor
Blogger (lesbian Zionist) Gay Girl in Damascus

Occupied Palestine / Gaza
Palestine Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad
Chief Negotiator Saeb Erakat
HAMAS Prime Minister Ismail Haniyah
Website (anti-Zionist / anti-Islamist) Gaza Youth Break Out!

Israel
Prime Minister Netanyahu
IDF President Shimon Peres
Defense Minister Ehud Barak
Leftist Uri Avnery

Jordan
General Director of GID (intelligence) Muhammad Raqqad

Saudi Arabia
MIRA (Islamic opposition) leader Sa'ad al Faqih
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al Saud

Lebanon
President Michel Suleiman
Secretary General of Hezbollah Hasan Nasrallah
Pop singer Nancy Ajram
General Secretary of the Lebanese Communist Party Khaled Hadadi
Blogger (anarchist) Angry Arab

UAE
King Shaykh Mohammed
Banker Abdul Aziz al Ghurair

Oman
King Qaboos bin Said el Said

Yemen
President Ali Abdullah Saleh
Cleric Anwar al Awlaki
Al Qaida in the Arabian Penninsula leader Yousif Saleh Fahd al 'Uyayri

Egypt
President Hosni Mubarak
Liberal opposition leader Omar Suleiman
Minister of Defense Mohamed Hussein Tantawi
General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood Mohammed Badie
Blogger (liberal) Anonymous
Blogger (Marxist) Arabwy
Blogger (liberal social-democratic) Sandmonkey

Libya
Colonel Moammar Qadaffi
Philanthropist Saif al Islam Qadaffi
Minister of Justice Mustafa Abdul Jalil
Minister of the Interior Major General Abdul Fatah Younis

Tunisia
President Ben Ali
Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi
Leader of Hezb al Nahdah (democratic Islamist) Rashid al Ghannushi
Leader of the Tunisian Workers' Communist Party Hamma Hammami
President of the Congress for the Republic (secular reformist) Moncef Marzouki

Sudan
President Omar al Bashir

Algeria
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Chairman of DRS (intelligence) Mohamed Mediene
Leader of the Al Qaida Organization in the Maghreb Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud

Morocco
King Mohammed VI

Bahrain
King Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa

Kuwait
King Sheikh Sabah

USA
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Turkey
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Liberal-democratic Islamist Fethullah Gulen

Iran
Supreme Leader Ali Khameini
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Reformist Mir-Hossein Mousavi

Edited by babyfinland ()

#2
Post rating: ~
im mark zuckerberg

therealzuckerberg@gmail.com

aim: jools420

Edited by jools ()

#3
Post rating: ~
Jordan - Queen Rania
Aim: ImTallGermanJoe
#4
[account deactivated]
#5
drivel of drunken hags
Post rating: ~
Can I be New York Times foreign affairs pundit / neoliberal cognoscente Tom Friedman and describe what is happening to a cosmopolitan audience
aim: thetoldsmith
#6
Post rating: ~

Groulxsmith posted:
Can I be New York Times foreign affairs pundit / neoliberal cognoscente Tom Friedman and describe what is happening to a cosmopolitan audience



goddamnit

with gay girl in damascus are you actually playing as a gay girl in damascus or are you a goony american puppetmaster in scotland

#7
tardy on these heaters
Post rating: ~

francis posted:

Groulxsmith posted:
Can I be New York Times foreign affairs pundit / neoliberal cognoscente Tom Friedman and describe what is happening to a cosmopolitan audience



goddamnit

with gay girl in damascus are you actually playing as a gay girl in damascus or are you a goony american puppetmaster in scotland



the latter

#8
Post rating: ~
im obama
#9
Post rating: ~

ARICHWHITENEOLIBERAL posted:
im obama



u can hit me up on aim: moodinconsistent

#10
Post rating: ~
Make me King of Al Saud.

And give me unlimited Hubris.
#11
Post rating: ~
can i play international man of mystery and spiritual father of the Arab Spring Julian Assange

e: unlimited hubris here too thanks

e2: forgot my contacts, francisfromlf@aim.com (i'm not on im very often but will try to be in future)

Edited by francis ()

#12
Post rating: ~

francis posted:
can i play international man of mystery and spiritual father of the Arab Spring Julian Assange

e: unlimited hubris here too thanks



i will crush you like a bug

#13
penitent
Post rating: ~
i will be lieberman
#14
tardy on these heaters
Post rating: ~
Alright that's 8 players so far, I think we'll start when we have 10. I'd like to see someone take some heads of state, like Mubarak, Assad, Ben Ali, etc.
#15
Post rating: ~
Sign me up for Mubarak, email is watwatsen at gmail / aim is watwatsen
#16
Post rating: ~
In May 2011 Wael Ghonim said that he has signed "Revolution 2.0" book deal with US & UK publishers.

thats me. I'm That Guy.

Edited by rstl ()

#17
tardy on these heaters
Post rating: ~
Ok games on, I will PM you any character-specific information you should know and you can PM me your orders here. I'd like to post a turn update every few days or so so don't take too long sperging and pondering

Edited by babyfinland ()

#18
tardy on these heaters
Post rating: ~
ok everybody should be sending me their orders now...

theres no moves list or anything like that, its all freeform: just write in a sentence or two what you want your character to do this week in a PM to me. I've recieved orders from king of saudi arabia and wael ghonim but no one else.
#19
tardy on these heaters
Post rating: ~
So I've updated each PC state with its national budget. As head of state, you can adjust this week to week but drastic changes will destabilize the system.

Here's the break down:

=Budget=
-Revenue-
Tax: revenue from domestic taxes
Trade: revenue from taxing trade
Aid: revenue from direct aid by foreign parties
Total revenue: sum of all revenues

-Spending-
Military: allocation to armed forces
Security: allocation to police and intelligence
Economy: allocation to economic infrastructure and welfare programs
Investment: allocation to subsidizing industry, agriculture and any other development
Culture: allocation to promoting the nation domestically and abroad, as well as the promotion of the national idea and the state's ideologies
Debt: interest payments on owed debt
Total expenditures: total expenditures

Treasury: amount free to use during the year

If you spend more than your income, it will add to your debt. Debt is always owed at 9% interest.
#20
Mike Nelson here.
Post rating: ~
No thanks, I'll try to memorize the Qur'an instead.
#21
Mike Nelson here.
Post rating: +
*pops wheelie, tools off towards heaven*
#22
tardy on these heaters
Post rating: ~
December 18 - December 25


Tunisian protests increase in intensity and begin to spread throughout the country. Following the self-immolation of Muhammad Bouazizi, a protestor electrocutes himself at a protest on Dec. 22 due to financial difficulties resulting from microfinance programs. Dec 24 a man is shot dead in Ammari by police. Numerous arrests have taken place, including rapper El General, whose songs have become a soundtrack for the protestors.

In Egypt, a facebook page has been created by Google marketing exective Wael Ghonim in tribute to Khalid Said, a dissident blogger detained by the Egyptian police, tortured and killed in custody. The page has already attracted thousands of followers and has become a central hub for protest organization. Workers' strikes and protests of police brutality are held on Dec 25, and a large scale protest is planned on Jan 25.

Meanwhile, Egyptian President Mubarak has offered some reform concessions. To counteract the rising cost of living, he offers subsidized food and rent, abolished tuition fees at all levels of schooling, and given raises to military personnel. He has also increased the military presence in the Sinai by 100% and freely opened the checkpoint to Gaza. These measures are supported by much of the population and do much to quell the numbers participating in the protests.

In Saudi Arabia, the al Janadriyah Festival has begun. Over the course of the week and continuing through the next, this festival celebrates the history of Saudi Arabia from the Rise of Islam to the expulsion of the Ottomans. Conservatives greatly enjoy the spectacle and opposition elements find themselves quieted by the patriotic fervor.

King Abdullah of Jordan has posted to his facebook page throughout the week his enthusiasm for the new PlayStation 3 game LA Noir. Also in the news are invitations for investment towards a Star Trek theme park. His wife, Queen Rania has tweeted some glamour shots of herself and shot advertising for microfinance in the Middle East. This has been harshly portrayed in independent Arab media as clownishly out of touch, given the protests in Tunisia centered around microfinance. Jordanian upset is at a low boil, with no protests or even organization, but a general quiet discontent. Factionalization of the society between Palestinians and Jordanians and domination by the monarchal regime is still the order of the day.

Thomas Friedman's article this week is an insightful piece about Obama's potential to be the new FDR through market-based green energy initiatives.

---

If you didn't send in orders this turn, that's fine, you're still in the game. I'm going to try to keep this moving at a swift pace, so get your orders in quickly if you really want to do something. If I don't get orders from you after a couple days I'll just keep moving.

Edited by babyfinland ()

#23
Post rating: ~
look at mr. mubarak. hah. yeah well guess what: im revoking all aid to egypt and giving it to israel instead.

- prez obama
#24
Post rating: ~
keep it up and we can work our way up to sanctions
#25
[account deactivated]
#26
Post rating: ~
motherfucker mubarak what happened to you. we are done.
#27
Post rating: ~

discipline posted:
can I please have some funding too bro. obama? *wipes cheeto-stained fingers on jorts as I extend an outstretched hand...*



sure thing

#28
Post rating: ~
well heck
#29
tardy on these heaters
Post rating: ~
I've made an IRC channel at synirc.net #rhizzone

http://02.chat.mibbit.com/?server=irc.synirc.net&channel=%23rhizzone
#30
tardy on these heaters
Post rating: ~
I've recieved orders from USA and Saudi Arabia, everyone else has one more day to get in their orders
#31
tardy on these heaters
Post rating: ~
December 26 2010 - Jan 1 2011


Protests in Tunisia have become more violent and spread to the capital, Tunis. Labor union activists are rallying throughout the country, and hundreds of lawyers held a rally near the government's palace. This last friday, the 1st, saw the first signs of Islamist activity from the Al Nahda party, drawing the ire and suspicion of Western media as well as many in the protest movement. Ben Ali has yet to make a statement.

Protests in Algiers, Algeria over housing began on the 29th, and have quickly turned violent. Dozens of Algerians have been injured and some killed, and there is no sign of the violence abating anytime soon.

The USA has announced a doubling of aid packages to Jordan and Israel, increasing tension between the governments and the citizenry in the former. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has purchased a number of stealth fighter jets from the USA as well, a deal worth $500 million.

In other Saudi news, the King has denounced the Mubarak's "radical socialist" policies of late, and treated him to a tongue lashing, claiming that he has "suckled at our teat for too long, and no longer!"

Mubarak has continued to subsidize necessities for the Egyptian people, and introduced a jobs investment program to reduce unemployment and improve infrastructure. He has also issued a public apology to the family of Khalid Said, which was better recieved than expected by the public, probably due to the good feelings generated by his new economic policies. Arms deals with Russia and China are negotiated for tanks, anti-aircraft missles and anti-ship ballistic missles.

Wael Ghnaem continues to build momentum for the planned Jan 25 protest despite the public apology from the government, and seems to have recieved financial backing from Gulf shaykhs towards these ends.

Small protests in Egypt continue but they are taking the character of encouragement for Mubarak rather than strongly criticizing him. There is a strange mood in Egypt and the sudden changes in policies are not all well received, even by those benefiting from them. Suspicion and a somewhat schizophrenic mood towards the government is building. As in Tunisia, Islamists have made an appearance, almost perfectly embodying this strange paranoia. Muslim Brotherhood flags are seen at almost every rally, and prominent in media coverage, but the numbers of big-bearded salafi men are few, almost non-existent.

his majesty king "playstation" abdallah of jordan decides on a suitable plan for his star trek theme park: it will reflect his favorite trek series: deep space nine. within the park will be a focus on diversity (as reflected in ds9's rainbow-colored cast of characters) and jordan being a waystation for different cultures to converge in the middle east. he decides to invite Sir Ethan Phillips, who portrayed the lovable eccentric Neelix in DS9, for the groundbreaking ceremony, which will be held in the center of wihdat refugee camp - also known as amman new camp - located to the east of Amman proper. his majesty the king has greatly pleased his subjects by offering each and every palestinian refugee in the camp 100 jordanian dinars to dress up like romulans for the three-day ceremony to be attended by dignitaries from all over the region, including a few israeli diplomats disguised as klingon warriors. king abdallah promises that the palestinians will be employed in both the building and operating of the park, offering chances to those kept under the severe boot of UNRWA welfare handouts.

On Monday WikiLeaks releases a batch of six diplomatic cables from the US embassy in Tunisia, filed back in 2009. The cables recount a meeting with Tunisian officials in which they expressed concern over the high-profile transfer of Tunisian nationals from Guantanamo Bay to an Italian prison with an equally notorious human rights record. The Tunisians do not seek their repatriation but want vague assurances about their welfare that they can repeat to the public. They also seek additional US funding for counter-terrorism projects - but the ambassador notes in an aside that this is a frequent request that she believes is about boosting the government's domestic espionage program.

Assange continues to remain in police custody in London, awaiting extradition to Sweden for an alleged sexual assault. He directs the WikiLeaks team to tweet messages of support for the Egyptian protesters, with promises of major revelations about the Egyptian government in the next few weeks. They also continue to post requests for donations and repost flattering interviews with Assange and coverage of his legal battle, no matter how dated.

---

Budgets have changed now since it's a new year, so surpluses have been added to treasuries and deficits added to debt.

Edited by babyfinland ()

#32
Post rating: ~
can i please b nancy ajram

breadmelon aim
#33
tardy on these heaters
Post rating: ~

nene posted:
can i please b nancy ajram

breadmelon aim



yup, just PM me your orders

#34
tardy on these heaters
Post rating: ~
I've recieved orders from no one except nene and german joey. To PLay Game you have to Send PM. You have 24 hours.
#35
tardy on these heaters
Post rating: ~
Jan 2 2011 - Jan 8 2011


Tunisia and Algeria continue to experience massive protests. 8,000 Tunisian lawyers have gone on strike and a protest that turned violent in Monastir concluded with the office of the ruling party, the Constitutional Democratic Rally, being attacked. The violent unrest has continued unabated in Algieria.

The major political players have remained quiet for the most part.

WikiLeaks' latest batch of cables contain an embarassing but unsurprising private portrait of Jordan's King Abdallah, courtesy of the then-US ambassador. King Abdallah is "pampered to the point of infantilization", he alleges: frequent gifts and visits masquerading as peace process talks have made him a pliable ally, "but His Majesty's retreat into a Neverland lifestyle makes him a poor candidate for actively furthering US interests in the region."

However this missive overshadows a short memo elsewhere in the cables, confirming the extraction of US six intelligence officers from Amman, having successfully used one of the King's fan conventions as cover for an undisclosed operation in Syria.

The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt have been made a legal political organization, after decades of repression. Large rallies are being held throughout the country, featuring Islamic, communist and nationalistic messaging (including many portraits of Nasser). Anti-American and anti-Israeli slogans and signs are widely seen as well. Confidence in Mubarak's leadership has spread throughout the country, and the protests quelled as social services are meeting the needs of many and the intelligensia are channeling their energies into their new-found civil freedoms.

President Mubarak asked Greece to join in his demands of Britain that they return all looted cultural treasures from the British Museum, "lest our mightly warfleets of quadriremes sail up the Thames, and our oars block out the sun." President Papoulias was visibly embarrassed and politely refused.

Pop star Nancy Ajram has been announced as the star of a new live action Sailor Moon film to be produced in Lebanon, to much fanfare. The UAE will be funding the production. Dissident blogger "Angry Arab" posts: "Oh for potato's sake..." but most Lebanese are ecstatic to have the attention. Most recall her previous statement: "I am politically dumb."

Queen Rania has published a children's book filled with images of her and Palestinian children in different happy scenes, covered in colorful "sparklies". The last page of the book has the words "Who is the most specialest princess in the whole land?" over a mirror. The book costs 59.99 and 10% of the proceeds go to to funding a charity that creates advertisements aired all over the middle east supporting a woman's right to choose. The effort is supported by the typical upper classes in Jordan and Palestine as well as by Israel but most people are (as usual) embarrassed. Jon Stewart is set the host the Queen for an interview and plug for the book in the coming week.

Elsewhere, tensions increase and things appear to be boiling over in a multitude of countries. Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia are being watched closely by pundits in the Middle East and abroad for signs of turmoil. The explosive protests in Algeria and Tunisia and the bizarre 180 of the Egyptian administration have dissipated the apathy and fear that Arab people have felt towards their political circumstances for years.
#36
Post rating: ~
Can I be the PKK
#37
tardy on these heaters
Post rating: ~

vampirarchist posted:
Can I be the PKK



that would have owned but ppl stopped sending me orders

#38
[account deactivated]
#39
Post rating: ~
FFX-2 is better in every way than FFX. It's a better story, it has far, far better gameplay (the culmination of the slow and uneven development of a class/character system over various FF games into pure perfection in FFX-2) and Yuna as a main character in FFX-2 is much, much, much more relatable and interesting than Tidus or Yuna in FFX. FFX-2 throws out everything bad about FFX - its ridiculously self-serious sob story, its tired subpar unoriginal straight-line-march-to-save-the-world plot progression, and its bizarre, Byzantine skill leveling - and adds everything the worst FF games (such as FFX) lack: fun, believable characters, and a deep experience that encourages replays. FFX basically existed to pre-alpha test a combat system that would find its best and truest expression in FFX-2. I'm only glad I suffered through FFX so that I could play FFX-2, which is truly one of the best FF games out there for mature minds of both sexes who are capable of identifying with real problems, like living up to people's expectations and moving past lost love, instead of goofy fantasies where you save the world and everything's about you, you, you. The childish misspellings in the piece above speak to the immaturity of those who won't allow themselves to enjoy FFX-2. I honestly encourage newcomers to just read FFX's story on Wikipedia and go straight to FFX-2, the superior sequel.
#40
[account deactivated]