CLOSED Meeting, Havenese Foreign Relations (Invite only)

[The Pacific Peace Union]

President Antoinette arrived late but thats only because the weather was bad and flights were cancelled the night prior. She was incredibly nervous to walk into the meeting when everyone was already situated and talking. What she was wearing seemed odd but it was the latest "haute couture" in the pacific peace union. http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/ ... 0-3000.jpg

She entered the cafe and saw the others.

[Nova Catania (Ancient)]

Adam turned to the elderly Minister from Franco-Albion "You look like you've got something to say. But you feel that no-one's going to listen to you?"

Her hand continued to move across the pages, continuing to make notes in her delicate but authoritative handwriting. She responded to the gentlemen without looking away from the notepad on her desk.
"I'm quite used to men not listening to me back home. It's a common mistake they used to make, you know."
She looked up at the Emperor, a small smile sitting in the corner of her mouth. "They don't make that mistake anymore."

"I always listen to what folk say, don't mean I do what I'm told." Adam smiled "But what do you have to say? Clearly you've been to a lot of these things."

[Terraium]

"Alright, the reason why I brought you all here, is to see if we all can unite. Too much have I seen wars and strife, and poverty amongst us. I would love to change that. A couple other nations and I have recently created the International Union, and that is a leap foward, but it is not enough. We need more than six nations working on it, we need all of us. We need all of us to work together to make a more green earth, we need all if us to create peace, not bloodshed, we need all of us to work together and end poverty, we need our might combined to study the stars! I have a dream people, a region of interregional prosperity, for the goodness of all of us. I am trying to achieve this, but there is always something in the way. Most of the time, that something comes in the form of communism. This despotic system must be stopped, one way of another"

Prelan rose up to speak, "Mr. Harris-" but was interrupted as Renoux began to rise.
"Peace, what is peace but the opposite of violence. Humanity was said to have been created by two great gods, one seeking eternal peace and one seeking eternal violence. Peace will always lead to violence at some point but violence will also always lead to peace, this is the nature of humanity. In order to achieve eternal harmony we must seek a balance, no war should be created no person directly killed, but violence can be achieved through other means."
Ladrian stood up, coughing he said, "What Mr. Renoux means is that we must avoid war. But we can fight them in other ways through embargoes and supporting dissent among the people, we can cause the collapse of these nations. We must also stand as a united front, internal strife will only lead to our own collapse."

[Havenburgh]

"No, I dont wish to wage war with them, I dont want to send men to their deaths. But when a conflict breaks out, I want to make sure we are all on the same page, a world united. Not just some headless chickens clucking around in a panic. There is two more things. The International union is a recently made group made on like minded individuals that wish to work together peacefully
*OOC: A better version of the EU*
Hopefully I can get all your nations into the union, and make a strong, capitalist trading network that helps us all in the short run and the long run. When we share and trade our resources more quickly, everyone wins. And besides, the last reason why I brought you here is I am the newly elected president, I wish to meet everyone."

[Nova Catania (Ancient)]

"Alright, the reason why I brought you all here, is to see if we all can unite. Too much have I seen wars and strife, and poverty amongst us. I would love to change that. A couple other nations and I have recently created the International Union, and that is a leap foward, but it is not enough. We need more than six nations working on it, we need all of us. We need all of us to work together to make a more green earth, we need all if us to create peace, not bloodshed, we need all of us to work together and end poverty, we need our might combined to study the stars! I have a dream people, a region of interregional prosperity, for the goodness of all of us. I am trying to achieve this, but there is always something in the way. Most of the time, that something comes in the form of communism. This despotic system must be stopped, one way of another"

Prelan rose up to speak, "Mr. Harris-" but was interrupted as Renoux began to rise.
"Peace, what is peace but the opposite of violence. Humanity was said to have been created by two great gods, one seeking eternal peace and one seeking eternal violence. Peace will always lead to violence at some point but violence will also always lead to peace, this is the nature of humanity. In order to achieve eternal harmony we must seek a balance, no war should be created no person directly killed, but violence can be achieved through other means."
Ladrian stood up, coughing he said, "What Mr. Renoux means is that we must avoid war. But we can fight them in other ways through embargoes and supporting dissent among the people, we can cause the collapse of these nations. We must also stand as a united front, internal strife will only lead to our own collapse."

Mr. Renoux's words caused a visible shudder on the two Catanian delegates. "R-right." Aster began, "There's more than one way to skin a cat."

[Franco-Albion]

"I always listen to what folk say, don't mean I do what I'm told." Adam smiled "But what do you have to say? Clearly you've been to a lot of these things."

Noting the gentleman's politeness, she placed her pen gently down upon the table and picked up the cup of tea that sat before her. Turning slightly towards him, she took a sip, before resting the cup gently on her lap, still holding the thin handle.
"Tell me," she queried "what do you see around us?"

[Havenburgh]

Prelan rose up to speak, "Mr. Harris-" but was interrupted as Renoux began to rise.
"Peace, what is peace but the opposite of violence. Humanity was said to have been created by two great gods, one seeking eternal peace and one seeking eternal violence. Peace will always lead to violence at some point but violence will also always lead to peace, this is the nature of humanity. In order to achieve eternal harmony we must seek a balance, no war should be created no person directly killed, but violence can be achieved through other means."
Ladrian stood up, coughing he said, "What Mr. Renoux means is that we must avoid war. But we can fight them in other ways through embargoes and supporting dissent among the people, we can cause the collapse of these nations. We must also stand as a united front, internal strife will only lead to our own collapse."

Mr. Renoux's words caused a visible shudder on the two Catanian delegates. "R-right." Aster began, "There's more than one way to skin a cat."

Ryan gave Aster a stern look.
"Thats... Disturbing. Cruelty of animals is outlawed here."

"I always listen to what folk say, don't mean I do what I'm told." Adam smiled "But what do you have to say? Clearly you've been to a lot of these things."

Noting the gentleman's politeness, she placed her pen gently down upon the table and picked up the cup of tea that sat before her. Turning slightly towards him, she took a sip, before resting the cup gently on her lap, still holding the thin handle.
"Tell me," she queried "what do you see around us?"

Seeing her, Ryan smiled and waved, before coming up and kissing her hand.
"Hello ma'am. I dont believe we have met."

[Nova Catania (Ancient)]

"I always listen to what folk say, don't mean I do what I'm told." Adam smiled "But what do you have to say? Clearly you've been to a lot of these things."

Noting the gentleman's politeness, she placed her pen gently down upon the table and picked up the cup of tea that sat before her. Turning slightly towards him, she took a sip, before resting the cup gently on her lap, still holding the thin handle.
"Tell me," she queried "what do you see around us?"

Adam looked around "Interesting people interest in each others interest, unintentionally for their own interests."

[Nova Catania (Ancient)]

Ryan gave Aster a stern look.
"Thats... Disturbing. Cruelty of animals is outlawed here."

"It's an expression, Mr. President." Aster remarked.

[Dashgrinaar]

"I always listen to what folk say, don't mean I do what I'm told." Adam smiled "But what do you have to say? Clearly you've been to a lot of these things."

Noting the gentleman's politeness, she placed her pen gently down upon the table and picked up the cup of tea that sat before her. Turning slightly towards him, she took a sip, before resting the cup gently on her lap, still holding the thin handle.
"Tell me," she queried "what do you see around us?"

"Lady Thatcher, what I see is a group of individuals working to improve relations between their nations and to improve the world. I see the beautiful country we are in. What do you see, Minister?"

She looked at the glass of sparkling water in front of her, and took a small sip. As she did, she removed her tablet, and began recording information to send to Grace.

[Nova Catania (Ancient)]

Noting the gentleman's politeness, she placed her pen gently down upon the table and picked up the cup of tea that sat before her. Turning slightly towards him, she took a sip, before resting the cup gently on her lap, still holding the thin handle.
"Tell me," she queried "what do you see around us?"

"Lady Thatcher, what I see is a group of individuals working to improve relations between their nations and to improve the world. I see the beautiful country we are in. What do you see, Minister?"

She looked at the glass of sparkling water in front of her, and took a small sip. As she did, she removed her tablet, and began recording information to send to Grace.

And apparently, Aster's fallen head over heels for ya. Adam thought "Indeed, Lady Thatcher, you're dancing around the point."

[Kamieniec Podolski]

President Antoinette arrived late but thats only because the weather was bad and flights were cancelled the night prior. She was incredibly nervous to walk into the meeting when everyone was already situated and talking. What she was wearing seemed odd but it was the latest "haute couture" in the pacific peace union. http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/ ... 0-3000.jpg

She entered the cafe and saw the others.

"Antoinette, what do you think about the proposed plan?"

[Havenburgh]

"Alright ladies and gentleman, I am giving you all a formal invitation to the International union. You may ask to join if you want. Now, who wants to celebrate, and talk?"

[Linaviar]

Desmond shook his head. "A pipe dream if I ever saw one." He stated simply, then continued. "There are so many nations here, some with tensions between them, that I find the prospect of ever putting together an actual union absurd. How would these tension be resolved? For if they cannot, the union you are proposing would collapse within a decade."

He stopped for a moment, and continued. "While your optimism is admirable President Sanders, it is sadly misplaced. International Relations is a complex and ugly business that will ever so rarely yield a truly positive solution lasting in the long term; it is a zero sum game. You stand to gain much from this, but many of us stand to loose more than we could ever possibly recoup from such a deal. Take, for example, that two nations represented here today are on the cusp of war; how could this be solved? Certainly not through high minded idealism."

He made a small dismissive gesture with his hand. "While I can appreciate the sentiment, the reality of the situation will force a decline towards your invitation. We would be more than willing to pursue other bilateral agreements with you, but a union with the nations present here is not in our interests."

Desmond turned around before addressing Sanders. "A word of advice: Pick your allies carefully; only by doing this can you truly hope to achieve long lasting relations, and spreading your wings too far out will only attract the ire of your supposed friends. Now, is this all that we were summoned here to discuss, or were there more items on the agenda?"

[Franco-Albion]

Adam looked around "Interesting people interest in each others interest, unintentionally for their own interests."

She smiled and nodded, approving of the comment. "Words that contain more wisdom than perceived at first glance." She took another sip of her tea. It wasn't a great cup of tea, not like the brews brought to her back home, but she knew tea was never really properly brewed abroad.
"And tell me, what are your interests here?"

Seeing her, Ryan smiled and waved, before coming up and kissing her hand.
"Hello ma'am. I dont believe we have met."

Internally, she squirmed as the man took her hand and kissed it - yet she showed no sign of her thoughts externally. Lady Thatcher knew plenty of men who acted like this, as if they had to be extra courteous around female statesmen.
"No, I don't believe we have," she replied, smiling at him. At this point, Glynda, her personal assistant attempted a flustered introduction.
"Ms Thatcher, may I present President Sanders of Havenburgh . Mr President, may I present the Right Honourable Lady Thatcher, Prime Minister of the Franco-Albion Union." The young assistant stammered her words, blushing lightly as she quickly glanced at Ms Thatcher for reassurance.

And apparently, Aster's fallen head over heels for ya. Adam thought "Indeed, Lady Thatcher, you're dancing around the point."

She smiled, finding the man's sudden bluntness quite amusing.
"But on the contrary, conversation is a form of dancing. I am merely watching your turn before placing a foot on the floor."

[Doppler]

"Sanders you mentioned something with Andersite over the telephone earlier the other day. Is there something you would like to talk about?"

[Havenburgh]

Desmond shook his head. "A pipe dream if I ever saw one." He stated simply, then continued. "There are so many nations here, some with tensions between them, that I find the prospect of ever putting together an actual union absurd. How would these tension be resolved? For if they cannot, the union you are proposing would collapse within a decade."

He stopped for a moment, and continued. "While your optimism is admirable President Sanders, it is sadly misplaced. International Relations is a complex and ugly business that will ever so rarely yield a truly positive solution lasting in the long term; it is a zero sum game. You stand to gain much from this, but many of us stand to loose more than we could ever possibly recoup from such a deal. Take, for example, that two nations represented here today are on the cusp of war; how could this be solved? Certainly not through high minded idealism."

He made a small dismissive gesture with his hand. "While I can appreciate the sentiment, the reality of the situation will force a decline towards your invitation. We would be more than willing to pursue other bilateral agreements with you, but a union with the nations present here is not in our interests."

Desmond turned around before addressing Sanders. "A word of advice: Pick your allies carefully; only by doing this can you truly hope to achieve long lasting relations, and spreading your wings too far out will only attract the ire of your supposed friends. Now, is this all that we were summoned here to discuss, or were there more items on the agenda?"

"Thank you for bringing that up sir. Yes, some of the nations here are in armed conflict. But the International Union is neutral, and one must be voted in. And there is one last thing we can discuss. I realize Havenburgh has been a bit... Secretive in the past. I wish to change that to complete transparency. Is there anything, anyone would like to ask about my country?"

"Sanders you mentioned something with Andersite over the telephone earlier the other day. Is there something you would like to talk about?"

"Ah, that is better left for another meeting, without as many ears around."

[Franco-Albion]

"Thank you for bringing that up sir. Yes, some of the nations here are in armed conflict. But the International Union is neutral, and one must be voted in. And there is one last thing we can discuss. I realize Havenburgh has been a bit... Secretive in the past. I wish to change that to complete transparency. Is there anything, anyone would like to ask about my country?"

"I have a question for the good gentlemen." She rose to her feet and walked towards him, cup of tea in hand.
"Firstly, I need to congratulate you on your recent election victory and I pray for further successes in your current term and terms to come." She paused, taking a sip of tea to quench her parched throat. "You talk of complete openness and full transparency, both commendable attitudes and I challenge any country who would do such a brave thing, whilst your humbleness about your nations past is admirable. But I do have to ask, whilst your good self and your department are willing to be open - can you promise that across all parts of your administration? Old habits die hard and, as I too know all too well, there are many a dark recesses in man's hearts that aren't so easily washed away."

[Dashgrinaar]

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, as we have had a semi-productive session, I suggest we take a lunch break, and join again in a few hours. Goodbye."

She took her glass, and left the room, waiting at the door for Aster.

[Nova Catania (Ancient)]

Adam looked around "Interesting people interest in each others interest, unintentionally for their own interests."

She smiled and nodded, approving of the comment. "Words that contain more wisdom than perceived at first glance." She took another sip of her tea. It wasn't a great cup of tea, not like the brews brought to her back home, but she knew tea was never really properly brewed abroad.
"And tell me, what are your interests here?"
"But on the contrary, conversation is a form of dancing. I am merely watching your turn before placing a foot on the floor."

"Well then, I'm less of a dancer and more-off a fighter." Adam admitted. "I'm here to end a century and a half of isolation, and to see that my nation is an able participant in the international community...among other things..."
Noticing that Helen had left the door, he remarked to Aster "Some of us are here for things not originally planned."

[Nova Catania (Ancient)]

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, as we have had a semi-productive session, I suggest we take a lunch break, and join again in a few hours. Goodbye."

She took her glass, and left the room, waiting at the door for Aster.

Aster blushed at his cousin's comment and agreed "Indeed, many of us have gotten off on the wrong foot. I feel that this meeting is, "What can the international community gain from Havensburgh", rather than listening to President Sanders's propositions. I too am guilty of this. I suggest we dismiss and let cooler heads prevail."

[Miklania]

"Alright, the reason why I brought you all here, is to see if we all can unite. Too much have I seen wars and strife, and poverty amongst us. I would love to change that. A couple other nations and I have recently created the International Union, and that is a leap foward, but it is not enough. We need more than six nations working on it, we need all of us. We need all of us to work together to make a more green earth, we need all if us to create peace, not bloodshed, we need all of us to work together and end poverty, we need our might combined to study the stars! I have a dream people, a region of interregional prosperity, for the goodness of all of us. I am trying to achieve this, but there is always something in the way. Most of the time, that something comes in the form of communism. This despotic system must be stopped, one way of another"

Prelan rose up to speak, "Mr. Harris-" but was interrupted as Renoux began to rise.
"Peace, what is peace but the opposite of violence. Humanity was said to have been created by two great gods, one seeking eternal peace and one seeking eternal violence. Peace will always lead to violence at some point but violence will also always lead to peace, this is the nature of humanity. In order to achieve eternal harmony we must seek a balance, no war should be created no person directly killed, but violence can be achieved through other means."
Ladrian stood up, coughing he said, "What Mr. Renoux means is that we must avoid war. But we can fight them in other ways through embargoes and supporting dissent among the people, we can cause the collapse of these nations. We must also stand as a united front, internal strife will only lead to our own collapse."

"A most interesting point, Mr. Renoux, but I would like to remind you that there are times when subtlety must give way to overt action. There are few problems in this world that cannot be solved through the precise application of violence."

[Franco-Albion]

"Well then, I'm less of a dancer and more-off a fighter." Adam admitted. "I'm here to end a century and a half of isolation, and to see that my nation is an able participant in the international community...among other things..."
Noticing that Helen had left the door, he remarked to Aster "Some of us are here for things not originally planned."

"An honest answer," she remarked, carefully placing the now empty cup and saucer on a nearby table. "It is certainly good to see that your country has opened up to the world, it can't have been easy to do so." Her gazed moved across the room, looking around at the various delegates assembled in the room. "I've seen many things across my time in government," she mused. "Soon I will be retiring from politics. No doubt there will be many an-upset voter back home, but I think I need a rest from all these ..." She paused, her hand waving in small circles as she tried to think of the appropriate wording "... charades."

"I came here, knowing it would be my last international outing, and I intended to make it easier for my successor by making the opening moves." Turning back to the gentlemen, she outstretched her arm and gestured to all of the people in the room. "However, times have moved on. Looking at this ensemble reminds me of a saying I once heard. Democracy is four wolves and a lamb sitting down to vote on what to have for luncheon. I wonder if this assortment of nations will end up the same ..."

[Nova Catania (Ancient)]

"Well then, I'm less of a dancer and more-off a fighter." Adam admitted. "I'm here to end a century and a half of isolation, and to see that my nation is an able participant in the international community...among other things..."
Noticing that Helen had left the door, he remarked to Aster "Some of us are here for things not originally planned."

"An honest answer," she remarked, carefully placing the now empty cup and saucer on a nearby table. "It is certainly good to see that your country has opened up to the world, it can't have been easy to do so." Her gazed moved across the room, looking around at the various delegates assembled in the room. "I've seen many things across my time in government," she mused. "Soon I will be retiring from politics. No doubt there will be many an-upset voter back home, but I think I need a rest from all these ..." She paused, her hand waving in small circles as she tried to think of the appropriate wording "... charades."

"I came here, knowing it would be my last international outing, and I intended to make it easier for my successor by making the opening moves." Turning back to the gentlemen, she outstretched her arm and gestured to all of the people in the room. "However, times have moved on. Looking at this ensemble reminds me of a saying I once heard. Democracy is four wolves and a lamb sitting down to vote on what to have for luncheon. I wonder if this assortment of nations will end up the same ..."

Adam conceded "Indeed. The transition is far more difficult than you might think..." he debated within himself "Madam, what advice can you give to me? I feel that your words are a bit too harsh. There are those in my country who are...high strung over certain issues..." Adam just blurted out "How can one save a nation? May I ask for your advice on ruling?"

[Franco-Albion]

Adam conceded "Indeed. The transition is far more difficult than you might think..." he debated within himself "Madam, what advice can you give to me? I feel that your words are a bit too harsh. There are those in my country who are...high strung over certain issues..." Adam just blurted out "How can one save a nation? May I ask for your advice on ruling?"

"Never force a confrontation and do one's best to listen. A good leader always listens to their people, never do something that goes against your people and their interests unless it is absolutely necessary - and when that happens, be truthful, honest and open and accept the consequences." She looked down for a moment to gather her thoughts. "Never try to persuade those who can't be persuaded, one'll just end up tiring themselves out and wasting energy in an hopeless cause. But my final piece of advice, one I remind myself constantly of? Always remember that you can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time - but never all of the people all of the time."

(OOC: Heavy speech and anecdotal, I know, but I'm itching to head out for a bit. BBL)