EVENT [MN]: Global Economic Crisis

[Alex]

Point-of-View: Darrell Rankin, Leader of the Communist Party of Ontario

Rankin was unlike his other comrades across Canada. While the others wished to win over the crowd and win by majority, he was a man of direct-action, regardless of the consequences or the public image that his party received. Historically, communism only rooted itself by force against the elite and the government, not by having the majority. His actions were made for nothing more than results.

The elite-controlled media and government had and always would lie about the working-class, attempting to keep them down and take their attempted revolts out of context to frame them as outcasts among their own people. Internal conflict, that’s what the elite attempted to assure stayed forever in the working-class, conflict that would take the workers’ attention away from the real enemy. Darrell was sick and tired of this and with this new fascist government in control of the nation for years now, things were only bound to become worse.

Those of the Communist Party of Ontario thought the same thing as he did and following the murder of Kimball Cariou in Vancouver, they had decided to take action. They armed themselves; pistols, shotguns, hunting rifles, bolt-actions, crossbows, molotovs, knives and axes. Anything that they could use to take steps against the police and the Maroon Shirts of Bianca Wright. This time, if they attempted to murder them, they’d be prepared.

They were nearly four hundred. The majority of them were tasked to follow Rankin through Toronto to the exchange building, to take it by force and continue the movement. However, some fifty of them were tasked with a more important task, they were to storm the headquarters of the Nationalist Party of Canada.

From the headquarters of their party in the Playter Estates of Toronto, the men and women loaded their weapons and equipment into various vehicles from small cars to large vans. The alleyways behind the building provided them with the perfect camouflage and the night sky took any possible discovery away.

“There’s no going back.” Darrell stated simply. “If you want out, you get out now.” There was a silence in the large group as they looked around at each other, curious to see if anyone would actually abandon them. When no one did, their leader nodded with a smile. “Good. Today we make history, and if we’re lucky enough we’ll never have to do something like this again.”

One by one the vehicles left the area and into the night. They went their own separate ways to assure that no one would notice them, but they were all to meet at the stock exchange building near the waterfront. Five of the vans, however, were set for another destination.

A large balding man approached Rankin, his skin dark and eyes narrow. “We’re ready.” Masked and in black clothing, the armed men were loaded into their vans. “We’ll bring that building to ashes and then we’ll hit that bitch’s government with everything we’ve got.” If the people were to lose their homes because of her government, then she would follow them - by force. “You sure you don’t want us to hit the Shirts?”

Rankin shook his head. “We hit them, we’re done.” He explained. “We’ll hit them one day, Purnaq, but first we need what they have: numbers.” The Inuit nodded his head in understanding before Darrell shook his hand. “Good luck, brother.”

“You too.”

The vans left and Darrell took his vehicle the opposite way.

***​

Point-of-View: Purnaq Idlout, Inuit Comminist

The five vans stopped on the deserted road.

The building was small, for the main headquarters of the party that ruled Canada with an iron-grip. The lights were off, windows and curtains shut, and it stated ‘closed’ on the main door. It would simply make for an easier target, Purnaq thought. The buildings on each side of the street were just as dark and still, no one would see them… or at least identify them.

Purnaq excited the driver’s seat of his van and the other vans would quickly empty, they were nearly fifty in total. From the back of each of the vans, they would grab various supplies and tools; bolt cutters, hammers, a light, and many cans of gasoline. Idlout, armed with both a bolt cutter and a hammer approached the building from the side.

Being over six feet tall, reaching the security camera was no problem, a swing of his hammer severed it from its instalment and it fell to the ground before his feet. Using the bolt cutters, the man would cut the lock that kept the grated security door in-place, and the smaller and weaker door behind it was revealed - easily broken through with a hammer against its glass. Now inside the building, the communists stormed inside it.

While their main goal was to burn it to the ground, they were also there in the hopes of being able to collect information that they could use against the Nationalist Party, or at the very least get information that would be considered private knowledge. They ran to the computer towers, opening them up quickly and unscrewing the various parts inside with care before pulling out their harddrives and stuffing them in their backpacks. Others would look through the various file cabinets located around the office and inside each of the desks, while there wasn’t much to be found, their search granted them a few files and papers that they believed would serve them in the future.

Then they began soaking and coating everything with as much gasoline as they could, the fumes nearly making the Inuit pass out as they made a gasoline trail back to the building’s front entrance. “Everyone stand back.” He ordered as he pulled out his lighter, making sure the flame was on before throwing it on the trail of gasoline.

The flames erupted and roared its way into the building. They consumed and demanded everything become ashes, the heat radiating outward as those representing the people’s anger, and the destruction an overwhelming joy. Purnaq could have stood there all night, embracing the heat and watching the destruction as those hypnotized, but to do so would likely destroy the buildings surrounding the NPC’s headquarters alongside it.

Instead, knowing that the building was already out of service and anything useful now being in their possession, the man pulled out his thick Nokia cell phone and dialled the emergency services. “There’s a fire on Danforth Street,” he told them simply, “you should send the fire department before it spreads.” He hung up the phone and the communists quickly entered their vans and raced out to Bianca Wright’s mansion some kilometers away.

***​

Point-of-View: Darrell Rankin, Leader of the Communist Party of Ontario

While the headquarters of the Nationalist Party of Canada burned, the other communists had gathered in some three hundred in Old Toronto before the Toronto Stock Exchange building; a large black skyscraper covered in windows. It was deep within the night, but Old Toronto was always brimming with life and the citizens of the city knew to avoid the area, but if the people knew they were there then so would the police. They had to take the next step quickly.

“Montreal and Vancouver!” Darrell began. “We know what has happened there, Montreal took the building and Vancouver tried, only to be butchered by the police. But we won’t be taking this building… if they want to tear us down, then we’ll do the same to them!” Rankin lit the molotov cocktail that was in his hands. “Let’s burn this fucking place down!”

Cheers game from the armed and masked crowd and Darrell threw the molotov against one of the main windows, it didn’t do much to the building other than crack the window and start a small fire below it but for the gathered crowd it signaled the attack.

In the hundreds, they charged up the concrete stairs and against the stock exchange building. Using their bats, sledgehammers, firearms, bricks, and everything in between they forced their way inside and one at a time they lit molotovs and threw them inside. Like fireworks, the building ignited and it was glorious.

Their leader grabbed their attention once against, yelling over the roar of flames. “We’re not done here!” He stated. “We can burn down as many buildings as we want - nothing will change, they’ll simply rebuild!” He grabbed the vz. 58 rifle that hung on his back, he lifted it into the air. “We’ll take city hall! We’ll take the Legislative Building! We’ll take Cosa Loma! We’ll knock down their walls until they’re left with nothing but the streets!” The crowd cheered. “We, the people, are taking this city!”

For the rest of the night, the people of Toronto could hear constant sirens followed by gunshots and chants.

 

[Alex]

The Royal Canadian Army Arriving in and Locking Down the City of Toronto​

The Situation in Toronto

Things have a tendency to end like they began. When it came to Toronto and those who burned down buildings, shot down cops, and attempted to coup the government from the city it was responded to by the paramilitary and the armed forces. The Maroon Shirts were sent first as vanguards to create operational centers, slow the advancement and growth of the armed terrorists, and assure the safety of the Toronto citizens. Then came the Canadian military; the Toronto Scottish Regiment, the Queen’s York Rangers, the Royal Regiment of Canada, the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, 48th Highlanders of Canada, and the 7th Toronto Regiment all responded to the call.

They secured their armories, set up checkpoints, and then by the order of the government - placed the entire city of Toronto under martial law with a curfew of 5PM. No public gatherings of more than three people were allowed, vehicles were searched at each checkpoint, and anyone caught breaking curfew or the new rules were detained indefinitely.

This, however, did not deter the terrorists and some would say that it simply encouraged them as though the attention and action from the government was some sort of accomplishment for them. Every night they attacked and pushed; molotovs, improvised explosives, vehicles, anything that they could get their hands on and use as weapons they did. For now, however, the Canadian military and the Maroon Shirts fought back and kept their ground until the sun rose and the terrorists retreated into their little holes to plan for when the sun went down.

The RCMP and the military police were also present throughout the city, working with the Toronto Police Department and the law enforcement agencies surrounding the city. Together they attempted their best to collect information on the identities of the terrorists and potentially their hideouts in the hopes of routing them out as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

To many Canadians this situation was reminiscent of the October Crisis of 1970 where martial law was enacted in Montreal to counter communist terrorists who had kidnapped government officials. This time, however, the government had acted more quickly and the ground and cells that the terrorists of Toronto had gathered were nowhere close to that of the FLQ.

However, the military was not able to take control of everything, in the deepest of the terrorist territory, they had taken control of the City Hall of Toronto and it was likely that they were using this building as the center of their operations. However, their attacks on the Legislative Office of Ontario and Casa Loma (the headquarters of the Maroon Shirts) were repelled by the military and paramilitary with ease.

***

The Remaining Rioters Fighting Against the Riot Police of Vancouver​

The Situation in Vancouver

Unlike Montreal and definitely Toronto, the rioters in Vancouver never took proper roots and were quickly routed. The moment even before things had turned violent, the Vancouver police were on the scene and quickly began to disperse the rioters, however, as things turned violent the RCMP began to work with the VPD and the military units in and around Vancouver moved in to enact martial law within the city.

However, the martial law within the city lasted less than three days as shortly after the military arrived, various members of the Communist Party of British Columbia (CPBC) contacted the Vancouver Police Department and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to give up various other members who enacted the violence in downtown Vancouver that began the mass riots.

Following the arrest of more than thirty individuals, the most violent of the rioters, the remaining protesters and rioters were quickly dispersed over the next few days. More arrests were made, but the reasoning behind them were nowhere close to as severe as those who threw molotovs, fired weapons, and injured or even murdered people.

Early on the 1st of March, martial law was lifted and rebuilding began. Continuous searches of homes and buildings would reveal more illegal weapons and arrests were made, but overall, peace had been reestablished in the city.

***

The Sûreté du Québec Redirecting Vehicles Away from the Exchange Tower of Montreal​

The Situation in Montreal

Unlike Vancouver and certainly Toronto, the protesters in Montreal remained peaceful and despite the Sûreté du Québec surrounding the building and locking down the streets and the block, the police delayed raiding the building and pushing out the protestors - it now having been three days since they had taken control of the stock exchange tower. Furthermore, the police had pushed away many of the news agencies that attempted to document the situation, moving them further and further away from the scene under the pretense of ‘their security and safety’.

Many would have thought that by now the protesters would have given up, their supplies of food having dwindled and having begun to starve. However, photos taken in secret alongside rumors would state that the SQ had delivered and given supplies to the protesters on a daily basis. The reason behind this was unknown but that did not stop people and news agencies from creating conspiracy theories that the SQ was working alongside the protestors.

On the third day, it would seem that the protests would end…
“I don’t get it… I don’t fucking get it.” Said Jean-Louis, Lajeunesse’s second-in-command. “In Toronto they put up martial law, in Vancouver they arrested everyone and here… here they feed us? They haven’t attempted to talk to us, haven’t threatened us...”

“I don’t understand either, Jean.” Replied Lajeunesse. “Perhaps they’re hoping our fire will dwindle and die off and we’ll just surrender.” They were angry, the people, and if Toronto and Vancouver were anything to go off of the people could become much more angry. To Emanuelle it made some sense that the SQ wished to defuse the situation as peacefully as possible - what is better than bribing the protesters with food and security?

It was then that one of the phones of the building rang, echoing through the building, far away. It was odd that it would ring now, but Emanuelle didn’t show much interest, as none of the police outside appeared to be attempting to contact them. However, his attitude changed when one of the members of the Labor-Progressive Party came running to him.

“The phone, it’s for you.” He told Lajeunesse.

“For me?”

“They asked for you by name.”

“Who’s they?”

“Lucien Bouchard and Peter MacKay.”

“Jean, stay here.” He told his second-in-command, before turning to the other member and racing back to the phone with him. Whatever the reason behind the Premier of Quebec and the Leader of the newly formed Conversative Party of Canada was, it was important and perhaps the SQ delivery of these supplies would finally make sense.

Though why they were calling remained a total mystery to him. Entering the room where the phone was located, Emanuelle assured he was alone before answering. Nearly an hour later, Lajeunesse would emerge from the room and returned to his second-in-command’s side.

“A car is coming to pick me up,” he told Jean-Louis, “our protest is over.”

“What?” Jean asked, a tone of disbelief in his voice. “What do you mean ‘our protest is over’?”

“Do you trust me, Jean?” He asked.

“Of course.”

“Then trust me.” As he said this, a black vehicle with blackened windows pulled up, the SQ moving to allow its entry. “There are greater things at stake now. Our protest is over, but our struggle lives on. Bring our people into the underground parking lot, the SQ will escort you all away.”

With that, before Jean could ask more questions, Emanuelle exited the building through the front doors. Entering the vehicle, he left Montreal for Quebec City. Meanwhile, the protests in Montreal were over and operations began to fix up the exchange tower.

The news agencies were quite disappointed when they missed out on the mystery, though the theories were only beginning.

 

[Jay]

South Korean Minister of Economy and Finance, Shin Shinyoung
Press Conference by the Republic of Korea Ministry of Economy and Finance​

"Thank you all,

At the start of 1998, three months after the financial crisis broke out in Russia, we are still struggling to deal with the darkness of the crisis that has taken countless lives, upended entire families and communities, and undermined strong economic growth of the global economies. This crisis has caused a sharply higher unemployment, rising poverty, and global conflict. The uprisings in various countries and growing riots on the streets of others is a testament to this fact. Global stock markets have not recovered, Russia remains at a staggering $59 billion debt deficit, and growth fell across Europe. India has entered dangerous levels of $25 billion in debt, and Canada works to deal with its high debt crisis.

Yet, at the same time, we can see possibilities shining in front of us. The Global Assembly passed its largest financial assistance and fund for a member state raising $7.7 billion from amongst six countries. We have seen an unprecedented global effort to assist Russia in economic aid, the GA resolution, and credit offers. We see extraordinary and coordinated fiscal and monetary measures cushioning the world economy. The United Kingdom offered large bailout packages to Nexus, the United States quickly stopped panic selling, and the global community met to discuss the crisis. Yet, as the possibilities fly above, we risk losing them all together.

I can not find the words to say this, other than plainly. There are no more financial funds or assistance packages to indebted countries. The global community of nations must understand that continued debt accumulation to a stage where one can not cover them is dangerous. As we leave quarter one of the fiscal year, Russia, India, and Canada all remain in debt, while many other countries continue to push on to advance infrastructure, national defense, and other programs, we must recognize the impact of one nation on all the progress we are making. Since the beginning of the year, and especially over the past three months, the Indian economy has accumulated a large amount of debt. It is especially concerning for me, when India owes $10 billion in additional finances to foreign lenders, which threatens to upend the strong efforts of Korea, the United Kingdoms, and the United States in maintaining the global trade network. These fears coupled with governments’ lack of response to prepare a plan have left a sense of uncertainty that was sought to be removed by the passing of the global response through the Russian Emergency Fund.

Though still affected by the economic downturn, a handful of European countries have started to muster their regional efforts to move beyond and recover from the crisis. However, in the absence of robust economic solution; for example, advancing global trade, advancing regional infrastructure, and expanding consumption, the strength of the recovery remains highly uncertain.

Since the beginning of the economic crisis, the globe has been playing catch up. Reacting and responding rather than addressing and preventing the systematic issues causing high levels of debt. Countries such as India pose a significant economic risk to Asia's economic growth and recovery, and threatens peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. The uprisings and violence in India as a result of the economic crisis showcase the need for governments to work proactively to address these problems. Crisis after crisis has disrupted global peace, but, each crisis was limited in its scope. The consequences of aggression by rogue states was limited to the parties involved. Yet, together as countries the global community rose to meet the challenge and end the tragic loss of life, suffering, and terror. This economic crisis does not discriminate against its victim, like a plague it has engulfed everything. Unlike the war and natural disasters, this economic crisis is not constrained to one geographical area, it simply knows no boundaries.

Given that the economic crisis is still developing across the globe and countries such as India have yet to bring it under control, there remains tremendous uncertainty of when the globe will truly move on from the crisis...and its long-term impacts. It is also important to note that across Asia, on the demand side the only spending that is growing has been government consumption and investment, in emerging as well as advanced economies. In other words, economies are relying heavily on government stimulus and spending on things such as weapons, infrastructure, and welfare programs. We believe that the recovery will start in Q2-Q3 1998, and our projection of global output in 1998 is steady growth percent. This may sound good, but if India, Canada, and other countries buckle under the weight of their debt and domestic political instability, the economic crisis may wean on in many different parts of the world.

As trade growth has slowed down, the global trade contraction has significantly impacted the Republic of Korea and the wider Asia region where the overall picture is that many countries are heavily depend on global supply chains and cannot grow by themselves if disrupted. While we have attempted to take fundamental steps in reorienting the growth model towards domestic demand and away from heavy reliance on exports, it is clear that the region that still dependent on demand from other parts of the world is impacting us. Domestic inequality has become a major challenge and continues as it is has, to rise fast across Asia. This crisis has added to this inequality and proves a major challenge for governments to address. The adverse impacts of the economic crisis are having bigger shocks in countries where a high proportion of the country are informal workers. This can leave deeper economic scars, make the recovery more protracted, and pose greater challenges to social protection and economic and financial systems. High debt levels will be a common problem in the global economy and Asia. Weakened household and corporate balance sheets in many Asian countries can weigh on investor sentiment and affect the pace of the recovery, amplifying the scarring effects. This is the biggest risk the Indian bubble poses.

Global cooperation is vital to deal with both this truly global crisis and the more structural challenges that will remain with us in the medium to long term. The crisis has emphatically illustrated how necessary and beneficial our global linkages are and how we must expand, not contract them. The crisis knows no borders, and the only way to conquer it is to work together. For Asia, which is highly integrated in the global value chain, external demand is especially important. The strength of its recovery will likely depend on the openness and innovation capability of Asia and other parts of the world, as well as on forging stronger links within the region and enhancing regional cooperation. This also means we must work together to maintain healthy spending and development.

The Republic of Korea will continue to do all it can to ensure adequate international awareness, mobilizing resources and assistance, and raising the issue directly governments. Yet, we are merely a nation in this family of nations, no greater, no lesser, and all we can do is encourage our family of nations to take the right steps. We are facing a complex situation, with major tasks and serious challenges ahead. Only by working together can we ensure that the global economy continues to move toward a path of recovery. I urge nations to be responsible. The problem is not debt, neither is entering manageable debt a problem. However, it is clear for some, the blank checkbooks move around. This is a problem for Korea as it is for any other nation, and neither is Korea immune form this problem. Yet, we must think of our social responsibility to our community of nations, and not our own selfish desires. Thank you"

 

[Alex]

Joint Task Force-2 Squad Group
​

The Situation in Toronto

Secret
The platoon was flown in from Ottawa to CFB Trenton last night.

The Toronto Police Department and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had been working tirelessly to disperse the riots and locate as many of the domestic terrorists within the city as possible. The last few days had been spent interrogating individuals who were part of the riots and had ties to the Communist Party of Ontario. Eventually, someone broke and fed the police a lot of information - including the full names and locations of the CPO’s leaders. Being such a high risk mission, the Joint Task Force 2 was sent in to track down and eliminate these targets.

Thirty-two operators, equipped with four RG-31 Nyala highly armored vehicles. They were led by the commander of the JTF-2, Lieutenant-General Rouleau. They had received the blueprints and layout of the Old City Hall building from the city’s council, studying every detail, planning every potential outcome. And when the time came, they loaded up into the Nyalas with their close quarter combat equipment and slowly made their way into terrorist territory under the cover of night.

They split into groups of four, each numbering eight. Two entered through the front entrance, one from the main rear entrance and the last group from the roof. Cutting the power to the building, they all entered in unison. Flashbangs thrown and ignited, night vision activated, and lethal force authorized. The operatives were trained for this kind of work, they were experts and they didn’t hesitate - but fighting your own people was far different than some foreigner terrorists.

The terrorists were caught by surprise, holding a meeting in the hopes to plan holding unto the little power they had left. They ran, they hid, they surrendered and they fought back. Some hoped to be spared or hoped to evade capture, others were stupid enough to believe they would win the fight. But they were gullible - self-centered - for when the JTF2 hunted you down, it was to claim your head as a trophy.

As the operatives made their way through the building, they found the terrorists wherever they hid: under tables, behind doors, in the bathrooms, taking cover - they gunned them all down until they found and cornered their prized target: Darrel Rankin, leader of the ‘Communist Party of Ontario’.

The man attempted to barricade himself within the many rooms, the double doors leading into it were made of thick wood and the terrorist had barricaded it from the other side with furniture. There were others with him, clearly all armed and prepared to fight back against the JTF2 operatives. In response, the operatives took out their MasterKeys, placing them against the door hinges.

“Whistle head,” began one of the operatives using his walkie-talkie, “clearance to breach and eliminate?”

“Granted.” A voice came back.

“Seen.” Giving a thumbs up to those around him, they opened fire with their MasterKeys and the door was easily pried away from the makeshift barricades on the other end. “Flashbangs.” He commanded as they turned off their night vision temporarily as they threw a handful of flashbangs within the room.

Following the loud bangs, they turned their night vision back on and rushed inside, boom sticks prepped. The terrorists, covering their ears and their eyes from pain, dropped their weapons and screamed out. “I surrender!” “I give up!” But it mattered not, just like all the other terrorists they were gunned down where they stood until each of the rifles of the operatives clicked empty.

Using his walkie-talkie, the commander contacted CFB Trenton. “Target eliminated.”

“Survivors?” A voice asked.

“Negative.”

“Casualties?”

“Negative.”

“Roger. Mission accomplished, return to base. We’ll have the cement heads on clean up.”

“Loud and clear.”

Public
The majority of the operation was unknown to the public other than it was to arrest as many of the terrorists as possible and were granted to use deadly force if hostilities were met. No one knew that the Joint Task Force 2 was involved nor what happened within the walls of the Old City Hall. The news agencies of Canada that covered this story would state that the operation was a success and that the domestic terrorists of Toronto, with the arrest of its leadership, had now been disbanded. Meaning that all violence within the city of Toronto had officially come to a close and martial law would soon be lifted from the city.