Early February 2021 Foreign Update
---------------------------------------
Royal Marines Conduct First Operations of 2021 to Celebrate Prince’s Upcoming Nuptials
Written by Madeline Norfolk, edited by Edward Somerset
On 3 February, His Majesty's Royal Marine Corps has successfully completed their first operation of 2021.
Following many drinks and pre-gaming at The Banana Box, Marine William Rhys Lancaster suddenly disappeared.
The first bar we hit was The Infinite Dragon, a local dive bar known for their fruity cocktails and lavish hors d'oeuvres. The Marines shared a round of Amaretto Sours and finger sandwiches for fuel.
The next bar the Marines went after was I Don't Even Care Brewery which was unexpectedly closed for the evening. Marine William Rhys Lancaster remained to be unseen. And the Marines began to feel restless, unsure if they will be able to complete the mission without the Guest of Honour in attendance. It was decided to hit the next pub the Prince was known to frequent during his gallivanting days.
The Pietopia Factory, known for their amazing pies and even tastier wines was successfully hit by the Marines where together we cleaned out their supply and took several pies with us onto our next target. Lance Corporal Arthur Elizabeth Somerset was nearly lost after getting into a scuttle with the bouncer who couldn't believe that such a young face could be a simple 40 year old farmer from Ohio. Brigadier Alistair M. Brandon had to step in and distract the bouncer long enough for Lance Corporal Arthur Elizabeth Somerset to get away and join the rest of the groups. Still no sign of Marine William Rhys Lancaster.
It was decided that the Marines would retrace their steps and attempt to locate the missing Marine. Absolutely out of their minds, the company stumbled upon a dark alley where they found themselves in the middle of the Cult of Cthulhu ritual! Captain General Madeline Norfolk took the path in front of her comrades and faithfully exclaimed PRAISE SPUD!!! as she ran through the ritual. To her left she saw none other than Marine William Rhys Lancaster passed out on a couch. After quickly shaking him awake and leading her men through the cult, they settled on their final target for the night.
The Marines ended their evening in a surprisingly empty field where upon looking up at the stars saw none other than the Owohiuchus Star System. Each man took out their flasks, had a few swigs, and finished the pies taken from Pietopia before retiring to the Barracks.
This report is brought to you by:Captain General Norfolk, Trigger and Party Planner
Brigadier A. Brandon, Point and Bouncer Distractor
Lance Corporal A. Somerset, The One with the Fake
Marine R. Lancaster, Guest of Honour and Best Boi
Hits: 4/5
Targets:
The Infinite Dragon
I Dont Even Care
Pietopia
The Cult of Cthulhu
OwOhiuchus Star System
--------
Night 2 of rounds of tags and the Marines hit 5/5 targets.
Captain General Madeline Norfolk as trigger with Brigadier Alistair M. Brandon and Lance Corporal Arthur Elizabeth Somerset as points.
The Captain General received a vision from the great Grilled Cheesus and Holy Spud informing her of the next mission for the Marines: Finding the Ultimate Meme.
The Marines set forth in search of the Ultimate Meme. Their first stop was at the source of all memes, Meme. The Marines had to battle a group of women doing a revised version of "Gas Peddle" constantly changing "Slow down, grab your bible, pray it like you're trying to make your soul revival". They fought hard and well as one by one the women swooned at the dashingly good looks the Marines had, an Austin Powers type of effect no doubt.
Their second stop Slothland, land of the home, home of the free, and free of the jazzercizes, because they're banned. The Marines had to nearly drag the Captain General out by her ankles after she was found glued to the latest most favored Comfort Food, chicken nuggies. Nonetheless, the Marines pressed forward and hit their next target, Ros Empire, welcomed the Marines with open arms and many... roses.
The Marines nearly abandoned the remainder of their mission until the Lance Corporal began to have an adverse allergic reaction. Following an injection of 3 EpiPens and a brief visit with the travelling physician, the Marines continued forward onto their next target, the Union of Weebs, challenged each of us to our individual dance offs. All it took was an unidentified "Nico Nico Nee" to send most of the weebs swooning and others running in the opposite direction. The Marines shouldered forward to their last target, Yeet.
Horror struck the group when the Brigadier suddenly fell ill, leaving the Lance Corporal in need to lead the final charge and final target. After a grueling fight, the Marines arose victorious.
Flags were placed and Money way won. No sign of the Ultimate Meme... yet
This report is brought to you by:Captain General Norfolk, Trigger and Resident Karen
Brigadier A. Brandon, Point and Ultimate Gamer Boy
Lance Corporal A. Somerset, 2nd Point and Not the Guy Mentioned in Driver's License
Hits: 5/5
Targets:
Meme
Slothland
Ros Empire
Union of Weebs
Yeet
--------------
Prime Minister Delivers Midterm Address
Written by Edward Somerset
After the release of the midterm polling by the BBC, Prime Minister Arthur Somerset addressed the region in front of 10 Downing Street to lay out the Government’s agenda for the remainder of the term, affirming that he is “quite satisfied” with the progress of his Government so far.
The Prime Minister explained his intention to fulfill his campaign promise to bring the BBC closer to the Ministry of Culture with an executive order with updates, which was subsequently issued the following Monday. With the Electoral Organic Act dealing with Temporary Permits set to pass the House of Commons to the Lords, he also stated that he had an executive order ready to issue upon its passage.
Regarding the Foreign Office and the World Assembly, he set out his intention to have the next foreign update out soon and to set up the responsibilities of the World Assembly Minister. Although some close sources say that there have been internal discussions between 10 Downing Street and the Foreign Secretary on appointing someone to the role, the Prime Minister said he is not seeking to fill the position until the executive order on the WA Minister is issued.
The PM also disclosed that Civil Service Awards have been created with Home Secretary Sarah Bedford, but still need some “refinement”. The Culture Office under Secretary Alec Norfolk-Stuart has been busy with an upcoming WWE event, Movie Night, and spam games. The Home Secretary, who earned the highest marks in the midterm polls, has been hard at work not only with creating the Civil Service Awards, but ensuring that the Master Citizenship and Estates Lists are up to date, Citizen of the Month and Legion of Honor nominations, the executive order on temporary permits, business management, a guide index, RMB activity, and the Home Office’s recent White Paper on strengthening the ministry and its work.
Legislatively, the Prime Minister has set out to prioritize the House of Commons Transition Reform Committee’s work to amend the process of electing a Prime Minister for smoother transitions, as well as amending the Popular Parliamentary Proposals Organic Act, Legal Services Act, and Criminal Code. The Prime Minister has also promised legislation on the floor of the Commons to determine the question on whether to abolish the Commonwealth.
--------------
Supreme Court Rules On Previous Opinion Under New Constitution
Written by Edward Somerset
The Supreme Court on Sunday, 31 January finally ruled in an advisory opinion on the scope of a previous 2019 ruling on administrative and statutory law under the new Constitution passed last year. Lord Advocate Alistair Brandon applied and argued his case before the court in November until early December.
Over the course of the proceedings, the Lord Advocate introduced a new legal doctrine on the limits on what Parliament can and cannot regulate with various types of legislation. Organic laws, or legislation that is classified as constitutional law but serve as a supplement to the written Constitution, did not exist for most of the existence of the previous Constitution- particularly at the time of former Associate Justice JayDee Bonaparte’s landmark advisory opinion in the
Administrative v. Statutory Law (2019) case. In Justice Bonaparte’s ruling and under the previous Constitution, Parliament had a more narrow scope from passing legislation that regulated other branches of governance, and all legislation from Parliament aside from constitutional amendments were considered “statutory law”. After last year’s constitutional reforms and with the introduction of organic laws via the new “Necessary and Proper” clauses, the application of this landmark ruling and existing statutes were called into question and regular statutes were classified as “Ordinary Law”. The Lord Advocate thus introduced the Three Regulatory Instances by which a “provision of a law regulates what actions can or cannot be performed and who can or cannot perform actions”: self-regulation, consti-regulation, and orgo-regulation. Self-regulation is when an organ of governance passes a law that regulates its own powers and responsibilities. Consti-regulation is regulation through constitutional amendments. Orgo-regulation is regulation through organic acts of Parliament.
As orgo-regulation, since organic laws are considered constitutional law and given that the previous ruling stated that only constitutional law could regulate other organs of governance, the scope of Parliament’s power to regulate other branches through regular means of passing legislation was expanded whenever Parliament deems it “necessary and proper” to do so. The Supreme Court could be consulted in times of legal controversy to determine if such legislation might be so.
Justice Somerset also asked further questions regarding organic law and his reasoning on how this previous ruling might apply to Royal Decrees under his doctrine and the new Constitution. Although Royal Decrees do indeed mostly have self-regulatory instances as Executive Orders do, the Lord Advocate reasoned, other powers of the Sovereign such as Legislating and amending the Constitution (with the approval of Parliament), suspending the Prime Minister’s authority, and dissolving Parliament are subject to Parliament’s consent or other provisions in the new Constitution. In this, the Lord Advocate stated that certain parts of the previous ruling, particularly where it states that there is “no limit to the scope of Royal Decrees” and have “greater scope”.
With Chief Justice Owen Bonaparte concurring, Justice Somerset ruled in favor of most of the Lord Advocate’s rationale; yet he declined to advise the Lord Advocate on whether Parliament should fix Ordinary Laws that might be in violation of the new Constitution and this new ruling, or if a judicial review should be filed. The Court also upheld the rule under the previous opinion that administrative law cannot contradict statutory law, and that the two classifications of law can expand specific powers granted within the Constitution.
This new landmark advisory opinion has put the ball entirely in the Government and Parliament’s courts on whether to file judicial review or amend legislation
en masse.
--------------
Legislative Update | 47th Parliament
Written by Arthur E. Somerset and Edward Somerset
The Electoral Organic Act, having been debated for several weeks, came to a vote yesterday before the House of Commons. Much debate had been occurring surrounding election regulations, namely the introduction of regulation on new citizens to ensure that voters could not be imported and therefore cause fraud in the election. Having obtained a majority of votes, it will pass to the House of Lords for deliberation there.
A hefty Criminal Law Omnibus was proposed some time ago containing many acts within the legislative suite, and the Commons is still taking close consideration of each article. The omnibus seeks to reform and overhaul the criminal justice system within the region.
The Prime Minister also introduced organic legislation that would not only erase mentions of Commonwealth in the Constitution and existing laws, but would bar future Governments and Parliaments from subjugating foreign regions under a form of Commonwealth. It is not clear how this legislation would affect regions captured by the regional military.
There has been a lot of news within the House of Lords as well. Lord Somerset introduced a bill last term to put teeth into summons from Parliament for both current and former public officials after two incidents of officials rejecting parliamentary summons; it finally passed both Houses this term and is the only bill of the 47th Parliament so far to have been sent to the King’s desk for Royal Assent. They also agreed to the bill from the Commons to abolish the economy, which has not been functional for some time now. Since the Lords made a minor amendment to the repeal bill, it goes back to the Commons for final approval before being sent to the King for his signature.
The Lords have also reconfirmed Lord Chief Justice Owen Bonaparte to his current post. Since the new Constitution was passed last year, Justices are now subject to reconfirmation hearings in the Lords every six months. Associate Justice Somerset will face reconfirmation in April.
--------------
Despite Less Legislation On His Desk, King Is Hard at Work
Written by Edward Somerset
His Majesty has been very busy lately. The King granted his assent to the Parliamentary Offenses and Summons Act and approved the Prime Minister’s recent executive order related to the BBC. He also issued several royal decrees updating matters related to royal titles, state secrets, and abdication/ascension. The weekly audiences with the Prime Minister continue, and His Majesty held a conference with members of the House of Lords at St. James’ Palace concerning the progress of the House’s legislative business.
Wedding planning with the Prince of Wales and Lady Rhea Amsburg continue. Clarence House has not yet announced a new date for the wedding, but Prince William is said to be focused on business with the House of Lords, according to a palace insider.
--------------
Leftist Parties Emerge
Written by Edward Somerset
Leftism seems to be on the rise here in Great Britain. After the Socialist Democratic Party (recently renamed to the Progressive Democrats Party) gained a seat in the House of Commons in the last election with Mr. Harvey Rudyard, the formerly independent Deputy Prime Minister John Laurens-Wessex recently formed a new party called the Socialist Party of Great Britain. It is not yet clear what leftist policies Mr. Laurens-Wessex will push in Parliament within the setting of NationStates but if the policies of the PDP are any indication, he may push for reform with the House of Lords and changes with the RP-centric Regional Assembly.
Since the Deputy Prime Minister backs the British Royalist Party’s Prime Minister Arthur Somerset, the Socialist Party has entered a coalition with the Royalists. Many political commentators within the Kingdom pointed out the ideological irony of the coalition.
--------------
New Archbishop Inaugurated
Written by Edward Somerset
After the Archbishop of Canterbury Peter de Vitre lost citizenship after his nation ceased to exist, His Majesty the King appointed the Bishop of London Theodore Bedford as his successor. The Bishop had already been standing in during de Vitre’s leave of absence, overseeing a Christmas service and the King’s wedding ceremony. He was formally inaugurated as the ninth Archbishop of Canterbury on the 31st of January.
--------------
In Memoriam: Captain Sir Thomas Moore
Written by Edward Somerset
This week, the world lost a noble soul. On the second of February, Captain Sir Thomas Moore, 100, passed away after contracting pneumonia and COVID-19. Last year, he was known for his campaign to raise money for the Association of NHS Charities, also known as NHS Charities Together. In the run-up to his centennial birthday, the veteran of World War II began walking in his garden to support the charities with the ultimate goal of raising £1,000. In the end, he ended up helping to raise almost £39 Million after vast media attention. He became the oldest man to have a number one single on the UK Charts after he covered “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. Knighted on the seventeenth of July that year and granted the status of Honorary Colonel of the Army Foundation College, a man of exceptional courage and strength in the face of adversity, fear, and enormous public depression, in both Asia during the greatest war in human history and in Europe during the greatest health crisis of the modern era, entered into eternal rest.
With the many battles of his youth and elder years completed with excellence and chivalry, may he rest in peace.
-----------------------
------------------------
Thank you for reading our Update! As always, we invite you to come to us in our discord or on our forum where the activities never stop!