Greater Díenstad News Feed

[Yohannes]

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Agreement with Royal Imbriniumian Navy announced

[Out of character: Just another low quality news story. You are welcome elitists and news haters!]

... About seventeen thousand shipbuilding jobs in Imbrinium will be guaranteed by the agreement along with twenty-one thousand jobs for chain suppliers and subcontractors.....

Te Whanganui a Tara, 12 April — As some nations in Greater Dienstad evaluate Greater Dienstadi ship designs to outfit their respective navies, Royal Beaufort Shipwrights Guild has been granted a twenty-year fixed-price incentive fee agreement worth 2.15 trillion Quertz russling (20 billion NationStates Dollars or Universal Standard Dollars) from Imbrinium to help construct, retain, and retrofit at least twenty warships for the Royal Imbriniumian Navy. The Imperial Herald has also learnt that a consortium of RBSG shipbuilders and citizen sector players from Knootoss and the nineteen countries has pledged to work together with Imbriniumian companies in realising their supply chains under yesterday’s agreement.

According to a spokesperson for the Imbriniumian foreign ministry, the association of Knootian and Yohannesian shipbuilders has promised that the costs of building Washington-class battleships for Imbrinium will not be higher than 28 billion NationStates Dollars. After increasing pressure and threats of proposal rejection, Imbrinium and the association settled on 20 billion NationStates Dollars appropriations for the ships, with construction of the first ship scheduled to start by the end of 2019.

Imbrinium’s Foreign minister Tertius Claudius said government officials were attracted with the more advanced ship designs of Halcyon Arms and regional neighbour Lyran Arms to build its capital ships. But, the government, it added, would act irrationally by disregarding the significant savings offered by the older, much cheaper Washington-class. In announcing the contract before the press gallery, the dual-purpose weapon system was described by Imbriniumian Defence Minister Demi Efthalia as, “A cost-effective maritime solution against airborne and surface threats.”

“They [the twenty ships] are going to be just some of the many lines of defence for the Royal Imbriniumian Navy,” he said.

About seventeen thousand shipbuilding jobs in Imbrinium will be guaranteed by the agreement along with twenty-one thousand jobs among chain suppliers and subcontractors. Other focus of the agreement are the modernisation of armaments and radar systems for the ships; the provision of engineering and material disposal services; domestic project support; and the procurement and management of spares and electronic test equipment, a Parliament House official in Imbrinium said.

“The nature of the agreement reflects the fact that the government is trying to reduce costs as a short-term solution to smaller appropriations. It is prioritising for the maintenance of older systems and using supplemental appropriations for cheaper designs”, said the source, who wished to hide his identity because he did not have permission from the house to speak to the press.

The first ten ships are to be built at Cormond Shipyards in the economic and political centre of Imbrinium, and are expected to be available after 2023.

Members of parliament will debate this latest issue of nation state significance next month.

Today’s exchange rate: According to the International Securities and Exchange Commission, 1 NationStates Dollar or 1 Universal Standard Dollar (NSD/USD; $) (World Assembly and International Standard) is enough to buy 107.69 Quertz russling (Yohannesian; §); that is, a Yohannesian needs to spend at least §107.69 to be able to afford $1 NS.



Published by The Imperial Herald

[Yohannes]

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The Military Democracy reports on De Ruyter battlecruiser delivery status

[Out of character: I'll put this here too just to annoy the oh so elitist news haters!

Just another low quality news story. You are welcome to those who are elitists and news haters!]

... Royal Alexandria Shipbuilding was contracted to design and build the battlecruiser, with at least three Imperial Birtonian companies acting as subcontractors for the provision of spare parts, hulls and supporting structures, personnel training, and supply inventory for the other four ships.....

Te Whanganui a Tara, 12 April — The Imperial Birtonia Adeptus Classis’ De Ruyter-class battlecruiser, one of the imperium’s latest acquisition programme for Royal Beaufort Shipwrights Guild carriers, cruisers, escort ships and submarines, has successfully completed its ‘shakedown cruise.’

The battlecruiser spent a whole week conducting a series of demonstrations at sea and in port, in full compliance with World Assembly Nautical Commission mandate. On one occasion, the High Imperator Lontilii of the Military Democracy himself attended the event.

“The shakedown cruise was an extensive process which would give shipbuilder Royal Alexandria Shipbuilding Incorporated and the Birtonian Adeptus Classis the confidence they need that the ship is ready for delivery”, Shipbuilder and Exporting Committee ship operation manager captain-lieutenant Patrick Angström told morning news and talk show Breakfast presenter Doll Henry this morning.

The Imperial Herald has learnt that under the original agreement, which was first negotiated three years ago to be worth at least 5.3 trillion Quertz russling (50 billion NationStates Dollars or Universal Standard Dollars), Royal Alexandria Shipbuilding was contracted to design and build the battlecruiser, with at least three Imperial Birtonian companies acting as subcontractors for the provision of spare parts, hulls and supporting structures, personnel training, and supply inventory for the other four ships.

The contract, which was agreed under a cost plus cost percentage framework, would give Birtonia the right to acquire design information license of the four ships. With a displacement capacity of forty-five thousand tonnes, the two hundred long battlecruiser will be equipped with vertical missile launching and four close in weapon defence systems, long-range search radars, and standard military communications suite.

Knight-major Isacc Hidalgo, Quartermaster for the Birtonian Department of Supply and Acquisition, said that, “The sea trials have brought us closer to seeing the long life De Ruyter and her proven capabilities be added to our fleet. The Birtonian maritime body will see to it that all four ships will operate to the maximum of their ability.”

Moving on to the second stage, the battlecruiser is now ready to go through approval tests with the Adeptus Classis’ Board of Foreign Design Inspection for the next six weeks, which will see the thorough examination of all its apparatus and technical equipment. The tests will be done to establish the battlecruiser’s build quality assurance and sea preparedness before the eyes of Birtonia’s Adeptus Administratum.

“The De Ruyter-class ships will have under its repertoire the Wilhelm II and Knootian 43 integrated combat management system, which assimilates detection and counter-reaction information from the ships’ active decoys, guns, and missiles with its electronic surveillance, infrared sensors, and warning receiver radar systems, to guard the ships against aerial and littoral threats.” It enhanced the battlecruiser’s detection and reaction potentials against modern air warfare and ballistic threats, reads the Adeptus Classis’ website.

“The integrated system allows the ship to connect its multibeam three dimensional and narrow fan beam rotating two dimensional radars, amongst others, with other ships and aircraft to create an almost complete view of the battlespace.”

Birtonia’s future Commonwealth-class carriers, Waarden-class cruisers, and Indonesia-class submarines are currently under production with Fürstenbeck Schiffswerfte & Maschinenfabrik and Reich Werft Ardenfontein, with the first shipbuilding-grade steel for hull form to arrive at their factories from many supplier iron mills outside the nineteen countries next week.

Members of parliament will debate this latest issue of nation state significance next month.

Today’s exchange rate: According to the International Securities and Exchange Commission, 1 NationStates Dollar or 1 Universal Standard Dollar (NSD/USD; $) (World Assembly and International Standard) is enough to buy 106.90 Quertz russling (Yohannesian; §); that is, a Yohannesian needs to spend at least §106.90 to be able to afford $1 NS.



Published by The Imperial Herald

[Yohannes]

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Astuanan shipbuilding programme creates new opportunities for shipbuilding companies

... That Royal Alexandria Shipbuilding is constructing a shipyard in southern Astuana over the next two years, though I feel that it is too early for us to say whether we should create a foreign structure, or whether we should significantly add to our existing fifty-one thousand employees.....

Te Whanganui a Tara, 23 April — Halstenmetall, Ignatz-Ewald, and other members of an arms manufacturing consortium in the nineteen countries will provide Astuana with four self-propelled air defence systems, the Ambassador of the nineteen countries to Astuana, Isabell Bethmann, has stated before the senior press gallery this morning. Speaking to morning news and talk show Breakfast presenter Doll Henry this morning, Bethmann said, “We have also received further contracts from the Astuanan government for the purchase of ships and heavy tanks. Included also was the possibility of extending Royal Beaufort shipbuilding partnership with local Astuanan companies.”

According to Shipbuilder and Exporting Committee spokeswoman Gretel Landsberger, Fürstenbeck Schiffswerfte has confirmed the statement, saying that Astuana’s Department of Defense has awarded the company with a joint-venture contract to expand Astuana’s capital region shipbuilding project. This announcement confirms the nation’s mission of intensifying capital building for its shipbuilding and maritime shipping industry over the next ten years.

In announcing the request for proposals in 2017, Minister of Economy, Industry and Trade Emily Kirchweger emphasised that the joint-project was realised with one purpose in mind, “To grow future shipbuilding and industrial capacity tasked with realising the government’s naval shipbuilding programme. We are pleased that the Astuanan government has entrusted Fürstenbeck Schiffswerfte, Maschinenfabrik and Reich Werft Ardenfontein, and other member-consortium of RBSG with this important mission,” the minister said.

Meanwhile, one of the Kingdom of Alexandria’s oldest employers, a shipyard that builds ships for Royal Alexandria Shipbuilding, has also announced its participation in the Astuanan government’s programme with the hope of revitalising its declining operation since the 2012 Gholgoth Crisis.

A company spokesperson confirmed before the senior press gallery, “That Royal Alexandria Shipbuilding is constructing a shipyard in southern Astuana over the next two years, though I feel that it is too early for us to say whether we should create a foreign structure, or whether we should significantly add to our existing fifty-one thousand employees.” Royal Alexandria Shipbuilding said it will build suitable covered sites in accordance with Astuanan technical standards and laws, next to the capital port of Astuana to construct parts of containers and tankers, and manage an existing working piers for employees to work on ships. Minister Kirchweger said the project is part of the nineteen countries’ continuing effort to rebuild since 2012 and further intensify modernisation of the economy to 2025.

The Nineteen Countries Conference on Shipping and Trade reported that after passing a declining scenario in new shipbuilding order since the crisis years of 2011-2013, for the first time Royal Alexandria Shipbuilding books have shown clear positive trend. “The excessive orders received prior to the 2011-2013 crisis years created a disproportionate over supply of tonnage and this might need some more years to adjust even as the international community seems to be growing faster than ever before”, observed conference chairwoman Elisabeth Wahlgren.

“However, whatever the economic scenario of the international community, the shipping communities need to replace their old tonnages with new ones. Realistically, common sense will show that around fifty per cent of an international community’s total commercial fleet will have an average age of more than twenty years, amongst which the general cargo ship should cover quite a large share. Around fifty to sixty per cent of general cargo ship should realistically be more than twenty years old, unless the community of nations involved does not acknowledge common sense principles of economics. Therefore, there should be a huge upcoming demand of small size general cargo or multipurpose ship.”

Managing director Benedict Harnisch is scheduled to discuss the overseas expansion in detail at a meeting with central suburb Kelburn business leaders tomorrow morning.

Members of parliament will debate this latest issue of nation state significance next month.

Today’s exchange rate: According to the International Securities and Exchange Commission, 1 NationStates Dollar or 1 Universal Standard Dollar (NSD/USD; $) (World Assembly and International Standard) is enough to buy 107.83 Quertz russling (Yohannesian; §); that is, a Yohannesian needs to spend at least §107.83 to be able to afford $1 NS.



Published by The Imperial Herald

[Republic of Vectors]

New Vehicles for Vectors!


After a recent contract between VMK Defence and Steel Works being settled, the Republic of Vectors has settled into production on the three units to which an agreement was struck.

One of the designs appropriated for production has been the tried and true Flugabwehrkanonenpanzer 2E Self Propelled Anti-Aircraft vehicles. These tank-like machines shall in the first production run alone replace over one thousand HIA Vino (Fury) Class Self Propelled Anti-Aircraft-Guns which have been deemed outdated. Domestic production is being fitted for these designs, and the line is expected to start soon.


Filling another gap in the Vectorian defence doctrine, the Bergepanzer 2E Armoured Recovery Vehicle is being evaluated alongside the unique Entlein Combat Engineering and Recovery Vehicle, with both fighting for the privilege of being the Vectorian vehicle of the class. While the Bergpanzer has many benefits including part interoperability among the three vehicles from this contract, the Entlein has the advantage of already being built and in use, with thousands upon thousands of units already in service. Regardless, a small production batch is expected and will show down with the Entlein in the near future.


Until this time there has been no formal bridging vehicle in the Vectorian armed forces. That changes with the signing of the VMK contract, which firmly places the Panzerschnellbrücke 2E Bridge Tank as the unit to fulfill the role of mobile bridge.


With these new systems ready in the near future, the Republic of Vectors is in a much better place to face the threats of the modern age.

[The Macabees]

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Killian Congress agrees to doubling
of contractor personnel along border with the Reich.



Ratifying an act to double their contract the Valo'Kap Consortium, Hailandkill will raise its mercenary forces
along the border with the Ordenite Reich to about 1.2 million soldiers.

If the decision to reinforce themselves with military contractors had already come as a shock when it was first announced, this more recent decision by the Killian government will surely cause a shift in the perception of the role that mercenaries play in wars across Greater Díenstad. With a footprint in the Panooly half of the Jumanotan Isthmus, Krasnova, and New Empire, Tarn has been ready to meet rising demand for its brutal, but perpetually needed services. The job is dangerous, but the pay is good. And just as things become more lucrative, another fat deal has been struck. Valo'Kap Consortium has reached a deal with the Killian government, ratified today by the Killian Congress, to double contractor forces in the country. This will put total contractor personnel levels at over one million soldiers. The Killian Government is expected to announce a corresponding fall in their various service arms' budgets for the next fiscal year.

Killian relations with the Fourth Reich are at an all-time low. Tensions in the region are still rigid, with the Reich having returned to Krasnova and the lull of international conflict within central Greater Díenstad still in its infancy. This vote suggests that governments along the periphery of regional politics are beginning to feel unsafe.

600,000 contractors watch the Ordenite border today. Fully mechanized and reinforced with tanks, these forces form a formidable barrier to suspected Ordenite machinations. They were brought originally as a means of supplementing waning military assistance from the Golden Throne, which finds itself more and more embroiled in its conflict in Gholgoth. The Reich is known to posture and although a Macabéan-led coalition is likely to rise in defense of Hailandkill, the damage of an invasion could destabilize one of the longest-lasting democracies of the region.

One wonders whether the further reliance on private militaries will destabilize on its own. This scale of deployment is considerable, but not necessarily alarming given Hailandkill's size. Still, for Hailandkill the employment of mercenaries for border security is unprecedented. And the contract is likely to grow, and soon to be extended.

While the Killian military is strong, modern, and very capable, that it is losing its lead over private forces in the country must surely trouble its commanders. The chief of staff has already commented on the possible undermining of military sovereignty, warning that increasing mercenary forces further could give them the means to coup the government should they ever feel the need to do so.

Only a minority have pointed to the opportunity for blackmail. After they grow to a certain size, who is to say what Valo'Kap is to do to guarantee it source of income. This minority is likely to grow if the contractor garrison is enlarged again.

Hailandkill's Congress justified the decision on the basis of emergency measures. "We live in dangerous times and it's in situations like these where we have to take risks or we risk perishing altogether," said Senator Charles Hoene. "That's why we voted to strengthen our defenses along the border by hiring an already armed and trained professional army. It's cheaper, faster, and more effective. I don't think they would ever turn on us. It'd be unprofessional and it would lose them future clientele. It's just bad for business, and I doubt that Valo'Kap has any intention of undermining the relationship with their single biggest customer, which is us, the government of Hailandkill."

"There simply isn't a high risk of this plan backfiring, at least not in the way that conspiracy theorists claim," said Congressman Drew Vickers, after voting on the bill to double Valo'Kap's contract. "The contractors hate the Reich," he added. "As long as the Ordenites sit to our south, Valo'Kap and us have enough in common to make sure we're aligned in the outcomes that we seek."

To that claim, there is definitely some truth. Relations between Tarn's major contractors and the Fourth Reich deteriorated when thousands of personnel were slaughtered by Ordenite forces during the Second Krasnovan War. This dynamic persists to this day, although fractures exist along a unified façade within Tarn. Indeed, one must suspect that Ordenite contractor companies do not share those same anti-Ordenite sentiments. Yet, it cannot be doubted that there exists a sour state between the city's major, and more established military companies and the Fourth Reich, and that this will play a role in the unfolding situation in Hailandkill.

A few remain unconvinced, and their ranks grow by the day as well. "One day we won't want their business anymore," said Jenna McCarthy, a professor at an established Killian university. "And when that day comes, I wonder if they'll take the loss of their multi-trillion dollar outcome with grace or if they'll ask themselves whether they can coerce a, by then, weak nation to do as Valo'Kap says. After all, when our public military is gone, who will stop them?"

President Arthur Belschamp is scheduled to meet with His Imperial Majesty Fedor I in Fedala next week. Belschamp is likely to bring up the question of the contractors, with the intention of putting pressure on the Golden Throne to reiterate its commitment to Killian sovereignty. A strong Macabéan deployment to Hailandkill has been discussed in the past, but manpower shortages due to ongoing counterinsurgency operations in different theaters and the war in Gholgoth have made such an ideal solution more of a pipedream. Congress' most recent contract decision will certainly add more pressure on Fedor to prove the strength of his alliance with Hailandkill, a country that came to his defense during the War of Golden Succession, but one wonders how much exactly the empire can physically give.

Valo'Kap has announced a time schedule for the ramping up of their border security operations in the northern Greater Díenstadi democracy. The second group of some 600,000 soldiers will arrive over a period of four months, alongwith their equipment. This includes infantry forces, armored elements, and additional surface-to-air missile batteries.

[Eitoan]

www.News-Herald.et.com


Eitoan, Relica Ink Northwest Mutual Assistance Agreement
Ceremony in Berwyn 5 Days After Ghastak Approval
Golden Throne Navy to Gain Access to Eitoan Port Facilities

Following approval of the draft agreement in the upper house (Ghastak) last Thursday, diplomats in Vladarsik and the Relican capital of Avalon worked furiously throughout the weekend to iron out details of the Northwest Mutual Assistance Agreement, which was signed today at the Naval War College in Berwyn. The agreement was signed by President Ephriam Shrdlu and Relican Prime Minister Michael Francis, and by The Golden Throne’s Krierlord Ambrot Jokasta. Security was heavy at the Naval War College, and classes were cancelled yesterday and today. The agreement has long been an objective of the Eitoan military, viewed as necessary to reduce exposure to hostile activity in the region, and to act as a counterweight to slaver activity on the continent. During recent weeks it has received increasing support within President Shrdlu’s Free Democrat party as details of slaver infiltration of the civilian intelligence services have become know to the public. One of the leading boosters of the agreement, Dashez (lower house) Free Democrat leader Ilene Loganach commented at the announcement of the signing ceremony “This is a step in the right direction for Eitoan, desired for a long time by our men and women defending this country. All patriotic Eitoans can be proud of President Shrdlu, draining the swamp of traitors, and standing tall for our values. This agreement is long overdue!”

The agreement follows the recent installation of Lieutenant-General Jan Weissman as Chief of National Intelligence Operations after evidence of slaver espionage was presented to the President by Attorney General Dan Venkempen. In the last month 4 operatives at the embassy in Jesheoda and 3 at the embassy in Rhodesialund have been recalled home and are under investigation for suspicious activity. At this time the cases are under review by the Department of Foreign Affairs. There has been no statement by the department about the status of the recalled diplomats, or about further findings within the foreign policy establishment. General Weissman has ordered a restructuring of training protocols in the Office of National Intelligence Operations (ONIO) and widening the recruitment for the office across the nation’s colleges.

Negotiations for the agreement were initiated earlier this year, at the same time as discussions with Relica started for a trade agreement. The resources of the Department of Foreign Affairs were reportedly concentrated in hammering out details of the recently signed trade agreement, and since then were largely devoted to crafting the military mutual assistance pact. Advisors to President Shrdlu from all branches of the military strongly indicated that reforms to the civilian intelligence community would be needed preliminary to completion of an agreement as an assurance to signatories that sensitive information could be handled securely. With the shakeup at ONIO, the discussion gained momentum. It was decided late in the negotiations with the Relican military that inclusion of The Golden Throne in observer status would be offered, providing more credibility to the pact as an effective deterrent to slaver power designs from both on and off the continent.


Eitoan Naval War College, Berwyn

Prime Minister Francis flew into Berwyn last evening, arriving at Berwyn Homewood International Airport, and was joined for a dinner with President Shrdlu and Krierlord Jokasta at the Naval War College last night. Security remained tight along the route from Homewood to the Naval War College, with interchanges along NR-32 closed and major intersections along Daly Boulevard closed to traffic for the motorcade.

Commander Oren Riddle, Headmaster of the Naval War College welcomed Shrdlu, Francis, and Jokasta as the ceremony started at 7:30 AM sharp, announcing to the press and diplomats “We at the Naval War College are greatly honored to host this event, an event we hope will provide for greater security and tranquility for Eitoan, and the greater Northwest. Throughout the years our graduates have proudly served the nation, and now our school is proud to serve as the site of this important agreement”. Following his brief introduction, he turned the lectern over to President Shrdlu.

In his address, the President said “Prime Minister Francis, Krierlord Jokasta, members of the diplomatic and military community, and the press, and my fellow citizens, we at long last have come to seal a mutual defense agreement between our nations for the greater security of the northwest. This has been long awaited by many in both Eitoan and Relica. Both nations have been served well by the brave men and women of our respective militaries. Both nations understand that in the complex world of competing ideologies and interests it is better for the states of the northwest to stand together. It is clear to us that while we have separately defended our states in the past, new and larger challenges draw us together for a stronger bond in the future. This has become more apparent in recent years.

Eitoan and Relica have many common interests, as shown in the recent trade agreement. These interests, and the shared northwestern values that drive them demand a vigorous defense, a defense that will be enhanced by this treaty we are about to sign. This will lay the foundation for synergy among our armed forces, presenting a stronger deterrent to potential aggressors. If I may speak bluntly, it will serve as a deterrent to off-continent slaver designs in the region. While we have each been successful in staving off these kinds of threats in the past, vigilance demands that a resolute, region-wide statement backed with a modern, well equipped, powerful and coordinated military be readily available to keep the peace and defend our sovereignty. This treaty is designed for mutual defense within the northwest. We do not seek out conflict with other states, either on or off the continent, and our objectives dovetail with Macabeean policy. I must acknowledge at this time that many on the continent look up to the vital Macabeean economy, and to their principals of governance. This is only natural. Those subject to backward command economies, whether slaver, feudal, or other discredited model can only look up to and hope for similar deliverance from poverty and misery. It is not for us to decide for those elsewhere on the continent the form of government they should have, or their economic system. This is only something those peoples can do. Still, there can be no question that the tension between the demands of those unfortunate peoples and their overlords have caused discord elsewhere on this continent, and it is our goal to defend the northwest against turmoil engendered in those struggles.

This agreement poses no threat to the major continental powers. We do not seek their overthrow, or regime change. We do not envision an expeditionary force or other intervention outside of our region. This agreement is not aimed at other northern and northwestern continental states. And both Eitoan and Relica will maintain normal relations with those states. But we are most concerned with regional contagion from the conflicts in the Bay of Chains. The northwest must not be vulnerable to pressure from slaver forces to withhold trade and normal communications with the fledgling democracies in that region. While we maintain relations with all parties in that troubled region, Eitoan public opinion strongly favors those struggling for a freer society. We do not wish to be plunged into a wider conflict in the Bay of Chains, but most importantly, we must forestall any moves by off continent slaver powers against the states of the northwest.”

Among the details of the agreement signed today are joint tripartite war games to be staged in the region this year. It is reported that the Eitoan Army’s 7th Mechanized Brigade and 15th Engineer Regiment will be among the first to participate in this year’s joint exercises. Macabeean submarines will gain access to refueling and repair facilities in Eitoan. Part of the Blue Island Naval Base is under rehabilitation to service Macabeean submarines. Other provisions of the agreement include coordination among naval, air, and aerospace forces of the three nations, and standardization of equipment and communications.

[The Macabees]

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Mutual Defense Agreement
Signed with Eitoan and Relica



An imperial Type A SSK leaving Macabéa, of the same type
known to patrol between Potthan and United Vallerian Republic.

Macabéan Type A submarines patrol the sea lanes between Potthan and United Vallerian Republic in order to keep the sector open for imperial supply convoys headed to Bokan. That is what the Imperial Bureacracy tells us, at least. What they truly do, or what else those submarines do, remains largely a mystery to most outside of the emperor and his narrow circle of military commanders. It is said that even Kríerlord Jokasta is unware of their precise location. Most know where they will go next, however. A mutual defense pact with Eitoan and Relica will open friendly ports for imperial submarines on patrol in adjacent waters, suggesting patrols further north of what was originally suspected. More significantly, the agreement — much like the growing web of submarine patrols — also represents a strengthening liberal revival in western Greater Díenstad.

Our protagonists are Eitoan and Relica, who announced the penning and signing of the Northwest Mutual Assistant Agreement. The two countries have solidified their alliance, committing to a free trade agreement and a mutual defense pact. The news follows a continued purging of suspected Ralkovian spies embedded within the Eitoan government, a significant event in a country that less than a century and a half ago first won its independence from the far-western slaver state.

Ralkovian meddling in Potthan and the Macabéan war against the Scandinvan slaver empire, along with a series of wars in central Greater Díenstad involving the Ordenite Reich, have caused a dramatic shift in perception within the region. Death camps in Krasnova, and in South Panooly prior to the country's reunification by Macabéan forces, alongwith great slave convoys that enter and leave the great slaver ports of the west, have raised fears of further aggression and the cost to humanity that a lost war could bring.

The Golden Throne joins the agreement between Relica and Eitoan as an observer. The Imperial Bureacracy has agreed to enter the multi-lateral mutual defense agreement, and has welcomed greater commercial opportunities in the western stretches of the region. But its inclusion highlights the anti-slaver undertones of the evolving political landscape of the occident. Although the Golden Throne was careful to stay clear of tensions revolving around the recent Ralkovian garrisoning of northern Potthan, the pirate rebellion in Theohuanacu and the war against the Scandinvan Empire have been packaged into a generally anti-slaver crusade. And in Barjaanistan, sitting adjacent to Potthan and a frequent preying ground for Potthani militias, the Golden Throne has intervened to bring the country back under the full control of its weak democratic government. One would be pained not to look at the mutual defense agreement between the Golden Throne, Eitoan, and Relica with anti-slaver-tinted glasses.

Little news comes out of Ralkovia, but even within the empire there are a minority who smell a coup in Eitoan. Although the notion of a coup is little more than a conspiracy theory, the anti-Ralkovian purge of the country's government's ranks have both invited praise and raised alarms. Neither does one have to be a conspiracy theorist to be concerned about the possibility of a misdistribution of justice during a hectic and emotional time for most Eitoans. As a former colony, Eitoan has a history of slavery of its own and its Ralkovian identity is one it must struggle with. Approval can quickly turn into fanaticism, and under these condition the innocent are often mislabeled and dispensed with for nefarious reasons. Much as anti-communism does in countries that it afflicts.

Yet we live in an era where fear of imperialism, enslavement, and extermination are very real. In such a world, purges that seek to rid an entity of the corruption must be good. It's exactly this type of thinking taken in blind faith that can be, and has been, very dangerous.

Separately, it is curious that the agreement includes the use of Eitoan ports by Macabéan submarines. Although submarine deployments are kept classified, sometimes not released to the public decades later, the terms of the mutual defense pact offer a significant glimpse into Macabéan military affairs in the west. While patrols between Potthan and United Vallerian Republic are undertaken by hybrid-electric Type A submarines, those making port in Eitoan could be of the nuclear attack variety meant for longer distance travel. This would suggest an accelerated Macabéan military presence.

While operations in Barjaanistan justify the investment in maritime security along the southern rim of the Bay of Chains, imperial submarines traveling south from Eitoan could close all of the many approaches to the bay. Most slaver traffic flows to the north of Ralkovia, along the northwestern fringes of the region, but the selective blockading of the Bay of Chains could prove a heavy blow to any aggressor.

Difficult is it to not see the movement of pieces on the board. And one wonders whether the empire is simply being cautious, or whether it prepares for another war.

Beyond the gloom, It is also tempting to instead interpret this agreement between the Golden Throne, Eitoan, and Relica as another milestone in the re-stabilization of the west. The Ralkovian shadow wanes and the opportunity for an economic flourishing is clear. Bokan, destroyed by the Castillians when Potthan was first garrisoned, is being rebuilt and the imperial supply route to Barjaanistan runs through it. Unless the city is destroyed again, its strategic location makes it a local nexus of trade. The area's commercial network has also been strengthened by the strong economies of United Vallerian Republic and Houdou. An emerging Macabéan mercantile influence will serve to connect the west with markets in central and eastern Greater Díenstad, helping to foster greater wealth among participating nations.

"We look forward to a continued epoch of prosperity and free civilization," said Kríerlord Ambrot Jokasta, speaking in a televized speech given to the Senate in Fedala. "His Imperial Majesty and His people are honored to partner with Eitoan and Relica toward the common goals of peace and commercial trade. We are further honored to commit to the defense of both of these great countries and allies. Our military shall forever be available in their defense."

Aside from matters of trade, the Golden Throne surely hopes that the agreement will shore up its ability to maintain its intervention in Barjaanistan. It already cooperates with Potthan, promising to rebuild Bokan in exchange for its use to land supplies destined to Barjaanistan. Macabéan military troops pass through the country's southern roads, a spectacular fact given that there are Ralkovians just due north. Perhaps bolstered democracy in Barjaanistan will spill over its fruits.

In a region afflicted by war, oppression, and death, cosmopolitanism, liberalism, and individualism are welcome forces. The world can neither be fully black nor fully white, but surely it is re-balancing in the right direction as governments come together to promote better relations and free trade.

[United World Order]

ORDENCHE - RUNDFUNK - GESELLSCHAFT

ORDENITE BROADCASTING CORPORATION

REICHS-MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA AND ENLIGHTENMENT

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Killian Government continues on it's path to war with the Ordenite people.
The Grunwald Line will hold back any and all invaders till the last man.

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Dragon Teeth anti-tank obstacles stretch the entirety of the over 1,000km stretch of the Grunwald Line.

It is no surprise that once again the Killian government steps closer towards war with the Reich. They have time and time again shown to the region and the Reich that it only desires for war and that they would settle for nothing less than war. Through out history even, this is what the Killian government offers us and strives to go to war with the Ordenite people. Now they have entrusted their people and their nation to mercenaries from a corporation who only seeks profits and capital from war. A war which would cost either side, millions of men and innocent women and children, not that these mercenaries or who they represent care for the general welfare of any persons in Hailandkill or in the Reich. The Reich has for decades been patient with the Killian government and their aggressive and outlandish foreign policy and military policy towards the Reich and it's people. While also conspiring with other nation states such as the Golden Throne who as of late implement foreign policy and other circumstances that are against the Reich and it's people. Where their is conflict and tension in the region their are those who look to profit from it, many look to profit from a war against the Reich and it's people. Therefore the defense of the homeland and the defense of the people is very crucial to the survival of our Reich and our way of life as a community. If war is to come to the steps of our homeland then we as Ordenites and as National Socialists must fight with every breath and every drop of sweat and blood, if we wish to continue providing a future for our children and our race as a whole in this volatile region.

[AHSCA]

Duchess and Sultana Outline Relations


^{Duchess Marcella Villa (left) and Sultana Razia Sultana Umm Albilad (right)}

One of her first major trips abroad since being crowned as Duchess of the UIS, Marcella Villa made a visit to the Sultanate of Kyrenaia along with her younger sister, Princess Gisella Villa on a major several day tour of the nation and a formal dinner and gala with the nation's top brass. During the trip, Duchess Villa took in the sights, sounds and customs of the nations first taking to the local bathhouses known as Hamam. Followed that an evening of dining with The Sultana, Duchess Villa and The Sultana outlined a series of deals for both nations.

Joint military agreement, including the construction of a military outpost to be kept by the Kyrenaia government. After a discussion with her cabinet members, it's been decided an outpost will be constructed on the north-west shore of Aurora Island. The positioning will not disrupt the nation and island's main port, located on the south shore and also won't conflict with the Mokastana military installation located on the north-east shore of Aurora Island. Construction is set to begin when the dry season begins and UNIMO has said conditions will be favorable for a while with no major hurricane activity developing and UNIOIT has said construction should be completed before peak season comes in July. Kyrenaia has pledged disaster relief services if called upon and has agreed to participate in cultural and student exchanges between the two nations. A set of trade agreements has also been reached with sending goods unique to the islands absent in the desert lands and vice-versa. UNICIM is already working on those arrangements.


Duchess Villa regarded the experience as wonderful and remarked how very kind and welcoming the Kyrenaia people were and how great The Sultana was to her and her sister. Duchess Villa also said The Sultana was very reasonable and easy to negotiate with and hopes to be able to host the Sultana and other guests in AHSCA soon enough.

[The Macabees]

---

---

Proxy Forces Intensify Anti-Slavery Operations
in Northern Greater Díenstadi Waters



A submarine submerges somewhere in the northern seas of Greater Dienstad,
where a growing number of privately contracted vessels prowl slave-state shipping.

Macabea, Díenstad — The cold war between the slave-state powers that do their business in Greater Díenstad and an increasingly aggressive Triumvirate is growing hotter. Civilian and commercial satellite footage of naval traffic out of Killian ports have exposed part of a growing mobilization of military resources in the region's northern waters, with dozens of ships coming and going on a daily basis. There may be hundreds of military vessels, mostly submarines if existing evidence suggests, total. It's all indicative of a shadow war conducted by the Triumvirate powers, as operations in Gholgoth continue in full force.

Darius Elaaba, professor of military history at the Universit Jeh'thema VII, has been tracking naval strikes throughout the region for the past 20 years. His digital map is full of pinpoints covering past and ongoing wars. Elaaba is known for his breathing database that makes his data available to the public through a cleverly-designed front-end website which users can use to display data in graphs and on dashboards. He shows us a graph showing attacks on commercial shipping in northern Greater Díenstad, his finger tracing a downward sloping line that defines the falling number of raids. "It's working," he says.

What Professor Elaaba is referring to when he says 'it's working' is the mounting pressure Triumvirate naval forces have placed on slave trades in central Greater Díenstad. Old intelligence footage has recently revealed the frequent docking of Kravenite death ships in Ordenite ports over the first half of the decade. These transgressions have become more infrequent as Triumvirate activity around Ordenite seas pick up.

Frequent war games add to the pressure. Exercises between the Golden Throne and Stevid, then between the Golden Throne and Imbrinium, and recently between all three allied powers have all contributed to a tightening of the type of commercial traffic flowing through central Greater Díenstadi waters.

This gradual regulation of regional mercantile traffic has extended westward, with Macabéan naval forces patrolling between Kríerstatón Vos Díelaht in the United Vallerian Republic and the Potthani port of Bokán, which today sees a heavy Macabéan presence since the port is the main supply artery for imperial advisers in Barjaanistan. It was recently revealed by Eitoan diplomats that Macabéan submarines will use national military ports to refuel and resupply when on patrol in nearby waters. In the east, especially in the northeast, a heavy Macabéan naval presence due to the volume of military shipping headed to and from Gholgoth has discouraged piracy and slave-state traffic. Growing pressure in northern Greater Díenstad represents a new addition to this network of pressure.

What's different this time is that the Golden Throne has preferred to indirectly attack slave-state shipping via proxy forces. The growing buildup of private military contractors in Hailandkill has had the corollary effect of giving private contractors a longer reach. The Golden Throne has issued contracts on Kravenite death ships and slave ships of other nationalities, offering potentially millions of dollars for captured and sunk cargo. Most success comes in the form of the latter, of course.

These raids have incited a fervent ethical debate within academia and the discussion spills onto social media. Many criticize the policy of indiscriminate raiding of slave shipping, lamenting the deaths of the slaves on board. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people may have died already, killed not by their slavers but by their supposed protectors. The advocates of raiding argue that the slaves face futures worse than death at their destinations. Boarding of vessels and their capture are more highly rewarded, but the premium is often too little to justify the added risk faced by the attacking vessel. It's much more simple, much easier, and more secure to simply sink the target.

The hardliners' case has been recently empowered by the declassification of intelligence documents with details on the history of Kraven death ships secretly sailing into Ordenite ports. The publication of these notes has sent the empire into a fervor, the imperial bureaucracy angered that the tyrannical Gothic government had been able to recruit bodies from Greater Díenstadi territory. Kravenite death ships are known to navigate throughout Gholgoth unimpeded, including into northern Dranan ports which remain unimpeded by a Macabéan and Imbrinumian blockade that so far has focused on the large Scandinvan mainland island's southern coastline. In Gholgoth, the Golden Throne considers Kravenite death ships Gholgoth's business, but in Greater Díenstadi waters His Imperial Majesty Fedor has intensified the persecution of Kravenite death ships by issuing contracts to private military contractors in Tarn.

Darius Elaaba, the professor from Universit Jeh'thema VII, suspects that the emperor has decided to outsource the attacks on Ralkovian, Potthani, Kravenite slave ships to maintain deniability. Employing independent forces to carry out the attacks helps the Imperial Bureaucracy tread the dangerous edge of neutrality. Officially, His Imperial Majesty's government has not admitted to any contracts. Its relations with contractors are classified and rarely declassified.

The pressure has so far worked to restrict the slave trade in central and parts of eastern Greater Díenstad. Stevidian, Macabéan, and Imbrinumian naval patrols have been joined by Arcaenian patrols, as the Arcaenian Republic enters the Triumvirate as an allied member. The pressure is likely to continue to squeeze the slave trade further to the western fringes of the region.

Still, there are ways the increasing pressure can backfire. Like the lid blowing off a pressure cooker, the accelerating aggressiveness of the anti-slave-state campaign emboldened by a lack of a significant slave state reaction can easily slip into war. Furthermore, there are many who worry that increasing commerce raiding may grow the likelihood of misguided attacks on legitimate shipping. Those figurative waters will need to be navigated carefully.

The entry of proxy forces only complicates matters further. Yet, the initiative lies with the Triumvirate.

The question is whether this initiative is by necessity or destined to perpetuity. It's a question that can only be answered by a future history that has yet to write itself out.

Edit 5/15/18: Hundreds of people should have been hundreds of thousands of people, assuming an annual slave trade in the several tens of billions of individuals.

Edit 5/20/18: Díelaht Est is incorrect. The name of the naval base in UVR is Vos Díelaht.

[Eitoan]

www.News-Herald.et.com


Laches Doctrine Falls
Legislature Provides Relief From Time Limit of Appeals
Amendment Covers Civil, Criminal Cases

The long-standing issue of laches, often contentious among both civil litigants and appellants in criminal cases has been more firmly resolved by yesterday’s vote in the Dashez, amending Chapter 4 of the Eitoan Constitution. The amendment, which became Article 12 of the chapter upon yesterday’s vote, reads as follows:

Limitation of the right of appeal shall not be enforceable under the Doctrine of Laches, upon review by the Appellate Court and a finding of these factors which had prevented appeal of verdict under civil or criminal codes:
• Bankruptcy or indigency of the appellant.
• Inability of the appellant to obtain legal counsel for the appeal.
• Illness of the appellant.
• Illness of an immediate family member of the appellant. Eligible family members are spouses and children.
• Military service.
(1) The provisions of this amendment shall apply to cases under both civil and criminal law.
(2) This amendment does not apply to cases brought under martial law.
(3) Appeals brought under this amendment shall apply to all civilian courts in Eitoan.
(4) This shall apply also to appeals presented to the court pro se.

The vote of 278 for to 104 against, with 22 abstaining and 5 absent found a majority among Free Democrats, Socialists, and Communists in the Dashez, and a plurality among members of the National Democrats and Civic Platform. Originally proposed in 1967, the amendment gained strength through two subsequent efforts before submission to the Legislature two years ago. In the final analysis, widespread support for the measure among the indigent and small business was credited in overcoming the remaining opposition, mostly territorial and municipal prosecutors and large insurance companies. After the final vote, Member of the Dashez Ralph Roberts (Free Democrat – Rishon), longtime advocate for the amendment told The Herald-News “This measure of balancing the rights of the little guy against both state prosecution and big business is long overdue. And I think we’ve seen, finally, support across the political spectrum for closing this gap in our justice system. In the end, I don’t envision a massive review of cases under this amendment: after all, Appellate must find that the specific factors outlined in the amendment apply for individual cases. Going forward, the man or woman in the street can have greater confidence in asserting his or her rights in our legal system, as far as the Supreme Court, if necessary.”

Presented as Ordinary Legislation in the Dashez two years ago by Mr. Roberts, the amendment went through a two-month review by the Legal and Judicial Affairs Committee before referral to the Subcommittee for Constitutional Review. The Subcommittee added the provisions for delay of appeal due to personal or family illness before initial passage by the Lower House, heavily supported by Free Democrat, Socialist, and Communist Members of the Dashez. The Supreme Court review of the proposal took 4 months, the longest time for review of an amendment in Eitoan history. Much of the debate by the Supreme Court centered on the addition of wording regarding the bankruptcy clause, with Justice Bierman arguing further detail was needed because of the use of Probate Courts in 5 territories, with 9 territories employing the District Courts for probate cases. Justice Grunloh opposed the change fiercely. After a final all-day debate, the Supreme Court decided not to include the provision for Probate Courts, considering them to be subordinate to the District Courts. The amendment was then passed on to the Ghastak, along with the transcript of the Supreme Court debate, where it was honchoed by Member of the Ghastak Ivo Niebr (Free Democrat – Falton), also chairman of the Judiciary Review Committee. His committee added specific the verbiage for application of the amendment to both civil and criminal cases. After the addition to the legislation, the Ghastak passed it back to the Dashez by a vote of 26 to 9.

Lobbying efforts during the debate prior to the final Dashez vote were largely behind the scene. A coalition of professors, law students, and independent lawyers, Forward Transformation (FORTRAN) was the primary backer, engaging in an 11-month quiet effort to shore up support on the left and the center, and to win backers among Civic Platform and National Democrats. Their main opponent, the Coalition for Business Oriented Legislation (COBOL) made very little traction among the Free Democrats, given Roberts’ leadership in the Dashez, and a reluctance of the Shrdlu administration to weigh in on the matter. COBOL managed to prevent an outright majority of the Civic Platform in the Dashez from voting for the amendment but was surprised when a plurality of National Democrats broke for the measure in the lower house. A source close to the National Democrat leadership in the Dashez commented “we’re not seeing as much opposition to this from local prosecutors, and overall, many in the ND see it as a way to connect with the average voter. We’ve been working for a while to overcome a few past embarrassments, so, there’s support among our members”.

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[Yohannes]

Southern Baptist Empire electro-optical sensor and radar players to support VMK for ZM-7L regional operation in Right to Life



The Rouge Christmas State, 2015 — The combined export nation state owned enterprise VMK Verteidigung und Stahlwerke AG (VMK Defence and Steel Works Share Ownership Limited Corporation) is negotiating with the Southern Baptist Empire’s electro-optical sensor and radar industry players on a contract potentially worth between 2.75 billion to 3.31 billion NationStates Dollars (or Universal Standard Dollars).

It will modify the all-weather low probability of intercept LPI-4T radar system for TRS Air Force operated Königreich Lindblum GmbH (Royal Lindblum Limited Liability Company) ZM-7L strategic bombers so that they will not conflict with future portable wideband uses of the radar’s existing frequency band allocation in the Right to Life region.

A Duke National Bank [of the Southern Baptist Empire] sponsored study conducted last month for the TRS Air Force summarised that the “defence force could realise the upgrade programme for the same amount of capital invested as it would take to move the frequency of the radar in the Ku microwave frequency band whilst using current radar equipment,” said a TRS government source, who wished to hide his identity because he did not have permission from the Southern Baptist Vice Chancellor to speak to the press. The same source also said that the TRS Air Force rejected other presented lower end modification as possible solution because it could result in potential radar range reduction by more than fifteen per cent.

The TRS Air Force has explored three options to avoid commercial usage conflict related problems, the first of which was modifying existing radar components; replacing certain radar components; or developing a new radar system. In the end the Southern Baptist government opted for a hybrid upgrade to the radar to include active electronically scanned array antennae to circumvent frequency conflict, similar to that found in Yohannesian ZM-7L. “Naturally, this would also increase the radar’s precision and range.”

Negotiations with the Southern Baptist Empire’s largest industry players could extend until next month, when the Southern Baptist government would complete its study. The end result would possibly allow the TRS Air Force to proceed with the original upgrade programme, using government supplied equipment radars — with Royal Lindblum supporting its integration — or using domestically sourced subcontractor as project leader for the upgrade.

Three pathways explored as part of the hybrid modification were retuning the aircraft’s two large antennae, modifying operations modes like the synthetic aperture radar support, and replacing transmitters and receivers. Royal Lindblum has publicly called for one of the higher end modifications for the TRS Air Force’s fleet of ZM-7L bombers, which the company said could ‘singularly’ improve performance and lower synthetic aperture radar target location related errors from more than one metre to less than forty centimetres.

Since the turn of the century, the TRS Air Force has learnt of potential clashes of the radar with commercial usage, for instance satellite broadcasts. By 2010 it was no longer possible to ignore the problem and the Southern Baptist government decided to raise appropriations to avoid any potential conflict by 2018. Citizen sector analysts said that the problem could have been avoided entirely in the late nineties had the government applied for exclusive use of the frequency then, when auctioning of the band for commercial usage was first kick-started in the Southern Baptist Empire. Sadly, it was not to be and government inefficiency ruled the day, just like in the continent of Yohannes and most probably other nation states.

By the time the 2014 cost plus incentive fee agreement was signed and procurement started, Royal Lindblum has acknowledged that its bomber fleet in the Right to Life region will be secondary user in its radar frequency band, with radio frequency interference related incidents increasingly becoming a real possibility, for the Southern Baptist Empire operates under different frequency framework and order than the nineteen countries.

In 2000, the Luftwaffe Materials and Equipment Division discovered that by 2005 Southern Baptist commercial operators would increasingly use designated frequency ranges in the Ku-band, and it had as a result offered its support for the TRS Air Force to integrate its future ZM-7L into the air force. That offer was however rejected, which led to the present mild quandary.

First designed in the late eighties, the TRS locally produced ZM-7L LPI-4T radar operates in the Ku radio frequency band and serves as the aircraft’s multi-mode attack radar and navigation system. It improves the accuracy of the Joint Direct Attack Munitions launched from the ZM-7L by ensuring the elimination of discrepancies between Southern Baptist Imperial satellite-based radio navigation system coordinates and the target’s true location. The radar has air to air support alongside ground mapping and weather functions.

The Ku frequency band is the classification for the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies between twelve to eighteen Gigahertz. In the Right to Life region, parts of this band are not primarily used for radar.

Media Contact: Erika Chocobo, Senior Industrial Leader. Tel: +585 2 351 7440. Email: erika.chocobo@eit.govt.yo

[Yohannes]

The historical significance of the Saanangi government procurement contract (2002 to 2017) in the nineteen countries



Empire of Mahishmati, 2017 — In the stressful period that was the then Thirty-fourth Christian Democratic Executive Council’s defence review in the mid eighties — as parliament approved the strategic military review led by then Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff GenLt Wafer Wever to follow the tabling of a second amendment to the original Armaments Export Control Act 1903 — an agreement was formed on at least one important point: the need for both domestic and export modification to realise a ZM-7L conventional long-range, precision strike model.

It was based on three things. First, General Wever and his supporters in the Luftwaffe saw the prosperous nations in the new world regions, for instance those in Europeia and Commonwealth of Liberty, as the focus of opportunities for arms export interests. The most extreme, unfair version of this view called Greater Dienstad and other regions from the old world regions as “old news”, portraying an image of widespread geo-political decline and antiquated ethos because of their inability to adapt and bring about structural reform. Almost any commercial opportunity and warfare scenario should therefore be focused on the new world regions, they said.

The second cause leading to the release of a long-range strike export model was the increasing expenses and difficulty faced by traditional and new operators of VMK systems in maintaining safe and secure overseas bases for their defence forces. Asymmetrical threats, such as terrorism (e.g. Arab Spring styled implosion crises, Homofront and unorthodox coups) and chemical or biological warhead filled theatre range ballistic missiles, were increasingly becoming more effective against important fixed targets such as air bases, and the increasing military power of Allanea showed that any forces in-theatre could be attacked at any time. These and other modern threats made many traditionally compliant nations unwilling to host even the forces of their own allies. Long-range systems would allow the effective use of a smaller number of secure, reliable bases farther from the theatres of conflict.

The new emphasis signalled a historic change from long-held trend in the nineteen countries’ own long-range strike forces. In the early nineties, critics such as former Oberkommando der Wehrmacht Chief Ludwig Keitel repeatedly criticised that the Luftwaffe’s strategic bomber force — the only long range precision strike systems available for the nation state — and their inventory were being neglected by a weakening resolve by the executive council: intentional defence budget reduction in the face of increasing education, healthcare and social welfare demand by the populace for one; and sabotage by those influential supporters of a fighter and tactical bombing dominated Luftwaffe being the other.

The Luftwaffe’s bomber development programme, released in the late eighties, was essentially a shift-of-emphasis plan: it apparently predicted that not long after 2020, the bomber force would be reduced to a skeleton force of ancient Maxtopian 1950s designed bombers (e.g. B-52 Stratofortress), due to the difficulty of maintaining even a small fleet of the original model of the domestically designed ZM-7L Dreadnought.

New long-range systems would require new investment: the question was where the money would be directed. By the turn of the century, insiders described an increasingly confused atmosphere in Luftwaffe high command offices which were studying what the service called the “Wunderwaffe” (Miracle Weapon), as key military and industry players tried to anticipate the outcomes of the Wever Strategic Bomber Review.

The name of the project then changed, becoming the “Homofront Bomber” (to signify its intention of having enough range to easily bomb far flung bases of the politically incorrect, socially backward and repulsive terrorist organisation), as viable alternatives other than aircraft were added to the mix. Basically, however, there were four ways to realise an export model of a ZM-7L modified for long-range strike force. Royal Lindblum and other major subcontractors involved in the programme could build more traditional subsonic bombers; they could assign more targets to air-launched cruise missiles; they could develop a new class of high-speed, long range aircraft; or they could shift the emphasis to space strike mission instead.

By the late nineties, Oberkommando der Wehrmacht proponents of the “Homofront Bomber” programme slowly realised that the only realistic candidate for a future conventional subsonic bomber was the Royal Lindblum ZM-7L all along. Early production of the aircraft was not cheap, but the number of aircraft required was so small that the nonrecurring expense from a smaller bomber design would cancel out any savings from its reduced carrying capacity. A modernised ZM-7L design was chosen as the main feature of an Anti-Terrorism Reconnaissance Strike Force (ATRSF) for the nineteen countries, proposed by an influential group of retired civilian and military leaders. The necessary ingredients to be used in both the original “Homofront Bomber” and the eventual ATRSF programmes were the domestically designed Royal Lindblum ZM-7L bomber and the Archeron M.Cs 82 ‘Falmentyr’ fighter procured from Anemos Major.

Following the cost plus incentive fee agreement signed with the Diet of Saanangi in 2002, Royal Lindblum expanded its assembly line and production capacity to build two hundred of the new repurposed conventional strike export model derived from the original ZM-7L, called ZM-7L Export 1, which would be delivered to the government of Saanangi at a rate of twenty every year until 2012.

The cost for the entire programme was an estimated 127 billion NationStates Dollars or Universal Standard Dollars (14 trillion Quertz russling), which included development support and combat and logistics personnel training. Production and assembly of materials for the aft-centre and outboard sections of the first aircraft went smoothly, with the first delivery of the order taking place one year from the date of signing.

The successful signing of the Saanangi government procurement contract allowed GenLt Wafer Wever to seize the initiative from his critics in the swirling maze that was (and still is) the Luftwaffe, and paved the way for parliament to universally kick-start the project to repurpose the “modernised ZM-7L” for export.

Media Contact: Nicolas Gerstäcker, Senior Industrial Leader. Tel: +585 2 684 4117. Email: nicolas.gerstäcker@eit.govt.yo

[Yohannes]

Production of Halstenmetall tank gun components destined for the Lesser Soviet Union’s T2009A3/4 tanks to increase



Kingdom of Zoblus, 2016 — Zoblus-Yohannes State Industry Incorporated has announced it will be expanding production for Halstenmetall tank gun components destined for the Lesser Soviet Union’s T2009A3/4 tanks following a meeting with key industry players at Executive Council Buildings Historic Reserve.

The planned expansion to the production facility was first hinted at the Royal Alexandria Defence Exhibition, where an anonymous government source said that it would contribute to the delivery of two hundred T2009A3/4 tanks for the Lesser Soviet Army, with future additional deliveries running through to late 2018. The announcement follows the successful conclusion of VMK’s recent cost plus incentive fee agreement with the Supreme Soviet of the Lesser Soviet Union for the procurement of an initial batch of ten tanks, with delivery predicted to take longer than originally promised since the contract was first negotiated in 2014.

Commenting on the new order, Paulus Spitzer, the Nineteen Countries Parliamentary Under-Secretary of High Technology and Industrial Security, said that “The first ten tanks to be assembled are highly flexible and proven main battle tank designs that have been chosen because they met the criteria set by the Union of Lesser Soviet Republics Procurement Office.

“We chose Zoblus-Yohannes State Industry Incorporated and the Kingdom of Zoblus’ specialised land systems industry to aid us in fulfilling our five-year recurring contract because we believe in the good reputation of the Kingdom of Zoblus in the production of electrical equipment, machinery, and defence technology.”

“For more than three years, we have formed a strong partnership with Zoblus-Yohannes State Industry and the Zoblus government based around our vision to bring about a diversified local defence industry. We look forward to seeing Zoblus exporters benefiting from the agreements we have signed this fiscal year. As a combined export corporation for small sized high technology enterprises in the continent of Yohannes itself, VMK is committed to playing its small part in contributing to the continuing growth of Zoblus’ engineering skills and high technology manufacturing sector. Partnerships like this provide a good example to the World Assembly that the benefits of the nineteen countries’ high technology growth are not strictly enjoyed by companies in the continent of Yohannes alone.”

Asked to comment on the expanded production line by morning news and talk show Breakfast presenter Doll Henry this morning, Joseph Putin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Nineteen Countries to the Union of Lesser Soviet Republics, confirmed that “This is a good news for not just Zoblus and the nineteen countries but the Supreme Soviet [of the Lesser Soviet Union] too. It shows that our original target to produce the Lesser Soviet Army’s two hundred tanks by 2018 will be met.”

“This is a testament to the forward planning ability of Halstenmetall’s Industrial and Logistics Team. I know that the General Secretary Leonid Orlov will be pleased to see this development.”

The Halstenmetall AY7M-1B 120 L55 tank gun is the primary armament on the San-Silvacian T2009 and Yohannesian AY1 series of main battle tanks. Its main purpose is to counter enemy tanks and hard targets. The AY7M-1B is a domestic variant of the Federal Republic of Germany’s Rheinmetall 120/L55 smothbore gun. It incorporates elements — scaled down to comply with standard technology requirement — from the latest AY7M gun design used by the King Tiger. However, unlike the King Tiger’s gun, it uses an updated bustle style two-piece autoloading system.

Media Contact: Alice Williams, Representative to the Minister of Economy, Industry and Trade. Tel: +585 2 684 3847. Email: alice.williams3@eit.govt.yo

[Yohannes]

Stormaen’s avionics softwares contract to create 700 new engineering and information technology jobs by FY2019



Kingdom of Stormaen, 2017 — Königlich Lindblum GmbH (Royal Lindblum Limited Liability Company) announced yesterday that it has awarded a $1.7 billion (NationStates Dollar or Universal Standard Dollar) contract for the Stormaener kingdom’s leading avionics software and engineering service industry players.

Under the fixed plus economic price adjusted agreement, Stormaen will provide dedicated softwares such as closed source real-time operating systems for the ZM-7L aircraft. “The latest modern kernel design will be used to eliminate features such as dynamic memory allocation. It will complement the complex analogue, digital, and radio frequency electronics of the bomber, which is utilised throughout its avionics suite.”

The announcement comes amidst the last ZM-7L delivery which concludes VMK Verteidigung und Stahlwerke AG’s (VMK Defence and Steel Works Share Ownership Limited Corporation) thirty-bomber procurement contract with then Chief Minister Dean Emerson’s Progressive Conservative government in 2015, which was estimated to be worth $60 billion.

Some of the companies that have showed interests to act as foreign indirect procurement partners to Stormaen ZM-7L modernisation suppliers include Ahlgren Eisen und Stahl & Co. OHG, Dietrich-Thordvaldsonn Farbenindustrie AG, and Halstenmetall AG, sources said. As the Stormaen Air Force’s Dreadnought wing is expected to become fully operational by the summer of 2019, depot level support will also advance towards activation. Locally sourced organic and contractor repair logistics units have been created to support the delivered aircraft. Activation of the ZM-7L’s avionics organic depots in Stormaen are to be completed by July 2019.

Together with the awarding of operating systems contract, Royal Lindblum, acting as primary contractor of the ZM-7L production programme since the nineties, has entrusted leading Stormaener avionics and aeronautics players with the acquisition of automatic test equipment and programme sets for intermediate logistical and depot level test and repair of the Stormaener Air Force’s ZM-7L fleet. Private industry led evaluations have started in the political heart of the kingdom, Georgetown, to review over one thousand line and shop replaceable units.

“A very meticulous source selection process was undertaken to complete test programme set development in the kingdom. Nine Stormaener companies competed, representing many technologies that can be found in the bomber’s avionics suite; analogue digital, radar and radio frequency, for instance,” visiting Chief Minister Naomi Stewart-York told viewers on Doll Henry’s morning news and talk show Breakfast this morning.

“This contract will also take into account the procurement of softwares such as commercial off the shelf automatic test equipment systems that will be designed by three leading Stormaener automatic test equipment and automation companies. They will be used to evaluate the bomber’s avionic digital, analogue, and radio frequency unit under test data,” Air Force software system engineer and technical adviser Nimrata Haley explained.

A great majority of the amount of work the Stormaener ZM-7L’s test programme set will be expected to handle will come from its radio frequency components. Each radio frequency sub design will be manufactured with its set of specially integrated high-technology digital fast analogue core and thirty-two instruments. This reduces signal losses thanks to its delivery of correction factors and signal paths for measurement. “Our highly qualified engineers will have what it takes to oversee the completion of this contract,” Naomi Stewart-York said.

“This is a testament to the strength of the high value [sector of the] economy that continues to be an important part of modern Stormaen.”

To comply with the memorandum of understanding signed between Royal Lindblum and the previous Chief Minister Dean Emerson’s Progressive Conservative government in 2015, a contractor and organic quality function will be created to review and approve all ZM-7L integrated operating system designs and avionics.

“Subjectivity will be eliminated through the founding of a separately governed approval test logistical branch, with independent management and hired consultants that will evaluate the designing of technical interfaces for our software engineers.”

An internal source from the industry who wished to hide is identity has said that a recently completed government facility south of Georgetown will be used as the site for test programme set integration of Stormaen’s bomber fleet. “If that is true, then the place will house government protected technologies such as data simulation apparatus and highly sensitive test softwares and avionics equipment,” Doll Henry concluded.

“By Bigtopia I hope that place will be very well protected so no crazy things will happen; terrorist attack, twenty-first century armed uprising — my Bigtopia!”

Decentralising the cost of producing the ZM-7L fleet in Stormaen may seem like a short-sighted move, but with a limited right to equip and modernise only ten aircraft every year since 2015, risk reduction measures can be undertaken effectively on the ground, ensuring secure information are kept to a small team of highly trusted government backed subcontractors in Stormaen.

The Royal Lindblum ZM-7L Dreadnought weapon system gives the Stormaener Air Force a modern and secure deterrent system fit for a twenty-first century air defence force. Its low observability characteristics, combined with ten thousand-kilometre range whilst carrying seventeen thousand kilogrammes’ worth of warload make it an effectual weapon system.

“The new dedicated softwares will work together with the bomber’s electronic warfare support measures perfectly,” said VMK’s Senior Industrial Leader Nicolas Gerstäcker.

The Green Isle Governor-General Office has forecast that this development will create at least seven hundred new engineering and information technology jobs in Stormaen by FY2019.

Media Contact: Erika Chocobo, Senior Industrial Leader. Tel: +585 2 351 7440. Email: erika.chocobo@eit.govt.yo

[Yohannes]

The growing Caracasus-Yohannesian material engineering partnership since 2014



United Socialist States of Caracasus, 2018 — Enjoying at least a tenth-share of the ZM-7L bomber’s $40 billion (NationStates Dollar or Universal Standard Dollar) limited production license contract in the Forest state Caracasus since 2015, today Caracasus State Industry is responsible for the fabrication of the lambda flying wing aircraft’s twenty-four-metre-long sections and manufactures more than half the required components in the United Socialist States; the majority made entirely from modern composite materials.

Meanwhile, as general partner under the agreement that was first negotiated in 2014, Karakasus und Yohannischeland Raumfahrttechnik & Co. OHG has been the party with the exclusive right to fabricate the eighteen-metre-long outboard sections which are used to house the bomber’s electronics and warload bays in Caracasus. And at least three other reputable aeronautics industry players — all from the United Socialist States — also make smaller components such as the weapons bay doors destined for Caracasus’ domestically assembled ZM-7L bombers. Despite some similarities with the nineteen countries’ Dreadnought models, however, there also exist some differences.

For one, the formula of the subdivision materials used in Caracasus’ limited domestic production programme departed slightly from those first fabricated in the nineteen countries ten years ago. Although the components also include autoclave subjected graphite epoxy composites comprising high-modulus temperature resistant Fibreite 934 matrix imported from Königlich Lindblum GmbH facility in the continent of Yohannes, their reinforcements are the domestically designed Thornel T300 carbon fibres from Caracasus Industry and Trade’s material engineering agency.

“Just like in Yohannes, in choosing the composite airframe, we have been forced to choose automated processing as much as possible to limit expenses and meet industry standard — production efficiency calls for it. You see, there really is no other way to go about it if we want to keep it realistic economically,” said a local Caracasusian manager who helps administer the assembly and processing for components and materials in Karakasus und Yohannischeland Raumfahrttechnik & Co. OHG’s military aircraft division.

“Please hide my identity; I am a highly ranked party member. I will tell you more if you can promise me that.”

Since the turn of the century, more than $600 million has been used up by Caracasus Trade and Industry to construct and equip its state-of-the-art composites and polymers production facility in Jevellit. Being an important state run facility, it also manufactures composite materials for the Caracasusian Navy’s PD-25 strike aircraft, in addition to components and parts destined for Caracasus’ ZM-7L aircraft.

“At the moment, there are seven highly qualified engineers and dozens of government trained technicians to ensure we can administer and protect sensitive information effectively. They are also there to develop integrated systems and maintain critical systems. Thanks to them, the facility can guarantee that the complex ingredients required by our segment of the ZM-7L production license programme in Caracasus will be met. We have invested about $10 million to $14 million for [this] research and development alone,” the source said.

In 2014, many of the structures destined for the Caracasusian Air Force’s ZM-7L fleet that must be assembled by Caracasus Trade and Industry were so large that an efficient automated method by which prep-reg composite tape could be applied and conformed to contoured tooling had to be designed. “Thanks to prioritised funding by the Council Elect and excellent administration by our local Karakasus und Yohannischeland Raumfahrttechnik engineers, technical experts from Teflidi have designed huge six-axis gantry machines, equipped with fully automated tape laying heads that can wound off large fifteen-centimetre-wide zero degree tapes on huge tooling work-holders,” software system engineer and technical adviser Nimrata Haley explained.

“The facility is also equipped with modern automated control softwares that fix poorly lined surfaces from tape layup to an extent not possible before,” said Luftwaffe technical sergeant Theodor Himmler. This modern software, he confirmed, allows for the tape head to be moved so that tight tolerances can be realised for critical structural areas during engineering process. At the same time, it determines the way the tape should be excluded or laid up for non critical structural areas.”

Himmler mused, “The software is very accurate, naturally; thanks to it the tape head can wound off the material without crumpling the layup. Misalignment can therefore be avoided entirely. Accuracy can be realised to a very high level not possible before. Costs have also been reduced.”

“A Caracasusian source estimated in 2009 that if each individual plies of the composite laminate are to be manufactured by hand, for instance, the whole process will take more than fifty work days’ worth of production time.” The increasing adoption of modern automation — thanks to the automated tape laying machinery — means production time has been reduced significantly since then. “In fact, almost twenty days are taken off from the whole process,” Himmler added. The latest issue by Luftwaffe Magazine confirms the technical sergeant’s statement; it states that “this extends prepreg lifespan by protecting the product from workshop and factory-floor related exposure.”

“The Caracasus Trade and Industry facility in Jevellit accommodates six of these fully automated systems, whilst the state run agency’s smaller plant in the Karretici Island has two,” Himmler said. The tape laying machines and softwares are directly sourced from Lamoni by Lamonian and Neo Ixanian Arms Corporation and from Yohannes by Königlich Lindblum GmbH.

A local variant of the machine has also been developed to build the eight-metre-long and two-metre-wide u shaped composite channels which are utilised by the wing panels as integral blade stiffeners. Individually, they are set in position and are secured firmly by tools on the large wing skins. Once assembled, they are then packed and cured with composite laminate and simultaneously bonded with other cured materials in large autoclaves; becoming in effect a single structure. The process is fully automated to improve quality, reduce wastes, and prevent hand layup.

“Though I feel that Himmler has forgotten one very important thing: in the nineteen countries, extremely stiff, hardened graphite epoxy tooling is used to manufacture the smooth outer mold lines that can be found on these parts,” Haley quipped, “But, to try to get away from having to use unyielding inner tooling, they [Caracasus] have used a silicon elastomer to shape the inner mold line. This produces a fluid-like pressure on the inner surface of the layup, which reduces the need for quality and control standards we expect from the same process in the continent of Yohannes. In our ZM-7L for instance, the thickness of the layup from inboard to out can go from fifteen to five millimetres; whereas in Caracasus I am sure they have done it a bit differently. I am not saying that one is better than the other; it’s just that because of restricted technology they have chosen to tackle the whole thing a bit differently. Which is commendable and is a sign of innovation.”

With technical assistance from the nineteen countries’ Material Engineering and Science Alliance, the Caracasus State Industry has also designed its own elastomers for inner surface tooling. For each new ZM-7L to be manufactured and assembled for the Caracausian Air Force, a switch to the new materials and techniques would save at least $10 million per bomber. “They can last for more than ten autoclave molding cycles,” the source said.

In the continent of Yohannes itself, since the nineties the need for many large constant cross-section structural components such as T and Y stiffeners have motivated Königlich Lindblum engineers to design and adopt modern composite pultrusion machinery. Constituents are grabbed through hot dies so that they can be fixed and partly cured at the same time. They are then sent to autoclaves to be cured further. According to the latest Luftwaffe Magazine issue, the process requires heavy input of materials development work to the forty to fifty degree fabric so that the system can prevent the twisting and stretching of the constituents. To pull the combination through the dies and finish the process, ground technicians laminate the plies with zero-degree tapes.

In Caracasus, the Jevellit composites and polymers production facility also has two very large volume autoclaves for specialised high-technology composite work, the local source said. These twenty-seven-metre-long and eight-metre-diameter chambers are used so large components can be manufactured in the facility. Each of the autoclave used to process the epoxy materials can reach a temperature of more than seven hundred degrees, with seven atmospheric pressure. The second chamber works at even higher temperatures and pressures and is used for the manufacturing of polyimides and thermoplastics. Two more smaller autoclaves are also used to handle minor parts.

In the nineteen countries, conventional ultrasonic non-destructive testing water immersed system cannot be used because of the bigger than usual size and smooth rounding standards required for the parts used in the bomber. A new alternative system was adopted in the nineties which allowed ultrasonic signals to be transferred to the parts by automated arms, thanks to years of concentrated funding by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Trade’s Material Engineering and Science Alliance. Ultrasound imaging and pulse-echo imaging with the aid of non-diffracting beam transducers are used at one, two quarter, and five million hertz stages throughout the process. The configuration of parts and their thickness influence the stage to be used, and accuracy can be maintained.

“The system was first designed with engineering precision in mind. The smallest mistake in the millimetre range can be detected and thus removed, with testing information saved for later inspection,” Himmler concluded.

Media Contact: Erika Chocobo, Senior Industrial Leader. Tel: +585 2 351 7440. Email: erika.chocobo@eit.govt.yo

[Morrdh]

With The Men Of The Grey Patrol

Ask most sailors in the Royal Morridane Navy about 'Naval Task Force 2319' and you'll just get blank stares. Talk about the so-called 'Grey Patrol' and you'll discover that a good half to two-thirds of the Naval Service have served in the current ongoing operation in the lonely waters north of Greater Dienstad.

The genesis of the Grey Patrol lies with the late Prime Minister Edmund Vermillion, who put the Commonwealth on a more aggressive anti-slavery stance. New Prime Minister Sir George Whittleton has recently announced increased funding for the Patrol and has been active in trying to form a joint task force to combat the stain of slavery that blights our fair region.

Maintaining the Patrol has put a huge strain on both men and ships, operating far from home and reliant on a Fleet Train of logistical ships to keep them supplied. Replenishment at Sea is never an easy task; though out here it is made almost impossible by the frequent foul weather and heavy seas. Damaged ships and injured sailors aren't unheard of. It is certainly a factor in the Admiralty's decision to fully modernize the Navy with modern ships.

The men themselves are a mixed bag. Some are 18 year old National Service conscripts fresh out of training, others are career sailors who have multiple tours and posting under their belt. Though on the Patrol such differences matter very little; all face the challenges and dangers of the patrol equally.

Whilst many of the older hands are veterans of countless actions and therefore are largely immune to death and suffering, for many of the younger sailors it is a grim introduction of the worst of humanity. Able Seaman James Liddle, aged 19 from Fellig, was a National Serviceman with dreams of eventually becoming a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm. After bearing witness to the bowels of a Ralkovian slave ship it is now highly unlikely that he'll be enlisting when his National Service ends.

But there is one thing that strikes dread into the hearts of every in the Patrol; a Kraven Death Ship.

The Navy's Standing Orders dictate that such vessels are to be sunk once their identity has been confirmed. So far only one of the Death Ships have been sunk by Morridane hands; aircraft from the carrier HES Alban sank the vessel with anti-ship missiles. It may seem like a cold stance to take, but Vice-Admiral Jack Finley stated: "given what conditions are known to be like on such vessels, it should be considered a mercy killing."

Normal practice for the Patrol is to intercept vessels identified as suspected slave ships by Naval Intelligence. The vessels are then ordered to drop anchor and prepare for inspection, though this has rarely been met with peacefully and more often than not a warning shot across the ship's bows is fired. In extreme cases, Royal Morridane Marines have boarded and forcibly seized non-compliant vessels. Have have been one or two instances where the suspect vessels have become hostile, the frigate HES Claymore suffered damage when a slave ship deliberately rammed her.

Once the slave ships have been identified; the crews are detained and the people being carried as cargo are moved to a waiting hospital ship or to a transport depending on whether they need medical attention. The people are then brought back to Morrdh, attempts made to identify where they were taken from and then asylum is offered either in the Commonwealth or allied nations. No official figures have been released, but it is believed to be in the thousands.

Whilst the blight of slavery will continue to plight our great region, the men and ships of the Grey Patrol will maintain their vigilance.

[Yohannes]

The historical prioritisation of White Bluff aluminium imports to Yohannes



Empire of White Bluff, 2018 — Since the invention of practical, powered, fixed-wing aircraft a century ago, aeronautical engineers have emphasised the importance of reducing weight; in the days of Orville and Wilbur Wrights, to reduce weight as much as possible was important for early aeronautical application.

To be able to achieve this, early aircraft designers prioritised the ratio of strength to weight, or specific weight, above all others; the practice which can still be found at present in aeronautical applications. For much of the early twentieth century, airframes were made of wire strengthened wooden structures. Metal application was non-existent, with the exception of those used for aircraft powerplants, which utilised aluminium and copper casting alloys.

It all changed when, during the interwar years, the founder of Junkers — the company known for its trademark design the Stuka dive bomber in the Second World War — successfully utilised age hardened aluminium mixed with copper, manganese, and magnesium for airframes. This combined material itself, duraluminium, was discovered by yet another German scientist, Alfred Wilm, who could not however effectively incorporate duraluminium for airframes because of their easy susceptibility to corrosion. Junkers perfected the design for the Führer, just in time for the Second World War, by cladding the alloys with pure aluminium; allowing for the materials to be protected from corrosion. This, combined with the discovery of an effective electrolytic passivation process to increase thickness of the natural oxide layer on the surface of metal parts in Great Britain, made aluminium the primary material for airframes and aircraft structures by the time the Second World War started.

Moving forward to contemporary period, since the nineties, the majority of aluminium grade products for aeronautical applications can be divided into two categories: cast and wrought alloys; the former being used primarily for aircraft supporting structures whilst the latter being used widely for important aircraft foundation structures such as fuselage and aircraft wings.

A mountainous, volcanic island nation, the nineteen countries in Yohannes have inadequate natural resources to support their twenty-first century industrial base and civilised population, and therefore the nation state exports goods in which it has a realistic advantage, such as engineering-oriented, research and development-led industrial products, in exchange for the import of raw materials and petroleum. In fact, this has been the basis of the economic policies of successive executive councils through the years — the Yohannesian Model.

The two way trade — that is, the total value of goods and services imported and exported between two nation states — between the nineteen countries and the Empire of White Bluff exemplifies this long-standing import-export model. Yesterday, Economic and Demographics Statistics Yohannes forecast that the nineteen countries’ two-way trade with Imperial White Bluff has increased by almost two-fold in three years. It has climbed from $157 million (NationStates Dollar or Universal Standard Dollar) in 2015 to eventually reach $290 million in the year ending December 2018.

Additionally, the Office of Chief Economist has forecast that by 2019 the nineteen countries will have a negative balance of trade of an estimated $120 million with White Bluff. This means that the nineteen countries will earn less from its goods and services exports to White Bluff than it has spent on imports from White Bluff. The main contributor to this mainly import driven trade growth has been the very things the nation state require to keep its high-technology arms manufacturing industry moving: high quality metallurgy and military grade industrial goods. Aluminium product, of which the Empire of White Bluff has long been known for, is one of them.

More advanced technologies developed since the seventies have produced better aircraft grade aluminium products. There have been a strong increase in aluminium related job creation growth and trade since then, as increased understanding in the composition, microstructural development, processing, and properties of aluminum alloys with regard to aircraft designing and production have resulted in the expansion of the industry and more reliable supply. Sadly, lacking much natural resources nor having the proper raw prerequisites, specialised aeronautical industry in the nineteen countries have for long imported these products from close trading partners and trusted allied nations abroad.

Whilst there have been much knowledge gained in the continent of Yohannes with the publishing of various aluminium related scientific literatures and the successful implementation of various industrial processes relating to the material, as a nation state the nineteen countries have and will still continue to rely on imports of aluminium product and other metals to feed its continually growing small and medium sized aeronautical enterprises for years to come.

Media Contact: Nicolas Gerstäcker, Senior Industrial Leader. Tel: +585 2 684 4117. Email: nicolas.gerstäcker@eit.govt.yo

[Yohannes]

Jaclean steel essential for the production of Mother of All Ordnance Penetrators



The Jaclean Empire, 2017 — Of all non-nuclear bombs developed in the continent of Yohannes, nothing is bigger than the bunker busting Mother of All Ordnance Penetrator (MAOP) that has been used by the Luftwaffe since 2011. This morning, the Wehrmacht has asked parliament to appropriate more than 5.1 billion Quertz russling (47 million NationStates Dollar or Universal Standard Dollar) for TheisenKlutt Stahl AG (TheisenKrutt Steel Share Ownership Limited Corporation) to produce at least sixty of these bombs.

Weighing almost fourteen thousand kilogrammes, the six-metre-long satellite guided MAOP is so heavy that a ZM-7L Dreadnought bomber can carry only two at a time, one in each of its internal warload bay. Almost two and a half thousand kilogrammes of MAOP’s weight is explosives, giving it more than five times the power of the American BLU-109 hardened penetration bomb.

Combat between the forces of open trade such as Freilibre and terrorist organisations and extremist religious regimes in unconventional twenty-first century International Incidents such as Homofront Returns and the Civil War in Khataiy are thought to involve the “busting” of complex underground facilities nestled in deep earth bunkers. This is where MAOP can come in handy.

The elephantine MAOP is solely designed to be a “self defence” weapon; used to send a message to those entities that may harm the nineteen countries’ interests: “You can hide, but you can’t run.”

The bomb is designed specially to attack hardened concrete bunkers and tunnel facilities. Designed to permit carriage inside the ZM-7L aircraft and deployed at high altitudes, it can penetrate up to sixty metres underground through thirty-four thousand kilonewton per square metre reinforced concrete before exploding; taking almost a third of its targeted underground facility and deeply buried targets in the process.

Since the turn of the century, more advanced Jaclean steel products have been manufactured for many high strain rate applications. Having almost identical properties as Eglin steel (ES-1) products, they are the ideal cheaper substitution materials for other more expensive high-strength steels, such as AerMet100 and AF 1410 high fracture-toughness steel, which are expensive because they only use carbon monoxide and nickel as additive materials. In the continent of Yohannes since the turn of the century, Jaclean steel alloy products have been widely used for military applications, such as heavy armoured vehicle parts, missile components and assembly and production related machinery.

The primary scientific journal which introduced this material noted the addition of various alloying elements, for instance silicon to combat the precipitation of cementite during temperature tempering process for the steel. The other two major constituents are nickel and vanadium, which are used to increase toughness for the steel combination. The strength and hardness of Jaclean steel are reinforced thanks to the addition of chromium and molybdenum, whilst tungsten is used to intensify temperature strength and increase wear resistance.

It was reported that for a Jaclean steel product, their martensite is formed between cooling rates ranging from one to fifty degree Celsius per second, with hardness values greater than five hundred Vickers Pyramid Hardness. Gained hardness is also not affected during industrial manufacturing of the steel, where a mix of bainite and martensite like microstructures are formed at a cooling rate of a fifth to one degree Celsius per second.

The successful joining of various aluminium, copper, and magnesium alloys results in Jaclean steel’s good strength and high ductility, which are the two major reasons behind it being adopted and used as primary materials for the Mother of All Ordnance Penetrator “bunker buster” bomb. Though many of the industrial materials required for the value added final products, such as the original metals, are sourced from the Jaclean Empire due to the proven reputation of Jaclean’s metallurgy industry in the nineteen countries, they are ultimately manufactured and processed in the continent of Yohannes.

In one of its recent reports, Economic Palace referenced the exorbitant levels of debt in the metallurgy and steel industry of heartland countries Bromgen, Burmecia, and Dali. Economic Palace warned that the debt-ridden coal and metallurgy industries of the Grand Duchy of Dali have long been at risk to continuing fall in commodity prices and long term increase in lending interest rates. Total debt in the mining sector for the year ending September in 2017 was 2.14 trillion NSD, with 1.13 trillion NSD of debt held by the Burmecian and Dalian mining sectors.

“More support will be required from the executive council to ensure that value added jaclean steel output will not be affected by this worrying trend of continuing decline in heartland countries metallurgy output, and in turn, the assurance that production of Mother of All Ordnance Penetrators will not be reduced in 2019,” said Joshua Leitgeb, Chairperson of Chambers of Industry and Commerce Yohannes Incorporated.

Media Contact: Alice Williams, Representative to the Minister of Economy, Industry and Trade. Tel: +585 2 684 3847. Email: alice.williams3@eit.govt.yo

Out of character references: Raymond Brennan of the Weapons and Materials Research Directorate, US Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD 21005, USA; and Bharat Gwalani of the Center for Friction Stir Processing, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203-5017, USA.

[AHSCA]

The Harrowing Trip of the Yuzu

Today, Duchess Villa honored a group of people with The Golden Sun, officially the Decoration of The Order of Freedom of AHSCA, the highest honor of AHSCA, making the ceremony and honors the biggest distribution of medals since their introduction. This group composed of a ship captain, a UIS Police Officer, a Registered Nurse from Mokastana, two sailors from Holy Marsh and a Cabin Keeper.

Four weeks ago, the Yuzu, a paddle steamer registered out of AHSCA, departed Aurora Island bound for Mokastana with a full crew and passenger load and found itself in trouble. Stormy conditions overtook the ship quickly, not uncommon in this part of the world but none could imagine the series of events still to occur. The ship wasn't just caught in a bad storm but a major hurricane that had been churning in the seas for days. Being located in a very remote and seldom traveled routes for other major ships, the storm was outside most meteorological areas of responsibility the conditions, the storm had been unnoticed and unreported as a result leaving the crew and it's Captain with no way to avoid it.

Captain Ain Indou

Being captained by Aina Indou (pictured), The Yuzu's charted course took it straight into the storm. "Strong storms on the open seas, are to be expected" Captain Indou said "As we get further into the open ocean matters grow more complicated in anticipating major storms like hurricanes, the best you can do is make sure you and your crew are ready for all extremes." While extreme weather faced by seafarers of the islands is nothing new, what's more unexpected is an outbreak aboard a ship. As the brunt of the storm took shape, many passengers and crew began to experience the onset of major symptoms of Jungle Fever, a deadly virus found in the islands that's notoriously difficult to prepare for, treat and is especially fatal among elderly and young children. As symptoms can take days or weeks to manifest, it's often impossible to anticipate to postpone trips leaving ships vulnerable to situations like these.

Rough weather and sickness is enough to give any seasoned Sea Captain a real run for their money but matters only grew worse as the ship was soon in the sights of marauders. Opportunistic pirates decided to set their sights on the crippled ship. Being an old ship in dark stormy seas proved to be a slight advantage being able to avoid gunfire but things still were too close for comfort. The Captain modestly attributed making it through thanks in part to her skills but her crew was hardly shy about signing her praises.

"Captain Indou, is the best Captain I've ever sailed with" First Mate Kiri Numakura praised. "I'm not sure how many captains could successfully navigate hurricane force waves and doge cannon fire."

Thankfully, The Yuzu wasn't entirely alone out there as naval forces from both Mokastana and Kuronami were in the area. Empress Ortfiné Fredericka von Eylstadt of the Kuronami Empire, had been traveling nearby on a return trip deployed her escort forces to aid the crippled ship. Duchess Villa has promised other Distinguished Service Medals for The Empress as well as the crew who had assisted them there. Getting out of the line of fire, Captain Indou now had to focus on finding a friendly port to get to. Once again help arrived with some local Marshite Sailors who were able to board and get the ship back in working condition enough.

Natsume Suwa

All the while the action outside was going on, below decks, William Flanagan a Registered Nurse from Mokastana found himself in the deep end of the ongoing medical crises. Flanagan with the help of two women, Natsume Suwa a Cabin Maid and Mio Fujieda the Ship's Security Officer; two of the few still standing crew members who weren't occupied above deck tended to many sick passengers and crew members, first getting them quarantined and then tending to their needs. Fujieda was unable to be reached for comment currently aboard another vessel out to sea currently but by the sounds of it she has no intent on changing positions anytime soon.

Suwa talked to us about the experience "I've dealt with my share of sea sick passengers but this is the first I had to deal with an outbreak of Fever during a storm. I'm glad everyone made it okay and that we had The Doc aboard. If it weren't for him no way anyone would have made it through the night."

The young lady identified as a possible Patient Zero was the first to display symptoms aboard the ship that stormy night. Her identity is being held to keep her protected given her young age but we are happy to report she has been released from Intensive Care in Lamoni and has been downgraded from Critical to Serious condition.

"I know I am and I'm sure my crew is wishing the little lady a good recovery." Captain Indou said. "Whether she was or wasn't the cause doesn't matter to me, it was bad luck and could have happened to anyone. She's an Islander, we all face the same illnesses and storms ever day together." Miss Suwa seems to echo the sentiment.

"I hope she'll be okay. I remember who she was and caring for her and how worried her poor ma was. If anything getting sick aboard a ship with The Doc was the best thing it may have even saved her life in the end."

As for the remaining ill passengers, most have been downgraded to fair or good and several have been discharged from the hospital. Despite the terrifying ordeal, only one fatality has been known, an elderly man who succumbed to his symptoms while aboard the ship.

"It's hard to loose a passenger, but the fact I could have lost even more is truly more scary. I'm glad my crew and most of my passengers have made it through." Captain Indou says she's not done as Captain "You face these trials and you come out a better Captain for it. The Sea is my real calling, how I got caught in politics for a time I still don't know but sailing has always been my passion. I thank The Duchess for recognizing me and my crew and everyone who came to our help when we needed it."

[Yohannes]

---

Monthly Report to Parliament — Economic Summary: Subject to the Members of Assembly

Monthly Report 2017 — Economic Summary -- An excerpt from the two hundred and thirtieth parliamentary hansard: Wednesday, 1 November 2017 — Volume 951; November Economic Summary — Subject to the Ministers of the Executive Council, Emperor, and Realm.




Monthly Overview — November 2017

Published under the authority of the Electoral College and Parliament — 2017

The Monthly Report 2017 — Economic Summary is a monthly summary of the nineteen countries economy. It includes the latest important economic data, e.g., gross domestic product (GDP) growth; nation state inflation; people not working; the difference between imports and exports; and the difference in total value between payments into and out of the nineteen countries. It can also include other financial data, e.g., Economic Palace’s imperial cash rate. Some relevant data from our main trading partners — e.g., Knootoss, Lamoni, and Mokastana, amongst others — and either one of the two largest economies in the international community of regions and nation states —i.e., Maxtopia or Bigtopia — can also be used as economic datum.



Economic expansion	[+]	0.419%	Monthly gross domestic product growth
People not working	[-]	0.098%	Monthly movement of unemployment rate
Monetary policy	[+]	0.040%	Monthly inflation change
Nation state surplus	[+]	$88.1b	Monthly current account surplus change
Imperial cash rate	[+]	0.40%	Monthly short-term bill of exchange movement



Office of Chief Economist point of view



Source: Dr Fat’hiyaa el-Rasheed, CD-D
Incumbent Chief Economist.
Following on from [ last month ]’s forecast, the unemployment rate in the continent of Yohannes slightly decreased by 0.1 per cent to 4 per cent, with 340,000 more people acquiring full-time and part-time employment on the back of increasing shipbuilding activities in the Kingdom of Alexandria since the announcement of the Agreement for Equal Trade and the Connecting of the Nineteen Countries Economy with the Economy of Greater Nifon Bill 2017. Still increasing overseas energy and oil prices and continuing minor disruption to Yohannesian shipping — e.g., worrying international incidents located near or involving trading partners of the nineteen countries — contributed to higher consumer prices, which went up by 0.15 per cent, lower than last month’s increase of 0.29 per cent.

The Chair of the Board of Governors of Economic Palace, Heidemarie Vogelweide, unexpectedly increased the Imperial Cash Rate (ICR) by 0.10 per cent or ten basis points to stabilise the sudden increase in economic activities experienced on the back of positive commercial and trading developments abroad, e.g., commercial agreements with International Democratic Union World Assembly Delegate nation Laeral, investment and trade agreement with Greater Nifon, and increasing trade with World Assembly Delegate nation of The East Pacific region the Yuno Stratocracy.

Taking into account the World Assembly’s trade-weighted effective exchange rate index, the Quertz russling vis-a-vis the NationStates Dollar (NSD) or Universal Standard Dollar (USD) has reached a new high since it was first floated freely. The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index in October averaged near the 90.7 index points. In light of the Christian Democratic Executive Council’s 2018 policy target to increase the competitiveness of Yohannesian exports abroad, Economic Palace has determined that the Quertz russling is overvalued due to stronger than expected appreciation since 2014, and that ideally its value must be brought down. The Chair of the Board of Governors has indicated that, quote, there are a range of intervention options that we will consider so that we [Economic Palace] can intervene in the market and see to it that the value [of the Quertz russling] will not distract the Executive Council from meeting its 2018 policy target, unquote.

Recent statistics

The economy of the nineteen countries is forecast to grow by 0.419 per cent in November, with a revised quarterly growth of 0.971 per cent for the 2017 September fiscal quarter. Exports of goods and services is forecast to increase by 2.167 per cent in November, ascribable to higher exports of parts for vessels (civilian & military) accompanied by higher shipping and transportation lending revenues and services. More tourism and export education from high-net worth citizens of Greater Nifon due to the successful conclusion of the Greater Nifonese-Yohannesian economic and investment agreement is forecast to further lift services revenue growth in November. Household final consumption expenditure is forecast to rise by 1 per cent, with spending on consumer durables (e.g. cars or household appliances) to rise by 1.6 per cent; accompanying a general trend of increasing consumer prices by 0.15 per cent according to the Nineteen Countries Consumer Price Index (NCCPI). Only time will tell whether an international situation with less international incidents, less organised piracy, and less gunboat diplomacy between imperialistic nations and alliances overseas will become a reality in 2018.

The current account balance of the nineteen countries in November is forecast to reach 88 billion NSD, or equal to 0.55 per cent of GDP; a surplus higher than originally predicted last quarter due to recent positive developments (e.g. Greater Nifonese-Yohannesian economic agreement, Laeral investment agreement, etc.). This increase in surplus has also been attributed to strong predictions of higher shipbuilding export to The East Pacific World Assembly Delegate nation the Yuno Stratocracy and other nation states in that region, and lower dairy product and raw materials prices in comparison to previous higher prices in October. Fluctuations in variable manufacturing costs for the month of November are also predicted to be less than those registered in September and October.


Expansion of the economy

Background

According to Encyclopedia Maxtopia, the gross domestic product of a nation state is a monetary measure of the market value of all final goods and services produced in a period of time; reported commonly every quarter or year. In the nineteen countries, the most important way to track the state of the economy over the years is to check its real gross domestic product; that is, the value of economic output adjusted for price changes, i.e., inflation or deflation. The purpose of Parliament Analysis Archive’s Monthly Summary of the Economy is to allow foreign and World Assembly observers to conveniently track our empire-wide gross domestic product data and changes every month.

November 2017



Gross domestic product 2017	Monthly GDP growth at current market prices
Expenditure method	$66.704 billion
Per capita growth	0.075 per cent


Source: World Microcredit Foundation.
For the month of November, growth is forecast to be 0.419 per cent, 0.172 per cent more than October. The Office of the Chief Economist reiterates once again that this is due to recent positive developments (e.g. Greater Nifonese-Yohannesian economic agreement, Laeral investment agreement, etc.). After taking into account population growth, per capita GDP is forecast to increase by 0.075 per cent in November, and by 0.225 per cent in the September fiscal quarter.

On Tuesday, 31 October, Export Industry Credit Administration (EICA) delivered its latest report on tradeable and non-tradeable sectors of the nineteen countries’ gross domestic product. In the nineteen countries, tradeable sectors are those industries delivering tradeable goods and services, e.g., producing machinery instead of building houses. Tradeable goods are also those goods facing foreign competition in the nineteen countries, i.e., products that can be imported, such as dairy products or everyday electrical components and machinery, amongst others. Tradeable industries export their products abroad. Non-tradeable goods are goods that do not face foreign competition in the nineteen countries. Non-tradeable can also be defined as something unproductive, e.g., investing in residential property instead of capital machinery and facilities for export. EICA forecast that tradeable activities in the economy is set to grow by 0.487 per cent in November, with non-tradeable growing by 0.351 per cent.

The growth of the ratio of the Nineteen Countries Export Prices Index (NCEPI) to the Nineteen Countries Import Prices Index (NCIPI) is forecast to continue its decline since the highest level of growth — in five years — recorded in September. In this monthly forecast, the ratio of import-export prices is expected to grow by 1.1 per cent, in comparison with last month’s 1.3 per cent, which in turn was lower than September’s record high of 1.7 per cent.

Miscellany



Empire-Wide Growth Surveys	October	November
Business Sentiment	59.0	62.7
Export Sales Volume	40.5	42.9


Source: BOY, Empire-Wide Growth Surveys.
Retail sales volume is forecast to increase by 0.066 per cent in November, with retail sales volumes for the core consumer industries — excluding automobile related household spending — to increase by 0.17 per cent. Household general grocery and supermarket spending increased by 6.24 billion NSD in October, whilst food and beverage spending fell by 4.96 billion NSD. The Nineteen Countries Purchasing Managers’ Index rose from 60.7 points in September to 62.4 points this week, whilst Economic Palace’s Citizen Sector Services Index fell by 0.3 points. According to Economic and Demographics Statistics Yohannes, quote, recent key economic indicators, such as inflation and the unemployment rate, have shown the positive state of the nation’s economy, giving the green lights for investors both here and overseas to continue or kick-start their projects in the nineteen countries with confidence, unquote.

Merkel Rothsdad Equal Weight Commodity Index has shown an upward trend of 0.1 per cent in the last two weeks of October — the first since September. Continental Dry Index has also shown an upward trend since October to reflect the higher volume of shipbuilding work undertaken — forecast to rise by 1.3 per cent — for merchant vessels in our trading partners, though somewhat dampened by the higher operating costs of fuel, crews, and vessels in the nineteen countries and key trading partners.

The Bank of Yohannes’ monthly Empire-Wide Growth Surveys and both the Nineteen Countries Manufacturing Business [Conditions] Index and the Nineteen Countries Purchasing Managers’ Index fell briefly towards the end of October, but was forecast to rise again at a level consistent with growth in output in the last two fiscal quarters in November.

Point of view

Participants in the latest Economic Palace Monthly Polling think that economic growth for the September fiscal quarter will rest at 0.971 per cent. Citizen sector manufacturing and services index shows a slightly lower level lagging behind the growth found in our finance and banking, machinery, semiconductor, and shipbuilding sectors. Monthly surveys conducted show the willingness of businesses to employ more people in comparison to June fiscal quarter.

Chambers of Industry and Commerce Yohannes recently published its more upbeat forecast — a general agreement made by member Chambers to average their differing forecasts. It shows a somewhat more positive view on the economy as a result of the creation of new trade agreements (e.g. Greater Nifon, Laeral and Klemantan-Borneo) and manufacturing growth in the heavy engineering and shipbuilding countries of Lindblum and Alexandria. The Chambers, however, forecast a more sobering monthly growth rate of 0.341 per cent in November. Export is predicted to increase from previous figure last month, halting a downward trend that was originally forecast to continue until 2018 March fiscal quarter.



Economic expansion	2017 June fiscal quarter	2017 September fiscal quarter	2017 December fiscal quarter	2018 March fiscal quarter	2018 June fiscal quarter
Quarterly	0.671 per cent	0.971 per cent	0.75 per cent	0.738 per cent	0.742 per cent


Source: Office of the Minister of Economy, Industry, and Trade.


Unemployment rate and workforce

Background

According to Encyclopedia Maxtopia, the unemployment rate is a measure of how many people are not working in a nation state and is calculated as a percentage by dividing the number of people not working with the number of people who are working or the workforce; and reported commonly every quarter or year. In the nineteen countries, the workforce is defined as those adults — that is, twenty years and over — who are either employed under either one of the following contracts: Casual, part-time temporary, part-time permanent, and full-time permanent.

In the nineteen countries, the workforce definition also includes those who are temporarily without jobs but are registered as those looking for jobs by relevant oganisations of the Executive Council (e.g., Work and Parenting Income and Vocational Education Authority) and those who are not employed under any of the above mentioned contract but are classified under either one the following categories: ‘Enterpreneurial’, ‘Investor’, and ‘Self-employed.’ Another purpose of Parliament Analysis Archive’s Monthly Summary of the Economy is to allow foreign and World Assembly observers to conveniently track our empire-wide unemployment and workforce data and changes every month.

November 2017



Source: Economic and Demographics Statis-
tics Yohannes.^{[Full resolution]}
Unemployment rate in the continent of Yohannes slightly decreased by 0.1 per cent to 4 per cent from last month, with 340,000 more people acquiring full-time and part-time employment on the back of increasing shipbuilding activities in the Kingdom of Alexandria since the announcement of the Agreement for Equal Trade and the Connecting of the Nineteen Countries Economy with the Economy of Greater Nifon Bill 2017. After accounting for the latest seasonal adjustments, there were 15.16 million people registered as ‘unemployed’ in the year ending October.

Unemployment number is forecast to decline further by 0.1 per cent in the quarter ending November, due to a rise in the number of those working full-time. In contrast, there was a drop in full-time employment registered in the year ending October, caused from the (i) steel and heavy metallurgy, (ii) coal and iron, and the (iii) forestry and agriculture industries. As a result of the reduction in employment and unemployment, the participation for adult rate in this month is forecast to drop by 0.2 per cent, down from previous high of 66.2 per cent registered in the year ending October.

The empire-wide participation rate takes into account those aged twenty years and over who are either employed or seeking employment. In the fourth quarter employment-to-population ratio is forecast to increase by 0.413 per cent, coming strong from the 1.713 per cent increase registered in the previous two quarters. There were an additional 759,000 people employed in the Greater Halsten metropolitan region compared to a year earlier, and an additional 1,239,000 people employed in the Royal Alexandria metropolitan region.

Employment in the chemical and material engineering industries expanded by 1,477,000 people from a year earlier, whilst employment in the aeronautical industry rose by 1,512,000 people. Employment in the steel, heavy metallurgy, and shipbuilding industries — mostly concentrated in the Kingdom of Burmecia and the heartland countries respectively — went down by 4.17 per cent, extending the serious downturn registered in October.

Miscellany



BOY business sentiment studies (for the next two quarters)	October	November
Will have more workers (per cent)	25.8	33.5
More people will lose jobs (per cent)	25.4	22.9


Source: Bank of Yohannes.
Employment indicators went up in the November Bank of Yohannes business sentiment studies from their second lowest level last month. The Chambers of Industry and Commerce Yohannes have indicated reports made by small and medium sized business owners that they are waiting for the results of the 2018 imperial election before continuing with any further employment related moves. Most significant changes in employment intentions are predicted to be made in the construction and building industries; with incumbent executive council initiatives such as the Housing Infrastructure Fund and Central Provident Fund’s housing grant being the main determinants.

Moogle Jobs and Employment — the two largest job vacancy and recruitment websites in the nineteen countries — recorded a higher number of contracting, professional, and regular vacancy ads in the last two weeks of October when compared with the first two weeks of October. It corresponded with the Skilled Workforce and Labour Corporation’s Online Employment and Jobs Search October report, published to improve the number of universal apprenticeship, cadetship, and internship programmes in the nineteen countries by connecting small and medium-sized companies with skilled workforce and labour.

Point of view



Yearly comparison	November 2016	November 2017
Whole time equivalent average weekly earnings (after tax deduction)	$913.10	$910.07
Employment Cost Index movement	+1.5	+1.4


Source: Office of Economic Analysis and Forecast.
The Winter Economic and Fiscal Report released by the Chair of the Board of Governors of Economic Palace, Heidemarie Vogelweide, has the unemployment rate slightly increasing from current levels to stay near the 4 to 5 per cent boundaries in the next three years. The report forecast a 4.3 per cent unemployment rate by the end of the next fiscal quarter; mainly due to increasing net migration from non-occidental nation states and the continuing decline of the heavy metallurgy and shipbuilding industries in heartland countries, particularly those in the Kingdom of Burmecia and the Grand Duchy of Dali. With increasing net migration labour force growth will outpace growth in employment over the next five years.


Nation state surplus

Background

Nation state surplus (or deficit) can be gauged by looking at the difference in total value between payments into and out of that nation state, usually reported quarterly or yearly. A major part of that is the current account balance of the nation state, which is the difference between its investment, savings, and the difference between its imports and exports with the outside community of regions and nation states.

November 2017



Source: Office of Economic Analysis and
Forecast.^{[Full resolution]}
The current account surplus for the end of the September quarter has been larger than originally forecast in the October monthly report; predicted to reach 88.1 billion by the end of this month, i.e., equal to 0.55 per cent of GDP. It will be the largest surplus since the quarter before the 2012 Gholgoth Diplomatic Crisis and 2013 Hippostania War. Growth in tertiary goods and machinery exports consonant with other recent indicators, along with new bilateral agreements (such as the Caracasus material engineering partnership first formalised in 2015), were major drivers behind the unexpected rise in surplus.

After accounting for real GDP differential and seasonal adjustments, on annual basis the current account surplus is forecast to reach 807.034 billion NSD in the year ending this quarter. The increase in surplus has also been attributed to strong predictions of higher shipbuilding export to The East Pacific region World Assembly Delegate nation the Yuno Stratocracy and other nation states in that region, and lower agriculture and perishables (e.g. dairy product) as well as declining raw materials prices in comparison to previous higher prices in October.

In the year ending this quarter, there have been 1,091,099 micro, small and medium sized businesses which export their goods or services in the continent of Yohannes. Of these, there are 17,912 businesses that have registered total business revenues of 50 million NSD and over; almost half dealing directly or indirectly in the chemical development, material engineering, and structural research and development industries. These businesses accounted for almost a third of total goods and services exported this quarter.

The Office of the Minister of the Treasury and Wealth Fund previously reported that as the Quertz russling continued to appreciate against the NationStates Dollar (or Universal Standard Dollar), climbing above 0.0121 NationStates Dollar in the September fiscal quarter, bilateral trade in goods was originally forecast to grow by 5.7 per cent to reach 23.081 trillion NSD in the year ending June 2018. Recent updates have however forced the Economic Palace to readjust its forecast in light of the very strong possibility of a drop in value of the Quertz russling against the NationStates Dollar gradually in 2018; to possibly reach 0.0091 NSD, with bilateral trade in goods value of the nineteen countries in NSD to also drop to a lower growth rate of 4.4 per cent — a significant negative hit on paper.

Miscellany



Monthly price changes	October (%)	November (%)
Agglomerated Commodities	19.5	16.4
Producer Commodities	3.9	3.7


Source: Bank of Yohannes.
The amount of imports that the nineteen countries can afford to purchase with its exports is expected to rise from last month to meet previous high recorded in September. In this monthly forecast the ratio of import-export is expected to grow by 1.7 per cent in comparison to last month’s 1.3 per cent, making it again the highest recorded monthly increase in import-export prices ratio since the 2012 March fiscal quarter. This was caused by a brief increase in aeronautical engineering prices and exports to Caracasus, Nusalia, Right to Life and Saanangi, amongst others.

Point of view

Imperial Bureau of Economic Research’s monthly report forecast that nation state surplus growth will fall to 50.3 billion NSD for the month of December; caused by a brief but sharp decline in the last two weeks before the 2018 imperial election results are released. Surplus is forecast to remain stable over the next four fiscal quarters to the month of December next year.



Current account balance	2017 June fiscal quarter	2017 September fiscal quarter	2017 December fiscal quarter	2018 March fiscal quarter	2018 June fiscal quarter
Quarterly	$185.234 billion	$214.456 billion	$183.37 billion	$286.436 billion	$274.156 billion
Goods (yearly)	$239.976 billion	$292.077 billion	$276.818 billion	$303.909 billion	$282.093 billion
Services (yearly)	$220.988 billion	$221.848 billion	$233.762 billion	$217.958 billion	$233.430 billion
Investment (yearly)	$283.507 billion	$293.109 billion	$257.003 billion	$299.465 billion	$271.935 billion
Yearly total (post-adjustment)	$744.471 billion	$807.034 billion	$767.583 billion	$821.332 billion	$787.458 billion


Source: Office of Economic Analysis and Forecast.


Money matters

Background

The Nineteen Countries Trade Weighted Index (NCTWI) is derived from the original World Assembly’s trade weighted index; that is, an index measure of the value of the Quertz russling relative to other nation states’ currencies. Just like the Nineteen Countries Consumer Price Index (NCCPI), which is used as an economic indicator to measure inflation by tracking the price of commonly bought or essential goods and services, e.g., clothing, education, food, and transport services, amongst others, the Nineteen Countries Trade Weighted Index is used as an economic indicator to measure the worth of the Quertz russling by tracking the price of currencies of those nation states the nineteen countries commonly engage in commerce and trade with; weighting each currency with the volume of trade and gross domestic product of that currency’s nation state with the nineteen countries.



Source: Economic Palace.^{[Full resolution]}
The Imperial Cash Rate (ICR) is the interest rate set by Economic Palace on overnight borrowing and lending between banking institutions of the citizen sector and Economic Palace. Economic Palace has regularly used the ICR as a tool to indirectly influence the direction of the economy and to ensure price stability. It also used the ICR to ensure that yearly inflation meets the Economic Palace’s explicit inflation rate target.

The Standard and Rich Chloe Jokes Indices’ S&R 200 Index is a share index of the two hundred largest companies by market capitalisation in the nineteen countries. It is the leading stock market index in the nineteen countries, and is the official method used by parliament to measure the prosperity of businesses in the continent of Yohannes. The index is managed by Standard and Rich Incorporated and Chloe Jokes and Company.

November 2017

Economic Palace has announced its plan to hike up the ICR to 200 basis points in December. The Board of Governors of Economic Palace said that, “We have formulated a pro household lending policy since first [quarter] 2017 and we have [last month] warned mum and dad first homeowners to think very carefully before choosing to buy any property for the next two years. The time has come for the [Economic] Palace to increase rate in order to better influence prices and ensure stability in light of recently registered higher growth... and currency changes”

In its recent report, the World Assembly’s World Microcredit Foundation has noted the high household debt level of the nineteen countries. In early August, the institution said that, “At present levels of household debt caused by the expansionary policies implemented since 2014... coupled with possibility of future u-turn... would lead to problem down the line”. Prior to Economic Palace announcement, household debt in the nineteen countries had reached 70 per cent of disposable income, which was higher than that recorded before the World Assembly Automagfreek condemnation and 2012 Gholgoth crises.



Fundamental imperial government borrowing	November 2017 (NS$)	November 2017 (per cent of GDP)
Gross debt issue	6.77 trillion	42.7


Source: Economic Palace.
The Quertz russling has been forecast to drop against the NationStates Dollar around the December fiscal quarter, with figures pointing to it possibly falling to a low point of 0.0091 NSD by the end of the 2018 September quarter. Economic Palace has recently adopted a policy to adapt to the highly likely long period of depreciation in 2018, which would (i) increase costs for importers, (ii) lower the value of the choice of the best alternative cost, (iii) raise domestic investment levels, (iv) increase exports competitiveness abroad, and (v) lead to increasing inflation. Taking into account the World Assembly’s trade-weighted effective exchange rate index, the Quertz russling vis-a-vis the NationStates Dollar (NSD) or Universal Standard Dollar (USD) has reached a new high since it was first floated freely.

The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index in October averaged near the 90.7 index points. In light of the Christian Democratic Executive Council’s 2018 policy target to increase the competitiveness of Yohannesian exports abroad, recently the Economic Palace determined that the Quertz russling has been overvalued due to stronger than expected appreciation since 2014, and that ideally its value must be brought down. The Chair of the Board of Governors has indicated that, quote, there are a range of intervention options that we will consider so that we [Economic Palace] can intervene in the market and see to it that the value [of the Quertz russling] will not distract the Executive Council from meeting its 2018 policy target, unquote. This would coincide well with the forecast natural drop of the currency in 2018, making it highly likely that it would drop further below the originally predicted 0.0091 NSD low point.

---

[The Macabees]

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GLI-23 ENTERS SERVICE
WITH LAERIHANS UNITS IN ZARBIA



The new aircraft is expected to help reduce the Laerihans' footprint
in the territories, satrapies, and elsewhere.

When Kriegzimmer found itself under the protection of a victorious Macabéan Kingdom, soon transformed into the Second Empire of the Golden Throne, it was perhaps the most important import-export conglomerate in the region, if not the world. Its belt is notched with international "best-sellers" such as the Hali-53 assault rifle, the widely exported DNR-13 recoilless rifle, and the infamous Nakíl main battle tank. The latter boasted, and continues to boasts, of over 30 million tanks exported, including third party "monkey models." The end of the War of Golden Succession came with new imperial policy, however, and the breakup of an armaments monopoly too willing to sell imperial technology without restrictions became the new regime's landmark introductory imperial decree. The industry has since turned inwards, losing much of its international prestige. Kríertor hopes to reverse this trend, following in the footsteps of Kríegzimmer, and the GLI-23 Teotl is its newest product. The first to be marketed and distributed by the conglomerate, in fact.

The GLI-23 is a curiously simple aircraft and a surprising option for a debut product. However, its development comes from very real demands within the Ejermacht to equip supporting air forces with a low-flying ground attack aircraft capable of providing superior support to the traditional multi-role fighters used in that role. The Laerihans, too, placed much emphasis on the introduction of a cheaper alternative to the GLI-76 Falkón and Lu-45 Halkón, looking to decrease its logistical footprint in counterinsurgency missions and reallocate that budget toward high-intensity requirements in Gholgoth.

Troops fighting "long wars" — as the Macabéans call their continued pacification efforts throughout the empire — have long complained of the inadequacy of existing fire support options. Artillery, when available, often cannot be used because the enemy knows to close sufficient distance to place friendly troops in danger of collateral damage. Despite the relatively quickly delivery of artillery, the latency is long enough to often allow insurgents to slip out regardless and then reform elsewhere to harass imperial patrols. Existing attack aircraft have proven little better, often missing their target altogether due to the latency of the bomb or missile between the time of launch and strike.

"Most people don't appreciate how lightly the enemy moves. They don't wear body armor, they aren't weighed down with heavy packs, and they know the terrain better than we do," said Leutstrategos Dalos Jerama, commander of CXC Terchkor.

He has played a pivitol role in educating the public at large on the problems of counterinsurgency, including the mobility of guerrilla forces.

Although the Laerihans equips many of its GLI-76 with undercarriage cannons, pilots prefer to fly them at higher altitudes to avoid anti-air defenses. At that altitude, the cannons can be inaccurate and ineffective. The Fuermak needed an option that could fly lower, survive threats at that altitude, and deliver quick and accurate fire support for ground troops below.

Armed with a four-barreled 33mm gatling gun, the Teotl's lethality at close-range is unquestionable. Its long, broad wings are also capable of carrying heavy loads of munitions, providing it with plenty of firepower with which to support Ejermacht forces on the ground. Combining the JN/WA-16 and JN/DRA-32 systems gives the GLI-23 an advantage against man-portable SAMs, radar detection, and other common threats in COIN environments. The aircraft can also fit LARUN NATAL and FILOSOF targeting and ECM pods, respectively. Modern turbofan engine technology the aircraft with greater fuel efficiency, a higher loitering time, and a reduced exhaust signature. By combining older concepts with newer technologies, the GLI-23 is likely to be the Laerihan's go-to COIN asset for decades to come.

The GLI-23 is an important solution to a persistent problem suffered by the Fuermak in combat zones like Zarbia, Theohuanacu, and Indras. The Teotl, whose name means "awesome" in the Panooly language of Plánol, will also be deployed to Barjaanistan, Holy Panooly, and the Satrapy of Nicaro and Firmador.

Forces in Zarbia will receive the first GLI-23s off the production line. Zarbia has always served to introduce new strategies, tactics, and ideas, helping the Ejermacht find solutions to continued military discomforts in the territories and satrapies. However, Kríertor is optimistic and has front-loaded production, hoping to continue manufacturing the aircraft at high volumes as its international customer base expands. The new ground attack fighter will soon enter service in Holy Panooly, Indras, New Empire, Nicaro and Firmador, and Barjaanistan.

Commanders have already expressed their approval. "This is exactly what we needed," said Kapitán Dacio Mandragón, a young commander in the Zarbian auxiliaries deployed to Holy Panooly during the War of Panooly Reunification.

The Laerihans sees the GLI-23 as an opportunity to reduce operating costs in low-intensity combat zones. With operations ramping up in Gholgoth and the always-present threat of conventional war in Greater Díenstad, an already extended Laerihans is eager to free up forces in the territories and satrapies in order to better focus on more dangerous threats.

Early adopter export customers have been found in Imbrinium, Barjaanistan, and United Vallerian Republic. Furthermore, contracts have been secured with the satrapical governments of New Empire and Nicaro. Kríertor will be hoping to grow this list, seeking economies of scale and success with a product that may define its entry into the claustrophobic international arms market.

Tarn and the hundreds of PMCs, and their direct suppliers, may be an early outlet of expansion. Already, Jeh-Ti has announced the purchase of at least 100 of the aircraft. Although unconfirmed, it is suspected that several dozen have already been sold to Huron Authority, the secretive PMC that classifies its business reports to maintain an environment of heavy security. Private war contracts have sharply increased in volume over the past two decades, fueling a vibrant PMC economy in Tarn and, to a lesser extent, in Rubino and elsewhere. Many of these are COIN contracts, and Kríetor must be hoping that more of Tarn's many companies see value in the GLI-23.

The company will, of course, soon introduce new products. Kríertor has been negotiating with the Fuermak to release several missile and bomb technologies that have to date not been exported by their manufacturers. Kríertor is clearly seeking to remain on the Imperial Bureaucracy's positive side, knowing full well the fate that befell Kriegzimmer. Besides existing technologies not yet under its export umbrella, the conglomerate also has other designs in the pipeline. Greater Laerihans Industries is said to be working on an even lighter close air support aircraft, intented to be deployed on a shoestring budget. A replacement to the GLI-76 is also said to be in development and rumors persist of a Nakíl 2, although none of the companies involved with the original Nakíl — which is still in production and has undergone a recent upgrade program — have dropped any hints.

Despite the competition, Kríertor is hopeful that it can regain part of the legacy Kriegzimmer left behind. Although the Golden Throne remains one of the largest arms exporters in the world, Kríetor is hoping to maintain a more public image, as compared to the more clandestine sales method arms manufacturers have pursued to date.

What role the GLI-23 will actually play in the persecution of that goal is unknown, but it will surely be an important addition to the imperial arsenal.

The fact that thousands have already been ordered for accelerated deployment says as much.

For Kríertor the question that remains is whether others will see the same value.


Edit 6/2: "...30 million tanks exported."

[Imbrinium]

IBC News Special Report:

Good morning we are receiving confirmed reports this early morning of some ninety anti-terror raids conducted throughout the night. These raids conducted by police and some anti-terror units in every corner of the kingdom. The early reports coming in state that some 200 subjects have been arrested or detained, some twenty have been killed with only 3 police injuries unknown if they are life-threatening.

There where a number of groups being targeted by these raids, it's being stated that not only active members of these groups being targeted but also support cells and people who have supported the terror groups.

These groups under which includes AntiMon, Homofront, and some groups based in Mordent and a number of others which include some Islamic groups within the kingdom. Some of these groups have been very active over the last few months closing some downtown city centers and even burning down a city block to date the number of dead in these clashes has been 45 protestors killed and 20 officers with over 1000 injured counting both sides. Let's hope these raids will bring the number of attacks and riots down in the kingdom. Stay tuned we will bring you more updates as they happen.

[The Macabees]

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THE GOLDEN THRONE WINS
TANK BATTLE IN GHOLGOTH



A Scandinvan IFV is photographed moving across a small town in central Drana, caught in the middle of the battle.

DRASDAG, Scandinvan Empire —

As the war in Drana, the imperial homeland of the Scandinvan people, brutally expands, the Golden Throne's Ejermacht claimed another victory at the Battle of Anver. Almost three thousand Macabéan tanks, including both Nakíls and Linces, took part, with thousands of other armored vehicles and hundreds of thousands of men by their side. The battle took up much of western Drana, sprawling over a multi-hundred-kilometer front. The battle has opened up much of southern Drana to continued Macabéan advances toward what the Scandinvans call "The World's Spine," a major mountain range that cuts their country almost in half from west to east. Allied forces continue to besiege of Drasdag and Bendred, the two largest Scandinvan cities along the southwestern coastline.

With over 300 million Macabéan troops in Drana already, and another 600–700 million earmarked for deployment, the war has reached an advanced stage where both sides have fielded a considerable amount of manpower. Although the Fuermak rarely released intelligence to the general public, it is rumored that the Scandinvans have mobilized over a billion soldiers of their own. The Fuermak hopes to have a total of 500 million in the faraway country by the end of the year, with continued deployments throughout the coming winter. The goal is clear: maintain current territorial gains from which to launch next year's offensives.

The tank battle, called the Battle of Anver, is thought to form part of this titanic struggle as the Scandinvans attempt to slow the Macabéan offensive before the end of the autumn season. Aided by the Laerihans and Kriermada, the Ejermacht was able to defeat enemy forces defending a frontline that gravitated around the town of Anver to their rear.

Fighting for well over a month, intact Scandinvan tank forces withdrew to a line further north. The battle is said to have involved almost 10,000 tanks, with perhaps as many as half of those or more destroyed. It serves as one of the greatest armored clashes in the conflict so far, pitting Nakíls and Linces against Scandinvan D1M87s. The D1M87 are imported from Doomingsland and considered a direct competitor to the Macabéan Nakíl, both heavy tanks with large guns. The Lince is a smaller, more agile tank designed for anti-tank duties more strictly. Macabéan armor is said to have performed well, although the sheer scale of the battle guarantees a significant loss of life and material on both sides.

The military remains tight-lipped about both friendly and enemy casualties, although third-party estimates place Macabéan losses at 50,000–60,000 KIA, WIA, and MIA across the entire operation. Scandinvan losses are estimated at two or three times friendly casualties, although this truth depends on the quality of troop deployed by the enemy and is impossible to verify regardless.

Civilian casualties are also unknown, although perhaps millions are thought to have been displaced. Many of these are receiving humanitarian aid from the Golden Throne and other allied powers, including and especially the Skyan Republic. Assisting Scandinvan civilians with the war's hardships has been an important element of the Golden Throne's invasion, as it attempts to build a more moralistic image in favor of the ongoing and costly conflict.

What is clear is that the outcome of the battle has been a strategic victory for the Golden Throne, which is now operating at the southern foothills of the World's Spine. It has also cut off the south-central city of Bendred from Scandinvan forces to the east and north, aiding Imbrinumian ground troops investing the city from the south. The fighting has been tough and the outcome of the siege in doubt, but the extension of the eastern Macabéan front has relieved some pressure off of allied armies in the invasion and works to better solidify that flank as the Ejermacht's efforts continued to be more so focused on the north.

Of course, Bendred also threatens to become another anchor for the invasion. Macabéan forces have been investing the great port city of Drasdag almost since the amphibious operation first began in May, reaching the city by early June and fully surrounding it by the end of that month. The siege of the city has proved to require a dramatic amount of resources, tying down millions of troops that could otherwise fight further north or in the east. It has also tied down naval forces which, so far, have been left to dominate the southern approaches to Drana almost unopposed. While the Scandinvan navy remains on the northern side of the island, fighting against the building Gothic invasion of Shen Almaru, the Kríermada has limited its efforts to assisting ground forces take the major southern cities. Despite this help, the urban battles for Drasdag and Bendred rage on. The Fuermak must have hoped to take both by the end of the year, but inside military sources now say that although combat missions within the cities will continue throughout the winter, with decisive spring urban offensives planned to break any final resistance.

The "spring mentality" is not just reserved for the two major cities currently threatened with falling to Fuermak forces. The two principal prizes in the eyes of the Golden Throne remain Valdra, the seat of Scandinvan imperial power, and Valgard and commanders have always planned to fight for these cities in the second year of the invasion. Exact plans are highly classified, but the Imperial Bureaucracy has been careful to feed accurate timetable expectations to the media.

As evidence of this is the fact that the majority of Macabéan ground forces in theater are not fighting on the frontlines. Rather, they have been setting up defensive positions, including pillboxes, larger concrete forts, and trench lines that criss-cross a grim terrain that has seen too much of the war already. Again, the Fuermak is willing to give only the most ambiguous and superficial details. Clearly, however, large defensive operations are expected in the coming months.

Of course, the lack of transparency over the war effort has been a growing point of contention between the Imperial Bureaucracy and the media. It is something that we come to expect, given the Imperial Bureaucracy's long-time policy of limiting the deployment of journalists to the battlefield. The practice serves to better control the flow of information, often allowing the Golden Throne to report on continuing operations before third parties are able to. This has given the government the ability to better manipulate how news is presented and communicated. With the death toll in Gholgoth rising and given the ambiguity of the war's objectives, people are asking for greater visibility and more accurate public intelligence.

This policy of restrictive information flows is unlikely to change any time soon. In the meantime, we know that imperial Macabéan forces are still moving forward, pushing toward the World's Spine with the intention of maintaining their territorial occupations over the course of the 2028–29 winter. What exactly winter has in stock for the Fuermak is anybody's guess, although telling by the extent and depth of newly erected defensive fortifications and lines in the Macabéan rear the commanders are expecting quite the fight. What role the victory at Anver will play in how these events unfold will only be told by the course of time.

[Eitoan]

www.News-Herald.et.com

Opinion:
Pax Macabeanus?


Yes: It's Time To Face Facts

Tolor Emmerson, Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the Brznak and Blackstone Administrations,
Director, Institute for Strategic Policy Studies, Eitoan National Sciences Academby

With the advent of the long anticipated Northwest Mutual Assistance Agreement (NMAA), the question arises, is the region now stabilized under a Pax Macabeanus? I contend that for all intents and purposes Greater Dienstad is operating under such a regime.

The facts on the ground have been apparent for a long time, from the support of fledgling democracies in the Bay of Chains area, to buffeting fleet operations by Imbinium in Nicaro, to the smooth handoff of defensive responsibilities to contractors in Hailandkill, no other world power can match the ability to project strength or the flexibility of the forces at the disposal of The Golden Throne. More to the point for Eitoan, the shift in the balance of power has provided President Shrdlu and Foreign Affairs Secretary Field the opportunity for a long overdue reform in the foreign service. While there can be reasonable disagreements about the role of The Golden Throne in the west or the capabilities of the Ralkovian military, the proclivities of our foreign service to defer to the influence of our former metropolitan authority has long been a thorn in the side of both the Legislature and the Eitoan Armed Forces. From time to time in the past there has been a course correction toward neutrality, usually at the insistence of senior commanders, the tendency in Foreign Affairs has been overly considerate of Ralkovian interests since the early days of the Republic. The department’s reputation as a gentlemen’s club for elite university alumni has fostered that image, although there have been repeated efforts to remedy this. Since President Shrdlu’s inauguration, once again with the advice of our military, there has been an earnest effort at righting the direction of our foreign policy. This time, seizing the opportunity offered by Relica, and with the backing of The Golden Throne, the trade and mutual assistance agreements have given substance to a needed move toward regionalism in the Northwest, less prone to backsliding than previous efforts. There is much work to be done within Foreign Affairs, but the dream of mutual security and freer trade with our neighbors are now underway, and it is a good thing that it is sponsored by The Golden Throne.

One of the major components behind this Pax Macabeanus is the nation’s strong banking system. The privatized system has been able to provide financial rewards that far outstrip rival nations in the command economy and mixed economy models. In turn, the country’s lead in promotion of free trade through it’s leadership role in the Global Aerospace Trade Association (GATA) has expanded it’s influence beyond it’s leading trade partners to a truly global reach. Eitoan’s accession to GATA has already shown a payoff in the burgeoning distribution sector, in turn spurring demand for transportation and materials handling equipment and boosting the manufacturing sector. For Eitoan business, there’s no turning back from the benefits of GATA. And if the current college enrollment data are to be believed, some of the best and the brightest Eitoan students are flocking to Macabean universities, enough to cause concern to those stale ivory tower institutions that have failed to keep pace. The influence of that Macabean education will leave a permanent impact on the direction of this nation.

Despite the financial and manpower burdens of maintain far flung outposts, The Golden Throne maintains unparalled ability to wage war with massive requirements, as seen in the recent Battle of Anver. As the war in Drana, the imperial homeland of the Scandinvan people, brutally expands, the Golden Throne's Ejermacht claimed another victory at the Battle of Anver. To quote Lakota:

Almost three thousand Macabéan tanks, including both Nakíls and Linces, took part, with thousands of other armored vehicles and hundreds of thousands of men by their side. The battle took up much of western Drana, sprawling over a multi-hundred-kilometer front. The battle has opened up much of southern Drana to continued Macabéan advances toward what the Scandinvans call "The World's Spine," a major mountain range that cuts their country almost in half from west to east. Allied forces continue to besiege of Drasdag and Bendred, the two largest Scandinvan cities along the southwestern coastline.

With over 300 million Macabéan troops in Drana already, and another 600–700 million earmarked for deployment, the war has reached an advanced stage where both sides have fielded a considerable amount of manpower. Although the Fuermak rarely released intelligence to the general public, it is rumored that the Scandinvans have mobilized over a billion soldiers of their own. The Fuermak hopes to have a total of 500 million in the faraway country by the end of the year, with continued deployments throughout the coming winter. The goal is clear: maintain current territorial gains from which to launch next year's offensives.

The tank battle, called the Battle of Anver, is thought to form part of this titanic struggle as the Scandinvans attempt to slow the Macabéan offensive before the end of the autumn season. Aided by the Laerihans and Kriermada, the Ejermacht was able to defeat enemy forces defending a frontline that gravitated around the town of Anver to their rear.

There is no other nation that can muster comparable force. This power, alongside The Golden Throne’s economic influence is what drive any Pax Macabeanus.

The recent agreements with Relica and The Golden Throne also provides great leverage for Macabean forces on the continent. The use of bases in Eitoan reduces costs for it’s support of Barjaanistan’s government, and in conjunction with it’s bases in the Vallerian Republic flank any potential Ralkovian naval breakout into the Bay of Chains proper. As Eitoan and Relican forces modernize with Macabean equipement and communications, the combined militaries of the NMAA will have the capacity to operate seamlessly, providing a powerful force multiplier to on-continent militaries. This has been a long standing objective of the Army and Navy, and has been welcome by most parties in the Legislature.

Nor does this situation provide any provocation or threat to Ralkovia, the leading regional power. The Golden Throne has not shown any designs on Potthan, or on any Ralkovian allies, either on or off continent. Anti-slaving operations continue, but this is a long accepted practice, and should come as no surprise to anyone in the diplomatic community. Indeed, the economic growth spurred by GATA should be viewed by more forward thinking members of the Ralkovian Imperial Court as an opportunity for trade, and a better supply of high quality goods, more than can be provided under slaving conditions.

In conclusion, although conflict still flares in Zarbia and Gholgoth, and tensions abound in the Bay of Chains, there can be no question as to who holds the upper hand, both quantitatively and in the ability to sustain and enforce policy. We live in what can be described as Pax Macabeanus, and it is to President Shrdlu’s credit that Eitoan is facing that reality.

No: Shrdlu Sets A Dangerous Course

Miroslav Fleming, National Democrat Member of Dashez, Chair of the National Democrat Policy Review Committee

As a long time student of Eitoan policy, I can only view with dismay President Shrdlu’s departure from the norm in foreign affairs to pursue an uncertain and unsteady alliance with a leading off-continent power, turning away from the leading power on the continent, one with which we share many cultural and business ties. Trade with Ralkovia is still a significant factor, particularly in the export sector. Business ties with the Empire date to the establishment of many of our leading institutions during the colonial era, ones that are significant today. Eitoans need to ask their government, has the recent move toward closer ties with The Golden Throne come at the cost of Eitoan jobs? Will it sacrifice our financial institutions to the lust of greedy, underhanded foreign bankers? Who’s looking out for the little guy? Where does the average Eitoan fit into this so-called Pax Macabeanus?

And what of our shared heritage with Ralkovia? When colonists first came to Eitoan, we were a backwater monarchy, mired in ignorance and superstition. And those colonists gave us much of our national character, brutally, perhaps, but with a sense of order. Although we have operated somewhat successfully under the Republic, we must never forget that heritage! Perhaps a national renewal is in order. Freedom has generally been beneficial, and nobody is proposing to trash the Constitution, but can anyone say that the nation has benefitted when even the lowly Rozhroz practice their disgusting rites in Vlararsik? I maintain that the fine traditions of those early Ralkovian colonists be maintained where appropriate, that the nation continue it’s ties with The Empire. Although The Golden Throne can entice with it’s money, can it buy the soul of a nation? Sober minds must compare our heritage to what can be gained chasing after Macabean hegemony. Rather than selling out that heritage to the whims of a so-called liberal free market economy, would we be better off preserving what is ours? And couldn’t a model based on our Ralkovian heritage with relevant principles demonstrated by The Ordenite Reich provide as good a standard of living to productive Eitoans?

Make no mistake about it, the Ralkovian Empire maintains sufficient force to inflict harm, both on this continent and beyond. Prior to Mr. Shrdlu’s change of direction, we have maintained good relations with Ralkovia. Now we are yoked to The Golden Throne and Relica, the change in policy exposing this nation to retaliation in an uncertain future. It is true that The Golden Throne can project power in multiple theaters simultaneously, and that is to be respected. But when the chips are down, how many among our allies would be willing to die for Eitoan, in a war sparked by unnecessary provocation of The Ralkovian Throne? I am surprised and appalled that some in our armed forces would play such a reckless game!

The policy shift by President Srdlu and Secretary Field has been abrupt and has moved too fast under the assumption of ultimate Macabean hegemony. That “Pax Macabeanus” has yet to be challenged. But if challenged on this continent, Eitoan could be staring down the barrel of a Ralkovian response. A quiet Ralkovia may not be quiescent indefinitely toward Macabean initiatives on this continent, and it is in the interests of peace and security for Eitoan to turn back to consideration of these facts.

A Pax Macabeanus is neither a certainty nor without cost for Eitoan. The administration would be wise to tread lightly going forward.