The Global Standard (APSIA Only/IC)

[Sietsk]

04/21/2009 State of the Nation Intrigue and Deceit After being hospitalized due to a suspected poisoning, Gavril Wilhelmson from the Rykovian Party for National Unity dissapeared from the public eye for almost two years. The recent wave of protests have forced him to act. After making a public declaration outside the hospital, he had to be escorted by supporters of the RPNU and RSP, the current opposition in the National Assembly. The militia maintained by the Rykovian International Front has failed to catch him, and he is now leading the response of the "legitimate government". He and his supporters have released evidence that prove Sergey Miroslav's involvement in his poisoning, and the interference in the elections caused by RIF militias and supporters. Gavril Wilhelmson, in an undisclosed location The National Assembly is now boiling. The Rykovian Party for National Unity and the Rykovian Socialist Party have initiated a motion of no confidence against Sergey Miroslav, the acting president. Despite the Rykovian International Front gaining a supermajority in the National Assembly due to support from the Rykovian-Bulgarian and Rykovian-Ukrainian parties, it seems that these national parties have lost their faith in RIF, and will stop backing them. The RSP and RPNU have both acknowledged Vezr's report. RPNU's representatives have cited Gavril WIlhelmson's progress in battling corruption in order to ease unrest. It seems however that supporters of the RIF deny the authenticity of the report, and plan to "fight against lies". The Rykovian International Front is rumoured to have supported various communist and Rykovian movements worldwide, and it's Carpathian supporters have also been armed. The Chief of the General Staff, Taras Kaloyan, who has served under both Gavril Wilhelmson and Sergey Miroslav, declared that "the Carpathian army will continue to fulfill it's duty towards defending the country, and will not act according to the orders of a political party or another until the results of the vote are clear". He continued by saying that "the Army must be on constant lookout during these trying times, so as not to allow foreign interference to happen."

[Kaedween]

21st April, 2009
KAEDWEN DAILY




Marshal Fryderyk Szarner appointed MOD • Formation of 8 parties approved • Disturbances in Carpathia

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Economic Reforms, 1st 5 year plan announced


The National People's Congress of Kaedwen has approved the project of the newly appointed Minister of Economy, Foreign Trade and Economic Co-Operation Maciej Speerski during a session in which the future of Kaedwen's economic model has been decided. The grand project of Minister Speerski has been to drastically overhaul, modernize and liberalize the relatively closed economy of Kaedwen which has virtually collapsed following the Civil War. According to Minister Speerski the revitalisation and reform program will include 5 "back breaking" years of work for the people of Kaedwen as well as 5 years of non-stop economic reform.



Primary principles of the 1st 5 year plan


• In order for Kaedwen to achieve it's full sovereignty the central government has to establish a strong, national currency - the Kaedwen Złoty - which will allow for a greater degree of control of foreign influence and expand the capability of the government to deal with potential economic crisies. This new currency will not be backed by gold, silver or any other precious metals, however, as Kaedwen lacks significant reserves of such;

• In order to assure that the modernization of Kaedwen's economy can be performed as fast as possible the Armed Forces will take part in the construction and direction of the newly established factories, mines and other economic entities. The defense industry is imperative to both national security, technological progress and economic growth;

• "Let go of the small and grasp the giants" - the primary thought process of the 5 year economic reform plan is to reduce government interference in the affairs of small and medium bussinesses, by government mandate the local state governments have been granted authority to restructure and privatise small and medium state owned enterprises. At the same time major corporations of Kaedwen such as Orlen, Lotos, Kaedwen Coal and Steel Corporation and other major corporations will have higher degrees of control exercised on them, with some of the worst "monopolists" to be broken up into smaller, more managable corporations which will be managed by the newly formed State-owned Assets Suprevision and Administration Commission;

• Creation of new special economic zones for foreign investors and the general "opening up" of the Kaedwish economy is essential to continued growth and therefore the Ministry of Economy, Foreign Trade and Economic Co-Operation in cooperation with local governments will begin the establishment of new industrial special economic zones in major industrial hubs in Kaedwen such as Wrocław, Gdańsk, Warszawa, Poznań, Katowice

• The reconstruction of industries, housing and infrastructure caused by the Kaedwen Civil War must take high priority, with a new Public Works Agency being established and put under the suprevision of local governments as well as the State-owned Assets Suprevision and Administration Commission. Participation in the program is mandatory for all able-bodied men and women who are unemployed or do not pursue higher education for the duration of 5 years, unless SASAC determines that an early release of workers in a given region is possible. Education-based exemptions and veterans do not have to participate in PWA construction projects. The PWA will provide housing, if a person lacks appropiate accomodation, education for the role that a worker will fulfill in PWA projects (eg. electricians, mechanics, construction, logistics) as well as food and water rations and a minimal wage of a total of 1,560 KLN (Kaedwen Złoty) which will be adjusted for inflation as needed;

• The re-establishment of a stable middle class is paramount to the creation of a stable social enviroment in Kaedwen;

• The State has the duty to provide safety, education, healthcare and social security to all of it's people no matter the strata which will be achieved through the expansion of the Kaedwen education system, expansion of non-military law enforcement agencies and the creation of a new healthcare system which will encourage the cooperation of private healthcare with public healthcare as well as mandating companies, both state-owned and private, to ensure that their workers are provided health insurance;

• The agricultural system is inefficient and flawed and therefore major change must be made. To combat inefficiency, primarily the fault of outdated farming techniques, the government will provide additional subsidies to farmers as well as introduce a household responsibility system, in which farmers will have to be accountable for all the losses and profits their enterprises make as if their enterprise runs on a loss for too long it risks losing access to government subsidies for new agricultural equipment or the takeover by SASAC and redistribution to larger, more efficient agricultural companies. Struggling farmers will be collected into SASAC-owned agricultural enterprises which will then be handed over to local governments who will carry out the privatisation of those newly created enterprises - the owners of said farms will be compensated and should be allowed to continue working or even own parts of the newly created agricultural conglomerates;


Newly appointed Minister of Economy, Foreign Trade and Economic Co-Operation Maciej Speerski and the creator of the 5 Year Plan



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In other news
• Orlen and Lotos to receive permission to explore Baltic Sea oil and gas deposits
• Special economic zone to be created in Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot region
• Huta Stalowa Wola reopened for bussiness

[Toluca-]

June 22nd, 2009




Hutchinson's state visit to Santa Rosa postponed • Niagaran Investment in Mbale • Flanders War Escalates

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BREAKING: ASSAULT LEGION ATTACKS ROANOKE PD PRECINCT
Shots rang out in the quiet urban streets of Roanoke, Virginia, as the Assault Legion's 4th Cohort, armed with M4A1 rifles, military-grade equipment and two M1 Abrams tanks, smashed into the Roanoke PD's largest police station, often called 'the Un-Official Fort,' owing to it's size and capabilties.

The assault began at 4AM, as the Cohort's legendary Fury Platoon flung open the doors of the lobby, killing every occupant with a hail of bullets. As officers scrambled to defend the station, fire from Legionist tanks created chaos inside the building.

As the hours passed, vicious fighting ocurred between the Legionists and the police officers, with SWAT teams and the Virginia army reserve being deployed to contain the 4th Cohort. Five hours later, all the Legionist attackers were dead, captured or escaped, but at the cost of hundreds of police lives.

Roanoke, and Virginia as a whole, as been a hotspot for Legionist-Democrat violence since 2006. Brawls, shootings, fights have almost become common place. But this severe escalation marks a turning point in the Legionist ethos, and the tapestry of Niagara's history. Legionism has finally become openly anti-government, and it is likely this won't be the last time blood is spilt between Legionists and the authorities.




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In other news...
• I'm tired of pursuing vapid pleasures to fill the void in my heart. I just want her.

[Toluca-]

September 18th, 2009




Crushing naval battle in the Channel • Holden Cox lynched in Texas • Niagarans fall on harder times

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VARGAS AFFIRMS FREE MARKET SUPPORT
Leo Vargas, Chairman of the CLF, held a small press conference today which detailed Legionist economic beliefs in greater detail. "The Legionist Struggle", "Neuschwanstein" and "Ill World", what are considered to be the holy trinity of Legionist literature, don't speak much about Legionism's economic beliefs.

Vargas' has affirmed Legionism is a free market, capitalist viewpoint, and that fervent corporate competition represents the ideals of struggle that Legionist ethos is based around. Vargas said, in rather round about terms, that the CLF actually mostly supports Hutchinsonite economic policy, though criticised the Upper Committee for not de-regulatin corporate practices further, and not introducing the 'necessary' dogmatic property rights required for a strong economy.

While some Legionists subscribe to a more left wing economic view, and criticised Vargas for his comments, this has overall increased cohesion among Legionist supporters.



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In other news...
• [Intro]
Yo
Big Shaq, the one and only
Man's not hot, never hot
Skrrat (GottiOnEm), skidi-kat-kat
Boom

[Yustrait]

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September 29th, 2009

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Chancellor Ernst Römheld Appoints HLR AG Senior Partner, Hedge Fund Pioneer, Ernst Lutz as Imperial Minister of Finance, Receives Assent from Reichsrat, Ernst Lutz Enacts Fiscal & Regulatory Correction Act

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The Office of the Chancellor has issued a statement to the press today, revealing that the Reichsrat has approved Chancellor Ernst Römheld's nomination of 70-year-old Ernst Lutz as the Imperial Minister of Finance. This comes after the previous Landersvicher finance minister, Ibrahim Staudenmaier, resigned on September 15th following a barrage of criticism from Bundesrat President Ernst Nowitzki that resulted in the Reichsrat almost unanimously voting to repeal the 04.08.2008 Staudenmaier SEZ Act. According to the press release, Oskar Deutsch will continue to serve as the Imperial Deputy Minister of Finance. In a separate statement, Mr. Lutz revealed that he has talked with Reichsrat President Vinzent Schwann, with whom he managed to arrange for the Reichsrat to sign a Letter of Intent that grants the new finance minister carte blanche for economic policy for the next 12 months, in hopes of taking the Landersvicher economy out of its stagnation phase. Mr. Lutz has also alluded to the notion of closer ties with the Niagara Union, French Federation and Bisingen.

Born in 1939, Ernst Lutz, the son of Wilhelm Lutz, has been a Senior Partner at Handel, Lutz & Roechmeyer AG since 1979. Mr. Lutz joined the firm as a Junior Associate in 1965. In 1970, he was promoted to Vice President of Personal Financial Management at HLR's Consumer & Investment Management pillar, where he pioneered the hedge fund structure. Mr. Lutz pooled LDM 450 million from several high-net-worth individuals and locked it up in Lutz Vermögensverwaltung Gesellschaft KG, an investment fund that employed leverage and short positions in equities in order to generate trend-defying, market-neutral returns. The firm was then integrated into HLR's Consumer & Investment Management pillar as HLR Asset Management GmbH, and Ernst Lutz was made the CIO & Managing Director of Consumer & Investment Management of HLR AG. In 1992, he formed the Hedge Fund Investment Management division, separated it from Consumer & Investment Management and brought on Walter Goldstein as his deputy, who replaced him in 1993.

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In the years 1971-1992, Ernst Lutz headed the management committee that oversees Handel, Lutz & Roechmeyer Master Portfolio KG, HLR's flagship hedge fund that has mandates from the richest and most powerful people in Landersvich, with LDM 150 billion in assets under management. Known for employing aggressive and high-risk trading strategies and other systematic strategies and its global exposure, the fund provided Ernst Lutz with an opportunity to look at the global financial system and economy from an apolitical, pragmatic and unimpassioned perspective that lead to him developing a series of policy prescriptions based on a unique blend of neoliberalism and neoclassical economic theories and application of the efficient market hypothesis. Mr. Lutz believes that capital markets are only efficient in theory and are full of inefficiencies as a result of fiscal and monetary policy. He has hailed the Landersvicher financial system as the only market with little to no inefficiencies and highlighted the importance of a foreign policy that establishes Landersvich's neutral, fiduciary role in international affairs.

In a press release, the new finance minister revealed that he has signed the 29.09.2009 Fiscal & Regulatory Correction Act into law, with approval from most members of the Reichsrat. The new law introduces a new tax code that imposes a 10% VAT, 10% Corporate Income Tax, 5% Financial Services Income Tax, 0.5% CGT, 22.5% PIT for individuals earning less than 30,000 marks annually and 30% PIT for individuals earning more than 30,000 marks annually. FRCA also introduces legal recognition of hedge funds and the role they play in the Landersvicher economy, and offers an exemption from taxes and financial regulatory oversight to Landersvicher and foreign firms that manage hedge funds with more than LDM 50 million in client assets under management and an exposure to Landersvicher securities greater than 5% of the value of non-cash positions. These hedge funds pay a tax of 0.1% of their annual returns and are subject to very loose commercial regulations. According to people familiar with the matter, Mr. Lutz is also considering more restrictive banking secrecy laws and higher tax rates. Other supposed elements of Mr. Lutz's agenda include the formation of a sovereign wealth fund and a more pragmatic foreign policy.

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[Unified Capitalist Kingship]

October 8th, 2009




Jall Hamal Still Missing, Army of The 12 Hamals determined to find him. Bisinginers see a 7% boost among citizen popularity. Several door frames found destroyed after Stainslaw visit to Beijing.

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Suez Expansion: The Next Stage of Yahel?






Many questions have been raised during this tense year in Yaheli history. With the announcement of the 10 year plan and its estimated $312Bn in annual funding, the main question has been; Who will be seeing this money? With the confirmation of the national development congress, many citizens are worried that none of these funds will see to many of the issues that plague Yahel. Chancellor Mohammad Bin Salman has been quick to ease concerns, going on record saying that massive police reforms are underway, and that national security is his foremost concern.

Mohammad Bin Salman was also ecstatic to announce the federal governments plan to undergo a massive expansion in the Sinai region. The plan aims to turn Sinai from a relatively rural area into a thriving hub of international trade. While exact details on the logistics of the plan are still up in the air, economic advisor Santana Klaus has released a road map of the project and its goals throughout the next ten years. The plan included aspects such as an expansion of the Suez canal, agricultural development and new urban construction.

Suez Expansion
The Suez stands as one of, if not the most important straits in the world, seeing up endless amounts of oil passing through it at any time, as well as being the fastest water route from Europe to Asia. It is undoubtedly one of global trades essential arteries, yet remains a fraction of what it could be. Currently, the canal has only one lane of passage, restricting movement to only one direction at any given time. Under the Sinai development plan, a second lane will be constructed, allowing for multi-directional travel between the Mediterranean and Red Sea. Additionally, we will be seeing the deepening and expansion of a 37-kilometre-long (23 mi) section of the existing canal. This is expected to double the capacity of the Suez canal, allowing for roughly double the ships to utilize the strait at the same time, as well as cut down the average travel time from 18 to 11 hours. This project is expected to cost in the ballpark of $10Bn, said amount being covered by the funds allocated for the 10 year plan.

Urban Expansion
The Suez region suffers from a lack of accessibility, the canal its self making the cities of Port Said and Port Fouad largely disconnected both from each other, as well as the rest of Yahel. a $5.2Bn project under the development plan has been approved, green lighting the digging of seven new tunnels connecting the cities better to mainland Yahel. Three tunnels will be dug in Port Said (two for cars and one for railways) and four will be dug in Ismaïlia (two for cars, one for railways, and one for other special uses). Additionally, constructed apart of this plan, will be 420 meter long floating bridge between the cities of Port Said and Fouad, operated by tugboats, which will allow for the more efficient movement of equipment and manpower between the two cities, as well as providing easier movement of Salamuti goods and citizens into between Yahel and Salamut.

We will also be seeing the development of Suez-adjacent ports, with the largest of these expansions being in Port Said. Said port has been chosen due to its importance as apart of the Sinai region. Eastern Port-said Port lies on the north western entrance of the Suez Canal branch which is a unique location because it connects 3 continents. The design of the port is geometrically ideal. The port was built in 2004 to serve international trading and act as a transit centre between the continents. The port borders the Mediterranean Sea from the north, the industrial zone from the south, the salty lakes from the east, and the Suez Canal branch from the west. The port development council plans to build docks that will reach 12 km long (in contrast to the ports current 45 square km size) and an industrial zone south of the port covering 78 square km. Three stages are to completed to improve the port:

Stage one: creating 8 stations with docks 8 km long
Stage two: creating 15 station with docks 16 km long
Stage three: creating 21 stations with docks 25 km long

Other ports surrounding the region will see more modest improvements, such as El-Sokhna's Port, Al Arish's Port and El-Adabiya's port. El-Sokhna will see a new general goods centre, as well as a 1.3 km dock which is planned to work with more than 1 million containers yearly. Al Arish is planned to construct new logistic centres, storage areas, yacht docks and a 2 km dock which will include containers station and a general goods station. Lastly, El-Sokhna will see general improvements to infrastructure and new modern equipment to better service more ships once the Suez expansion is completed.






The eastern wing of Ismaïlia city will be seeing new exciting development as well. A project known as "Technology Valley" has been approved, spanning a total of 16,100 acres, this expansions is to be a shining model of middle eastern urban development going forward, boasting modern and sleek architecture, planning, infrastructure and cultural pizazz. The expansions goal is to be the first step in a series of strides in developing Yahel's electronics industry for manufacturing technological devices. The city will be seeing hefty tax cuts as well as other corporate benefits to help attract leading corporations from across the world, including, but not limited to Canton, Niagara, France and Bisingin.

To the north east is a zone of space cordoned off to be the new Sinai Industrial Zone. This project will cover 910 acres of land north east of the Gulf of Suez with plans for expansion. The first stage of the project covers 132 acres and it is done with a rough cost of 1.5 million dollars. The second stage is 132 acres and will begin construction once stage one was become partially operational. Currently there are planned to be 79 factories to be constructed. upon finishing the project it will provide 9386 work opportunities to the citizens of Sinai. The chairman of the port development council has also announced that the government will be building eighteen government owned factories in the industrial zone which will include:




a glass factory, car assembling factory, electronics factory, medicines factory, textiles factory, furniture factory, paper factory, sugar factory, food factory, petrochemicals factory, petrol refining factory, light metal manufacturing factory, and a minerals factory. The chairman of the port development council also stated that ship factories and services will be built among the Suez Canal corridor which include: catering and services centre for ships, ship manufacturing and repair centre, a centre for manufacturing and repairing containers, and logistic redistribution centers. Confirmation has also come that French companies will be developing a section of the industrial zone after a meeting between leaders of the federal economic council and representatives from the French government. Currently, 4 French companies will be contributing to the French Industrial Zone, with expectation of expansion in the future.

Last in the plan lies "New Ismailia City", which is planned to cover 16,500 acres of land. This new city will be created to accommodate approximately 500,000 Yaheli's in order to relieve the pressure from the crowded cities of Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem. The location of this city is designed to accommodate the workers of the nearby Wadi Al-technologiya (Technology Valley) which will be built in the following years. Included in this city is the Suez aquaculture development. The Suez aquaculture development plans to construct several new fish farms on the eastern side of the Suez Canal. The project includes twenty three tanks that cover 120 square km with depth of 3-5m. It will cover the area from southern Tafrea to the gulf of Suez. This project is designed to produce high quality fish for food, able to be both sold domestically and internationally. The project included the building of solar panels that produce Up to 2500 megawatts and reform 400,000 acres of land in northern Sinai into farming land using the El Salam Canal.

[Toluca-]

Government Memo December 9th, 2009 The Limited Democracy Act (2009) ​ The Limited Democracy Act is hereby passed in the Upper Committee of the Niagara Union. The Limited Democracy Act is intended to serve two purposes: the establishment of formal, consistent and unified local subdivisions, the county (under the state level), and establish a system of local, democratic elections to determine local government heads. These local government heads (leading a county, known as County Mayor, or simply mayor) will make up the body of Niagara's new lower house, the House of Mayors. In addition to standardised local subdivisions, and the new House of Mayors, each state in the Union's governor will be elected by that state's mayors. The Upper Committee and the Office of the President reserves the right to remove any mayor from their positions. Elections for County Mayors will occur in February of 2010. Roman G. Dean President of the Union