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by **Yisroel** » Thu Dec 19, 2019 2:14 pm

Trending Stories -- Polls: Katz Ahead, Goldschmidt Edges Kaduri For Second -- War In Enyama -- GA Ruler Seeks Expulsion Of All Foreign Forces

Roth Group: Veremundo Foreign Forces-Expulsion Order Is "Illegal Interference In Private Contracts" And Will Be Refused

_{Pictured: Dominion Tower, the headquarters of the Roth Group, owner of the Pyrion Defense Group PMC currently operating in the GA.}

Echoing Latin and Lusittian refusals to comply with the princely order to expel all foreign forces, state or private, from Gran Aligonia, the Yisraeli conglomerate refuses to pull out its PMC operating on the islands.
^{December 17th, 2019| By Binyomin Eisenberger (beisenberg@ryd.org) | 10:16am EDT}

YERUSHALAYIM, YISRAEL — In an unexpected development in the ongoing 2 month-old anti-monarchy and leftist protests in Gran Aligonia, beleaguered Aligonian head of state Prince Veremundo Abellán issued a shocking and scathing xenophobic-tinged speech yesterday ordering the expulsion of all foreign armed forces, whether members of a military of a legitimate political state or private organizations, within 48 hours. Already, senior officials in Latium and Lusittia have released statements refusing to comply with the controversial order. Latin political leaders cited the failure of Aligonian authorities to comply with provisions on cancelling the Latin military garrison governed by the 1950s-era Treaty on the Defense and Guarantee of Gran Aligonia. The Government of Lusittia has also refused to comply, citing the "humiliating offense" against the country. Both nations have ordered their troops at full alert, have issued travel advisories urging their citizens to evacuate Gran Aligonia or seek sanctuary in areas under their military control, and have threatened to use lethal force to defend their military facilities.

Yisraeli PMCs In Gran Aligonia Will Not Comply With Order, Roth Group Announces

Joining the fray, Vice-President for Corporate Communications Eliezer Green released a statement to the press from the Roth Group, the largest Yisraeli conglomerate and a major global corporation, that it, too, will refuse to comply with the foreign-forces expulsion order regarding its private military contractor the Pyrion Defense Group which is operating on the trans-Periclean isles on behalf of Aligonian and other corporate and individual clients.

Green said:

One of our subsidiaries, the Pyrion Defense Group, has been lawfully operating in Gran Aligonia in full compliance with Yisraeli and Aligonian law. Our legal team here at Roth Group, in consultations with local Aligonian legal counsel, have researched and analyzed Prince Veremundo's expulsion order as well as governing Aligonian statutes and legal precedents, and we found that the Aligonian Government has no valid basis to expel Pyrion or its employees from the GA. In short, the order is an illegal interference in private contracts. We will be pursuing all legal remedies to null and void this princely order, but as it stands we have full authority and legality to continue to operate under duly signed and valid contracts with our Gran Aligonia-based clients, and any use of force by Aligonian state security forces against Pyrion employees will be unlawful and our contractors will use reasonable use of force to defend themselves.

Foreign Ministry Weighs In, Backing Roth's Move

The Foreign Ministry - whose head, FM Yizchok Katz, is the leading 2020 presidential candidate - released an official statement on behalf of the Feldman administration supporting the Roth Group's move in unequivocal terms, perhaps illustrating the Feldman government's hardening position to entrench its role in Gran Aligonia, as well as the Roth Group's deep ties to the administration and to the His Majesty's Royal Government in general.

"Our legal analysts concur with the finding that the Roth Group cited, and Yisrael stands behind its citizens and companies in being able to legally do business where and when permitted in the face of threats by local authorities to subvert the local and international rule of law. We have issued an advisory to our citizens in the GA to 'exercise extreme caution' and, if needed, seek safety at the Yisraeli embassy in Villa Romera. Any action by Aligonian authorities to enforce this illegal princely expulsion order - whether by police, security forces, or other armed units - against Yisraeli citizens will engender a proportional response by our nation."

Closely-Timed Defense Ministry Reports Indicates Foreign-Ministry Warning Supported By Prepatory Military Actions

Less than an hour after the Roth Group and Foreign Ministry statements, the Defense Ministry announced that elements of the Royal Yisraeli Navy's Periclean Fleet Command would be initiating freedom-of-navigation exercises in the Bay of Ascalzar region, which is less than 50 miles from the western edge of Gran Aligonia.

The flotilla, led by the RYN Ashkelon, a frigate, along with 3 destroyer escorts, 2 littoral combat ships, and a squadron of missile boats, have already left port for the exercises.

One anonymous source in the Naval High Command staff has revealed that Yisrael's single independent Marine brigade, the 1st 'Levasin' Marine Assault Brigade, has been put on the highest alert short of wartime readiness and that rarely-used naval transport and amphibious assault ships have seen unusual levels of attention by naval readiness officers.

Binyomin Eisenberger reported from Yerushalayim, Yisrael. None of these organizations are associated with the RYD, and all opinions and personal views in the article do not reflect the viewpoints of the RYD or their employees.

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by **Belfras** » Thu Dec 19, 2019 4:21 pm

By Pius Vala, International Correspondent.
^{19/DEC/2019 | Thessalona, Salonika}

THESSALONA, BELFRAS — Anti-monarchist protests occurring in Gran Aligonia have been eclipsed in the international spotlight recently when embattled head-of-state Prince Veremundo Abellán issued a statement that provoked immediate hostile responses from the nations of Latium, Lusittia, and Yisrael - Nations that the Prince himself called out in particular as utilising the island nation as a bargaining chip when ordering all foreign military forces off of the island.

An immediate response to the statement issued by the Prince seemed to have mixed amongst the anti-monarchist protesters, with some being appeased and some seeming to become more enraged to a point of rioting occurred. A firefight is also reported to have broken out when the police force of the island - the Xendarmeria - allegedly attempted to arrest members of a Latium-registered security organisation, with a unconfirmed death toll of eleven souls being reported by Xornal Xeral de Aligonia.

International reactions to the incident have been of varying degrees of hostile, but hostile none-the-less. All three national governments accused of interference in Aligonian affairs have outright refused to agree to the eviction order given by Prince Abellán in his address, with Latium and Lusittia threatening to retaliate should the Xendarmeria attempt to storm their military installations on the island. Yisrael, the third nation, has ordered similar measures whilst also appearing to go further, with Royal Yerushalayim Dispatch reporting intense levels of deployments being carried out by the country's naval force, the Royal Yisraeli Navy.

In response to the rapidly escalating crisis, the Sovereign Prince Nicholaus has made a statement

The events that have been unfolding in Gran Aligonia have long been a concern to the Federation. Now, with this rapid escalation in tension and the high possibility of violence on the horizon, I feel that it is time for cooler heads to prevail. I believe that the words of Prince Veremundo Abellán in his address were incendiary, yes, but perhaps were said with wholly good intent behind them, and I applaud his attempt to work with the protesters in such an intense situation. His words upon the issue of the eviction of foreign personnel and military forces have been the primary cause of tensions to escalate as they have in such a short period of time on the international stage.

As for my fellow national leaders for Lusittia, Latium, and Yisrael - Two of my nation's allies being amongst these three - their reactions have left me with disappointment, first and foremost. Nothing that they have said have done anything to even attempt to soothe these tensions, to balm the wounds now inflicted upon them by Prince Abellán. Of course, they may indeed be talking to the Prince right now behind closed doors. If they are not, I would pray for them to find it in them to do so instead of following this dangerous course. I have already spoken, at length, to President Noah Feldman in an attempt to pass along this disappointment and to urge him to attempt to follow a diplomatic path. I have told him that the news coverage regarding possible naval deployments of the Royal Yisraeli Navy, possibly in an show of force to help protect their people in Gran Aligonia, would only help the opponents calling for violence to be made against them.

My companions of Latium, a nation held most dear and close to the hearts of any man and woman who calls themselves true Belfrasians. Their efforts in appealing for calm before now are to be lauded, praised as they should be for following the guiding light of our predecessors and their noble actions. However, to abandon this course in the face of this eviction order is not advisable. While it is wholly necessary to prepare for any eventuality, one must remember that anything can be made an item of incendiary value when it is propagated on the world stage. I would call on them to continue their path of peaceful resolution, as the guarantee of violence meeting violence is always assured and needs no open declaration.

It is my utmost hope that peace and quiet will win the day, allowing for cool heads to prevail and forge ahead a path straight, true, and free from the blood that is now threatening to overflow into the Periclean.

The speech by Prince Abellán also had a significant democratic fervor about it, with the Prince going so far as to admit he had 'too much power' and that amendments to fix this would follow. Pro-democratic parties in the Federation, such as Liberat Popular Pars, have praised the Prince, with party head Messiena Saunio hinting that such measures that worked in Gran Aligonia may have similar effects in Belisaria and, indeed, within the Federation itself. Such sentiments have been denounced by the Secretary of State, Konstantina Golia, who said "Attempting to provoke such actions that have occurred in Gran Aligonia within the Federation - Actions that include illegal gathering, mayhem, destruction, and death, is illegal and I would remind Messiena Saunio that any violence that occurs as a result of her inflammatory words will have legal consequences."

More as the story develops with BNS.

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by **Lusittia** » Thu Dec 19, 2019 7:32 pm

» Lusittian troops will stay where they are, says Foreign Secretary
» In another shocking event of the Aligonian crisis, tensions between GA and Lusittia increases

Renato Gusmão (@renatogusmao)
16 Dec, 2019 | Castelonovo

The Lusittian military base at the island of
Porta Mobria, in Gran Aligonia.
© Júlio da Silva

CASTELONOVO - Amid the political crisis that affected Gran Aligonia over the past months, a surprising yet terrific statement released by Prince Veremundo and backed by the moderate politician Leuter Sion issues the complete withdrawn of both Lusittian and Latin forces from their military bases within 48 hours, breaking the Lusittian-Aligonian Cooperation Accord and completely betraying the trust of the Lusittian leadership.

Hours after the order was issued, an emergency cabinet meeting was held in the Villasboas Palace which included military leaders as well. After that, Foreign Secretary Patrício Buarque, accompanied by the general and commandant of the military base at Porta Mobria Afonso Lemos, announced to the press that the troops will stay where they are, claiming that such decision goes against the clauses determined by the Aligonian defence treaty: “Given the number of irregularities that the dispatch has and the provisions set up by the Lusittian-Aligonian Cooperation Accord, we decided to keep our troops where they are and don’t respect such humiliating offence against the Lusittian institutions present there.”

OTHER NEWS
Opinion: the Aligonian
monarchy will not
resist (7,281)
EPC poll: PSD ahead
with 37% of votes (6,097)
Castelonovo's Watercolour
Exhibition begins
this week (5,114)
Temperatures drops to
12 C°in the Meridians (3,563)
Woman is assassinated by
ex-husband
in Pinheiros (2,005)

Buarque also urged Lusittian nationals still present in Aligonia to leave the country immediately or seek refuge in the embassy at Villa Romera. General Lemos, when questioned by journalists about what the military forces will do if Aligonian soldiers come to the base, said that the Lusittian troops will defend their integrity “whenever means necessary.”

Prime Minister Maynard declared this afternoon that today’s decree is one of the worst attacks committed against Lusittian sovereignty: “This decree is one of the worst attacks against our sovereignty, the Aligonian defence treaty and international law. Our country was never been so hostilized by arrogant and disrespectful leaders such as Mr Feldman and Prince Veremundo, who only proved to be true that he is unfit to occupy the Aligonian throne. These are indeed darker days for our region and particularly for all Aligonian citizens.”

Currently, the situation in Porta Mobria and its neighbouring areas are considerably quiet, with no atypical movement being seen neither on the villages nor in the military base itself. However, this could suddenly change as time moves closer to the deadlock and hypothetical situations like a crossfire aren’t discarded by the Lusittian military command. However, one thing that is certain by everyone from the government and armed forces is the fact that the events that will happen soon could change the history of Scipia and end the friendly relations between Lusittia and Gran Aligonia forever.

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© 2019 Diários Associados Corporation

OTHER NEWS

Opinion: the Aligonian monarchy will not resist (7,281)
EPC poll: PSD ahead with 37% of votes (6,097)
Castelonovo's Watercolour Exhibition begins this week (5,114)
Temperatures drops to 12 C°in the Meridians (3,563)
Woman is assassinated by ex-husband in Pinheiros (2,005)

by **Arthurista** » Mon Dec 23, 2019 10:47 am

CRISIS IN GRAN ALIGONIA
Whither the Arthuristan response?
(Premium subscriber article)

Anna Hannigan
Associate Analyst
Lion's Rock
23 December 2019

It is a generally accepted tenet that the Arthuristan establishment does not do 'gesture politics'. They have nothing but contempt for such plebian pandering antics. Doing something for the purposes of 'Ideological solidarity', for example, supporting other countries purely on the basis that they are also more or less capitalistic or democracies, strikes its members as nothing short of absurd. That is not to say that they do not recognise ideologies as a force in international politics. They recognise that, as a force, ideologies are very real. They simply believe the notion that the very members of their circle ought to internalise and believe in said ideologies to be idiotic. They use ideology as a tool, to mobilise the peasantry or as a stick to beat their opponents when it is convenient to do so, nothing more.

Rather, in the sphere of international relations, they only take action where called upon by strict necessity to defend or advance Arthuristan interests. Where there are no Arthuristan interests at stake, such as in Gran Aligonia, it suits them to do nothing whatsoever. After all, the Periclean is, for the purposes of Arthuristan policy-maker, within the Latin/Lihnidosi sphere of influence, which Arthurista respects scrupulously in order to avoid antagonising either of those major powers to no discernible end, or for that matter Lusittia or Yisrael or other states in the area. This was in line with how Loweport allowed Belfras to take the lead during the Tikal military intervention earlier in the year.

Arthurista's official pronouncements thus far had been in accordance with the above - a study in using every meaningless platitude in the dictionary "calm", "restraint", "negotiations", "peaceful resolution", "non-violent solution" - in order to avoid the very appearance of taking a side whilst on the face of it sounding very, very concerned about a volatile situation.

It is thus rather curious that the latest leak of a Foreign Office document was allowed to occur. I write "allowed to occur" because, whilst genuine leaks do happen from time to time, it is well-known that most leaks are for all intents and purposes unofficial press briefings of the Arthuristan government's true position without having to officially broadcast said position. Government informational security is, after all, generally very good. The chances that an intranet designed to withstand the best of the Stasi's cyberwarfare capabilities would leak with such monotonous regularity as it seems to do is surely impossible.

This latest leak is a legal opinion from the renowned Michelle Whitmore SC, an highly experienced barrister who is also a lecturer at University College Loweport in Public International Law. She was instructed by the Foreign Office to clarify the legal position over the Latin military bases on Gran Aligonia. Her conclusions are nothing short of illuminating.

"'Pactum sunt Servanda' is the basis of all law," the conclusion of the 35-page document reads, "whether private or public, domestic or international, agreements must be honoured, and the obligations one assumes by one's own volition must be discharged."

"There is a treaty in place which provides for the presence of a Latin military force. The treaty expressly provides for the circumstances under which it may be terminated, and sets out mechanisms to do so. Any departure from it is prima facie a violation of the treaty. Latium is well within its rights to insist that its troops stay in place unless and until the treaty is lawfully terminated."

"Is this position inconsistent with the principle of Gran Aligonian sovereignty, as some have argued? The inevitable answer is 'no'. Entering into a treaty is an exercise of a state's sovereign power. To allow foreign forces to be based on one's soil, to commit to lowering tariffs or the emission of greenhouse gasses - these may all to a greater or lesser extent amount to a constraint upon a state's freedom of action. However, the fact that a state has freely entered into such an agreement means that such an agreement does not represent not an abrogation of sovereignty, but a manifestation of it. To argue that a state's sovereignty is eroded if not allowed to break a treaty at will is similar to arguing that an individual's liberty is constrained if he is not allowed to breach a contract he has freely consented to. Such an argument is entirely without merit."

The interesting question at this juncture is therefore as follows: why was this leaked at all? Recall what was written above about how leaks are essentially deniable position papers of the government, representing things which they wish to say but cannot officially express. From the Foreign Office’s perspective, such a leak may make sense. Arthurista has little in the way of critical national interest in the west Periclean area, apart from continued stability in Talakh, as well as the maintenance of the frozen status quo between Yisrael and Sydalon. Gran Aligonia does not impact upon any of the above. In fact, for all intents and purposes, an unofficial indication of support for Latium is, for Arthurista, an entirely cost-free way of currying favour with Latium without placing any of its critical interests at risk. If Gran Aligonia objects, well, what real measures can they take in response? From this standpoint, there seems to be little reason at all not to arrange for a legal opinion to be drafted, specifically in order for it to be leaked. This fits the Foreign Office's previous modus operandus to a tee.

by **Enyama** » Mon Dec 23, 2019 1:49 pm

Pyrion Defense Group contractors in Gran Aligonia.

As international tensions rise, Gran Aligonia begins democratization, first-ever election cycle

By: Lorenzo Novoa
23 December 2019

VILLA ROMERA - Prince Veremundo’s anti-imperialist turn and agreement with the AAFT has sent ripples through both the Archipelago and through various international forces; Latium and Lusittia have refused to comply with the eviction notice served against their bases on the 16th of December, while Yisrael has responded to the threat against their influence with a deployment of naval forces that Director-General Segarra of the Xendarmeria described on Saturday as “military posturing” and “gunboat diplomacy in preparation for proxy warfare that Aligonians want nothing to do with.”

Notably, the situation in Gran Aligonia has drawn the eyes of such nations as Ghant, Belfras, and Arthurista; Leuter Sion of the AAFT, when queried about the distant nations’ newfound interest in the Aligonian situation, had this to say:

“Oh, well, if you ask me, it’s perfectly obvious. They’re responding to perhaps the most blatant internal threat to their base of power. Notice that all of these nations have strong monarchical traditions, and on many occasions, monarchical power to several degrees above what one would consider “constitutional”.

Gran Aligonia was an old and entrenched monarchy, and certainly among the last places on the world that, say, a diplomat in a royal court, would have ever expected to fall to this tide of democratization, which, of course, they are demonizing as equivalent with the same path as authoritarian socialism, or else some similar half-assed system as what one sees in these Kiso nations. It’s not that, obviously, it’s simply a spirit of self-determination, and one that is much harder to stop, especially in a time when a concept such as power in the hands of a bloodline instead of someone proved to be competent is becoming increasingly eclipsed by literally any alternative.

I would argue that, had these monarchies not been so adamant about maintaining their power, the red tide of Liothidia, or Ostrozava, or Jhengtsang, would have never risen to serve as a reactionary counterweight.

But will any of this foreign posturing amount to anything? No. That’s damage control for their own people, and for the greater international community. Our main obstacles now are the nations that were directly entangled in the minutiae of our foreign policy, so, Yisrael, Latium, Lussitia. And now, they’re desperate enough to be weighing their military options. Surprising? Unfortunately, no. This...well, democratic route to democracy is far more threatening to any entrenched power than, say, the IDR, which barely made any ripple in their news on account of them being so radical as to be immediately dismissed by anyone of moderate political credibility.

Luckily, we are in a better position than it would initially seem, as for every kilogram of pressure that foreign influences continue to exert over our Archipelago, more and more people see that they are the obvious enemy. If they really want to keep their power here, they will have to drop their facade of civilization and reveal themselves for the power-hungry imperialists they have become.”

Domestically, however, foreign interference has been overshadowed by what Veremundo and Sion are calling the “New Century Democratization Initiative”; namely, a Princely decree issued on the 20th that outlined a plan for the abolition of the monarchy following the small Principality’s first-ever nationwide election for leader, scheduled for January 15th, 2020. Sion has already noted that he is ready to run for the position of Chancellor, while Veremundo has indicated that he may also run “in good faith” against his ally in reform; the move towards overt democratization is expected to appease those in the Migrant Worker’s Union; Bishop Marin, on the other hand, has denounced the election as a “power-hungry ploy”, and instructed his followers to keep rioting.

Foreign troops remain in their bases, restricted to the immediate area by large numbers of Xendarmes; the government has reportedly initiated mechanisms for “immediate legal termination of base treaties, as a replacement for the stopgap measure of eviction.” Nevertheless, tensions remain high as many corporate interests, many in cooperation with foreign powers such as Yisrael’s Roth Group or Latin casino moguls, now find themselves restrained by government degree in what had until recently been a deregulated wild west.

In a recent statement, Veremundo clarified his views on competing foreign interests while preemptively declining nomination for the 2019 Ismos Peace Prize:

“...no, I never meant to imply an air of xenophobia, as those in the Royal Yerushalayim Dispatch suggested. Foreign interference and foreign participation are two different if related concepts. By all means, Gran Aligonia will continue to seek healthy diplomatic relationships with any willing to be our friend, but we will not tolerate corporate interests of foreign powers being held above the personal interests of Aligonian citizens. Put simply, that is neocolonialism.

The fact is as simple as this; a treaty written in 1950, or 1966, or even 1999, cannot reflect the geopolitical needs of the people of Gran Aligonia today. I cannot believe the absurdity and contrivance of arguments that those with a stake in our islands have gone to in order to justify their continued presence here. Days ago, Prime Minister Maynard of Lusittia called our eviction notice “one of the worst attacks against [their] sovereignty”? This is absurd, and clearly the words of a woman that does not know what having one’s sovereignty threatened is like. I had hoped to reach more of a consensus with the already-democratized forces in Lusittia, but I see that they have elected, democratically, at least, to be as stubborn as every other fool in the Periclean.

Yes, there is, from their perspective, a legitimate legal defense against the eviction notice, and I had hoped that those involved would simply cut their losses and pull out, but instead, I see diplomats citing clauses of half-century-old treaties in defense of their continued presence. An unfortunate truth seen across the Periclean now is a denial that private and foreign interests no longer take priority over domestic interests in Gran Aligonia, nor will they ever again. Perhaps diplomatic talks are in order to resolve the issue, but I will only continue down this path if elected to the Chancellorship in January. Until then, the current mechanisms of expulsion marked in the treaty will have to suffice.

I am, of course, honored by those submitting my name to the Ismos Peace Prize, but I will indicate now that I intend to decline any nomination, and urge anyone to instead nominate my friend Leuter Sion.”

The announcement of full democratization seemed to have calmed down another significant wing of the protestors, with Bishop Hugo Marin maintaining large riots in the cities of Olivira and Mont Moceno, both of which have large devout Fabrian populations. The Prince and Sion have both accused Bishop Marin of “facilitating violence not representative of the majority of Gran Aligonia”; arms shipments of missiles ordered by Marin’s protestors from Liothidia were intercepted in Tarraron by the Xendarmaria on the Winter Solstice, leading to the Director-General issuing a warrant for the arrest of Bishop Marin on charges of domestic terrorism and collusion with a foreign power; he has yet to be apprehended, though almost 20 have died in rioting.

With many nations involved calling their citizens towards their embassies in Villa Romera for safety, the Director-General has commented that the sentiment is "confusing" and "essentially accomplishing our objectives for us, though of course we only want armed forces off the Archipelago, not every single ex-pat."

As more and more eyes around the world become drawn to the Archipelago, the situation remains in a delicate balance, as it seems that the Aligonian establishment is hoping that its new election system (reportedly of a ranked-choice voting type without electronic voting machines) will use self-determination as insulation against claims of moral superiority, and hopefully intervention, by foreign powers.

by **Allamunnic States** » Wed Dec 25, 2019 9:24 pm

Ottonia Daily
National News

Compromise Plan to Abolish State Monarchies Fails
Rift in ruling Federalist-Popular Front coalition results in defeat of compromise bill

Roan-Ottonia Federal District --- September 4th, 2019 --- Yesterday a compromise plan that would have abolished the state monarchies effective January 1st of 2020, transferring all of the Ottonian states into republican governance, was defeated in the Federal Assembly after supposedly promised support from the royal families of the Ottonian states failed to materialize, prompting lukewarm support from the Federalists and Popular Front factions.

The measure was sunk by notable defections to the "Nay" camp occurring both among the Federalists (citing the lack of support from the royal families) and the Popular Front (specifically the Communist Party of Ottonia and United Ottonian Skiltrum, due to its leniency to said royal families), with support already underwater among National Front representatives making the compromise nonviable even after a harsher bill to abolish the state monarchies sponsored by Popular Front representatives failed earlier in the year.

The debate over the bill also exposed a sharp rift between more conservative Federalists and the left flank of the Popular Front, and the tension inherent in that coalition; several Federalists broke ranks and caucused with the National Front on the vote; they, along with the Popular Front's lukewarm support, was enough to sink the bill. The same coalition that defeated the bill also introduced a measure to place the question of the abolition of the state monarchies and the institution of nationwide republicanism on the ballot for the upcoming December elections. It will be the highest profile of the national ballot items beyond the elections for national offices.

"This is a victory for everyone who wants to see Ottonia avoid unnecessary changes," said National Salvation Front leader Izaak Romm. "The attempt to abolish the monarchies is nothing more than the continuation of a petty grudge by radicals, Shraderists, and anarchists, and we hope we can finally put this farce to bed once and for all with a nation-wide mandate."

"This turn of events is extremely disappointing," said Popular Socialist Front leader Anessa Maarks. "The lack of faith shown by several of our coalition members is something the respective party leaders will need to discuss to make sure we don't face any similar disappointments in future legislative efforts. The abolishment of inherited privilege is not inconsequential, but it is better that we have a chance to resolve our differences over something comparatively low-stakes rather than something which might harm to thousands."

Typically reluctant to speak on political matters, King Theodurik IX of Onneria and King Rodrik IV of Staalmark held a press conference following the bill’s defeat. “We are very pleased that our country’s elected representatives have come to their senses regarding this unnecessary attack on our nation’s institutions,” the Staalmarker King told reporters. “We look forward to an affirmation of that sensibility when it comes time for the referendum in December.”

Ottonia Daily
National News

Elections Delayed Amid Financial Investigations
Evidence of unreported foreign funding going toward certain ballot initiatives causes delay of elections until May 1st, 2020

Roan-Ottonia Federal District --- November 16, 2019 --- A bombshell report by the Electoral Oversight Bureau in the Department of Oversight and Compliance highlighted improprieties in funding toward campaigns surrounding multiple ballot initiatives and races in the elections originally scheduled for December 1st before recommending the delay of the elections by six months until the 1st of May in 2020.

The majority coalition of the Federalist Party and Popular Front followed the report's recommendation and passed a bill authorizing the delay of the elections, with very little support from National Front representatives.

Improper funding centered on the referendum surrounding the abolishment of the state-level monarchies, as well as a batch of independence referenda set to take place in the states of Onneria, Staalmark, and Tyrrslynd, including one for the province of Draakurr. The funding was directed to the “Leave” camps for all three independence referenda, and the “State’s Choice” campaign for the monarchy referendum from several shell companies.

The report outlines the connections found to those shell companies, many with connections to right-wing political groups throughout Ajax; a few have connections to the Yisraeli League for New Judea (often called the Northern League), a far-right party that rules as part of the ruling Conservative coalition, and noted for having extensive ties to the Yisraeli Prince Yehuda, the third-in-line to the country’s throne and a significant figure in right-wing and royalist politics in Scipia and Belisaria. Despite hard work by cyber security analysts, the LNJ and the Ghantish League of Nobles are the only two groups that could be conclusively linked to the funding, although shell companies identified in the report are believed to be connected to other pro-monarchist and right-wing political groups in Ghant, Latium, and Sydalon as well.

It is unclear if any of these suspicious funds were going toward races in the Senate, Assembly, or for the Premiership, although the DOC report indicated small inconsistencies in the book keeping for some campaigns across the political spectrum, further investigation was determined to be necessary to confirm whether or not these were clerical errors or oversights or if there was actual financial malfeasance.

The delay of the election introduces questions of what will be done about the Premiership entering the end of the year; constitutionally, Premier Andrik U’Daanyl’s term ends on January 1st of 2020, meaning that at present the Federation would technically be left without a head of state without an emergency extension to U’Daanyl’s term. However, given the fractiousness within the Federalist-Popular Front coalition over the past two months, securing an extension for U’Daanyl is not necessarily a given. It is unclear whether U’Daanyl would be able to continue on in an emergency capacity even without an act of the Moet, or if the country would simply have to function without a head of state for six months.

This turn of events also provides an extension to numerous races in the Senate, as well as for candidates in the Assembly, and, most notably, for the Premiership, where as of November 15th, Popular Front candidate and former PDP Chancellor of Tyrrslynd Sofya Rudulf had a plurality over other candidates with a currently-projected 36% of the vote, leading a joint ticket with the PSF. Other notable candidates include the Pan-Ottonian Nationalist Party’s Joerg Kleiner (formerly the Director of Defense) leading a National Front coalition currently polling at 30% of expected voters, the Federalists’ Waldr Filius (former Chancellor of Staalmark, running on a joint ticket with the Liberal Merit Party) with 28% of the vote, and with more fringe candidates taking up an expected 6% of the vote.

Ottonia Daily
Foreign Affairs

U’Daanyl blasts foreign meddling in Gran Aligonia
Lame-duck Premier echoes call for withdrawal of foreign forces from Periclean island nation

Roan-Ottonia Federal District --- December 24th, 2019 --- Amid general international outrage at the expected democratization of Periclean tax haven state Gran Aligonia, as well as the calls by Prince Veremundo’s call for the removal of all foreign forces from the nation, including Latin forces placed there by treaty.

It is perhaps a scenario the Ottonians are sympathetic to, hosting several detachments of the Arthuristan armed forces as part of NATA commitments to help defend the country against Liothidian aggression. Although the Arthuristans, along with other foreign contingents, are present with the blessing of the Ottonian government, the relationship is not always perfectly smooth. Perhaps sympathizing with the Aligonian situation, U’Daanyl spoke at a normal weekly press briefing, responding to a question by a reporter from Ottonian National Public Radio’s News Bureau about the situation in the Periclean.

“I think it does come down to a matter of self-determination. Is there a legal justification for the presence of Latin and Lusittian state forces to be present? Absolutely. But on some level the reason alliances work is because of the expectation of at least basically good intentions; that’s not to say self-interest isn’t involved for anyone, but you expect your allies to respect your nation’s realities and to not actively trample your sovereignty. There’s an expectation of good faith there, and the refusal of all these forces to vacate the island despite the request of the Aligonian government suggests a lack of good faith that should concern the Aligonians.

“If our allies suddenly refused to remove their forces from our territory at our request, I would very much doubt their good intentions, and we would feel a need to reevaluate our relationship with them. Gran Aligonia might need to reconsider who their friends are if shows of bad faith from their old associates become the norm.”

"As for the PMC's... their presence was based on the lack of a firm ruling contradicting their right to operate in Gran Aligonia. Now that the government has solidified a stance on the matter and asked for their removal, they should vacate the country, and they should find little sympathy if their personnel are placed in danger by their failure to respect the laws of the country in which they were operating."

Pressed for further explanation, the Premier added that "it might behoove the Prince to give serious thought to the grievances aired by Bishop Marin and his followers; to simply dismiss them as radicals far adrift of the general public might be a mistake. Often such supposed radicals are sounding the alarm on problems that need to be addressed before they become crises for a nation's populace." He quickly walked back the comment, saying he "wouldn't presume to tell the Prince how to run Gran Aligonia as it makes its transition to democracy; he wished only to share advice he had accrued over nearly 20 years as a head of state."

In addition to shining light on the outgoing administration’s view on a potential powderkeg situation they have until recently remained silent on, it perhaps gives voice to long-running, if not especially fierce, fears and resentments towards Ottonia’s NATA allies. Popular Front representatives have frequently pointed out the manner in which Ottonia is at odds with Arthurista and Ghant in regards to its internal management, with the alliance seemingly held together purely by shared concern of Liothidian imperialism.

A few in the Federalist Party were less-than-pleased by the Premier’s statement, calling it an unnecessary liability going into the election. “The last thing we need is the Premier undermining our own alliances, or what is a sometimes tenuous friendship with the rest of Belisaria,” Representative Erik Hendrsunn said at a weekly press conference. “Premier U’Daanyl has given decades of distinguished service to this country, but his tenure is nearing its end and it would be better if he could leave well enough alone as he finishes out his term.”

by **Mont-Saint-Cyr** » Thu Dec 26, 2019 11:09 am

26 December, 2019
6 10, 204

PRESIDENT BREAKS SILENCE ON GRAN ALIGONIA

Solange-Eupres Abism, Senior Editor Politics

"The paramount issue remains the well-being of the citizens of Gran Aligonia."

President Saverne has finally made a statement on the ongoing conflict in Gran Aligonia. The archipelago, home to about 970,000 people, is just 282 km from the shores of Mont. Despite this, since the outbreak of protests on October 18th both executive and legislative officials from the government have declined to comment. The silence up to this point has varying been explained owing to the recency of the October 21 election, the necessity of organizing for the new legislative session opening in the new year, and the complexity of the evolving situation on the isles. This morning, however, the President's office issued a press release regarding the stance of the Montian government. Summarized as follows:

The Montian government has been closely monitoring the situation in Gran Aligonia over the past month. In keeping with the values of the Republic of Mont and our people, we must be sympathetic to the cause of democracy and freedom. Reform of the country's tyrannical and oppressive monarchy is a necessary step toward ensuring the success of that cause and the upholding of those values. However, the paramount issue remains the well-being of the citizens of Gran Aligonia and the cessation of violence is also an important goal. To that end, Mont will be pursuing an agenda of peace and reform...

The President went on to offer explicit support for Lusittian peacekeeping on the isles as well as the present leader of the Gran Aligonian government, Veremundo Abellán, whom the release did not refer to by the title of "Prince". This approach is likely to provoke the ire of the opposition. The chairperson of the Industrial Liberty Front and narrowly defeated presidential rival in the past election, Sufian-Argon Duplessis tweeted that an official critique of the government's stance would be forthcoming and that "such a compromise of Montian republican values [was] utterly distasteful and typical of the Social-Progressive Alliance".

The President's full statement was published in the National Gazette, accessible here.

by **Communist Xomaniax** » Sun Jan 05, 2020 12:26 am

The Rose of Kalapa
There is No God Higher Than Truth

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International Edition - Anglic

92^nd Conference of the League of Communist Parties Begins Today!

Representatives of the Communist Parties of the Union's four member states gathered at the Palace of the Proletariat

KALAPA - Jhengtsang SPR Twenty-five hundred delegates from all four people's republics gathered in the capital today for the beginning of the 92^nd Supreme People's Assembly. The opening ceremonies began at nine-thirty A.M. this morning and included both a lively performance of the national anthem by the All-Union Electric String Band and an address by Supreme Chairman Urukhai Khan. The Assembly takes place during the Winter Festival also going on, with many Party officials seen taking part in the festivities.

Initial items on the voting agenda included a proposed increase in the defense budget by ten billion woolongs and allocate an additional billion labor hours, which passed 2154-346, and a motion to increase labor allocation to the Vajra missile program by thirteen percent, which narrowly passed at 1259-1241 after several tense rounds of negotiations. The rest of today's session was spent on discussion over a proposed expansion of the national rail line, though no bill has yet come forward on the subject. With the day's conference having adjourned, the bill will be voted on first thing when the representatives gather at nine A.M. the following morning.

"It is time for the Union to begin playing a greater role on the international stage."

Comrade Khan's opening speech raised eyebrows across the Union at his proclamation that the Union needed to "begin aggressive expansion of Unionite economic interests, both in Ochran and abroad" and called for "the immediate blossoming of trade outside of our traditional partners in order to secure the Union's greater economic independence." Key industries laid out for aggressive export included consumer electronics, like the 5G enabled Ga'u smartphone series, as well as pharmaceuticals, such as the new hepatitis and lung cancer vaccines. The Supreme Chairman also called for a wider array of goods available at state shops to be sold abroad. An emphasis on trade ties outside of Liothidia was stressed as well.

The day's deliberations were ended with a closing ceremony of fireworks and live performances by traditional dance troupes from all four republics. Delegates were allowed to retire to their suites at the Revolutionary Square International Hotel after the day's end, though many were spotted among the throngs of celebrating Kalapa citizens at the festival grounds. On the agenda for the following day's voting is a controversial bill to expand the Sehwat planned city to alleviate the rapidly expanding urban population in southwestern Timarg, where the construction industry has been totally unable to keep up. Controversy stems from a provision in the bill that would grant the Revolutionary People's Army expanded access to operate in and around industrial sites in the troubled republic. Proponents call the provision "vital to the securing of economic development in Timarg".

The provision comes after the quelling of riots in the Timarg capital of Kong Tswarang by radical practitioners of Bon, the indigenous religion of Old Shambhala. In the wake of the peaceful liberation of Timarg by revolutionary forces in 1946, certain radical elements of the Bonist population, spurred on by a cabal of international reaction, launched a wave of terrorist bombings and mass shootings in what is known to Unionites as the First Revolutionary Anti-Reaction Struggle, which would last until 1949. Since then there have been a periodic flaring of violence in the otherwise sleepy proletarian state, most recently in the aforementioned riots. Rioters would go on to smash shop windows, burn cars, and assault innocent civilians, including the death by petrol burning of Song Viseth, an elderly librarian and revolutionary war veteran posthumously lionized as "Grandpa Song". The bill is expected to pass with votes overwhelmingly in the affirmative.

by **Onekawa-Nukanor** » Thu Jan 09, 2020 12:41 am

Toru News Daily

| National | International | Sport | Weather | Politics | Entertainment | Science & Technology | Economy |

9/01/2020 - Earlier this morning Ātamira Tuarua Arthur Ngata, Director of Maritime Operations Command of Te Taua Moana Roera o Onekawa-Nukanoa announced the commencement of Operation Kōtuku involving Rangaratira Strike Group in international waters, notably in relatively close proximity to the Ochrani mainland. Described by Ātamira Tuarua Arthur Ngata as a "key exercise" which will see the Rangatira Strike Group "face a range of simulated threats from aerial, surface, sub-surface and land-based systems" that could pose a potential risk. This comes just days after the 92nd Supreme People’s Assembly of Jhengtsang made a further commitment to the development of its short range, quasi-ballistic vajra missile program, and the development of a new naval warfare exercise appears to be a classic Ngati Onekawa-Nukanoa response.

The assets of the Rangatira Strike Group deployed to take part in Operation Kōtuku is the aircraft carrier ONS Rangatira, Mako class destroyers ONS Mako and ONS Ngengero, Tāmure Class Frigates ONS Kahawai and ONS Araara and the replenishment ship ONS Pūroto. It is known that a submarine is also attached to Rangatira Strike Groups, but the secretive submersible branch of the service does not name which vessel are and are not on deployment.

Operation Kōtuku will also involve additional naval and air force units. Air Force units currently announced to deploy are two Rakiraki KC.1 aerial tankers from the 83rd Aerial Mobility Squadron, an Pekapeka AEW.1 Airborne Early Warning aircraft from 17th Airborne Early Warning Squadron and twelve Haumātakataka FGR.1 Fighters from a mix of from 1st, 5th and 10th Fighter Squadrons. Additional naval assets include the additional Tāmure Class Frigates ONS Pūwhaiau and ONS Tarauta and an undisclosed submarine. It is said that these units will be act primarily as the aggressor or “Red Force” for the Rangatira Strike Group, but depending on the planned exercise for the day units may work alongside the Strike Group to maximise the training benefits of the exercise.

Operation Kōtuku is planned to last two weeks and will see all units engage in both offensive and defensive operations against the aforementioned “aerial, surface, sub-surface and land-based systems” and how well do personnel and platforms response to the rigours of high intensity operations against a capable adversary in a hostile environment.

Despite these overt indicators Ātamira Tuarua Arthur Ngata, when questioned that these were a response specially to developments in Jhengtsang, made clear that “This exercise is to further improve and develop the fighting capabilities of the Te Ope Manuka o Onekawa-Nukanoa against potential threats that are in use or development across the Makrian, Ozeros and Malaio and are not focused on any particular nation”.

There has been suggestion by some pundits that units from the Lion’s Rock Defence Force would also be participating in the exercise, but a spokesperson for Te Taua Moana Roera o Onekawa-Nukanoa made sure to clarify later in the morning that this an was an “entirely sovereign exercise for the Taua Moana and does not involve any other participating nation” although he did state that “the commitment to Lion Rock has not changed and that similar exercises are likely in the future between us”.

Commentators quickly took note that the exercise is only 350km from Jhengtsang territorial waters. Although still in international waters, this close proximity can only indicate the intent of the exercise, that Ngati Onekawa-Nukanoa is willing and able to respond to potential threats to its position in the eastern Makrian. Relations between Jhengtsang and Ngati Onekawa-Nukanoa have always been hostile due to significant differences in economic and ideological view, but Kotuku seems to be an indication of a new low in a relationship that was already significantly negative to start.

by **Tulura** » Fri Jan 10, 2020 12:43 pm

SaGa
Anglic

Intense Drought Displaces Thousands in Eastern Tulura

ORAAR - Over 5,000 Tulurans have been displaced since November from the continuing drought, the worst in the country's history. This following last year, which previously held the record. Oraar, a rather temperate city in the Gombakori highlands that experiences average temperatures of 22°C around this time of the year, now remaining at 25-28°C and had little rain in autumn. In the lowlands, temperatures are exceeding 30°C.

Thousands have already begun to move from the lowland countryside, particularly the local Pa'l people, their livelihoods lost. Many have been pushed further north to fringe towns, finding work in the local mines. Ostrich and Moa are central to the Pa'l way of life, however local Sosfari cattle ranchers had been overgrazing on the land for years. Long held ethnic feud have reached their breaking point, only exacerbated by the drought, with the government trying to mediate between the two.

Others have flooded into Oraar, looking for help from the local government. Governor Ruzna of Gombakor has diverted most regional resources to combating the crisis, the President has also offered substantial emergency relief and financial aid to those affected. The worsening drought is expected to affect many more, as eastern Tulura remains rainless after a poor monsoon.

Food prices also rise nationwide, as another mass die-off of varying livestock occurs and crop yields in the south are diminishing. Government analyst attributed land degradation to mismanagement and overuse, though some also believe it is climate change. The drought is greatly affecting Tuluran food exports, as coffee yields, one of Tulura's more profitable crops, are at an all-time low.

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by **Communist Xomaniax** » Mon Jan 13, 2020 12:26 am

The Rose of Kalapa
There is No God Higher Than Truth

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Special International Edition - Anglic

THE UNION FOREVER! UNITS MOBILIZED AND ON HIGH ALERT!

An RS-20 Kurukullā fighter jet of the 5th Air Defense Army scrambles to meet imperialist Onekawan aggression

09/01/20 - PHNOM HOER - Timarg SPR Citizens of Phnom Hoer were rudely awoken early this morning by the sound of jets roaring overhead. Shattered windows and car alarms cried out across the bustling seaside metropolis as elements of the 21^st and 23^rd Air Defense Guards, utilizing the new Kurukullā fighter jets, deployed to face the most grievous threat to the security of the Union in more than half a century. Across the city proper, elements of the Strategic Rocket Bureau from the nearby Fort Kat Kbal, bearing the new V-19 'Vajra' anti-ship ballistic missile platform and older D-10M 'Bong Bogseb' surface-to-air missile platform, took up positions and steeled themselves to repel any oncoming attack. The brave men and women of the 8^th Motor Rifle Guards were ready to throw down their lives at a moment's notice, though the order never came.

The unrivaled power of the Strategic Rocket Bureau prepares to shatter the ships and aircraft of the Onekawan swine

According to media reports, the Rangatira Strike Group, acting as the principle force of the Onekawan royal navy, have made public that they are conducting and will continue to conduct these drills in flagrant violation of international peace. The Onekawan warmongers, obsessed with an anachronistic confrontational conception, have persistently committed acts of military provocation against the USPR. Again these lickspittle goons of capital, shackled to the whims of their parasitic rulers, seek to destabilize the most successful socialist project in Ochran. Under the guise of fighting a mysteriously nameless enemy, these beasts bay for the blood of our revolution, kept out only by the might of our staggering weaponry.

The Onekawans pay lip service to the cause of regional stability, pushing their imperial agenda under the guise of national security and defense against unnamed (and surely imaginary) aggressors. The message of this needless provocation is clear: "we will destroy your prosperous socialist nation at the slightest opportunity". The imperial, aristocratic regime in that country lives in fear of its proletariat, though it has pacified them now through meager crumbs and the gendarme's cudgel, it knows that they will one day yearn to be free. No matter what schemes the ruling classes in Onekawa devise, the proletariat there, as in all capitalist countries, will one day seek to win the struggle between the classes. The working peoples cast their eyes across the ocean and see the socialist fairyland, free of imperial repression or capitalist degradation, and slowly come to wonder: "If they don't need masters, why do we?"

This simple thought is the greatest threat to the supremacy of the capitalist class, greater than the nuclear bomb. The Onekawan royalty derive their legitimacy through their status as spiritual avatars of the Onekawan nation, and the bourgeoisie there through their self-declared singular ability to organize the economy. The principle lie, or order of lies, that the regime is based upon is thus: The king is noble, benevolent, and independent of influence, that all power flows from the king, and that only the king's chosen servants, the capitalist class, can make the metaphorical rain fall and crops grow. But the success of socialism in the Union challenges the legitimacy of this corrupt bargain. If the Unionite people get along without a king, what benefit does the Onekawan one bring? Why must the workers there break their backs for the enrichment of their bosses while just a stone's throw across the sea away, there are none? It is through this too that the true of flow of power is exposed: instead of imperial power flowing from the king, it flows from capital, with the king merely being its willing executioner. Perhaps this is the greatest humiliation done upon their national pride: that the wretched king is a puppet to the whims of a sociopathic force.

An emergency session of the Supreme People's Congress was called this morning, with the assembled delegates quickly voting to unanimously condemn the Onekawan aggressive exercises. The Unionite ambassador to Onekawa is currently trying to reach the government there but so far no word has been received. Defense Commissioner General Yeshi Trengwa has issued emergency mobilization orders for units across the Revolutionary People's Army. An anonymous senior defense official has confirmed that the Union is more than prepared to meet any potential threats head on, and that assets of the Naval Forces, including submarines, have already been deployed to guarantee the security of the nation's territorial waters. In an interview, the Defense Commissioner had this to say: "The decision of whether or not to escalate this grave threat to international stability and peace is now firmly at the feet of the tyrant in Tumatauenga Pa."

"What a tragedy it is that the doddering old dotard King Toa would so callously gamble with the lives of his subjects", Comrade General Trengwa was quoted as saying.

by **Yisroel** » Tue Jan 14, 2020 10:35 pm

Trending Stories -- HRM King Yaakov II Gravely Ill -- Polls: Katz Ahead, Kaduri Distant Third -- GA Crisis Continues -- Tensions Rise In South Ochran

Tranche Of New Polls: Katz And Goldschmidt Neck-And-Neck, As Kaduri Falls To Distant Third In Presidential Contest

_{Pictured: Right Bloc leader Yitzchok Katz (left) and United Center head Reuven Goldschmidt (right).}

New polls illustrate shifting political dynamics in the first-in-history three-way race for president, with the breakaway United Center right behind the Right Bloc, and the Left Bloc collapsing support everywhere.
^{January 14th, 2020| By Binyomin Eisenberger (beisenberg@ryd.org) | 10:16am EDT}

YERUSHALAYIM, YISRAEL — With less than two weeks until voters head to the polls to determine the composition of the next Knesset and elect a new president to succeed outgoing two-term incumbent Noah Feldman, a new chunk of election polls have been released by pollsters surveying the field. Their results differ mildly, but paint the same picture: The Conservative-led Right Bloc coalition, leaded by Foreign Minister Yitzchok Katz, maintains a lead, followed closely within most surveys' margins of error by the Alternative for Yisrael-led United Center Bloc's MK Reuven Goldschmidt (AfY-Modiin). The traditional other major-party, the Constitutional Liberal-led Left Bloc headed by former MK Yosef Kaduri, has collapsed behind the United Center into a distant third, shocking political analysts.

Five New Polls, Analyzed

The most favorable poll to the front-runner, the Right Bloc's Katz, was commissioned by Channel 20 TV. With 1,568 likely voter respondents, it has Katz ahead at 42% of the vote, followed by the United Center's Goldschmidt at 37%. Left Bloc's Kaduri rounded out at a mere 15% of the vote, with 6% undecided. The poll had a margin of error of 4.7 points.

The next survey showed a closer race between the top two: Zman Yisrael, a newspaper favored by demographics that back Action Yisrael, a member of the United Center Bloc, show Katz at 39% and Goldschmidt at 38%, with Kaduri behind at 19%. The survey polled 897 likely voter samples, with a margin of error at 3.4 points.

Like the Zman Yisrael poll, a 1,233-sample survey of likely voters by King Solomon University found Katz ahead by a hair at 41% to Goldschmidt's 39%, with Kaduri following at 23%. There were 5% undecided, with 1% "other." It had a margin of error of 5.7 points.

The most favorable poll to the Left Bloc's Kaduri was commissioned by Oved Yehudi HaBavli, a left-wing labor newspaper whose pollster has been accused of systematic bias for Con-Lib candidates. The Oved poll found Katz with just 34%, with Goldschmidt neck-and-neck with Kaduri, each earning 32%. This poll was of 561 registered voters, with a margin of error unusually high at 7.4 points and a atypical undecided rate of just 2%.

Lastly, a Channel 10 TV survey was in the middle of the pack. Polling a large 2,340-sample of registered voters, it found Katz ahead with 37%, followed by Goldschmidt at 35% and Kaduri distantly at 18%. It has an undecided rate of 8%, and a margin of error of 5.6 points.

The five new polls, all released today to the public, show what election surveys have been suggesting since late December: since early December 2019, Goldschmidt has been steadily rising to compete with Kaduri for second spot. After the traditional ceasing of political activities during the Chanukah Break, polls showed Goldschmidt eclipsing Kaduri and nipping at Katz's heels, with Kaduri lagging far behind in the teens.

Electoral College Calculations, Using New Poll Numbers

The President of Yisrael, however, is elected indirectly through the Electoral College. Head-to-head polls show candidate strengths among the national electorate, but it is their relative strength in individual District electorates that determine their Electoral Votes, which selects the presidential winner.

The Electoral College is made up of 192 EVs distributed among the eight Districts of Yisrael. An absolute majority of 97 EVs is required to win.

Northern District - 13 EVs
Dervaylik District - 19 EVs
Central District - 48 EVs
Western District - 38 EVs
Southern District - 16 EVs
Yerushalayim District - 20 EVs
Eastern District - 24 EVs
Yarden Valley Special District - 14 EVs

Electoral College Votes By District (visual illustration)

_{Credit: Royal Office of Government Maps and Statistics}

Before the 2020 contest, Yisrael faced a two-party presidential system, with the third parties cross-endorsing the two major parties, the Conservatives and Constitutional Liberals, who formed the Right Bloc and Left Bloc, respectively.

Since the 1970s, the Conservatives have almost always carried the Western (38), Northern (13), Yarden Valley (14), and Yerushalayim (20) Districts (totaling 72), and the Con-Libs dominating the Central (48) and Dervaylik (19) Districts (totaling 67), leaving 40 EVs in swing Districts - the Eastern (24) and Southern (16) Districts.

Each Bloc tries to win the two swing Districts, though occasionally candidates venture into enemy territory: Conservative Binyamin Schwartz aggressively campaigned in the Con-Libs' home bastion of the Central District, eking out a narrow win there in his landslide 1980 re-election. Conversely, the most recent Con-Lib president, Eitan Herzog, carved out a "Northern Route" strategy of holding his two strongholds and winning the usually Blue-voting North, Yarden, and Yerushalayim Districts while losing both "traditional" swing Districts, utilizing a moderate triangulating campaign message in his first campaign in 2004.

In 2020, the battlegrounds have become muddled due to the first-in-history three-way race that does not neatly breakdown by voter groups. Using the data from the five new polls, we see that:

Katz holds his traditional strongholds of the Northern, Yarden, Yerushalayim Districts (47 EVs), slightly ahead in the Western District 45% to Goldschmidt's 38% and Kaduri's 17% (38).

Goldschmidt leads in both traditional Con-Lib bastions (67 EVs) - unsurprising as most of his voter base are defecting Con-Libs. He leads Kaduri in the Central District 44% to 37%, with Katz at 19% (lower than the typical 33-38% showing the Blues usually post, illustrating that Goldschmidt is eating into the Blues' base vote, but taking more from the Con-Libs). He also leads Kaduri narrowly in the Dervaylik District, 42% to 41%, with Katz far behind at a mere 18%. He also edges both out in the Eastern and Southern Districts, leading 43%-40% (Katz) - 17% Kaduri in the Eastern (24 EVs) and 55%-34% (Katz) -11% (Kaduri) in the Southern District (16 EVs).

In total, Katz has 85 EVs in solid or leaning Districts, Goldschmidt has soft, moderate leads and one solid lock in 64 EVs, with the EVs too close to call in two Districts (43). Kaduri has no solid or soft leads in any District, though he is neck-and-neck in Dervaylik (19). If Kaduri does not show improvement, his one-or-zero District Electoral College showing will be the worse for the Con-Libs in history.

Binyomin Eisenberger reported from Yerushalayim, Yisrael. None of these organizations are associated with the RYD, and all opinions and personal views in the article do not reflect the viewpoints of the RYD or their employees.

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Katz campaign plans rally- and TV ad-heavy campaign across Western, Eastern, Central Districts to tip balance in first two to them, last to Kaduri to deny Goldschmidt its 48 EVs [ 1341 ]
Goldschmidt strategists see possible Electoral College landslide if too-close-to-call, Western Districts break their way [ 121 ]
Crown Prince Hezekiah III, royal brothers summon key royal officials to plan for contingency as father undergoes medical care [ 4 ]
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by **Yisroel** » Wed Jan 15, 2020 9:25 pm

Trending Stories -- HRM King Yaakov II Niftar At 66 -- Polls: Katz Ahead, Kaduri Distant Third -- GA Crisis Continues -- Tensions Rise In South Ochran

HRM King Yaakov II, 'Quiet Monarch' Of 44 Years, Niftar At Age 66

_{Pictured: The body of His Majesty, in simple white shrouds, being escorted to the Royal Palace before burial. President Noah Feldman (center) joined the escort as it passed the Presidential Palace.}

The deceased monarch laid in state during eulogies given by his three sons, before a prompt burial in the Mount of Olives, alongside other past royals.
^{January 15th, 2020| By Binyomin Eisenberger (beisenberg@ryd.org) | 12:49pm EDT}

YERUSHALAYIM, YISRAEL — At 7:06pm last night in the King Moshe I Memorial Hospital in Yerushalayim, surrounded by his closest relatives in the Royal Household, His Royal Majesty Yaakov II joined his ancestors in the glory of Olam HaBa. His children, Crown Prince Hezekiah III and Princes Michoel and Yehuda, as well as his wife, Queen Nechama, tore kriah and began to prepare the burial, which was earlier today. After His Majesty's burial, they begun to sit shiva, the traditional seven days of intense mourning immediately after a loved one's burial.

A public announcement went out minutes later, inducing a national outcry in grief in the hours after His Majesty's death. Following the seven days of intense mourning, there are lesser, but still substantial restrictions on the grieving relatives for the first 30 days (shelosim), and then saying kaddish with a minyan for male mourners at the thrice-daily prayers until the 11th month after the passing. The Royal Family, however, is apart of a narrow class of persons ruled except by the Sanhedrin from any mourning protocols after the initial 7-day shiva period, given their life-affecting state duties as national leaders.

Early Morning Escort From Hospital To The Royal Palace

Early this morning after the conclusion of the first morning prayer quorums, His Majesty's body was escorted on foot across the city from the hospital to the Royal Palace, where his family and invited foreign dignitaries would give eulogies, and then directly to his burial on the Mount of Olives.

Major boulevards were shutdown by the police, and the city ground to a stop as over an estimated 200,000 Yisraelis from all religio-social sectors came together to bemoan the loss of the beloved King of Yisrael. A national day of mourning had been declared at 6:15am this morning, and all but essential services shut down in deference to the public mourning.

As the casket passed the President Palace, President Noah Feldman came out and joined the mourners in escorting His Majesty to the Royal Palace.

Amid Family, Friends, And Foreign Leaders, His Sons Bewail Their Father's Passing

By mid-evening last night, official correspondence was sent out to a number of extended relatives of the Royal Family, as well as prominent Yisraeli leaders, close friends of His Majesty, and a number of foreign leaders. The 10:30am eulogy at the Royal Palace was graced by a crowd hundreds-strong.

Among the visitors were the Chief Rabbis of Yisrael, leading Dayanim of the Sanhedrin, President Noah Feldman, his entire Cabinet, all three 2020 presidential candidates, numerous members of Knesset, and prominent Yisraelis. An entire section of the hall was reserved and populated by the extended family, including first and second cousins and close associates and staff in the Royal Household.

Perhaps given the high regard held of him among world leaders, a number of foreign monarchs, leaders, and ministers made the trip to attend and were spotted among the other political dignitaries: Queen Melisende III, Prince Consort Michael, and Hugh, Prince of Petra of Sydalon, Emperor Constantine XX of Latium, Emperor Nathan IV and Prime Minister Nymun Izarbegiratzeak of Ghant, Lord-Protector Gareth II and Prime Minister Leanne Whittaker of Arthurista, Empress Stella II and Secretary of Foreign and Belisarian Affairs Agathe Pachis of Lihnidos, Sovereign Prince Nicholaus and Prince George of Belfras, Director of Foreign Affairs Jehan-Pluton de Coɣ and Ambassador to Yisrael Quentin Abderame of Mont, Prince Maurus Lucaenus Gregoras of Thraysia, Caziques Sienna Vera Carduki, Armand Cipriane Cazini, Alessandra Ilaria Condozi, Marco Giovanni de Rossi, Illeana Valeria Giarelli, and Salvatore Milano Paladino, the heads of their respective High Noble Houses, of Sante Reze, and Artús Montecalvo, Duke of Mont Moceno, of Gran Aligonia (a prominent member of the pro-Yisrael Reformist faction), among others.

Crown Prince Hezekiah III, set to ascend to the throne at the end of his shiva period, gave a halting eulogy, needing to pause in between tears. "My father, may his neshama [soul] rest peacefully with our ancestors basking in the glory of Hashem [G-d] Above, was a man of great inner strength. He believed deeply in Our Creator above, and sought to remain humble, kind, warm, and pleasant to all who came in contact with him. He was a product of his time. A time when the people of Yisrael had suffered under an Autocratic regime, two civil wars, three wars back-to-back in less than 25 years, and other horrific hardships.

"People, especially politicians, confused my father's warmheartedness for weakness, and steadily pushed my father - our national representative, a man anointed by G-d Himself to lead our nation and world Jewry - into the margins of affairs of state. The hole in my heart from the grief of my father's absence cannot be made whole. But I can honor his memory by restoring the dignity and honor of the institution he led."

Some observers showed visible discomfort or annoyance with the Crown Prince's words, particularly among the Constitutional Liberal Members of Knesset who attended. But otherwise, he was well-received. His brothers, the Princes Michoel and Yehuda, both also gave short eulogies extolling their father's virtues through short, amusing anecdotes and stories of his quiet strength.

After the eulogies, the Royal Family and many of the guests escorted the casket to the royal cemetery on the Mount of Olives, where His Majesty was laid to rest. After an hour of rest, the royals accepted shiva visits from guests, particularly from the foreign leaders that remained after the burial.

Royal Officials Tasked With Preparing The Transition

Doniel Bauer, the Royal Chamberlain who is the highest member of the Royal Household staff, was given a ruling by the hand of the Crown Prince before he sat shiva to prepare and organize the royal transition. The coronation is set for January 22nd, 2020. All political campaigning is suspended during the seven days.

All of Yisrael and the world awaits to see how the new reign of Hezekiah will begin to unfold.

Binyomin Eisenberger reported from Yerushalayim, Yisrael. None of these organizations are associated with the RYD, and all opinions and personal views in the article do not reflect the viewpoints of the RYD or their employees.

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by **Onekawa-Nukanor** » Thu Jan 30, 2020 11:08 pm

Toru News Daily

| National | International | Sport | Weather | Politics | Entertainment | Science & Technology | Economy |

BREAKING: THE EDGE OF WAR

24/01/2020
The ocean roared in the background as Māori Kīngi Tama Onekawa visited Wheromoana Pa earlier today before he delivered a speech addressing the escalating tensions between Jhengtsang and Ngāti Onekawa-Nukanoa. Delivered on the deck of the new frigate ONS Kekeno and surrounded by the crew of the vessel in addition to the expected officials, he continues to condemn the actions of the Supreme People's Assembly and Defense Commissioner General Yeshi Trengwa.

“Not only does Jhengtsang continue to inflame the situation by blinding themselves with the misbegotten roar of the revolutionary, but they continue to places to lives of themselves and others at risk. Each condemnation of the actions of Te Ope Manuka o Onekawa-Nukanoa during Operation Kōtuku is laced with hypocrisy. I find it tiring, alongside the hardworking members of Manatū Whakahangahanga, in having to continue to explain the basics of diplomatic discourse and foreign affairs to the leadership in Jhengtsang or the laws surrounding the use of international waters for naval exercises. But the mind of the revolutionary is always occupied with screaming at the authority, even to their own detriment”

“No lives need to be put at risk, and the conduct of a regular exercise could have been a non-event. Yet the summoning of fleets and marshaling of civilians by those fools has placed us at the brink of war. A war in which Ngāti Onekawa-Nukanoa will use all our tools to defends ourselves if necessary.”

He continued to make clear that Operation Kōtuku would continue regardless of the protestations of the leadership in Jhengtsahg, but that Te Ope Manuka o Onekawa-Nukanoa would go from Kowhai to Karaka. The second-highest level of readiness for the armed forces, military installations have correspondingly increased security and service members have been recalled from leave and other non-essential commitments to active service.

Followed by Ātamira Ihaia to details the specifics of the new development, the most significant is the new “single warning airspace” bubble around the Rangitira Strike Group. Stated as a response to the “continued aggressions of Jhengtsang pilots” and that there had already been a number of incidents in which there has been tense face off between pilots of the Tauarangi, Taua Moana and Jhengtsang. Single Warning Airspace is when the aircraft that crosses the airspace is given a single clear radio warning, often not from a visible aircraft or vessel which usually operates and standoff distance. If not shown to be on a course to immediately leave the area it will be fired.

Ātamira Ihaia has stated that there will be a 12-hour window to allow authorities to comply with the single warning airspace and made sure to make clear that this was “a serious procedure in which the utmost care and respect must be undertaken by all authorities to ensure no needless loss of life” It will also see the deployment of the new frigates ONS Kekeno and ONS Ihu Koropuku to Operation Kōtuku to help to make up for the withdrawal of ONS Mako.

This was also followed by the announcement of a new exercise to follow Operation Kōtuku. Called Operation Tīkāka, this was to be a multi-part amphibious exercise taking part partly in the Ozeros and partly off the coast of Ngāti Onekawa-Nukanoa and to commence following the end of Operation Kōtuku.

For the purpose of “improving the capability of Te Taua Roera o Onekawa-Nukanoa and Te Taua Moana Roera o Onekawa-Nukanoa to work alongside each other in one of the most difficult operations to successful perform, even in benign conditions”. Clearly a response to the Tuluran-ON collision, Ātamira Ihaia also notably made a comment that “it was clear that the situation in the Ozeros isn't entirely welcoming of Ngāti Onekawa-Nukanoa and that preparing for potential hostile situations is one of the core functions of the entire Te Ope Mauka o Onekawa-Nukanoa.

ONS Hāpuku preparing for Operation Tīkāka

by **Gristol-Serkonos** » Fri Jan 31, 2020 7:11 pm

OOC: news post is best read in dark mode.

Archive: 27th October 2019

FEDERAL ELECTION 2019

Progressive Conservatives wins a historic majority
After winning the leadership in 2017, Kaniehtí:io Fox will lead the largest majority government in 26 years.

PC - 451 | SD - 271 | ML - 21 | IG - 15 | PP - 14 | NC - 9 | DU - 9 | DS - 6 | GN - 3
Results as of 3:45 AM, 27 October 2019

DONNACONNA, SERKONOS - The Progressive Conservatives are swept into a majority as the Social Democrats and the Moderate Left are routed. Kaniehtí:io Fox is will be the next leader of Gristol-Serkonos after defeating the widely criticized SDP-led coalition government of Stuart Lewis. Ms. Fox, the great grand-daughter of Kai Djikstra, the 15th Chancellor of Gristol-Serkonos, said that the country voted for genuine change. Incumbent Social Democrat Chancellor Stuart Lewis - in power since 2015 - congratulated his rival.

Addressing the jubilant supporter, Ms. Fox said that the country had "sent a clear message to end the gridlock" that has plagued the minority coalition government that Stuart Lewis led. Fox also congratulated Lewis for his service to the nation. The sweeping victory seemed unthinkable, given the polls up to the day before the election the Social Democrats and the Progressive Conservatives were tied. When Mr Lewis first announced that this year's federal election campaign would be a record 78 days long, conventional wisdom was it would benefit the Social Democrats, giving them more time to bring their financial advantages to bear.

On the contrary, however, the lengthy campaign gave Ms Fox an opportunity to introduce herself to Gristo-Serkonans and overcome attack ads that characterised the 34-year-old backbencher as too inexperienced to lead the nation.

The economic and political crisis that lasted the last two years loomed large in the federal election. Mr. Lewis highlighted the 26 year long legacy of his party, as he continued his predecessor's policy balanced budget and tax cuts for the middle class. Ms. Fox meanwhile pointed to sluggish economic growth to support her calls to provide stimulus packages and proposed an infrastructure modernization program. The Social Democrats' contentious proposal to the Constitution to further entrench the Office of the Chancellor in the legislative process sparked an all out rebellion on the Social Democrat backbenchers.

In the election campaign, the Progressive Conservatives promised:

A continuation on the income taxes cuts for the middle-class
Further devolution of powers from the federal government to the constituent Crown Land governments
Increase in amount limits in decriminalized recreational drugs
An infrastructure modernization program to modernize the armed forces and the rail and road infrastructure
Bolstering trade agreements with its neighbours, as well as looking into a more proactive role in regional as well as global politics

According to policy experts, the modernization program is projected to cost the government 10 billion GSC over the next five years.

Mr Lewis, now a one-term Chancellor, had been seeking a second term. Speaking after the polls closed, he said he had congratulated Ms Fox, and that the Social Democrats would accept the results "without hesitation". He will be standing down as the party leader but remain as a Member of Parliament, his party says. There is no fixed transition period under the Gristo-Serkonan constitution and Ms Fox is expected to be sworn in a week from now.

Other News:
Gran Aligonia transitions into a republic as election campaigns heat up
War looms as Ngāti Onekawa-Nukanoa-Jhengtsang relations further degrade
Yitzchok Katz wins Yisraeli elections
King Yaakov II of Yisrael dead at the age of 66, Hezekiah III inherits the throne

by **Yisroel** » Tue Feb 11, 2020 10:10 pm

Trending Stories -- Royalist Counterrevolution: Rumors Of Coming Purge -- West Makrian Crisis Escalates -- GA Elections Postponed

In Katz's Incoming Cabinet Slate, Familiar Faces Abound

_{Pictured: President Yitzchok Katz (center), surrounded by Defense Minister Naftali Bauman (left) and Foreign Minister-designate Ariel Goldblatt (right).}

The newly-inaugurated President put forward his Cabinet slate this afternoon after his late-morning inauguration, with a vote by the newly installed 49th Knesset set for this evening.
^{February 3rd, 2020| By Binyomin Eisenberger (beisenberg@ryd.org) | 3:14pm EDT}

YERUSHALAYIM, YISRAEL — Merely a formality, newly inaugurated President Yitzchok Katz minutes after his public installation ceremony in King Nechemiah II Square in the Government District, transmitted his final list of Cabinet nominations to the just-seated 49th session of the Knesset, whose expanded Conservative majority is all but sure to vote in the government ministers' slate a couple hours from now after the legislative body finishes pro forma votes on organizing itself.

Feldman Alumni, Rising Stars, Longtime Party Luminaries, Close Former Aides Or Allies: The New Presidential Cabinet

The new body of the executive's highest officials and ministry heads reflects not only the President's preferences but also the new political dynamic of fresh political rising stars, holdovers from the Feldman administration, and experienced party hands shuffled around from one ministry portfolio to another. Let us analyze the new Cabinet by breaking it into distinguishable groups:

Close Katz Allies And Friends

A small group forms Katz's inner circle: current Defense Minister Naftali Bauman and Foreign Minister-designate Ariel Goldblatt.

Naftali Bauman, who has served as defense minister for all eight years of Feldman's tenure, is a practicing Chareidi like Katz and the first to serve in the Defense portfolio role. Bauman and Katz have a longtime friendship and political alliance going back over a decade and a half, when both served in the Knesset as MKs for the Torah Achdus party. Despite Bauman's later defection to the Conservatives and subsequent reward of the Defense ministry, he and Katz maintained a close relationship. If the Defense Minister stays in his role through end of Katz's first term, he will be the longest-serving Defense Minister in history.

Ariel Goldblatt, another close Katz friend and ally, will serve as Foreign Minister, a top plum job. Goldblatt served as Katz's chief of staff when he served in the Knesset (2005-2015) and later as a senior Foreign Ministry official. In the latter role, however, he was caught up in and almost had his political career destroyed in the June 2018 Midnight Affair, though his quick resignation and silence afterwards spared him much media scrutiny. Mere days later, he was appointed as the next Yisraeli Ambassador to Ghant, where he's been since.

Feldman Holdovers

Besides Bauman, remaining as Defense Minister, another Feldman Cabinet official, Yehudis Eisenberger, will stay on. Eisenberger, a major Conservative Party super-donor along with her husband Nachi, was tapped by former President Noah Feldman as he entered his second term to serve as Interior Minister, considered a higher-ranked prestige role. She won plaudits from up and down the party ranks for capably and decisively performing her duties amid a number of domestic crises with Sydalene Christian Stayniks in the Yarden River Valley and using the royal security forces, which are under her portfolio, to thwart an increasing number of Christian terrorist attacks, ending an odious 44-year-long record of yearly attacks to exactly zero in 2019 in the last full year of the Feldman administration.

Eisenberger, who counts now-President Katz as a fan, was shuffled to the post of Transportation Minister in a post-election deal with incoming Minority Leader Reuven Goldschmidt (AfY-Modiin), who signed off on her after interviewing her for her views on transportation issues. Like the chief opposition United Center Bloc's policy manifesto, Eisenberger agrees with reversing Herzog-era limits on economic growth and suburbanization as well as her promise to promote a pro-commuter, pro-automobile, and anti-congestion agenda.

Rising Stars

This next group are the rising political stars were all accorded prestigious portfolios. The youthful Conservative and Yerushalayim Mayor David Roth, of the prestigious Roth family, was tapped for Justice Minister, while David Touro, the "moderate" leader who rejuvenated the far-right Northern League as respectable was named for Interior Minister. Alexander Keisenberg, a Conservative MK who lost his seat in the election as only one of two pickups by the AfY and is an economist by training, was nominated for Finance Minister.

The barely 33-year-old David Roth, the only of his storied corporate family to enter politics, had eyed contesting the Conservative presidential primary against Katz, but had held back, leaving Katz with a weaker field. Roth, a Chardal, is socially conservative and a holds a mixture of economic populist and free-market views, winning him an enthusiastic base in the nation's capital. Insiders say Katz gave Roth a prominent perch to pursue higher office later on as a reward for not challenging him in the 2020 primary.

David Touro, meanwhile, has hit the peak of his political career so far. A party builder, he took control of the moribund and extremist League for New Judea in 2006, purging it of its most toxic members, and refashioned it as mainstream "far-right-lite." He tapped into the fertile patriotic and economic populist voter base in the Yarden River Valley to mine for new votes and activists, having the party nicknamed the 'Northern League' in common political parlance and eventually becoming so intertwined in Valley politics he was called the "De Facto Governor of the Yarden" by the Dispatch in 2017. However, his star burned a tad too bright in 2020: he along with two others of his 5-member Knesset caucus lost their seats to Left Bloc-affiliated candidates. However, given he was a major figure to meld nationalist forces into the emerging political and religious right-wing convergence under Feldman, Katz tapped him to keep the far-right in line in the Yarden Valley and to appease the new King's Royalist Counterrevolutionary regime.

Alexander Keisenberg, a two-term Conservative MK elected in the Blue wave of Feldman's re-election in 2016, when the Conservatives won back the Knesset from a thin Con-Lib majority, his jump to Finance Minister is a major step up. Known for his prolific media appearances on behalf of the party and its ideological causes, Keisenberg is also an economist by training, graduating with a Masters in Economics from King David University. The former MK, in his late 50s, is also longtime friends with Sophia Tullia, the wife of current Latin Consul Alexander Pompilius , from their overlap in the early 1980s attending Constellum College.

Longtime Party Statesmen

The next contingent are people who have served as party leaders or backbenchers for years, sometimes decades.

Avrohom Abadi has been a fixture in Conservative politics since Binyamin Schwartz was president in the mid-to-late 1970s. In his 70s, he was on Katz's immigration and trade policy committee in 2020 and was nominated as the next Immigration Minister.

Yoshiyahu Siegel, a top deputy to Torah Achdus leader Moshe Lippman, will fill the role of the Religious Affairs ministry, while Tuvia Abramowitz, a former MK and party elder in the TA, will have the Education portfolio. Both men are longtime Chareidi politicians and are considered unremarkable but competent functionaries.

The Rest

Last but not least, the Cabinet fills out as: Vice-President Gershon Blau, who sits in the Cabinet as a presidential adviser, Prince Michoel, in the newly-revived King's Minister role representing the Crown's interests, and Mendel Feinstein, the sole non-Right Bloc appointee, as Economic Development Minister, one of the least glorious positions. The majority party and its coalition per tradition pick one member of the opposition party or bloc to serve in the Cabinet.

Foreign Policy Influence: Ghant and Latium Win Big

Foreign nations with major ties to Yisrael usually watch the Cabinet makeup for signs of favor or disfavor with the governing administration. With the current Cabinet slate, both Ghant and Latium appear to have substantial influence and favor in the incoming government.

For Ghant, the appointment of Ariel Goldblatt, long a pro-Ghantish figure in Yisraeli right-wing politics which noticeably has few high-profile promoters for the northerly continent-nation, as Foreign Minister was a major coup. Goldblatt and senior Ghantish leaders have years-long relationships, and Goldblatt's position as a trusted friend in Katz's inner circle means the foreign nation has sympathetic advocates in Yisraeli foreign and national security discussions and more readily-available back-channels in the event of major geopolitical events.

Latium, meanwhile, gained several friends in the new government from the appointments of David Roth and Alexander Keisenberg. The Roths originated as Perateian Jews from the Latin Diocese of the East and retain cultural and business ties to Latium, especially in Perateia. Keisenberg, as noted above, has a direct conduit for back-channeling with the Latin Consul.

Neighboring Sydalon, meanwhile, kept its top advocate, Defense Minister Bauman, who has worked well with his Sydalene counterparts, especially during the attempted Sydalene Revolution, throughout his Feldman tenure.

The preeminent Periclean power, Lihnidos, gained a sympathetic voice in Prince Michoel, who is known to be fond of the island-country and its powerful monarchy.

The entire Cabinet slate is expected to be approved by the Knesset during its marathon voting this evening.

Binyomin Eisenberger reported from Yerushalayim, Yisrael. None of these organizations are associated with the RYD, and all opinions and personal views in the article do not reflect the viewpoints of the RYD or their employees.

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by **Enyama** » Wed Feb 12, 2020 11:38 am

Leuter Sion speaking at a Democratic campaign rally

Sion: ”Childlike behavior” from major Periclean powers “only destabilizes the region more”

By: Lorenzo Novoa
30 January 2020

VILLA ROMERA - Leuter Sion, interim Grand Minister and front-runner for the Chancellorship, again focused his sights on international issues as he sought to address the presence of Latin and Montian troops, as well as a plethora of Roth Group contractors, that continue to remain on the Archipelago well into the New Year, despite their expulsion having been ordered in December by then-Prince Veremundo.

I’m sure you will forgive me if I speak frankly?

(cheers)

Excellent. I don’t intend to mince my words for political reasons at such a bottleneck moment as this, fine people of the Archipelago. My friend Veremundo may have indeed done so for a while, even at his most radical, but that was out of political necessity, and out of conditioned formality. So, regardless, let me begin.

The Periclean region has certainly not looked this chaotic in decades, and we are again caught in the middle. I’m sure that, in short political career, in my university courses, and even in my pre-school, I was taught that the government tends to have full jurisdiction over its territory. Why is it, then, that, despite our government’s repeated efforts to get what I can only now describe as “illegal foreign invaders” to leave, they instead have stalled us? Resisted us? Found every little last excuse and loophole to stay on this island, as if it were theirs, as if their flag was still flying over the Villa Romera?

This is childlike, to put it simply. The leaders of Latium and Yisrael and Mont have elected to live in a fantasy-land, or rather, they were born into their fantasy-land, for they don’t - they can’t comprehend what the situation on the ground looks like. What the life of an average citizen of this island is. And I fear, that, for every day that those foreign troops and foreign thugs continue to remain on our serene islands, another dejected Aligonian, another man who struggles to find work between being a Kellner and spinning tables at the Casino, sees those brutes and just spits on the ground. And they get radicalized, and they go to the other side of injustice, to that angry longing for justice that I’m sure you’ve all seen or even felt. And they get radicalized. And now we’ve got terrorists. And all of this, of course, only destabilizes the region more.

Mark my words, people of Gran Aligonia. On my first day as Chancellor, I will do everything in my power to get these dogs to heel. The LATIN troops; the MONTIAN troops, and especially, ESPECIALLY, those glorified gangsters the Roth Group calls its contractors, will all leave, and they will never return!”

by **Yisroel** » Wed Feb 12, 2020 6:42 pm

Trending Stories -- Anti-Royalist Purge Rumor Freaks Left, Chilonim -- West Makrian Crisis Escalates -- GA's Sion: Foreign Troops Out If I Win

Roth Group's Green, FM Goldblatt Weigh In On Latest Remarks By GA's Sion, While Yisraeli, Latin Foreign Ministers Set To Meet

_{Pictured: Vice-President of Communications Eliezer Green (pictured) of the Roth Group speaking to reporters this morning.}

The latest anti-foreigner remarks by Leuter Sion, interim Grand Minister and the frontrunner for the newly created Gran Aligonian Chancellorship, spark furious but delayed backlash.
^{February 4th, 2020| By Binyomin Eisenberger (beisenberg@ryd.org) | 9:38am EDT}

YERUSHALAYIM, YISRAEL — A few days ago, interim Gran Aligonian Grand Minister Leuter Sion, a major figure in toppling the Periclean isles' former absolute monarchy late last year, told supporters at a rally in Villa Romera that major Periclean powers such as Latium, Yisrael, and Mont were "child-like" for refusing to comply with a legally dubious order by then-Prince Veremundo.

Continuing in his now-trademark xenophobic-tinged rhetoric, Sion continued say that the leaders of the three aforementioned nations "lived in a fantasy-land" before chastening them for not observing what Sion perceived to be the common Aligonian worker's disgust with seeing foreigners in their island state. He repeatedly called private defense and security contractors employed by the Pyrion Defense Group, a Roth Group subsidiary, as "foreign thugs" and "glorified gangsters," while calling Latin and Montian troops stationed in the isles as part of existing defense treaties "brutes" and "dogs." Sion then implies that the presence of armed state and private forces in Gran Aligonia is responsible for the growing terrorism of Bishop Hugo Marin’s radical Christian Socialist bloc, who are reported to be importing arms and explosives from the totalitarian leftist regime in Jhengstang. His fiery, anti-foreigner speech drew fierce but delayed response from Yisraeli government and corporate figures.

Newly-Minted Foreign Minister Goldblatt, Roth Group VP Green: Sion Remarks "Ludicrous," "Slanderous," And "Wrong"

Responding after days-long silence, both Foreign Minister Ariel Goldblatt, freshly installed in his seat by Knesset last night as well as Eliezer Green, vice-president of communications for the Roth Group, released similarly-themed statements just hours apart.

The Foreign Ministry released a statement to the press by the new Foreign Minister saying:

Foreign Minister Ariel Goldblatt, on behalf of President Katz and His Royal Majesty's Government of Yisrael, thoroughly and completely condemn the words of Leuter Sion, interim Grand Minister of the so-called United Republic of Gran Aligonia and a candidate for its Chancellorship, as ludicrous, slanderous, and reckless. His prejudiced and isolationist rhetoric endangers Yisraeli expatriates and nationals residing or working on the Gran Aligonian islands given the current tense and violent political climate there - a condition Mr. Sion's own actions this past fall helped bring about in the face of the GA's years of quiet stability and calm before he provoked unrest with his anti-monarchy protests. Deposed Prince Veremundo's order was legally problematic and violated international law. He had no authority to interfere in private contracts between Aligonian clients and private contractors working for the Roth Group in their employ. Mr. Sion's relentless nativist and ultra-nationalist bashing of foreigners is the impetus for destabilizing the Periclean region. If Mr. Sion hopes to ascend to lead his people as Chancellor, we here in Yisrael caution him to mind how he speaks about foreign nationals - because believe us, words matter and degrading and dehumanizing foreigners can lead to great tragedy.

Less than two hours later, Mr. Green of the Roth Group spoke to reporters at a press conference. He said forcefully:

We here in Roth Group thoroughly reject the ludicrous and wrong statements by Leuter Sion of Gran Aligonia dehumanizing and slandering our employees working lawfully and respectfully there. Our private contractors are neither 'thugs' nor 'gangsters'. After the acting Grand Minister's initial words alleging misconduct, although already-dubious because of the political context he was saying them in, we nonetheless conducted an internal investigation using a local Aligonian law firm. We found that our contractors have been punctiliously observing both Aligonian and Yisraeli law as well as company policy, and have acted professionally, respectfully, and appropriately given their security duties and the increased risk to their and their clients' physical safety given the chaotic and violent political landscape due very much to Minister Sion's own unnecessary and incendiary protests against a stable regime of a few months ago. We demand that he apologize for his false slurs against our employees and start behaving in the dignified manner of one who seeks to hold high public office.

Amid Tensions With Gran Aligonia, Latin And Yisraeli FMs To Meet Reportedly To Discuss Next Steps In The Volatile Isles

Both foreign ministries of Yisrael and Latium confirmed that FM Goldblatt and Deputy FM for Periclean Affairs, Ezra Ricardo, will fly tomorrow to the Latin capital of Castellum ab Alba to meet Latin Foreign Minister Duke Flavius Aemelius. Spokesmen for both agencies declined to say what would be on the agenda.

Sources from the Presidential Palace, however, given anonymity to speak freely, say that Latium and Yisrael, as part of growing friendly ties and shared interests in the GA, will coordinate a "joint strategy" given upcoming GA elections for Chancellor and the Grand Ministry. For example, Sion's leading opponent and head of the royalist bloc in the Chancellorship elections, Artús Montecalvo, the former Duke of Mont-Moceno, is a major pro-Yisrael figure, while in the Grand Ministry legislative elections, the royalist candidates skew pro-Latium and tend to be supporters of self-exiled Duke Alexandre del Villar of Tarraron.

The sources indicate both nations will ensure both royalist blocs coordinate and otherwise not work against each other to ensure Sion and his Democrats lack political flexibility to punitively hit Latin and Yisraeli interests on the island.

There was a report that just-installed Justice Minister David Roth, of the same family who own the Roth Group, would be accompanying Goldblatt to tomorrow's meeting as de facto Roth representative, but neither the Foreign nor Justice Ministries answered media inquiries as of press time.

Binyomin Eisenberger reported from Yerushalayim, Yisrael. None of these organizations are associated with the RYD, and all opinions and personal views in the article do not reflect the viewpoints of the RYD or their employees.

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