StockNES

Update 1 – 2201​

The Daily Standard​

VENEZUELA SURRENDERS, SIGNS PEACE DEAL
After a decisive year of conflict, the Venezuelan civilian government has accepted a humiliating peace, surrendering large amounts of its former empire to the victorious powers of the UC, Brazil and Mexico. Some particularly hawkish individuals within the victorious camp have even said the treaty was too generous, due to the shattered state of the Venezuelan armed forces – though the governments of all four states have endorsed the peace deal without reservations. In the Caribbean, Cuba, Haiti and Puerto Rico were ceded to the United Commons, while Jamaica was surrendered to Mexico. In Central America, Mexico also gained every metre of land up to the Panama Canal, which Mexico and Venezuela agreed to be co-owners of and have equal access rights to, though nominally Venezuela has sovereignty over the waterway. In the east, Brazil was given most of Guyana, save for core Venezuelan claims, while an arrangement was made for Brazil to receive monetary compensation as well through the UC, with Venezuela providing a reparations of industrial hardware for the following two years. Only a month after the treaty had been signed and the invading powers pushed their militaries up to their new territories a military coup returned Venezuela back to authoritarian rule, having been a democracy for many decades. The fall of Venezuela should prove to significantly shift the balance of trading power in the Caribbean.
(Venezuela: -Stability)

NORTH AMERICAN NEWS​

CIVIL WAR IN THE UNITED COMMONS
The UC government, though last year rumoured to be considering the recognition of the Western Union, has declared the leaders of the western clads to be outlaws, depriving them of their right to govern, and declaring all their land and assets to be under federal jurisdiction. The UC government followed this declaration with an air campaign aimed at undermining enemy leadership which has seen significant results – including major defections and loss of confidence among many western leaders. However surrender was out of the question for the Western Union, and ultimately a ground war was undertaken by the east near the end of the year, which successfully forced the surrender of Chicago and Indianapolis, and has put St. Louis and Minneapolis under the threat of siege. Military operations during the first half of the year saw the lucky destruction of the WU’s entire jet air force, leaving the skies entirely open to UC bombardment, which was tactically limited to potential sites of enemy clad leadership or key assets. Numerous military and civilian defections from the western clads occurred, which rendered the UC intelligence leaks helping the air force destroy significant officer barracks of the WU, though the location of the executive board has remained a mystery. The dedicated campaign against the top level executives of the west, although hurting their support and popularity, strengthened their resolve, as they have vowed negotiation is off the table until attacks directed against them cease. When the internal collapse of the WU was evidently not forthcoming, the UC then began the ground offensive later in the year. The UC army took precautions against alienating the populations of major cities, two of which surrendered. The UC’s previously dire situation has been instrumentally improved by successful victory against Venezuela and recent victories against the WU, and while the war isn’t over, either a negotiated settlement or a full occupation of the west or foreseeable options to end the conflict, though the latter would necessarily involve more blood than the UC may wish to bear.
(UC: -1 Infantry Division, +Stability)
(WU: -1 Infantry Division, - 1 Cavalry Division, -1 Fighter Squadron, --Stability)

CALIFORNIAN ELECTIONS
An unexpected minority government has formed in California after their mandated elections pitted the ruling Social-Democrats against a dissenting socialist bloc, internally splitting the party. Though the Social-Democrats are still in charge, their rule has been seriously questioned after major union strikes temporarily halted Governor Shepard’s economic program, and hurt her party in the polls. The governor’s campaign on the program itself won over a broad spectrum of Californian society, eating away Republican-Unionist voters, however the lack of a strong left-wing coalition combined with an aggressive industrializing policy has disenchanted a great number of voters away from both the Social-Democrats’ socialists and Shepard’s liberals to the Californian Environmental Party – a counter-modernist group which campaigned on green reforms and a focus on resolving the labour disputes in the nation. Currently the green counter-modernists hold the balance of power in government, while socialists within the Social-Democrat Party are threatening to split if welfare and labour relations aren’t addressed before next election.

UNIONS STRIKE AS CALIFORNIA COMPLETES DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
Despite calls for safety regulations and labour reforms, the Californian government pressed ahead with its economic projects, requisitioning the necessary materials and providing sufficient funds to finish rehabilitating the port of Oakland and construct integrated rail systems throughout the Sacramento valley. After dozens more tragic deaths during construction, and without any response from the government, unions felt they had no choice but to call a general strike, halting progress on both projects. Union strikes were lifted after the close elections hurt the ruling government’s mandate, and the port of Oakland was finished before the end of the year – though much of the rail system is yet to be finished, and the project’s expected completion will be next year barring any further strikes.
(California: -Stability)

DEMONSTRATION TURNS INTO STANDOFF IN MEXICAN TEXAS
A group of Texans participated in an elaborate demonstration of disobedience this year, flaunting weapons in a major Texan city, claiming that Mexican oppression and exclusion has gone on long enough. The demonstrators crowded several city blocs wearing exaggerated Texan dress and bearing many cultural relics of their people’s history, including large hats of the “cowboy” and small ties, among other artifacts. Initially Mexican police entirely ignored the demonstration as some kind of cultural festival, until demonstrators begun revealing fire arms and made a makeshift firing range, which they claimed to be part of their cultural heritage. Fearful of a potential riot, police moved to isolate the crowd, however unintentionally caused a tense standoff between dozens of armed indigenous demonstrators and he police, lasting an hour as the demonstrators dug into their position. When the Mexican police backed off the Texans began shouting about “the Alamo” and claimed that this was the first victory on the road to autonomy and recognition. Mexican authorities in the region have known locals to own guns, but were surprised by the sheer number of Texans who showcased guns in solidarity after the demonstrations, and provincial leaders have been asking the government for resources to begin a crackdown, fearing a potential upsurge in violent crime.

SOUTH AMERICAN NEWS​

VENEZUELAN MILITARY TAKES OVER CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT
Having witnessed the fall of their expansive domain at the hands of an incompetent civilian government, a military coup has taken place in Venezuela, led by the army, which occupied the capital and has assumed the role of government this year. Riots and protests erupted across the country after the peace treaty was signed, from separatists in the Antilles, to workers and liberals in Venezuela and Colombia proper. The military, seeing its role as stabilizing the socialist political order, stepped in as interim government – though no one is sure for how long. Curfews and brutal police suppression of protests effectively reverted the instability caused by the initial shock of the peace deal, however the military will have a tough future also returning the country to economic recovery with the loss of much of its land and resources.
(Venezuela: +Stability)

COMMUNISTS MAKE ADVANCES IN SAO PAULO CIVIL WAR
Though overall the Workers’ Federation of Sao Paulo has made more progress towards ending the civil war than the white army this year after two somewhat successful campaigns in the west and north, a well-orchestrated push against Brasilia and its southern townships has brought a major industrial centre into the control of the whites. During the first half of the year the red army advanced on the western held territories adjacent to the Gaucho Republic, successfully acquiring territories up to the Parana River before which artillery volleyed against scurrying enemy units under the direct attack of the red armoured division and its backup. However in the first months of this plan the whites mounted their only major success in the war, a combined three way assault on Brasilia and its surrounding territories. It seemed that most of the white forces were dedicated to the attack, which caught the communists’ northern divisions by surprise with fire behind their positions, undermining their push into the western region. Red forces were redirected and completion of the western attack stalled, and by midyear Brasilia and the immediate defensive positions around it were lost. Cut off from the main white army, the communists finished off the western region before the end of the year with ease, while the whites sacrificed multiple divisions there to instead dig in for what they presumably predict to be a major counter-offensive in this coming year. Though much military hardware has fallen behind enemy lines, WFSP initiatives to collectivize equipment on their own side have succeeded in partially replenishing their stocks.
(WFSP: -3 Infantry Divisions, -1 Artillery Division, -5 IP, +4 IP)
(KSP: -5 Infantry Divisions, -2 Artillery Divisions, +5 IP)

SYNDICALIST MILITARY COUP IN LA PLATA
Led by the dashing Marshal Ferdinand Romano, the state of La Plata has gone through a deadly revolution this year, as wide sections of the army, government bureaucracy and civil society have defected to the young Marshal’s liberation front, giving him a firm grasp of the apparatuses of government. The fall of the corporate state began when soldiers more loyal to the people than their corporate overlords refused to fire on proletarian rioters and protestors in Buenos Aires, signalling to elements of the revolutionary underground that the time had come to undertake their subversive schemes. Lower level officer corps under the orders of Marshal Romano, himself an ambitious and popular officer, stormed the headquarters and board room offices of the National Corporations in the capital, arresting their executives – eliminating in a single week most of the backers of the corporate dictatorship of La Plata. Romano appointed himself head of the People’s Committee for Liberation, Progress and Order, constituting an emergency military government to destroy all capitalist elements hostile to the revolution. Of course perhaps over half the military, as well as the entirety of the plutocratic class were against Romano’s lower level cadets, and the rest of the year was a bloodbath comparable in terror to any of the numerous wars the National Corporations waged against the Gaucho Republic. Illegal labour unions seized their chance in the townships outside the capital, and Chilean rebels too joined in murderously eliminating Argentine settlers along the west coast. The pacification is far from complete, as those of the old guard that survived the year’s near civil war have gone into hiding, with acts of sabotage occasionally marring the new revolutionary government’s office buildings or arms depots. The old dynamics of Chilean rebels, Gaucho spies and a constant fear of the mass of the people have been only partially replaced in La Plata this year; the mass of the people are on the side of the new military government, but the interests of Chileans – many who tolerate the regime but wish to see more democratic aspects introduced along Gaucho lines – and other Gauchoist supporters remain. The fear of the people now is gone, replaced by the fear of reactionary militias still in hiding, some perhaps even in plain sight.
(La Plata: -4 Infantry Divisions, -2 Cavalry Division, -3 Artillery Divisions, -1 Fighter Squadron, +Stability, -Army Grade)

EUROPEAN NEWS​

FRANCE IN CHAOS
Two separate rebel groups have entered into civil war with the military government in France this year in the wake of the assassination of the French head of state, the supreme commander. The two main fighting blocs have consolidated control over large parts of the industrial north of the country, while government forces have regrouped in the south, joined by divisions from the Basque occupation force and reservists in Aquitaine. Formerly a united front under the rebel organization known as the Underground, a major split in the organization erupted early this year, as the Revolutionary Assembly, a separate rebel group, has been founded with substantially more technocratic influence than the mainly liberal-democratic Underground. For detailed news, go to the special section on the next page.

FIRST DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS TAKES PLACE IN BERLIN
The Republic of Germany has hosted the delegations of Europe’s democratic states this year, as diplomats and politicians from England, the Celtic Union, Italy and even California convened in Berlin with English and UC help to discuss the future of democracy in Europe. Besides summitry and political networking, the Congress successfully agreed to a European democratic-wide non-aggression pact, though such agreement was rather easy due to the distance of the signatories. Delegates also discussed the possibility of unified military exercises, as well as a democratic military alliance to facilitate such exercises, though no binding agreements were reached on either subject. The Congress has been favourably received in all of the European delegations’ home countries, with many calls for a second Congress to push for closer military and political cooperation.

REPUBLIC OF GERMANY SEEKS COMPUTER PROGRAMMERS
University professors across Europe have seen new offerings emanating from the Republic of Germany for them to work in the north German state on programming and computer science projects. The government there has promised unlimited visa duration and relaxed citizenship requirements as well as well-paid positions with modern computer science facilities if they should choose to work in the country. The government has also offered awards to any scientist that can double the processing power of certain computers and provide proof of such expertise to the German government. The program has attracted some German students and young professors, but has yet to find any foreign civilians with desirable computer science abilities not already well endowed with military contracts at their own countries. Regardless, the increased publicity for German universities has certainly helped reduce the European sense that technocratic institutions are the only universities attracting foreign minds to immigrate.

NORTH-SOUTH GERMAN STATES HOLD CULTURAL FESTIVALS
The technocratic confederation of South Germany and the northern Republic of Germany have agreed to increase cultural exchanges between their respective populations, inaugurating the first international Oktoberfest, and increasing mutual tourism. Several other cultural festivals were held within northern and southern towns without major incident, however ideological differences between citizens of the two states continually became obstacles to organizing and holding the events. During events north Germans gave speeches on the history of German democracy and the values of humanism, while the south tried to encourage north Germans to attend technocratic universities. Despite obvious politicization of the festivities, tourism has increased among both states, and a freer flow of technocratic and democratic ideas has arisen within both countries.

EXPERIMENTAL BAVARIAN PROGRAMS BEGUN IN CELTIC UNION, NORWAY
Some universities in the Celtic Union and Norway, many with technocratic leaning or openly technocratic academics working for them with tenure, have begun offering programs using the Bavarian model of technocracy, where the costs of education are paid over the course of the student’s career. As of right now the courses remain highly experimental, as the results and rate of success won’t be easily determined for at least until several years after the graduation of the first technocratic cohort, but nonetheless the direct presence of the Bavarian model in the Celtic Union and Norway have made other Bavarian ideas about governance more credible, which may prove to increase the traction Bavarians have at large in these countries. Universities in other countries where Bavarian help has been offered have declined to participate, whether by the legal prescriptions of their governments, many of which consider post-graduate payments illegal except through student loans, or due to a lack of interest where the law is more flexible. The immediate result of Bavarian help has been to strengthen those universities which have joined on as they have received educated assistants and exchange programs paid for by the Bavarian government.

SCOTTISH DRILLING RECEIVES EXTRA BAVARIAN AND ENGLISH FUNDS
Additional support from Bavaria to secure their bid, and from England unconditionally, have helped bring sufficient funds to complete the Scottish government’s drilling expansions, and offshore natural gas extraction facilities have begun funneling substantial amounts of natural gas into the Bavarian economy, as well as a smaller amount of petroleum. The Scottish economy has also been improved, as their government unveils its intention to build refining and processing plants in Ireland and southern Scotland for newly extracted natural gas and oil to be shipped as final products. These promises have reduced concerns of a Scotland-oriented economic program, which has been perceived as unfair to Celts in Ireland who are footing the bill for Scottish development – mutual exploitation of gas and petrol may help reduce such inter-provincial tensions.

NORWAY BEGINS OFFSHORE DRILLING, CONTESTS SCOTTISH TERRITORIAL CLAIMS
Mimicking the successful drilling project conducted by the Celtic Union, Norway has begun staking out claims on existing reserves off its coast and started its own project, and has argued that Scottish drilling sites are actually stealing their own reserves. The Norwegian government has complained that only as of last year could it have realized the scope of the Scottish plans went into parts of the North Sea Norway considers sovereign to itself. Norwegian destroyers have made practice runs through territory it considers its own, getting perilously close to Scottish offshore rigs, as Norwegian funds are being put towards drilling stations of their own.

LOMBARDY HITS FIRST MILESTONE IN PORT EXPANSION
The Lombard plan to expand the ports of Genoa, Venice, Messina and Athens has passed its first major checkpoint, as the western ports of Genoa and Venice have become operational, though final constructions are still underway to optimize them. The increased traffic that Lombardy can handle has already helped direct trade through its land over that of other countries, as Mediterranean merchants opt to take continental trade through the Italian peninsula over the Balkans or other ports in Iberia. The plan is projected to be finished within the next couple years and is hoped to keep Lombardy’s further holdings better integrated into the country’s far flung empire.

HIGH SPEED “GDANSK LINE” BEGUN IN HUNGARY
Astute Hungarian planners have begun the “Gdansk Line,” a high-speed rail line from Budapest to the Polish port of Gdansk, the former capital of the corporate state of Poland before skirmishes with Sweden brought the country into the Polish state in Hungary. While the line’s current cost would provide for personnel, the design is capable of expansions for the high-speed transport of goods if planners wish to in the future. The line hasn’t drawn too much controversy, though ministers representing both Polish and Hungarian constituents have argued more diffuse transportation systems would be preferable, rather than an elite line which would primarily benefit government officials and the new class of traders who benefit from the market socialist system.

CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS IN HUNGARY LINKED TO BALKAN TRAFFICKING
Leaked reports of government investigations into Romanian and Hungarians criminal organizations have indicated strong links to Bulgarian and Greek organizations in Turkish lands. The Hungarian police have condemned the unlawful leak of the report, and have insisted that until investigations have concluded they will not speak to what extend these criminals are linked to the recent upsurge in Balkan violence. The huge importance of Hungary as a bridge between industrial and agrarian centres across the continent has naturally meant the gravitation of criminal groups’ attention to Hungary as a route of illicit goods from the Middle East and Russia, which are suspected to flow into Lombardy and Bavaria, as well as possibly even into farther parts of Western Europe.

CZECHIA COMPLETES TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
Businesses and national industries in Czechia are basking in Europe’s most advanced telecommunications networks, which have provided commercial enterprises with more accessible and usable communications systems. Regular citizens are also enjoying faster, cheaper and more abundant communications services from the government, and everyone in the counter-modernist state now awaits the completion of the king’s second project, that of the crown railways. Isn’t this a jolly little country.

SPECIAL: FRANCE IN CHAOS​

SUPREME COMMANDER OF FRANCE ASSASSINATED ON SECOND ATTEMPT
The turning point of the brewing chaos in France came this year with the assassination of the leader of the French state, the supreme commander of the military, whom led the country in place of a president throughout the country’s crisis. Though confirmation of the exact events which transpired during the second (successful) attempt on the leader’s life were difficult to obtain, the current government has blamed the syndicalists (Metzienne faction) of the eastern rebel coalition. The first attempt on the supreme commander also remains somewhat of a mystery. That attempt took place outside a military barracks in Paris, and police identified the shooter to be of Bavarian origin, though the government refrained from accusing the South German Confederation in favour of blaming the rebels of ARON. In the wake of the second attempt the country has entered into outright civil war, as multiple less than mutually amicable factions have organized conventional armed forces around their core areas of support.
(France: -Stability)
(Underground: +Existence)
(ARON: +Existence)

THE FRENCH UNDEGROUND SPLITS, LIBERAL UNDERGROUND REBELS IN NORTH-WEST
An irreconcilable ideological difference has forced the split of the French Underground, which formerly held in its number both liberals, socialists and disaffected officers of the French military. The main point of divergence was what respects were due to technocrats within France, and to the major technocratic powers that might serve to help the Underground’s cause. A large bloc within the Underground categorically refused recognition of technocrats, who they see as authoritarians of the same ilk as the military government. The leadership, before the split, though not willing to reject potential allies of the cause of freedom, certainly refused to incorporate technocratic beliefs such as the university tithe into their revolutionary program. The so-called Blanquists who were willing to accept technocrats as part of the rebellion formalized the split with the creation of ARON, the Revolutionary Assembly of National Order, with the Revolutionary Officers Party (for short, the Louvre faction) as its co-leader with the Blanquists. In short order the time to begin conventional military operations against the government came, and the Underground, purged of technocrats by the choice of the Blanquists, solidified complete control of the northwest of France by the end of the year, fighting reorganizing government forces. The split has hurt the Underground immensely, as they are no longer the undisputed leader of the rebellion, and to their surprise the technocratic-tolerating ARON, with the help of the Blanquists, have secured about as much territory and arms as they have since the initiation of civil war.

REBELS OF ARON BEGIN MILITARY CAMPAIGN IN INDUSTRIAL EAST
The new revolutionary coalition of ARON has also rebelled this year, however their basis of power has been the industrial north-east, where much of the technocratic and syndicalist elements of the rebellion are headquartered. ARON itself is composed largely of four factions, the Revolutionary Officers Party (the Louvre faction), the Blanquist faction, the Popular Technocratic Party (the Sorbonne faction), and the United Revolutionary Syndicates (the Metzienne faction). The Louvre and Blanquist factions hold co-leadership of the Revolutionary Assembly (the Louvre granted the office of Great Emancipator, the Blanquists President of the Assembly), which acts as the collective government of the rebellion, organizing much of their armed forces, though an equal portion is controlled by the proletarian militias of the Metzienne, which have borne the brunt of casualties in the first year of civil war. The Metzienne have also been granted a lower house of the Assembly specifically for their syndicalist unions. The most ideologically developed, but additionally most newly integrated part of the ARON front is the Sorbonne faction, mainly technocratic intellectuals and academics turned revolutionaries who have been highly successful at engineering anti-government propaganda for ARON, with a technocratic flavour. The mishmash coalition, formed only this year but with half the Underground’s contacts and arms has rapidly organized into a fighting force, and they’ve made as much progress as the remainder of the Underground in fighting the government.

PARIS THREATENED ON ALL SIDES
The heart of France, and the former seat of military power in the country, Paris has been the main site of rebel push from both ARON and the Underground. Government forces have also recognized the importance of the city’s millions of inhabitants, though have also spent the year scuffling much of the city’s industrial resources to safer areas in the south. Both disrupted trade from three competing militaries combined with this policy of industrial evacuation has put the city in dire risk of starvation, however swift occupation of the city and its surrounding area might alleviate the imminent threat. Some are concerned, should ARON and the Underground push on Paris simultaneously, that urban conflict might erupt between partisans loyal to each cause, something government forces may or may not be abetting.

AFRICAN NEWS​

WIND POWER EXPANSION BEGUN BY SOUTH AFRICAN “GREEN SKIES” COMPANY
The president of South Africa has approved plans made by the Green Skies Company, a solar power provider, to begin construction of two artificial islands which will use experimental wind storage systems to maximize power conservation and accumulation along the country’s coastline. South Africa has invested in solar power in the past, and this latest step is hoped to perfect coastal generation. While the president and his party were happy to equip this private program with government funds, fiscal conservatives have argued that the technology isn’t the best use of resources, as the battery storage systems would only improve electrical storage rather minimally compared to investment in other energy industries.

ORGANIZED CRIME SHOOTOUTS IN ALGERIAN CAPITAL
Major criminal organizations in Algeria, specializing in human trafficking according to police reports, have conducted near monthly shootouts in the nation’s capital, for purposes yet unknown. Government analysts believe these organizations, which have usually worked in concert together and with the tacit consent of Tuaregs, nomads or rural Algerian leaders, have come into dispute over money or routes. When two bystanders were accidentally shot, the government sprung an investigation into being, which spent the remainder of the year harassing tribal representatives who may know something about the growing violence in the capital. No new information has come forth from the government as of the end of the year.

TANZANIANS PROTEST MILITARY BUDGET AMID NAVAL MODERNIZATION
Large protests organized in the Tanzanian capital this year, as many have felt that military expenditures have reached a new level of ridiculousness with the modernization of their main naval port. The peace activists have called for regional dialogue between their own country, Kenya, Ethiopia and preferably also South Africa to find some kind of arms limitation agreement, so that the security dilemma which has fuelled competition in the region doesn’t get out of control. Police kept the protests under control, and though they dissipated, other intellectuals of Kenyan and Ethiopian origin have also spoken publicly about the need for arms reductions. This hasn’t materialized in any formal talks, but protest organizers claim they will keep up the pressure until something happens.
(Tanzania: -Stability)

ASIAN AND PACIFIC NEWS​

IRAQ FORTIFIES REHABILITATED SUEZ CANAL
The occasionally tense border between Egypt and Iraq along the Suez Canal, which was ceded to Iraq in the last war between the two powers, has seen large-scale fortification improvements added to the eastern Iraqi side. Officials say they are merely securing their rightful holding of the Suez by demonstrating the superiority they’d have should Egypt decide to make a frontal assault. Tribal residents on the eastern side however have found the sudden increase in Iraqi traffic disruptive, though nothing more than vocal statements of displeasure have been issued.

TELECOMM LINES TO FACILITATE INNER ASIAN TRADE THROUGH IRAN
Iran has doubled down on land-based Asian trade this year, spurring development of telecommunications throughout its mountainous regions as well as into neighbouring Afghanistan. The lines should improve business communications, speed transactions, and hopefully divert trade through their preferred route into the Far East, one they have tight control over and have a great deal of leverage politically and in taxation. The lines are expected to finish next year, though many are talking about helping Afghanistan modernize as well, a country which has as of yet largely missed out on the benefits of the modern Silk Road.

MAOISTS HOLD FIRST ELECTIONS IN THE GANGES
Under scrutiny and criticism from their more liberal South Asian neighbours, the Ganges have held local and national elections for their people’s congress and for positions among the country’s many districts. The elections have seen criticism emanating through foreign radio and underground liberal leaflet campaigns in favour of full democracy without limitations on political parties, however it hasn’t elicited a public response within the country, where elections happened smoothly for the most part. The government remains primarily strongly Maoist, though a number of local areas of the country saw local war heroes and military veterans of less doctrinaire varieties succeed in outcompeting their comrades. The issue of Pan-Indianism may be a point of division, the veterans and military being more inclined towards Pan-Indian programs and projects, though the recovering country’s universal need for economic programs has guaranteed a united front across government on all levels.

DEMONSTRATIONS IN HYDERABAD AND MAHARASHTRA FOR INDIAN STATE
The defeat of Pakistan under the coalition of Indian states has unintentionally created a great degree of Indian pride among intellectuals and commoners alike, and several major conventions were held in Hyderabad and Maharashtra for a united Indian state along liberal principles. Precisely who would lead such a state and under what structure was undetermined, but thousands gathered for notable speeches in major squares of the capital cities of both these two countries. Whether politicians capitalize or build off of the momentum among liberals in these states for closer relations is yet to be seen.

FAR EAST ATTEMPTS CULTURAL REFORMS
The more leftist minded members of the Far Eastern Republic’s legislature have forwarded bills this year to try and expand the scope of democracy in the country. They have argued for an ideal they call Vostokianism, whereby social and cultural unity are achieved through political pluralism. A campaign of inclusion has begun, aimed at better off Russians who are the most averse to new social reforms, attempting to convince them of the need for inclusion. Some Russians have been offered positions on the high-yield agricultural program as well, to see the benefits to the common people of Manchuria and Korea. While somewhat of a successful phenomenon among Russian liberals who hope to rename the country the “Vostok Republic,” ethnic Koreans and Chinese have been alienated by the proposal’s vague and still Russian-centric view. Opinions range from radical separatists to mild isolationists among the Korean and Chinese populations, who would rather be left alone than be brought more thoroughly into the republic. The whole movement for inclusion will require a great deal more serious thought before it begins coalescing into a manageable frame for democracy in the FER.

SHIPYARD EXPANSION BEGUN IN CHINA
The People’s Republic of China has begun expanding military shipyards along its eastern coast, many anticipating the coming of a new naval program to justify the huge expenditures in an area of the military many among the brass of the army find a huge waste of resources. The projects are putting workers in the coastal cities to work as electrification continues in the country, and no one has denied the shipyards could also build civilian vessels either for domestic use or export.

NEW PORT OF DARWIN OPENS IN AUSTRALIA
The port of Darwin has been refitted and modernized as of the end of this year, and has already increased the industrial efficiency of the Australian nation by lending them an enlarged area for exports. Though the port is far removed from the majority of the Australian population, some industries have begun forming around the new port and hopes are high that such contacts will bring trade closer to Melbourne and the eastern coast as well.

INDONESIA TO LAY UNDERSEA COMMUNICATIONS CABLES
The Indonesian government has begun laying communications cables to allow for instant communication by telephone and military computer networks between its various major islands. Presently the cables are expected mainly to connect Borneo, Sumatra and Java, though a few lines will reach major military installations.

BACK PAGE​

The Californian government has established a government investment bank to help entrepreneurs, particularly ones dealing in foreign trade.

Cascadian elections have kept the same folk in power, keep on doing your thing brothers.

A protest took place in Salt Lake City over religious freedom, as many non-Mormons or converts to other religions request better treatment by the government. Due to the country’s position along North American trading routes, an influx of foreign beliefs have come to the country.

The Mexican government has begun a renovation project of its Caribbean ports to improve shipping efficiency. With trade power in the Caribbean shifting away from Venezuela and towards Mexico, the ports are hoped to be the destination of choice for far off traders.

The United Commons has begun a welfare program directed at the least fortunate of the federation’s many clads.

Integration of Guyana into the Brazilian corporate republic has been called a success, as corporations have fully bought out local industries and ministries, and government funding has repaired most of the damage from the war.

Police and protesters clash in Peru, where police have conducted reprisal attacks on suspected plotters against the president. Though the attacks themselves are alleged by the police to have fully routed enemies in the country, they resulted in protests against increasing authoritarianism within the state.
(Peru: +Stability)

The English Education Board, begun last year, has continued to offer a strong system of grants and scholarships, increasing access to higher education. The board has, in English tradition, continued to emphasize commerce, economics and the social sciences.

Building off of last year’s two Dixie informational campaigns, an English pan-imperial publicity campaign has tried to control domestic perceptions of the trade federation as a prosperous union, which independent of culture or nation provides for its subjects.

Bavaria’s continued support of the Salzburg Military Academy is seeing its inaugural class enter their second year.

Attempting to recrack the Human Genome, Bavarians are attracting Europe greatest bioscientists, as the research project continues this year.

The fusion of the formerly fascist military establishment and the new technocratic administration of Lombardy is starting to see some progress towards reconciliation between technocrats and militarists, as military colleges across the nation are serving to bring both ideological groups together.

Industrial parks are being opened by the Russian government to focus on mechanized agricultural equipment in major cities.

The headquarters of the German merchant navy has finally been settled to be the port of Hamburg, which the government has begun outfitting with a modern harbour and drydocks this year to increase shipping and support a larger merchant fleet.

The cargo shipping project Sweden began last year has completed, as the country sets its eyes on the Finnish Lapland for gold mining into the immediate future.

China has reached its first milestone, having significantly increased their energy output while hooking up a number of towns to the grid.

Basic amenities such as electricity and plumbing are beginning to reach Japanese rural communities, as well as to a lesser extent Korean rural communities, under a new government project.

Desalinization facilities are expected to be the next economic development program in the Far Eastern Republic, after the government considers its current agricultural reform fund to have succeeded.

Australia has funded and built commercial fishing and merchant vessels for private use along its coast.

The Financier​

GROWTH

MARKET REPORTS​

EUROPEAN MARKET

Story Bonuses​

The South German Confederation expects to push the boundaries of the Technocratic Ecumene. (+10 IP)

California has a bold future ahead of it, and every brick and bricklayer counts. (+10 IP)

La Plata has endured some administrative change, but not an adjustment in momentum. (+10 IP)

The Republic of Germany has Konrad Haas to lead their nation back to the greatness of Old Germany. (+1 EP)

The United Commons of America has the beginnings of a blogging culture on its military networks. (+1 EP)

Mexico has found its place in the world again, and its name shall ring from Texas to Panama. (+10 IP)

Algeria’s leaders have some funny names. (+10 IP)

The Workers’ Federation of Sao Paulo has a dirty business to put behind them. (+1 Infantry Division)

OOC​

The following players should indicate to me the year of their next election, as well as the election terms (plus any other details of the political systems; I’m very willing to try and model bizarre alternative forms of democracy):
- United Commons (Immaculate)
- Brazil (Golden1Knight)
- England (Ophorian)
- Republic of Germany (TaylorFlame)
- Turkey (mrrandomplayer)
- Far Eastern Republic (Tycho)

The following players have provided next election year, but not the election terms:
- California (Cadellon)
- Mexico (Frozen In Ice)

On another note, presently nobody is loaning or requesting loans save for Bavaria, so I’ve decided to let international loans just sit until someone picks them (the lender country can recall the funds if they desire). For now loans can only be transacted within the same continent.

@ Cadellon
Hawaii belongs to California.

@ Golden1Knight
You’ll need to be mores specific about your economic spending, “local industry” is not a sufficient description. EP directed towards that has been banked.

@ Ophorian, Belgarion95
Your orders contradicted one another, specifically Sweden’s stated that the trade agreement determined the Baltic as Sweden’s trade sphere, whereas England’s stated the agreement would increase English influence there. The agreement has been ignored this turn; you can try again this turn.

@ Immaculate
You aren’t a for-profit-traditional-capitalist corporate state, but for the sake of limiting the government types, I’m going to keep your country a “corporate federation” rather than a clad federation.

World Map:


Apologies for the long wait! I've still a busy month yet to come, so let's set the next deadline for Friday, the 8th of August 10 AM, when I think I may have an opening to get a good deal of work done on the next update.

Formerly claiming ARON, viva la best france

Mind if I claim Turkey? Time to bring strength and stability to this proud democratic nation.

Great update.

Nice update!

@Stock:
I'll make elections be every 4 years, unless the coalition in power collapses before that, so a standard sort of parliamentary thing. Do you decide the outcomes of elections or do we decide that ourselves?

J.K. Stockholme said:

CIVIL WAR IN THE UNITED COMMONS
The UC government, though last year rumoured to be considering the recognition of the Western Union, has declared the leaders of the western clads to be outlaws, depriving them of their right to govern, and declaring all their land and assets to be under federal jurisdiction. The UC government followed this declaration with an air campaign aimed at undermining enemy leadership which has seen significant results – including major defections and loss of confidence among many western leaders. However surrender was out of the question for the Western Union, and ultimately a ground war was undertaken by the east near the end of the year, which successfully forced the surrender of Chicago and Indianapolis, and has put St. Louis and Minneapolis under the threat of siege. Military operations during the first half of the year saw the lucky destruction of the WU’s entire jet air force, leaving the skies entirely open to UC bombardment, which was tactically limited to potential sites of enemy clad leadership or key assets. Numerous military and civilian defections from the western clads occurred, which rendered the UC intelligence leaks helping the air force destroy significant officer barracks of the WU, though the location of the executive board has remained a mystery. The dedicated campaign against the top level executives of the west, although hurting their support and popularity, strengthened their resolve, as they have vowed negotiation is off the table until attacks directed against them cease. When the internal collapse of the WU was evidently not forthcoming, the UC then began the ground offensive later in the year. The UC army took precautions against alienating the populations of major cities, two of which surrendered. The UC’s previously dire situation has been instrumentally improved by successful victory against Venezuela and recent victories against the WU, and while the war isn’t over, either a negotiated settlement or a full occupation of the west or foreseeable options to end the conflict, though the latter would necessarily involve more blood than the UC may wish to bear.

Click to expand...

Senior officers and bureaucrats of the rebel Western Union,

The people do not support your masters. Your military does not support your masters. Both would rather prove their loyalty to the United Commons and our shared future than accept their corrupt and inept leadership. The writing is on the wall and all the people can see it. There is no future for the Western Union that does not involve United Commons justice.

The United Commons has seen enough blood, is quite repelled by the need for brother to fight brother. Surrender your leadership. Apprehend and arrest them. Deliver them to us. We will see to it that the senior Western Union leadership receives the justice it deserves. Without their perverse leadership we are sure that the remnants of your rebel army will lay down its weapons and seek reconciliation with the United Commons.

Surrender now, deliver to us your leadership, and we will be sure to forgive the transgressions of those officers and government officials who do. We can even find a senior place for you in the new clades that will rise from the remnants of the west.

Deliver us the senior WU leadership, dead or alive, before they surrender to us, and you will receive significant financial reward and a senior position in the reconstructed western clades.


To the leaders of the western rebellion,

Are you ready to consider a negotiated settlement? We offer you life in prison for the most senior of your membership (instead of execution) but also offer full forgiveness for your military and civilian supporters. The Western Clades will be dismounted, and new ones constructed under the governance and leadership of those who first proved their loyalty to the UC through defection or military or intelligence support. Your families may find a place even in the new western order.

Continue to fight and you will imperil the people of the west without cause, imperil the well-being and wealth of your family and supporters and finally, consign yourselves to being hunted down and killed like rats. A price will be placed on your heads and you will find that the knife that takes your lives will come from those you once most trusted; few are willing to take the fall for your monumental foolishness.

@everyone: I'll be viewing the forums a little bit less frequently due to my personal workload, and as such diplomacy and PM responses will be slow for the next few days.

Frozen In Ice said:

Nice update!

@Stock:
I'll make elections be every 4 years, unless the coalition in power collapses before that, so a standard sort of parliamentary thing. Do you decide the outcomes of elections or do we decide that ourselves?

Click to expand...

When is the date of your next election then?

I don't intend or expect to need to contradict players on which party should be in power after an election unless they are explicitly ignoring updates and my own advice on the issue. Justify why you expect a particular victory and it'll very probably be that outcome.

Immaculate said:

Senior officers and bureaucrats of the rebel Western Union,

The people do not support your masters. Your military does not support your masters. Both would rather prove their loyalty to the United Commons and our shared future than accept their corrupt and inept leadership. The writing is on the wall and all the people can see it. There is no future for the Western Union that does not involve United Commons justice.

The United Commons has seen enough blood, is quite repelled by the need for brother to fight brother. Surrender your leadership. Apprehend and arrest them. Deliver them to us. We will see to it that the senior Western Union leadership receives the justice it deserves. Without their perverse leadership we are sure that the remnants of your rebel army will lay down its weapons and seek reconciliation with the United Commons.

Surrender now, deliver to us your leadership, and we will be sure to forgive the transgressions of those officers and government officials who do. We can even find a senior place for you in the new clades that will rise from the remnants of the west.

Deliver us the senior WU leadership, dead or alive, before they surrender to us, and you will receive significant financial reward and a senior position in the reconstructed western clades.


To the leaders of the western rebellion,

Are you ready to consider a negotiated settlement? We offer you life in prison for the most senior of your membership (instead of execution) but also offer full forgiveness for your military and civilian supporters. The Western Clades will be dismounted, and new ones constructed under the governance and leadership of those who first proved their loyalty to the UC through defection or military or intelligence support. Your families may find a place even in the new western order.

Continue to fight and you will imperil the people of the west without cause, imperil the well-being and wealth of your family and supporters and finally, consign yourselves to being hunted down and killed like rats. A price will be placed on your heads and you will find that the knife that takes your lives will come from those you once most trusted; few are willing to take the fall for your monumental foolishness.

Click to expand...

From the Western Union
To the United Commons

Any negotiated settlement begins with the full freedom of the executive board of the western clads formerly apart of the United Commons. We fight for clad's rights, particularly our right to forego the wayward policies of Washington for our own destiny - should we agree that this war was wrong-headed our rights and the independence of our clads must be assured.

From Germany
To the Nations of Europe and the French Rebels

We recognize the French Underground as the legitimate government of France, being the only faction with any intention of giving the French people the ability to elect their own government. Any attempts to intervene on the behalf of another faction will be met with hostility. We hope that this message will serve to prevent any potential tragedies from happening due to a lack of awareness of this basic fact.

TaylorFlame said:

From Germany
To the Nations of Europe and the French Rebels

We recognize the French Underground as the legitimate government of France, being the only faction with any intention of giving the French people the ability to elect their own government. Any attempts to intervene on the behalf of another faction will be met with hostility. We hope that this message will serve to prevent any potential tragedies from happening due to a lack of awareness of this basic fact.

Click to expand...

See how the demagogue bays for blood? Rather than try to prevent this crisis from spiraling out of control, you've issued an ultimatum that demands that the European Powers stand by and watch an entire nation tear itself to pieces. You are willing to throw its weight behind one group of populist autocrats instead of a group of nationalist autocrats only because they pay lip service to your outmoded ideals of democracy. Is some political fiction truly worth pitting brother against brother?

The South German Federation, looking back on its past fruitful relationship with the French Regime, offers its services as a mediator between it and the rebel forces in the French Underground and ARON. Unlike the democrats, our worldview does not require a healthy foundation of dead bodies through a brutal civil war, and we're going to do everything in our power to minimize death and destruction in France.

We would also like to confirm our pre-existing defensive alliances with Hungary, Sweden, and Lombardy.

Shadowbound said:

See how the demagogue bays for blood? Rather than try to prevent this crisis from spiraling out of control, you've issued an ultimatum that demands that the European Powers stand by and watch an entire nation tear itself to pieces. You are willing to throw its weight behind one group of populist autocrats instead of a group of nationalist autocrats only because they pay lip service to your outmoded ideals of democracy. Is some political fiction truly worth pitting brother against brother?

The South German Federation, looking back on its past fruitful relationship with the French Regime, offers its services as a mediator between it and the rebel forces in the French Underground and ARON. Unlike the democrats, our worldview does not require a healthy foundation of dead bodies through a brutal civil war, and we're going to do everything in our power to minimize death and destruction in France.

Click to expand...

We merely wish for the French people to at least gain the ability to decide who leads them, having suffered through decades of political and social repression at the hands of your autocratic friends. Our people, and the brave members of the Underground, understand the sacrifices that must be made for liberty and happiness, a sentiment obviously not shared by our Southern brethren.

Sheep do not choose their shepherd.

Is that your only response to the issue of liberty for all men? A shepherd is not beholden to it's flock, though an elected leader serves those that saw fit to invest them with power, lest those 'sheep' take it away. It is saddening to see the view the Bavarian government holds of its citizenry and the citizenry of its neighbours.

Shadowbound said:

We would also like to confirm our pre-existing defensive alliances with Hungary, Sweden, and Lombardy.

Click to expand...

Lombardy will stand with her Bavarian brothers for a Europe of cooperation and prosperity.

Sweden will stand with its technocratic brethren in the hopes of continued European peace.

In that spirit, and as a nation removed from the bloodshed currently staining the once-bountiful French countryside, we offer our services as mediators between all parties associated with this horrifying affair.

@SolDelta: I hope not to discourage you, but I should ask to redirect you to another country, as Turkey was under the control of mrrandomplayer and he is on some kind of vacation for the time being (until I know his intentions about continuing as the country I will be keeping it reserved). There are nonetheless a great many other wonderful countries in need of leadership

From the Underground
To Bavaria
CC ARON

We don't plan on fighting our former allies in the revolution, should they do likewise. Our objective a free and democratic France, something many of the present Revolutionary Assembly once fought with us for.

From the Underground
To Germany
CC Free Europe

We appreciate your fine Republic's recognition, our struggle for years until this point will ultimately be vindicated by the people.

From the Celtic Union
To the Underground, ARON

We endorse the formation of a democratic government in place of the obviously crumbling and authoritarian French military regime. We hope that the forces of the Underground and ARON may work together to this end.

Shadowbound said:

The South German Federation, looking back on its past fruitful relationship with the French Regime, offers its services as a mediator between it and the rebel forces in the French Underground and ARON. Unlike the democrats, our worldview does not require a healthy foundation of dead bodies through a brutal civil war, and we're going to do everything in our power to minimize death and destruction in France.

Click to expand...

Indeed, your past relationship with the French Regime must have been quite fruitful, cordial enough to warrant the assassination of the Supreme Commander of France. The government in France may be afraid to directly condemn your actions and blame them on ARON, but any rational individual should be able to see the connection between the South German Federation, the Revolutionary Assembly of National Order, and the events that transpired in Paris. Your worldview may not require a healthy foundation of dead bodies, but perhaps one dead man is all you need to further your ambitions.

While we commend Sweden for their willingness to act as a mediator between the rebel factions and the French government in the south, their motives concern us. It seems too convenient for Sweden, a clearly technocratically aligned nation, to mediate on behalf of the parties, of which one is also technocratically aligned. Surely ARON would come out on top in any bout of negotiations facilitated by the Swedes or the Bavarians. Democracy thrives in England, and no one would contest that we would be keen to see democracy established in France, just as the South German Confederation would like to see an expansion of the Technocratic Ecumene.

In light of recent events, and for the safety of our continental citizens, English military presence on the mainland will increase. As the Bavarians have already done so, England would like to confirm its recently negotiated defensive alliances with the Republic of Germany, Italy, and the Celtic Union.

The Republic of Germany is pleased to confirm the continuation and strengthening of the defensive alliances with England, Italy and the Celtic Union. We also reject the legitimacy of any mediation by any technocratic power, as any such mediation will be fraught with bias towards ARON and in no way representative of the will of the French people.

Additionally, it is time for the 2nd Congress of Berlin. We invite all previous member nations to attend, along with California, representatives from the Underground and all European democratic organisations to attend with observer status. We also invite delegates from the United Commons to attend as observers, as their willingness to support the democratic nations of Europe has not been forgotten. The main topics for discussion at this congress shall be the feasibility of an overarching military command, as well as ideas on how to encourage the growth of French democracy. We are open to any other topics that other nations wish to discuss.

Did you just formally accuse one of your close neighbors and trade partners of assassinating a sitting head of state?

We are not keen on ignoring the information presented to us. The Underground has publicly named you as an ally in their revolution, the police identified the shooter as being of Bavarian origin, and the French government has blamed the technocratic rebel faction.