Title says all. I want to get a general idea of where Kolhari Diaspora communities are and their relations to the countries that they live in.

I'm going to focus on areas that have significant diaspora communities, which I am (completely arbitrarily) defining as a population of about 7,000 or more.

I'm doing this because of something I'm thinking of doing with Kolhar. I'm considering having Kolhar start a program to encourage Kolhari diaspora, particularly refugees who left Kolhar during the war, to return to Kolhar. This would also involve various economic incentives, and the establishment of something similar to hoshū jugyō kō. Basically, the Kolhari government would set up supplementary weekend schools for Kolhari people living abroad. All classes would be conducted in the Kolhari language, and the curriculum will focus on Kolhari language, Kolhari culture, and math (Kolhar uses the dozenal counting system, so yeah they'd have to teach math in their own way). The goal would be to promote Kolhari culture in Kolhari diaspora communities, and to make it easier for Kolhari diaspora children who have not been to Kolhar to adjust to Kolhari culture should they choose to repatriate.

If you are interested, please feel free to fill out this form:

Nyköping - Nyland
1588

RADIO ONE LIVE: The Nylander president has sworn in the new Director-General of the Federal Security Department, Alexandrine Linville, who formerly served as a legislator for the Nylander Social-Democrats. Linville was part of the parliamentary oversight committee on the Nylander intelligence services, served as Homeland Security Secretary, and holds a reputation for her thoroughness, integrity and iron political principles…

Three black armored SUV’s entered the restricted terrain of an enormous concrete building, located just outside the government quarters of the Nylander capital. The heavy electronic gates opened, and the cars drove past the photographers and the journalists, reporting about the new presidential pick for the office of Director-General of the FSD. The FSD was Nyland’s main domestic intelligence and security service, dedicated to the protection of the constitution and the national security. Its motto sounded ‘Always Protecting Liberty’, Semper Protegens Libertatem.

At the entrance of the headquarters of the FSD, the security personnel warmly greeted Linville. ‘Welcome madam,’ they smiled. ‘Thank you, I’m looking forward to this first day at the office!’ she replied. A welcoming committee, consisting of the Deputy Director-General (DDG) Asbjörn Lager, the legal adviser, and the heads of all sections and their deputies, welcomed Linville in the central hall of the building.

Of course, Linville was expected to give something of a speech to her closest staff and employees, but she had deliberately not prepared anything. She did not want to rehearse some premeditated political PR-talk to those people whom she held in high esteem, often working day and night to protect the lives of innocent Nylanders.

‘Thank you all for this warm welcome. I feel truly honoured to be your Director-General and to be back at the department where I once, as a young woman, began my career. I must admit that most faces are new to me, but experience taught me that the FSD never changes. We are people with a mission. We protect our country, we protect its citizens, and we protect liberty. Always. I know that I can rely on you. Our agents and officers have always been marked by exceptional commitment and dedication to our work and our cause. I shall do all I can to not fail you, to not let you down, and to steer the department into the next decade. My door is always open, and don’t hesitate to walk in just to tell me a good joke or about your family. I want to get to know the people that work here. I shall be here to celebrate success together with you. But in times of hardship, I shall stand beside you, in the line of duty, and I shall stand for this department until the bitter end.’

The staff applauded for Linville as she headed to her office where her secretaries and DDG installed her. Her desk was quickly loaded with documents – reports and briefings about the current threats facing the country, the status of on-going operations and investigations, scheduled meetings, and policy proposals and plans forwarded by Section VI, responsible for finances, management and policy.

One briefing on Linville’s desk was particularly urgent. Lager, the DDG, told the secretaries to leave the office and he closed the door behind them. Everything within the department followed the need-to-know principle, meaning that information was only shared among relevant staff to reduce the risk of intelligence leaks.

‘The chief of the Counter-intelligence section has requested me to get your signature for the authorization of a delicate operation, Mrs. Linville. The situation is developing as we speak, and poses a risk to the security of the Nylander government.’

‘What is the situation?’ Linville inquired.
‘Three weeks ago, a young naval officer from the Nylander Navy tried to call the official telephone number of the embassy of the Nerysian Kingdom. Luckily for us, the Nerysian embassy was closed for that entire day due to a Nerysian holiday. When the Nerysian embassy is closed, our technicians intercept all phone calls to the embassy and direct them to one of our counter-intelligence agents, who is fluent in Nerysian and pretends to be from the embassy. So the Nylander naval officer had one of our agents on the phone, thinking he was speaking to a Nerysian diplomat. He offered a hard drive containing highly sensitive documents relating to naval radar technology technical details about the software used within Nylander submarines. He asked $40,000 for the first package. The actual value of the information is easily three times as high, which leads us to believe he doesn’t know what he is doing at all.’

Linville listened without moving a muscle in her wrinkled face. ‘And where do we stand now?’

‘We set up a meeting with the naval officer in a restaurant where he thinks the transaction will take place. We need your authorization to put an agent in the field to meet him, and to inform the law enforcement agencies of this affair so he can be caught in the act. This would mean he would be arrested on the spot, the hard drive confiscated as evidence, and our counter-intelligence agent will have to testify in court behind closed doors and reveal operational details to a judge. It is your responsibility and your decision, madam.’

Linville nodded understandingly. ‘And when was this meeting with this hostile informant supposed to take place?’

Lager looked at his watch and then lifted his eyebrows and glanced at Linville. ‘In about two hours, madam. It’s almost lunchtime.’

Linville reached for a pen and signed the document under her nose. With a swift move of her hand she quickly handed the DDG the document. ‘If we must expose ourselves to the light, then lets make use of the opportunity to make a public example out this traitor.’

DDG Lager grinned. ‘The media will probably see a conspiracy in this one; one day in office and she catches a foreign spy!’

Linville had no intention however of personally claiming this easy victory in the media. Such lucky strikes could happen anytime, and it was underway before she took office anyway. If anyone deserved credit here, it was the clever Nerysian-speaking agent who handled this case intelligently. But agents never revealed their identity or appear as such in the media. It was Linville’s job, together with the PR manager, to represent the department in public. The rest of its employees forever remained in the shadows. Many did not even tell their own children where they really worked.

Hestiviken, Nyland
Two hours later…

At a restaurant in the centre of the coastal city of Hestiviken, where a large naval base was located, several civilian cars from the special branch of the federal police had been parked strategically. Inside, plainclothes police officers and agents from the Federal Security Department monitored the surroundings of the restaurant and looking out for a young man named Anders Lindgren, the navy officer who thought he was selling valuable documents to the Nerysian government. He probably thought that what he did was harmless, and that he could make a quick, easy and big amount of money out of it. And he overestimated his own intelligence, setting up a quasi-secretive meeting in an ordinary restaurant. He was about to walk into a trap of the FSD, specifically designed for people like Lindgren. If he had simply checked the website of the embassy and its opening hours, he might have even succeeded. But he was foolish and naïve.

All units were warned that a young man, matching the description of Lindgren, was approaching the restaurant. He did not seem suspicious or tense at all. In his misplaced arrogance and naivety, he probably thought he had everything under control.

He entered the restaurant. ‘Our guy is in. Positively identified by the agents inside the restaurant. Time for agent KING to get into his position and approach the target.’ King was the codename for the counter-intelligence agent who had lured Lindgren into this trap. King did as they had planned, casually moved to the restaurant, finished his cigarette outside the building – so as not to be too perfectly in time – and then casually entered the building. To make him extra convincing, they had even arranged clothes for King that were made in Nerysia – as if he had brought them from home before he was despatched to the embassy in Nyland.

King looked around in the restaurant, supposedly not knowing what Lindgren looked like – of course he had spotted him immediately. Lindgren approached agent King from the bar. ‘Excuse me, sir, do you happen to have studied at Nemunas University?’ That was the agreed code word between agent King and Lindgren. ‘No, Zemaita,’ he replied, with a Nerysian accent. The men shook hands and sat down at an empty table in a corner. There were several FSD agents inside the restaurant, making covert recordings of Lindgren.

They ordered lunch, and King kept Lindgren talking to find out as much as he could about the man. Elsewhere in the city, FSD operatives had broken into his home and searched through his personal belongings. Was he a tidy or a sloppy man? Was there a female or male partner in his life? What are his hobbies? What does he have on his computer? What books does he own? What food does he keep in his fridge? Who are his friends? All such details about this person could be useful to understand his personality, and might come in handy for the police when they would question him.

After a while, Lindgren showed agent King some samples of the documents he had for him on his phone. King then provided him with a glimpse in a plastic bag, containing about $15,000. Not that he would ever receive that money, it would all return to the bank after this operation. Eventually, Lindgren handed agent King a small hard drive, and asked for the bag of money. It was recorded, and it was on camera. Lindgren walked out of the restaurant. ‘Move to arrest the suspect’, it sounded on the police radio in the cars surrounding the building.

Before Lindgren knew it, police vans entered the parking lot, blocking the exit. Six cops in civilian dress encircled him, swinging a badge in front of his nose. ‘Anders Lindgren, you are under arrest for selling classified government documents to a foreign party. You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something, which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.’

A few days later, the Homeland Security department sent its congratulations and a bottle of wine to the Federal Security Department. ‘Short, successful operations like these are always welcomed by the political leaders of our country. Even the President was delighted.’ Linville personally praised agent King in her office, assuring him that the man he caught would probably be given eleven years imprisonment.

As much as Linville enjoyed such a flying start as the head of the FSD, she was concerned. The reports on her desk gave reasons for that.

SIORAN WINTER GIFT EXCHANGE 2017


this could be you!

Come one come all to the Sioran Winter Gift Exchange 2017! The event where we take advantage of the steam sale to send little gifts to friends! Last year had a great turnout and it'd be awesome if we could have a similar event this year!

Here's how this works, post that you're interested and think about a gift you might want to send somebody. It could be a game you really love and want to share, it could be a game you find on their wishlist, maybe it's a multiplayer game you want to play with someone. It could be Shower With Your Dad Simulator (a great game btw). What really matters is you are giving a gift to a friend in the spirit of the season!


Once you've posted, someone else will post that they "got you" and then they'll send you something. and so on and so forth!

I understand that for some, money is tight. For those of you who are unable to participate, please let me know and we'll see what we can do. We have some humble bundle keys available so you may still participate. We don't want anyone who wants to participate to be left out of the fun! Please PM me if you are in this boat, we wan't to ensure you get a key and can pass it on. Privacy will be kept etc. etc.

Suggested Gifting price is less than $20, but feel free to do as you please, more or less. Give as you are able. Sometimes those $4 games are incredibly fun! There's obviously the steam sale, but feel free to check out other stores like Humble if you've found a better deal. I ask that all key transfers be on steam though, and not origin *vomits*

Anyway, if there are any questions feel free to ask! Make sure you update your steam wish lists!

*Ahem*

Okay, so I want to open up a discussion about setting up this baby of mine, the ''Federal Security Department'' of Nyland. As its name suggests, it is a federal ~security service~. I have no intention of it being like the American equivalent, the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation). There exists a crucial difference between the American understanding of a ''security service'' and the West-European meaning: the FBI is quite unique in being a combination of law enforcement agency and an intelligence agency. Its European counterparts, BfD (Bundesamt fur Verfassungsschutz/Federal Office for Constitutional Protection) in Germany, AIVD in the Netherlands (Main Intelligence and Security Service), DGSI in France (General Directorate of Internal Security), MI5/Security Service in the UK - none of them have law-enforcement tasks. They focus entirely on the collection, processing, and dissemination of intelligence relating to threats against the national security, and providing advice to those whom it concerns on security issues.

The FBI is also a law enforcement agency, which means that it also investigates federal crime, prosecutes people, and makes arrests. In Europe, since the 1930's, security services actively distanced themselves from all policing tasks, partly out of arrogance (''let cops handle crime, we're cooler than that'') and partly because in Europe the combination of intelligence and policing is heavily associated with the Gestapo in Nazi-Germany, amounting to a secret police. Another negative post-war example of such a combination was the KGB in the USSR and the Stasi in East-Germany. This model was developed by the British MI5 and MI6/SIS, and most post-war intelligence services in Europe tended to be modelled on the British. MI5 went so far even as to resist the appointment of a former police-chief as Director-General of MI5.

I would like to set up and run a European-style security agency, because I like to RP how it struggles to defend Nyland from internal and external enemies of the People threats to the National Security. I do think an OOC discussion is warranted, because it would be cool if everyone involved in Nyland could find some common agreement about whether the FSD may be a thing at all, and how far-reaching its powers would be to investigate the Bourgeois-nationalist Trotskyite Saboteurs elements that threaten the democratic order in Nyland. Another reason I want an OOC discussion is because the FSD-proposal would infringe on an existing territory controlled by Ikar, the so-called SHIELD agency. SHIELD is also a secret agency, involved in spying and intelligence activities both at home and abroad. But........ RP-wise it is kinda inactive, plus it is not so common to have 1 agency perform all intelligence tasks. That would, in the US equivalent, amount to having the Secret Service, CIA, FBI, DIA, NRO, and NSA all in one super-organisation. Even the Soviets, with their bureaucratic monster called KGB, saw the necessity of having a separate, specialized agency called GRU (plus, the KGB's internal departments were practically independent organisations on their own, with their own specialisations and barely cooperating).

The way I see it, Ikar intends SHIELD to be Nyland's main spy agency, and I think we could translate that to being a combination of the CIA and DIA (foreign & military intelligence + covert operations). The Federal Security Department would then roughly translate to being Nyland's equivalent of the FBI's National Security Branch, focussing on counter-intelligence, political extremism, and terrorism.

I would also like to add a large sub-department, Communications & Information Office (CIO), charged with the protection of government communications and digital infrastructure, and the collection of electronic intelligence (internet communication, telecommunication, radar, satellite information etc). Most of the smaller services have such a department jointly shared with the foreign/military intelligence services, but in the US and the UK, these are enormous intelligence agencies in their own right (NSA & GCHQ). I'd love to run my own as a subordinate department, Im willing to share it with SHIELD, I also understand if people want that to be an independent thing. (NSA and GCHQ are massive organisations, their budgets make up 95% of the total budgets going to the intelligence community, because the costs of running servers, databases, and satellites (which few countries in the world have...) are extremely expensive. The volumes of intelligence that they basically suck up like a vacuum cleaner is so big that both the NSA and GCHQ require vast armies of translators, analysts, and IT specialists to store and process it all.

These are my thoughts, that have been in the back of my head for quite some months. I am open to all ideas and don't hesitate to share your honest opinion. I have no intention of forcing this down the throat of anyone, but be warned that I do have compromising information on every single one of you.

Just as the title says, this is an open forum for you, the members of this community, to address your concerns, evaluations, opinions, etc. on the new rules, specifically the following:

Quote:1C) The discussion of real-world religion and politics outside of that which directly relates to role play is not allowed in the chat or anywhere on the forums outside of the Gentlemen's Club and Discord. The rules for discussing such things shall be listed below in a separate section for the Gentlemen's club and Discord. We understand that the nature of nation role play means we can't preclude talk about and references to such topics through the course of discussing our own nations; however, community members shall make an effort to keep such discussions related to roleplay, and end those discussions if they drift too far away from the RP topic or become hostile.

Party Platforms:
Clan Parties:
PoT:
Party Leader:Blar Gobnet McLucais

Top Priorities:
1:Keep taxes at a similar level since they are working
2: Protect Strathaen culture through increased public funding of Strathaen cultural events
3:Tone down hate speech laws to only include harassment,threats of violence or incitement of violence based on Sexuality, Gender , Religion or Ethnicity as hate speech thus allowing disagreements on an ideological or policy level with laws aimed at these groups.
4:Expand international trade through support of Clan Cooperatives, cooperatives and small businesses while encouraging foreign investment
5:To raise the citizenship marriage requirement to 30 years of consecutive marriage to a single citizen for most immigrants
6:To defend the Clan Democracy system opposing any reforms to the current system
7:Allow foreign cultural , religious and identity based festivals on public squares and streets but to still only publically fund Strathaen or clan cultural events.
8:Ban the sale or importation of meat in Strathae to protect animal rights and furthermore ban the private slaughter of animals for meat.

CPP:
Party leader:Éimhear Dearbháil Scott
1:Target more taxes towards the wealthy
2:To garuntee free education to university
3:Liberalisation of Hate Speech laws and to allow for full freedom of speech except for incitement of violence, threat of violence or harassment
4:To lower Marriage requirement to 10 years of Marriage to a Strathaen Citizen
5:To introduce more Multiculturalism to Strathae modernising society while hanging on to tradition
6:To pressure for more equality for males in Breizhighist priesthood

CSP:
Party Leader:Fionnghall Glas MacPhàil
1:To increase public services in Strathae provided by clan , city or national governments
2:To Raise Marriage requirement to 30 years of Consecutive Marriage to a Strathaen Citizen
3:Reform of hate speech laws
4:More support for co-operatisation and Clan Co-operatives encouraging this model above all models
5:To regulate essential services more effectively to the public such as transport, energy, the tunnels into Strathae, water and communications infrastructure
6:To lower the interest rate on house building loans while proving 0% interest for the first 5 years.

CNP:
Party:Raghnall Màrnach MacMhoirein
1:To oppose any Sentric and Akhadic immigration and look into visa bans for any homophobic or sexist religion adherants into Strathae
2:To list any group displaying any homophobia or sexism
3:To uphold promotion of Strathaen culture and to ban the promotion of foreign cultures and identities within Strathae
4:To only grant citizenship to sons or daughters born to Strathaen citizens or descendents of Clans
5:To invest more into anti-extremism and bigotry law enforcement
6:To promote Breizhighist values above all other values in Strathae
7:To protect the clan system in Strathae
8:Make adultery illegal once again

Non-clan parties:
DRP(Democratic Reform Party):
Leader:Frédéric Mallet
1:To reform the Clan Democracy system potentially ending the Clan seats altogether
2:To reform laws to allow for more multi-culturalism and fund festivals for minorities in Strathae
3:To allow citizenship for any person who has lived in Strathae for 10 years
4:To allow all visa holders to live or work anywhere in Strathae
5:To officially make Strathae a secular nation
6:To keep taxation similar to curren
7:To abolish the monarchy and clan systems

Liberal Party:
Party Leader:Aurelia De Lillo
1:To move to a mixed clan seat , clan PR list system for elections
2:To allow free speech of any kind in Strathae
3:To give citizenship to anyone in Strathae for more than 5 years
4:To allow Visa holders to live and work anywhere in Strathae
5:To promote religious freedom in Strathae
6:To fund programmes to help minorities
7:To establish a wealth tax

Conservative Party:
Party Leader:Taziano Carloni
1:To keep taxation low
2:To move to a mixed clan seat , clan PR list system for elections
3:To allow full free speech
4:To consider re-criminalising adultery in Strathae
5:To give citizenship to anyone who is in Strathae for 10 years or more
6:To allow visa holders to live and work anywhere in Strathae

Indeed. If your country has been ravaged by a war fought inside it, you must post some information stuff here so that the Directorate can update its statistics to reflect damage done. It is only necessary to submit the data for the state(s) the war was fought inside. After all, your population isn't gonna die en mass and your economy isn't gonna be super disrupted from being exploded if you're sending your boys overseas. Some may argue that fighting a war overseas still disrupts a state's economy, but--setting aside that I don't really care for that--that could be better simulated through annual GDP growth/decline.

Regardless, fill out and post this form so the Directorate can address the conflict INSIDE YOUR HEART that messed you right up. If the state is being partitioned, fill out the following form for each partition.

Saeard Times


Wilfur Scrydan accepting the CPP nomination

In an unprecedented turn of events the sitting Saeardwalda Torr Durwin has failed to gain his parties nomination for the upcoming Saeardwaldan election. His historically low approval ratings featured prominently in the eventual winner's , Wilfur Scrydan, campaign. Scrydan, the former Earldorman of Sewardshire and current General Secretary of the Shipworker's Union, won the run-off election with 57% of the vote and will represent the Commonwealth Progress Party.

In his acceptance address Scrydan addressed the rise of the Free Liberals in last weeks Folkmoot election, where they gained more than 150 seats to become the second largest party, eclipsing the CPP itself and surpassed only by the Worker's Party. ''We will not allow this great nation to fall back into the hands of the capitalist elite. For decades we have worked, with our friends in the WP, to deliver socialist progress in the face of right wing opposition. That progress, all we have worked for, is under threat. It comes as no surprise to me that the right is fighting back now. They know their death knell is upon them. They spent millions upon millions to buy votes last week, and still the left wing parties outnumbered them from than two to one. I thank Torr for all the work he has done, and I ask him to work with us as we fight to win this election.''

The CPP are the first of the major parties to announce their candidate, with the Free Liberals set to do so in the coming days. There have been rumours that the CPP and the Worker's Party may run on a joint ticket. An inside source told the ST that a close ally of Scrydan is negotiating with senior WP officials to come to an arrangement that would see a WP as Vice-Saeardwalda and potentially foreign minister. If true this is a clear sign the leftist bloc that has dominated Saeardish politics for thirty years feels genuinely threatened by the Free Liberals.

Port of Krasnograd
1430 Hours - 24 Alvan 1588

Hello,

I would like to introduce The Commonwealth of Saeard. A federal Republic that has been dominated by two far left parties for three decades. The two parties differ primarily on foreign affairs and social issues, but work very closely on economic issues. I'd really like to hash somethings out if you chaps would not mind helping. It would be good to work out how other nations see Saeard, how Saeard sees other nations, and what the geo-political situation in the region is?

Saeard has had terrible economic growth recently. Inflation is rampant. I plan on having a Margaret Thatcher style period of liberalisation, deregulation and privitsation after the next Saeardwalda (Presidential) elections. There will be strikes, riots, and all that jazz. And incredible amounts of deadlock with the legislature. Perhaps an attempted revolution.

Traditionally Saeard was a very different nation. Economically productive, open to trade, and an important diplomatic player. It has a reputation for peace and once was a go to nation to act as a go between in international disputes.

So let me know if you'd be interested in doing something? And how your nation would see Saeard.