pls let me post in other threads and send pms plox

Alvan 3rd, 1580, 7 PM (Vien Time)
Vien, Volta

Christel Schäfer: Good evening. We are live with the Direct Wire with the Chancellor. I am one of your hosts, Christel Schäfer, reporter for Volta One and regular contributor to Die Volta-Bericht. I am joined by Iztli Olin, reporter for Vien TV.

Iztli Olin: This is being broadcast live on Volta Channel One, you can also watch the broadcast live through the internet on the VTV website, as well as on Ogo Volta, and many other networks. You can also listen live on Voltan People's Radio.

Christel Schäfer: Our collegues Hannes Straub, Engel Protz, Katja Haas, and Berta Hofmann will be helping us in the studio. Isabell Beringer and Gerulf Scheinberg will be helping us in the call center.

Iztli Olin: Our guests at the studio include people from all walks of life. With us we have farmers, students, teachers, peasants, intellectuals, law enforcement officers, active military personnel, veterans, doctors, and many more.

Christel Schäfer: Today we have questions from all over Volta regarding a variety of issues. We have questions covering everything from quality of life, housing quality, utilities, prices of commodities, foreign relations, and many others. We will be asking questions about what is on the minds of all Voltans.

Iztli Olin: Answering these questions will be the star of todays show, the Chancellor of the Socialist Federal Republic of Volta, please welcome, Ernst Krenz.


*Ernst Krenz enters and takes a seat*

Ernst Krenz: Good evening comrades.

Christel Schäfer: Good evening.

Iztli Olin: Good evening. Welcome to the studio, behind us you can see one of many call centers that we have set up that collects the questions that people are senting you for this Direct Wire. These call centers were established by VNF because we anticipated that a single call center would not be able to cope with the amount of calls that we would get.

There are many calls coming in every second, via telephone, SMS, MMS, and even new video calls. If you look around you will see many of our comrades busy taking the incoming calls.

Ernst Krenz: They are doing an excellent job.

Christel Schäfer: Let me show you how it works. This operator is taking a call right now, it is coming from Lövavald. It appears to be regarding infrastructure.

Ernst Krenz: We should get straight to the heart of things, let's hear it.

Question: Hello Chancellor, my name is Lorenz, I live in Lövavald. I am here in front of a major road on the outskirts of the city, and look at this! It's outrageous. There are cracks everywhere, potholes too. It's ridiculous. The local authorities keep saying that it will be repaired, but only the roads in the inner city have been repaired. They say that the outskirts will be repaired as well, but they've been saying that for 3 years now and nothing's happened.

Ernst Krenz: This is in the outskirts of the city, correct?

Response: Yes, it is. The roads in the center of the city have all been repaired.

Ernst Krenz: And you've been waiting three years for the repairs to come to the outskirts?

Response: Yes.

Ernst Krenz: What is your name?

Response: Lorenz.

Ernst Krenz: Lorenz, this is a problem that is around all over Volta, not just Lövavald. I know just from looking at some of what people say on social media that there are a lot of complaints about the roads, especially from less populated areas of the country. Not exclusively from less populated areas of the countries, some from more highly populated areas as well, but there were a great deal more from less populated areas of the country.

This isn't some fluke, in spite of what some members of the party may claim. It is a very real problem that people in Volta have to deal with every day of their lives.

The situation got like this because the central government gives the task of building and maintaining infrastructure largely to local authorities, something that worked well in the past. But now, some local authorities have been slacking off on their jobs, neglecting some functions that they consider non-essential such as infrastructure maintanence. Well, it might not be essential to them, but it certainly is essential to a lot of people and for this reason I believe that this is an issue that the government needs to address.

Once all of my planned reforms, the Neues System, has been fully implemented, the central government should go on a massive infrastructure project so that we can not only repair the infrastructure of Volta, but also bring it up to and maybe even exceed the standards in place in many other countries. The government also needs to implement some measure to encourage local governments to properly maintain the infrastructure of their regions, so that this doesn't become an issue again in the future.

I understand that some people may have concerns regarding how much this will cost, but infrastructure doesn't just effect the average person traveling. Infrastructure that's too poor in quality can negatively impact economic development. The net positive effect of getting our infrastructure on par with that of other countries will be massive. So, spending a few billion on repairing and upgrading infrastructure shouldn't really be a problem.

However, I have to caution against expecting anything to happen instantly. This is not an issue that's going to go away with the blink of an eye, and it will not be easy or quick to fix. I have to ask you to be patient with the government, we promise we will address this. Lorenz, I also encourage you to monitor your local government and record what they are and aren't doing about the issue, we need to pressure them into actually doing their job and repairing the infrastructure and there is no better way to do that than to hold the authorities accountable.

Christel Schäfer: We may return to this subject later on, that was a good start. Now let's look at some other questions. We are also taking questions from abroad as well as domestically, let's turn to one of the questions from a foreign country right now.

Kolhar News Emporium

The Center of News from Kolhar.

Moved from this topic: link

So, I just had this idea for a RP event. Now, in Reido (Akitsu's religion), the Solar Eclipse would be a particular time of importance. Why?

Well, according to an old legend in Akitsu, one that supposedly goes back to the time before Akitsu was unified, there once was a village in Akitsu. This village wasn't in balance with the Rei in the area, and in fact was in constant conflict with it. One day, this village found itself right under a total solar eclipse. The sun disappeared. Now since this happens every so often, people expected the moon to move away from inside the sun and for life to go on as normal. Only this time, the sun didn't come back. People scrambled to try and figure out what was going on, but when the sun finally came back to them it was too late. The blocked out sunlight had ruined their crops and caused starvation, many of the villagers just left in search of other villages. The village was in shambles and never recovered. According to the Reiki, this village was struck by a Rei called the "Hihami" (日蝕み, literally means "sun eater"). Normally, when everything is balanced, the Hihami live inside plants, especially on the upper layers of plants where the sunlight can hit them. This is because they live by eating sunlight. However, when things are out of balance they can sometimes become desperate for food. When they're desperate for food and a solar eclipse comes, they're believed to come out of the plants they normally call home and ascend to the sky, closer to the sun, where they expect to be able to get more sunlight. When the eclipse ends and they're hunger is satisfied, they'll go back to the plants where they normally live, but that can take a really long time, during which to the people on the ground it would seem as if the solar eclipse never ended.

Now, is this story scientifically feasible? Well that's not really the point here since this is an ancient legend. Some nonreligious people would argue this is simply a story meant to convey the importance of the sun (I mean, without the sun we'd kind of all be dead). However, to Reido Priests and Reishi this would be a true tale passed down from ancient times for generations.

So, to prevent this from happening again, they created the Nisshokusai (日食祭, literally "Solar Eclipse Festival"). The Nisshokusai takes place during a solar eclipse, but only in years where it is believed that there is an extraordinary disturbance to the balance between Rei and humanity.

Preparation would be simple - if it's a Shrine doing this they'd create a massive wodden structure in their field, mixed in with special herbs. If it's an individual Reishi doing it, they'd make a small pile of firewood in a location where they are able to light a fire and mix some special herbs into the firewood. When the solar eclipse happens, the fire would be lit, and the Priests/Priestesses/Reishi would start reciting Norito (specific passages from ancient Akitian liturgy, for example passages straight from the Reiki, used as ritual prayers) while the fire burns. The fire would be fucking massive in places that have legit shrines.

The idea is simple - the special herbs, when burned, are believed to let out a kind of smoke that Rei don't like, and as a result the Rei will get the hell away from any source of smoke. If there are no Rei in the area, then the area is safe from the Hihami rising up to eat the sunlight duging the eclipse.

Now, Kobara no Miya (the main temple of Reido, that makes a lot of decisions for the religion) would consider the coup in Akitsu to be something that greatly disturbs the balance. As such, chances are they'd declare that this is a year to do the Nisshokusai when a eclipse happens in a specific area.

So, how does this involve you?

Well, does your country have a sizable following in terms of Reido? Or maybe they have a few Reishi in there? In that case, when a solar eclipse comes to them we could have this festival happen! Are there anti-fascist political undertones? Well, in declaring that this is a year for the festival to happen yes, but the actual festival should be a purely religious thing. And in case your wondering, since this is an Akitian tradition dating back a looooooong time the fascists in Akitsu wouldn't be able to stop it if they wanted to, it'd make them look too bad.

And for the record, the fascist gov't of Akitsu would be VERY angry that this is happening, again they just can't do anything about it without making themselves look horrible in the eyes of the Akitian people. This would probably mark the start of a long, long, hostile relationship between Akitian religious figures and the government.

Just keep in mind that we can't have solar eclipses happening on two sides of the planet at the same time.

61th Cycling World Championship – Hôi Luỳên, Hôinôm

Tuscarawan Dominion
Hierarch Electoral Campaign

The Tuscarawan Dominion is about to undergo a brief election campaign, where three candidates will pitch their ideas to the citizens of the Dominion and will undergo intense scrutiny by the Dominion High Council, the select group of officials in charge of officially selecting the new Hierarch. Upon election, the new Hierarch selects his regal name of which he or she shall be permanently identified as in the eyes of the people, the High Council and the world.

The vote of the citizens is taken into consideration by the High Council. In the 1565 election, eventual Hierarch Tachnechdorus I received the vote of 63% of the citizenry. He then received the vote of nine of the 13 sitting members of the High Council.

The candidates are:

Faramond Hiawatha (b. 1532, from Wapakoneta), is the present governor-general of the city of Wapakoneta and is considered one of the foremost authorities on economics in Tuscarawas. He received near-universal praise for his handling of Wapakoneta's city treasury in the wake of the Florinthian Evacuation and is considered a founding member of the Commerce Guild in the southern provinces. Governor-General Hiawatha is pledging a reduction in property and income taxes as well as new investments in infrastructure to create an estimated 3 million new jobs. Hiawatha also intends on opening Tuscarawas to newer trade markets such as Almaniania, Arrenland, Lanlania, and Drahen. He also hopes to build new relations with countries in Ostara and the Near East, specifically naming the Mestran Imperium, Tieguo, Sainam and the Angirisian Empire as his countries of interest.

Swithin Artaxerxes (b. 1524, from Kanestake), is a former member of the High Council who served from 1566 to 1574. During his time on the High Council, he served as Foreign Affairs Councilor from 1566-1570 and oversaw the reestablishment of formal political and economic relations with Tuscarawas' former colonial suzerain Florinthus. He also gained international recognition for the Dominion from numerous world powers including Severyane, Lanlania, and Nyland. From 1570 until 1574, Artaxerxes served as the Communications Councilor, responsible for the expansion of the Interweb throughout the Dominion and was among the first government officials to have a significant presence on social media. After leaving the High Council, Artaxerxes was chosen by Hierarch Tachnechdorus to be the Dominion's ambassador to Nyland in 1574 but only remained there until 1576 when Artaxerxes was being considered by Kanestake's citizens for another term on the High Council, replacing the embattled Councilor Rain Ashton. However, Ashton survived Artaxerxes' challenge. Artaxerxes has emerged as the favorite among Councilors and leads in some early polls. He plans on focusing on foreign investment and strengthening the Dominion's military. Artaxerxes also intends to lend his support to Tuscarawas' burgeoning football federations as well as seek to bring at least one or two matches to Tuscarawas in time for the 1586 SIFA World Cup Mandavine Islands. He also has stated that one of his main goals if elected will be for the Dominion to host a SIFA tournament on its own, whether it be an Avidna Cup or a World Cup.

Atticus Timour (b. 1519, from Tuscarawas), was the president of the Tuscarawas Labor Guild and was responsible for the stabilization of labor relations between workers, employers and the Dominion government in much of the early days of the Dominion. Timour was and remains one of the strongest voices for workers' rights in Tuscarawas and still is active in labor activism. Though sometimes labeled a communist, Timour's apparent motivations have little to do with collectivism or controlling the means of production but rather protecting middle and lower-class citizens from the abuses of business and corporate interests that he believes was one of the causes of the fascist takeovers in Western Brigidna, more recently in Akitsu and the two attempts to dismantle the Imperial system in Angiris. Timour's plans for governing upfront have little to do with foreign affairs, as he is more focused on domestic affairs. He plans to raise taxes on wealthier Tuscarawans and cap off deductions. He also intends to remove payroll taxes, giving workers more take-home pay. He also is threatening to enact an "exit tax" against companies who leave Tuscarawas in favor of cheaper markets elsewhere. Timour plans on spending up to thirty billion wampums to expand Tuscarawas' highway system, build new bridges and expanding airports.

The war isn't over yet and it an be we are in need to do this over. But I'm going ahead and giving the choice between staying and independance.

Okay, so here is the OOC topic where I'll answer the questions of anyone who wanted to have sent election observers to Akitsu for the 1579 elections. Since this is an OOC topic, everything I say here will represent IC fact (unless explicitly stated otherwise). Ask any questions you want, I'll answer to the best of my ability.

Just some basic facts:

• Polls, especially exit polls, are still completely banned.
  
• This was done entirely with electronic voting, there were NO PAPER BALLOTS.
  
• Voter turnout for this election would be around 45%, and the real figure would be the figure the Akitian government uses so they'd report about the same in voter turnout. This is a significant decrease from the average voter turnout in Akitsu, and is an even further decrease from the last election that the fascists did. The fascist government would argue this low turnout was due to the fact that emergency elections were only held 1 year prior (in other words they'd blame "campaign burnout").
  
• Parties other than the ones listed were allowed to participate. Now, the parties that were banned in this post wouldn't have been allowed to participate (because, well, they're banned), but parties like the Nationalist Party, Liberal Democratic Party, and Democratic Party (the three largest parties in Akitsu pre-coup) would've been allowed to campaign. They just didn't even get a single seat in the National Legislature.
  
• Yes, the above means that the ones I listed are the only ones that won any seats. In case you haven't noticed they all have several key positions that match up - namely their support for militarism, Akitian nationalism, and some form of state involvement in the economy. Their foreign policies would also be really similar. The main differences in policy would come in domestic policy, with most of the parties being some variation of right-wing and there only being one party that one that's left-wing.
  
• All writing in the poll booths would've been in traditional characters - which haven't been taught in Akitsu for decades (at least 60-70 years). As such, much of the younger generation wouldn't know it. The only people who would be guarentee'd to know traditional characters are the elderly and young far-right ultranationalist neoconservatives (neoconservatism in Akitsu would more closely resemble neoconservatism in Japan than say, neoconservatism in the US or any other country).