International Edition

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION DAILY NEWS

Saturday Edition.
Showers in the southeastern
“The Bloc’s Most hemisphere. Overcast around the
capital metro, partly cloudy
Reliable News” across most of the western
hemisphere.

VOL 1 … No. 2 ©2018 Ministry of Information SATURDAY, 4th AUGUST, 2018 Printed in Ryabinovyy $1.00

WA AFFAIRS WORLD NEWS

There is no SC Voting in the Grand

resolution at vote. Gameplay Armchair
The last resolution, Awards has started.
Commend Greater The satirical awards
Dienstad, was organization was
passed 13,689 votes announced almost
to 1,317 against two weeks ago by an
earlier in July. anonymous nation.
Awards range from
GA resolution “Ban lazy raiders, lazy
on Conversion defenders, lazy
Therapy” is looking independents, and
to be passed in 1 ½ am award for
days. The current inactive faces in
vote tally is approx. Gameplay. You can
12,000 to 2,000. The vote in the
last resolution, Gameplay section of
Protecting Free Europeia’s Red Light District earlier this month. The most active area in the region is ongoing a quiet slump along
the NS forums.
Expression, was with the rest of Europeia’s forum that once rivaled the likes of The North Pacific.
passed 12,495 to After electing a new
3,443 against earlier
this week.
A Giant in Decline Delegate to lead the
region, The South
Europeia’s indefinite forum transfer and slow government Pacific has started
Citizens and the Southern World
residents may vote have diminished activity in the bustling user-created region Assembly Initiative
via regional poll and by TRABARDIA
(S.W.A.N.) The
resisted but the outlook Affairs, Culture, and the Chief
forum poll on the Chief Editor program is intended
remained grim for the of Staff’s Office have all been
resolution. to encourage
The giant is slipping. continuation of the region’s left vacant at one point in time
residents to endorse
current forums. because the office holders
After the last issue the delegate, the
Europeia, the envy of aspiring Almost a month ago, forum could not sustain the activity or
of the Saturday members of the
founders and politicians across administration released a just did not wish to continue in
Edition’s newspaper Council on Regional
NationStates, has slipped into a gameplan that detailed the their position. The
was published, all of Security, and other
period of inactivity not seen in future of Europeia’s forums. administration has overseen
commended GA WA nations in TSP.
years. The plan was to convert little substantial progress
author Imperium The program was
The Active Topics page of the everything to ZenForo (the (compared to previous
Anglorum’s modeled on the
region, the heartbeat of any Bloc’s former hosting software), governments) in the past term.
proposals failed to North Pacific’s own
regional forum, has seen itself and the move was scheduled for However, the upcoming
reach quorum. WA program, the
reduced to less than a page -- a just days after the game plan presidential election could
World Assembly
stark contrast to its usual was posted. serve as either a breeding
There are three Development
bustling 2+ pages. However, issues were faced ground for new ideas to turn the
current Security Program
But just why has this standard along the way, and little updates region around or a testament to
Council proposals, (W.A.D.P.), which
of stable and active government were provided by administration the downward pace of the
but all three are not brought TNP to #2
in NationStates slowed its except that the tool used to regional government.
expected to reach in the world in terms
pace? transfer the forums was
quorum in the time of individual
malfunctioning. A stalled legislature
allotted. endorsement counts
An indefinite move of WA nations.
Turnover in the executive The Senate of Europeia is
Seven GA
In May, it was announced by perhaps Europeia’s proudest
resolutions have The region of Japan
the root administrator that The inactivity of other parts of institution: a reminder of the
been proposed by has opened up for
ZetaBoards was converting all Europeia’s government are superb legislative skills of its
various authors, but the first time in a
of its forums -- including contributing factors as well. top members that tops all other
only two only hold while after constant
Europeia -- to a hybrid Tapatalk During this presidential term, see EUROPEIA, A3
the ‘legal’ status threats from invasion
interface. The community the ministries of Radio, Foreign
required to reach by major raiding
quorum and those organizations for
have little support years that have
from regional World Foreign Affairs Flourishing Under Penrose plagued the
Assembly Delegates. by LIL’ STAPLER and started healing We have been founderless land. As
the gaps created years participating in the name implies,
As we trudge The best thing Lil’ ago. We have military operation the region is
through a regularly Stapler has done so apologized to our with our allies to help Japanese-themed. A
occurring slump in far under his friends for our past thaw relations. new cultural
WA activity during administration was wrongdoings, and Nate will more than initiative, the Japan
the year, not much appointing Nathaniel relations have started likely go down as the Open, is starting
resolutions of Penrose as Minister to thaw. greatest Minister of tomorrow on
The main building in the
substance or legality of Foreign Affairs. Our biggest success Foreign Affairs in Discord. According
Ministry of Foreign
have been proposed Because of the work so far was getting TCB history. Affairs complex near the to event organizers,
in the SC or GA between Stapler and embassies with The northern island of the roleplay channels on
sections of the Nate with his Internationale. This Lil’ Stapler is a staff Bloc’s capital. The the event’s Discord
NationStates forums. amazing volunteers, also improves our writer and election Ministry is part of a server are already
the MoFA has started chances of getting correspondent for the larger system of military open for
The World Assembly Ministry of Information. and foreign agencies participation.
Affairs Digest is written
to flourish. The Bloc into NSLeft, the
located on the Rocky
by Chief Editor has been reaching out largest leftist alliance
Island. The World News Digest
Trabardia. to her fellow leftists across the site. is written by Chief
Editor Trabardia.

FRONT SECTION INTERNATIONAL OPINION & COMMENTARY

State of Party Politics | A2
Frits Wins Runoff | A2
PRAF Operational Report | A3
The Rise of Independents | A3
Legislative Analysis | A3
Farmers Protest in Farao | B1 Problems, Solutions, and Fearmongering | C1
The Direction of the PRC | B1 Legislative Proposals | C2
International Weather | B2 Should the Bloc adopt Direct Democracy? | C2
How We can Fix the Tribunal | C3
DAILY NEWS SATURDAY EDITION | 4/8/2018 | PAGE A2
The State of Party Politics
in the Bloc
by LIL’ STAPLER
Quite recently the Bloc has been
undergoing a lot of changes and
event party wise. There have been
numerous times that something
interesting party wise has come up.
So, it has led me to believe that it is
now a good time to discuss what the
current state of parties in the Bloc
is.
Starting off, the CRP-PP
(Communist Revolutionaries Party
and People’s Party, respectively)
merger. For a bit of background if
you’re new or not reading the daily
news (shame on you. Trab works
really hard on these), about 2 weeks
before the General Secretary
election, Glorious Leader
approached Lil’ Stapler (as the
Party Secretary) with an offer for
the CRP and PP to merge. Stapler
entered negotiations. Then he had to
resign as he was elected General
Secretary. Since then negotiations
on the merger has largely slowed.
There has been very little talking
between the two parties about the
merger, showing how the parties are
losing popularity amongst
themselves. The questions still
remains, will a meremain her save
or help the parties? Even after
entering negotiations, Lil’ Stapler
says it can’t. Citizens of the Bloc
have expressed their opinions on the
topic and they largely agree a
merger won’t save the parties.
Now we move to the Workers’
Party, where First Secretary
Alexinomics has opened a determines of any candidates have
referendum on dissolution. The
referendum ended with only two
members having voted, one for
dissolution and one for remaining,
definitely showing the increasing
apathy towards the WP and parties
as a whole. After an interview with
Alex, they believe themselves that
the WP shouldn’t really exist
anymore with no stable leadership
and 1 barely 2 active members.
Minutes after the vote ended tied,
Alex resigned from the party
effectively leaving about 1.5 active
members. I use .5 because the
second is sorta active. They do have
new members so that also remains
as the last fuel to the party.
After months upon months of
fighting about parties, and a month
or two of quiet, it seems like the
no-party supporters have won out.
The WP faces dissolution and the
CRP-PP merger won’t do much. All
Bloc forum parties are falling, and
there seems to be no way to save
them. Direct Action has taken its
Saturday
Edition
4th of August, 2018
course. The People have spoken, and
no parties is their answer.
Lil’ Stapler is an Election
Correspondent for the Ministry of
Information, writing regular
election analysis articles in addition
to serving in his role as General
Secretary.
The three-member Administrative
Council headquarters on the North
Island of the Bloc’ capital. The
Council manages the technical
functions of the Bloc, such as
Discord and the forums. It also runs
all of the numerous elections
happening every month and
violated electoral law.
The Worker’s Party headquarters on
the South Island of the Bloc’s capital
islands in mid-July. The Worker’s
Party, after holding a majority and
then supermajority for a short period
in May, has fallen down to 1 active
member. The future of the former
largest party in the Bloc is unclear.
Corrections? Contact
Credits @brihimia#4455 on Discord to
have something corrected.
The Ministry of Information Daily News
Saturday Edition is made possible by the
volunteer writers of the Ministry. If you
would like to volunteer and be a part of the
Bloc’s most reliable newsroom, look no
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sure to mark that you want to join MoI!
Frits Wins Runoff to
Become 5th Justice
Former First Secretary of the Worker’s Party Frits won a
relatively close runoff election for the fifth seat on the
People’s Tribunal on Monday earlier this week, bringing in
14 votes to opponent Thomas Calloway’s 11.
Candidate Frits campaigned on the three promises that he
would be transparent in his actions, independent and fair in
his rulings, and that he would be able to control his
emotions and make rational decisions as a Justice on the
People’s Tribunal. He was criticised by some citizens
because he was quick to defend General Secretary
candidate Trabardia after he sent a telegram to the region
using bought stamps to promote his campaign. He
responded to this criticism by stating that he checked all
relevant law and reinforced his view that the telegram was
legal in his eyes, also saying that court cases are much
more drawn out than a Discord argument regarding a
campaign telegram -- giving justices more time to
seriously deliberate and consider the options.
His opponent, former Petrovsky Administration official
and Central Committee member Thomas Calloway,
released a more detailed campaign highlighting his
experience in the Bloc’s government over the years. His
promises were to hear all cases in an unbiased and fair
manner, establish clear guidelines on how each court case
should be held in order to make it easier for those
participating in the case, and working on the Executive
Government on a law program to educate citizens on Bloc
law and the legal process of the region. There was no
questions or criticism of his campaign.
General Secretary Lil’ Stapler offered his congratulations
to the 5th Justice of the People’s Tribunal Frits on Tuesday
evening after he won the close vote.
After being asked who the new Chief Justice was by a
Ministry of Information reporter, Frits confirmed that the
Tribunal had internally selected M.M. to continue into the
6-month term as Chief Justice, making him the longest
serving head of the judiciary in Bloc history.
Trabardia is the Chief Editor of the Ministry of
Information Daily News and the Saturday Edition, as well
as the Minister of Information.
The People’s Tribunal hearing attorney arguments
during the case Trabardia v. Cheval in the spring of
this year. The case is the only case finished by the
Tribunal in its term. The Kiryu v. Petrovsky case
was dropped due to the fact that both sides of the
case had ceased to exist in NationStates.
Minister, Chief Editor
Trabardia
Party Affairs & Military Correspondent
Frits
Election Correspondent
Lil’ Stapler
Legislative Correspondent
Alexandria Whittaker
Opinion Columnist
Lewis Kuznetsov-Flood
DAILY NEWS SATURDAY EDITION | 4/8/2018 | PAGE A3
Europeia’s Inactivity The Rise of
CONTINUED FROM PAGE A1
Independents
regions in NationStates. However,
activity in the Senate has been
slowing down in the past term. 4
bills are being discussed right now,
but 3 of them have less than 15
posts. This is not to say that the
Senate is declining like the rest of
the region, but its levels of activity
are objectively lower than usual for
an institution of its significance.
The real concern lies in the
region’s Citizens Assembly. As the
name implies, it is composed of all
citizens of Europeia. It can propose
legislation to send to the Senate --
and that’s about it.
The last post in the Assembly
forum was made on July 20th, and
Chairman of the CA Aramor hasn’t
been active on Europeia’s forums in
9 days -- possibly following down
the path of several popular Chairs
that have shown great promise but
later faded into inactivity. The CA’s
inactivity is an indicator of how
enthusiastic and engaged regular
citizens are about the region’s
legislative branch, and during this
period it seems like they are sleepy.
Europeia’s Constitutional
Convention was convened almost
two months ago, and like the other
legislative functions of the region, is
also showing signs of slow activity
in a process meant to create activity
and develop new ideas.
Only one idea coming from the
Convention, splitting the executive
into two main offices -- one
The restless capital of Europeia.
PRAF Operational Report
by FRITS
There have been several raids since
Minister of Defense/Marshal of the
People’s Revolutionary Armed Forces
Gabriel Xavier assumed office
First, Lieutenant GenralTrabardia
and Corporal. Mecho have together
taken over 3 monarchist strongholds,
known as The New Liberal Republic,
New Found Land and East Caribbean.
Second -- An ally, New Switzerland
has been succesfully liberated after
being taken by an invader. Lieutenant
General Trabardia took, together with
support of The Revolutionary
Communist Alliance, the region out
of the wrong hands. 7 people
participated in total.
managing executive policy and the
other foreign policy -- has been
voted on and approved. Most
registrants to the Convention
expressed a concern that there is a
problem of forum engagement in the
region, but it is yet to be seen if
there are proposals that will solve
this.
Is there still hope?
Of course. Europeia is a
time-tested region and hallmark of
democracy that has gone through
scandals and periods of inactivity,
and it is likely to overcome this
period.
Presidential elections were recently
called by the Supreme Chancellor,
and elections in the region are
mostly guaranteed to generate
activity.
We shall see if the Presidential
elections will produce any
promising results, if the
Constitutional Convention will bring
new life to the region’s legal system,
if Europeia will comfortably and
quickly transfer its forums and
preserve its history, or if the
lifeblood of the decade-old region
will hold.
Trabardia is the Chief Editor of the
Daily News and the Saturday
Edition as well as the Minister of
Information.
Finally -- Communist Paradise was at
first being defended by the PRAF, but
after the region being exposed as right
wing and homophobic, the General
Secretary and Commander in-Chief
Lil' Stapler ordered the invasion of
the region. The region has now been
liberated from homophobia.
Frits is a Military Correspondent and
Party Affairs Correspondent for the
Ministry of Information Daily News in
addition to his role as a Justice on the
People’s Tribunal.
by ALEXANDRIA process of merging into the
WHITTAKER People’s Revolutionary
Party (PRP) to combat this
With the resignation of the decline; And so for the
Alexandria Whitaker from foreseeable future, it seems
the Worker’s Party (WP) that this trend will continue
following after the former to be a defining factor in
First Secretary, Frits, and political dynamics in the
many other former Standing Bloc.
Committee members and the
decline of many other Alexandria Whittaker is the
political parties within the Legislative Affairs
Bloc, a wave of bloc citizens Correspondent for the
renouncing their party Ministry of Information and
memberships is in full former Acting First
swing. Secretary and Deputy First
The trend started a few Secretary of the Worker’s
months ago when current Party.
Central Committee
members, Lewis Flood, and
Pytor, left the Worker’s
Party to become
independents; after this
many members of the Bloc’s
various political parties
followed suite, to the point
where in the recent election
for General Secretary, 5 out
of 6 of the candidates were
independents rather than
members of a political party.
This has left many parties
in a state of decline and left
some forced to take
measures such as the Leadership of the Worker’s
Communist Revolutionaries Party celebrating after their
Party (CRP) and the victory in the April
People’s Party (PP) which elections.
have recently gone into the
Central Committee member offices in the North Island of the
Bloc’s capital. The CC is currently composed entirely of
independent members as the Bloc is slowly turning away
from partisan politics.
Soldiers of the People’s Revolutionary during a
parade in the Bloc’s capital earlier this summer.
DAILY NEWS SATURDAY EDITION | 4/8/2018 | PAGE A4
Legislative Business Where did the Daily News
by FRITS
Term Dates (Repeal) Act 2018
proposed by CCM Lewis
Kuznetsov-Flood
The Central Committee has
passed a repeal of the Term
Dates Act 2017, proposed by
Lewis Kuznetsov-Flood. The
Term Dates Act 2017 decided
that the winner of the General
Secretary election would
replace the former GS after 48
hours. This has not happened
since the passage of the Term
Dates Act 2017 and was
therefore seen as unnecessary.
The act was originally
proposed by Thomas Calloway
in 2017 and past the Central
Committee, but the repeal got
unanimous consent by both the
citizens poll and in the CC.
There wasn't any resistance to
be heard in The General
Gallery, nor any other parts of
the forum.
Residents Opinion Act 2018
proposed by CCM and Premier
Nathaniel Penrose
The General Secretary has
used his veto power to stop the
Residents’ Opinion Act 2018
from becoming a law. The law
was meant to get residents more
involved in regional politics by
starting (non-binding) regional
polls when a Constitutional
Want to learn
more?
Apply for a
mentor.
JOIN THE
PRAF TODAY.
tcb.red/forum/forum/57
amendment is proposed in the
General Gallery. The act,
proposed by Nathaniel Penrose,
was supported by a majority of
voters, but due to the law being
having no procedure ready
when the poll function is being
used for the WA vote.
Lewis Kuznetsov-Flood and
Glorious Leader both abstained
from voting (reasons as to why
are unknown), whilst Nathaniel
Penrose, Egaleca, Trabardia,
Vlad Schpilkes and M.M. voted
Aye.
Nathaniel Penrose, the author,
is likely to propose a new
version of the bill, after the
issues mentioned by the GS are
fixed.
Frits is a Military and Party
Affairs Correspondent for the
Ministry of Information Daily
News in addition to his regular
role as a Justice on the
People’s Tribunal.
The Central Committee
discussing a bill this term.
Go?!?!?!?!?
by TRABARDIA express our deepest sympathy for
anyone affected by this blip in our
Yesterday, the 3rd of August, nearly-clean publishing record.
2018, the Daily News was not We hope to provide you with
published. There was no cheesy more quality journalism and
attention-grabbing announcement content from inside the Bloc’s
in the Discord server linking government to the halls of the
everyone to that night’s issue. World Assembly in the future.
I’m sure you are all wonering:
why wasn’t the beloved Daily Trabardia is a sleepy Chief Editor
News published? Surely the Bloc of the Daily News and the
will descend into chaos if this Saturday Edition.
continues onward!
The answer is quite complex, in
fact: the Chief Editor of the Daily
News and the Saturday Edition
(myself) was writing articles to be
published in this Saturday Edition
late into the night. During that
time, before work was started on
the Daily News issue, our Chief
Editor fell asleep and was not
able to publish the issue.
We apologize for the
inconvenience and wish to Footage obtained of the Chief
Editor at his desk last night.
Changes in the PRAF’s
Merit-Based Ranks
made clear per rank
by FRITS General of The what is needed to be
Armed Forces is
promoted.
The Minister of now named the Also, the GS and
Defense has Marshal of The
Minister have
announcement a Armed Forces. decided to demote
list of changes to Second -- the rank
Vlad from General
the ranks within the of Lieutenant does to Captain due to
PRAF. no longer exist.
inactivity while
First -- the Third -- it is now Minister of Defense.
tcb.red/forum/topic/598
DAILY NEWS SATURDAY EDITION | 4/8/2018 | PAGE B1

International
Farming in Farao
Could Grow Costlier
by VINCENTE LEOZ

The farmers of Farao openly revolted today in the state capital of

Uncallera after the state’s Public Lands Committee fast-tracked a bill to
increase the costs to graze animals on public land.
Over 75% of fertile land in the state is owned by the Farao Land
Management Office, which oversees all public land. Most small farms in
the state pay a flat fee to use and maintain 67% of the LMO land. The fee,
as it has been since most of the older generations remember, has been
$3.50 per animal unit (100kg of livestock).
The new bill would increase the cost of each animal unit to $4.00 and
lower the definition of an animal unit to 90 kilograms. Gael Montes, a
state legislator from the urban capital, proposed the bill with the support
of several members of the Liberal Party leadership and the full backing of
the Communist Party.
Former Land Management Office Commissioner Franco Lain, in an
Farmers blocked traffic in major roads throughout the state
opinion piece for the Farao Tribune-Register, wrote that “this anti-farmer
bill is an attack on both our livestock industry and public land grants.” capital of Uncallera in protest of new proposed costly
If enacted, Montes’ bill would bring in an extra $23 million in revenue agricultural regulation.
for the Office, but many, including Lain, say that the LMO doesn’t need
the extra cash.
The protests that have occurred throughout the day around the State
Capitol and office buildings have amassed over 45,000 participants. In
the afternoon, a group of protestors broke into Montes’ office in the
Capitol and managed to cause significant damage after being escorted out
and arrested by police.

Vincente Leoz is an agricultural correspondent working for the Jalvar Cows grazing in a farm in rural Farao. Most small farms are
Tribune and a policy reporter for the Uncallera Daily Sun. granted a permit to exist by the Land Management Office of
Farao.

all of us that take part in the

Steering The Ship (OOC)
The PRC, its President, and the Future of Roleplay
by LEWIS
KUZNETSOV-FLOOD
The NationRP is a strange beast -
while some nations play in the
space age, others are focused on a
modern timeline. On top of that,
the balance of diplomacy and
domestic roleplay mean that, for
many, it forms a integral part of
their regional identity, and a fun
and natural extension of the main
NS game.
When the council election was
held, just over a week ago, the
campaigns were split between
those in character (RPing their
campaign as an Ambassador or
Head of State) or, as in the case of
Tarrin, campaigning on their
merits in the meta of the RP -
helping to run the council during
difficult times, building the law
archive and other applicable
experiences. Yet, as I talked about
previously, the council has
increasingly moved towards an in
character meta - as far as tying it
into the NationRP as a whole,
playing as an ambassador to an
organisation in the same vein as
the EU or the UN.
game.
Lewis Kuznetsov-Flood is a
guest columnist and volunteer
staff writer for the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs in addition to
serving in his roles as Deputy
General Secretary, member of
So, what does this mean for our
the Central Committee, and The People’s Roleplay
new President? When it comes to
Head Administrator. His NS Council in session to select
the NationRP, the pragmatic
nation is Stiegae. its next President in late July.
approach some take to Bloc
politics is often dropped in favour
of the, many times bizzare,
politics of their nations - in a
mirror of the real world, when it
comes to international politics,
domestic policy often weighs
heavy on decisions. However,
Tarrin has shown he is above
playing his nation’s politics when
it comes to his role as President - a
naturally pragmatic person in Bloc
politics at large, it is no surprise
that he is willing to focus on
getting the council back on track,
when compared to the focus of
other council members. For the
roleplay, this is almost definitely a
good thing - the continuing
movement towards a more
focused roleplay experience has
meant that leadership its natural
heart needs focused leadership to
ensure that the plot is not lost.
In line with that, it can only be
hoped that the President, in a time
when the NationRP is more than
ever, can take the community’s
work and ensure that it works for
DAILY NEWS SATURDAY EDITION | 4/8/2018 | PAGE B2

International Weather

Capital - 26C Sinyeong - -3C Luceria - 20C

Lazhintsky - 16C Terenci - 2C Maoist City -24C
Proletariopolis - 10C Ankh-Morpork - -3C Lilygrad - 21C
Hailfax - 6C Emangrad - 7C Sankofa City - 10C
Tolouse - -1C Agetis - 13C Stalingrad - 1C

Report provided by:

N J A L
Jalvar Public Radio & Weather
DAILY NEWS SATURDAY EDITION | 4/8/2018 | PAGE C1
OPINION
Problems, Solutions, and Fearmonegering
by M.M.
The Bloc has a problem.
That this problem exists is almost
universally agreed upon by the Bloc's
'ruling class', the group of engaged citizens
that hold positions in government (often at
least two). This group (myself included)
believes that their very existence as the
primary holders of the Bloc's political
power signifies that there exists a severe
shortage of new residents obtaining
citizenship, remaining active, and seeking
office. The reason for this shortage is due to
the failures of the forum-based government
to integrate longtime residents ("RMB
denizens" owing to their participation on
the Bloc's regional message board) into the
offsite forum.
It is commonly believed among the forum
residents that this is the most crucial
problem facing the Bloc today. General
Secretary Lil'Stapler was elected in part on
a promise to seek a resolution to the issue.
And yet no sign of a policy proposal
specifically designated to resolve the issue
has yet come to light - not from the Stapler
administration, not from any of its
ministers, not even from the Central
Committee and Lewis Flood, whose essay
decrying the susceptibility of his fellow
legislators to "tinkeritis" came
approximately five milliseconds before his
Do We Really Need This Tribunal?
by TRABARDIA
Every six months we elect five of our most
independent and worthy candidates to sit on
the People’s Tribunal. Maybe you’ve heard
of it, but I doubt that anyone not caught up
on Bloc politics would.
Why? Because the Tribunal rarely does
anything. In the last six months, the
Tribunal ruled on one case of a minor
electoral code violation, and nothing else.
Now, the Administrative Council has seized
the responsibility of managing those
violations. It is now looking to be that the
Tribunal will hear precisely 0 cases until
2019.
That begs the question: then why do we
need the People’s Tribunal? The answer is
quite obvious -- because every functioning
region needs functioning and fair judicial
procedure -- but there is absolutely no need
for a full election for five justices that will
do little to nothing.
What can we do to alleviate the problem
of a dormant Tribunal? Well, first, decrease
the size of the Tribunal to 3 justices, all
appointed by the General Secretary and
confirmed via referendum every six
months. As I said, there is no need for a full
5 justices if only 3 justices participate in
one ruling at a time in a court that only
hears 1-2 cases per year.
Second, we need to give the responsibility
of ruling on electoral code violations back
Section (2) of the Constitution of the People’s Republic
“All citizens are entitled to the freedom of speech, expression, the press, and
belief, unless such freedoms mentioned above intend to discriminate or defame a
group of people within The Communist Bloc or or such freedoms are employed
to actively and maliciously work against the state.”
program to reorganize basically every piece
of legislation in the Bloc commenced.
On a wholly unrelated note, Nathaniel
Penrose and myself recently introduced a
bill intended to give a 'trial run' to a directly
democratic legislature, in which citizens
would have the right to vote on legislature.
This bill was immediately decried as a
serious threat to activity by the
aforementioned Lewis Flood and other
characters such as Trabardia. Never mind
that the bill was designed to specifically
give a trial run with the ability to easily
repeal its provisions at the end of its term
rather than carrying them on; even a couple
of months was simply too much of a risk.
Even a trial run would leave us in the same
state as the inactive UCRs, with hardly any
new legislative proposals.
(Although perhaps they've found the
ultimate cure for the tinkeritis of elected
legislators?)
Of course, a decline in legislative activity
is not something that one should
automatically link to a legislative system,
and nor is it a positive - but there is reason
to suspect that it would not necessarily be
the case. A recent poll carried about by
Repeater found that out of fifteen polled
citizens, slim majorities supported direct
democracy in legislature and did not believe
that it would lead to inactivity. A
to the Tribunal. The Administrative Council
is composed of people to administer the
technical functions of the Bloc, not
determine if a candidate followed the law.
Last, judicial education. While the Tribunal
isn’t overseeing rare court cases, they
should be writing guides and holding
lectures on legal procedure to better educate
the next attorneys and justices. After all,
these are supposed to be the best legal
minds in the Bloc.
If we want to make having an election
every 6 months worthwhile, it is imperative
that we find solutions to this dormant
Tribunal -- or else our judicial branch will
be five people with an extra role on the
forum.
Trabardia is the Chief Editor of the Daily
News and the Saturday Edition in addition
to his role as Minister of Information and
member of the Central Committee.
The People’s Tribunal building.
question regarding shifts in legislative
activity found that a plurality of those
polled would not change the level of
legislative activity they engage in under a
directly democratic system, while just as
many said that they would increase their
activity as those that said that they would be
less active. The issue is not open and shut.
But most important is the audience that the
poll is reaching - registered forum
members. Kirk Socramander noted that a
directly democratic legislature could be a
serious draw for RMB members. In effect,
he argued, this could be the policy that
solves the issue of resident integration.
Polls are needed to determine whether or
not this would indeed encourage residents
to register for the forums, but if they
indicate that this would be the case, then
everything the naysayers are arguing is
completely wrong.
The effectiveness of direct democracy as a
policy to get residents to become citizens is
untested, but the possibility should not be
ruled out; the chance that we have a
possible recruitment tool for the forums
sitting in our laps is too important to pass
up.
M.M. is the founder and publisher of the
private media outlet The Repeater, in
addition to his role as an administrator,
Chief Justice, and a guest columnist.
Legislative Opinions
by ALEXANDRIA WHITTAKER
Resident’s Opinion Act
The Resident Opinion’s Act of 2018 is an
act recently proposed and voted on by the
Premier of the TCB, Nathaniel Penrose.
The act seeks to gauge public opinion on
polls from TBC residents through
non-binding polls, thereby increasing
citizen participation in the political process.
The specifics of the bill include sections
saying that if one or more polls were taking
place, then an external voting mechanism
would be used, and that the polls must be
posted on the RMB. Members of the CC all
either voted in favor of the bill or abstained,
however the General Secretary, Lil Stapler,
vetoed the act because it didn’t include
provisions concerning if a bill takes place
during a World Assembly (WA) meeting.
From my perspective, it seems like this bill
is a nice step forward for increased
participation in the Bloc, and a measure for
increased transparency, which some
members of the Bloc have been expressing
grievances about. However at first I thought
that the veto was unnecessary because I
thought the bill looked complete however
the General Secretary brought up a good
point concerning the conflicts of interest. I
SEE LEGISLATIVE, C2
DAILY NEWS SATURDAY EDITION | 4/8/2018 | PAGE C2

OPINION
Section (2) of the Constitution of the People’s Republic
“All citizens are entitled to the freedom of speech, expression, the press, and
belief, unless such freedoms mentioned above intend to discriminate or defame a
group of people within The Communist Bloc or or such freedoms are employed
to actively and maliciously work against the state.”

Legislative Opinions
CONTINUED FROM C1
hope that this bill passes as soon as possible at the benefit of the
citizens of the Bloc.

Term Dates (Repeal) Act 2018

The Term Date (Repeals) Act of 2018 is an act that seeked to

repeal the Term Date Act of 2017, which is an act that defines
when General Secretary and Central Committee members take
office after an election. The 2017 Act says that both the General
Secretary and Central Committee members take office 48 hours
after a winner is chosen, and has provisions in case of a runoff
election, a GS having more than one term continuously, and in
case of a CC tie. Introduced by the Premier, Nathaniel Penrose,
2018 act repeals the entirety of the bill, and it passed 3 days ago
with a unanimous vote for the repeal. My concern with this is
that with the absence of this bill, there doesn’t seem to be any The General Secretary signing a bill in July.
precedent for when a GS or CC member takes office, but
considering the unanimous vote, there must of been an issue
with the bill in the first place, so I feel like it’s safe to assume
that the CC will replace this bill with a new precedent.

Should the Bloc adopt direct democracy?

by LIL’ STAPLER
If you truly know me, you know I love
direct democracy. It’s awesome. Heck, I
even founded a party on those principles
and campaigned to the CC on that principle.
But the problem is, through my time in the
government, through my time reading and
analyzing, The Communist Bloc is not
ready to handle Direct Democracy. This
article will explain reasonings for and
against Direct Democracy in the Bloc.
The biggest argument I see from the
proposition side is “We have a fuck go back
option. There’s no reason to not try”. This
however, in my eyes, seems to backfire on
to them. This makes me less confidence.
There have been no other substantial
arguments with the exception of one. The
proposition cannot simply rely on the “fuck
go back” option. Though I do like the
addition of the option. Making it a trial
period does put in some confidence that
The proposition says they are shy, scared,
“just leaves it to the elites”. Instead of
taking away a cultural, historical, important
part of the Bloc, how about we just change
the attitude from the elites to new citizens.
For the best example, how about we stop
Vlad from being a dick and condescending
to new citizens who just have simple
questions? Instead of making unnecessary
change, let’s change the attitude our elitists
are giving to the new ones.
Egaleca’s recent mentorship program is
also twofold. His program has been helping
new citizens get involved and learn how the
Bloc works. This is helping change the
attitude around elitists. His program has also
been reaching out to RMB’ers, and soon
enough, we can hopefully be able to entice
some to come to the forums, and entice
some of us, to go to the RMB.
The opposition claims that DD will
decrease legislation activity, and uses
examples from much larger regions. I don’t
not pass. Not because I am in only cautious
support of the amendment, but because the
citizens don’t want it.
Neither of the polls were ⅔ majority in
support. You are representatives right now.
Represent the people, not your own
interests. I want to see the benefits of Direct
Democracy. I want them to come to fruition
within the Bloc. But can we handle it
without faltering? That is the question you
must ask yourself.
Lil’ Stapler is the elections correspondent
for the Ministry of Information in addition
to his role as General Secretary.

taking this risk is okay. I also find it
hypocritical that the proposition says “we
can’t predict what will happen”, but then
says how DD will increase legislation, even
though its implementation in BIGGER
THANK
see this, I see no change. It’ll just be the
same old CC members continuing to do
what they did before, minus a few, and few
others joining. That’s because this
amendment isn’t teaching new citizens how

regions couldn’t increase progress. I will
say, the trial period does give them some
ground. However, to me, this becomes
negated when the two authors of the bill
have refused to discuss compromises with
me.
YOU
to write legislation or participate. It just
takes away titles (which I can see an upside
to).
We don’t need Direct Democracy to
increase legislative inactivity. We don’t
need it to entice RMB’ers. We don’t need to

Next, and the only real substantial
argument on the side of the proposition is
that it can increase legislative activity and
RMB/forum integration. It’ll improve the
voices of the people, however, this directly
ignores the poll that showed a slim majority
FOR
accuse people of fearmongering. We need to
change the attitude of OUR OWN
ELITISTS, in order to fix these problems.
We need to stop being dicks and
condescending to new citizens. We need (I
am trying this week) to create ways for new

of citizens support Direct Democracy. The
poll also showed that no change would take
place overall. On the RMB, I will agree,
myself, my Ministers, and the Central
Committee have so far failed to bridge the
gap between the forums and the RMB. So
there is a positive that Direct Democracy
could possibly bring in those citizens. But
why aren’t they here/participating anyway?
READING!
citizens to learn how the Bloc works, like
Egaleca has done. I am, however, cautiously
willing to put my support into this
amendment if proper steps are established
beforehand that will actually teach new
citizens what to do.
I now call upon the members of the Central
Committee to do their jobs. When/if the
vote does come, this amendment should