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International Association Football Federation | Fédération internationale de football association

FIFA World Cup 1966 | Qualification

THE FINAL STAGES: THE PLAY-OFFS (PART 1)

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With the direct qualification completed and the rounds of group stages now done, only 8 teams remain, competing for a solitary 3 places in the FIFA World Cup. After months of matches and competitions, the remaining teams are some of the most battle-hardened, many of them enduring round after round of gruelling competition to be in with a chance of qualifying for the ultimate competition in world football. The end goal is nearly in sight for many of these teams, with only one hurdle remaining: the play-offs.

Play-offs are among the tensest formats in football. There is no room for error, no room for bad performance, mistakes are felt much more than they are in the group stages where there is the safety net of many matches and the chance that other competitors may fair poorly in their own games. It’s one on one, toe-to-toe, winner takes all. The atmosphere amongst these remaining teams reflects that, glory is still within reach for some of them, whereas others will be forced to take bitter disappointment and wait another 4 years until they get another chance to qualify. For some players, this may be the last time they will ever have a chance to qualify, and so, the pressure is on.

The format goes as follows. Asia and Africa have two teams playing for one final qualifying place. The teams will play each other twice, once at home, once away. In Europe, four teams will play for one final qualifying place, playing each-other once on neutral ground in a traditional knockout format.

Saudi Arabia will face off against China PR in the Asia play-offs. The Saudi’s have performed better than expected in their campaign, and are within touching distance of their first ever World Cup. After a strong showing in Round 1 and a tough fight to redemption in Round 2, the odds are with the Saudi’s as long as their form continues strong. China PR are the largest nation in terms of population on earth and many will expect that they should qualify. However, difficult qualifying runs in the 1st and 2nd rounds may deem otherwise, with China barely making it through both rounds. China, still recovering from the wounds of past civil strife, was not expected to go through, though they are still a formidable force and have shown their mettle in this years qualifying.

In Africa, Ghana will face off against Zaire for the final African qualifying spot. Ghana had one of the strongest qualification runs in the early stages of the competition, qualifying well ahead of their competitors to the second round, but faced challenges in the second round of qualifying. Zaire similarly have battled through adversity to remain in the competition. Both teams will be competing for their first ever World Cup appearance, and in the post-colonial era for Africa, victory will be seen as a national achievement worthy of celebration.

In Europe, we see the traditionally strong footballing nation of the Alpine Republic face off against minnows Slovenia, who have defied expectations and risen to the occasion to secure their best-ever World Cup qualifying performance. Slovenia contended in one of the hardest groups in qualifying, facing off against giants Hungary and defeating in-form teams Turkey and France to secure their place in the next round. The Alpine Republic came back from a disappointing start to overtake a resurgent East German side, which looked ready to qualify after recent successes in Olympic football. The match will be hotly contested and opinions are divided on who will emerge the victor.

Meanwhile, Spain will face off against home nation Northern Ireland in their play-off. Northern Ireland have stunned the world with their qualification to this stage of the competition, outpacing and outqualifying bigger and better nations. The tiny country, embroiled in conflict and controversy in the ongoing dispute with the Republic of Ireland, has exceeded expectations and has become something of an underdog favourite for the fans. Spain had a controversial qualification, with many believing they failed to take the advantage to qualify direct. Struggling against an in-form West German side and a strong Benelux side, Spain just managed to qualify ahead of Scotland to take the play-off spot. Odds are on Spain to perform well in this round, and potentially book themselves a spot to compete for the final European qualifying place to this World Cup.

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AFC/OFC: Saudi Arabia 1-0 China PR

The first of the play-offs was held in Saudi Arabia. The atmosphere favoured the Saudi's, who packed the stands with supporters and dwarfed the much smaller Chinese contingent that had travelled to watch. Anticipation for the match had been growing in the weeks prior, with Saudi Arabia having caught 'World Cup fever' over the course of qualification.

The match began with the thundering roar of the Saudi fans, signalling the beginning of what was expected to be a close and thrilling game. The Saudi's took the initiative early on, playing far more aggressively than the Chinese side, who were forced back into their own half. China's defence and goalkeeper faired well against several poorly placed shots by the Saudi team who seemed frantic in hoping to get a goal. However, the pressure paid off as defender Al-Zayadi headed in from a corner in the 15th minute, securing the first goal of the game to triumphant reception from the Saudi fans. As the first half continued, the Saudi team continued upping the pressure but were unable to convert into another goal by the time the whistle blew.

As the second half commenced, China looked to be more active, controlling the play and bringing the ball back into the Saudi's half. The Saudi team looked exhausted, with many substitutions occurring for the beleaguered side. China managed to start pushing for shots on in the 60th minute but were unable to convert, partly due to excellent defending on behalf of the Saudi side, but also due to poor chance creation on the Chinese side. As the match entered its closing stages, the crowd began to die down as it looked like no further goals would be scored and that both sides had reached the point of exhaustion.

Final whistle: Saudi Arabia 1-0 China PR. The Saudi's hold the advantage ahead of the next match in China.

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CAF: Ghana 0-2 Zaire

We travel next to Africa, where Ghana will face-off against Zaire for the first play-off match in the CAF. Ghana were looking to be strong favourites going into the game, boasting both skill and experience against the younger Zaire. Nevertheless, the tension was there after Ghana's poor qualifying performance in the second round saw them miss out on the opportunity to qualify directly for the World Cup.

The whistle blew and the match began, both teams springing to life as all of the built-up tension and anticipation was released in a single wave. The African fans, known for their colourful and heartwarming displays, made certain that the whole of town could hear the celebrations. Ghanian Kwasi Owusu missed a few chances from set-pieces in the early stages of the game, with the ball rarely leaving the centre of the pitch. At this point, any chance must be converted. It was Zaire, however, who took the initiative, with Muntantu Kidumu taking the first goal of the game in the 29th minute with an emphatic strike from within the box. The shot came thundering past the unprepared Ghanian defenders and through the legs of goalkeeper Sam Acquah. Kidumu didn't stop there, taking a second goal in nearly as many minutes, scoring from a corner kick after the ball dropped into the penalty box. Although rough, the goal still stood and gave Zaire a two-goal advantage. Ghana pressured Zaire from then on out, taking a far more aggressive style of play compared to Zaire's more defensive style. Despite many great chances, the score remained 0-2 at the half.

The second half saw Ghana continue to push, unhappy with their previous performance in the half. Hearts were lifted in the 68th minute when Kwasi Owusu scored a leaping header from a cross, delivered by teammate Robert Folley. The stadium erupted in cheer until they saw the linesman's flag raised firmly in the air, indicating an off-side. The goal was disallowed but not before commotion engulfed the pitch, with players surrounding the referee and the crowd jeering. The failed goal saw Ghana's morale drop immensely, with their previously aggressive play now faltering and resulting in the team appearing disorganised and chaotic.

Final whistle: Ghana 0-2 Zaire. Zaire have the advantage and the away goals heading into the next play-off match.

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UEFA: Alpine Republic 0-2 Slovenia

Unlike the previous two matches, both UEFA matches will only be one match each. The pressure on both sides here is enormous, as both have it all to play for here in England tonight. These matches are the first to be played in eventual host England, giving the country its first taste of hosting international football. The Alpine Republic are clear favourites heading into the match, with a long-standing football tradition behind them. Slovenia are the under-dogs, exceeding all expectations to make it this far in qualifying.

The match begins and already the deadlock sets in, with the ball played around in the centre of the pitch. Both sides midfield are getting the workout of their lives as they play back forth between each-other. The competition is so fierce that it's not until the 11th minute that the ball reaches the box, with Alpenland making an eventually unsuccessful run toward the Slovene goal. The lack of chances in the first half only adds to the tensions, as both sides seem determined not to allow anyone through. Made worse is the news of penalty shoot-outs as the new tie-breakers, meaning a draw will not simply result in a replay of the match. 0-0 as the first half ends, and the players retire to their dressing rooms.

The second half begins and the Alpine Republic seem determined to get a goal. The Slovene defence is given a run for their money as ball after ball enters their box. Substitutions at the half have given the Alpine Republic fresh legs to tackle the Slovenes, though their lack of experience under pressure may prove an issue heading into the closing stages. For those players that were not subbed off, tiredness begins to set in and the Slovene side makes their advance.

Finally, after 73 minutes of waiting, Slovenia break the deadlock. A lone Slovene striker takes advantage of a poor pass between Alpine defenders, making a run at the unprepared goalkeeper and slotting away one of the tidiest shots of the tournament so far. The striker, only 19 years old, scores his first international goal and indeed one of the most important goals for his country. The crowd erupts as the team swarm the young player as he celebrates at the corner post. The Alpine team start to push, having chance after chance, culminating in a brilliantly placed free-kick that hits the cross-bar as is collected frantically by the Slovene goalkeeper. In the 82nd minute, Slovenia raise the bar again with a more experienced striker scoring a header from a free-kick into the box. The Alpine side do not waver, seeming relentless to level the match and continue, but unfortunately, to no avail.

Final whistle: Alpine Republic 0-2 Slovenia. Slovenia advances to the next round, defying all expectations.

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UEFA: Spain 2-1 Northern Ireland

The next match taking place in England is between Spain and Northern Ireland. Spain, an experienced and talented side, are sure favourites to take the win, but have suffered from lack-luster performances in the previous rounds. Northern Ireland are the last remaining home nation in the World Cup aside from England, and are looking to make an impact. The tiny nation is hoping to achieve yet another great David and Goliath tale here at Wembley Stadium.

The whistle blows and in a shocking turn of events, we see the fastest goal in World Cup qualification. Spain's Luis Suarez, taking advantage of slow play from the Northern Irish side, makes a sprint through the team, rapidly pacing towards the goal and slots away a goal in 1 minute 36 seconds, making it one of the fastest goals in international football history. Spain start as they mean to carry on, with the initial goal followed by strong play from the Spanish side in the first half. Despite this, Bertie Peacock's side stand firm against the Spanish Armada and prevent them from scoring any further goals. In the 40th minute, Northern Ireland obtain a free-kick, taken by captain Billy Bingham. Bingham delivers the perfect shot to the far-corner, beating the Spanish keeper and producing one of the most beautiful goals of the tournament thus far. Northern Ireland keep their dreams alive as they move into the second half.

The second-half begins and the Northern Irish seem to have the advantage for the first 25 minutes, taking runs and getting close to extending their lead. A few poorly placed shots and off-side calls hamper their progress, but the atmosphere created by the fans is electric enough to keep Bertie's men on the move. However, as the match moved on, Spain found themselves on better footing, and eventually were able to convert this into a goal delivered by Spain's captain Gento. The goal was a dagger to the heart of the Northern Irish fans, who jeered at the Spanish celebrations near their stands. The tension remained and chances thundered left and right, with both sides expertly defending to prevent any goals. As the final play of the game began, the entire Northern Irish team, including goalkeeper Victor Hunter, crowded into the Spanish box. As the ball flew in, it connected with the head of forward Samuel Wilson, passing the Spanish keeper, looking as if it were to go in, but narrowly missing the post and going out of play.

Final whistle: Spain 2-1 Northern Ireland. A dramatic end to an incredible match. Northern Ireland go home proud in defeat, where Spain set up their final match with Slovenia.

Paramountica, Rutannia, Arcanda, Amsterwald, Cascadla, Nippon-Nihon, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Bobertzimburg

[list][list][sub]𝙸.1964[/sub]

[sub]LE RIFORME DC-PSI[/sub]

THE DC-PSI REFORMS[/list]

[list][list][pre]Welfare, utilities, industry and education:

Reforms of the Center-Left in full bloom.[/pre][/list][/list]

ROMA, REGNO D’ITALIA

[sub]Palazzo Montecitorio

[nation=flag]Arcanda[/nation][/sub][/list]

[list]| The DC-PSI coalition, elected just a few months ago after the historic weakening of the DC, and assisted by the minor PSDI (Partito socialista democratico italiano) and the Liberal Party, would waste no time in putting into motion its expansive and broad range of reforms. The goals were clear, to slowly transition to social democracy after more than a decade of rule by the right and laissez-faire wing of the DC. Although the last DC Prime Minister, the moderate Amintore Fanfani, had already clawed back at some of the heritage of the Einaudi cabinets, several areas of governance had remained untouched by Fanfani's relatively more statist hand—Aldo Moro, the DC Premier, and Deputy PM Pietro Nenni, a weathered Socialist, had a heavy agenda to put into motion, but it would be no New Deal-like scenario. Collegial decisions, and the avoidance of large laws would lead instead to a monthly trickle of reforms, carried by different Ministers and frequently leading to infighting both within the coalition and its member parties. Therefore, 1963 and 1964 saw a cohort of major legge come into action: |

[list]▌[sub]Pension Increases (excluding the automatic increase to compensate for inflation):[/sub] [list][sub][*]Public Servants, Farmers: 5%[/sub]

[sub][*]Construction Workers, Non-commissioned officers: 6%[/sub]

[sub][*]Industry Workers: 8%[/sub][/list][/list]

[list]▌[sub]University Plan:[/sub] [list][sub][*]Arts & Humanities: abolition of the entrance examinations.[/sub]

[sub][*]Sciences: administrative centralization to enable a basic, universal scholarship program[/sub][/list][/list]

[list]▌[sub]Secondary Education Plan:[/sub] [list][sub][*]Compulsory and universal education extended from primary to secondary education.

[*]State-paid schoolbooks for both primary and secondary education.[/sub][/list][/list]

[list]▌[sub]Nationalization of Electric-Power Industries:[/sub] [list][sub][*]Creation of the E.N.E.L (Ente Nazionale per l'energia Elettrica) in accordance with plans drafted by the previous cabinet, and consolidation of the industry via the integration of the eight largest private producers across Italy.

[*]Issuance of bonds over 1963-65 in order to fund large-scale improvement of the energy grid; connect Sicily and Sardinia to the main network and achieve complete electrification of rural areas, with stated goal of catching up to Western European standards.[/sub][/list][/list]

[list]▌[sub]National Informatics Industry Plan:[/sub] [list][sub][*]Special subsidies (up to 5% of the company's gross income over 1961-62) and government buyback of one-third of its corporate debt, issued to struggling industry giant Olivetti, with subsidies to be solely utilized in R&D projects concerning its computer division.[/sub][/list]

[list][sub][*]Creation of the National Informatics Committee to direct and fund advancements in computer science.[/sub][/list][/list][/list]

[list]| A number of other decisions would follow, most notably the creation of an Anti-Mafia Commission tasked with investigating the deep-rooted criminal system, a frequent source of corruption and other crimes in the Mezzogiorno. Only one campaign promise would be left aside, that of decentralization—Neither the Christian Democrats nor the Socialists wishing to give another avenue of power to the Communists, while others feared that economic disparity would leave the South in an even poorer state than before should decentralization come to pass. |

[list][list][list][spoiler=[sub]Commonwealth of Liberty[/sub]

EVVIVA L'ITALIA!

—]

[nation]Adriatican Islands[/nation]

[nation]Al-Oman[/nation]

[nation]Amsterwald[/nation]

[nation]Arcanda[/nation]

[nation]Brazil Toucan[/nation]

[nation]Cascadla[/nation]

[nation]Cheezaslovakia[/nation]

[nation]Connomia[/nation]

[nation]East Germany DDR[/nation]

[nation]Great Britain GB[/nation]

[nation]Greater Kurdistane[/nation]

[nation]Israelli[/nation]

[nation]Kewtpuff[/nation]

[nation]Kotakuan II[/nation]

[nation]Ma-li[/nation]

[nation]Maziya[/nation]

[nation]Metropolitan Francais[/nation]

[nation]Neepal[/nation]

[nation]Nevbrejnovitz[/nation]

[nation]Newauroria[/nation]

[nation]New Provenance[/nation]

[nation]Nileia[/nation]

[nation]Nippon-Nihon[/nation]

[nation]OsivoII[/nation]

[nation]Paramountica[/nation]

[nation]Paseo[/nation]

[nation]Peking Zhongguo[/nation]

[nation]Pontianus[/nation]

[nation]Provenancia[/nation]

[nation]Ranponian[/nation]

[nation]Rutannia[/nation]

[nation]Saudi Arabiyah[/nation]

[nation]Socialist Democratic Republic Romania[/nation]

[nation]Spainard[/nation]

[nation]Sudesam[/nation]

[nation]Turkiye 1st[/nation]

[nation]Vancouver Straits[/nation]

[nation]Victoria Harbor[/nation]

[nation]Vietnam SV[/nation]

[nation]Virnall[/nation]

[/spoiler][/list][/list]

Paramountica, Rutannia, Amsterwald, Pontianus, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li

More investments

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]Yemen Arab Republic

January 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]Marib Construction Company, owned by the businessman, Engineer Othman al-Arif, obtained a contract to develop the runways at the three Yemeni airports in Sanaa, Taiz, and Al-Hudaydah, and another contract to build an air base near Sanaa, The base will include an air control tower and an area for aircraft, hangar for maintenance, a barracks for officers and technicians, and a perimeter wall for the base equipped with guard towers. The name of the base will be August 5 Air Base.[/sup]

[sup]On the other hand, Al-Khudari Company for Imports and Exports obtained a contract to equip government buildings with the required furniture and supplies. The company is owned by businessman Shawqi al-Khudari, who has become one of the most famous businessmen in Yemen.

[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Rutannia, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li

TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND UNITED PROVINCES OF ARGENTINA OF THE 12TH JANUARY 1966

Determined to consolidate and expand the traditional economic and trade relations between the European Economic Community and the Argentine Republic,

Mindful of the spirit of cooperation that guides them,

Aware of the importance of the harmonious development of trade between the contracting parties,

Eager to contribute to the expansion of exchanges and the development of economic cooperation on mutually advantageous terms for both contracting parties,

Have Decided to conclude a trade agreement between the European Economic Community and the Argentine Republic, and have designated as their plenipotentiaries for this purpose:

Article 1: Respect for GATT Principles

The Parties hereby affirm their commitment to uphold and abide by the principles established in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

Both the European Community and Argentina shall ensure the nondiscriminatory treatment of each other's goods and services, as outlined in the GATT principles.

The Parties shall refrain from imposing unjustified barriers to trade and shall work towards the reduction and elimination of tariffs and other restrictive measures in accordance with GATT provisions.

In the event of any dispute regarding the interpretation or application of GATT principles, the Parties agree to engage in consultations to seek an amicable resolution.

The Parties acknowledge the importance of promoting fair and open trade practices in accordance with the spirit of GATT, fostering economic cooperation and enhancing mutual benefits.

This commitment to GATT principles shall guide the Parties in their bilateral trade relations and form the foundation for further economic collaboration.

Article 2: Reciprocal Exclusions in Investment Sectors

In the spirit of mutual understanding and in recognition of the sovereign interests of both Parties, the European Economic Community (EEC) and the Argentine Republic hereby agree to reciprocally exclude certain sectors from foreign investment.

The Parties acknowledge that the following sectors are excluded from investment by the EEC in the territory of the Argentine Republic:

a. Agriculture, including the acquisition of arable land.

b. Railways, with a particular emphasis on the majority acquisition of rail lines and trains.

c. Roads and other vital infrastructure, such as highways and ports.

d. Military contractors.

e. Energy, including but not limited to exploration, extraction, and production.

f. Waterworks, encompassing water resource management and distribution.

The Parties affirm their commitment to respecting these exclusions, understanding that such measures are taken in the interest of national priorities and development objectives.

Both Parties shall refrain from introducing measures that would circumvent the essence of these exclusions and shall engage in consultations to address any concerns or disputes that may arise in the implementation of this agreement.

This article does not preclude the possibility of future negotiations to reconsider these exclusions, should both Parties agree to do so in the spirit of cooperation and economic collaboration.

Article 3: Trade in Goods

The Community and Argentina shall progressively and reciprocally liberalize trade in goods, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the schedules of tariff concessions annexed to this Agreement.

The Community and Argentina shall eliminate customs duties and charges having equivalent effect on imports and exports of originating products, in accordance with the schedules of tariff concessions annexed to this Agreement.

The Community and Argentina shall not adopt or maintain any non-tariff measures that are inconsistent with their obligations under the WTO Agreement or that create unnecessary obstacles to trade, such as quantitative restrictions, import or export licenses, or other administrative measures.

Article 4

This agreement shall enter into force on the 1st Febuary 1966.

SIGNED

The Most Excellent, Arturo Frondizi, President of the United Provinces of Argentina.

ANNEX I - CONCESSIONS BY THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND ARGENTINA 🇪🇺 🇦🇷

I.1 - Special provisions on beef and meat products from Argentina

Beef and meat products : Levy applicable for every ton of imported meat from Argentina is capped to 55%

Beef and meat products - reduced contingent tariff of 15% for 20 000 tons max

I.2 - Tariff System between the European Community and Argentina

Soy: 20% (-10) : 10% by 1975

Sunflower: 20% (-10) : 10% by 1975

Cheese: 30% MAINTAINED

Milk products : 30% MAINTAINED

Wine: 20% (-10) : 10% by 1975

Cars: 20% (-10) : 10% by 1975

Buses: 20% (-10) : 10% by 1975

Trucks: 20% (-10) : 10% by 1975

Tractors: 20% (-10) : 10% by 1975

Machinery and parts: 20% (-10) : 10% by 1975

Pharmaceuticals: 20% (-10) : 10% by 1975

Cosmetics: 20% (-10) : 10% by 1975

Plastics: 20% (-10) : 10% by 1975

Furniture: 20% (-10) : 10% by 1975

Toys: 20% (-10) : 10% by 1975

Sports equipment: 20% (-10) : 10% by 1975

Musical instruments: 20% (-10) : 10% by 1975

Textiles and clothing: 20% (-10) : 10% by 1975

Footwear: 20% (-10) : 10% by 1975

Leather and leather products: 20% (-15) : 5% by 1975

Chocolate and confectionery: 20% (-10) : 10% by 1975

Parts of electronic assemblies: 20%

Paramountica, Rutannia, Amsterwald, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

[list]Fate's Gambit: Turmoil and Triumph

[list][pre]Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri suffers a heart attack, dying before a motion of no confidence could be levied against him..[/pre][/list]

[list][sup]11 January 1966[/sup][/list][/list]

[list][sub]Teen Murti Bhavan in New Delhi, Kewtpuff (भारत गणराज्य)[/sub][/list]

[sub]| Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri paces back and forth in his bedroom as he ponders his political future. The thought of potentially being ousted by a motion of no confidence by his party is too much for him. The 61-year-old former disciple of Mahatma Gandhi can not comprehend the drastic measures the Indian National Congress is willing to take if he does not step down voluntarily. The humiliation of his inevitable ouster makes him shudder with stress and despair as he screams in frustration. |[/sub]

[list][sub]Lal Bahadur Shastri, Prime Minister: "Damn you, Kamaraj! That snake, Menon! Damn you! Bastards!"[/sub][/list]

[sub]| Tears flow down the Prime Minister's cheeks while he makes his way to his bed, placing his hands onto the bedcover and sighing-his head lowering as he sobs. Shastri cries for his legacy and the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, the legacy of Nehru. His supposed friends within Congress want him removed, and he feels betrayed. What had he done wrong? All because he wouldn't seek out relations with Western powers, powers that aided in the looting of India for generations? |[/sub]

[list][sub]Lal Bahadur Shastri, Prime Minister: "Preposterous! I will not play Kamaraj's game. I refuse! For the good of the nation, I must resign. I m-must resignnn.." [/sub][/list]

[sub]| Shastri grips the bedcover as he starts feeling dizzy. A pain begins emanating from the center of his chest as a feeling of clamminess overwhelms him. The Prime Minister places his right hand above his heart as the pressure grows, his left arm feeling numb. Coughing, he screams for help as he turns around and makes for the door to his bedroom. Lal reaches the door handle and twists it, managing to get it open as he falls forward and lands face down in the hallway. |[/sub]

[sub]| A thud is heard by a maid who quickly runs into the hallway and shrieks, spotting the downed Prime Minister, who is seemingly unconscious. She quickly calls for help as several of Shastri's security personnel make their way up the stairs and into the hallway, rushing toward the Prime Minister and checking on him. One of the men places his right index and middle fingers onto Shastri's neck to check for a pulse-there is none. |[/sub]

[list][sub]Unnamed Guard: "He's dead!"[/sub][/list]

[list][list][pre]TIME SKIP[/pre][/list][/list]

[list][sub]Samvidhan Sadan in New Delhi, Kewtpuff (भारत गणराज्य)[/sub][/list]

[list][sup]14 January 1966[/sup][/list][/list]

[sub]| With the untimely death of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, India entered a period of mourning. An elaborate funeral procession was held in honor of India's second Premier. Amidst the mourning crowd, the conspirators watched on as Shastri's body passed them atop a beautifully decorated wagon, flowers adorning his body, draped by the Indian flag. K. Kamaraj, V. K. Krishna Menon, and now acting Premier Gulzarilal Nanda, offered their respects to the fallen titan of Indian politics. Although his death was unintentional, it presented the INC leadership with an out as well as a way to avoid an unnecessary and potentially costly vote of no confidence that could have ended in disaster. |[/sub]

[sub]| Following the end of the ceremony, and with Shastri's body cremated near Shanti Vana as per Hindu tradition, the Indian National Congress began their quest for a new leader. K. Kamaraj and V. K. Krishna Menon named Indira Gandhi a potential successor. Gandhi, the daughter of the late Nehru, was seen as the logical pick. Meanwhile, Morarji Desai threw his own hat into the ring, presenting himself as a potential candidate for party leader and Prime Minister. Congress President Kamaraj would have none of it, orchestrating Mrs. Gandhi's selection and influencing the INC as a whole because he perceived her to be weak enough that he and the other regional party bosses could control her, and yet strong enough to beat Desai in a party election because of the high regard for her father. |[/sub]

[sub]| In the parliament house, the voting commenced. V. K. Krishna Menon spoke at length about his reasoning for backing Gandhi's candidacy. This speech was followed by several other INC party bosses who spoke of their support for Mrs. Gandhi, having been influenced by K. Kamaraj, who chaired the proceeding. C. Rajagopalachari, watched with interest as he and the Swatantras silently hoped for Gandhi's election as they were promised concessions by K. Kamaraj ahead of time. As the minutes ticked by the result was no surprise, Indira Gandhi was elected President of the Indian National Congress, becoming India's 3rd Prime Minister. Once sworn in, cheers erupted in parliament as the conspirators congratulated each other, feeling as though their time had come to rule through this woman whom they perceived as weak and easily influenceable. |[/sub]

[sub]| With the election of Gandhi came a new era, a woman was now the head of the Indian nation, and with her, a new vision for the nation. In her first speech as Premier, she spoke of her desire to reach out to the Western powers, specifically the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. Mrs. Gandhi also expressed a long-term goal to liberalize India's economy, deal with India's agricultural problems, as well as increase overall development across the nation for the purposes of housing and providing proper sanitation to India's over 510 million inhabitants. |[/sub]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Greater Adriatican State

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Rutannia, Amsterwald, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

Tension on the southern border

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]Southern border, Yemen Arab Republic

12 January 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]After monitoring several smuggling attempts in borders between the Republic’s and the Sultanate of Upper Yafa, the Yemeni Minister of Defense, Major General Abdullah al-Sallal, ordered the deployment of two armored battalions and two Camel cavalry battalions on the border to combat smuggling from Upper Yafa. Al-Sallal stated, “If they do not know how to control the border in the south, we can control the entire border and manage it from both sides.”[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Rutannia, Amsterwald, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

[list][list][sub]P O L I S H‎ ‎ ‎ P E O P L E ' S ‎ ‎ R E P U B L IC‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ •‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ P O L S K A‎ ‎ ‎ R Z E C Z P O S P O L I T A‎ ‎ ‎ L U D O W A [/sub][/list][/list]

[list][list][sub]Meeting between Party Secretaries[/sub]

[sub]January, 1966[/sub][/list]

[list]|[sub]Constantin Rotaru visits Warsaw[/sub]|[/list]

[sub] 6 January, 1966 [/sub]

|[sub] It had been many years since a high-profile foreign dignitary had visited the Polish People's Republic, and when party secretary Rotaru sent a letter expressing his wish to personally visit Warsaw, the P.Z.P.R. (Polish United Workers Party) faced an unexpected reaction of delight. With many newer members of the party becoming more interested in the political independence and unique policies of other Marxist nations across Europe, such as Yugoslavia and Romania, while many senior officials remain fanatically devoted to Stalinism despite its popularity dwindling. Nonetheless, P.Z.P.R. Secretary Gomuka happily accepted the invitation. [/sub]|

[sub] 12 January, 1966 [/sub]

|[sub] After a week of preparation and planning, Constantin Rotaru, would finally take his flight to Warsaw. As Constantin Rotaru's plane descended towards Warsaw, he gazed out of the window, observing the city lights twinkling in the dusk. At the airport, a delegation from the P.Z.P.R. awaited Rotaru's arrival. Secretary Gomuka, a staunch advocate of orthodox Marxism-Leninism, led the reception. He stood tall, flanked by several officials, a mix of seasoned stalwarts and younger faces, hinting at the ideological divisions within the party. [/sub]|

[list]| [sub]Władysław Gomułka, General Secretary [/sub] |[sub] “Welcome to Warsaw, comrade Rotaru. Your unexpected visit has some of us eager.”[/sub][/list]

|[sub] Rotaru extended his hand to shake Gomulka's while cordially smiling. [/sub]|

[list]| [sub]Constantin Rotaru, General Secretary [/sub] |[sub] “Thank you, Secretary Gomuka. I am honored to be here. I hope our discussions pave the way for mutual understanding and collaboration.”[/sub][/list]

[sub] 14 January, 1966 [/sub]

|[sub] The summit began the following day, with discussions centered on P.Z.P.R.-P.C.R. collaboration, deeper diplomatic connections, and ideological perspectives. During a lunchtime break from debate, Rotaru was approached by a small group of younger P.Z.P.R. members who expressed strong interest in his country's policies and the P.C.R.'s National Communist viewpoint, further indicating ideological division within the P.Z.P.R. as Gomulka and his own clique of senior officials remained silent while observing the ongoing conversation. Most of the senior officials have been around since Stalin's reign over the Communist bloc. After the conversations were restarted, it was obvious that, despite differences between the old guard and younger P.Z.P.R. members, there was a shared desire for cooperation with Rotaru and his ambitions. [/sub]|

|[sub] The visit came to an end with a supper at which toasts were toasted and vows of continued discussion and cooperation were made. Rotaru bid farewell to Warsaw, carrying a cautious optimism with him. As internal debate within the P.Z.P.R. remained unseen. [/sub]|

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Abessinienreich

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Kyntosia

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Rutannia, Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya

Military Raid in Lima Province

Los Olivos, Lima Province, Andes Federation

January, 1966

Today, the National Military of the Andes Federation launched a raid on a compound harboring Libertad Mediante La Violencia members. Upon entering, members of the National Military were fired upon and neutralized three members of the group. Throughout the raid twelve members were arrested, tens of weapons seized, thousands of rounds of ammunition was seized and plans for an attack on the Andes Federation were thwarted. This marks the third raid of Libertad Mediante La Violencia this year. The general public and government officials alike are calling on the Prime Minister to take drastic measures to make sure Libertad Mediante La Violencia does not enter power once more since losing the revolution two years ago. The Andes Federation is currently not releasing any other information at this time.

Paramountica, Rutannia, Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, Kewtpuff, Maziya, Ma-Li

[list][list][list][pre]RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE

FRENCH BUREAUCRACY

PALAIS DE L’ELYSÉE[/pre][/list]

______

THE ÉLYSÉE PALACE: DE GAULLE FORMS NEW CABINET WITH HIGH EXPECTATIONS

[sub]VTH REPUBLIC | PARIS, FEBRUARY 1966[/sub][/list]

[sub]| HELM OF DÈMOCRATIE, PALAIS DE L’ELYSÉE - | The process of forming French governments through Cabinet reorganizations is derided by Charles de Gaulle as "the sterile games of yesterday." Therefore, it looked strange that De Gaulle himself would be engaging in such behavior. Throughout the whole week, official black Citroëns carrying anxiously optimistic politicians traveled to and from the beige stone prime-ministerial mansion on the Rue de Grenelle, following a routine that was familiar from the Fourth Republic era. The purpose of the trips was to discuss positions in a new Cabinet. Working via his obedient Prime Minister, Georges Pompidou, De Gaulle was busy choosing a Cabinet for his upcoming septennat, or renewed seven-year tenure as President of the French Republic.[/sub]

[sub]Le grand Charles was learning his lesson from the disgraceful elections of December of last year. He reorganized ministers in a way that was specifically designed to win back the millions of voters who were tired of crammed apartments, congested roads, and overcrowded schools; not to mention his careless attitude toward the Common Market. He was well aware that the upcoming elections, which are scheduled for some time before March 1967, might cost his French Social Party its majority in the National Assembly. Pompidou unveiled the new Cabinet shortly after De Gaulle was sworn in with a quick 30-minute private ceremony in the flower-filled Salle des Fêtes in the Elysée Palace. Fierce 54-year-old lawyer and writer Michel Debré led a greatly larger Ministry of Finance and Economics and served as De Gaulle's first premier from 1959 to 1962. Debré was primarily responsible for drafting the Fifth Republic's constitution. With his fierce attacks against the Fourth Republic, Debré gained the dreadful moniker "Père Colère (Old Man Fury)". He also received even more harsh criticism for taking a tough stance on Algeria and resigned following the peace accords. But ever since, he's made a strong return to fame and influence. Serving as a deputy from the isolated island of Reunion since 1963, he has skillfully led the Gaullists of the French Social Party in the National Assembly and ran a campaign last autumn on a platform of increased spending on welfare and education, which he is now ideally situated to implement.[/sub]

[sub]A dapper and conservative finance minister, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 39, was one of the new cabinet members. The voters believed that Giscard's strict anti-inflationary measures were the reason behind the constraints placed on both public spending and private expansion. In the National Assembly, De Gaulle's P.S.F. has a forty-man majority thanks to the 35-member Independent Republican party, so he is still an aide that he cannot afford to alienate. Portfolios were awarded to two of his Independent Republicans. Scholar Edgar Faure, age 57, who supported the Common Market and attended the 1955 Big Four meeting in Geneva as a Radical Socialist Premier, serves as Agriculture Minister. Faure, one of the few politicians of the Fourth Republic to enter De Gaulle's inner circle, was the emissary whose 1963 trip to Peking resulted in the French recognition of Red China shortly afterward. Promoting Common Market farm discussions will be his primary responsibility; his appointment was obviously made to appease the large agricultural vote that De Gaulle's opposition to the Common Market, which many farmers believe restricts them access to larger European markets, alienated in December. [/sub]

[sub]For the newest De Gaulle government, it is widely clear to all cabinet ministers what is expected of them not just by President De Gaulle himself, but also the French people. Promises have already been made and it is now time for them to fulfill those promises or face the strong possibility of losing the P.S.F. majority. |[/sub]

[list]______[/list]

[list][list][pre]VIVE LA RÉPUBLIQUE!

VIVE LA FRANCE!

VIVE L’EMPIRE![/pre][/list][/list]

[list][spoiler=[sub]𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄

𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐈𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐘[/sub]]

Abessinienreich

Adriatican Islands

Allbania

Al-Jammahirya Al-Arabiyya

Amsterwald

Andorra-

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Astarina

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Falastinyya

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Holy Vatican City States

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Monaco-

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Republica De Cuba-

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Tallahan

The Confederate Prussian Empire

The United States Of Africa

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Vietnam Sv

Virnall

Zeitenwende

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Rutannia, Amsterwald, Pontianus, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Cascadla, Nippon-Nihon, Holy Vatican City States, New Provenance, Monaco-, Andorra-, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Mutawakkiliti, Poland1St

La Auditoría - Part I

[sub]January, 1966[/sub]

As a new year began, so did Frondizi’s plans. Over the last year, he had been setting up a complex plan to “cleanse” the Argentine government of any remaining extremists. Perón had done away with many of them, those on the far-right and the far-left were targeted and removed. Then, when Frondizi was elected to the office, he too conducted a purge of his own. Peronists were removed from their positions and arrested for various crimes or simply fired on the spot. It had been a combined effort by Frondizi and his UCR allies to take control of the government and steer it away from Perón’s influence. Though, even after his untimely death in 1963, his influence remains, along with those who seek to drive Argentina down a path of extremism.

But, extremism also comes in other non-ideological forms. Extremism which would be rooted out by Frondizi. Officials who were corrupt, incompetent, dangerously ambitious, had Marxist or fascist sympathies along with those who abused their power to pursue criminal behaviors and those who sold themselves to foreign powers would be purged from the government. Allies, opponents or enemies, they would all be removed one by one. As much as Frondizi believed in the rule of law and democracy, he wasn’t beyond taking “special measures” to destroy any threats to what he saw as the fragile Argentine democracy.

A handful of people were on Frondizi’s ‘hit list’. The list included the names of dozens of public officials, military officers and politicians all of whom were seen as threats to the democratic order and Argentina as a whole. Some of them were powerful people inside the country, though others could be swept aside easily. But, before Frondizi could proceed he would need the assistance of a few trusted officials. Individuals he knew were either loyal to him or loyal to the country. People who had influence and were unwilling to tolerate extremists. Most of them were people who had fostered close friendships with Frondizi or had simply proven reliable.

Throughout 1964 and 1965, Frondizi held various meetings with his close allies and friends, planning the ouster of all of those who posed a threat to the nation. Eventually, aides familiar with the meetings began to call the secretive meeting ‘La Auditoría’ and its members ‘Los Auditores’ in reference to their stated names. At some point, the name stuck and Frondizi and some of the other members of the Auditoría began to utilize the name as a way to throw off anyone even remotely aware of their plans. Government auditors were as common as tax collectors, especially during the Frondizi Administration. In other words, most wouldn’t suspect a thing.

Los Auditores were a tight-knit group from across the government, military, police and intelligence agencies. The most prominent members were: Chief of the Cabinet and Frondizi loyalist Silvano Santander, President of the Senate, Deputy Secretary-General of the UCR and protogé to the President Rodolfo Martinovic, Minister of the Economy and Frondizi’s childhood friend and close confidant Raúl Rettig Guissen, General Director of the National Gendarmerie and close associate to Frondizi, José María Sepúlveda Galindo, Chief of the Joint General Staff and loyalist Admiral José Toribio Merino, Minister of the Interior, former General and a close colleague Admiral Toribio, José Félix Estibagarra, Minister of Defense and close friend to Frondizi, Jorge Batlle Ibáñez, Minister of Finance, Auxiliary Chairman of the Consejo de Finanzas del Estado, and close Frondizi ally, Rogelio Julio Frigerio, childhood friend, attorney and Minister of Justice, José María Guido and finally the Undersecretary of the Secretaría de Inteligencia and Frondizi’s man in the SI, Hugo Zepeda Barrios.

By January of 1966, the Auditores had set their sights on their first targets. Intendants and Governors from across the country became the first to be ‘audited’. A combination of ‘persuasive’ language, blackmail, intimidation, and criminal indictments forced the exit of 6 Provincial and Territorial Governors, 17 city Intendants, and three dozen members of local municipal councils. The resignations, forceful removal and arrests occurred throughout a period of almost three weeks, though many in the media got to calling the whole event ‘La Masacre del Séptimo Día’ referencing the end of the operations on a Sunday afternoon.

Paramountica, Rutannia, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

[list]1966년 01월 21일

[sub]Korea 1966 World Cup[/sub][/list]

[list][sub]Korea Goes All Out For Football[/sub][/list]

[sub]SEOUL, Rutannia[/sub]

| The 1966 World Cup has caused football fever across Korea, although the actual tournament has yet to begin, Korea’s run through the qualification stages has been impressive, finishing at the top of Group D and then finishing at the top of Group A with ten wins and eight draws. Until now Korea has had a rollercoaster trip through international football often repeatedly failing to qualify for the World Cup, at a national level however Korea’s journey with football while relatively recent has been slowly building in popularity. |

| Through the assistance of private enterprise and local authorities football clubs had been popping up sporadically since the early 1900s, following Korea’s independence the government was keen to set up its own league. The K League was established in 1962 and was run by the Korean Football Association, the league currently operates three divisions the K1, K2, and K3 Leagues as well as organising the Korean FA Cup. Although well organised football hadn’t seen the surge in popularity that had been seen across much of Europe and Africa, however with the success of the Korean team in the World Cup qualifiers many teams are reporting a surge in attendees at football matches across the country. |

| The recent investment by the Government in local football pitches and in school sports has the KFA hoping that it can start fostering homegrown talent, and several investors have indicated their intention to begin football training camps run by their teams in order to train up a future generation of footballers. Large parties have been organised by local councils in order for people to listen to the world cup on radio being sounded out across public parks, plans are currently in place for the World Cup Final to be broadcast even if Korea does not make it that far. |

| Many are now hoping, even the government, that even if Korea isn’t successful the interest in football and sports in general can grow, with the attraction of investors it would bolster the Korean economy and also provide health benefits for the general population. |

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Greater Adriatican State

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Amsterwald, Pontianus, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

Post self-deleted by Sport-Internationale.

International Association Football Federation | Fédération internationale de football association

FIFA World Cup 1966 | Qualification

THE FINAL STAGES: THE PLAY-OFFS (PART 2)

---------------------------------------

A record 99 nations started the qualifying phase for the 1966 FIFA World Cup. After over 100 matches, the table is almost set, save for a final three positions remaining. The final day of qualifying is the most significant, with the remaining teams having it all to play for. Fans across the world watch in anticipation for the whistle to blow and for the final battles to begin. Glory seems to be in reaching distance for the 11-man squads of our final competitors, but with it comes the fear of anguish and disappointment. Before we begin, let's remind ourselves of where we stand.

Saudi Arabia will travel to Beijing to face-off against China, after emerging victorious in the opening match. The Saudi's will enter the play-off with a goal advantage but will contend with the vast number of Chinese fans in the stadium. The home advantage benefitted the Saudi's in their first match, but with the size of the Chinese cohort awaiting them in Beijing, it may prove to be enough to flip the script. The Saudi's have been anxiously waiting to finish this, their qualifying hopes are still in sight and they have been the favourites of the bookies since their early successes in round one of qualifying. However, the Dragons of China are not be underestimated. Despite underwhelming performances, the Chinese team are well-funded and well-trained, and might still have a trick or two up their sleeves to send the Saudi team out of qualifying.

In Africa, Zaire host Ghana in their final play-off. Zaire not only hold a two goal advantage but also hold Ghana on away goals. Ghana will need to score a minimum of two goals and Zaire will need to score none for Ghana to qualify. If Zaire score, Ghana will need to win the match outright by three goals or more. Of all of the remaining play-off matches, Ghana have it all to do in this match against Zaire, who look emboldened and keen, and with half a towel on the World Cup sunbed. All eyes will be on Ghanian striker Kwai Owusu, who held the CAF top scorer record during qualifying and who's skill helped Ghana advance well ahead of their peers. Zaire will not be an easy opponent, having been bolstered by their recent successes. The fans will want to see a surgical removal of Ghana from their way to see Zaire qualify for their first ever World Cup.

Finally, we come to Europe, where the fates have created a true 'David and Goliath' setting for our final qualifier. On one side of the equation, we have our David, Slovenia. Slovenia have defied all expectations to make it this far, contending with giants such as Hungary, France and Türkiye to remain in the competition. Their last match was against a similar giant, the Alpine Republic, whom they dispatched with a tidy 2-0 victory. Slovenia have earned the 'Giant Killer' reputation in this qualifying round, and have proven that they should not be underestimated at any costs. On the other side, we have our Goliath, Spain. The reigning European champions failed to qualify direct due to a resurgent Benelux and an all-powerful West Germany. Spain, however, are not to be underestimated, with a strong team and tactical experience at their advantage. Although their performance against Northern Ireland may have left something to be desired, the Spaniards are still determined to qualify no matter the cost. Slovenia enter the match fan favourites, garnering support from across the footballing community, but the road will to glory will be hard in respect to their formidable opponents.

---------------------------------------

AFC/OFC: China PR - Saudi Arabia

The players enter the field in Beijing as the tension grows. The roars from the crowd shake the ground as we come closer to the starting whistle. China knows they have it all to play for, a goal down and at a disadvantage, qualification seems to be slipping away from them. The Saudi's hold the cards going into the match, but will have to not only play against a fierce Chinese side but also against the thousands of Chinese fans that have come to show their support for their national team. The anthems play to triumphant applause, and the players set themselves up for the fight.

The match begins and immediately, China runs on the attack. Taking a leaf from their opponents, the Chinese push the ball into the Saudi half. The pressure mounts on the Saudi defence as they find themselves pressured under the relentless assault of the Chinese forwards. Chinese strikers pepper the Saudi goal with shot after shot against their goal. It doesn't take long for a breakthrough to occur. Chinese striker Chen Luo Feng finds the ball into box after a scuffle from a corner, and with a moment of confidence, delivers a quick tap to put the ball past the unaware Saudi keeper, who reacts with anger at his own defence. China put themselves ahead in the match, and level the aggregate tie. As the ball is reset to the centre, the anticipation can be seen in the face of the Chinese team, seemingly ready to pounce as soon as the whistle blows. Play resumes, and China react, quickly snatching the ball from the Saudi team, passing between the strikers as they weave their way through the defence and Luo Feng bags a second goal with a fantastic strike from inside the box to the fury of the Saudi keeper, now shouting in visible anger at his dejected and defeated defenders. China score two in as many minutes and with it, turn the tables. The pressure reverts onto the Saudi team.

With a two goal advantage in this match, the Chinese side can at least breath easier, but they do not give up. Despite slowing their play to conserve energy for the long fight ahead, the Chinese side continue to dominate possession in the first half. The Saudi team do make some advances, pushing in the midfield to set up chances for their lone striker in front, but the Chinese defence stands firm, bolstered by their teams advantage. Despite the clear Chinese advantage, the match remains stagnant for the remainder of the half. Neither side can convert any of their chances created, leaving the end of the half firmly in Chinese hands. The Saudi's are looking stronger than the early stages, clearly awoken by China's rapid goal-scoring. As the teams return to their dressing rooms, the mood is visible on the faces of the Saudi team, and they have a lot to do in the last 45 minutes.

The second-half begins, carrying on the tension from the first half. The Saudi's seem to play with more power in this round, but China still clearly have the advantage. The first 15 minutes of the second-half pass, and the advantage begins to turn in favour of the Saudi team, who press the ball further and further into the Chinese half. Using a series of brilliant counter-attacks and set-plays, the Saudi's begin the rack up the shots on target, but struggle to convert due to the prowess of Chinese goalkeeper Zang Ming, who seems determined not to let the ball past him. However, the Great Wall of China is finally broken in the 61st minute. Saudi strikers play a dummy move to divert the Chinese defence to the wrong side, leaving the goal exposed and with a glorious strike, the Saudi's score and level the aggregate tie. The goal is received to thundering reception as the Saudi's briefly celebrate, with the goal-scorer shouting to reset back to the centre.

As soon as the ball plays, the Saudi's spring back into action and mirroring the Chinese goals in the first half, score another within a single minute, a header from the first leg hero Al-Zayadi securing a second goal and bringing the advantage back to the Saudis. With the score level in the match and the Saudi's leading 3-2 aggregate, all of China's work in the first half is quickly diminished. That doesn't mean China lets up, with the play now becoming more frantic than ever. Both sides playing off the counter, setting up chance after chance. The Chinese side see their chances wasted to the frustration of their team, the coaches and most importantly, the fans. In the 77th minute, the Saudi's deliver the death blow. A perfectly placed free kick finds the feet of a Saudi striker who taps the shot in and gives the Saudi team cause for celebration. China now sit two goals behind on aggregate, and their situation seems more precarious with every passing minute. Despite this, China continue to push, with a shot painfully passing the post to give the Saudi team a goal-kick. By the closing stages, Chinese morale is decimated and in the 89th minute, they give away a penalty to the Saudi side. The Saudi's convert in clinical fashion, the sound of the ball hitting the net signalling the end of China's hopes of qualification.

Final whistle in Beijing: China 2-4 Saudi Arabia (Aggregate: 2-5). Saudi Arabia qualify for their first ever World Cup in dramatic fashion and secure their place in the annals of football history.

---------------------------------------

CAF: Zaire - Ghana

Ghana have it all to do today as the teams enter the pitch. At a 2-goal disadvantage they will need to come back from the major deficit to ensure they qualify for the tournament. They also trail on away goals, failing to properly utilise their home advantage. Ghana need to win today by at least two goals in order to advance. Zaire have the home advantage this round and are looking to be the favourites to qualify. The nation, currently dealing with its own internal strife, will want to utilise this to ensure an easy path the to World Cup. The African fans once again bring with them their characteristic atmosphere, dancing and singing around the stadium as we patiently await the start of the defining match of Africa's World Cup qualifiers.

The match begins and both teams rush to try and take the advantage. The rush and ferocity of both sides cause early collisions between players as the struggle for the ball grips the centre field. The ball barely makes it out of the centre of the pitch, passed back and forth between the sides and both fail to make a breakthrough. The ferocity is evident today as both sides inflict tackles and fouls on each-other in a desperate attempt not to allow either of these sides through. However, the aggressive play does not entirely work, with the Zaire side giving away a silly penalty to the Ghana after a misplaced tackle takes the legs out from underneath Ghanian strikes Osei Kofi. This poor play pays off for the Ghanian side, who convert the penalty and take their first goal of the match in the 17th minute to the support of their crowd. Despite this early success, the Zaire team seems unphased, bolstered by the home ground and push for the equaliser. The Ghanian goal does not level the aggregate score but does put hope back into the Ghanian team, who play with a renewed ferocity, claiming the advantage from Zaire. However, in the 42nd minute, Zaire answer with a shattering strike from Mokili, levelling the score. As the half-time whistle blows, the score remains level, and Zaire remain poised to qualify for the World Cup.

A clear change of tactics is evident in the second half. Where both teams played aggressively in the first half, the Zaire team have now switched to a far more defensive mode of play, seeking only to prevent the Ghanian side from scoring any more. This style, though boring for some fans, is tactical as Zaire need only to maintain their lead to qualify for the World Cup, where Ghana will need to score at least 2 goals to keep their hopes alive. Ghana look to rapidly play down the wings and pushing to create chances in the centre. Osei Kofi, the goal-scorer and captain looks to embolden his team to create chances, and his frustration is visible when shot after shot misses the mark. With the final 10 minutes in play, the ball has remained firmly in Zaire's half. Although Zaire has played an excellent defensive game to prevent any further goals, their defence is tired and substitutions for younger and less experienced players are necessary. In the 84th minute, Ghanian hopes are briefly renewed as Kofi M'fum emphatically scores from a corner ball into the box. The header sends the Ghanian supporters into a frenzy and the team celebrate with the goal-scorer. Despite trailing a goal, it doesn't look impossible for Ghana to level the game. However, it is not to be, as Zaire stand firm and Ghana fail to convert.

Final whistle in Brazzaville: Ghana 2-1 Zaire (Aggregate: 2-3). Zaire qualify for the FIFA World Cup.

---------------------------------------

UEFA: Slovenia - Spain

The final match of qualification takes place in Wembley Stadium in London, where indeed the final match of the World Cup itself will take place. As both teams enter the field, they are met to the cheers of the fans that have packed the stadium from end to end. The sold-out match will be a true David and Goliath spectacle, and is not one that will want to be missed. From Madrid to Ljubljana, the match is being followed by football fans across Europe and indeed the world for one of the most anticipated games of the tournament so far. Many will be hoping the minnows Slovenia will shock giants Spain and qualify for the final tournament, though they have a daunting task ahead of them as the Spaniards take the field determined to make up for their earlier lack of form and book their spot in the final tournament. All eyes fixate on the referee as they wait for the whistle to blow.

The match begins with Spain holding possession, taking the ball from the Slovene side within the first few seconds and holding it amongst their midfield as the Spanish forwards look to find space. Slovenia knows that Spain are deadly up front and so their midfield joins their defenders to try and prevent a Spanish breakthrough. Both teams play energetically, sprinting towards each-other, no holds barred as they look to claim possession. However, in traditional Spanish fashion, the midfield finds the Spanish forwards in space and in the 9th minute of play, Spain take the lead with a volley from the cross. The goal is an early boost to Spanish fans but with 80 minutes remaining, they are far from safe. This is proven when only 10 minutes later, it is Slovenia on the attack. Fan favourite Josip Pirmajer makes a triumphant run on the right wing and looks for space in the centre, not finding any paths through the Spanish defence, he fancies his luck with a strike from outside the box. The powerful strike fails to convert and bounces off the post, but is caught on the rebound and slotted away by a Slovenian midfielder, levelling the score. The game remains tied into the end of the first half, with both sides meaning business. The closest attempts come from the Slovenian side, who look to be taking the advantage of their support among local English supporters in the stadium who have come to join the match. The Slovene side make several attempts on the Spanish goal but are unable to convert as the match remains 1-1 at the break.

The second half begins with Slovenia on the assault, looking to capitalise on their late equaliser to put themselves in the lead. 5 minutes into the half and Slovenia are already making plays in the Spanish box. After attempt after attempt fails to connect, they are rewarded for their commitment when a header finally reaches the back of the net and puts Slovenia ahead to triumphant reception from the crowd. The celebrations continue as the team are ordered by the referee to hurry back to the centre for the match to begin, where a frustrated yet determined Spanish side await them. The match goes on and the Slovene side seem to feel more comfortable with their advantage, though it is not enough to feel truly comfortable. The Slovenians continue their assault on the Spanish looking to extend their lead, but an ill-fated play opens up a path for Spanish captain Luis Suarez, who plays an excellent ball to the forwards down the pitch, where they stand waiting largely unopposed. They advance forward and slot away a curving ball into the back of the Slovene net, once again levelling the tie and resetting the score to 2-2. Both sides desperately fought to regain the advantage and finish the match in normal time, but in a memorable display from the defenders, neither side can convert and the match moves on into extra time.

Wembley Stadium shakes with anticipation from the fans as we move into our first extra time in qualification thus far. The 30 minutes of extra time provide a final opportunity for both sides to finish the game before the dreaded prospect of a penalty shoot-out. The steely nerves of the Slovenian and Spanish sides seem to be faltering, as many players appear more emotional as the play commences. It is the Spanish that take the advantage in the first half of extra-time, with a triumphant and powerful strike from the Spaniard captain Suarez putting Spain in the lead. In a dramatic fashion, Spain immediately fall back into extreme defence, doing everything they can to prevent the Slovenes from equalising. The Slovenians push and push but are unable to find a breakthrough as the clock counts down the minutes. The pressure is on and the tension can be felt amongst the stands, where some fans are already predicting the worst with their nervous expressions.

2 minutes to go and Slovenia find themselves with a long free kick. The entire Spanish midfield and defence are crowding the box, with more red shirts than blue and the prospect of a connection with any Slovenian players seemingly impossible. The Slovenian midfielder steadies himself, looks to the centre, raises his hand and begins his run. He fires the ball towards the box, curving towards the goal. The Spanish goal-keeper looks ready to catch the ball, but the head of none other than fan favourite Pirmajer rises above the rest and just flicks the ball to the right, out of the path of the unsuspecting Spanish keeper and sends it flying into the back of the net. The fans and the team all jump up in celebration, crowding the young striker who has once again proven himself the hero of his team and of his nation. The Spaniards hold their heads as once again, they fumble an advantage. Despite an extremely late push, the game ends 3-3, and both teams must accept their fate: penalties.

The coin-toss decides that it will be the Spaniards who will take the first penalty. The referee briefs the teams on the rules as the two goal-keepers make their way to the goal, and the players huddle around with their coaches, discussing strategies. This will be the first penalty shoot-out ever to take place in the World Cup qualifiers and the players certainly feel the tension as they embark into new and uncharted waters.

The first Spaniard, a striker, steps up to the shot. The crowd jeer as the whistle blows and... GOAL! Spain score their first in the bottom right corner.

The first Slovene, hero Pirmajer, steps up to the mark. He takes a moment, lines up and takes his run... GOAL! Slovenia score, and it never looked in doubt from this young man.

The second Spaniard steps up. He adjusts the ball, waits for the whistle, deep breathe and... GOAL! A powerful strike down the centre offsets the Slovene keeper.

The second Slovene steps up. With nerves of steel, he takes a run at the ball and... GOAL! Into the top right corner and away from the Spanish keeper who dives the wrong way!

The third Spaniard steps up. A young player, the nerves can be seen on his face as he lines it up and... GOAL! Almost saved by the Slovenian keeper but it goes through in the bottom left corner.

The third Slovene steps up. The captain of their team, experienced, clinical, makes his run and... GOAL! Slovenia continue to defy expectations and they are level at 3-3 with Spain!

The fourth Spaniard steps up. Their star striker, he's made 100 of these shots in the past and... GOAL! He makes it another and keeps Spain's hopes alive.

The fourth Slovene steps up. The nerves are felt as he wipes his forehead and the crowd build up the momentum... SAVED! The Spanish goalkeeper goes the right way and stops the Slovenian shot. The player walks back, visibly dejected as the Spaniards celebrate. They only need to score one more goal to qualify!

The fifth Spaniard steps up to the mark. It's the Spanish captain, Luis Suarez. Will he be the hero for Spain tonight? Momentum builds, he steadies himself for his run. He runs from the right before feigning and switching sides... SCORES! It hits the back of the net and Spain have qualified for the World Cup!

The stadium erupts with noise as the Spanish team and their fans rush the pitch in celebrations, focusing around their captain who led them to victory in the European Championship and has now led them to qualify for the World Cup. The Slovenian team, the fan favourites, stand frozen in defeat, with tears emerging from the fans and several of the players. Although they missed their chance, this has renewed their passion and shown the world that Slovenia are on their way to becoming a world contender in football. They can go home with their heads held high, but the night belongs to Spain.

Final whistle in London: Slovenia 3-3 Spain (3-5 penalties).

Paramountica, Rutannia, Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

[list][pre]T H E S L O V E N E R E P U B L I C • S L O V E N S K A R E P U B L I K A[/pre][/list]

NEW ‘CERKLJE AIR BASE’ OPENS AT THE DOORSTEP OF RED YUGOSLAVIA

[list][sup]THE THOUSANDTH WATCHING EYE

JANUARY 1966[/sup][/list]

Officials sporting impressive blue-and-gold military regalia mustered in January 1966 just west the sleepy town of Brežice, conversation peppered with expectation on how a new state-of-the-art air base would recalibrate the power dynamics along the ostentatious Yugoslavian border. Indeed, with a ceremonious flair befitting its purpose, Cerklje Air Base officially started welcoming military assets and officers following a short private ceremony of the top brass in January 1966. Set in the Krška ravan (“Krka Flat”) in the Lower Sava Valley of Carniola province, the town was a geographical ‘Goldilocks’ venue for the project: a launching point roughly twenty kilometers west of Yugoslavia, nestled between two hill-lines that would partially obscure any attempt to bombard it with artillery.

Though shockingly close to the border, the Slovene High Command had no intention to make it a sitting duck. At the end of its sizable runway, an emergency runway of the same length stretched into a large nearby copse, where a remote dispersal area would conceal military assets from overhead surveillance and aerial bombing. A clearing within that forest was host to concentric rings of surface-to-air missile emplacements keeping a close watch on the sky above. Tank barriers created choke-points at the facilities entrances and exits, and units stationed at the strategic nearby town of Krško staged regular exercises involving securing and defending the Air Base from all manner—emphasis was particularly placed on pinpointing and destroying enemy artillery, as well as making aggressive actions against Samobor to suffocate Yugoslavian access to the Krka Flat.

The settled frost barely had time to adhere to Cerklje’s tarmac before it was warmed by the manifold jet engines starting new maneuvers. The Slovene Air Fleet had considerable reason to position themselves hurriedly; a comatose Marshal Tito in Yugoslavia, temporarily replaced by Army veteran Nikola Ljubičić, had left Slovenia waiting with bated breath and anxious to ensure its military assets were in order. A new wing would be assembled of Čebela Č7 fighters at the Base before the end of 1966, planned to be eventually supplemented by a squadron of Egypto-Slovenian-made Helwan HA-300 interceptors.

[list][sub]IN OTHER NEWS: Slovenia endured a heartbreaking, razor-thin defeat to Spain in the final round of 1966 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in England after a loss in a penalty shootout capped off what had been a 3–3 draw. Though the Slovenes were ultimately unsuccessful in their bid to reach the World Cup, their story made waves at home and participation in youth soccer clubs would spike 23% in the spring of 1966. Fresh with new enthusiasm, the Slovenian national football team would be given a grant by the national government in April 1966 to introduce a new talent-scouting program accordingly.[/sub][/list]

Paramountica, Nippon-Nihon, Saudi Arabiyah, Metropolitan Francais, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Mutawakkiliti

Spy in Al-Hudaydah

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]Al-Hudaydah, Yemen Arab Republic

25 January 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]This morning, the businessman Shawqi al-Khudari was present in the port of Al-Hudaydah as part od his work in the field of import and export to receive a commercial shipment for his company, while Al-Khudari sneaked to the shipping dock and took out a camera from his pocket and began photographing the port, while Al-Khudari was immersed in the photography. One of the port guards approached him here and became confused. Al-Khudari tried to bribe the guard with a large sum of money, which increased the guard’s suspicions. He arrested Al-Khudari, took his camera, and handed him over to the officer in charge of the Port of Al-Hudaydah guard force, who in turn informed the Internal Security Department. Al-Khudari was imprisoned in Al-Hudaydah Prison and He is suspected of being a spy and will be transferred to Sanaa to be interrogated in the Internal Security Department.[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Saudi Arabiyah, Metropolitan Francais, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li

[list][pre]FEBRUARY of 1966[/pre][/list]

[list][pre]THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS

Союз Советских Социалистических Республик[/pre][/list]

[pre]KHRUSHCHEV'S UTILITARIAN ARCHITECTURE CLASHES WITH KOSYGIN'S AMBITIONS FOR EXPRESSIVE SOCIALIST REALIST ARCHITECTURE AT BUILDERS' CONGRESS[/pre]

[pre]НА СЪЕЗДЕ СТРОИТЕЛЕЙ УТИЛИТАРИАНСКАЯ АРХИТЕКТУРА ХРУЩЕВА СРАЖАЕТСЯ С АМБИЦИЯМИ КОСЫГИНА К ВЫРАЗИТЕЛЬНОЙ СОЦ-РЕАЛИСТИЧЕСКОЙ АРХИТЕКТУРЕ[/pre]

| [sub]The 1965 Congress of Soviet Builders and Architects was an event that not many in the local and international media held any particular interest in. It was by now a regular occurrence where top members of the Soviet bureaucracy assembled to rubber stamp government-issued changes to architectural doctrines that guided the construction of new buildings and structures in the Soviet Union. Since General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev rose to power after the death of Joseph Stalin, the Soviet Union had abided by a strict policy of standing for utilitarianism in architecture. Khrushchev regularly railed against expressive and creative works being merged into architecture, as the buildings of the Stalin era so eloquently displayed, and called for monotony and uniformity. This policy led to the rise of prefabricated buildings of all types, such as the infamous low-income housing blocks that dotted the Union. The uniformity and guarantee of total utilitarianism in architecture and the construction of new structures and buildings were a cornerstone of Soviet dogma; creativity and expression of artistry in architecture was a waste of time, resources and money. It was argued that it would simply be better, cheaper and faster to prefabricate buildings along a set design, usually the same for many buildings at the same time.[/sub] |

| [sub]This policy initially rose in response to the continuing reconstruction of Soviet society after the Second World War. The country was still in the process of slowly recovering from the devastation, and Khrushchev's government believed that uniformity in design would mean faster construction and thus more homes, businesses and residences for the Soviet public. Through every Congress of Soviet Builders and Architects, Khrushchev attended and regularly advocated for maintaining total utilitarianism and uniformity in Soviet architecture. He criticized designs of the Stalin era that sought to build a perfect image of communist utopia through grand buildings and flashy offices that appeared in images circulated in the international media. "The Soviet people need no fancy buildings, but homes to live in, and places to work in!" Khrushchev exclaimed at the 1964 Congress.[/sub] |

| [sub]Many expected no difference with this Congress. Khrushchev would attend, again advocate for utilitarian uniformity, and the policy would remain in place as instituted by the Congress, which had many influential architects and interior designers comprising its membership base. This time, however, First Deputy Premier Alexei Kosygin had confirmed his intention to attend, and Khrushchev would be ceding an important early evening address slot to his deputy. This came as no surprise to many within the upper echelons of Soviet bureaucracy; the influence of the reformist Kosygin was rising rapidly, and the party was increasingly being filled with bureaucrats and planners who favored reforms and changes to the Soviet system of government and economic planning. Khrushchev understood this and sought to build a compromise with the reformists in order to maintain the position he riskily defended against conservative hardliners when he ousted presidium president Leonid Brezhnev.[/sub] |

| [sub]What happened at the Congress surprised many, and the whispers on the streets questioned whether or not Khrushchev had been informed ahead of the event of what took place. During Kosygin's major address to the Congress, he described the Soviet Union as an "ever-evolving state" that was "constantly seeking the construction of the workers' paradise that we so sought during the Revolution". He pointed to the nation's ever-evolving state as proof that the Soviet Union, whether people wanted it or not, would be "constantly changing" and that it was "our duty" to guide that change positively. In his speech, he expressed his interest in a new style of architecture built around socialist realism - the policy of empowering the image of Soviet communism as the utopia promised by Lenin and his successors. By integrating socialist realist architecture into Soviet society, Kosygin argued, there would be greater unity and a sense of family amongst the Soviet people. It was a marked departure from the policy of utilitarianism that Khrushchev so passionately upheld, and it raised questions about differing policies at the very top of the Union.[/sub] |

| [sub]For now, however, the speech remained just that - a speech. The Congress adopted a resolution days later affirming the utilitarian policy in architectural guidance, and Kosygin's words would not resonate - for now, at least. Behind the backs of the bureaucracy, there were whispers about changing winds within the Union. Over such a trivial issue such as architecture, doubtful, some said. But, in the words of Kosygin during a speech to the Central Committee in autumn 1965, it is the small steps that matter most in building a newer, better nation.[/sub] |

____

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Greater Adriatican State

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

The Confederate Prussian Empire

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Amsterwald, Pontianus, Saudi Arabiyah, Metropolitan Francais, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li

[list][list]SHOWA 41 | JANUARY 1966[/list]

[list][list]変わりゆく日本における伝統的な家族

[pre]TRADITIONAL FAMILIES IN A CHANGING JAPAN[/pre][/list][/list]

[pre] H I N O M O T O N O K U N I [/pre]

[list][list][sub][pre] オー・スネイル 富士山に登ろう でも、ゆっくり、ゆっくり

O Snail; Climb Mount Fuji But slowly, slowly![/pre][/sub][/list][/list]

TOKYO, TOKYO BAY — EVENING

[sub]THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN, Nippon-Nihon[/sub]

| Although young Japanese people in Tokyo wear American, French, and German clothing, many people still maintain old Japanese customs, keeping Japanese culture alive in a changing Japan. The TAKAHASHI FAMILY is one of the families that keeps Japanese traditions alive, the father, MASAO TAKAHASHI, is a public servant, and the mother, KIYO TAKAHASHI is a housewife, KIYOSHI’s father works hard to pay for his son’s university studies. KIYOSHI TAKAHASHI is the eldest son in the family, currently studying Law at the University of Tokyo, his parents taught him the importance of Japanese culture, while his younger brother MASARU TAKAHASHI chose not to go to college and help his parents in the family grocery store. His father and brother spend all day wearing kimonos at home, but MASARU broke that tradition by wearing only American clothes. |

[list]| MASAO TAKAHASHI, [sub]FATHER[/sub] | “Follow your brother’s example, he wears traditional Japanese clothes instead of American clothes.”[/list]

[list][list]あなたの兄の例にならって、彼はアメリカの服ではなく伝統的な日本の服を着ています。[/list][/list]

[list]| MASARU TAKAHASHI, [sub]YOUNGEST SON[/sub] | “We’ve already talked about this.”[/list]

[list][list]これについてはすでに話しました。[/list][/list]

[list]| MASAO TAKAHASHI, [sub]FATHER[/sub] | “I know, but tomorrow your grandfather is coming to lunch and you know he doesn’t like foreign clothes.”[/list]

[list][list]それはわかっていますが、明日、あなたのおじいさんがランチに来ますが、彼は外国の服が好きではないことは知っています。[/list][/list]

[list]| MASARU TAKAHASHI, [sub]YOUNGEST SON[/sub] | “Dad, it’s 1966, it’s not the Meiji Era anymore.”[/list]

[list][list]お父さん、今は 1966 年です、もう明治時代ではありません。[/list][/list]

| After his father finished speaking, MASARU’s mother called him to help her in the kitchen. |

[list]| MASARU TAKAHASHI, [sub]YOUNGEST SON[/sub] | “What are you cooking, mom?”[/list]

[list][list]あなたの声は何ですか?[/list][/list]

[list]| KIYO TAKAHASHI, [sub]MOTHER[/sub] | “Yakimeshi (Japanese fried rice) for dinner.”[/list]

[list][list]夕食はヤキメシ。[/list][/list]

| An hour later, KIYO called everyone to dinner. The cushions were carefully placed by her mother. |

[list]| MASARU TAKAHASHI, [sub]YOUNGEST SON[/sub] | “I confess that Japanese food is tastier than Western food.”[/list]

[list][list]私は西洋料理よりも和食の方が美味しいと告白します。[/list][/list]

[list]| KIYOSHI TAKAHASHI, [sub]OLDEST SON[/sub] | “At least we agree on one thing.”[/list]

[list][list]少なくとも一つの点では私たちは同意します。[/list][/list]

| When everyone finished eating, the two brothers got up and went to watch television, while their parents set the table. |

[list]| KIYO TAKAHASHI, [sub]MOTHER[/sub] | “The more modernized and Americanized Japan becomes, the younger generation will move away from Japan’s traditional way of life.”[/list]

[list][list]日本が近代化し、アメリカナイズされればされるほど、若い世代は日本の伝統的な生活様式から離れていくでしょう。[/list][/list]

[list]| MASAO TAKAHASHI, [sub]FATHER[/sub] | “At least our oldest son values our culture more.”[/list]

[list][list]少なくとも私たちの長男は私たちの文化をもっと大切にしています。[/list][/list]

| It wasn’t just KIYOSHI and MASARU’s parents who were worried, but other parents as well. With the influence of Americans in Japan, the younger generation in big cities has preferred to buy clothes from American brands, as well as food. In Tokyo and Osaka, parents called on local governments to further encourage Japanese culture among the younger generation. In response, the governments of Tokyo and Osaka printed posters warning that they were offering classes in Japanese history and cooking. |

Paramountica, The Confederate Prussian Empire, Amsterwald, Saudi Arabiyah, Metropolitan Francais, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

Culture and Conflict in the Malian Federation Part 1: The Different Cultures

Being one of most ethnically diverse nations in the world, Mali’s ethnic groups varied widely, and had an intricate history, and relationships between the ethnic groups. This coincided with an idea originally proposed by cultural anthropologists back in 1957. This idea had been largely ignored by Léopold Senghor and Frédéric Guirma up to this point; however, now it would be revived.

The Cultures of the Family of Culture:

•Mandé: Making up around 33.2% of the Malian population, the Mandé were a collection of around a dozen or so different ethnic groups that shared similar culture, mutually intelligible language, and a common history. The largest of these groups was the Bambara.

The Mandé represented a bedrock of Malian culture being the progenitor of many cultural practices, architecture, language, and even the creation of ethnic groups themselves. Mandé were the progenitor of the Gur ethnic groups, and the Dogon. They also religiously/culturally influenced the Jola, and they had a Cousinage relationship with numerous ethnic groups but most importantly the Fulani. Interestingly despite being an ethnic family consisting of dozens of different ethnic groups, Mandé people’s regularly were considered to have “ascended tribal ties” acting with a degree of unity not seen in many other ethnic families.

•Fulani: Making up 18.7% of the population, Fulani’s were the most widely dispersed of groups in Mali. This was due to their once nomadic nature, along with the Fulani Jihad’s of the past. This widely dispersed nature meant the Fulani were very syncretic and formed a lot of close knit relationships with other groups, and adopted their cultural practices.

Many historians believed the Fulani were Arabs who settled in the region adopting cultural practices from the Wolof, and Serer. This had built a somewhat familial bond between the groups. The same can be said for the Fulani and the Mandé whom which they regularly call each other cousins, exchanging jokes and playful insults towards each other.

•Gur: The third largest of Malian ethnic groups at over 15%, the Gur are an ethnic family made up of several groups from across central West Africa. The largest group in Mali is the Mossi; however, sizable populations of Gurunsi and Gurma exist.

Gur culture emphasizes the joining of worlds. A Dagomba Queen from what is today Ghana, falls in love with a Mandé hunter, birthing a new culture. While this is likely fiction or at least not literal, the story shows how the Mandé were the original progenitors of who would become the Gur people.

•Smaller Groups: There were several other smaller groups related to these big three ethnic families, namely the Jola, Serer, Wolof, and Dogon.

The Wolof and Serer were two ethnic groups that generally lived along the western coast of Mali. These groups were known for their rigid social castes, and strict adherence ti hierarchy. Both of these groups influenced the Fulani who according to legend, were Arabs who adopted a mixture of Serer and Fulani cultural beliefs.

The Jola people are among the most unique of the region. Lacking a caste system, being against polygamy and Female genital mutilation, and being largely focused on wet rice cultivation, cattle ranching, other communal farming practices, the Jola are generally held up as an ideal to strive for. They have a joking/Cousinage relationship with the Wolof and Serer. They also have close relations with the Mandé who have historically influenced Jolof languages and religion.

The Dogon are a tribe living in the north central area of Mali along the Azawad border. Hardy and defensive, the Dogon are refugees of the Mandé Islamization of the 1100’s. This means they share some similar traits to Mali’s indigenous religious population. Nonetheless they adapted a language isolate to hide themselves from Muslims, and this language persists. It does contain similarities to the Gur languages. Their religion and culture emphasizes duality, androgyny, and harmony.

•The Odd Ones Out: There are a few smaller minority groups with no direct connection to the wider ethnic community web. The largest among these are the Senufo at just over 1% of the population.

The Senufo are a tribe of matrilineal craftsmen who emphasize art, poetry, and handicrafts. They migrated from the south in the Ivory Coast and founded an empire in what is now southern Upper Volta.

Migration is the most common method by which these isolates came to Mali hundreds of years ago. Besides the Senufo, Lobi, Kissi, and Dagaaba people. Most of these groups are located in souther Upper Volta, where large amounts of tribes were muscled out by slave raids, and kingdoms in the region.

Paramountica, Paseo, Amsterwald, Nippon-Nihon, Saudi Arabiyah, Metropolitan Francais, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Poland1St

Post by Occupation Norway suppressed by Paramountica.

Occupation Norway

The Democratic States of Occupation Norway

De demokratiske okkupasjonsstatene i Norge

20/11/1966

Attention! this is not a Test. This is an emergency broadcast. Armed protesters are a threat in our beloved capital city Oslo . Prioritize your safety by finding a secure location, staying low, and silencing electronic devices. Avoid engaging with the protesters. Follow law enforcement instructions and stay informed through official channels. Remember, personal defense should prioritize non-confrontation. Any form of vigilantism or aggression may escalate the situation and lead to harm. Trust in law enforcement procedures, and do not take matters into your own hands.

Your safety is our top priority. Stay tuned to official channels for updates

Finlanda Latinar Marseille

Presidential of Norwegen

Post by Occupation Norway suppressed by Paramountica.

Occupation Norway

The Democratic States of Occupation Norway broadcast Radio

De demokratiske okkupasjonsstatene Norge sendte Radio

20/11/1966

This is a government broadcast addressing the current situation in Oslo. In response to escalating unrest, the deployment of armored vehicles and main battle tanks by military forces is underway to maintain law and order. The government recognizes the concerns raised by the use of such heavy machinery and assures citizens that these measures are taken in the interest of public safety.

The deployment of armored vehicles is a response to the evolving threat posed by certain elements within the protesting groups. The government emphasizes its commitment to protecting the rights of peaceful demonstrators while taking decisive action against those who engage in violence or pose a threat to public order.

Citizens are urged to remain calm and cooperate with the instructions provided by security forces. Law enforcement personnel have been deployed to ensure the safety of the public, and any inconvenience caused is regretted. The government is actively working towards a peaceful resolution and calls for dialogue to address the root causes of the unrest.

It is essential for citizens to stay informed through official channels for updates on the situation and adhere to any curfew or safety advisories issued. The government remains dedicated to upholding the rule of law and ensuring the well-being of all citizens during these challenging times.

“by country we loved”

Finlanda Latinar Marseille

Presidential of Norwegen

Post by Lockheed Martln suppressed by Paramountica.

Lockheed Martln

yo selling ar-15, a dollar a pop, any buyers yo

New members please read the Q&A for all of your questions and answers, our RMB board is only for lore RP posts, please telegram me directly if you have any further questions

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=497355

Kewtpuff, Maziya

Post by Lockheed Martln suppressed by Paramountica.

Lockheed Martln

Paramountica wrote:New members please read the Q&A for all of your questions and answers, our RMB board is only for lore RP posts, please telegram me directly if you have any further questions

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=497355

yo that was so uncool of you to supress my message, im cending an ICBM and two fighter jets to yo crib

Post by Garrt suppressed by Paramountica.

Garrt

hello,bonjour,marhaban,habari whatever you are i have this news

Post by Garrt suppressed by Paramountica.

Garrt

Arrest Campaign

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]Yemen Arab Republic

30 January 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]The Internal Security Department arrested a group of senior officers, politicians and businessmen who may have been in close contact with the spy Shawqi al-Khudari, and among these men was Judge Abdul Rahman al-Hamdani, a member of the Revolutionary Command Council and the Minister of Justice. An investigation is still underway into this spy’s affiliation and what his mission was in Yemen, where there is Some talk about the spy maybe being responsible for the assassinations of two members of the Revolutionary Command Council.[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paseo, Amsterwald, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Poland1St

Spy Escapes

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]Al-Hudaydah, Yemen Arab Republic

31 January 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]Tonight, the spy Shawqi al-Khudari escaped during his transfer from Al-Hudaydah to Sanaa. He appears to be well trained, as he was able to shoot down three guards and escape from the transport vehicles while they were moving, even before the driver sensed him. He hid in trees near the road and when the guards tried to catch up with him, but they were unable to arrest him. Accordingly, all army troops in the vicinity of the city of Al-Hudaydah and the port were informed to arrest him.[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paseo, Amsterwald, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Poland1St

| OKOMBI UNDER FIRE |

[sub]16th of January, 1966[/sub]

| The government budget for 1966 has caused great stir amongst the politicians, trade unions and many of the poorer parts of the general population. The proposed and now passed budget for this year was passed with the majority that the FREEDOM & FUTURE MOVEMENT holds, with 246 FOR ( FFM & 38 Members of NLRP ) to 152 Against ( ZDRP / NLRP / CP / CF ).

The budget foresees spendings for the following;

[list]- $1.17 Billion for HEALTHCARE

- $759.2 Million for EDUCATION

- $552.1 Million for DEFENSE

- $517.6 Million for ECONOMIC INDUSTRIES INITIATIVES

- $276.0 Million for WELFARE & HOUSING

- $172.5 Million for LAW ENFORCEMENT

- $69.0 Million for OTHER[/list]

The main difference to previous budgets is that the DEFENSE budget is much bigger than in previous year, at the expense of mainly the WELFARE & HOUSING budget. An outright attack is happening against First Representative MARGOT OKOMBI, for turning Zaire towards a more militant path, whilst it should be the priority of the government to take care of the people first. The Expert to Welfare, ANDRE BAJONGO stepped down from his position after the government budget was passed, noting it as his personal defeat for bringing the budget for his ministry so low. The Expert to National Industries, PHILIPE MASINGO & Expert to Infrastructure & Energy SABINE BAGDU both resigned from their positions, for not gaining enough funding for the ECONOMIC INDUSTRIES INITATIVES.

The government of Mrs Okombi is currently in shakes over the passed budget, but Mrs Okombi retaliated in the media and the Congress over the past few days arguing that "...what Welfare, what economic initiatives can we talk about if the country is not well defended? It begs a question, of what is there to invest into should we not be a country anymore? The civil war in Liberia, in Nigeria, the conflict at our borders in Angola, the rise of communistic and African-Nationalistic forces around us, urge me into pushing more funding towards our national defence..."

The Expert to Healthcare GABRIEL NGOYI & the Expert to Education ANGELIQUE SAFI both defended the budget, proving that more than ever before has Education and Healthcare been funded, giving both Ministries a real chance to push for further healthcare and further education of the people. However, despite the defence of the budget, protests occurred in the capital against the budget, with protesters claiming that the budget will push more people into poverty, and leave them at risk of unemployment. However, First Representative OKOMBI has stated that she will not back down on the budget, which now has been passed. However, such a risky budget plan for the year of the Congress elections is one that could change or shift the election results coming up at the end of this year. |

[spoiler="...to invest into other welfare programs, other economic programs, we first must be assured that we are defended and safe to do so..." - First Representative, Margot Okombi]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Greater Adriatican State

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

The Confederate Prussian Empire

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

The Confederate Prussian Empire, Amsterwald, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

Post by Xalazh Mordak 3 suppressed by Paramountica.

Xalazh Mordak 3

HI! I SPEAK RUDE LANGUAGE, SO PLZ DON'T SPEAK WITH ME, I'LL SPEAK SOME SH*T TO YOU. PLZ DON'T BAN I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK TO The Rejected Realms.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

[list][pre]GOLDEN DAYS OF A PARTY[/pre]

[list][sub]Part 1: Legacy of Success[/sub][/list]

[pre]Fianna Fáil had never been better. An economy finally grew, unemployment decreased and a popular government. Seán Lemass had managed in 7 years to shift the party considerably towards the centre ground, built on the policies of social partnership and free trade. Previously the party of economic protectionism and continuing, it had moved to become almost a fresh party, a party based on new ideas. Even if Lemass wanted to see himself as a moderate, uniting the old-age protectionists and the new-age movement of liberalism and a more American-style system of capitalism rather than the tripartite system of employer, trade union and government, even the idea of the shift away from the traditional economics of the 1920's and 30's to the 60's style neo-corporatism which had been wholly embraced by Fianna Fáil was reformist and very progressive from the leadership of the party. By January of 1966, it was time to consolidate the legacy of success and give the next in line the right tool to continue the golden age of the party.[/pre]

[pre]Having led the party to victory in 1961 and 1965, the legacy of Seán Lemass was impressive. The establishment of RTE, the embodiment of a more secular and liberal era in Ireland, a radical move away from the protectionist policies of a post-war Ireland into a corporatist economy looking to attract foreign companies via tax breaks and grants and in1960, Ireland signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). By 1963, he announced a second economic development plan, focusing on expenditures for education, with a doubling of expenditures planned, and high production goals for the dairy industry. The spurring of a new fresh economy saw a once flat economy back to bouncing, and a proactive foreign policy and strides towards Irish membership into the EEC, which although a failure in 1961, saw significant improvements in relations between the two. While only just 7 years into the role, it had driven his health on a slow, downward spiral. But the legacy of a leader who had made headway in getting Ireland into a more modern era, shaped by secularisation, liberalism and optimism.[/pre]

[pre]But by January of 1966, Lemass knew that he couldn't lead much further. The new age of politicians had arrived on the scene, and the likes of Jack Lynch and T. K. Whitaker now looked to continue the legacy of himself. For Lynch, he saw it as a chance to move the party further into the modern age, citing its need to unite and embrace a new era of economic freedom and capatalism, and like Lemass, seeing himself as a moderate. Whitaker, who had birthed the very idea of what was being called "social capitalism" - combining free-market economics with investment into education, infasteucre and a strong emphasis on the protection of workers and trade unions, was a liberal, and wanted to move the party more to the Right and saw if Fianna Fáil was to continue to govern, it needed to embrace a more liberal society and become more socially liberal. The dying breed of old-age protectionism was still very much alive, but it seemed the wind was blowing strongly in the direction of the accepting moderates and the liberals of the party. Whoever would be in charge of Ireland following the retirement of Lemass, the direction would be something the Easter Rising veteran would accept. [/pre]

[pre]But questions will faced the Fianna Fáil government. Education reform was deemed the next step, but other regional issues such as growing tensions in Northern Ireland, secularism becoming a growing topic among Irish voters and future planning over to keep a growing economy on its heels.[/pre]

The Confederate Prussian Empire, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

[list][list][list][pre]XP ★ XIAOSHUO PUBLISHING

晓说出版社 |

Excerpt from novel: Pearl Dawn - A Solar Popularis Story | 珍珠黎明 - 一个太阳能大众故事 by Xuan Shun of Xiaoshou Publishing - Shanghai, People’s Republic of China[/pre][/list][/list][/list]

PEARL DAWN - EPISODE ONE:

A SON OF ALDAG-SU!

[spoiler=Clutter prevention-figuring out writing style for this series, sorry if it reads bad!][sub]The waves thrashed along the edges of the wooden boat that Zhu Iroas stood on. The white Star of the Aldag system slowly peaked over the wild waves of the Itari sea that Iroas toiled on. The choppy green waves of the ship threw the ship up and down as he pulled in the nets carrying the Crada catch. Iroas is a crada farmer just like his father and brothers who are in other wooden boats checking their traps miles apart from each other. The Zhu family were of the Ren species tracing their lineage to the Solat system on the planet of Solij. They were later on emigrated by force to the ocean world of Aldag-Su in the Aldag system to help build a non aquatic population on the planet to establish control on the planet against the indigenous Ka-Basah species. The Ka-Basah are an amphibious species living in underwater cities and rarely come to land making them hard to control by the Lasak. The Lasak decided to use the Ren as middle men in controlling the planet, creating Ren settlements on the islands of the planet. The Zhu family was comfortable in this setup, finding good pay and benefits from the Lasak Government for the help in tampering down the unruly nature of the Ka-Basah. Every son of the Zhu family has served in the Aldag Security Force and so will Iroas as his call for service was next week. Iroas had grown up hearing his family's stories of the vast Ka-Basah cities under the waves and the horrors of Aldag-Su’s ocean, but had only seen the twinkling of the Ka-Basah lights in the night.[/sub]

[sub]Iroas finished his catch of the day and began to row back to his family’s island of Haiana. Once on land Iroas filled up his catch alongside the other men of his family onto their Ka Class Aquatic vessel to travel to the main trading hub of the Itari sea. This trip to Shica would also be the last time Iroas would see his father for a long time as Iroas would stay in Shica awaiting his time for boot camp, it would be his first time alone off of Haiana. His father would continue to drill into his son the honor it is to serve in the ASF and protect his family from the Ka-Basah. Iroas would listen in his typical way, a simple nod and repeating “I understand”. Iroas saw service as nothing, but a speed bump in his goals of travilling off of Aldag-Su and leaving Lasak Space.[/sub]

[sub]Looking over the edge of the vessel, Iroas could see the lights of the Ka-Basah city of Kedma. The city was one of the larger Ka-Basah cities, a place Iroas always heard interesting stories about from his brothers who had operated in the region and merchants who traveled to Haiana to trade with the Zhu family. Those stories of Kedma described it as a den of banditry and illicit trade that thrived under the waves after the Ka-Basah were expelled from the islands. Though as Iroas looks under the waves he sees the beautiful lights and the domes of Kedma providing air pockets for the amphibious people below. Off in the distance nearly over the horizon Iroas could gaze up the Dala plasma drains as they pump the bright liquid out of the seas of Aldag-Su to fuel machines across Lasak Space. He studied the hoses the flow over the edges of the hovering platforms as the hoses plunge into the depths. Knowing one of his main jobs in the ASF would be to protect the pump stations under the waves from hostile forces. Three years of his life would be spent under the waves of Aldag-Su.[/sub]

[sub]The afternoon light shone upon the metal panels that make up the buildings of Shica glittering slightly hiding the gritty Shica Markets. Shica is a Lasak operated hub as it’s considered an important enough hub for the Army of Biy-Kha Chogor Avchi to garrison it and ensure smooth operations between Ren, Ka-Basah, and the off world traders. The harbor and spaceport of Shica sat close to each other allowing Iroas to watch as space vessels from trade conglomerates such as: Khudalpani, Shang-Ren .Co, Kosmacorp, Minerusah, and the Free Merchant Initiative. The Trade Freighters dwarfed the civilian vessels that flew above Shica as they came and went from the Spaceport. Once off the vessel Iroas would be hit with the stench of Shica, unlike the clean agricultural islands the Iroas was from, Shica was doused in the stench of extotic goods from across the Galaxy and the pollutants of vessels entering Shica’s ports of entry. Iroas now pushed their cargo crates up the ramps with his father as they made their way to the Shica Trade Depot to sell their crates of Crada Pearls and Fish.[/sub][/spoiler]

[list][list][pre]SERVE IMAGINATION![/pre][/list][/list]

[list][list][pre]服务想象力![/pre][/list][/list]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Greater Adriatican State

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Victoria Harbor, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya

[list][list]Febuary 1966

[sub]The Armada's Voyage to Latin America[/sub][/list]

Feroll, Galacia, Spainard — EVENING

[sub]Ferrol Naval Base[/sub]

[pre] A R M A D A [/pre]

| [sub][B]A[/B]dmiral Roberto Guerrorro of the Armada released a statement to the free press announcing that the Audaz-class will get a newly commissioned variant SPS Intrepid at one of the main naval bases in Feroll in Galacia. The port welcomes Intrepid (D-38) as part of the Armada, where His Majesty King Juan Carlos participated in a congratulatory parade with celebrities for the first time since the F-65 Villa de Bilbao in 1960.[/sub] |

| [sub]The Armada consists of a ‘healthy fleet’ following the modernization and reorganization for much of the mid to late 1950s under Alvarez’s Remiliarization Doctrine and continues to modernize as times move forward and the economy becomes stronger. The Armada announced it will continue with its scheduled extensive military exercises that are to happen during the Summer and will send the newly commissioned Intrepid (D-38) on a voyage to South America, where it will travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina for a visit before leaving for Caracas Gran Colombia. Lima, Andes will be the last leg of the voyage then will return to port in Feroll, where it will be her home.[/sub] |

|[sub]Prime Minister Luis Herrera says the country ‘must’ remain united in protecting interests and friendships abroad. A prominent NATO member must be willing to extend its wings to protect and defend the common interest of democracy that extends far beyond the country’s borders.[/sub] |

[list][list][spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler][/list][/list]

Victoria Harbor, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

Struggle of Throne 1

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]Republic Palace, Sanaa, Yemen Arab Republic

6 February 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]One of the army officers working in the Internal Security Department, Colonel Ali Al-Mahdi, brought a report to Minister of Defense Major General Abdullah al-Sallal. The report contained a disaster, which required that he take the report directly to Lieutenant General Hassan al-Zaidi, who reviewed the report, which contained several sections, the first of which was:[/sup]

[sup]The plot to assassinate former Minister of Defense during the Kingdom

The officer was able to communicate with one of the former king’s guards, who were responsible for guarding Minister of Defense Major General Haidar al-Ghadi during the assassination, and from whom he learned information about the plan for the assassination. He was a colonel in the army at the time, and he planned for the guards to facilitate the role of the young killer and for the guards to collect the price of the plot. But they did not understand why the minister was assassinated at the time.[/sup]

[sup]Assassination of the Minister of Education and the Minister of Health

The officer's investigation led him to one of the perpetrators, from whom he obtained a confession that the army officers were the ones who agreed with him to kill the Minister of Education and facilitate his escape, after which the accusations would be pinned on the communists, while one of the killers of the Minister of Health was arrested, who said the same thing, that one of the army officers was the one who requested From the assassination of the minister.[/sup]

[sup]A plot to assassinate the Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council

The officer received information that there was a conspiracy to kill Lieutenant General Hassan al-Zaidi. It was planned to take place during the Revolution Day speech and was postponed to the air show at Sanaa airport during the revolution celebrations and failed, and the conspiracy continues.[/sup]

[sup]Who planned all this?

With evidence and witnesses, the report showed that everyone who planned these plots was Major General Hamoud al-Jaifi, who tried several times to gain power, starting with the assassination of the Minister of Defense during the reign, to obtain his position, but he failed, and now he plans to reach the leadership of the Revolutionary Council and the leadership of the Republic, and that is why the members of the Council removed him through assassination or false accusations, such as implication. Judge Abdul Rahman al-Hamdani in the espionage case.

[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

Struggle of Throne 2

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[list][sup]Republic Palace, Sanaa, Yemen Arab Republic

8 February 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]Confrontation

Lieutenant General Hassan al-Zaidi decided to bring Major General Hamoud al-Jaifi to the Republic Palace and confront him in the presence of Minister of Defense Major General Abdullah al-Sallal. Al-Jaifi announced that he knew that they had uncovered his plot and that his followers were now besieging several targets, including the Yemeni radio and the Ministry of Defense building, and that Yemen was in his grip. However, the news came shortly after that the officers of Al-Jaifi failed to in several places after fighting battles with the army, and most of them were arrested.

[/sup]

[sup]Revolutionary trial of traitors

Major General Hamoud al-Jaifi was arrested and he and 327 of his officers will be put on trial before the Revolutionary Court on charges of treason and conspiracy against the republic. Their punishments may range from five to twenty-five years in prison.

[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

[list][list]SHOWA 41 | FEBRUARY 1966[/list]

[list][list]日本とイスラエル関係の新時代

[pre]A NEW ERA FOR JAPANESE-ISRAELI RELATIONS[/pre][/list][/list]

[pre] H I N O M O T O N O K U N I [/pre]

[list][list][sub][pre] オー・スネイル 富士山に登ろう でも、ゆっくり、ゆっくり

O Snail; Climb Mount Fuji But slowly, slowly![/pre][/sub][/list][/list]

TEL AVIV AIRPORT

[sub]TEL AVIV, Israelli — NOON[/sub]

| While Japanese businesspeople open their wallets to invest in the United Arab Republic, the Japanese government secretly supports pro-Western countries in the Middle East to contain the spread of Arab socialism. Israel, as it borders the United Arab Republic, is considered by Japan as a strategic ally. Japan’s Prime Minister EISAKU SATO had plans to visit Jerusalem to strengthen relations, but the plans had to be canceled due to domestic affairs. Now this trip to Israel can be done. Upon arriving at Tokyo Airport, SATO was greeted by eager journalists, holding their notebooks and pens, ready to write. The Prime Minister did not go into details about the meeting. A few hours later, the Japanese Prime Minister’s plane lands at Tel Aviv Airport, then Prime Minister SATO, surrounded by Japanese diplomats, greets first Prime Minister LEVI ESHKOL and then other Israeli government officials. This is the first time that a Japanese Prime Minister has visited Israel. |

| After posing for photos, the two leaders, alongside security guards, walked to their cars. Upon arriving at the Israeli Prime Minister’s residence, SATO got out of the car and laughed with one of his security guards. The two Prime Ministers went to a private room to talk. When the two finished talking, they both announced to the press what had been said. Japan will increase exports to Israel, especially of Japanese automobiles, and SATO also agreed that the country will import more Israeli products. Japan and Israel agreed to establish a student exchange, both countries have prestigious universities such as Japan’s University of Tokyo and Israel’s Tel Aviv University. SATO also made it clear that Israel will always count on Japan’s support. At the end of the press conference, SATO was the first to stand up and shake hands with the Israeli Prime Minister once again, in front of the journalists. This is a new era for Japanese-Israeli relations. |

Paramountica, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

[list]March 1966

[sub]The Future of the Bundeswehr[/sub][/list]

[pre]D I E B U N D E S R E P U B L I K[/pre]

THE LEOPARD SERIES

[sub]BONN, THE FEDERAL CAPITAL, New Provenance - AFTERNOON[/sub]

| The JAGUAR 1 tank (formerly the Volkspanzer Jaguar, based on an evolved version of the Panzers and Tigers) had served as the primary armored combat vehicle of the German BUNDESWEHR throughout the 1950s and 1960s, alongside surpluses of the M47 PATTON and the M41 WALKER BULLDOG. Mass-produced by German arms corporations after the revival of German military industry during the Wirstschaftwunder in the 1950s, the Jaguar 1 was a heavily-armored, well-equipped tank that became the workhorse of the German military. While the government in Bonn built up one of the strongest economies in mainland Europe from a country devastated by war less than two decades ago, the Bundeswehr stood quietly and observantly as the force of security and national defense. The Bundeswehr continuously received increases in its annual budget in every fiscal year from 1950 to 1963, when the Social Democratic government of Chancellor WILLY BRANDT formally approved the first cut to national defense. That was reversed the very next year after significant pushback and criticism in the Bundestag, and now, the Bundeswehr stands as one of the strongest Western militaries on the European continent, equipped with an array of advanced weaponry and stacked to the brim with reservists waiting in the wings - thus were the necessities of being a frontline nation directly facing the Iron Curtain. |

| The development of the direct successor to the Jaguar 1 began as early as 1956 when the German military sought to develop a Standard Tank to fully replace the Bundeswehr's M47 and M48 tanks and the Jaguar 1, which at this point had been developed more than 20 years ago. In 1957, detailed specifications were formally released and the tank was given the informal name of the Jaguar 2. The main armament would be a 105mm caliber weapon, with mobility being the priority over firepower. Prototypes were developed by Porsche and Rheinmetall throughout 1958 and 1959, and in 1963 Porsche's prototype was eventually selected. The program was officially changed from the Jaguar 2 developmental program to the LEOPARD 1 program shortly afterward. German Minister for Defense HELMUT SCHMIDT in 1963 secured approval from the Bundestag to begin production of the tank despite the budget cuts implemented that same year; weighing 40 tons and costing $250,000 each, the Leopard 1 would see 1,500 tanks ordered with production set for 1965-1970. |

| The first batch of the Leopard 1 was delivered in September of 1965, and phaseout plans for the extremely aged M47 and M48 tanks began entering into motion. Alongside the introduction of the new tank to the Bundeswehr also came a renewed focus on national defense by Brandt's SPD government. The election of 1965 saw security amidst the Cold War be a major issue for discussion, and after the inauguration of Brandt's new government following that year's August federal elections, Schmidt resumed his role as Defense Minister and pledged to overhaul the Bundeswehr and drastically strengthen its defensive capabilities. Readiness rates would be increased to no lower than 85% within two years, and regular exercises would be held to ensure breaking in of new units and the maintenance of efficacy on the battlefield of older units. A new recruitment campaign would also be launched in early 1966, as Chancellor Brandt surveyed Bundeswehr units and announced new programs to boost the German defense industry in January of 1966. |

| A national campaign to strengthen Germany's domestic military production would also be implemented into law in this month of March 1966 under new directives passed by the Bundestag, which included efforts to diversify Germany's defense industry to include artillery and small arms production on a larger scale. The end goal was to transform Germany into the supplier rather than the buyer of military equipment, leveraging the country's skilled workforce and labor force and its strong existing advanced industrial and automobile sectors. The German Foreign Ministry would engage in efforts to promote German weapons on the world stage and to potential customers, though this would naturally be kept to Western-leaning nations (though Brandt supported strengthening ties with neutral/Third World nations in Asia and Africa). |

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Greater Adriatican State

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

The Confederate Prussian Empire

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Amsterwald, Pontianus, Nippon-Nihon, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

Au Revoir France: Mali Abandons the CFA Franc

February 1966

Bamako: Prime Minister Dick Guirma has announced the fulfillment of a long time campaign promise. As of February 2, 1965, the Malian nation has rescinded it’s participation from the joint West African CFA Franc.

The move has been domestically popular, as many on both the left and right saw the continuation of the CFA Franc as subjugation to a foreign power. This was especially true for Mali, which was far larger and more economically viable than some of its more isolated and vulnerable neighbors like Niger, Togo, and Dahomey. Celebrations praising Guirma’s move erupted among the small but growing class of Malian Nationalists, in the streets of Bamako, Conakry, Banjul, and Dakar.

Economists have; however, expressed some caution to the move. Many warn of a potential economic slowdown as a result of abandonment of French currency control. Others still warn that Mali will have to exercise financial discipline to ensure it does not use its new fiscal control to overspend, or bloat the Government’s budget.

Nonetheless, Minister for the Economy, Mamadou Dia has pushed these rumors aside, arguing that while smaller countries with weak economies based upon singular commodities may benefit from joint currencies, that Mali is neither small, or dependent upon singular commodities, instead having a vast pool of resources, manpower, and potential to grow into a strong independent economy, next to those of the continent’s wealthiest countries like Egypt (UAR), and South Africa.

The new currency will be called the Dalasi (Daasi in other dialects.) The bank notes include the Batut coins of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 with 100 Batuts in one Dalasi. The bank notes go: 1, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100, and 200.

Paramountica, Amsterwald, Nippon-Nihon, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Poland1St

[list][pre]February, 1966

Parliament House, Barlaman Avenue Khartoum, Khartoum Province, The Republic Of Sudan[/pre][/list]

[list][list]PARLIAMENT PASSES THE CHILD SECURITY ACT[/list][/list]

In part of a large campaign towards implementing family welfare laws and programs, headed by the ruling conservative moderate coalition, Parliament had passed the Child Security Law, which is a set of laws that is aimed at allowing city and provincial authorities the right and obligation to step in to protect children that are found to be involved, or affected by cases of domestic abuse.

CSL’s ultimate objective is to combat what Parliamentarians who proposed the Law call, the “Trap Factor”, which refers to the victim’s state of entrapment with their abusers, over fear that if they were to press charges or attempt an escape, then something might happen to the children that they produced with the abuser. Hence most domestic cases towards victims and their children go unpunished, as perpetrators or victims themselves sometimes claim it’s only a form of the Patriarch’s right to implement disciplinary punishments, despite the case showing otherwise.

In some villages and or religious communities those excuses would fail, as tribal and religious laws provided severe punishments for the perpetrators of domestic violence. However, that very same system of community justice does not exist in the increasingly urban and industrializing cities, however, where justice entirely depends on whether the victim seeks it or not. The passing of the Law now allows City and Provincial administrations to immediately step in and press charges on behalf of children affected or involved in domestic abuse cases, bring justice to the victims, and punish the perpetrators.

As the law seeks to secure and remove harm and scarring that affect Sudan’s future generations, critics of this law have pointed out that this Law does nothing to act against the utilization of corporal punishment in Sudanese schools and public spaces as a form of disciplinary measure. Authors of the Law had defended this case by determining disciplinary measures as an essential part of building a law-abiding citizenry and state, while domestic abuse only serves to instill a sense of barbaric practices that are reminiscent of a “barbaric past”. Nevertheless, the passing of the CSL is amongst Sudan’s first familiar-oriented laws, working towards ensuring the welfare and security of the nation’s citizens from an early stage. President Lwoki had also made it a point of his administration to implement more programs and laws set about protecting the Sudanese family unity and the fabric of civilized Sudanese society.

[list]AL-NASRU LENA!

AL-NASRU LE SUDAN![/list]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Greater Adriatican State

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

The Confederate Prussian Empire

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Amsterwald, Nippon-Nihon, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

БЪЛГАРСКО НАЦИОНАЛНО РАДИО

Ловеч, Плевенска област, НРБ

13 февруари 1966 г

------------------------------------

General Secretary Zhivkov visits Lovech factory "Balkan" as Bulgaria seeks to expand automotive production

Генералният секретар Живков посещава ловешката фабрика "Балкан", тъй като България се стреми да разшири автомобилното производство

General Secretary Todor Zhivkov conducted a surprise visit to the "Balkan" factory, Plant 19, in Lovech today to inspect the progress being made by Bulgarian engineers to expand the nations automotive sector. Following recent attempts to reform the economic model of the People's Republic, Gen. Sec. Zhivkov has supported the continued development of the fledgling automotive sector in the nation. Bulgaria did not start mass producing vehicles until just after the Second World War, when former Gen. Sec. Valko Chervenkov adopted the Stalinist model of rapid industrialisation, changing the face of the Bulgarian economy from it's dominantly agrarian state into a modernised and industrialised state. With an influx of workers being pushed towards industry and students being placed into trade programmes and schools, it would appear that the Communist Party is betting on heavy industry to support the future of the People's Republic.

The bulwark of Bulgaria's automotive sector is ZPA Balkan, the major state conglomerate handling the bulk of machine production in the nation. Extending from automobiles to motorcycles to other heavy machinery, the factory was emboldened following increased government focus and support was given in 1964, and has since allocated far more resources to continue internal design and development. Chief of Design and former racing driver Iliya Chubrikov has announced a full range of new vehicles are soon to be available for domestic sale and for export, in the hopes that Bulgaria can find a niche and cement its place as a trusted and developed manufacturer. Chubrikov has spent time in Czechoslovakia, where he raced in Formula Easter and worked closely with engineers of the Czech manufacturer Skoda. He is confident that with the knowledge he has brought back with him, that he will soon bring Bulgaria up-to-speed with the latest developments in automotive technology.

Currently, Bulgaria will produce a range of vehicles under the Balkan brand, including motorcycles and family cars. These have been slated for mass production mid-to-late 1966. Similarly, Chavdar will expand its production solely from buses and commercial vehicles to family cars, and it is expected that domestic production should be able to accomodate for most of the domestic demand for vehicles. The latest laws on car ownership restrict the ownership of vehicles unless given the opportunity to do so by the Communist Party. Currently, vehicles are reserved for high-ranking Communist Party members, Military Officers, skilled professionals and workers that have obtained the Otlichnik status through their labour. In a deviation from other practices across the Eastern Bloc, ZPA Balkan has invested in the development of several sports vehicles, which are to be manufactured in low quantities and available only to select customers. The vehicles, including the halo car the 'Le Mans', were among the many inspected by Gen. Sec. Zhivkov and his delegation, but it was clear that the 'Le Mans' and it's sister cars, the 'Bulet' and the 'Rallye', were of particular interest. The 'Le Mans' is by far the most powerful and most expensive vehicle designed in Bulgaria to this day, making use of an experimental 6-cylinder engine which reports to produce over 150 bhp. The styling was overseen by Chubrikov, who took inspiration from the current sports cars being produced in Great Britain and Italy that have been seen racing in the West.

Paramountica, Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

Radiodifusora Nacional de Colombia

Bogotá, República de Colombia

13 de febrero de 1966

---------------------------------------

World Cup Miracle: How Colombia's Qualification has settled the nerves of a nation

Milagro mundialista: Cómo la Eliminatoria de Colombia ha calmado los nervios de una nación

When news reached Bogota that Colombia had successfully qualified for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, a deep sigh of relief was felt across the nation. To some, it may seem strange or foreign that a sport could collectively calm tension across such a large nation, and yet, it has. The Colombian National Football Team will travel to England in the summer to face off against the best in the world for a chance to win the coveted Jules Rimet trophy, and for the time that they play, the nation can forget the troubles plaguing it and unite in the crucible of sport.

In the past few years, the nation still lives in the shadow of La Violencia, and with the recent formation of rebel groups such as FARC, tensions do not appear to be disappearing any time soon. The fight against Communism in Latin America has been a key domestic policy objective of the National Front government, who remain in power several years after their formation. The uneasy alliance between the Conservative and Liberal parties has proven somewhat successful, with widespread reforms such as the Agrarian Reform hoping to lift millions out of poverty and further develop the traditionally strong Colombian agriculture sector. Infrastructure projects across the nation have continued to develop many of the nations key cities such as Bogota, Cali and Medillin, and has continued to help transform many decaying city blocks into new and vibrant residential areas. The development of the oil sector has seen Colombia rise to the third-largest oil producer in the world, and the government has hoped that continued oil revenues will help to bolster the economy for the years to come and dramatically improve living conditions across the nation.

Foreign policy has seen many deals struck with Europe, with both Spain and West Germany approaching Colombia for closer trade relations. Colombia has taken notice of the rising force that is the European Community and the lucrative trade that may come with it. The government has continued to reach out to European nations with the long-term goal of establishing a strong and dedicated trade route to connect the two continents and foster open trade with Europe. Similarly, Colombia looks east, with new relations with India on the agenda for the Colombian government. Economists believe India to be an untapped market, and with new Indian policies on renewing foreign relations, Colombia seems poised to take the initiative and open trans-Pacific trade between Asia and Latin America.

The United States, traditionally close and an ally of Colombia's, has recently concluded a diplomatic effort to increase ties with the nation. In Colombia's continued struggle against Communist guerrillas and instability at home, the United States and Colombia have concluded a set of memorandums offering support for the Colombian military in their counter-insurgent efforts. Colombia hopes to expand relations with the United States and receive an influx of modern armaments and vehicles, as well as tactical and logistical support and training programmes to ensure that Colombia contributes firmly to the global fight against Communism.

All of these issues and continued tensions however seemingly melt away in the face of Colombia's triumphant qualification to the World Cup. Despite football being the national sport of Colombia, the national team has only qualified once for the World Cup before, this being in 1962 when the games were held in Argentina. Their qualification marks the furthest the team has ever travelled for an international football event. Their group stage exit in 1962, though disappointing, was a step above previous years. However, their latest tournament, the 1963 Copa America, was considered a disaster for the Colombian national team, as they made an early exit and failed to win a single game. Despite these performances, the nation stands behind the national team in support and hopes for a successful World Cup campaign in June of this year.

Paramountica, Spainard, Amsterwald, Nippon-Nihon, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

Post by United Maj Peoples suppressed by a moderator.

[list][spoiler=PLAY ME FOR AMBIENCE: Bugandan Drums]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL_Xvtb1t6E[/spoiler][/list]

[list][sup]November 12th, 1965[/sup]

[pre]𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐀𝐃𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍[/pre][sup][pre] | BUGANDA, KAMPALA[/pre][/sup][/list]

[sup]In the aftermath of the Bugandan elections, the BDP/UTC coalition had taken the majority in both the House of Representatives with 70 seats and 25 seats in the Senate. It was official; the alliance had paid off, and now Benedicto Kagimu Mugumba Kiwanuka was the new Prime Minister of Buganda. His inaugural ceremony at parliment would see a peaceful transition of power from the Royalists to the Democrats, as the former PM, Michael Kintu, congratulated Kiwanuka on his political victory. Both exchanged plesantries during the ceremony, which can't be said for most African nations that devolve into political crises after a contested election.  This peaceful transition of power was a testament to the stability and maturity of Buganda's political system. It showcased the country's commitment to democracy and its ability to resolve political differences through peaceful means. Such a smooth transfer of power would undoubtedly strengthen Buganda's reputation both domestically and internationally. However, beneath the facade of democratic transition lies an ever-growing resentment among the Bugandan elite. King Freddie was furious; his bid to seize more political power failed, and now his political rivals had parlimentary power. For the Bagandan nobility, they had always opposed the Democrats, as the BDP had been vocal advocates of land reform, which threatened their traditional power. Another group with complaints was the powerful Asian merchant class, which had enjoyed privileged economic positions under the Royalist Party. They feared that the Democrats' policies of economic nationalization and increased government oversight would undermine their dominance in the economy. [/sup]

[sup]As for the winners, PM Kiwanuka began his tenure by establishing a new cabinent. Various members of the BDP and UTC were given their roles to begin what Kiwanuka called the democratization of Buganda. The most important members of this cabinet are Dr. Charles Lemoine, minister of the interior; Samuel Chaco, minister of the economy; and Rewenze Lachanta, serving as Minister of Tribal Affairs. Unlike the royalists, who prioritized Bagandan interests, monarchism, and protestentism. Kiwanuka, by appointing individuals from both the BDP and UTC, aims to foster collaboration and unity in decision-making processes while steering politics away from the crown. The last four years of BRP dominance had caused a split national unity, culminating in the Bunyoro uprising alongside the Rwenzururu insurgency in the east. These uprisings were fueled by grievances over political marginalization, economic inequality, and cultural discrimination. Kiwanuka hopes to address these issues and promote inclusivity in the decision-making process. This strategy aims to heal the rifts in national unity and prevent further conflicts that could destabilize the country. But it should be made clear that behind these political slogans, the BDP is foremost about Catholic Bagandan interests. In fact, it was the BDP during the leadup to independence that supported the BRP's exclusion of the smaller Bantu kingdoms from politics. The BDP also stood in support of the government's efforts to crush the Oyomoro during their uprising. The coalition was more of convenience and the UTC itself had become weaker with the fall of Bunyoro, now only consisting of representatives from the Kingdom of Toro and Ankole. By aligning themselves with the exclusion of smaller Bantu kingdoms and supporting the government's actions against the Bunyoro, the BDP aimed to maintain their influence and control over political affairs. It remains to be seen how Kiwanuka will maintain his influence and control over political affairs while ensuring the representation of all relevant stakeholders.[/sup]

[list][spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Greater Adriatican State

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

The Confederate Prussian Empire

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Amsterwald, Nippon-Nihon, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

[list][list]Febuary 1966

[sub]Herrera Boast Local Winery Production[/sub][/list]

Burgos, Castile and León, Spainard — AFTERNOON

[sub]Pomar Viñedos[/sub]

[pre] W I N E R Y [/pre]

| [sub][B]T[/B]he City of Burgos, home to 70,000 people, lies in the heart of Denominación de Origen Protegida, a regulatory geographical indication system used primarily for foodstuffs such as cheeses, condiments, honey, meats, and others. The cruciality of the region remains the heart of the Spanish soul and culture. Throughout the years farmers and countrymen alike share a boastful duty to contribute Iberia’s best commodities to the European Community. Spain has and may likely remain an agricultural-based economy, and with good reason. The geographical location of Spain served as a gold mine for the Spanish economy as it progressed within the European Community via increased exports and profit from foodstuffs. [/sub] |

| [sub]Prime Minister Herrera visited a local winery in the city called Pomar Viñedos. Founded in 1919 by the owner's grandfather, Pomar Rejón, the vineyard remains a staple in the community and serves the best wine in the country.[/sub] |

[list][sub]Prime Minister Herrera: Acknowledgment of our success is good for morale and increases the sense of community as we move from our typical small-town pleasantries to a more progressive and global community. Nonetheless, the home should never leave as a step in the process of making fine wine.[/sub][/list]

| [sub]The recent visit by the prime minister comes as an expectation following more industry-agricultural farming equipment being disbursed by the manufacturing company that will make harvesting the commodity more efficient and stay up to demand. However, some worry about too much industrialization in one of Spain’s untouched geographical areas, which many locals have vigorously fought against Madrid in industrializing the area with more manufacturing jobs. Which are seen in Bilbao and Zaragoza.[/sub] |

[list][list][spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler][/list][/list]

Paramountica, Amsterwald, Nippon-Nihon, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

Post by Lockheed Martln suppressed by Paramountica.

Lockheed Martln

i love democracy!!!

Post by Latin Crimea suppressed by Paramountica.

Latin Crimea

I just went from New York Times democracy to inoffensive centrist democracy. Here we go again

Establishing Yemeni National Union

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]Sanaa, Yemen Arab Republic

2 March 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]During a popular conference and in the presence of members of the Revolutionary Command Council, Lieutenant General Hassan al-Zaidi announced the establishment of the “National Union Party” to be, according to his speech, the platform for practicing political work within a democratic framework. He also announced that the party’s principles will be the principles of the August Revolution, which are building a unified Yemen, eliminating colonialism and reactionism. And to improve the lives of the Yemeni people, the members of the Revolutionary Command Council will be members of the Supreme Committee of the party, and the party will be chaired by Lieutenant General Hassan al-Zaidi. The party will also form an organization for Yemeni youth under the name “National Youth Organization” to be a way to develop political awareness among youth and educate young national leaders to lead the future of Yemen.[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Nippon-Nihon, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

Port of Constanta Modernization Propels Socialist Republic of Romania to New Economic Heights

[sub]February 1966, Central Committee of The Communist Party of Romania, Bucharest, Socialist Republic of Romania[/sub]

|The culmination of an ambitious vision unfolded as the modernization of the Port of Constanta reached its triumphant completion. The momentous occasion was graced by the presence of His Excellency, the Genius of the Carpathians, Comrade Constantin Rotaru, General Secretary of The Communist Party of Romania, President of The Presidium of The Great National Assembly, President of the State Council, President of the Socialist Republic of Romania, Supreme Commander of The People's Army, beloved and esteemed son of all Romanian people.

| The inauguration ceremony was a grand spectacle, attended by senior Party officials, dignitaries, and the charismatic presence of Her Excellency, Ms. Magdalena Rotaru, the esteemed wife of His Excellency, Comrade Constantin Rotaru. The atmosphere resonated with patriotic fervor as flags flew high, and the air was filled with the joyful echoes of folk demonstrations. The port, now equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and cutting-edge technology, symbolizes Romania's leap into a new era of economic strength and global relevance.

| As Comrade Rotaru and his wife, accompanied by senior Party officials, took to the podium, the crowd erupted into chants and cheers, expressing their profound admiration for the beloved leader and the Communist Party of Romania. The sea of red flags waved in unison, symbolizing the unity and solidarity of the people under the socialist banner.

| Comrade Rotaru, in his address, expressed gratitude to the hardworking citizens and dedicated Party members who had contributed to the success of this monumental project. He emphasized how the modernized Port of Constanta would serve as a gateway to increased trade, economic prosperity, and international collaboration, solidifying Romania's position on the world stage.

[sub]|...In the heart of the Black Sea, where waves embrace the shores of our beloved homeland, stands Constanta, a jewel that has been polished and refined by the hands of the hardworking citizens of the Socialist Republic of Romania. The modernization of this port is not just a feat of engineering; it is a triumph of the Romanian spirit.

Comrades, look around you! Behold the cranes that now reach for the sky like the aspirations of every Romanian. Witness the state-of-the-art facilities that echo the precision and diligence of our workforce. Today, we celebrate not just a harbor, but a gateway to prosperity for our great Socialist Republic.

The tireless efforts of our workers, the backbone of our nation, have transformed Constanta into a beacon of economic strength. This port, now equipped with the latest technologies and infrastructure, will propel our nation forward, contributing significantly to the flourishing economy of the Socialist Republic of Romania. - Comrade Constantin Rotaru in his adress[/sub]

[sub]| The festivities continued with cultural performances, showcasing the rich heritage of the Romanian people. The celebrations were a harmonious blend of tradition and modernity, reflecting the nation's forward-looking spirit under the visionary leadership of His Excellency, the Genius of The Carpathians, Comrade Constantin Rotaru. |[/sub]

[sub]E scris pe Tricolor unire! Pe roșu steag liberator! Prin lupte sub a lor umbrire, spre Comunism urcăm în zbor![/sub]

[sub]Trăiască Partidul Comunist Român în frunte cu al său secretar general, tovarășul Constantin Rotaru![/sub]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Ababemba

Adriatican Islands

Alzarikstan

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Bayern Kahla

Bescania

Brazil Toucan

Canovia

Cascadla

Central Arstotzka

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Hashemite Kingdoms

Hatzburg

Honghai

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

La Granadinas

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Moroavia

Nevbrejnovitz

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Nonador

Nosautempopulus

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Reyzen

Rutannia

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sri-Lanka

Sudesam

Taiiwan

Teymour

The Black Star-

The Sun States

Turkiye 1St

Ubertica

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Vietnam Sv

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Victoria Harbor, Pontianus, Nippon-Nihon, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Mutawakkiliti, Poland1St

THE TROUBLES

[list][pre]Rights and Fights in the Union[/pre]

[list][sub]Part 1: Paisley and Spence[/sub]

[sub]Feb. 1966[/sub][/list]

[pre]Ian Paisley, the figurehead of hardliner protestant unionism and in recent years, an ardent supporter of a growing counter-movement to the Civil Rights Movement which had been brewing in recent years. The CRM looked to challenge the inequality and discrimination against ethnic Irish Catholics. While no umbrella movement had emerged, it was still widespread and fairly unpopular among most liberal attendees in Northern Ireland. But the former evangelical pastor knew that he needed to take what could be an opportunity to emerge politically stronger than the more liberal unionist, who favoured power-sharing instead of pure unionism. Stemming from anti-catholicism and anti-irish nationalism, Paisley had quickly developed a large following, combining evangelical Protestantism with a sense of a more extreme version of unionism, an idea of which to oppose any attempt at a power-share.[/pre]

[pre]While conflict and violence were few and far between, Paisley understood that if the political side of unionism failed, it automatically translated to warfare. But Paisley knew this and wasn't afraid to call for warfare. Not only did he realise that politics needed to come first, but that if hard unionism was to be a success, it needed a real political force as its figurehead. Combined with supporters of the idea of "Hard Unionism", Ian Paisley founded the Protestant Unionist Party in January of 1966 and now looked to combine forces with the more direct unionist forces of Northern Ireland, the name of Gusty Spence coming to the mix[/pre]

[pre]While Spence was far more direct and less bothered with the political side of hardliner unionism, he had recently become the leading militant figure of the UVF (Unionist Volunteer Force) and combining the political arm of the newly-established PUP with the militant slice of the UVF could not only be a source of political strength but also in the sense of potential violence. A counter-movement to the civil rights movement was inevitable, of which a significant portion of unionists saw the CRM as being a shadow of the IRA. [/pre]

[pre]However, that IRA had been fairly dormant, and Spence and Paisley met in the early days of February to discuss the establishment of an umbrella group of the more hardliner unionist supporters, who were to shift away from the more moderate Terence O'Neill, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, and looked to drain political support away from the UUP. It finally seemed like a watershed moment for unionism in Northern Ireland, a moment which looked to shift the balance away from the liberal UUP, who looked to be more cautious and welcoming to the Civil Rights Movement, and the hardliner groups of the UVF and PUP[/pre]

Paramountica, Victoria Harbor, The Great Expanses, Nippon-Nihon, Saudi Arabiyah, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Latin Crimea, Mutawakkiliti, Poland1St

Post by English Republicc suppressed by Paramountica.

English Republicc

Greetings! Fellow Commonwealths. I'm English RePUBlicc. Hope I stay for a while.

Latin Crimea

Referendum

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]Sanaa, Yemen Arab Republic

6 March 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]The Constitution Writing Committee announced the completion of writing the first constitution for Yemen, and the articles of the constitution were published in the Yemeni newspaper Al-Thawra, provided that a popular referendum will be held on the constitution and on Lieutenant General Hassan al-Zaidi’s candidacy for the position of President of the Republic. The referendum will take place on the first of April 1966.[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Amsterwald, Nippon-Nihon, Saudi Arabiyah, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St

[list]April 1966

[sub]The 1966 Campaign[/sub][/list]

[pre]M A R C O S V M A G S A Y S A Y[/pre]

[list][pre]The Nacionalistas nominate FERDINAND E. MARCOS,

The Liberals nominate GENARO MAGSAYSAY,

The 1966 presidential election stage is now set.[/pre][/list]

| In JANUARY, after an internal party vote amongst the members of the leadership, the center-left LIBERAL PARTY nominated GENARO MAGSAYSAY, the Liberal Party senator who had made significant outreach efforts to the southernmost region of MINDANAO. Magsaysay defeated Senate Majority Leader Estanislao Fernandez, the liberal wing candidate, and Gerardo Roxas for the nomination, receiving 39% of the vote against 36% for Fernandez and 25% for Roxas. The party had some qualms around adopting a presidential standardbearer who bore the same name as another politician who led the electoral obliteration of the Liberal Party for multiple years, but they were hopeful that his name recognition would benefit them, especially in the southern regions of Mindanao and southern Visayas, where the party expected the Nacionalistas to be vulnerable in. In a symbolic nomination process, Vice President FERDINAND MARCOS received his party's presidential nomination, selecting Nacionalista senator and conservative bastion FERNANDO LOPEZ as his running mate. |

| MAGSAYSAY selected pioneering Liberal senator Maria Villianueva Kalaw Katigbak, best shortened to MARIA KALAW KATIGBAK, a staunch Liberal Party loyalist and a progressive who was one of the few women serving in the Philippine Senate. She authored legislation forming the National Commission on Culture and extended protections to consumers buying goods on installment plans and enabling credit transactions. Katigbak's inclusion on the ticket marked a significant step forward for the Philippines since it would be the first time a woman would be nominated to a major Philippine political party's ticket. Katigbak would also bolster the party's performance among young, progressive voters who would be crucial to delivering victory for the party in the May general election. The Liberals would diversify their efforts, with Genaro Magsaysay making outreach efforts to rural areas especially in Visayas and Mindanao, while Katigbak held events with progressive and women's rights groups in the major cities. The Liberals adopted a comprehensive platform aimed at strengthening partnerships with neighbors like Japan, Australia and nations like the United States and Korea, along with social programs like establishing greater government transparency and accountability and strengthening electoral integrity. The Liberal campaign, however, would primarily focus on hammering the increase in spending under the Osias-Marcos administration thanks to significant spending on infrastructure projects. |

| The Nacionalistas, meanwhile, settled with political veteran FERNANDO LOPEZ as its vice presidential candidate. A member of the influential Lopez political dynasty from Iloilo, Lopez was a veteran politician with significant connections across the board, from industry leaders to powerful groups and organizations. Marcos-Lopez presented themselves as the "people's candidate" just as Ramon Magsaysay did when he was first elected to Malcanang, with Marcos leverging his charismatic aura to win over voters at large rallies. Lopez was the political driver, securing endorsements from congressmen and congresswomen and shoring up donors to allow the campaign to make significant gains against their Liberal rivals when it came to airtime. The Nacionalista Party adopted a centrist platform for this campaign, shying away from more conservative policies with the intention of leaning into moderate and Independent voters to defeat what they saw as a major threat from the Liberals. The Nacionalista Party if elected to power for an unprecedented fourth term would continue the welfare programs established by Ramon Magsaysay while strengthening the Philippines as an export-focused country. While the Liberals played on voter fatigue around the NP, the Nacionalista Party played on their stellar economic record. |

| As the campaign period began after the nominating process, in January, the candidates hit the road to campaign. Marcos focused on establishing a strong foothold in Luzon and the capital region of Manila, while Magsaysay campaigned aggressively in Visayas and Mindanao. Early polling showed a dead heat race, with 47% of voters supporting Marcos and 46% behind Magsaysay, with the rest undecided. Backed by the middle and upper class, Magsaysay took the lead in terms of fundraising and ran the most television and radio advertisements in any Philippine presidential election, while Marcos focused on large rallies and trips to the rural north of Luzon, especially to Isabela, Baguio, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur. Through February the campaign continued and the first presidential debate was held in Manila, and in March the second held at Clark Air Base. Marcos maintained his polling lead, expanding it to 48% to 45%, but Magsaysay's campaign was gaining traction among youth voters. |

| With the election already next month, the candidates continue barnstorming provinces and barraging voters with advertisements of all kinds. Yellow and red posters contrast each other on the streets of Manila, and crowds of supporters gather at rallies and events held by the presidential candidates and their senatorial slates. The Liberal Party is widely expected to flip the House of Representatives, paving the road for them to end years of Nacionalista trifectas in government. The Senate is expected to stay solidly in Nacionalista hands thanks to their firm majority of 14 out of 24 seats, and a strong list of senatorial candidates, though the Liberals could make several pickups, including a seat expected to be won by Tarlac governor NINOY AQUINO. |

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Greater Adriatican State

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

The Confederate Prussian Empire

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Amsterwald, Victoria Harbor, The Great Expanses, Nippon-Nihon, Saudi Arabiyah, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Ma-Li, Poland1St, Anarchist Sates Of India

Post by Latin Crimea suppressed by Paramountica.

Latin Crimea

I believe that with 1.5 billion people you should be able to pick an official language. Does anyone else agree?

Contact the former king's advisor

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]Sanaa, Yemen Arab Republic

29 March 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]The Minister of Agriculture, Engineer Abbas al-Ashaath, officially asked the Revolutionary Command Council for permission to contact the former king’s advisor, Professor Omr al-Kilani from Iraq, as the Al-Kilani was deported to Iraq after the revolution, and the man had a plan to develop agriculture in Yemen, and a large part of it was implemented in king era. At that time, Engineer Al-Ashaath worked as an employee in the Ministry of Agriculture. Therefore, he was not aware of the entire development plan. Today he asks for permission to contact the Al-Kilani in order to find out the rest of the plan and work on its implementation, which will benefit the Republic of Yemen. The Revolutionary Command Council agreed to make contact, and the Al-Kilani showed cooperation and agreed to send the plan that he had drawn up for development. Agriculture in Yemen. Indeed, a complete file was sent to Engineer Al-Ashaath, the Yemeni Minister of Agriculture.[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Maziya

The 1966 Turkish General Election: The candidates, the parties, and what’s at stake

[sub]February, 1966[/sub]

It can be said that half of Turkey was dreading the 1966 election while the other half had been counting the days, months and years leading up to it. One half were the members of the Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, the party that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk had founded and the same party which had been governing Turkey since its inception. Even among the highest echelons of the CHP, there were concerns that the party would lose its dominant position within not only the Grand National Assembly but also local governments. A death sentence for the party of Ataturk.

The other half, those who had been looking forward to the 1966 election were those who wished to see the CHP dethroned. Parties like the social democratic and reformist, Demokratik Yenilenme Partisi (DYP), the democratic socialist Türkiye İşçi Partisi (TIP), and the national conservative, fundamentalist Adalet Partisi (AP). In any other context, these parties would win only a small number of seats in the Assembly. At a local level, many of these parties had a stronger presence, but nothing that could challenge the CHP in important provinces like Izmir, Istanbul and Ankara. However, recent events may change that.

The departure of Ismet Inonu from the CHP was the worst hit the party had suffered since the death of Ataturk in 1938. While Kemal had indeed appointed Inonu to succeed him, many feared a power struggle within the dominant-party democratic system that had been established. Fears receded when Inonu was able to seize control of the party and expel his enemies. Now that it was happening again, many had some of the same fears. Bulent Ecevit was a known quantity within the CHP, but his reformist and left-leaning stances have placed him at odds with more conservative members of the party.

Those fears wouldn’t be unfounded, as not long after Ecevit’s appointment as leader, a large group of right-Kemalists defected from the party. Some were ordinary conservatives who saw Ecevit as a socialist and anti-Kemalist, in the same vein as those of the DYP and TIP. His close association with the known social democratic and left-Kemalist proponent Turkan Akyol only made the situation worse. In a matter of weeks, the CHP had lost their support from members of some rural regions and suburban communities, many of whom supported the conservative and Ultranationalist wings of the CHP.

The first defection occured at the beginning of the year. In mid-January, Adnan Menderes announced his departure from the party. Rumors had circulated that Menderes and Ultranationalist leader Alparslan Turkes had a serious disagreement over economic and social policies, breaking their long standing yet shaky alliance. It was the final nail in the conffin for the ambitious Menderes who had now associated himself with traditional conservatives and the far-right, receiving support from not only business owners but also the Grey Wolves. He and other members of the faction and known Grey Wolves members founded the Demokrat Parti (DP) which would contest the election on a platform of economic liberalization, anti-communism, and education reform.

A second defection occured in February led by members dissatisfied with the election of Bulent Ecevit as head of the CHP. The group is led by noted academic Turhan Feyzioglu, who had reportedly voiced his disapproval of Ecevit and had allegedly gone to Inonu himself in an effort to get him to reconsider. With his efforts in vain, Feyzioglu reached out to other disgruntled liberals and a small number of non-Liberal anti-Ecevit politicians who banded together to form the Cumhuriyetçi Parti (CP), a liberal party that embraced Kemalist orthodoxy and strong anti-communist ideas.

With conservative and traditionally liberal members of the CHP departing, Ecevit made efforts to strike bargains with the Ultranationalists and the Centrists. The latter would be much easier than the former, though Ecevit was well-aware that Turkeş had little room to maneuver. His faction had become the smallest in the party, consisting only of hardline Kemalists and moderate Ultranationalists (CHP members who espoused national conservative ideals, but remained faithful to Kemalism). To form his own party now would be disastrous, especially with the DP aiming to capture the traditionally conservative rural vote. The Centrists, however, would be much easier to align with. Nihat Erim had little interest in tipping the boat and would likely accept remaining as Speaker of the Assembly rather than ask for concessions.

Sure enough, it was Turkeş who had reached out to Ecevit for a deal. His terms were simple but would require compromise on Ecevit’s part. Turkeş demanded that no cuts be made to the military budget and that it be expanded, that domestic industry be prioritized over foreign, a fair deal over Cyprus, minor tax cuts for the middle-class, and a strong position on Kurdistan along with other minor demands. From the very start, it was obvious that Turkeş was interested in actually making a deal and attempt to compromise with Ecevit rather than pushing him into accepting hard right-wing positions. In the end, an arrangement was struck and Ecevit agreed to all of Turkeş’ demands, ensuring the unity of the CHP for the upcoming election. At least for now.

Traditionally, Turkish party leaders were presumed to be the candidate for the presidency, the highest office in the nation. The CHP, the DP, the CP and the AK all followed this model, with their respective leaders running for the coveted office. Others, such as the DYP and the TIP ran primaries to determine their candidates. No law barred parties from holding primaries, however, it was generally considered to be redundant especially when most parties held elections for leadership anyway with the presumption that the elected party leader would run for President.

For the February elections, six candidates would be running for President: Bulent Ecevit, MP, Minister of Labor and current leader of the CHP, Adnan Menderes, MP, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and leader of the DP, Mehmet Ali Aybar, MP, former Mayor of Izmir and leader of the DYP, Kemal Turkler, former MP and leader of the TIP, and finally Turhan Feyzioglu,former MP, Minister of National Education and leader of the CP.

Most of the candidates in the election espoused some form of ‘Kemalism’ or claimed to follow the ‘Six Arrows’ (a term used to refer to the six pillars of Kemalism). The CHP, the DP, and the CP have all listed ‘Kemalism’ in their election manifesto. Meanwhile, the DYP, AK and TIP have reaffirmed their rejection of Kemalism, appealing to those who are either against or frustrated with the current course of Mustafa Kemal’s ideas. Both the DYP and the TIP have outright rejected any and all forms of Kemalism while the AK has maintained some ties to the ideas of Ataturk, but has generally remained consistent with its Islamist and hardline social conservative policies.

In the end, however, everyone knew what the outcome of the election would be. Ecevit would win the presidency and the CHP would retain their majority in the Assembly. The question was truly how much ground these new parties will gain, and how much will the defections affect the CHP moving forward. More alarmingly, a large loss could signal the end of Turkey’s dominant-party democracy and hail the beginning of a period of multi-party democracy, a threat to Kemalists who see the CHP as the ‘vanguard’ of Turkey’s republicanism. Regardless, with Inonu fading from politics and new parties eager to attain power, the March, 1966 Turkish General Election will be one for the history books.

Paramountica, Amsterwald, The Great Expanses, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Maziya

Yemen referendum

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]Yemen Arab Republic

3 April 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]The organizing committee for the Yemeni referendum announced the end of the popular referendum that began on April 1, 1966, which included approving the new constitution and choosing the president of the republic. The committee announced a participation rate of 94% of citizens who have the right to vote, and the selection of Lieutenant General Hassan al-Zaidi for the presidency was approved by a percentage 99.9% The approval rate for the new constitution reached 99.8%, thus beginning a new era in the history of the Yemen Arab Republic.[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Maziya

April 15th, 1966

San Avila

In one of the most sensational instances of union violence in the cities history, seven laborers employed by Edward Lindbergh Jr's Plátano Feliz! corporation were killed during an altercation when armed private security was deployed to break up a rally lead by avowed pro-labor Catholic priest father Marco Arbues, who instigated the demonstration in an effort to bring attention to the alleged human rights abuses taking place on plantations owned by the major western banana conglomerates in the region.

BBC foreign correspondent Hubert Palmer described the scene as "a bloody display" [...] "Indicative of a rising corporate despotism in Latin America".

This has been the eighth violent confrontation between organised labor groups and corporate security services that have taken place in the city in the last six months, indicating a rising pattern of discontent among the laborers employed by American banana corporations. How this issue will be handled by the Caribbean Free Enterprise Zone's newly appointed president Edward Lindbergh Jr remains to be seen, however it is quite likely that the matter of labor relations will be the issue that defines his tenure as president.

Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Maziya, Ma-Li

[B]EL CENTENARIO

[sub]| Abril 1966 | San Salvador, Républica de El Salvador|[/sub]

Over the course of the last centennium, El Salvador had changed little. From authoritative styles of governance, to the ownership of land spread between the few, land-owning elites, and the shrewd politicians in San Salvador that benefacted them strictly ensured the preservation of a socio-political status quo lasting more than three generations. Thus, as had been vigorously maintained, a majoral portion of purchasable land belonged, not to the government, but to an oligarchic cabal comprised of fourteen aristocratic familias, most with patrilineal heritage dating back to the days of the Spanish Captaincy Generals presiding over much of the Central Americas.

Even in the modern day, the national history carries a deep relevancy to Salvadoreños, as surnames known throughout hundreds and hundreds of years continue to expand their generational wealth and keep their monopolies on the nation's vital economic sectors. These familias are the Sola, Llach, Hill, Meza-Ayau, Duenas, Dalton, Regalado, Quiñonez, Olmos-Ettinger, Flores, Villacrés and Salaverria. As European-descented criollos, predominantly of Iberian and Anglo-Saxon origins, their control stems from inheritance, with a tight grip over swathes of land, granting menial concessions to the federal government and public works in favor of cash crop development such as coffee, sugar cane, and other profitable agri-foods. Though on a lesser scale, mining, railway, and general construction contracts also procured significant traction from las catorce familias, specifically due to bid-rigging fraud associated with these projects, coupled with the government's willingness to grant contracts to egregiously inflated tenders. Not only did these landowning families have the system in their pockets, they enjoyed majority representation in the Asamblea Legislativa made up of some 70 deputies.

The oligarchy's "Coffee Republic" would have it's fair moment of decline however, when the country began a progression towards military rule during the early 20th century. With such heavy reliance on coffee exports, El Salvador's "finca economy" plummeted right along with the bean's international market value during the Great Crash, and, naturally, so did the agri-exportation business, leaving much of the industries owned by las familias hemorrhaging profits. At long last, it seemed, the grip of the nation's dated aristocracy was beginning to pry loose. By March 1931, President-Elect, Arturo Araujo Fajardo, received El Salvador as a shell of it's former self. Fincas across the nation laid devoid of field hands and thousands of acreages were left unworked and consequently went unharvested, costing landowners and foreign investors exponentially. While many of the families pulled out high-interest loans, attempting desperately to keep their ancestral legacies afloat amidst uncertainty of the national future, Fajardo's administration was overthrown by the military in a sudden bloodless coup d'etat led by several Army junior officers on 2 December 1931.

Beginning with the administration of Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, initially celebrated as "el nuevo caudillo", rule by the national military remained in place within the so-called 'Republic' under multiple brutal and unpredictable regimes for two decades, none of which proved of any alternative to the historic Liberal-Conservative rivalry. Even despite continuing to hold elections throughout the years, only military candidates were allowed to run for most public offices, especially the Presidency, for a long time. Only as of 1945, after the resignation of Hernández Martínez, had the military allowed civil nominees alongside it's Corps of Officers and, since, many have attempted to win the presidential race, only to beaten by voter intimidation and ballot stuffing to favor candidates from the Partido Revolucionario de Unificación Democrática, the military's official political front. In fact, elections that year were boycotted by every licentiate in the running carrying accusations against the incumbent, Col. Osmín Aguirre, eluding that the party fraudulently produced conditions in which to ensure the victory of his preferred successor, Salvador Castaneda Castro, also holding the rank of Colonel in the Salvadoran Army.

Meanwhile, the former landowning elite, the familias had changed in order to fit the times. In addition, their enterprises had been saved from ruin with the outbreak of the Second World War. So, during the post-war years many of these families reformed their aged, feudal clan dynasties into 9 suit-and-tie business conglomerates headed by powerful investors, Grupo Cuscatlán, Banagrícola, Banco Salvadoreño, Banco de Comercio, Grupo Agrisal, Grupo Poma, Grupo de Sola, Grupo de Olmos, and Grupo Hill. In this way, many of the familias were able to find their way back into San Salvador's political scene, rubbing shoulders with the who's who of government, industrial, and academic circles. Well on into the mid-1950s, these business groups had politicians, military staff, labor and trade unions either indebted to them or on payroll altogether. They soon leveraged these positions to neatly fit their goals of installing themselves, family members, and or otherwise desirable persons into seats of government to the benefit and unchecked expansion of corporate interests. It was also a common consensus among the fourteen families to restore the government to civil rule, as well as reduce the military's power to it's inherent role in unerring service as a subordinate agency to a civic administration and furthermore to accept it's superseding of the martial apparatus, which, for at least the past 20 years had been considered the ultimate authority in El Salvador. Though they partially feared the reverse-transition of power, the abundant disapproval for the terribly mismanaged military juntas in the eyes of the general public aided opportunity to demand a fair election in the 1962 presidential race, wherein several non-military nominees entered bids of candidacy against the military-endorsed hopeful, Lt.-Col. Julio Adalberto Rivera Carballo.

The end result would come as somewhat of a surprise for some, but not for all. Wilton Efrain Olmos y Ettinger, a wealthy mogul representing Unificación Democrática, won the popular vote by a generous margin and beat out two other opponents alongside Carballo, who was believed to have had the election initially. When conducted without impunity and fradulence, the military swiftly lost it's platform of power and consequently, the trust of the people. Even if it meant knowingly electing the rule of a wealthy bourgeoisie class, the average Salvadoran preferred any alternative. All reverence at one time shown to the Armed Forces had been eroded by economic mismanagement, tax fund misappropriation, mass arrests, and senseless massacre, leaving Salvadoreños feeling as though they were under the boot of foreign occupational forces, except in actuality it was indeed their own countrymen.

—

[spoiler=[sub]DIOS, UNION, Y LIBERTAD![/sub]] Adriatican Islands Amsterwald Anglo Channel Arcanda Cascadla Cheezaslovakia Connomia East Germany Ddr Greater Adriatican State Great Britain Gb Greater Kurdistane Israelli Kewtpuff Kotakuan Ii Ma-Li Maziya Metropolitan Francais Mutawakkiliti Neepal Nevbrejnovitz Newauroria New Provenance Nileia Nippon-Nihon Osivoii Paramountica Paseo Peking Zhongguo Pontianus Provenancia Ranponian Rio De La Plata Argentina Rutannia Saudi Arabiyah Socialist Democratic Republic Romania Spainard Sudesam The Confederate Prussian Empire Vancouver Straits Victoria Harbor Virnall [/spoiler]

Paramountica, Amsterwald, The Great Expanses, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Ranponian, Nippon-Nihon, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Maziya, Ma-Li, Mutawakkiliti, Caribbean Free Enterprise Zone

[list][list]SHOWA 41 | APRIL 1966[/list]

[list][list]上野 晶子 様

[pre]MS. AKIKO UENO[/pre][/list][/list]

[pre] T H E C H R Y S A N T H E M U M ¹ [/pre]

[list][list][sub][pre] オー・スネイル 富士山に登ろう でも、ゆっくり、ゆっくり

O Snail; Climb Mount Fuji But slowly, slowly![/pre][/sub][/list][/list]

TOKYO, IMPERIAL PALACE — AFTERNOON

[sub]THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN, Nippon-Nihon[/sub]

| With 6-year-old PRINCE HIRO now old enough to attend primary school, this has caused conflict between his mother, the Crown Princess, and his grandmother, the Empress. On one hand, MICHIKO wanted her son to attend a public school, and on the other, NAGAKO wanted her grandson to attend a prestigious school. Knowing that MICHIKO would not give up on her decision, the Empress informed her husband, the Emperor. A meeting will be held to discuss which school the future monarch will attend. Gakushūin is an educational institution that covers pre-school through higher education, created in 1847 to educate the children of Japanese nobility, having been reformed in 1947. Both the Emperor and Empress are in favor of members of the Imperial House having a privileged education. At the Imperial Palace, an atmosphere of tension hangs in the air with the arrival of the Crown Princess. MICHIKO bowed politely to her mother-in-law and father-in-law. |

[list]| HIROHITO, [sub]H.I.M. THE EMPEROR[/sub] | “I will not accept Prince Hiro attending a public school.”[/list]

[list][list]私はヒロ王子が公立学校に通うことを受け入れません。[/list][/list]

[list]| MICHIKO, [sub]THE CROWN PRINCESS[/sub] | “But this would make the future Emperor even closer to his future subjects.”[/list]

[list][list]しかし、これは将来の皇帝を将来の臣民にさらに近づけることになります。[/list][/list]

[list]| HIROHITO, [sub]H.I.M. THE EMPEROR[/sub] | “The Imperial House is already close to the people, there is no need to get any closer.”[/list]

[list][list]皇室はすでに国民の近くにあり、これ以上近づく必要はない。[/list][/list]

| While the Emperor drinks tea, the Empress says the following words. |

[list]| NAGAKO, [sub]H.I.M. THE EMPRESS[/sub] | “Gakushūin is an educational institution that educates children of the Imperial family and this must be maintained.”[/list]

[list][list]学習院は皇族の子弟を教育する教育機関であり、これは維持されなければなりません。[/list][/list]

[list]| MICHIKO, [sub]THE CROWN PRINCESS[/sub] | “We should surround Prince Hiro with middle and lower-class children, making him a ruler who understands that there is much more to life than luxurious palaces.”[/list]

[list][list]私たちはヒロ王子を中流階級と下流階級の子供たちで囲い、人生には豪華な宮殿以上のものがあることを理解する統治者にすべきです。[/list][/list]

[list]| HIROHITO, [sub]H.I.M. THE EMPEROR[/sub] | “Prince Hiro will attend Gakushuin Elementary School. The rules will not be broken.”[/list]

[list][list]宏親王は学習院初等科に進学される。 ルールは破られません。[/list][/list]

| After the Emperor finished speaking, a tall man in his early 30s wearing an elegant suit approached the Crown Prince saying that he had some ceremonies to attend. AKIHITO and MICHIKO stood up from their seats, bowed to the Emperor and Empress, and walked to the door. |

TOKYO, GAKUSHUIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL — MORNINGTIME

[sub]THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN, Nippon-Nihon[/sub]

[pre]▌9th of APRIL 1966.[/pre]

| PRINCE HIRO’s first day of school arrived. For a long time, MICHIKO was opposed to enrolling her son, the future monarch, in a privileged school, but after a meeting with the Emperor and Empress, she will now allow PRINCE HIRO to attend Gakushuin Elementary School. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess made a point of accompanying their son on his first day of school. One of the school’s teachers, 37-year-old Ms. AKIKO UENO, was waiting for PRINCE HIRO. |

[list]| MICHIKO, [sub]THE CROWN PRINCESS[/sub] | “Have a good school day!”[/list]

[list][list]良い学校生活を過ごしてください![/list][/list]

| AKIKO takes PRINCE HIRO’s hand. |

[list]| AKIKO UENO, [sub]TEACHER[/sub] | “Say bye to Mom, Your Highness.”[/list]

[list][list]殿下、お母さんにお別れを言いましょう。[/list][/list]

| PRINCE HIRO, smiling, said. |

[list]| NARUHITO, [sub]THE PRINCE HIRO[/sub] | “Bye.”[/list]

[list][list]さよなら[/list][/list]

| MICHIKO and AKIHITO waved to PRINCE HIRO before getting into the car. Although her plan to enroll her eldest son in a public school failed, MICHIKO will fight to gain more prominence in the family, making public appearances separate from her husband’s. The future Empress wants to be more than her husband’s shadow, but always respecting the traditions of the Imperial House. |

[sub]¹ A Series: THE CHRYSANTHEMUM, Even before the engagement was announced, Empress Nagako was firmly opposed to the marriage of her son, Imperial Prince Akihito, to the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, Michiko Shōda.[/sub]

[sup]PREVIOUS CHAPTERS —

DEC ‘65 | Sencha in the Imperial Garden

NOV ‘65 | Prince Aya of Japan

APR ‘59 | The Royal Wedding

OCT ‘58 | The Empress and the Future Empress[/sup]

Paramountica, Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Ranponian, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Maziya, Ma-Li, Mutawakkiliti, Poland1St, Caribbean Free Enterprise Zone

[list]May 1966

[sub]The 1966 Presidential Election[/sub][/list]

[pre]T H E N E W S O C I E T Y[/pre]

[list][pre]By a slim margin,

Vice President Ferdinand Marcos of the Nacionalista Party

is elected President of the Third Republic of the Philippines.[/pre][/list]

| it would be the first televised presidential election in the country's history. The ownership of televisions by households had surged nationwide in the mid-60s, and many news networks now saw the potential to deliver election results faster than ever. Many people would also be following along with the results, significantly more than in 1962; both presidential candidates had driven up turnout and both opposing bases were motivated and enthusiastic. Polls indicated a dead heat race between Nacionalista Party candidate FERDINAND MARCOS and Liberal Party candidate GENARO MAGSAYSAY. Marcos was expected to ride on the waves of landslides in Luzon and support from rural farmers to victory, while Magsaysay was leaning on urban cities and the southernmost region of Mindanao to win. On election day, voters marched out to their precincts and cast their votes, not only for President, but for their senators, congressmen, governors and local level officials as well, such as the barangay captain. |

| Political analysts discussed the results as the evening went by, and manual counting continued. Early results showed Magsaysay overperforming in the cities, while Marcos was coming up stronger than usual in the northern Luzon stronghold of Baguio City. The voters went to sleep, and by morning, a winner had been unofficially declared by the networks. |

[list][pre]1966 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULTS - 100% OF VOTES COUNTED

FERDINAND MARCOS SR - NACIONALISTA - 3,749,183 VOTES - 50.43%

Genaro Magsaysay - Liberal - 3,651,792 votes - 49.12%[/pre][/list]

| MARCOS' VICTORY came as no surprise to many. They had expected the charismatic former Senate President and Vice President to win the top seat in Malacanang, but the surprise came in the margin of victory. Many had been predicting a 51-47 race, especially since Marcos was overperforming in Luzon and the Calabarzon region particularly. Senator Magsaysay conceded the election race that morning, contacting Vice President Marcos as per the standard tradition after every presidential election. The center-right Nacionalista Party would be celebrating the results throughout the day; they had held on to Malacanang, and held on to the Senate. Against all odds, they also held on to the House of Representatives by a narrow majority despite losing seats. The Liberal Party made some gains in the Senate, shrinking the Nacionalista majority by one seat, thanks to the popularity of Tarlac governor turned Senator-elect NINOY AQUINO - who was outspoken in his support for Magsaysay, and opposition to Marcos. |

| Several days after his election victory, Marcos addressed the nation by television address on 14 May 1966, declaring his ambitious intentions for the next four years in government. "A New Society will be built and formed from the ground up," Marcos declared, "in a way that will empower the common Filipino and allow for unprecedented levels of growth". He laid out his plans to build a massive infrastructure network that spanned the nation and committed to doubling the military budget and strengthening the Philippine defense industry. "In light of the crisis in Vietnam, we must be able to stand firmly against the threat of communism and we must not give way to those who wish to destroy our way of life," he said. |

| The transition process would begin right away, with the outgoing Osias administration offering its "fullest support" to the incoming Marcos administration. In Liberal areas, there was a solemn atmosphere, but cautiously optimistic. While Magsaysay had inspired hope that the Liberal Party could return to Malacanang Palace since Roxas, Marcos had presented himself as a sensible, charismatic and inspiring personality. A poll on 20 May showed that 65% of voters were hopeful about the Marcos administration. Only time will tell whether his bold plans for a "Bagong Lipunan" ("New Society") will hold steady. |

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1750179

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Greater Adriatican State

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

The Confederate Prussian Empire

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Ranponian, Nippon-Nihon, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Maziya, Ma-Li, Mutawakkiliti, Poland1St, Capre French

K'an bèn, Manden! (Goodbye Mali!)

1966

When Mali began it was an idea. One of what Africa could be at its best. One undivided by class, ethnicity, or imperialism.

The idea took many shapes. During its earliest years, some advocated for Market Socialism and Council Democracy. These young idealists were inspired by the purest distilled version of the Soviet Revolutions, undeterred by reality, and truly believing in socialism.

After them came the multi-party socialist democracy advocates. Slightly more grounded in reality, they dreamed of a nation of leftists no longer squabbling upon petty differences.

From them was born the One Party State Marxist-Leninists. Their reign was short, but they transformed the state many times, inspired by ideas of Vietnam and Cuba’s successes but unable to agree with anyone.

Lastly, Frédéric Guirma, an unassuming artist and poet shattered the four-year chain of leftism, with the sobering reality of center-right-wing democracy, inspired by the East Asian Models. His rule was not perfect but by far the most grounded in reality. Torn away were the vestiges of idealism, only leaving behind an authoritarian democracy, where the people could be free, but safe, their children educated, and fed.

Nonetheless, after 5 years of struggle, of writing, of justification, of research, of speeches, the dream finally came to an end.

First was Guinea, a country never meant to be in the Federation, for Ahmed Sékou Touré and Charles De Gaulle could never agree on terms. So they would be the first stripped from Mali.

The second was Upper Volta. Unstable and dependent on French and Cote d’Ivoire aid it too was dead on arrival.

Third was The Gambia. Nationalistic and bent on free trade, the Gambians would never accept joining the Federation lying down. So they became the third to split off.

Then we have French Sudan and Senegal. The two who made it into the Federation. Split between the converging dreams of Léopold Senghor, poet, WW2 vet, and pro-French advocate, and Modibo Keïta, the Red Prince carrying the name of a long-dead Empire. Their dreams were incompatible, one bent on pro-Western pacifism, and the other Soviet-style governance. Their breakup came from a simple train ride with no windows.

As Mali fades away, and its people stagger into their new stories under different people, may the dream of what was be remembered, and what could've been.

Amsterwald, The Great Expanses, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Ranponian, Nippon-Nihon, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Maziya, Mutawakkiliti, Poland1St

Red Secret Meeting

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]Houses of Qabbaytah tribe, Sultanate of Lahj

7 April 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]In one of the tents of the Qabbaytah tribe in the desert north of the Sultanate of Lahj met. Ibrahim al-Amiri, a worker in the port of Al-Hudaydah and leader of Al-Shaab Organization, and Jarallah al-Shaabi, a teacher in Aden and the second man in the Popular Front for the Liberation of South Yemen, A dialogue took place between the comrades about joint cooperation to start an armed struggle against British colonialism (Great Britain Gb) in the south Yemen, they agreed to open a channel of communication with the Soviet government (Zeitenwende) to request weapons to begin their armed struggle. A member of the Al-Shaab Organization will travel to contact the Soviets through their embassy in Cairo this month.[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Ranponian, Nippon-Nihon, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Poland1St

[list]

март

1 9 6 6

[list]

[sub]UZBEK SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLIC

Ўзбекистон Совет Социалистик Республикаси[/sub][/list][/list]

| ITNRIGUE, ALLIANCES, AND A SPIDER'S WEB OF LOYALTIES: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SOCIALIST KHANATE |

[list][sub][sup]Tashkent, Uzbek SSR[/sub][/sup]

[list][sub]| A complicated web of patronage, loyalties, and clan-based relations had once allowed Sharof Rashidov to be the strongest man in the Uzbek republic, however this web could not save our hero when he threw his support behind the failed coup attempt against Khrushchev, eventually leading to support from the higher ups in Moscow helping facilitate his removal in late 1965. Yet, this removal was not smooth, far from it, the aforementioned web of patronage still maintained a strong hold over the SSR, and the factions which jointly cooperated to remove Rashidov had not agreed on succession. However as a compromise, Rafig Nishanov, an experienced hand of the Fergana clan was chosen as a compromise candidate between the Tashkent and Bukhara clans. |[/sub]

[sub]| However while initially a compromise, Nishanov has quickly established himself as a strong contender and influential member, filling many posts with those of the Fergana clan and building his own patronage network, especially with the black market sellers of Uzbekistan who had garnered much behind the scenes influence in the last few month. Opposite to Nishanov, Rahmonqui Qurbonov had been making alliances with members of the Uzbek Communist Party to also lay the foundations to mount a challenge for leadership. Interestingly, while Qurbonov had stuck to regional loyalities to his clan, Nishanov had eschewed full clan loyalty to building a network of competent technocrats of diverse backgrounds. |[/sub]

[sub]| One such example was the quick rise of Seid Tairov to the post of Premier of the Council of Ministers of Uzbek, or just the Premier of Uzbek SSR. Tairov, a member of the Crimean Tatar ethnic group inside Uzbek, had established himself as a highly competent technocrat in the region of Akkurgan, exceeding cotton production quotas and achieving five-year plans early, he transformed Akkurgan from a region that was labelled as 'lagging behind' in 1956 to one of the fastest growing and highest-preforming regions of the Uzbek SSR. Tairov's quick rise to Premier raised a few eyebrows, but it confirmed that Nashinov's strategy would prioritize, ironically, a sort of meritocracy built on the foundations of patronage and clan loyalties. |[/sub]

[sub]| This struggle of clan loyalties and promotion based on patronage has aroused foreign analysts to call the state of the Uzbek SSR, a 'Socialist Khanate' as a derogatory way to refer to its current state. Nonetheless, the Uzbek SSR still remains one of the more high preforming and important SSRs in the union, and no matter how succession goes, it is no doubt an important economic and cultural hub. Interestingly, it seems that Nashinov's promotion of technocrats has seen the Kosygin reforms embraced more passionately by the Uzbek Communist Party than elsewhere, with many labeling it as a 'reformist heaven' within the USSR. From more lax handling of religion, to the embrace of Kosygin economic positions. |[/sub]

[sub]| Far from a coincidence, it seems that Rafiq Nashinov is actively targeting patronage himself, this time of Comrade Kosygin, whom he wishes to pledge loyalty as a way to ensure political survival in the heated war that is taking place within the central committee of the Uzbek Communist Party. With sharks circling and waiting for blood, Nashinov would certainly hope to gain the backing of a major political figure in the country, if only to ensure his survival by any means. Nashinov himself is no stranger to reformism, having advocated moderate positions during his career. However in the current time, Nashinov counts on the support of Uzbek technocrats and some of the party apparatus, however he will certainly not be content and major moves are expected by many in coming weeks. |[/sub]

Arcanda, Amsterwald, Ranponian, Nippon-Nihon, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Mutawakkiliti, Poland1St

[list][list][sub]𝙸𝚇.1965[/sub]

[sub]UNA SOCIETÀ FRATTURATA[/sub]

A FRACTURED SOCIETY[/list]

[list][list][pre]New reports on the increasing divides of Italian society.[/pre][/list][/list]

ROMA, REGNO D’ITALIA

[sub][nation=flag]Arcanda[/nation][/sub][/list]

[list]| With the growing importance of sociology, and a freer environment for socio-economic and socio-historical studies, a new concept has emerged among the specialists of the field as 1966 draws near: That of pillarizzazione, or pillarisation, a phenomenon attributed to the increasingly consociationalist nature of Italian society, which seems to have only amplified after the fall of Fascism and the rise of the modern consumer society. Drawing from theoretical works from the last few years in Dutch, French and American universities, more and more Italian scholars from the newer generation have highlighted such a phenomenon in Italy. It posits that society suffers from multiple fractures, which pushes different groups to distinctly coagulate and remain separate, in the fashion of several pillars supporting an edifice. [URL=https://www.nationstates.net/page=rmb/postid=52025788]North against South[/url]; industrial North against the small entreprise-led Middle Italy and the agricultural and family-dominated South; university-educated, liberal or left-leaning, Republican [url=https://www.nationstates.net/page=rmb/postid=50901953]Northern and Middle regions[/url] against the [url=https://www.nationstates.net/page=rmb/postid=50923503]Monarchist and Catholic[/url] South; finally, the non-integration of Southern workers in North, against the relatively easy integration of [url=https://www.nationstates.net/page=rmb/postid=51888095]repatriated Istriots and Venetians[/url]. Within these different regions, daily life is also affected; with Southerners and Northerners having little to no interaction, living in distinct neighborhoods and spending their free time in different places, churches and associations—in the cities featuring a Southern minority, for instance. Another application of pillarisation is in politics, where supporters of the DC and PCI have each their own trade unions, sports clubs, gathering spaces and media; the Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori being affiliated with the Democrazia Cristiana, and the Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro with the Partito Comunista Italiano. Even within the all-encompassing public broadcaster Radiotelevisione italiana, the RAI 1 channel is strongly affiliated with the DC, both in terms of staff and audience, while the RAI 2 is affiliated with the Partito socialista. |

| It is argued that only the positive economic situation, and the working nature of all organizations, has kept the Italian edifice standing; furthermore, all parties previously mentioned work towards the same general goals of greater access to wealth, but with different ideologies (The compassionate Catholic statism of one [url=https://www.nationstates.net/page=rmb/postid=52178347]Amintore Fanfani[/url] against the communist materialism of the late [url=https://www.nationstates.net/page=rmb/postid=52691885]Togliatti[/url]). However, no formal recognition of those social divides exist, leaving them in the shadows and thus presenting a risk of misunderstanding or worse, severe malfunction by the lack of a unifying common denominator beyond the language. According to some scholars, the crisis runs deeper and well beyond the post-war era symptoms now explained by pillarization; even language is affected by an unknown and strange Italian disease. Indeed, there is no Italian word for "Mr." or "Mrs."—The two equivalents, Signore and Signorina, being reserved for the nobility as the equivalents of "Lord" and "Lady" (lest comedic effect is sought by addressing a commoner with such titles). As such, members of society address each other by resorting to an unwritten code containing hundreds of honorifics. One may be called by his aristocratic title, his military rank, his degree or function. For instance, a land surveyor working in construction would be addressed as "Geometra" instead of "sir". |

| However, it is doubtful that any change will be made to either problem, due to their deep-rooted social and geographical natures. For now, it remains a niche subject among younger researchers, never addressed in politics and restrained to the small, and not always well-regarded, area of sociology. It should, however, provide a decent explanation when it comes to the paradoxes and malfunctions of the country. |[/list]

[list][list][list][spoiler=[sub]Commonwealth of Liberty[/sub]

EVVIVA L'ITALIA!

—]

[nation]Adriatican Islands[/nation]

[nation]Al-Oman[/nation]

[nation]Amsterwald[/nation]

[nation]Arcanda[/nation]

[nation]Brazil Toucan[/nation]

[nation]Cascadla[/nation]

[nation]Cheezaslovakia[/nation]

[nation]Connomia[/nation]

[nation]East Germany DDR[/nation]

[nation]Great Britain GB[/nation]

[nation]Greater Kurdistane[/nation]

[nation]Israelli[/nation]

[nation]Kewtpuff[/nation]

[nation]Kotakuan II[/nation]

[nation]Ma-li[/nation]

[nation]Maziya[/nation]

[nation]Metropolitan Francais[/nation]

[nation]Neepal[/nation]

[nation]Nevbrejnovitz[/nation]

[nation]Newauroria[/nation]

[nation]New Provenance[/nation]

[nation]Nileia[/nation]

[nation]Nippon-Nihon[/nation]

[nation]OsivoII[/nation]

[nation]Paramountica[/nation]

[nation]Paseo[/nation]

[nation]Peking Zhongguo[/nation]

[nation]Pontianus[/nation]

[nation]Provenancia[/nation]

[nation]Ranponian[/nation]

[nation]Rutannia[/nation]

[nation]Saudi Arabiyah[/nation]

[nation]Socialist Democratic Republic Romania[/nation]

[nation]Spainard[/nation]

[nation]Sudesam[/nation]

[nation]Turkiye 1st[/nation]

[nation]Vancouver Straits[/nation]

[nation]Victoria Harbor[/nation]

[nation]Vietnam SV[/nation]

[nation]Virnall[/nation]

[/spoiler][/list][/list]

Amsterwald, Ranponian, Nippon-Nihon, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Mutawakkiliti, Poland1St

[ Death of Salazar: Part 1 ]

[ Lisbon, Portugal: 13th of March, 1965 ]

Because of the ongoing fighting in Angola more than their other overseas colonies, things have become tense in the current reigning government. Mostly because of the fact that Salazar has been holding the military back, from the point of view of many officers who are not brave enough to say it. The fighting has not been the primary issue, the main issue has been the lack of complete and overall support from the government. Many are finding it more and more problematic, as it seems the government has gotten cold feet after what occurred with India. When in actuality, what is needed is more aggression and control over the ongoing events in the colonies. Everything from shutting down the rebels more successfully, to hunting them down to their very hideouts. The actions of doing so would bring about a lot of casualties, but the hope would be to ensure total destruction of the enemy in the field. Currently, Salazar was standing in his office and looking out the window of the room itself. Silence permeated the room, as both military officers and other members of the immediate government waited for Salazar to speak or to make his thoughts known. One officer in particular was Alexandre Silva, he was a colonel in the commando regiment and one of the youngest officers in the room. Unfortunately, the wider Portuguese military looked down on those that forsake further progress in rank and stature, which Alexandre himself did. Standing off to the side, he was also differently dressed than the other officers and was wearing his camouflage uniform and holding his red beret in his hand. The man’s eyes were solely focused on Salazar, beginning to question the point of this so called meeting if the old man was just going to stand there and be so silent. Unknown to any of them, Salazar felt his health getting worse and worse over the last few years. The stress of the office itself starting to finally wear down on him, and he believed the time was coming closer and closer to seeing who would replace him. He of course didn’t trust a majority of the military officers, or even those within his own departments of the government. With his failing health, his paranoia increased more and more. The result of which was more secret police arrests, even arresting loyal officers before quickly releasing them.

[ PM Salazar: ] “I called you all here to discuss a matter important to the state, one of which I have no doubt will cause an issue when the time comes.” Salazar commented to them, causing many to look at him with raised brows. Turning around, Salazar breathed out as he took at seat at his desk. “I believe that the time is growing closer to start looking for my successor, a matter I wish to have rectified before the end of the year.”

[ Major Silva: ] “Sir, who do you think amongst any of us could take your place?” The question hung in the air, as Alexandre was the first man to speak amongst all of them assembled without being questioned first. Salazar gazed at him, before continuing to speak.

[ PM Salazar: ] “Ultimately I will be making that decision, but as of right now I truly do not know. Truly that was all I needed to speak with you about, you are all dismissed.” His last statement caught them all off guard, but Alexandre didn’t waste any time as he was one for the first out of the door. Being followed closely by Almeida, a general in the Portuguese army and a close friend of Alexandre but much older.

[ General Almeida: ] “What the devil is that old man up to?” He asks Alexandre silently, as both of them are brusquely walking away from the office.

[ Major Silva: ] “I have no idea, sir. I’m wondering if he wants to see us fight over his position like dogs. I’m thinking of what we ourselves can do.” The statement caused an exasperated scoff to leave Almeida, who only shakes his head as they get further and further away from the office.

[ General Almeida: ] “I’m just surprised you’re able to walk and plot at the same time, I’m still trying to process everything.” A expression of annoyance briefly passes across Silva’s face, before he shakes it away and sigh to himself.

[ Major Silva: ] “What we need is to get the other side to see our point of view, leftists as they are, and hopefully find away to get rid of him before the bloodbath begins.” He remarks with a roll of his eyes at Almeida, which makes the older general nod his head in an approving manner.

[ General Almeida: ] “Heads are going to roll it seems.” Even though he did not respond verbally, Silva could not help but silently agree with the general. Head were indeed going to roll, but he only hoped it would not be there’s in the process.

After the group had dispersed from his office, Salazar sat back and silently chuckled to himself. Unbeknownst to them, the announcement he just made was a ploy to see how many of them would openly start plan and scheme against him. A rouse to see how many enemies he had within his own circle, as the man himself truly did not intend to give up power until his dying day. The man had not done a purge like this before, but the method itself had been perfected by one of his nations enemies more than decades before. The enemy was none other than Josef Stalin, who did things such as this to seek out hidden enemies amongst his inner circle. Sighing to himself, Salazar went to pick up his phone to dial the PIDE in order to tell them to keep an eye on all whereabouts of those whom were in the meeting. The man hadn’t been able to dial the first digit, when a sudden sharp and numbing pain passed over his left side. Leaning back into his chair, the man simply sat there as the pain washed over him and there was nothing he could do about it. He didn’t believe he was dying, but something similar to a seizure or stroke. Trying to reach for the phone with his right hand, he collapsed from his chair and hit his head off his desk, knocking him unconscious in the process. Know one heard a sound and there was no one to come to his aid, time would only tell if he would wake up or never see the light of day again.

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Greater Adriatican State

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

The Confederate Prussian Empire

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Amsterwald, Pontianus, Ranponian, Nippon-Nihon, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Mutawakkiliti, Poland1St

First Red Contact

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]Cairo, United Arab Republic

13 April 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]Dr. Aziz al-Ghali traveled to the United Arab Republic under the pretense of tourism, then he went to the Soviet Union embassy in Cairo secretly, and asked to meet the ambassador. Of course it was difficult, and the security officer inquired about the reason for the visit, who refused to disclose the reason until he was able to meet the ambassador himself.[/sup]

[sup]In the meeting, Dr. Al-Ghali introduced himself as the deputy head of the Yemeni Al-Shaab Organization, and told him that they, as communists, needed the help of their comrades in the Soviet Union for their revolutionary struggle against colonialism. He explained that the Al-Shaab Organization allied with the Popular Front for the Liberation of South Yemen in the south in order to begin an armed struggle to liberate the south from British colonialism. They need weapons in order to be able to begin the revolutionary struggle, and he will remain in Cairo for three days and await the response of the Soviet side.

[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Latin Crimea, Poland1St

First day as Yemeni President

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]Republic Palace, Sanaa, Yemen Arab Republic

13 April 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]Lieutenant General Hassan al-Zaidi’s first duties as President of the Yemen Arab Republic, where he was presented with several files that required approval from the President:[/sup]

[sup]The file of the education development plan, which was drawn up by the assassinated Minister Abdul Aziz al-Taghlibi. The plan includes establishing more primary and secondary schools in Outback areas far from cities to replace the kataatiib system, which was the only means of education in Outback areas. He also planned to build the first university in Yemen, which will be built in Sanaa and will include Faculties of law, medicine, pharmacy, engineering, Sharia, arts, commerce, and veterinary medicine, and the Faculty of Agriculture in Sanaa is included in the university.[/sup]

[sup]The file of the health development plan drawn up by the assassinated Minister Dr. Hassan al-Amiri. The plan includes building small clinics to serve villages and be affiliated with the Ministry of Health in Outback areas, and building a hospital in every Outback governorate. Hospitals in the three major cities will also be developed and increased.[/sup]

[sup]The file of completing the agricultural development plan, which was drawn up by Professor Omr al-Kilani, includes building more rain tanks to provide water for agriculture and digging more wells. The plan also includes reducing the current qat cultivation to 50%, that is, to become only 25% of qat cultivation before the start of the plan in 1963. In return, increasing the cultivation of wheat, barley and other crops that will be used in production and export.[/sup]

[sup]Another file is related to building and developing security services, a plan drawn up by Colonel Ali Al-Mahdi, Interim Head of the Internal Security Department, The plan includes forming an intelligence agency and a police agency in order to reduce the role of the army in the fields of security and law enforcement and to create specialists in the security field.[/sup]

[sup]The last file is a plan to form a Yemeni naval force, a plan drawn up by Major General Abdullah al-Sallal, Minister of Defense, in order to create a naval force to secure the shores of Yemen and also so that we can take our role in protecting the Bab al-Mandab Strait from acts of smuggling and piracy, especially if we want to expel colonialism from the region, we must be a strong alternative to secure the important sea lanes. The plan aspires to initially purchase 10 missile boats and send an educational mission of soldiers and officers to one of the Middle Eastern countries that has a navy to train in ship command and naval combat.[/sup]

[sup]Al-Zaidi spent the day in a library among the files, studying them carefully, until a late hour, to see whether the republic’s budget allows for all these plans, or whether there are plans that will be disrupted, and what the priorities are.[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Latin Crimea, Poland1St

[list][pre]APRIL of 1966[/pre][/list]

[list][pre]THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS

Союз Советских Социалистических Республик[/pre][/list]

[pre]SOVIET UNION TO ARM YEMENI ANTI-COLONIALIST GROUPS AND SUPPORT GLOBAL REVOLUTIONARIES AMID INTERNAL FOREIGN POLICY SHIFTS[/pre]

[pre]СОВЕТСКИЙ СОЮЗ ВООРУЖАЕТ ЙЕМЕНСКИЕ АНТИКОЛОНИАЛИСТИЧЕСКИЕ ГРУППЫ И ПОДДЕРЖИВАЕТ ГЛОБАЛЬНЫХ РЕВОЛЮЦИОНЕРОВ НА УСЛОВИЯХ ВНУТРЕННЕПОЛИТИЧЕСКИХ СДВИЖЕНИЙ[/pre]

| [sub]The Soviet ambassador to Egypt at this time was Dmitri Pozhidaev. A Russian foreign ministry official and loyal Communist Party member turned Soviet diplomat, Pozhidaev from his position in Cairo had taken on an outsized role in linking much of the Arab World to Moscow, which was more than happy to provide support to certain groups dedicated to usurping pro-Western regimes. In April of 1966, meetings with a member of the Yemeni Al-Shaab Organization met with the Ambassador to discuss the securing of arms for his organization and for the Popular Front for the Liberation of South Yemen to launch a struggle for independence against British forces. Pozhidaev was a foreign policy hawk and thus entertained the request, and passed it on - with priority - to Moscow for their response. In the halls of the Kremlin it was first received by Minister for Foreign Affairs Andrei Gromyko, and then by First Deputy Premier Alexei Kosygin, who presented it to General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev almost two weeks later.[/sub] |

| [sub]Under the Khrushchev regime, the Soviet Union had maintained its policy and stance of supporting socialist revolutionary movements across the world, from arming resistance groups to making contact with anti-Western organizations. That foreign policy took place strictly behind closed doors and under multiple blankets of secrecy, while on the world stage, Kosygin's reformist faction within the CPSU steered the nation's foreign policy into a more conciliatory tone. While most - if not all - of the communist hardliners of the former Brezhnev faction had by now been ousted, removed, exiled, arrested or made to mysteriously disappear, there remained a large faction of moderates within the CPSU who were opposed to adopting Kosygin's conciliatory foreign policy - which also implied that supporting anti-Western movements in pro-Western or Western territories would no longer be allowed. As the so-called defender of all the peoples not wealthy enough to be considered a part of "Washington's Free World", the USSR benefited heavily from supporting secret organizations and hidden movements. If these movements went into power, the Soviets gained a committed partner on the world stage. If they didn't, business was business, and the Soviet arms indsutry could keep itself mostly afloat.[/sub] |

| [sub]Even despite these ongoing debates on foreign policy, however, Khrushchev and Kosygin both signed off on the request by the Al-Shaab Organization and the Popular Front for small AK arms and explosives to be shipped and sold to them for their struggle against British elements in the region. The entire process was routine and almost mundane for the Soviets at this point, but with Moscow seeking better rapprochement with the United States after a summit in 1965 between U.S. President Lyndon Johnson and General Secretary Khrushchev, the question of whether or not the Soviet Union truly held the responsibility of arming resistance groups and freedom fighter organizations was becoming ever-larger on the table of agendas for discussion by the all-powerful Central Committee.[/sub] |

____

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Greater Adriatican State

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

The Confederate Prussian Empire

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Arcanda, Amsterwald, The Great Expanses, Pontianus, Nippon-Nihon, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Latin Crimea, Mutawakkiliti, Poland1St

Just a quick question, what is the RMB Screen of the commonwealth of liberty?

The Great Expanses

[list]

апрель

1 9 6 6

[list]

[sub]UZBEK SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLIC

Ўзбекистон Совет Социалистик Республикаси[/sub][/list][/list]

| UZBEK FILM BECOMES THE NEW BATTLEFIELD FOR CLAN WARS |

[list][sub][sup]Samarkand, Uzbek SSR[/sub][/sup]

[list][sub]| The Uzbekfilm Studio lot was home to one of the most elaborate sets in recent memories, a faithful recreation to 14th century Samarkand. the 'Tale of Ulugh Beg', one of the first full-scale big-budgeted epics in recent memory, follows Timurid Sultan as he oversaw Timirud renaissance with Uzbekistan in its heart. However from day one, the film has been host to many battles and even political intrigue. From the massive budget that has been criticized for diverting important resources, to the fact that many of the crew had only gotten approval due to direct connections with the Uzbek Communist Party, its fair to say the ride hasn't been exactly smooth. Nonetheless, the shooting of the film has so far been a success, producing some of the most high quality scenes in Uzbek history. |[/sub]

[sub]| However after a short period of stability for the picture, it seems that the epic has once again been a renewed battle field. With recent factional struggle in the wake of the removal of Sharof Rashidov, the picture's shady history has been once again criticized by portions of the party. However most importantly, it has started a renewed discussion about nationalism and Islamism in the Uzbek SSR. |[/sub]

[sub]| It is no secret that the Soviet Union has worked hard on anti-religious campaigns and anti-nationalism drives since the 20s, it is also no secret that for the most part, these have failed to extinguish the flames of religion. The 'Tale of Ulugh Beg' is of course, not devoid of that context. A movie celeberating an important islamic and national figure, the Uzbek Communist Party has been divided on how to approach it. First-Secretary Rafiq Nishonov's Fergana clan and his associates have been on the side of promoting the movie, arguing that promoting artistic expression will be only beneficial for the Uzbek state, furthermore he argued that the movie portrays Islam as a progressive force that advocates for proletarian values. |[/sub]

[sub]| This has invited attacks and criticism from the Tashkent-Bukhara axis which has called the movie a 'blatant' attempt at inciting nationalist sentiment in the Uzbek SSR, they also attacked Nishonov's connection with the director, whom they share a strong friendship and patronage. The divided nature of the party has meant however that none of the factions could push their policy to the forefront, and has as such led to a deadlock that has worked in favor of the movie, which has continued filming. |[/sub]

The Great Expanses, Nippon-Nihon, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Latin Crimea, Poland1St

[list]America Bound: A Monumental Beginning

[list][pre]Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, signaling a change in India's foreign policy, heads to the United States on a 4 day visit...[/pre][/list]

[list][sup]28 March, 1966[/sup][/list][/list]

[sub]| On March 28th, 1966, Indira Gandhi made history, becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the United States. The lead-up to this monumental occasion has been a few years in the making. Ever since India's defeat in the 1962 Indo-Chinese War and the loss of Aksai Chin, New Delhi has been at work, attempting to secure international backing in the wake of continual tensions with the People's Republic of China. With the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri and the appointment of Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi to the office of Prime Minister, a drastic shift in foreign policy was inevitable. While her predecessor spoke of expanding India's cooperation with the West, he was reluctant to do so out of fear of potentially souring relations with the Soviet Union. Mrs. Gandhi, however, was another animal entirely. With the backing of reformest elements within the Indian National Congress, such as INC President Kumaraswami Kamaraj—and Former Minister of Defense-now Lok Sabha MP V. K. Krishna Menon, a pro-Western approach began to emerge. |[/sub]

[sub]| Almost immediately after Minister of External Affairs Swaran Sardar Singh's return to New Delhi from Bamako, preparations were underway for Indira Gandhi's trip to the United States of America. The mood was apprehensive yet poised as the Prime Minister boarded her flight to Washington. On the way there, the recently appointed head of the Indian Government reviewed her talking points and received a briefing from her aides on US President Lyndon B. Johnson and his personality. Gandhi was informed to remain respectful yet firm in her resolve when speaking to the President, a man known to harangue individuals and use his sheer size to intimidate them. New Delhi's goals were abundantly clear. Aid to India to help stem the food shortages plaguing the nation and military assistance in terms of weapons sales were the main reasons for Gandhi's visit. Another topic, namely the status of Kashmir and India's rightful claim to it all was not part of this summit to avoid unnecessary disagreements that would have hampered Indo-American relations before they could even begin. |[/sub]

[list][sub]Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi, Prime Minister: "...Although all of Kashmir is rightfully Indian, there is a time and place to bring this up. Now is not the time..."[/sub][/list]

[sub]| Upon arriving in the United States, Mrs. Gandhi was showered with fanfare and jubilation. Everything from the outfit she wore to her interactions with the press, was rehearsed. Her goal was to sell herself to the Americans as a valuable partner. In addition, she also had to present her nation in a positive light to the American people who would be watching the event on their television sets. To the Americans, India was still an exotic land. Indeed, it was on Gandhi's shoulders to do her best to highlight that India was indeed a civilized and developing society. |[/sub]

[sub]| Having stepped foot on American soil, the Prime Minister was escorted to an awaiting motorcade. Once inside her designated car, she was driven from the airport to the White House to meet the President of the United States. The drive from Dulles International Airport to the White House took around 30 minutes. When the motorcade arrived, Mrs. Gandhi was greeted by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who towered over her. The man extended his hand to her for a handshake-which she promptly accepted. |[/sub]

[sub]| Following the formalities, the President and the Prime Minister retired to the Oval Office for a private meeting. Mrs. Gandhi expressed her desire for warm relations with the United States, bringing up India and America's shared ideals and democratic institutions. |[/sub]

[list][sub]Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi, Prime Minister: "...Mr. President, I must say India is a very ancient nation but a young democracy. We look to the United States of America, a nation that has upheld its torch of liberty for the past 190 years, with fondness and respect. I hope that both Washington and New Delhi can work as partners in this ever-changing world and as brightly shining lanterns to those who live in tyranny and oppression..."[/sub][/list]

[sub]| The exchange between Indira Gandhi and LBJ was formal yet warm. For the Indians, the need to expand relations with the Americans was of paramount importance. For the Americans, an India outside of the Soviet sphere of influence, even if it was globally non-aligned, was the objective. With this in mind, President Johnson outlined his proposition to Mrs. Gandhi. |[/sub]

[list][sub]Lyndon Baines Johnson, President: "So may we, Madam Prime Minister, with the permission of your government and the American Congress, launch a new and imaginative venture. We shall call it an Indo-American Foundation. I would propose that this foundation be established in India, and that it be endowed with $300 million in Indian currency owned by the United States. Other foundations all over the world will cooperate, I am sure, with an enterprise of this kind. I would suggest that this foundation be organized as an independent institution, with distinguished citizens of both our countries on its board of directors. I would propose that the new foundation be given a broad charter to promote progress in all fields of learning, to develop new teaching techniques on the farms and in the factories, to stimulate, if you please, new ways to meet old problems."[/sub][/list]

[sub]| Mrs. Gandhi mulled the offer over and with a smile on her face, nodded in approval. Signaling to the President that India would be willing to work with the United States on this venture, helping India out in its time of need and fostering the beginnings of Indo-American cooperation in the 20th Century. |[/sub]

[list][sub]Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi, Prime Minister: "I welcome this proposal, Mister President. Perhaps India and America can work together to make Bharat a better place for its citizens and help bring it out of poverty and hunger and into the modern era with dignity and respect."[/sub][/list]

[sub]| At the conclusion of their meeting, Indira Gandhi was treated to a state dinner on behalf of the Americans. Accompanied by Lady Bird Johnson and her husband the President, the Prime Minister dined with top American officials while her delegation intermingled with the Americans in a sign of friendship, the first of its kind bestowed to any Indian leader. Indira Gandhi's 4-day trip to the United States had only just begun... |[/sub]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Greater Adriatican State

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

The Confederate Prussian Empire

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Arcanda, Amsterwald, The Great Expanses, Nippon-Nihon, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Tallahan, Mutawakkiliti, Poland1St, Katipunero

The Giants Walk Again - Rediscovering Argentina’s Dinosaurs

Nearly 200 million years ago, the Earth looked drastically different than it does today. Its environment was hot and tropical, its continents fused together and upon the land walked great animals dubbed ‘Dinosaurs’ in the modern day. For many centuries, the remains of these strange ancient creatures remained hidden deep underground and away from the eyes of humanity. However, in the mid 17th century, an English naturalist and professor at Oxford University, Robert Plot discovered what is now believed to have been the first Dinosaur fossil. While Plot believed the remains to have belonged to a giant human, it was not until the 19th century when the findings of another researcher, William Buckland confirmed the existence of these beings. Though, even back then, knowledge of Dinosaurs was limited to assumptions and theories.

In the United States, the final decades of the 19th century were marked by the start of the so-called “Bone Wars”, a ruthless competition for the search of fossils in the Western coast of the U.S. The race to find dinosaur remains in the region was spearheaded by two paleontologists, Edward Drinker Cope of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and Othniel Charles Marsh of the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University. Both men developed a heated rivalry which eventually devolved into a quasi-conflict defined by theft, destruction of fossils, violence, espionage, and even hit pieces written in academic journals in an effort to discredit one another. While the Bone Wars caused unnecessary conflict within American academia, it nevertheless brought about a surge in the study of dinosaurs and their remains.

In Argentina, the study of dinosaur fossils had largely been carried out within universities and no organized efforts were made to search for fossils around the country. However, this would all change with the efforts of Florentino Ameghino, considered the father of Argentine paleontology. Ameguino, an Italian immigrant, was a self-taught naturalist and later paleontologist who had led a series of private digs across the Pampas and Patagonia region. Throughout the late 19th century, he amassed one of the largest collections of dinosaur fossils. From 1877 onwards, Ameguino became a leading figure in the search of dinosaur fossils and theories related to the origin of these ancient creatures.

In 1880, Ameguino published his first widely-publicized work titled “La Antigüedad del Hombre en la Plata”, describing various findings he had made related to human habitation in the La Plata estuary. He also discussed his own hypotheses. Later on, he would write other works related to the study of dinosaur fossils and became one of the pioneering researchers in not only the study of dinosaur species, but also the period they lived in. By 1911, Ameghino had written some 24 volumes containing descriptions, theories, hypotheses and analysis of more than 9,000 extinct animals.

During his time, Ameguino received little to no public attention. In fact, President Domingo Faustino Sarmiento once remarked that, “To the common Argentine, Ameguino is a complete stranger, but to the rest of the world he is a mighty pioneer.” Sarmiento, an educator in his youth, took great interest in Ameguino’s work and allocated funds for his numerous digs across the country. The President even expanded funding to the National Academy of Sciences of Argentina, one of the main institutions with which Ameguino had associated. Nearly all of Ameguino’s digs and discoveries were financed by the Argentine government and sponsored by the Argentine Academy of Sciences.

Ameguino died of diabetes in 1911, leaving a legacy that many paleontologists in Argentina continue to follow to this day. Before his death, Ameguino had donated almost his entire collection to the Museo Argentino, a natural history museum which he had helped found alongside Francisco Pascasio Moreno within the campus of the National University of Buenos Aires. Today, large parts of Ameguino's collection are on display at the museum which is now known as the Perito Moreno Museum of Argentine Natural History. The rest of Ameguino’s collection was stored safely in the vaults of the National University of Buenos Aires.

In the modern era, various Argentine paleontologists have continued Ameguino’s legacy, searching far and wide for the remains of these ancient giants. The vast majority of digs and fossil site discoveries have been carried out by the paleontologist José Fernando Bonaparte who was inspired to take up paleontology by the writings of Ameguino. Beginning in the 1950’s, Bonaparte has led dozens of digs across the country which have unearthed the fossils of numerous dinosaurs. His efforts have turned Argentina into one of the leading sources of ancient dinosaur fossils in the world, drawing attention from the paleontology community which seeks to expand humanity’s knowledge of the beings that walked before us.

Nippon-Nihon, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Latin Crimea, Sport-Internationale, Katipunero

International Association Football Federation | Fédération internationale de football association

FIFA World Cup 1966

THE DRAW (PART 1)

---------------------------------------

Welcome everyone to this historic occasion, coming to you live on television for the very first time. 99 teams started qualifying, 32 remain after a series of gut-wrenching, intense and beautiful football and it is now time to set the stage for the greatest sporting spectacle in the world today. We are here at the Royal Garden Hotel in London, joined by footballing royalty and celebrities alike, and tonight will be decided the final draw for the 1966 FIFA World Cup. We have some time before the draw begins so let’s take a brief look at the tournament so far.

This edition of the World Cup will be held in England, the spiritual and physical home of the beautiful game. It seems fitting that football should indeed come home, considering England have only been competing at this level since 1950. In these years however, England have not proven to be the team that many thought that they were. The years in the international wilderness has allowed many other teams to rise to the top ranks of the sport. Argentina, Brazil, Italy and West Germany have all taken the fabled Jules Rimet trophy home, whereas England have never made it past the quarter-finals of the tournament. With the home advantage, many see England as the clear favourites to take home the trophy.

The draw for the tournament this year was expanded from 16 teams to 32 teams. With many new nations joining FIFA in the wake of de-colonisation, the decision was made to increase opportunities for many of these new fledgling nations to compete at the very highest levels of international sport.

The expanded Asian draw saw 5 teams qualify, four of which qualify for the very first time. Korea returned after a dominant qualifying phase, and will be joined by Australia, Japan, Iran and Saudi Arabia. In Africa, a similar story emerged, the United Arab Republic making another World Cup appearance, joined by debutants South Africa, Morocco, Sudan and Zaire. The African football scene was shocked by the sudden withdrawal of Mali, who had qualified ahead of South Africa for the second round, just months before the eventually collapse of the state. The Americas qualified for the first time as a united confederation, with the usual suspects qualifying ahead of the rest. World Champions Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, the Andes, Costa Rica, Honduras and the United States all cemented their places in the final draw. Europe saw ups and downs, with some teams getting painfully close to the ultimate victory, but once again it was the usual suspects qualifying with the exception of debutants Portugal, who look to make an impression on the world stage.

Aside from the qualifying drama, there was further drama that gripped England in the lead-up to this tournament after the fabled Jules Rimet trophy was stolen from Westminster Hall whilst on display. In a shock turn of events that saw the trophy missing for some days and even put up for ransom by would-be criminal masterminds, the trophy was recovered by the most unlikely of heroes. Pickles, a mixed breed collie, sniffed out the legendary cup and his owner David Corbett joins us tonight as he gets the great honour of picking the first team in the draw after hosts England. Pickles will also be joining us here, and is in fact just in shot behind us, clearly overwhelmed with excitement as well he should be!

We now turn to our correspondent in the hotel and the congregation makes their way in to begin the draw. We’ll provide the latest updates and all the opinions on the night as they come to us.

Paramountica, Nippon-Nihon, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Latin Crimea, Mutawakkiliti, Katipunero

What is the rmb screen of the commonwealth of liberty and how do I join

Katipunero

(23/4/1966) The United Republic of Tanzania |

_

[ The Construction of the "Lake Victoria Hydroelectric Project" to begin as Planning Phase concludes ]

______

The Construction, Costs, and Planning of the "Lake Victoria Hydroelectric Project"

Mwanza, the nation's second-largest city and a vital economic center in Tanzania, is poised for transformative development with the imminent commencement of the "Mwanza Hydroelectric Project." The planning phase has concluded, marking the beginning of construction on six strategically positioned dams. These dams, with an estimated cost of $510 million and a projected timeline of 6-7 years, will serve as the primary energy source for Mwanza, along with neighboring cities Musoma and Bokoba, as well as the villages dotting the landscape. The approval of this proposal aligns with the Tanzanian government's forward-looking strategy, as they anticipate a tripling of the Lake Victoria metropolitan area's population within a decade. This ambitious undertaking resonates with the overarching vision outlined during Julius Nyerere's election campaign, where the pursuit of self-sufficiency became a central theme. Nyerere and the CCM aim to initiate their comprehensive master plan for sustainability, beginning with the harnessing of natural energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric power. The strategic move towards eliminating reliance on unsustainable sources, including oil, natural gas, and coal, reflects a commitment to environmental stewardship and long-term energy independence. Nyerere's administration sets a challenging yet inspiring goal: to have 60% of Tanzania's energy derived from sustainable sources by the year 1996, with the ultimate objective of achieving complete self-sufficiency by 2046. Nyerere's unwavering dedication is evident in his statement, "This will be one of the main focuses of our party and administration for Tanzania, and the success of this project will play a huge part in the future of Tanzania. I may not live to see my goal come to reality, but I am willing to do everything I can to materialize our goal. I trust that my successors will carry on our legacy when our time has passed, and that Tanzania will be free from the need for unsustainable sources."

__

Other Initiatives towards Self Sufficiency in the Nation

In alignment with this vision for a sustainable future, Tanzania's self-sufficiency initiative extends its reach far beyond the energy sector. The government, recognizing the interconnectedness of economic, social, and environmental factors, has embarked on a comprehensive strategy to fortify the nation's autonomy. Actively promoting domestic production, the government seeks to bolster industries crucial to Tanzania's growth, fostering innovation and job creation on a local scale. By strategically reducing dependency on foreign markets, Tanzania aims to insulate its economy from external shocks, fostering resilience in the face of global uncertainties. Moreover, significant investments are being made in key sectors such as agriculture, education, and healthcare. Agricultural reforms aim to modernize farming practices, ensuring food security and lifting rural communities out of poverty. Concurrently, educational initiatives focus on enhancing skills and knowledge, empowering Tanzanians to contribute meaningfully to the evolving economic landscape. Healthcare advancements are prioritized, ensuring the well-being of the populace and creating a healthier, more productive workforce.This holistic approach underscores the government's commitment to building a resilient and self-reliant nation. By addressing multifaceted challenges through sustainable policies, Tanzania aims not only for economic growth but also for the holistic development of its people. This integrated strategy reflects a forward-thinking commitment to fostering long-term prosperity, social development, and environmental sustainability for Tanzania in the decades to come.

As the first bricks are laid for the Mwanza Hydroelectric Project, Julius Nyerere's vision becomes a guiding light for Tanzania's journey toward sustainable, energy independence. This milestone not only reflects a commitment to environmental responsibility but also stands as a testament to the resilience and foresight embedded in Tanzanian leadership. In the years to come, the success of this initiative will echo beyond a dependable energy source, symbolizing Tanzania's ability to navigate challenges, innovate, and shape a future that intertwines economic prosperity with environmental consciousness. The hydroelectric project is not just infrastructure; it embodies a collective national aspiration for a resilient, forward-thinking, and harmonious future. This ambitious endeavor not only transforms Mwanza and the Lake Victoria Metropolitan area but also serves as a beacon, inspiring the nation to chart a course toward prosperity and sustainability.

______________________

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Al-Jammahirya Al-Arabiyya

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Nevbrejnovitz

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Vietnam Sv

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Mutawakkiliti, Islas Katipunero, Zingium

International Association Football Federation | Fédération internationale de football association

FIFA World Cup 1966

THE DRAW (PART 2)

---------------------------------------

It’s been a tense night here at the Royal Garden Hotel, we’ve seen some shocks in the draw and some highlights as the teams leave here now knowing their order of play and who they will face in the FIFA World Cup this June. We are joined here with some of footballs premier analysts to discuss the draw tonight and assess how we think the tournament will go from here.

The teams have been draw into eight groups of four teams, with spots allocated by Group:Position (i.e. A1, B2, C3). This is the largest draw in FIFA World Cup history and we’ve already seen some interesting groups emerge. I think it goes without saying that everyone came in here a little nervous about who they would be drawn with and some have probably left feeling even more nervous about it, but the World Cup is the place where anything can happen, and I think we can expect some shocks in this draw.

Let’s talk through the groups and our predictions for the tournament.

Group A

Hosts England have been automatically drawn into Group A and will play our first match. Alongside them in A2 will be Mexico, the dominant North American side. In A3, we see Morocco, debutants in the tournament and hoping to put on a strong showing for Africa in this group. In A4 we see Benelux, low in the rankings after a few years of disappointing displays but back in the tournament after a hiatus.

I think it’s fair to say that England are the favourites the proceed to the knockout stages, the home advantage cannot be understated in tournaments like this and England have been looking strong in the lead-up to this tournament, ranking high amongst Europe and the World. Mexico indeed look in a good position to challenge that, as well as Benelux who will be looking to revive their performances and make a strong impression in their first tournament back. Morocco will definitely be the dark horses of the group and although they face some serious competition, I think it would be unfair to underestimate them.

Group B

Italy lead the group in position B1, the two-time world champions potentially looking to make it a third this year. Bulgaria take position B2, the south-eastern European team boasting some strong players after a successful qualifying campaign. Costa Rica, our latest debutants from Central America, take B3 and will hope to make an impression, as will Australia in B4, the top Asian qualifiers and one of the strongest teams in qualifying.

Italy will be hoping to take a clean sweep in the group and advance as early as they can to take the advantage in the knockout stages. Costa Rica would appear to be the minnows of the group but as with all American teams its impossible to predict and they may yet shock us in this tournament. I think the second place in the group will be a battle between the Bulgarian side and the Australians, both teams look solid heading into the tournament and I think it will be a race to get the all important spot in the knockout stages.

Group C

Defending champions Brazil take position C1, the second-favourites to win the title this year. They are joined by reigning European champions Spain in C2, who had a difficult qualifying campaign but should not be underestimated. Sudan join them in C3, the African trailblazers that have secured their first ever world cup appearance. Iran takes C4 and will be eager to face the challenges of the group.

Although anything can happen I think the general consensus is Brazil and Spain to advance to the knockout stages. Although it would be nice to see some shocks in this group, having a world champion and continental champion in the same group is insurmountable to many. Iran and Sudan are fairly equal and many can’t call it, though some will be expecting Sudan, who enjoyed victories against some serious teams in Africa, to come out better of the two.

Group D

The Soviet Union take position D1, the Soviets looking to be outsider favourites for the title this year. They are joined by Yugoslavia in D2, one of the strongest teams in Europe and a match-up that could cause sparks to fly. The Andes take position D3, facing some strong odds but once again, cannot be underestimated. Newcomers Zaire will join in D4, facing one of the toughest groups so far and definitely looking to make a mark, hopefully one of success.

Again, I think we’re looking at the Soviets and the Yugoslavians taking the top two spots, just by statistics and history alone, but we can’t discount the Andes just yet. South American football has a certain flair to it that sometimes overwhelms European sides, and it will be curious to see how those sides match up, though I think it’s definitely a long shot. Zaire are in a precarious situation but anything can happen, and I’m sure many will be backing the underdogs in this group.

Group E

West Germany take position E1, a strong team with some of the best players in Europe and the World, looking to take a second world title. Norden, a fellow European giant in football, take position E2 and set the stage to reignite old rivalries. Honduras come into position E3, and like other debutants, will be hoping to shock the world. Saudi Arabia run into E4, the Asian qualifiers who almost didn’t make it.

West Germany are definite favourites to make it through, they are the top team and favourites and I think it will take a miracle to displace them from the top spot. Norden are the second-favourites, despite some poor performances in previous years they are still a very strong and experienced side. Honduras are the dark horses of the group, and they may yet prove to cause some shocks for the Europeans. Saudi Arabia face a difficult road ahead, but many believe they might have some shocks lined up for their rivals in the group.

Group F

Argentina take position F1, the Argentine side looking strong heading into the tournament. The United Arab Republic join them in position F2, and will be hoping to make a strong impression after their qualifying campaign. France join the group in F3, the veteran European side ranking low but still deadly on the pitch. The United States take F4 and will be looking to cause some upsets.

This group is difficult to call, all the teams have experience and are strong in their own rights. I think Argentina will be the favourites to advance but they may struggle against France, who will be wanting to put themselves in a strong position for the next round. The United Arab Republic will be wanting to get out of the group stages for the first time and will undoubtedly bring everything they have, as will the United States, former third place finishers at the tournament, who will want to come out of their years in wilderness and cause some upsets.

Group G

Czechoslovakia lead the way in G1, the runners-up of the 1962 tournament will be hoping to keep up their performance and maybe convert this year into a win. Korea have looked strong in qualifying and will want to challenge the top team in G2. Portugal, Europe’s only debutant, come in G3 and with the terrifying Eusebio in front, they will be a force to be reckoned with. Finally, Colombia take G4, and are hungry to make it out of the group stages.

Another tough one to call, a lot of potential upsets here and it’s very difficult to call. Czechoslovakia are the favourites to advance but they face some serious competition. Korea could very easily advance with their recent performances, Portugal want their first World Cup performance to be one to remember, and Colombia want to cement their position in the annals of South American football history. All bets are off with this one, we’ll have to see how the group will go.

Group H

Hungary take position H1, one of the strongest teams in Europe and a deadly side to contend with. South Africa join them in H2, the unlikely qualifiers after the withdrawal of Mali, will want to prove they belong in the tournament. Poland come in H3, a strong side who have had a poor run in recent years but continue to push for better performances. Japan come in H4, the Asian side who look dangerous even against the odds.

Hungary are obvious favourites to advance, they are a veteran side, deadly in front of goal, I think we could see a very strong performance from them here. South Africa and Poland are outside favourites but they will be competing, no doubt, for the second spot in the knockout stages. Japan are the dark horses of this group, there are some who think they can pull off some shocks but of course, it still remains to be seen.

With the draw set, the teams will start arriving in England to begin their preparations. From us, that’s everything for tonight, and we’ll see you all again for the opening ceremony and the opening match between England and Benelux at Wembley Stadium on June 30.

Paramountica, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Katipunero, Zingium

THE CAPE TIMES | IN ENGLISH

DIE KAAPSE TYE | IN AFRIKAANS

IZIKHATHI ZIKAPA | IN ZULU

AMAXESHA EKAPA | IN XHOSA

Birth of a Nation: Union of South Africa Emerges in 1910

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]April 1966

Article by Edward Hastings, The Cape Times[/list][/sup]

In the annals of history, 1910 stands as a watershed moment for the African continent, witnessing the birth of the Union of South Africa. Culminating from a meticulous arrangement and consolidation of diverse colonies and lands under the British Empire’s rule, the formation Federation was heralded as a turning point in Africa, the a shift from centuries of colonial rule and exploitation towards self-rule and independence. However, behind the celebratory fervor lay the shadows of persistent socio-political challenges that marked its infancy.

The formation of this Union brought together the Cape Colony, Castlereagh Colony, Basutoland Protectorate, and Orange River Colony. A great nation was being forged, though not without noticeable gaps, as the Natal Colony chose a delayed entry, hesitating for a year before finally joining in 1911. Meanwhile, Transvaal, Stellaland, and Swaziland remained outside the Union, remaining seperate colonies under the British Empire until later in 1921.

The yearning for cohesion and stability was palpable, yet the initial framework of the Union was fraught with complexities. A significant issue that marred the unity was the stark divisions between the European settlers and the native African populace. While the native African populace enjoyed equal political rights as European born South Africans, the same could not be said for economic of mobility rights, with native Africans limited by colonial era legislation such as the Native Location Act of 1879 and Native Lands Act of 1890 limiting where they could live, travel, and own land. In addition, systems of informal segregation existed across almost every State in the Union and institutionalized systems of segregation existing in Stellaland and Transvaal.

The debate surrounding the incorporation of Natal into the Union exemplified the discord that existed in South Africa. A year-long deliberation by the local Colonial authority mirrored the underlying unease and disagreements among the factions within the colony. Eventually, Natal's integration into the Union in 1911 marked a significant step forward, albeit amid ongoing internal strife.

The subsequent years witnessed the Union grappling with issues related to the division between European and Native born South Africans and the roles they we're to play in the Union. The aftermath of the Great War cast a looming shadow, ushering in economic hardships that reverberated across the Union and Colonies across Southern Africa. This tumultuous period catalyzed the eventual inclusion of Transvaal, Stellaland, and Swaziland into South Africa in 1921, compelling them to seek refuge and relative economic stability within the Union amid the post-war economic turmoil.

The Union of South Africa, though a testament to the potential for unity, progress, and self-rule on the African continent, was confronted with a rocky inception marked by internal discord, racial tensions, and socio-economic struggles. The informal and institutionalized systems of segregation underscored the deep-rooted societal rifts, echoing the need for sustained efforts towards reconciliation and inclusion.

As the Union of South Africa continues on its path into the future, the echoes of its foundational years continue to resonate, serving as a poignant reminder of the challenges overcome and those yet to be confronted on its path forward.

Paramountica, Rutannia, Arcanda, The Great Expanses, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Mutawakkiliti, Katipunero

Shooting at a convoy of Sultanate of Upper Yafa

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[list][sup]Southern border, Yemen Arab Republic

26 April 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]The Camel cavalry battalion Shooting at a convoy that crossed the border during the night from a place other than the four points designated by the army for convoys to cross on the border with the Sultanate of Upper Yafa. The battalion captured all the men of the convoy and are being investigated at the battalion headquarters to find out their intentions. Thus, the Yemeni army proved that it is capable To protect borders and combat smuggling.[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Rutannia, The Great Expanses, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Katipunero, Zingium

[list]April 1966

[sub]The Airbus Consortium[/sub][/list]

[pre]D I E B U N D E S R E P U B L I K[/pre]

A FRANCO-GERMAN PARTNERSHIP

[sub]TOULOUSE, HAUTE-GARONNE, OCCITANIA, Metropolitan Francais - EVENING[/sub]

| By the early 1960s, the eyes of European industry had turned away from supporting the recovery of the continent from the financial strains of the postwar era towards building a competitive atmosphere that would allow European engineering prowess to once more compete properly on the world stage. This was especially prominent in the aerospace field, where American companies like Boeing and McDonnell Douglas were dominant in every sense of the word, while European equivalents like Aerospatiale, Matra and Dornier remained in the backbenches. The jet age was emerging, and these aerospace companies saw a unique opportunity to join forces in solidarity and establish a consortium that would be able to compete with American aerospace companies while driving domestic innovation and industrial growth. Over the course of the next few years through the 1960s, the German and French governments would engage in quiet and subtle discussions alongside their corporate partners from both countries on the possibility of forming a consortium of aerospace companies that pools together resources and facilities to develop the next generation of European-built, European-owned jet airliners. |

[list][pre]"Alone, we cannot hope to compete with the likes of [Boeing and McDonnell], but together, we can show the true engineering spirit of us Europeans."[/pre][/list]

| These negotiations would continue in the background of the increasingly tense political atmosphere on the continent, and would be spurred on by interest from other parties and governments in a European "Airbus" - a medium-range, high capacity passenger aircraft that could serve as the primary carrier for a variety of European airlines. Building a plane like that would be simple enough, but building a plane that could compete with Boeing and McDonnell Douglas equivalents was even harder. It was argued that by pooling together resources, European consortiums could get the job done. Negotiations between French company Aerospatiale and German company Deutsche Airbus continued through 1965, and in December, an agreement was struck. |

[list][pre]TOGETHER, the French and German aerospace giants would join forces to form a European consortium to be known as AIRBUS INDUSTRIE GIE - Airbus Industries Economic Interest Group. Each company would receive a 50% share of the consortium, and would commit resources, facilities, manpower and knowhow to the development of Airbus jet aircraft that can compete with their American counterparts. This consortium, however, would only form a loose agreement; Aerospatiale and Deutsche Airbus would continue their own independent operations and produce their own products independent of Airbus, but the consortium would allow for cooperation in key areas.[/pre][/list]

| At a small ceremonial event held in TOULOUSE, the planned headquarters for the new Airbus company, French President CHARLES DE GAULLE and German Chancellor WILLY BRANDT would sign the memorandum of cooperation alongside chief executives from both Aerospatiale and Deutsche Airbus. Other companies like Daimler-Benz's aerospace unit, Dornier, and the legendary Messerschmitt AG, were present at the event as observers. Speaking to a crowd of reporters and members of the assembled media, Chancellor Brandt described the formation of the European consortium as a 'significant step forward not only for Franco-German economic relations but also for Europe's commitment to advancing itself scientifically and innovatively'. Plans for the construction of dedicated Airbus facilities in Toulouse and Frankfurt would be made, which would be used alongside existing facilities operated by Aerospatiale and Deutsche Airbus that the two companies should decide to share. |

| The current priorities of the new consortium is the formation of a leading board of directors, the appointment of a chief executive officer, and the establishment of a framework to begin developing a next-generation jet liner along the lines of what many European airlines were interested in. Brandt's government celebrated the achievement as a step forward for German industry and engineering as well, especially as the Social Democrats seek to build up Germany's export industry - this would now be embarked upon in cooperation with the Federal Republic's new partner to the southwest. |

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Greater Adriatican State

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

The Confederate Prussian Empire

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Rutannia, Arcanda, Amsterwald, Nippon-Nihon, Vancouver Straits, Metropolitan Francais, Puerto Somoza, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Zingium

[list][list][list][pre]RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE

FRENCH BUREAUCRACY

MINISTÈRE DE L’INTÉRIEUR[/pre][/list]

______

MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR: FRENCH MANUFACTURERS BRANCH OUT AS FRANCE RECONCILES WITH THE EAST

[sub]VTH REPUBLIC | PARIS, JUNE 1966[/sub][/list]

[sub]| HELM OF LIBERTÉ, MINISTÈRE DE L’INTÉRIEUR - | Charles de Gaulle has promoted the establishment of native industrial conglomerates strong enough to rival American companies in an effort to stave against the perceived or actual commercial domination of the United States in France. Supported by De Gaulle's administration, two of the world's oldest car companies, established as family businesses in France at the turn of the century, came together last week to form an "association."[/sub]

[sub]The largest French automaker, Renault, which is currently publicly owned, and Peugeot, which is privately held and ranks third after Citroen, will collaborate on research, design, investment, purchasing, and exports. When combined, they will represent the largest European automobile manufacturer with Volkswagen coming in as a close second. The French conglomerate will reach an anticipated production of 1,800,000 vehicles this year. The two distinct car lines will continue, and the two companies will preserve their corporate identities to prevent left-wingers from claiming that private interests are taking over Renault. President Charles de Gaulle has also pushed French businessmen toward the East, as much for reputation and politics as for financial gain. Two nationally owned French companies, Air France and Renault, revealed significant agreements with two Communist nations this week by flying the flag with their francs.[/sub]

[sub]Just one month after Fiat of Italy consented to assist the Russians, Renault declared that it would assist the Russians in expanding their Moskvich facility close to Moscow. Currently producing 90,000 or 100,000 vehicles annually, the plant's goal is to reach 400,000 cars by 1970. Russians will pay between $78 million for Renault's equipment and know-how under an agreement that is expected to be formalized when De Gaulle visits with Kosygin in Moscow later this month—on long-term, low-interest financing. Additionally, the French government this week inked an agreement with Communist China to send one Air France aircraft to Shanghai once a week. Air France Flight 180 is scheduled to operate from Paris on Mondays at 11 a.m., possibly starting in September. It will make stops in Athens, Cairo, Teheran, Karachi, and Pnompenh before arriving in Shanghai on Tuesday at 5:35 p.m. Although it doesn't plan to turn a profit from the service, Air France hopes that increasing the number of its routes will bolster its claim to be "the world's largest airline." This is seen as a major first step in France reconciling with the East after nearly two decades of some of the strongest anti-communist sentiment. [/sub]

[sub]The last few months have also been extremely profitable for Dassault and Aérospatiale as well as the rapidly advancing French Air Force. Several new jet aircraft have made it into the spotlight and have received contracts for manufacturing. The most notable is the Dassault MZI-46Q medium ranged bomber and the Dassault AW4-44 sweep-wing fighter bomber. These are just two of six new aircraft that have earned contracts with the French Air Force and will begin service operations in the coming months.|[/sub]

[list]______[/list]

[list][list][pre]VIVE LA RÉPUBLIQUE!

VIVE LA FRANCE!

VIVE L’EMPIRE![/pre][/list][/list]

[list][spoiler=[sub]𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄

𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐈𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐘[/sub]]

Abessinienreich

Adriatican Islands

Allbania

Al-Jammahirya Al-Arabiyya

Amsterwald

Andorra-

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Astarina

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Falastinyya

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Holy Vatican City States

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Monaco-

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Republica De Cuba-

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Tallahan

The Confederate Prussian Empire

The United States Of Africa

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Vietnam Sv

Virnall

Zeitenwende

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Rutannia, Arcanda, Amsterwald, Pontianus, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Holy Vatican City States, Vancouver Straits, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Monaco-, Andorra-, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Zingium

First foreign tour, in Cairo

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]Cairo, United Arab Republic

3 May 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]In his first foreign tour, the Yemeni President, Lieutenant General Hassan al-Zaidi, traveled to the capital of the United Arab Republic (Al-Jammahirya Al-Arabiyya), Cairo to meet with President Gamal Abdel Nasser to discuss ways of cooperation between the Yemen Arab Republic and the United Arab Republic. During an interview with the press, President Al-Zaidi said: The United Arab Republic is the destination of Arab nationalism, and leader Gamal Abdel Nasser is the Prophet Arab nationalism, we are following in the revolutionary footsteps of Nasser in the fight against colonialism and reactionism.[/sup]

[sup]While he said about the Palestinian issue: We support the Palestinian people and their struggle to establish their state. Our support for the Palestinian struggle is unlimited and unconditional until the entire Palestinian land is liberated and a national homeland is formed for the Palestinians. Palestine is our cause and the cause of all Arabs.[/sup]

[sup]On the sidelines of the visit, President Al-Zaidi asked President Gamal Abdel Nasser that he was seeking to establish a Yemeni intelligence Department, and needed to send a group of officers for training and to benefit from the experience of Egyptian intelligence "El Mukhabarat" in this field.

[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Rutannia, Arcanda, Amsterwald, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Al-Jammahirya Al-Arabiyya

Post self-deleted by Zingium.

President Al-Zaidi heads to Sudan

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]Khartoum, Republic of Sudan

6 May 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]During his first foreign tour, the Yemeni President, Lieutenant General Hassan al-Zaidi, traveled from Cairo to Khartoum, capital of the Republic of Sudan (Nileia) to meet with Sudanese President Benjamin Lwoki, in order to discuss ways of cooperation between the two countries, stressing the importance of Arab relations and the Red Sea neighbors.

Ways of cooperation in the agricultural field and exchange of experiences in this field were also discussed, and maritime cooperation as the Red Sea neighbors.

[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Rutannia, Amsterwald, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Tallahan, Katipunero, Zingium

[list][pre]JUNE of 1966[/pre][/list]

[pre]THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS

Союз Советских Социалистических Республик[/pre]

[pre]MODERATISM IN SOVIET FOREIGN POLICY MARCHES FORWARD WITH NEW ITALIAN FIAT FACTORY IN THE USSR, OIL AGREEMENT WITH ENI[/pre]

[pre]МОДЕРАТИЗМ ВО ВНЕШНЕЙ ПОЛИТИКИ СОВЕТА ПРОДВИЖАЕТСЯ С НОВЫМ ИТАЛЬЯНСКИМ ЗАВОДОМ ФИАТ В СССР, НЕФТЯНЫМ СОГЛАШЕНИЕМ С ENI[/pre]

| [sub]Since the elimination of the Brezhnevite factions in the Soviet Union after the failed coup attempt against General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev, the Communist Party had seen a rapid rise in the strength and influence of the reformist and moderate factions in the party, led by First Deputy Premier Alexei Kosygin and General Secretary Khrushchev, respectively. While Khrushchev and his moderates still held onto the avenues of power and were by default the faction of the CPSU in charge, the strength of Kosygin's influence in the party as Khrushchev's right-hand man could not be denied. As such, these moderate reformist influences began making their way into Soviet foreign policy, which under Khrushchev had seen a minor thawing of relations between the East and the West. Several high-profile summits were held, including one between U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and Khrushchev in Tel Aviv last year, and domestically, Khrushchev rolled back on rhetoric against Western powers ever so slightly. Reformist factions sought to expand this and build on efforts by their Romanian comrades to thaw relations with the West to begin selling Eastern products there as well, in an effort to bolster economic growth.[/sub] |

| [sub]It was a controversial matter to say the least and was very much still the subject of fierce debate within the halls of power in the Kremlin, but the government of Khrushchev largely supported some form of detente with the West not only politically and diplomatically, but economically as well. One of the major fronts this took place on was that with Italy. Home to the largest communist party in the Western world, Italy was one of the nations on the other side of the Iron Curtain that was least likely to instantly rebuff attempts by Moscow to communicate, and vice versa. The Soviet Union held strong influence over the Italian Communist Party (PCI) of the late Palmiro Togliatti, and continued to do so even as the Italian Socialist Party broke off entirely. Throughout the 60s Moscow had worked to establish political relations with Italy outside of the PCI, and also began expanding business relations as well. What came of this was a surprise agreement inked in a Moscow automobile factory between the government of the Soviet Union and the Italian automobile company Fiat. As reported by Pravda, the state newspaper -[/sub] |

[list][pre](PRAVDA, JUNE 1966) -- Today, Aleksandr Tarazov, Minister for the Automobile Industry, signed an agreement with Italian motor company Fiat for the development of a Fiat automobile factory in the Soviet Union that will be capable of producing up to 730,000 motor vehicles annually The signing in a Moscow-area automobile factory comes weeks after Tarazov and a small Soviet delegation toured a Fiat automobile factory in Turin, Italy. The agreement marks a step forward for the informal relationship between the Soviet Union and Italy, which is strained by significant ideological differences. Nonetheless, the office of General Secretary Khrushchev praised the agreement as another positive sign for the growth of the Soviet economy and Soviet markets.[/pre][/list]

| [sub]After a visit by representatives of the major Italian energy company ENI to Moscow in late June, the USSR and ENI inked an agreement that would allow the Italian-based energy company to begin purchasing Soviet oil and gas within three (3) years pending the establishment of a more comprehensive agreement on the question of Soviet exporting of oil and gas across the Iron Curtain. The surprise move came as a shock to many in the international community, but also domestically at home, where many moderates in Khrushchev's faction were surprised at the pace the government appeared ready to take when it came to implementing more moderate foreign policy objectives. To some the agreement with ENI was a concession to the faction of Kosygin, which had called for amendments to be made to Soviet foreign policy to allow for Soviet businesses to export more products to more markets. The agreement remains tentative, and the Kremlin remains adamant that the Soviets will not sell oil to nations that "continue to believe that the revolutionary struggle of the Soviet people is not a valid one". Nonetheless, the seeping in of moderatism into Soviet foreign policy continues.[/sub] |

____

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Greater Adriatican State

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

The Confederate Prussian Empire

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Rutannia, Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Vancouver Straits, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Mutawakkiliti, Islas Katipunero, Le Equatoria, Katipunero, Zingium

President Al-Zaidi heads to Kurdistan

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]Amed, Democratic Republic of Kurdistan

9 May 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]Continuing his first foreign tour, Yemeni President Lieutenant General Hassan al-Zaidi headed to the capital of the Democratic Republic of Kurdistan (Greater Kurdistane), Amed, coming from the Republic of Sudan, to meet President of the Democratic Republic of Kurdistan Field Marshal Mazar Remman. Yemen seeks to increase its relationship with the countries of the Middle East in order to support the nascent Yemen Arab Republic. During a meeting with the press, President Al-Zaidi said: The Republic of Yemen and the Republic of Kurdistan share In the same fate and the same struggle, we face the same circumstances, surrounded by imperialism and its agents and reactionism, and we struggle to build our republic, so we and the Kurds are brothers in the struggle.[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Rutannia, Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Islas Katipunero, Le Equatoria, Zingium

THE TROUBLES

[list][pre]Rights and Fights in the Union[/pre]

[list][sub]Part 2: Unite to Fight[/sub]

[sub]April-May. 1966[/sub][/list]

[pre]Ian Paisley and Gusty Spence met a second time in Shankill to discuss the formation of an umbrella group for the more hardliner unionism which both of them supported. While Spence saw the fight to be on the ground and that they needed to take on the Civil Rights Movement in a much more direct method, Paisley sought to emerge as a parliamentary success to spearhead an alternative to the moderate PM Terence O'Neill and that paramilitary activity should only begin if peaceful politics failed. A combination of the two, forming perhaps a political party and a paramilitary wing could not only allow Paisley wider recognition in the unionist movement, but also moderate Spence's perhaps more extreme rhetoric and directiveness.[/pre]

[pre]During their meeting, Paisley and Spence formed the Unionist Defence Association Group (UDAG) - an umbrella collective of parliamentary and militant unionists. While not an outright militant group, it aimed to politically and socially drive a much more hardliner ideology of unionism into Northern Irish voters, looking to strip away the influence of the dominant UUP. Gusty Spence formed and headed the group's paramilitary wing, named the Ulster Volunteer Alliance. In effect, Paisley had shifted his focus to a combination of militant and political enforcement and away from just parliamentary politics. But a combined might of Spence and Paisley could offer a unique opportunity to Irish Republicanism and the dormant IRA.[/pre]

[pre]While the hardliner unionist movement had accelerated now to look to enter the mainstream of Northern Irish politics and social life, Irish Republicanism and especially the reposed IRA, had been flooded by left-wing Marxist intellects and shifted dramatically away from the sectarian republicanism which it had based its ideology off since 1922, and towards a movement of marxism and less on to a movement of Irish republicanism. It had been split into 3 distinct groups; the young Marxist intellects who by 1966, become the most dominant within the group and a growing faction in Sinn Féin. The other two factions were split simply by one policy - abstentionism. Both committed to the armed struggle of national liberation and Irish republicanism, moderates and reformists sought to become more politically active and move away from a militant grouping. Supporters of the reformists were also infueltnail in Sinn Féin. The traditionalists ignored parliamentary politics and instead wanted the IRA and automatically Sinn Féin to become a traditional paramilitary grouping. These divides, combined with its dormant status not only in Irish and Northern Irish Politics, meant it was a long way away from becoming a major proponent in Irish politics and the question of Republicanism.[/pre]

[pre]But the divides to some of the leading figures, such as Sean Mac and Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, were inevitable to see the demise of the IRA and therefore Sinn Féin, the two very much seen as the entities are each other. Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, however, saw that the split could go in his favour and that the ideological and political split of the IRA, which could hit Sinn Féin to the same degree, could lead to him becoming a leading force in a more traditionalist movement of liberation and Irish Republicanism. It's clear the dots are forming and that conflict in Northern Ireland is incoming. Divies grow stronger in the IRA and Sinn Féin. Hardliner unionism of Ian Paisley and Gusty Spence unite in an attempt to shift the wind away from the moderates of the UUP.[/pre]

Paramountica, Rutannia, Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Vancouver Straits, Metropolitan Francais, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Mutawakkiliti, Le Equatoria, Zingium

President Al-Zaidi arrives in India

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]New Delhi, Republic of India

11 May 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]The President of Yemen, Lieutenant General Hassan, continues his first foreign tour, as he traveled from Democratic Republic of Kurdistan, to New Delhi, capital of the Republic of India (Kewtpuff), to meet with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to discuss ways of cooperation between the Republic of Yemen and the Republic of India, as the two peoples share a long history, where Arab and Indian sailors cooperated and exchanged trade Across the Indian Ocean for centuries, Al-Zaidi is now seeking new cooperation and the exchange of experiences in the agricultural field, as the current government of Yemen sees it as the key to the future of successful economy in yeman, Al-Zaidi also requested assistance from the Indian side in the plan to develop education in Yemen, The two countries also agreed to exchange embassies to begin official diplomatic relations. Al-Zaidi told the press during his visit: We and India share a long history of cooperation. We also hope to share cooperation in the future.[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Rutannia, Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Vancouver Straits, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Adriatican Islands, Le Equatoria, Zingium

President Al-Zaidi concludes his tour in Somalia

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

[list][sup]Mogadishu, Republic of Somalia

13 May 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]At the end of the foreign tour, the Yemeni President, Lieutenant General Hassan Al-Zaidi, headed to Mogadishu in the Republic of Somalia, to meet with President Mohammed Siad Barre, where he met with the two presidents in order to strengthen relations and maritime cooperation as neighbors in the Gulf of Aden region. The two presidents also discussed several issues, including cooperation in the security of waterways and cooperation against Colonialism and reactionism, and the two presidents agreed to exchange embassies. With this visit, President Al-Zaidi concluded his first foreign tour and returned to the capital, Sanaa, loaded with diplomatic successes that will benefit the republic.[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Rutannia, Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Adriatican Islands, Le Equatoria, Zingium

[list]MAY 1966

[sub]End of an Era[/sub][/list]

[pre]EINAR GERHARDSEN ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION AS PM AND PARTY LEADER[/pre]

FOLKETING

[sub]COPENHAGEN, Canovia — MIDDAY[/sub]

[sub]Often regarded as “Father of the Nation” by the general public, Einar Gerhardsen was one of the “founding fathers” of the Nordic Union — responsible for crafting the nation’s constitution and institutions after the end of the Second World War. Winning the nation’s first general election and providing his Social Democratic Party an election landslide, Einar Gerhardsen spearheaded the “National Rebuilding” campaign to create not only an ambitious plan to fund the rebuilding efforts of a war-torn nation, but to provide economic relief for those within Denmark and Norway and create a new and improved welfare state on the European Continent. Although neutral on international affairs concerning the Western/Eastern divide, it was massively important for a new Norden to secure reliable investments from Western Powers in hopes to rapidly propel Norden’s economic and military development to accommodate NATO standards and beyond. The period of 1949 to 1966 would be known within Norden as the “Gerhardsen Era.”[/sub]

[sub]From 1949 to the present day, Einar Gerhardsen remained the party’s general secretary — leading the party to unprecedented victories nearly two decades ago. Although widely popular within the party and the general public as a whole, the beloved prime minister would stand in front of parliament to announce his resignation and retirement — citing that his tenure as both party leader and prime minister would come to an end to allow the newer generation of social democrats and political leaders to lead the nation he helped created.[/sub]

[list]EINAR GERHARDSEN, Prime Minister: [sub]”Fellow Members of Parliament — we have come a long way since unification and have built a nation from the ruins of war. It has been a great pleasure to bring the nation into what it is today — and although we have much more to accomplish, I cannot be the one to make those changes. I stand before you all today to announce my intentions to resign as Prime Minister and leader of my beloved party. Throughout my many years of service, I have felt privileged to have served the people of Norden to my fullest capacity. Now it is time to let new leadership take over the reigns of government. I instruct the members of my own party to begin the process of choosing a new leader who has the same ambitions as many of us in this government. This resignation does not mean I am finished with public service. But being your Prime Minister since 1949 means that I cannot hold the position of power any longer. We are a democracy and we must have new leaders, new ideas and new everything in order for our nation to grow. Therefore — it is my time to go. I will hand in my resignation to His Majesty at our earliest convenience, and may the next person who holds this office command the confidence within this chamber and successfully form a government under His Majesty’s name.”[/sub][/list]

[sub]From eerily quiet to significantly loud cheers — members of parliament from all political parties gave a standing ovation to the prime minister. Although celebration was brief, many within the Social Democratic Party began planning their leadership bids, while other political party members in parliament saw the resignation as an opportunity to call elections in hopes one of their own ascends to the position of Prime Minister. Swedish politician and Deputy Prime Minister Tage Erlander would become interim leader and Prime Minister until a new Secretary General (leader of the Social Democratic Party) was appointed.[/sub]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Greater Adriatican State

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

The Confederate Prussian Empire

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Rutannia, Amsterwald, Victoria Harbor, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Vancouver Straits, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Adriatican Islands, Le Equatoria, Katipunero

Paramountica, Arcanda, Paseo, Amsterwald, Victoria Harbor, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Adriatican Islands, Le Equatoria, Zingium

[list][list]1966

[sub]Part 1: A Comprehensive Historiography of the Foundations of the Pakistani Republic[/sub][/list]

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN, Kotakuan Ii

[list]A HISTORY OF PAKISTAN 1947 — 1966: PART 1 [/list]

[sub]ACT 1: A NEW DAWN (1947-1950) [/sub]

| For Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Governor-General of the newly established Pakistan, the goal was clear: to create a secular Pakistan where people of all different diverse origins could find comfort in their shared sense of belonging under the green and white Pakistani banner. This dedication was evidenced by the tireless efforts of Jinnah to establish the groundwork for the creation of a tolerant and democratic Pakistani constitution, which would inevitably create the foundations for a Pakistani society distinguished by religious and ethnic inclusion as opposed to exclusivity. Within the halls of power, Jinnah relentlessly promoted secularism. In his ideal state, diversity would not be a cause of conflict but rather a source of strength and tolerance for the wide range of opinions held by its citizens. Notably, the difficulties were great because regional tensions lingered and the wounds of the 1947 partition were still raw. Numerous Pakistani politicians also held contempt for the creation of a secular Pakistani state, and instead wished Pakistan to follow the path of an ‘Islamic Republic’ rather than simply a republic. However, Jinnah remained firm in his vision for a secular Pakistani state, idolising the vision of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in his establishment of a secular Turkish state in the ashes of the Ottoman Empire. |

| After a devastating chronic battle with tuberculosis, Jinnah miraculously survived his close encounter with death after a serious deterioration in health in early 1948. However, this ordeal was kept private to maintain his image within Pakistan. Jinnah was urged to rest, cut back on his smoking and alcohol habits and avoid stress, whilst the first three were manageable the latter aspect of avoiding stress was unavoidable in the early years of Pakistan’s foundation. In August 1948, Jinnah announced to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan that the first open and democratic elections were to be held, with the first elections being the Presidential elections and the second election being a general election to elect members of the parliament and form a democratic working government. Jinnah opted to run as President, as the figurehead of Pakistan Jinnah was seen as the father of the Pakistani state and would undoubtedly win such an election. Jinnah promised as ‘President’ that he would declare Pakistan an unequivocal secular republic, ending the Governor-General role and replacing it with an official President. What Jinnah could not influence, however, as president was the policy and political direction of Pakistan. Jinnah ran essentially unopposed to the presidency in 1948, and the Republic of Pakistan was declared in October 1948. |

| The general election was slated to commence on November 7th 1948, with two main Prime Ministerial candidates in the running. Jinnah’s preferred candidate, Liaquat Ali Khan, ran under the Muslim League banner. Malik Ghulam Muhammad, the second candidate in the election, ran under an independent banner under the pretence of operating Pakistan in a more Islamic aligned republic. The results of the general election were comprehensive, the Muslim League won 67% of the vote, with Ghulam Muhhamad’s independent party platform receiving 33% of the vote. The victory of the Muslim League in the general election allowed for the formation of a majority pro-secular government within the Constitutional Legislative Assembly, allowing Ali Khan to commence his Prime Ministership and realise the potential of a democratic and secular Pakistan. PART 2 shall focus on the development of Pakistan from 1950 to 1956. |

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART TWO (1950-1956)

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Al-Oman

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Vietnam Sv

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Paseo, Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Adriatican Islands, Mutawakkiliti, Le Equatoria, Zingium

Jiu Valley Miner's Strikes

[sub]Late June to early July 1966, Central Committee of The Communist Party of Romania, Bucharest, Socialist Republic of Romania[/sub]

[sub]25th June 1966[/sub] | The Jiu Valley, renowned for its coal reserves, has long been a vital hub for Romania's industrial development. The miners, crucial and highly respected contributors to the socialist cause, expressed growing discontent over what they perceived as inadequacies in their compensation and working conditions. The demand for increased wages gained momentum, leading to a coordinated series of peaceful demonstrations.

[sub]2nd July 1966[/sub] | Recognizing the gravity of the situation, the government swiftly engaged in dialogue with the miners' representatives. Comrade Vasile Luca, the Minster of Economy and Industry along with His Excellency, the Genius of the Carpathians, Comrade Constantin Rotaru, General Secretary of The Communist Party of Romania, President of The Presidium of The Great National Assembly, President of the State Council, President of the Socialist Republic of Romania, Supreme Commander of The People's Army, beloved and esteemed son of all Romanian people led the negotiations.

The negotiations were characterized by a willingness to address the miners' concerns while maintaining the overall stability of the socialist Industry.

[sub]6th July 1966[/sub] | After several rounds of negotiations, a mutually beneficial agreement was reached. The government of the Socialist Republic of Romania, under the guidance of His Excellency, the Genius of the Carpathians, Comrade Constantin Rotaru, committed to a 17% increase in miner salaries. The monthly wage, which stood at 3500 Lei before the negotiations, was raised to 4100 Lei. This significant adjustment reflected a harmonious balance between meeting the miners' legitimate demands and ensuring the continued economic development of the nation and of its people.

Additionally, measures were introduced to enhance safety protocols in the mines, addressing concerns raised by the miners about working conditions. The government also pledged to invest in infrastructure projects that would improve the overall living standards of the Jiu Valley community.

[sub]| The successful resolution of the miner strikes in the Jiu Valley stands as a testament to the effectiveness of socialist principles in addressing the concerns of the working class. The commitment to dialogue, led by His Excellency, the Genius of the Carpathians, Comrade Constantin Rotaru, General Secretary of The Communist Party of Romania, President of The Presidium of The Great National Assembly, President of the State Council, President of the Socialist Republic of Romania, Supreme Commander of The People's Army, beloved and esteemed son of all Romanian people, exemplifies the government's dedication to the well-being of its citizens while upholding the ideals of the Socialist Republic of Romania. This serves as a model for resolving labor disputes within the framework of socialist values, fostering solidarity and cooperation between the government and the working class. |[/sub]

[sub]E scris pe Tricolor unire! Pe roșu steag liberator! Prin lupte sub a lor umbrire, spre Comunism urcăm în zbor![/sub]

[sub]Trăiască Partidul Comunist Român în frunte cu al său secretar general, tovarășul Constantin Rotaru![/sub]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Ababemba

Adriatican Islands

Alzarikstan

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Bayern Kahla

Bescania

Brazil Toucan

Canovia

Cascadla

Central Arstotzka

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Hashemite Kingdoms

Hatzburg

Honghai

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

La Granadinas

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Moroavia

Nevbrejnovitz

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Nonador

Nosautempopulus

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Reyzen

Rutannia

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sri-Lanka

Sudesam

Taiiwan

Teymour

The Black Star-

The Sun States

Turkiye 1St

Ubertica

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Vietnam Sv

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Paseo, Amsterwald, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, Puerto Somoza, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Adriatican Islands, Mutawakkiliti, Le Equatoria, Zingium

President Al-Zaidi talks about development

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[list][sup]Sanaa, Yemen Arab Republic

23 May 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]After returning from his first foreign tour, and in a popular conference, and In the presence of the Supreme Committee of the Yemeni National Union and members of the Council of Ministers the Yemeni President, Lieutenant General Hassan Al-Zaidi, delivered an important speech to his people:[/sup]

[list][sup]My dear people, I went on a tour in several countries, from which I returned with many diplomatic gains, and I saw countries full of progress, universities, hospitals, and factories. I remembered that our republic needs universities, hospitals, factories, and weapons to protect it from the enemies of the republic who are lurking around us. I also remembered that we need money to build all of this. But I know that our land grows goodness and is the key to our future. As a farmer’s son, I know very well the value of agriculture. Our plan in the coming period will be to develop agriculture by building more rain reservoirs, irrigation networks, and wells. We will reduce the cultivation of Qat, which consumes more water and is not useful as it It prevents the citizen from completing his work, so I call on you to stop the use of Qat. Our country needs this, it needs manpower and active minds. In exchange for all of this, we will increase cash crops and this will support our economy. More income means more opportunities for development, and we are also within the framework of developing the army and air force. In order to protect the Republic, we have concluded a deal with the friendly Republic of Poland under which we will obtain 20 MiG-17 jet fighters, 30 T-55 tanks, 100 military trucks, 50 military light vehicles, and some AK-47 small arms. This is part of our step on the path to development. I hope that we will all join hands and help each of us in his place for the development of our republic.[/list][/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Paseo, Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Adriatican Islands, Le Equatoria, Zingium

[list][list][list]𝟷𝟿𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝙼𝚊𝚢, 𝟷𝟿𝟼𝟼[/list][/list][/list]

[list][list][pre]✰ DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO ✰

~ ​🇹​​🇭​​🇪​ ​🇬​​🇭​​🇴​​🇸​​🇹​ ​🇴​​🇫​ ​🇱​​🇺​​🇲​​🇺​​🇲​​🇧​​🇦 ~​[/pre][/list][/list]

[sup][pre]In 1951, one of Africa's most important events would take place in the heart of the Congo, when the north and south were split apart in an infamous territorial exchange between the State of Zaire and France. The reason for the split remains a topic of conspiracy in the minds of many Congolese. Some believe that the territorial exchange was a result of political maneuvering by both parties involved, while others speculate that it was a strategic move to gain control over valuable resources in the region. Regardless of the true motives behind the split, it had far-reaching consequences for the Congolese people. One man who attempted to stop this split was the young Patrice Émery Lumumba; he played a significant role in the transformation of the Congo from a colony of Belgium into an independent republic. A man so loved by the public, in fact, perhaps too loved. His fame earned him, in equal parts, infamy from many political rivals in the early years of Congolese independence. Those resentments would eventually reach their boiling point when Lumumba was murdered on a Katangan pig farm for standing in the way of Gloria Banza on July 8th, 1952. Lumumba's assassination sent shockwaves throughout the nation and sparked international outrage. The circumstances surrounding his death remain controversial, with many speculating that it was a result of foreign interference aimed at maintaining control over Congo's vast resources. Either way, Banza would come on top as the victor and go on to persecute Lumumba's supporters, forcing many to flee Zaire to the newly established French Congo colony in the north.[/pre][/sup]

[sup][pre]In the aftermath of the split, North Congo would come under the control of French authorities, who quickly established a colonial government in the capital, Stanleyville. This move was met with resistance from some Congolese, as they rightfully saw it as a betrayal of Congolese independence. The establishment of the colonial government further fueled tensions and contributed to the ongoing instability in the region. The influx of Lumumbaists fleeing north from Zaire brought with them their grievances against the colonial government and Zaire, adding to the existing resistance and opposition to French authorities. Tensions imploded when, on March 4th, 1953, 12 Congolese gunmen forced themselves into a post office, holding several Africans and one white manager hostage. The French reaction was immediate, and a gunfight occurred between the colonial police and the gunmen. The gunfight resulted in the deaths of several gunmen and hostages. Those who surrendered were arrested and later given the death sentence on 5th of May.[/pre][/sup]

[sup][pre]In the aftermath of the executions, the Africans were spurned into mass protests by the leadership of the Congolese National Movement (CNM). This event became known to the world as the Stanleyville Riots as it received world-wide coverage by foreign media due to the sheer magnitude of the protests. The French, fearing an outright rebellion, deployed the Armée coloniale ("Colonial Army") to crack down on the protest, which in turn led to three days of rioting throughout the city. After some heavy handiness on the part of the Armée coloniale, the riots ended, and the leadership of the CNM was imprisoned. However, the French only a year later released the leadership of the CNM after the outbreak of the Algerian War on November 1st. The release of the CNM leadership was seen as a strategic move by France to avoid further escalation and maintain stability amidst the growing tensions in Algeria. For the CNM, the release of the CNM leadership served as a rallying point for their supporters, reinvigorating the momentum of the Congolese independence movement. It demonstrated that their cause was gaining international recognition and support. Cyrille Adoula and Joseph Iléo would become the faces of the CNM and the independence struggle as the two formed a powerful public image among the native population. The two, along with other CNM intellectuals, co-wrote a party manifesto. The 1956 Manifeste de la Conscience Africaine, a political manifesto that demanded not only independence but the total unification of North-South Congo.[/pre][/sup]

[sup][pre]In 1955, France would begin preparing the Congo for decolonization, as the winds of change were rapidly seeing the decolonization of Africa. Jean Ramadier would serve as the last French governor of the Congo until 1958, while other positions within the administration were handed over to pro-French African natives. At the same time, France would withdraw most of its Armée coloniale, only leaving enough to provide security and training for the Force Publique to serve as Congo's future military. The Force Publique was modeled exactly after the original Belgian one, with most of its senior officers being white Frenchmen and some black junior officers from other parts of the colonies. This approach to maintaining control over the Congo reflected France's desire to retain influence and ensure stability in the region. As for the CNM, the party began to have internal struggles due to factionalism within the party. On one side was the MNC-Lumumba (MNC-L), which was the traditional moderate wing of the party led by Cyrille Adoula and Joseph Iléo. On the other side was the Conseil National de Résistance pour la Démocratie (CNRD), the more radical wing of the party, consisting of leftists led by Antoine Gizenga. The split ran so deep that in 1957, Adoula, acting as party boss, had Gizenga and his radicals expelled from the party, solidifying the dominance of the MNC-L. Gizenga, in turn, would organize the Parti Solidaire Africain, or PSA, to counter the CNM. Gizenga, fearing the French authorities had left Stanleyville for Isiro, the capital of Haut-Uele Province in the northeastern part, built up his support base there.[/pre][/sup]

[sup][pre]Following the revision of the French constitution that established the Fifth Republic in 1958, French Equatorial Africa (AEF) dissolved into its constituent parts, each of which became an autonomous colony within the French Community. During these reforms, North Congo became known as the State of Congo in 1958 and published its first constitution in 1959 after the Stanleyville Convention. The elections took place in April 1959, a race between the CNM, PSA, and the Union démocratique de défense des intérêts africains (UDDIA), a conservative, Francophile political party. Despite French attempts to sabotage the CNM during the race, the CNM's popularity would prove superior to that of its counterparts. The CNM's victory in the elections marked a significant turning point in the political landscape of North Congo. With a strong mandate from the people, the CNM would lead the final stages of independence. The Congo became fully independent from France on August 15th, 1960. The country was officially named the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with Cyrille Adoula as President and Joseph Iléo as Prime Minister.[/pre][/sup]

[list][list][spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Greater Adriatican State

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

The Confederate Prussian Empire

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Paramountica, Paseo, Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, New Provenance, Kewtpuff, Adriatican Islands, Mutawakkiliti, Zingium

Secret Activities in the Red Sea

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[list][sup]Port of Al-Luhayyah, Yemen Arab Republic

29 May 1966[/list][/sup]

[sup]In the middle of the night, a large fishing boat set off from the port of Al-Luhayyah. The boat headed to a specific point in the middle of the water in the Red Sea, where a Soviet cargo ship was waiting. After exchanging light signals between the boat and the ship, the boat approached and the ship’s sailors began to lower a wooden boxes to the fishing boat containing weapons AK-47s and explosives, then the fishing boat set off for the shores of Yemen while the Soviet ship continued its way in the Red Sea.[/sup]

[spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Arcanda

Brazil Toucan

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

Turkiye 1St

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, Puerto Somoza, Kewtpuff, Adriatican Islands, Le Equatoria, Zingium

[list][list][pre]K I N G D O M O F G R E E C E • Β Α Σ Ί Λ Ε Ι Ο Τ Η Σ Ε Λ Λ Ά Δ Α Σ[/pre][/list][/list]

[list][list][list]KYPROS : DEVELOPMENT AND REFORM, TRANS-HELLENIC TRAVEL ESTABLISHED[/list][/list][/list]

[list][list][sub]THE MULTICULTURAL NEW TERRITORY, Adriatican Islands[/list]

[list][list]MAY, 1966[/sub][/list][/list]


 | In the wake of Enosis with Kypros (Cyprus), a new wave of Hellenic patriotism emerged out of a seemingly uncertain past. The coveted Enosis was a resounding success, and the Hellenic Government and the people of Greece embraced the new land. International support, for the most part, was positive, as accolades from the Republic of Slovenia ( Amsterwald ), the Kingdom of Spain, ( Spainard ), and the Republic of India ( Kewtpuff ) in particular further boosted Greece's image in the international community, proving that this was not simply an "annexation" or a "land grab", it was not de facto, this was indeed a de jure and a de facto union, internationally recognized, and in most cases as mentioned previously, was supported by the international community. The island itself however was left in a dire state, with towns and villages of the north being destroyed or damaged, along with most infrastructure being moderately damaged, including roads and railways. Communal tensions on the island however had calmed down, as it was no longer Hellenes and Turks fighting, but Turks fighting for rights and autonomy. Of course, the people of the island were now citizens of Greece, which the Turks did not take easily, demanding Athens for some kind of concession to be made, the answers to their calls however would be delayed time and time again, as the Greek government had more pressing matters to attend to. |


 | It was now certain that the development of Kypros was sacrosanct to the continuous growth of the Greek economy. As the war-torn island slowly recovered, the Greek economy's growth quickly stagnated as a result, as the new priority wasn't merely economic growth anymore, it was the development of the island to sustain economic growth. One way this was achieved was tourism. The beaches of Kypros were largely unaffected, and with areas such as Famagusta and Paphos quickly becoming populated with tourists and locals alike, it was clear that the tourism industry in Kypros was now unaffected, and that this new part of Greece would bring positive effects for the country. The Xenia, a series of hotels all across mainland Greece, opened several branches all across Kypros as well, continuing to bring up the standards of the island. It was not just tourism that brought positive effects to Greece, but also the support from the people. With the union taking place, Greek companies were quick to move in and capitalize on the growing population of Cyprus, and with industries and corporations continuing to spring up, job opportunities soared. These jobs are expected to create positive overall effects, and finally grow the Greek economy once more by 1967 at the earliest. |


 | In addition to the development of tourism and jobs, the Greek government in Athens prioritized easy travel by sea from mainland Greece to Kypros, with several routes being established, such as the quick and economical Piraeus — Heraklion — Limassol route, and the longer, more scenic Thessaloniki — Rhodes — Limassol route. The travel from mainland Greece to Kypros was cheap and economical, being carried out by Greece's national flag carrier, the Greek Line. Several ships of the Greek Line, used previously in the slowly stagnating African route, were relocated to domestic service across Greece, and during summertime, the Greek Line's biggest vessel, the TSS Byzantine, along with her smaller running mate, the TSS Alexandros, carried out cruises all across Greece. It was not just the Greek Line which carried locals and tourists to Kypros though, but also Greece's national air carrier — Olympic Airways. Olympic Airways has been rapidly expanding, amassing a mighty air fleet capable of flying domestically and internationally. Olympic Airways has made Greece a popular choice for tourists, and both the Greek Line and Olympic Airways have contributed greatly to the growth of the Greek Tourism sector and tourism in Kypros overall. |

[list][list][spoiler=[sub]Written for the RMB Screen of the[/sub]

COMMONWEALTH OF LIBERTY

—]

Adriatican Islands

Amsterwald

Anglo Channel

Arcanda

Cascadla

Cheezaslovakia

Connomia

East Germany Ddr

Greater Adriatican State

Great Britain Gb

Greater Kurdistane

Israelli

Kewtpuff

Kotakuan Ii

Ma-Li

Maziya

Metropolitan Francais

Mutawakkiliti

Neepal

Nevbrejnovitz

Newauroria

New Provenance

Nileia

Nippon-Nihon

Osivoii

Paramountica

Paseo

Peking Zhongguo

Pontianus

Provenancia

Ranponian

Rio De La Plata Argentina

Rutannia

Saudi Arabiyah

Socialist Democratic Republic Romania

Spainard

Sudesam

The Confederate Prussian Empire

Vancouver Straits

Victoria Harbor

Virnall

[/spoiler]

[/list][/list]

Spainard, Paseo, Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, Puerto Somoza, Kewtpuff, Le Equatoria, Zingium

The Tripartite System: A Growing Conflict

1962-1964

As Tanganyika became independent, the conflict between the government and the party grew in scope and intensity.

The Party known as the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), was made up of poor impoverished farmers and tradesmen, most of whom lacked proper education. Meanwhile, the government was led by a group of technocrats, college-educated men, teachers, and industrialists. This set a clear divide between the two, and one which would have to be balanced lest an unavoidable split took place.

From 1961-1963, the power of the TANU would only continue to grow especially as they grew more entrenched with the common citizen. In an attempt to create balance, and prevent TANU dominance over policy formulation, the government would create the office of the Presidency. As the executive body, the President would be able to break deadlocks between the government and party, as well as, override any decisions made by another. This made the presidency a powerful tool to ensure balance, and the only man able to take the job without causing divisions was Julius Nyerere.

Nyerere was an enigma, while sympathetic to the party, he recognized intelligently the policy prescriptions they gave were unlikely to succeed. Too much redistribution, a distrust of trade, and outright violent hostility toward Indians and Europeans would only lead Tanganyika down a path of destruction. This often made his decision-making erratic, sometimes he would go to the party for policy, and other times to the government.

The First Major Hurdle: One Party or Multi-Party?

The first major schism over policy would come in February 1963. The Tangiyka African National Union would pass a policy calling for the establishment of a one-party state. Party Representative and head of the TANU National Executive Council Rashidi Mfaume Kawawa would present the policy to President Nyerere, and authorize him to set up a commission to create a structure for the state, as was customary for the time.

Nyerere would; however, not pass the policy instead seeking the opinion of the government.[1] A high-ranking MP in the legislature named Edward Moringe Sokoine would furiously shoot down this proposal. He argued to the President, that such a policy would needlessly weaken the government, especially when TANU already occupied every seat in Parliament. In countering the TANU, MP Sokoine would bring forward a motion to not only reject any attempts to make Tanganyika a one-party state but also pass a motion to President Nyerere that would constitutionally enshrine multi-party democracy, and grant judiciary powers to remove MPs and censure parties who called for an end to multiparty democracy.

Reviewing both motions, President Nyerere would side with Parliament, passing the act. The TANU and National Execution Council chairman Kawawa raged against the decisions. Seeing it as collusion between the President and the monied interests of the Parliament. Nonetheless, they were forced to submit to the President’s authority, at least for the time being.

[1] Irl Nyerere immediately set up set commission and passed the act without asking Parliament.

Paseo, Amsterwald, Socialist Democratic Republic Romania, Nippon-Nihon, Metropolitan Francais, Puerto Somoza, Kewtpuff, Adriatican Islands, Mutawakkiliti, Le Equatoria

[list][list][list][pre]RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE

FRENCH BUREAUCRACY

MINISTÈRE DES AFFAIRES ÉTRANGÈRES[/pre][/list]

______

FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTRY: DE GAULLE'S GRAND TOUR OF RUSSIA SIGNALS A STEADY BUT SLOW COLD WAR THAW

[sub]VTH FRENCH REPUBLIC | PARIS—MOSCOW, JUNE 1966[/sub][/list]

[sub]| HELM OF DIPLOMACY, MINISTÈRE DES AFFAIRES ÉTRANGÈRES - | One could only characterize the balcony scene's performance as socialist surrealism. From the very window of Moscow's imposing 19th-century city hall, where Lenin had inspired the revolutionaries of 1919, Charles de Gaulle shone beautifully, towering over the applauding crowds and nodding lindens of Gorky Street. "I am infinitely moved," De Gaulle commenced. "I bring you the greetings of the Parisian people and the people of France." Then, in fluent Russian: "Long live, Moscow! Long live Russia!...May France and Russia always remain friends!" With a Wagnerian thunderclap, the lowering summer sky of Moscow burst at De Gaulle's cry, sparking lightning among the onion domes of the Kremlin and bringing torrential rain.[/sub]

[sub]Charles de Gaulle's performance in Russia this week reaffirmed what the world has long suspected: he has supernatural mastery over the atmosphere, both politically and climatically. De Gaulle left a comet-like trail of sparks and portents from the moment his tricolored, twin-flagged (French and Soviet) Caravelle landed at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport until his week-end trip into Siberia. Every action, statement, communiqué, and symbol was closely examined by Europe and the rest of the globe to look for clues about De Gaulle's intentions. Why was he there, anyway? To sign another non-aggression pact similar to the one he did in the winter of 1944 with Russia? To reach scientific accords that would enable the Soviet Union to put the French tricolor on rockets and launch them into lunar orbit? Or was his purpose in Europe to expedite the end of the cold war, which had lasted for generations? The continent has never witnessed such agitation and palaver about issues that were considered indisputable just a few months prior. European diplomats had reopened communication between their countries' former Iron Curtain counterparts. What will all of this lead to? Though nationalism is on the rise, Europeans think a significant breakthrough is imminent, one that will ultimately lead to more mobility and new alliances. This might see Europe reunited as a single continent for the first time since 1939. Nobody was prepared to forecast the arrival date of the new Europe. Arriving in Moscow to construct the "proud tower" of European nationalism from the Atlantic to the Urals, 75-year-old Charles Andre Joseph Marie de Gaulle was trying to accelerate the process.[/sub]

[sub]In a fortuitous start, De Gaulle received the friendliest welcome of any Western visitor in Soviet history. De Gaulle's aircraft was escorted to its landing by seven MIG fighters in wingtip-to-wingtip formation. The general disembarked wearing khakis and kepis as the band began playing La Marseillaise, and a battery of anti-aircraft artillery boomed twenty-one times, so close and loud that onlookers could feel the guns' breath. De Gaulle winced reflexively as he saw the honor guard, dazzling in grey, gold, and red, their rifle butts hitting the ground with such popping precision. The thousand "workers" gathered to welcome De Gaulle yelled "Vive la France!" as he stepped among them and shook hands. On the ride into Moscow with Soviet First Deputy Premier Aleksei Kosygin and General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev, De Gaulle followed the old Kaluga Road, now Lenin Avenue down which Napoleon retreated under Czarist cannonfire in 1812. Last week the route was lined by 800,000 Muscovites waving paper tricolors and shouting "Druzhba!" which means friendship in Russian. The Napoleonic parallel was completed when De Gaulle was escorted to a spacious apartment within the Kremlin walls, the first Western leader ever so honored and the first Frenchman to sleep there since Bonaparte. Similar to Napoleon, De Gaulle soon realized that an invasion of Russia, no matter how spectacular, does not equate to triumph. "France would like to see the harmful spell of the cold war broken and, at least as far as she is concerned, a beginning of new relations toward relaxation, harmony, and cooperation with the East European states," De Gaulle declared after a dinner of caviar, cucumber soup, and jellied deer's tongue on the evening of his arrival. When discussing this with the East, Paris inevitably talks to Moscow. France's principal goal is still to reestablish Europe as a fertile totality rather than one that is immobilized by a sterile division.[/sub]

[sub]De Gaulle was pleased the next day when the political talks took an even more favorable turn. The primary orator was Economist Kosygin, who announced that the French firm Chausson had received a large contract for auto bodies which comes just weeks after the signing of the deal in which Renault will expand Moscow's Moskvich automobile plant. The delegations rapidly agreed to establish scientific and technical cooperation to include exchange of approved scientists and patents, information sharing in regards to nuclear energy, and to undertake joint unmanned space projects. The scientific and commercial aspects of the meeting went so well that there was time to revisit global issues. Regarding Vietnam, De Gaulle and Kosygin judged it sufficient to concur that neither the United States nor Red China should win the war and take over the nation. Like many others, they demanded "respect for the 1954 Geneva Accords" and the creation of an independent Vietnam that was "sovereign and free of all foreign intervention." After that, De Gaulle embarked on a crowd-pleasing, if not particularly political, 6,200-mile tour of Russia. The French leader was greeted by more than half of the one million citizens of Novosibirsk, dubbed "the Chicago of Siberia". First Deputy Premier Kosygin went with De Gaulle to visit power plants and factories that produced electrical equipment. Later, the seven-year-old academic city of Akademgorodok, which had 37,000 residents, was his target for a second assault on the cultural rapprochement between Russia and France. "It is impossible to overlook the fact that the esteemed academy I am currently attending is the heir to one that Peter the Great established in 1725," he remarked. "Afterwards, the same motivation that drove Czar Peter led you into Siberia where you to find enormous wealth, including metals, oil, and gas. All of these were needed to build new cities. Let science, French and Soviet, come together for the advancement of humanity. While Russia and France join forces for global peace."[/sub]

[sub]De Gaulle flew south from Novosibirsk to Baikonur, the major space center of the Soviet Union. As for the Baikonur "cosmodrome," no other Westerner had ever seen it, and the Russians surpassed that record with the launch of a satellite in De Gaulle's honor, most likely a polar-orbiting spy satellite meant to spy on the United States. After that, at the conclusion of the week, De Gaulle took a plane to Leningrad to see the Hermitage and the Petrodvorets Palace and have additional discussions regarding the disposition of Europe with Khrushchev and Kosygin. De Gaulle believes he has more right than any other Western leader to talk about such disposition. Nor is any other Western leader in a position to do so at this time. Right now in Europe, De Gaulle is arguably the only Western leader with the freedom and standing to make a positive impact. The careful affirmation of change that exposed the long-standing frozen ground of East-West stubbornness was the reason the shifting trend among the allies and Eastern Europe had any merit at all. In that regard, De Gaulle is not just a spoiler; he is accelerating the process of change with his devious tactics, duplicity, antiquated nationalism, and forward-thinking vision of a post-Communist Europe. He has constantly shown himself to be a man of the West, arrogant and uncompromising when he warned Brezhnev that he would not tolerate Russian hegemony in Eastern Europe during his trip.[/sub]

[sub]Therefore, despite all the controversy Charles de Gaulle has generated in Washington over his NATO policies, he has also been contributing to Washington's agenda by compelling a reevaluation of the purpose of the North Atlantic Alliance and the cold war. For far too long, Washington has been responding to other people's ideas when it ought to have been spearheading NATO reform months, if not years, ago. That creative approach to Europe has been rendered nearly impossible by concerns about Southeast Asia, but the United States remains firmly and permanently invested in Europe. If De Gaulle is able to see chances in the current European atmosphere to improve the West's standing with Russia, then the leaders of the West should undoubtedly be able to turn those opportunities into policy. | [/sub]

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[list][list][pre]VIVE LA RÉPUBLIQUE!

VIVE LA FRANCE!

VIVE L’EMPIRE![/pre][/list][/list]

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Written by Refuge Isle.