Post Archive
Region: England
Happy New Year!
http://z15.invisionfree.com/Democratic_England/index.php?showtopic=880&st=0last
As Minister of Defense and Intelligence I believe this apparent declaration of war to have a worrying amount of substance. MI6 (British Intel Agency) has informed me of sudden increase of activity among Communist Insurgency Forces across England.
As from 00:58 GMT the regional Terrorist Threat Level has been raised to Critical!
Can I get this clear, please? Has someone declared war on a region with a similar name to ours, our region, or on one of our member states?
Can you also explain what the risks to this region are, please?
As spokesperson for Morekai I would just like to say that we as a people "really-bloody-jolly-well" don't like Terrorism.
However, in regards to information on the matter which should obviously be taken very seriously, we do "really-bloody-jolly-well" struggle to take anything seriously when the source comes from the "britsh" empire.
Clarification at this point will be necessary.
The Communist Revolution has arrived in England. To stop Major Terror Attacks across England we have only one request. The British Empire's oppressive King and his puppet government step down from power peaceful or we will take it though force and the rest of England will suffer for their support of the Empire.
OOC: I'm trying to make a Regional RP
Post self-deleted by The New United Britsh Empire.
Yes: Morekai, The new united britsh empire, and Bogans and Boozers.
Harsh ;)
I think the vote is quite clear already, I will begin preparations immediately. Sorry I haven't been too active of late! I hope that those who voted step forth and make a real difference :)
Harsh!
Incoherent mess everywhere. I have a better word.
Baffled.
Is baffled the better word? I don't actually know how to respond to that so I'll best leave it.
If anyone would like to be delegate, please announce it on here. I would honestly say if you want to run this region successfully you need at least half an hour a day, possibly more, to check first thing in the morning and night. When I played several years ago, it was my greatest hobby (I know sounds so sad!) but even when I was on holiday (before phones had decent internet) I would journey to the nearest library just to get a daily fix. I remember visiting a tiny museum in Wales once, it was the village Lloyd George grew up in and they had one very slow computer with internet access. The volunteer was interested to see what the fuss was all about whilst I sat huddled with my girlfriend eagerly to see what was going on- fearful of an invasion or concerned about the region and nations residing in her.
Apart from replying to the many telegrams you receive, I get about 5 a day currently, you also need to check several different forums including our own. You'll find inactivty the hardest task to deal with, the lack of enthusiasm which the game once had. I thought I would be able to mobilize the region but it's changed and either needs more added to it by Max Barry and the other moderators or a complete rethink as in it's current state you can go maybe two or three days without logging in whereas before it was more often.
You'll need to be creative & thoughtful and most importantly friendly to everyone, this is a game that people log in to because they want to and not because they feel the need to. Different ideas you come up with might not appeal to everyone so it's essential to get a good team behind you to help explore other avenues. The football at the end of last year was an amazing effort by Wilkosaurous rex. Thank you.
Anyway, good luck to whoever is the new leader. Tyrr will always be your Founder and ultimate protector of the region. I will not get too involved in daily politics but I will step in if I feel there has ever been an injustice.
Play nice and thanks for your support :)
Holy Tyrr
Ps, Sorry for any typos- exhausted. Two more sleeps until the weekend! :)
Oh.
The reason why I voted yes to the election poll is purely based on the agreed process - I have nothing against Tyrr, but when Tyrr announced his nomination for the election, he clearly stated that it was his intention to only stand for a month, and then call for an election. That period has long since passed, and there had yet to be an election called.
However, I don't want to see an election called until we finally set some ground rules for the elections (i.e.: how long the period of office, when and how often elections take place, who votes). There is a lot of ground work that needs to happen for there to be any progress.
B&B
Having just started watching Borgen (great tv show which I would recommend) I have decided that I am definitely not cut out for politics (or journalism for that matter). But I agree with B&B that we do need to sort out some sort of structure to the election process. Perhaps we can make use of the new poll system that has been introduced?
I would like to direct discussions in regards to the election process to the following thread on our forum:
http://z15.invisionfree.com/Democratic_England/index.php?showtopic=861&st=0last
B&B
Post by The New United Britsh Empire suppressed by Tyrr.
I quit. I think that sums it up
Thanks for starting a forum discussion on this B&B, much appreciated.
Congratulations B&B!
On behalf of the region, I would like to thank Tyrr for his services as WA delegate. It is a difficult task, and I look forward to taking up this challenge. I also look forward to working alongside Tyrr (as our founder) to advance our region. I am always open to new ideas, so feel free message me via TG here or on the forums.
B&B
Yes, many thanks to Tyrr, without whom I certainly wouldn't be back here.
Thank you to you both. I am very excited about retirement, going to kick back and relax again now. Good luck B&B :)
Hello all,
I have just created a poll in regards to the durations of office terms for the position of WA delegate. This will determine when elections will be held in the region. The options are terms of: 3 months, 4 months, or 6 months.
Everyone in the region is eligible to vote in this poll, and I encourage you all to participate. After all, this is your region: your views and opinions are important in shaping England's future.
The poll will close in 14 days time.
B&B
Hello there Chaps! What are all your thoughts on Englands' chances of winning the six nations?!? The game against Ireland is going to be a big one I think.
Some big Champions League Games coming up soon as well!
Also does anyone on here play BattleNations?
Hi
Hi IFS, Welcome to the region!
Thankyou :) nice place
Poll news:
Thank you to all who voted in the recent poll. As a result, delegate elections will now take place every three months.
3 months - 6 votes
4 months - 0 votes
6 months - 5 votes
B&B
HELLO
Welcome to the region, New Gibraltar!
I'm back chaps!
Welcome back, Hirota!
I like the current poll. I just wondered who Cheslea are?!.... :-D
Aren't they the new French restaurant in town - pronounced Chez Lea . . .
Ah oui! Zey must be ze ones who sell ze horses doofers.
Howdy all... I hope you don't mind a simple refugee from the colonies dropping in
So, who voted Arsenal in that last poll? It's beginning to look a little unlikely....
I forgot to vote . . . as a Gunners supporter, things are starting to look very bleak after a great start :(
Also, welcome to region Caiomhin!
I voted for arsenal. Sadly optimistic I fear
I voted for Cheslea. I'd prefer it if it was Liverpool, but Cheslea have the bigger budget.
Nice to see you back by the way, Hirota!
I really really really hope that Chelsea don't win. Mourinho is an annoying little man
I'm afraid money buys football titles though (unless you're David Moyes).
SO's residents are by and large massive Liverpool fans, although I didn't contribute to the poll. Fear Chelsea are rather beyond us sadly.
Hello.
Welcome to the region, Hellofad!
SO's Liverpool supporting contingent are preparing for a public holiday tomorrow. May I also take this opportunity to wish a Happy St Patrick's Day to any Irish or Nigerians among us!
Anyway else enjoying the byte coin event?
Anyone*
Not really, wasn't really my cup of tea . . .
To celebrate the recognition of Hirota being the most advanced nation in the region, we have transferred our entire population to an orbiting artificial moon.
I prefer to call it an artifical satellite than anything else . . . I hope your not all associated with the Badwolf Corporation, Hirota . . .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Wolf
Huh, Looks like Yorkshire was invaded.
Indeed they have.
Hello,
I am an ambassador from the United Regions, an inter-regional alliance located here, The United Regions Headquarters. UR aims to promote inter-regional security and co-operation as well as guaranteeing the security of its member regions. I am here on behalf of the organization to enquire whether England would join this alliance of nations.
Regards,
URE
---------- ANNOUNCEMENT ----------
As previously decided via democratic regional poll, the region has voted that there should be WA Delegate elections every three months. As I am now approaching my 90th day in office, I have decided to announce an election for the delegacy on Friday, 25th April.
Nominations are now open to WA member nations for the position of WA delegate. All nominations must be declared on the regional messageboard. As the incumbent WA delegate, I wish to announce that I intend to re-contest the position.
Nominations close at 11:59PM (GMT), on Thursday 24th April.
In the event that there are no other nominations, the incumbent will be re-elected unopposed.
Regards,
B&B
Well, congrats Bogans on a painless election!
Thank you Hirota.
dont ban me. me no nazi typnig mistake
Relax, Tiger . . .
So...the European Elections are Thursday....everyone voting for UKIP then? ;)
Im voting lib dems because I have common sense.
Also, I'm sure that people who might disagree with you are delighted that you'd make a sweeping statement about common sense with an utter lack of supporting argument. I'm certain they'll take your opinion seriously....
Post self-deleted by Hirota.
Incidentally Tyrr, delighted you are around. Seems most of our allied regions are getting raided at the moment, and having the founder around is reassuring.
We also have a by-election in my area to look forward to. Last Saturday most of the "fringe" candidates were wandering around town buttonholing shoppers.
While your point is fully justified and my comment had no reason behind it. The true reason of my comment is simply i'm voting for them due to process of elimination.
Politics nowadays is simply picking between the lesser evils with labour and the lib dems being the lesser of the evils. Although if anyone is a green party voter then I am not going to criticise.
I was brought up believing that I have a moral duty to use my vote and that democracy cannot work if people do not do so. In truth though I cannot see any political party in this country that I think has what it takes to govern effectively. If they're not corrupt (that's why we have a by-election in my area) they're only interested in self-advancement, they're xenophobic, they're mad, they're inept or they're totally lacking in leadership qualities.
Totally agree! The political system is rotten and it does feel like it's in a spiral. It's getting worse!
On a separate point, I feel UKIP would have furthered their cause far more if they had more left wing policies, if they argued money could be better spent on affordable housing or something like raising the minimum wage they might have attracted more support.
I absolutely agree with this statement.
I really wished I could say that things were better in Australia, but it's not. My main concern is the lack of quality candidates in politics regardless of location - no matter where you look, there are parties and politicians that are completely out of touch with their constituents. It also doesn't help that politics (especially in the US, UK and Australia) have become so homogenised that there are only two main parties, and the process has become an "us against them" mentality. it also results in the extreme elements of each party becoming the recognised voice that ultimately make each party stand out from the other (hence the politics of fear and xenophobia dominating the political debates).
Farage is the man ! Torys - Liars, No referendum, LibDem - Comedians, No Referendum, Labour - no policies, no leadership, No referendum, same old, spend, spend, spend, Greens - Fantasists, No referendum, BNP - Not a chance as extreme right wing (like left wing) is fragmented ! UKIP - Fresh, personalities, For England & a referendum !
Ignoring the other policies of UKIP... I can see you really just want a referendum.
It is abundantly clear that the Conservatives have no mandate to call for a referendum on Europe while in coalition with the UK's most pro-Europe party. Given a majority at the next election there will certainly be a referendum, plus some actual other policies, which UKIP sadly lack (yes, they may have just published a manifesto, but their leader is as yet unaware of what is in it according to numerous interviews with him at various points). Add to that the fact that regardless of other policies, if you want a referendum you must vote Conservative because UKIP are about as likely to end up in a majority government as Willy Wonka or One Direction...
...Which just got annihilated in the European elections.
UKIP could well end up in a majority government if their bubble does not burst, the most likely scenario being if the Lib Dems are wiped out and Tories 'win' the next general election like they did the last, but again fall short of a majority and UKIP pick up enough seats to fill the shortfill that the Tories need to form a coalition.
This coming from a supporter of a party which counted among it's membership someone who blamed the floods on their God being angry with Gay Marriage and whose outlook generally seems to be to take a country back to the 1950's when people could be racist and homophobic as much as they want, and tell women where they think their place should be.
Cute.
Isn't it patently obvious that UKIP's success in the Euro and council elections is nothing more than a mid-term protest vote?
And multiple "former" National Front members amongst their number as well.And to think a lot of my country men were stupid enough to vote for them. You have summed up UKIP in a nutshell but people forget all of the other UKIP policies stances because they have ONE single good one, referendum (not that I agree) because that appeals to them. Ironically, deja vu 1940s Germany Nazi party situation if you ask me. But hey who said history doesn't repeat itself?
I'm hoping your right.Well, we have our by-election here in Newark tomorrow. The town centre has been crawling with politicians all week so at least after that we'll get the place back to ourselves. I have to say that the politicians with the most people talking to them have been UKIP, although the opinion polls say that the Conservatives are in the lead.
A friend of mine said regarding UKIP and the protest vote Hirota that voting for them as a protest is a bit like messing in your own bed. You need to remember that you are going to have to sleep in it afterwards. Let's hope that UKIP voters are quite sure they know what thy are voting for.
Voting for them period is a bit like messing in your own bed....
the exact metaphor I remember seeing was:
its like messing in your hotel bed when protesting about poor service then realising you have to sleep in that bed.
Whatever, the message I've got now that the result is out is that the outcome of the next General Election could well be a Conservative/UKIP coalition. There will always be those people who genuinely believe in everything that UKIP stands for, but for those insist next year on continuing to give the other parties a kicking for their undoubted failures I do hope that they take the time to read and digest the UKIP manifesto when it is issued. For a coalition to be drawn together the Tories will have formulate a coalition agreement with UKIP which inevitably require real concessions on some of their demands. A quick in/out referendum on Europe would likely be one element. A privatised NHS could well be another. Within the five years of the government this country would change dramatically and, to quote Joni Mitchell, "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone".
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot. :<
Yeah! Listen to the original version of the song and the more modern versions and it'll tell you a lot about inflation too!
Post by Luxembourg States suppressed by a moderator.
So, England had a good World Cup eh?
To be honest, I think they did their best and that the manager did a good job with them. BUT there are too many foreign players in the Premier League. Most international sides seem to be sporting at least a couple of players who play in England. That helps them and weakens our own pool of talent. It's time to set quotas and limit the number of foreigners each club can employ.
When you think about it, the domestic cricket championships have had limitations on the number of overseas players per club for a while now - it would make sense to introduce similar policies to the EPL. However, I tend to believe that ultimately the big money would decide the future of any such move - and in the end the big clubs will do anything to prevent losing out on revenue in exchange for a token move to improve the level of domestic talent. It is a real shame that so many clubs are owned overseas syndicates . . . there's no real interest in local talent, it's really only about having the best team that money can buy.
Yep. I agree with that.
Ultimately the level of fitness in professional football is levelling out. The human body can only be so good and the current routines international players will be on are all very similar, regardless of country. It's almost a level playing field these days. As a result you can't really cap the Premier League because in-season it's the stage for the world. The English have got the good ones in the mix but there's a whole world full of other guys just as good waiting to dance. Sure you could limit foreign players then we'd just have a league full of moderate English players getting to the same level, but in the end you're only allowed to take 20-odd to a national competition regardless. Granted it may inspire a bit more competition and desire to get into the squad but I don't think it would make a whole lot of difference. The pool is there, it's being cultivated and we have talent in our country.
It's just everyone else does too and they got lucky this time.
Virtually every team in the World Cup has players that routinely play in the English Premier League. They know our players and their strengths and weaknesses and they benefit from the high level of football that they get to play here on a weekly basis (which helps them when they come to play against England). In the meantime many English players with potential languish in the lower leagues and don't get the same experience.
It can't be right that two out of every three players in the Premier League are not eligible to play for the country where they ply their trade. That, by the way, is an accurate statistic.
They can't, really. EU rules on 'free movement of labour' mean that restricting the number of players from other EU member nations would be verry difficult.
It makes no difference, strengths and weaknesses work both ways. Between the players in the England squad they will have mates in every other team who they play with weekly and know very well, it's irrelevant.
England and its populace are a very small part of this world, there are a lot of humans that can run just as fast as an English man. We need to stop making excuses and accept the fact we sit very equal on the world stage and anyone can beat anyone.
Better luck next time!
Oh, my facts are correct. I checked them before posting.
But you have to ask yourself how it is that Belgium (population 11m) and Costa Rica (population 4.8 million) can produce teams of the quality they have when England (population 53m) can't. Granted the Messis and Peles only come along from time to time but there has to be a reason why. I say it's because we are hothousing foreign players at the expense of our own - and because our style of football is known to every other nation because they all have players who play here. Name me one English player that plays in Costa Rica, Belgium, Brazil, Argentina, Columbia or even France or Germany!
I see your point, and it's good. But it's usually the top 10% from wherever, regardless of the countrys size. We have maybe 10 decent Belgian players in the Premier League, it's all good.
And the need to go elsewhere isn't great when we have one of the best leagues but I do believe young Buttner from Manchester United is away to Russia next season. Dips and dives my friend, the place is in balance.
As a Yank, I just have to say that the argument that the rest of the world gets to see England's best in the EPL and can therefore counter them just doesn't FEEL right.
My favorite team sports are hockey and baseball, and while there's no global competition in the latter, I don't think having the NHL operate on American soil hurts the US when it comes to Olympic hockey. I raise this point because we have a very similar situation here in the US w/re to the NHL and global hockey as England has w/re to the EPL and global football (or soccer, as we call it on this side of the pond): During the Sochi Olympics, almost every top-ranked team featured one or more key players from the NHL (including, BTW, the Russians, a number of whom would normally be considered "hometown heroes" here in Southeastern Michigan, as stars on the Detroit Red Wings roster).
Yet that didn't stop either the US or Canada (and the NHL is pretty much a shared Canadian-American product, when push comes to shove) from both getting to the semis in 2012, nor did it stop Canada from winning back-to-back gold in both 2010 and 2014 (or, for that matter, three of the last four gold medals in hockey, failing only in 2006).
So if English football has a problem at the global level, it isn't from having their players' styles and weaknesses exposed to foreign eyes. It MIGHT be from having too many players never having the chance to play at the highest levels of the game due to roster limitations and the large number of foreign players in the EPL, but limiting foreign participation in the EPL isn't going to correct that (because, as others have noted, it will only water down the overall level of play).
I don't think you can compare (ice?) hockey with football. In most countries it is not as big as it is in Canada and the USA and anyway, from the little I know we have a lot more Americans and Canadians playing over here than there are Brits playing over there.
Bear in mind the numbers we are talking about too. 65% of EPL players are not eligible to play for England. Are there really that many foreigners over there playing Hockey? In the German Bundeslige for example only 40% of players are not available to the German national team.
I think that there are lots of reasons why such high numbers of foreigners playing here are a bad thing. I wouldn't go to war though with anyone who disagreed over the impact of the different reasons though.
I'm not arguing for no foreigners being allowed to play - but I do think there is a strong case for a quota. The Germans look like a good model to me. Nobody could accuse them of under-performing!
(Ice) hockey may not be as popular in as many countries, but it's insanely popular in more places than just the US and Canada (such as Russia, for instance, where it is pretty much the #1 sport).
According to the NHL, over 33% of its players hail from outside North America. Quoting their web site (http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26372):
"Last season there were 71 NHL players from the Czech Republic, 64 players from Russia, 50 from Sweden, 38 from Finland, 25 from Slovakia, six from Germany, five from Latvia, four from Ukraine, three from the United Kingdom, two from Poland, two from Lithuania, and one each from Belarus, Norway, and Switzerland."
Those numbers pretty much match recent medal performance (in the last 20 years, the Czechs have reached the semis twice [1 gold, 1 bronze], the Russians four times [1 silver, 1 bronze, and 2 4th place finishes], the Swedes 3 times [2 gold, 1 silver], the Finns 5 times [1 silver, 4 bronze], and the Slovaks once; against this, the US has made it 3 times [2 silvers and a 4th place finish] and Canada 5 times [3 gold, 1 bronze, and a 4th place finish]; the only other team outside this group to make it to the semis in the last 20 years was Belarus [in 2006]).
So essentially, you have 7 teams representing the top tier in terms of performance worldwide; and all of them have a couple of dozen players in the NHL. The rest of the league is mostly Canadian, with Americans representing maybe 20% of all players overall.
The question we must ask, then, is this: Does having only 20% of the league be American hurt the US? I don't think so; on the contrary, I think that regular play against the best in the world helps raise the quality of US players overall.
So now what I'm wondering is whether or not the level of play in the EPL is better, the same, or worse than the level of play in the Bundeslige. The Premier League may attract great players from around the world due to the monetary rewards it offers, but is England getting its money's worth overall in terms of the quality of football theyre buying?
Fair questions. I think though that the EPL is set up for the benefit of the EPL, not for our international team. The EPL is one of the most competitive leagues in the world as is demonstrated by the success of English teams in the Champions League. However the club managers managers (most of whom are not English) do not have the national team in mind when building their teams. The consequence is that at international level we always fail to perform.
If you think about it, the extreme (albeit highly unlikely) situation could be that there was not a single English player playing in the premier league. The justification would be that the clubs got the strongest teams by buying from abroad - and it might indeed be that the standards in the league were extremely high as a result. It goes without saying though that as a consequence the national team would seriously weakened. Given that inescapable fact it has to be that for the sake of the national team there NEEDS to be a limit to the number of players we have here from abroad. The only question is how many. The answer surely has to be that the number is big enough for the England manager to have an adequate pool of players to pick from to build a balanced, high performing team. All the evidence of this and previous competitions is that the current pool is not big enough.
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Written by Refuge Isle.