Mordusia

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Re: Chronicles of Mordusia

Postby Bachelot » Wed Apr 25, 2018 12:07 am

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Re: Chronicles of Mordusia

Postby Bachelot » Thu Apr 26, 2018 12:06 am

December 4383

TERRA EXCLUSIVE: Dodos found in Great Adubara Forest

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Dodos in the Great Adubara Forest

In a development that has captured the public imagination and set ornithologists on the edge of their seats, a tiny colony of dodos - a species previously thought to be extinct - has been discovered in a remote part of the Great Adubara Forest, in the central region of Adubara State. They were found by a local walker, Janet Grimshaw. The authorities refused to take her sighting seriously at first, only investigating further after she supplied them with photographic evidence.

The good news ends there, however. Conservation authorities have warned that the dodo colony is "seriously struggling with an unknown illness involving respiratory problems", and they fear that "the colony is in danger of collapse, and the species of possible extinction".

They have announced that "in order to safeguard the future of the animals and their species, we have removed them from their natural location and moved them to the Institute of Zoological Studies in Medingsbury". The statement went on:

We acknowledge this is a drastic step to take and it will inevitably be controversial. The decision was not taken lightly. In our judgement, leaving the dodos in the wild would doom them to imminent extinction, not only due to the unknown disease, but also due to the risk of the publicity of their discovery encouraging poachers.
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Re: Chronicles of Mordusia

Postby Bachelot » Thu Apr 26, 2018 2:47 pm

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Re: Chronicles of Mordusia

Postby Bachelot » Thu Apr 26, 2018 10:02 pm

May 4384

Liberals divided as Bachelot sponsors controversial Olympic Security Bill

Liberal Union backbenchers and party members are in uproar at the Olympic Security Bill being piloted through Parliament by party leader Henri Bachelot. Party rebels argue the bill is too illiberal and draconian, but Bachelot told MPs "not to forget the Olympics may be targeted by right-wing extremists" and that "we need to reassure the Olympic community that the Rechtenburg Winter Olympics are going to be safe for everybody".

The Liberal Union faced internal splits last year when Bachelot sponsored a separate bill allocating more public money to preparing for the Olympics. One backbench Liberal Union MP told us:

Many of us represent seats in rural areas which are under-funded by the government already. We resent that all of this money is being pumped into Rechtenburg - the capital city is massively over-subsidised already as it is. We are even more resentful that our own party leader wants to turn Rechtenburg into a mini police state during the Olympics, despite the fact we're meant to be a liberal party.


TERRA EXCLUSIVE: Future of dodo species hangs in the balance

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Doddle the gay dodo

To widespread horror, Terra's last remaining stock of dodos at the Institute of Zoological Studies in Medingsbury has declined further from 26 to just 9, as zoologists struggle to deal with a mystery respiratory illness that is affecting the animals. More seriously, of the 9 remaining dodos, there is only 1 male remaining - and staff say he is showing no interest whatsoever in mating with any of the females. He previously enjoyed a bond with another male dodo, Bobbin, but plunged into despair after Bobbin died of the mystery illness last week. An insider told us he is "withdrawn and anxious, excessively plucking his feathers, declining food and becoming snappy at the females whenever they come to near him".
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Re: Chronicles of Mordusia

Postby Bachelot » Fri Apr 27, 2018 10:40 pm

December 4384

Child benefit for Mordusian families only, demand National Movement

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The National Movement, a fringe far-right organisation run by the notorious Frederick Manningham-Buller, has responded to the government's boost to child benefits by campaigning for child benefit to be awarded only to ethnically Mordusian families. Last night Manningham-Buller told 10,000 supporters at a meeting in Perigon Mountain:

The birth rate amongst Mordusians is worrying low, whereas the Canrillaise and the other foreigners are breeding like rabbits, then going on to steal our jobs, scrounge off our benefits system and usurp our culture. We have got to stop this. To encourage the reproduction of non-Mordusians is cultural suicide. When will our leaders wake up and realise that this country is Mordusia, and if we want it to stay Mordusia, we've got to start putting ourselves first for a change? Every other nation in Terra puts its own people first, other than Mordusia. We are a laughing stock on the international stage. Other nations are watching our nation selling itself out to foreigners, and they're laughing at us, taking advantage of us, exploiting us, humiliating us, pissing all over us. Well, we in the National Movement say "Enough is enough". For starters, child benefit should only be for our people, Mordusians. They are the children our forefathers built this country for - not the children of Canrillaise.


A small group of Liberal Union MPs, led by Francine Dumont, have also expressed opposition to the government's child benefit plans - although for different reasons. "As a childless person myself, I don't see why there is this expectation that I must be subsidising people with children all the time," she said. "The decision to have children is a lifestyle choice, and if you choose to have children, you accept the commitments, the sacrifices and the financial costs that go along with that, rather than expecting other hard-working people to subsidise your lifestyle". She later clarified: "I do not object to the state helping low-income families with children, what I object to is this unfair principle that everybody with children is automatically entitled to benefits just because they have children".

The Mordusian Council of Hosian Churches, an umbrella organisation representing the majority of Hosian organisations in Mordusia, issued a statement saying it "strongly welcomes this extra support for families and the recognition that children's welfare is a responsibility of society as a whole", but lamenting that "the tax and benefits system does not provide any recognition of or encouragement of the institution of marriage, even though all of the research and experience shows that marriage is the best environment in which to raise children".


"Randy Mandy" evicted from dodo pen

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Randy Mandy

Staff at Medingsbury's Institute of Zoological Studies have controversially removed a female dodo called Mandy from the dodo pen because they say she is "following Doddle around far too much and not leaving him alone", causing Doddle "significant distress and we believe increasing his disinclination to mate with any of the female dodos".

Some animal experts have complained that separating Mandy from the other members of her species is cruel and unnecessary, but staff say they are hopeful that removing Mandy from the pen will increase the probability that Doddle will eventually mate with one of the other females, thus making it more like that the species will be saved from extinction.
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Re: Chronicles of Mordusia

Postby Bachelot » Sat Apr 28, 2018 11:48 am

March 4385

Liberal Union dissolves amidst party splits and financial problems

The Liberal Union has announced it is dissolving and will not be contesting seats at the next election. Although the announcement did not mention any specific reasons, the move is believed to be due to a mixture of splits within the party and a growing financial crisis within the party organisation. There were hints of trouble last month, when the party was forced to sell its large headquarters in Rechtenburg and move to a much smaller temporary office.

Both inside and outside parliament, the party has been split over its support for big government policies which have seen taxes and public spending increase significantly during the party's time in office. There was also a lot of division about the party leadership's support for diverting even more money to the Rechtenburg Olympics and for passing the Olympic Security Act, which many liberals felt was draconian and illiberal.


National Movement to contest next election

Frederick Manningham-Buller's controversial far-right National Movement has announced that for the first time, it will put up candidates for seats at the next election. The party is predicted to win a significant amount of votes and win seats, although it's extreme reputation means it is unlikely to take part in any ruling coalition. The anti-fascist organisation HateWatch has urged the media to "report the National Movement carefully, and not fall into their bigoted agenda" and also urged voters to "vote tactically if that is needed to keep the National Movement out".

The decision to contest the election caused some division within the Movement, which has previously eschewed participation in electoral politics. Elizabeth Harding, a prominent member of the party's Executive Committee, published a pamphlet entitled "A Movement, not a Party", arguing the group would be more effective and wield more influence as an extra-parliamentary organisation, and that getting involved with elections and elected bodies would be "a distraction".


TERRA EXCLUSIVE: Baby dodos secure survival of species

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After much nail-biting anticipation, 5 baby dodos have been born at Medingsbury's Institute of Zoological Studies, which zoologists believe will "probably" ensure the survival of the species, "although we still have much to learn and progress still needs to be made". Doddle, who had been the only male dodo, was finally persuaded to mate with the females after the most persistent of the females, Mandy, was removed from the pen, and he was injected with a dose of Viagra-for-birds to "increase his drive".

The Institute say the next stage in their plan is to continue the Dodo breeding program, and then once there are enough dodos, open a new zoo called "Dodo World", which will be open to the public.

There is excitement about dodos all over Terra, and next week the dodos and the staff at the Institute will be participating in a reality television series which is expected to attract record viewing figures.
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Re: Chronicles of Mordusia

Postby macmckeown » Sat Apr 28, 2018 10:31 pm

SOCIALISTS SET TO FORM COALITION WITH HOSIAN DEMOCRATS AND CANRILLAISE NATIONALISTS

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4385 General Election Results

Elijah Spring is set to form a centre-left coalition with his Socialist Party, the Hosian Social Union, and the Union Canrillaise, which will rely on the confidence-and-supply of the Common Good, a small Hosian left party with 27 seats.
Initial attempts by the Socialists to form a coalition with the Greens fell through after Spring found the Greens' demands for either the Foreign Office or the Finance Ministry too much.
The three parties have come to an agreement on deficit reduction, welfare reform, and environmental policy.
When asked abut negotiations, Spring said “we have made serious progress in negotiations. The chances of an SP-HSU-UC deal is very high, especially now that the CG has pledged to provide parliamentary support”
When asked about the budget deficit, he said “I am committed to balancing the books, with spending cuts to non-essential departments and tax increases on certain brackets, so that we can run a surplus by 4388.”

- Rechtenburg Post
Last edited by macmckeown on Mon Apr 30, 2018 9:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
Socialist Party / Parti Socialiste - Commonwealth of Mordusia
Partiya Demokratîk a Azad - Jemhewra-ye Aldegār (Republic of Aldegar)
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Re: Chronicles of Mordusia

Postby macmckeown » Mon Apr 30, 2018 9:30 am

ANTI-AUSTERITY MARCHES AROUND MORDUSIA

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Protest in Bayonne, Sayoon

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Mass Protest in Charleville, Talasor

Protests over the Mordusian government's austerity measures have erupted over the nation, especially in major cities. The General Confederation of Labour and the Federation of Hosian Trade Unions, despite the fact that both of their affiliated parties (Socialist Party and Hosian Social Union respectively) are in the government, have called for a general strike, scheduled for the 10th March.

"This is unnaceptable!" said a student holding up a sign saying Education is a Right!, "The so-called Socialists are implementing austerity, that impacts students and working families the hardest. They have hiked VAT, cut spending by nearly 20bn MRD, and are stripping support from working families. It's shameful"

The most controversial proposal by Elijah Spring's government is the reintroduction of tuition fees for people with a net worth of above 24,000 MRD, which is expected to be defeated in Parliament, as one of the government's coalition members, the Canrillaise Union, have opposed the policy.

Former SP leader, Simon Bouchard, has heavily criticized these measures, saying "this austerity drive is helping nobody. I voted for Spring in the last leadership election, but I am starting to question my choice"

Even moderates within the SP, like the First Minister of Adubura, Samantha Jenkins and Mount Perigon Mayor, Jean-Pierre Lemaire, have called the government to slow down the speed of the cuts, with Jenkins saying that "[the cuts] will have an adverse impact on growth" and Lemaire saying "these cuts to public services and local government harm those who need these services the most"

The Greens, who are the second largest party in Parliament, have taken a strongly anti-austerity stance, and are set to benefit, with polls showing them snatching up the Mayor's Offices of Port Alexander, Clann, Euphanea, and the City of the Halos.

- Rectenburg Post
Socialist Party / Parti Socialiste - Commonwealth of Mordusia
Partiya Demokratîk a Azad - Jemhewra-ye Aldegār (Republic of Aldegar)
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Rocky LaFollette Resigns as Leader of HSU, Triggering Snap E

Postby Orcishtimmy » Mon Apr 30, 2018 3:12 pm

- By Jon Jones

After an embarrassing defeat in the recent elections, both in the Governor General race and in Parliament, coupled with the threat of a general strike against the ruling coalition, LaFollette has decided to resign from his post and retire from politics.

His allies claim that he helped the party through a transition from Thallerism back to moderate Hosian Democracy. Sure, he has done quite a bit to recover the party's image, especially among younger Canrillaise voters.

His opponents, meanwhile say he didn't go far enough. He let Hosian Reaction run the party wholesale for the past 10 years, and the Thallerists were never truly ejected from the party. Additionally, the membership of the FHTU, the Federation of Hosian Trade Unions, has steadily declined under his watch.

Immediately, the Aurorian People's Party Candidate Arnoud VanDerWall, a Union and Saridani rights activist, is leading by a large margin in the polls over the BPP's Alexander Richardson and HU's Rutherford Jones.

- The Hosian Worker
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Re: Chronicles of Mordusia

Postby Bachelot » Mon Apr 30, 2018 4:54 pm

March 4386

Nationalist antics provoke backlash in Parliament

Last year, 14 National Movement members were elected to Parliament. For the political establishment, that was way more than enough, although less than had been feared.

Since their arrival in Parliament, the National Movement have earned the ire of most of the MPs from other parties. Led by their bumptious and loud-mouthed chairman, Frederick Manningham-Buller, they have proposed bills supporting a range of controversial causes, including:

- removing citizenship rights from "non-ethnic Mordusians" and banning multiple citizenship.

- reintroducing corporal punishment in schools.

- bringing back the death penalty.

- restricting foreign workers from seeking employment.

- denying state aid to refugees.

- cutting Mordusia's overseas aid funding.

- restricting foreign investors from buying up Mordusian enterprises.

- removing Canrillaise as an official national language.

- Excising the Canrillaise section of the national anthem.

- reintroducing national service.

- Relocating the Minister for Canrillaise Affairs to Vanakalam, over at the other side of the world.

- banning a range of Canrillaise foods deemed to be "un-Mordusian".

In response, other parties are forming a "Cordon Sanitaire" against the Nationalists, which Manningham-Buller has angrily denounced as "a Canrillaise conspiracy". For now this is relatively easy, since the Nationalists have few MPs. But what if their representation increases at the next election? Opinion polls suggest that if an election were held today, the number of Nationalist MPs would more than double. Would the "Cordon Sanitaire" last then, or would some of the parties feel themselves compelled to affix pegs to their noses and start making deals?

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The Speaker's new silencer button

The Speaker has also at times become impatient with the Nationalists, particularly with Manningham-Buller, who is notorious for his interruptions and heckling. A few months ago, she installed a silencer button on her desk, enabling her to switch off Manningham-Buller's microphone in order to make it easier to deal with him when he becomes disruptive. Manningham-Buller has denounced this move as "a gross intrusion on parliamentary sovereignty and freedom of speech".


Sol Solid joins the Nationalists

Controversial former Prime Minister Sol Solid, who was elected as an independent at the last election for a seat in central Talasor, has formally joined the National Movement, and will now sit with its MPs in Parliament. "Sol has a lot of experience and knows how the country works and how the government works," said party chairman Bernard Manningham-Buller. "He is a real asset to us, and we could not be happier to have him on board."

Solid, a Hosian bloc MP who helped facilitate the entry of Mordusia First into the government some years back, has long held far-right sympathies.
Last edited by Bachelot on Tue May 01, 2018 12:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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