Telamon

[RandomAccess]

________________________________________________________________________________________________________
10 October 4923
News of the Week: The SJU arrives to Aloria
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THE SJU WILL EXPAND TO ALORIA

The interiors of the Svölnir Jónarsson University in Hvalþorp

The legacy of Dr. Svölnir Jónarsson, former President of Telamon, is expanding to more countries with the arrival of Svölnir Jónarsson University in Aloria, confirmed University Chancellor Uxi Nikolaisson. Nikolaisson confirmed that the University will have branches in Philipsburg, Ultran County and Libertia, Gavonshire County. The curriculum will be the same as the one presented for the University branch in Endralon, it will consist on Medicine, Biological Sciences, Social and Political Sciences, Arts, Liberal Studies and International Languages studies. Nikolaisson hopes that the University's curriculum in Aloria will bring educational opportunity in the cities with branches of the university, and stated that the university would be a good start to diplomatic relations with Aloria. Both Aloria and Telamon collaborated on funding for MUATA earlier this year and Aloria sought to have a foreign university on its soil.

The Svölnir Jónarsson University in Aloria will have high-end resources to ensure an excellent education, the University Board will be conducting training for teachers in Aloria who are interested in applying for a job in both branches in the two counties, the University in Aloria promises to bring a wider frontier to education in that country, which will soon have one of the most modern universities in Terra.

GRÆNNHÖFN, C.U. EXPERIENCES HIGH TOURIST ARRIVALS

The lounges of the Eldarsdóttir-Grænnhöfn International Airport

Lately, the Eldarsdóttir-Grænnhöfn International Airport has seen an increase in tourists that previously had not been seen by the airport authorities, it turns out that lately tourists from different parts of the world, have been visiting our capital city out of the tourist seasons, although this is common in other Commonwealths and cities of our Confederation, our capital city has never seen an influx of tourists out of season. In the off-season, Grænnhöfn, C.U. mostly receives visitors who come for work or business trips, which contributes a lot to the economy of our capital city, so it is supported by both seasonal tourists and work/business travelers.

Telamon Airports, the subsidized organization of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation in charge of our Confederation's airports, claims that off-season tourist visits to the capital will contribute more to our nation's tourism economy, in addition to the combined influx and work/business travelers that will contribute more to our country's economy. This, according to the organization, could become a permanent trend in the next few years and it is expected that there will be a surge in our economy, which could possibly be seen in the next few years.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Grænnhöfnartímarnir TV is the television channel of the Grænnhöfnartímarnir Group, which reports national and international events

[devouredbyhim]

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
February 5257
News of the Month: Vióla Bleken Sworn in as President!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Grænnhöfn, Miðland - Today at a private ceremony in Grænnhöfn, Vióla Bleken, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs was sworn in as President of Telamon, following the death of President Kristján Gröndal, whose health had been of major concern in recent years due to his advancing age, causing him to unfortunately succumb to natural causes. The presidency of Kristján Gröndal is often regarded as nothing more than a placeholder for over 50 years as a result of his severe lack of action when it came to any policy within Telamon, or with events worldwide. However many do accredit his presidency with bringing stability and calmness to Telamon. Despite many of his ardent supporters calling for a public ceremony honoring his legacy, President Gröndal's widow opted to have a private burial, surrounded only by close friends and family. Upon taking office, President Bleken gave this short message about the late President;

This is a very bittersweet moment for myself, and for the great people of this nation. I have long admired President Gröndal, just as many others had, and I'm sure every family in Telamon joins me in wishing my deepest condolences to his widow, Helga. While we mourn the loss of a decent and honest man, we must also look towards our future, and in that future lies a renewal of our nation, both domestically and internationally. For too long has Telamon been stuck on the sidelines, waiting for every other nation to decide the course of events within recent memory, but that shall be the case no longer.

It is expected that President Bleken's first act will be to call forth snap general elections, to reaffirm her mandate to rule, as she has never won a single elections, having only been appointed to all government positions. A survey conducted by TelaPolls had shown that over 64% of voters will likely vote for President Bleken, with 29% still undecided, and a measly 7% for the opposition. Many already see President Bleken as the light Telamon so desperately needed in its over 300 years of isolationism.


President Viola Bleken arriving at the Alþingishús, where she later gave a short address to parliament.

[Pragma]

________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5 February 5318
News of the Week: Guðmannsson Defends State Irreligion Bill
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Forsætisráðherra (Prime Minister) Rútur Guðmannsson has defended his government's decision to pursue official state atheism, with much greater restrictions on religious advertising. The PM has been insistent that all religions will be respected, but that religion is 'ultimately not ideal in a rational, democratic society'.

The ire around the bill is unlike anything so far presented to the Green Pirate government, which has won two elections on a nominal platform of civil libertarianism and open government. Religious officials say that these proposals show 'hypocracy' on the part of the government, 'putting their thumb on the scale' in a 'private matter'. Critics have also pointed out that the majority of Telamon's population is still registered with the Church of Telamon, which has now been disestablished and exists as a private organisation subject to heavy taxation. Acknowledging this, the government has defended its proposals on the grounds that only a small number of people in the republic are church-going or believe in the supernatural - suggesting that 'most people are already functionally irreligious'.

Education and Culture Minister Líam Jesarson said that religion was 'culpable for irrational thinking', which was seen by members of certain minority religions as a 'bigoted slight' - in the words of the chief Imam of Telamon, Mohammad Abdulson-Ali:

The government has shown itself to be completely ignorant about religion and religious people. We are not primitive or "irrational", we are equal citizens under the law.
- Mohammad Abdulson-Ali.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Grænnhöfnartímarnir TV is the television channel of the Grænnhöfnartímarnir Group, which reports national and international events

[Pragma]

________________________________________________________________________________________________________
26 February 5318
News of the Week: Doyingar Musician Elsý represents Telamon with "Á Klettum" at FOMAT
________________________________________________________________________________________________________



Singer-songwriter and traditional musician Elsý has been selected to represent Telamon with her original song "Á Klettum", which is in the minority Doyingar language. Education and Culture Minister Líam Jesarson said the singer's selection represented 'authentic and diverse musical culture' and wished the 32-year old well at the contest.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Grænnhöfnartímarnir TV is the television channel of the Grænnhöfnartímarnir Group, which reports national and international events[/quote]

[Pragma]

5 January 5319
Telamon Politics & Policy: Gýmisson publishes revised budget, advertising reform
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Finance Minister Arnoddur Gýmisson has presented his new budget proposal alongside a series of reforms to advertising and patent law. The proposals will be discussed by the parliamentary Finance Committee with a vote in parliament penciled-in for the end of the month. They are expected to pass overwhelmingly, as the Green Pirate party has a commanding majority in parliament.

Key aspects of the new budget include the creation of a third marginal tax bracket covering high earners, as was part of the Green Pirate party's electoral manifesto last year. The proposal will raise a further billion TPD, to be invested in sustainable farming practices and managing national health in anticipation of the legalisation of cannibis later this year. The government has not, however, actioned its pledge to increase the threshold for low earners to start paying tax - Gýmisson having stated that investments into green agriculture and the health service will take prescedence in the short-to-medium term.

Changes to advertising law have been included alongside the budget but their final vote in parliament will likely occur later in the year. Under the regime prior to the GPP's electoral victory, advertising was almost completely forbidden. Now, advertisers will be regulated partially at a local level, after local governments in rural areas lobbied for more powers in preparation for next year's municipal council elections.

The proposals have been met with a muted response from the international community, as Telamon continues to be ranked as a 'weak economy' with little regional influence.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Fjármálahraðboði Tælmörks is a daily business newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs.

[devouredbyhim]

________________________________________________________________________________________________________
14 September 5319
News of the Week: Socialist Party Rebrands Itself as The Progressive-Populist Party
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Earlier this afternoon at the Socialist Partys headquarters in Austurlands, the Socialist Commitee of Telamon voted in a shocking 7-5 vote to rename the party as the Progressive-Populist party, otherwise known as Framsóknar-Pópúlistaflokkur. The meeting held behind closed doors lasted for just over 45 minutes before Vice Chairman Kristján Guðlaugsson, a staunch socialist, stormed out of the building before being driven away in a hurry. Sources within the staff of the committee claim that the Vice Chairman had attempted to oust Chairwoman Margrjet Kárason, however, she ultimately thwarted his plot and had him deliver his resignation, however, this has not been confirmed by the Committee Press Office. This move represents the last monumental act in moving the party away from its historical socialist roots to a more broadly progressive and populist organization.

Following the vote, Chairwoman Kárason gave a speech to the press in which she laid out the party's goals and objectives;

Good afternoon, and thank you for being here today as we forge a new path ahead, a path where every single one of our countrymen could walk along and find opportunity, success, and reward. Our party has never been perfect, and our most recent few elections showed this decline, yet nobody felt compelled to find the root cause of this issue. When I assumed the Chairmanship, I pledged to devote my time and resources to finding a solution to our failures, and today I have finally delivered on that pledge. By rebranding ourselves as the Progressive-Populist Party, we can cast away our weak, ineffectual, and disorganized history and blaze forward into an era of prosperity for all. Our main objective would be to ensure a safety net for everyone, so that in unforeseen circumstances when the worst does occur, you will be protected. You will have access to healthcare. You will have access to healthy food. You will have access to clean air. You will have a roof over your head. You will have money in your pocket. We will not be afraid to come down hard on the corporations and wealthy as their time controlling the police system is over. We will no longer allow the environmental disaster we have allowed to continue. We will reform our justice system until prisons are no longer necessary. Personally, I find the next issue to be the most important, as we will no longer encourage the vile urban planning we currently allow. Every child in our nation should be able to walk to a park, and every adult should have the option to choose a cheap, and reliable form of public transportation so we can eliminate the horrors we commit with our roads and motorways. This path we intend to create will not be easy, it will not be quick, but it is a path we will fight for, and I hope the people of this great nation are willing to fight for it as well. Thank you.

Party leadership further confirmed they plan to contest the majority of seats in the upcoming elections with Vice Chairwoman Steinarsdóttir going as far as saying:

Do the people of Telamon really want another 4 years of THAT? I mean really you have to ask yourself, in what world would they give another mandate to people who have torn down religious freedoms, loosened copyright protections, and authorized agency shops that only screw hard workers that don't feel compelled to join a union! It's frankly insane.

At this moment, however, the progressive-populists aren't much of a political force with them holding a handful of local offices, but no federally elected offices. It will be a tough campaigning season to sway the voters of Telamon, especially with the history of the party's ineffectiveness being so recent in the voter's memories. Optimism within the party itself is reassuring as hopes are very high, but its unlikely that hope alone will usher them into office.

[Pragma]

________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2 July 5322
News of the Week: Education Minister Jesarson to curtail homeschooling after damning government report
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Education Minister Líam Jesarson has announced plans to ban homeschooling over concerns raised in a recent investigation conducted by the Education & Culture Ministry (E&CM), which uncovered 'widespread' abuse of the homeschooling system. The report, published last week, showed frequent failures to address children's education needs. Only 62% of parents interviewed by the ministry showed the necessary competence to be homeschooling their children, with material provided by the E&CM often ignored or misused.

Particularly worrying were instances of child safeguarding being overlooked, as children were often found to be less healthy than their school-going peers and subjected to greater levels of corporal punishment. 20% of children were either significantly overweight or underweight. 31% of children showed signs of poor mental health when interviewed by government-appointed child psychologists, notably higher than the average for children in formal education.

Some parents were found to be teaching children 'unacceptable' materials, traced to online homeschooling forums, that were either age-inappropriate, contained factually incorrect information or were hateful towards ethnic and sexual minorities. Around 12% of children were being taught 'criminally hateful' views on immigrants, and 15% were taught similar views about LGBT+ people. Around 40 parents have been questioned by police and 13 are facing prosecution. The Ministry did, however, confirm that they did not find evidence for widespread sexual abuse as was feared when the report was commissioned.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Grænnhöfnartímarnir TV is the television channel of the Grænnhöfnartímarnir Group, which reports national and international events

[arsonist]

July, 5410

Havfhavn, Telamon - Our magazine has managed to obtain an interview between our reporter Ísidór Ingólfsson and Rósbjörg Ásadóttir, leader of Samband Beinna Demókrata í Tælmörk (Luth.: Union of Direct Democrats in Telamon).

Info:

SBDT is the first Adelist party in Telamon and one of the first Adelist parties on Terra. Adelism is an ideology proposed by Álmos Adel in his book Världsföreningen. The main principles of the ideology are anti-nationalism and internationalism, as well as Directorial Republicanism. Adel considers the First and Second Directorial Republics of Endralon to be proto-Adelist states and bases the Adelist ideology on their systems of government.

Logo of SBDT

Interview:

Ísidór Ingólfsson: Good morning Mrs. Rósbjörg Ásadóttir, thank you for your time and welcome to our studio.

Rósbjörg Ásadóttir: Good morning Mr Ingólfsson, I am grateful for your invitation and I am looking forward to this conversation.

I: Well then, let's get right to it. Starting with the upcoming elections, how do you see your party's chances of winning a majority?

A: My colleagues and I are very confident of victory. Telamon has not had a stable government since the collapse of the ultranationalist government in 5352. We now offer a new solution in the form of Adelism.

I: Speaking of Adelism, Adelism is a relatively new and unknown ideology, could you please introduce it to us and our readers?

A: Gladly, Adelism is simply an ideology based on the ideas proposed by Álmos Adel in Världsföreningen. The Adelist ideology is by nature an internationalist and anti-nationalist ideology. We support the establishment of Directorial Republics, similar to those in Endralon, throughout Terra. Ultimately, we propose the Directorial Republic of Greater Makon.

I: Interesting. On a different note, what are your party's plans if you win the elections?

A: Ah, that is a convenient question. The leadership and members of the party have already formed a rather elaborate plan for our governmental duties. Firstly, we will cancel the many conservative and reactionary reforms passed by the previous regime. Then we plan to carry out a major reform of the administration, education and army to ensure that our country is free of corruption, efficient and prepared for the future.

I: We and our readers thank you for this information. That is all we have planned for today. Thank you and good day.

A: My thanks as well and good day to you too.

[AntScales]

[AntScales]