UPDATE XLIV
October 22nd, 2010
30th Congress, 30th Cabinet, 24th Senate
Population: 709 Nations of Unparalleled Awesomeness
Executive Government
President: Anumia
Vice President: Vacant
Supreme Chancellor: HEM
Grand Admiral: Common-Sense Politics
Foreign Minister: Swakistek
Interior Minister: Asperta
Culture Minister: Henry
Welfare Minister: Sopo
World Assembly Delegate: Lethen
Legislative Government
Senate Speaker: Swakistek
Deputy Senate Speaker: Vacant
City Council Mayor: Ogastein
Senators:
Swakistek
Lethen
Sopo
Asperta
Rachel Anumia
Henry
Common-Sense Politics
Cordova I
Judicial Government
Chief Justice: Hyanygo
Associate Justice 1: Earth22
Associate Justice 2: r3naissanc3r
Associate Justice 3: Skizzy Grey
Attorney General: Oliver Grey
Skyrocketing Population Delights Europeia; North Korea 'not amused'.
After a report that Europeia's population had jumped from 537 to 654 at between our two most recent updates, we're now incredibly pleased and proud to be able to report that Europeia is now in RECORD NUMBERS in terms of population.
Thanks to our most awesome Minister of the Interior, Asperta, as well as Government officials and citizen recruiters throughout the region, we passed our former record of 709, rising to a new high of 723 before falling briefly back to settle at 709 again at the time of the writing of this update.
For a time, Europeia also skyrocketed into 8th place on the front page of the World Population Rankings, overtaking The Rejected Realms, however, a somewhat strange population surge for TRR left us sitting back in 9th place after this brief stint.
The employment of pigeons as recruiters in our Ministry of the Interior has resulted in huge boosts in efficiency and effectiveness...there are now plans to permanently phase out all humans in Europeia, to be replaced by pigeons.
However, we are still extremely proud of our recruiters, and it is a credit to the people of our region that we've been able to boost our population by so much, so fast.
As Abbey Anumia, one of our top recruiters, said; "Recruiting has to be a team effort, no one person can do it on their own if you're to keep up with the flow of new nations."
"Just by looking at the region's nation count, if it's gone up, I'll recruit some to keep that going, if it's gone down, then I'll recruit with the mindset of fixing that."
AutumnFest 2010 comes to a close
Between the twenty-seventh day of last month and the first of this one, citizens from Hampshire and Gatesville popped over to the forums of Europeia for what we now know as Autumnfest 2010.
Whether the many participants were competing in daily events, observing shininess being doled out in the Lethen Ceremonial Hall, or taking part in some friendly banter in the PhDre Conversational Oasis, a good time was had by all.
After a week of games and other events, Europeia came out on top with 215 points to Gatesville's 125. Hampshire came in third with 30.
Individually, Spooky Orion of Gatesville seized the greatest number of points for his region, winning the AutumnFest Championship! (Here is
a link to Spooky's winning entry in the AutumnFest Video Competition; enjoy!)
Seanzyland snagged the AutumnFest Champion from Hampshire prize, and Abbey Anumia was AutumnFest Champion from Europeia; our top scoring Europeian of the festival!
The event culminated in the signing of a tripartite Europeia-Hampshire-Gatesville treaty, and we're extremely pleased to be able to embark on more intimate relations with the signing of this treaty.
We had a great time with our friends from these two grand regions, new and old and look forward to another opportunity to come together under circumstances as fun as these.
Cultural Masterpieces awe Europeia
Europeian culture has been bolstered with streaks of ingenuity and creativity as many of us reveal our artistic side...
The Aurora Art Gallery is acquiring a sizeable collection of artistic works from Europeian artists, and was recently opened by its namesake, former President Asianatic.
The exhibition halls of the Aurora Art Gallery are filling up fast...
The Ministry of Culture is also very eager to show off the wonderful work of our citizens, and thus, I now present to you the winning piece from the AutumnFest Literary Competition, written by Abbey Anumia.
Bon appetit!
The Unthinkable Nightmare
It started as an ordinary day, I was just about to head out the door for uni, but when I put my hand on the door handle, there was already one there. Before I knew it I was bound, gagged, and in the back of a van, not knowing what my fate was.
I woke up in a concrete cell. It was miniscule, and all the most depressing shade of grey. The walls were so rough it hurt to run my hand across them and the only vaguely comforting thing I could find was a single white pillow, laid on a single concrete slab of a bed. I looked at the solid metal door, and saw openings in the bars like part drawn blinds. I could find little comfort in this place, and the smell of the soldiers’ feast wafting through the bars just made it worse. I could hear the soldiers laughing, and other prisoners screaming. I didn’t even know how much time had passed, as my only light was the clinical artificial light that crept through the bars of the door. I could be underground for all I knew.
As the time passed, I got more and more hungry, and increasingly delusional. I pictured my mother’s face, her beautiful and silky blond hair, her soft, smooth and comforting skin, and her wonderful smile as an image of her drifted through my mind. I remembered the times we walked along the gushing river Tyne and didn’t really appreciate the wonder that it brings. It’s only when you are faced with true adversity that your whole life gets put into perspective. My views on the world before this dreadful imprisonment seem almost pathetic and completely ignorant of the world outside the UK.
I kept on hearing these voices, but they were in no intelligible tongue, not even vaguely related to any language I’d ever heard. I guessed they were soldiers from their voices, and that they enjoyed what they did to us, as they laughed when they peeked through the bars to see me suffer. Then, after a seemingly immense period of time, I was brought my first meal. It was like slush, and it didn’t smell much better either, but I knew I had to eat if there was any chance of me ever leaving here. It didn’t really taste of much, however, for me, right then, it was all I had. I drunk the water, despite the fact it looked like they’d taken it from a local stream, and I savoured the feeling of the food sliding down my throat and the water refreshing every part of my body.
Sometimes I thought about those soldiers, and what they might think of me, and the others trapped around me. Are they completely callous? Do they have any sort of conscience? I guessed not, as I heard another scream, shortly followed by the tinny slam of another cell’s metal door. Then I started to wonder as to why they hadn’t done this to me, am I any different to the others? Why are they here? Is it a prison or a camp designed solely for the purpose of hurting, torturing and killing those that have done nothing wrong?
The images of my parents flashed once more into my mind, and I started to sob. That food had refreshed me, but at the same time, made me wonder about the horrific things that were happening around me. I’d survived by simply trying to live, and stay sane, and not challenge what this place was. Now I was thinking, I had so many questions to ask, but no-one to answer them. I was always going to think of the worst possible scenarios, so maybe it’s not as bad as it has seemed. Maybe I’m just here because of the most silly of mistakes, and maybe I’ll be released when whoever made it realises what they have done.
These wonderful thoughts didn’t last long though, as inside, I’d always knew, that that wasn’t the case. No matter how much I hoped it was, I knew, deep down, that it never could be. But then, of the voices outside, I heard somebody new speak, that I could understand. They were speaking English; they sounded English, had somebody come to end my sorrows? I tried to understand what they were saying, but before I could concentrate, my cell door opened, and that person said the most wonderful words, “You’re going home.”
When I stood up and started walking, that wonderful man had to support me, as I was incredibly weak. But once I got past the complex of cells, and I saw the sky for the first time since this happened to me, I was overwhelmed. The sight of the beautiful sparkling sapphire sky absolutely blew me away. The feeling of the frosty grass crunching beneath my feet and the sight of the emerald trees with that beautiful snowflake covering was the most incredible sight that I had ever seen. You don’t realise what you have until you lose it.
By Abbey Anumia
Europeia Gears Up for the General Elections!
As Europeia prepares for our General Elections, a number of noteworthy and highly regarded Senate candidates have stepped up to the starting gates...
Our Presidential race, however, is far more interesting. Both Common-Sense Politics and Ogastein have announced an intent to stand for election, however, the latter is languishing in Preliminary Polling as he is said to be finding it increasingly difficult to find a Vice President who's willing to run with him.
In Europeian Inquirer Preliminary Polling, Common-Sense Politics was returned with a vote of 75%, in contrast with Ogastein's 25%. Although the platforms haven't been released yet, and particularly considering Ogastein's apparent failure to have found a Vice President, it is clear that he will be looking to make up a lot of ground in a short space of time if he wishes to have a chance of seizing the region's top job.
Encouraging a higher voter turnout...
In a Europeian Inquirer Expert Panel Conference, Vice Chancellor PhDre commented that "I'd say that Ogastein may have been overeager in announcing his intent to seek the Presidency without first having a solid running mate" and that "it doesn't look good for a candidate to jump out the gate without a running mate."
A number of Europeians have also expressed discomfort with the possibility of these General Elections becoming a one horse race. Aftermath Entertainment News ran polling, which left a result of 20% of respondants strongly unsatisfied with the current field of candidates, and 15% somewhat unsatisfied. With 15% of voters saying that they are neutral/unsure, this is a worrying situation indeed, and the discomfort with the field of Presidential candidates is only likely to get worse if Ogastein is forced to pull out of the race.
Vice Chancellor PhDre added that "At a time when many feel NationStates is shrinking around us, Europeia is bigger than ever, and having an unopposed candidate would be in my mind a real loss in terms of how we can move forward, and I do hope that we don't end up with a single candidate for Office on election day. I respect CSP as a candidate and a friend, and I don't think he would want to win in such a manner, and I dont think we as Europeians should want that either."
Indeed, while this election campaign is unlikely to be as hotly contested as the last, it will pose formidable challenges. Only time can tell what the outcome of these potentially tumultuous times will be.
President Anumia: Messiah or Moron?
As President Anumia's term comes to a close, it is as yet unknown whether or not he will seek reelection, and if not, what his plans are for his political career.
Indeed, he has only responded with an ominous '
' when asked about his plans by inquiring journalists.
As his time in the Goldenblock draws to a close, however, we're going to take a look at the term that was.
As we said in the first Foreign Update of the term, there were high expectations of the Anumian Administration, and not a few Europeians have now said that they are quite disappointed with the apparent lack of achievement.
Is President Anumia (aka Disco Jesus) in need of dance classes?
As Abbey Anumia said in a Europeian Inquirer Expert Panel Conference, "I have to say I'm a little dissapointed. After the nail-biting election, I was ecpecting
(sic) more."
The Europeian public is apparently most displeased with the lack of communication on Anumia's part during his term, as confirmed by Aftermath Polling and many other commentators.
After Vice President Asianatic resigned, President Anumia's preferred replacement was also twice declined the confirmation of the Senate, and this 'nomination-gate' has also been an embarrassment for his administration.
Abbey Anumia commented on how this lack of communication stemmed to create other problems, saying that "if we don't hear from the President, we'll assume he's not doing anything, even if he is. It also means we don't know the reasons behind nominations, leading to the rounds of rejections."
Minister of Culture Jusduckria and Grand Admiral North East Somerset, both of whom were criticised as ineffective, inactive and incompetent, undoubtedly also contributed to the low public opinion of President Anumia. Both of these Cabinet Ministers received exceptionally low Approval Ratings of below 50% in mid-term polling conducted by the Europeian Inquirer, before they were both replaced.
Vice President Asianatic was also markedly absent from the political scene before her resignation mid-term, and probably did not help the President's public image.
However, President Anumia's term has been surely not without its fair share of successes.
The record population boom, brought about through the extraodinary efforts of Minister of the Interior Asperta and his gang of Junior Ministers, is undoubtedly the finest mark that his Administration leaves Europeia with.
He is also due a fair amount of credit for the work that he completed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with Minister Swakistek, to reform the Europeian Foreign Service, host the AutumnFest celebration and complete diplomatic negotiations with Hampshire and Gatesville for the signing of a new tripartite treaty.
"I didn't steal the cookies from the cookie jar..." -MoFA Swakistek
Minister of Culture Henry and Grand Admiral Common-Sense Politics have also done commendable work to increase activity in their departments after the work (or lack thereof) of their predecessors, and have helped to turn things around in their respective Ministries.
Thus, the term of President Anumia has most certainly been a rollercoaster of ups and downs, and with the election upon us, Europeia seems set to have a new leader. It is yet to be seen what the outcome of our elections will be, however, and we may well have a new opinion of President Anumia's term after we have another, more recent Presidency to compare it to; this shall most certainly be worth watching in the coming term.
The Aftermath of a Free Press?
The Europeian media has certainly heated up, particularly with the revitalisation of Aftermath Entertainment News, and its move into commentary on Europeian affairs, as well as real life news.
The past month or so has seen a large increase in activity around the LethoMonarchy Media Centre, as many journalists shuffle in and out of buildings and many hecklers return repeatedly to certain offices, armed with eggs and tomatoes.
President Anumia and Vice President Asianatic before the rise of Aftermath Entertainment...
Aftermath Entertainment News has been armed with opinion articles, written by anonymous articles in the Three Eyes segment. These have generally addressed the more controversial of topics, although a remarkably large number of these articles seem to be pointed at the Administration of President Anumia.
Some Europeians say that the free press is an excellent thing, and allows for democratic opposition and criticism of our elected leaders. President Anumia himself, as well as others in his Administration, have openly stated the need for there to be accountability and criticism of the Government.
However, others have openly criticised Aftermath Entertainment News as being too one-sided and critical of the Anumian Administration.
Vice Chancellor PhDre battles it out with President Anumia in a bloody and vicious fight.
In an article that sparked much argument and debate, Henry, Editor of the Henry Times, said that; "In fact, it is to be marveled at, the talent of Aftermath and especially Director PhDre, to turn any negative into a positive. He has truly shown himself to be a master magician, using sleight of hand to cover up any inconsistencies in himself and his paper by redirecting them into sympathy from the public and poorly guided attacks by his opposition."
This article was met with much criticism from prominent members of the Europeian community, many of whom feel that the article was inaccurate and exaggerated.
In defence of Aftermath Entertainment, McEntire said that "This is ridiculous. You seem to be on the a similar tear against Aftermath that you're accusing him of being on after Anumia. Aftermath is an opposition newspaper, and it's fueled some great discussions. If everything was completely fair and civil, this region wouldn't exist, because it's a game, and people won't tune in unless it's interesting, i.e. not completely bland. So calm down."
Henry and PhDre prepare for another round...
PhDre, Editor of Aftermath, also said that, "I dont
(sic) think Henry's comments about me or my newspaper deserve serious thought or attention; they're inflamatory, speculation, and completely incorrect."
Fortana, Editor of the Phoenix's Eye, criticised both Aftermath and the Henry Times. "Aftermath has been shown to be deliberately targeting the current administration in a smear campaign against Anumia. While The Henry Times is vehemently in favour of the current administration (Henry is MoC however)."
The Europeian media are most certainly at peak livelihood, and it is going to be interesting to observe how this 'media war' plays out.
This foreign update was written by Junior Minister Common-Sense Politics, and was also written and compiled by Minister Swakistek. Thank you also to PhDre, Henry, Fortana and Abbey Anumia who generously provided some of the content in this update.
Thank you for joining us again for another
session in the sensory deprivation tank issue of the Europeian Foreign Update. We hope, as always, that you enjoyed it, and we wish you the best of fortunes in the sparse time until our next missive.
In case you are wanting to personally disembowel our Minister for Foreign Affairs, or merely wish to take a shotgun to Vice Chancellor PhDre, our evil genius lair may be found on
our forums, and our EuroToday Twitter account remains an excellent way to keep abreast of Europeian news and current affairs.
