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LodgedFromMessages
Imperium helvetiorum

Myordas wrote:In Myordas, you can't arrest and imprison any beautiful women. It's illegal according to the laws of Myordas (Myordan Law of Cultural Respect) This law has been around for over centuries at 7th century AD. Any policemen, civilian and public officials who do this will have a fine of MY$ 3,500 (around US$ 1,750) or 6 Months in jail or Get thrown and work into the fields for 1 month non-stop.

And how do you define "beautiful?"

Love and Nature, Lord Dominator, Myordas, Middle Barael, and 2 othersNation of ecologists, and The most serene republicans

The most serene republicans

Myordas wrote:In Myordas, you can't arrest and imprison any beautiful women. It's illegal according to the laws of Myordas (Myordan Law of Cultural Respect) This law has been around for over centuries at 7th century AD. Any policemen, civilian and public officials who do this will have a fine of MY$ 3,500 (around US$ 1,750) or 6 Months in jail or Get thrown and work into the fields for 1 month non-stop.

What if I'm an enby, but I'm extremely, immensely, incomprehensibly pretty?

Lord Dominator, Myordas, Imperium helvetiorum, Middle Barael, and 1 otherNation of ecologists

Myordas

Imperium helvetiorum wrote:And how do you define "beautiful?"

Nice question: I define it as "long nose, long hair and tall" or for facial features, looks like an Instagram models and Myordas are blondes or semi-blondes. That's my definition for Myordas. I have a different definition on real life myself, it kinda look like Middle Eastern (much like Armenian).

The most serene republicans wrote:What if I'm an enby, but I'm extremely, immensely, incomprehensibly pretty?

We will check your genes first.

Lord Dominator, Imperium helvetiorum, Middle Barael, and Nation of ecologists

via Force

Kronisia

Hey, it's your Friend from Force, Kronisia here, with a new edition of the Force Flyer! Hope you enjoy hearing about our latest escapades!

Issue XLII
Headlines
Interview with the Prime Minister on the development of Nova Noctua and the State of the Union, Chief Justice Crispy Chicken, new members in the Cabinet,The Trial: Union v. Xenomenadra, and more in this January's edition of the Force Flyer!

INTERVIEW WITH PRIME MINISTER SIR SALIBAIC by Spirit glaceons

I have secured an interview with our Prime Minister on the development of Nova Noctua, a territory he is taking on as a personal project, and the State of the Union. This interview was done to discuss the development of Nova Noctua and the potential for it be granted provincial status. For this to occur, its Constitution needs to be legally sound - the first step to becoming a full-fledged Province in the Union.


Interview Transcript:

Spirit Glaceons What do you see of Nova Noctua? What do you think it will become?
Salibaic Well I hope to become a proper fully functioning state in Force one day alongside the ranks of many others but until that day we have a long road ahead



Spirit Glaceons Will it have a general theme to it? Will it be a rp focus region state in Force or will it be a game centered region etc?

Salibaic I think that it will be a community based one but we will have rp elements to do with our government such as state openings of our parliament, etc



Spirit Glaceons Going on about RP seeing as in a sense thats a major part of the global NS community what do you think needs to be done to make RP a more popular thing in the Union? Do you think Nova Noctua should be the stepping stone for that action?

Salibaic I think that RP is already popular especially within other states such as RGBN, I think a more character rp could be beneficial such as I mentioned before government interaction with parliament and stuff. I think that the main room for improvement is down to our Union RP but I think Nova Noctua can provide a platform for roleplay.



Spirit Glaceons Moving on to the general state of the Union here. Regarding the most recent trial do you have any comments on it that you want to tell Force Citizens from their Prime Minister

Salibaic I don't think as Prime Minister it's right of me to interrupt the due process of law, however I feel that the punishment was far too harsh with removal of citizenship



Spirit Glaceons Do you have anything at all that you think needs to be done in the Union that you would like to say to the public?

Salibaic I feel that we need to reform our electoral process and judicial branch. I would like to introduce an electoral commission and MMP voting hopefully at some point. I also feel the court should be nominated not elected to prevent bad apples becoming justices.


Force Union Dish of the Month by Tigslarlowducken


"Succulent poultry marinated in a buttermilk-based solution which is promptly dredged and fried to produce a delectable culinary masterpiece."
~Tigslarlowducken


- INGREDIENTS -

MARINADE:

  • 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

  • 2 cups (473ml) buttermilk

  • 2 tsp (10g) kosher salt

  • 2 tsp (7g) garlic powder

  • 2 tsp (7g) onion powder

  • 1 tsp (4g) serrano powder (any pepper powder works here)

DREDGE MIXTURE:

  • 3 cups (395g) all purpose flour

  • 2.5 tsp (13g) kosher salt

  • 2 tsp (7g) garlic powder

  • 2 tsp (7g) onion powder

  • 1.5 tsp (6g) smoked paprika

  • 1 tsp (4g) oyster mushroom powder (optional)

  • 1/2 teaspoon (2g) fresh cracked black pepper

  • 1 tsp (4g) cayenne (for spice)

- PROCEDURE -

MARINADE:

  1. Add buttermilk

  2. Add kosher salt

  3. Add garlic powder

  4. Add serrano powder

  5. Slice the breasts into long, evenly-sized pieces

  6. Add breasts to marinade, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or, ideally, overnight.

DREDGE:

  1. Add flour to large pan

  2. Add salt

  3. Add paprika

  4. Add garlic powder and onion powder

  5. Add oyster mushroom powder

  6. **OPTIONAL: Add fresh-cracked black pepper and cayenne pepper

  7. Add a couple spoonfuls of the marinade to the flour and stir

FRYING:

  1. Dredge chicken pieces in flour and press aggressively into the chicken

  2. Shake off any excess and set aside on rack

  3. Repeat with remaining chicken

  4. In a large, deep pan or medium-sized pot, fill to slightly over halfway with oil. At least 2-3 inches.

  5. Insert thermometer and bring oil to ~350 degrees Fahrenheit

  6. Insert first piece of chicken, maintain temperature as closely as possible

  7. Cook for 6-10 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Internal temperature should register as 165 degrees Fahrenheit

  8. Place cooked chicken on a wire rack to drip-dry and cool. Repeat process with remaining chicken.


JANUARY 2021 MIDTERMS by United soviet states of russian imperial


The 12th of January marked the end of the midterms and the announcements of the winners. Justices Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia, Tigslarlowducken, and Yamatochi were all approved at or above 3/4ths of the vote in favor. The Force House Representatives had 4 out of the 6 candidates win. These Representatives include Kronisia, Sidervida, Tigslarlowducken, and Caduceo, with Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia and Xenomenadra not elected. Total vote counts were 33 for Justices and 27 for House Representatives.
THE TRIAL Interview with the Chief Justice and the Prosecution by Spirit glaceons

The recent trial, Union v. Xenomenadra, ended with the defendant being charged with treason for his actions in Nova Lisseum. The controversy arose over his opposition to an Executive Order issued the day before. The text of that EO is as follows:

1. All Cabinet Ministers must inform the Founder and Prime Minister upon their appointment or election to any positions in the governments of regions outside the Union. They must do this within 48 hours of the accession to the position(s). They must do the same should they lose any of these positions.
2. No Cabinet Minister may hold positions in the executive branch of more than one government outside the Union. The position of Founder in any region shall not count towards this.
3. No Cabinet Minister may hold a position in a hostile or enemy region, as determined by the government's foreign policy.

Xenomenadra, who is a member of Government in Nova Lisseum, did not want to be forced to choose which regions they would continue to serve in. They immediately condemned the EO and submitted a House Bill seeking to overturn it. When no House Rep. chose to take up their bill, they tried to strong arm the Union into dropping the law, using their platform in Nova Lisseum. Here are the statements from both the Chief Justice and the Prosecution who were victorious in removing this threat of foreign interference from the Union (see Linkhere for the actual trial.



Interview Transcript with Chief Justice Tigslarlowducken

Spirit Glaceons When the incident first came to your attention what where your thoughts and feelings on it?
Tigslarlowducken Well the incident first came to my attention when Renegalle sent the screenshot.Then he stated he was going to bring charges, and whenever someone declares that I always start getting the Court ready for the sake of efficiency.



Spirit Glaceons Hm interesting before the trial started did you have a feeling on how it would end?

Tigslarowducken Before the trial started, no. However, once Kor presented his evidence, or lack thereof, I was fairly certain I knew the prosecution would carry the day.



Spirit Glaceons What reforms do you think personally need to take place to make sure this does not happen again? Any sort of laws or programs need to be put in place in YOUR opinion?

Tigslarlowducken None. What Kor did was an abuse of both their power in this region and their authority in another region. Renegalle's recent Executive Order and House Bill X: The Political Party Act (Revised II) are sufficient to prevent this from happening again in the future. The revisions made in the latest Political Party Act revision are designed to mitigate the threat of a foreign power exerting influence in our region.As for Kor as an individual, the revocation of their citizenship should prove enough to eliminate them as a threat unless they attempt to use their influence again.



Interview Transcript with Founder/ Prosecution Renegalle

Spirit Glaceons How did you find out about the offense made by the defendant?

Renegalle We received a report from one our citizens that Nova Lisseum (a region where Kor is in government) had released a statement condemning one of our recent Executive Orders, misconstruing our government's actions and attempting to subvert the will of our citizens and their elected representatives.



Spirit Glaceons Were you confident in the case against the defendant (or do you remain unsure)?

Renegalle I am absolutely confident in my case. The defendant committed treason by using their leverage in a foreign government to attempt to pressure us to rescind a legitimate Executive Order or to force the House of Representatives to pass a law, without popular support from the citizens. Without a doubt, this was an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of government, since laws are what rule us and to harm our people, since the statement released by Nova Lisseum was defamatory towards them and sought to upend their ability to have the greatest say in our democracy. I do believe the punishment the Court gave was a bit harsh, but I respect their opinion and will seek to prevent such harsh terms from being given for lesser degrees of treason, like this one, in future.



Spirit Glaceons Do you think any reforms will come from this incident?

Renegalle I will be seeking reforms to the penal code, which I believe as of now to be insufficient and too vague for certain crimes. I intend to separate treason and high treason and potentially create a separate classification of crime, 'foreign interference'.

Production Team for this Month


Spirit Glaceons - Editor in Chief
West kronisia- Assistant Editor
Tigslarlowducken - Culinary Expert
United soviet states of russian imperial - Writer


We're hiring for new positions! Learn More...
For more information, contact Spirit glaceons through Discord (Moon#9758)
or apply for LinkCivil Service!
Statistics



Region

Nations

WA Nations

Most Nations

Force

138 (-11)

47 (2)

170 (0) =

RGBN

161 (39)

25 (-1)

122 (6)

Citizens Alliance of Democracy

13 (2)

4 (-4)

34 (0) =

Heart

24 (6)

4(-3)=

30 (0) =

Canterbury

27 (5)

6 (+2)

23 (0) =

Hyperion

7 (-5)

1 (-1)

16 (0) =

The New Kingdom

9 (1)

0 (0) =

9 (0)

Read dispatch

Ruinenlust, Lord Dominator, Middle Barael, Nation of ecologists, and 2 othersGarbelia, and The most serene republicans

The most serene republicans

05/02: The creation of The Most Serene Republic

On this day, 56 years ago, the blue flag was first raised on the city of Belas Aguas, marking the end of the Serene Revolution, the independence war that created the modern nation of The Most Serene Republic. Though the revolution was not violent, it was also not bloodless, and cost the lives of several Serene Republicans that shall today be remembered as martyrs.

The revolution was an example or our nation’s tradition of multiculturalism, diversity and non-violent resistence, as it was lead by a heterogenous front of many groups that had in common the struggle for liberty. The Communist Red Army coming from the extreme north and south and the Serene Party coming from the east arrived together at the then capital of Belas Aguas, dealing one of the final blows against the colonial reaction. A short two months afterwards, the last european stronghold had fallen, and the people of Sereníssima had achieved the sovereignty they desired for over three centuries.

The independence revolution was built on the principles of diversity and tolerance, and heavily influenced by the Amasarian Socialist ideology of the Serenity party, as well as the marxist-leninist thought of the communist party. The importance of non-amasarians, however, cannot be overstated. Without the Guranian and Montanian resistence movements, the revolution would have surely been crushed.

Happy fifth of febuary forestians, today is a day of celebration and patriotism for The Most Serene Republic. Here's some lore for ya, now enjoy the blue and white fireworks.

Lord Dominator, Terrabod, Lura, Middle Barael, and 1 otherNation of ecologists

Cat-herders united

Middle Barael wrote:Going back to our tiny discussion on our nations’ ideologies, that will be this week’s LQW.

What is YN’s political ideology? System? Economic model? Political Compass? Etc

Cat-Herders United is a representative democracy with a socialist mixed-market economy. We have three major parties, the current government is New-Deal style left-liberal and the opposition is Greens and Communists.

Uan aa Boa wrote:Postmodern thinkers get a bad press for things such as Luce Irigray's claim that e=mc^2 is a gendered equation, but sometimes you can see where she was coming from.

What is the context to that quote? I am having trouble imagining any context in which that statement makes any kind of sense at all.

Lord Dominator, Terrabod, Middle Barael, Nation of ecologists, and 2 othersGarbelia, and The most serene republicans

The Incorporated States of Terrabod

Terrabod wrote:I would encourage all WA nations to vote against the GA proposal currently at vote because the arguments presented are based on false information.

I should probably expand on this...

There are two false arguments made for this repeal of "Ban the Death Penalty". The first is that the death penalty is not issued arbitrarily or unjustly by nations that permit it. The second is that the death penalty makes nations that permit it safer compared to nations that do not permit state-sanctioned killing.

Regarding argument (1), even if we consider nations that do not use the death penalty as a tool to suppress dissidence (and many do), the death penalty is far from just. People of colour are disproportionately sentenced to death, as well as people with psychiatric illnesses, people with intellectual disabilities (even if those disabilities should make them ineligible) and poor people. It's a discriminatory practice to the very core; in many cases the execution is carried out when appeals are still pending or if the competency of the defendant has yet to be evaluated. A great example of the intrinsic racism of state-sanctioned killing is A Systematic Lottery: The Texas Death Penalty, 1976 to 2016 by Scott Phillips and Trent Steidley. This publication shows both that the death penalty is handed out almost randomly (some people who commit crime x are sentenced to death and some people who commit the same crime are not depending on what side of the bed the justice system got out of that morning) but also that if you're a black man you're more likely to be sentenced to death than a white man even if you both commit the same crime. Another finding was that whoever you are, if you kill a white woman you're more likely to be sentenced to death than if you kill anyone else (black woman, white man etc). If justice really is blind, then the race of the defendant and the sex and race of the victim should not affect whether or not that person receives the death penalty for any given crime. Obviously abolishing the death penalty won't abolish institutional racism in the justice system, but unlike all other sentences the death penalty is not reversible.

Furthermore, argument (2) also fails when faced with the reality of the death penalty. If we take the US as an example, states that permit the death penalty are no safer than states that have abolished the death penalty. Expert criminologists overwhelmingly agree that the death penalty does not function as a deterrent; this is backed by numerous studies showing that states which permit the death penalty do not have lower crime rates than states where the death penalty has been abolished. In fact, not one piece of credible evidence exists that demonstrates the death penalty works as a deterrent. Similarly, arguments that the death penalty makes policing less dangerous are not based on credible data. I should add that sentencing someone to death is actually more expensive than sentencing them to life imprisonment. Trials are long and complicated, appeals are costly and incarceration on death row is very expensive due to factors like staffing and the cost of treating psychiatric disorders like psychosis and PTSD which are more prevalent in death row populations than the general prison population. Those extra billions could instead be spent on targeting the root causes of crime; it's targeting these factors, and not state-sanctioned killings, that actually reduce crime rates in a just and humane way.

So it's quite clear that the death penalty is incompatible with true justice, and that the death penalty does not decrease crime rates. The repeal is then reduced to arguments of national sovereignty and "I don't agree with this, therefore I repeal" - neither of which is at all convincing.

Ruinenlust, Lord Dominator, Imperium helvetiorum, Middle Barael, and 4 othersNation of ecologists, Garbelia, The most serene republicans, and Wooderland country



The Most Serene Eco-Republic of Middle Barael

Initially I voted for the GA resolution, but upon rereading it and the resolution which it wishes to repeal, o have decided to vote against the repeal.

Though I am against mandatory death sentences, I do believe that the prisoner should be always given the choice of death penalty if they wish. Some people prefer death to confinement, so we should honor that wish.

However, considering that this policy (which MB uses) is optional capital punishment decided by the prisoner, it’s technically closer to Euthanasia than Capital Punishment, so I believe a Ban on Capital Punishment would still allow this policy of optional capital punishment decided by the inmate.

In addition, I was worried that the Ban on Capital Punishment would also outlaw the capital punishment of prisoners of war, in particular the killing of those who have orchestrated genocide. In Middle Barael, the only time where Capital Punishment is mandatory and not subject to the inmate’s choice is for killing the orchestrators of genocide (note that this does not include the people actually doing the killing, just those giving the commands). However, upon further rereading the original ban, I see that the execution of military prisoners are allowed so long as they comply with other WA resolutions and regulations.

Thus, I am changing my vote to be against the repeal of the ban. I suggest you all do the same

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have any if you heard of the URA (United Regional Alliance)? It’s a coalition of 23 regions, ranging from a bunch of smaller ones to medium ones like Philippines and The DankLeft Commune to bigger ones like Sonindia and Conch Kingdom. They work together for various purposes, including advice, WA influence, RP, Newspapers, a small army to defend the member regions, and more.

I’m not saying Forest should join (though it could be helpful), but it just sounds cool

Ruinenlust, Lord Dominator, Terrabod, Nation of ecologists, and 1 otherGarbelia

Nattily dressed anarchists on bicycles

Cat-herders united wrote:

What is the context to that quote? I am having trouble imagining any context in which that statement makes any kind of sense at all.

I've read nothing on this except what I googled just now, and although I'm mostly confused, I suspect that placed back into context, the point was to suggest the ways in which scientific activities are agenda-driven, rather than always or obviously the product of "objective" truth or processes.

So, Einstein didn't pursue the nature of light just because, but was driven by some agenda to that purpose. At least some of the people around him were pursuing it for the purpose of building weapons that could rain atomic anihillation upon the communist horde.

Or, you know, "scientific truth and knowledge."

To the extent that one assumes that military weapons are "masculine" (apparently Irigaray had been criticised for perpetuating some forms of essentialism), then one might say that scientific work in this area is indeed sexed/sexist.

I think. Most arguments I could find revolved around whether a photon has genitals, so... :|

Mount Seymour, Ruinenlust, Lord Dominator, Uan aa Boa, and 4 othersCat-herders united, Middle Barael, Nation of ecologists, and Garbelia

Kepler-0085

Hommeres wrote:you just need to wait :)

Ownzone wrote:by having patience......loads and loads of it!

- an inconvenient truth

... fine, this'll be a long one

Mastald wrote:Alright, that's very nice of you. I'll leave the TV out for everyone. I don't know how it's powering itself, but that's for someone else to figure out.

i think i already saw it somewhere.....
it's telpo's!

Lord Dominator, Middle Barael, and Nation of ecologists

The Equatorial Forests of Uan aa Boa

Cat-herders united wrote:What is the context to that quote? I am having trouble imagining any context in which that statement makes any kind of sense at all.

The fuller quote is “Is E=mc2 a sexed equation? Perhaps it is. Let us make the hypothesis that it is insofar as it privileges the speed of light over other speeds that are vitally necessary to us. What seems to me to indicate the possibly sexed nature of the equation is not directly its uses by nuclear weapons, rather it is having privileged what goes the fastest.”

Interestingly though, when I went to find that I discovered that it's always attributed to a book called Impostures Intellectuelles by Alan Sokal and Jean Bricmont. Sokal is a physicist who in 1996 submitted to US magazine Social Text a spoof article he called "Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermaneutics of Quantum Gravity." It deliberately consisted of nonsense in erudite sounding language but the magazine didn't notice and published it unedited. The publishers later said that they didn't have a review process because they trusted in the honesty of their contributors, while Sokal made much of the affair as a discrediting of pseudo-intellectualism. Impostures Intellectuelles reprinted the hoax article and expanded on the theme, including incriminating quotes from various other authors, one of which is the quote above.

It's very hard to find a direct quote that actually links Irigray to those words and there's been some skepticism about whether or not she actually said or wrote them. Apparently after considerable digging they are found in a minor book never published outside France, where they appear in a record of a Q&A session after giving a talk. The fame of the quote is entirely down to Sokal and Bricmont (later publicised by Richard Dawkins and others), but what's clear is that they've made no attempt to understand or engage with Irigray's 30 year career, choosing to skim read looking for quotes that can be ridiculed out of context in order to discredit all her ideas. The particular quote might not be the smartest thing anyone's ever said, and it's true that writers like Irigray can be pretty opaque and difficult to understand, but I'm struck that it's a bit rich coming from a physicist. By that I mean that someone who had never studied physics would struggle to tell the difference between a physics paper and some physicsy-looking gibberish, so I don't really see the point in crowing about how you can't understand critical theory when you haven't studied it.

Otherwise, pretty much what Nattily dressed anarchists on bicycles said above. It always strikes me as odd that people who cling to the idea of science as objective truth haven't noticed that in order to qualify as truth their work has to be peer reviewed. You couldn't ask for a clearer demonstration of truth as a social construct.

Frieden-und Freudenland, Mount Seymour, Ruinenlust, Lord Dominator, and 6 othersCat-herders united, Nattily dressed anarchists on bicycles, Middle Barael, Nation of ecologists, Garbelia, and The most serene republicans

Kepler-0085

Cat-herders united wrote:Cat-Herders United is a representative democracy with a socialist mixed-market economy. We have three major parties, the current government is New-Deal style left-liberal and the opposition is Greens and Communists.

What is the context to that quote? I am having trouble imagining any context in which that statement makes any kind of sense at all.

Your name doesnt make sense,
you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking cat herder!
Bonus points for those who get the reference

Lord Dominator, Cat-herders united, Middle Barael, Nation of ecologists, and 1 otherThe most serene republicans

The most serene republicans

Kepler-0085 wrote:Your name doesnt make sense,
you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking cat herder!
Bonus points for those who get the reference

heyy look a refference I understand

Lord Dominator, Myordas, Middle Barael, Nation of ecologists, and 2 othersGarbelia, and Kepler-0085

The Reaper of Lord Dominator

Uan aa Boa wrote:Otherwise, pretty much what Nattily dressed anarchists on bicycles said above. It always strikes me as odd that people who cling to the idea of science as objective truth haven't noticed that in order to qualify as truth their work has to be peer reviewed. You couldn't ask for a clearer demonstration of truth as a social construct.

I don't see how that follows, when the stated reason for the sciences is typically for the same of people checking your work/making sure you didn't just make it up.

Frieden-und Freudenland, Ruinenlust, Uan aa Boa, Terrabod, and 5 othersCat-herders united, Middle Barael, Nation of ecologists, Garbelia, and The most serene republicans

The Incorporated States of Terrabod

Lord Dominator wrote:I don't see how that follows, when the stated reason for the sciences is typically for the same of people checking your work/making sure you didn't just make it up.

I was kind of thinking the same thing - surely 2+2=4 is correct whether your maths teacher checks it or not?

Frieden-und Freudenland, Ruinenlust, Lord Dominator, Uan aa Boa, and 6 othersCat-herders united, Middle Barael, Nation of ecologists, Garbelia, The most serene republicans, and Wooderland country

The Rewilding of Ruinenlust

Uan aa Boa wrote:It always strikes me as odd that people who cling to the idea of science as objective truth haven't noticed that in order to qualify as truth their work has to be peer reviewed. You couldn't ask for a clearer demonstration of truth as a social construct.

Lord Dominator wrote:I don't see how that follows, when the stated reason for the sciences is typically for the same of people checking your work/making sure you didn't just make it up.

At risk of misrepresenting Uan's point, I would say that since the act of verification can only happen by a subject, either directly or through the means and systems of interpretation that they create, and since peer review (as in "verification by others") is a requisite for something being a part of 'accepted science,' it is sort of amusing that we think of science as objectively true. Whereas the objectiveness is construed as precisely the irrelevance of whether something is observed by subjects or their implements or goes unknown or unseen.

Perhaps it would be like if a group of ten people were on a previously-unknown island, and they decided that as a matter of principle, the only 'real parts' of the island were the parts that multiple individuals had corroborated the existence of. In reality, of course, features of the island may exist that were only observed by one person, or indeed that were never seen at all. And if people are seeking out certain things and ignoring others (say, if the people were looking for sources of drinking water and food), that would in turn shape what they knew about the island. If they didn't care much about finding cave in the mountain for worshipping purposes, for instance, they might not know about them, and so would tend to rule out such things, if asked by new arrivals to the island.

I guess I'm speaking more on the epistemological/metaphysical level, and perhaps I've missed something or not defined things well enough.

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

Today is one-month since the Capitol riot/protest/insurrection/"stupid coup"/"Hey, what if we shat on our own movement on the way out of the door? Magaaaaa!!!"

I don't how everyone else feels, but at this point, I'd say that Trumpism, the Republicans, and Trump personally have disgraced and ruined themselves enough to merit feeling more positively about things than I have in a long time. At the end of the day, there is now a functional, "normal" administration, and with the Congress on the same page (however tenuously), there is the chance to finally like, pass laws and do things (shock!). The president is not someone who watches Faux News and then b!ches about 'everything wrong with life' on Twitter, so that's also a vast improvement. The organs of the government are now starting to turn in a different way, and some of the bad forces are now officially on the persona non grata list, such as the white supremacy extremists and some of these conspiracy theorist wackos.

And the "conservative" movement overall is in shambles, without a clear leader. It is very much divided within itself, being numerically in the overall minority, and having just made complete asses of themselves. The rest of the country just has to stick together and say "no, not that," and the GOP will be shut out of federal power. They are "damned if they do, and damned if they don't," so to speak. To the extent that they don't break away from Trumpism, they lose the wider public (55-60% of the population, perhaps), and to the extent that they reject Trumpism, they lose their fanatical base (only about 35% of the population), without necessarily making that up with the wider society. Either way, their bare-bones victories of recent years on the national and swing-state level may become scarce.

In other words, the day is the Democrats' to lose, all things considered. The vaccine and eventual end of the pandemic, the subsequent rebound of the economy, and the extremely low bar set by the Trump antipresidency will all probably work to give Biden and the Democrats the benefit of the doubt, and the numbers are always slightly on their side, if they could capitalize on them. The Republicans will have to resort to voter suppression, gerrymandering, and disinformation campaigns to compete, but if that is all highlighted and focused on by the non-Republican forces, that won't work, in the end. Now, never underestimate the Democrats' ability to drop the ball, since the GOP and Democrats are like the battle of a one-star party versus a two-star party, with 'nary a four- or five-star operation in sight, but the winds may be favoring the Blue Team for a few years. And in the meantime, maybe the Red Team will lose enough to become less cancerous, or else be relegated to local and rural state control for a few cycles.

But I remain overly sanguine about things, perhaps.

Frieden-und Freudenland, Mount Seymour, Lord Dominator, Uan aa Boa, and 6 othersTerrabod, Cat-herders united, Middle Barael, Nation of ecologists, Garbelia, and The most serene republicans

The Most Serene Eco-Republic of Middle Barael

Saturday, February 6th, 2021
Middle Barael City
MBBC - National News

Strikes and protests have spontaneously broken out across Middle Barael, in response to a law passed by Parliament earlier this week. The law, which was championed Conservative People’s Party and the Centrist Union, as well to a lesser extent the Liberal Party and the New Right, will force labour unions for essential industries to fracture in the event of a National or Local emergency. Currently Middle Barael has two national emergencies, the Climate Crisis and the COVID-19 Pandemic, and considering how many industries are included as “essential”, this law is hitting many hard.

According to spokespeople from the Liberal Party, they were unaware that this law was so wide-ranging, and they had also assumed that the law would only apply for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, not for perpetuity. However, due to the Liberal Party’s support of the bill, several Greens and Social Democrats supported the bill as well without actually taking the time to read it, giving the bill 62 votes, a slight majority, thereby passing it.

Although at the time it seems like very few MPs actually read it or had any clue about the scope of the law, it has become incredibly controversial following a Visayun News exposé on the law.

Around 7:30 PM last night, local time, protests began to pop up in cities such as Sacrovilla, Cothon City, MBC, Likon, Bellamonte, and Minerva. These protests grew, and like wildfire within only a couple hours around two-thirds of Baraelan adults were out in the streets protesting. The final blow came at 12:30 AM, when many of the major Labour Unions of Middle Barael, including several that were ordered to be broken up by this new law, called for a General Strike until the law was reversed.

Within hours the value of the Shenar, Middle Barael’s currency, has plummeted 23%, as strikers purposefully inflate the currency’s value by paying and charging as much as 5 times the regular price for items. Although major banks and companies, as well as the Federal Mint and the Treasury, have tried to undo this inflation through a variety of means, the economy is suddenly suffering.

The point of said bill was to “Union-Bash” the Labour Unions for so-called “essential workers” during all national emergencies. Though it was framed as a way to prevent major strikes and economic toil during a pandemic, in reality it seems like a Conservative ploy to fight the power of Labour Unions. The Conservatives managed to get the Centrist Union on board and to a lesser extent the New Right, and they misled the Liberal Party into believing that this law was only temporary, and that it was specific to the COVID emergency as opposed to any other national emergencies.

Still, the protestors are calling for the Liberals to be punished. Though most don’t seem to feel the need to abandon capitalism or vote out the Liberals, they do want tighter protection for unions, and they want the Liberals to fix their mistake and to be more pro-Unions going forward. However, many do believe that this proves Prime Minister Marc Nuya’s inadequacy, and many feel now that he is still too centrist, despite his attempts to make the Liberal Party more left-wing.

In response to this crisis, a number of fringe political ideologies are gaining traction. Many think that the four USD parliamentarians who are jokingly called Middle Barael’s version of “the Squad” may split to form their own Democratic Socialist party. In addition, Middle Barael’s four different communist parties have all seen slight increases in the polls, and although they still will not have nearly enough votes to get any seats on their own, if they band together and unite they may have a chance. This seems hard to believe, however, since the entire reason why Middle Barael has four main communist parties is because the different factions hate each other. In addition, various forms of Anarchism and other LibLeft ideologies have been rising as a result of this strike movement, including Mutualism, Georgism, and the niche Anarcho-Taoist ideology, which despite the name is generally secular. Support for a UBI, or Universal Basic Income, has been growing as well, possibly giving them a chance in 2023. Finally, some pro-corporation reactionaries against this movement are appearing to be moving away from the Conservatives, Centrists, and New Right, and towards the Libertarian Party, possibly giving it a shot.

And although the Liberal Party signed on for this law and included it on their website as one of the bills they support, the Liberals have apologized and announced that they support the strikers. The Green Party, Pax Unio, and the Union of Social Democrats have also denounced this law and voiced support for the protestors and the unions, even though several of their MPs also voted in favor of the law, having not fully read it.

For now, this Union-Bashing law remains in effect, but so too do the workers of Middle Barael of all classes and backgrounds remain United and committed to support their unions.

Frieden-und Freudenland, Lord Dominator, Uan aa Boa, Terrabod, and 4 othersCat-herders united, Nation of ecologists, Garbelia, and The most serene republicans

Nation of ecologists

Middle Barael wrote: one big snip

NoE officially supports the strikers and workers of MB and condemns the bill. We believe that the workers and environment go hand in hand in saving and protecting the planet, and neither should be sacrificed for economic benefit. This decision will be detrimental to relations between NoE and MB.

Lord Dominator, Middle Barael, Garbelia, The most serene republicans, and 1 otherWooderland country

The Equatorial Forests of Uan aa Boa

Ruinenlust makes excellent points about scientific truth. Further, scientific truth is always provisional. By way of example, for a long time Isaac Newton's theory of gravity was held to be true, and it stood up extremely well against experiments and observations. Over time science became aware of a few things it struggles to correctly describe, such as the orbit of Mercury, the fact that gravitational force doesn't act instantaneously (which would make it way of sending information at faster than light speed), and gravitational lensing - the way light follows a curved path through a gravitational field. These things are explained by Einstein's theory of relativity, so we might say that Newton was wrong and Einstein is right. Relativity still isn't a complete picture, however, because while it's very good at describing the behaviour of large objects separated by large distances it breaks down over the tiny distances involved in talking about particles and singularities such as black holes. So the current goal of physics is to find an overarching theory that contains both relativity and particle theory. String theory is a candidate but it lacks experimental verification. We don't know what other candidates might look like. Maybe in the future Einstein and quantum theory will both be wrong and something new will be right.

Pretty much every scientific idea we've ever had has been superseded. It would be presumptuous to think our current ideas will never be improved on. More than that, it doesn't actually matter. Despite knowing all about relativity, NASA's moon missions were done entirely using Newtonian physics because the calculations are much easier and it's accurate enough to get the job done. It's not good enough for GPS to work, however, because you can't ignore the effects of time dilation between different satellites. If relativity is one day superseded, GPS will still work the way it does today.

The notion of truth is actually entirely redundant. It doesn't matter whether a theory is "true," just whether it fits experimental results and enables us to do stuff.

To look at that a different way, what is a magnetic field? Is it a real thing that somehow occupies space, or is it just a mathematical tool for describing how objects behave in proximity to each other. It doesn't matter. At school they teach you that atoms have electrons orbiting around their nuclei like little planets. It's completely untrue - the uncertainty principle tells us that if we knew exactly where electrons were in this way we couldn't accurately know their speed and direction, so there's no way of knowing they follow orbits. That inconvenient fact didn't stop that model allowing chemistry to get up and running in the 150 years before the uncertainty principle was discovered. It's a model with immense explanatory power that isn't diminished in the slightest by the fact that it's not true.

You can kind of salvage the idea of objective truth which is somehow "out there" by saying that science is a journey in one direction, a series of refinements that are converging towards an end point. That end point would be like the "point at infinity" in a drawing with perspective that shapes the picture but isn't part of it. It's not something that we can apprehend directly with our sense or get to grips with using scientific theory, and as such it's far more nuanced than our intuitive idea of "real" reality. The whole thing inevitably becomes somewhat mystical and, again, it's not necessary because aside from any considerations of truth science works.

In the words of Richard Feynmann "Shut up and calculate."

Frieden-und Freudenland, Mount Seymour, Ruinenlust, Lord Dominator, and 3 othersNation of ecologists, Garbelia, and The most serene republicans

The Green Otters' State of Garbelia

Middle Barael wrote:Snip-Snip

Garbelia also supports the strikes of Middle Barael's workers, in a crucial time for the maintenance of freedom, democracy and worker's rights. We also believe that these unions are necessary for environmental protection also, and a small portion of the Garbelery military and police force will step in to aid the proletariat in its time of need.

Lord Dominator, Middle Barael, Nation of ecologists, and The most serene republicans

The Most Serene Eco-Republic of Middle Barael

Nation of ecologists wrote:NoE officially supports the strikers and workers of MB and condemns the bill. We believe that the workers and environment go hand in hand in saving and protecting the planet, and neither should be sacrificed for economic benefit. This decision will be detrimental to relations between NoE and MB.

Garbelia wrote:Garbelia also supports the strikes of Middle Barael's workers, in a crucial time for the maintenance of freedom, democracy and worker's rights. We also believe that these unions are necessary for environmental protection also, and a small portion of the Garbelery military and police force will step in to aid the proletariat in its time of need.

To be fair, 27 of the 62 MPs who voted in favor of the bill had misunderstood the nature of the bill, either thinking that it was temporary and only applied to the current COVID-19 pandemic, or they simply signed on because their fellow party-members were.

The Government of Middle Barael, including the Liberal Party and the other MPs who are at fault, have all apologized and pledged their support for the protestors and Labour unions, having realized their mistake.

King Solomon (the Kingship is a democratically elected position akin to a President, don’t worry) has also responded to both NoE and Garbelia, saying:

“To the Nation of Ecologists, we sincerely hope that this will not damage our nations’ growing positive relations. Let it be known that although many members of this ruling coalition voted in favor of said law, they all have realized their mistake and we hope that this will not hinder our attempts to ensure positive relations with your nation.

And for Garbelia, we decry and refuse your wish to send troops and police into Middle Barael. These protests have been peaceful so far, but having a foreign military sent in will only exacerbate tensions. We have our sovereignty, you have yours, and while we all applaud and appreciate your support for the Unions, we decry your attempts to intervene.”

Survey data also shows that most of the protestors, no matter how angry they are at the law, agree with King Solomon that Garbelia troops would only worsen tensions, and very few seem to believe that foreign intervention is at all necessary. In addition, most seem to feel that this General Strike is an internal matter, and they do not wish that this movement harms foreign relations with Garbelia, NoE, or any other allies.

Already the government has taken steps to try to reverse the bill, and we believe that within a couple of days a measure to reverse the Union-Bashing law will make it to the Parliament floor.

Lord Dominator, Uan aa Boa, Nation of ecologists, and Garbelia

The Federated Bailiwicks of Verdant Haven

Ruinenlust wrote:

At risk of misrepresenting Uan's point, I would say that since the act of verification can only happen by a subject, either directly or through the means and systems of interpretation that they create, and since peer review (as in "verification by others") is a requisite for something being a part of 'accepted science,' it is sort of amusing that we think of science as objectively true. Whereas the objectiveness is construed as precisely the irrelevance of whether something is observed by subjects or their implements or goes unknown or unseen.

Perhaps it would be like if a group of ten people were on a previously-unknown island, and they decided that as a matter of principle, the only 'real parts' of the island were the parts that multiple individuals had corroborated the existence of. In reality, of course, features of the island may exist that were only observed by one person, or indeed that were never seen at all. And if people are seeking out certain things and ignoring others (say, if the people were looking for sources of drinking water and food), that would in turn shape what they knew about the island. If they didn't care much about finding cave in the mountain for worshipping purposes, for instance, they might not know about them, and so would tend to rule out such things, if asked by new arrivals to the island.

I guess I'm speaking more on the epistemological/metaphysical level, and perhaps I've missed something or not defined things well enough.[/spoiler]

I think this is where we come to the intersection of truth, knowledge, and belief, and the fact that there are a significant number of people who are utterly unaware that there is a difference.

To use the example of the unknown caves on a hypothetical island, the truth might be that there are, in fact, caves present. The proposed society, having chosen for whatever reason to overlook or discard this information, could present two negative statements about caves that both remain themselves true as well... the first would be "we don't know of any caves on the island" (which is simply an accurate assessment) and the second being "we don't believe there are any caves on the island" (which is a true statement about a false conclusion). The issue comes when somebody decides to say "there are no caves on the island" which is an objectively false statement.

Working as I do with a significant number of professionals engaged in the hard sciences, it is worth noting that I would find it very unusual these days to hear them to make statements intended for similarly scientific audiences that carry the absolutism of that final statement. These days, it is all about couching in terms of "by our observations" and "according to what is so far understood." Where this falls down is in materials directed to a general audience, since there are so many people who do not understand the difference between "this is a scientifically demonstrable result that has never yet in history been successfully challenged, but we remain open to the idea that future research may demonstrate some nuance" and "this is an opinion." When scientists use proper hedging of terms with the public, you get idiots demanding stickers on textbooks claiming evolution is "just a theory" because they don't know that "theory" in modern science is literally the strongest word that is used (it's basically synonymous with the term "law" that is used for things involving math - like gravity, for example). As UAB pointed out, things like gravity don't account for literally everything, and they remain open to adjustment as we find out more, but it is sufficiently accurate that it isn't really up for replacement - just refinement or constraint.

At any rate, that then leads to the debate about "Scientific truth," which is unfortunate, because the strength of science is the fact that it is willing to change. Its accuracy comes from the acknowledgement that it has inaccuracy, whereas it is frequently put up against dogmas that do not acknowledge the possibility of error. For somebody who embraces the "absolute truth" of a dogmatic position, they will laughingly dismiss the validity of anything that tries to include wiggle room, even when that wiggle room is what actually makes it correct.

Mount Seymour, Ruinenlust, Lord Dominator, Uan aa Boa, and 6 othersTerrabod, Cat-herders united, Simbolon, Middle Barael, Nation of ecologists, and Garbelia



The most serene republicans

Middle Barael wrote:Snip'd

The Most Serene Republic overwhelmingly supports the strikes in Middle Barael, but the Communist Party of MSR seems particularly positive about it. As soon as the news hit Sereníssima, the CPMSR issues a note in support of the strikers, calling for international solidarity towards the protestors. The party has been using the recent events often in what has been called an oportunistic propaganda campaign, calling it an example of the failures of capitalism and of the necessity of sistemic change worldwide. Overall, in addition to the recent economic and social successes of MSR, the political momento of the Communist Party only seems to grow more with the protests.

Meanwhile, more radical political movements also seem enthusiastic about the strikes, and far-left groups in Sereníssima in particular, such as the CPMSR-RF and the Montanian People's Liberation Army, as well as the far-left PNLGM (the marxist governing party of the autonomous province of Gura and matos), take part in demonstrations in support of the protestors and call for a international revolution. The maoist CPMSR-RF has gone as far as to promise to step in and support the communist movement in Middle Barael with fire and force if it becomes necessary. Though, as usual, very few people actually care about what the maoists have to say.

Only time will tell how the chaotic situation at Middle Barael will unravel and how it will affect the politics of the whole region of Forest. In MSR though, at least so far, the folks at the liberal wing of the Serenity Party seems to be the only ones unhappy about it.

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hey look i tried to do one of those geopolitics things where one thing happens in one country and then it affects the rest of the world too

The Most Serene Eco-Republic of Middle Barael

OOC:

For the record, very few of the protestors identify as Communist or even Socialist. Most of them are just normal, everyday Social Democrats or Social Liberals who simply want to defend their Labour Unions.

It’s more of a Political Reckoning than a sudden burst of Chaos, so no military action will not be taken, and it is realistically highly unlikely for any of the protests to develop into anything worse. They’re just massive protests and a general strike, simply as that.

It’s also quite unlikely for any of these events to spread to any other nations. If you want them to, please TG me first so we can sort out the details.

And I’m not really trying for this to be a big international situation (although you are free to comment on the situation yourselves!). Mostly, I’m just trying to provide Backstory for some future political developments, including potential leadership changes and perhaps a new election.

Mastald

Kepler-0085 wrote:i think i already saw it somewhere.....
it's telpo's!

They had a television? Where did they even get it?

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