Red Flag - please remove the sticky, thank you.

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Diplomatic Storm over Veil Comments

A war of words has broken out between Atlasia and France over remarks made by Secretary of State Learie on his first overseas visit since taking office. In a powerful speech to the Assemblée Nationale, Secretary Learie made repeated  references to that body's recent decision to ban the full-faced Islamic veil, arguing that "Suppression of religion is just the first step to suppression of other personal beliefs, until all differences have been suppressed, and that simply cannot be tolerated", while also noting that "the right to be oneself is a basic, fundamental human right that every person possesses". Secretary Learie's speech was met first with stunned silence and then with angry jeers. Secretary Learie's remarks have been widely interpreted in France as a diplomatic snub and it appears likely that President Sarkozy's planned visit to the United States next week will be canceled in retaliation.
Attempts by the State Department and Learie himself to minimise the damage appear to have made the situation worse; speaking off the record a senior French diplomat noted that not only did Secretary Learie appear to be rude, arrogant and disrespectful, but that attempts to play down his remarks have made him appear weak and cowardly.
Despite the row, following on as it does from international concern at the appointment of a Marxist-Leninist to the cabinet position in charge of economic affairs, Secretary Learie is not thought to be under any pressure to resign and enjoys the full support of President State. Several analysts believe that Learie's remarks may have reassured Arab government's concerned at the appointment of Mr Learie, a vocal supporter of Israel, as Secretary of State, and there is speculation that this has greatly bolstered his position.

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The next issue will be out in a few hours or so. Would be nice if this were stickied, fwiw...

EDIT: Learie Constantine.



In much the same way that a poster from Arkansas ought to be known as Blackburn.

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Rise in Unemployment "Likely"; increased threat of industrial action.

Shocking news about the state of Atlasia's economy emerged last night, as a senior official in the Department of the Interior predicted to Red Flag that a significant rise in unemployment is "likely" to hit Atlasia over the next few months. Speaking off the record, the official blamed the impact of spending cuts in the public and voluntary sectors - along with the continued weakness of the manufacturing and construction sectors - for his bleak forecast. Meanwhile, Douglas Douglas, the General Secretary of the General & Transport Workers Union (G&T) has claimed that relations between employees and management in much of the public sector are stretched to breaking point. Speaking exclusively to Red Flag, Mr Douglas pinned the blame on the "arrogant elite" running municipal and regional governments, claiming that most are "in it for themselves, have "no understanding of real life" and even went so far as to argue that most people in regional government are "more interested in advancing their careers, for the sake of doing so, than in running competent administrations and friendly workplaces".

The latest unemployment figures will be released during the next few days.

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Just to note that real life concerns are taking up a lot of... erm... concentration at the moment. Regular updates will resume fairly soon.

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Do we have a Game Moderator at all?

Oh wait, Al is the one! Mystery solved. No wonder this paper is dead!

I have issues in real life that happen to be taking up the bulk of my concentration at the moment; as you would know had you bothered to read any recent posts in this thread before complaining. A new issue (probably a fairly light one) will be out fairly soon. Obviously it would be nice to be able to always do at least one a week (the generic target) but doing this takes up a surprising amount of time and concentration there are such things as priorities. Not everyone has as much genuinely free time as you seem to have.

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Fury as Atlasia fiddles while Pakistan drowns

Embassy firebombed

By our Special Reporter Damian Day

The failure of the Atlasian government to assist in aiding the victims of the ongoing catastrophe in the Indus Valley has provoked angry scenes across Pakistan, culminating in the firebombing of the Atlasian Embassy last night. The Pakistani government, under pressure due to its own slow reaction to the flooding, has refused to condemn the attack.
It is estimated that as many as twenty million people have been made homeless as a result of the floods, while thousands of people are feared dead. Health experts worry that the worst may be yet to come, as fears grow of a possible cholera epidemic, while the most fertile parts of Pakistan have been turned into a giant polluted lake. Yet Atlasia, the richest and most powerful nation on the planet, has not lifted a finger to aid the victims of what may prove to be the worst natural disaster in decades. It appears that the attention of the DEA is entirely given over to drawing up bureaucratic lists and lists of bureaucrats. Given the importance of Pakistan to Atlasia's 'War on Terrorism' this is not merely amoral as it is astonishingly incompetent. The damage caused by the floods will, in time, heal. The damage done to Atlasia's already battered reputation in Pakistan will, in this reporters opinion, not.

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Back with a bang.

Edit: I do hope that someone gets the reference in the reporters name!

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Unemployment Surges to 12%

By our Economics Editor M. Ammon

The news is as grim as we all expected. New figures released by the Department of the Interior show that over one in ten Atlasian workers are out of work. Regional figures have yet to be released, but they are likely to show a large leap in the jobless rate in metropolitan areas. The news, expected though it was, has increased fears of a double-dip recession and the ANSE fell to its lowest level in months on the release of the figures. DoI officials are keen to stress that the rise in unemployment is in part because of a new method of calculating unemployment, a claim unlikely to satisfy a weary public, a jittery market and an increasingly militant union movement.

News In Brief:

Evacuation of Bakersfield, CA begins.
Strike threat at Universal Motors.
Mayor of Albuquerque reported missing.
Elections fail to inspire electorate
Corruption scandal in Chicago, one hairpiece slightly damaged.
A potato that looks like Mike Naso

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If that was the plan it's half worked

But what is actually going on may be different to what has been presumed...

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Computer problems (on a backup again, bah) mean that the next full update will be delayed somewhat.

I may establish a newswire service so I can rattle off information quickly in situations like this.

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Yes, there was a bit of a mix-up in communication over that stuff. But I have worked out a way to use that to the advantage of creating storylines. That little snippet the other week was the beginning.

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Red Flag Pension Fund Scandal

It has emerged that Max Wall the Treasurer of the Red Flag Pension Fund Scheme (RFPFS) has systematically raided the fund in order to offset losses in other business ventures and to pay off personal debts. Mr Wall was last seen in a boat on Lake Erie and it is feared that he may have drowned. In response to the crisis, IngSoc Communications has ceased publication of this publication for the time being, and has ended its GM Contract, effective immediately. This means exactly what you think it does and has all official implications. IngSoc Communications will not respond to any questions about the matter and regards it as closed. Rumours that IngSoc Chariman Al Widdershins was behind the raiding of the RFPFS have been denied by the company. This matter is also closed and questions will be answered with a black bear.