The Imperial Herald-Tribune

[Donerail]

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The South's Finest Newspaper


Unpleasant But Necessary: The Atlasia-Israel Alliance

The Republic of Atlasia is currently undergoing a period of turmoil in our relations with the State of Israel, with the current administration proposing a foreign policy review placing stringent military sanctions on Israel, demanding an end to persecution and a commitment to negotiations.

An Atlasia-Israel alliance is undesirable and certainly unpleasant. Israel has a lot of problems, a lot of issues that reflect poorly on it and its allies, and it's understandable that the Atlasian government would want to distance themselves from such. Israeli policies in Palestine, in particular, are the brutal crime of apartheid and should be strongly condemned. The West Bank is full of horror stories from the occupation that should horrify anyone even remotely concerned about human rights, and things aren't getting better (just look at Israel's recent decision to construct even more settlements). The regime is morally bankrupt.

Yet, perhaps disappointingly, such an alliance is also necessary. For all its faults, and they are manyfold, a close relationship with Israel is the best way to achieve Atlasian human rights goals. The best way to achieve a settlement freeze and an end to the Gaza blockade, and an eventual peace settlement, is not through isolation but through engagement. A real solution to the conflict will require us to continue to maintain our role as a key ally of Israel. The answer is not broad sanctions on what we can sell them, and it's not over-the-top rhetoric, but maintaining our stance as a key ally of Israel while applying pressure through direct negotiations with the Israelis, emphasizing both our moral goals and what we're willing to offer if Israel meets them. To that end, the negotiations must begin immediately, and be conducted by someone with a good handle on Israeli internal politics, and that understands what in a particular deal may offend what specific segments of the governing coalition; what Hatnuah wants may make the Jewish Home leave government - and what we do to attempt to isolate them may simply empower hardliners like Bennet. Diplomacy - immediate, specific, and focused diplomacy that fully engages all sides of the conflict in good faith rather than isolating them - is the only way to achieve a lasting solution to the conflict.


I hope you enjoyed the first of what will be an occasional series, as this paper broadens its focus to address some national issues, while still keeping our focus on providing quality journalism on Southern regional issues. Being out of a political job soon, I have more time to devote to such ventures.

SJoyce served in the South's Legislature and is currently its Emperor. He also served as Secretary of External Affairs under the Polnut and Napoleon administrations. As always, all responses and letters to the editor are welcomed.

[Donerail]

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The South's Finest Newspaper


Presidential Possibilities, Part I: Federalists

Declared


Former Governor Spamage of the Pacific

Fmr. Gov. Spamage arrived in the Pacific when it was a dead region and put in months of work to attempt to reform it into one with at least a little bit of activity. As Governor he was responsible for managing the region during and after the events of the 'Final Constitution' involving a court case and actions by the NM'AM' group. He also served for a brief while as an at-large Senator before resigning due to low activity, though not before passing legislation regarding forestry. He's one of the more liberal members of the Federalist Party.

Potential


Speaker Inks.LWC of the Mideast

Although he does not have a high national profile, Speaker Inks.LWC has been mentioned as a possible candidate; he has solid conservative credentials and a record of competent administration in the Mideast, and could at the very least make a primary interesting.


Senator North Carolina Yankee of the IDS

A talented manager, it's difficult to remember a time before when Yankee ran the Senate. Though seemingly pretty conservative based on PM scores and posts elsewhere on the forum, in Atlasia he is best known for his work with the Senate and governance in general, including running the Government Oversight and Reform Committee. It's unknown whether a Presidential bid is a future aspiration.


Senator Sbane of the Pacific

Sbane, a recent convert to the Federalists from the Liberal Party, is accordingly one of their more liberal members; recent polling by this newspaper suggests that would make him able to be a bit more electorally successful over a possible more conservative Federalist option.

Declined


Governor ZuWo of the Mideast

Fairly popular though sometime controversial conservative Governor ZuWo of the Mideast has flatly stated that "[He's] not going to be a candidate for president".


Senator-Elect Maxwell of the Midwest

Popular Governor and Senator-Elect Maxwell of the Midwest, Vice Presidential candidate last cycle, would probably be the Federalist's most formidable candidate. Despite this, he has publicly declared that he "would not run for President and instead complete office as Senator".


Senator HagridoftheDeep of the IDS

Though not turning down a future run for the office, Senator Hagrid declined to run in October, saying "pretty emphatically that I'm not running".


Emperor-Elect Dereich of the IDS

Citing "things to do in the IDS", Emperor-elect Dereich will not be running, and has endorsed Spamage.


SJoyce served in the South's Legislature and is currently its Emperor. He also served as Secretary of External Affairs under the Polnut and Napoleon administrations. As always, all responses and letters to the editor are welcomed.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I appreciate the speculation, but I'm damaged goods. I think I'd enjoy having the chance to do the job one day, but I'd want to make sure I could do it well—and that ain't possible right now. So I'll say pretty emphatically that I'm not running.

[Dereich]

Not running, I have things I need to do in the IDS.

[Donerail]

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The South's Finest Newspaper

Where'd The Election Go?

[/b]



We have no voting booth. We've elected a speaker (on a 3-0 vote) and voted on one bill (tied 2-2 as of this writing). We are, for all intents and purposes, operating with only 4 legislators - Zanas hasn't showed up. There has been no meaningful legislation considered this session - but we can't even hold anybody accountable for that. Hash is really the only one to have done anything more than vote this session. Jesus, guys. Get it together. This region is Atlasia's best but you couldn't tell that from the legislature. Do something!


SJoyce served in the South's Legislature, as said Legislature's Speaker, and as the region's Emperor. He is currently Game Moderator. He also served as Secretary of External Affairs under the Polnut and Napoleon administrations. As always, all responses and letters to the editor are welcomed.

[Enderman]

Dear Editor,

I have definitely roused by your newspaper and I definitely love it.... I have two questions, first, could you have a piece on the currently BIG issues of this election (this month) and the next one (November)? Second, I would like to have an interview, knowing this is the biggest (and probably most notable) IDS news source, I think an interview with a newspaper like you run would be the best thing that I could do for your Herald-Tribune...

[Donerail]

The election's already happened/happening. We will be providing an electoral tracker, however, and plan to run features on the upcoming November election.

The quota for the Legislative election is 5.

Round 1

Hagrid: 4
Griffin: 2
Enderman: 6
Hash: 4
Scott: 2
Jbrase: 1

Enderman is elected

Round 2: Distribution of Enderman surplus.

Hagrid: 4.5
Griffin: 2
Enderman: 5 (elected)
Hash: 4
Scott: 2
Jbrase: 1.16
Exhausted: 0.3

Round 3: Elimination of Jbrase (all flow to Scott)

Hagrid: 4.5
Griffin: 2
Enderman: 5 (elected)
Hash: 4
Scott: 3.16
Exhausted: 0.3

Round 4: Elimination of Griffin (all flow to Hashemite)

Hagrid: 4.5
Enderman: 5 (elected)
Hash: 6 (elected)
Scott: 3.16
Exhausted: 0.3

Round 6: Distribution of Hash surplus.

Hagrid: 4.5
Enderman: 5 (elected)
Hash: 5 (elected)
Scott: 4
Exhausted: 0.5

Hagrid is elected without a quota.