Atlasian Public Acts - Publication of the Game Engine

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

GAME ENGINE

GM Team: Weatherboy, NewYorkExpress, Forumlurker

CONTEXT

It was established on Article VI of the 5th Constitution that:

Fifth Constitution, Article VI, Section 1 (Game Engine):

All powers which the Congress shall deem necessary and proper for simulating either the impact of actions by the Republic of Atlasia, the several Regions, or the citizens thereof; or the actions of non-playable entities, shall be vested in a Game Engine.

The Congress shall have the power to establish the structure and powers of the Game Engine by appropriate legislation.

The Game Moderation Team (GM Team) is, as of late 2022, a body of three members representing the Game Engine. Nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate following the established procedure for Cabinet nominees, the Game Moderator is formally empowered by the Game Engine Restructuring and GM Team Creation Act to fulfill a key series of duties pertaining simulation of events and arbitration over accepted "reality", as follows:

Game Engine Reconstruction Act, Section 3:

i. The president shall appoint three (3) members of the game moderation team (henceforth referred to as "the GM team") with the advice and consent of the Senate.
ii. The GM team shall have power, except where limited elsewhere by this legislation:
(a) to simulate the effect of domestic and foreign legislation of the government of Atlasia and of the several regions;
(b) to simulate the actions of non-playable entities;
(c) to simulate domestic and global events;
(d) to be the final arbiter in all questions of the reality of events which occur during their tenure;
(e) to be the final arbiter on the reality of the status quo with respect domestic and global conditions.
iii. The word of the GM team, once spoken, is Canon, and may not be revoked by their successor.
iv. Members of the GM team may be removed from office according to the same provisions set in place for the impeachment of executive officers.
v. A majority of members of the GM team may not hold any other elected or appointed office in either the Federal or Regional Governments.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

NOBLE PREDECESSORS:

GM Kalwejt (I) : August 2016
GM Clyde1998: September - November 2016
GM Kalwejt (II) : November 2016 - February 2017
GM Dkrolga: February - June 2017
GM 1184AZ: June - November 2017
GM R2D2: November - December 2017
GM Harry S Truman: December 2017 - December 2018
GM Mr. Reactionary: December 2018 - December 2019
GM Ninja: January - April 2020
Pontifex Maximus Lumine (I) : April 2020 - March 2021
GM Peanut: March - October 2021
Pontifex Maximus Lumine (II) : October 2021 - March 2022
GM Crane: April 2022
GM Lumine (III) : May 2022 - Aug 2022

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

WORLD LEADERS:

Atlasia: President Joseph Cao
Argentina: President Alberto Fernandez
Australia: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
Austria: Prime Minister Alexander Schallenberg
Bolivia: President Luis Arce
Brazil: President Jair Bolsonaro
France: President Édouard Phillipe & Prime Minister Christian Jacob
Canada: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
China: President Xi Jinping
Costa Rica: President Carlos Alvarado
Cuba: President Miguel Diaz Canel and First Secretary Raúl Castro
Germany: Chancellor Olaf Scholz
Hungary: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
Iran: Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei & President Hassan Rouhani
Israel: Prime Minister Benny Gantz and President Miriam Peretz
India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Ireland: Taoiseach Micheál Martin
Italy: Prime Minister Mario Draghi
Japan: Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
Mexico: President Andrés Manuel López Obrador
Netherlands: Prime Minister Mark Rutte
New Zealand: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
North Korea: President Choe Ryong Hae & Prime Minister Ji Seong-ho
Nicaragua: President Daniel Ortega
Paflagonia: President Kurt Narriman
Palestinian Authority: Mahmoud Abbas
Peru: President Pedro Castillo
Philippines: President Leni Robredo
Russia: President Vladimir Putin
Saudi Arabia King Salman
Spain: Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez
South Korea: President Lee Jae-myung
Syria: President Bashar al-Assad
Turkey: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
United Kingdom: Prime Minister Owen Smith
United Nations: Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
Vatican City: Pope Francis
Venezuela: President Leopoldo López

[NewYorkExpress]

DOMESTIC NEWS
Bed Sheets Waving Act causes protests across Lincoln
By NewYorkExpress

The Bed Sheets Waving Act has caused mass protests across several major Lincoln Cities over the past few weeks. The Act,which was officially signed days ago, sparked massive protests in Milwaukee, Chicago, New York City and Boston, leaving one dead, eleven injured and over a thousand arrested.

A spokesman for the New York Police Department said the protest was the largest one in the city since the Hard Hat riots in the 1970’s and that, because of insufficient funding by the Regional and National Governments, the department was not adequately prepared to deal with the protestors.

Property damage estimates total $500 million dollars, not including the value of new flags that were burned in Chicago and New York, but including severe property damage along Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, where much of the worst violence took place.

On top of this, one individual, whose name is being withheld by the Atlasian Attorney General’s office was arrested after post office workers intercepted pipe bombs that had been mailed to Lincoln General Court Speaker Dwarven Dragon and to Lincoln General Court member Adowemiti, who sponsored the legislation.

Unofficial polls show Lincoln Governor Tack50 having taken a hit in approval, but political insiders that how he handles the rioting and protests will likely define his Governorship more than his signing of this legislation, or the constant flip-flopping for his appointment to the Atlasian Supreme Court that ended with Sestak getting the position.


South Carolina State Government Passes Bills Nullifying Regional Laws, other Southern States Considering Following Suit
By Weatherboy

COLUMBIA, SC – Early this morning, Governor James Cunningham signed a slew of bills passed by the South Carolina General Assembly before Labor Day, which mostly included a number of bills nullifying regional laws, including but not limited to Title VI of S.22.1-5 (No C.R.A.P. in Schools Act), the entirety of S.22.2-72 (Obscene Sex Toy Prohibition Act), and portions of S.22.2-24 (Transhumanism is Dystopian Act). The bills passed on mostly party-line votes, with the DA’s narrow majorities in the house and senate voting for (except for State Senator Parker Franks (DA-Hilton Head Island), a former Liberal who joined the DA after the previous Liberal party collapsed), joined by a majority of Labor lawmakers. Meanwhile the Federalists unanimously voted against the bills, joined by the small number of new Liberal lawmakers (made up of about half of the previously elected old Liberals). One such vote is recorded below:
House Vote on H.0621: Nullifying S.22.2-72
AYE: 84 (67 DA, 17 LAB)
NAY: 40 (33 FED, 5 LIB, 2 LAB)
Senate Vote on H.0621: Nullifying S.22.2-72
AYE: 29 (23 DA, 6 LAB)
NAY: 17 (14 FED, 2 LIB, 1 DA)
The vote came as no surprise to those closely following South Carolina’s politics, as the regional Atlasian Future Party, which self-describes as transhumanist and has strong ties to the furry fandom, is an extremely influential part of the DA coalition in the state, with party members making up at least half of the DA’s caucus in the legislature. This group was extremely opposed to many laws the Southern Chamber of Delegates had passed in the recent sessions, and authored most of the nullification bills. Labor members in the legislature found common ground on the issue, with most stating they believed the regional laws “violated personal liberty”, although at least one stated they “had few objections with the laws but wanted to get conservative blood boiling”.
Already other states are looking at replicating what South Carolina has done, especially ones with large non-federalist majorities such as Texas (where Federalists hold less than 10% of house seats and only 1/8 of the senate), Kentucky (where SC Governor Cunningham’s father Harold may follow his son’s lead), and Florida (where Governor Chavez may attempt to get support of DA members for nullification). The only heavily non-federalist state which seems unlikely to join the efforts is Kansas, as opinions both inside and outside of the legislature have been heavily pro-South and pro-LT since the Kansas Crisis a few months ago. Should this continue, the South may face a serious crisis where over half the population does not follow its own regional laws. This appears like it may remain a strictly southern problem, as Fremont has Labor-aligned governors in every state to veto non-labor nullification efforts, and Lincoln’s politics mean that parties in the legislature cooperate rather peacefully due to moderation from most if not all sides.
The south now stands at a crossroads, either trying to stamp out the nullification attempts in court (while having to make the case that the south may still nullify laws as they have done previously) or go the more conciliatory route, trying to make a deal with the nullifiers to repeal the most opposed laws while keeping others in effect.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Elizabeth II dead at 96, Charles III takes the throne
By NewYorkExpress and Forumlurker
It’s the end of an era in the United Kingdom, as longtime Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle at 96 years old. Her Majesty’s decades of public service date back to the darkest hours in British history, when London stood alone against the carnivorous German war machine. Then Princess Elizabeth spoke through radio broadcast to soothe the fears of children across the empire, assuring an eventual victory and the endurance of the British resolve. Later she would briefly join the Auxiliary Territorial Service, being trained as a mechanic and driver in 1945. Post-war, Elizabeth would go on to marry Prince Philip, and eventually ascend to the throne in 1952 following the death of King George VI. For decades, Queen Elizabeth reigned as the figurehead of the British nation, from the dawn of a new age post-WW2, to the dawn of a new age post-Covid, Queen Elizabeth has remained a steady and reassuring figure even in the most troubling of times. While her passing is not entirely unexpected given her age of 96, it still comes as a shock to many, especially given the Queen’s unusually robust health for someone of her age, best symbolized by her daring skydive entrance into the London olympics just ten years ago.

Her son, Charles will become King and take the regnal name Charles III, but there is speculation that he is currently negotiating with the Government of Prime Minister Owen Smith about the possibility of the United Kingdom transitioning to a Presidential system within the next decade. Charles’s preferred model appears to be the one in Germany. However, with Smith having a small margin in Parliament, it’s unlikely such a drastic change would be able to pass, even if a deal could be reached. If such a deal were to take place, it would signal the end of a one century long reign of the House of Windsor, and an end to the centuries lasting British crown which remains a controversial subject in the UK today.

Elizabeth’s funeral meanwhile, will draw world leaders from around the globe and Commonwealth, just as her husband’s was earlier this year. Numerous former leaders have already expressed their sympathies for the late Queen Elizabeth, and a response by current officeholders is almost all but certain given the jarring news.
The search for Queen Elizabeth
Headlines Worldwide this week paid tribute to the longest serving monarch in British history, one of the most widely recognized figures globally who has reigned since the days of Eisenhower. No matter the country, no matter the political lean, almost every outlet had the iconic smile of the late Queen Elizabeth II donned on the front cover. However, a minority of voices have a different idea of what actually happened this week, as seen with the rise of the DIA-Elizabeth conspiracy.

Context:
The Denver International Airport has long not just been a place where you have to spend twelve hours trying to work with crappy airport wifi because you just barely missed your connecting flight, but has also long been a rich source of conspiracy theories. While the list of total theories surrounding the grandiose airport is too long to fit in an article, readers must know of one theory, and that is the “Bunker Theory”. Essentially, this theory stipulates that underneath and around DIA underground, there are hidden government facilities and nuclear bunkers for major world leaders/politicians to hide in should Cao accidently press the wrong button because he thought it was how you veto a bill. One of the strongest supports of this theory is that the Royal Family had actually purchased vast amounts of land surrounding the airport in prior years. That is why a few weeks ago, with the “Good Start Act” which sought to decommission the use of the DIA airport for urban expansion of the growing Denver metropolis, many became immediately suspicious.

The Missing Queen
Thus, when this week the late Queen Elizabetht tragically passed away, the conspiracy spread rapidly, with trending videos on youtube, hashtags on twitter, and of course the “storm DIA” meme that is more or less a repeat of the Storm Area 51 sensation a couple years ago. While for many this conspiracy is a joke, there are a few who do believe in something suspicious, we spoke with a major celebrity who requested to remain anonymous but had this to say,
“It is simply way too convenient that just a few weeks after politicians in Denver started talking about moving DIA that the same person who bought large swaths of land RIGHT by the terminals suddenly just *dies*. It's even more suspicious because this happened suddenly, just a few weeks ago there were zero indications the queen would pass. And I ask, did anyone actually SEE the queen die? No, it was just an announcement she had passed. We have ZERO evidence her majesty didn’t just hop on a plane and is now hiding underground.”
Proponents of this theory believe that the British government is aware of some future development that could trigger a global scale conflict, thus necessitating the need for their head of state to preemptively seek security from any potential nuclear attacks. Although many see this as a meme, some have argued for the theory’s legitimacy, with our anonymous celebrity even going as far as to say “On October 5th, we WILL work together and stop this madness. We will take over the DIA! And we WILL find the missing Queen!”
We reached out to DIA for a response and they gave us the following,
“While we are aware of our many conspiracies and even have a web page devoted to those theories for people to learn about our airport, we assure the public that we are not aware of any nuclear bunkers within or adjacent to our premises. Like many, we mourn the loss of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, and wish the British people the best in these trying times. We are aware of new legislation to move our facilities elsewhere, but for now our top priority remains ensuring passengers have a comfortable flight experience. We also condemn any potential disruption to our services caused by such conspiracies and will not hesitate to use force if necessary for the public interest.”

Protests mount in Iran over the long-delayed Presidential Election.
By NewYorkExpress

Officially, the Presidential Election in Iran was supposed to be held in August of 2021. However, it never was, being called off at the time due to COVID concerns. However, skeptics, and now protestors, believe the real reason that the election was called off was that Supreme Leader Ali Khameni’s preferred candidate, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Ebrahim Raisi, was trailing his closest competitor, the former Commander-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Moshen Rezaee by an almost 30 point margin.

After almost a year, the election still has not been held, and there has been no timetable for holding the election that has published, leading to mass protests across Iran, thousands dead, thousands more injured, and tens of thousands, including the entire adult populations of the cities of Nir and Danesfahan are currently in prison.

Through all this, Supreme Leader Khameni has been resolute that election will not be held, and sources close to the Supreme Leader say that President Hassan Rouhani, who has so far been persuaded to serve past the end of his second term is growing frustrated with the lack of a successor, and is unhappy with the crackdown ordered by Khameni over his objections.

Several countries, most notably, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the United Arab Emirates issued draconian sanctions against Iran in response. Of these countries, Israel’s is the most sweeping, barring even humanitarian aid from entering Iran. Prime Minister Benny Gantz, in a press conference stated that “while it pains me to deny Iranian civilians basic human necessities, we must do everything we can to bring down the Ayatollah ''. Rumors of an Israeli invasion are considered unfounded by most experts, who believe heavy Atlasian support would be needed.

Final vote tally-Unanimously in favor

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

Confirming unanimous vote.

[It’s so Joever]

Also confirming.

[WD]

Could this be pinned?

[NewYorkExpress]

Leaked proposal for negotiations with Palestinian Authority offends Israel:
By New York Express
Israeli Newspaper Haaretz leaked yesterday news that the Atlasian Government was secretly
negotiating with the Palestinain Authority. Today, the Israeli Government reacted swiftly,
expelling Atlasian Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides and the entire diplomatic staff of the
Atlasian Embassy, with Israeli Prime Minister Benny Gantz telling reporters that “the Atlasian
decision to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority, which continues to deny Israel’s existence, and is openly intrasingent to any efforts at peace anywhere in the Middle East, is a clear threat ,not only to us here in Israel, but to the entire region”. Both the King of Jordan, Abduallah II, and Egyptian President Adbel Fattah el-Sisi, both of whose countries were at peace with Israel, maintained a more measured approach, each suggesting that while Israel has the right to take measures to protect itself, Atlasia negotiating with the Palestinian Authority wouldn’t harm Israel.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Middle East, some leaders, like Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman and President of the United Arab Emirates Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan are upset that Atlasia isn’t negotiating with them instead.

Ayman al-Zwahiri dead in Atlasian Airstrike:
By New York Express
Ayman al-Zwahiri, the leader of Al-Qaeda since Osama Bin Laden’s 2011 death, was killed last night in an airstrike by the Atlasian Air Force in the Waziristan Region of Pakistan. While there are grave questions being asked about an airstrike being approved of foreign soil, especially without the authorization of any civilian in the military chain of command, which is expected, despite the positive result of one the masterminds of the deadly terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 oficially being dealt with on a permanent basis, to have tough questions asked of senior Atlasian military commanders, especially by the Pakistani Government.

At Press time Pakistani Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif had no comment on the Atlasian airstrike on his country’s territory.

Ukraine caught smuggling terrorists into the
Crimea, Russia counters with invasion of the
Donbass:
By New York Express
Many in Ukraine had never accepted the treaty in 2016,so when a bombshell dropped that the Ukrainian Government was smuggling terrorists into Crimea to destablizie the administration,and had been directly linked to a car bombing, and the assaination of two members of the Sevastopol Legislative Assembly this was the moment Russian President Vladimir Putin had been waiting for, a readymade excuse to enact the invasion of Ukraine he’d been planning on for months. Forming an alliance with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, 250,000 Russian and Belarussian troops invaded Eastern Ukraine.

After a fantastic early start for Russia, the offensive has slowed on two fronts, near Dinipro and near Sumy.

Both President Zelensky and President Putin have courted massive amounts of controversy with their orders to their militaries so fat, with Putin effectively ordering the kidnapping of children of those who are opposed to Russian rule over Ukraine, and those kids being readopted by Russian parents, while Zelensky has issued an order based on the Nazi’s infamous Commissar Order, calling for the execution of all Russian soldiers captured by the Ukrainians.

Motions at the UN to send UN troops to break up the war, have been vetoed by Russia to this point.
It remains to be seen what Putin’s ultimate goal is, whether it is regime change or the ultimate conquest of Ukraine, and even those closest to Putin claim not to know.


Sweden votes to retain Government in
election dominated by Russia-Ukraine
tensions:
By New York Express
Heading into the early September elections in Sweden, the expectations were that the
Government of Magdalena Andresson was in trouble. The coalition had dumped the previous
Prime Minister, Sofia Lovfen over a dispute regarding the proposed repeal of the Austerity Tax.

However, as tensions ratcheted up between Russia and Ukraine, Andresson’s popularity
improved and her Government passed the right-wing opposition bloc of the Moderates, Sweden Democrats, Christian Democrats and Liberals and campaigning on Sweden being part of a European-wide alliance against Russia, improved their position in the polls, relative to the 2018 elections. While Andresson won’t get to form a government alone, her improved position means she will no longer need to completely rely on all three of her natural partners in Government for confidence and supply, the Centre, Left and Green Parties.
Riksdag
175 seats needed for a majority
Social Democrats: 129 seats
Moderate: 69 seats
Sweden Democrats: 65 seats
Centre: 37 seats
Liberals: 20 seats
Left: 18 seats
Christian Democrats: 17 seats
Green: 11 seats
Prime Minister Before Election : Magdalena Andresson
Prime Minister After Election: Magdalena Andresson

New Year in Ethiopia starts on a tragic note:
By Forumlurker:
It was supposed to be a day of celebration, a day of rejoicing and solidarity in a country long
plagued by internal strife. Although infamous here in Atlasia for the tragic attacks on the World Trade Center, September 11th has long held a much different significance in the Horn of Africa.

It is usually on this (or a nearby) date that Enkutatash, The Ethiopian New Year, begins. It is on this date that Queen Sheba returned from Israel to Ethiopia, and this event is celebrated across the country with coffee ceremonies, church activities, and communal meals. While such celebrations held true in most of the country despite the wounds of the current internal strife and Tigray Conflict, the same was not said for hundreds of congregants at the historic St George’s Church in Addis Ababa. As the morning service ended, three armed men broke into the building with security being reportedly missing from the scene. Combined, all three fired hundreds of rounds into the crowd before swiftly evacuating the scene. Several suspects have been detained,although identification still is ongoing. Currently, there are an estimated 60+ dead and hundreds of wounded, including at least 40 in critical condition. Although the motives of the attackers are unknown at this time, some have speculated allegiances to Al Shabaab or the Oromo Liberation Army.

Italian General Election sends Italy on sharp
rightward turn
By New York Express:
The Italian General elections, held on September 25 and the first full General Elections
following the death of Silvio Berlusconi, whose leadership of the Forza Italia Party had
dominated Italian Politics for a generation, was expected to produce a broad right coalition, led by Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy or Matteo Salvini’s Lega, with Forza Italia, now led by Calabrian President Roberto Occhiuto, after Berlusconi’s death and the resignation of his first successor Mara Carfagna, after she chose not to run for reelection.

However, with Berlusconi dead, Forza Italia’s share of the vote all but collapsed, and was
divided between the Five Star Movement, led by Giuseppe Conte, and Meloni’s Brothers of Italy.
Thus, a shaky coalition between Lega, Five Star Movement, and Brothers of Italy was formed. In the new government, Lega leader Matteo Salvini will become Prime Minister, Brothers of Italy leader Meloni will become Interior Minister, and Five Star Movement leader Conte will become Justice Minister, with Five Star, the largest party after the election, also getting the Foreign Ministry.

Given the shaky relationships the Five Star Movement has with the other parties, most political observers expect the coalition to collapse inside of six months, with more optimistic observers stating that it will last about a year.
Italian General Elections
All 400 Members of the Chamber of Deputies, all 200 members of the Senate.
Five Star Movement: Giuseppe Conte: 77 Chamber of Deputies, 35 Senators
Brothers of Italy: Giorgia Meloni: 71 Chamber of Deputies, 34 Senators
Lega: Matteo Salvini: 69 Chamber of Deputies, 41 Senate
Democratic:Enrico Letta: 49 Chamber of Deputies, 39 Senate
Civic Commitment: Luigi Di Maio: 40 Chamber of Deputies, 17 Senate
US Moderates: Maurizio Lupi: 32 Chamber of Deputies, 14 Senate
Action-Italia Viva: Carlo Calenda: 37 Chamber of Deputies, 17 Senate
Forza Italia: Roberto Occhiuto: 23 Chamber of Deputies, 3 Senate
Greens and Left Alliance: Angelo Bonelli: 3 Chamber of Deputies, 0 Senate
Prime Minister Before Election: Antonio Conte
Prime Minister After Election: Matteo Salvini
DOMESTIC NEWS
Roger Federer, Serena Williams retirements
spark debates over who was best Tennis
Player of all time:
By Weatherboy:
The retirements of Tennis legends Roger Federer and Serena Williams, both announced in thepast weeks, have sparked debate over just who is the greatest Tennis Player of all time, and whatrole gender plays in such a discussion.

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova, herself a contender for such an honor, stated that Williams was the greatest of all time, saying that her dominance over the game was unmatched by anyone else, man or woman.

However, Federer’s contemporary, Novak Djokovic, who has drawn controversy for his public
anti-vaccine stance during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to him being banned from Australia during the Australian Open, stated that no woman could ever hope to defeat even an amateur male player, stating that difference between the sexes in physical ability was just too great.

Djokovic’s comments recalled the famed Battle of the Sexes, when Billie Jean King faced off
against Bobby Riggs, and won.

Petitions have been circulating for the Fremont Parliament to introduce legislation honoring
Williams, a California native, and a similar petition is circulating calling for President Cao to
award Atlasia’s highest civilian honor to both Williams and Federer for services to sport.

First wave of funds as per Riot Response Reform Act passes, New York City Council
Speaker indicted for theft of money intendedfor NYPD:
By New York Express
The Riot Response Reform Act, passed and signed has distributed it’s first funds, and while most police departments across Lincoln are praising the regional legislature, and Governor Tack50 for signing it, the NYPD has complained about not receiving any of the money for the past couple of days. Today, we learned why, as New York City Council Speaker Bill de Blasio (Labor-Park Slope) was arrested and charged with stealing New York City’s share of the two billion dollars in the legislation, meant for the NYPD, and instead using part of it as a legislative slush fund to fund personal projects for the Labor Majority in the City Council, which has sparred with Mayor Lewis Silver for months. Sliver, who is facing term limits and is not running for re-election this October, commented that “De Blasio’s arrest is music to my ears. I’ve said he was a corrupt piece of garbage ever since I was elected as Mayor of this great city, and it’s great to be vindicated”

This is expected to upend the Mayoral race, to take place alongside the Presidential, Regional, and National Elections this October between the Federalist nominee, Sanitation Commissioner Mendel Rosenbaum (Borough Park), the Labor nominee, former New York City Councilwoman,and Representative from the former United States Elizabeth Holtzman (Brooklyn), and the Democratic Alliance nominee, Columbia University Law School Student Melissa Robinetti (Morningside Heights).

All three candidates condemned De Blasio’s actions however, Holtzman, who was endorsed by De Blasio, and already trailing Rosenbaum in the polls, has seen her polling decline further, with both Rosenbaum and Robenetti making gains at her expense.


Monkeypox strikes Atlasia:
By Forumlurker
“An unmitigated disaster.”
These were the words that came from iconic LGBTQ+ activist, Chasten Glezman, in response tothe sobering new reports of the state of monkeypox across Atlasia. As of writing, over 30,000cases have been recorded since the first case on Atlasian soil in this outbreak was reported on May 18th. Although the first cases of the multinational outbreak officially took place in the UK earlier that same month, many scientists believe the virus had been spreading undetected long before. Monkeypox is a disease which is related to smallpox, but significantly more mild in symptoms, with fatality rates before this current outbreak being significantly greater than the relatively low rates we see today (as of writing only two people in Atlasia have died out of the 30,000+ recorded cases, both high risk) However, the disease is by no means harmless, causing extremely painful lesions across the body and having led many to hospitalization with some developing permanent damage and scarring. The Atlasian monkeypox response has been widely seen as ineffective and extremely polarized across regional lines. The Southern response has by far been the most stringent, with the Southern response having been to shut down gathering places used by the LGBTQ+ community, an action condemned by numerous organizations, including the ACLU.
This has prompted fears of further LGBTQ+ persecution, a sentiment reflected by a recent transplant from the South to Fremont by the name of Johnny. “The Southern Government is authoritarian and they hate me and my beautiful Asian boyfriend. But it's okay I love it here in Fremont, so many BEAUTIFUL ASIANS!!! We must BREATHE IN THE MONKEYPOX to inoculate ourselves against the disease. NO MORE LOCKDOWNS, BYE SOUTH!”

On the other end of the spectrum is the Fremont response, which has been not only to welcome mass gatherings of those from the South who were prohibited by the prior response, but also to reduce potential monkey to human interaction by releasing monkeys from research facilities into the wild. Not only is it highly unlikely these monkeys will survive in the wilderness of a completely different environment, but it also further feeds into common misperceptions of monkeypox and does little to address the problem. Federal vaccination campaigns for those exposed to the disease have been barely discussed(although a decentralized effort is happening on a state by state basis) leading to an incoherent and confusing jumble. Chasten and various epidemiologists we spoke with noted that while the disease is real and must not be taken lightly or ignored, that stigmatizing the LGTBQ+ community is not the way towards case reduction, both citing the AIDS crisis of the 1980s to exemplify this point.

Luckily, epidemiologists do believe the virus is far less contagious than Covid-19, and there hasnot been major exponential growth despite the poor response to the disease, however, if these arethe lessons learned from 2020, one has little to feel reassured about.

Current Monkeypox Numbers:
Fremont: 9,415 Cases and 1 Death
South: 10,826 Cases and 1 Death
Lincoln: 10,483 0 Deaths

Jackson left dry:
By Forumlurker
After devastating floods last month wreaked havoc on the already struggling water treatment plant for the capital city of Jackson, Mississippi, over 160,000 residents have been left for weeks without access to clean running water. Governor Grenfell along with city officials have assured residents of the beleaguered city that the crisis is temporary and will be resolved, but skepticism mounts each day.

Unease grows in the city, and while aid has come to the civilians of Jackson to ensure the
availability of bottled water for daily tasks, families across the city still are forced to ration
supplies to get by. Even before this crisis, many Jackson residents we interviewed noted that the water had always been an issue, with nearly all using their own filters and many using bottled water for drinking and tooth brushing long ago.

Politically, the water crisis has become a source of debate in the South, with Governor Grenfell accusing city management of failing to properly maintain their infrastructure due to reckless spending, while city officials have pointed the blame back at the State, arguing the lack of investment in historically marginalized communities in Mississippi made such a disaster possible.

Regardless of the politics at play here, the crisis has persisted, with it now having been three weeks without clean water in a situation that eerily parallels what happened in Flint, Michigan just a few years ago. Although for now the situations remains somewhat stable, there are increasing rumors of potential riots if the situation continues, with the Governor’s Mansion receiving two separate bomb threats, both geolocated to addresses within the city.

TEXAS, FLORIDA, DELAWARE PASS
NULLIFICATION BILLS, OTHER STATES
FOLLOWING SUIT
By Weatherboy
AUSTIN, TX - Clapping resounded throughout the halls of the Texas state legislature Thursdayevening as a vote-a-rama begun at 8 am that morning finally ended, with the handful ofFederalist members of the chamber leaving with grumbles both from their mouths and stomachs- an attempt to recess for a lunch break was denied - as Labor and DA members of the chambercelebrated a set of bills structured from South Carolina’s, nullifying more regional statutes. Mostnotable was the addition of the Monkeypox Prevention Extension Act to nullified statutes,although a similar bill, with stipulations that group sexual intercourse where all involved useproper protection remains legal, passed.

On Wednesday a similar set of bills was passed through Florida’s state legislature, with State
Senator Chad Shadow, the sponsor for most of the nullification bills, being noticeably moved asthe bills passed easily. Meanwhile up the coast Delaware too has moved to nullify, with Labor’ssolid majorities in the state legislature easily passing the bills on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, other states are already gearing up for similar fights, ones which will be much
tougher as Federalists hold a plurality of seats in some. Maryland is closest to joining the
nullification train, as Governor McBongos and their Labor majorities are set to pass nullification bills in a vote on Tuesday the 27th. In Kentucky, the road seems clear for nullification as DA and Labor hold a majority on this issue. A similar situation exists in Georgia, and although when they were elected Labor and the DA were at each other’s throats, it has been nearly 2 years and tensions have cooled. Arkansas is in an interesting position as Peace held most of the legislature, but with their fall most of their members are Laborites now. Either way, nullification seems likely to pass here as well
In Missouri, things are more complicated, as former Liberals turned DA are the deciders, with DA and Labor holding a bare majority of 83/163 (59 elected DA, 16 Liberal-to-DA, 8 Labor) in the lower house and tied 17/34 (12 elected DA, 4 Liberal-to-DA, 1 Labor) in the upper house.

Alabama is a questionable situation as Liberals hold the balance in both houses. And of course Kansas, while the DA holds a majority, has dragged their feet on a nullification bill introduced by an AFP member of the legislature. To the south in Oklahoma, Federalist majorities are hell-bent on stopping any attempt at nullification, even if such a measure has Labor Governor Boomhauer’s support. Virginia seems like it will not nullify, as Federalist Governor Emily DeSantis will likely veto any legislation doing so, and the Federalist bloc in the state legislature is enough to uphold said veto.

A map on nullification is below:



Vote passed 2-0-1.[/b]

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

Confirming vote

[NewYorkExpress]

Confirming vote as valid and apologizing for the format on behalf of the team. We promise we won't try and post directly from a PDF again.

[It’s so Joever]

Confirming vote is valid. Sorry next time I will use a word doc.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

A formatting cleanup would definitely be appreciated. We also need an update on China.

[NewYorkExpress]

A formatting cleanup would definitely be appreciated. We also need an update on China.

I can confirm that there have been internal discussions within the team on what to do regarding China and Taiwan. We didn't reach a decision, and I personally see Russia as a priority, which is why that is in this update. I can't promise a China update in the near future (even though I seem to be the sole person writing foreign policy so far), but there probably will be one eventually.

We need to reach a consensus about what to do in that area and we haven't done that yet. I hope I've answered your question.

Also, hope the formatting cleanup is to your liking.

[Joseph Cao]

A couple of questions:

1. How is the GM team going to proceed with the NPC elections-related events going forward? There's mention of an upcoming NYC election. Will all the NPC legislatures and offices gradually update?

2. Related to that, if the terms of office are all six months long are we assuming that everyone elected between February and August 2021 has been in office for between thirteen and nineteen months?

3. Is Hurricane Ian canon?

I have another question about the Ukraine development but the profanity filter won't let me post all of it apparently.

[NewYorkExpress]

A couple of questions:

1. How is the GM team going to proceed with the NPC elections-related events going forward? There's mention of an upcoming NYC election. Will all the NPC legislatures and offices gradually update?

2. Related to that, if the terms of office are all six months long are we assuming that everyone elected between February and August 2021 has been in office for between thirteen and nineteen months?

3. Is Hurricane Ian canon?

I have another question about the Ukraine development but the profanity filter won't let me post all of it apparently.

1. Weatherboy and I are still working out the fine print, but there's a reason I chose to schedule the NPC election for the same day as the player elections. That way scoring would be minimal if we can't agree on a system.

2. The New York City office is term-limited specifically, based on the IRL two term limit. I personally lean towards the state Governors, not having term-limits, but Weatherboy and Forumlurker might have different feelings about that.

3. Previous GM's (Lumine in particular) have ruled that real life natural disasters still happen. There may or may not be a story about the impacts of Hurricane Ian, but assume Ian was the same storm as IRL.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I'd advise against bringing back NPC elections unless there's clear interest among the public to have those campaigns again, and frankly I don't believe that's the case now.

[NewYorkExpress]

I'd advise against bringing back NPC elections unless there's clear interest among the public to have those campaigns again, and frankly I don't believe that's the case now.

We were kind of divided between doing full NPC elections (Weatherboy), or having them happen offscreen with simulated results (me).

Your advice has been noted and will be considered.

[OBD]

Considering the proportion of formerly active campaigners that are now GM team members, disgraced, or disappeared, NPC elections aren’t gonna be viable, lol.

Also we had a good thing going with keeping IRL people out of the equation. C’mon!

[NewYorkExpress]

Again, one of the options I (I'm not going to speak for my colleagues), was considering on NPC elections was just having them occur offscreen and reporting the results only.

Based on your feedback so far, that's what's likely to happen.

As for not using real people, that's my personal preference, as I'm just not as creative with inventing people out of whole cloth as some of you are. I thought I did well with the Federalist and Democratic Alliance candidates, to be quite honest.

[Joseph Cao]

Likewise I'm really not keen on having the full NPC McCoy come back unless people are actually interested.

The other thing that stands out to me is if we really need to revisit the issue. All these NPCs and the state legislature breakdowns and partisan details and stuff were invented purely in service of a playable activity that would be unfeasible at the moment. If we're at the same situation as prior to NPC elections, when we assumed all these state and local governments did their own thing without specifying which name from which party did what, do we return to that original assumption, that sort of thing.

I'm not against some kind of simulation happening or whatever but the NPC elections concept exists purely to put names to faces at this point and that's something that a) we got along fine without prior to July 2020, and b) would be a pretty big effort by the GMs for not a huge amount of return in terms of augmenting the canon since we always assumed those governments were in the background anyway.

A couple of questions:

1. How is the GM team going to proceed with the NPC elections-related events going forward? There's mention of an upcoming NYC election. Will all the NPC legislatures and offices gradually update?

2. Related to that, if the terms of office are all six months long are we assuming that everyone elected between February and August 2021 has been in office for between thirteen and nineteen months?

3. Is Hurricane Ian canon?

I have another question about the Ukraine development but the profanity filter won't let me post all of it apparently.

1. Weatherboy and I are still working out the fine print, but there's a reason I chose to schedule the NPC election for the same day as the player elections. That way scoring would be minimal if we can't agree on a system.

2. The New York City office is term-limited specifically, based on the IRL two term limit. I personally lean towards the state Governors, not having term-limits, but Weatherboy and Forumlurker might have different feelings about that.

3. Previous GM's (Lumine in particular) have ruled that real life natural disasters still happen. There may or may not be a story about the impacts of Hurricane Ian, but assume Ian was the same storm as IRL.

"Based on the IRL two term limit" means the mayor would have termed out by last September. He was elected in July 2020, reelected in February 2021. Or is the assumption that every state government has been stuck in carbonite for a year? That itself would contradict some recent stories.

Not every IRL disaster has happened exactly the same way, or at all, the GMs have leeway to decide on those things. Off the top of my head Harvey hit a different part of Atlasia and another hurricane that season (Irma?) didn't happen at all.

[NewYorkExpress]

Likewise I'm really not keen on having the full NPC McCoy come back unless people are actually interested.

The other thing that stands out to me is if we really need to revisit the issue. All these NPCs and the state legislature breakdowns and partisan details and stuff were invented purely in service of a playable activity that would be unfeasible at the moment. If we're at the same situation as prior to NPC elections, when we assumed all these state and local governments did their own thing without specifying which name from which party did what, do we return to that original assumption, that sort of thing.

I'm not against some kind of simulation happening or whatever but the NPC elections concept exists purely to put names to faces at this point and that's something that a) we got along fine without prior to July 2020, and b) would be a pretty big effort by the GMs for not a huge amount of return in terms of augmenting the canon since we always assumed those governments were in the background anyway.

A couple of questions:

1. How is the GM team going to proceed with the NPC elections-related events going forward? There's mention of an upcoming NYC election. Will all the NPC legislatures and offices gradually update?

2. Related to that, if the terms of office are all six months long are we assuming that everyone elected between February and August 2021 has been in office for between thirteen and nineteen months?

3. Is Hurricane Ian canon?

I have another question about the Ukraine development but the profanity filter won't let me post all of it apparently.

1. Weatherboy and I are still working out the fine print, but there's a reason I chose to schedule the NPC election for the same day as the player elections. That way scoring would be minimal if we can't agree on a system.

2. The New York City office is term-limited specifically, based on the IRL two term limit. I personally lean towards the state Governors, not having term-limits, but Weatherboy and Forumlurker might have different feelings about that.

3. Previous GM's (Lumine in particular) have ruled that real life natural disasters still happen. There may or may not be a story about the impacts of Hurricane Ian, but assume Ian was the same storm as IRL.

"Based on the IRL two term limit" means the mayor would have termed out by last September. He was elected in July 2020, reelected in February 2021. Or is the assumption that every state government has been stuck in carbonite for a year? That itself would contradict some recent stories.

Not every IRL disaster has happened exactly the same way, or at all, the GMs have leeway to decide on those things. Off the top of my head Harvey hit a different part of Atlasia and another hurricane that season (Irma?) didn't happen at all.

You are correct. That limit is being applied now, and will be applied for future stories.

The two-term limit should be considered as having been in effect, but because of previous GM's decisions to downplay state NPC elections, it has not previously been enforced.

As for Harvey and Irma, as far as I am aware, both predate  Lumine's ruling, which is what I am using here.

There's also a lawsuit pending which could render the New York City story formally non-canon, depending on what the outcome is.

[Mr. Reactionary]

If we are voicing our opinions, Ill add that I also support scrapping the concept. I am unfamiliar with these legislative elections. I wasnt in the game during the brief period where these were done, but as it was explained to me last night, basically whoever posts the most amount of useless spam gets rewarded with improbable NPC results thus incentivizing useless spam. Using the results from 2 years ago make no apparent sense in light of the current in game situation.

Also there isnt anything in the federal or Regional constitutions requiring elected legislative governments. IIRC Scott mentioned that in Fremont the Regional government has assumed basically all State and local taxation, powers, and functions. As I read the constitution, Regions in game are to States, what States in real life are to counties i.e. sovereign to constituent subdivision. Hypothetically I dont see any reason why Regions couldnt just essentially abolish state and local governments within the region or say make such governments subject to appointment by the Regional government.

Im not going to knock anyone for trying new ideas just because they didnt work, im just going to say imo I dont think this works at all. Especially when it results in nonsensical outcomes that are still being treated as in effect 2 years later.

[NewYorkExpress]

If we are voicing our opinions, Ill add that I also support scrapping the concept. I am unfamiliar with these legislative elections. I wasnt in the game during the brief period where these were done, but as it was explained to me last night, basically whoever posts the most amount of useless spam gets rewarded with improbable NPC results thus incentivizing useless spam. Using the results from 2 years ago make no apparent sense in light of the current in game situation.

Also there isnt anything in the federal or Regional constitutions requiring elected legislative governments. IIRC Scott mentioned that in Fremont the Regional government has assumed basically all State and local taxation, powers, and functions. As I read the constitution, Regions in game are to States, what States in real life are to counties i.e. sovereign to constituent subdivision. Hypothetically I dont see any reason why Regions couldnt just essentially abolish state and local governments within the region or say make such governments subject to appointment by the Regional government.

Im not going to knock anyone for trying new ideas just because they didnt work, im just going to say imo I dont think this works at all. Especially when it results in nonsensical outcomes that are still being treated as in effect 2 years later.

I'm not speaking for the entire team, but if the Senate were willing to repeal the act creating the state NPC elections AND declare all officeholders null and void, and all storylines covering said officeholders as non-valid, it would get no objection from me.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

If we are voicing our opinions, Ill add that I also support scrapping the concept. I am unfamiliar with these legislative elections. I wasnt in the game during the brief period where these were done, but as it was explained to me last night, basically whoever posts the most amount of useless spam gets rewarded with improbable NPC results thus incentivizing useless spam. Using the results from 2 years ago make no apparent sense in light of the current in game situation.

Also there isnt anything in the federal or Regional constitutions requiring elected legislative governments. IIRC Scott mentioned that in Fremont the Regional government has assumed basically all State and local taxation, powers, and functions. As I read the constitution, Regions in game are to States, what States in real life are to counties i.e. sovereign to constituent subdivision. Hypothetically I dont see any reason why Regions couldnt just essentially abolish state and local governments within the region or say make such governments subject to appointment by the Regional government.

Im not going to knock anyone for trying new ideas just because they didnt work, im just going to say imo I dont think this works at all. Especially when it results in nonsensical outcomes that are still being treated as in effect 2 years later.

Respectfully, I rather enjoyed my "useless spam" because I like writing speeches.

But yes, the parties that ran the best campaign tailored to a specific state always won by varying margins. The Utah campaign was by far the most memorable. However I do agree that it's unwise to delegate these legislatures as permanent. It's unfair to other parties, and I say that as someone whose party controls the majority of statehouses and governorships.

Fremont is different from Lincoln and the South in that we absorbed state services, so local governments do have less of a role but they are nonetheless allowed to enact laws primarily affecting social/law-and-order issues within the context of regional law. This wasn't the case for Louisiana, where the Labor governor had to raise taxes because the South does not assume funding for the states.

Which is rather ironic, because Tmth criticized Fremont for "triple taxation," even though we're the only region that eliminated this problem. As far as I know, states in the other two regions are fully responsible for their own budgetary situations, and their residents pay SALT in addition to regional and federal taxes.

This is ultimately why Fremont is in a better budgetary situation, where we basically have a 1950s tax code that is quite high but also not an impediment to economic growth, since only a few people pay anything close to the top rate.

[Mr. Reactionary]

If we are voicing our opinions, Ill add that I also support scrapping the concept. I am unfamiliar with these legislative elections. I wasnt in the game during the brief period where these were done, but as it was explained to me last night, basically whoever posts the most amount of useless spam gets rewarded with improbable NPC results thus incentivizing useless spam. Using the results from 2 years ago make no apparent sense in light of the current in game situation.

Also there isnt anything in the federal or Regional constitutions requiring elected legislative governments. IIRC Scott mentioned that in Fremont the Regional government has assumed basically all State and local taxation, powers, and functions. As I read the constitution, Regions in game are to States, what States in real life are to counties i.e. sovereign to constituent subdivision. Hypothetically I dont see any reason why Regions couldnt just essentially abolish state and local governments within the region or say make such governments subject to appointment by the Regional government.

Im not going to knock anyone for trying new ideas just because they didnt work, im just going to say imo I dont think this works at all. Especially when it results in nonsensical outcomes that are still being treated as in effect 2 years later.

I'm not speaking for the entire team, but if the Senate were willing to repeal the act creating the state NPC elections AND declare all officeholders null and void, and all storylines covering said officeholders as non-valid, it would get no objection from me.

You wouldnt happen to know what the federal law is called/when it was passed do you? Im not finding it.