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3rd September 2004 (17 years ago): Russian school siege ends in bloodbath

A three-day hostage crisis at a Russian school comes to a violent conclusion after a gun battle erupts between the hostage-takers and Russian security forces. In the end, over 300 people died, many of them children, while hundreds more were injured.

On the morning of 1 September, a group of Chechen terrorists surrounded students, teachers and parents on the playground of School Number One in Beslan, North Ossetia (an autonomous republic in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation), as they held a celebration in honor of the first day of the school year. Some people managed to escape while others were killed; however, the majority, an estimated 1,200 adults and children, were herded into the school gym, which the hostage-takers rigged with a number of explosive devices. Later that day, Russian authorities began negotiation talks with the terrorists. The hostage-takers were members of the Riyad-us Saliheen, sent by the Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, who demanded Russian withdrawal from and recognition of the independence of Chechnya. Negotiations broke down after two days and early on the afternoon of 3 September, an explosion went off in the gym–accidentally, according to some survivors. Some hostages died immediately, and more were killed or injured when the gym collapsed. Further chaos ensued as Russian police and soldiers opened fire on the school. Russian security forces stormed the building with tanks, incendiary rockets and other heavy weapons. Some hostages were moved to the cafeteria and forced to stand at the windows as human shields, where they where caught in the crossfire.

In total, 331 people were killed as a result of the seige, 186 of them children, and over 700 more individuals were injured. Russian authorities claimed there was a total of 32 terrorists, 31 of whom died during the siege. Some surviving hostages claimed there had been additional terrorists who managed to escape. Residents of Beslan blamed Russian authorities for badly mishandling the crisis, saying rescue operations were poorly planned and troops used excessive force.

Shamil Basayev, a militant Islamist and leader of the Chechen separatist movement, claimed responsibility for the Beslan school siege. In 2006, Nurpashi Kulayev, the only known surviving hostage-taker, was sentenced to life in prison. That same year, Basayev died in an explosion, the cause of which remains unclear.

The event had security and political repercussions in Russia, leading to a series of federal government reforms consolidating power in the Kremlin and strengthening the powers of the President of Russia.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Beslan_kollazh.jpg

From top left clockwise: the building of school No. 1 in 2008, the Orthodox cross in the gymnasium in memory of the victims, the "Tree of sorrow" memorial cemetery, photos of the victims.
__________

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Chechnya_and_Caucasus.png

North Ossetia on a map of North Caucasus.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/russian-school-siege-ends-in-bloodbath

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beslan_school_siege

Indo-Greco-Bactria, Sulivannia, Gufand, Gullyslanarmaing, and 2 othersKissassia, and The republic of falmart

Ancapatopia wrote:wassup plebs

Pleb?!

Today in History wrote:terrorists make school go boom boom

oh noes

Just got the new IPhone X, Might Even Upgrade To The IPhone 4

Hello everybody I am new to the area I hope everyone is doing fantastic

United spanish speakers

how do i exist in the map

you dont

*pulls out gun*

United spanish speakers wrote:how do i exist in the map

wait, i don't exist?
wait...
no
no
NOOOOOO
*poof*

Sulivannia, Acceel, and Apalasa

Ruffusland wrote:Hello everybody I am new to the area I hope everyone is doing fantastic

Welcome! I hope you're doing well too.

United spanish speakers wrote:how do i exist in the map

Sarayevka, our Roleplay Delegate, or Doctors Orvos, our Cartographer and President, can help you out there!

4th September 476 (1545 years ago): Romulus Augustulus is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself "King of Italy", thus ending the Western Roman Empire

The fall of the Western Roman Empire was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast territory was divided into several successor polities. The Roman Empire lost the strengths that had allowed it to exercise effective control over its Western provinces; modern historians posit factors including the effectiveness and numbers of the army, the health and numbers of the Roman population, the strength of the economy, the competence of the Emperors, the internal struggles for power, the religious changes of the period, and the efficiency of the civil administration. Increasing pressure from invading barbarians outside Roman culture also contributed greatly to the collapse. Climatic changes and both endemic and epidemic disease drove many of these immediate factors. The reasons for the collapse are major subjects of the historiography of the ancient world and they inform much modern discourse on state failure.

In 376, unmanageable numbers of Goths and other non-Roman people, fleeing from the Huns, entered the Empire. In 395, after winning two destructive civil wars, Theodosius I died. He left behind a collapsing field army. The Empire, still plagued by Goths, was divided between the warring ministers of his two incapable sons. Further barbarian groups crossed the Rhine and other frontiers and, like the Goths, were not exterminated, expelled or subjugated. The armed forces of the Western Empire became few and ineffective, and despite brief recoveries under able leaders, central rule was never effectively consolidated.

Ancient Rome had twice been sacked in the 5th century CE, after a lengthy decline which followed more than a millennium of dominance, first over central Italy and then over an empire that surrounded the Mediterranean Sea. First, in 410, a Visigothic army under the command of Alaric besieged, entered, and looted the city, and in 455, the Vandals attacked Rome after their king, Genseric, believing himself to have been snubbed by an usurper emperor, voided a peace treaty. Despite remaining the seat of the Roman Senate, and an important city of the Western Empire, Rome was not what it had once been – the Western emperors had moved their courts to the more secure Ravenna in the wake of the two pillages and the Hun incursions.

By 476, the position of Western Roman Emperor wielded negligible military, political, or financial power, and had no effective control over the scattered Western domains that could still be described as Roman. Barbarian kingdoms had established their own power in much of the area of the Western Empire. In 476, the Germanic barbarian king Odoacer deposed the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire in Italy, Romulus Augustulus. The Senate sent the imperial insignia to the Eastern Roman Emperor Flavius Zeno. With the backing of the Roman Senate, Odoacer thenceforth ruled Italy autonomously, paying lip service to the authority of Julius Nepos, the previous Western emperor, and Zeno, the emperor of the East.

While its legitimacy lasted for centuries longer and its cultural influence remains today, the Western Empire never had the strength to rise again. The Eastern Roman, or Byzantine Empire survived. Though lessened in strength, this empire remained for centuries an effective power of the Eastern Mediterranean.

While the loss of political unity and military control is universally acknowledged, the Fall is not the only unifying concept for these events; the period described as Late Antiquity emphasizes the cultural continuities throughout and beyond the political collapse.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Europe_and_the_Near_East_at_476_AD.png

Europe and the Mediterranean in 476 AD.
__________

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Romulus_Augustulus_and_Odoacer.jpg

Romulus Augustus resigns the Crown (from a 19th-century illustration).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_the_Western_Roman_Empire

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deposition_of_Romulus_Augustus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odoacer

South Asians, Kitsunistan, Sulivannia, Gufand, and 3 othersGullyslanarmaing, Acceel, and The republic of falmart

oh noes

People of nolan

Ruffusland wrote:Hello everybody I am new to the area I hope everyone is doing fantastic

Welcome to the region. Hope you are doing good as well. It is pretty great here.

WAIT NOOOO
I ACCIDENTALLY BOOSTED FREEDOM IN MY COUNTRY
ah whatever
I guess ill just be going for the highest civil rights in the region

People of nolan, Acceel, and Tunikaland

5th September 1839 (172 years ago): The United Kingdom declares war on the Qing dynasty of China

The First Opium War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China. The immediate issue was China's official seizure of opium stocks at Canton to stop the banned opium trade, and threatening the death penalty for future offenders. The British government insisted on the principles of free trade, equal diplomatic recognition among nations, and backed the merchants' demands. The British navy defeated the Chinese using technologically superior ships and weapons, and the British then imposed a treaty that granted territory to Britain and opened trade with China.

In the 18th century the demand for Chinese luxury goods (particularly silk, porcelain, and tea) created a trade imbalance between China and Britain. European silver flowed into China through the Canton System, which confined incoming foreign trade to the southern port city of Canton. To counter this imbalance, the British East India Company began to grow opium in Bengal and allowed private British merchants to sell opium to Chinese smugglers for illegal sale in China. The influx of narcotics reversed the Chinese trade surplus, drained the economy of silver, and increased the numbers of opium addicts inside the country, outcomes that seriously worried Chinese officials.

In 1839, the Daoguang Emperor, rejecting proposals to legalise and tax opium, appointed Viceroy Lin Zexu to go to Canton to halt the opium trade completely. Lin wrote an open letter to Queen Victoria, which she never saw, appealing to her moral responsibility to stop the opium trade. Lin then resorted to using force in the western merchants' enclave. He confiscated all supplies and ordered a blockade of foreign ships on the Pearl River. Lin also confiscated and destroyed a significant quantity of European opium. The British government responded by dispatching a military force to China and in the ensuing conflict, the Royal Navy used its naval and gunnery power to inflict a series of decisive defeats on the Chinese Empire. In 1842, the Qing dynasty was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanking—the first of what the Chinese later called the unequal treaties—which granted an indemnity and extraterritoriality to British subjects in China, opened five treaty ports to British merchants, and ceded Hong Kong Island to the British Empire. The failure of the treaty to satisfy British goals of improved trade and diplomatic relations led to the Second Opium War (1856–60). The following social unrest within China was the background for the Taiping Rebellion, a war lasting from 1850–64 in which at least 20 million Chinese died, which further weakened the dynasty. The war marked the start of what 20th century Chinese nationalists called the "Century of Humiliation". In China, the year 1839 is considered the beginning of modern Chinese history.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Destroying_Chinese_war_junks%2C_by_E._Duncan_%281843%29.jpg

The East India Company steamship "Nemesis" (right background) destroying Chinese war junks during the Second Battle of Chuenpi, 7 January 1841.
__________

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/A_busy_stacking_room_in_the_opium_factory_at_Patna%2C_India._L_Wellcome_V0019154.jpg/2531px-A_busy_stacking_room_in_the_opium_factory_at_Patna%2C_India._L_Wellcome_V0019154.jpg

A British lithograph depicting a storehouse filled with opium at the factory of the British East India Company in Patna, India in c. 1850.
__________

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/William_John_Huggins_-_The_opium_ships_at_Lintin%2C_China%2C_1824.jpg/2560px-William_John_Huggins_-_The_opium_ships_at_Lintin%2C_China%2C_1824.jpg

A depiction of opium ships at Lintin, China by the British artist William John Huggins in 1824.
__________

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Opium_imports_into_China_1650-1880_EN.svg/2560px-Opium_imports_into_China_1650-1880_EN.svg.png

Graph showing the increase in Chinese opium imports by year.
__________

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Destruction_of_opium_in_1839.jpg

Contemporary Chinese depiction of the destruction of opium under Commissioner Lin.
__________

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/The_Signing_of_the_Treaty_of_Nanking.jpg/2560px-The_Signing_of_the_Treaty_of_Nanking.jpg

Oil painting depicting the signing of the Treaty of Nanking.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Opium_War

South Asians, Sulivannia, Gufand, Gullyslanarmaing, and 3 othersAcceel, Alicetopia, and The republic of falmart

Today in History wrote:
5th September 1839 (172 years ago): The United Kingdom declares war on the Qing dynasty of China

The First Opium War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China. The immediate issue was China's official seizure of opium stocks at Canton to stop the banned opium trade, and threatening the death penalty for future offenders. The British government insisted on the principles of free trade, equal diplomatic recognition among nations, and backed the merchants' demands. The British navy defeated the Chinese using technologically superior ships and weapons, and the British then imposed a treaty that granted territory to Britain and opened trade with China.

In the 18th century the demand for Chinese luxury goods (particularly silk, porcelain, and tea) created a trade imbalance between China and Britain. European silver flowed into China through the Canton System, which confined incoming foreign trade to the southern port city of Canton. To counter this imbalance, the British East India Company began to grow opium in Bengal and allowed private British merchants to sell opium to Chinese smugglers for illegal sale in China. The influx of narcotics reversed the Chinese trade surplus, drained the economy of silver, and increased the numbers of opium addicts inside the country, outcomes that seriously worried Chinese officials.

In 1839, the Daoguang Emperor, rejecting proposals to legalise and tax opium, appointed Viceroy Lin Zexu to go to Canton to halt the opium trade completely. Lin wrote an open letter to Queen Victoria, which she never saw, appealing to her moral responsibility to stop the opium trade. Lin then resorted to using force in the western merchants' enclave. He confiscated all supplies and ordered a blockade of foreign ships on the Pearl River. Lin also confiscated and destroyed a significant quantity of European opium. The British government responded by dispatching a military force to China and in the ensuing conflict, the Royal Navy used its naval and gunnery power to inflict a series of decisive defeats on the Chinese Empire. In 1842, the Qing dynasty was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanking—the first of what the Chinese later called the unequal treaties—which granted an indemnity and extraterritoriality to British subjects in China, opened five treaty ports to British merchants, and ceded Hong Kong Island to the British Empire. The failure of the treaty to satisfy British goals of improved trade and diplomatic relations led to the Second Opium War (1856–60). The following social unrest within China was the background for the Taiping Rebellion, a war lasting from 1850–64 in which at least 20 million Chinese died, which further weakened the dynasty. The war marked the start of what 20th century Chinese nationalists called the "Century of Humiliation". In China, the year 1839 is considered the beginning of modern Chinese history.

[spoiler=Images:]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Destroying_Chinese_war_junks%2C_by_E._Duncan_%281843%29.jpg

The East India Company steamship "Nemesis" (right background) destroying Chinese war junks during the Second Battle of Chuenpi, 7 January 1841.
__________

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/A_busy_stacking_room_in_the_opium_factory_at_Patna%2C_India._L_Wellcome_V0019154.jpg/2531px-A_busy_stacking_room_in_the_opium_factory_at_Patna%2C_India._L_Wellcome_V0019154.jpg

A British lithograph depicting a storehouse filled with opium at the factory of the British East India Company in Patna, India in c. 1850.
__________

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/William_John_Huggins_-_The_opium_ships_at_Lintin%2C_China%2C_1824.jpg/2560px-William_John_Huggins_-_The_opium_ships_at_Lintin%2C_China%2C_1824.jpg

A depiction of opium ships at Lintin, China by the British artist William John Huggins in 1824.
__________

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Opium_imports_into_China_1650-1880_EN.svg/2560px-Opium_imports_into_China_1650-1880_EN.svg.png

Graph showing the increase in Chinese opium imports by year.
__________

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Destruction_of_opium_in_1839.jpg

Contemporary Chinese depiction of the destruction of opium under Commissioner Lin.
__________

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/The_Signing_of_the_Treaty_of_Nanking.jpg/2560px-The_Signing_of_the_Treaty_of_Nanking.jpg

Oil painting depicting the signing of the Treaty of Nanking.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Opium_War
[/spoiler]

Speaking of which, the Chinese have developed an official jinx for the year of the white rat(in east asia theres a year system that rotates every 60 years and the year of the white rat is one of them).
In 1840, the First Opium war hit China in its full swing, starting the century of humiliation.
In 1900, as a failure of the boxer rebellion, foreign troops trampled over Beijing.
In 1960, Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward ended in a massive failure, killing more than 25 million people.
In 2020, well... you know.

Soap tips wrote:Speaking of which, the Chinese have developed an official jinx for the year of the white rat(in east asia theres a year system that rotates every 60 years and the year of the white rat is one of them).
In 1840, the First Opium war hit China in its full swing, starting the century of humiliation.
In 1900, as a failure of the boxer rebellion, foreign troops trampled over Beijing.
In 1960, Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward ended in a massive failure, killing more than 25 million people.
In 2020, well... you know.

That's interesting 😲

Today in History wrote:snip

Rule Britannia.
:)

Alicetopia wrote:Rule Britannia.
:)

That's a bit cringe innit burv?

Post by Tunikaland suppressed by Obets.

I, the president of Tunikaland proudly announce: we will be joining IDI
We are joining this due to the fact that the country needs to develop and get out of poverty

Tunikaland wrote:I, the president of Tunikaland proudly announce: we will be joining IDI
We are joining this due to the fact that the country needs to develop and get out of poverty

wrong fnr, please post in The Free Nations Realm which I see you did

Happy Labour Day to all my American and Canadian frens!

South Asians, My Nation, People of nolan, The egalitarian dominion of yutes, and 1 otherAanchean

Check out the Free Nations Herald September 2021 Edition

Monday, September 6, 2021




Regional Banner Contest
South Asians wins
by- People of nolan


The Winning Entry
Earlier in the month of August, the Minister of Culture, People of nolan, held a contest to choose the new banner for our region.
In a new game update, regional officers had the power to put a banner on top of the region page. The update took place in the later stages of Obets's term as MoC, who was rather awesome and most likely the best MoC the region has seen. (And by the way this article was tooootally not written by Obets wink) Seeing this update, the Cabinet decided that a contest for the region's official banner was appropriate. It was the first "major task" for the first time minister People of Nolan.
The Contest began on 31st July, People of Nolan made an announcement and released this dispatch explaining the rules. The Contest ended with 2 submissions, both from the region's Vice President South Asians. SA's second submission won the vote with 77% and it can be seen at the top of the region page.
Vanguard Protocol Activated
on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs


New Logo of the Vanguard Council
After the July General Elections, the position of the Minister of Foreign Affairs remained vacant. Vice President South Asians temporarily managed all the matters related to Foreign Affairs. However, when President Doctors Orvos decided that additional manpower is needed to manage the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He decided to push for the activation of the Vanguard Protocol.

The Vanguard Protocol can be activated when there are vacancies in the cabinet and the President can't find suitable people to fill those vacancies in which case The Vanguard Protocol can be activated that enables the Vanguard Council to collectively lead vacant position(s) in the cabinet. The Vanguard Council can also collectively lead the region if there isn't a candidate for the position of the President. The Vanguard Council consists of the Founder and five other people who are nominated by the Founder and confirmed by the Legislative Assembly. When the Protocol isn't activated the Vanguard Council can advise the government on certain issues and they can also help in government tasks with the discretion of the President. The Activation vote for the Vanguard Protocol can only be held if there are five citizens who sponsor its activation.

On 17th August, President Orvos, Vice President South Asians, Minister of Defense The python ii, Minister of Immigration My Nation and Minister of Internal Affairs Obets sponsored the activation vote of the Vanguard Protocol. The vote was commenced by Speaker Gufand. A supermajority was required for the activation of the Vanguard Protocol. The Protocol was activated with 22 Ayes, 2 Nays and 8 Abstains (91.67% approval rate).

The Vanguard Council currently consisting of Heaveria, Thaelle, Vostrov and Doctors Orvos assumed joint leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

New Attorney Test Announced
Python and Thaelle passes the test

On August 19, Vice President South Asians created an attorney test for aspiring attorneys. The test was created on a website known as "Testmoz". The test consists of several types of questions including Multiple Choice, True/False, Matching, Fill in the blanks etc. The test was approved by the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Castenor. The Association of Attorneys can only consist of maximum four attorneys.

The Supreme Court made an announcement stating that anyone can take the test with the permission from the Court. The first four people who pass the test will become certified Attorneys. Minister of Defense Python and World Assembly Delegate Thaelle were the first two persons to successfully pass the test and they became certified Attorneys. More Information regarding the Attorney Test can be found here.

Two New Members in the Cabinet
Obets and Burgertopian Empire

President Orvos nominated Former Minister of Culture Obets to fill the vacant position of the Minister of Internal Affairs. Obets was unanimously confirmed by the Legislative Assembly with 29 Ayes and 5 Abstains.

Minister of Defense Python decided to nominate Burgertopian empire to be his deputy. Burgertopian Empire was unanimously confirmed with 21 approval votes and 3 Abstains.



FNDA August 2021
Operations Report

Personnels Involved:

Task Force Commander The python ii
Special Agent South Asians
Task Force Officer Burgertopian empire
Operative Codpiece
Operative Zazann
Cadet Cice hauss
Cadet Utkarsha

Record FNDA Turnouts in Two Consecutive Liberations
Chaylia and LDU

Themed FNDA Flag for the Liberation of LDU
Defenders successfully liberated two large regions from the grasps of Raiders in the month of August. These Regions were Chaylia and Liberal Democratic Union. Both Liberations were pretty identical because in both cases the Defender Coalition led by The Grey Wardens, South Pacific Special Force, The League, Rejected Realms Army, the Ten Thousand Islands Treaty Organisation and the Free Nations Defense Association gained control over the WA Delegacy in their second attempt and that successful second attempt happened during the major update. FNDA recorded their highest ever update turnout in both these Liberations with Seven Participating Agents across both Minor and Major Updates. FNDA Director South Asians acknowledged this feat as a major milestone in the FNDA history and applauded all the Agents who participated in these liberations. These Liberations were a remarkable event for the entire R/D Community as well. More than 200 Personnels participated in these Operations across the Raiding and Defending Factions.
Several FNDA Agents Promoted
Big Responsibility given to Python

Rank Insignia of RTF Commander
After the success in Chaylia and Liberal Democratic Union, FNDA Director South Asians announced that he's finally ready to start the decentralisation of power in FNDA. He said that he's going to start relieving himself from some of his duties and give those duties to active FNDA Agents. With this announcement he promoted Codpiece to the rank of "Operative" for his work in the technical department of FNDA. Codpiece created useful tools for Defenders like Storm Keyboard Extension and Kronos Detag Finder. He also constantly appears in major FNDA Liberations despite being busy in real life. Director South Asians also handed promotion to Python to the rank of "Special Agent" because of the leadership skills he has shown in FNDA during recent times. Python was also appointed as the Commander of the Reserve Task Force, the Civilian Militia of the Free Nations Region. Burgertopian Empire was appointed as an Officer in the Reserve Task Force due to his active participation in Libcord operations.


Amerion Strikes Back
as the Delegate of the South Pacific
Amerion's Avatar
The South Pacific's July 2021 Delegate Elections concluded with Amerion declared as the winner after spending only one term out of the office. The Election was initially a three-way race with Amerion, PenguinPies and Erinor declaring candidacy. However, Erinor later withdrew his candidacy citing mental health.

Penguin's campaign focused on active endotarting and ensuring that the gameside community felt as important as the forumside community. On the other hand, Amerion's campaign promised an active World Assembly Culture and they proposed to release "Weekly Delegate Briefs" informing Citizens about the major events related to the World Assembly and the South Pacific Government.

Both Penguin and Amerion gained significant approval ratings from the forum-side voting round with 81.8% and 86.8% respectively before heading to the Game-Side voting round. The Game-Side Voting Round lasted for seven days in which all the Native WA Member Nations were eligible to vote. Amerion emerged victorious in this round with a staggering 62.23% votes (98 votes). Penguin managed to get 37.77% votes (57 votes). The Election was uncontroversial as both Candidates lauded the democratic process of the South Pacific.

Frontiers and Strongholds
Major UCR Governments oppose proposed game mechanic
NS Moderator Sedgistan proposed a major change in Game Mechanics with the introduction of "Frontiers" and "Strongholds".

According to the current proposal, UCRs will be divided into two types of regions- Frontiers and Strongholds. Frontier Regions will have a permanent Executive WA Delegate and the Founder (if any) won't have executive authority. There will be a six month influence decay in those regions just like GCRs. 50% of all new nations will spawn in Frontiers. However, a region must have more than 10 endorsements on its World Assembly Delegate to be eligible to become a Frontier.
Strongholds on the other hand will work like the current UCRs except the Founder will have the option to appoint a successor who will get the executive authority should the Founder CTE. The Founder with an appointed Successor will be able to abdicate from their position anytime without needing to wait until they CTE.

According to Sedgistan, These New Features were proposed to fix technical problems caused by "oversized GCRs". It also dilutes the influence of GCRs and gives an opportunity to UCRs to increase their population without having to use Stamps or API Recruitment. It also incentivises invading as Raiders will get more Invadable Regions and Strongholds provide a stronger shield to regions who don't want to get raided.

However, this proposal has received mixed reception from the Nationstates Gameplay Community. While many people support the idea and are giving their feedback to further improve it others are strictly opposing the idea and are calling it "a radical change". Major UCRs like Europeia, The League, 10000 Islands, Thaecia and The Communist Bloc have made statements opposing the proposed changes. In a Joint Statement made by The League and 10000 Islands, they said "There are a number of issues with the proposed change that range from putting a variety of communities at risk to devaluing the work of the Security Council, which we believe outweigh any potential benefits of the update.". In their joint statement 10000 Islands and The League shared their concerns about smaller communities with inexperienced players opting in to become a Frontier for free recruitment only to get trapped and obliterated by the Invaders later. They also pointed out the suggested "Embargo Category" SC Proposals that can prevent a region from opting in as a Frontier stating that "[Embargo Category] is extremely problematic for a healthy SC for several reasons. Most likely, the Embargo category, like others, will be subjected to joke proposals or underhanded and petty attempts to abuse the category by authors against regions they dislike, generally wasting the time and energy of those genuinely involved in the SC. More seriously, if a region with severe out-of-character issues, or even a fascist region, were to be an eligible democracy, the expectation that consequences be dealt out via the Embargo category furthers the narrative that these issues are for the players to handle as a part of gameplay, rather a continued state of insufficient action on the part of site moderation.". On 2nd September, Sedgistan announced that he's putting the "Embargo Category" proposal on hold.

While Europeia's statement echoes the concerns raised by 10000 Islands and The League, they also raised the issue of the broken Manual Recruitment System and advocated to fix the current recruitment system instead of making radical changes in the game mechanics.

More Information about the Frontiers and Strongholds can be found in this forum thread here.

Is this the end of JTF?
Major NS Militaries put Sanctions on JTF after August's Statement
On August 29, The United Regions Alliance launched a Vote Recommendation Dispatch on "Liberate New Western Atlantic''. While the URA recommended to vote against this WA Proposal. It was August's comments on the proposal that was deemed as "controversial" by the Nationstates Gameplay Community. August called the author of the proposal Andusre "just as objectionable as his former compatriots from NWA''. This statement was later edited out. The Foreign Ministry of Thaecia, Andusre's home region expressed their disgust over this statement as they called it "abhorrent, inappropriate and utterly unacceptable" and that "it equates Andusre to those who harboured fascists, bigots and a plethora of other extremely dangerous individuals.". Thaecia declared August a "Persona Non Grata" and due to his status as the Founder of the Augustin Alliance, Thaempirial Army has put Sanctions on the Joint Task Force (the military wing of Augustin Alliance). The Sanctions were as follows:-
  • The Thaempirial Army will not pile in support of an occupation where the JTF is also present;

  • All occupations led or supported by the JTF will be liberated by the Thaempirial Army;

  • All tag raids which the JTF conducts will be defended or detagged by the Thaempirial Army at the earliest opportunity;

  • All quorum raids which the JTF conducts or supports will be defended by the Thaempirial Army

These sanctions weren't applicable to any raids involving fascist and OOC-Problematic regions. Thaecia further mentioned that these sanctions will be lifted if August apologises for his statement or Augustin Alliance apologises for his statement on his behalf.

The East Pacific and The League also released statements calling out August for unapologetically targetting and defaming Audusre. TEP and The League also imposed similar sanctions on JTF. Sanctions from Thaecia and The East Pacific is a huge blow for JTF as Thaempirial Army and East Pacific Sovereign Army gets invited to almost all the major raiding operations and the raiding community will most likely choose both of them instead of JTF. This might as well be the end of Joint Task Force as it seems unlikely that either August or Augustin Alliance is going to apologise for this statement. Shortly after these sanctions JTF withdrew its troops from the Libcord.



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South Asians, Soap tips, and The republic of falmart

6th September 1915 (106 years ago): First tank produced

On 6 September 1915, a prototype tank nicknamed Little Willie rolls off the assembly line in England. Little Willie was far from an overnight success. It weighed 14 tons, got stuck in trenches and crawled over rough terrain at only three kilometers per hour. However, improvements were made to the original prototype and tanks eventually transformed military battlefields.

The British developed the tank in response to the trench warfare of World War I. In 1914, a British army colonel named Ernest Swinton and William Hankey, secretary of the Committee for Imperial Defence, championed the idea of an armored vehicle with conveyor-belt-like tracks over its wheels that could break through enemy lines and traverse difficult territory. The men appealed to British navy minister Winston Churchill, who believed in the concept of a “land boat” and organized a Landships Committee to begin developing a prototype. To keep the project secret from enemies, production workers were reportedly told the vehicles they were building would be used to carry water on the battlefield (alternate theories suggest the shells of the new vehicles resembled water tanks). Either way, the new vehicles were shipped in crates labeled “tank” and the name stuck.

The first tank prototype, Little Willie, was unveiled in September 1915. Following its underwhelming performance–it was slow, became overheated and couldn’t cross trenches–a second prototype, known as “Big Willie,” was produced. By 1916, this armored vehicle was deemed ready for battle and made its debut at the First Battle of the Somme near Courcelette, France, on 15 September of that year. Known as the Mark I, this first batch of tanks was hot, noisy and unwieldy and suffered mechanical malfunctions on the battlefield; nevertheless, people realized the tank’s potential. Further design improvements were made and at the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917, 400 Mark IV’s proved much more successful than the Mark I, capturing 8,000 enemy troops and 100 guns.

Tanks rapidly became an important military weapon. During World War II, they played a prominent role across numerous battlefields. The French fielded their first tanks in April 1917 and ultimately produced far more tanks than all other countries, combined. The Germans, on the other hand, began development only in response to the appearance of Allied tanks on the battlefield. Whilst the Allies manufactured several thousand tanks during the war, Germany deployed only 18 of its own.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Little_Willie.jpg

Little Willie at the Tank Museum, Bovington (2006).
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tanks_of_WWI.ogv

Film of WWI-era French and British tanks.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-tank-produced

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanks_in_World_War_I

South Asians, My Nation, Kitsunistan, Indo-Greco-Bactria, and 5 othersGufand, Acceel, The republic of falmart, Tunikaland, and Liptonia

Emaha wrote:Happy Labour Day to all my American and Canadian frens!

Thank you!!

(I saw a region called Texas do this, it's similar to the daily questions but not exactly. I'm gonna try this out from now on.)

Good Morning The Free Nations Region!

Today is:

National Beer Lovers Day
Spars would Be proud

Telephone Tuesday
A day were people receive more phone calls than usual

Brazilian Independence Day
Today we all go to Brazil

Google Commemoration Day

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Quote of the Day:

"No one nationality is bad. It's just one group of knuckleheads in a certain place that make it look bad." - James Patterson.

Place of the Day:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drachenfels_(Siebengebirge)

Music of the Day:

Dancing Queen, ABBA (Released September 7, 1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFrGuyw1V8s

Random Wikipedia Article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Babylon_Hill

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In Recent News:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Guinean_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat
John Watkins, Sunil Perera, Jean-Pierre Adams, Sarah Harding, Ivan Patzaichin, Josephine Medina

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSf8i8bHIns
What is Déjà Vu?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgKaHTh-_Gs
Why does February only have 28 days?

Have an awesome day, from you Minister of Internal Affairs Obets!

South Asians, My Nation, Emaha, Kitsunistan, and 5 othersSulivannia, People of nolan, Acceel, The egalitarian dominion of yutes, and The republic of falmart

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