The Noble City Times/Archives/3 Three

Who'll be in the gov? Rumor has it, that...
 * JANUARY 30, NOBLE CITY - Yuri Medvedev having won the 2010 Federal Elections is working hard on the formation of a Lovian government. Who will be in it, is not publicized yet. Still, some rumors have been going around. But first of all, what do we know?
 * One thing is for sure, HRH King Dimitri will not be occupying a federal Department. Earlier, he announced not to get involved in the executive powers of the government. Having said that, little facts remain.
 * Rumor has it that Andy McCandless (WLP) will occupy the Department of Energy and Environment. Oos Wes Ilava (LOWIA) is thought to get the Department of Culture, Heritage and Education. Of course, it are just rumors. Bearing the little number (only three) of Progressives in Congress, Medvedev and the King will certainly have to appoint lots of non-PDers to Congress. Washington and Latin would each get a top department. Arthur Jefferson (PD), who is known to be highly interested in Welfare and Justice, might get one of these two. However, if he would like to become the new Supreme Court Judge, he would most probably get no government position. Medvedev and the King have already said to be willing torespect the separation of powers more consciously, and having Jefferson in all three branches would be no good example.

Atheists' Haiti fund is a success
 * JANUARY 30, NOBLE CITY - Whereas many organizations in foreign countries founded charity funds and emergency programs, in Lovia only one organization did. The Lovian Freethought Academy, known from the popular "Think freely" campaign, initiated the LFA Haiti Fund earlier this month. Donations followed quickly, and now the fund has raised more than 1,250,000 US Dollar. The top donations came, unexpectedly, from the Lovian Communist Party and its founder August Magnus Donia. Other top donators included Shadwell Inc and Ecompany. The money will be spent on infrastructural works in Haiti.

The 2010 elections - developments
 * JANUARY 24, NOBLE CITY - The 2010 federal election had to be special, it had to be extraordinary. We all knew that. It seemed as if this was predestined. The rise of partisan politics in November and December continued during election time. It led to a dichotomy between two giant factions, the Progressive Democrats behind Yuri Medvedev, and the Coalition LD+WLP with their Prime Minister candidate Andy McCandless. When the voting kicked off, both candidates did equally well. Arthur Jefferson and Lars Washington were their follow-ups, both being the wise nestors of the country.
 * But somewhere in mid-January, no-one knows when and where exactly, things changed. The dynamism of the LD+WLP coalition was dying, and LD members didn't seem to support their PM candidate McCandless. Only party chairman Alexandru Latin, who is known to have worked hard on the coalition's program, fully supported McCandless. The always optimistic McCandless and his sidekick Edward Hannis continued campaigning, unlike their PD rivals. It was no use: the slowly lost votes to other candidates within the coalition, and to PD, LOWIA and LCP rivals. It became clear Medvedev and Jefferson would take the lead, clearly supported by a vast and loyal group of citizens.
 * Last week however, Harold Freeman (LD) caused the coalition with the Waldeners to burst. Obviously not in support of McCandless, he changed the Liberals' course. He was given control over the party, as Latin had promised in December, and informally broke with the WLP. Suddenly, Alexandru Latin received many more votes and came in the run as PM candidate. Their former top candidate, Lars Washington, began to lose votes. Opponents, now incuding the Waldeners, feared the popular man would become PM, it seemed.
 * At the moment, all eleven candidates are likely to be elected to the Congress. Three equal factions (LD, WLP, PD) of each three MOTCs will enter Congress, accompanied by Oos Wes Ilava, who is very popular amongst independents, and August Magnus Donia, often accused of having lured new citizens into his alliance. The ruling monarch, King Dimitri I of Lovia, one of the only people not to have voted yet, will complete the 2010 Congress.
 * In terms of policy-making, the 2010 Congress might prove to be a tough one. With the LD+WLP Coalition on the verge of a definite break-up, not even a 50% majority can be formed. Their rivals as well, the Progressives, will have a hard time finding partners. The king is known to have been siding with the Progressives in the past, but has announced to take in a more neutral position in the 2010 Congress. Also, he is known to be a centrist, rather than a center-leftist, and thus might support the Liberals and/or Libertarians.
 * Politicologist Neil Hardman (BBU) doesn't see a reason why this atomization would be such a big issue in the 2010 Congress. In fact, he says, "I am not at all sure whether our political landscape is atomized. Sure, with the rise and growth of new parties, the PD hegemony is over. The three big parties however, have one item in their manifestos in common: reform. All parties mention democratization, reform of the levels of policy-making, etc. [...] If reform is what at least 75% of the Congress wants, they will without doubt find a compromise that suits all parties."

Charity fund for Haiti needs your contribution
 * JANUARY 23, NOBLE CITY - The Lovian Freethought Academy, that recently released its Think freely campaign, is up to its second campaign. The Academy does a call to all Lovians to support the suffering nation of Haiti. After the recent earthquake, the country is destructed and many our homeless, ill, wounded or lost. The LFA plans to fund part of the infrastructural works, through the LFA Haiti Fund. Already, more than ten thousand US Dollars have been donated.

Freeman wants to end Super Coalition with limited results
 * JANUARY 21, NOBLE CITY - The ultra-liberal Harold Freeman, member and since today leader of the Liberal Democrats, desperately wants to end the coalition with the Walden Libertarian Party. Former party leader Alexandru Latin, and members Lars Washington and Pierlot McCrooke, seemingly didn't expect this sudden move by Harold Freeman. Andy McCandless, the coalition PM candidate who is likely to lose from Yuri Medvedev, reacted similarly. What's driving Freeman?

Election analysis: Pierlot McCrooke and his political suicide
 * JANUARY 19, NOBLE CITY - Whether it was out of opportunism or for ideological reasons, McCrooke's habit of swapping sides has some devastating results. Having been a Progressive, later on a IGPer, a republican, then again a Progressive, and now a Liberal, he has been in almost every party. What's the result? His number of votes fell rapidly. Now Jefferson pulled back his McCrooke vote, he is likely not to be elected to Congress.
 * Political analysts looked at his problem. Nicholas Bergman, UCLA professor, concluded: "[He] could be tempted to change to another party. However, that would probably not solve his issue. People lost trust in this man. I don't believe he can regain that trust by committing "politicial treason", if you will, on his current party. What is most likely to restore his image, is campaigning constructively, as a moderate Liberal Democrat, carrying a message of ideological toleration. Perhaps it's already too late for that, maybe not."

Election analysis: PD party strength can't be overruled
 * JANUARY 19, NOBLE CITY - The elections started off quite excitingly. The two major candidates, 2008 Prime Minister Yuri Medvedev and the new Andy McCandless, both received a lot of votes. By mid-January however, voting slowed down and so did the Coalition LD+WLP. La Quotidienne already pointed out the evident problems in the coalition. In fact, some don't seem to find the McCandless candidacy convincing enough. On the other hand, it is clear the Liberal Democrats have a huge problem with party loyalty. Whereas Progressives focus at getting Medvedev elected PM, and then at getting their members in Congress, there seems to be no focus at all within the Liberal camp. Their votes are scattered across their own candidates, the WLP candidates, and even some Progressives.
 * Not only does this cause some struggle to keep the coalition led by Andy McCandless standing, it gives the Progressives a huge advantage. Of course, no landslide victory is to be expected, but Medvedev's majority over the other candidates still is growing. Arthur Jefferson, second on the Progressives' list, also does very well, and has already surpassed McCandless.
 * Is there reason for complacency in the Progressive camp? Not at all, it seems. Especially Jefferson seems to be rather anxious. In fact, he is the only Progressive still working on the campaign. Nor Medvedev nor Red are rallying. Jefferson asked PM candidate Medvedev a number of times to publish their reform plan, to convince even more Lovians. Medvedev said there was no hurry, and so the Progressives remain the image of being politically inert.

Election analysis: Washington and Ilava get most cross-party votes
 * JANUARY 19, NOBLE CITY - Lars Washington, MOTC candidate for the Liberal Democrats, is the most popular amongst independents and people from other parties. The Noble City Times calculated that Mr. Washington had 83.33% votes from independents and non-LDers. Another candidate who has a very diverse constituency, is Oos Wes Ilava, who runs a solo campaign. About 80% of his voters are from other political groups. This phenomenon, which we could refer to as "most universal candidate", is not very universal in itself. In fact, some candidates in the Lovian federal elections get almost only votes from their own parties. Alyssa C. Red, Progressive candidate, received 75% partisan votes. Somebody else who could count on his party loyalty, was WLP member Edward Hannis.

The 2010 LFA campaign is one to think about
 * JANUARY 16, NOBLE CITY – The Noble City-based Lovian Freethought Academy yesterday launched a great advertising campaign. A series of five posters will be spread across Lovia, on billboards, in magazines and newspapers (look at your right) and in pubs and fora. The campaign, led by LFA founder and former chairman Arthur Jefferson, is built up around the slogan “Think freely”. This slogan is featured on one of the poster designs. The ad is exceptionally sober, in distinguished blue and a white banner at the bottom, wearing the organization’s name and mini logo. Of the same design, two other varieties exist, namely “Speak up” and “Enjoy life”. Arthur Jefferson explained to The Noble City Times: “This campaign serves two purposes: first of all, we want to get people thinking about religion, God, and eventually the lack of those two. Second, the Academy wants to show the Lovians that we are regular, peace-loving citizens who enjoy life just as much – or more – than any person of faith.  Those two are our only goals for this campaign. We do not want people abandoning their religion or cursing their gods; we just want to get them thinking!”


 * Another poster design asks the reader when he stopped believing in fairy tales. Of course, just underneath we can read the famous third verse of Genesis, the ‘Let there be light’-fairy tale. Well-found, catchy and effective, we think, but some might take offence in it. The fifth advertisement is probably meant to make up with the risks of the fourth: quoting the ambiguous Thomas Jefferson (“Question with boldness…”).
 * The LFA campaign is already a success in its concept. The ads are minimalist, though very distinguishable. With the possible exception of the Bible quote, none of the ads is provocative or disturbing. Considering the goals Arthur Jefferson put forward, it’s a success. A publicly known Roman Catholic, Oos Wes Ilava said the campaign served its purpose very well.

"The 21st Century Tales" - an unrivaled masterpiece
 * JANUARY 13, NOBLE CITY - Alexander Chopper debuted last week with his huge novel The 21st Century Tales. The House Publishers did a good job publishing his novel, for it will be remembered as a milestone in Lovian literature. The novel is built up like the classic frame narratives like The Decameron and The Canterbury Tales. It tells the story of a group of American Christians on a "spiritual camp" in the Sierra Nevada. However, the stories they tell eachother lead us to almost everywhere. Chopper shows us sex industry, religious hypocrisy, slave traffic, but most of all: human struggle. The 21st Century Tales is psychological, in-depth and brilliantly heart-breaking. No sweet romance or happy ends, but bitter and rough stories of how life really is.
 * The Anglosaxon Americas haven’t seen a literary work of this level for a long time – it is unrivaled and is a worthy successor to Geoffrey Chaucer’s Tales. Its depiction of 21st century America and Lovia will characterize an entire generation and its literature. If you won't buy it, your children and grandchildren will.

Libertan Olsens announce to move to Lovia
 * JANUARY 10, WIKICITY - The Libertan winemaker family Olsen announced to make the move to Lovia. Father Ingmar Olsen quoted the plummeting Libertan economy and the unstable political situation as his primary reasons. The Olsen family, who owns Libertas' second wine château, already bought some portions of the hill land south of Long Road, and will try to get viticulture introduced in Lovia. Ingmar Olsen will bring his 20-year old daughter Stefanie Olsen with him. She is a famous model and recently began writing children's books.

Pierlot "screwed it up"
 * JANUARY 6, NOBLE CITY - Busy days these days! After the fascist Iron Guard Party arose around two suspicious media moguls, the nation was astonished. Reactions were often heavy and emotional. The biggest surprise perhaps (was it a surprise?) was Pierlot McCrooke's engagement in the fascist movement. Only after a short while, he announced to be interested in Dietrich Honecker's far-right movement. When the movement fell, he and Brenda Young borrowed the party platform. Many warnings by his former party chairman Yuri Medvedev and the King failed. The result is obvious, it seems. Pierlot McCrooke lost all his votes, except for his own one! Quite unseen and curious when one thinks of his magnificent election victory in 2008. Another stunning surprise: Pierlot McCrooke voted for his self-proclaimed arch-rival, the imprisoned August Magnus Donia. What is happening to this young chap?, is the question many Lovians ask.