Sey News

Sey News

The Sey News Companies was founded as the Southeast Yasteria Press (SFP) during the Packilvania occupation of Southeast Yasteria. The news agency was set up by the governments in exile as a guise for intelligence-gathering operations.

After the occupation was over the SFP news and intelligence operations were separated. SFP continued its normal operations as a publishing company and the intelligence half became Affiliated Global Communications, an internet backbone service provider.

SYP made its first major acquisition when it purchased the assets of the Tilden Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) from a bankruptcy auction. TBC produced local news and entertainment through an affiliate network that used the TBC branding. SYP decided to use this to its advantage to make a regional news network. By using TBC’s existing broadcast technology, studios, and affiliate network it launched Southeast Yasteria News Network (SYNN). When the network launched, the company decided to reform itself into a holding company known as The Sey News Companies or simply Sey News for short with two subsidiaries. Sey Broadcasting for local news, local entertainment and international news. Sey Press Digital for news in print and digital.

Sey Broadcasting

  • Southeast Yasteria News Network (SYNN) - National
  • Tilden Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) - National
  • Masako Media (MAME) - National
  • I-NEWS Channel One (INCO) - Iseul, East Gemica
  • The Defiant (DFT) - News from Packilvania

Sey Press Digital

  • Ynseyes News (YSN) - National
  • Hoopland Free Press (HFP) - Hoopland
  • Port Astlyon Times (PAT) - North FPS
  • Astryon Times (ATS) - Central FPS
  • Truzcon Times (TRU) - South FPS
  • Central Island Press (CIP) - Iseul, East Gemica


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LIBERTY CITY — Four years after the assassination of President Christopher Arctoris by the terrorist group SLA the Liberty City Council voted to approve the renaming of the city to Arctoris City two years after it was first proposed by Mrs. Marriam Arctoris, President Arctoris’ wife, who was not in the Blue House at the time of the terrorist attack. Mrs. Arctoris became the face of the Honor Arctoris campaign that raised $5 million dollars to pay for the resident vote. The resident vote was held last year with 83% of the residents of Liberty City voting in favor to rename the city to honor President Arctoris. Last month, President Delacroix, petitioned Parliament to pass a resolution that they would formally change the capital’s name to Arctoris City if passed by the Liberty City Council. Yesterday the resolution passed unanimously in the Council of the Alliance and Assembly of Representatives in a rare show of solidarity among its members. A Liberty City Council spokesperson said in an email that the transition to the new name will happen over the next several months and that the city will start using the new name starting tomorrow morning.

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THE DEFIANT JOINS SEY NEWS
9 February 2022 CE
Agatha Grey
Tilden, Free Pax States - As of 9 February 2022, the Defiant has officially joined the SEY News family of news agencies and broadcasters. Due to the high level of press censorship, journalist harassing and outright state propaganda of the government of Packilvania, getting reliable, accurate, impartial and unbiased news from there was extremely difficult. The government closely monitored the information that entered and left the country and punished those who broke its repressive laws. Thus, the Defiant was established, operating from Tilden in Free Pax States to provide news about Packilvania that was accurate and unbiased. Because of the heavy restrictions we faced in Packilvania, we opted to operate from FPS and work with a secret network of reporters and writers from Packilvania. As we join SEY News, we want to honour the brave reporters of all species and religions in Packilvania who strive for the truth and risk their lives, liberty and health to acquire it. We will continue with our mission to report on Packilvania while also looking at the implications of events and policies in that country on the world in general and the SEY region specifically.

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WHY DOES PAX SUPPORT RODENIA?
9 February 2022 CE
Agatha Grey
Axdel’s recent withdrawal from the PCT has prompted a lot of speculation about why it is acting in this way. But another question that we should be asking is why does Packilvania continue to support Rodenia?
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Rodenia has an economy of 684 billion KRB and a 16,500 KRB GDP per capita. Although its economic size pales in comparison to the size of the Packilvanian economy, Rodenia is a major market for Packilvanian export goods. Rodenia is also a massive customer of Packilvanian military hardware. Not only does this boost Pacilvanian weapons exports, but Rodenia’s active or dormant military conflicts also show the effectiveness of Packilvanian military hardware to other nations. This is both to lure those who wish to purchase these systems and a warning to those would threaten Packilvania.
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Another reason is that Rodenia is one of the few allies that Packilvania has. The reality is that Packilvania is the most diplomatically and strategically isolated of the four superpowers (if you include Asendavia). Thus, it has to carefully preserve and maintain its partnerships with the nations with which it maintains alliances. What makes Packilvania a problematic ally, is not the fact that Packilvania is a dictatorship. Asendavia is basically a dictatorship according to some analysts. The real reason is that being a Packilvanian ally is problematic is because it also entails accepting that your relationship with Pax will always be unequal and that Pax will see you as a client state, not as an equal.
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Nations that accept this arrangement are usually nations that are dictatorships themselves and have been left stranded without many alternatives. Furthermore, Pax’s diplomatic isolation means that you must accept that you will forego potential partnerships with other nations and multilateral organisations, which is a reality that many dictatorships have to live with anyway. Packilvania, however, is not necessarily desperate for friends as it can work with non-state actors and it has maintained close economic relationships with nations with which it is nominally hostile such as having an economic agreement with FPS while their border is heavily fortified.
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Rodenia provides Pax not only with an ally but also a point in Arcturia from which to project military power in Arcturia. Then the question that follows is to what extent is Pax willing to defend Rodenia. This one is tough to answer, but the truth is that Rodenia has sort of answered that question for them. Rodenia has a military budget of 41 billion KRB and 650,000 personnel. It would take an invasion force of 3 times that number to successfully effect a military occupation. Thus, Packilvania does not have to commit its entire navy and military because it can simply build on a highly robust and battle-trained military while coordinating in the background through diplomacy and economics. Packilvania is a major consumer of Axdelian value-added goods, so we might see some economic sanctions. Pax might also leverage a currency war with the kirib to force the other UNAC states to get Axdel to calm down.
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Inasmuch as Axdel is allegedly using a new strategy of being bolder and less predictable, it needs to understand that the same confusion it is putting its enemies through, it is also putting its allies through. As of the writing of this article, not a single UNAC state has supported Axdel and that says a lot.

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WHY WAS PRINCE KUJIL ARRESTED?
24 April 2022 CE
Agatha Grey
Prince Kujil, the mayor of the second largest and second most economically important city in Packilvania, was arrested by Packilvania authorities and subsequently sentenced to 6 years in prison. He was arrested on several counts of corrupt activities. His arrest and the subsequent reforms announced by the Packilvanian government in dealing with corruption have boosted investor confidence with the Packilvanian dinar and Packilvanian stocks rallying on international exchanges. Furthermore, anti-corruption activists have called this a major win for the rule of law. The significance of this event cannot be overstated.

Normally Princes who are accused of corruption are asked to resign from their positions and scale back their public engagement to diminish public scrutiny of their unscrupulous affairs. However, since Prince Thumim was appointed Regent, visible changes have emerged. He allowed the courts to try Prince Kujil, arguably one of the most powerful princes in the House of Bedon. This is a sign to both the international community and to his domestic audience that he is willing and able to clean up Pax’s government.

However, he is also treading carefully. It was the Prime Minister who instructed the acting mayor of Kemer, the Duke of Obran to undertake reforms. It was the Prime Minister’s office which posted the report on corruption in Kemer on their website and vowed to bring effect to its recommendations. It seems that Prince Luwadeen and Prince Thumim have consecrated their alliance. However, it also shows some reticence on the part of Prince Thumim. He wants to warn but not scare the other Princes. The truth is that his position is not secure and the process of consolidating power will need political sacrifices even at the expense of his moral beliefs or ambitious goals.

Whispers in the Bingolian halls of power suggest that Prince Thumim is not merely acting as a great reformer. He is trying to quietly and subtly expunge and expose political opponents. Even if the Bedonite dynasty is one family, there is no more bitter a rivalry than between its sons. As the window of opportunity for Prince Thumim’s opponents to court his favour closes, one must wait to see whether they will seek to challenge or overthrow him instead.


AGATHA GREY INTERVIEWS PRINCE KUJIL OF PACKILVANIA
Agatha Grey
25 April 2022
https://youtu.be/p82-lnO49Vw

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QUEER AND PAXIST
28 April 2022 CE
Lohaad Duhal


Lohaad Duhal, Paxist Minister, Fashion Designer and LGBT+ Rights Activist
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Paxism is often seen as a conservative chauvinistic, xenophobic, misogynistic, transphobic, and homophobic religion. But, that’s not true. Packilvania as the largest Paxist country is a patriarchal society. Given its political and economic significance, it has given the impression that the version of Paxism that they subscribe to is the same as that observed by people of other countries. But that’s not the entire picture.

I am a citizen of Free Pax States. My ancestors have lived here for centuries. My grandparents and great grandparents fought for the unification of Free Pax States and for the proliferation of democratic, egalitarian, and liberal values. Like our relatives in Packilvania, we speak Packilvanian and eat Pax Fruites and we believe in Paxism. We believe in Noi and Pax and we follow the path of Assimilation. Unlike Packilvania, Assimilation does not mean bringing other nations under your political control or endorsing strict and problematic values emanating from the state. Instead, it means cultivating a personal relationship with our deity. It means showing compassion for others and striving to be your true self.

That’s why I can express myself in ways that Paxists in Packilvania might find appalling. I have tattoos and I’m not afraid of showing my body. Moreover, I’m not scared of loving who I choose and identifying in a way that feels natural to me. I’m sad for the people in Packilvania who see Assimilation as oppressive and resist it in their hearts. I am also sad for people in other nations who misconstrue what assimilation is all about and what Paxism means.

In his recent interview, Prince Kujil said that he would not dignify queerness which he described as “morally debased”. All I have to say to him and other bigots like him is Blessed Assimilation and F*** you :kissing_heart:

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WHY IS PAX’S SUPPORT FOR RODENIA SO RESTRAINED
1 April 2022 CE
Agatha Grey

Although Packilvania has been engaged in a screaming match with the UCA, Vistaraland and Axdel, the reality is that Packilvania has not been showing Rodenia enthusiastic support. They’ve sent military advisers and some infantry equipment, but it has become apparent from their diplomatic posturing including appeals to international law and relatively mild economic sanctions that their support for Rodenia is much less than was initially expected. This actually represents an ideological and power struggle between the Minister of Defence, Prince Kiran a-Idesh Bedon, and Sultan Namdun III. Even though, the Sultan is portrayed as a powerful leader (which indeed he is), he is not an all-powerful ruler.

Prince Kiran has actually tried to move Packilvania towards a more efficient and modern military power. He was able to get a substantial increase in the military budget (from 210 billion KRB to around 300 billion KRB). He is working towards disestablishing the Packilvanian Expeditionary Force and moving the country away from supporting terrorist organizations. Furthermore, he is moving towards rooting out corruption, cutting back spending on white elephant projects (like the bloated nuclear, chemical and biological weapons capabilities), streamlining the officer corps, fixing logistical issues and reducing dependence on reservists and tribal militias. The Sultan believed in prestige and used the military to dispense patronage (for example, a Prince wanted to experience being in a submarine. Although, the Sultan authorised it, Prince Kiran refused and had the Prince arrested and tried in military court for attempting to obstruct the work of the armed forces).

This is not to say that Prince Kiran is working alone (for instance, he has the full support of the Regent and Crown Prince, Prince Thumim) nor is it to imply that his reforms are entirely successful and flawless. This struggle between the Sultan and the Minister of Defence in turn underlies the performance of the Packilvanian military in Rodenia. The reality is that Prince Kiran and Prince Thumim think that Santon is an idiot who should have turned Puntalia into an independent buffer state under a puppet government rather than maintain an ongoing occupation and attempted annexation of its territory. However, due to their pride and their embarrassment for havign supported Santonian Rodenia at all, they maintain outward public support.

As such, many analysts believe that should the UCA, Vistaraland and Axdel make concessions or open negotiations, Pax might reciprocate with the same. Nonetheless, it is still unclear how the two sides could shape the war in the end.

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THE REGENT’S MEN
9 May 2022 CE
Agatha Grey

As Prince Thumim consolidates power in Packilvania, let’s take a look at the people who comprise part of his inner circle and through whom he exercises power and influence in the nation.

Prince Luwadeen a-Harim Bedon is the Prime Minister of Packilvania and President of the Privy Council of Drakkengard. As the head of the executive branch, he plays an important role in shaping government policy and shaping the work of the government. Born to Sultan Amhoud II’s brother, Prince Harim, he was the Minister of Finance for many years. Sultan Namdun III chose him for the role because he proved an excellent economic and financial manager, but he has butted heads with the Sultan over public expenditure on welfare and infrastructure (as Prince Luwadeen had a more fiscally conservative worldview). He shares Prince Thumim’s values of a smaller, more professional, more efficient public administration and more market-friendly economic policies.

Prince Kiran a-Idesh Bedon is the son of Sultan Amhoud II’s brother, Prince Idesh. He is the incumbent Minister of Defence and has previously served as a General in the armed forces. He has overseen the modernization and professionalization of the Packilvanian Armed Forces often butting heads with the Sultan on appointments and procurement. He shares Prince Thumim’s vision of leaner and more lethal armed forces.

Prince Alawadun a-Jibrael Bedon is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and is close to Prince Kiran. He has advocated for a foreign policy that engages more with the world through conventional diplomacy. He previously supported unconventional diplomatic tools such as the support of non-state actors, but he pivoted over the past few years as Packilvania became more diplomatically isolated.

Prince Lohadek a-Amhoud Bedon is Sultan Namdun III’s younger brother and was born to Sultan Amhoud II. He is the Minister of State Security. He oversees the state surveillance and foreign intelligence apparatus. He is incredibly loyal to Prince Thumim and has thwarted assassination attempts and insurrections against his authority. He is regarded as ruthless and inefficient. His total disregard for sapient rights has led to him being personally targeted and condemned by foreign governments.

WHAT MAKES A SUPERPOWER: THE CURIOUS CASE OF PACKILVANIA
9 May 2022 CE
Agatha Grey

Packilvania is arguably the third or fourth most powerful country in the world, but is it a superpower. Is it really a peer to Great Morstaybishlia or South Hills? Can the case of Packilvania unveil what actually makes a country a superpower?
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Packilvania has the third highest GDP in the world, the largest nuclear stockpile in the world, the largest military in total manpower (active and reserve), it has by far the biggest population and the second largest land area. So one would argue that it is a peer power to South Hills and Great Morstaybishlia.
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But it’s not that simple. South Hills has a per capita GDP of 56,000 KRB and Great Morstaybishlia has a GDP per capita of 30,000 KRB while Packilvania has a GDP per capita of 9,500 KRB. South Hills and Great Morstaybishlia are democratic countries. They are incredibly open and attractive destinations for skilled immigrants and foreign direct investment. Great Morstaybishlia has the most powerful navy in the world and it maintains naval bases all over the world. Furthermore, SHD and KRB are basically the two reserve currencies in the world. The Stayno-Codexian langauge is the de facto official language of the planet. These nations are also highly technologically advanced.
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In contrast, Packilvania is like a world within the world. It is highly isolated, suspicious of foreign influences and bullish in its exertion of military and strategic power abroad. Further, it is a dictatorship with wealth concentrated in a ruler who is not well-liked abroad. Furthermore, the Rodenia-Puntalia and Iphelklori-Sokala Wars were astronomical strategic defeats, so catastrophic to Packilvania that the Sultan left power to his son. Although Packilvania is powerful, if not arguably the third most powerful country in the world, I do not think the evidence supports it as a peer power to South Hills and Great Morstaybishlia.
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More pertinently, does it need to be a super power? In reality, it’s neither here nor there whether it meets the criteria. It has shown through the International Convention on Climate Change and the Commercial Cooperation Partnership with some League of Novaris nations. Furthermore, through various wars in Yasteria it has demonstrated it’s efficacy abroad. But given delusions of being a peer power to SH and MBE, its strategic objectives are unlikely to be met by its capabilities. Does it have the potential to become a superpower? That is yet unknown.

IS PACKILVANIA AN ABSOLUTE MONARCHY?
A CRITICISM OF POLITICAL CLASSIFICATION
11 September 2022
Emilio Mendez

Political commentators and analysts often describe the Sultanate of Packilvania as a unitary theocratic absolute monarchy. This description is not entirely accurate or reflective of the reality of that country. Packilvania serves as a case study of why political classifications are often misleading and the public needs to take a closer view to be better informed.

Firstly, technically the country is a constitutional monarchy since the Sultan is restrained by the constitution and the government of Packilvania describes itself as such. Foreign commentators describe the country as an absolute monarchy because the Constitution puts very little actual restraints on the monarch’s power.

However, even this classification is problematic. The reality is that the Sultan shares power with others and there are limits to the extent of his influence. The provincial governments exercise considerable autonomy over their internal affairs to the extent that they share characteristics with federal systems.

Although many of the top leaders of the country are members of the ruling family, many of them are chosen based on their educational attainments. Thus, one could argue that the country exhibits strong signs of technocracy.

Although the government technically owns all the biggest corporations, one could argue that its the corporations that shape government policy based on profit motives as one would see in a corporatocracy.

Thus, I would describe Packilvania as a devolved corporatocratic technocratic hereditary dictatorship. But of course even my assessment would be inaccurate, nevertheless it shows that a country’s politics are not always straightforward and political values vary. So, I implore the public of politicians who cloak their criticism of others or praise of themselves in moralistic and legalistic language.


THE CONFLICTING INTERESTS AND INCENTIVES OF AN AUTHORITARIAN GOVERNMENT
THE SULTANATE OF PACKILVANIA AS A CASE STUDY

Salima Navion and Eden RIchards

One of the policies that the government of the Sultanate of Packilvania has been putting in place is to combat tax evasion and money laundering. there are a variety of reforms and mechanisms that the government has announced in this regard. Although the government of Packilvania maintains relatively standard tax laws by world standards it offers many incentives to encourage and direct industrial development in the direction of its economic policies. Furthermore, to prevent the flight of capital, the government has leveraged tax cuts for the richest people in the country. Thus, the attempts by the government to combat inequality tax evasion and money laundering should be applauded but that does not necessarily mean that they are solely driven by those objectives.

One of the policies that the government of Packilvania introduced was to stop providing tax cuts for the donation of artworks made to museums. This was specifically targeted at modern artwork. This was designed to mitigate the ever-growing tendency of rich people to overspend on artworks at the government describes as frivolous. It is well known that the art industry has been used to launder money and evade taxes by exploiting loopholes in the tax code not only of Packilvania but of many other countries. But by examining the details of the new policy it is possible to discern that there were other considerations that were being made by the government in this regard.

The new tax policies allow for large tax cuts for the donation of historical artefacts. This in part aims to incentivize wealthy people who are in possession of culturally significant objects to return them to government institutions so that the public can enjoy them. However, the new policies also allow for tax cuts for donations made to institutions of the national religion of the country. This arises from the fact that the government wants to encourage wealthy people to take on more of the financial burden of supporting the official religion of the country. This rose, as well, due to lobbying by the clergy that wealthy people and the population, in general, were not adequately fulfilling their religious obligations to provide financial support to religious institutions and charitable organizations and that the funds being expended on frivolous artworks could be better directed towards supporting the religious structures of the country.

This shows that even though the government is trying to tackle money laundering, on the other hand, it must consider its obligations as a theocratic state. As such when examining the policies of the government and the incentives that drive it, it is important to be critical of what policies entail and of the broader context in which those policies arise.

WAPAJEERFIYA LUYAM ALUASHAMILIFIYA NALUDHAKRAHADATH A-DOPAHU
We Celebrate the Unification and Remembrance Day of FPS
Nazraki luqeerifiya amuMakhnifiya muShahishme, amuShahlea muMadi, Anda Isho, Recollection of an Empress - The East Pacific - Tapatalk
Watch the interview of Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress Emerita, Anda Isho, at the link provided.
luTaqarir aNAVORA aluYam aluDhakrahadath.mp4 on Vimeo


YOUNG PEOPLE IN PAX ARE BUILT DIFFERENT
A CASE STUDY OF HOW HISTORY SHAPES WORLDVIEWS

Yadmila Shafik

Young people in the Emberwood Coast are shedding the constraints of gender identity and romantic attraction, indulging in exotic and experimental belief systems and upending capitalist economic dogma. They’re sporting extravagant colours, revealing clothing, unafraid of tattoos and piercings, colorful hair and prone to alternative and loud music.

In contrast, the young people in Packilvania are doubling down on stringent gender roles, championing strict adherence to religious dogma, openly supportive of missionary work and the state-sanctioned use of physical force to quash atheists and apostates. Young people in Pax are sharing the latest trends on head-coverings and full-length robes.

Why are the two so different?

In Packilvania, the Communist Party of Packilvania heavily repressed religion and was responsible for genocide and the use of nuclear weapons against its own citizens. People in the older generation were indoctrinated with a far more loose understanding of Paxism that had adapted under Communist rule be less overtly religious. Older people had come to be less worried about gender roles and so on and older people are simultaneously highly speciest and xenophobic. Old people do not value the old art forms and ways of dress that were serverely threatened by the Communists.

The trauma that the nation experienced under Communist rule, the triumph of monarchy and religion over it and the economic prosperity that has arisen from liberalisation of the economy, has shaped young people to view the relative gender equality, atheism and the stark Socialist aesthetic as being associated with and inextricably linked from a government that was even more cruel and brutal than the one we have today (which is both remarkable and frightening given that Packilvania’s scores on the Freedom in the World Index are appalling).

Although the nation has become more advanced, prosperous and the world in which it exists more closely connected, the reality is that the circumstances and history have shaped the aspirations of young people. Young people in Packilvania aspire to marriage because of the status and stability it brings, the mutual economic support it provides and out of the trauma that teenage pregnancy, wanton physical appetites, fatherless households, and widespread divorce brought under their parents and grandparents during the Communist Party’s rule which included assailing traditional Paxist family values.

Young people in Packilvania also have less access to higher education and white-collar professions than their peers in other countries. Whereas an Emberitian or Volkian might aspire to a post-graduate university qualification and job in consultancy and a modern furnished apartment, a young person in Packilvania might aspire to write their 12th grade examination, get a carpentry apprenticeship, start a shop, become a vehicle mechanic or add machines to his family’s farm. These might seem like trite or even backwards aspirations in a world that is moving full-steam in the direction of global trade, the service economy and gig-work, but the reality is that although Pax’s economy has grown, the base from which it started is far lower than its peers.

Young people in Packilvania are drawn to prayer, regular attendance and participation in religious institutions and to subsequently support its dogma and ideals because it offers a sense community, a place to socialise and explore one’s extracurricular interests and it channels the energy and ideas of young people through missionary work, and service to the community. The reality is that Packilvanian communities in the past did not have many services or forms of entertainment nor did the Communist Party provide space for young people to be involved in the way that the Magisterium of Paxism has. As such, young people in Packilvania are more likely to be religious fundamentalists and literalist interpreters of the Writings of Paxism.

Although there is modern entertainment and media, the heavy censorship, surveillance and restrictions on the formation of politically-inclined groupings like student associations etc., young people in Packilvania do not have the same ready access to information about the outside world and alternative perspectives as their counterparts abroad. Supplemented by state propaganda, young people in Packilvania are more sceptical of foreign ideals and less likely to fall under their influence. Furthermore, the world is growing away from Packilvania is areas such as language, dress, to basic things like telling the time, counting etc., that the outside world feels more alien and hostile than it might to young people from South Hills or FPS.

Young people are also a demographic that the government cannot ignore. This might be surprising in a country where the government seems to ignore all of its citizens. Because most young groupings exist within and express themselves through the lens of Paxism, the government is incentivised to listen to them and has shown more leniency in allowing these groupings to form and express themselves. For instance, female activist Dumila Shabar has been a well-known advocate of the abolition of divorce because of how women often lose their status and wealth in a way that men don’t and she’s part of the Girls for Noi organisation that espouses female submission to religious values while making female hygiene products more widely accessible and women’s health issues less taboo. The government has buckled to this pressure by announcing that they will be receiving public comments for and developing legislation to look at addressing the issue of divorce.

Another young leader, Rubal Jimhadeen, has called for arranged marriages. Young men from Packilvania who move from the countryside to the city struggle to find wives in the city because of differing lifestyles and economic positions. Thus, Rubal has called for parents to take arranged marriages more seriously to give these frustrated young men the traditional and Conservative households and children that they long for. This machismo and self-serving hypermasculine worldview might be troublesome in the Liberal nations but we’re seeing this idea catch on, as dating apps have been developed to link parents and help them advertise their children for marriage.

Young men in Pax who are filled with religious and nationalist zeal, whose work is on the fields and in the factories instead of behind the desk as their Liberal peers, see military duty and combat experience as a dignified and prestigious and masculine outlet for their energy and adventuring spirit. Thus, military action in foreign nations serves the tertiary purpose of relieving them of some of that appetite and helping them excise it. Young people resent their parents for their lax attitude to prayer and conspicuous lack of attendance in religious services. Coupled with the charisma of famous preachers, they are drawn to this adventurist religious nationalist identity.

In conclusion, we in the Liberal democracies often take for granted what a young person desires and is like, but nations like Packilvania (of which we are grateful there are not many), show us how different people can be and how differently they can operate.

How to Hide a Banking Crisis

Reid Tuximun

Packilvania has been in the news for the seeming collapse of a mid-tier bank. The Packilvanian Central Bank (PCB) has been taking active measures to insulate depositors and bondholders from the fallout. Would it surprise you if I told you that the Post Bank of Packilvania is only one of several Packilvanian banks that have collapsed in the past few years?

Let’s take a step back for a moment. Packilvania is a big country and a massive economy. But, at end of the day it is a poor country. As such, the country is often viewed by foreign investors as a risky destination to invest in or lend to. The country offsets the cost of that investment with a profound return on that risk. In part, its companies are able to round up low cost labour, abundant fossil fields and weak regulations, to produce goods cheaper and quicker than almost anywhere else on the planet. On the other hand, it offsets the risk of investing in Packilvanian dinar denominated instruments such as bonds and money market funds by offering high interest rates.

As we know, most rich countries do not offer high interest rates except perhaps during periods of high inflation. For instance, the Auroran Central Bank has barely raised interest rates above 1% simply because the Kirib and the Auroran economy are unfailingly stable and inflation is comfortably low. In contrast, Packilvania has much higher inflation than its peers. As such, the Packilvanian Central Bank uses high interest rates to attract foreign investors to put their money in its banks to cash in on the Great interest rates (capital controls and currency manipulation notwithstanding).

However as a poor country that has achieved massive growth through scurting the kinds of regulations one would expect in such a large country, Packilvania has allowed thousands of small rural banks to spring up like weeds. Although they offer high interest rates to their clients, these banks are often highly risky. Every year, a few of them collapse, taking their depositors’ funds with them. The government often simply leaves them to dry. Many of these banks are too small to afford the depositary insurance premiums that medium to large banks like the Post Bank are able to make.

As such, almost every year, without fail, a few banks collapse and often without government assistance. The government will make a show of arresting the directors, but it simply deems these banks too small to save. Firstly, it does not want to encourage reckless lending and it also wants to impose fiscal discipline (without the protections that citizens of rich countries take for granted). Every year, hundreds of thousands of people lose their money and no one helps them. The government is willing to sacrifice these small banks to maintain the health of the larger banking system.

Why is the Post Bank so important? It’s the largest bank to fail in this way. The PCB knows that they cannot allow the Post Bank to fail because it will make the Packilvanian banking system look weaker if did. While rural depositors wait weeks and months for their money as the PCB takes months to liquidate these small banks, the Post Bank depositors and bondholders were paid in full. This is also why the PCB is always urging the public to be calm to avoid a run on the banks.

Now, is Pax a good place for large institutional investors to park their funds? If the FX rate and capital repatriation restrictions don’t scare you and you have the stomach for real risk, then the rewards can be quite great, so sure thing go ahead. It may be well worth the time. But when in doubt, avoid putting your funds in an obscure bank in the middle of nowhere with a dinky website that charges 0 fees. Unfortunately, for many poor rural people in Packilvania, these small and somewhat shaky banks are a risk they must bear.

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Even Good Guys are Despots

Najhid Gabriaan

I recently saw an article that was published on the Crescent wherein the staff were wishing the Sultan a happy birthday. Seems innocent enough. But as I read it, I was surprised by the superlatives. This wasn’t just simple praise, it was a hypersycophantic proverbial shoe kissing. Then one of the article’s contributors posted a link to a book called luUj or the Pilgrimage that was written by Sultan Thumim V while he was Regent. The book contained extracts from his personal diary during a pilgrimage he did several years ago.

He speaks about how he travelled from the Sacred Majhids in Ashura and went to visit Majhids around the country that allegedly comprised part of the journey of Prophet Besmali. At each place, he learns something about kindness, mercy, faith and hope. Frequently, he or the characters in the story cite verses from the Bas Magdamar. Towards the end, he exhorts the reader to be benevolent, generous, forgiving and just. All the good stuff. Even though I am not Paxist, reading this book, it felt written by someone who went through a difficult life experience but found some peace in a highly romantic journey across the desert. It felt written by a genuinely good person.

I would not be surprised if Thumim left out details that could be embarrassing or exaggerated the whole exercise. But, based on the evidence that this trip did indeed happen and the subtle noticeable shift in his character suggests that for the most part the story is true. Assuming the book is entirely true, it makes what we know about Thumim is all the more chilling.

Thumim is the ruler of two countries, one of which is a global super power and the symbolic figure of one of the largest religions in the world. But, he’s not known for being a democrat. He’s serious but congenial in person and seemingly sincere in his personal convictions. Yet, his regime is known for sapient rights abuses, and endemic corruption. Is it that he is a good guy fighting a difficult problem of patronage, highly misogynistic, queerphobic, xenophobic, and racist political beliefs or is there something deeper?

He inherited his position. He was destined to rule and trained for the post. He was born to preside over a brutal regime the likes of which barely exists on Urth. So, either he is powerless to meaningfully upend the brutal habits of his government or he is complicit in its actions or dare I say, a driver of its actions.

Whatever the answer, we learn something from Thumim: personal convictions do not make public policy. It is possible to at once be a believer in freedom while enforcing restrictions on self-actualisation, professional development, reproductive rights and bodily autonomy. It seems almost like he is compelled by forces bigger than him to administer policies that are obviously morally and ethically objectionable in the modern world. Nevertheless, it is clear from his willingness to bring down powerful political foes and defy social expectations to marry a human, that he has agency and efficacy of his own.

Thumim serves a warning to the citizens of democratic countries. Likeability is not a premise for building opinions about someone’s decisions and policies. It is possible to at once care deeply for a person and on the hand condemn and distance yourself from their actions. In that same way, we should be vigilant against our own inclinations towards brutality and hatred that lie masked beneath the surface of our genuine desire to be good people. Whether its the obstacles to equal marriage or free speech in ostensibly free Norgsveldet or the unhinged invasion of Sayyed, the road to a world free of violence and oppression is ahead of us and rulers whether elected or not are enabled or restrained by systems and public vigilance and not by personal convictions and individual morality.

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What happened to Packilvania's Communists?

They got rich!

Xirom Ax’emu


Earlier this year, I went to visit the Imperial War and Genocide Museum in the capital city of Packilvania, Bingol.

Its main edifice sits on the Museum Square where it is flanked by smaller buildings. The people go about their day while every morning and afternoon without fail, soldiers will make a show of lowering and folding a flag and hoisting a new one. They wear the colourful ceremonial uniforms of the army. Their backs are straight and movements mechanical like wind-up toys. Their faces are stern, the peak of their caps casting a shadow over their eyes. On its own, the scene looks somber and dignified. But surrounded by vegetable hawkers, people going this way and that and tourists taking pictures, the entire experience seems somewhat out of place and ridiculous.

This is analogous to the role and history of the building I had come to see and its role in Packilvania’s modern day story. The Imperial War and Genocide Museum cast a long shadow over Museum Square as the sun set. It’s mighty towers seemed to dwarf every thing around it. As it dominates the skyline, its red brick facade gives it this air of importance and magnificence.

As you walk up the stairs you are led to a magnificent blue tile covered attrium. The cupola above makes it resemble a place of worship, the kind of place where every part of the mortal life journey is marked even its very end. It seems fitting that this attrium should lead to the halls where exhibitions about the horrors of the Second Packilvanian Civil War and the decades’ long persecution and systematic extermination of humans. The curator, Humbraan Julkhameed, who kindly took me on a tour of the building was a gentile and wise looking human man. His deep brown skin and wiry silver beard seemed to sparkle in the shafts of light that broke through the ornamented windows.

His Staynish was not the best, but he managed to parse enough words to convey the message. We went through a variety of rooms and hallways whose walls were lined with paintings and photographs. There were statues and friezes, videos playing on large screens and dioramas of the concentration camps in which humans were housed before their inevitable demise. After taking me through the exhibits, the curator and I sat in the large courtyard to have some lunch. We ate rotis, with vegetarian masala stew, and some nuts. Then he told me that he too was once a prisoner in the concentration camps. They had stripped his family of their possessions and sent them to work on farms under sordid conditions. Then he was separated from everyone he had ever known and sent to the concentration camps. He said that his camp was attacked by the Carriers of Mercy and they set everyone free.

Humbraan said that the Carriers were accompanied by nurses and priests who took them, measuring and cleaning. Some were rude, but on the whole, even their jeers as they sprayed him with water and delousing powder was a kindness compared to the treatment he described receiving from the Communists. From that day, he joined the Carriers as a soldier and fought for years against the Communists. He was given a house where he married and raised his family. The Dohal Family Foundation gave him a scholarship to study at history at the University of Pishtwan.

When Amhoud I announced that the Imperial War and Genocide Museum, he was ecstatic and volunteered to work for free. Eventually, the head curator hired him permanently and he has been working hear for the past two decades. He spoke about how proud he was of his country and how deeply grateful he was to rhe Carriers and to the Bedonite dynasty for not only liberating Packilvania from the Communists but for making it a mighty and wealthy country.

When I hear Humbraan’s story, it fills me with hope and I am sincerely happy that the humans of Packilvania can now live here freely. But it makes the compromise that the Bedonite dynasty struck with the Communust all the more sad and disturbing. The Bedonite dynasty struck a deal to dissolve both the Carriers and the Communist Party. In the vacuum, they seized power. To appease all the different factions they had to give amnesty to some of the monsters that subjected this man to years of torture and took his family from him.

A few high profile officials were subjected to widely publicised trials, some of whom were even executed in public. With their deaths, it seemed their blood could pay for and wash away the harm inflicted on humans in this country. The government of the Bedonites built monuments and museums commemorating this event despite the judicial challenges and seeming political trappings of talking about the genocide and implicitly blaming it on the felines. Yet despite their platitudes, the Communists not only escaped without consequence but became rich from the economic growth of the nation.

The Yasmood family donated millions to the Museum to help located the remains of humans so that they could bury them with dignity. They also donated the many artefacts and memorabilia that their patriarch Khenayed Yasmood had confiscated from the humans in his concentration camp. Through their proximity to power, Khenayed Yasmood purchased privatised state assets on the cheap and his family grew wealthy. Khenayed died but his family retained control of his wealth. A similar story goes for the many wealthy Communists who now reside in Packilvania and profess fealty to the crown, decry the ideologies of their old party and faith in Noi.

Even those who did not rise to the upper echelons of Packilvania’s wealthy managed to carve out lives as workers, doctors, and the like, quiet members of society who hid away in the shadows under the beaming light of the vapid Bedonite throne. When I asked the curator about what he thought, he said that Noi had done her will and the Bedonites had done what they had to. I asked him whether he was angry. He replied that for many years he was, when he was fighting in the war he had been motivated by not only liberating humans but avenging his family. He got his pound of Communist flesh, but he said that eventually he felt that revenge would esrn him nothing especially when the war ended and days of citizen killing citizen in the street were over.

He said, “Now I fill my days with beauty and what a worthy life that is”.

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Packilvania's Military Problem

Agatha Grey
Make no mistake, Packilvania's military is formidable. It has a massive budget in the hundreds of billions, it has over 2 million men in active duty and another 14 million in reserve. It maintains the largest nuclear arsenal in the world as well as aircraft carriers, nuclear ballistic missile submarines and fourth to fifth generation fighter jets. It benefits from access to the biggest population and manufacturing base in the world, and one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Furthermore, its influence in the world has greatly increased through signing treaties with various other nations and becoming a member of the International Forum Security Council.

Yet, for all its strengths, it has serious weaknesses that it needs to address. The biggest problem is that it faces chronic industrial corruption in its military whereby officials siphon resources through bribery and outright theft. This undermines its military readiness as well as promotes a culture of distrust and ill-discipline. The presence of intelligence and political officials at all levels and the rigour of military law enforcement has allowed them to stem some of the corrupt practices and purge the cabals that have formed in its ranks, nevertheless it still has some ways to go before eliminating corruption.

Ironically, the military is under-spending. While the budget is substantial and the military makes huge purchases of new craft and kit, often funds are redirected to other government areas that need more attention. As a result, the military can find itself cutting corners or narrowing its scope and programs to the essentials.

Furthermore, the Packilvanian military is struggling to integrate the Packilvanian Expeditionary Forces. This paramilitary group is a bloated entity that barely reports to the government and supports and perpetrates terror across the world. Attempts to scale this body and bring some of it into the military’s fold are proving slow and painful. Disputes over salaries and positions and conflicts over strategy and doctrine are styming efforts to absorb its capabilities and draining substantial energy for much else.

Packilvania needs to address these three problems urgently If it is to continue being a competent and fearsome global power.

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Does Pax care about geopolitics?

Agatha Grey
We sat down and spoke to Prof Thuhayd Akhsanud at the University of Kuter Kebir, who was a policy analyst for the Packilvanian government, to get a sense of whether relations with foreign nations and jousting with military alliances across the world occupy the minds of Packilvanian policymakers.

“Plainly”, Prof Akhnasud said, “Geopolitics are not a top priority for Packilvanian policymakers. As an observer at meetings of the Council of Ministers and other policy bodies, I can assure you that some or other war or threat by a far-flung nation barely makes it to the agenda, at most occupying the ‘anything else’ item in the last few minutes”.

In his words, Packilvania has real problems that would surprise and worry citizens of developed countries.

“In Packilvania, education, corruption, fragile rural banking system, health issues caused by heart and infectious diseases, water, crime, infighting among elites, housing crises, overpopulation in urban areas, religious fanaticism”, he stated, “are the issues that keep the Sultan up at night”.

He clarifies, “Geopolitics is definitely essential. Access to foreign markets, security for allies, relations with foreign nations, competition with rivals for global influence, participation in multilateral bodies and so on, are certainly valuable. The country apportions billions of dollars to maintaining embassies abroad, handling foreign intelligence, conducting military exercises etc.”

“But the fact of the matter is that the focus for Packilvanian policymakers is addressing domestic issues. While Packilvania is accustomed to dominating surrounding nations, I think there is a recognition by the government that it is no longer the most powerful nation in the world. Great Morstaybishlia and South Hills have long outstripped Packilvania while Norgsveldet’s citizens live comparably splendid lives”.

He explained to us that this presents opportunities for foreign nations. It means that the Packilvania of today does not have the same appetite for expansionism and militarism as before. There is room for diplomacy and giving Packilvania a seat at the table, most notably as a member of the Security Council, will aid in finding common solutions to global problems. Secondly, for investors and the like, it means that there is room to pursue trade and set up businesses for mutual benefit in Packilvania. For the avid traveller and global citizen, one should not allow nationalist or specistic prejudices to prevent you from visiting and exchanging culture.

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Bizarre World of Packilvanian Software Companies

By James Burnham
Have you ever heard of an app called Buddy, Debby, or Chatter? These are three of the biggest apps from Packilvania. They were created in the Noughties, gradually evolving in their scope and features to the point that they became super apps whose mandate extended from their core functions. Buddy is a ride hailing application, Debby is a mobile payments platform while Chatter is a social media service.

These apps emerged and are situated in the context of the most heavily surveilled internet in the world. Administered by a state intelligence agency, the internet in Packilvania functions more like an intranet for the whole country with restrictions on websites from foreign nations, blocked search terms and mandatory back doors for the state that has been a blemish on the nation’s sapient rights record.

One would expect that innovation in technology would be stifled in this kind of environment. Surprisingly, the opposite has proven to be true. Protected from foreign competition, Software-as-a-Service providers were able to thrive. Many practices that would be considered anti-competitive such as stealing foreign intellectual property, blocking competitors from advertising their products or publishing their applications on your platform, unchecked mergers and acquisitions, price gouging, and weak consumer protections made Packilvania’s internet landscape a wild and cut-throat place where only the most effective software providers survived.

Furthermore, they existed in a context where the state was embracing technology and looking for national champions to carry the Packilvanian economic baton abroad. Local and national governments handed out subsidies, tax brakes, and cheap loans, and invested in the firms that showed promise, declaring them the country’s national champions who had the mission of advancing Packilvanian economic interests overseas.

Moreover, unlike richer countries, most Packilvanians did not have access to computers. With the introduction of the smartphone in the first decade of the 21st century which at the time was cheaper than computers, people were finally connected to the outside world for the first time with services and information at their fingertips. This created an appetite for mobile applications, so many companies built mobile-first services that aimed to do everything under the Tep including predicting one’s future or giving frankly troubling medical advice.

Despite the state’s attempts to find a worthy champion, Packilvania was not at that time, able to develop its own smartphones and mobile operating systems. So, many consumers used one of two phones either a PrimPhone or a Jo-Jotun, creating one of those company’s largest markets. Because of the data privacy, cybersecurity, consumer protection, and intellectual property laws of their home countries, Great Morstaybishlia and Norgsveldet respectively, many developers struggled to get their apps on their app stores. Chatter, Buddy and Debby enabled developers to create micro applications within their respective applications, giving rise to the emergence of the super app.

Through these events, Chatter, Buddy and Debby became the largest tech companies in Packilvania. Offering games, news and media, video streaming, online shopping, and other servicing within their ecosystems, they developed into hubs for other Packilvanian product offerings. However, they faced challenges breaking abroad because of the distrust that governments from foreign nations had in them. Thus, to circumvent these restrictions, they established subsidiaries incorporated in Great Morstaybishlia which developed separate versions of those applications whose servers, data and administrative centres are housed in Fort Jubrayn and it is these versions that are available abroad and accessible to the global market. The parent companies in Packilvania provide oversight and management, license the intellectual property, and subsidized their operating costs.

These subsidiaries gave investors in the rest of the world a chance to invest in these promising tech companies. With the aid of large investment banks, they had their initial public offerings on the Auroran and Concordian Stock Exchanges. They attracted enormous sums from their IPOs, with a range of institutional investors lapping up this opportunity. Thus, the companies today are among the most highly valued 500 companies in the world. Nevertheless, consumers in some markets are trepidatious about them and obtuse, populist and Paxophobic politicians have stoked unproven fears of these companies spying on people.

So, in your country do you use these apps, if so which is your favourite? Comment below to share your views


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