UNSR Elections 2020
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Baskin Appeals to Agriculture in visit to Romain Vineyard
Carole Baskin today visited a vineyard in Romain to pledge that all non-essential agriculture will not be collectivised. Baskin stated the government should only collectivise wheat and certain basic meat production, the rest should be owned by cooperatives -- like this vineyard in Southern Romain.
Cooperative president, Simon François, who was a grape picker before he was elected by his colleagues to the position of president, said that 'Ms. Baskin's proposals are just and correct. Sanders just wants more government control, when we here are proving that its the workers who need to be in charge.'
A Sanders source commented saying that 'we do not want to nationalise vineyards, but, we want to focus on making the UNSR self sufficient in food. That might mean that we have to take some frivolous usage of land into government control.'
A Baskin spokesperson continued, 'we need to be self sufficient in food, but we can do that without confiscating land. The right of a cooperative to buy land and exploit it should be a fundamental right. We would, however, like to see more trees being planted across Icholasen, with the consensus of cooperatives.'
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TANKIE Spitzenkandidaten for Manufacturing, Harriet LeRauk, announces her aims as she is named 'Future Speaker of the Assembly' by Sanders
Harriet LeRauk spoke today about her aims as she and the other TANKIES aim to take control of the Assembly of Nationalities. 'When industries are controlled directly by an accountable management team from the central government, output is much higher and factories or other types of production can be optimised together in a way that can't be achieved by decision making on the local level. Government is good, and with harmonised targets we can make the economy better for everyone.' LeRauk said in a speech to the Congress of Miners in the Miens Marx Département.
'We'd also like to strengthen the Police and more specifically the secret police. We can never be too careful in protecting the revolution that we have worked so hard to achieve. There could be spies, reactionaries and general disorder in the nation.' LeRauk said. 'We might have to give up some freedoms to protect the revolution, and Assembly of Workers TANKIES will always vote to uphold the revolution from subversive, reactionary influence.'
'Mining has to continue.' LeRauk said, to rapturous applause. 'We have so many raw materials here that must be extracted so that we may become self sufficient. We have oil, coal, and natural gas and we exploit them as we need them. The people own these resources and they have a right to use them. The faux-environmentalists at the AÉN have not taken into account the wastage of the former 1%, they caused probably as much pollution as any mines did. But who had to suffer during mine closures? It was not the 1% it was you. Now, the AÉN under Carole Baskin want to end your mines - is that acceptable? No. It's bourgeois, reactionary and counter-revolutionary.
'One of the main privileges of working in the Assembly of Workers is that we can commission big public works that stretch across our nation, across all of our Socialist Republics. TANKIES want our UNSR to be one big united country, with works that link our nation rather than divide us into local pockets like the AÉN wants.'
Madam LeRauk then thanked everyone at the conference for coming and shook hands with the Mining Union leaders there.
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Politburo Elections Heat Up As Eurovoice 'Star' Announces Candidacy
Communist Taylor Swift has today announced her candidacy for the Ministry of Culture, declaring that: 'just as I brought in a pop revolution, so too should the UNSR institute a cultural revolution to bring the people closer to socialism.' She has aligned herself with the TANKIE faction of the Communist Party, arguing that the UNSR 'needs a strong state to act as a vanguard against reactionary influence and also Lizzo.'
Responding to critics that say she is not the real Taylor Swift, Communist Taylor Swift said that 'Trympov and many in the Pravoslaviyan media are reactionaries and want to see our revolution fail. Through the medium of song I will stop them.'
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Baskin, Sanders attend international relations summit in Cesae Vauvra today
Baskin spoke first and highlighted her commitment to reenter the international community, including the European Union, claiming that 'we need to have good relations with everybody, foster peace, and support communism through our actions, rather than through any force.'
Sanders said that EU membership would be 'acceptable' but advocates the changing of some laws, in tandem with the PEL. He says that we must be 'wary of other powers' and continued saying 'I have literally been kidnapped by capitalist monarchists. If we're going to reintegrate into the international community, I urge caution.'
Asked about trade, Baskin said 'the best way to export our philosophy of worker controlled cooperatives is to prove they work and they can produce good products. I hope that other countries enjoy cooperative produced wine, flowers and other products and services. I love that the UNSR has cooperatives opening in Copala City. It is a brilliant exposition of the wealth of working together in a democratic workplace.' Sanders disagreed, saying that 'self sufficiency in all aspects of our economy must be achieved before we enter into deep trade with capitalists.'
Baskin went so far as to say she would open talks with Fremet and Inquista to pave over the rocky relationship that the UNSR has had with these countries in the last few months. Sanders agai disagreed. 'We must avoid working with those nations, they do not support our revolution and they will not just because we offer them flowers and wine.'
The topic then turned to nuclear weapons, with a new ENAA bill with Free Icholasen on the board of permanent members was announced. Carole Baskin said that 'despite being an environmentalist, I think we need nukes to ensure the health of the revolution. We can spend less money on the military as no one would invade a nation with nukes in silos and in submarines and in the sea. It would be suicide.' Sanders said that he supports nuclear weapons and keeping a large military budget. 'We have a smaller GDP than our capitalist neighbours, but we need to use it to keep our island fortified.'
The two then shook hands with ministers in the Foreign Office, most of whom Sanders works with as the Foreign Minister.
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Misty Foxx, Anarcho-Primitivist, has been declared the spitzenkandidat for 'Other Services'
Misty Foxx, famous Anarcho-Primitivist and singer has been declared the spitzenkandidat for 'Other Services' which is a grouping of singers, performers, actors (both clean and filthy), and general services that don't fall into either financial, retail or hospitality.
Foxx is on record saying that the 'industrial revolution and its effects have been terrible for human society' and that the UNSR should scale back its industry, reduce hydrocarbon production and reduce farmland area by 20% and make the rest of farming pesticide free and battery free.
Not just wanting to make Icholasen carbon neutral, she advocates the UNSR becoming a carbon sponge, saying that 'since we cannot convert all capitalists, we must do the work for them.' She plans to achieve this by planting trees, encouraging vegetarianism and veganism and encouraging the use of electric cars over petrol cars.
The TANKIE spitzenkandidat for 'Other Services' Peter Castle has said that 'if we get rid of our hydrocarbon industry we'll have no jobs, no electricity and no independence. Anarchists like Foxx cost the proletariat the revolution. Without strength, centralisation and energy independence we are nothing.'
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Cécile Laucre, Assembly of Nationalities Candidate for Leuse Valley, attacks Baskin accusing her of being 'soft on reactionaries'
Cécile Laucre today has attacked Carole Baskin, accusing her of being soft on reactionaries because of her policy on policing. 'Carole Baskin does not agree with the expansion of the Nicova' (the UNSR secret police) 'and as such is soft on reactionaries.' Laucre continued, saying that 'if we do not keep tabs on reactionaries and other un-patriotic influence in Icholasen, it will spiral out of control and the revolution will end. She may say that the revolution is diluted by this expansion and funding of the Nicova, but surely that is better than having no revolution at all.'
Baskin responded saying that 'of course we want security for the revolution, but there comes a time where that infringement on rights dilutes the revolution that we are all fighting to uphold. The Nicova is important and it should stay, but it should not get any more powers.'
However others in Baskin own faction disagreed with her. Misty Foxx said that all aspects of the centralised state need to be removed and the UNSR should put all of the power into the hands of workers, people and hyper-local government. Foxx said that 'there shouldn't even be a Nicova, we should defund it and use the money for local projects.'
On the (even) more authoritarian side of the TANKIES faction, Harriet LeRauk said that 'people like Misty Foxx do not get it. The state has to exist for basic order and for the revolution to be protected. It feels like these people want the revolution to fail.
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Harriet LeRauk Visits Nicova HQ
Harriet LeRauk has visited the Nicova's HQ today to rally support around the organisation. She has said that the organisation is the vanguard of the revolution and the protector of our freedom from capitalism. She hit back at the anarchist wing of the AÉN, citing people like Misty Foxx and others who call for the agency's abolition. 'Those people don't understand Marx and they don't understand the sacrifices people have made for the revolution. We need this body to keep an eye on the people of this nation, to make sure there aren't reactionaries or foreign influence in our affairs. If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear.'
When asked by a journalist what she thought about musings Bishop Lallana might be coming to Icholasen, LeRauk used the occasion to speak out against Bishop Lallana's TV show and all organised religion. 'Folks, religion is the opium of the masses, okay? And Bishop Lallana's lovey-dovey peace and love religious attitude isn't terrible, but it is still counterrevolutionary. Now, we TANKIES draw the line before iconoclasm, the Catholics do make a mean Virgin Mary statue and I won't take that away from them. But we're going to get rid of the political, economic and social power that religion still holds over Icholasen like a stranglehold. And that includes Bishop Lallana's show.'
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Baskin Defends Lallana's Show, Religion
Carole Baskin today defended the right of Bishop Lallana (of Inquistan fame) to broadcast in Icholasen. 'Look, whatever you believe personally about religion, it is not for the state to ban or encourage any religion or religious activity. Religion may be the opium of the people, but we at the AÉN actually support the legalisation of opium - we don't encourage people to take it up, but it shouldn't be for the government to tell people what to do with their bodies or their minds.
Harriet LeRauk hit back saying 'people believe in capitalism, too, which is clearly a thought that Baskin has problem with. She does tell those people what to think. Does Baskin think that we can just pick and choose aspects of Marx's work we agree and disagree with? We must follow Marx's word more closely and reduce the influence of organised religion in our society.'
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June 13th, 2020
Cesae Vauvra, Icholasen
Campaign Rally
Bishop Lallana arrives in Icholasen wearing cat printHello, Cesae Vauvra! It's such an honour to be here. This is my first time vising Icholasen, can you believe it? I said I wouldn't visit Icholasen until it was a free country, and now it is. The government of Inquista has prohibited Inquistans from visiting Icholasen, but I came anyway. I hopped on my carbon-neutral jet, which I was able to buy through the generous patronage of my newly devout comrades in Christ. Comrades in Christ, by the way, is still live every Sunday morning on Nicoleizian airwaves. Viewership has been terrific, just terrific, and I want you to keep listening to my sermons and keeping donating. Half of all donations to go to the workers of the one true Inquistan Orthodox Church.
I come in solidarity with the Nicoleizian people. That's why I am wearing leopard print. I am wearing leopard print in solidarity with the Nicoleizian people, and I will continue wear only leopard print until Nicoleizian-Inquistan relations are once again reignited. In the short time that I've been in Icholasen, I see nothing but stability, order, progress, compassion and happiness. Icholasen is thriving. This isn't an oppressed society, this is a liberated one. I call upon Inquista, the Inquitan Orthodox Church, and all governments across the European Union, to recognize and establish relations with the Union of Nicoleizian Socialist Republics. The sanctions and measures taken against Icholasen by the international community do nothing except hurt and harm the Nicoleizian people themselves. The Europolis elites are targeting and damning ordinary Nicoleizian people for their own self-important and bourgeoisie political squabbles.
I am also coming wearing cat print in solidarity with the AÉN and their leader Carole Baskin. The AÉN is looking toward a revolutionary future. In fact, the AÉN are the only ones concerned with the future. We cannot have a future without a planet to live on, water to drink, air to breathe, and a sustainable environment. The TANKIES have their heads stuck in the past and are not looking toward the perils that are facing our collective planet. The TANKIES seek to exploit the environment and use it purely for short-term economic gain, just like how capitalists seek to exploit the workers. Under the TANKIES, soon enough, Icholasen's many green fields, forests and farms will be nothing but eroded dirt. Under the TANKIES, Icholasen's rivers and lakes will become dry and polluted. Exploitation will ruin your farms and your environment. There will be no peace, land and bread under the TANKIES, just exploitation, dirt and empty stomachs. The Revolution will not stop until this bourgeoisie exploitation of public land and commodities comes to an end, and until all Nicoleizians can live freely in a sustainable environment that truly offers them peace, land and bread.
I must say, I am also especially concerned with comrade Harriet LeRauk. Comrade LeRauk hopes to become the Speaker of the Assembly? You should all be concerned. Again, the TANKIES are never looking toward the future. Establishing a dictatorship of the proletariat is a necessary step of the Revolution, but it must eventually wither away as a post-capitalist, egalitarian and truly free society emerges. Comrade LeRauk only seeks to strengthen and solidify a state that can never be eroded, one which is controlled by the police, the military and the use of coercive force. Under a possible Speaker LeRauk, the Nicova will unleash a perpetual and never-ending terror upon the Nicoleizian people, which will unfortunately prey only upon Icholasen's poorest and most vulnerable working people. Once again, only the AÉN has a vision beyond the dictatorship of the proletariat. The AÉN understands the importance of the withering away of the state, the importance of a society free from exploitation and coercion, and one where there is a future that is both sustainable and prosperous.
I ask you to please support the AÉN and to please support Carole Baskin. Thank you. I hope that you all join me for tomorrow's sermon, which I will delivering in person at the newly constructed Saint Lenin Cathedral in Cesae Vauvra. [Bishop Lallana then raises a communist crucifix to the crowd] God bless the Revolution, and may God bless Icholasen!
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Jane Birkin, Assembly of Nationalities Candidate for the Courvières Département Announces Support for Decentralisation of all Agriculture
'Communism, for me, is about the workers controlling the means of production. That's it. The state should only play a role in enforcing that system and enforcing regulations. We should be moving quickly to a form of communism with a small state whilst also allowing groups of individuals to form cooperatives and sell a product to people. Of course we should make sure everyone has enough food, but the state should take a more indirect role in that process.'
Birkin, a singer famous in the 1970s, will (if she wins) represent the sprawling vineyards of the Courvières Département and one of the most fertile areas of the country and as such wants to appease farmers and let them control their own production. She's also in favour of Nicoleizian farmers fulfilling Inquistan contracts for food, which was in the agreement between Craticus (God Rest His Soul) and Chairman Jirluchuz. She wants to improve relations with Inquista in order to allow Icholasen to support the microstates, whose agricultural capacity is limited.
Cécile Laucre has said that Jane Birkin's agricultural policy is reckless. 'How are we supposed to ensure that this nation produces enough basic foodstuffs if people can decide on their own what agricultural products they produce? The system Birkin proposes is inefficient compared to that of state ownership of the major crops needed to feed the nation. And, about Inquista, I think that they should not be allowed to exploit Nicoleizian agriculture in the way that Birkin proposes.'
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Stephanie DeVey: Hello everyone and welcome to the first of several town halls that will be held across the country as we prepare for the coming elections. Today we have with us Harriet LeRauk, TANKIES candidate for manufacturing in the Assembly of Workers, and we have Carole Baskin, the Alliance Écologique Nicoleizienne candidate for Healthcare and social assistance in the Assembly of Workers as well. To get the debate started, each candidate will be able to give a short opening statement. Let's start with Ms. LeRauk.
Harriet LeRauk: Hello Comrades. Today, we stand at a crossroads between economic chaos and economic order and strength. We must collectivise to become more efficient and more orderly. If we let ourselves be governed by the AÉN, chaos will reign, the economy will crumble and reactionary influence will spread. You have been warned.
Carole Baskin: Comrades. It is time for the economy to work for everyone. The best way to make that happen is to give people the power to change it at the lowest level. We must move to have a smaller state, a smaller centralised influence on people's lives so they can live free. Free from capitalism and the state.
SDV: Thank you. We move onto our first question. If a more isolated local community wanted to start up a bus service, what would be the best way to set that up? Carole you may start.
CB: I would advise them to start up a local cooperative of drivers who were willing to drive and pick them up from community-organised locations. Unlike under capitalism where companies decide what routes are profitable and local bus routes are cut due to their unprofitability, local communities can now start up their own bus cooperatives that serve them.
SDV: Harriet LeRauk.
HLR: I would urge that community to contact their local government representative. You see, folks, it's best when there is a plan to all sorts of things. Local communities might, by no fault of their own, miss an opportunity to coordinate with towns across their Département to form a cohesive network of buses that serves best the needs of the people. Without a top down view, there will be so much waste.
SDV: Okay, let's move onto the next question. This is a question for Harriet LeRauk. Your faction has been accused of having a 'muddled' approach to agriculture, with people unable to tell what crops will be nationalised and collectivised, and what will be free for cooperatives to learn.
HLR: Well, there's a divide in our society and in our party about that, but I personally think that wheat and meat should be owned by the state and most people in my party believe that too. Wheat and meat is the answer. And that's because we all need bread and meat to survive. Other crops like wine and sugar beet are good but not necessary for one's survival.
SDV: And, Carole Baskin, your policy is to open more farms up to cooperative management. Won't that lead to a lack of foresight and efficiency in farming?
CB: I think that there should still be government subsidies, government advice and statistical research open to the cooperatives and for them to vote on and decide the direction of their farms. We can have efficiency and foresight whilst also giving cooperatives the power to make their own choices about their farms.
SDV: The next question is about trade. To what extent do you think that Icholasen should engage in trade with other nations? Let's start with Ms. LeRauk.
HLR: I think we should avoid it as much as possible with capitalist countries. I am of course in favour of trading with Czech Slavia, Eastern Haane or Marnoua as they have opted to follow communism. However, Inquista is a hard pass for me. Unless that deal truly and deeply benefits our people.
SDV: The same question to you, Mrs. Baskin.
CB: I think we should give our cooperatives the right to trade with whoever they want. As long as the cooperative is owned by the people who work for it, there is no exploitation happening if they sell it here in Icholasen or abroad. As for state contracts, the answer is maybe. It's a hypothetical and I'd have to have the contract in front of me to make my mind up.
SDV: This question is about foreign investment in Icholasen. Would you feel comfortable with foreign investment here in the UNSR. Ms. LeRauk you may begin.
HLR: I am against any and all foreign investment in Icholasen. It is a conflict of interest and a form of economic imperialism. If that happened, how would we ensure that our workers weren't being exploited? We need to make sure that any and all influence in Icholasen's affairs are positive.
SDV: And Mrs. Baskin.
CB: I am in favour of worker owned cooperatives receiving funds to create products from anywhere. We must empower workers by offering them the chance to expand their cooperatives with foreign capital.
SDV: Now, let's hear your closing statements summing up your general position on the economic issues. Ms. LeRauk you may begin.
HLR: We need to have efficiency and order, rather than mess and chaos. Cohesion and strength in the economy is what we TANKIES want, it is the only way that we can succeed. The more the economy is run from above, the more prosperity can be produced. And that's what its about, folks, prosperity. Only with order can prosperity be achieved.
SDV: Mrs. Baskin.
CB: To achieve prosperity, we need the people in charge. The state is blundering and bloated and cannot tailor itself to the needs of localities. We need local people to solve local issues as they're the people who know best. Bureaucrats in Cesae Vauvra do not know what life is like in, say, Miens Marx. They just don't. We need people there and everywhere to offer their own local solutions to local problems as they know best.
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Anne-Marie David, AÉN candidate for the Romain Republic Assembly says 'the revolution was done with arms and structure, but it doesn't have to continue that way'
Anne-Marie David, former leader of the separatist party, the Parti national de Romain, has said that despite the revolution being carried out by Chairman Jirluchuz, the communist party, and the armed forces, the revolution does not have to continue that way. 'We need to move away from the centralised running of the communist party and the state to a more free society. Power corrupts. Any hierarchy that cannot be ethically justified must either be dismantled or replaced by decentralized egalitarian control, mawma.'
Her TANKIE opponent, Martin Dujardin commented that 'there is an ethical mandate for centralised control, it is the betterment of how we supply the people with the basic necessities for life. How can we hope to provide people with their needs without a centralised system of control?'
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Factions inside Factions?!
There are no official parties allowed in the UNSR except for the Communist party. Despite this, there are 2 major factions and 1 minor faction who act almost like parties within the Communist party. And, within these factions are sub-factions that argue for different things. This article will break down the different factions and what they stand for more broadly, and also which politicians are in which subfactions.
TANKIES all believe that the state is the most decisive way to enact revolutionary change. They believe the state should influence most aspects of life and the Secret Police (the Nicova) and military should be funded adequately to prevent attack from both within and without. TANKIES are more 'patriotic' in the traditional sense as they believe the nation is a useful conduit to spread the revolution overseas. They also believe the nation-state should exist and oppose all attempts to decentralise the nation into small units of communism as they do not believe the time is right for that to happen.
TANKIES 1 is known as the 'authoritarian TANKIES'. On this diagram it is around the political location of where people like Harriet LeRauk are. Some would describe this hard-authoritarian faction as 'hawks' who want to beef up the Nicova and the military in order to prevent capitalist influence in the UNSR. They're also in favour of the percentage of the GDP that the government control increasing, as they believe that that will make the economy more efficient and will work better for the proletariat.
TANKIES 2 are known as the 'moderate TANKIES' and on this diagram is where conventional TANKIES centre. They have more moderate policies about foreign affairs and funding for defence initiatives. This faction differs only slightly from TANKIES 1 as they hold the same majorviews (give more power to the Nicova and the state, fund the military more etc), but they are more moderate. The TANKIES are a lot more united than the AÉL with there only being 2 main schools of thought, and even then they are not that far apart.
The AÉN is a lib-left faction within the communist party. They generally centre around the idea that there should be less state in the daily lives of Nicoleizians and there should be more civil liberties despite any national security risks that might come of that. They also believe in a sustainable national budget, targeting military expenditure as an important source of income for ordinary Nicoleizians. They are accused of being less 'patriotic' as they do not believe the nation is a useful conduit for global revolution.
The mainstream party revolves around AÉN 1. This faction is known as the 'AÉN moderates'. This faction still believes there should be a Nicova and that there should be some state control of some industries. The whole AÉN believes in a smaller military and that Icholasen should rely on more its nuclear weapons as its major deterrent.
AÉL 2 is a faction known as the 'AÉN market-socialists'. They believe the means of production should be in control of the workers, but that a more market system should exist than does currently. They believe the state should leave alone cooperatives and reduce regulations on these industries. This is a smaller faction in the AÉN, the major dichotomy is between the AÉN moderates and the AÉN anarcho-communists. This faction can also vary in levels of authoritarianism. Some agree with the moderates that there should be a stronger state, others agree with the anarcho-communists who want to reduce the state's size. This faction's single issue is more power for local cooperatives in the economic system.
The AÉN 3 faction is known as the 'AÉN anarcho-communists'. AÉN 3, as a faction, believe in varying forms of anarchism and disagrees with the existence of the Nicova, state control of industry, scientific progress and urbanisation, and, some members are in favour of the abolition of the central state in its entirety, (but that is a fringe belief even within this faction.) This faction is hyper-environmentalist, arguing for the scaling back of all Nicoleizian industry in favour of new, ecologically friendly industry.
The AÉN is a much more divided party than the TANKIES and as leader, Carole Baskin has to keep all of these factions happy. Some in her party will not rest until the Nicova is abolished and this is the thorn in the side of any seeming victory for the party.
