Democratic Socialist AssemblyBoard

Penelope Secfram- Skipper

Born on the island of Asravia, Secfram was born into a fishing family. By the age of 12, she was well acquainted with sailing, becoming the captain of her high school sailing team in 10th grade and leading her college sailing team to victory in multiple events. Her longest sailing distance was from Lerencia to the old city of Hamburger Helparia of the fallen state of Mr. Johnson. She has taken the reigns of being the skipper of the Flying Debtman for the 2019 DSA Ocean Race. While in college, she minored in nutrition and also brings skills in that field for the long times they will spend on the sea with what little food they can bring.

Charles Newton

Born in Vynia, Newton brings over 15 years of sailing experience, both inshore and offshore. He has won 1 gold and 3 bronze metals in the Kilapso Sailing Tournament and now seeks to bring home another in the DSA Ocean Race. He is also skilled in diesel engine repair.

Samantha Greenhalgh

Greenhalgh is known as an excellent helmsman. Born in Hadale, Greenhalgh couldn't stand the fields of wheat and corn and yearned for the seas, which she gained when she moved to the coast at 20 years old. The past few years she was helming The Magenta Project, one of the many ships used in the hunting of pirates in the Debtian and Cheese Seas. She is also skilled in hydraulics and hydraulics repair.

Jacy

Spending her whole life in the water, Jacy has strong knowledge and experience in the seas and it's currents. Born in Southern Yloneir, she has had clear access to the Ordennyan Archipelago all her life and is adapted to both it's cold waters and dangers of it's many straits.

Jake Sinclair

Born a member of the Penocabee tribe, he grew up in a family of river navigators. Spending years on the water, he has had strong interest sailing since youth ad has spend years sailing through the Debtian Sea. With his mother being a nurse, he also spent time learning about medical response as a teenager, leading him to become a nurse in his adult years.

Talula

Being one of the few sea otters to prefer sailing to swimming, she is known in the SLD sailing community both for being one of the few sea otters in the sailing community and for her skills and knowledge of the seas that many humans don't have. Born in Olepefcia, Talula's whole life is tied to the seas. She also skilled in sail-making.

Miyoko Lomparouge- Navigator

Lomparouge is well known in the SLD sailing community for being one of the first major A.I. sailing athletes. First awoken in Wilak, she soon moved to Lerencia, a hub of Debtian sailing, where she first learned how to sail. Lomparouge soon joined the Debtian Navy and worked in navigation for 9 years, allowing her to be skilled electronics.

November 4th

Fresh Bear: "Of Flesh And Steel"

With RPR, I’m Larry Groß, this is Fresh Bear. I’m big, I’m hairy, and I just took a shower, so I’m a fresh bear. On with the show.

Our guest today, journalist Dr. Francesca Mariana Consuela Gonzalez Damasco Garcia Ramón Lucia Gwenburg Gomez, has written a detailed firsthand account of the fall of Ozhonistan, rise of gangs, dominance of Neo-Luddism, and the destruction of Johanalbal. The series of events has cost the lives of thousands of people.

Gomez writes about the effects that gang violence and control has had on civilians. Dr. Francesca is a contributing writer at The Blossom newspaper. Her reporting on the Johanalbal Crisis earned her a Reporters Award. She is here to talk about her new book, "Of Flesh and Steel; Johanalbal's Fall and the Rise of Neo-Luddism"

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October 26th, 2019

Guthrie Desert Migrant Crisis and Neo-Luddite Response

I'm Mindy Soccerparty, this is RPR

The situation in the Guthrie Desert continues on as more deadly attacks against civilians occur. According to the IIU, the groups carrying out the attacks are fundamentalist Violetists. These groups are using white phosphorous on the civilian population and it is only getting worse. With what seems like little help from the international community, many people from the region have begun to emigrant to other places to avoid further attacks. These refugees have gone in all directions away from the region, from the hotter south of the Guthrie Desert to the shores of Jotun Lake as well as approaching nations like the CDAC, Joseon, and USS.

Already over 7,000 refugees have set up camp in the western Iskar mountain range on their way to other nations. All of the refugees who spoke for this story used partial or false names to protect against possible retaliation. Refugee Jaye Munstip says he lost four family members when the terrorist groups attacked his town. When asked what the refugees need now, he said international help.

"If God allows it, we need protection. We feel alone in the world and need help from the outside. We need aide to leave the area and we need forces to fight the monsters. Where is the help?" he says.

Outside another tent of the camp, Umna Nayek, a woman from the region says many other families are hiding in the mountains like her, hoping for a chance to cross to Ratateague and the West Coast. She taps a reporter on the shoulder and asks if she will be heard in the DSA Capital.

"We are begging you to just stop this group. They are killing us; the people are forced to hide or go to another land. They don't understand anything but killing. We don't want to be refugees; we want to go home. So please, just stop them," she says.

The IIU responded to the crisis at the end of September with a report of an investigation, but have not published any reports since. However, the IIU are not the only people coming into the area. Here's Davey Yellowe with more to the story.

This was the growl that Adam Warolic sent about a month ago. Warolic is a major figure in the Neo-Luddite movement, a movement that opposes A.I. sapients and transhumanism. Members of the movement are found around the world and have attacked many A.I. over the years in the name of "Organic Rights". Neo-Ludds have begun voicing their thoughts on the Guthrie Desert Crisis, blaming the IIU, which they see as an A.I. supremacy group, for the escalation of the crisis and death of humans in the area.

Last month, Neo-Luds began organizing into groups where people volunteer to go and fight the Violetist groups in the area. Some of those groups include the Save Our Future Children Expedition (S.O.F.C.E.), Sons of Organarchy (S.O.), and the People's Democratic Resistance (P.D.R.), along with smaller groups. Current numbers of volunteers are in the thousands and have begun heading out to the region. Difficulty comes in traveling to the isolated region, with many having different means of getting there. Some are traveling by air, some even by land. However, the most popular means of getting to the region is by sailing up the Saint James River by boat.

Groups of people fly into La Pays De Soliel and FBK and travel to the mouth of the river, where camps have been established outside of towns in the area. The amount of people traveling through the area has also brought a lot of commerce flowing through the towns with people buying supplies, eating at local diners and restaurants, and staying at lodgings. Dean Gerald, a local shop owner, has expressed excitement from this.

"We sometimes get groups of people heading through here, but now my shop is packed almost everyday."

However, not all residents of the area are as thrilled as he is. With the increase in people traveling through, there also comes an increase in destructive behavior. Camps amass large piles of trash that are left for the residents to clean. Bar fights are occurring in larger numbers. Property is vandalized as one group leaves and another enters the towns. There is also an ideological conflict as well, with residents not supporting the reasons for why the groups are passing through.

"It would be fine if they were just helping to stop the terrorist groups, but these people are just as bad, many of them touting fascist ideology" says Marie Gartedge, a local hair dresser who sees this as a bad time for her community. "Some of them will come into my shop and I will refuse to serve them. I've been cursed at, shouted at, had racist remarks made at me, and I've even had my shop's windows be smashed in. I've had to closed down some days out of fear that I'll be attacked again.

Similar incidents have occurred further along the river, with groups stopping at many towns and villages settled along the river. Volunteers of these groups are continuing to flow up river to try and stop the fundamentalists and will likely not stop soon. From RPR news, I'm Davey Yellowe.

October 19th, 2019

Meet The Pop Star Spider

A Frimuniran biologist who specializes in spiders — and who likes pop music — has discovered a new spider species and named it after Syvian pop singer Linveu; Cantatiakus Linveus

“This is the kind of music I like and I usually listen to,” says Sharon Hernez, a researcher at the Kropotkap Jungle biological research center, Kropotkap Outpost. She has named more than 50 new spider species.

She specializes in spider taxonomy and classifies spider specimens collected in the field or held at research institutions or museums. "I was devastated by the death of Linveu," Hernez said. "His music had inspired so many around the world and I seek to honor him through this. The Cantatiakus Linveus's vibrant colors reminds one of the images fans felt in their mind when hearing Linveu's music and it just felt perfect to name this species after him."

Naming spiders species is ruled by an international code of nomenclature, but part of the name is left to researchers' creativity. Hernez says she likes researching and finding interesting names.

(OOC: this story is just a rip of this actual article)

September 29th, 2019

I'm Mindy Soccerparty. This is RPR.

It's been exactly one month since the world found out about the presence and use of chemical weapons in the Guthrie Desert in Iskar. Popular cryptozoologist, Dr. Esteban Julio Ricardo Montoyo de la Rosario Ramirez, first reported this to the world during an expedition to the desert in search of a local folklore creature, only to find that the creature was actually white phosphorus; a deadly chemical weapon that is illegal under international law. Despite the knowledge of this, the world was quiet about the war crimes being committed in Iskar. Here's Davey Yellowe with more to the story.

Davey Yellowe: It wouldn't be for another two weeks until there was even any mention of these attacks in global conversation when the Iskarian Intracontinental Union attempted to have Dr. Esteban be their mascot. Dr. Esteban rejected becoming their mascot for the IIU not mentioning the Guthrie Desert Attacks at all after his report. Anger arose against the IIU for what was deemed as "hypocrisy" due to the regional organization staging a mass exodus from DSAC for not responding to war crimes while at the same time the IIU was being completely silent about these heinous crimes occurring on the continent they represent.

Upon Dr. Esteban rejection on Growlr of being the IIU mascot, Cyara i’Yasa-Kordani, the public speaker of the IIU, responded that she had not heard of the attacks due to attempts to counter forest fires in the USS. Growlr users pointed out how the CDAC were able to send aide to and assist the nation of Venovica while the nation was being hit by Hurricane Daniel but had not mentioned the Guthrie Desert attacks at all.

Cyara responded on Growler by saying "I have now integrated ALL POSSIBLE knowledge about this into my brains to do something about it. So ok, brb, give me like a couple of days.", followed by another growl criticizing the nation of Slotheria for not responding to the attacks after being told by Jason the Trans Sloth about it through texts. This was 18 days ago and Cyara has been announcing to the world everything but the desert attacks, from carrots to cantaloupes and even sending more aide to Venovica and the nation of Cessnia.

Meanwhile, the rest of the IIU has remained silent on the issue. No other nations have responded to nor mentioned the attacks. The IIU has not made public if they have even met to discuss this issue nor released any statement on the matter. Growlr users have expressed anger over this, including Adam Warolic, a leading voice in the Neo-Luddite Movement, who sees the IIU as an A.I. supremacy group and says that humans "have to look out for our own kind and go in to help our brothers", indicating that there may be Neo-Luddite groups stepping in to combat whomever is using white phosphorus bombs on civilians. This is Davey Yellowe, RPR News.

Mindy Soccerparty: Coming up, a closer look at reports that residents in the former state of West Bengalis can hear the sound of police sirens in the Duboi Mountains and the surprising source of the sound.

May 18th, 2019

I'm Mindy Soccerparty, this is RPR.

Cheese In The Water

After an outbreak of radiation poisoning occurred in the fallen state of Pawiyo, epidemiologists were able to trace it to rivers that are used for daily use. With the poisoning occurring all along the river, radiologists investigated the source of the river in the Devlin Mountains in the north. What they found was a large chunk of radioactive cheese on the mountain. Studying the composition, age, and calcium content, they were able to determine that the cheese is a chunk from the Cheesemoon™. The Cheesemoon™, after losing power and started falling towards the DSA, was vaporized by IIU lasers. However, while it was believed that all of the moon was vaporized, it would appear that there was a chunk that managed to reached the DSA. DSAC workers have been called in to assist in the removal of the Cheese Chunk™ as to remove the radiation contamination from the waters. Reports of the contamination have found that 7 people have died from radiation poisoning.

Attack on DSA Capital Sapient Center

Earlier this week, an attack was conducted on the DSA Capital Sapience Center on 9th Street. A man entered the building with an automatic weapon and assaulted workers and others in the building. Police were able to apprehend the man soon after. Inside the attacker's vehicle were found to be Neo-Luddite pamphlets as well as an A.I. hand that was kept in the glove box. The attack left 14 wounded and 3 dead, a 10ian Penguin, an Unusian Lynx, and a Sapience Center human worker. Currently the building's outside has been turned into a memorial with flowers and words of sorrow decorating the walls and parking lot of the building. The attacker is currently in custody by Capital Police.

The Sapience Center was opened in 1997 to offer shelter, supplies, counseling, and legal representation to Non-Human Sapients (NHS) in need of assistance. The Capital Sapience Center became a major center for corrupted A.I. in the mid-2000s when the Y2K3 virus hit the DSA as well as assisted in petitioning the governments of the world to provide funding on the study of the vrius.

DSA Ocean Race Bringing Tourism To Local Economies

The DSA Ocean Race will begin this week in the DSA Capital and it has not come without tourism from the global sailing community. People are coming in from around the world to the multiple stops on the Race to watch the contestants who will engage in the world's most difficult sailing competition. Local towns in countries on the stops like Cuscatlan, Wileyshire, Danera, Taliand, and others have been experience a large influx of people. This influx has brought quite the amount of business to these towns, from hotels to shopping centers to restaurants and more. However, while many embrace the new income, others express discontent with this influx. With the tourists have come more traffic, more crowded locations, fights in bars, and overall uneasiness from a sudden boom in the amount of people in these local towns. With the Race beginning on the 20th, many will be watching.

May 10th, 2019

I'm Mindy Soccerparty, this is RPR.

The Inferno Fields of Romaxia

Northern Romaxia, the world's largest savanna, has been experiencing a drought for the past few weeks. With the dry season running longer than on average, this has left the land drier than average. The vast fields of dry grasses and little moisture have become an ideal spot for wildfires. Fires have begun to spring up across the land, with hundreds of acres already burned in multiple locations across the savanna. While no local settlements have encountered fires yet, many fear that their homes will be next. With water conservation already in place, the possibility of fire has made water more scarce as local fire stations have begun storing more water in the possible case of a fire attacking local towns and villages.

Doctors in the area that was once the country of Pawiyo have been scrambling to care for the many patients that have been flooding into hospitals as of late. The large amount of patients has also allowed doctors to have a larger sampling size of people to try and find out what has been causing so much illness in locals. With many patients showing the same signs, it has led doctors to believe that the main source of the illness is radiation. How did this much radiation come into contact with locals? That is a question that may soon be answered. Epidemiologists, tracking where the outbreak of radiation is occurring the most, have found that it is largely being found along rivers on the Not-Italian Peninsula. Locals who use the river for many things, from drinking to bathing to watering crops, are believed to have contracted radiation poisoning from the contaminated water.

Outbreaks have occurred all along the river, meaning that the radiation is most likely occurring at the source of the river, which is in the Devlin Mountains north of the peninsula. Radiologists have begun their investigation of this radiation and shall attempt to stop the contamination of this vital river.

You may have seen them wandering through parks or languishing behind restaurants. At first, these cats look domesticated. But they're really wild animals. Feral cats are the offspring of stray or abandoned household pets. Raised without human contact, they quickly revert to a wild state and form colonies wherever food and shelter are available. The issue of feral cats has recently become a major issue in the area of Tiekerrick, whose government collapsed a while ago. Many city and county animal control agencies are mandated only to deal with dogs, not cats. So, for decades, feral cats have remained untouchable. Some feline experts now estimate 47 million feral cats live in Tiekerrick, the consequence of little effort to control the population and of the cat's ability to reproduce quickly. The number concerns wildlife and ornithology organizations that believe these stealthy predators decimate bird populations and threaten public health. The organizations want the cats removed from the environment and taken to animal shelters, where they are often killed.

That's caused a chorus of hisses from feral cat advocates who say the cats are unjustly being blamed for killing wildlife. Rubert Kermic, a wildlife biologist for the Tiekerrick Wildlife Research Union, has kept a close eye on the impact feral and free-roaming domestic cats have on native species, like the Turink Mountain Sparrow , an endangered bird that nests along the coast. "Cats do kill wildlife to a significant degree, which is not a popular notion with a lot of people," he said. In urban areas, he said, there are hundreds of cats per square mile (1.6 square kilometers)—more cats than nature can support. Exact numbers are unknown, but some experts estimate that each year domestic and feral cats kill hundreds of millions of birds, and more than a billion small mammals, such as rabbits, squirrels, and chipmunks. Feline predators are believed to prey on common species, such as cardinals, blue jays, and house wrens, as well as rare and endangered species.

For more than ten years, Kermic says, feral and domestic cats have been a persistent problem in Tiekerrick, killing one or two colonies of Turink Mountain Sparrows each year. The small brown birds are part of an intense monitoring program with a tremendous number of volunteers who watch the colonies throughout the six-month nesting season. "If a cat finds the colony, it can destroy the colony in a few days, if not overnight," Kermic said.

May 4th, 2019

I'm Mindy Soccerparty, this is RPR.

Rise of Witchcraft

There is magic in the air, or so it would feel to many. Around the world there has been a sudden surge in interest in all things magic, from witchcraft to charms and even a rise in the candle industry. People of all ages have begun taking an interest. Online communities and forums have experienced a sudden influx of discussion of witchcraft and seeing a rise in the formation of online covens made of people from many different countries. In this rise in the dark arts comes a rise in profits as well. The Wilting Rose, a shop that sells charms, herbs, idols, and other items dealing with witchcraft, became the first of it's kind to open in the DSA Capital last week, being met with a good number of customers each day. Cities around the world are also seeing an influx of sales in magic shops as well as many new openings of shops dealing in witchcraft. Local pagan groups have also starting seeing a rise in membership. More and more people are converting away from other religions and towards that of worshiping nature. Many attribute this to the rise in witchcraft interest and welcome the new members.
However, while there has been an increase interest in magic, there has also been an increase backlash from religious leaders. The Jeb!ian Church of the DSA Capital has been very vocal about their opposition to the opening of the Wilting Rose, with church goers hearing sermons on the dangers of falling away from Jeb!'s light.

The region previously known as Ozhonistan is currently one of the leading areas of Neo-Luddite activity in the DSA. Local gangs kidnap and scrap A.I. civilians for cash while leaders there attempt to create the first A.I.-Free state in the DSA. However, local A.I. civilians have starting fighting back. A group known as the Binary Swords has become the main A.I. gang to clash with Neo-Ludd gangs in the area, with other gangs scattered across the land also engaging in violence against the Neo-Ludd gangs. A recent attack on a Binary Sword run A.I. neighborhood in the capital city of Johanalbal resulted in a mass power outage, leading to the death of 9 A.I. civilians. The Binary Sword gang, in retaliation, recently released a video of the execution of 4 members of the Smokey Street Gang, one of the main Neo-Ludd gangs in the city. With tensions continually rising in the fallen state, the rest of the world is left guessing as to what gang will be next to control the city.

The government of Pawiyo this week has fallen after a recent coup launched by local rebels of the government. While a new government is in place, the coup had resulted in in mass decentralization of power, along with local groups seeking to fill in for the fallen government. While this transition from a central state to a land of many groups, disease has also struck the land. Local hospitals have seen an influx of patients suffering from nausea, vomiting, headaches, diarrhea, and fevers. Doctors are currently trying to diagnose what this disease is while also dealing with the lack of government funding.