NationStates Jolt Archive

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Lyran Ships Arrive on Schedule
As part of a major military purchase with Lyras, ships arrived to the excitement of the Echo Islander Navy.

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A Hachet class frigate comes in to the naval base at Savannahia.

The military spent a huge chunk of its budget recently on buying upgraded equipment much better than what was had before. Many soldiers had protested the state of the armor and of equipment they were set with. The navy was also in grave disrepair after the Akimonadi wars and the revolutions.

Neglected and underfunded, Valdez took power to a nation with almost no functioning military. His one of his first objectives was to revamp the military so the Echo Islands could once again become a major international player.

Lyran Arms was selected as one of the best storefronts in the world and could equip most of the needs of the ground and naval forces. Some orders are expected to be put into Questarian storefronts to make for a more complete naval package and the air force is still in need of an overhaul.

But this marks the beginning of a new era for the military and the Echo Islands as a whole.

© EBC -- MMVIII

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Yanitarian Album Rocks the Charts
Music lovers the nation over have tuned into the Yanitarian album Agitation!.

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The group Kasraval Tbikal, little know before now, has become famous nation wide for their translation of Agitation! from French to Arkik and English.

Cooperation and understanding has become a major social fixture in Echoese society. The lack of racial equality in a state that is so respected by the government has people questioning if it is really right to respect Questers as much as the government does.

Not to long ago, in an issue relating to ACTO, a minuscule anti-communist organization, the Federal Government said in a letter supporting Questarian defense of the legitimacy of the groups that Questers was a sort of "role-model" for the Echo Islands.

Such a idea is now being questioned as awareness is brought to light by the Yanitarian collaboration of artists, most notably Michel de Cannes, has now led to questioning of what sort of a "role-model" Questers really is for the Echo Islands.

Recent times have seen a massive diversification of the populations of the Echo Islands, but in an Echo Islander perspective, the populations have always been diverse, with each island's ethnic groups varying slightly. So cooperation has not been a hard thing for Echo Islanders. Combine this with political concern that has become a hallmark of Echo Islander culture, and you have a mix of concerned people with an idealistic mentality.

Hence, the album has seen 500 million downloads in the Echo Islands (that is counting all three languages, French, English, and Arkik, the largest) along with nearly 150 million USD in donations.

The government has made it a point to be mum on this subject. Prospective naval purchases from Questers, and a mixture of fear and respect of the giant nation have caused Echo Islander politicians not to jump on anyone so fast.

© EBC -- MMVIII

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¿Dondé Estamos Hoy?

As a nation reforms internally, external life falls apart, for the better or the worse; leaving people asking 'where are we today, and where are we going tomorrow?'"

Which is exactly the question Valdez asked today in an address to the nation in which he gave oddly enough in Spanish. With such fierce rhetoric about his 'cultural revival' plan, all of Valdez' other addresses have been in Arkik. However, it may have had something to do with his address being given in La Bestia, Frioia, his home town and a major Spanish-speaking enclave. It is notable that Frioia is one of the only provinces not slated for renaming or "Echoeseification" in the 'cultural revival.'

In his address, Valdez declared the Confederate Nations defunct, and that the Federal Republic was withdrawing its membership from all international organizations indefinitely. He said this was all due to how much the Echoese policy has changed in the last few years. He want the Islands to have as much of a clean slate as possible. Later in the day Valdez also closed down the nation's website (factbook) and the Foreign Affairs Ministry said that no embassy applications would be accepted until tomorrow or possibly later.

In the end of his address, Valdez promised that this isolation would be only temporary and that it was a method of allowing the Islands to reform themselves and begin to be ready to rejoin the world stage with a stronger, more confident look on their proverbial face.

© EBC -- MMVIII