In a startling announcement today, Secretary of Transportation Todd Rivers revealed that BDOT has received the green light from President Henderson and the whole Bedistani Legislature to go ahead with plans to acheive space flight.
"With the coming of Unified Planets to Paripana," said Rivers, "along with the spaceflight capabilities of Sokojito and Sokojiwa, we feel it's high time we started some research of our own into this matter."
The brand-new Bedistan Agency for Space Exploration (BASE) predicts that a working spacecraft capable of orbital flight above our planet could be ready as early as 2012. "We're very excited about the possibilities this research will bring," they say.
The Department of Armed Forces has now announced a few new designs for aircraft to be used by the Bedistani Air Force. These are only slowly being revealed to the public, so that any potential enemies will not know much about the designs until they are already in use.
Currently, the most successful and most likely to be released soon is the BS-91 Fighter:
Length: 64 ft
Wingspan: 43 ft
Maximum Speed: 1800 mph
Altitude Ceiling: 65,000 feet
Range: 3200 miles
Takeoff weight: 64,000 pounds
Armament: One internally mounted M-61A1 20mm, six-barrel cannon with 940 rounds of ammunition; four AIM-9L/M Sidewinder and four AIM-7F/M Sparrow air-to-air missiles, or eight AIM-120 AMRAAMs, carried externally. (same as American F-15)
Crew: 2
Price: �46,000,000
The BS-91 is expected to be in production and use by the BAF in late 2006 or early 2007.
Tarraconesis, the new nation formed from Lontorica's colony on the Southern Continent, has expressed an intention to invade some uninhabited land to its south in order to annex it into its territory. The Baetican Paripana Land Claiming Administration [OOC: totally made up by me] has put its foot down and refused to grant the land to Tarraconesis, threatening the use of military force if Tarraconesis does not back down.
"We are NOT getting involved in this," President Henderson said today in a press conference. "I want to see this conflict resolved peacefully, but if war does break out, we are not getting involved -- on either side."
With the presidential election less than six months away, all the major Bedistani parties have officially selected their candidates for both president and the new office of vice-president. There currently is no vice-president, but there will be after this election.
And so, the presidential candidates are:
Democratic Party -- Gary Stanton. He and his party believe that the people of Bedistan should have a say in virtually everything that goes on in the government; after all, it is their nation.
Republican Party -- Charles Wolfley. He and his party think that too many people having direct power can be a very dangerous thing, instead believing power should rest in a handful of elected officials that represent the needs of the people.
Green Party -- Ruben Prince. He and his party are mortified at recent government legislation allowing uranium mining companies to bulldoze Bedistani rainforests. The Green Party wishes to not only end the destruction of the natural environment, but also to reverse the damage that has already been done.
Progressive Party -- Lloyd Coleman. The Progressive Party is a nearly complete opposite of the Green Party -- they believe in development and the furtherment of civilization at any cost. Coleman is highly in favor of BDOT's proposed national freeway network.
Communist Party -- George Olson. Olson's Communist Party believes in the utter equality of all Bedistani people and disdains the large separation between the wealthy and the poor.
There are also three independent candidates:
Scott Henderson (incumbent) -- Generally believed to have done a very good job as President, making vast improvements to the economy as well as the people's rights.
Ken O'Malley -- A virtual unknown, he dislikes President Henderson's "radical" approach to crime suppression, including such methods as barcoding people and giving them ID cards that must be worn at all times. O'Malley would do away with this practice, believing it an invasion of privacy. He is also an atheist, and would be looking at completely stamping out public religion.
Linda Livingstone -- The only female in the presidential race, a feminist who believes women's rights have been sorely violated during the Henderson administration. She also thinks military spending has been far too high and will be looking to give it a major cut.
Each presidential candidate has a running mate for vice-president, who, logically, would be running on the same platform. These candidates are as follows:
Gary Stanton's running mate: Kurt Magrane
Charles Wolfley's running mate: Gary Johnson
Ruben Prince's running mate: B. J. Dougherty
Lloyd Coleman's running mate: Deion Layana
George Olson's running mate: Joe Plesac
Scott Henderson's running mate: Robin Manrique
Ken O'Malley's running mate: Eric Tartabull
Linda Livingstone's running mate: Dave Bradley
In the coming months, BNN will be polling the population of Bedistan to determine who they want as their next president. Stay tuned.
President Ken Chang of Sokojito, Prime Minister Mayor Efficiency of Commerce Heights, Emperor Rafael II of Baetica, Tsar Sean XIV of Lontorica, the leader of Jativa, and Bedistani President Scott Henderson all met today in Sokojito to discuss a repartitioning of Paripanese land. The definition of Jativan territory was corrected to include only its island group, with the area formerly believed to be Jativa being divided up among Lontorica, Sokojito, and Commerce Heights.
In addition, more territorial acquisitions were made on the South Continent by Commerce Heights, Baetica, and Lontorica. For the first time in the history of Paripana, Bedistan decided to get involved in territorial claims, claiming an area of land on the eastern coast of the Southern Continent a bit less than double the size of Boopsylvania, including the new capital city of that colony, named Savannah.
At 0922 this morning, a bomb exploded on a city bus in Griffin. The bus was occupied by approximately 92 commuters at the time.
"It was horrible," said one passenger. "I heard this loud bang from the back of the bus, and then all of a sudden the bus was just kinda lying on its side."
Everybody within about eight feet of the bomb was killed. An additional nineteen people suffered serious injuries. They are currently recovering at Highland Regional Hospital.
"I saw a rather suspicious-looking character get on the bus this morning," said the driver. "He didn't really seem to be a threat, though. That same person got off the bus about two minutes before the bomb went off."
The driver gave this rough description of the man: Height about 6'1" (185 cm), weight somewhere between 160 and 180 pounds (72-82 kg), dark hair and eyes, seemingly of Bedistani origin. No foreign powers are suspected in this incident.
The tropical storm that recently devastated Paruvia, Homeria, and Escambia cost a total of �206 million to clean up, but the work is finally done.
The Bedistan Weather Preparedness Agency is reportedly taking measures to ensure the nation is not caught by surprise again. "We simply weren't looking for this kind of stuff. Tropical storms aren't supposed to form in December around here, but apparently they can."
Three people were killed by the storm and 24 were injured.
In mostly unrelated news, the national threat level has been reduced to blue, the lowest level. This is due to the Lontorica-Baetica peace treaty that was recently signed, as well as the conclusion of the Lontorican Civil War.
A freak tropical storm originating in the waters between the Northern and Southern Continents made landfall in southeastern Paruvia this morning. It reached land about five to ten miles southwest of Houston, very slowly moving inland throughout the day. Nearly 250,000 citizens are without power and torrential rains have been experienced throughout eastern Paruvia, the Federal District, and southern Homeria.
"It's downright awful," said local resident Loretta Nelson. "This much rain in the winter? Never woulda thought it. Plumb ruined our Christmas celebrations, it did."
Much of eastern Paruvia is flooded, which is not too surprising considering the storm has dumped as much as 16 inches of rain in some areas over the last 24 hours. Governor Roger Hope has declared a state of emergency throughout the eastern half of the state. An eight-mile section of Highway 63 between Houston and Freeport has been closed to traffic due to the presence of some three feet of standing water, and officials have said some portions of Highways 98 and 198 may soon be closed if the rain does not let up.
The storm is currently moving due north at 11 miles per hour, but it is expected to curve northeast into Homeria and Sonoma before traveling into the unclaimed territory to Bedistan's east. Travelers in northwestern Baetica are also advised to be on the lookout for potentially heavy rain.
The Bedistan Department of Transportation has recently decided to approve a plan for building a large-scale series of freeways throughout the nation. "We've learned our lesson from the Commerce Heights-Lontorica security fiasco. The people of Bedistan, as well as the rest of Paripana, need a fast and easy way to get across the nation without having to deal with extraordinary amounts of traffic. This freeway system will be just the ticket," says Secretary of Transportation Todd Rivers.
No routes have been planned as yet, but BDOT will be working diligently on such plans in the coming months and years. Construction of the system is planned to begin by January 2009 and is expected to cost many billions of bakrani.
Following the putting down of weapons by Bedistan, Lontorica, and Commerce Heights, proposals have been made to create an "internatonal city", shared by all these nations. This city would be located within the new demilitarized zone, specifically at the point where Lontorica, Commerce Heights, and Bedistan meet, a location roughly fifteen miles southwest of Jervis, NS.
"I think it's an excellent idea," says President Scott Henderson. "After just barely avoiding conflict, literally just a few hours before major bloodshed would have begun, we need something to symbolize this region's continued unity and friendship, and I think this international city will do just that."
The leaders of the three involved nations will be personally taken by Sokojitan aircraft, with minimal personal security if they wish, to the colony of Sioko, located on the West Island. This location greatly decreases the likelihood of any sort of terrorist attack that might occur on the mainland, particularly in Lontorica, where civil war still rages around the city of Laniuq.
In other news, the nation's threat level has been decreased by one to orange. This is still a high level of alert, as some aspects of international affairs are as yet unclear, particularly regarding the Empire of Baetica.
Lontorican and Commerce Heights officials worked through the night to restore peace between their nations.
Commerce Heights' peace terms were significantly more pronounced than those of Bedistan. Prime Minister Mayor Efficiency began with this list of reparations, commonly referred to as the "Fourteen Points":
| 1. Lontorica must resume all trade with other nations. 2. The Lontorican military must be reduced to a maximum of 4% of the nation's population (which is mostly just to prevent godmodding). 3. Lontorica must pay for all damages caused by attacks on airplanes, car bombs, etc... 4. Lontorica must remove all Stasi and other Lontorican agents from the borders of Commerce Heights. 5. PEDO must be resumed. 6. Lontorica must disclose all information gathered on Commerce Heights to NMCIA officials. 7. Lontorica must not make any further attempts to disrupt trade between other nations of Paripana. 8. All Lontorican and Commerce Heights military personnel must be removed from the Lontorica-Commerce Heights border. 9. All Lontorican borders must be re-opened. 10. All Lontorican airports must be re-opened. 11. No Commerce Heights civilian aircraft may be shot down anywhere in Paripana. 12. No Commerce Heights military aircraft may be shot down anywhere in Paripana except in Lontorican air space. 13. Lontorica must allow Commerce Heights to establish an embassy in Melbin. 14. No Lontorican government workers may enter Commerce Heights without prior permission from the Commerce Heights government, and those government workers may not stay in Commerce Heights for more than 3 days without permission from the Commerce Heights government. In addition, the CH government reserves the right to restrict the activities of said government workers. |
Point 14 was later revised to make the allowable time period five days instead of three, and the creation of a demilitarized zone in compliance with point 8 is currently under development. This demilitarized zone also extends to Bedistan as well as Lontorica and Commerce Heights.
Tsar Sean XIV of Lontorica has started peace negotiations with President Scott Henderson of Bedistan and Prime Minister Mayor Efficiency of Commerce Heights.
Henderson had very simple peace terms: "Lontorica has done very little against Bedistan -- I propose only that you [Tsar Sean XIV] reopen all borders and resume trade with the rest of Paripana, as well as ensuring no Stasi agents commit any form of espionage within Bedistani borders." In exchange, he agreed to reopen Bedistan's border with Lontorica. The Tsar quickly accepted these terms, and traffic is already beginning to flow again between the two nations.
Negotiations with Commerce Heights are still underway at this time. Emperor Rafael II of Baetica could not be reached for comment, but many Bedistani officials believe he will not be particularly happy with this turn of events.
The national alert status remains at red for the time being, and will probably stay there until peace is re-established throughout Paripana.
Despite numerous attempts at restoring peace throughout Paripana, the inevitable conflict has begun, with Bedistan, Commerce Heights, and Baetica all declaring war upon Lontorica.
Very little information is being released about Bedistani military action. More information will come when BNN gets access to it.
As a response to Lontorica's blockade of Commerce Heights ports, preventing any ships from entering or leaving that nation, the Bedistani government decided today to close the border with Lontorica. This now means Lontorica's only open border is that with The Sean Empire II.
Also, the national threat level has been raised to the highest level -- red. This signifies that military conflict seems imminent somewhere on the continent, and the nation is taking maximum security measures.
"We hope no military action will be necessary," says Secretary of Defense Gary Connell, "but we are prepared for war if it comes to that."
President Henderson made a simple announcement this morning, in which he said that Bedistan's threat level had been raised two levels from green to orange. Orange is the second-highest threat level on Bedistan's scale. The president says that the increase is due to Lontorican threats of shooting down Air Paripana flights, along with reports of a large number of Stasi operatives in Baetica, Commerce Heights, and Boopsylvania.
Recent Lontorican threats of shooting down Air Paripana flights between Commerce Heights City and Columbia have prompted the Bedistan Department of Transportation to provide a new alternative for Eastern citizens to travel to the West.
Thirty fairly large boats, each capable of transporting some 330 passengers, were recently purchased by BDOT. Twenty of these are based in the port of Columbia, four at Chilson, four at Ticonderoga, and two near El Paso. They will provide transport to Commerce Heights, Jativa, and Sokojito for a low price of �5, or US$3.15 per passenger.
The Holy Lontorican Empire has recently announced the closing of its western borders, almost totally preventing travel to the western nations of Paripana. One exception to the border closing is for Bedistani motorists attempting to travel to Jativa, Sokojito, or Commerce Heights -- they are reportedly allowed to traverse the nation via highways 31 and 102.
The closing of Lontorica's western borders has been said to signify the creation of a 'steel curtain' over Paripana, almost totally separating the west (Sokojito, Jativa, Commerce Heights) from the east (Lontorica, Bedistan, Baetica, Boopsylvania, The Sean Empire II). Lontorican officials say these restrictions will likely be in place until all allegations of Stasi 'espionage' have ceased.
President Scott Henderson said in a speech this evening, "We have so far seen no evidence of attempted Lontorican espionage in Bedistan, though we are on the alert. We do not condone the closing of borders within Paripana, and we sincerely hope that this incident does not lead to conflict on our glorious continent. Also know that our borders and our highways are open to any Baetican and Sean Imperial motorists who wish to travel to western Paripana during this time of trouble."
Partially as a result of this decree and partially due to already-existing troubles, the Commerce Heights and Bedistan Departments of Transportation are working day and night to improve the capacity and number of roads between the two nations. A Highway 294 extension southwestward from Des Moines is expected to be completed later this week, as is a Highway 95 southern extension from Midway. Existing two-lane roads in the area are being upgraded to six lanes on the Bedistani side of the border, and Commerce Heights checkpoints have recently been upgraded to handle five times their previous traffic capacity.
It seems that the information we presented in the previous article regarding possible war may have been inaccurate. At any rate, the Bedistani military purchases still stand. The national alert has been lowered one level from yellow (moderate alert) to green (low alert). The low alert is due to the tensions between nearby Lontorica and Commerce Heights.
The Empire of Baetica, which borders Bedistan to the southeast, recently made clear a possibility that it might become involved in the ongoing World War Six. Emperor Cracatoa II has announced that if his nation does indeed become involved in the war that he will not hesitate to call on the rest of Paripana for aid.
As a result of this announcement, the Bedistan Department of Armed Forces has announced a recent purchase of two hundred brand new BS-89 fighters, one hundred BB-13 bombers, twenty BW-126 warning aircraft, and three aircraft carriers. The nation's alert status has also been upgraded two levels from blue (the lowest level) to yellow (the third of five).
As a response to Commerce Heights' tightening of security on its borders, the Holy Empire of Lontorica has decided to close its border with that nation. These rising tensions originate from reports of Lontorican espionage, which have been repeatedly denied by the Lontorican government.
This, unfortunately, will cause massive traffic headaches for all Bedistani citizens attempting to reach Commerce Heights. Since travel between Lontorica and Commerce Heights is now impossible, motorists will be required to use one of the five highways leading directly into Commerce Heights. Delays of up to seven hours have been reported on Highway 98 attempting to reach Commerce Heights, as traffic begins to back up all the way toward Columbia. The Bedistan Department of Transportation is considering the construction of additional roads to the Commerce Heights border in an attempt to relieve this congestion.
The government of Commerce Heights recently announced an increase in security all along its borders as a result of recent action by the Lontorican government. Checkpoints have been set up at all border crossings, and all motorists will be screened and arrested if it is believed they are a threat to the security of Commerce Heights.
Since each individual motorist will be checked, very long travel delays are to be expected on all roads leading into Commerce Heights, particularly those going toward the Lexington metropolitan area. These delays will likely be longest attempting to enter Commerce Heights on Highways 96 and 98, due to their proximity to Lexington. As such, it is recommended that motorists instead use Highways 198, 94, or 90 in order to avoid these delays. Motorists from northern Bedistan are advised to travel through Lontorica in order to reach Commerce Heights.
The Bedistan Legislature voted today to create a new Federal District to house the national capital of Columbia.
"We're ecstatic," says Columbia mayor Bob Majors. "Our city is basically an autonomous government now, subject only to our own laws and those of the nation."
The resolution passed by a vote of 87-43. The new government will officially be set up on January 1, 2006, but government documents are being changed to reflect the new division ahead of time.
"No, I'm not happy about it," says a somewhat angry Roger Hope, governor of the state of Columbia, "but what can you do?" He, along with most of his citizens, were desperately hoping the resolution would not pass, but just in case, they decided to come up with a new state name, eventually deciding on "Paruvia". This change will also take effect on January 1. The city of Dennis will be the capital of Paruvia.
Politicians in the city of Columbia, the capital of both Bedistan and the state of Columbia, have recently expressed interest in removing themselves from their state and creating a separate "federal district" that will house the capital city.
"I think it's a good idea," says Columbia mayor Bob Majors. "Other nations all around the world set their national capitals off to the side, so to speak, and it seems to work well for them. Why should Bedistan be any different?"
Not everyone agrees with this idea, however.
"It's a totally stupid idea," claims governor Roger Hope. "Breaking the state apart will create great animosity between the city of Columbia and the rest of the state. It's completely unnecessary."
A BNN poll of the people in the capital city shows that 61% of citizens are in favor of the proposal, while 32% are against. The rest of the state, however, thinks much differently. 83% are against the idea of losing the national capital, and only 11% are in favor.
The Bedistan Legislature is expected to hold a vote during the general elections in November. If they vote to remove the city of Columbia from the state of Columbia, the change will take effect on January 1, 2006. Also, if the measure passes, a new name will need to be chosen for the state of Columbia in order to "remove any confusion".
© 2005 Bedistan Department of Public Affairs