Simulated Country: Toehio
School: Shabazz-city High
Instructor: Mr. Aaron Kaio
Location: Madison, WI

We received an abundance of great news articles from the students at Shabazz-city High that we decided that we postively had to publish them all.

Enjoy!

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Town Hall Tensions

Written By: Arin Olson, May 26th, 2017

Tensions were high today during the 2nd half of Toehio’s second annual Town council meeting. The first topic of discussion was brought up by citizen Adam, who made mention of his failed charity that was sabotaged by citizen Adam. The Charities intention was to “get some money from people to buy Jake a River”, but it was later discovered to be a ruse for citizen Adam to further his own political Agenda. Afterwards citizen Elliot was accused by multiple citizens, including Zoe, Jonas and Andrew, of purposefully skipping market day so that he did not have to follow the new law and give away free food to citizens who needed it. This was later found to be not true as an unaffiliated witness agreed with Elliot that he had not not meant to skip market day, but that instead he had suffered from illness including a high fever.

Citizen Elliot later takes up the stage in one of the most controversial debates in Toehioan History, accusing the the Government itself of conspiracy and corruption. Elliot stated that he planned to sue the Toehioan government for conspiring against him in his trial and for forcing the judge, Benson, to lie under oath, he demands $2000 and the return of his powerplants as compensation. Citizens Benson has joined forces with Elliot because they claimed that they were forced to lie about working with Elliot during his trial because they were under threat of impeachment. Benson also admitted to having worked with Elliot secretly during the trial, and Elliot agreed that he had worked with them. President Andrew claimed he had no knowledge of any government conspiracy, and that Benson was not forced by an outside party to do anything, citizen Zoe accused Benson of lying during the discussion because they had already lied during the trial. It was later discovered that citizen Emma(who was not present at the time) told Benson that they would be impeached if they did not say Elliot had bribed them.

Trial of the Week

Written By: Arin Olson, May 30th, 2017

Excitement stirred the air today as the trial was about to begin. The trial was between the prosecution, citizen Elliot (who’s representing himself in the trial), demanding an appeal of the previous court case where he lost his power plants. Elliot claims the Government conspired against him to take his power plant and forced one of the witnesses to lie under oath. Standing in the Government’s defense was citizen Emma who pleads innocent of any corruption or conspiracy.

Elliot claims the government (knowingly or unknowingly) allowed the Attorney General(Emma) to force his witness(Benson) to lie under oath during his trial, which caused him to lose his power plants.
Elliot calls his first witness, Benson, to the stand. Benson admits that their testimony in the previous trial was false and that they were pressured to say that they were working against Elliot by the Attorney General. Emma then cross-examines Benson, who admits that only around 12% of their testimony during the trial was truthful, which lead Emma to accuse Benson of lying on the stand.

Emma calls former judge, citizen Django, to the stand. Django agrees that Benson testimony did not affect the outcome of the trial. Elliot cross-examines Django and says that Django did not have any part in the decision of that trial, Elliot then calls Benson back to the stand to confirm what they had already said.
Emma calls President Andrew to the stand. Andrew states he and the government had no knowledge of any coercion with Benson or any conspiracy against Elliot. Elliot cross-examines Andrew and claims he has no idea what he is doing, which causes Emma to object, saying Elliot was taking things out of context.

Elliot claims Andrew and Django to be incompetent. Emma claims Benson can’t be trusted and that Elliot was a victim of Benson’s false testimony, saying he should be given his power plant back. After a voting in the Jury, Judge Toby’s verdict is that the previous trial’s verdict stands.

Toehio Declares War On Mookistan

Written By: Skylar Bull-Lyon, May 31th, 2017

Ladies, gentlemen, and citizens of Toehio, the time has come for us to rise up against our neighbors to the north, Moockistan. They are the true oppressors of the Toehioans, whether Big Toe or Small Toe, whether Gecko or Chromian. We must unite against the filthy, repugnant, unearthly Moockistanians.

First they took our chrome, then they ate our women, and finally they killed Bubba Duke Michelle. Poor Bubba, her wife still weeps every day for Bubba, may she rest in peace. Until Bubba’s wife, Joe Joe the Dancing Dude, stops using all of our tears, papers and eating our frozen milk. Her loss, our loss, cannot go unpunished.

Moockistan be warned we are coming for you, one day, you will learn why our slogan is Nailed it! You will know our icy hatred, you will feel the Chrome. Today, I, First Lady Skylar Bull Lyon, declares war on Moockistan.

First Lady Skylar B. Lyon Under Fire For Adultry Accusations

Written By: Toby Louther, May 31th, 2017

According to shocking new intel from several reliable sources, First Lady Skylar B. Lyon has been caught canoodling with a new man. Allegedly, she was seen in a park chatting amorously with a handsome fellow by the name of Dick Vanderslyke – some informants even state that they held hands.

Reportedly, Skylar and President Andrew had been having relationship troubles. The two had been appearing together in public less frequently and displaying less affection to each other. Purportedly, there have been fights. Ostensibly, there have been divorce papers drafted but, according to reliable sources, they have not yet been put into effect. Certainly after this alleged scandal they will be filed posthaste.

Written by: Bushra Alimerdan

Simulated Country: Rawrlandia XD
School: Dr. Frank J. Hayden Secondary
Instructor: Mr. Nikola Pijanovic
Location: Burlington, ON

Rawrlandia- Friday afternoon was the start of a revolution, the recent impeachment of former PM Aleksa Grucijic allowed for Michael Day to rise to power. However skeptics have started to inquire whether or not Day will truly be a source of change, or if he is just another dictator set to rule Rawrlandia.

The citizens of Rawrlandia have faced many compelling issues, however no matter who comes to power the trust will never be restored. Day has allowed for citizens to stay alive by taking important initiatives in supporting welfare. However when taking a look back former PM Grucijic was not one to kick a man while he was down either. Bushra Alimerdan, 32, is an active skeptic and does not trust Day as a reliable PM. Alimerdan stated her distaste for the new government “A man that has impeached his own friend, his own colleague, his own partner, will not spare your life. He might have you fooled right now, but it won’t be much longer before we experience the same troubles again.”

According to a recent study done by the Rawrlandia State Financial Bureau of Income and Savings, only 25% of Rawrlandian citizens have shown to have an increase in savings, whilst a whopping 70% have either went bankrupt or are set to become bankrupt. Citizens have had an outcry whether it was for prices on Insurance, Security or just plain Food, the citizens of Rawrlandia are no longer able to sustain themselves without state support. Kiran Bola, 34, has stated her amusement with the new financial flexibility like this “I’m finally not broke anymore, I didn’t even need to find a job, this is great!”

The issues facing Rawrlandia are posing a great threat, and need to be solved before another Grucijic evolves from the cut.

Written by: Colin McIntosh

Simulated Country: North Ikea
School: College Place Middle School
Instructor: Ms. Lisa Shearer
Location: Lynnwood, WA

After Jenny G killed off 49 people, the Citizens of North Ikea thought Democracy wasn’t so good after all, and switched to a Communist/Socialist Dictatorship. The National Identity was changed to reflect the politics of the Current political system. It got this way because Colin McIntosh pushed a Crisis Vote, getting it through changing North Ikea. North Ikea is now really more like North Korea, but with less starvation. This has made our country run much better and much more Fascist, which has a net effect of making our country have: less deaths, less Capitalists, and less Emojis. The new North Ikea is much better. North Ikea changed it’s Constitution. North Ikea adopted a system akin to that of the Soviet Union. Everything is running smoothly!

Written by: Ryan Etheridge 

Simulated Country: United Hexis
School: Waverly High School
Instructor: Mr. Trent Goldsmith
Location: Waverly, NE

It is the year 2001 in the United Hexis, and things were going well. There were no court cases, and few complaints during town hall. What could possibly go wrong? The Government, the government is what went wrong. During the winter season the government thought it would be a good idea to become permanent representatives, and get rid of elections. Obviously the citizens of the United Hexis, had a problem with this, but it seemed like there was nothing they could do! Thankfully the judge of the United Hexis new what to do, and helped the citizens stand up against the government. As the government’s plan fell apart and the citizen’s got their way, the trust between the two was broken. With the citizens unable to to trust the government anymore, things have already taken a turn for the worse, and only time will tell if the country will be able to get through these troubling times.

Written by: Robert Wright

Simulated Country: Zepheron
School: Kwantlen Park Secondary
Instructor: Ms. Sonja van der Putten
Location: Surrey, BC

It was a cold and rainy afternoon in Zepheron , and the government had just finished convening on bills in the house of commons. It then proceeded to spring, and the market was opened for the first time in Zepheron. Everything was going fine (for a few seconds ) until I was approached by one of our fine citizens, asking why the government had offered her 2200$. I was understandably confused, as I was supposed to be the only one with access to the government account, but at that moment I noticed that I too had been offered money, and that around 16 other people had been offered money. Within seconds the government’s 27,000$ had been reduced to only 2000$ and everyone was left guessing who did it. It was at this point I realized that I had lost the sheet of paper that had the password to the government of Zepheron on it. To summarize, all of the government’s money is gone, we don’t know who did it, and they are trying to frame me for the whole thing. In other words, just another day in Zepheron.

Written by: Jacks Schoen

Simulated Country: 9C Swage
School: Arbour Lake Middle School
Instructor: Ms. Emily Fischer
Location: Calgary, AB

A new government has been elected in Swage, marking a new beginning for the citizens. Swage is a prosperous and peaceful country unlike its recent history. The previous Government was harsh and restrictive and fought with its citizens. We like to think this positive transition is all due to the success and hard work of the Right Party. Many laws are being passed currently to improve the lives of the Swage citizens.

Some of our citizens are unsure of what will happen as they have no trust in government due to the fact that all they have ever known has been torture and unfair treatment. From what we understand, the majority of citizens that reside in our country are happy with their new government. There have been threats made that if the government is not fast acting, the citizens will overthrow them but all attempts have been put to rest and the government has quickly reassured them of their resolve. We see a bright and prominent future for the floating island of Swage, all thanks to the amazing people within our government known as the Right Party. Their newly appointed Prime Minister, Jacks Schoen, has proven to be worthy for the position along with his fellow cabinet members. The government has lowered taxes and established fair laws that were requested by the people for the people. This country will have a successful future due to the dedication and commitment of its new government.

Written by: Jageur Mackenzie

Simulated Country: Flinterland
School: Meadowridge School
Instructor: Ms. Michelle Flintermann
Location: Maple Ridge, BC

Jageur Mackenzie was prosecuted earlier today because he “unlawfully” re-developed against a law, C-3. Jageur was under the assumption that when David Guo, Member of Parliament, had given him instructions in a Contract. David Guo has traded Jageur 4 surplus E/I units in turn for Jageur to give him a spot in his Apartment, that would be developed after Jageur had used the 4 E/I units to re-develop his units. Then when David had given Jageur permission as a Government member, Jageur had went ahead and re-developed his House in to an Apartment. Then, Jageur was taken to court and prosecuted because he broke a law, but Jageur had no idea that he broke any laws, because he signed a contract with a Government member, allowing him to re-develop his hex. Jageur Mackenzie is now in great debt and is unable to pay it off or get a loan, as most of the class is either poorer than him, or against him.

Written by: Kaitie Gordon

Simulated Country: Vulcaninsula
School:  Nelson High School
Instructor: Ms. Susan Dueckman
Location: Burlington, ON

In light of the government passing laws that limited free speech (2001-5:  You will be fined if in a public setting you speak poorly about the government. $1000 per offense.) and made our system very corrupt (2001-6: Her Majesty the Queen can take the place of the judge in National Court if she chooses to.), a crisis vote was held yesterday. Myself and my party were the leaders of this revolution, and I am happy to say that the citizens of Vulcaninsula are no longer governed by a dictatorship. Many tasks are in store for Vulcaninsula, but it will be much easier and fair for our country from now on.

Written by: Ryan Trager

Simulated Country: Timberlands
School: Deer Path Middle School
Instructor: Mr. Matt Truding
Location: Lake Forest, IL

Things have been ok as Timberlands enters it’s final civic mirror years, but an issue arises. Supreme Court Judge, Quinn Garrigan, has began sending out what he calls “the newz”. It’s basically news regarding our city, but issues are beginning to rise. It has been stated that it’s only a joke, but it does poke fun at some people, who didn’t take it too well. Citizen, Nick Moore, who was in a story of the first “the newz”, tried to make his own version of “the newz”, and now Quinn is trying to sue him. Will this become an issue that brings Timberlands to it’s knees?

Simulated Country: Old Zeeland
School:  Malcolm Shabazz City H.S.,
Instructor: Mr. Aaron Kaio
Location: Madison, Wisconsin

The Spread of Country-wide Cultural Supremacy

Written by: Carter Newbury, March 10, 2017

Cultural supremacy in Old Zeeland schools? The facts seem to indicate so. In 2001, a budget was passed saying that education would be given to those with priority. The bill described priority to be for “those who need it”.

Liam, a minority, received extra education from the executive branch while people with priority still did not! Has the cultural supremacy spread from the executive branch to the schools of Old Zeeland? Stay tuned to find out.

Lack of Intergovernmental Cooperation

Written by: John Williams, March 16, 2017

The government failed to pass the Environmental Protection Act (EP act) that would protect the environment for the last two years. The EP act will protect the river and halt development of wilderness. During the government events this bill has been repeatedly pushed back. This has happened because of the continued pointless arguments between big governments and big energy.

Maybe this year the EP Act will be passed if the government will stop side tracking and get to the point. If the government does this, so many more laws will be passed and the EP Act will finally have a chance at getting looked over and being passed.