The Stockholm Post delivers the news of Valkyria and the world and gives a democratic socialist take on events both at home and around the world. [OOC discussion]

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Investigative news | The wildlands of Valkyria
By Vanessa Mendoza, Malcolm Reynolds, and Joshua Tate, The Stockholm Post
Sunday, 19 May 2019

"We knew that we were being hunted and there was no time for us to rest."

The only church in Ormskirk, May 2019

Macais (The Stockholm Post) — Between 29 April and 3 May, we travelled across Silesia to investigate reports of a cult allegedly committing various kinds of crime that includes kidnapping, torture, and murder. In the last three years, 477 people have been reported missing in the Silesian province. For comparison, there have been 501 people reported missing in all of Valkyria, including Silesia, over the same period, meaning 95.2 per cent of the missing persons reported in the last three years came from Silesia. In response to the rise of missing persons and allegations of a cult operating in the province, the Valkyrian national government opened the Office of Cultist Movement Investigations (OCMI) within the National Police, but the OCMI has been underfunded in its efforts to complete their mission.

27 Members of Parliament represent a geographical constituency in the Silesian province. Of those 27 MPs, 11 are members of the Populists of the Left and 10 are members of The New Right. Since 2017, the Populist Left MPs have persistently warned that cultists are intimidating their constituents and trying to influence their decisions on legislation. However, the MPs who are members of The New Right have countered the Populist Left's claims by denying the existence of a cult in Silesia and are "making excuses to vote against their constituents", as New Right MP Natasha Walker stated in October 2018. Nevertheless, as the Populist Left is part of the governing Alliance of Social Democrats, Chancellor Margaret Harrison opened the OCMI to investigate their claims, much to the contempt of The New Right.

We first travelled to Ormskirk, a small town where two National Police officers were reported missing in November 2018. Police Sergeant Rebecca Hawkins and Officer Craig Lance drove to the town to arrest Roger Owens, a suspect in three kidnapping cases. Over the radio, the police sergeant requested backup shortly before the sound of gunfire could be heard. When assistance arrived, the two police officers were missing and there was blood at the scene. The blood did not match either Hawkins or Lance, but it also did not belong to the suspect that they intended to arrest. Valkyrian Attorney General Cheryl Fox ordered a manhunt for the suspect and pleaded with with local population to call the National Police if they saw people who looked like the suspect or the two police officers. Six months later, the suspect and two police officers are still missing.

In Ormskirk, we found it difficult to use the internet or make calls and find a local resident who was willing to speak with journalists. After two hours of searching for people who were willing to speak with us, a couple invited us into their home on the condition that their identities were kept anonymous. When we asked why others in the town were hesitant to speak with us, the wife told us, "Many of the people who live here fear for their lives. This town used to be full of people who could trust each other, but now there is only fear here." We asked why that was so and she said, "There is a group that calls itself 'the Family' or 'the Chosen' and they infiltrated this town. They're religious fanatics who believe in the Old Valkyrian religion and claimed that the gods had chosen them to save the world."

We inquired into how the cult came to control Ormskirk, "It started with them quietly pushing out our local priest. One day, we saw him and his family rush to move out of town. I asked his wife what was going on and she was crying and begged me to leave the town. I thought they were being hysterical. However, when my husband and I went to church the following weekend, a stranger walked up to the front of the hall and said that our priest chose him to continue in his absence." Out of curiosity, we showed the couple a picture of Jake Marshall, the alleged leader of The Chosen, to see if the stranger they spoke of was him. The husband took a quick glance at the picture and whispered loudly, "That's him! He came to this town and made many people here fear him and, for two years, he has been brainwashing people's children."

We asked the couple why no one has stood up to Marshall and the husband said, "We tried—a couple of us tried to fight back. One day, the people who spoke out against him and his cult suddenly disappeared as if they never existed. It didn't take long for many of us to keep our mouths shut after that, especially with the children telling the new clergy about everything their parents say and do." We wanted to further understand the children's role in the cult, so the wife said, "The cult started taking over the town by taking control of the church, but they slowly began replacing the teachers at the local school with people of their own and now there are two venues for the cult to brainwash the children. There's no escaping them. They're everywhere." Lastly, we asked the couple what they plan on doing now that they have lived under these conditions for nearly three years now. The husband said, "We're gonna weather out the storm. This madness will have to end sometime."

A Silesian forest, May 2019

Vanessa Mendoza went on a ride along with a National Police officer that patrols in and around Calmarnock, a town that is 59 kilometres away from Ormskirk. Officer Dwayne Hunt has been on the police force for four years and says that Calmarnock has "never been the same" since the cult showed up two years ago. He pointed to a church on the north end of town that was flying a black flag bearing a white Valkyrian star, "That is the flag that the cult uses to identify itself." The first important question I asked Officer Hunt was what steps the National Police were taking to respond to the cult. His answer to that question was grim, "There's nothing we can do. We know exactly what they are doing, but there are many people here who are unwilling to testify about what's going on and, oftentimes, there is not enough evidence to bring charges against cultists. We're fighting a losing battle."

I disclosed to the officer the earlier interview I had with the couple in Ormskirk and I asked if he was afraid about speaking on-the-record. Officer Hunt stated that it was "daunting" but being a National Police officer already "puts a target on [his] back". The police officer recalled his colleagues who went missing in November 2018, "I have friends who knew PS Hawkins personally and they want revenge for whatever happened to her and Officer Lance. The National Police is one of the few things in this province that the cult has not corrupted and we badly want justice for the two of them." Officer Hunt said that seven of his colleagues have resigned in the past year because the national government has not done enough to take on the cult, "Some officers turned in their badges and started a militia. A few weeks later, those former officers died in a shootout with cultists and the media never knew about it."

The police officer told me that there is a part of Silesia that has come to be called "the wildlands" because of what he calls "the fall of civilisation" in those areas. He stated that the towns within the arbitrary boundaries of the wildlands have no communication with the rest of the country, "The closer you get to the mountains, the deeper you go into the cult's territory." Officer Hunt said that the National Police hears only rumours of happens in those areas, "There are so far unsubstantiated claims that the cult has been committing crimes against humanity up there and I don't question those claims at all. Whatever they're doing up there is something that us ordinary police officers are not prepared to handle. Hell, I don't think NTIF is up to that task." NTIF (en-TIFF) is the National Tactical Intervention Force, the special combat unit of the National Police.

I asked if I could go to the wildlands and Officer Hunt told me that I was free to go there but cautioned against it, "Not many people come back from the wildlands. It's more than likely that you'll take a one-way trip." Knowing that I would ignore his warning, the police officer told me to never use the main roads nor go to the wildlands alone. With the team, we headed into the wildlands with a map that Officer Hunt gave me with main roads highlighted in red. Through a back road, we entered into the wildlands and travelled 17 kilometres to the town of Duncaster. From a distance, we noticed quickly that there were no cars on the roads of the town. That was until we saw a black truck with a white Valkyrian star painted on its sides. The town looked as if it was under occupation.

The truck disappeared from sight, but we heard what sounded like two gunshots a minute later. The reality of the situation in Duncaster felt surreal. We circled the town, using the forest as cover, and noticed that there was a checkpoint on the north end of the town. Two black trucks with the same white star were blocking the road. At the checkpoint, a flagpole was erected and flew the black and white flag of the cult. There were militiamen on foot, armed with V9C rifles, a weapon that is only legally supposed to be in the hands of the Valkyrian Defence Forces and the National Police. Somehow, those weapons were in the hands of these civilians standing guard on the road. As we sat hidden behind trees, we watched the militiamen stand guard and a black SUV with the same star stopped at the north end of the checkpoint.

The driver of the SUV rolled down the window so the other militiamen could confirm that person's identity. Quickly recognising the person, one guard gestured the trucks to move, allowing the SUV to pass. We scrambled to our car to find out where the SUV was heading, but we noticed that there was a group of visibly armed cultists patrolling in the forest nearby. It was time for us to escape from the wildlands, but we had to cover 17 kilometres of land and a cult that was alerted about our presence. We travelled three kilometres by car before we noticed that a black SUV was tailing us. The SUV attempted to run us off the road several times before it suddenly stopped and disappeared. Concerned that the cult was planning to cut us off ahead in the road, Joshua Tate yelled at Malcolm Reynolds to stop the car.

Cultist militiaman armed with a V9C rifle, May 2019

Tate told us to grab what we can and put them in our backpacks. We were going to travel 14 kilometres back to Calmarnock on foot. After six kilometres, the sun was dimming and nightfall was upon us. We knew that we were being hunted and there was no time for us to rest. And how could we? Our lives were at stake. For the rest of the night, we travelled through the forest, struggling in the darkness. At various points, we heard the wilderness growl and click. By the time we made it to the National Police station in Calmarnock, it was six in the morning. We explained what we were doing and what we had seen and the officers let us rest in the cafeteria. Our colleague, Michael Warringah, drove from Macais to pick us up. Our work in the region came to a conclusion, for now.

There is a part of Valkyria where no one freely comes and goes and we've been there. It's a whole different world in the wildlands and the cult has full control over the activities of people in the region. The cult presides over the sound of gunfire and the illegal possession of military and police weapons with expansive ownership of land in the Silesian province. The cult is very much real and the Valkyrian national government is not doing enough to fight it.

Camille Harrington and Brie Stevenson contributed to this article from Stockholm and Michael Warringah contributed to this article from Macais.

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(This post was last modified: 06-01-2019, 06:57 PM by Jay Coop.)

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Valkyrian politics | The Socialists will protect Valkyria from capitalism and the far-right
By the Editorial Board, The Stockholm Post
Friday, 7 June 2019

"The Socialist Party seeks to unite the country through a message of hope."

Socialist leader Amalia Rollins

Monday, 3 June marked the official beginning of the general election campaign in Valkyria. And so, the editorial boards of other newspapers began endorsing their candidates, parties, and coalitions. Today, the editorial board of The Stockholm Post will now give their view of the 2019 election. With Stella Kaufman and Nicole Chancellor campaigning hand in hand, it has become clear that the national conservative party, The New Right, has managed to shift the narrative away from their extreme views. Three years ago, all of the major politicians and political parties held a consensus viewpoint that Nicole Chancellor and The New Right were on the far-right of the political spectrum and should never be a part of the government. Because of her nationalist views, Chancellor was defeated in a landslide by the Labor Party's Margaret Harrison in the 2016 Qvaitican presidential election.

The far-right of Valkyrian politics may present themselves as populists, but not for the right reasons. Nicole Chancellor and The New Right rally behind a culture of fear, seek to eliminate immigration and move toward nativism, pass authoritarian legislation that limits freedoms, and present the view that Valkyria stands above all nations. This brand of populism represents everything that the Socialist Party and the Alliance of Social Democrats stand against. Instead, the Socialist Party offers an alternative and viable form of populism that advocates for a democratic transition from capitalism to socialism, social equality and justice for all people, and the protection of human rights in Valkyria. While The New Right seeks to divide the Valkyrian people through fear, the Socialist Party seeks to unite the country through a message of hope.

With the Conservative Party and The New Right having formed the New Conservative Coalition and the prospect of the Centrist Democratic Party joining their ranks (which former CDP leader Victor Cutter staunchly opposed), the Alliance of Social Democrats must remain, but under the leadership of Amalia Rollins, the Leader of the Socialist Party. As argued by The Sydney Times, Margaret Harrison has accomplished much and the editorial board of The Stockholm Post believes that Socialists should be proud about what she has accomplished throughout her political career, but Valkyria should take its efforts a step further than what the social democrats have done. Capitalism cannot be fixed by incremental reform because the economic system is fundamentally flawed. The social democrats' efforts to ameliorate the externalities of capitalism are ultimately done so in vain.

It is important to stress that the Socialist Party should continue to work with the Labor Party and the Populists of the Left. The multi-party system of Valkyria depends on inter-party cooperation in order to form new governments, which for better or for worse, the Conservative Party and The New Right learned this past year. While The Greens and the Liberal Party abandoned the Alliance of Social Democrats in this upcoming election, Socialist Party leader Amalia Rollins stated that the party "is stronger with the support of the Alliance". The Socialist Party should agree to negotiate Green reentry into the Alliance of Social Democrats, but the Liberal Party should only be included in the Alliance if it is the only way to secure a majority in the National Assembly. The latter supports the capitalist system and presents unnecessary obstacles when it comes to democratisation of the workplace.

Socialist deputy leader Steve Bennett

The trade unions of Valkyria and the preceding countries of Qvait and Winston Island have historically been positioned on the left wing of the political spectrum. These unions have long represented the political base of the Labor Party and now also the Populist Left. However, this electorate is malleable to supporting the Socialist Party because of the policies that they promote. The Labor Party made collective bargaining a constitutionally-protected right in Valkyria, but this is only one right and there is so much more that the Socialists would do that the social democrats have not done. Some policy examples include workplace democracy, common ownership, and the development of communes.

In their election platform, the Socialist Party promised to develop workplace democracy in Valkyria. Social mobility in a capitalist economic system does not always award workers based on their experience. In capitalism, promotion and upward mobility is usually reliant on cronyism and nepotism, limiting other Valkyrians' ability to rise based on their own merits. After the Labor Party came to power in 2016, upward mobility in Valkyrian government bureaucracy was redesigned to be meritocratic and technocratic. In spite of these reforms, however, the private sector of Valkyria continues to remain an oligarchical system. Steve Bennett, the Deputy Leader of the Socialist Party, said that his party intends to propose legislation that would require private companies to promote workers based only on their merits.

Another aspect of workplace democratisation that the Socialist Party promotes is the establishment of cooperatives in Valkyria. The first enterprise that the Socialist Party could convert into a cooperative is ValkBank, the state-owned enterprise that most Valkyrians rely on for financial services. By turning ValkBank into a credit union, it will be easier for the bank to survive financial crises and, with members having control over ValkBank, the credit union would place the people's interests before profits. There are other areas of the Valkyrian economy that could be reformed under the cooperative model, which includes industry and retail. Quarterly business reports mandated by the national government show that the commercial retail business, Valkmart, only meets the minimum regulations and guidelines set forth by the government when it comes to workers' rights and freedoms, but it could do much more than it does right now.

The Socialist Party believes that by fostering the development of communes across Valkyria, economic and cultural division within communities could be gradually erased and communities as a whole could be improved with shared resources. Because of the Socialist Party's strong presence in Stockholm, efforts have been made by Socialist mayor Ksenia Cameron-Swayze (known by locals by her initials "KCS") to convince residents and businesses to form actual communes. A successful example of one of these communes exists in the Raikoff district of Stockholm, where 6,383 residents and 612 businesses signed a commune agreement in 2017. Economic data compiled by the National Statistics Agency in 2018 shows that the Raikoff district has a local gross domestic product that rivals that of Stockholm's central business district.

Stockholm skyline with Executive Valkyria centre-right

When it comes to foreign policy, the Socialist Party wants to develop a peaceful and reconciliatory relationship with the Voodoo People's Republic of Bruuma and the People’s Republic of Kai Fa and foster closer ties with the Republic of Ubesii. This is a major differentiation from the Harrison foreign policy, which has been aggressive against Bruuma for its involvement in Sereva and Reizen. On the issue of the civil war in Reizen, the Socialist Party shares the view of the rest of the Alliance of Social Democrats in that they want to achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict and for the people of the country to have the right to peacefully self-determine. The Socialist deputy leader, who serves in a reserve capacity as a captain in the Valkyrian Special Services and participated in the Great War of 2014 against the Socialist Democracy of Sporaltryus, warned that ideological conflict "does not serve to the benefit of anyone".

"The people I fought alongside and against, myself included, were victims of ideological aggression in 2014," said Socialist deputy leader Steve Bennett, "I don't want any of my brothers- and sisters-in-arms to fight in a war of that kind ever again." At a 2017 campaign rally, Bennett promised that he would appeal the government to build a cooperative and peaceful relationship with both socialist and capitalist countries, but promote closer ties with the former to give more power to the workers than corporate leaders. While Socialist leader Amalia Rollins has been attentive to domestic policy, the deputy leader has been more active on the internationalist and foreign policy front of the Socialist Party due to his military service abroad. As a Member of Parliament, Bennett has made more international visits than his leader, meeting with socialist politicians and voters to discuss ways for socialist policies to become enacted.

The Socialist deputy leader has proposed reviving the Southern Socialist Union as a way to bring socialist parties across the South Pacific close together, "The previous SSU was an organisation that linked socialists countries, but I am interested in linking socialist parties together because we need cooperation of socialists in countries that are capitalist." Bennett argues that socialist parties who cooperate with other will fare better in national elections and formulate consensus-based public policies that benefit everyone in the South Pacific. However, the Socialist deputy leader announced that he will oppose membership for political parties that advocate and promote violence, which would negatively affect the Workers' Mojo Party of Bruuma and the Worker's Party of Reizen.

In the 7 July general election, the Socialist Party will be the best party and the Alliance of Social Democrats will be the best alliance for Valkyria. Socialist leader Amalia Rollins is the person who should become the Chancellor of the Valkyrian Republic. History has shown over and over that capitalism is a poisonous elixir that has harmed Valkyrian workers and workers of the preceding countries for decades. The country is in need of change—change for the better—and the Socialist Party is the one that can deliver that.

The editorial board of The Stockholm Post endorses Amalia Rollins, the Socialist Party, and the Alliance of Social Democrats.

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4× Cabinet minister /// 1× OWL director /// CRS member /// SPSF

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Valkyrian news | National Police do not know who committed Stockholm attack
By Vanessa Cross, The Stockholm Post
Friday, 14 June 2019

Stockholm (The Stockholm Post) — A day after Thursday's chemical attack in Stockholm, the National Police has notified the media that they still do not know who was behind the attack that has now left 192 people dead. Until Thursday's attack, Valkyria and the predecessor states had experienced more than three years of relative peace without any form of mass violence. The last event that caused instability in Valkyria or the predecessor states was the 2015 Battle of Sydney between the Qvaitican government and the Constitutional Socialist Party of Qvait (CSPQ), a revolutionary communist organisation. After CSPQ leader Isaac Faulkner was detained by military forces in January 2016, the organisation was declared nonexistent by the Qvaitican government and there had been no form of insurgency or attacks since then.

On Friday, the National Police chief told the media that "there is a list of possible perpetrators" but naming any individual or organisation as the culprit is "impossible at this time".

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(This post was last modified: 06-15-2019, 12:34 AM by Jay Coop.)

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Valkyrian news | Families of Stockholm attack victims demand answers
By Evan Davis, The Stockholm Post
Wednesday, 10 July 2019

Stockholm (The Stockholm Post) — It has been nearly a month since the chemical attack in Stockholm on 13 June and the National Police still have not identified who was responsible for the attack. No individual or group has publicly claimed responsibility for the attack that killed 192 people in a nightclub. On Wednesday, friends and families of the victims took to the entrance of the National Police national headquarters in Stockholm to demand answers. Morgan Thornton, whose fiance was killed in the attack, told The Stockholm Post, "Someone took the love of my life away from me—forever! I want justice for Ella and justice for every person who was killed in that attack! Someone must pay for their crimes and the National Police are denying us justice!" The National Chief of Police, Will Hunter, personally spoke to the families at the entrance and told them that the National Police are "working hard" to find the perpetrators.

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Valkyrian Chancellor Stella Kaufman's controversial Expansion of Security Powers Act has underwent its first reading in the National Assembly.

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The Women's Centre for Equal Rights (WCER) is collecting signatures to hold a referendum on the establishment of a specialised court to handle sexual violence.

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Only five days after its first reading, the Expansion of Security Powers Act has underwent its second reading in the National Assembly.

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(This post was last modified: 08-17-2019, 02:31 PM by Jay Coop.)

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The Expansion of Security Powers Act has passed its third reading in the National Assembly and will be voted upon in the Citizens Assembly.

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Valkyrian news | How Valkyria plans to take down a country
By Malcolm Weston, The Stockholm Post
Monday, 16 September 2019

"Think of a country as if it was a turtle. Frostnet strips the turtle of its shell."

Since the Great War of 2014, Qvait and its successor state of Valkyria has maintained a relatively low profile when it comes to the development and deployment of the military forces. When Margaret Harrison became President of Qvait in April 2016 and later Chancellor of Valkyria in August that year, this was credited to her foreign policy of peace, freedom, and democracy, but the Valkyrian government has silently been working on strategies and tactics to undermine and cripple foreign governments in the event that the Valkyrian Republic goes to war. The Stockholm Post has received leaked documents that show what Valkyria would do covertly during times of peace and war.

Since 2015, Qvait and now Valkyria has been looking at limiting the number of soldiers deployed and maximising their cyberwarfare units. The Qvaitican Armed Forces began research on the ominously-named 21st Century Project. In the leaked documents, the purpose of the 21st Century Project is to employ cyberwarfare in an effort to cripple foreign governments and corporations without sacrificing the lives of Valkyrian soldiers in the process. The project has since been transferred to the Intelligence Directorate-General, but the mission remains the same. Instead of overtly declaring war on an enemy of the Valkyrian Republic, the government could direct the IDG to employ cyberwarfare against a target country and cause a massive disruption to computer systems in that country.

In 2016, the Qvaitican government developed a computer worm called Frostnet, which is capable of spreading to systems around the world in order to give the government the power to shut down the systems of any target country. The IDG has full access to Frostnet, but the protocols for the deployment of the computer worm remains a closely guarded secret. However, the leaked documents show that the extent of Frostnet would affect many institutions of society, including but not limited to: government, military, police, industry, and mass media. Cybersecurity expert Brandon Greene, who is the director of the General Security Foundation, says that the computer worm is far more effective in executing a widespread disruption of technology than an electromagnetic pulse, "This is a sophisticated piece of code that can cause a lot of damage in only a matter of seconds."

The determination made in which technology is susceptible to Frostnet is based on their geotag, which means that infection can be indiscriminate. Greene warns that Frostnet could be deployed and disrupt the computer systems of hospitals and other medical institutions, which could result in civilian deaths caused by machines becoming inaccessible. However, the cybersecurity expert also says that Frostnet could cause many other problems for the country affected by it, "We are talking about a spontaneous halt in governmental and financial activity. Civil and military communications will also be disrupted, which would grant the Valkyrian military the opportunity to invade or for a coup to occur without anyone even knowing. In this circumstance, police will be unable to effectively end rioting or looting because communications have been disrupted. Think of a country as if it was a turtle. Frostnet strips the turtle of its shell."

It is currently unknown as to whether Frostnet is currently operational, but the leaked documents show that the code of the computer worm has been completely developed. The Stockholm Post has reached out for comment from current and former chancellors, cabinet officials, and agency directors that were privy to this information, but to no avail.

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(This post was last modified: 09-24-2019, 04:35 AM by Jay Coop.)

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