Kalistani Major History

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Red Tone Selected to Represent Kalistan in Cobura
Ska Band selected by Most Listeners on KRTVN Channel 1 Poll
Kaliburg, Ananto
January 1, 4898


Dana Suldanor skapunk Band Red Tone selected as Fan Favorites in New Year's Day Canvass

A Relentless touring schedule, a down to earth approach to their fans, and a high level of professionalism has put the Dana, Suldanor Ska band Red Tone over the top in the recent KRTVN Radio 1 poll, which named the band who would represent Kalistan at FOMAT XIII in Cobura next year.

Singer Monica Pella, upon hearing the news, responded in her traditional understated, yet high energy way, "Wait? What? We were in that poll?" She immediately hopped on her phone and called her band mates and after a hurried conversation, she came back and said "This is wild. I mean, that show is, like, for pop singers, right? Are we a pop band?" She said with a huge laugh. The reporter could tell she was thrilled to have been selected.

The poll, which included new music by Kalistan's Previous Entry Idris Olofuote, who finished a close second to Red Tone, as well as hard rock and reggae acts, took place as part of a Radio 1 New Years' Eve Celebration. Red Tone's Entry, "New World" is a straight ska song, as opposed to the ska punk that the band is more often known for, and features vocals from Ska Legend Nelson Bonnaville, from one of the most widely acclaimed two tone ska bands "The Specialists". "The poll was quite close," said DJ Matthew Head. "But I think the fact that listeners had most recently seen Red Tone on tour, and the vast majority of the people who called in told anecdotes about meeting Pella personally, I think that was what did it for Red Tone. She really put in the effort to meet and hang out with the people who came to the shows at the shows, and people I think loved that."

It also helped that the band has been touring for the better part of the last year and a half. "Red Tone going on tour with fan favorites The Gang, who themselves were FOMAT Competitors, gave them an instant fan base," said Head, "And it kind of feels like The Gang really did what they could to put Red Tone up and over, to get them into a place where they could compete in something like FOMAT and represent the Republic admirably."

Both f Red Tone's touring partners, The Gang and The Interrogators were reportedly very happy for Red Tone. "We tried to call the radio station like 80 times and vote for them," said Interrogator Amy, the lead singer for the Interrogators. "The DJ started recognizing my voice and I think he blocked my phone after a while." Kevin Budnig had nothing but congratulations for the band. "They really are the ones who will pick it up and carry on forward. Red Tone, and The Interrogators are the future of Ska in Kalistan, and I am so happy for Mon and the guys. They worked so hard on this tour and this win I think is more than well earned." Both The Gang and the Interrogators will fly with Red Tone to Cobura for the Show and will be in the audience to support their friends and tour mates.

The Song that Red Tone will perform at FOMAT XIII in Cobura is Called "New World"

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Republic joins Dolgavan work on Seismic Sensor Net
Goal is to study deep ocean Earthquakes and techtonic activity in Northern Anantonese Ocean
Anantonese Ocean North of Port Swedes, Vrassa
July 7, 4898


Scientists begin laying Seismic Monitor Net in Anantonese Ocean

Leading geophysicists, oceanographers and vulcanologists from across the Republic have begun work with counterparts in Dolgava to build a way to monitor and understand, and perhaps someday predict earthquakes in the Northern Anantonese. Working with Partners from the University of Aikums and other Dolgavan centers of Education, the Kalistani team, led by Dr. Jill Bernard from Kaliburg Polytechnic University announced that seismic monitoring technology is being placed in the Northern Anantonese.

"The Joint Project goes under the name The Anantonese Seismic Project (ASP) here in the Republic," said Bernard, " and it is aimed primarily at providing us data about the movement of the sea floor, which causes earthquakes, like the one which demolished major parts of Kaliburg less than 7 years ago, and the resulting Tsunami which was responsible for hundreds of more deaths in Dolgava hundreds of miles away. That one seismic event was a disaster of monumental proportions, for both of our nations, and while this project would not necessarily assist in detecting a quake like that one, it can help us understand movements in Terra's crust which could lead to stress along other fault lines."

The seismic network, consisting of more than 400 pressure sensors and sonar buoys, is being built by a joint project between both countries. "Yes, the Dogavans approached us and asked if we would like to participate in building a seismic sensor network, to give us early warning," said Bernard. "Their team is providing executive leadership in the project, while our engineers and cartographers are hard at work charting the deepsea fault-lines and placing the equipment." Both groups will be responsible for monitoring the motion of the sea floor, noting and informing their counterparts of any anomalies which might be a sign that either the Anantonese or Keris Plates are moving against the Dovani Plate or one another.

"Data like this, which can be discerned in micrometers of movement, will let us know not only which fault lines are active and at what locations," said Bernard "but will also give us an idea of building stresses further down the fault line which will increase the probability of a seismic event." The ASP also includes sonar buoys which sit several meters below the surface and listen for rumbling in areas which are not covered by the seismic buoys. "So far we've heard some whales," said Bernard. "But the hydrophones are sensitive enough to pick up lower frequencies associated with the movement of Terran Crust over many many miles, and transmit that back. With triangulation, we can pinpoint the precise location of any seismic activity at sea, so long as we can hear it."

The sonar buoys and seismic monitors do not posses any defensive capabilities. "No, we couldn't hear ships," said Bernard. "Not only would that throw a lot of, forgive the pun, noise into our data, but the frequencies that ship engines create would not be detectable by equipment like this designed to hear rumbling, rather than whining." The seismic monitors and sonar bouys are sensitive enough, however to pick up explosions at sea. "A deepsea explosion, while it would sound different than an earthquake, would still produce anomalous readings against a background of standard noise. It would be pretty obvious if something blew up within range of the Sonar bouys, and there is a good chance that the waves would travel through the subsurface of the sea and set off the seismic monitors too."

Brenard was hopeful for the future of this project. "We will, within a couple years, be emplacing a series of navigational buoys in the Ocean that will also serve as tsunami indicators. Of course the Anantonese frequently produces massive swells, especially during the winter months, but I believe the Dolgavans especially are trained to spot the difference between large waves and tidal waves. There is a noticeable difference, even at sea, where the swell is almost imperceptible to the naked eye. But detection has to do with lack of pitch of the buoy as a wave passes beneath it. In the choppy seas, the buoy is bouncing all over the place while a tidal wave is a much more gentle rise and fall over a longer period of time. If the scientists with the ASP can see those and track those, they can provide warnings to the coastlines which will be affected and save lives."

The budget for the ASP is K56.2 million over ten years, and Dolgava has shown interest in inviting other nations to contribute to the important work at sea. Bernard, who took on the role of Project Manager in Kalistan is expected to stay with the program for at least 5 years, and is already employing graduate students to crunch data and monitor equipment. "This is a perfect opportunity for our students to not only get hands on experience in the field but also to contribute to the health and safety of the Nations bordering the Anantonese Ocean."

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Red Tone wins FOMAT XIII
Victory said to be a complete Surprise for Suldanor Ska Band
Sharba, Cobura
Dec 12, 4898


Red Tone Surprised following being declared the Winner of FOMAT XIII

A Kalistani group has once more been declared the winner of the international Festival of Music Arts in Terra. This time, the winner is Red Tone, the Ska band from Suldanor who has been touring the Republic for more than a year. Red Tone's Victory makes the fourth time that a Kalistani group has won the contest, and the first time a Ska Band has won.

"Well, to be completely honest," said Lead singer Monica Pella, "We were not expecting to win, at all. We barely beat Comrade Idris in the poll, and didn't even know we had been entered into it, and here apparently, we won because we were the international fan favorites. But our favs were not even in the top half!"

Red Tone was part of a rowdy Kalistani Contingent at the Thirteenth FOMAT festival. "It was so fun to just hang out with the Gang and the Interrogators, and all our friends who came with us to the show," said Pella. "We got hella messed up during the show and had a great time. And then when they said we won, I thought I was seriously hearing things, Like, I couldn't even believe my own ears." The Kalistani band won on the basis of international televote, who put them into the clear lead, and allowed them to surpass the score for the Delatrian entry who performed "Ushalande." Kalistan won with 102 points, and most of the three point lead it had was from the televote.

"Well we were honored to participate and had a lot of fun over the week meeting all the folks from other nations. Cobura is such a neat and strange place, and it is definitely somewhere I would like to just come back to visit someday," said Pella. "The food is very good, many different spices in their food. I really liked it."

As the winners of the FOMAT contest, Kalistan will once more do Hosting duties. A committee is already formed and will hold FOMAT XIV at Sulari National Colosseum, an outdoor venue that seats more than 26,000. The Next FOMAT Contest will be held in June of 4901, and announcements for submissions will begin soon. Meanwhile, Red Tone Will return to Kalistan with a much larger profile and a guaranteed set of new fans, as the sound of ska begins to overtake the Republic.

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Ska to Return to Hutori, Adds Smoked Salmon to lineup
Skankin Hutori to tour home of The Gang for 4 Month
Dana, Suldanor
May 3, 4899


Dana Ska band Smoked Salmon included on Skankin Hutori Tour set for Fall

The recent victory of Red Tone at FOMAT last year has centered the focus of the Kalistani Music Industry on Northern Suldanor, where Red Tone is based, and has encouraged the development of myriad of new ska outfits also hoping to cash in on the area's signature sound. Ska has long found a home in Southern Kalistan, tracing its roots to Hawu Mumenhes, and the traditional Mento sound and rhythm which arrived in Kalistan about a thousand years ago. There these influences combined with Rasezanai faith traditions which are still practiced in small pockets of the Republic, and generated Reggae. While eclipsing Ska as a music form for many centuries, occasionally ska has lifted into the mainstream, especially as Two Tone and skapunk.

Kalistan is enjoying one such moment that was kicked off by the Arrival of Hutori rockers The Gang, who themselves occasionally played ska or ska influenced tunes. The Gang, and music acts associated with them have subsequently restored the popularity of Ska in the Republic, leading to the selection and subsequent victory of ska punk band Red Tone at FOMAT, and the explosion of Ska on the Mainland. The biggest name groups associated with Ska now are of course Red Tone, the Interrogators, and Dana's Smoked Salmon, who have been together for three years and are finally enjoying mainstream success, on the coattails of Red Tone's FOMAT victory and ska's subsequent domination of Radio 1 and the tremendous popularity of Radio 4.

Front man Allen Borne, who founded the group with his cousin and next door neighbor, and went on to add a three piece brass section and keyboardist, welcomed the success. "Oh, you know, there was all this talk about selling out. Joining the popular thing. Well, when we started we weren't popular at all and we weren't making any money, so we kind of got lucky that we started the band and then all this happened." When asked if he was inspired by the arrival of The Gang, Borne was explicit: "Sure we were, I mean, who wasn't. But my next door neighbor, Jimmy Jimenez was in the NSP at the time and we couldn't find a bassist that wanted to play that 'ska bullsh--', so when Jimmy got out, we decided to give Mo (Pella, of Red Tone) a call. She was already touring I think, and we kinda grew up together, but she wasn't nearly as big as she is now, of course. But she was like 'So, here's how you do it...' and she put us in touch with her guy at ARC and then even sang on one of our songs that I wrote about an ex who dumped me for another woman, and ARC gave us a deal on a record that didn't really do anything, because we didn't have a lot of exposure. But of course, Red Tone was getting hella huge and so we opened for them a couple times, and then recorded another record, and I think its really kinda blowing up."

Smoked Salmon recently released their first single from their new Album. Both the record and the single are called "Sold Out" and it describes how corporate executives are now swooping in on Dana to cash in on the new Ska craze, all looking for the next Red Tone. "I can't deny that we benefited from that too," said Borne. "I mean, ARC just included us on the Ska tour that is going up to tour Hutori for like four months this fall, over the new year. Its a big show, for real." The tour Borne is referring to is the Skankin Hutori Tour, promoted and paid for by ARC Records. Smoked Salmon have been included along with Skankin Kali veterans Red Tone and the Interrogators, along with The Gang. "Naturally, they will be making Mo's Band the co-headliners, because they're very popular in the Republic right now, and around the world, so like there's more room for another supporting act," said Borne.

The tour, which will run between mid September and early January, is set to do more than 40 shows during that time period, including a Saturday Matinee each week during the Tour. "The Matinees are a new thing, I think," said Borne. "Like not all the kids can get to a Night show especially ones during the week when they gotta work the next day and stuff, and we want to make sure, you know, the kids can see the show too. I don't mean little little kids, of course. We will have booze there. I mean the youngsters and all that. No, the little ones still have to stay home on Saturdays and watch cartoons."

The Tour will cap off with a New Year's Eve Concert in Acton, Hutori. "I have it on good authority that the Gang is super happy to play this show in particular," said Borne. "Its been a long time since they've been home, even though they apparently never intend to leave Kalistan, and playing the New Year's show in Acton is kind of like cementing a legacy, a legend for them in their homeland. So it will be a treat I think for them especially. Plus, I've never been up there, and like I personally am hella stoked to get there."

This will be the first major international tour for the three local groups, though The Gang clearly have more experience. Luckily, Hutori is also an ODEN nation, so no matter where they go in the country, they won't ever be too far from home.

Below is the Collaboration track that Monica Pella sang on for the Smoked Salmon's first record "Smoked Salmon". The Song is called "Girlfriend".

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Kalistan Announced FOMAT XIV Date
Show set for weekend of July 1, 4902
Sulari, Suldanor
June 12, 4899

FOMAT returns to Kalistan, and the date is currently set for December 1, 4901 (OOC: Next Friday, Mar 5, at 5pm CST). This edition of FOMAT will be Kalistan's third time hosting the contest, and Organizers have decided to move the show to Sulari due to the possibility for Inclement weather at that time of year in Ananto. The show will be held at Sulari National Colosseum, site of countless concert and various other entertainment, and widely considered the center of Kalistani music, movies, and arts on the Mainland.

Submissions are opened and must be made by 11:59:59 pm CST on (Thursday, Mar 4) for them to be valid. Please post your submissions on the FOMAT site, and include a link to the song itself on the FOMAT page. Not including a link will not be disqualifying, but it is courteous to do so.

Once submissions are finished, voting will begin, and all votes must be in to the Contest judges, via DM on Discord or some other method no later than 4pm CST on the day of the show. Please rank the contestants with 1 being the best and whatever the other number is being the worst.

Scoring will be based on Kalistan's formula for scoring used in FOMAT XI: 70% of the final score will be an averaged score from the crowd, 20% will be the RPed score of Kalistani viewers, and 10% will be the averaged Judge scores. This ensures that the vast majority of the score is made up of votes from the audience, but Kalistani Judges will break ties and so forth.

Kalistan will be instituting a modified cultural rule from the previous two contests. Songs DO NOT need to be in the National Languages of Culturally Protected States. But the RL equivalents need to match. For example, Hutori's RL equivalent is generally agreed to be Anglophone Canada, so his Artist should be generally from Canada. This rule will be in place to ensure that there is cultural diversity in the contest, but contestants have a bit more latitude to select artists from their countries, rather than simply being forced to rely upon folk artists. There will be no penalty to doing songs which meet the National Origin Requirement, AND are in the National Language, but there will be no specific benefit to that either.

Kalistan also strongly encourages against using songs with overtly political or militaristic messages. Social messages in your music are acceptable, as long as they are not promoting racism or non-Kalistani Nationalism.

Judges for this edition will be Idris Olofuote, Kalistani Representative to FOMAT XII, who will be the main aesthetic judge, Frieda Marquez, chief Rock Engineer for LTD Records, who will judge the Technical ability of the performances, and Radio 1's very own Drivetime DJ Tali Armstrong, who will judge based on accessibility to an audience. Musicians are invited to be creative and skilled, but not so avant garde that the music is unapproachable to new listeners.

In addition, ARC Records will be on hand once more to record the Concert, with royalties for performance and publishing being distributed evenly to all competitors.

For those who arrive in the Republic Early, FOMAT XIV will provide tourism opportunities, as well as practice space, sound checks and work with expert sound engineers to ensure your mic cues and placement to make your band sound spectacular in an arena setting. The Colosseum is a unique acoustic environment which produces a different sort of sound than an amphitheater or a club. As a result, the Engineers we have on hand, who specialize in sound for this particular building, will make your set sound as good for the people in the back as it does for those in the front of the crowd, and will put your music in the light that you intended it to be in. Sound checks will begin the Monday prior to the contest, and Bands are encouraged to arrive early, so that placement marks can be gaffed and cues and levels can be brought in on the boards.

While you are not practicing or preparing for the show, also feel free to visit Sulari. No longer a hard scrabble center of heavy industry in Kalistan, Sulari is also the home to the Kalistani Movie Industry, as well as ARC Records and LTD Records. Sulari is now widely viewed as the center of Kalistani Culture on the Mainland, and its access to infrastructure allows for easy travel to all points in the Republic. An overnight trip can take you to Neveras, where you can take part in Winter Sports like downhill skiing one day, and then be back on the beaches the next day in Suldanor. There is excellent shopping for jewelry and high fashion in Sulari, as well as opportunities to engage in fine dining and dancing. The music scene in Dana, just an hour away by automobile, is considered the Hot Spot in Kalistani music right now, and clubs to go hear great music all up and down the Coast, from Yoshimi to Dana have live music every night.

We welcome the entire world to Kalistan, whether you are here for the Show, or just here for other stuff. Welcome to Kalistan and we look forward to hearing your entries.

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Spotlight on Sulari
World turns to Sulari as FOMAT Approaches
Sulari, Suldanor
July 31, 4899


Shopping and Entertainment Districts overlap in Kalistan's "City of the Sun"

Sulari, Suldanor has long been considered Kalistan's second most Important City. The City has been the center of heavy manufacturing in the Republic for centuries, serving as Headquarters Site for the National Oil Refinery that has refined KALNAPECO oil for a thousand years, as well as site of the major commercial and industrial Port Elga, which transformed the District from a sleepy backwater and largely forgotten district into the industrial engine that powers the Dual Economy. In the last 1000 years since the building of Port Elga, Sulari has also served as a major site of technological development in Kalistan, where the headquarters of KalMD, the major consumer electronics corporation in Kalistan, and their various subsidiary enterprises, is located, among other major Kalistani corporations.

Most recently, Kalistan's center of culture generation has also shifted closer to Sulari, as several movie studios, including Republican Pictures and ARC and LTD record companies both have their headquarters in here. The world looks at Kalistan as one of the leading culture producing states, even further elevating Sulari's status as not only the cultural heart of the Republic, but a major player in the entire world. It makes sense therefore that Sulari has a special place in the list of Kalistani Cities.

With a population of 6.9 million people, the capital of Suldanor District is only slightly smaller than Kaliburg itself, and is the largest City on the North East Coast of Seleya from Lodamun to Gaduridos. It sits at the southern terminus of the Ananto Strait, and is a major hub for air travel and rail transportation across this part of the continent. The attention paid to Sulari is mirrored in the affluence of its citizens: given the concentration of industry in the region, one would think that there would be heavy wealth stratification, complete with clearly delineated working and leisure classes. But due to centuries of Socialist Policy, as well as National Service and Dual Economy, the people on the whole are far wealthier than even those in major cities in other Districts. And due to zero growth policies aggressively pushed by the Socialist Party, the people of the District are encouraged to live well and fully.

The excellent weather in the Sulari Plain is created by a weak cool onshore flow from the North East that prevents storms from forming at Sea, while providing regular precipitation to the city, especially in the winter time. Temperatures near the Ocean remain comfortably in 70s during the Winter though they will reach the 90s during the summer months, especially if strong currents come from the South, but the norm is that temps remain in the mid 80s, with thermal thunderstorm development at least three afternoons on average every week. This permanent summer has earned the City the moniker "The City of the Sun" and it is true that Sulari has more than 200 days of sun, with more than 165 of those days, on average being skies with zero cloud cover.

The sun and the precipitation patterns have generated a culture oriented around being outside at all hours of the day. This pairs well with shopping in Downtown Sulari, where people interested in spending money, and really having more than enough of it to spend, tend to be trend leaders, setting fashions and informing the Republic of their buying habits. The purchasing profiles of the people in Sulari tend to be significantly different than those of Kaliburg: In Sulari, bright and colorful clothing, perfumes with exotic and enticing aromas, and jewelry tend to prevail, while in Kaliburg, people tend to be more classic and traditional in their fashion and consumer purchases, preferring solid colors, slimmer and more utilitarian lines, and functional clothing.

And people of Sulari tend to wear less clothing than their Northern Cousins. At any time of day, you can expect to see more nudity in Sulari than probably any city in Seleya. People treat all clothing that is not specifically "fashionable" as a swim suit, and will not hesitate to strip off some clothes and take a swim in the ocean directly adjacent to the city. With its long, gently sloping and sandy continental shelf, swimmers can walk some distance out into the clear waters of the Odufarat Sea before even getting their knees wet, at low tide. Those same long flat shelves then provide for excellent surfing and swimming opportunities at high tide, though the water, which is usually around 65 degrees is generally considered a little too cool to swim without a wetsuit except during the warm summer months.


A Lone Surfer catches a wave before heading to work

The City itself is surrounded by a ring of low hills which lead just off the shore and provide excellent natural areas for residents to hike, or explore nature. An excellent Observatory, the Sulari Observatory and Planetarium sits atop one of these hills: Telescopic Hill that rises to nearly 1000 feet, and allows observers to get above the light pollution of the metropolis below to get relatively unhindered views of the stars, without travelling too far out into the country. There is still a lot of wildlife in and around the parklands adjacent to Sulari, and hikers can run into raccoons, iguanas, and armadillos with some degree of regularity.

Sulari is located about an hour down the coast from the current Kalistani Music hotspot in Dana, which is the center of the Ska punk scene currently dominating the Kalistani Music Scene and home base to FOMAT XIII Winners Red Tone, and about 4 hours north of the center of KME music in Yoshimi, the steamy Southern city which has single handedly produced half of Kalistan's FOMAT winners. Sulari itself has a long history of hosting and building bands from multiple genres like pop, Punk, Hardcore, Alternative and Reggae. As a result, there is never a night in Sulari where music lovers cannot find a show to attend, or see a major concert from multiple bands. Sulari also features venues for travelling operas and plays, to give people a lot of variety to choose from when seeking cultural experiences. In addition, most movies in Kalistan are still in some way associated with the City, which means that most of the major actors and actresses in the Republic make their home in Sulari.

All in all, there is something for every pleasure seeker in the City of the Sun. The people there, though many of them work hard in Kalistan's National Industries, still take pride in their hometown and regularly contribute to improvement of the city, for the purpose of making the City the Utopia they all think it is. The character of the people of the city is that of people who do not need or want for anything: they are generous with everything, and represent one aspect of the socialist ideal for society, which is to provide an equal contribution to the well being of the society and enjoy an equal share of the fruits of that common effort. The people there are welcoming to all people from around the world, knowing that newcomers mean the burden on each person individually becomes lighter. The people are highly literate and integrated with technology, are politically and economically savvy, and have an easy going way that allows them to put small things behind them to tackle more serious matters with clear and level heads.

This is Sulari, the City of the Sun.

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Kalistani Regular Navy nearing Full Compliment
Naval Acquisition paused following Kaliburg Earthquake
Port Swedes, Vrassa
February 2, 4900


The last shipment of fully armed 5100 Class Cruisers, dubbed "Luxon II Class" in the Republic, Arrive at Port Swedes Station enroute to Yoshimi

The Ten Year Naval Acquisition Program begun by the late Premier Marguerite Beloit in 4881 has stretched into a project almost twice as long, but is finally nearing completion, as the last ships in the reconstructed Kalistani Regular Navy are finally being commissioned for Service.

The Regular Navy is at its full complement in all but the 3rd Fleet, stationed at Yoshimi Station in Suldanor, which has been awaiting the final two 5100 class Cruisers to arrive from The Kingdom of Hutori. These Cruisers will replace the old Luxon Class ship that was in the Battle Order, adding more air defense to the fleet that maintains the South Limit of the Strait Defense. The final arrival of these last ships in Kalistani Waters brings Kalistan up to a total of 8 Air Defensive AEGIS Missile Cruisers, and shrinks the gap in power between the Republic and its neighbors.

"We were unable to salvage the vast majority of our Kaliburg-Class Destroyers, and were forced to build new ones," said Defense Minister Edmund West. "Likewise, we were entirely unable to salvage many of the old Frigates and Corvettes, but luckily, when we originally purchased the ships, we also purchased schematicsand ship designs to produce those ships for ourselves, and new design techniques have been applied to these old designs, including weight saving measures that are cutting edge and were simply not available in the Republic when the first few generations of those ships were constructed."

The New techniques include steel-aluminum alloys, advanced electronic tracking systems which make for more accurate direct fire, surface based torpedo launchers, and lighter weight, more reactive armor plating on hulls. "The design of the 5100 Cruisers (RL: Ticonderoga Class Cruiser) that went to Hutori for Armament forced us to reconsider everything we had been doing when it came to standard ship design," said Minister West. "Our engineers solved a number of problems in that one ship to make it, when combined with cutting edge Hutorian proprietary weaponry and electronic systems, literally the most advanced ship on the surface of the Ocean today. It is lighter, more maneuverable, can operate with fewer men and women, and cleaner, and what it can't shoot down, it can easily outrun. The 5100s, which will be designated the Luxon II class Cruisers in Kalistan, then served as a prototype for improvements that we could make to the designs for smaller vessels that we had to rebuild due to the years of liberal neglect of our naval assets."

The Submarine Service, which was prioritized, and was nearly completed before the Earthquake, has been standing guard in the Straits for nearly 10 years, while the remaining ships in the three Kalistani Regular fleets were slowly reconstructed. Luckily, the Militia Marine forces were deployed as well, to allow limited surface capabilities and fill in patrol gaps in both the Northern and Southern Limits. But re-acquisition came to a screeching halt when Kaliburg was hit by the devastating earthquake that killed nearly 7000 citizens of Kaliburg, and made most of the Infrastructure of the capital entirely unservicable.

"We had a lot of damage," said Minister West. "And the Shipyards were not spared. We had already had major delays around nationalization that put us more than a four years behind schedule, and the earthquake forced us to scale back our ambitions for this generation of the fleet and not go crazy the way we did with the 5100s. The rest of our fleet consists of more traditional construction techniques, but we were able to make some changes in resource management to get at least some of the benefits of the new technology in nearly all of our newest generation of ship, especially in the displacement department. This will give our ships an edge in terms of maneuverability that similarly classed ships of other nations do not currently possess, and will make Kalistan a significant player in the naval politics of the Northern Anantonese for a long time to come, even with older designs."

Now that the last ships in the Re-Acquisition Program are finally entering Service, The Premier of the Republic and the Defense Minister have formally invited their Hutorian Counterparts to the Republic to conduct training Drills. Said Minister West: "Well, these Cruisers especially handle more like Speedboats than their lumbering counterparts. We were able to reduce weight on them by 15%, meaning they sit higher in the water, which required us to lower decks on the ship by a full foot and a half to allow them to keep their traditional profile. The lowering of the Decks further decreased the weight on the ship, which allowed us to introduce additional ballast and stability measures. The result is a ship which is just as stable, even in rough seas, but also faster, has a shallower draft and wider service range and still packs major firepower in a multitude of situations."

The Minister then laughed, "As you can imagine, the handling of this "concept car of the sea" might pose a challenge to even the saltiest mariner in the great Hutori Navy. So we have invited them to Kalistan to train on these ships with us. They need the opportunity to learn the piloting under these new conditions, which are significantly different than the previous version of the 5100s they were sailing. And we need some extensive education on the proper employment of the AEGIS systems, which can track dozens of targets and hit them with pinpoint accuracy. There is still a lot of learning that needs to happen, and our Regulars are aching to test their sea legs against some expert tacticians in the Hutori Navy." The Militia Marine Forces have been invited to participate with the Kalistani Regulars in the exercise, and will work with Hutori to both practice boarding tactics, as well as teach Hutori methods of evading irregular units at sea. "Hopefully the Marines don't spend all their time on Hutori ships getting drunk," said Minister West. "That's as likely a scenario as not."

The exercises are proposed for August 4901, immediately following FOMAT in Suldanor.

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Anantonese Ocean
February 1st 4900

The University of Aikums and the the Dolgavan Seismic Monitoring Association (Dolgavan Seismiskā monitoringa asociācija) in cooperation with the Dolgavan Navy have begun to lay seismic listening stations along the Anantonese Fault line between Dolgava and Kalistan. The stations will have links to both seismic listening posts in both Kalistan and Dolgava for quick communication and to be able to alert the public of incoming threats. The stations have been laid using Dolgavan Navy Cable layers designed initially to lay undersea cables. A handful of scientists and university students lowered these seismic stations into the sea along pre-designated fault line locations and along the fault that was near the epicenter of the earthquake and tsunami.

Geologist in charge of the Dolgavan portion of the operation Dr. Lilja Ziemele told the Free Press today in a phone conversation

This project so far has been a major success. This state of the art monitoring system will provide Dolgava with advanced seismographs and provide Dolgava with early warning that will undoubtedly save many lives. The crew from the Dolgavan Navy, Aikums, University, and of course our friends in Kalistan. This project is changing the world for the better and I know that the crew and I believe that 100%. Our understanding of tectonic forces especially on this fault line which has been dormant however we are making up for lost time. So far the seismographs have detected many tiny tremors that you would never be able to feel so this fault is active now. We will be also putting extensive wave monitoring stations closer to Dolgava to monitor the seas better and once we detect a Tsunami, we will be able to see exactly how high it will be. I am excited, we all are excited and I am thankful that both Kalistan and Dolgava are now being protected and that this work we are doing will undoubtedly save many people's lives.

The project will continue for some time and as she said the next phase will be to put wave monitoring stations along the Dolgavan coast our to 600 kms away to detect potential wave height. Together Dolgava and Kalistan are pushing Terra's understanding of tectonic forces to a new level and are truly leading the way in the field. Our capabilities and understanding will only advance and become better as time goes on and Dolgvan scientists will make sure that Dolgava leads the way!


The Dolgava Freie Presse is an Independent Newspaper Which Covers All Stories Related to Dolgava

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KALNAFERCO opens new Steel Mill in Sulari
Aims to Reduce Cost, Energy Consumption, and increase efficiency
Sulari Suldanor
July 12, 4900


New KalNaFerCo Mill, Steel Dynamics, opens north of Sulari

Efficiency is the key to the new KalNaFerCo operation, Steel Dynamics, which is a alloying, rolling and finishing plant that has just been opened north of Sulari.

Plant Foreman Martina Brevard, a life long Steel Worker in the Sulari Mills, spoke highly of the new, very modern facility. "We have the capacity here to either significantly increase the production of Kalistani Steel by as much as thirty percent, or entirely replace the capacity of the old mills in the south. This plant is state of the art, has six total new rolling lines, three hot and three cold, as well as a reheating facility, laser precision molds, an alloying facility, a new machine and cutting shop, and transportation links connecting to the National Rail and Port Elga. This new State of the Art facility will employ more than 4500 people and will eventually allow at least one of the old plants to close permanently."

The new mill also stresses energy efficiency in production. "As we have cold rollers, we can increase the capacity of steel out put without significantly increasing fuel needs or pollution," said Brevard. "As for our hot rolling facilities, the melting and molding utilizes electricity rather than traditional coal powered blast furnaces to create the temperatures necessary to heat the pig iron past the crystalization temperatures, to allow alloying. That electricity is created by seven major transformers powered by new tidal action generators constructed ten miles east on the coast. In this way, our energy consumption is reduced compared to traditional facilities. This allows us to dramatically lower our prices domestically, and increase our margins internationally without significantly increasing the scale of our operations or our extraction of raw materials."

Right now, KalNaFerCo operates at about 30% of its total capacity, due to domestic demand being satisfied and low international demand. "This situation is baffling to the Heads at FerCo," said Brevard. "They would produce more steel if they could, and we could easily undersell at least one major international producer, but nobody seems interested in Kalistani Steel except Kalistanis. I have a feeling that with higher efficiency and greater capacity, that will change in the near future." Currently Kalistani Steel is heavily subsidized domestically, and is sold to Kalistani purchasers at cost, while a slim 3 percent over Market margin is derived internationally.

"If we end up producing a large amount of both hot rolled and stainless steel above domestic demands, we could theoretically lower that premium to below the international market price to make Kalistan more competitive and take advantage of our proximity advantage to major consumers." While this would technically constitute dumping on the international market, Brevard said KalNaFerCo is not concerned about the implications of such practices: "Even if we sold at 10 percent under market, Kalistan would still make money, because we would save on transit costs. Buying from the Republic, instead of somewhere like Yingdala, for example, would allow a purchaser like Hutori to save literally millions on each shipment, because we are thousands of miles closer to Hutori. Even if they were able to match our prices at point of sale, which they cannot."

The opening of the new Plant will further allow Kalistan to address inefficiencies in its steel production facilities. "So far we only have one operational cold rolling line," said Brevard. "That is old, the machinery needs constant servicing, and it is dangerous because the technology is not automated. The three lines here at SD will dramatically increase the production of cold rolled steel and stainless steel, which can then be used in literally hundreds of applications across the country, including possibly a revitalized automobile industry."

The Steel Dynamic Plant will begin fulltime operation later this week with the first arrival of more than 800 tonnes of pig iron from the National Foundry which is expected to be processed into banded coils and plated steel for use across the Republic. The opening of Steel Dynamics coincides with temporary plant closures at 3 of the 7 steel mills south of Sulari for the purpose of maintenance and upgrading.

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Republican Studios to Release New Concert Film about Ska Tour in Hutori
"Skankin Hutori" takes fans to ska Tour in Northern Latitudes
Sulari, Suldanor
July 20, 4900


Poster for "Skankin Hutori" , the latest release from Republican Studios

Last fall, three Kalistani Ska Bands joined ska/rock legends The Gang to take Hutori by storm with the ARC Records' "Skankin Hutori Tour". Together these four groups, The Gang, Red Tone, The Interrogators, and Smoked Salmon, barnstormed through the Kingdom of Hutori over 40 different shows, including weekly Saturday Matinees, and culminated the Tour over New Years' Even 4899, partying well past when the year flipped to 4900. Republican Studios was there to film the visit to the Kingdom and record the sold out New Year's Eve show in Acton Adelia Hutori. The Studios have just completed final edits on the Film, and have ensured fans that the 189 minute film will be an Immersive Experience! While full of footage and music, the film is more a documentary of the tour than a concert film specifically, and really captures Kalistani Music at the height of the latest Skapunk craze of the late 4800s.

"We shot the footage over four months in Hutori," said Director Alfred Ezekiel Delgado, "and had unlimited access to the bands, not only as they performed, but also backstage and when they were having downtime. The film I think really gives an idea of what it is like for these bands on the road, and while it is very hard on the musicians, to sing the same songs night after night, its also a tribute to their love of their music, their appreciation for their fans and their professionalism that they do it all with aplomb."

The film documents these four bands at the pinnacle of their fame. While The Gang has been well known for more than a decade, the other three bands have all risen within the last four or five years, and have ridden the wave of popularity that was sent stratospheric by the victory of Red Tone at FOMAT XIII. "Besides being great musicians who clearly have a lot of fun hanging out with one another and singing backup for one another and doing guest guitar work and so forth on each other's sets, these guys are also very close friends," said Delgado. "They were clear, they've been through a lot of joy and pain and exhilaration and exhaustion over the past four years, and it was obvious that they felt that they could lean on one another."

The movie details the deepening friendship between Red Tone's Monica Pella, who is a class of superstar in The Republic in her own right, and Interrogator Amy, the lead singer of The Interrogators. "She's so like a big sister to me," said Amy in one of the interview segments in the film. "I really look up to her and see how she has everything together for herself, and she's a lot of fun to hang out with, and she's like my best friend. In the whole world."

Pella, who was with Amy during the segment, was visibly tearing up as her tour mate complimented her, "Oh Amy, that is so nice of you to say. We are sisters, for real, not even like sisters, but totally like actual sisters..." Pella gushed about how Amy's energy and dedication is sometimes what gets Pella out of bed in the mornings. "Like, some days when we have rehearsal, but no show, and I am hungover, there's Amy right there, first one on stage ready to go. I mean, how can I complain about a hangover when she drinks and smokes and does everything else just as hard but she's always ready to go, to play, to jam or whatever?"

The movie also depicts some of the excesses the bands engaged in during their visit to the fellow ODEN Nation. "They got a whole bunch of extra sh-t here that we don't have in Kalistan, for sure," said Smoked Salmon's Jimmy Jimenez, who was in the process of chasing some sort of powder with a double shot of Hutori Whiskey. "If we did this stuff all the time we wouldn't be able to even stand up, let alone play music, so thankfully, the road manager cuts us off..."

The scenes of the life outside of the stage on the road are relatively brief compared to the actual performances. During the course of the movie, highlights from the Acton Show are inter-spliced between footage and scenes which might occasionally appear to be part of a blooper reel, but were left in the show to depict the ups, and occasional downs, or playing music on the road. For example, in one scene, during a The Gang set, lead singer Kevin Budnig is seen pogoing on stage to a ska break, and a trap door latch gives way under him. When he comes back to the stage, he continues through the trap door, and disappears from view. The band who sees Budnig disappear into the hole which opened up on the stage immediately stop playing, just at the moment that Budnig, who is still holding the mic, exclaims "What the f--k?!" And the crowd erupts in laughter. The band are then shown laughing at Budnig after their set and telling him that he has "...gotten a bit tubby in [his] old age."

For the most Part, the concert footage is spread over all four bands pretty evenly, and focuses more often on collaborations between the bands than on sets that they do alone. But there are special moments captured on this film that can't be duplicated anywhere featuring individual bands. For example, in the final scene of the Movie, following the triumphant second encore, Hutori's own The Gang tells fans that this might be the last show The Gang ever plays in Hutori, and then, with visible tears in their eyes, The Gang breaks into a surprise third Encore, where they play "RockStar," the song that they sang when they represented Hutori at FOMAT. The crowd rushes the stage and cheers wildly for their countrymen, showing them a lot of love by dancing and singing along, and as the last chords of the song ring throughout the arena and Kevin Budnig raises his mic in salute to his audience, they return the salute with a deafening roar that could be heard a mile away from the Arena.

Another example is the featuring of individuals in the bands: there are lots of interviews and expository conversations about the band members themselves, as a lot of attention is usually paid to the charismatic leaders of the bands, and the Film also wanted to cover the brass sections and the rhythm sections as well. But in the end, we tend to always have our focus drawn back to Pella, Budnig, Interrogator Amy, and Borne, the lead singers of the four groups. And this is played to great effect throughout the program. For example, as the closing credits roll, the four bands say good bye to the hundreds who turned out to see them off as they board a KalAir flight back to the Republic, but the footage ends with a close up freeze frame of Monica Pella blowing a kiss to Hutori.

Check out Six from Red Tone's Bekennial Hutori show, featured in Republican Studios' "Skankin Hutori" below and then see the full movie in theaters all across the Republic, opening Friday.

[Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz3GLItcrp8]