Kalistan

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Kalistani News in Brief: Kaliburg Society gathers at Theater Premier
MoD announces Winter Exercises; Yeudi Mob Boss sentenced to 3 Life sentences
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
November 20, 5693


Del Valle Spokesmodel Alice Bjorksdattir meets Her Imperial Majesty at National Theater

Kaliburg Society gathers at Theater Premier
It was all High Society at the Kaliburg National Theater event this week during the premier event of the tragedy "Gilded Times", written by Tony Gregory, and performed by the National Company and directed by famed National Theater resident Marcia Valdez. The performance, which was technically a command performance of the play, given the attendance of Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Carolina II Ananto--who was finally able to take a postponed leave from NSP--as well as Her Highness, the Princess Regent Nicolette Ananto-Collins and The Chancellor of the Empire, Lady Ericka Donahue, was well attended by the full coterie of Kaliburg High Society, including much of the peerage and Society men and women, who sold out the theater's seating in a matter of an hour following the announcement that the Empress would be in attendance. Also in attendance were several high profile members of Kalistan's fashion, music and entertainment community, including Del Valle "It Girl" Alice Bjorksdattir who was introduced to the Empress briefly before the performance.

The play, which has already earned strong acclaim from Kaliburg Critics, examines themes of wealth inequality in Kaliburg through the eyes of a single family. The leads, Lucas Dante as "Pa" and Keeley San Martino as "Ma" raised their six sons to work hard and live thrifty, only to watch them one by one peel away from the family, attracted sometimes by the lure of quick gains through crime, or struggle themselves to start families. The entire play takes place over one week and viewers follow this family along as it collapses.

"We got positive early reviews from most reviewers," said the show's producer Jackie Randall. A few of the critics said that the author should have made more of a statement against inequality in the play, said Randall. "These critics said that the play missed its opportunity to make a real statement about inequality, or the irony that many of the people the play might be critiquing would be sitting in the Theater, attending as a society event. Instead, the author chose to extol working class values while relegating obscene luxury of the upper class to the world of dreams and punishing those who dare to dream, thus leaving the social order in Kalistan relatively unskewered." But the positive reviews praised the acting, costume design, and set design, saying it took them completely out of the theater and put it right into Ma and Pa's three bedroom walk up in Kaliburg. And the producer and director were quite proud of those reviews, though Randall also agreed with the reviews who blasted the production for playing it conservatively on the social questions.

The show is expected to open later this week to general audiences, and will run for four weeks in the Capital, before going on the road and playing in Sulari for another 3 weeks.

MoD announces Winter Exercises
Her Imperial Majesty's Ministry of Defense announced that the Kalistani Regular Navy will be conducting winter exercises in the Northern Anantonese ocean between the Northern Limit and Keris. According to Ministry spokesman Lt. Mike Schafer, "The exercises will primarily focus on logistics and troop transfers between the Naval Logistics Center at Luncasi Free City in the Tripartite Kingdom, and the Naval Logistics Center in Port Swedes. We will also be practicing amphibious operations at Bozo River that are supported by Logistics from Luncasi."

Schafer said the focus of the training will be all weather operations. "The Northern Anantonese Ocean, especially in winter, is quite dangerous," said Schafer. "As anyone knows, its not a stretch of water that is for the timid or the inexperienced. We don't get icebergs this far south, thank goodness, but we do get some major winter storms that blow up real quick and sustained winds frequently surpass 45-50 knots per hour, while wave height often goes over 25 feet. The sea is no joke, and so these captains and these sailors need experience at operating on rough seas like this, so that when Kalistan goes to war, as it will eventually, we are prepared."

Schaefer also said that the Kalistani Regular Navy will be conducting limited war maneuver during the exercises. "We aren't going to unnecessarily risk our sailors, of course," said the Lieutenant. "But if we find some days where the weather is not just automatically going to wash people overboard, we will may get in some war games. Submarine detection is a good thing to practice during rough seas, because that is when it is most imperative to focus on where subs are. No doubt enemy sub surface assets will attempt to exploit the weather to sneak their missile subs through the Strait, and our Navy needs to be highly trained in identifying foreign threats." The exercises are scheduled for the month of February.

Yeudi Mob Boss sentenced to 6 Life sentences
Undzer Shtik boss Paul Baum was sentenced this week to six counts of murder for ordering the death of Kalistani Citizens in association with business dealings that the Mob was involved with over the period of time of 5669 - 5692. Baum was captured as part of the large scale sweeps of Sulari last February that marked the worst of the violence between the Yeudi mob and Kalistani Civil Authority. Baum is operations chief of the Undzer Shtik mob and is second in command in the organization. His immediate boss, Hoyptman Ariel Cabessa remains at large, and it is uncertain whether he had fled the nation or if he remains in Kaliburg.

Baum was convicted of ordering, directing or participating in bodily crimes against dozens of members of the Undzer Shtick over his 24 year career. The particular crimes he was convicted of involved the killing of one squad who was involved in the 5690 Port Elga Robbery of more than ₭74 Million of cargo. In this massive crime, the Undzer Shtik stole, over the course of a month, dozens of shipping containers containing the cargo and sold it in Suldanor and Odufaray on the black market. Much of the cargo has not been recovered. It was believed that the mob associates were killed because they had not made payment to the central mob office for their theft, and the killing of these associates in 5692 was done to make an example of the people who Baum himself refered to as thieves, but clarifying that he meant people who stole from the Organization.

Baum will serve his sentence at King's Rock, which is currently at more than 115% of its capacity. "Well, on the Rock, there are people who have lived there and built and maintained the rock for decades," said Her Imperial Majesty's Justice Ministry Spokeswoman Elaine Monterey. "I can't imagine how they will take to too many more of these criminals coming to the Rock and demanding the things that those prisoners built themselves. But the rule on the Rock is that the prisoners work things out for themselves--Kings' Rock is a self governing community, and the current Administrator is a 54 year old trustee who happens to be a Regular Military Vet, and was put there for killing his family. So the newcomers will likely need to conform, and work their way up from the bottom as everyone does, regardless of the position and power and impunity they felt they were entitled to on the outside."

The Justice Ministry Spokeswoman said that The National Government has recently suspended Qualified Immunity for the Special Investigations Division, and reported that "Arrests are winding down in Sulari--Much of the mob has either been captured, killed or have fled and are in hiding, so there is no need for continuing the extraordinary police powers which the Sulari Police have used to such great effect." She said that the National Government will be working with the Bookmakers' Association to restore their monopoly over gaming following the implimentation of anti-corruption reforms in the organizational structure, and the Bank of Sulari is fully cooperating in its own anti-corrupt practices reforms.

@TheRepublic