2018 Presidential Election

Reader mode

disputed

capitolbeat.com, Friday June 12th

Vice-President "Not Consulted on Economic Stimulus Plan"

Sources close to Vice-President Jack Hunter are reporting significant tensions between the VP and the White House after the release of this weeks economic stimulus plan. A senior Naval Observatory contact told Capitol Beat that there had been no consultation between the President and Vice-President regarding the stimulus and that Hunter was "furious" at attempts to roll back the Walken Tax Cuts on businesses - a move that many Republicans believe was critical in the great recovery of the last decade.

The same source indicated that Hunter had a heated discussion with the President who he accused of "putting him in an impossible situation" by not discussing the plan with him first. The Vice-President's team believe that the terms of his "neutrality pledge" was that he would be consulted on all major policy announcements and that he would not be expected to stay quiet on five particular key issues. The exact terms were not clear but it's known that abortion was one of the exemptions.

It's believed that the Vice-President has spoken with Republicans in Congress and offered support in renegotiating the most contentious elements of the bill and made a similar offer to the White House but was reportedly rebuffed.

The White House refused any specific comment saying only "we don't discuss the President's private conversations and we don't respond to gossip."
 

lord caedus

200px-ESPN_wordmark.svg.png


June 13, 2020

Lakers defeat Bucks to clinch record-tying 17th title, LeBron named Finals MVP

MILWAUKEE -- The Los Angeles Lakers have successfully tied the Boston Celtics for most franchise championships with their 111-104 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks Saturday night to clinch the 2019-20 championship.

In a tense, tight game that reflected the series as a whole, the Lakers and Bucks traded leads until late in the fourth quarter, with Lakers superstar LeBron James making a three- and then four-point play within one minute of game play to put the Lakers up by a nine-point lead with 1:02 remaining. The Bucks responded with an Eric Bledsoe three-pointer. An intentional foul on Lakers center Anthony Davis resulted in one successful free-throw with 20 seconds remaining, and a bobbled pass from Bledsoe to Bucks star Giannis Antentokoumpo resulted in a turnover to end the game.

Antentokoumpo, the star who led Milwaukee to their first Finals appearance since 1974, finished the game with 27 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists for his third triple-double of the series. James was named Finals MVP after coming one rebound short of a triple-double himself in Game Six (he led the Lakers with nine rebounds, 11 assists and trailed only Davis with 30 points).

"We're incredibly proud to have brought a championship to Los Angeles and to tie Boston [for most franchise championships]," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said, in an interview afterwords. "It's another reason why this franchise and this league are so great, and we're so lucky to have an incredible leader in LeBron."

The Lakers' victory marks James' fourth NBA title, and his first with the Lakers. He previously won two titles with the Miami Heat (2012 and 2013) and one with his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers (2016). He has appeared in every Finals since 2010, with the exception of last year's series, which saw the Toronto Raptors defeat the Golden State Warriors. It is not for nothing that debates pit James against Michael Jordan for the title of basketball G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time).

The victory marks the first Lakers championship since 2010 as well as the first championship for former All-Star Dwight Howard, who played in a reserve role for the Lakers this season. Howard was effusive in his praise for the franchise, which allowed him to return after burning his bridges during his previous (2012-2013) stint with the team. Rajon Rondo, another former All-Star who came off the bench for the Lakers, earned another ring to complement the one he won with the Celtics in 2007-08.

James had to leave the trophy ceremony in Fiserv Forum with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver early once it was learned that President Sam Seaborn, a noted Lakers fan, had called into congratulate the championship team and wished to speak with James.

"I guess I was outranked on that one," Silver joked afterwords. Seaborn appeared court side at Game Three (June 5th) in Los Angeles alongside First Lady Lauren Parker Seaborn, the first sitting president to attend a Finals game.

The Lakers' victory marks the franchise's 17th NBA championship (five were won prior to the team's 1960 relocation from Minneapolis), tying the Boston Celtics for the most in NBA history. They are the only NBA team to have appeared in at least one NBA finals in every decade since the league's creation in 1946, and have won a championship in every decade of the NBA's existence with the exception of the 1990s. They and the Celtics are behind only the New York Yankees (27) and Montreal Canadiens (26) for the most championships won by a "Big Four" (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL) franchise.
 

lord caedus

Tc9ooaA.png


Monday, June 15th, 2020

Referendum votes in Qumar "largely peaceful"

Officials from both the government of Qumar in Jabal Nafusah as well as the United States Department of Defense have characterized today's referendum votes in the small Middle Eastern country as "largely peaceful' with only scattered violence in remote parts of the country.

General Tom Garver, the overall commander of American and British forces in the country, said that "only a handful of voting areas" in rural areas with a high Bahji presence saw violence, and no mass-attacks on polling places or voters.

"The level of violence was much lower than what we had been prepared for," Garver said. "In all but one instance, the attacks by suspected Bahji insurgents did not approach any polling locations...which we credit to the security measures put in place at the direction of the [Qumari] government."

Voters in Qumar turned out today to vote on two separate referendums: one that asks if the country wishes to ratify the draft constitution proposed by its recently-elected Parliament, and the other if the country should be annexed to its neighbor of Iran, which considers it to be a "lost province" that was unjustly taken from Iran by the United Kingdom during the era of European colonialism in the Middle East. Available opinion polling is highly unreliable in Qumar, but most observers are confident that the constitution will be ratified and annexation to Iran (which occupied the northern part of the country for three years from 2016 to 2019) rejected overwhelmingly.

Results of both referendums are likely to be announced within the next few days.
 

heatmaster

lord caedus said:
They were. Well, a nanny and the Secret Service agents who guard them when they're not with one of their parents.
Click to expand...
Haven’t the twins been named yet? The president and First Lady have privacy prerogatives; however the children are just known as the “Twins”, why the secrecy? The public knew of the names of the Bartlet, Santos & Walken kids; surely there must be names now revealed.
 

Marky Bunny

heatmaster said:
Haven’t the twins been named yet? The president and First Lady have privacy prerogatives; however the children are just known as the “Twins”, why the secrecy? The public knew of the names of the Bartlet, Santos & Walken kids; surely there must be names now revealed.
Click to expand...
I am sorry they have been named when they where born 3 months ago today. Thomas Josiah Seaborn & Lea Erin Seaborn. Look at page 132 of the thread.
 
Last edited:

Marky Bunny

URGENT PUBLIC SERVICE MESSAGE
Further to my post above and my previous posts over the last two years, please can people whom wish to post stories within the context of the story, PLEASE CHECK with myself, @lord caedus @MountainDew17.
We are NOT stopping people contributing but it must fit with our story context. If in doubt, please ASK.
We did have a "Police brutality" storyline just about to start, before the recent protests in the United States, but because of this we decided to place our story on hold.
I ask @mspence to take down his story about "Black Lives Matters" above and also the fact that includes the casting of a character with an actress we have already cast a few weeks ago, on May 29th. (Whoopi Goldberg as Pastor Sarah Masombuka, a Presidential Candidate from Equatorial Kundu).
Kind regards
Mark
 
Last edited:

lord caedus

Tc9ooaA.png


Wednesday, June 17th, 2020

Qumar ratifies new constitution, says "no" to annexation with Iran

The voters of Qumar have ratified the constitution by a wide margin, the country's electoral authority says, as well as overwhelmingly rejecting annexation to the neighboring country of Iran.

The Interim Electoral Commission has reported that nearly three-quarters (73.5%) of Qumaris who voted approved of the draft constitution, while an even larger majority (81.2%) did not support annexation.

"This is an overwhelming victory for the people of Qumar, and for democracy." Prime Minister Zuben Ahmed said when the results were announced. The new constitution will come into effect on July 1st, with the Parliament of Qumar beginning the monumental task of updating the country's criminal and civil codes to comply with the new constitution, creating programs mandated by the new foundational document, and electing new officeholders, such as the country's first president (widely expected to be former sultan Manab bin Hessani).

Results seem to highlight the struggles Qumar has gone through in the past decade: areas with a stronger Bahji presence were more likely to oppose the constitution, as well as be slightly more favorable to annexation to Iran, while support for annexation to Iran was much higher in regions that had been occupied by Iran from 2016 to 2019.

--------------------------------------------
​
OOC: And of course, the infoboxes for each referendum:

JIFNE5C.png
 
ajm8888

ajm8888

If I did anything in the near future they would be bubble stories that are short and self-contained, but I doubt I'll find anything that fits and that I want to do.
 

Marky Bunny

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT-UPDATE
I can confirm that the unofficial "Black Lives Matter" post has now been removed.
Thanks to those who showed support for my post yesterday. 👍 👍
Cheers
Mark
 

Marky Bunny

NBS.COM
Thursday June 18th 2020

Vice-President Hunter had "three hour meeting" with Secretary of State Adair

Sources close to Vice-President Jack Hunter have confirmed that he had a three hour meeting with Secretary of State August Adair at the Vice-President's official residence Number One Observatory Circle yesterday.

State Department sources say that the meeting was an attempt to "mend fences between the Vice-President and the President". Adair although a Democrat, built up a personal friendship with the current Vice-President when they both served in the Senate together between 2010 and 2012. Adair is understood to have offered the Vice-President a "role in the President Stimulus package team", although we understand it is dependent on the Vice-President "issuing a public statement of support for the administration" and an "agreement that he would only support his close friend Iowa Senator Joe Joeckler in the mid-terms, and no other Republican candidates".

A statement from the Vice-President's office said "the Vice-president had a working lunch with Secretary of State Adair, it's as simple as that".
 
Last edited:

lord caedus

Jackson Hitchcock said:
I thought American troops had been pulled out of Qumar during the Walken or Santos Administration? Is there an info box for the US Invasion of Qumar?
Click to expand...

You're thinking of the People's Republic of China, which left Qumar in 2019. There are still thousands of American and British troops in Qumar, although they are mostly in support roles.

There isn't, either for the actual invasion or the entire war itself.
 

lord caedus

Tc9ooaA.png


Sunday, June 21st, 2020

Boycotts overshadow run-up to Istanbul Olympics

The headlines in the lead-up to the opening of the 2020 Summer Olympics have been dominated not by news of qualifying athletes or selection of stars for the various national teams, but instead by decisions among numerous athletes to boycott the Istanbul games. Today, after the announcement by Turkish officials that the country would not suspend enforcement of its controversial Article 301 that criminalizes denigration of "the Turkish Nation, the State of the Turkish Republic or the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and the judicial institutions of the State" in the Olympic village and at Olympic events, several more athletes announced their decision to boycott the Istanbul games. The decision comes because of the law, which has been interpreted in Turkey to include acknowledgement of the genocide of Armenians during World War I that killed an estimated 1.5 million people.

"I can't in good conscience attend the #IstanbulOlympics if the Turkish government will allow athletes to be imprisoned for speaking out against genocide," NBA point guard and member of the US men's Olympic basketball team Kyrie Irving said on Twitter. "I've told @USABasketball that I won't be attending the games and to find someone else to go in my place."

Nearly 100 athletes from various nations have joined the nation of Armenia in boycotting the games. Several more are expected to announce their intent to boycott prior to the July 24th opening ceremony.

Turkish president Ahmed Faria has called the boycotts "unreasonable overreactions to a historical dispute" and the result of a "bigoted conspiracy against the proud Muslim, Turkish people" to sabotage the games, the first Olympiad to be held in a majority-Muslim nation. Faria, like most Turkish nationalists, disputes that the forced relocation of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire (the predecessor state of the Republic of Turkey) during World War I is not a genocide because there was no intent to exterminate the Armenian people as a whole.

The consensus of historians, however, is that Ottoman officials did intend to murder and destroy the Armenian people, fitting the modern definition of genocide (a term not coined until after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire) with many scholars calling it "the first genocide of the 20th century". Thirty-two countries, including the United States, Germany and Russia, have formally recognized the Armenian genocide as a genocide, although only Armenia has formally boycotted the Istanbul games over Turkey's refusal to not prosecute athletes to describe the genocide as such.
 
Reader mode
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Top