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New town founded as another leaves the Empire
The newly annexed town of Ionathanopolis.
The new town of Ionathanopolis was founded earlier today, while Harenfall returned to Norway.
The Ionathanopolis and Harenfall Act 2016, given Imperial Consent this afternoon, annexed Ionathanopolis to the Empire while ceding Harenfall to Norway.
The entirety of Harenfall’s population voted to abstain in last month’s local election; it had previously been agreed by Harenfall and the imperial government that such would be considered a vote for secession by the former, Harenfall’s Representative having raised the issue some months previously.
Harenfall has therefore been ceded by the Empire back to Norway, the country which previously held sovereignty over the town, due to a wish by its population to become solely Norwegian once more.
The Prime Minister, Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy, stated in Parliament that it was “sad to see a town go, but the people of Harenfall have exercised their right to self-determination and Parliament has concurred.”
The Act of Parliament reserves the right for Austenasia to reassume sovereignty over Harenfall “should such be in accordance with the wishes of its population, and/or if the Norwegian government proves incapable of governing it.”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, the new town of Ionathanopolis – consisting of a residential property with a population of five – has been annexed to the Empire after its residents requested to join.
An enclave of the U.S. state of South Carolina, Ionathanopolis replaces Harenfall as Austenasia’s tenth town. Lord Peter Palaiologos, who has been granted the noble title Count of Mentavlos, has been appointed Ionathanopolis’ Acting Representative.
The Lord Admiral’s Corner: On the revived Grand Unified Micronational
The logo of the new Grand Unified Micronational
This article is one of a series of editorials from Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy known as The Lord Admiral’s Corner, where the Prime Minister will give his thoughts and opinions on issues affecting the micronation.org community. The opinions expressed in this series are the personal views of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Austenasian Times or the Austenasian Government.
I’ll admit, I was skeptical when His Imperial Majesty the Emperor told me of plans to revive the Grand Unified Micronational.
As a younger man, I was a very influential delegate from the now-defunct Ashukov Federation. I campaigned for the Chairmanship three times, though only the second one was successful. I was instrumental in the creation of the now-defunct GUM Library and established a committee dedicated to enacting a new Charter (which failed to accomplish its goal following the end of my term). I was as instrumental in attempting to revive the GUM as I was in its disestablishment as an organization; I was one of the first to advocate for its disestablishment and I served as the last Vice-Chairman of the old GUM under Adam of Adammia, my former rival and electoral opponent.
Eventually, I came to agree with efforts to revive the GUM for a few reasons: the lack of discourse between nations in this community and the rise of the very capable (with some exceptions) “new guard.” When the GUM was disestablished, there ceased to be a hub for intermicronational diplomacy, with the only other major organization remaining being the then-relevant and active Saint Josephsburg Economic Pact, which is currently planned to be dissolved by the remaining member-states. This community has needed something like this to revive discourse between numerous micronations and to ensure stability.
One of the reasons the old GUM failed was because, for a time, the number of lower quality new nations was exceptionally higher than the number of higher quality new nations (and because, against my advice, Quorum would vote to let anybody in, but that’s another story for another time). As older nations began to die off, a void was opened that newer nations weren’t able to fill. Now, with the rise of nations such as Mcarthia, Roseland, Zenrax, and the return of Koss, the GUM has enough higher quality nations to not totally stagnate.
As a former Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Supreme Judge, I have some advice to give the members of the new GUM.
First of all, as dreadful as this might sound, I strongly recommend the newer delegates wait an election or two before seeking the office of Chairman. Now, I understand why you might dislike this advice because I once attempted to run for the Chairmanship against King Ciprian of Juclandia after only serving as a delegate for around six months. In retrospect, I was nowhere near experienced enough to lead an organization such as the GUM. Now, as a former Chairman I can tell you that the job is no walk in the park (as a matter of fact, I wouldn’t accept the position if Quorum unanimously begged me to). It’s extremely time consuming, doubly so now due to the increase of the Chairman’s mandate from three to six months. It’s also extremely stressful – one mistake and Quorum will ridicule you (especially if you’ve made political enemies and rivals, which I did and I’m sure most delegates will do). Numerous past Chairmen (myself included) have stories of the job being so stressful they quite literally broke down for a time.
Finally; please, for the love of God, don’t admit just anyone into the GUM as a full member. My personal recommendation is to refuse admission to any nation which hasn’t existed for at least six months (before anyone points out that Ashukovo was a GUM member from day one of its existence, Ashukovo was a successor state of a prior GUM member-state and all Ashukov politicians were seasoned micronationalists with at least six months of experience), doesn’t maintain active relations with at least five full member-states and can’t compose a decent MicroWiki article. That doesn’t mean you should shun most of these nations entirely (excluding lost causes such as joke nations and obvious fakes), just advise them to seek observership so more seasoned members can help them improve and then seek full membership.
I believe the new GUM can be a positive force in the modern MicroWiki community so long as the new delegates avoid the errors of the past. I will serve as an Austenasian delegate and will occasionally voice my opinion and vote in Quorum, but at present I don’t plan on seeking office in the GUM. I wish the new and old delegates the best of luck and offer them my wholehearted support.
HIH Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy, Duke of Bohemia
Imperial Geographical Society Expedition to Sealand
A sign for Sealand, 0.15 miles along from the sign for the Welsh border.
The Imperial Geographical Society (IGS) yesterday conducted an expedition to Sealand.
Not the Principality of Sealand, a tiny sovereign state off the British coast, but rather a Welsh town of the same name.
The expedition, consisting solely of Emperor Jonathan I and Princess Consort Hannah, walked two and a half miles from the latter’s university accommodation in Chester over the English-Welsh border to Sealand, stopping for lunch near the border sign.
Sealand is not only of interest due to it sharing a name with the famous Principality; the land used to be marshland under shallow seawater until a land reclamation project in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Countess Eritoshi resigns from politics
Countess Eritoshi after her election as Prime Minister in November 2013.
Countess Eritoshi of Memphis, Prime Minister from November 2013 to March 2015, has announced her resignation from Austenasian government.
The Countess today resigned from her offices as Deputy Prime Minister and as Chief Advisor of the Privy Council, and relinquished her title of Augusta. She remains a member of the Privy Council and a military officer as Legate of Legio I Britannica.
Countess Eritoshi earlier this year resigned as Chief Ambassador in March, and later refrained from running for re-election as Representative for her home town of Thanasia.
Although she no longer has an interest in politics, the Countess has reaffirmed her commitment to her military position, and remains leader of the autonomous County of Memphis in Orly.
Her successor as Prime Minister, the incumbent Lord Admiral Joseph, has replaced Eritoshi as Chief Advisor of the Privy Council.
In other news, the Emperor has announced that 8 June will be the first day of the summer of 2016 in the Austenasian calendar.
Austenasian Times 
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