CSS Mother-of-Pearl Attacked

The CSS Mother-of-Pearl, a Chinchilla-class bulk freighter, has been captured by pirates off the Cenian Trade Route after entering Waterloo. The Mother-of-Pearl was shipping electronics, laptops, cell phones, and electronic parts to a warehouse on Waterloo before going to pick up a load of grain and bread on Rus Ceres. The pirates used a classic tactic of putting an asteroid in front of the Mother-of-Pearl’s path, making it prematurely come out of hyperspace, before attacking it with ion cannons and capturing the ship. Among the ship’s crewmembers were 3 Holy Wolfes, 5 Cenians, and 5 Tekians. The ship, owned by the Aurora Shipping Co., was targeted by the pirates on June 28 and has not been heard from since. Family members of the crew are worried about their loved ones’ safety. Devore de la Luna, younger brother of crewman Yaru de la Luna, was sobbing when I met him. “I’m worried about my brother’s safety,” he said through the tears. “I don’t know when he is going to come back.” The Admiral of the Cenian 19th Sector Fleet, Seth Eirye, said that the ship would be back by the end of this month. Admiral Eirye also chose this moment to launch his campaign against piracy in the area and patrol the border region for pirates more often.

Chemical Spill Kills 15; Causes Factory District Evacuation

An accidental mix of Niflon, a corrosive polymer, and water caused a big explosion at Harpner Factory CF103 on Wednesday, causing the evacuation of half of the factory district and the deaths of 15. The exothermic reaction released sulfur oxide, acid halogens, and halogen oxides.  The factory, having been in operation since 42 BC, was built by Harpner Factories to make the chemical Niflon for use in plastic products. The factory, however, had been in poor maintenance and been through several managers. The explosion started in the shipping quarter, where Niflon is prepared to be shipped to other areas. An employee, thinking the hose he picked up was one for the agent nyropolyplene, used to protect Niflon, poured water into the Niflon tower, causing the shipping quarter to explode, killing the employee, 3 supervisors, and 11 other workers.  The gas sulfur dioxide, which causes increased respiratory symptoms and disease, difficulty in breathing, and premature death, spread throughout the factory. The manager, Orroy Noek, called an evacuation and called the fire department. The fire department arrived and could do nothing, calling in the hazmat team and ordering an evacuation of the surrounding area. The hazmat team subsequently arrived and plugged the leak before the gas could escape to the rest of the factory district.

Muz Mahala Admitted to Union

Cenaci—The Muz Mahala sector was admitted to the union as the 175th sector. Kyn Tucin, Chancellor and candidate for president, was happy to admit Muz Mahala, along with 2 others this year, Cerxecan and Kinasia. The ceremony announcing sectorhood was merely a formality, noting that Muz Mahalans has voted to assume the rights and responsibilities of sectorhood. The Chancellor sat at the long Council of Ministers table, with Senate President Pro Tempore Shadow B’betsy to his left and Deputy Chancellor Luke Dickson to his right. Behind them stood Senator-elect Pavitra Saudha and the Muz Mahal Assembly of Planets elect, Sarira K. Satha  “All 174 sectors and 2 voting non-sectors welcome Muz Mahala and its architectural treasures into this union.” Muz Mahala and its surrounding planets, Ravi Mahala
Camda Mahala, Dina Mahala, Rata Mahala, Pat’thara Mahala, Bhagya Mahala, Sundarata Mahala, Mahana Mahala, Roka Mathala, and Dava Mahala, are renowned throughout Ceni for their magnificent palaces, Tranclata architecture, beautiful river valleys, and magnificent hills. The sector bird is the sattor and the sector tree is the yassin tree. Both are indigenous to Muz Mahala. 

Census Data and Analysis

Today, the Census Bureau announced the census for 2012 numbers. Ceni has a total population of 378.767 trillion, a 38.6% increase over the previous population of 273.229 trillion .The Cenaci sector was the most populous, at 24.46 trillion. Lower Throneworlds came in second with 17.786 trillion. In third place was Katinal, with 14.91 trillion.  The Skulblaka and Fax sectors tied for least populated, at 36 billion each. Several sectors had triple-digit population growth, including Michosplak, with 128.18%, Ordnrd V, with 212.75%, Lillip, the fastest growing sector at 503.51%, and Bene, with 496.49%. The most overall population growth was Cenaci, which grew from 15.78 trillion to 24.46 trillion.  Overall, 38 sectors has 100% or more in growth, 22% of the total sectors. 4 sectors lost population, and 27 did not grow at all. Their growth made up 30% of total growth,.  Ceni is very diverse in species, with the largest species, the Cenians, at only 7.108%. Holy Wolfes made up 6.705% of Ceni’s population, reflecting increasing migration from Waterloo and the annexation of the Waterloo Sectors. Lycetrons make up 6.313% of the population, Kattes 5.606%, and Michosplaks 5.584%.  In the religion area, no one religious group makes up more than half of the population, with the largest group, atheists, making up 28.067%. The next largest group, Adbarists, make up 18.081% and  Norientenists make up 14.615%. People with no religion made up 8.828%. 34.156% of Cenians have Cenian Basic as their first language, with 27.872% speaking Inundiat, a trade language, and 25.703% speak Splak. The median income of Cenians is $61,464.68, a growth of  3.936% from last year’s wage of $59,137.01. There are 1.08 males for every female, with males making up 48.439% of the population, females making up 44.686%, neuters making up 6.565%, and other sexes making up 0.309%. While population growth might be good for the country, Ornn Navzay, head of the Pro Bono Publica Center for Public Policy, says, it puts a strain on infrastructure and makes it harder to feed everybody. “I believe that with a growing population comes extra costs, strain on infrastructure, raised eyebrows by neighbors, increased food costs, and other responsibilities, too many in my opinion, along with extra revenue, ” Nayzay said. 

Constitutional Convention Called to Order

A call by the Senate for a new constitutional convention to draft a new constitution after a referendum approved a switch to a semi-presidential system has been heeded, and a new convention has assembled on Cenaci. The convention is expected to write the semi-presidential system into the constitution, describing the powers of the President, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, and the Vice President. They are also expected to write about the role of the Council of Advisors, as well as the Council of Species and the Council of Ministers. Some rights put forth for addition are the right to same-sex marriage, abortion, due process, privacy, and the right to representation. Also included on the list are the legal principle of Nulla poena sin lege, and a provision banning a Guantanamo Bay-like thing from happening. “I expect this constitution to be better than the old one, and hope it will turn out to be good for the people of Ceni,” Kyn Tucin said upon his acceptance to be a delegate from Cenaci. The sector legislatures selected delegates based on their population; one delegate for every 1,894 billion people. Cenaci sector elected 12 delegates; Kyn Tucin, senator Luke Dickson, Supreme Court Chief Justice Masnol Binnill, Supreme Court justice Brian Foster, previous constitution signers Mary Chaumshire, Tartalom Quasi, and Peane Romney, Cenaci Court of Appeals Judge Ackbar Irizer, lawyer Onish Laro, University of Cenaci law professor Kerert Serger, constitutional law scholar Grunn Izack and Senator Sera Yuyak. Other famous names on the list are Senator Shadow B’betsy, Tentruck Mitchford, Michosplak Senator Robert Langley, Supreme Court Justice Kierra Porrieto, and Hannah Columbus. The convention started today, and the first thing they did was to elect Kyn Tucin President of the convention. Tucin remarked that the people convened at this convention were “demi-gods” and that they were the best of their kind in Ceni, and they would create a constitution that would last for eternity. The constitution would “be created by people with political experience, rooted in the writings of Locke and others,” Tucin said. The convention immediately voted to preserve secrecy. We will not know what happened at the convention until the notes of the secretary, Derrick Johnston, are released.

Civil Rights Activists Win Adker v. Barrard in Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a Teseress sector law prohibiting Norientenists from wearing their signature ultra-conservative clothing, upholding the decision of the New Ceni Court of Appeals. In the decision, decided 8-3, Chief Justice Masnol Binnil wrote the opinion striking down the law. In his opinion, Chief Justice Binnil wrote that ‘violating the religious belief of Norientenists requiring them to wear conservative clothing by passing a law violates Article 3 of the constitution. It limits their right to practice their religion and this law is prohibiting them from doing so, therefore the law is unconstitutional.’ The dissent, written by Justice Kierra Porrieto of Elephanthia, says that ‘the law was passed to protect the public welfare.’ Justices Brian Foster, Sk’Arnold Titran, Sartosan Cintner, Shintner Cren, Bari Batess, Joh-Obi-Lah, and Dree Chealy all voted with Chief Justice Binnil to strike down the law. Justices Lariri Cleack and Islam Formosa both voted to uphold the law. The stated purpose of the law was to ‘prohibit ultra-conservative wear in order to promote sectorial unity and cohesiveness.’ The law, passed by the Teseress Duma 145-135 in a close session after a heated debate, was scheduled to take effect July 1 except for the court challenge by Mr. Jarno Adker. Adker won his court case in March in trial court against Mr. Terken Barrard, Governor of the Teseress sector. Mr. Barrard appealed the ruling but lost. He then appealed to the Supreme Court. The Court found that banning the garments would ‘deprive an entire religion of one of its core tenets. Passing such a law would infringe on their civil rights.” The judges refused the sector’s argument that it helps the public have unity, strength, and cohesiveness as a whole. “No display of public unity or cohesiveness outweighs the right of Ceni’s citizens to practice their religion freely,” the court said. The Cenian Association of Civil Liberties (CACL) and Vivat Libertas Populi Nostri (VLPN) both filed amicus curae (friend of the court) briefs in favor of Mr. Adker. CACL and VLPN both welcome the ruling as a victory for Cenians’ civil rights. Legislator Bodkin Plodein, drafter of the bill, said that the ruling was “not a surprise, but we will work with the federal government to resolve this issue.”

HDI and Gini

Ceni’s HDI and Gini coefficient both are in good condition, says the Coalition of Independent Nations, COIN, in its annual report about the state of these two indicators. Ceni’s Human Development Index, or HDI, is valued at .983, and its Gini coefficient is rated at .260. Other nations on the report included Waterloo, Zebrika, the Holy Land, Vampyrico, and the Bloody Empire. Zebrika is closest to Ceni in HDI, having .833. In order, other nations were Jacobia, with .865, Waterloo, with .827, Holy Land, .793, Vampyrico, .670, and Bloody Empire, .475. Bloody Empire scored low enough on HDI that it was ranked as a Least Developed Country. On the Gini coefficient, which rates income equality, Zebrika scored first place with .252. Third place went to Holy Land, .388, and fourth place, Vampyrico, with .464. In Waterloo, Jacobia, and the Bloody Empire, less people controlled the most wealth with ratings of .606, .608, and .702, respectively. A lower Gini score reflects higher income equality. The Inequality Adjusted Index, IAI, was won by Ceni, with 1.944. Zebrika had 1.924, Holy Land was third best with 1.430, Vampyrico had 1.202, Jacobia just beat out Waterloo 1.193 to 1.170, respectively. And unequal, poorly developed Bloody Empire had a score of .817. Ceni scored 83.4 life expectancy, the maximum, and had 16 years of mean and expected schooling.

Waterloo Revolution Has Teeth!

The rebels in Waterloo have struck a blow against the forces of Emperor Wolfe Wellesley by capturing the important trade planet of Ager, at the junction of the Farming Spur and the Waterloo Trade Route. The series of determined rebel attacks against the badly trained forces of Emperor Wolfe Wellesley showed that the revolution has power. Also on Thursday, rebel forces captured the grain and bread planet Rus Ceres, hauling of thousands of tons of bread and chanting “Down with the Emperor! Down with the Consul!” Meanwhile, on Waterloo state television Emperor Wolfe Wellesley himself ranted against the protesters. “These are paid insurgents trying to topple our government! They are here to make us look bad and disrupt our social institutions!” When military troops under the command of Principis Arrhabonem defected, one of the most elite units in the Waterloo Army joined the rebels. Arrhabonem himself started a training camp in Orpor. The trained rebels also received a cache of weapons from the defecting troops. Andaran Masnav, 31, is one of the organizers of the revolution. “We started this revolution through Comsnet and Macaw,” he says. “From the start, we have built on a steady base of support. People are tired of having an emperor rule over them and only a façade of democracy. We want real democracy.” Ager, only 75 light-years from Waterloo, was a nexus of the rebellion before it was taken over by the rebels. After peaceful protests by Holy Wolfes aiming for more democracy and the fall of the absolute monarchy turned violent after Waterlooian troops fired on protesters, the supporters of democracy have turned from protests to an armed revolution. The move to revolution was hastened by defections of Waterloo Army officers to the new rebel organization, the Waterloo Freedom Army and the Waterloo Freedom Party. The rebels goals will stay the same through all of this: topple the Emperor and bring democracy to Waterloo.

Please see http://thngurow.blogspot.com/ for updates. 

Cenian Holidays

New Year's Day- January 1
Ramraits Day- January 5
Independence Day- February 12
King's Day-  March 17
Spring Day- March 19
Unity Day - April 7
Religion Day- May 14
Cenian National Festival- June 1-7
Feast of Askrast- June 24
Feast of Iskras- June 27
Ceni Day- July 14
Constitution Day- August 24
Labor Day- September 6
Pilgramage of Norientena- September 22
Kyn Tucin's Birthday - October 25
Adbare's Birthday- November 2
Veterans Day- November 11
Thanksgiving- third Thursday in November
Expansion Day- December 3
Winter Festival- December 11-15
Feast of the People- December 28

Happy Fourth of July

Today is the day when the USA celebrates its independence from Great Britain. In Ceni, there are three comparable holidays: Ceni Day, July 14, when Ceni formally became a country and adopted its first constitution; Independence Day, February 12, when Ceni gained its independence in the Treaty of Fort Kendrick from Jacobia; and Constitution Day, August 24, when Ceni's second constitution was ratified. See this for more Cenian holidays.