(This thread is meant to provide behind-the-scenes stories of Xiomeran politics and society. It will also be used to post one-off RP events not taking place in a bigger RP event.)

Excerpt from the Xiomeran Public Broadcasting documentary Tlālacuetztla: City Of Gold, titled Episode 3: Xochitecpancalli:

Xochitecpancalli, or the Palace of Flowers, is the single most recognizable landmark in all of Tlālacuetztla, and indeed anywhere in the Empire. It is the ancient home of the Emperors of Xiomera, from the beginning of the Empire's creation until today. Standing at the highest point in the Chipahua Valley, where the foothills of Montelin rise towards the Necahual mountains, the Palace of Flowers towers over everything else in the capital. Even the mighty skyscrapers of the Tlālacuetztla/Huitzitaca metropolitan area sit below its watchful gaze.

As the legends say, the Palace of Flowers traces its existence back to the year 1388. The first Xiomeran Emperor, Quiauhticue, decreed that a great new palace be built to replace the previous Xiomeran royal palace. "The majestic Empire we have crafted of Huenya requires an equally majestic seat of power to represent it to the world," Quiauhticue said. He ordered his advisors to accompany him throughout the Chipahua Valley to seek a site for his grand new palace. But every site his advisors showed him disappointed Quiauhticue.

The first Emperor finally demanded that his advisors follow him to the highest point in Montelin, far above Tlālacuetztla, to use the height of the foothills to get a better view of the valley and see potential sites. The Emperor climbed higher and higher, until he reached the highest point in Montelin. Upon arriving at the top of the hills, Quiauhticue and his advisors stumbled onto a previously undiscovered meadow. A series of springs and waterfalls cascaded down from the hills, to Lake Ehehuani in the far distance below. Deer and other game walked in abundance, shaded by the many trees in the meadow. And just at the moment that the Emperor set foot in the center of the meadow, a ray of sunlight broke past the trees, lighting up the meadow. Flowers of all colors and descriptions shone like gemstones, bathed in the golden light. Quiauhticue turned to his advisors, pointed to the meadow, and said, "This is the location the gods have chosen. This is where we will build the new palace, the Palace of Flowers, that all may see the beauty and glory of Xiomera," he declared.

Construction of the original palace complex took a decade, with considerable expansion and refinement in the centuries that followed. As an architectural treasure, it represents the purest remaining extant example of ancient Huenyan architecture. Ancient appearance aside, however, the Palace of Flowers has been extensively upgraded to provide the state-of-the-art amenities, communications, technology and security befitting the person who reaches the highest level of our intensely competitive society, the Obsidian Throne occupied by our rulers since Quiauhticue had it crafted from the finest blackwood, firestone, gold and jewels - and then had its creators executed to ensure its like could never be replicated.

Today, Xochitecpancalli stands above everything else in Xiomera, both literally and symbolically. So much so, in fact, that the name "Palace of Flowers" is often used by Xiomerans as shorthand to refer to the government, or to the Emperor and his advisors. While there are many grand buildings in Tlālacuetztla that house the governing class of the Empire, and many of them historical treasures of our ancient Huenyan heritage in their own right, none equals Xochitecpancalli, or ever will.

Here's a copy of the TG that I've just installed, with the relevant coding in place (but deactivated here by the insertion of an asterisk each time), for future reference:

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[*i][*b]“Hrarroom!”[*/b] (= “Greetings”)[*/i],
On behalf of the entire region, I would like to extend to you our warmest welcome!

First and foremost, we would like you to feel comfortable here. No matter how you found us, you have come to a region in which we try — usually with success — to maintain a happy atmosphere and to help new players find their feet in Nationstates as a whole. We have maintained democratic government for over a decade, but despite that fact and this region’s name we generally accept nations of most non-democratic types & policies too although ones that openly advocate Nazism or other hate-based ideologies might be asked to leave: According to our Constitution the only nations that can be banned summarily are ‘invaders’ who are involved in hostilities against us [*i](During the annual Halloween event this category is stretched to include pro-Zombie nations… but, even then, they’re likely to be allowed back once that event is over).[*/i]

Secondly, as a resident of the IDU you’re welcome to do as much — or as little — here as you like:
Post on the regional message board if you want to [*i](within normal rules about keeping it fairly ‘clean’, not flaming or trolling, and not advocating illegal activity, of course)[*/i], or don’t.
Join the regional forum [*i](@ [*b]https://theidu.us/forum/[*/b])[*/i], or don’t… although if you want to get seriously involved in regional politics then registering as a member there [*u]is[*/u] necessary. Activities on that forum include not only regional politics, and regional policy discussions, but also some role-playing, discussions about nation-building, and even a few ‘game’ threads.
Join the [*url= https://www.nationstates.net/page=un]World Assembly[*/url] — if you don’t already hold WA membership through another nation elsewhere, that you wish to keep as your WA presence, of course — or don’t. If you do join, or have moved a nation that already holds membership into this region, then please endorse the elected Delegate and also — unless they’re only just below the Delegate in number of endorsements anyway — the Vice-Delegate. [*i](To endorse, just click on the name, scroll down, and then click on ‘endorse’…)[*/i] These positions are currently held by [*nation]Lauchenoiria[*/nation] and [*nation]Trive 38[*/nation] respectively, but elections are held regularly and any nation that has been not only in this region but also in this region’s internal legislature the [*url= https://theidu.us/forum/viewforum.php?f=...8711f95827][*b]IDUSA[*/b][*/url] from at least one week before voting opens is eligible to vote and to run for office.
If you endorse the Delegate then you’ll be endorsed back, and you are welcome to give & have other endorsements too as long as you don’t try to replace (or to help another nation replace) the Delegate without being properly elected. Our rules say that any WA nation based here is entitled to [*at least] the two endorsements that it would need in order to submit WA proposals.
If you do want to submit a WA proposal, however, then [*u]please[*/u] get it checked for legality and viability first: Either open a drafting thread in the relevant section of the game’s forums or do so in our own forum… We have several members with extensive experience in such matters who are willing to advise new proposal authors.
Get involved in the game’s own forums too, if you want, or don’t. They offer extensive opportunities for roleplay, ranging from the faux-UN antics of the World Assembly and the participation of nations’ athletes & teams in ‘NS Sports’ competitions to the more hardcore ‘International Incidents sub-forum.
And please, don't hesitate for a moment if you have a question. Feel free to contact the Hospitality Minister (currently [*nation]Bears Armed[*/nation]), the Delegate, or any other regional official, for assistance, and to post enquiries about how things work in our RMB or forum, at any time!

Once more, welcome to the [*b]International Democratic Union[*/b]. We hope that you will choose to remain among us.

[*i]*(sends over a gift basket of Bears Armed’s produce, including a large jar of high-quality honey and a large bottle of high-quality maple syrup as well as assorted fruits and nuts)*[*/i]

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:bear:

I am now opening nominations for IDUSA Speaker.

Nominees must be a member of IDUSA.

Nominations open 00:01 on Friday, July 12th, and end 23:59 on Wednesday, July 17th.

(under work)

Cue: NewsBrief Theme Music

Live from GRIP News Studios in Eternity, I’m Frank Lee Stater with this news update for July 3rd.

IDU Nations are assembled in the Regional Capital of Democracity for the semiannual Delegate Conference where two candidate nations, Lauchenoiria and Trive 38 are vying to suceed The Allied Provinces of Laeral as Delegate whose term concludes later this month. The two candidate nations, Trive 38 and Lauchenoiria, released their platforms today with Trivian Prime Minister Ulianov promising more opportunities to bring IDU nations together through sporting events and the easing of certain restrictions on embassies, while Lauchenoirian Interim Prime Minister Keitha Noguera laid out a plans for improving oversight of World Assembly draft resolutions and voting on WA Resolutions, promoting interregional participation in IDU cultural events, and developing a participation guide for newer member nations. Voting for Delegate continues through Monday.

In a shocking blow to proponents of Democracy, the Congress of Azaffrán has passed controversial new legislation granting civil authorities sweeping new powers for dealing with political demonstrations, including hanging protesters against the government as a warning to others. Critics, speaking anonymously for obvious reasons, say Azaffrán, does not suffer from a particularly problematic crime rate, and the controversial law wasn’t needed, however, some point to a combination of political apathy and covert foreign influence as possible motive for the new law. As a a result, Azaffrán has been reclassified from a Left-Leaning College State to a Corrupt Dictatorship. For her part, Azaffranx President Ginger Wasabi attempted to distance her support for the new policy she just signed by claiming she hadn’t completely read the issue.
Audio Clip - Ginger Wasabi: “You know I certainly hope it never comes to these laws having to be used, but I never intended for such drastic measures like hanging. Honestly, these new issues come before my desk every five hours, and I can’t possibly be expected to read each of them all the way through, but what are you going to do, protest in the streets? We can’t have that in Azaffrán.”
President of Azafrán, Ginger Wasabi speaking at a news conference yesterday.

Gardavasque President Biff Snollygoster’s attempts to gather controversial citizenship data on the 2020 Census appears to have been permanently routed in a recent ruling by the Supreme Court of Gardavasque yesterday. Reporting from our Octagon Bureau, Oliver Storrie-O’Tell has this analysis:
Audio Clip – Oliver Storrie-O’Tell “In a 5-4 ruling yesterday, the Supreme Court not only blocked the Snollygoster Administration from yet another potentially dangerous and divisive action against immigrants and minorities, it issued a rare rebuke of the government’s tactics of lying and cheating to achieve its policy goals. In this instance, Snollygoster had ordered his Secretary of Commerce, Mimi Imfurst, to add a question to the 2020 Census asking whether the respondent was ‘A citizen of Gardavasque.’ Now on the surface this may seem like a harmless question, but when coupled with the heavy-handed enforcement tactics the administration is using to sow fear and mistrust among immigrant and minority communities, it becomes clear that the true intent was to discourage participation of these groups in the 2020 Census, thereby undermining their representation in Congress. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Robert Johns said, ‘Federal agencies must offer genuine justifications for important decisions, reasons that can be scrutinized by courts and the interested public. The plaintiff successfully demonstrated the government had reasons, ulterior reasons, other than those they stated before Congress, for seeking the citizenship question.’ Printing deadlines require the Census forms to go to print this week, without the citizenship question in place. Live from the Octagon, I’m Oliver Storrie-O’Tell with GRIP News.”

And now this Public Service Announcement from Ecology Brothers.
Audio Clip – Ecology Brothers PSA. “Did you know that Organics still comprise a major share of our solid waste in landfills? When organics decompose, they produce methane, a harmful greenhouse gas that damages the environment and contributes to the Global Climate Crisis. Organics are a valuable material that if properly collected and recycled can help reduce pollution and improve overall quality of life. Remember: black for trash, blue for recyclables, and green for organics. When we all pitch in, everybody wins!”

Tonight on Gardavasque Radio and Information for the People, tune in for our Summer Pops Concert Series from the Sunset Amphitheatre we will present Requiem for Science by Descartes Oppenheimer. Tune in at 8pm.

This has been your NewsBrief for July 3rd. I'm Frank Lee Stater, GRIP News, Eternity.

This thread is for the purpose of electing a Delegate for the Schedule II election, to serve as Delegate of the IDU for six months. All members of the IDUSA who have not ceased to exist are eligible to vote.

Voting opens as of this posting and will close at 8:30 EST on Monday, July 8.

Please post in response to this thread with "[my nation name] votes for...[the name of either of the candidates or the word 'abstain']". The two candidates running are Lauchenoiria and Trive 38.

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