5 people were killed and 60 were hospitalized in a crash located in the Pennsylvania Turnpike on Sunday morning. Two victims are in critical condition, all of the injured victims are expected to survive.
Kalliergo I update: The mission is making ‘significant’ progress after nearly a year since launching according to Emperor Anthony I.
Peach Plant in Saspearian apart of the Kalliergo I mission.
Weather Forecast: Today’s high temperature is 75°F (21°C) and low temperature is 42°F (6°C). Monday and Wednesday will have some cloudy weather, Thursday and Friday are expected to have some rain, Tuesday and Saturday will have sunny weather.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Anthony I, Emperor of Saspearian and longtime delegate of Saspearian to the MA, has been elected as the 17th Chairman of the Micronational Assembly following a narrow victory in the July 2023 Chairman Election. The election was the first Chairman election in the MA’s recent history that permitted voting for all delegates. Since 2019, Chairman elections have been held only within the Council. Turnout was 16 out of 52 delegates (30.7%), slightly higher than the turnout of 12 (23.5%) from the July 2023 Council Election that preceded it.
The election had three candidates, Anthony I (Saspearian), Evan I (Ameristan), and Lane Caldwell (Surdam). Anthony I won by a plurality of the vote, receiving seven votes (43.8%); the incumbent Chairman, Evan I, received five votes (31.3%), and Lane Caldwell received four votes (25%).
Anthony I currently serves as a Councilman in the MA and has previously served at various times since 2020 and ran for Chairman in the January 2021 Chairman Election but lost to Tsar Stefan I.
Anthony I issued a victory speech following the announcement of the election results.
“It is a great honor to serve as the Chairman of the Micronational Assembly, and I thank everyone who supported me along the way and worked with me to achieve the best. I first joined the MA in 2017 through the Google+ Community when I started to establish Saspearian, I wasn’t active much back then, but it helped our nation become diplomatically involved in the community. Five years ago, I had a vision of becoming the Chairman of the MA. However, I faced many challenges in my endeavors; Saspearian was banned from the MA in 2018 due to the land claim only being a bedroom. Eventually, we did expand our land claims, but it was a very different organization, and I couldn’t run for office. Subsequently, we would face other issues, such as the August Crisis, and I admit that there were some mistakes that I have made before. But I have overcome these challenges through perseverance, and I worked with others to improve the organization. It wouldn’t be possible without your dedication to making advancements. I am glad to be back, and I look forward to continuing the reformations. Let’s continue to bring change!”
The MA Council Election of July 2023 is a general election to elect the July 2023 Council of the Micronational Assembly, which the General Assembly elects. The election has eight candidates, four of whom are incumbents, and two former council members, namely North York and Pontunia.1
In accordance with the election procedure, the five candidates who receive the highest amount of votes are elected. The election concluded on the 29th, and the Chairman election was held following the Council election beginning on July 30th and ending on August 1st.
The turnout in the Council Election was 12 out of 51 delegates (23.5%), down from 19 (44%) in the August 2022 Council Election.
Council Election
Candidate
Votes
✓ North York
9 (75%)
✓ Saspearian*
8 (66.7%)
✓ Ameristan*
8 (66.7%)
✓ Surdam
7 (58.3%)
✓ Pontunia
6 (50%)
Great Lawl Reich*
5 (41.7%)
Schwertesia*
2 (16.7%)
Gunaka
0
* (asterisk) – Denotes incumbent
23.5% (12 votes) Turnout | Final results
The last election for the MA Council was held nearly a year ago, in August 2022, which would see Saspearian, Ameristan, the Jewel Republic, Great Lawl Reich, and Schwertesia being elected to the Council. Although the results that were announced by then Chairman Fredrick M. stated that Ameristan, the Jewel Republic, Great Lawl Reich, and Ballinfoyle won the election.2
Ameristan, Saspearian, and Surdam have announced candidacy for the Chairman election.
Chairman Election
Candidate
Votes
✓ Anthony I (Saspearian)
7 (43.8%)
Evan I (Ameristan)*
5 (31.3%)
Lane Caldwell (Surdam)
4 (25%)
* (asterisk) – Denotes incumbent
30.7% (16 votes) Turnout | Final results
Notes
North York served as a Council Member under its former name, Norcross. ↩︎
Initial results showed a tie between Schwertesia and Whisperburg (formerly known as Smithtown), with both candidates receiving five votes and Whisperburg later having a slight lead at six votes by the end of the election. However, Schwertesia was announced as the winner, and the nation has since disbanded and would become Whisperburg, thus leading to Schwertesia taking office following the election. ↩︎
Prior to the publication of this article, SBC News obtained permission to report on the live results of this election.
On June 17, the 2023 Micronational Olympic Federation Games, hosted by Saspearian, officially began. The Games are scheduled to conclude on July 4 and will see about 16 nations in participation, with around 25 cyletes in total.
The Opening Ceremony of the 2023 MOF Games.
Anthony I gave a brief speech in the Opening Ceremony, reminiscent of Saspearian, wishing the best of luck to all participants and hoping for unity.
There will be 12 events held for the games, including Agar.io, Battleship, Chess, Checkers, Five in a Row, Poker, Reversi, Rock-Paper-Scissors, Rocket League, Tetris, and Hearts of Iron IV. The motto for the games is “Let’s bring unity.”
In 2020, I wrote an article and made two videos regarding the issues facing the Micronational Assembly. It was a different time for the organization since activity had declined, and Discord became the primary venue for communication between Member States. Google+, which had been the platform the MA operated on discontinued the year prior, on April 2, 2019.
For those who may not be aware, the Micronational Assembly is one of the largest active micronational organizations presumed to be founded in April 2016 (possibly earlier) that aims to promote peace and the common good.
Issues
I made five points relating to the subject: the organization’s inactive state, lesser traits shared with many micronations (in terms of identity), aging members, the use of Discord as the primary venue, and hostile member states. At the time, my solution was to have the MA move to Reddit and promote the MA further. Looking back, I feel I was mostly right with my points, but I misunderstood the issues relating to Discord. While the Discord sector has specific issues in formality, it is the best option for the MA because of its user base and its functionality. I would say that it is the new Skype for the micronational community since it has had a similar impact in the MicroWiki Sector with an increase in activity. I also thought a more feasible platform option would be MeWe; the MA has a community on MeWe, which was made in 2019. However, it has less activity than the Discord server. Regarding Reddit, there have been controversial micronations on the platform; therefore, I am opposed to moving the MA to Reddit. I think the actual problem was that it did not have the same name recognition because the MA did have many members from the YouTube Sector when it rose to prominence in 2017, but after Google+ shut down, the organization experienced inactivity. Regarding the issue of traits shared with other micronations, the MA would improve as long as the organization is friendly, and that also solves the issue of hostile member states. At the time, there were members of the MA who had been involved with the organization for a while and had become older, resulting in less time availability. There have since been newer members of the MA who have joined.
There are only two other issues that I did not mention prior, which are the structure and objective. Essentially, the way the MA works is that there are three separations of power, the Executive Branch (which would be the Chairman and the Council), the MA Court, and the General Assembly. The Chairman is the organization’s executive leader (also a member of the Council); the Council votes on membership applications and propositions that the General Assembly passes with a three-fifths majority vote in approval which also require approval from the Chairman or Chief Justice. The MA Court is the Judicial Branch comprised of the Chief Justice and Deputy Justice, who judicially examines trials. The General Assembly is the main legislative body that comprises the Delegates of the MA. I think more power should be vested to the General Assembly in having the power to decide on propositions and membership applications, as it would allow for more insight into applicants, and the MA Council should be replaced with Secretary positions, who would handle matters such as Diplomacy or Public Relations. The Council formerly represented certain regions worldwide, such as the United States and Europe but was changed to have Council Members from the same area in 2020. I think the objective should include establishing good diplomatic relations and promoting development in member states.
Solution
I believe that the solution to all of the issues would be to prioritize creating a new Charter (which is currently underway) that allows for more power vested to the General Assembly in deciding on propositions or membership applications and replacing the Council with Secretary positions. In addition, having rules of conduct and continuing to promote the MA further would help maintain activity, including good diplomatic relations, and promote diplomatic relations to the objective.
On May 26, the Council of the Micronational Assembly elected King Evan I, delegate of the Grand Kingdom of Ameristan, as the 16th Chairman of the Micronational Assembly and ousted Chairman Fredrick M., representative of Ausveria, shortly after Saspearian was readmitted as a Member State and reinstated as a Council Member. Fredrick M. had previously served as the Chairman of the MA for nearly one year and a half, which makes him the longest-known serving Chairman. His tenure as Chairman was controversial due to inactivity, behavior, and the political crisis that arose from the August 2022 MA Council Election. The move toward Evan I becoming the Chairman is unprecedented since there had previously not been a new Chairman elected since 2021.
Shortly after the August 2022 Election, Stefan I, who serves as the delegate of Great Lawl Reich and a Councilman, received three votes as Chairman, which was the majority of votes from the council but did not become Chairman due to Fredrick’s concerns over activity, despite the council’s power to elect the Chairman. An election was set to be held in March, as opposed to February, due to the delay in the election results from the August 2022 Election, but it was never held due to inactivity within the MA.
On April 20, the account of Fredrick M., that had ownership of the MA Discord server, was reportedly suspended and later deleted due to a violation of the Discord Terms of Service. Anthony I had kept in contact with certain member states and worked with Ameristan to transfer server ownership. The plan of which went over the course of a month and was successful. Saspearian was unbanned from the MA, and Anthony I was granted server ownership and has stated to remain as the server owner until becoming unable to serve in the position. Anthony I was reinstated as a Council Member, replacing Thomas Jacobs, the Delegate of East Galway, due to Saspearian winning the August 2022 Election but never taking office after the results were announced. The seat was formerly held under Ballinfoyle.
“If you are confused about anything, I will explain…
Fred of Ausveria has officially been ousted from the chairmanship of the Micronational Assembly.
At approximately 9:40 PM EST, I, Evan of Ameristan, was voted in as the new chairman of MA.
This all started when Saspearian was removed from his councilman rank and banned by Fred. While he was chairman, my predecessor (Fred) drove the MA into the ground with inactivity, toxicity, etc.
On April 20, Fred was suspended from Discord, resulting in his ownership being restricted. Me and Saspearian worked together and now we have restored order.
Fred has been ousted from chairmanship by us councilmen… the MA will live again!”
-King Evan I of Ameristan, Chairman of the MA
Evan I’s statement on the recent events. May 26, 2023
The reaction to the Chairman’s statement among member states was mostly positive, and there was few opposition towards it. Fontasia denounced the ousting of Fredrick M., calling it an unlawful and unnecessary overthrow.
Background
In December 2021, then Chairman Hunt Powell announced intentions towards dissolving the MA and canceling the election that was set to be held in February 2022. Fredrick M., who was a Councilman at the time, created an Emergency Council and declared himself the Chairman of the Micronational Assembly; he also created a new server for the MA, and the response was agreed upon by several Member States. On December 16, 2021, Hunt Powell resigned as Chairman and agreed for Fredrick M. to become his successor.
On August 7, 2022, The election results for the August 2022 Election were delayed, and Fredrick M. initially removed Anthony I, delegate of Saspearian, from the position of Council Member; later the same day, Saspearian was banned due to his accusations of not being fit to serve a position in the MA. Following the conclusion of the August 2022 MA Council Election, which saw Saspearian winning the election and having the most votes from all candidates with 16 votes (84.2%), the action resulted in a political crisis in the MA. Many member states opposed the action, while fewer members supported or were neutral toward it. Anthony I reacted by stating that he did not believe he acted in a way that was an ability or disqualified him from serving a position in the MA and hoped for a compromise to be reached.
On August 11, 2022, Fredrick M. announced on the MA discord server that the Grand Kingom of Ameristan, Great Lawl Reich, the Jewel Republic, Ballinfoyle and Schwertesia were elected as Council Members despite the results showing that Saspearian, the Grand Kingdom of Ameristan, Great Lawl Reich, the Jewel Republic, and Whisperburg (which was formally known as Smithtown) won the most votes. Whisperburg has since been ceded to the TDC Empire in October 2022.
The results of the August 2022 MA Council Election.
Aftermath
Chairman Evan I announced that a new Charter is planned to be created soon, and the next general election is set to be held in July. Anthony I intends to work towards reforming the Charter and running for Chairman in the July election.
The 2023 Saspearian General Election began on January 27 and ended at midnight Unueco Time on January 29, which saw a turnout of 71% (10/14), an increase of 31 points from the turnout of 40% (6/15) in the 2021 General Election, and the highest turnout in an election in Saspearian history. All six seats in parliament were up for election. The election was one seat short of having candidates, which is one seat in the province of Logejo, which is scheduled to be filled in through a special election or an appointment soon, according to Emperor Anthony I. The last general election for parliament was held two years ago, in January 2021, which had three seats up for election. There has since been an increase in the number of seats in parliament due to legislation drafted since then allowing for more expansion and the annexation of Veranderen, which would eventually become a province by an agreement in parliament, thus leading to the parliament gaining one seat, though it was not technically considered as a province by constitutional definition prior.
The ruling party prior to the election, the Saspearian National Party, has seen a shift in control over parliament. In January 2021, the SNP had 2 out of the three seats, and the party was the only one having representation in Parliament from April through October 2021. The Moderate party, led by Hunt Powell, would gain one seat, though it was short-lived, and the Socialist Party (now Technocratic-Socialist Party) gained a seat in December 2021. The Former Prime Minister, Rory McPhail, established the Conservative Nationals Party, which, similarly to the Moderate Party, would be short-lived. Rory McPhail has since renounced his citizenship from Saspearian.
Before the election, the structure of parliament comprised three seats by the SNP and two seats by the Technocratic-Socialist Party. There are two seats in both Logejo and Tremota, one in Veranderen and one in the Capital, Unueco. This election marked the first general election in Saspearian’s history not to have any candidates running from the ruling party. Four out of the six candidates were members of the Technocratic-Socialist Party, which has recently experienced an increase in membership and has become the ruling party. The two other candidates were independents.
Logejo
Candidate
Votes
✓ Thomas Jacobs (Independent)
7 (70%)
3 votes (30%) were cast in abstention. 100% Reporting | Final Results
Tremota
Candidate
Votes & Percentage
✓ Matthew Laptev (Independent)
6 (60%)
✓ Alice Malcolm (Technocratic-Socialist Party)*
5 (50%)
Connor Anderson (Technocratic-Socialist Party)
4 (40%)
* (asterisk) – Denotes incumbent 1 vote (10%) was cast in abstention. 100% Reporting | Final Results
Veranderen
Candidate
Votes & Percentage
✓ Erzi Ambriz (Technocratic-Socialist Party)
9 (90%)
1 vote (10%) was cast in abstention. 100% Reporting | Final Results
Unueco
Candidate
Votes & Percentage
✓ Ezekiel Ensor (Technocratic-Socialist Party)*
9 (90%)
* (asterisk) – Denotes incumbent 1 vote (10%) was cast in abstention. 100% Reporting | Final Results
The Technocratic-Socialist Party has won the majority of seats in parliament with three seats, and the Independents have gained two seats.
Note: Incumbent Member of Parliament, Ezekiel Ensor, represented Logejo prior to the election.
On November 19, it was announced by the President of the Micronational Olympic Federation, Tomáš Falešník, that Saspearian would be hosting the 2023 Micronational Olympic Federation Games after a vote among the member states of the MOF was held in the Second Round of selection for host nation between Saspearian and New Athens. Saspearian narrowly won the nomination with 14 votes to New Athens, who had 12 votes. In the first round, New Athens was in the lead and advanced with 13 votes, Saspearian was second and advanced with 8 votes, and Forestia was third and eliminated with 5 votes. 26 votes were cast in total in both rounds.
The logo for the 2023 MOF Games.
Background
Since becoming a member of the Micronational Olympic Federation in 2020, Saspearian has participated in the 2021 and 2022 Games and has previously placed a bid for the nomination of the 2022 games earlier this year. Saspearian advanced through the first round but was eliminated in the second round and received 5 votes in both rounds. Subsequently, Wegmat became the host of the games. Saspearian placed a bid for the 2023 MOF Games on October 17 after a proposition passed through a 4-0 vote by the Parliament of Saspearian for the host nation nomination.
Five years ago, on October 20, 2017, the seven members of the Saspearian Congress, including Emperor Anthony I, met and signed a Declaration of Independence from the United States of America. The document also brought about Saspearian’s establishment, which marks the nation’s half-decennial anniversary.
Establishment & Emperor Anthony I Era
Before the Saspearian Declaration of Independence was signed. Around August through early October 2017, Anthony I started to announce the creation of Saspearian by creating a government website and eventually securing an alliance with Astain, who would turn out to be a significant ally for Saspearian in the earlier days. Saspearian also became a member of the OToC (Organization Treaty of Countries) and has remained the last surviving former member of the organization. Anthony I had a vision of Saspearian as one that ultimately made the world a better place due to the political polarization that the United States had experienced during this time.
Emperor Anthony I addresses the nation regarding the Saspearian Declaration of Independence.
The Emperor Anthony I Era started shortly after Saspearian declared independence; Anthony I was inaugurated as the Emperor of Saspearian and now has held a five-year reign as the Emperor. In addition, the Saspearian Congress had dissolved due to inactivity, becoming an Absolute Monarchy. During this time, Saspearian was also involved with the YouTube Sector, which the OToC was part of, the Google+ Sector, and the MicroWiki sector to a lesser extent than today. In 2018, Saspearian would be banned from the Micronational Assembly due to the land having claimed only a bedroom at the time. However, Saspearian would expand that same year with the annexation of the Backyard Territory. Saspearian would face the Ratican-Saspearian war in May 2018. The war was called to end due to the distance between Saspearian and the Ratican Empire, and the Treaty of Bedlamsan was signed, ending the war.
In 2019, Saspearian rejoined the Micronational Assembly due to a new policy for member states at the time. Saspearian gained a second citizen known as Jaiden D., and since then, the total number of citizens has increased to around 20 citizens. Saspearian faced the August Crisis, which was a diplomatic and political crisis and had led to the banning of Saspearian from the MA due to reporting a delegate in the MA due to behavior and the misconception of Saspearian having hostility towards Würbec, who had declared war on Saspearian. However, it was disagreed as a war by Saspearian. Saspearian would have a flag contest held that year, which has remained unchanged since then.
Flag of Saspearian (2019-Present)
Although Saspearian had little online presence until the early 2020s, it was an active nation. Physical newspapers were made in a series of SBC New’s-own weekly publications from 2017 through 2019. Even slightly predating Saspearian’s official establishment, with the first edition being published on October 1, 2017, and every Sunday until the last edition was made on December 29, 2019. Saspearian also became a member of the Grand Unified Micronational as an observer state on August 11, 2019, and rejoined the Micronational Assembly as a member state on February 24, 2020, which ended the August Crisis. In 2020, Saspearian joined the Cupertino Alliance as a member state. Many diplomatic relations were established that same year, and the Saspearian Constitution was drafted in November and December 2020, which would lead to the transition of the government system to a Constitutional Monarchy. Saspearian would also expand with the annexation of the province of Tremota, then known as Owens, and the annexation of the territory of Saspeariard Illinois.
Modern Era
The Saspearian Constitution went to effect on January 16, 2021, which marked the end of the Emperor Anthony I Era and the beginning of the Modern Era. Saspeariard Illinois had been captured during the Great Des Plaines Valley War and diplomatically supported Wegmat in the war. The Saspeariard-backed Liberation Coalition won the war, and the land was back in possession of Saspearian. In 2021, Saspearian faced the Second August Crisis due to the citizen Jackie Owens who had become the Empress of Saspearian, was inactive. The crisis was less diplomatically severe for Saspearian, and all diplomatic ties that Saspearian had to other micronations would remain. Saspearian would experience a decline in activity during this time, but there has been an increase in activity within the past few months. Today’s 5th anniversary of Saspearian’s Independence coincides with the agreement for the annexation of Veranderen from Ponderosa Hills for $350, following an agreement between both nations.
Anthony I plans to give a speech today at around 9 PM Central Time to reflect on Saspearian and announce the recipients of the Order of Saspearian and a new export which was to be kept as a secret until this occasion.
Correction: 11/11/2022 – The Saspearian Flag Contest would be held during 2019 and the first place winner, Münchner, had his flag design become the Saspearian Flag, which has remained unchanged since then.
Saspearian will annex Veranderen from the Socialist Federal Union of Ponderosa Hills on November 1. An agreement was signed today between both nations, which coincides with Saspearian’s 5th Independence Day. The agreement states that Saspearian must purchase the land for $350. Veranderen was formerly a part of New Virginia until earlier this year when Ponderosa Hills annexed it, and the land had been a part of Sunsonia. Veranderen is located in close proximity to Mainland Saspearian, as the lands are located in Central Texas.The agreement passed through the Saspearian Parliament on October 17 in a 4-0 vote, which was introduced to Parliament on October 15. On October 19, Ponderosa Hills held a referendum on the annexation, and the referendum concluded today with 6 votes in support and no votes in opposition. Both Anthony I, Emperor of Saspearian, and Leon Montan, President of Ponderosa Hills, intend to revitalize the economies of both nations with the agreement.
The October 2022 Special Election began at 12 AM CT on October 7, 2022. Following the resignation of the former and first Prime Minister Rory Leonard from the Saspeariard Parliament and the renouncement of citizenship on October 2. Due to personal circumstances.
Candidate
Votes
Ezekiel Ensor (Independent)
3 (75%)
Erzi Ambirz (Independent)
1 (25%)
Final results
The election concluded at 12 AM CT on October 9, 2022. Which saw a turnout of 22% (4 votes), which broke the record for the lowest turnout ever in any election held in Saspearian. The previous record was in the December 2021 Parliamentary Special Election, which saw a turnout of 31%.
