Zeitgeist Magazine, 10 December 301 AP

Zeitgeist Magazine's Utania This Week
December 10th, 301 AP

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INFLATION

Utania's inflation, says the Reserve Bank of Utania (RBU) is rocketing along at 20% and is significantly eroding wages for the country's emerging middle-class. Certain items are as high as 40%, fueled by the increased cash in the economy from the export boom. Prior to independence, Utanians earned very little from farming, the profits from exports going to Guwimith. The RBU also blames profiteering by Utanian food companies, such as Belson.

Starlight Corporation started broadcasting on time and without a hitch since, its satellite television broadcast, with 33 channels available from around the world. It's the company's web site that is "significantly" behind schedule.

This weekend, the Vexcup tournament began, but Utania is not due to play until later in the week.

All the state MPs in the Lasanne state parliament are finally known. Two electorates, Hamilton and Dodson, remained hanging at the end of the Saturday night of the election. This week, Hamilton was handed to the Peoples Party for the first time in over 30 years, while Dodson was handed to the Democrats. This doesn't change the final result -- Governor Hope still retains the governorship, his Conservative-lead coalition still dominates the Parliament -- 49 of 93 seats -- and the Burovian-Liberal 'third-way" coalition still managed to near-scuttle the government. However, the additional seat to the government strengthens its majority from one to two seats.
http://www.jaggedblue.com/zgnews/_1117,lsn_state301_hamilton.html

L.E.C. WOES

The Governor set about infuriating the Electricity Union by saying that the new gas-fired power station would be staffed from within the Lasanne Electricity Corporation rather than by hiring from outside. The Union says that the Governor is endangering his pro-employment credentials. The LEC employs 35,000 people.

The mayor of Charleston, George Castern, was reelected this week after a long fight to the final result -- the election held the same day as the state election. The Peoples Party Mayor narrowly defeated his Democrat opponent, Lyle Kellerman. Castern had been mayor to the prospering city for two terms, after winning power in '97. Castern's deputy, one Michael Dunne, is said to have won the fight for him each time with a hard-fought campaign. Castern has won the mayoralty despite local and federal MPs being Conservatives.

Calls were made the past two weeks by Utani Nationalists and Traditionalists for the Utani language to be taught in the Utani character set or alphabet. Utani is commonly taught using the Ingalised form, that is using the Ingallish alphabet, with the focus on easier pronounciation than correctness. The Utani language has only been officially taught in Utania in the past few years, except in the country's south where the language was the alternative to Guwimithian. The call received the backing of the Savaj Emperor himself.