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Good afternoon. It’s day 1491 and I’m in the marketplace at 15:00. There are big changes coming in the manufacturing sector, and the Congress races are getting underway. First, let’s do the numbers.


Foo😛
Price | Price Per HP
Q1 0.48 | 0.24
Q2 0.97 | 0.24
Q3 1.47 | 0.24
Q4 2.03 | 0.25
Q5 2.30 | 0.23
Q6 8.90 | 0.74

Weapons
Price | Price Per Use
Q1 5.20 | 5.20
Q2 10.13 | 5.06
Q3 16.00 | 5.33
Q4 21.11 | 5.27
Q5 21.85 | 4.37
Q6 44.40 | 7.40

Raw Materials
Weapon RM: 0.32
Food RM: 0.23

Money Market
Gol😛 998 USD
US😨 0.002 Gold



In a recent article, Point Taken looked into the border between West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Several readers volunteered other, similar fails. Saskatchewan (Canada), Catalonia (Spain), and apparently all of Mexico at one point. If you know of a border that shouldn’t exist, let me know so we can publish a full report in the near future.

The United States came under pressure from the Swiss after some citizens fought to suppress a Resistance War in the region of Svizzera Italiana. The region was originally owned by Switzerland, taken over by Poland several months ago, and liberated by the US in recent days. The American government agreed to return Svizzera to the Swiss ahead of Congressional elections, but had difficulty communicating that agreement to the general public. Citizens are asked to check the Daily Orders issued by the Defense Department so that damage can be used most effectively against our enemies and avoid pissing off allies.

In war news, I'm sad to report that in recent days the US successfully defeated Canada in a series of Resistance Wars. The Canadian-held regions were taken from Poland during their occupation and gave our northern brothers an important resource bonus that we already have from several other states.

The European front continues to go well, but it could be going better if our military leaders went about picking targets a little more effectively. If you take a look at the map, you'll see what I mean. Poland currently has all five food resources, and four weapons resources. A successful resistance war in Eastern Netherlands would eliminate one of each. Right now, the US is attacking Poland Hesse, and Germany is hitting Bavaria. If the US had attacked Bavaria, the Germans could have taken out the Polish capitol of Pomerania instead. A victory there would have moved the capitol to the most highly populated region, Great Poland, and cut the Poles down to just 1 weapon resource and 3 food resources. Removing resources would be huge, because it reduces both the RM and finished goods that Polish companies can produce. This, in turn, leads to lower volumes on the market, higher prices, and ultimately less damage done on the battlefield. I encourage all our elected and appointed officials to lobby for a smarter war plan, and I encourage you to do the same.


I'm interested in publishing some eRep-related cartoons. If you're interested in drawing them, PM me.

That special time of the month is coming up once again. All sorts of people will be flaunting their records, clogging up the news stands and shout feeds, and offering to pay you to move all around the country. I'm talking, of course, about Congress Elections. They will take place on Christmas this month, as I suppose they do every December. I imagine that a large percentage of players, especially in the eUS, are in high school or college, so the free time of Winter Break may draw a higher number of candidates and allow more folks to stay up closer to 23:59 to vote in tight races. Point Taken is looking to endorse a small handful of candidates this month that seem to be the best ones for the job. If you or someone you know is running for Congress, send me a PM with your party, state, and why you want to be in Congress. Feel free to include previous positions within your party or the government, and any special skills you may have that will set you above the rest. Nominations should be submitted no later than the 23rd.

The admin announced today the option to upgrade factories to the Q6 level for the first time. The upgrade will only be available until Thursday night (or Friday morning, depending on your time zone). Gnilraps offered a critical analysis of the new product level, concluding that Q6 weapons would be much more viable than Q6 food, that the new companies would increase the cost of employing workers (crowding most Q5 companies out of the job market), and make the game less fun for the 95% of player who purchase little or no gold. The eUS Forums weighed in on the development with the thread "Die Gypsies Die" but are unlikely to reach any valid conclusion. As of 19:30, there are 36 individuals selling Q6 weapons on the US market, and 10 offering Q6 food. Demand for raw materials will likely increase with Q6 manufacturing, though there have been no plans announced for any Q6-equivalent RM companies.

More news will be added as the evening continues, last updated at 19:40
-Tosh