Christmas/Anniversary Bonus
Although 3011’s Christmas was just a normal Christmas, there was something especially Christmasy about it. People celebrated a lot which was pretty nice. Also lots of people got a Christmas bonus, including the leaders of the world. Yay for niceness (OCC: Great year everyone!
)
-Every PC nation gets $5 as a Christmas bonus
Food Security Concerns as Skeletons Dominate the Market
The Peaceful Skeleton realm has become dominant in the world of agriculture. They supply most of the world’s food thanks to its affordability, nutrition and excellent taste. This has raised some concerns about global food security, the Peaceful Skelton Realm could use their business to influence other nations with threat of embargo or high tariffs. Even worse, if the vast Skeletal farms were somehow destroyed or cut off from the rest of the world, it could cause a massive famine. Even in nations that have major agricultural sectors (such as Romania’s cactus fruit, Nova Terra’s vertical farms and the Mystery Country’s…corn) they are still struggling to compete with the Skeletal products. It is unlikely that anyone could match the mass spending that the Skeletals have undertaken for their products, especially because of their massive head start. Not all of this news is bad for the global economy, although localized agriculture is failing everyone is making tonnes off of imports. Especially the Skeletals. For better or for worse, the face of agriculture has been changed forever.
-Everyone gains an additional $5 from Skeletal agriculture trade
-The Peaceful Skeleton Realm also gets 2 ECO from their agriculture
Earth Enters the Galactic Community
Earth has truly come a long way in the last decade in the fields of space exploration, colonization and trade. It is only recently that the native countries of Earth have started to influence the galaxy rather than being influenced by the galaxy. Sure, there are cases such as Nova Terra and the UKIP-Pirates, but both groups mostly divorced themselves from Earth to gain their galactic status. Quite literally in the case of UKIP, who are continuing to convert their Earth holdings into spaceships and teleport them to their new home in outer space. This time they transported the entire island of Gotland into space. Before the island was transported into space, the Pirates kidnapped various directors who were known violators of the Geneva Convention including Mel Gibson, M Night Shaymalan, James Nguyen (the dude who directed Birdemic) and Tommy Wiseau.
They also kidnapped Paul Dozsa, a man who just wanted a succulent Chinese meal and for them not to touch his penis. What could they be planning?
Another major development in the solar system was the colonization of the moon by the Pharaoh Peril. Formerly the cat of Herrick De Vann, the late director of E.V.I.L, he wishes to establish a new nation for his cats that are free from the perils of Earth. He brought his entourage of cats (including many renegade Nekoese and former supporters of the Sultana) and the small amount of human servants to a rocket and flew to the Moon. There they found a group of Lunar Cats who began to worship Peril as their Pharaoh, which allowed Peril to quickly take over the moon and establish the Lunar Kingdom of Bastetten. They were able to quickly establish their economy thanks to their exports of memes and (to a lesser extent thanks to the Skeletal dominance over agriculture) moon cheese. Although Peril has successfully distanced himself from the evils of E.V.I.L, he may have already made a new rival in the form of the Neko Imperium, who also claim and wish to be a haven for cats. Will the Empress and the Pharaoh find common ground or will their rivalry divide catkind?
Two other nations, the Peaceful Skeleton Realm and the Highwaymen, began their first steps into space by establishing research satellites. The Peaceful Space Association aims to bring the Skeletal message of peace and love to the final frontier (all frontiers appearing in this work are in space, any resemblance to real forums, living or dead, is purely coincidental) through their new Satellite, the Skeletonik. The Highwaymen’s satellite, Satellite 15…The Final Frontier (again read the disclaimer), also is a research satellite that is harvesting solar energy. Well, that’s what the Highwaymen claim at least, can you really trust the Highwaymen? Nevertheless, the harvesting of solar energy is getting both the Skeletals and the Highwaymen more money than expected because the sun is really hot this year.
Existing galactic powers are also expanding their space holdings. The Vietnamese invested quite a lot of money in expanding their Catachan colony this year, could they be considering abandoning Asia to its fate and migrating to the jungle planet? Meanwhile, not wanting to be outdone by their Earth counterparts, the Nova Terrans invested a large amount of their Earth profits back into their space empire. In related news, the Neko Imperium have managed to make contact with a group of Bothans through their colony of Nyan-1. Although no one is sure for certain, there are rumours that the Nekoese are trying to court the Bothans to shore up their espionage network.
-Lunar Kingdom of Bastetten gets 2 ECO from establishing lunar trade
-Peaceful Skeleton Realm and the Highwaymen get an additional ECO from their solar harvests
-Nova Terra and Vietnam gets an additional ECO from their space expansion
-The Neko Imperium gets an additional POL from their…discussions with the Bothans
Romanian Elections 3011
The Second Romanian Elections were held in December last year and have only just finished being counted. Thanks to the districting of the new Persian provinces and the integration of the Duchy of India the senate has grown in size. Now there are 105 senators over the 35 provinces, this means that a party or coalition would need a total of 53 seats to make government. This has naturally resulted in gains for most of the major parties. A summary of the results is discussed below, as always the more detailed composition of the Romanian Senate can be seen in the game stats.
Catholics United Party (CUP) [Yellow] (37 Seats) – Although they implemented the same pro-Arabian policies proposed by the Free Alliance of Democrats, they lost a majority of their Arabian seats that were up for election to FAD. Still, that was not enough for the FAD to steal the CUP’s position as the most popular party in Romania thanks to a few very loyal provinces and the annexation of the very pro-CUP Hindustan.
Free Alliance of Democrats (FAD) [Green] (25 Seats) – Although they secured a large number of Arabian seats, they were unable to form government by themselves. Although they could potentially secure the support of the Union for Minority Rights, the CUP is in a much better position to negotiate with them.
Union for Minority Rights (UMR) [Blue] (28 Seats) – Thanks to the decline of both the Republicans for Religious Rights and Sinn Balk, the Union for Minority rights have gained the balance of power. Although they have more seats than the FAD and could demand that they elect their own Prime Minister, after a debate amongst their senior members they decided against that. Thanks to the large influence of catholic humans, the Turkish and moderate Balkanites the UMR is most open to renegotiating a coalition government with the CUP. The UMR has demanded a series of uncontroversial concessions that could be implemented by the government with minimal fuss by anyone. However, there is one controversial demand and that is the arrest of Kim Meanieblossom.
Kim Meanieblossom is a minor clerk in Italy who came to infamy after she refused a marriage licence for two Hellenic immigrants because they followed the Hellenic faith rather than Catholicism. While weddings of people of religions other than Catholicism is not illegal, Kim said she believes that they should not be allowed to marry especially not in holy Rome. While she is clearly legally in the wrong, many highly conservative public figures have come out in support of her, which made arresting her problematic. The UMR is demanding that the Empress intervene personally and approve the arrest of this woman, however doing this may anger the more conservative portions of Romania. The Empress may have little choice in the matter however, as if they do not secure the support of the UMR then they could easily form government with the FAD…
Separatist Coalition (SC) [Orange] (15 Seats) – Both the Republicans for Religious Rights and Sinn Balk lost a lot of seats this election, due to the increasing popularity of the idea of accepting the Romanian rule. Iskander even lost his position of Prefect to a more moderate candidate, who has reversed his taxation policies. Due to the Balkanites and the Ottomans finding common ground, the two parties have merged to become the Separatist Coalition who aims to allow the Balkans and Anatolia to secede, along with anyone else who wishes independence from Romania. Although they have lost a lot of influence this election season, the ideals of independence have not died out. Iskander has already made clear his intention to run for Prefect next election and while moderate UMR candidates have been elected, the populace in both Anatolia and the Balkans have a distrust of the Empire and the Empress will need to impress them to keep hold of their support.
Meanwhile, the Arabian economy has undergone a resurgence after the election. Leading economists believe that it was not the investment in agriculture that caused this bump but rather because of the increased attention on the region improving investor confidence. Either way, this is a good thing for the Arabian economy.
-Stability boost in Arabia from the improving economy
Debates in the Peaceful Skeleton Realm Intensify
The Peacefulization of E.V.I.L Island (now known as Peaceful Island after the Skeletals colonized it) has caused a large debate in the Peaceful Skeleton Realm over the role of their peacekeepers. While the Skeletal Peacekeepers have changed their training regieme from lessons learned from the Peacefulization of E.V.I.L, many Skeletals do not believe that this is enough. One of the most vocal and influential groups arguing for the expansion of the Peacekeepers are the E.E.P. (Extreme Expansion of the Peacekeepers) Movement, who believe a stronger Peacekeeper force are
“While we Skeletals are comited to peace, piece, other species of this planet are knot.” Miss Spooky, spokeswoman for the E.E.P Movement, said in a press conference. “We are no longer isoulated in a peaceful dymension wheare the only thing we hade to worry about was rouge unpeaceful vehiceles. We know half too worry about big armees and very unpeaceful wepons. Onlyee bye halfing a very big peacekeeper force can we stop others from injucting war into our peaceful realm. We also advokate for a misile defense systeme so we can defend ourselves frome wepons that are even worse than the dreeded helicopter.”
Although there is quite a lot of support for the E.E.P Movement’s proposals, there is still some opposition to it. A smaller, but still large, group of Skeletals believe that having a big army would go against the traditions of the Peaceful Skeleton Realm. Despite these objections, it is likely that the Realm will reach consensus on the issue that are closer to the E.E.P Movement’s goals than their detractors. However if Mr Bones, Mr Skeletal or another important government figure objected to the proposals they could probably stop the bills from passing. This would greatly anger the majority of Skeletal populace and could bring disharmony to the realm. The skeletons have spoken, will the government listen?
-Peaceful Skeleton Realm gets an additional MIL from new training regimes. They also get another ECO from their stellar economy
The Music of Africa
This year was a very musical year for Africa, starting with a transcontinental concert of the newly reformed band/football team Iron Maiden. This concert was called “from Capetown to Cairo”, the band and their staff were put under intense scrutiny due to security concerns and the tense relationship between the Highwaymen and the Neko Imperium, but after finding nothing suspicious they were allowed to travel the countryside (with lots of security personnel tailing them of course). Their tour was a roaring success, causing a spike in record sales in both countries.
Not wanting to be outdone, the Neko Imperium created a new and very catchy anthem for their glorious nation which has recently undergone yet another name change. This musical focus has created a mini-renaissance in both the Nekoese and Highway music, pushing the various Pokemon idols and the Traditional Skeleton Doot music off the Top 100 charts worldwide.
-Both the Highwaymen and the Neko Imperium get 1 ECO from increased records sales and the tour.
Military and Economic Prosperity in Nova Terra
The Grand Moffs of Nova Terra have good news, the nation’s military is once again reached acceptable levels of fighting strength. It is also believed that from data received from mandatory feedback sessions that the people would once again be willing to fight limited wars (such as foreign interventions), although they probably would not be so supportive of large scale wars that would involve fighting inside Nova Terran lands. It is unlikely that Nova Terra would be fighting those kinds of battles anytime soon, thanks to the massive Atlantic and Pacific defensive sea walls that were constructed. They cover almost the entirety of North and South America, they do not yet cover the Mystery Country but they could easily be extended. These walls have provided Nova Terra with a very strong defence against invasions from the old world.
The Nova Terran Recovery Program has also begun to transform the country into a state more fitting for peace. After years of total mobilization, the demobilization process will be slow, but the rewards will be grand. The retraining of draftees has gone according to plan, with the new fusion plants and post-war industries providing thousands of jobs for the ex-soldiers. The agriculture revolution was not quite as successful due to superior Skeletal imports, but it is still providing jobs for those who like nature.
Not everything is perfect in Nova Terra though. There a was a large protest in Mexico City over the “unnecessary” amount of surveillance by the government. The police quickly broke up the protest, but Grand Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod is concerned as many of the high up troublemakers escaped arrest. He believes that it could cause problems down the line, although he also thinks that it is nothing a few brutal suppressions and secret police arrests can’t handle. Talking of the secret police, the Department of Homeland Security and the Inquisition successfully purged a large amount of Highwaymen sympathisers and spies. This was helped by the zero tolerance policy for drug users, which allowed the Nova Terrans to track down some senior officials who were passing on information to the Highwaymen. After the execution of an important General who was addicted to drugs, it is believed that all Highwaymen spies have fled the country. This is another victory for the Nova Terran counter-intelligence departments and a testament to the strength and unity found within the totalitarian state.
-Nova Terra gets a bonus 3 MIL from the Seawall and a bonus 1 ECO from economic improvements
Mysterious Film Industry Booms After Cult Hit
After UKIP kidnapped so many BRILLIANT film makers, the global film industry suffered. Even the Skeletals haven’t been producing as many films recently. It was no wonder that in such a terrible film climate that the film “Grunkle Stan the Brave” got such a cult following. Made by a slightly unhinged Mysterious patriot, the film is about the Mystery Country overcoming its foes. One of the most memorable scenes in the film is when Grunkle Stan (portrayed by the director) backflips out of a helicopter and stabs Toste of Munsö in the brain. This film has become a cult hit, causing a filmmaking revolution in the Mystery Country. This, of course, has made the Mystery Country lots and lots of money in taxes.
In unrelated news, Mabel Pines has finally come back from a very long and productive diplomatic mission in Romania.
-Mystery Country gets a bonus ECO from film making
GM is Confused by Abbottsford Once Again
“Eh???” NinjaCow64 ehed after convincing Civ’ed not to send assassins after him “Is the RP a joke about the broadcast being delayed for almost a month? Or is this is a joke about Abbott being too thick to realise that E.V.I.L is already defeated? Do I make a joke about how bad the internet is in Australia or do I parody the Emperor has no clothes? What should I do???” NinjaCow64 then had the bright idea of asking Tony Abbott IRL. He met him briefly at Melbourne Airport, but then he realised that Abbott would have no idea what he was talking about. Spaghetti briefly left Ninja’s pockets and he then resumed writing the update. He is still confused, even to this day.
-Abbottsford gets 2 MIL because ???
Economic Development Amid Political Scandal in the Caucasus
A political scandal shocked the nation, as merely days after King Agathios gave an interview to John Vitsaxakis an assassin tried to take the King’s life. Agathios was well prepared for the assault, using his impressive combat skills to take the unprepared assassin’s life. The last words said by the assassin before he bled out was the word “Traitor”. In the autopsy they could not find who this mysterious assassin was, the only thing of note that they found on him was a large tattoo of an octopus entangling a hammer and a sickle on his back. Security has been tightened at the palace to prevent further assassination attempts.
Despite this incident, the economic reforms in the Caucasus have been going extremely well. Dozens of ports and airports have been constructed with a mixture of private and public investment, creating thousands of new jobs and attracting new trade to the region. Foreign investors have become interested in the Caucasus as it is a country with favourable taxation laws and with a less hostile market compared to other wealthy regions. The tax revenue from these new ventures will surely be enough to realise Agathios’ dream of a sustainable welfare state.
-The Kingdom of the Caucasus gets a bonus 2 ECO from economic reforms and investment
Superheroes Join the Military of the New Neko Imperium
The nation that was formerly known as
Prince the Elsweyr Sultanate has once again gone through a name change, now it is known as the Neko Imperium. But that wasn’t the biggest thing to happen in the Neko Imperium, not by far. The revelation that Le Mustard Stain was radioactive came as quite a shock to the Neko Imperium, but it did explain the massive amount of Nekoese that had suddenly developed superpowers. These Nekoese, now realising that they aren’t alone in their strangeness, have decided to help their government out with their new powers. This mainly involves them joining the military which has put their new abilities to good use. That combined with the influx of loyal Vikings has caused the Imperial Army to recover from the disastrous losses in Russia and on E.V.I.L Island. And there are rumours that the Imperium have recently finished work on their Weapon of Mass Destruction, what could it be?
-The Neko Imperium gets 2 MIL from Superheroes, Vikings and Viking Superheroes
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GM Notes:
1 – Not much to say here. Tentative orders lock on the 1st of February. Have fun everyone!