TheLizardKing
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Peaceful Matters in 1962
This year, the German Conservative Party seems to be on an up swing, gaining the most seats in the German parliament they've managed to get a hold of, since the 1890's. It seems Kauffman's style of governing will persist, at least in this immediate time.
The Second Turkish Empire began constructing Mosques and Minarets in Romania, Serbia, and Greece this year, causing quite a stir in some locations. Some began citing an 'Islamic Takeover', while Moslems, previously silent minorities in the nations, began practicing a bit more publically, even if only slightly so. While the amount of converts remain small, this movement has made the politicians in the said countries take the Moslem populace into greater account in national matters.
Oil-pumping equiptment has been updated in the Second Turkish Empire. Most of it wasn't too far in terms of technology anyway, though some production boosts have been felt. (++2 Turkish IP)
The standard of living in the Far-Eastern Soviet seems to of risen this year, albeit with a few more Russian faces around. Whatever the reason may be, things are looking good. (++3 Far Eastern Soviet IP, +Far Eastern Soviet Happiness)
Riding on the successful defeat of the Central American Republic last year, President Andres Perez of Gran Colombia has been attempting to upgrade his nation's airforce with the new Sitka-Quito Cooperative Designed 'Little Angel' Fighters. The fighter is able to not only clearly maintain air-superiority, at least in competition with already designed standard fighter aircraft, but can be (at least somewhat) effective against targets on the ground. Among it's other notable features is the ability to be fairly 'invisible' to radar, at least depending on the altitude, and of course, its as on now, record breaking speed. President Perez quickly sold his previous 'archaic' fighters, to pay for these new, fancy ones.
In an attempt to make the annexation of the Central American Republic's territories a bit easier for both Colombians and Central Americans. President Perez has decided to make Moises Moreno from the Movimiento para la Lusticia Popular a cabinet minister, giving him the newly created title of 'Minister of Integration'. The ultimate goal of this post is "to assist in the re-integration of the Central American states after their long sojourn as independent rebels.". Moreno being given essentially a blank check has been able to ease the some of the previous issues within the annexation. Tensions still remain, however, and not all Central Americans have welcomed this new program with open arms. (see Military Matters) (-Colombian Happiness)
The Iberian populace has begun being encouraged on Small and Medium Enterprises in an attempted to boost the economy. The incentives were rather small however, and not too much of a boost was really felt. (+15 Iberian IP)
The Iberian government has also begun spending some of it's money on a series of military bases, with the goal of training their soldiers a tad better. This motion, along with the military excercises conducted last year, have made Iberian soldiers perhaps the most fit peace-time military on the planet. What good that'll do come actual combat is for now, unknown.
The war in China was over. The Treaty of Nanjing, signed by the Republican Chinese government, the Empire of Japan, India and Indochina officially ended all the fighting between the nations, as the once-combatatants turned to fight the now very real Communist threat spreading across the Chinese heartland (see Military Matters). India annexed much of South Western China, Indochina managed to take South China, with Japan pulling out a lot of Eastern China from the treaty. The remaining lands continued to be nominally Chinese, though, considering the extent of these revolutions, the Chinese government's ability to actually govern these lands is virtually non-existant.
From the Treaty, the free nations of Mongolia and Uyghurstan were created, with Mongolia being made a member (along with China) of the Coalition of Asian States, while Uyghurstan declined an offer to join the alliance, refusing to so readily associate itself with the Coalition. Mongolia, being offered no such chance, has become a half-hearted member at best, offering little aid in terms of actually helping the CAS fight the Communists in China, with many Mongolians actually supporting the rebels. Anti-CAS protests occured in Ulan Bator, and gained some support from the countryside, before some Japanese armoured brigades showed up to forcibly put the protests down.
The victory was celebrated this year in Japan, when the Emperor declared April 10th, Kyuui Day, or Peace/Tranquility Day. This date coincides with the exact signing of the Treaty of Nanjing. Parades and other festivities were held in Tokyo, as victorious army units marched through screaming crowds of supporters, cheering their victorious sons off 'to another victory'. The mysterious Boei Agents even made an appearance, albeit as the not-so-secretive secrete-service of some higher ranking Japanese officials. (+Japanese Happiness)
All the while, much of China remained in ruins, be it from bomber raids, or actual fighting between the various combatants over the last few years. Crop failures hit the civillian population hard, while the continued fighting in much of Central China (among other places) managed to fore-stall a lot of reconstruction efforts attempted by the Republican government. The territories occupied by the victorious powers experienced fewer revolutions, with many chosing instead to take the fight to what is now China. Japan began reconstructing some of the main industrial zones of the regions they've occupied, while India began bringing Sichuan into India officially by ensuring that any and all destroyed industry is up and running. Many Chinese workers not directly involved with the Communist revolts refused to partake directly in the building progress, for fear of 'helping the invaders'. Seizing an oppurtunity, much of the Indian lower classes began making their way to the region to take the newly opened Industrial jobs. Plans are in the works of creating a local governing system for next year. (++5 Indian IP, +1 Indian EP, ++5 Japanese IP)
The Soviet Republic of Russia declared it's recognition of the People's Army of China as the righftul rulers of China, instead of the 'puppet' CAS government established this year. In order to rightfully protect and support them in the conflict, the Red Army moved into China this year, in a purely defensive purpose, in order to protect Communist held lands. The Red Army did not participate in any attacks the PAC commited itself to this turn, instead maintained itself as a mere peace-keeping force. This put an obvious strain on CAS-Russian relations, as by CAS accounts, China is in fact a member of the alliance. No shots between the two sides have been fired, with the politicians on both sides planning on meeting together in the future to discuss the move.
In a rousing speech, the President of the United States of the Mid-Atlantic, Laurance Whitfield, publically insulted Christoofer De Vries, Prime Minister of the Dutch Empire, putting the two nations at odds. The Dutch Empire, and the USMA's southern neighbor, the Confederacy of North America signed the Amsterdam Accords, creating an alliance between the two nations, all the while highlighting a similar foreign diplomatic outlook. Should things continue to go south with relations betweent the Dutch Empire, and the USMA, this alliance will surely come in handy.
Confederate Vice-President Jonathan J. O'Neill announced his candidacy for the Dixie-Party Presidential nomination, in the election for the year 1962. With similar views as current Confederate president, James Monroe Forrest (who is at an all-time high in public ratings), it was thought that he would sweep the election. The Democrat's nomination of Andrew Jordan, a man who promised to end major involvement in the Caribbean crisis, and to 'bring a smile to every man and woman in Dixie.' gaining him more support then many Dixie politicians had originally thought he'd receive. The last polls show him behind in numbers by only 3%, an incredinly tight margin. Several specialists are even suggesting that he may run away with the victory, especially considering recent events to the north, and south. (see Military Matters)
The Confederate States government issued The Pardoning Act of 1962 this year, promising amnesty for any person 'who has committed a crime or misdemeanor against the Confederate government in acts of resistance before the date of January 1, 1962', clearly targeting the Texan Resistance group, the Texan Ranchers. Several hundred ex-Texans showed up to local Confederate military outposts, or police stations to receive the pardon. In order to help this 'healing' process along, President Forrest visited several of the western territories on a good-will tour, all the while making promises that Texan government officials can maintain their positions, so long as the people of the territory wishes for it. All in all, these beyond kind moves, coupled with some highly flattering speeches made by Forrest have really aided the assimilation of the ex-Texans into the Confederacy. Few acts of 'terrorism' on behalf of the Texan Ranchers occured this year, with all of those caught in affiliation with the group who did not recieve their pardon receiving criminal sentencing. (+Confederate Happiness, ++3 Confederate IP)
The new, western expanses of the Confederacy have also begun applying for state-hood this year, due in large part to the general benevolence President Forrest has expressed towards the people living in the area, much of which was Texas at one point or another. Several state politicans have expressed concern in regards to the new states, and their possible effects on the electoral college, however these concerns are greatly outweighed by the happy populaces of the new states. (+Confederate Happiness)
The Industrial Technological Advancement Act promised tax reductions for any company willing to upgrade their industry's equiptment and technology, to meet with the standard of technology the Confederate government can put forward. This reduction has allowed for several businesses to replace some previously out-of-date machines and ideas, with new modern ones. With this promise, the Confederate central government has managed to stay out of the economics of it all, with all of this being nothing more than an incentive, with several state's taking the matters into their own hands, such as Louisiana. (++2 Confederate IP)
Ukrainian Minister Groucho Marx invited several Black Sea nations to attend the 2nd Black Sea trade summit this year, with representatives from Georgia and Romania showing up. It seems that the Ukrainian government itself forgot about the summit, and not much was accomplished in it, past for several instances in which the Ukrainian, Romanian and Georgian ambassadors got quite drunk, and made deals that no one can really remember.
The first ship has sailed through the Panama Canal since the start of Colombian-Central American hositilies two years ago.
The Nigerian Nationalist Party rose to power in a coup this year, with Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu (known as Kaduna to supporters) a young officer in the Nigerian military at the head of the new government. Citing previous the previous Nigerian governments failure to destroy Communism is Nigeria, along with it's cooperation with the 'White Imperialists', and it's general benevolence towards White People, Kaduna and a small group of other military officers managed to stage a bloodless coup, deposing the previous Nigerian president. The response of the public was either wildly pro-Kaduna, or non-existant, with many Nigerians failing to notice too much of a difference, at least at first. It wasn't until the Nigerian military arrested and imprisoned all white people in the nation, along with people allegedly with Communist sympathies that things seemed to be very, very different. A propaganda campaign on behalf of Kaduna's supporters swayed large portions of the Nigerian populace's opinion in favor the move, with 'things' happening to those that decided to protest the militaries actions.
With all the whites gone, along with some other members of the population missing, a lot of questions have arisen, such as where they've gone, and of course, who is going to fill in the jobs they left behind. The youth has begun to look at Kaduna as an example of what Nigeria could be, and have been among his most fervent of supporters. Even with this, however, his complete control of his nation has still yet to be completely solidified, with the possibility of a counter-coup a very real possiblity. (--2 Nigerian IP, -30 Nigerian IP)
Texas has attempted to expand its economy. Feeding money into building some new dams and railways, a return has been seen. (+1 Texan EP, ++1 Texan IP)
Still revelling in his 'Person of the Year' Award, De Vries wasted no time getting right back on the horse, subsequently firing it for not 'fitting right', and riding off to go fix up the Dutch economy. He shifted his gaze towards the somewhat untapped potential of the Congo, sending out 'hunter gatherer' groups, to scout out any and all resources that could be exploited, and bring income into the Dutch Empire. The PCAA utilized a lot of its man-power, and money to re-map the entirety of the Congo, making sure no stone was left unturned. This of course, brought several members of one of these groups into conflict with some otherwise disconnected tribes, and communities of Africans, which the PCAA attempted to resolve as peacefully as possible- and when it was not possible, it wasn't anything their military couldn't handle. (see Military Matters)
The Infrastructural project initiated by the Dutch government last year was continued in full this year. A new railroad and highway system in parts of it's colonies allowed for a greater harvesting of resources, bringing in some signigant gains for the Dutch government. With an easier ability to connect with the otherwise fringe members of the Empire, the Dutch government has managed to successfully 'Dutchify' many otherwise disconnected and indifferent people living in the Congo and Indonesia. (+1 Dutch EP)
The Dutch government has also established a governmental office to provide various sorts of loans to energy companiese and energy research foundations in order to encourage growth. The ultimate goal is to prepare the Dutch Empire for a transition to Nuclear Power at some time in the future. The first nation to generally acknowledge that Nuclear Power may very well be the way of the future, various 'safe-guards' have been created to ensure that Dutch industry does not falter, should the transition be made. Seeing as the Dutch Empire has no knowledge of Atomics aside from the basic facts, however, have made this seem a bit premature, however, only time will tell.
Negotiations between Canada, the USMA, the Maritme Provinces and New England broke-down this year, after some attempted mediations by the Japanese Empire, and Gran Colombia. Writing a fair treaty (as compared to initial USMA suggestions) New English diplomats refused some of the minor points of the treaty, namely giving the USMA any fighter squadrons. And so, the fighting began again in ernest this year. (see Military Matters)
Canada, fully aware of the fact that many civillians in New England are innocent of it's government's follys, opened up the border to the massive amounts of refugees attempting to escape the fighting. Various towns were set up for refugees, with the Canadian government even going so far as to employ them in setting up and running said towns. The result was a fairly content new population actually producing industry, rather then taking it. The refugees were hard at work building new roads, and starting new businesses, directly helping expand Canada's industry. (+50 Canadian IP, ++3 Canadian IP)
An Alliance of Islamic Nation's project finally took root this year, after being proposed, and worked on for two years. An alliance wide Rail-road network connecting lands between Instanbul, Baghdad, Mecca, Medina, Cairo, Alexandria, even extending into Riyadh and Peshwar has begun construction. The rail-road itself has extended itself into Egypt, and some parts of Arabia, with construction to begin in Pakistan next year, should the funds present themself.
The 'Ecuadorian Proposal for the Cessation of Hostilities in the Andes' was accepted by all warring parties this year, with the border between Peru and Ecuador shifting a bit. Another side effect of the peace was the creation of South American Defense and Economic Treaty Organization, or SADETO for short. Tensions on the border remain high, despite the peace being established.
After two long years of warfare, Ecuador began exploring it's eastern jungle territories. Oil has been found, at least in signifigant enough amounts for some type of economiuc advantage to be gained from harvesting it. Drilling has begun this year, and should funding continue, could be finished by next year. (++1 Ecuadorian IP)
The Sitka-Oregon railway expanded this year, through the entirety of Oregon, into California, reaching San Diego, after several various agreements and treaties were established between the three nations. This new Sitka-San Diego Railway has brought some signifigant trade increase to all 3 nations. (++4 Oregonese IP, +1 Oregonese EP, ++5 Californian IP, +1 Californian EP, ++1 Alaskan IP)
Following the sample of Britain's integrated banking system, California began working towards establishing a Stock Exchange for the whole of the Sitka-Quito Cooperative. As tariffs and other types of regulations have begun being lowered among the members of the Cooperative, a massive amount of capital has been flowing through Los Angelos. With the reduced tariff's, and increased trade, Californian companies, prepared for such a type of integrated economic system, coupled with the advantages brought to it by the Sitka-San Diego Railway, have begun to stretch their reach into various aspects of other member state's economies, buying several Mexican, Oregonian, Alaskan and Ecuadorian companies out. (+1 Californian EP)
Elections were held in Britain this year, with the new Prime Minisyer Alec Claymore being elected, replacing the increasingly disliked Herbet Morrison (who promptly wrote a book, defending himself, and his honor). Claymore was a member of the 'British Global Party', and ran on a nationalist, democratic, and imperialist platform that appealed to large sections of the British (homeland) populace. While his charisma has inspired large portions of the population, he was immediatley faced with a crisis abroad (see Military Matters).
Romanian soldiers ventured across the border into Ukraine, during a phony training mission. To make matters worse, the soldiers, thinking they were still in Romania, refused to be taken into custody by Ukrainian officials, causing for an armed stand-off that had to be fixed by direct communication between the two governments.
A treaty between Ukraine and Soviet Russia was signed this year, allowing for Russia to export oil and other natural gases into Ukraine. The treaty is the first treaty between a Soviet nation, and a classically capitalist nation, something that has taken much of the rest of Europe by surprise. (++2 Ukranian IP, ++3 Ukranian IP)
The Sitka-Quito Cooperative added a new member this year, with the Brazillian government being notified of an agreement being reached inside the cooperative about a possible membership oppurtunity for the South American power. With Brazil now in the alliance, much of North and South America seems to be under the sway of the Sitka-Quito Cooperative, leaving some of the other American nations feeling increasingly alienated.
The Ukrainian Foreign Legion was created this year, in the hopes of attracting foreigners to fight for the Glory that is Ukraine, should the need arise. Few actually ventured into the land, citing it's general strangeness. The promise of free Vodka, and 'attractive womenfolk' have attracted a few adventurers to the organization though, including a sizable amount of Poles. The Ukrainian people have looked upon their new foreign defenders with a sense of awe, and distaste. 'They do not smell of the pig snout, yet', claimed one on-looker. (+Ukranian Happiness)
A Parks and Recreation Project was opened up in Ukraine, with the goal of creating more public areas for the goal of relaxation and general fun, in the hopes that the Ukrainian people will forget their woes. So far, it's been quite effective, and the people seem to approve of it thus far. To quote the production manager Viktor Huliganoff's views of the parks, 'Parks are the places where people of all walks of life can come enjoy their homeland together, as one glorious body at one with nature'. He is, however, considered a 'dirty hippy' by many Ukrainians, so his thoughts shouldn't be taken with too much salt. (+Ukranian Happines, +45 Ukranian IP)
To honor the visits of representatives from Iberia, Germany, Britain and the Netherlands, packages of Vodka, Cured Smoked Sausage and Lucky Bear Claw have been sent to the leaders of the said countries. No response has been given yet, however.
