Altered Maps XVIII: Continuing Curious Cartography
- Thread starter amadeus
- Start date
Gameplay balance?
For the same reason that Spain, SA, Iran and China also have low rates, I would guess.
Thorgalaeg
Deity
In the case of Spain, there are continuous public campaigns warning of the danger and free check-ups, also for colon cancer. Only way to get alive of a cancer is to diagnose it on time.
Selection bias? Those that are identified are treated. Those that are not identified are not treated but do not appear in the statistic.
You would have thought they would account for that to some extent, but it is bloody paywalled publicly funded science so we cannot know
Maybe that's why...Doesn't Melbourne have just south of 800.000 Greeks or something? Why hate?
Well yes. But it's still a bit unsavory ^^
Vladimir Putin arrived first, his plain official aircraft touching down at Gaza's rebuilt airport, the Jetsons-esque Yonatan Netanyahu International. The 76 year old Russian president gave a very brief press conference in the terminal, where he appeared completely emotionless, then was ferried off without fanfare into the ostentatiously-glazed centre of the new Gaza, to his private, triply-sanitised suite at the colossal Trump World Tower on the waterfront, where the conference would be held.
There were heavily-armed guards everywhere. Security was ostensibly provided by X, the Everything Company, although it was widely rumoured that Elon Musk's operations were incompetent and riddled with breaches, and had to be replaced by Russian mercenaries. The guards certainly all seemed to be wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment, but everyone carried on with the official line.
Donald Trump arrived next, on a newly furbished Air Force One, painted all gold apart for the huge waving American flag on the tail. The first third-term president since FDR punched the air triumphantly as he stepped off the plane, oblivious to the fate that would befall him only a few months from now. He too was chuffeured into the middle of Gaza, in a large convoy, where he held one of his classic rallies, the first in the Middle East. He rambled in his trademark style for four hours to a large cheering crowd - Israelis, and American and European expats, and a few Arabs from other countries, but no Palestinians, who were not allowed to leave their compounds at all for the duration of the conference.
Last to arrive was Xi Jinping. The 75 year old leader of China arrived with the Great Red Fleet on its historic global circumnavigation. The Port of Gaza was hurriedly expanded and modernised ahead of its arrival, the massive construction and logistical undertaking itself a testament to China's might. The Chinese president stepped off the aircraft carrier Fujian to a grand reception and resounding rendition of the March of the Volunteers played by the combined bands of the Multinational Forces in Gaza; the choice of the Fujian symbolic of the reunification of both sides of the Taiwan Strait less than two years ago.
It took about a week. White House press releases assured the American public that Trump was working hard and leading the meetings, although it was clear from social media accounts (including his own) that he spent most of the time golfing, or on yachts in the Mediterranean. The American effort seemed to have been led instead by Vice President Hawley, in marathon closed door meetings with Putin and Xi.
The resulting map was mostly a foregone conclusion. Trump had already ceded continental Europe to Russia at Munich the previous year, and that was cemented with the dissolution of NATO and the formation of the European Security Treaty Organisation in its place. In return, Trump had insisted on a free hand in the Western Hemisphere, which both Putin and Xi agreed to. The biggest surprise was America ceding South Korea, Japan, and Australia as "joint spheres of influence" with China. It was not immediately clear how Xi managed to get Hawley, one of the biggest China hawk in the Republican Party, to agree to this.
The memes were good of course. There were any number of comparisons to times in the past when a handful of powerful men saw it fit to split the world amongst themselves: Tordesillas, the Scramble for Africa, Sykes-Picot. But by far the most common comparison was with George Orwell's 1984. The resulting spheres of influence look awfully similar to the descriptions of the empires of Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia from the novel. Indeed, Trump's first action upon returning to Washington was to sign an executive order renaming the Department of Defence to the Department of Peace.
The internet made fun too of the way leaders of nations assigned to spheres of influence fall over themselves to praise the deal. "Today the world's leading men rose the great task at hand, and led us away from nuclear war," said German chancellor Tino Chrupalla. Jimmie Akesson called the deal "a great monument to world peace", while Andrew Hastie said it was a "unifying occasion" for humanity. Some were specific about which of the leaders to thank the most, such as Hungary's Orban who called it "a gift from our friends the great Russian people and her leader, the great defender of Christendom", as well as Brazil's Bolsonaro, who thanked Trump effusely and added "united, ALL America shall be made Great Again!". Other leaders focused on the domestic benefits of the anticipated cooling of tensions and reduction in military spending. "Your homes, your women, your pensions are secured!" crowed the French president Jordan Bardella. Polling in the days and weeks following the deal showed that on average leaders who were more effusive in the support of the deal saw their approval ratings increase.
Not everyone fell neatly into line however. The Japanese prime minister gave a lengthy speech that denounced the deal, announced massive rearmament, and promised that the "loyal subjects of the eternal imperial nation, infused with the spirit of the gods, will surely make foreign devils pay for their disrespect". He was assassinated the next day in broad daylight, by a high school student who thought he was "too soft". The new prime minister publicly denounced the deal even more vehemently, but conceded in private: "it's hopeless, we won't get back all of those wasted decades. The young are full of fighting spirit but there are so few of them now. It can't be helped."
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