Difference between revisions of "Ceorana"

Revision as of 20:32, 15 January 2006

The Nordic Republic of Ceorana
Flag of Ceorana
National motto: "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Activism"
National anthem: "Dreams of Peace"
Region	IDU
Capital	Tzatzing
Population	835 million +
Official Languages	English, Norwegian
Government  • President  • State Secretary	Orange Juice Republic Björn Cooper, Jr. Benjamin Qiro
Independence  • Formed Republic  • Revolution Started  • Reformed Government	1959 1972 2028 2031
ISO Nation Code	CEOR
Currency	Peace coin
Time Zone  • Summer (DST)	GMT−8 UTC−7
Internet TLD	.ce
Calling Code	+315
National Symbols  • Sport  • Animal  • Fruit  • Drink	Chess Northern Gorilla Mango Orange Juice
UN Status	UN Member
Info: NationStates NSEconomy Pipian XML

The Nordic Republic of Ceorana, also known as simply Ceorana or Ceo, is a strictly democratic nation located in the region of the International Democratic Union. Its power is concentrated in the northern fishing and publishing city of Tzatzing, which is also the capital.

Ceorana has been committed to democracy since its founding. This means that while the government is slightly less efficient than in some countries, it is very free and fair for the average citizen.

Ceorana is devoted to pacifism, although it does maintain a small military for miniature operations and defense. It is generally fairly open to other nations, although there are some exceptions. Ceorana has a comprehensive immigration policy governing civilian travel.

History

Ceorana was founded long before Unification, one of its former regions, came into existance, but at that point, it began its rich history. Before the unification of Unification, it had inhabited various regions, most notably the North Pacific, but was never very active, and didn't even join the United Nations until shortly before its entrance into Unification.

Corruption and Anarchy

In 2028 CE, Ceorana's Executive Council, most notably Felix Zhavo, the International Relations Officer, was found by independent sources to be corrupt. This led to the removal of the entire Executive Council. Soon, the entire legislature was found to be corrupt, and the entire government dissolved. This led to a period of anarchy now known as the "Dark Ages of Ceorana".

The Reformers

In 2030 CE, a small group of citizens now referred to as the "Reformers" tried to bring order. Notably, this group included the son of the previous Executive Chief, a young, forward-thinking individual named Björn Cooper, Jr. Cooper's father, Bjōrn C. Cooper, had left the country along with other former government officials and lived in exile in nations such as Murkadia.

Reaching Equilibrium

The Reformers rallied much of the country together, and they finally managed to hold an election on December 31, 2031 to ratify a new constitution that laid out the government much differently than before, in a way that would minimize corruption. They also made the decision to veer away from the communist system used before and into a capitalist-socialist mode, although the economy is still fairly weak.

The Move to the Isles

Shortly after the revolution, the region of Unification collapsed. This was mainly due to the founder, Harrissy, leaving and the forum becoming defunct. The regional members not involved in the Northern Sushi-Prince Aiden Borderlands Pact decided to move to Isles of a Better World, Ceorana among them. After a period of time, Ceorana decided to leave the region (although still keep strong ties), and roam the realms of NationStates, looking for a new home.

Government

Main article(s): Orange Juice Republic

Although most Ceoranans wished to keep the strong, leftist government, everyone realized that reforms were needed. A legislative body, known as the Senate, was created, together with a powerful system of referenda.

Senate

Main article(s): Ceoranan Senate

The Ceoranan Senate is a large part of the Ceoranan government. It consists of 4096 members, divided into four caucuses of 1024 people each, which are each divided into two chambers with 512 members. The Senate elects the Executive Branch, who are usually also members of the Senate. The Executive Branch takes care of day to day operations, when the Senate has not had time to deliberate.

The Senate is very deliberative, taking huge amounts of time to make decisions. For this reason, the people elect an Executive Senatorial Committee (abbreviated ESC, giving rise to a popular joke that it is a committee set up to "escape" the deliberation) out of the regular Senate. This committee has the power to make urgent decisions regarding war, natural disasters, and other time-sensitive issues.

Executive Branch

The Executive Branch of Ceorana consists of a President and the Department Secretaries. The president is currently Björn Cooper, Jr.and The Secretary of State is Benjamin Qiro. The Executive Branch does not have a huge amount of power, as the Senate makes the majority of the decisions, but nevertheless, it is an important part of Ceorana's government.

Departments

There are six departments in Ceorana. Each has its own duties and works with a Senate committee to decide on operations. The departments are the Department of Education, the Department of State, the Department of the Environment, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Transportation and Defense, and the Department of Home Affairs. The departments are under the direction of the Executive Branch.

Ceorana Emergency Workforce

Main article(s): Ceorana Emergency Workforce

The Ceorana Emergency Workforce (CEW) is the military of Ceorana. It is currently commanded by General Boris Wilson. Since Ceorana does not engage in a large number of military actions, the CEW is also responsible for disaster relief and other time-sensitive tasks.

Political Parties

Geography and Natural Resources

The country is fairly cold and mountainous, especially in Tzatzing up north. However, it has a very valuable natural phenomenon: hot springs. For this reason geothermal energy is the top source of energy in Ceorana, accounting for 85% of Ceorana's total energy production. In addition, certain areas around large hot springs form a small and contained biome, where tropical fruits can be grown, even mangoes, Ceorana's national fruit.

Energy

Geothermal energy is Ceorana's top source of energy, but solar, wind, and water power are also used. Fossil fuels have been completely banned since the founding of Ceorana.

Economy

Before the revolution, Ceorana was a well-functioning communist state. But once the elected government was found to be completely corrupt, it was decided that reforms were needed. Ceorana still favors government doing much of the work, and in fact is still recovering from a bad economy, but is trying to move towards a good mix of socialism and capitalism.

Currency

Ceorana's currency is the Ceorana Peace Coin, almost always refered to as the "peac", pronounced as "peak". Coins come in various denominations ranging from one peac to 200 peacs. The current exchange rate is around five peacs to a dollar.

News Media and Print Materials

Ceorana's largest industry is book publishing. There are three major competing companies which have just sprung up after the capitalist revolution: Fischer Books, Cap Publishing, and Sierra Furguson Publishing Company. Although all three are going strong, Fischer currently possesses the most market share at 43%. News media is also strong. The Ceorana Herald leads the pack in newspapers, although there are many local ones, and the Ceorana News Wire is the main radio source. Television is not as widespread, although there are a few smaller sources.

Culture

Food

Kolatch Gouda

Kolatch Gouda is generally known as the oldest cheese in Ceorana, originally manufactured by the Kolatch Tribe. To survive the winters near what is now Tzatzing, the Kolatch tribe made this cheese and put it in storehouses made of cold rock to last the winter, along with some smoked salmon. These stores could last for a couple of years. Most Kolatchites were fond of sharper cheese, as do most Ceoranans today, so an effort was made to eat the newest cheese in the storehouse first, to allow delicacies to develop in the back of the storehouse, as aging makes cheese sharper.

Today, Kolatch Gouda is manufactured both by the Kolatch tribe and mass-producers (the biggest mass-producer is Variety Cheeses, LLC., owned by Cameron Groeon), although the Kolatch tribe is almost universally accepted to make the better variety. Although it can be eaten while young, this is generally seen to be only for lower classes, and middle and upper class Ceoranans almost always eat Kolatch Gouda that has been aged for at least 18 months, preferably over 2 years.

There are several myths and superstitions surrounding Kolatch Gouda. Here are just a few:

• If a person eats Kolatch Gouda with a fork, instead of using bare hands, they must run for the Senate in the next election. Although this is widely cited, it has only been followed in the case of Benjamin Qiro, current Senator and Secretary of State.
• Those who spell Kolatch without a "t" must not eat the cheese in the next week to avoid rousing tribal spirits.
• A woman who kisses her husband must not eat any other type of cheese in the next day, lets she get divorced in the next week.

People

Ceorana has a diverse mix of people that inhabit it.

Demographics

Taken from the last Ceorana census.

Race

Scandinavian                 45%
Hispanic                     27%
Non-Scandinavian European    25%
Pacific Islander              3%
Other                         2%

Age

Ceorana has a very high population of younger citizens, and not so many older ones. However, this is because of the high birth rate, not the fact that the life expectancy is lower.

Under 18                 18%
19-30                    19%
31-40                    19%
41-50                    15%
51-60                    14%
60-70                     9%
70+                       3%

Religion

Ceorana is predominantly Protestant Christian, with Catholocism coming next in line. Christianity is the most widely-practiced religion, although there are some Buddhists and Hindus.

Protestant               53%
Roman Catholic           27%
Hindu                    11%
Buddhist                  8%
Other                     1%

Education

Ceoranans are generally recognized as very intellegent, probably because of the comprehensive education system. Although it is suffering due to Ceorana's current crushed economic state, it is still going fairly strong, partly because the government was able to get a set of textbooks published online to defer their cost. Schooling is mandated up to an A.A. degree, and can continue upwards. The main university is the University of Ceorana, although several private universities are springing up now that the ban on private industry has been lifted. Correspondingly, the Education Department is the largest department in the Ceorana government, receiving between 20% and 30% of the budget.

Transportation and Communications

Basic Facts

Internet CCTLD: .ce
Calling Code: +315
International Airports: 2
Domestic Airports: 4
Domestic-only Airports: 2
Airlines: 2

Cities

Ceorana has four major cities. Tzatzing, the capital, is the largest city, home to the Ceorana News Wire and the University of Ceorana. Fjord City, the second largest city, is Ceorana's major port. Agriqo, the next largest, is the major agricultural town. Komosit, the smallest of the four largest cities, is an industrial town, and although it has the largest area of all Ceoranan cities, it has a very low population.

Air Travel

Ceorana's main airport is Ceorana-Tzatzing International Airport. It flies to other areas in the Isles, and also houses two national airlines (Ceair and SkyCeo). These lead to a very easy time getting around internationally as well as somewhat domestically.

Rail

Most of Ceorana's transportation is done through a national monorail system, based in Tzatzing and having many in-city routes, but also having long-distance routes to connect the whole of Ceorana. The system is free for in-city commuting and charges a nominal fee for long-distance travel.

Flag

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The flag of Ceorana features a green cross on a blue background..

Design

The flag of Ceorana consists of a green cross on a blue background. The cross shape shows Ceorana's ties to its Scandinavian roots, while the blue and green represent the peaceful and prosperous life of Ceoranans. The flag is defined by Section One of the Ceorana Public Flag Code of the Ceorana Public Meta Law.

The flag of Ceorana shall be constructed in the proportions fourteen units tall by twenty-two units across. It shall have a blue background (colored in a ratio of 100 parts cyan, forty-one parts magenta, zero parts yellow, and forty parts black). It shall consist of two green lines (colored in a ratio of 100 parts cyan, zero parts magenta, twenty-four parts green and one part black), one horizontal and one vertical, the horizontal one existing from five fourteenths down the the flag to nine fourteenths down of the flag, and the vertical one existing from five twenty-seconds of the way across from the left of the flag to nine twenty-seconds of the way across from the left of the flag.

Flag Customs

Unlike the real world American flag, customs involving the Ceoranan flag are much looser, since the flag is meant to be simply a symbol of the nation and not a sacred item. For this reason, it is often printed on various items for use by the Ceoranan government. The preferred method of disposal is reuse in some other form, such as a patch for an item of cloth. If this is not possible, the flag should be burned. If an honored person dies or is killed, the flag is flown five-eighths of the way up the pole.

National Motto

"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Activism"

Conception

"Seize the Day; Change the World" was first thought of by Bob Johnson, widely cited as the most prominent member of the Senate who doesn't actually have a position. It was first attempted to translate it into Latin, but that attempt failed when someone pointed out that Latin didn't have a word for "activism". The official motto is in English, although it has been translated into other languages.

Motto Trivia

• Ceorana's motto is often cited as the most frequently changed motto in NationStates, due to the volatile nature of Ceorana's political structure.

Other Slogans

Although there is only one official motto, there are many "slogans" that are sometimes quoted. Most of them were official but changed.

• "Seize the Day; Change the World" (This motto preceded the current one, replaced when the Senate got bored of it.)
• "The Word Processor is Mightier than the Bomb" (This was a previous national motto until it was pointed out that a pacifist nation shouldn't have the word "bomb" in its motto, even if used derogatorially.)
• "The Quadratic Equation is Mightier than the Sword" (see above)
• "Consensus Survives (but oil doesn't)" (This was official until oil was unbanned.)

National Anthem

"Dreams of Peace"

No matter your religion,
Philosophy or way of thought;
You can't justify the murder,
Of a man that God would not.

For each and every person,
Has a right to live this day;
Life is short already,
Why should we take it away?

International Membership

• United Nations
• International Democratic Union (region)

See Also

• Factbook Category (Contains all pages relating to Ceorana.)

External Links

• NationStates Page
• Ceorana XML Feed