Difference between revisions of "Blanchettia"

Revision as of 15:09, 12 March 2005

Blanchettia

Flag of Blanchettia
Motto: Carpe Diem
No Map Available Yet
Region	The East Pacific
Capital	Halifax
Official Language(s)	no official language, but English is widely spoken
Leader	The Right Honourable James E Madden, MP, President of the Republic of Blanchettia
Population	10,000,000
Currency	blanchettian shilling (Sh. ), Sh. 1=100c (cents), Sh. 10= 1 RL United States dollar
NS Sunset XML

Official name

The Republic of Blanchettia

Summary

The Republic of Blanchettia is a nation in The East Pacific. Originally a territory under the control of the RL United Kingdom, it received its indepedence via the Government of Blanchettia Act of 1921 and its withdrawal from the RL Commonwealth in 1924. Blanchettia soon became a major world power, but because of its withdrawal from the Commonwealth it became increasingly isolated. Only recently has Blanchettia become active in the international community once again.

Geography

Blanchettia is on the western edge of the Indochinse peninsula, facing the Indian Ocean. The coastal areas and the northern part of the country are fairly tropical, with rainforests and mangrove swamps mostly covering this land area. Unfortunately, most of the rainforests and mangrove swamps are under threat of deforestation; as a result about 50% of the rainforests and 60% of the mangrove swamps have been, within the last 30 years, designated National Parks. In the central and southern interior, however, the climate changes completely. Along the areas bordering the tropical areas, a Mediterranean-type climate is located here. This area is mostly shrubland and Corsican-style maquis which has often been described as the 'most beautiful area of Blanchettia'. Once you get further away from the border areas the climate is mostly continental with deciduous forest, however, as you get further towards the eastern areas, it gets colder and colder. The area bordering the eastern region is mostly taiga. The eastern areas of Blanchettia are covered mostly in mountains. There are about 12 mountain ranges in Blanchettia alone. Among the more well-known mountain ranges are the Grampian Mountains, the Blue Mountains, and the Snowy Mountains.

Blanchettia has a distinct fauna unlike any other areas in the East Pacific. First off, snow owls and squirrels, although common in most of the East Pacific, are virtually non-exsistent in Blanchettia. The alouette, a native bird and considered to be Blanchettia's national animal, thrives in the country. Penguins are often spotted in the mountain areas of the country. In addition, trees shed their leaves instead of their bark.

Government

Blanchettia is a combination of a British-style parliamentary democracy with an American-style federal republic. The parliamentary democracy is a legacy from the days of British rule, although slightly altered to fit the American-style federal republic system. The federal republic system was adopted in 1922, with slight alterations, to provide some efficency in the government as well as provide the nation with a 'real' head of state (or so the nationalists claimed), not a 'fake' head of state (what nationalists called the RL British monarch). There are four branches of government in Blanchettia - the executive branch, the legislative branch, the judicial branch, and the administrative branch.

Executive branch

The head of the executive branch is the president, officially called the President of the Republic of Blanchettia. Theoretically, the president holds great power, but in reality he has some powers. He gives Presidential approval to laws that are passed through Parliament and given approval by the Prime Minister and Deputy President. He is the public face of Blanchettia and commander of the armed forces. He is the only person who can open and close Parliament and dissolve Parliament at will, meaning a general election will take place in 90 days. The president has a set of advisers, called the Executive Advisory Council, who advises the president on certain issues. From the advice of the EAC the President issues a green paper (detailing the President's views and recommendations on a certain issue or a class of issues), which is then sent to Parliament to be discussed. Other than those powers and a few minor ones the president has very little power. Real governmental power lies in Parliament. There is also a Deputy President who has virtually no power, but is there in case the President is unable to continue his duties.

Elections for President utilise a system called [|instant runoff]. What normally happens is that the President (who is usually an MP of the party forming a government in Parliament or the party leader), who gets elected in this way, is appointed by the Senate of the Parliament and is confirmed via referendum. Then, the President names a Deputy President who goes through the same procedure, but starting at the Senate first. All of the EAC, however, are named by the Prime Minister and go through a hearing in the administrative department first, then confirmed in the Senate.

Legislative branch

The legislative branch consists of Parliament, the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister's Cabinet. In Blanchettia, Parliament is divided into two houses: the Senate and the House of Commons. In theory, any law, so long as it gets passed in both houses, can be introduced into any of the two houses but the reality is far more complex.

House of Commons

The House of Commons, the lower house, consists of 500 members of Parliament (MPs) elected via instant runoff and who represent individual national ridings (voting districts). Most legislation starts off in the House of Commons where the bill gets formed via any one of the Commons' committees. After going through committee, the bill is open for voting in the Commons. If passed, it goes to the Senate. The House of Commons is the only house of Parliament in which bills regarding taxation are debated, thus is the only house where it needs to be passed without review. Oddly enough, the Senate can't dismiss bills passed by the House of Commons but the House of Commons can dismiss bills passed by the Senate.

Senate

The Senate, the upper house, is a bit more complex than the House of Commons.

more info on the government will come shortly . . . . .

Other info

The Republic of Blanchettia has a population of 10 million. The country has one of the largest automobile manufacturing industries in the East Pacific.

more will come shortly . . . . .