Difference between revisions of "Ceorana"

**The Congressional Republic of Ceorana**
Flag of Ceorana	Seal of Ceorana
	Motto: Sapientia quod Scientia; (Latin: Wisdom and Knowledge)
	National Anthem: Ceorana: The Future
Region	International Democratic Union
Capital	Stormdale
Largest city	Wasport
Official Language(s)	English
Government	Unitary Congressional Republic
- President	Marshall Friedman
- Joint Speaker of Congress	Alex Klaus
Establishment
- Mode I	1959
- Mode II	2003
- Integration	2033
Population	2.7 billion +
Currency	Gnor (CEGN)
Timezone	GCT (UTC−8)
- Summer (DST)	DCT (UTC−7)
Internet TLD	.ce
Calling code	+236 (CEO)
ISO Code	IDCE
	NS Sunset XML

Latest revision as of 12:00, 10 February 2007

The Congressional Republic of Ceorana, also known as simply Ceorana (IPA: [siəɹænə]), is a democratic republic located in the region of the International Democratic Union. Its economic power is concentrated in the busy metropolises of Tzatzing and Wasport, where the high-tech sector commands the economy, while political power rests mainly with Stormdale, the capital.

Ceorana's foundation has been said to push the limits of fractal reality and the NationStates multiverse. With some settlers coming from Scandinavia and others from the United States, Ceorana's culture is a melting pot of many different ethnic, cultural, and social groups.

On the international level, Ceorana is devoted to pacifism, although it does maintain a small military (primarily a navy) for minor operations, trade disputes, and defense. It is generally open to other nations, especially in terms of trade; Ceorana is devoid of virtually all protectionist barriers. (However, it does require that all goods sold in Ceorana meet its standards for labor and environmental impact.) This has led Ceorana to be on acceptable terms with most nations, and very good ones with other members of the International Democratic Union, where it has served one term as delegate. Ceorana is also a firm believer in the United Nations, and is generally said to be in the international federalist camp.

History

Main article(s): History of Ceorana

Ceorana's complex history came in two different branches of fractal reality, known as modes: one stemming from the real world Scandinavia and the other from the real world United States. After Mode Iwas thrown into turmoil due to a corrupt government, the modes integrated, and formed one nation (they had previously not known of each other). Only sheer coincidence dictated that the two reintegrated at the time of Mode I's turmoil. After the Integration, Ceorana stepped onto the world stage and became delegate of the IDU as well as writing two UN resolutions.

In the year 2048, Ceorana was hit by a major disaster, including massive flooding around New Boston, the old capital^[1] and a radiological dispersion^dispersion, and the whole nation was forced to move. The nation relocated to an area previously inhabited by Yuunli, keeping only Kelvin Island from the old territory. The nation rebounded quickly, however, and the new cities of "Nova Ceorana" were mostly completed within five to seven years after the disaster.
The relatively small proportion of the Ceoranan people who chose to remain in their old homes soon lapsed into a state of anarchy, from which they were eventually rescued -- at the request of some of their own members, who had fled abroad to escape the widespread violence -- by a military intervention from Bears Armed and the establishment of a 'Protectorate of Old Ceorana' under Ursine supervision.

Government

Main article(s): Government of Ceorana and Ceoranan Constitution

Ceorana's government, defined in the Constitution of Ceorana, is broken up into three parts: a tricameral legislature, known as the Congress, an executive, and a judiciary. They are separate in terms of power, but they are close together in terms of operations, as detailed below.

Congress

Main article(s): Ceoranan Congress

The Ceoranan Congress is a large part of the Ceoranan government. It consists of three houses. The upper house, the Senate, has 100 at-large members, elected by single transferable vote, and the Senate is intended to be the most deliberative and "wise" house. The middle house, known as the House of Delegates, also has 100 members, elected using a single transferable vote system as in the Senate. However, the House of Delegates has 20 members from each province, and hence it is intended to represent provincial interests. The lower house, known as the House of Representatives, has 262 members, elected from "areas" drawn randomly with equal population every five years. Senators serve six-year terms, Delegates serve four-year terms and Representatives serve two-year terms.

All three houses in the Congress are divided into committees, each of which has subcommittees of varying sizes (a Congressperson can be on more than one committee and subcommittee), which fall under categories. The categories correspond to the departments of the Executive Branch. Each committee corresponds with a committee in the other houses and also an office in the Executive Branch. Congressional committees serve both in reviewing legislation having to do with their committee before (possibly) sending it to the floor, and as commissioners over their corresponding office, occasionally performing audits of the office and hearings regarding it.

Congresspeople elect officers in each house, who run business and decide the agenda. Each house has a Speaker, and the houses together elect a Joint Speaker of Congress (JSC). The Joint Speaker of Congress is the most powerful person in the legislative branch. His or her duties mainly consist of negotiating with the Executive Branch over legislation, but they can also take over being the presiding officer of either house if they have the time or inclination. The position of JSC is currently held by Alex Klaus.

See also: Ceorana Senate and House of Delegates elections

Executive Branch

Marshall Friedman is the current president of Ceorana

The Executive Branch of Ceorana consists of a President and several Departments, led by department secretaries. The president is elected by popular vote (with a plurality needed to win) to a four year term and appoints the secretaries, who must be approved by Congress. The president is currently Marshall Friedman. The Secretary of State (currently Karin Shackleton) is the most senior secretary and also succeeds the president in case of his death, resignation, or emergency.

The Executive Branch has several departments, each led by a department secretary. Each department has several offices, which deal with specific parts of Ceoranan policy. Offices can have suboffices, although not all operations of an office are part of a suboffice. An example of this structure is the Ceorana UN Office. This office belongs to the Department of State, and has a few suboffices, including the Suboffice of Technical Legislative and Legal Matters. The office is overseen in each house of Congress by the Committee on the United Nations.

Judiciary

Main article(s): Judiciary of Ceorana

Ceorana's judicial branch consists of a provincial court system, which is administered by each individual province. Above that system is the Court of Ceorana, which also handles constitutional law of Ceorana. Appeals from top provincial courts are sent to the Court of Ceorana (with a 1/3 vote of the Court to prevent frivolous appeals). The judiciary is the least prestegious of the three branches, but generally just as powerful.

Administrative divisions

Ceorana is divided into five provinces, all centered around a city, which functions as the province capital. Kelvin Province occupies all of Kelvin Island (see Geography) to the northeast, Myrshaulk contains the northern panhandle, Aegral is the northeast tip of Ceorana, Jongo occupies a band across central Ceorana, and Kiehlor contains the southern areas.

Foreign affairs

Foreign affairs in Ceorana are handled by the Department of State. It has strong relations with most nations in the International Democratic Union. The Ceoranan Immigration Policy places nations into categories for immigration purposes, which generally reflects Ceorana's relations with them.

Ceorana is very active in the United Nations. The nation is the author of two UN resolutions, UN Patent Law and UN Copyright Convention, and is currently drafting, with varying levels of commitment, several more. It is also a United Nations forum regular and member of UNOG, UIC, FAIRTRADE and Reclamation.

Ceorana was also a participant at the First Winter Olympics. The nation won one gold and one bronze medal, coming in 26th place overall. It is also planning on competing in further Olympic Games, although it did not participate in the Second Winter Olympics.

See also: Ceorana and the United Nations

Law

Main article(s): Ceoranan Law

Although the highest law in Ceorana is the Constitution, there are other laws as well: Meta Law, which governs how the government works (although it ismore specific than the Constitution), Uncommon Law, which governs things that most Ceoranans don't use in their daily lives (taxes, business law, etc.), Common Law, which governs criminal acts, and Civil Law, which governs civil suits and other related occurrences. Ceorana has a fairly lenient justice system, with the death penalty banned and the highest sentence for any crime being 60 years imprisonment for aggravated first-degree murder. Prison quality is moderate; most international criminals find Ceorana's prisons an improvement over those in other nations.

Geography

Main article(s): Geography of Ceorana

Ceorana has a very rainy and temperate climate, with coniferous forests running through much of the nation. Both Kelvin Island and the southerly Kiehlor province have moderate-height mountain ranges (although not as tall as such ranges as the Thuvian range of Mikitivity), as does the western border of Ceorana, in the headwaters of Ceorana's rivers.

The nation houses a complex river system, although all of its rivers, with the exception of the Wilson, are actually interconnected. This means that contamination of the water supply at one of the system's two sources can mean a major disaster for the nation, and, hence, municipal water supplies are held in large reservoirs in order to last several months in case of emergency. Desalinization techniques are also being investigated.

Ceorana's environment was renowned for its beauty before James Kim's presidency, when environmental quality was sacrificed for economic growth. This policy did not change until the second half of the Friedman administration, in 2055, with the reestablishment of greenbelts and the ending of the policy of selling industrial waste to municipalities to put in water. Ceorana's current UN dossier reports that the Ceoranan Great Horned Owl frolicks freely in Ceorana's many lush forests, which is viewed as a triumph by Friedman and the Congress, as the health of the economy was hurt little if at all in the move.

Economy

Before 2032, 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 is now a capitalist-leaning mixed economy, with socialized medicine, education, and public transportation but a relatively free market in other areas.

Ceorana's largest industry is information technology. It's "powerhouse" hi-tech sector is regulated by anti-trust laws, which keep corporations a bit on the small side, although some large corporations have managed to stay on the legal side of these laws. Production includes everything from personal computers to huge corporate "solutions", and information technology is exported in large quantities. Information technology is followed by book publishing in terms of size, including media such as Ceorana's current newspaper of record, the Stormdale Intelligencer.

Ceorana has very few natural resources; the ones that it does have include fertile farmland, lumber, and marble. Logging is restricted in many areas, however, including mandatory "greenbelts" around cities established in 2055^[2].

Currency

A ∂20 bank note.

Main article(s): Gnor

Ceorana's currency is the gnor (both singular and plural), with the currency code CEGN. It is abbreviated in front of a number as ∂, as in ∂4,949 for 4,949 gnor. It is minted both in coins and paper money. Credit cards are almost never used and have towering interest rates due to the massive amount of identity fraud. Debit cards are somewhat more common, although they require extensive verification for use.

Culture

Ceorana has a varied culture, especially due to its history of different settlers, but one that has many virtually universal traits. Due to complete state-sponsored education, social mobility is very high, because it is possible to become educated mostly regardless of previous condition of poverty. This social mobility is accentuated by the mostly free market, which gives anyone a chance to start a business and move up the social ladder. Of course, the system is not perfects: poverty still occurs from lack of employment opportunities, disability and disease, and other factors, and frequent economic recessions can bring the unemployment rate up to ten percent or more. However, the government is working to combat this with job-training programs and increased equal-opportunity legislation. Because of this, Ceorana's culture is considered very upbeat.

Food

Ceoranans tend to eat a varied diet. M

Ceorana's two main food exports are orange juice and cheese, especially Kolatch Gouda. It imports large amounts of tropical fruits for producing smoothies, a popular drink in Ceorana.

Kolatch gouda

Main article(s): Kolatch Gouda

Kolatch Gouda is a sharp cheese originally manufactured by the Kolatch Tribe. It is a traditional gouda, preserved over the winter to go with smoked salmon. Old Kolatch Gouda is considered a delicacy, and served at formal events. Today, it is manufactured both in the traditional method and through industrialized machines.

Orange juice

Orange Juice is the national drink of Ceorana. It is prized along with Kolatch Gouda as a symbol of the nation. It was originally produced as a refreshing alternative to ox milk in the tribes living near the Konvensjon Mountains. Orange juice is produced using Agriqo oranges, a breed of orange that is more suited for growing in colder climates.

Education

Ceoranans are generally recognized as very intelligent (the nation has a literacy rate of virtually 100%), probably because of the comprehensive education system and cultural value of education. Schooling is mandated up to completion of high school, and can continue upwards. The two largest universities are the University of Nova Ceorana, located in Squamouth, with branches in other cities, and the Ceorana Center of Learning, based in Stormdale. Correspondingly, the Education Department is the largest department in the Ceorana government, receiving over 45% of the budget.

Cities

Ceorana contains five major cities, which also function as capitals of their corresponding provinces. In this way, Ceorana functions somewhat like a unitary group of city-states: each city also administrates a larger rural region. The cities, in order of population, are Wasport, Stormdale (the national capital), Squamouth, Tzatzing (previously the largest city, but population was hit by the disasters in northern Ceorana), and Edgeria.

Transportation

Much of Ceorana's transportation is done through a national monorail system, which connects all cities and settled areas. The system is financed by taxes and a nominal ridership fee and administered by the various provinces under direction of the national government.

Due to the expanse of Ceorana's rivers and its access to the ocean, boats and ships are also popular. With the exception of Edgeria, all of Ceorana's cities have functioning ports of entry from other nations, and all are accessible by boat, although large ships cannot navigate the River of New Hope leading from Edgeria to the ocean.

Air travel is also widespread. There are three international airports in Ceorana: Tzatzing Cooper International Airport (TZT, formerly Ceorana-Tzatzing International Airport but renamed in honor of former president Bjorn Cooper, Jr.), Wasport International Airport (WPT), and Stormdale/Capital International Airport (STM), SkyCeo and Ceair, also fly to main destinations in the International Democratic Union.

Flag

Main article(s): Flag of Ceorana

The flag of Ceorana

Design

The flag of Ceorana consists of a a Big Dipper in the canton and a Wikipedia:gyronny of blue shades and tints in the main field. The Big Dipper symbolizes integrity and strength, while the gyronny represents opportunity, enterprise, and freedom. The navy blue field represents wisdom in Ceorana's leadership.

Flag customs

The Ceoranan flag is generally honored in a manner similar to many other flags: the flag should not be dipped in honor of a person, the flag should not be laid upon the ground, etc. The preferred method of disposal is respectful burning. If an honored person dies or is killed, the flag is flown five-eighths of the way up the pole. Although these courtesies are usually observed when using the flag, Ceoranan law does not mandate it, and the flag can be burned or desecrated in protest.

Seal

Main article(s): Seal of Ceorana

The Seal of Ceorana

The Seal of Ceorana is circular, and contains various text and graphics that have immense symbolism for the nation. The stylized bear is the national animal, and represents the environment as well as the nation as a whole. On a scroll under the bear is the national motto "Ad Servo Medium": Latin for "To Serve the Common Good". Under the bear on the border is the key, symbolizing rule of law, and above it on the border are two crossed quills, representing freedom of expression, learning, and wisdom. The rainbow shooting into space represents goals and achievements, while the mountain represents challenge. The Big Dipper is both another reference to the bear and a symbol of a guiding presence.

International Membership

Notes

^ "New Boston Flooded", the New Boston Times

^ Announcement of radiological dispersion

^ Greenbelt Legislation Reenacted, the Stormdale Intelligencer

External Links