Difference between revisions of "Karlania"

Revision as of 02:00, 10 February 2006

The Grand Duchy of Karlania is a very large, socially progressive nation, renowned for its burgeoning sea eagle population. Its hard-nosed population of 181 million enjoy extensive civil freedoms, particularly in social issues, while business tends to be more regulated.

The small government juggles the competing demands of Education, Law & Order, and Commerce. The average income tax rate is 12%, but much higher for the wealthy. A large private sector is led by the Uranium Mining industry, followed by Book Publishing and Cheese Exports.

Protesters are up in arms over new nuclear power stations, the military frequently holds bake sales to raise funds, elevator music has been replaced by thrash metal played at maximum volume, and all mothers are allowed six months fully-paid maternity leave. Crime is relatively low, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Karlania's national animal is the sea eagle, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the ringo.

Religion

Karlanian society has long been highly secular and as such the government does not keep statistics as to religion. However some unofficial statistic exist from the CIA and poll conducted by an international think tank:

• The 2005 CIA World Factbook lists 41% of Karlanians has having "no relgion/ no preferance". Amoung those who do claim a faith the numbers are as: Roman Catholic 26%, Protestant 20%, Jewish 5%, Muslim 3%, Buddhist 2%, other relgions 2%, and "atheist" 1%.

Major Holidays

The following is a list of the major public holidays in Karlania.

Politics

President: Hadrian Miller

Vice-President: Wanda J. Russle

Administration Positions & Departments:

Department of Agriculture: Owen Duff

Department of Communications: H. James Winters

Department of Culture: Robin Black

Department of Education: Astrid Simpson

Department of Environment: Vivian Li

Department of Finance: Patrick Finn

Department of Foreign Affairs: Martin Antoneli

Department of Healthcare: Ingrid Davis

Department of Industry: Sam Yamada

Department of Labour: Ian Benton

Department of Security: Joesph Lynch

Department of Trade: Marni Goldman

Department of Transport: Hector Ramos

Department of Welfare: Samantha W. Lane

Suffrage

Universal suffrage (voting, drinking, smoking) is 18 years of age.

Sports

Sports of all kinds are popular in Karlania. However, Karlanians tend to have a more laid back relaxed attitude towards sports than people in other nations. Team and game loyalty fanaticism is quite low and is widely seen as immature and unseemly. Hooliganism is also rare at Karlanian sporting event (at least by Karlanians) thanks in equal parts to the nation’s skilled police force and the attitude that such behavior is crude in the extreme.

Without a doubt the most popular sport in Karlania is basketball. This is widely attributed to the influence of one of Karlania’s most famous presidents, Scott Teller, who and had briefly been a semi-professional player until forced out of the game do to a knee injury. Teller would later go into politics and frequently promoted the virtues of basketball in promoting good health, sportsmanship and co-operation.

The Karlanian national basketball team was not only the first national sports team but also the first to score a major upset by defeating a more widely favored nation. Karlania’s narrow defeat of the United States in an international tournament in 1954 is still the stuff of sports legend.

American football, soccer, and baseball are also very and in the last five years Ice hockey has experienced an unexpected surge in popularity. Auto racing, (such as NASCAR) and Formula One, despite expensive ad campaigns, has never truly caught on in Karlania.

The martial arts have long been popular in Karlania. Martial arts clubs and tournaments exist across the country. Interest in martial arts was quietly been growing over the last ten years and there is even talk among some physical education experts about introducing some basic martial arts principles into the P.E. curriculums across the nation.

Professional sports in Karlania are not the huge industry they are in other nations. While as elsewhere acclaimed athletes are well paid and often receive lucrative endorsement contracts they compensation they receive is notably less than their counterparts in places like America and the UK. This has caused a growing number of Karlanian pro athletes to sign contracts with teams from other nations over the last fifteen years. Karlanian sports to call this phenomenon the “jock drain”.

Karlania also hosts large followings of traditional European sporting events. Horse racing is popular as a gambling event and Karlania hosts several world renowned horse racing events, including the Kentucky Derby. Rugby Union has also established itself as a popular sport with a loyal following. Other European sports such as polo and cricket, while not popular, do attract players and have established leagues.

Karlania only boosts two major international sporting event. That is the Karlania Masters golf tournament and the Karlania Cup, one of the most highly sought awards in yacht racing. Just after the second World War Karlania experienced in boom in the popularity of boxing. Crowds packed boxing matches across the nation and the gambling industry expanded greatly. However, boxing’s popularity dropped off sharply after Karlania’s national heavy weight boxing champion, Marcus “The Thunder” Davis, was defeating by Muhammad Ali in a heated five round match in Longinus City in November of 1963.

The number of gun owners in Karlania is moderate and as such shooting sports are not a widely practiced pastime. However, shooting ranges often sponsor tournaments between members and there are several national competitions held each year.

board-based recreational sports such as surfboarding, skateboarding have been long popular in Karlania and snowboarding continues to grow in popularity each year.

Karlania has competed in the Olympic Games since 1916. As of 2004, Karlania’s record in terms of medals stands at 23 medals (5 gold, 9 silver and 9 bronze).

In Karlania college sports are almost as popular as professional sports, especially college football and college basketball. Karlanian colleges offer diverse sports programs, including volleyball, tennis, track and field and some more eclectic sports such as water polo.

International codes