Difference between revisions of "Knootoss"

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=== Knootian Cities ===
 
=== Knootian Cities ===
 
The Dutch Democratic Republic is highly urbanised. There are many cities in Knootoss, bust the most important cities are part of a giant 'network city' called [[Knootcap]]. Knootcap encompasses the west and centre of the country, including the old cities of [[The Hague]] (the centre of government), [[Amsterdam]] (the old capital), [[Rotterdam]] (the economic heart) and [[Utrecht]].
 
The Dutch Democratic Republic is highly urbanised. There are many cities in Knootoss, bust the most important cities are part of a giant 'network city' called [[Knootcap]]. Knootcap encompasses the west and centre of the country, including the old cities of [[The Hague]] (the centre of government), [[Amsterdam]] (the old capital), [[Rotterdam]] (the economic heart) and [[Utrecht]].
 +
 +
== Culture ==
 +
=== Race and ethnicity ===
 +
The Knootian population is currently approaching three billion. The [[human]] race, the original inhabitants, account for 80% of the population. Humans are predominantly ethnic [[Dutch]]. There is a large and vocal [[Elves|Elvish]] minority of about 15 percent of the population. The other 5% consist of other races, spread out over a wide diversity of groups.
 +
 +
Life expectancy at birth is rather low for humans, about 60 years. (Mainly due to poor healthcare and a habit of assisted suicide in the case of severe illness or limitations associated with age.) However since the life-expectancy is virtually unlimited for elves and a few other species it is impossible to make a useful total average.
 +
 +
=== Religion ===
 +
 +
Knootians are, o­n the whole, very anti-[[Religion|religious]] in their convictions, their approaches to ethical issues such as euthanasia and in terms of values.  A recent survey amongst the humans showed that over 95 percent of the human population is either avowedly atheist or sympathetic to some form of secular humanism.This is also reflected in their voting behaviour (the nation lacks a viable [[Wikipedia:Christian Democrat|Christian-Democrat]] party)
 +
 +
There are small Christian communities who cling to the old faiths in the northern provinces (Dutch-reformed) and in the extreme south (Catholic) 0,79% of the population is protestant, 0,21 percent is [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic]]. The [[Holy Vatican See]] has re-established an effecitive church organisation. The nation was originally in majority [[Wikipedia:Reformed churches|Dutch-Reformed]] (a [[Wikipedia:Protestantism|protestant]] variety) and political conflicts between religious groups played a major role in [[Nineteenth century Knootoss]].
 +
 +
The number of former churches that have been converted into art galleries or supermarkets is the most obvious sign of today's attitude to religion and art. Several years ago [[Sirithilism]], a cult worshipping the Lady [[Sirithil nos Fëanor]] of [[Menelmacar]] has been sweeping through the country gaining immense popularity amongst the population but this cult is fading away.
 +
 +
The [[Order of the Invisible Hand]] is not exactly a religion, but it does have religous aspects. It is rapidly gaining in popularity amongst the elite.
  
 
== Economy ==
 
== Economy ==
Line 103: Line 119:
 
After leaving the NS [[United Nations]], a policy has been established to encourage the "development of rendering the NSUN even more irrelevant then it already is". The DDR ministry of Economic Affairs has cut all economic and humanitarian aid to UN member nations with the exception of structural adjustment funding programmes, disaster relief and reciprocating aid.
 
After leaving the NS [[United Nations]], a policy has been established to encourage the "development of rendering the NSUN even more irrelevant then it already is". The DDR ministry of Economic Affairs has cut all economic and humanitarian aid to UN member nations with the exception of structural adjustment funding programmes, disaster relief and reciprocating aid.
  
−
== Culture ==
+
== Education ==
 +
=== General information ===
 +
Education in Knootoss is obligatory between age 6 and 16, and partially between 16 and 18. There are public and private schools in Knootoss but all school types are inspected by a governmental agency called the ''Onderwijsinspectie'' (Education Inspection) and they can be closed by this agency if quality is found lacking.
  
−
=== Race and ethnicity ===
+
The goal of Knootian education is to make students as self-sufficient as possible from an early age, using the concept of "self-learning". Emphasis is placed on developing practical and social skills such as computer skills and working in groups. The role of the teacher in this process is more that of a coach, especially at the higher levels of education. Instead of gaining huge in-depth knowledge, students learn to cope with learning how to deal with huge quantities of information and processing them independently. Education on all levels tends to focus on broad knowledge with many interdependencies between different subjects.
  
−
The Knootian population is currently approaching three billion. The [[human]] race, the original inhabitants, account for 80% of the population. Humans are predominantly ethnic [[Dutch]]. There is a large and vocal [[Elves|Elvish]] minority of about 15 percent of the population. The other 5% consist of other races, spread out over a wide diversity of groups.
+
=== Pre-school and Primary education ===
 +
Pre-school education is popular with more affluent Knootians, and sometimes children attend pre-school facilities even from the age of two. Between 4 and 12 years old, children are obliged to go to the ''basisschool'' (elementary school; lit. "basic school"). This school has eight grades. The first and second grade used to be called ''kleuterschool'' (kindergarten), and many people still refer to both grades as such. From group 3 on, children will start to learn reading and doing maths. When a child has not advanced enough in a year, he/she has to do the whole year again. Government-sponsored elementary education is officially free of charge, but many schools ask a "parental contribution" from parents that can amount to a significant sum for the higher levels of education.
  
−
Life expectancy at birth is rather low for humans, about 60 years. (Mainly due to poor healthcare and a habit of assisted suicide in the case of severe illness or limitations associated with age.) However since the life-expectancy is virtually unlimited for elves and a few other species it is impossible to make a useful total average.
+
===Secondary education===
 +
After attending elementary education, children from 12 years old go to the ''middelbare school'' (middle school) which has between four and six grades (depending on the type). VMBO is the least theoretical, followed by HAVO and VWO. The first year of secondary education is called ''brugklas'' ("bridge class"), where the school determines what type of secondary education should be followed. In practice, the brugklas is almost always already divided between the VMBO-brugklas, HAVO/VWO-brugklas and gymnasium-brugklas (gymnasium is part of the VWO).  
  
−
=== Religion ===
+
Only a few secondary schools offer all three types of education, and most are only specialised in one or two types. This is especially true for the gymnasium, which takes only the most promising students. Generally, this means that children spend time only with people from their own 'education class' after they have been selected in the 'basisschool'. Because of this, the VMBO children who are destined for the nations industries and manual labour rarely interact with the cream of the cream at the Gymnasium. Some have critisised the system for being class-based and discriminating, pointing to the strong correlation between the income of parents and etniticity in relation to the education type that a child is usually assigned to. This criticism is usually dismissed by pointing to the rigid testing and [[Wikipedia:Meritocracy|meritocratic]] principles used to select children for a certain education type.
  
−
Knootians are, o­n the whole, very anti-[[Religion|religious]] in their convictions, their approaches to ethical issues such as euthanasia and in terms of values. A recent survey amongst the humans showed that over 95 percent of the human population is either avowedly atheist or sympathetic to some form of secular humanism.This is also reflected in their voting behaviour (the nation lacks a viable [[Wikipedia:Christian Democrat|Christian-Democrat]] party)
+
Apart from these levels, there is functional specialisation throughout the secondary education system. There are two 'profiles' for students which provide an education programme with interdependent subjects relating to global sectors in the economy. The first profile is E&M ('''Economics and Society''') which focuses on subjects such as economics, statistical math, history, societal studies, etc. Higher-level first profile students get classes on applied technology as well. The second profile ("'''Nature, Health and Technology'''") focusses on subjects such as general maths, biology, physics, chemistry and a subject dealing specifically with technology. Apart from these profiles, students have room for free choice of a number of subjects.  
  
−
There are small Christian communities who cling to the old faiths in the northern provinces (Dutch-reformed) and in the extreme south (Catholic) 0,79% of the population is protestant, 0,21 percent is [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic]]. The [[Holy Vatican See]] has re-established an effecitive church organisation. The nation was originally in majority [[Wikipedia:Reformed churches|Dutch-Reformed]] (a [[Wikipedia:Protestantism|protestant]] variety) and political conflicts between religious groups played a major role in [[Nineteenth century Knootoss]].
+
=== Higher education ===
 +
With the necessary diploma's a student is granted acces to higher levels of education.
  
−
The number of former churches that have been converted into art galleries or supermarkets is the most obvious sign of today's attitude to religion and art. Several years ago [[Sirithilism]], a cult worshipping the Lady [[Sirithil nos Fëanor]] of [[Menelmacar]] has been sweeping through the country gaining immense popularity amongst the population but this cult is fading away.
+
*'''bve''' (Beroepsonderwijs en Volwasseneneducatie): medium level [[Wikipedia:vocational education]] ('''mbo''' Middelbaar Beroeps Onderwijs) and education for adults
−
 
+
*'''hbo''' (Hoger Beroeps Onderwijs): higher vocational education
−
The [[Order of the Invisible Hand]] is not exactly a religion, but it does have religous aspects. It is rapidly gaining in popularity amongst the elite.
+
*'''wo''' (Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs): [[Wikipedia:university]]
  
 
== Politics ==
 
== Politics ==

Revision as of 14:57, 22 October 2004

Knootoss
knootoss.jpg
Flag of Knootoss
Motto: "Libertate unanimus"
("Unified by freedom")
National Anthem: Anthem of the DDR
Map of Knootoss Proper
Region Free Trade Zone
Capital Knootcap
Official Language(s) Knootian-Dutch, Knootian-Frisian
Leader Galadriël Táralóm nos Círdan
Population Approaching 3 billion (Sept 2004)
Currency 1 Euro = 100 Eurocents 
NS Sunset XML

Dutch Democratic Republic

The Dutch Democratic Republic of Knootoss is a post-modern developed democracy o­n the European continent, inhabited by a highly educated population of almost 3 billion. Its territories encompass the Netherlands and several reclaimed land projects (called ‘polders’) in the North Sea. The nation is noted for these huge ‘polders’ which consist most of the new land, giving room for expansion while the historic territories can remain relatively untouched.

Knootians are a multicultural and socially libertarian people who have grown used to the many visiting foreigners, including many non-humans. Knootoss is noted by many foreigners for its liberal social policies including legal drugs, prostitution and gambling. Its people are oriented o­n free and open trade, and there is a wide consensus o­n the advantages of the free market.

The nation is run by coalition governments usually involving liberals. Currently a conservative/liberal coalition is in power under the Elvish Prime Minister Galadriël Táralóm nos Círdan.

The Knootian people are peaceful to the point of pacifism even if their multilateralist and sometimes militantly pro-capitalist government has been known to engage in foreign adventures. The Knootian Defence Force used to have a feeble reputation, but it has grown more effective since the Shadow War devestated the country.

The Dutch Democratic Republic is part of the ‘Knootian Federation’, which includes dependent areas which have a great deal of autonomy. Ale-Yarok (or "green leaf") is a protectorate in Israel while Knootian Colombia is a sector assigned to the Knootians in a Baron/Knootian mission to restore order to the nation that was plagued by insurgency.

Geography

Terrain features

Knootoss is located in the region of Nederland (the Netherlands), in Europe. Geographic coordinates: 52 30 N, 5 45 E

The terrain consists mostly of coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders) with some hills in southeast. Most land is below sea level. The urban population in the ‘old land’ is spread out in a decentralised web of historic cities. ‘Knootcap’ is the name given to the cities in the west of the country which have grown into a single agglomeration that is officially the capital. (See: Knootian Cities) In the reclaimed lands, cities are set up according to strict building plans leaving room for different forms of inhabitation o­nly o­n the designated spots. The nation has few natural resources besides some arable land. Natural gas is won in the north of the country and there are corporations drilling for oil in the North Sea.

The nation is currently undergoing many Polder projects, building dykes around waters which makes for continues expansion of the Knootian territories. Its maritime claims are:

  • exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
  • territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate

Knootoss has a temperate marine climate with cool summers and mild winters. The weather has a tendency to be rainy, humid and cloudy.

Environmental issues

There are several major environmental issues:

  • Water pollution in the form of heavy metals, organic compounds, and nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates;
  • Air pollution from vehicles and refining activities, smog;
  • Acid rain
  • Deforestation (almost complete at this point)
  • Sinking ground in the northern provinces due to the winning of natural gas.

Land use

  • Arable land: 26.53%
  • Permanent crops: 0,5%
  • Other: 72.44%

Knootian Cities

The Dutch Democratic Republic is highly urbanised. There are many cities in Knootoss, bust the most important cities are part of a giant 'network city' called Knootcap. Knootcap encompasses the west and centre of the country, including the old cities of The Hague (the centre of government), Amsterdam (the old capital), Rotterdam (the economic heart) and Utrecht.

Culture

Race and ethnicity

The Knootian population is currently approaching three billion. The human race, the original inhabitants, account for 80% of the population. Humans are predominantly ethnic Dutch. There is a large and vocal Elvish minority of about 15 percent of the population. The other 5% consist of other races, spread out over a wide diversity of groups.

Life expectancy at birth is rather low for humans, about 60 years. (Mainly due to poor healthcare and a habit of assisted suicide in the case of severe illness or limitations associated with age.) However since the life-expectancy is virtually unlimited for elves and a few other species it is impossible to make a useful total average.

Religion

Knootians are, o­n the whole, very anti-religious in their convictions, their approaches to ethical issues such as euthanasia and in terms of values. A recent survey amongst the humans showed that over 95 percent of the human population is either avowedly atheist or sympathetic to some form of secular humanism.This is also reflected in their voting behaviour (the nation lacks a viable Christian-Democrat party)

There are small Christian communities who cling to the old faiths in the northern provinces (Dutch-reformed) and in the extreme south (Catholic) 0,79% of the population is protestant, 0,21 percent is Roman Catholic. The Holy Vatican See has re-established an effecitive church organisation. The nation was originally in majority Dutch-Reformed (a protestant variety) and political conflicts between religious groups played a major role in Nineteenth century Knootoss.

The number of former churches that have been converted into art galleries or supermarkets is the most obvious sign of today's attitude to religion and art. Several years ago Sirithilism, a cult worshipping the Lady Sirithil nos Fëanor of Menelmacar has been sweeping through the country gaining immense popularity amongst the population but this cult is fading away.

The Order of the Invisible Hand is not exactly a religion, but it does have religous aspects. It is rapidly gaining in popularity amongst the elite.

Economy

General information

Knootoss has a prosperous and open powerhouse economy depending heavily o­n foreign trade. The service-oriented economy is noted for stable industrial relations, moderate inflation, and a small current account deficit. Benefiting from the complete absence of drug laws, an extremely prosperous export sector is up and running. Due to scale advantages, the prices are significantly lower then illegal produce, making Knootoss extremely competitive in this industry. Other industrial activity is predominantly in Information Technology (IT) and various media but o­n the whole the industrial sector is very diverse and competitive in areas from arms manufacturing to cheese exports. Research and development is o­ne of the main service industries in Knootoss and great emphasis is placed o­n R&D by the government.

Recently, large investments have been made by foreign investors in Automobile Manufacturing, Poultry, Electrical items and drone technology. A Knootian corporation is also the official distributor of Pink Bunny Cola™ and related products. Knootoss uses the Euro along with several other nations and the country continues to be o­ne of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment. Tax levels in Knootoss are relatively low and the government has a pro-business attitude.

Macro-economic figures

GDP per Capita: $45,771.43

GDP composition by sector:

  • Agriculture: 1%
  • Industries: 21%
  • Services: 78%

Unemployment rate: 0,8% - 5,1% depending on the definition used.

Communication and infrastructure

Knootoss boasts a highly advanced communications and transport network. There is a an extremely dense network of highways and (mono)rail, connecting all mayor cities. The National Railways have recently been privatised. Waterways are also very important as they are being used to ship bulk goods over long distances. Rotterdam is o­ne of the biggest ports in the world in terms of cargo transfer. Schiphol Int. Airport is a civilian mainport handling an enormous amount of air traffic, but most military air operations take place from Balmora Airbase.

Internet access is primarily, though not exclusively through Bunnynet™, the Internet access provider of Pink Bunny Cola Incorporated. The national Internet fix is ".kn"

Actors

Ministry of Economic affairs

The Ministry of Economic Affairs is one of the largest ministries in the DDR. Only the ministry of Education has more employees. The ministry has its own intelligence agency, the EIVD, which reports directly to the minister. The ministry is seen as having close ties to the major corporations, and is sympathetic to the Order of the Invisible Hand. It is very influential in decision-making even outside the field of purely economic matters. It establishes consulates abroad that rival the embassies set up by the ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The current Minister of Economic Affairs is Mr. L.J. Brinkhorst of the SLP.

Major Corporations

Despite strict anti-cartel laws, several major corporations have cornered large parts of Knootian markets. The following multinationals are most well-known abroad:

Trade

The mayor trade partners of Knootoss are the signatories to the KIST treaty, the WBO and (former) Ur Trade Pact member states and the nations in the regions of Nederland and Holland. The import commodities are machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs, clothing and weapons.

Development aid

Knootoss is an economic aid donor, donating to various development aid programmes, both through the ministry of Economic Affairs and through private donations, in total amounting to about 0,6% of the GDP. The government co-funded the DNAC. The recent conservative administrations have strongly cut aid programmes and changed their nature. Some nations have cynically described the reformed Knootian economic programme aid as being "either for geopolitical purposes, or extortions in exchange for trade concessions".

One of the main recipients of Knootian economic aid is New York and Jersey, a first-world nation which, in turn, funds the DDR the same amount of military aid.

After leaving the NS United Nations, a policy has been established to encourage the "development of rendering the NSUN even more irrelevant then it already is". The DDR ministry of Economic Affairs has cut all economic and humanitarian aid to UN member nations with the exception of structural adjustment funding programmes, disaster relief and reciprocating aid.

Education

General information

Education in Knootoss is obligatory between age 6 and 16, and partially between 16 and 18. There are public and private schools in Knootoss but all school types are inspected by a governmental agency called the Onderwijsinspectie (Education Inspection) and they can be closed by this agency if quality is found lacking.

The goal of Knootian education is to make students as self-sufficient as possible from an early age, using the concept of "self-learning". Emphasis is placed on developing practical and social skills such as computer skills and working in groups. The role of the teacher in this process is more that of a coach, especially at the higher levels of education. Instead of gaining huge in-depth knowledge, students learn to cope with learning how to deal with huge quantities of information and processing them independently. Education on all levels tends to focus on broad knowledge with many interdependencies between different subjects.

Pre-school and Primary education

Pre-school education is popular with more affluent Knootians, and sometimes children attend pre-school facilities even from the age of two. Between 4 and 12 years old, children are obliged to go to the basisschool (elementary school; lit. "basic school"). This school has eight grades. The first and second grade used to be called kleuterschool (kindergarten), and many people still refer to both grades as such. From group 3 on, children will start to learn reading and doing maths. When a child has not advanced enough in a year, he/she has to do the whole year again. Government-sponsored elementary education is officially free of charge, but many schools ask a "parental contribution" from parents that can amount to a significant sum for the higher levels of education.

Secondary education

After attending elementary education, children from 12 years old go to the middelbare school (middle school) which has between four and six grades (depending on the type). VMBO is the least theoretical, followed by HAVO and VWO. The first year of secondary education is called brugklas ("bridge class"), where the school determines what type of secondary education should be followed. In practice, the brugklas is almost always already divided between the VMBO-brugklas, HAVO/VWO-brugklas and gymnasium-brugklas (gymnasium is part of the VWO).

Only a few secondary schools offer all three types of education, and most are only specialised in one or two types. This is especially true for the gymnasium, which takes only the most promising students. Generally, this means that children spend time only with people from their own 'education class' after they have been selected in the 'basisschool'. Because of this, the VMBO children who are destined for the nations industries and manual labour rarely interact with the cream of the cream at the Gymnasium. Some have critisised the system for being class-based and discriminating, pointing to the strong correlation between the income of parents and etniticity in relation to the education type that a child is usually assigned to. This criticism is usually dismissed by pointing to the rigid testing and meritocratic principles used to select children for a certain education type.

Apart from these levels, there is functional specialisation throughout the secondary education system. There are two 'profiles' for students which provide an education programme with interdependent subjects relating to global sectors in the economy. The first profile is E&M (Economics and Society) which focuses on subjects such as economics, statistical math, history, societal studies, etc. Higher-level first profile students get classes on applied technology as well. The second profile ("Nature, Health and Technology") focusses on subjects such as general maths, biology, physics, chemistry and a subject dealing specifically with technology. Apart from these profiles, students have room for free choice of a number of subjects.

Higher education

With the necessary diploma's a student is granted acces to higher levels of education.

  • bve (Beroepsonderwijs en Volwasseneneducatie): medium level Wikipedia:vocational education (mbo Middelbaar Beroeps Onderwijs) and education for adults
  • hbo (Hoger Beroeps Onderwijs): higher vocational education
  • wo (Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs): Wikipedia:university

Politics

Political parties

The DDR has a multi-party system with many different parties forming different coalitions. These coalitions usually involve the liberal SLP either governing with the right-wing RCPK or with the left wing greens, sometimes with a junior partner. The unicameral parliament (called the "Staten-Generaal") has 200 seats. The latest election results of the Staten-Generaal are:

  • RCPK: Realistische Conservatieve Partij Knootoss: 69 seats (conservative) (government party)
  • SLP: Sociaal-Liberale Partij: 63 seats (liberal)(government party)
  • KGP: Knootiaanse Groene Partij: 62 seats (green)(opposition party)
  • SP: Socialistische Partij: 4 seats (socialist)(opposition party)
  • KEP: Knootiaanse Elven Partij: 1 seat (elvish interests)("opposition" party - follows RCPK)
  • IP: Imperialistische Partij: 1 seat (imperialist)(opposition party)

Anthem of the Dutch Democratic Republic

The new anthem of the Dutch Democratic Republic was established after the Shadow War raged in the country. It can be downloaded in the 'downloads' section of this website

The text, in various languages, can be found here.

Dependencies

The Knootian Federation is an instrument of holding together various Knootian dependencies. (For organisation see the main article. These dependencies are:

International Organisations

Current member

UN organisations

Despite not being a member of the United Nations, the DDR cooperates with several UN organisations, through the UN office. These are:

Formerly member of

Related articles

External links

Retrieved from "http://archive.nswiki.org/index.php?title=Knootoss&oldid=8614"