This is the deal…

Humanity evolved without God. Bloody wars were fought, won and lost, but humanity survived them all. Imagine a society that looks like the Vulcan's of TOS. There are certain ceremonies (eg. Wedding, Engagement, Baptism (a non reglious ceremony), and others, but they all were born out of a need to celebrate events.

The setting, Earth. Technology has reached the same level as it has now. We can drive cars, use computers to communicate with others around the globe. But God does not exist. There is no religion.

On this earth there are different countries, all with their weaknesses and advantages. The diplomatic problems are like today.

OK the story begins exactly one day after the population of this planet learned that the concept of God exists, a higher form of life, that had a hand in creating the world we live on and maybe even the entire universe. A being so great we cannot fully comprehend it.

It was touted by some scientists that were looking for a way to explain a hole in there universal formula. (A formula that tried to exlpain the universe)

The rules

-Pick a country and/or one single character, to be your main character.

-As a country you can decide how your government stands or falls or how it deals with a population that have just realized there is something more out there. Will this mean anarchy, war or peace.

-As a character, you can decide and play with the sociological impact it has on individuals and the whole. How does it affect your average Joe Schmoe?

-You may not write how another country responds or acts, nor may you hint at the history of another country, unless noone has clamed that country.

-You may write how the World Wide Crime Syndicate acts. If you need to blame something evil, like a bombing on anybody blame it on the WWCS. The WWCS is a NPC and I will write about them when you are not blaming them for something.

-I will also write the free media as well as the media in my country, but you may write the national and other media in your country (if you are a government type that doesn't have free speech and freedom of the press.). The way this will work is I {and you} will write interludes in gold that are different shows expressing views on the current events. You may use real shows.

-You may only take a country as large as the USSR was, but no larger. Although you may chose a smaller nation (Preferred).

-The date is 1/01/01 NA (New Age) and we will be using Greenwich Mean Time for ease of use. The currency is an equivalent to the dollar called the Simolean (§) [That's Alt+0167]

The years labeled to us BC are relabled OR [Old Reckoning]
and the years labled AD are relabled NR [New Reckoning].
We stsrt at the date Janary 1st 2000 by our way of keeping track

Here is a link tohelp with nation building, Nation Statistics.

We will not use OoB's in this debate.

Note: Any religon strongilly based off a earler religon (Eg.mAhristanity, Islam) cannot be used because there was NO religon before this announcment.

My stats and history will come in the next post.

Introduction

Background: The pacific islands banded togetjher in (1938) and banded together with tthe country of New Bablyon to form the new Alliance of New Bablyon and Pacific islands in (1999)

Land clams:New Zealand and all its claimed islands, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Nauru, Federated States of Micronesia, Northern Marianas, Guam, Palau, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Fiji, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Wake Island, Western Samoa, Tonga, American Samoa, French Polynesia, Pitcairn Island and the islands Howland, Baker, Jarvis and Palmyra

Geography

Climate: temperate with sharp regional contrasts amd tropical islands
Terrain: predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains , many islands
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

highest point: Mount Cook 3,764 m
Natural resources: natural gas, iron ore, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone, sand amd pearls
Land use: arable land: 9%

permanent crops: 22%

permanent pastures: 33%

forests and woodland: 28%

other: 8%
Irrigated land: 2,850 sq km

Natural hazards: earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity, Hurricanes on Pacific islands.
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion, rasing water levels.
Environment - international agreements: party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands,WWCS ban, Whaling

Just Ratified by Presidental approval: Kyoto enviorment treaty, Underwater protection, Happiness of animals treaty.

signed, but not ratified: Trade world interests.

Geography - note: about 40% of the population lives in cities; New Bablyon is the largest capital in the world on a small island (Pitcairn Island).

People

Infant mortality rate: 9.28 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.845 years

male: 66.01 years

female: 72.189 years
Total fertility rate: 3.5 children born/woman
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.006%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 120
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 10
Nationality: noun: New Zealander(s)

adjective: New Babylonian
Ethnic groups: New Babylon European 70.5%, Maori 9.7%, other European 4.6%, Pacific Islander 8.8%, Asian and others 6.4%

(1999 Religion(s): Atheist 100%
Languages: English-Spanish mixture (official), Maori, various Islander languages.
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 100%

male: 65%

female: 35%

Population: 3,864,129
Age structure: 0-14 years: 25.36%

15-64 years: 66.11%

65 years and over: 8.53%
Population growth rate: 1.14%
Birth rate: 15.28 births/1,000 population
Death rate: 8.56 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate: 4.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female

total population: 0.99 male(s)/female

Goverment

Country name: conventional long form: Alliance of New Bablyon and Pacific islands

conventional short form: New Bablyon

abbreviation: NB
Government type: parliamentary democracy turning into parlimentary shaminstic republic
Capital: New Bablyon
National holiday: Signing day Alliance declared and solidified), Febuarty 16 (1999 NR)
Constitution: consists of a series of legal documents, including certain acts of the UK and New Bablyon Commitee and The Alliance constituion
Legal system: based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts for Pacific islands.
Suffrage: 12 years of age; universal
Executive branch: President

head of government: President Barquez

cabinet: Cabnet appionted by President on the recommendation of the Previous President.

elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general for a three-year term; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives - commonly called Committee (150 seats; members elected by popular vote in single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms)

elections: last held 15 March 1999 NR

election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - N/A since political parties are illegal.

Miscallenous

GNP: §522,200,000 Simoleans

Japan or Nippon
Background: While retaining its time-honored culture, Japan rapidly absorbed Western technology during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After its devastating defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become the second most powerful economy in the world and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, actual power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth.

Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
Geographic coordinates: 36 00 N, 138 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area: total: 377,835 sq km

land: 374,744 sq km

water: 3,091 sq km

note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than California
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 29,751 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM

exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM; between 3 NM and 12 NM in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait
Climate: varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m

highest point: Fujiyama 3,776 m
Natural resources: negligible mineral resources, fish
Land use: arable land: 11%

permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 2%
forests and woodland: 67%

other: 19% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 27,820 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons
Environment - current issues: air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere
Environment - international agreements: party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note: strategic location in northeast Asia
Japan People Top of Page
Population: 126,771,662 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 14.64% (male 9,510,296; female 9,043,074)

15-64 years: 67.83% (male 43,202,513; female 42,790,187)

65 years and over: 17.53% (male 9,351,340; female 12,874,252) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.17% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 10.04 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 8.34 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female

total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 3.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 80.8 years

male: 77.62 years

female: 84.15 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.41 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.02% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 10,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 150 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Japanese (singular and plural)

adjective: Japanese
Ethnic groups: Japanese 99.4%, Korean 0.6% (1999)
Languages: Japanese
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (1970 est.)

male: NA%
female: NA%
Government
Country name: conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Japan
Government type: constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government
Capital: Tokyo
Administrative divisions: 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi
Independence: 660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu)
National holiday: Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (193
Constitution: 3 May 1947
Legal system: modeled after European civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)

head of government: Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI (since 24 April 2001)

cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
Flag description: white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center

Economy - overview: Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) have helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US and third largest economy in the world after the US and China. One notable characteristic of the economy is the working together of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in closely-knit groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding. Industry, the most important sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The much smaller agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self-sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 50% of its requirements of other grain and fodder crops. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades overall real economic growth had been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s largely because of the aftereffects of overinvestment during the late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Government efforts to revive economic growth have met little success and were further hampered in late 2000 by the slowing of the US and Asian economies. The crowding of habitable land area and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. Robotics constitutes a key long-term economic strength, with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000 "working robots".
GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.15 trillion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.3% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $24,900 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 2%

industry: 35%

services: 63% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 4.8%

highest 10%: 21.7% (199
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0.7% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 67.7 million (December 2000)
Labor force - by occupation: services 65%, industry 30%, agriculture 5%
Unemployment rate: 4.7% (2000)
Budget: revenues: $441 billion

expenditures: $718 billion, including capital expenditures (public works only) of about $84 billion (FY01/02 est.)
Industries: among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals; textiles, processed foods
hydro: 8.35%
nuclear: 30.31%

Exports - commodities: motor vehicles, semiconductors, office machinery, chemicals
Exports - partners: US 30%, Taiwan 7%, South Korea 6.4%, China 6.2%, Hong Kong 5.6% (2000 est.)
Imports: $355 billion (c.i.f., 2000)
Imports - commodities: fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, office machinery
Imports - partners: US 19%, China 14.5%, South Korea 5.4%, Taiwan 4.8%, Indonesia 4.3%, Australia 3.9% (2000 est.)
Debt - external: $NA
Economic aid - donor: ODA, $9.1 billion (1999)
Currency: yen (JPY)
Currency code: JPY
Exchange rates: yen per US dollar - 117.10 (January 2001), 107.77 (2000), 113.91 (1999), 130.91 (1998), 120.99 (1997), 108.78 (1996)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Japan Communications Top of Page
Telephones - main lines in use: 60.381 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 63.88 million (2000)
Telephone system: general assessment: excellent domestic and international service

domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind

:p