[Interest Check / Development] The New Order: A Dieselpunk Nation Game

[Dadarian]

OSS WORLD FACTBOOK
PERSON OF IMPORT: MAO XINYU

Mao in uniform in front of the Red Palace; C. 1997​

Legal Name: 毛新宇 (Máo Xīnyǔ)
English Name: Mao Xinyu
Nicknames: Bǐ Gǎnmào (Tr: Big Mao), Öökh ezen khaan (Tr: Fat Emperor)
Birthplace: Changchun
Date of Birth: 17 January, 1970 (27)
Position: State Chairman of the Manchurian Soviet Republic, President of the Committee on Maoism,
Achievements of Note: Being the Red Emperor, Holding the World Record of Consumed Dumplings, Being a Major in the People's Revolutionary Army

History:

Born in 1970, he was the first and only son of Mao Anqing, and a blessing to his father. Using his newfound son as leverage, Anqing managed to depose his brother and de facto established a hereditary Emperorship of the Maoist line in 1980, when Xinyu was 10. Xinyu, raised in the relatively luxury of a Mao, found the newfound wealth inherent to the Imperial Prince of Red China to be intoxicating. While pushed into the People's Revolutionary Army (PRA) by his father, he preferred to live his penthouse/harem in Changchun. Anqing, though late in his years, grew tired of his son's debauchery, and exiled him to the Inner Mongolian Provinces to act with his favourite axeman Zhao Wei, and learn the ways of a proper Mao.

Wei, not being entirely stupid, did not treat Xinyu as harshly as his father suspected. Quickly promoted to the rank of Major, Xinyu simply watched as Wei did most of the work that he was required to do. Appreciative, Xinyu actually (and surprisingly) started to do some of the work that he was suppose to do, and the two worked well together. Xinyu would return from his exile in 1995 at the will of his ailing father, but his time in Inner Mongolia changed him. A hard and cruel (some whisper unstable) man underneath his plushy, jovial exterior, his pogroms against the Mongolians earned him the nickname Öökh khuntaij (Tr: Fat Prince) within said provinces, though ones that were found saying that name would soon disappear.

When his father passed away in 1996, Xinyu seized control of the nation with a firm grip. Headed by his right hand, Wei, he thoroughly purged any detractors to his rule and established himself as untouchable within the entire system of governance. Known for his lust for land, women, dumplings, and extravagant show trials, purges by his axemen are a weapon used by those within the Red Court against one another. His one major flaw is his utter disregard of the lives of any but a few of his closest favourites, leading the Red Court to (sometimes quite openly) assassinate and purge one another in a brutal clawing for power under the Maoist Light.

 

[Scrapknight]

OSS WORLD FACTBOOK
FRENCH REPUBLIC

​

Official Name: République française
Short Form: France
Capital: Paris
Prime Minister: Ségolène Royal (SFIO)
Government: Parliamentary democratic republic

History:

The modern French Republic, the fourth in history, was in large part created due to the determination of one man: General Charles de Gaulle. Fleeing the Nazi invasion of France and refusing to recognize the Petain government’s surrender, de Gaulle fled to London, famous proclaiming that “France has a lost a battle, but she has not lost the war!” Organizing various French possessions that had not fallen to the Vichy regime as Free France, de Gaulle and his forces took part in the Normandy landings and fought viciously to retake their country. However, his dreams of meeting the Soviet army in Berlin could not be realized. After the Liberation of France and the Low Countries, the German army had begun to rally, and had held Anglo-Franco-American troops at the Rhine with some consistency. They also began to reverse the Soviet gains of late 1943 and early 1944, and were gaining territory fast. With wunderwaffen programs on both sides being an unknown factor, an armistice made sense to both sides as a way to secure their precarious positions on the front. While the Germans initially demanded to hold on to the “German” territories of Alsace-Lorraine and Malmady, the French and Belgians struck a deal with the Italians: in exchange for letting them keep their Libyan colony (which had been liberated by Allied forces), the Italians would support a status quo ante peace, meaning that Belgium would be returned Malmady and France would be returned Alsace. De Gaulle, who had served as head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic, would handily win elections as its first President. de Gaulle was tired of fighting, and believed that the largely ceremonial office of the Presidency would suit him. His prime minister was the SFIO (Socialist) candidate Leon Blum, with whom de Gaulle would have many disagreements during his tenure.


Prime ministers would come and go rapidly in France, a tradition that still continues to this day, but one of the main objectives of the postwar administrations (besides universal healthcare) would be decolonization. This came about for two reasons. First of all, it united the political spectrum in that the left believed it was morally proper and the right admitted that the countries that had hosted the Free French in their darkest hour deserved something in return. Secondly, many of the more distant colonies were increasingly a drain on the French economy, and if France was to remain a global power it would have to organize a cheaper arrangement. The first attempt at a new colonial policy was the French Union, a large project intending to combine all the colonial governments into one and increase local representation. However, the project was both incredibly complex and unsatisfying to local elites, so the Union was quickly spun off into “associated states” from 1949 to 1951 that were essentially independent. In time, the associate states would all go their own way; the Empire of Vietnam was overthrown by fascist army officer Ngo Dinh Diem in 1960, the massive West African and Central African Federations would break up during the late ‘50s in a series of bloody civil wars, and the French parts of the Moroccan Protectorate would revert to their Sultan. Only Tunisia stayed close to France, and that would only last until Italian-backed nationalists would overthrow the French-backed republican government. Despite the occasional traumas related to decolonization, the rapidity of the process made an impression on the home countries, and almost all the lands of the former French Union remained on fairly good terms with France. However, one particular era would almost bring the entire French state to a screeching halt: Algeria.


The first signs of trouble in Algeria occurred in late 1951, when an organization calling itself the National Fascist Revolutionary Combat Group of Algeria (GCFNRA) began conducting bombings of major Algerian cities that were major factors in forcing the French to pull out of the Suez campaign with the British. In the aftermath of what came to be called the 8/8 bombings, the GCFNRA managed to quickly unite most of the Algerian independence movement behind it bar the moderates who wanted merely more autonomy within France. The insurgency and counter-insurgency quickly expanded into a full-blown war of independence. De Gaulle, who declined to run for re-election in 1952, was worried about the potential consequences of a long and drawn-out war. Unfortunately, that was exactly what the nation would get. While American reconstruction funding had done wonders in getting the French economy back on its feet, American troops in France also propelled worries about the French state losing its genuine independence and becoming an American satellite. Algeria was thus seen as a war that France had to win to prove its relevance as a world power.


Unfortunately, it would not be that simple. While the French army was able to deal defeat after defeat to the GCFNRA, the campaign only served to convince more and more locals that independence was the proper course, and fascist sentiment in Algeria soared. The French were forced to come to the table in 1958 after a fascist teenager set off a chemical weapon in Oran against a neighborhood of pieds-noirs. Algeria would gain its independence as a democratic republic, but as expected, the Revolutionary Fascist Party swept the elections and quickly transformed Algeria into an orthodox fascist dictatorship on the Italian model. The withdrawal from Algeria brought the final demise of the Radical-Socialist Party that had been leading the conservative alliance opposed to the Communist-SFIO-Christian Democratic coalition, and in its place emerged the Gaullist Rally of the French People (RPF.) The RPF and the SFIO, and their smaller coalition partners, would be the main parties of the Fourth Republic, the first salvo of their great rivalry beginning with the return of de Gaulle to the Presidency in 1960. While de Gaulle did not get his wish of an entirely new constitution, he did use his presidential position as a strong bully pulpit to convince the shifting parliamentary coalition under him to follow his directives. He built up the French army, a program that became popular across the board - the left wanted a strong defense against fascist Germany, while the right wanted an independent military to avoid accusations of being an American puppet. France soon had the fourth-largest army in the entire UN, after the US, China and the USSR.


Following de Gaulle’s resignation in 1968 and his death in 1970, various socialist and communist parties dominated French politics, though the robust military legacy of Gaullism had left its mark on the entire political spectrum. Successive governments built up La Francophonie, an international organization of economic cooperation and peacekeeping between France and its former colonies. With the Non-Aligned Movement refusing to maintain peacekeeping forces as contradictory to national sovereignty, La Francophonie has become a major security player in former French West and Central Africa. The conquests of the Central African Empire were the region’s first big security challenge, but France was able to prevent Niger from falling to the Empire in the Nigerien War of 1984. France also re-established a working relationship with Vietnam after the retirement of Ho Chi Minh, and the country agreed to house several French bases in exchange for development aid.


France today is both a highly militarized state, knowing a German invasion could come at any time, and a very leftist and liberal society considered at the forefront of the Western avant-garde. From the 70s onward, French culture became famous as the center of a sort of “anti-nihilism,” the notion that there is little meaning in the universe but life is meant to be enjoyed to the fullest. With endless German armies right across the border, the popularity of existentialism and nihilism is perhaps understandable. The exact level of state control of the economy has varied over the decades, but with even the Gaullist right following a dirigist economic model, France has had the most centralized and state-owned economy out the USSR. The French today are renowned as fierce fighters, having replaced the memory of the Fall of France with those of defending democratic regimes in Tunisia, Niger and so forth. And of course, Paris is still the gourmet capital of the world.

 

[Ironhide G1]

Spanish Royalist Movement

Juan Carlos I and his son Felipe IV, main candidate for Monarchy and son of the last King, though who should be King is greatly discussed and debated amount the Royalist, causing division in the group.

A push for a Monarchy is slowly getting more popular as the years progress. Rightful heir to the Throne, Jaun Carlos I, has a sizable backing but by no means majority, backing for reestablishing the throne. As a diplomatic move, Juan married his son Felipe((born 5 years earlier in this)), during his exile from Spain, to Andrea von Habsburg, eldest daughter of Otto von Habsburg, reuniting the Hapsburg line with the Spanish throne. He now seeks to return to the country to reclaim his throne.

Most Monarchists want a absolute monarchy,, called the Royalist Absolutionists. Some of them want a Constitutional Monarchy, called the Royalist Constitutionalists, however these are more suppressed by the Government. The majority does not a constitutional monarchy. They will probably support a constitution on paper, but the monarchist movement is not majority democratic. But more importantly, people as debating who should become King. A lot of people want the Carlist candidate Carlos Hugo and someother people even want to crown Franco's kids.

Another major roadblock is the that the military isn't going to be inclined to give up their share of the Cortes. They have a lot of institutional power now since Franco's successors weren't as good at keeping the Caudillo independent of either the Falange or the army, and they've picked the army. Plenty of the army is royalist - in fact, more of it is royalist than the Falange, proportionately - but they don't want to give up their power, either. The Falange is still around, and there are republicans in it. They aren't strong right now, but they'd still put up a fight. The Germans are likely to clamp down hard on the spread of democracy, or even a Constitutional Monarchy throughout its sphere.

While the Royalists face trouble from within and outside the movement, and while it is no easy task, they are determined and ready to reestablish a King on the throne.

 

[AzagalTheGreat]

Here is the new map I have been working on :

http://i.imgur.com/TYjxVQG.png

 

[alexander23]

New map as in...giving bukgaria a bunch of land it didnt had before?

 

[Gorganslayer]

^^ pretty much

 

[AzagalTheGreat]

New map as in...giving bukgaria a bunch of land it didnt had before?

Fixing a lot of the border gore with the internal borders and small stuff like Memel not being German. The Bulgarian land is lore friendly and if you do not agree please contact Scrapknight. I just noted down all border issues, ran them by him and edited them on the map. The internal borders have been removed.

 

[Scrapknight]

Only maps I post are canon, period. That said, I will take make note of that map.

Brazil tomorrow, along with minor powers over on the signup thread. Once Brazil is up and minor powers are distributed, this thread will have finally served its purpose.

 

[Gorganslayer]

Gibe guyana

 

[AzagalTheGreat]

Only maps I post are canon, period. That said, I will take make note of that map.

Brazil tomorrow, along with minor powers over on the signup thread. Once Brazil is up and minor powers are distributed, this thread will have finally served its purpose.

I will be working on rooting out the final errors. If you could kindly come on IRC we can discuss any remaining errors after I have posted a newer version.

 

[Gorganslayer]

why not just PM him instead of doing in thread which looks a bit disrespectful

 

[Gorganslayer]

MI5 Domestic Factbook
Person of Importance: Michael Portillo

​

Name: Michael Portillo
Nickname: 'Thatcher's Darling'
Position: Secretary of State for Defence
Party: Conservative
Ideology: Thatcherism, [Conservatism, Libertarianism, Capitalism, Privatisation, Anti-Communism, Anti-fascism, Anti-trade Unionism, Extended Acts of Union, Anti-Decolonization, Euro-skepticism, UN-skepticism, Home-ownership, Entrepreneurism, Monarchism, Traditionalism, Isolationism, Pro-commonwealth]
Achievements: creator of the phrase 'Portillo Moment'

Bio:
Portillo was born in Bushey, Hertfordshire to an exiled Spaniard fleeing from the Franco Regime and a Scottish Lady. Despite his father's wish to keep the families spanish tradition alive, Michael was unable to obtain a Spanish Citizenship, due to the nature of the UN-Axis cold war, eventually his interest in his father's homeland soon faded, with him even dropping the Spanish version of his name Miguel Portillo Blyth entirely. His first association with the Conservative Party would come in the 60's where as a teen, he was part of a series of Radio Plays to Drum up support for the Falklands War, prior to the British withdrawal. These events would mark his first contact with the Conservative Party, and inspire him to Study History at the University of Cambridge, funded by a scholarship awarded to him with considerable influence by the Conservatives.

After Graduating with a first-class degree in History, Michael would then go on to work with the National and Imperial Oil company for several years until it run into financial difficulties during the Axis Oil Embargo, during which he would leave the company and joined under the Conservative Research Department, where he was quickly fast-tracked and given the necessary training and advisement to make his way in politics. During the Late 70's and early 80's Portillo worked as an adviser for the conservative party, quickly gaining the interest and attention of the future Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Michaels most famous moment as a politician would come during his first attempt to stand for a seat during the Enfield-Southgate By-election of 1984. Typically a Liberal safe-seat, the Liberal Party was expected to maintain the seat with a slight swing towards the Conservative Party. After a brutal campaign however, in which Portillo would consistently outwit and outplay his opponent, the by-election would result in an almost landslide victory for the Conservatives, blasting himself into the spotlight. (though many note in may have just been a result of the general swing to the conservatives following their victory in the previous elections, since the end of the Harold Wilson Government)

As a member of Parliament, Michael was quickly promoted to the rank of a junior minister by Thatcher despite protests by others in the Party, with him taking the position of Secretary of State for Transport. During his tenure he would pioneer many new forms of transport and usher in a series of projects that heavily improved and promoted the transport infrastructure of the UK. Notable are his initiatives which improved the UK rail system and underground making them one of the most modern services in the world, operating at high-speed and always on time.

Following the challenge in 1992 by Chris Redwood against Margaret Thatcher on the grounds of the unpopular Polls Tax and the failure to stem unrest in Northern Ireland, during which Michaels loyalty played a big part in Thatcher retaining her position as head of the Conservatives, he would be promoted to the position of Secretary of State for defence. For the past 5 years he has been behind the increasingly strong-armed crackdowns in Northern Ireland against both sides of the fighting, and has attempted to organize peace talks between the two sides, although so far they have been unfruitfull. Never the less, his tenure has seen the modernization of the British Army, as well as an expansion of its forces and commitments overseas, in somewhat contrast specially to his pure Thatcherist ideological tendancies, including Isolationism. Although for the meantime such deployments have been limited to parts of the UK or British Overseas Territories, (notably Gibraltar and Malta)

As 1997 rolls around and Margaret Thatcher has officially announced her retirement from politics, the resulting leadership ballot could be anyone's game, with those who opposed Thatcher ready to emerge again to take control of the Party. Known as Thatchers Darling, and seen by many as the successor to her legacy, the question remains, will the elderly Prime Minister announce her support for him? And if not who will she support, for thou who receives her blessing stands a good chance of becoming the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

​

 

[Noco19]

History of the Abwehr
by Hans Gisevius​

Formed in 1920 as a component of the Ministry of Defence, the Abwehr had humble beginnings, a nascent military intelligence agency looked down upon by the old guard of Prussian officers. And indeed, the Abwehr's early leaders gave little to elicit note. It was not until the rise of the Nazi Party, and the appointment of naval officer Captain Konrad Patzig, that the Abwehr first truly provided results and distinguished itself. However it was another mind from the Reichsmarine that would truly propel the Abwehr to its heights and who would pave the road for its status as Germany's premier intelligence agency - Wilhelm Franz Canaris.

Serving in the First Weltkrieg as an intelligence officer aboard a submarine - where he served admirably and proved himself a capable deceiver - Canaris would go on to join arms with the Interwar Freikorps movement and later the resurgent Reichsmarine before his appointment to the Abwehr. Although an early supporter of the great betrayer -Adolf Hitler - Canaris would prove his wisdom by recognizing the dangers this demagogue and his brute comrades posed to the German people should he be allowed to continue his reign of terror.

Thus, Canaris and his brave Abwehr colleagues put into motion a number of plans to not only assist the German Nation towards victory, but also to excise the cancerous influence of Nazism. The recording of the various Nazi atrocities would prove invaluable to documenting the myriad of crimes perpetrated by the Hitlerite Regime, bolstering support within the growing resistance, thus resulting in the victory of the Wehrmacht and future DNVP. Although Canaris himself was under house arrest during the assassination and liberation of Germany, his work is cited as a major participant.

Following the stabilization of Germany, Canaris would be honored as a hero and invited back to guide the Abwehr in reorganizing after the collapse of the Nazi government organizations. Under his guidance, the Abwehr was greatly expanded, becoming the sole intelligence agency of Germany and restructured with various offices and sub-divisions to fulfill the needs of the state in protecting German interests at home and abroad, and for its traditional role as military intelligence.

 

[Scrapknight]

((Great ICing so far! If this is before the game starts, I can't wait to see how the game proper goes!

Here's a look at military units and their various costs:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tVm7eoMFxRGWvDxm9KwfAadfOAVlQGUZ4eyxogDQE4E/edit?usp=sharing

))

 

[Gorganslayer]

MI5 Domestic Factbook
Person of Importance: Chris Patten

​

Name: Chris Patten
Nickname: "Fatty Pang"
Position: Governor of Hong Kong
Party: Conservative
Ideology: Neo-Integrationalist Imperialism [ 'Soft' Conservatism and Libertarianism, Capitalism, Mixed Privatisation, Anti-Communism, Anti-fascism, Anti-trade Unionism, Imperial Federationist, Pro-Commonwealth, Euro-skepticism, UN-skepticism, Home-ownership, Entrepreneurism, Monarchism, Traditionalism, Interventionism]

Bio: Born in 1944, Chris Patten's father was a jazz musician, who grew to somewhat moderate fame in the cultural movement of Jazz that has continued in the UK to this very day, while his mother, Joan was a devout catholic, somewhat at odds with the UK's Protestant leanings.

At a young age he was sent to a catholic boarding school, and like his mother grew up to be a strong man of his faith. Later duringhis education he would win an exhibition to study History at oxford, where he published a series of well-regarded notes on the creation of wonder weapons as well as a minor thesis on the emerging UN-Axis Cold war at the time still heating up. It was from this base that he would eventually move on to join the conservative party in 1966, I fierce supporter of the Empire and 'not taking one step back' he was furious with the British withdrawal from the Falklands war, and what he latter viewed as american incompetence in running the whole affair. By 1974 he served as the Director of the Conservative Research Department, during which he would meet Michael Portillo for the first time.

During the period, Chris would stand in two elections, attempting to gain the seat of Lambeth central in '74 before becoming the MP for Bath in '79. Viewed as an experienced member a master of diplomacy and relations, Chris would become the Minister for overseas development at the Commonwealth and Foreign Office. Throughout this period he would focus on repairing relations with former British Colonies and the Dominions, notably being a proponent of a commonwealth spanning free-trade agreement, and some even suggesting his idea for a 'Crown Passport' common to all the Commonwealth members, although neither was able to reach fruition, he has repaired relations with some nations to an extent, while his aid and development funds primarily towards Island nations in the Caribbean and Pacific. (although Guyana and Malaysia would both receive large sums as well) has done much to endear not only the UK but his own image to the Global Commonwealth as a whole.

Following his transfer to Minister for Environment and the resulting backlash again'st him towards the Poll Tax, Chris was quickly relocated to another area, to keep him out of the public eye. This position would be the Governorship of Hong Kong. At the time a fairly fading locale, already seemingly resigned to be ignored by the UK as it prepared to be returned to the Republic of China, Chris took what had become a more custodial position and began to galvanize change in the Colony. Taking steps to get in touch with the people of the colony he could often be caught walking around and talking with the locals, almost being mistaken for a civilian unless one noticed the armed guard that always hung back a few metres, this friendly nature earned him the nickname 'Fatty Pang' from the island population who regarded him affectionately. His actions would see him grant full democracy and equal representation to the Island in 1994, greatly boosting his popularity, while behind the scenes setting the stage for a showdown with the Republic of China, as the New Hong Kong party, which had been prepared and created behind the scenes, rushed to the top of the popularity charts in the region with its promise of negotiating its entrance into the UK as a dominion state. (Chris himself deeply opposing the Handover) However after 3 years in power, and with the handover imminent, a lack of action has dulled the parties support somewhat, with most polls showing the Grand China Party, which advocates for a full and complete integration into china, rather than the special administrative status currently planned has risen to hold roughly 42% of the vote, (New Hong Kong holding 46%, with the other 2% being undecided on a two party basis)

With Margaret Thatcher announcing her retirement and the coinciding flight by Chris Patten to London many believe he is likely to mount a play for the party leadership. With the potential support of Thatcher and riding on Imperial Nostalgia he may be in a position to claim his prize, and then one can only learn to guess exactly what his plans would be once he has his hands on the most powerful seat in the United Kingdom

 

[Deaghaidh]

Since other people are doing it, I'll start with the current Emperor, Amha Selassie

Born Asfaw Wossen Taffari in 1916, he is the eldest son of the late Emperor. He was granted the province of Wollo in 1930, and married his first wife the following year. He followed his father and the rest of the Imperial family into exile, travelling between Jerusalem, London, and the United States. He and his first wife (a princess from a competing branch of the Solomonic Dynasty) divorced in 1941, just as an allied campaign promised to oust the Italians from East Africa. But unrest in India caused the Indian and ANZAC troops to be redeployed, and the end of the larger war saw Ethiopia still in Italian hands.

Though resistance would continue, the Crown Prince, like the Emperor, would go back into exile, returning sporadically to participate in rebel strikes. He primarily lived in the royal family's compound in Jerusalem, where he remarried in 1945 to Princess Medferiashwork Abebe, and sire three daughters and finally a son, Crown Prince Zara Yacob, in 1953.

In 1973, while in the US lobbying for American support for the reinvigorated resistance, he suffered a massive stroke. The Ethiopian court-in-exile discussed naming his son, then a student at Oxford, as the new heir. But Haile Selassie refused to countenance such a move, which presumed his eldest son would die. In time the Crown Prince would recover, though his right side would remain paralyzed and his speech would be effected. Much like the US President FDR, Amha Selassie would carefully arrange his public appearances to hide the full extent of his disability.

Following the Imperial Restoration, the Crown Prince would take on a major role in his aging father's administration. He was one of the framers of the Constitution of 1978, and would serve as Enderase (regent) and Reise Mekwanint (roughly analogous to being 'Speaker of the House' in the House of Nobles)

As Emperor in his own right, he proved culturally conservative, but willing to make major reforms in administration and the economy. On the advice of American economic advisors, he oversaw the rapid privatization of the state and semi-state industries inherited from the Italians, but like his father insisted that the purchasing corporations be at least 51% Ethiopian owned. Since the only Ethiopians with capital and ties to outside finance were nobles who had lived abroad, this led to most of Ethiopia's major industries being conglomerated into the nine "Family Companies." His general policy toward these powerful Feudal-corporate interests has been to involve them as much as possible in the government in order to assure that stability remains in their best interest. This policy led to mixed results; it has kept Eritrea, the Ogaden and Djibouti in the Empire, but the political and economic monopoly the Family Companies enjoy has undermined entrepreneurship and political participation.

The Emperor's biggest successes have been in promoting primary schooling and basic health care, and the 1986 Tenancy Act, which strengthened the legal rights of peasant farmers. He has managed to establish modern armed forces and a legal system that is apolitical. In Foreign Affairs, the Emperor has been a staunch member of the UN, and Ethiopia's growing economy owes a great deal to trade with UN members. He's also striven to promote solidarity among "have-not" nations through the Non-Aligned movement and the Organisation of African States.

In his personal affairs, the Emperor, like his father, is proudly and sincerely devout in his Coptic Christianity. In the early 1980s he had a well known falling out with his son and designated heir, Crown Prince Zera Yacob. The Crown Prince had divorced his carefully arranged wife (not uncommon in his family) and was leading what the Emperor considered a 'debauched' lifestyle. For five years Crown Prince Zera Yacob actually left the country to work at a London investment bank. The breach was strictly personal, and never effected the succession. The Crown Prince's marriage to Princess Latifah was the catalyst for a fully fledged reconciliation, and in 1989 the Emperor appointed the Crown Prince Kantiba ("Lord Mayor") of Addis Ababa, placing him in charge of the country's most populous and wealthy city, and granting him a major but informal role in shaping trade and economic policy.

Now almost 81, the Emperor is seen more rarely than ever, delegating most Royal appearances to either his son, his daughters, or his numerous nieces and nephews. At this point no amount of stage management can conceal his increasingly frail health, though those who serve him closest say his will and intellect remain strong.

While not the overpowering personal presence his father was, HIM Amha Selassie is well regarded by the majority of his subjects. Even those who are dissatisfied with the status quo usually attribute the Empire's problems to either bad advisers or to the Emperor not being aware of their seriousness. An increasingly young population (half of Ethiopians today were born after 1975) see him as a paternal figure, though like any father his decisions are not always popular with his 'children.'

 

[Plutonium95]

OSS WORLD FACTBOOK
PERSON OF IMPORT: Gabriel Quadri de la Torre

​

Legal Name: Gabriel Ricardo Quadri de la Torre
Birthplace: Mexico City, Mexico
Position: President of the United Mexican States (Spanish: Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos)
Achievement of Note: Undergraduate degree from Ibero-American University in Civil engineering. Master’s degree and PhD in Economics from the University of Texas in Austin.

History:

Born on August 4, 1954, Gabriel Quadri was originally born in Mexico City. His father, Luis Quadri, was a hard-nosed businessman and a great admirer of the works of Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, and Ayn Rand. Additionally, he was a part-time lecturer at the School of Economics in Mexico City. Garbriel's mother, Isabella Montes de Oca, was the daughter of Luis Montes de Oca, a high official of the Mexican Treasury and executive president of the Banco Internacional in the early 40s, with close ties to Mises.

Quadri graduated from the Ibero-American University with a major in Civil engineering in 1975. He undertook graduate studies at the University of Texas and was awarded a Master’s degree and PhD in Economics in 1981. During this time he was heavily influenced by the works of both American and Mexican Libertarians and Randists. In the early 1980s, when Muarry Rothbard was guest lecturing at the School of Economics, Quadri attended Rothbard's seminar. Quadri was greatly influenced by Rothbard’s book, Man, Economy, and State. This meeting likely was responsible for Quardi’s complete rejection of the “despotism of liberty” that had become central to Randism, in favor of so called “anarcho-capitalism”, resulting in his decision to join the Partido Anarquista Nacional (PAN).

After earning his PhD, he taught economics at the Ibero-American University, continuing to work in the PAN over the next six years.

On 16 February 1994, the National Anarchist Party (PAN) registered Gabriel Quadri as their presidential candidate for the Mexican general elections of 1994 after he won the nomination following a series of debates. He was the first candidate of all presidential candidates to register for the elections at the Federal Electoral Institute. During the campaign his message was based on the ideals of “the importance of peaceful and voluntary exchange, private property, non-aggression, and personal freedom”.

He took a stance as a strong supporter of environmentalism, a belief he held for most of his adult life. Quadri proposed that the state encodes, provides and enforces laws which override or obscure property rights and thus fail to protect them adequately. He argued that the best way to protect the environment is to use tort and contract laws governing and protecting property rights and tort claims to protect the environment. And that if affected parties can compel polluters to compensate them they will reduce or eliminate the externality.

Quadri also proposed that the issue of drugs and the drug war needed to be solved, and spoke about decriminalizing the consumption, production, and distribution of all kinds of drugs, weakening the cartels and reducing drug related violence.

He also argued that Mexican police and intelligence services were corrupt and have often been found aiding the drug cartels, and that it is necessary to abolish their existence and replace it with "world class private defense organizations." He mentioned, however, that this reform is a "very long process," but that the work should be done notwithstanding how much effort it will take to create one. "The municipal police forces," Quadri said, "have over 2,500 corrupt officers around Mexico, who are horribly abusive, unprepared, and penetrated by the organized crime groups."

During the race he also stated that he wished to reform Pemex, Mexico's state-owned petroleum company, and privatize the company. To do this he proposed breaking the company up into localized firms and giving shares to the people, which they would be free to trade immediately, in a form of mutualism. Quadri believes that this reform will allow Mexican oil to "compete with multinational companies" and eventually construct "petroleum bases in other countries" and "give dividends."

The 1994 elections saw the Partido Anarquista Nacional swept into power in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate in a landslide victory. Gabriel Quadri won more than 17 million votes. This victory of the PAN over the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), which was utterly removed from power after decades of dominating the political process, sparked reactions from foreign powers. The United States in particular were on edge due to the results, with many politicians and journalists fearing Mexico would go the way of Antioquia or perhaps even Randist Argentina. Quadri did his best to quell these concerns in speeches during the months leading up to his inauguration, but many remained unconvinced.

He was sworn in as president of Mexico on 1 December 1994 at Mexico's federal congress and later flew to a military parade to formally take control of the Mexican Armed Forces. During his inauguration speech at the National Palace, Quadri.

The past few years have at least partially calmed fears of complete societal collapse or the “despotism of liberty” taking place with the government under PAN control. Quadri has slowly been working to improve foreign relations and paving the way for his reforms, which he hopes to begin implementing in earnest over the next year.

 

[Maxwell500]

OSS WORLD FACTBOOK
PERSON OF IMPORT: VALENTIN VARENNIKOV

Varennikov posing for a photo in front of a portrait of Zhukov; C. 1997​

Legal Name: Валентин Иванович Варенников
English Name: Valentin Ivanovich Varennikov
Nicknames: железный маршал (Tr: Iron Marshal)
Position: Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Ground Forces, Deputy Minister of Defence of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Achievements of Note: Consolidating the Hardliners within the CPSU

History:

Born to a poor Cossack family in Krasnodar, his father was a Russian Civil War veteran and a graduate of the Moscow Industrial Institute who had become a manager. He would lose his mother in 1930 at the age of seven, otherwise not much is known of his childhood.

He would enlist in the Red Army following the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, serving as a junior officer and participating in the Battle of Stalingrad. Afterwards he would lead a number of units as a commander as they pushed back the Germans, fighting up until the signing of the armistice in 1945. With the end of fighting in Europe however he was stationed to the Far East to aid in preparations for the Soviet Union's eventual entry into the war against Japan: when it eventually was declared in 1947 he lead one of the divisions into Manchuria and was heavily involved in solidifying the Communist regime, remaining there until 1950.

He would then study at the Frunze Military Academy in Moscow until his graduation in 1954, following up with further studies in the General Staff Academy until 1960. That year he would be appointed Deputy Commander of the 54th Motor Rifle Division of the Leningrad Military District, further promoted to Commander in 1962. By 1965 he would be enrolled in the General Staff and from 1967 to 1969 he commanded the 26th Army Corps of the Leningrad Military District. That same year he would receive further promotion to Commander of the 3rd Shock Army.

Late in 1970 he would be contacted by Marshal Zhukov, long-time Minister of Defence, who managed to convince him to support the Marshal's plan to use the Soviet Armed Forces to forcibly remove what he described as the "incompetent elements in command of the Soviet state". Moving the 3rd Shock Army closer to Moscow as per commands by the Defence Ministry in early 1971 with a sizable military presence near the Kremlin, Marshal Georgy Zhukov would lambaste Nikolai Bulganin and Vyacheslav Molotov for their faults, with the military presence, force their resignations.

The Generalissimo (as Zhukov had seen fit to confer upon himself), in his newfound capacity as Premier, was quick to reward Varennikov for his actions: promoted to Lieutenant General and named Deputy Chief of the Soviet General Staff at the age of forty eight he quickly found himself a powerful figure in the new regime. However, the Marshal's reign was short: he would die just three years later and the party leadership would move in quickly to assume the power it had lost under Zhukov, as well as punish those who took part in it: Varennikov was dismissed from the General Staff and instead sent abroad as the Defence Ministry's personal representative to Cuba, and then later Peru.

The necessity for strong leadership in the Soviet Armed Forces saw his return in 1977, whereupon he was once again appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff. With the outbreak of Mujaheddin resistance in Afghanistan in 1979 he was dispatched to oversee the operations by the Ministry of Defence and successfully crushed the revolt by 1982. The following year he was rewarded for such successes by being named Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Ground Forces and inducted into the Central Committee. With the death of Andropov and the newly-established Mikhail Gorbachev seeking support he ensured Varennikov's rapid ascension up the party ranks: a member of the Secretariat by 1985, a candidate member of the Politburo by 1987 and finally a full member by 1990 he stood as the most powerful military official within the CPSU aside from Dmitry Yazov. On the 75th anniversary of the October Revolution in 1992 he was further promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union and named Deputy Minister of Defence under Yazov, who it is rumored he easily manipulates.

The Iron Marshal, as he is nicknamed by friends and foe alike, has been busy since his induction into the party's highest echelons in 1987: a devout Stalinist who hid such beliefs from the likes of Zhukov and Andropov for fear of his position, he has no such fear with regards to the moderate Gorbachev who continuously has to juggle warring factions of the CPSU. His outspoken rhetoric, nostalgia for the Stalinist era has earned him the loyalty and the support of the hardliner faction of the party, and the fear and hatred of the liberal wings.

On the eve of the 80th anniversary of the October Revolution, the Iron Marshal stands as the second most powerful man in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics through his tight control over the Soviet Army and hold over the hardliner elements.

 

[AzagalTheGreat]

OSS WORLD FACTBOOK
PERSON OF IMPORT: VOLEN SIDOROV

Legal Name: Волен Николов Сидеров
English Name: Volen Nikolov Siderov
Position: Prime Minister of the Tsardom of Bulgaria
Archievement of Note : Uniting the Bulgarian right into one unit

Biography : Volen Nikolov Siderov was born in 1956 in Yambol, Bulgaria. He received an undergraduate degree in Applied Photography in Sofia, and worked at the National Literature Museum as a photographer untill 1989 . His brother, Dr. Plamen Siderov, is a mathematician and lectures at Sofia University. He entered politics in 1990 when he was elected Mayor of Sofia, and soon rose through the ranks.By September 1992 he had been elected to parliament (After being approved by Berlin just a month before), and in 1993 he contested for the leadership of the Bulgarian Nationalist Party. He won, and in the elections later that year he was elected Prime Minister of Bulgaria and named so by the Tsar. He has a solid 2/3 majority in parliament after forming a coalition with the more conservative A greater Bulgaria and the Nationalist Front. Recently he has managed to convince those other parties to join ranks with him to become the greater, rightist (but not fascist entirely) , very nationalistic and monarchistic Fatherland Front. With the elections nearing in 1997, many Bulgarians expect him to continue and see the vote as merely confirming his second term.

During his first term Bulgaria has seen greater economic growth then it has in a long while (All with due permission from Berlin, under careful guidance, with people becoming the slightly more wealthy. The state has become more suppressive however, with anti-German activists regularily being jailed in the now infamous prison of Kozloduy. Non Bulgarian minorities have seen increased persecution, to the point that deportation of them to their respective home countries is likely to happen in the future. While the majority of the Bulgarians are now happier and better off then before, the state has become more present and repressive in every day life...




​

 

[EmperorGrimm]

Antioquia: In 1958, a group of American and British radical capitalists inspired by the Objectivist ideologue Ayn Rand received funding from her corporation, Taggart Industries, to filibuster the teetering Colombian government and turn it into a libertarian utopia. The filibusterers made connections with drug lords in Antioquia province and managed to bribe and assassinate enough government officials to proclaim the "Antioquian Free State." The arrangement lasted for about five years, before the drug lords managed to co-opt the Liberty Party and turn the country into a narcostate. In Antioquia, you can buy and sell anything, as long as you don't cross President Escobar. Drug-addled biological terrors skulk through the ruins of Rapture, the now-abandoned purpose-built capital of the Free State. Fighting between Escobar's Liberty Party government, Randist hardliners, Colombian incursions and rival drug lords make it a chaotic place, but somehow business still gets done.

Antioquia Free State

Overview:

Motto: "Liberty and Rationality"
Established: June 5th, 1958
Population: 5,867,545 (1997)
Capital: Medellín
Area: 24,561 sq mi
Demographics: 8% White American, 3% African American, 1% Other American, 76% White Colombian/Mestizo, 12% Afro-Colombian
Cultural Groups: American, Antioqueños/Paisa
Languages: American English, Spanish (Euskera Dialect)

Government and Politics:

Overview: Founded by disillusioned American libertarians and objectivists the constitutional framework of the AFS is modeled after the Constitution of the United States of America. There are some modifications such as those prohibiting the use of alcohol and narcotics, the Sixteenth Amendment which removed restrictions on Congress to levy income taxes, and those limiting the number of terms a president can serve. Essentially anything anti-libertarian no longer apply. There are dozens of political parties representing local interests although most are linked with the drug cartels. The Liberty Party in public remains committed to Objectivist/Libertarian ideology but is in truth the most powerful of the drug cartel linked parties. There are opposition parties with the most powerful being the New Antioquia Party which leads a coalition of nine other parties dedicated to reform of the nation. Politics however is controlled by the cartels and the diversity of community interests makes opposition to Escobar fragile and dangerous. Nonetheless there is still a facade of democracy and libertarianism in Antioquia maintained by President Escobar to support his image as a leader by and for the people.

Both legislatures possess a majority and minority whip. The Majority Whip represents the dominant party while the minority whip represents the largest minority party. Smaller parties often align themselves with NAP or remain independent of either side. NAP itself is funded and backed by a coalition of cartels opposed to Escobar like the Cali Cartel.

Executive Branch
President of the Antioquia Free State (POTAFS): Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (Liberty Party) (born 12/1/1949 - present)
Vice-President of the AFS: William Matthis (Liberty Party) (born 3/9/1957 - present)
Congress of Antioquia Free State
Speaker of the House of the AFS House of Representives: Congressman Manuel Herrera (Liberty Party) (born 5/16/1957 - present)
President of the Senate: William Matthis (Liberty Party) (born 3/9/1957 - present)
House of Representatives;
Majority Whip: Congressman Pedro Aquirre (LP)
Minority Whip: Congressman Herschel Whitman (New Antioquia Party) (born 4/20/1962 - present)
Senate;
Majority Whip: Senator Philip May (LP)
Minority Whip: Senator Sergio de la Cosa (NAP)

Economy:

Antioquia is immensely wealthy although most of it is concentrated in the hands of drug barons and President Escobar. Escobar not only has a firm control over Antioquia but also over the Colombian government through the use of violence and bribery. Agricultural and industrial production is substantial though especially in Medellín and the nearby region which was an important region for the Colombian economy before the arrival of the Randians. Wealth is trickled down through a complex network of cartels to those who work for them either as soldiers, accountants, or who perform general labor. Many can trace their paychecks to the Escobar Administration.

Industrial production is focused on the production of weaponry, machinary for agricultural use, and automobiles. Escabar's government over the years has reorganized the economy toward maximizing the profits from his criminal enterprises. Agricultural output is balanced between food and cocaine making Antioquia the producer of nearly 90% of the world's cocaine. Domesticaly the region is a free zone for business both legal and illegal as long as you pay off the administration. Capitalism in its purist form reigns for better or worse. There is a a huge income gap but the cartels have ensured that their workers and farmers are provided the basic amenities to prevent infighting and rebellion.

One force that could match the strength and wealth of the Medellin Cartel is Taggart Industries one of the most powerful corporations in the Americas. Through their control of the country's shipping industry and various small oil fields they have managed to keep leverage. It's increasingly influential media outlet Taggart News (think Fox News esque) is threatening the Liberty Party's dominance.

Society:

As one of the economic center's of old Colombia, Antioquia was fairly industrialized and agricultural production was seeing greater yields every year. Medellin as the heart of this region grew by three times from the 60s to the 80s becoming an economic powerhouse on the continent fueled by drug money and Randian capitalism.



Armed Forces:



to be continued