Consigahria
This page is a work in progress by its author(s) and should not be considered final. |
The Just Monocratic Commonwealth of Consigahria | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||
Motto: "Os Iusti Meditabitur Sapientiam" (Latin) "The Mouth of Justice Meditates Wisdom" |
||||||
Anthem: Lilium (Latin) "Lilium" |
||||||
Region | Spiritus | |||||
Capital | Vermillion, Capital Terr. | |||||
Largest city | Tanahog, Vermillion Terr. | |||||
Official languages | English, Hebrew | |||||
Recognised national languages | English, Hebrew, Japanese, Consigahrian Sign Language | |||||
Ethnic groups | 57.8% Native Consigahrian 2.2% 10000 Islander, 1.04% Brasilistani 38.96% Other |
|||||
Demonym | Consigahrian | |||||
Government | democratic constitutional and parliamentary autocracy | |||||
- | Prime Minister | Prime Minister Chrysanthos Isabella Moshe Davis XIV | ||||
Legislature | The First Legislature of Consigahria | |||||
- | Upper house | Parliament | ||||
- | Lower house | Representative Assembly | ||||
Founded The Vermillion Treaty | ||||||
- | Federation of Consigahria | November 06, 1790 - June 20, 1792 | ||||
- | Monocratification of Consigahria | September 11, 1808 | ||||
- | Secession of West Consigahria | October 21, 2007 | ||||
- | Consigahrian-Gerenstran Civil War | December 12th, 2008 - May 27th, 2011 | ||||
- | Population Day | December 03, 2012 | ||||
- | Consigahrian-Brasilistani War | April 01, 2135 - February 01, 2136 | ||||
- | The Great 2135 Recession | September 22, 2135 - December 6, 2135 | ||||
- | Acquisition of Brasilistan | February 01, 2136 | ||||
- | 2136 Earthquake | June 23, 2136 | ||||
Population | ||||||
- | 2148 estimate | 22,354,971,820 (22.3 billion) ▲ (1st) | ||||
GDP (PPP) | 2148 estimate | |||||
- | Total | NS $975.050 trillion ▲ | ||||
- | Per capita | NS $43,618.63 ▼ | ||||
Gini (2137) | 40.2 medium |
|||||
HDI (2148) | ![]() very high · 15 |
|||||
Currency | Ruice (CNR ) |
|||||
Time zone | West Consigahrian Time Zone (WCTZ) (-1), Central Consigahrian Time Zone (CCTZ) (0), Eastern Consigahrian Time Zone (ECTZ) (+1) (UTC-1 to +1) | |||||
- | Summer (DST) | CDST (UTC-1 to +1) | ||||
Drives on the | right | |||||
Calling code | +1 51 | |||||
Internet TLD | .co.con.spr | |||||
1. | This information is subject to change. | |||||
2. | The current year in Consigahria is 2148. | |||||
3. | This article contains borrowed images of cityscapes, non-sexual frontal nudity, and religious symbols. Viewer discretion is advised. | |||||
4. | Average income tax rate: 1.8% (▼) Property tax rate: 0.2% (▼) Sales tax rate: 0.15% (▼) Unemployment rate: 2.55% (▼) Exchange rate: CNR$1 = NS$1.9439 (▼) |
Please read the footnotes found in this article's infobox.
The Just Monocratic Commonwealth of Consigahria and the Vermillion Plantations (also commonly known as the Just Monocracy of the Consigahrian Commonwealth, by its simple name Consigahria, and colloquially as the Aria) is a world benchmark for its internment camps turned monk-filled monasteries, pristine black-sand beaches, and expansive range of environments, as well as its citizens' overt sexuality, civil versatility, and lush native cuisine. Ruled by Prime Minister Chrysanthos Isabella Moshe Davis XIV with an even hand, the Jewish nation has been ruled by the Davis Royal Family since its federation.
A gargantuan democratic constitutional and parliamentary autocracy, Consigahria is renowned in its region for its compulsory youth fighting academies, compulsory five-year military service, national health service, and its national police agency, Consigahria is Spiritus' most populous nation, second biggest trade leader behind Pixelpark, and largest contributor to the gross regional domestic product. Consigahria is most notable for its ubiquitous missile silos which easily blend in to the cities which surround them, and for its its laws allowing public nudity but not public indecency.
Consigahria is a strikingly beautiful nation of clear skies and pristine beaches which gives one an overwhelming sense of healthiness due to the fairly heavy governmental contributions to the Environment. While Consigahria has not neglected its Defence budget completely, the army is frequently spotted picking up trash along the highways as school children are shuttled around in re-purposed personnel carriers. The Art of the Trade is a revered tome in Consigahria, where anyone and everyone from the government to the man on the street has something to buy, sell or trade in this nation dedicated to Commerce. Planes, Trains and Automobiles dominate Consigahria's well-funded Public Transportation system touted by many as some of the most reliable around.
Its crowded, primarily isolationist population of 22,354,971,820 (twenty-two-billion three-hundred-fifty-four-million nine-hundred-seventy-one-thousand eight-hundred and twenty) people are fiercely patriotic and enjoy some social equality; they have some civil rights, but not too many, and enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like (to a point). The blunt, compassionate, hard-working people are ruled by a sleek, efficient government which has taken steps to eradicate its corporate thumbnail, while companies flee the nation rather than pay their fair share of taxes. While living a healthy lifestyle is somewhat of a priority in Consigahria, it is not the only game in this nation where HealthCare receives only cursory funding.
It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Education, and the Environment. It meets every day to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Vermillion. Consigahria's national animal is the raven, which is also the nation's favorite main course, its national religion is Judaism, and its currency is the ruice. Martial law is currently in effect in this nation.
With over 42% of the entire regional population within its borders, Consigahria is the most populous nation in Spiritus, and ranks among the top 1% of nations in the world for largest populations.
Contents
- 1 Recent News
- 2 Geography
- 3 Economy
- 4 History
- 5 Demographics
- 6 Culture
- 7 Government
- 8 Martial law
- 9 Further reading
Recent News
Following a series of earthquakes, three tsunamis, and a large-scale oil spill along the southeastern coastline in May, 2136, almost all of Consigahria's water is piped into the country from abroad for exorbitant prices, and eminent domain has been abolished. It is illegal for police officers to carry out impromptu searches due to strict privacy laws, tourists are forbidden to enter Native Consigahrian lands, and belligerent citizens shoot at passing clouds for 'violating their airspace'. Punitive tariffs have been implemented to protect local industry, as the number of students attending university has reached a record high. The newly introduced Consigahria Automotive Racing Series draws millions of spectators annually, while those near the tracks complain about the noise. The government is rumored to hire body doubles whose full-time jobs are to cry at public events; Denali eagles with strange deformities like three eyes and tentacles have been seen prancing through the countryside where industrial waste is dumped; surrealist houses shaped like mushrooms and volcanoes dominate the wealthiest neighborhoods; and several citizens have complained about scientists abducting their pets for experimentation following the decriminalization of animal experimentation.
Public nudity is sometimes compulsory when the climate shifts in order to allow it; circumcision is frowned upon and outlawed; nontraditional matryoshka dolls are frowned upon; artists are the pillars of society; oil executives can be seen reluctantly cleaning oil-soaked birds; raven hunting as a sport has been outlawed; and UFO sightings are listed daily in the morning news. All-natural foods are a major fad; and all beauty contests have been banned. Reporters often lose their jobs over fact-checking errors; the state pays for care of easily preventable illnesses; voting has become a way of life; Vermillion City is a police state during international war; and new parents must choose their children's names from a government-mandated master list. Most of the nation's wealthy aristocrats are dentists; recruitment posters proclaim the army to be both fabulous and fashionable; and college students make ends meet by selling their kidneys, while candy-slinging children as young as 8 years old can be found smoking tobacco and cannabis cigarettes in public in the ghettos of large cities.
Since martial law went into effect in March, 2136, due to recent legislation in Consigahria, there have been over 48,000 military-related deaths, over R$17 million in property damage, and more than 7,000 arrests. As per regional law, CS and riot police patrol all major streets by foot and all minor streets by helicopter; the number of thefts, murders, and arrests for public indecency have skyrocketed; and due to cemetery overpopulation, cremation for the recently deceased has become legally compulsory.
The government has instituted 'traveler reservations' across the country; and the government has restricted access to large areas of the nation, mostly forest. New safety regulations require all cars manufactured in Consigahria to be bombproof; industries seem to be given tax breaks seemingly for no reason; the state pays for care of easily preventable illnesses; and while the mining industry has taken a hit from tighter environmental regulations, automobile manufacturing and other industries have seized the fleeting opportunity to take the national spotlight.
In February, 2148, a controversial succession to the throne took place as Prime Minister Davis XI's eldest daughter filled his shoes as the first female Prime Minister in the nation's history.
Geography
Consigahria is placed on the northwestern coast of Spiritus' largest island (Consigahria considers this island Spiritus' mainland), facing the Vermillion Sea and more westwardly the North Pacific Ocean. To its eastern border is the Federation of Wuufu. Across the ten-mile-wide Voya Straight to the south is the Dictatorship of Skanes.
Consigahria is divided into nine provinces called territories which the government delineates by mostly straight borders. They are named as follows from east to west, from north to south: Buyou Island Territory; Haruji Island Territory; Vermillion Territory; Capitol Territory; Soho Territory; Pincock Territory; Koyoumaru Territory; Voya Territory; and Brasili Territory.
It's satellite colonies exempt, Consigahria's mainland is about 6,200 miles from east coast to west, and about 3,500 miles from north to south, comprising 76% of its entire landmass. The easternmost point on Buyou Island, Buyou Island Territory, is temperate forest, and Providence and Kaede Islands in the same territory are renowned paradises. Further west lies the basic outline of the mainland, which, save for its connection to Wuufu and the northern peninsula of Koyoumaru Terr., is crowded beach; and as you travel further inland into Vermillion Territory, the landscape becomes sandier and sandier and the population sparser and sparser, but as it becomes less and less humid, the sand dissipates into rural hills and valleys of temperate chaparral and colder-atmospheric swamps and forests. Even further inland is the chilly Central Consigahrian Mountain Range, a large part of Denali National Park. Devoid of permanent human residence, Denali National Park is comprised of flowery meadows, forests, and snowy hills and glaciated mountains, as well as small, sparse villages. Further east in and past Soho Territory are snow-capped peaks and hilly, mountainous landscapes, valleys, and plains which contain more concentrated populations. The tallest mountain is 30,560-foot-fall Mt. Perseverence in south central Pincock Territory's expanse of its Denali National Forest, a dormant stratovolcano which hasn't erupted since 1634.
![](/images/Coaxie-island-vermillion-city.jpg)
Vermillion (east) and Haruji Island (west) Territories are separated by the Seppuku River, which spans for only five or so miles (eleven at its highest on record), met at either end with the North Pacific Ocean. Vermillion (west) and Soho Territories (east) are separated by a 130-meter riverbed that is the Penchariot River, which spans 120 miles short of the entire height of the nation, met at the southern border with the North Pacific Ocean. Domestically, the word "river" is removed from these rivers' titles, because they are so notorious for rising during flood seasons in excess of forty meters, physically dividing the nation. The Seppuku has faded entirely several times in the nation's history, documented in ancient Consigahrian folklore, but this occurs sporadically and only during dry seasons, so it's awkwardly common for a citizen who doesn't live in proximity to it to live his entire life without ever seeing it as it flows.
The southernmost peninsula of Vermillion Terr. is Capitol Territory, which is entirely comprised of Vermillion City's numerous and diverse suburbs. Capitol Territory was the last territory to gain some political independence despite Vermillion City having been anchored there since the nation's antiquity--Vermillion City's downtown area, modern day towns of Coaxie and Phados, were the first towns to disambiguate themselves from the rest of Vermillion City by refuting the compulsory nudity law in 1918, a story yet to be told. When Vermillion City was consolidated as a metropolitan area and partitioned into towns in 1922, the towns lost most of their political independence yet were allowed to remain clothed, because clothing proved to be a (somewhat) profitable industry.
With a population of over 1 billion, a Consigahrian colony has founded its own nation within the confines of the islands seized by the Consigahrian federal government from Brasilistan during the war. However, as they are their own nation, while each citizen is automatically granted status as a Consigahrian citizen, they are not counted in the national population but are instead recognized as an autonomous, independent nation. However, the islands claimed by Consigahrian Brasilistan are possessions of the homeland contractually for political and military reasons.
In order from largest to smallest, major public areas are Tanahog (Vermillion Terr.), Koto (Pincock Terr.), Vermillion City (Capitol Terr.), Enryuu (Voya Terr.), Dockmackie (Pincock Terr.), and Konomahamaru (Koyoumaru Terr.). Consigahria's smallest populated area is Parich Island (pop. 1 person) off the east coast of Voya Territory.
Buyou Island Territory comprises Buyou Island, the Providence Islands (North and South Providence Islands), and Kaede Island.
Vermillion, Soho, Pincock, Koyoumaru, and Voya Territories comprise the mainland; and Buyou and Haruji Island Territories comprise the Ryu'ujou Islands.
Voya and Koyoumaru Territories compete for largest territorial landmass, but Koyoumaru trumps its younger sister territory by 1,200 square miles.
Consigahria has 42 populated islands near its mainland. Following its 2136 acquisition of the island nation Brasilistan, the nation added to its total 1,241 islands. Consigahria as a whole has 3,283 islands.
Consigahria's mainland as a whole is 2,875,000 square miles in area. Including its islands, but not including its colony, Consigahria has a total landmass of 8,806,709 square miles.
Economy
The frighteningly efficient powerhouse Consigahrian economy, worth over an unmatched 5,372 trillion ruices a year, is driven mostly by government activity. The extremely specialized industrial sector is mostly comprised of the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Furniture Restoration, Manufacturing, Tourism, and Cheese Exports. In January, 2137, the Consigahrian economy generated 78.07% of the entire gross regional domestic product, ranking among the top 0.5% of the world for economies and top 3% of the world for economic output.
As of February, 2148, documented average income is an amazing 240,347 ruices, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 986,458 per year while the poor average 38,662, a ratio of 25.5 to 1.
Taxation
Taxation differs in Consigahria than in most other democracies. Citizens pay property tax, income tax, and sales tax per paycheck. From 2120 throughout most of 2136, the wealthy paid more tax than the middle and lower classes. As of December 12th, 2136, all working class citizens pay the same flat tax rate.
Income tax is legally defined as a percentage of the amount of money earned by each employee which is kept in a bank paid to the federal government, or in other words the amount of money that employers are required to take from their employees' paychecks and pay to the federal government for public spending before paying each employee. Legally speaking, money is only regarded as spendable in this context only if stored within a wallet (or similar), safe (or similar), or a bank; and money which is stored lawfully within a private safe registered with the federal government cannot be taxed. It is unlawful to evade taxation; if you work, you must pay income tax. All working citizens are required to report their earnings to the government yearly; and fraud is easily detectable and punished severely. However, money that is stored unlawfully, such as money hidden in a mattress (embezzlement), or within an unregistered safe (concealment), can be taxed if not revoked altogether. In an operation called cleaning money, the federal government dumps all unlawfully stored money back into the nation's highly efficient black market. Property tax works the same way.
As of February, 2148, the average income tax rate is 1.8%.
Trade
Foreign trade
As of March, 2137, Consigahria imported NS$108 trillion worth of product and exported NS$110.682 quadrillion, generating a trade surplus of NS$2.197 trillion (R$4.3 trillion). Consigahria exports firearms, bullets, firearm accessories, petroleum and petroleum products, film and film products and accessories, diamonds, various fruits and vegetables, gold- and diamond-encrusted furniture, wind turbines and accessories, horse carriages, bicycles, scooters, and more.
For those in the know, there is a highly efficient (and technically illegal) black market which the government chooses to ignore, mostly because it contributes to the GDP. About 2-63% of the black market contributes to the nation's export ratings annually.
Before its natural disasters in 2136, Consigahria was among the lead traders in the region; but after, it began to have a growing trade deficit. As of October, 2136, it had a trade deficit of NS$1.6 trillion per day. As a result, printing of paper money and creation of coins in Consigahrian currency was suspended.
No more than two months later, the nation recovered and began to export more and more. As of December, 2136, the nation carries a trade surplus of NS$9.28 trillion (R$4.87 trillion), a rise of over 1,491% from the previous year.
As of March 10th, 2137, Consigahria was succeeded as regional trade leader by Pixelpark; and the government stopped making regular monthly reports.
Domestic trade
Slave trade
In February, 2137, slave trade was legalized with provisions. At first, there was mass confusion in most of the nation. Anybody who is a certified citizen of Consigahria is ineligible to be a slave, and anybody who is of a noble family is also ineligible. It is specifically illegal to take or purchase a slave without that person's intent, whether it happens within Consigahria's borders or not, consequently ending in that slave's work for a citizen of Consigahria.
In late February, 2137, 58-year-old Hadassah Macy and his sons Braidy (age 17) and Justice (age 18) successfully incapacitated and detained 38-year-old Alim Kamal Abdulrashid and his 16-year-old daughter Ruba (Ruba Khadija Abdulrashid), placing them in the bay of a horse carriage trailer, hitched on the rear of a pick-up truck. Abdulrashid's 36-year-old wife Sahar (Sahar Ruya Abdulrashid) died trying to save them. After their abduction, Abdulrashid and daughter were taken to upscale Kent, Vermillion City, a mountainous high-class residential area.
Macy's family lived on a 3,200-acre property in a three-story seven-bedroom house. His wife Sarah remained unemployed all throughout their 32-year marriage, because Hadassah's entrepreneurship made enough money to afford the bills and much more. However, Braidy and Justice, subjected to homeschooling instead of mainstream public schooling for all of their lives, were going to college in Vermillion City soon, and in order to secure it, Hadassah had paid upwards of R$550,000 for each son's education in just a few months, half of his yearly salary. If his 17-year-old daughter is accepted into the same college, he will inevitably write another check for R$277,000; and less than a decade later, if his 15-year-old daughter Aureliana goes to the same college, he will write another exorbitantly-priced check; and the same in the case of his 12-year-old daughter Sylvianne. He will have paid in total an estimated R$1,385,100 for all the education of all of his children, a million-dollar expense on top of his normal living expenses. To supplement, he has two choices: hire slave labor to replace his family's cook and maintenance crews, or blindly begin black market trading.
From February to late March, 2137, Abdulrashid and daughter experienced inexplicable tortures, including sodomy, forced marriage, rape and insemination, and the castration of Abdulrashid himself. On March 20, 2137, to the horror of impregnated daughter Ruba, Alim Kamal Abdulrashid was shot and killed by Justice Macy for the attempted murder of Hadassah Macy. The police were called to the scene, and Ruba Abdulrashid was set free and taken to Vermillion Metropolitan Interregional Hospital, fortified after the previous natural incidents and terrorist attacks.
Justice Macy was tried for the murder of Abdulrashid, but was acquitted on the grounds that he was defending his father's life, who was badly beaten but lived to tell the violent tale. However, the Macy family was tried for illegal procurement of slaves, illegal facilitation of slave labor, and the murder of Sahar Ruya Abdulrashid, and were found guilty of all charges. Despite his argument that the decriminalization of slave ownership meant that his forcible taking of a slave was a legal act, for the capital felony of murder of an illegally procured slave, Justice Macy was sentenced to death by lethal injection. A Vermillion City Supreme Court reinforced the Prime Minister's previous ruling, that "it is specifically illegal to take or purchase a slave without that person's intent, whether it happens within Consigahria's borders or not, consequently ending in that slave's work for a citizen of Consigahria" (P.M. Davis-Hobbes XI, 12 March 2137). For the felony of illegal procurement of slaves and illegal facilitation of slave labor, Hadassah & Sarah Macy were each sentenced to 45 years of federal imprisonment with no chance for parole. For accessory to capital felony, Braidy Macy was sentenced to lifetime federal imprisonment with possibility for parole after 25 years. Ruba, Aureliana, and Sylvianne were ordered into the custody of the state.
Goods and resources
Under construction.
History
The history of Consigahria is a 368-year-old story of war, natural disaster, terrorism, and how a collective intelligence triumphed over its worst adversaries. It goes through 14 Prime Ministers, a series of wars, two earthquakes and a tsunami, and a burgeoning forest after near complete nationwide deforestation.
Consigahria was confederated on the date of November 6th, 1780, by Cornelius Davis I and his crew. It began as a dictatorship, and slowly morphed into the parliamentary democracy we see today. Three eras brought forth the weapons and tools of the nation's intelligentsia through no less than hard work and determination through failure.
1808 brought the Era of Democratization, in which Davis II confessed to the murder of his father, and promised to bring peaceful reign to the sprawling nation.
2007 brought the Feudal Era, in which Consigahria's western territories completely seceded from the nation, and then the two temporarily conjoined to do glorious battle. In 2014, West Consigahria fell to its knees.
2135 brought the Consigahrian-Brasilistani War. Brasilistan was decimated, and partitioned out to nations around the world. Consigahria, of course, got the largest slice of the proverbial pie.
And finally, 2148 brought about the Era of the Oligarchy, where everyone is experiencing the benefits from its economic boom.
Read more here.
Demographics
Under construction.
Culture
Consigahrian people, also known as Native Consigahrians, are a very musical, loving, friendly, open, charitable, accepting Jewish people whose generations have resided in Consigahria since before its federation. The majority of Consigahrians are tan- or dark-skinned, while less than half are of Caucasian ancestry. Racism exists between the non-mixed Caucausian and Black communities, and less between the Black and Latino communities. People who are frugal are seen as corrupt and are generally put down in the media, although these are the country's most renowned civilians and business owners.
Most Native Consigahrians have a milk- or dark-chocolate color to their complexions; are Jewish by conversion, are Jewish by marriage of a parent to a Jew, or are Jewish at birth; and are generally shorter than six feet. The darker the complexion, generally, the wider the hips and kinkier the hair. Most are "skinny", fit, or muscular. They have three types of hair, and because of its thickness it tends to be kinky: black and straight, black and curly, or blonde and curly. Most Native Consigahrians are proud (and sometimes arrogant) people because of their belief to have royal bloodlines from ancient Egypt. Native Consigahrians as a race are attributed to modern nudism, and are generally seen by the rest of the world as egotistical, snide, bossy, manipulative, blunt, and overtly sexual. Of course, this is part of the nation's charm.
Classism (defined as prejudice against or in favor of people belonging to a particular social class) exists between the lower and upper classes, and between the uppermost classes (nobility or noble families) and the other classes categorically. It stems, mostly, from the nation's slave trade.
Although public nudity is legally allowed, sexuality exhibited in public is generally frowned upon in Consigahria, both by the government and the citizens. Alongside detailed anatomy lessons from a very young age, children are also taught that the most sexual touching a man is allowed in public by his spouse is a passionate kiss, but not a series of passionate kisses or anything more arousing than that. This is primarily because public nudity restricts the ability to hide sexual arousal. In public, men with short foreskins and men without may or may not wear a kynodesme, a device used to restrict the foreskin, or residual foreskin in the case the individual was circumcised, which keeps the foreskin tied as a cover for the glans penis and aiding in both comfort while running or exercising, and restoring functionality to the entire organ. Medical circumcisions, legally defined as circumcisions which occur solely when medically necessary, do occur, but when they occur, surgeons try to cut the foreskin very loosely, so that wearing a kynodesme and restoring the foreskin naturally remains possible. Alongside anatomy and physiology, children are also taught and practiced in some form of hand-to-hand combat. Those who engage in black market activity are found by their teachers to be more violent than average, especially those gifted with a psychic ability; and while discriminatory at best, the government recognizes an intrinsic credibility in it, and creates suitable laws.
Choirboys singing about the joys of devout, abstinent heterosexuality on city trams and subways are a common sight in Vermillion City, and their perfect harmony is usually followed by applause and praise from their audiences. Similarly, other mixed groups, such as those of mixed sexualities and religions, are known to rehearse and perform in public, sometimes for tips or donations. Their age group is, roughly, 14 to 18 years of age.
For all the race's virtues, Consigahrian citizens are notoriously territorial, and while the nation has a very bright, laidback, and optimistic outlook and a foreign policy to match, it has been known for reacting in extreme military violence when threatened. Its citizens are taught similarly. Territoriality, even among the people, is incredibly common in rural settings, although selfish frugality is generally frowned upon; and while still prominent in large cities such as Dockmackie and metropolitan conglomerates such as Vermillion, territoriality is not so common due to the higher population density.
Criminals (87% of arrested in 2134), and less frequently homeless people (9%) and wayward youth (4%), are regularly arrested for public intoxication charges such as DUIA (driving under the influence of alcohol), DUII (driving under the influence of an intoxicant), criminal possession of narcotics, criminal possession of stolen vehicles, and criminal possession of controlled substances such as meth, crack, and speed. Those found with melee weapons are disarmed; and those with firearms generally give up their weapons at the beginning of police investigations, or find themselves Tasered and disarmed, or if they're combatant shot and killed.
The longest police investigation to date began with a policeman's routine traffic stop inspired by a white sedan's expired license plate tags. The confrontation ended in the policeman's death, and the suspect escaped and remained at large for 10 years. After a decade and some months of merciless murder of countless policemen and countless hostage situations, the suspect was shot and killed by a psychic sniper, an astronomically uncommon and perfect shot, as he was escaping. The shot was ordered not to have been fired, but the sniper fired anyway because he believed he had a perfect shot. The bullet penetrated the suspect's left eye and removed much of his skull, severely injuring the hostage he was trying to escape with. The hostage died weeks later from complications as a result of severe burns and a laceration; because of the lack of healthcare funding in that era, the wounds became severely infected.
Today, healthcare is paid for by the taxpayers, instated and maintained by the Federal Healthcare Tax (5.2% of workers' paychecks), and several decades-old charities established throughout the region, which ensures free healthcare and dentistry for all, while not taking away from doctors' paychecks. Individuals with doctorates pay 2.54% instead of 5.2%. Healthcare in the nation is, by world standards, considered excellent.
It is mandatory for all youth to attend school from age five to age 18. In 2135, there were 4.748 million students and youth in Consigahria. About 1.99 million students (42%) were enrolled in public school, about 1.756 million students (37%) were enrolled in a secular private school, about 52,000 students (11%) were enrolled in a religious private school, and about 42,700 students (9%) were home-schooled. About 9,500 youth (2%) were pardoned from mandatory education due to military, prison, or severe illness or disability. In the survey conducted, 300 youth were inexplicably unaccounted for.
Throughout Consigahria, the age of consent seems to fluctuate according to a city's population density. Being that the age of consent is, at the federal level, 12 years of age, the fastest growing demographic of porn viewership is 12 to 17 years of age. However, at the state level, the age of consent is 17, or in some places 18 years of age. Viewing pornography mostly occurs in metropolitan areas, with the viewers using the Internet to do so, and the federal government prohibits police and intelligence agencies from hacking into anybody's computer in any form if without a search warrant. Legally and officially, it's a federal offense to view or create pornographic material, with the worse sentencing topping at 80 years of imprisonment and a R$500,000 fine. However, morally, a child viewing pornographic material isn't considered as bad as meddling in affairs related to said child's sexuality. Therefore, children and teenagers don't generally wind up with legal repercussions for it; and even though it's an official federal offense, it carries the same punition as jaywalking. In rural areas (and some ghettos of large cities), children as young as 8 years old can be seen in casinos and bars, smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol. It's a federal offense to purchase any intoxicant, including pills, patches, tobacco products, other drugs, drug paraphernalia, or alcoholic products, with the intent to distribute to a minor. The only exception to the law is, parents are legally allowed to give written or verbal consent to allow their minor children to enter and gamble in casinos, to enter bars and purchase and consume alcoholic products, and purchasing tobacco and alcohol from retail and convenience stores.
Even though children are essentially legally allowed to purchase and consume alcohol and drugs at the state level, if the child loses the note that gave him legal permission and his parents are nowhere in sight, the child is arrested for trespassing, which is distinguishable from criminal trespassing. Trespassing is a state-level offense punishable with 24 hours of imprisonment in juvenile detention; but criminal trespassing is a federal offense punishable with up to five years in juvenile detention without parole. (Detained children who pass the federal age of consent are transferred to federal prison.) If the child is intoxicated to any visible or olfactory degree, the child's parent(s) or legal guardian(s) must be contacted for evidence that the child is there without permission. If the child is indeed there without permission, the child is arrested for criminal trespassing. Public intoxication isn't specifically illegal; however, public inebriation is defined as visible or olfactory drunkenness or influence of illicit drugs, such as cocaine, but not cannabis. It's a federal offense to sell alcohol or other intoxicants to a person fitting that description, especially if to a legal minor.
In Tanahog, Vermillion Territory, and Vermillion City, Capitol Territory, the age of consent is 18 years of age. Minors found in possession or under influence of intoxicants on public property (with the exception of cannabis in any capacity, and prescribed pills as long as the label is intact) may be jailed for up to two weeks. Minors found in possession or under influence of Schedule B Drugs are jailed for up to five years in federal juvenile detention. Sale of Schedule B Drugs is federally prohibited, especially to or from a minor, a federal offense punishable for up to 10 years. This law is upheld up to ten miles from the cities' official borders. Areas that employ this law scheme are classed as blue areas by the federal government's intelligence agencies. Like areas include the entirety of Soho Territory; Dockmackie, Pincock Terr.; Konomahamaru, Koyoumaru Terr.; and many major cities in Voya Territory, including Enryuu and its suburbs up to 150 miles from the city center. Enryuu, Voya Terr., is the only city known to have such strict laws in this aspect.
In smaller cities, such as Kaito, Koyoumaru Terr., the age of consent is 16; and while the same federal laws are upheld, they're enforced in a gentler degree, mostly because of the sparseness of people and lack of necessity.
For gender roles etc., see the section on gender, family and social roles.
People in large cities like Tanahog and Vermillion are perceived as "pushier" than people in rural towns such as Kaito. The lower class tends to live either in apartments or single-story houses in very rural towns, or are clumped together in community buildings and skyscrapers in large cities' ghettos. The middle class, or working class, tends to live in skyscrapers such as these, and those in this class who are more charitable generally are happier because they have more privileges, such as excess electricity or water to waste. The high class (the self-proclaimed "top 2%" of society) live in large cities and are responsible for the normal high 65-80% average income tax rate, as they consume much of the country's goods for their own profit. The federal government is currently looking at stamping this out. According to various economists, the projected average income tax rate would gravitate around 30-42% if the wealthy would give more, and in the long term, everybody would benefit.
Outside the mountain ranges, Consigahrian life is based around water systems, primarily the ocean. Roughly 36-48% of the entire population lives within 100 miles of the coastlines.
The people are fiercely patriotic, but don't seem to favor the government when it militarizes.
A monetary culture
As of late 2135, the 4.09% unemployment rate translates to over 807 million people either living in single-bedroom apartments within slums of Vermillion City and Tanahog, the nation's largest cities, paying mere ruices a day in rent if they are able, or staying with friends and families, in one place for no more than six months or in some cases six days. Those who cannot live within makeshift shacks. The residents are responsible for maintenance of lawns, litter, and pet control. Within these slums, nudity is rife because the poorest families only have a few outfits they'd prefer to keep in good condition since they can't just buy more. Over 90% of the clothes worn in these communities are donated. Its streets and alleys incredibly overpopulated, its people inadequately employed if employed at all, and its workforce overtaxed, families within these slums struggle to survive in everyday life. Before martial law was enacted in March, 2136, crime was rife. Today, people usually stay in their homes packed like sardines, because to be outside is to risk being shot by police due to the sheer density and rife poverty of the homeless population. The absolute poorest, most destitute families usually have only one child if any and make less than 9,000 ruices a year.
However, the lower class's poorest families make just under R$32,000 per year, which affords them food, housing, clothing, medicine, transportation, and luxuries such as radio, television, DVD/BluRay, and wireless Internet. Middle-class families make just under R$100,000 a year. And finally, upper-class families make just under R$220,000 a year.
As a result of an inflated education budget, less than 1% of all children are precluded from the public education system. At school, normally, everyone dresses more or less the same, acts similarly, though uniquely per child, and eat the same amount and quality of food. However, homeless and lower-class children seem to be the victims of bullying and assault. As per a federal law, all public schools have zero tolerance policies for bullying, so it seems to happen only when adults aren't present. The homeless are considered a disease by most irreligious students whose parents don't corporeally punish them. Students with this opinion are normally removed from the classroom, either temporarily or permanently. Violent students are dealt with. Historically violent students are expelled.
Expulsion from school can eventually lead to prison sentences for both the student and his parent(s)/guardian(s) through truancy and other crimes, such as theft, assault, harassment, even arson.
Under construction.
Religion
Most of Consigahria's populace is Jewish, as is much of its governmental staff; and as a consequence, the religion largely affects the native custom. Judaism (יַהֲדוּת, Yahadut) is a monotheistic religion, with the Torah (תורה, torah, laws) as its foundational text (part of the larger text known as the Tanakh (תנ"ך, bible) or Hebrew Bible), and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Mishneh Torah (משנה תורה, changed laws) and the Talmud (תלמוד). Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God established with the Children of Israel. Judaism includes a wide corpus of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. Within Judaism there are a variety of movements, most of which emerged from Rabbinic Judaism, which holds that God revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of both the Written and Oral Torah. Judaism claims a historical continuity spanning more than 3,000 years. Judaism has its roots as a structured religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age.
According to traditional Jewish Law, a Jew is anyone born of a Jewish mother or converted to Judaism in accordance with Jewish Law. American Reform Judaism and British Liberal Judaism accept the child of one Jewish parent (father or mother) as Jewish if the parents raise the child with a Jewish identity. All mainstream forms of Judaism today are open to sincere converts, although conversion has traditionally been discouraged since the time of the Talmud. The conversion process is evaluated by an authority, and the convert is examined on his or her sincerity and knowledge. Traditional Judaism maintains that a Jew, whether by birth or conversion, is a Jew forever.
Jewish observances
Most Consigahrian people are Jewish. Males born before 2110 are generally circumcised, and males born after that date aren't, as circumcision was outlawed in that year except in medical necessity. More than 60% of families attend a religious ceremony or gathering once a week. Males have their heads covered in public, either by a hat, beanie, or yarmulke; and those who do not are considered either rebellious or vagrant, usually one or the other. Teachings of chesed, charity, and self-betterment are passed down through the generations. Jewish holidays such as Hanukkah are celebrated as national holidays.
Religious texts
The Jews use the Pirchei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) and the Mishneh Torah for moral guidance, the Haggadah for ceremonial guidance, the Talmud for reference to civil and ceremonial law, and the Tanakh for authoritative scripture.
The Pirchei Avot (פרקי אבות, Chapters of the Fathers) is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims of the Rabbis of the Mishnaic period, which Jews use as a template for their own behavior; and the Mishneh Torah (מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, Repetition of the Torah), subtitled Sefer Yad Hahazaka (ספר יד החזקה, Book of the Strong Hand), is a code of Jewish religious law which the Pirchei Avot is based on.
Haggadah is the text recited at the Seder (feast) on the first two nights of the Jewish Passover, including a narrative of the Exodus.
The Talmud is the body of Jewish civil and ceremonial law and legend comprising the Mishnah, the book's substance text, and the Gemara, commentary on the substance.
Tanakh, a list of books considered to be authoritative scripture of the original Hebrew Bible, is an acronym of the first Hebrew letter of each of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: Torah ("Teaching"), also known as the Five Books of Moses, Nevi'im ("Prophets") and Ketuvim ("Writings") — hence TaNaKh.
Modern versions of the Tanakh are the three subdivisions in one book, instead of three separate books considered the Tanakh as a collective, and so the term Tanakh is a singular noun in lexicon.
Jewish ethics
Jewish ethical practice is typically understood to be marked by values such as justice, truth, peace, loving-kindness, compassion, humility, and self-respect. Specific Jewish ethical practices include practices of charity (צדקה, tzedakah) and refraining from negative speech. Proper ethical practices regarding sexuality and many other issues are subjects of dispute among Jews. Rabbi Simeon ben Gamaliel taught: "The world rests on three things: justice, truth, and peace" (Avot 1:18). Justice (משפט, mishpat), being God's must be vindicated, whether the object be of great or small value (Sanhedrin 8a). "Let justice pierce the mountain" is the characteristic maxim attributed to Moses (Sanhedrin 6b). Stealing and oppression, even if only in holding back overnight the hired man's earnings, are forbidden. Falsehood, flattery, perjury and false swearing are also forbidden. The reputation of a fellow man is sacred (Exodus 21:1). Tale-bearing and unkind insinuations are proscribed, as is hatred of one's brother in one's heart (Leviticus 19:17). A revengeful, relentless disposition is unethical; reverence for old age is inculcated; justice shall be done; right weight and just measure are demanded; poverty and riches shall not be regarded by the judge (Leviticus 19:15, 18, 32, 36; Exodus 23:3). Transversely, peace (שַׁלוָה, shalom) is one of the underlying principles of the Torah, as "her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are shalom" (Proverbs 3:17). The Talmud explains "the entire Torah is for the sake of the ways of shalom".
Simon the Just taught: "The world rests upon three things: Torah, service to God, and showing chesed" (Avot 1:2). Loving-kindness (חֶסֶד, chesed) is the core ethical virtue, closely linked with compassion in the tradition. Lack of compassion marks a people as cruel (אַכְזָר, achzar). The repeated injunctions of the Law and the Prophets that the widow, the orphan and the stranger should be protected show how deeply, it is argued, the feeling of compassion was rooted in the hearts of the righteous in ancient Israel.
Friendship (חֲבֵרוּת, chaverut) is also highly prized in the Talmud; the very word for "associate" is "friend" (כחבר, chaver). "Get thyself a companion" (Avot i. 6). "Companionship or death" (Ta'anit 23a).
Respect for one's fellow creatures is of such importance that Biblical prohibitions may be transgressed on its account (Ber. 19b). Especially do unclaimed dead require respectful burial.
In addition to teaching caring for others, Jewish sources tend to teach that man is duty bound to preserve his life (Berachot 32b) and his health. Foods dangerous to health are more to be guarded against than those ritually forbidden. Jewish ethics denies self-abasement. "He who subjects himself to needless self-castigations and fasting, or even denies himself the enjoyment of wine, is a sinner" (Taanit 11a, 22b). A person has to give account for every lawful enjoyment he refuses (Talmud Yerushalyim Ḳiddesh iv, 66d). A person should show self-respect in regard to both his body, "honoring it as the image of God" (Hillel: Midrash Leviticus Rabbah 34), and his garments (Talmud Shabbat 113b; Nedarim 81a). According to Judaism, real life goes beyond the concept of breathing and having blood flow through our veins, it means existing with a purpose and connecting to God and others.
Prayer
Traditionally, Jews recite prayers three times daily, Shacharit, Mincha, and Ma'ariv, with a fourth prayer, Mussaf, which is added on Shabbat (Judaism's day of rest and seventh day of the week, typically Sunday) and holidays. Prayers can be done with other people (recommended), or alone; but at the heart of each prayer is the Amidah or Shemoneh Esrei, in which friends and family stand together and pray together. Most of the prayers in a traditional Jewish service can be recited in solitary prayer, although communal prayer is preferred. Communal prayer requires a quorum of ten adult Jews, called a minyan. In nearly all Orthodox and a few Conservative circles, only male Jews are counted toward a minyan; most Conservative Jews and members of other Jewish denominations count female Jews as well.
Another key prayer in many services is the declaration of faith, the Shema Yisrael (or Shema). The Shema is the recitation of a verse from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4): Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad—"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God! The Lord is One!"
In addition to prayer services, observant traditional Jews recite prayers and benedictions throughout the day when performing various acts. Prayers are recited upon waking up in the morning, before eating or drinking different foods, after eating a meal, and so on.
The approach to prayer varies among the Jewish denominations. Differences can include the texts of prayers, the frequency of prayer, the number of prayers recited at various religious events, the use of musical instruments and choral music, and whether prayers are recited in the traditional liturgical languages or the vernacular. In general, Orthodox and Conservative congregations adhere most closely to tradition, and Reform and Reconstructionist synagogues are more likely to incorporate translations and contemporary writings in their services. Also, in most Conservative synagogues, and all Reform and Reconstructionist congregations, women participate in prayer services on an equal basis with men, including roles traditionally filled only by men, such as reading from the Torah. In addition, many Reform temples use musical accompaniment such as organs and mixed choirs.
Siddurim
A siddur (סדור, order) (plural: סדורים, siddurim) is a prayer book containing an ordered list of daily prayers. Readings from the Torah and the Nevi'im form part of the prayer services. To this framework various Jewish sages added, from time to time, various prayers, and, for festivals especially, numerous hymns.
The earliest existing codification of the prayerbook was drawn up by Rev Amram Gaon of Sura (Babylon) in circa 850 CE. Half a century later, Rav Saadia Gaon (also of Sura) composed a siddur in which the rubric is in Arabic. These were the basis of Simcha ben Samuel's Machzor Vitry (11th century France), which was based on the ideas of his teacher. Another formulation of the prayers was that appended by Maimonides, who wrote the Pirchei Avot, to the laws of prayer in his Mishneh Torah. This forms the basis of the Yemenite liturgy and has had some influence on other rites. From this point forward, all Jewish prayer books had the same basic order and contents, but each would be compulsorily individualized.
Two authoritative versions of the Ashkenazi siddur were those of Shabbetai Sofer in the 16th century and Seligman Baer in the 19th century, neither of which are now considered relevant. Siddurim have also been published reflecting the views of Jacob Emden and the Vilna Gaon, renowned ancient specialists in studies of the Talmud, or shisha siddurim (the "six orders" found in the Mishneh Torah).
Religious clothing
A kippah (כִּפָּה, plural כפפת kippot; Yiddish: יאַרמלקע yarmulke) is a slightly rounded brimless skullcap worn by many Jews while praying, eating, reciting blessings, or studying Jewish religious texts, and at all times by some Jewish men. In Orthodox communities, only men wear kippot; in non-Orthodox communities, some women also wear kippot. Kippot range in size from a small round beanie that covers only the back of the head, to a large, snug cap that covers the whole crown.
Tzitzit (Hebrew צִיציִת) (Ashkenazi pronunciation: tzitzis) are special knotted "fringes" or "tassels" found on the four corners of the tallit (Hebrew: טַלִּית) (Ashkenazi pronunciation: tallis), or prayer shawl. The tallit is worn by Jewish men and some Jewish women during the prayer service. Customs vary regarding when a Jew begins wearing a tallit. In the Sephardi community, boys wear a tallit from bar mitzvah age. In some Ashkenazi communities it is customary to wear one only after marriage. A tallit katan (small tallit) is a fringed garment worn under the clothing throughout the day. In some Orthodox circles, the fringes are allowed to hang freely outside the clothing.
Tefillin (תְפִלִּין), known in other languages as phylacteries (etymologically from a Greek word meaning safeguard or amulet), are two square leather boxes containing biblical verses, attached to the forehead and wound around the left arm by leather straps. They are worn during weekday morning prayer by observant Jewish men and some Jewish women.
A kittel (Yiddish קיטל), a white knee-length overgarment, is worn by prayer leaders and some observant traditional Jews on the High Holidays. It is traditional for the head of the household to wear a kittel at the Passover seder in some communities, and some grooms wear one under the wedding canopy. Jewish males are buried in a tallit and sometimes also a kittel, which are part of the tachrichim (burial garments).
Burial (קְבוּרָה, kevurah) is, historically, to be placed in a sepulcher of some kind, usually in the ground or in a "cave of rocks"; but today, cremation is compulsory for all deceased mammals, and usually the remains are scattered into the ocean (in rivieras and other tropical areas) or a river (in hilly and mountainous areas).
Gender, family, and social roles
A family is allowed as many children and as many spouses as the patriarch and/or matriarch deems necessary or prudent. Rules governing how the family interacts with each other is defined by the individual patriarch and/or matriarch. However, to marry more than one person is illegal at the federal level.
In a typical Consigahrian patriarchal household, the patriarch dominates the house, and his wife shares in his wealth and in his authority. The patriarch (father) works daily nine- to twelve-hour shifts, or three daily three-hour shifts in different professions; the matriarch (mother) stays home to tend to the house and children who are aren't yet in school; the children who are in elementary school learn rudimentary mathematical and linguistic skills; the children who are in middle school learn advanced mathematical and linguistic skills; and the children in high school specialize their education how they see fit. In a typical matriarchal household, the same is true, but the father and mother roles are reversed.
At home, no matter what the family's financial standing, the parents generally have a disciplinarian style of teaching. Children who steal learn quickly that thieves may lose fingers. In Consigahria, children who misbehave are spanked, and so children are generally more pleasant and less susceptible to be defeated in a fistfight than children in less-disciplined countries. The parents generally raise their children according to the nationalized religious and largely nudist lifestyle. Poorer families, officially classed "middle class" (32.39%) and "lower class" (39.6%) (72% of the population), are generally conservative, while richer families, officially classed "upper class" (28% of the population), are considered spendthrift. Clothes are employed as either a punishment mechanism or as a means of warmth outside of the home; the most severe punishment legal to use on any person is to confine them in warm clothing within a room at no more than 112 degrees Fahrenheit for no more than two consecutive months, or three days without food and water. However, the insubordinate are normally punished more bearably, for example by means of confinement to one's bedroom, confiscation of toys or other electronic or entertainment devices, and corporeal punishment (spanking on the butt, hands, and/or thighs by hand, belt, or paddle). The utilization of melee weapons in corporeal punishment (defined as the use of anything other than the parents' own hand, belt, or paddle, and in any other location on the minor's body other than the butt, hands, or thighs) is an unlawful felony.
According to a 2126 survey, classed as a "study" by the government, of 10 billion individuals surveyed, gang activity was found prohibited in 63% of Consigahrian households but shockingly remained prevalent as a staggering 45% of minors aged 14-18 and a 36% of adults aged 21-40 had a gang affiliation. Most refused to speak at length about their activity as a gangbanger. 23% of gangs, found to be mostly comprised of lower-class middle school students, engaged in firearm warfare simply over the color of the set's uniform, firing upon fellow sets and burning bridges in their wakes. 70% of self-proclaimed "gangbangers" and 56% of self-proclaimed "gang members" (86% of the surveyed) claimed their gang affiliation was hereditary. The government concluded that all gangs operate under certain belief systems and are willing to defend those beliefs with a gun; that all gangs are subdivided into sets, which have their own unique individual traits; and that many gangs were family-oriented, meaning 81% of Consigahrian families either have or had gang affiliations; however, crimes happen much, much less often than they do in most parts of the world.
At school, teachers are allowed to utilize corporeal punishment, but are not allowed to use their own hands or belts. They absolutely must use a paddle. Normally, teachers don't corporeally punish students because time doesn't allow. In this case, the student is sent to a principal who specializes in assessment of breach of school rules and federal laws and punishment. Some parents who don't want their children spanked by anybody other than themselves enroll their children in private schools. Homeschooling is conceptualized but doesn't ever happen in Consigahria. At school, students are generally happy, acquiescent, yielding, and kind to one another. Eye contact is paramount. Avoidance of eye contact is normally interpreted hostilely, and hostility is met with equivalent (reciprocal) hostility. Public displays of violence are generally frowned upon and discouraged. If students must get violent, they are encouraged to either take their affair away from school grounds, or seek counsel from a trusted staff member or from parents without getting violent.
Because of the paramount gang activity in most low-class schools, uniforms have been enacted, and graffiti lines many hallways, some tagged with gang symbols to claim both the inking and the school. There have been recorded events involving minors, gang activity, and shootouts between neighborhoods; and there have been recorded events involving minors, gang activity, and brandished blunt weaponry within public schools. In 2131, the federal misdemeanor crime of assault became a felony on any public school's property by law, and in 2133, the addenda concerning violence on public school property were repealed.
Family dynamics
Most families are Jewish by blood. 41% of Jewish families are Reform Jewish, 29% are Conservative, 18% are Unorthodox, and 12% are Orthodox. And so, the common family names of ancient times, kinui chibah (כִּנוּי חִיבָּה, pet names) are still used today.
Language used among family and close friends
Jews use colloquial language among family and close friends that would be considered either rude or awkwardly inappropriate among strangers. Below is a list of a few Yiddish phrases.
- A bi gezunt (עה בי גזונט) - "As long as you're healthy", or "At least you've got your health". Used to negate something terrible that's happened. For example, your cousin's house burns down. A bi gezunt.
- Balabusta (באלאבוּסטא) - a good homemaker; a friendly host.
- Barimer (באַרימער) - a braggart; a showoff.
- Bissel, or bissela - a little bit.
- Boychick - a term of endearment used for young boys.
- Broche (ברוכה) - prayer.
- Beitzim (בעיטזם) - testicles.
- Bubba, or Bubbe (בובבה) - a term of endearment used for grandmothers.
- Bubbala, or Bubbele (בובבהלא) - a term of endearment; "darling".
- Bupkes (בופקס) - something absurd or worthless.
- Tsaya (צאיה) - animal, used to refer to unruly children.
- Chazerei (חזרי) - food that is awful.
- Chutzpah (חוצפה) - nerve, audacity, gall.
- Dreck, or drek (דרעק) - shit; crap; nonsense.
- Dreck off a teller, or drek aoyf a teller (דרעק אויף אַ טעלער) - shit on a plate; mean-spirited and completely worthless person.
- Er zitst oyf shpilkes (ער זיצט אויף שפּילקעס) - he sits on pins and needles; he's restless.
- Er macht a tel fun dem - he ruins it.
- Er zol vaksen vi a tsibeleh (ער זאָל וואַקסן ווי אַ ציבעלע) - he should grow like an onion (...with his head in the ground).
- Farfalen, or far-fallen (פאַרפאַלען) - (as if doing the same thing day in day out for years, having expected an opportunity for change, and ultimately being disappointed,) hopeless; fallen in; collapsed; lost.
- Farmach dos moyl, or Farmakh dos moyl (פאַרמאַכ דאָס מויל) - shut your mouth.
- Fercockt (פרקקת) - all fucked up.
- Fershlugeneh (פרשלגנה) - beaten up, messed up, no good.
- Farshnickert (פאַרשניקקערט), or farshnoshket (פאַרשנאָשקעט) - drunk as a skunk; high as a kite.
- Fershtayin (פאַרשטיין), or fershtays (פערשטייַס) - Understand?
- Farshtinkener (פאַרשטינקענער) - rotten (as in a person).
- Fetzel (פצל) - to flatulate.
- Fress (פרס) - eat quickly and noisily.
- Foiler (פאָילער) - a lazy person.
- Gevalt (גולת) - woe.
- Goy (גוי) - gentile (a derogatory term meaning gentile); goyim (גויים) is the plural, and goyisher (גוישר) is the adjective.
- Kibitz (קבץ) - unwanted help during a game.
- Klutz (קלוץ) - an awkwardly uncoordinated person or animal.
- Kosher (כשר) - "comestible" as defined by Jewish dietary law, or "legitimate."
- Kvell (קול) - to beam with pride and pleasure.
- Kvetch (מקטר) - to complain incessantly.
- Luzzum, or luzz 'em (לוזזום) - leave them alone.
- Macher (מכר) - sold, or ambitious.
- Mazel tov (מזל טוב) - congratulations, good luck.
- Magilla (מגלה) - long, revealing, boring, and complicated.
- Mishin (מישנ) - nosy.
- Mensch (מנשך) - a person of upstanding character.
- Messhugeh (מסשוגה) - crazy.
- Plotz (פלוץ) - to collapse.
- Seikhel (סאיקהל) - good sense; good judgment.
- Shlimazel (שלמזל), or shlemiel (שלומיאל) - a person with abhorrently bad luck, a chronic failure, or a born loser.
- Shmegege (שמגג) - a petty person; "needle-dick" (an insult).
- Schmooze (שמאוז) - to talk in a gossip-like fashion; to barter.
- Schnoz (שהנוז) - nose.
- Tsucheppennish (צוטכפפנש) - something irritating that attaches itself like an obsession. "She has tsucheppennish..."
- Tuches (תוכס) - bum; butt; ass.
- Verklempt (בר קלמפת) - choked up.
- Zitsin (זיצן) - sit; sit down.
- Zhlub, or schlub (זהלוב) - an insensitive, ill-mannered person.
Sexuality
Sexuality plays a very large part of Consigahrian society. From a very young age, children are taught about human anatomy and physiology, and from the middle-school ages, children are taught about sexuality and psychology, as the four subjects correlate respectively. Therefore, adolescents are much likelier to engage in sexual activity when they feel they're ready, and are much less likely to procreate, whether intentionally or accidentally. Psychopathologists, psychologists, and physicians unanimously agree that such behavior is healthy, so long as the parents teach the children that too much sex, no matter how exclusive, may be detrimental to their health.
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation used to be a very big issue in Consigahria. Being homosexual or transgender wasn't unheard of, but both were severely criticized and frowned upon. The Consigahrian government began to investigate and research sexual orientation, and when it was discovered to be related to genetics in 1987, the research skyrocketed. Several surveys were developed and conducted through 1987-2020, and in each survey, 200,000 random people on the street would be surveyed. In 1989, one in 300 people surveyed admitted to not being completely heterosexual. It was unheard of to crossdress, let alone believe one belonged to the other gender. In 2000, one in fifty people surveyed admitted to not being completely heterosexual, and although crossdressing was still frowned upon, five in fifty admitted to doing it at least once. In 2020, three in every eight people admitted to not being heterosexual; seven of twelve admitted to crossdressing at least once; one of three made it clear they were homosexual; another one of the same three made it clear they were bisexual; and the last one of the same three wasn't sure what term applied to them.
Today, homosexuality is morally and legally acceptable in all forms, including bisexuality, transsexualism, intersexualism (female-to-male transsexualism without surgery on the genitals), and cis-sexuality (legally defined as "99% heterosexuality," or the practice of conditional heterosexuality, where a heterosexual individual would temporarily engage in homosexual activity, as opposed to bisexuality and homosexuality).
The government doesn't dabble with legal matters as it pertains to private sexuality. Pederasty (legally defined as sexual intercourse between an adult male with a minor male), however, is still specifically illegal at the federal level, and holds the same penalty as statutory rape (legally defined as sexual intercourse between an adult male with a minor female, legally called 'sexual abuse' at the federal level). In Capital and Koyoumaru Territories, however, the laws of pederasty and statutory rape are slightly different: it's only illegal if the family of the minor disagrees with the relationship, as minors cannot legally give their own consent. However, it's still very much frowned upon. The sentence for committing statutory rape or pederasty is 20 years in federal prison, and if the minor didn't comply during the offense, without chance for parole. In the rest of the nation, however, pederasty is generalized into a fashion suitable for both sexes, as pederasty focuses on the intimate sexual relationship between a man and a boy--nationwide, statutory rape is called Sexual Abuse, and a first degree charge can result in a life sentence in federal prison.
Circumcision
Circumcision, legally labeled as genital mutilation, was outlawed in 2010, except in the case of medical necessity. However, it is not illegal to be circumcised, nor for an adult to travel to a foreign country where genital mutilation is legally acceptable, have himself circumcised, and return to Consigahria. Some families still perform the ancient bris ceremonies (on the eighth day of life, a human male would be circumcised to "establish a covenant with God," a practice which was abandoned when it was proven that circumcision began only after the Romans began to evangelize and pursue world conquest.
In 2130, a survey was conducted, and 0.16% of males were found to have been circumcised. Most of them either were in the process of restoring their prepuces in some way, and nine in every ten others who were not had already restored theirs. The one person remaining in every ten didn't know doing so was possible. 26% of males who had restored had done so either surgically or by means of stem cell duplication, and 74% had somehow induced cell growth.
In 2135, the federal government reaffirmed its previous ruling that circumcision is immoral and illegal. The practice of circumcision, federally outlawed over a century earlier, is considered a felony.
Protests
In 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2009-10 respectively, there were a series of protests against medical circumcision. In 2001, a well-renowned doctor, one of the nation's wealthiest, was sued for botching the circumcision of a man's son. When he lost the suit and was found guilty, the doctor's name was redacted from public documents, the presiding justice revoked his medical licenses, and he was arrested for unlawful use of a weapon. In 2003, a group of teenagers were arrested for riotous behavior after publicly protesting against circumcision in general, and one of the teenagers' father decided to peacefully continue the protest. In 2004 and 2006, the group repeated the protest, these times supervised by police.
A mass protest occurred on November 1st, 2009, and 30 innocent protesters, most of them female youth, were maced by police officers and detained. The rest of the group, around 130 people, began to rebel against them. All 130 were arrested; and an a riot broke out. Civilians began to assault police officers, and when the police became outnumbered, CIA and FBI completely closed off roads and sidewalks leading into and out of Coaxie and Dixie, towns in central Vermillion City. Tabloids and newspapers called it a "civil war" because of the violence; in three months, 160 civilians and 12 police officers died, and 8,400 civilians and six police officers were wounded. In February, 2010, a record 8,510 people were arrested.
Since 2010, there have been hundreds of thousands of protests, the majority of them peaceful. Protesting has become a way of life, alongside voting.
Recreational drug use
Schedule A Drugs are not illegal at the federal or territorial level, such as adrenocorticoids, fusion inhibitors, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors, protease inhibitors, benzodiazepines, lithium, disulfiram, epinephrine, antihistamines, Vitamin B-12, haloperidol, aspirin, capsaicin, adrenocorticoids, topical antifungals, divalproex, risperidone, ticlopidine, acetaminophen, dextromethorphan, osmotic laxative, insulin, miglitol, niacin, orphenadrine, dronabinol, tetrahydrocannabinol, hydroxyzyne, guanadrel, and hydrochlorothiazides. An adult may possess and distribute any of these drugs as he wishes, but he won't likely have a large profit since the national healthcare associations ("NHAs") distribute these drugs without charge. These associations also screen for Schedule B Drugs, and if any are present in an individual's system, the association helps them to quit the drug and assume a safer Schedule A Drug alternative. Most NHAs employ legally binding paperwork which individual adults must fill out and submit, including a contract which prohibits the individual and any member of their immediate family from, for example, going to another NHA or lying to the NHAs, etc.
Schedule B Drugs are illegal at the federal and territorial levels, such as deathly controlled substances like methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and ecstasy.
Police are instructed not to pay attention to marijuana, unless it's going across an international border. It is not a controlled substance at the federal level; however, in Voya and Koyoumaru Territories, it is classified as a schedule C drug, among other drugs which produce a psychedelic effect but don't harm the body, which in these territories are illegal to be sold by, sold to, handled by, or consumed by minors. It's a federal crime to transport schedule C drugs into and out of these territories without a medical marijuana license, which practically anybody can get for any severe pain or chronic illness at their territory's Medical Marijuana Office.
Sale of marijuana is taxed (in the gray market), and is strictly reserved for those who have the proper certificates. In the prominent black market, however, sale of marijuana without a license is rife, giving rise to extremely potent strains.
[b]Recreational drug use is not a inherently a criminal act in Consigahria[/b]; however there are laws governing how a person treats his own body or the body of another person, and there are laws regulating trade of some drugs. In Consigahria, people felonies (felonies which affect people, such as theft, murder, manslaughter, etc.) are specifically illegal at the federal level. This means you could be charged with manslaughter and other drug charges if you sell scopolamine to somebody and they overdose and die. However, generally, there seems to be an absence of laws governing drug use, except where sale from state to population is concerned. [b]The government sells some drugs to help with drug addiction[/b]--for example, cannabis and liquid methadone are sold by government clinics to rebut addiction to meth.
In Consigahria, the drug black market is alive, well, and booming. As a socialist and democratic domestic policy, the black market is allowed to run rampant. In most cases of medical treatment of drug addiction, clinic patients must sign a waiver and a contract stipulating they will continue to seek treatment, or forfeit their right to seek treatment altogether for no less than a year. Only because it's necessary, a small handful of Consigahrian federal intelligence agencies keep tabs on those who are addicted to a drug and seeking treatment.
[b]Cannabis is specifically unregulated[/b]. The nation makes about NS$56 quadrillion a year, R$101 quadrillion in profit from cannabis sales annually. However, cannabis doesn't seem to be very addictive, although dependencies can be formed. In cases of dependency on cannabis, though it's not mandatory like treatment of other drugs is, psychotherapy is often employed. In cases where cannabis treats chronic pain, anxiety, or depression, doctors tend to prescribe stronger cannabis grown by the government. Other drugs are potentially more criminal.
[b]PCP is also sold in small quantities by clinics[/b], whose employees try to slowly wean users off the drug.
[b]Heroin, however, is treated differently than PCP[/b]; heroin addiction is rebutted with sales of other opioids.
[b]Rohypnol is rebutted with sales of medication, psychological counseling, group counseling, and participation in outpatient group therapy programs[/b]. As with treatment of dependency on other drugs, there are several government-level and state-level welfare programs which help the economically underprivileged to get the help they need.
Amphetamines (for example, [b]dextroamphetamine[/b] – a medication used in the treatment of ADHD that is also sometimes used to treat narcolepsy; [b]levoamphetamine[/b] – a psychostimulant known to increase wakefulness and focus; [b]lisdexamfetamine[/b] – used in treatment of ADHD; [b]methamphetamine[/b] - used in treatment of ADHD and obesity; [b]Adderall[/b]) are a real problem in ghettos across the nation. If you live in Consigahria, your doctor may prescribe [b]methylphenidate[/b] if you have severe intravenous amphetamine dependence. [b]Fluoxetine[/b] may decrease your cravings. [b]Imipramine[/b] may help you stick with your treatment for amphetamine dependence. Your doctor may prescribe other medications to help relieve symptoms of anxiety, depression, and aggression. However, a prescription isn't necessary in Consigahria to obtain a drug that isn't necessarily over-the-counter.
Hallucinogens, such as [b]magic mushrooms[/b] and [b]peyote[/b], are also a problem, although most problematic cases involve the more dangerous drugs, such as a medication used to treat motion sickness and postoperative nausea and vomiting called [b]scopolamine, Consigahria's most dangerous and most potent drug[/b]. Hallucinogen addiction treatment in Consigahria is different from most other drugs that are addictive. The basic hallucinogen treatment is to care for the person and help keep them calm and stress free. This is because there are no pharmacological treatments that help with a hallucinogen dependency. Sometimes, the treatment includes seclusion for mental health purposes, especially in cases of addiction to scopolamine.
[b]Cocaine is the third most-popular recreational drug in Consigahria[/b]. There are many different types of cocaine addiction treatment. The most common methods of treatment include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Behavioral Therapy; Motivational Therapy; Rewards Therapy; Support Groups; Individual Counseling; Family Counseling; and Group Counseling. Each of these are a program, a subsidy of a welfare program for mental health. Cocaine is the number-one cause of marital violence in Consigahria, and the third leading cause for marital murder.
[b]Ecstasy, however, is not a common drug for primary addiction[/b]. There is no specific treatment; rather, general methods of treating addictive behavior are the rule. The first step (along with abstinence) is to identify the reasons for taking the drug and see how those problems can be addressed in other, more healthy ways.
Lawful public nudity
Public nudity is not a crime, and is protected as freedom of expression in Consigahria. It has a tendency to become law that public nudity is compulsory; but due to health concerns (frostbite, exposure, etc.), the law is often repealed as the climate shifts in order not to allow it.
When public nudity is legally compulsory, to wear clothes on public property (government- or state-owned property) is a misdemeanor crime and is punishable by a night's incarceration and a legal fee. People indeed go to jail for a large accumulation of unpaid fines regarding the matter; the limit is R$250,000, and one individual fine can be up to R$100,000. It is not illegal to wear clothes in specific places, such as some clothe parks, most hospitals, private schools which require uniforms (this applies to the students and faculty only), some places of worship, residential places if the owner permits (or if the owners unanimously permit), and jobs in which specific clothing is necessary. It is also not illegal to wear clothes in public on recognized national and unrecognized (but provable) foreign religious holidays. It is illegal to lie to an officer of the law about a national holiday as an excuse to wear clothes on public property, and to lie to a judge or Supreme Court Justice is a federal offense called perjury; a person who breaks this law is charged with two counts of disruption of the peace, and repeat offenders are incarcerated for two months per charge in federal prison, where they are completely barred from clothing of all kinds, and to commit perjury is to face years of federal prison time.
History of legality
In 1913, a federal law was passed which prohibited clothing worn in public, but not clothing accessories, except in cases of extreme cold. Prohibited clothing legally includes all blouses, shirts, pants, undergarments, skirts, "skorts" (skirt-shorts), and all other clothing garments, except all jackets, hoodies, socks, shoes, sandals, hats, caps, skullcaps, beanies, piercings, tattoos classified as "clothing" such as permanent make-up, and diapers if necessary. Clothing which cover two body portions, such as one-piece pajamas and pantyhose, are specifically illegal to wear.
In its 2000 reestablishment, the law defined prohibited clothing as "fiber and textile material worn on the body to hide or obscure its cosmetic appearance, or for the purpose of hiding erogenous zones."
In its 2021 reestablishment, prohibited clothing was redefined into a list of specific clothing, which basically reverted to the above in a bullet list format, and some other clothing items such as diapers were decriminalized. After a few years, several people masqueraded as disabled people who compulsively defecated on themselves and claimed therefore they had to wear diapers, and after prosecution for breaking the compulsory nudity law, they countersued and lost. In the trials that ensued, it was established that diapers may only be worn in public if medically necessary. It was also established that fetishism, including manic fetishism, would not qualify as medical necessity.
The law was repealed in 1918, reinstated in 2000, repealed again in 2005, reinstated again in 2021, repealed yet again in 2030, and reinstated permanently in 2031...or so it would appear. In late 2131, the law was repealed again. For each repeal, public schools operated by territories began to enforce uniforms on school grounds, while other schools merely began to allow students and faculty to dress to a modest extent however they pleased.
In 1913, the law was passed in order to "absolve all envy within a single nation and people under God" in an attempt to be regarded as a more holy nation to their deity.
Death and nudity
Most Consigahrians choose to be dressed in tachrichim, a black robe, for their "burial," as that is the religious custom. Some choose to remain unclothed.
The term "burial" has undergone some change since the nation's antiquity. Today, the term is generic and refers to the way the dead prefer their bodies to be treated after death. Some choose cremation; some choose to be buried in their physical body and tachrichim; while others choose simply to be left undisturbed until the detritivores are finished with it. Some prefer to literally be buried six feet under the ground; but most families would have to travel long distances to bury their loved ones, so the nationalized cremation movement is usually how the dead preferred their bodies to be disposed of.
In 2015, the government made cremation of the dead compulsory because cemeteries across the nation were absolutely full. "If the family of the dead can transport the cadaver across an international border without desecrating it, they may dispose of it however they please, in accordance with that nation's laws," an RA justice said.
Just Be Nice, OK?
In 2014, the federal government introduced a "Just Be Nice, OK?" initiative, which stimulated widespread compassion. Today, citizens of Consigahria are taught, or "brainwashed" if one prefers, to love and give unconditionally. Whether it's a teaching, encouragement, or brainwashing, it's yielded a much better economic result, and the country is better off for it.
Population Day
Population Day has been proclaimed as an annual recognized national holiday occurring five days before Hanukkah, on which day all citizens are exempt from taxation for 24 hours. Citizens are exempt on this day from all taxes, including and especially sales, property and income tax.
Government
Consigahria is operated entirely by its government, called the First Legislature of Consigahria, or simply the First Legislature. The First Legislature has the power to create and enforce laws, but does not have the power to reverse a Prime Minister's veto or any past veto. The First Legislature is divided into two groups which serve two different purposes. One half, the Parliament, controls lawmaking processes by determining constitutionality of individual justice's legal decisions. In other words, the entire Parliament can veto one justice's ruling unanimously. The other half, the Representative Assembly (often abbreviated as RA), creates laws as necessary by individual trials, and each ruling is preserved until later challenged and reversed, or until stricken out by a Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister has the power to create, destroy, and enforce laws; create, limit and destroy organizations of all kinds; and to regulate the Parliament and RA. The Parliament, a group of ten hand-chosen individuals elected from the territories, also has the power to create laws; but the Representative Assembly, a group of 150 individuals hand-selected by the Prime Minister and by Prime Ministers past, are responsible for amending laws which require amendment by unanimous vote. The Prime Minister does not have the right to directly influence tax rates or percentages as it pertains to the national monetary systems. The Prime Minister has the right to declare war and civil war, and also has the right to execute anybody in his jurisdiction without trial or reason, though the Parliament decided in 1901 that the Prime Minister must indicate a "proper reason ... before the execution takes place, or he may be impeached and replaced."
The monetary system is highly monitored. There is an undisclosed but specific amount of bills and coins that are supposed to be in circulation around Consigahria and in foreign trade. If at any point there's an inconsistency, it's recorded and tracked by a government agency and resolved legally. The stock market and value of the ruice is monitored daily by the National Financial Association, a corporation directly underneath the nation's Minister of Finance.
Consigahria is currently under martial law.
Spending
Consigahria is a scholarly bastion of learning and reason, comprised of intelligentsia who rank themselves by the number of their university degrees. Consigahria, while not completely neglecting its less fortunate citizens, contributes a paltry amount of its budget to Welfare. Consigahria, never a nation to be overly concerned with Administration, nonetheless, has a small cadre of administrators, bookkeepers, accountants and pencil-pushers on the payroll to keep things running smoothly. While there is some sense of Social Equality in The Just Monocratic Commonwealth of Consigahria, the government does not concentrate much of its time or budget on it leaving many out in the cold on social initiatives like education and employment. Consigahria is a strikingly beautiful nation of clear skies and pristine beaches which gives one an overwhelming sense of healthiness due to the fairly heavy governmental contributions to the Environment. The Consigahria Defence Forces are neither paltry nor overwhelming in this nation that can defend itself against even formidable foes. The trade of goods, services, information, money, anything, in Consigahria is an all-consuming activity for most of the population due to the government's insistence on concentrating on Commerce. The literacy rate in The Just Monocratic Commonwealth of Consigahria is nearly 100% due to the government's complete dedication to Education and the funding thereof. Public Transportation in Consigahria, while adequate, is a low priority in governmental budget discussions, where most attendees arrive in their state-issued personal vehicles. The HealthCare system in Consigahria is all-encompassing and permeates most facets of life incorporating everything from wellness to well-being, from exercise to employment, from scoop to nuts and most things in between. Not everyone in Consigahria is a police officer or a lawyer, but a lot of citizens are in this nation that has more than a passing interest in Law and Order.
Expenditure Category | Income Tax Percent |
---|---|
Administration | 3% |
Welfare | 2% |
Healthcare | 11% |
Education | 32% |
Spirituality | 0% |
Defense | 14% |
Law and Order | 4% |
Commerce | 24% |
Public Transportation | 2% |
Environment | 6% |
Social Equality | 1% |
Public healthcare
There are several interregional hospitals which are the second, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth largest hospitals in all of Spiritus. The first (in second place) is Vermillion City Metropolitan Interregional Hospital, which has over 150 locations in Capital Territory alone. The second (in fourth place) is Voya Hospital Group (VHG), which has over 120 locations across Voya Territory.
Under construction.
Public education
In Consighria, education is extremely specialized, and the government funds 100% of public schools and 40-67% of private schools. Education is compulsory at the elementary and lower secondary levels. Most students attend public schools through the lower secondary level, but private education is popular at the upper secondary and university levels.
Education prior to elementary school is provided at children halls, preschools, and some places of worship.
Preschool is about elementary literacy skills, like phonetics and other basics. Elementary school is about other elementary skills, like basic mathematics, basic language skills, team sports exercises, and recreational skills. Middle school is about advanced proficiency in these, and introduction of sciences, a multitude of jobs, and liberal arts. (First year middle school students must take anatomy and physiology, a single course; second year students must take psychology; and third year students must take a higher-ranked science, such as chemistry or botany, the choice being that of the student.) High school is about specialization in a certain trade, or certain trades. In high school and universities, the average student will show advanced proficiency in written and spoken English as well as their native language(s); basic proficiency in a secondary language; will specialize in a science; will be artistically inclined in some way; will show basic proficiency in team sports; and will show basic proficiency in human anatomy. Throughout middle and high school, Consigahrian and world history is taught.
Children either go attend secular public school or religious public schools through middle school.
Classes available to the average high school student include, but are not limited to, metal workshop, wood workshop, automotives, electronics, computer science, music theory, music composition, creative writing and prose, calligraphy, geology, geography (in particular, advanced courses), algebra, geometry, calculus, and more.
Parliament
Consigahria's Parliament has the right to create laws and settle federal-level lawsuits based on their constitutionality. The Parliament created the nation's constitution, the Consigahrian Federal Body, shortly after the ratification of the Vermillion Treaty.
See Federal and territorial laws of Consigahria for a complete list of laws.
Politics
Politics in Consigahria are held on a very tight leash. The Prime Minister is presented with a few daily RA trials on which there are no legislation. The Prime Minister helps to creates laws in this way; he decides what is best, and his decision is referenced in law forevermore, until a successor imposes a contradictory law which negates the previous. As he does this, the Representative Assembly immediately nips unnecessary addenda in the bud.
The decisions are generally made in either a father-knows-best decision-making process or one which benefits everybody in the long term. Prime Ministers Davis 2-9 have worked very hard to make Consigahria the place it is today through its extensive legislation.
Elections
Citizens are granted every ten years with official polls, called ballots, on which they indicate in pen which representatives they want representing their area in the Representative Assembly. The representatives which appear on the ballot are hand-chosen by the Head Minister of Law and Order.
It began months before the nation's federation, when some citizens rebelled violently against the dictatorial government and were executed on the spot for treason. After this act, Dictator for Life Cornelius Davis I was assassinated in his personal chamber by his security guards, who were ordered to commit the act of treason secretly by the Dictator's son. The Dictator's successor promised one day elections would be widespread in the nation.
Today, citizens are allowed to participate in elections, although not too many.
Under construction.
High police ratios in urban areas
Under construction.
History
In 1906, there was a 12:1 police ratio, and 80% of homes in Vermillion City were burned and their residents shot for an attempted revolution, one that would have murdered seven billion more people, that Division didn't want to happen. With the Prime Minister's permission, these homes and lives were destroyed. The city was rebuilt larger and larger in symbolism of the prosperous relationship between the Consigahrian government and its constituents. In 2131, 17 million homes in Tanahog were ransacked by police in search of a terrorist; 8.2% of its residential district was ravaged, leaving another three percent terrified.
In 2135, a survey showed the police to citizen ratio was 9:2. In January 2137, another survey showed the police to citizen ratio was 4:7.
Capital Punishment
In 2023, the government began to use public beatings as deterrents for breaking the law, and it was very effective. These beatings would be carried out by police and government agents that worked directly with the public. Minors would not be beaten, however, and would instead simply either face their own parents or incarceration. Adults would be regularly beaten near or in the place where their crime occurred. Justices (judges) do not decide whether a person is beaten, but can decide whether a person dies for their crime. Therefore, most theft is usually armed, or explosive, and sporadic.
Murder in itself has not been legally defined as a crime that deserves the death penalty. If a person murders and in the same moment is murdered themselves, the murderer's death is legally justifiable, and his killer is a hero. However, if the murderer kills, steals a car, and then a random individual blindsides him at 80 miles per hour and kills him that way, unless he willfully killed the murderer specifically for his crimes, his death is not legally justifiable. If the murderer leaves the scene of the crime, he cannot be killed; he must be arrested and tried before a jury, and subsequently sentenced to 25 to 50 years in territorial prison (if the murder he committed was unarmed) or federal prison (if armed).
Theft in itself has also not been legally defined as a crime deserving death. If a person breaks into a house (legally, burglary), whether he has stolen a valuable item (legally, theft) or not, and the patriarch of the house shoots him with a shotgun and wounds or kills him, the wounding or death of the thief is legally justifiable. However, if the thief is shot off of the man's property, his death is not legally justifiable. In the case that a thief actually escapes the man's premises, the man is not allowed to send someone from his house to hunt the thief down (legally, criminal endangerment), but legally may do it himself; moreover, if the thief was armed and had fired a shot before his escape, anybody walking down the street may subdue him for as long as they don't handcuff, kill, mortally wound him, or beat him while he is unable to defend himself. In this case, as in any, the police should be called to the scene of the crime in order to conduct an investigation and place under arrest and/or flog anybody who has broken any laws. Misdemeanors deserved no more than ten flogs, and felonies no more than 100.
In 2136, the laws regarding public floggings came under fire through tens of court cases. Eventually, Prime Minister Davis XI would outlaw it. Before it became a criminal act for the police to beat citizens who broke the law, they were only allowed to use a belt or a flog, both of which were issued by their agency. To use any other object would be a felony punishable by termination of their employment. Today, officers are allowed to engage with combative suspects only if to subdue them, for instance chasing a fleeing suspect on foot and tackling them, causing some bodily damage. However, to attack a compliant suspect usually results in termination of employment and jail time for assault and abuse of legal authority.
Corporeal punishment
Capital punishment is legally synonymous with the death penalty, whereas corporeal punishment is a separate concept which doesn't involve death or killing. In the instances where a perpetrator cannot be legally killed for murder or burglary, it is legal to pursue, apprehend, and beat him (legally, citizen's arrest); but to harm him to the point of unconsciousness is where the line lies. It is a felony to harm him past that point or to harm him to the point of fatal injury; and to kill him there is murder. Police are required to recommend that citizens only pursue and apprehend subjects who commit crimes like burglary, theft, and unarmed murder, and that citizens leave corporeal punishment to the professionals.
Police and corporeal punishment
Police officers are legally allowed to issue public beatings at the time of arrest, but legally speaking, it's only appropriate in situations where, for example, a man assaults a woman, or a high-school-aged teenager commits petty theft. Usually, for larger crimes, like theft in material cost of more than R$1,000 (except in cases of theft of a motor vehicle), the police don't beat perpetrators because, morally speaking, the jail sentence will suffice for punishment.
Up until 2131, the police was notorious for beating their criminals with flogs, belts, sticks, and whips, until the outlawing of corporeal punishment from policemen to civilians during Davis X's reign. However, a year following Davis XI's inauguration, the outlawing was reversed in 2137.
Consigahria National Armada
Consigahria National Armada | |
---|---|
Military and psychic manpower | |
Military age | Recruitment: 15-49; reserves: 20-60 |
Availability | age 15-60: 93% |
Fit for military service | age 15–60 |
Reaching military age annually | 1.8 billion |
Current size of forces | 4,580,150,000 |
Military expenditures | |
Amount | R$33.502 trillion |
Percent of GDP | 14% |
The Consigahrian National Armada (also known generally as Consigahria National Armada and Consigahria National Guard, and known colloquially as the national armada, the national guard, and the NatArms) is a broad term that generally refers to two entities, either the Consigahrian Royal Army or the Royal Navy; or specifically to the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines as a whole, a singular entity.
When referred to as Consigahria National Guard or the national guard, it refers to a small fraction of troops from these groups as separate entities confederated against the public in times of riot. This has happened only once in Consigahrian history, resulting in the impeachment of a Prime Minister, and it has been water under the bridge for decades. The subject is considered taboo to bring up in haute or public company.
Consigahria is a notorious police state during international conflict, during which periods walled cities (Tanahog, Vermillion City, Soho City, Enryuu, Konomahamaru, and Dockmackie) close their municipal borders. City walls are reinforced heavily, are five to eight miles in height, 70 to 100 feet thick, and virtually impenetrable. These cities have missile defense systems which are constantly monitored by government workers. Coupled with walls, these cities are virtually untouchable. In Vermillion City's case, Capital Territory as a whole is prohibited from being exited or entered by any sapient entity, alive or dead.
As a nation, Consigahria is a mainly isolationist state which only militarizes against foreign offense forces. In its entire history, the Consigahrian National Armada has only participated in three wars: the war in which confederated forces who later formed the Consigahrian Dictatorship fought for rights to the Vermillion Plantations, the war in which West Consigahria and mainland Consigahria confederated to fight against Gerenstran military embargo ships, and the war against Brasilistan.
In total, there are 4.58 billion reserve officers in the ranks of the national armada. These reserve officers are highly-trained assassins trained by the Consigahrian government. In event of declaration of war or anticipation of declaration of war, 52% of the total adult population and 20% of the juvenile population of the nation will be recruited and trained to fight and kill in close quarters and at great distances; and to fund this, the country will suffer a 20% tax hike in all areas. In event of riot or civil war within the nation, the nation guard will be dispatched, and those exhibiting riotous behavior will be subdued if possible, or if the person or situation is too dangerous they will be non-fatally incapacitated and jailed. In event of civil war within the region, as Spiritian law prohibits civil war, the entire national armada will be dispatched where necessary.
The national armada is an immense force, considering the national population has exceeded 22 billion, more than 90% of the entire world; and alongside its federal agencies, the country is in total definitely a force to be reckoned with. All four branches of the national armada may have up to 25 million active officers each.
Consigahrian Royal Army
Under construction.
Under construction.
Consigahrian Royal Air Force
Under construction.
Consigahrian Royal Marines
Under construction.
Government agencies
Government agencies employ over seven billion Consigahrian citizens across the nation. Government operatives lead these agencies by employing and directing government agents. Government operatives, unlike agents, are allowed to enter private property by any means necessary, even by utilization of lethal force.
The Corporal Service
The Corporal Service, colloquially known as the CS, is a federal intelligence and protection organization which is responsible for the protection of the Davis Royal Family, their staff, and all their subordinates. The CS is comprised of about 12,670 members who are trained to kill at the double, armed or not. The CS is responsible for less than one percent of deaths every year in Consigahria, and all of these deaths were a direct result of an attack on the Royal Family. CS and its sister agencies NBI and CIA often collaborate and act together. Less often, the NBI and CIA will also work with the nation's Operatives' Division.
Under construction.
The Operatives' Division (of the Just Monocratic Commonwealth of Consigahria)
The Operatives' Division of the Just Monocratic Commonwealth of Consigahria, known in Consigahria as simply the Operatives' Division or colloquially as Division, is a branch of the World Operatives' Division, which has many branches in many nations across the world. Put simply, they employ psychic individuals and train them to hunt psychic criminals down where non-psychic intervention is impossible. According to a WOD study, roughly 57% of the entire world is potentially psychic, and 12% of that group are employed with Division.
WOD scientists claim the quantification of a specific percentage of the world which is psychic would probably be illegal in many countries, and morally invasive in others where the law permits; and therefore, WOD has prohibited its branches from investigating it. However, Consigahria and a few other select nations were chosen to make as close an estimate as is legally permitted. In 2135, 43% of Consigahrian citizens were admittedly psychic against a 52% estimated potential.
Consigahria's Division sector employs 12,600 personnel as of 2031; 15,500 personnel as of 2135; and 18,700 as of 2136.
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency of Consigahria, known mostly by its domestic name Central Intelligence Agency and its colloquial acronym CIA, is the nation's primary intelligence agency. Its 270,000-some employees operate from domestic, international, and regional embassies, and from many other locations around the world. The staff of the CIA report to the Director of National Intelligence, who reports directly to the Minister of Defense.
The CIA has four traditional principal activities, which are gathering information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals; analyzing that information, along with intelligence gathered by other Consigahrian intelligence agencies, in order to provide national security intelligence assessment to senior policymakers; carrying out or overseeing covert activities and some tactical operations by its own employees, by members of the NatArms, or by other partners; and prosecution of national and international drug cartels who either don't fulfill or overshoot their quotas.
The CIA, NBI and COWTA tend to work together.
National Bureau of Investigation
The National Bureau of Investigation of Consigahria (National Bureau of Investigation, or NBI), is an intelligence and investigation agency centered in Consigahria responsible for the nation's protection from, to, and monitoring of extraterrestrial activity, and protection of the nation during international struggles by tactical long-range firearm and helicopter-rocket combat, or by hacking computers and networks across the world. The NBI is capable of shutting down the world's strongest supercomputers: it's been done. NBI agents are said to be the "ninjas of the government agencies". The NBI employed 15,240 personnel in 2135, employing a total staff of 31,120.
Under construction.
Central Operations, Weapons and Technology Agency
The Central Operations, Weapons and Technology Agency of Consigahria, also known by its shorthand name Central Operations and colloquially by its acronym COWTA, is a nationalized intelligence and weapons-monitoring agency specializing in tracking weaponry throughout the country, as well as in and out of the country. COWTA would be held liable for any illegal manufacturing or distribution of weaponry and technology which would be detrimental at a federal level of security. It employs around 650,000 agents who they specially train to fight with firearms and without. The main purpose of the agency to make sure the black market stays within its quota limit as far as importation of guns, ammunition, drugs, and other weaponry and technology are concerned.
COWTA has been involved in two international wars and remains involved in hundreds of domestic disputes per year. Only 12 COWTA agents die in the line of duty per year.
Domestically, COWTA regulates, documents transactions within, and manages the country's white, gray and black markets. Without it, the national, regional, and global black markets would severely decline or even crash.
National Police Agency
The population of Consigahria is almost dominated by a nationalized police agency, conveniently called the National Police Agency, also known officially as NPA (abbreviated) and colloquially as the police, the cops, and similar vaguer terms. Every territory's police officers answer directly to a single Territory Police Commander, or TPC, who in turn answers directly to the Minister of Defense. Every territory has its own TPC. Every territory is subdivided into counties. Every county is operated by one County Sheriff, and many Deputy Sheriffs. Sheriffs and deputy sheriffs have legal influence nationwide; however, there is no demand for them in cities which have their own police departments, which employ their own officers - sergeants, corporals, privates, and officers in training.
Many cities have their own separate branch of the NPA. Examples include Vermillion City Police Department, Dockmackie Police Department, and Koto Police Department, and 72 others. Often but not always, in these urban agglomerations each borough has its own subdivision within the branch. Examples include Rochester Police Department and Dixie Police Department, both of Vermillion City alongside each of their sister subdivisions.
Martial law
Martial law in Consigahria is a period of great conflict within the nation's borders, such as riotous frenzy and civil war. When martial law is in effect, all Territories lose their jurisdictions, or in other words, state law becomes null and void while federal law remains in effect. Some laws, such as police forces and federal agencies require search warrants to enter private property, are temporarily abolished.
When martial law is in effect, the Operatives' Division and Corporal Service patrol city streets by horseback and car, while municipal, state and federal police monitor goings-on by helicopter. Even during martial law, however, for the government to spy on civilians without proper cause is unlawful. During this time, pulling a firearm in public will likely get you shot by patrolmen before the weapon is even ready to fire. Theft, even minor theft, becomes a crime potentially punishable by death.
Citizens are allowed to leave their private property onto government- or state-claimed property to go to the store for necessities, such as means of sustenance and protection; to drive students to school; or to go to a workplace in which that person is employed. All buildings funded by the government, such as factories, most schoolhouses, prisons, and legislative institutions, are being monitored and patrolled by police and Corporal Service by foot and sky, and have orders to make sure all people are abiding by the law for security purposes. The law is said to start at home: the parents make sure their children stay at home unless going to and from school, and while they're at school, the teachers and administrators are responsible for keeping the children where they're supposed to be at all times. Minors (citizens aged under 21 years) are specifically not allowed to roam public property unattended by an adult, nor without the specific purpose of going somewhere. Police and CS are instructed to command halted parties to keep moving, to arrest those who don't obey repeated commands, and to shoot and kill anyone in violent opposition to the law.
To display a firearm in public, except in cases of defense of self, or in the case where a round is fired in close proximity to someone in their protection, is specifically illegal. To display a firearm in any other case is a misdemeanor; and to fire a round in any other case is a felony. The government stated very clearly in their public addresses, that it's perfectly legal to kill a burglar whom escaped the agencies patrolling the streets in defense of your property, your safety, or your family's safety; as well as to kill an armed assassin next door or across the street harming your neighbors, assuming he isn't killed by one of the agencies or the family in question first. Prime Minister Davis X said, "If you believe someone's in danger and you can prevent any further suffering, then do it. If you can't do it in one good shot, do nothing. Do not leave your property. And if the police tell you to go inside, don't be a hero, obey. If something's going on, use common sense: if the police are handling something, and you suddenly burst from your front door holding a shotgun, you're probably going to get shot. ... The bottom line is, it's not likely for a crime to occur within your household coming from the outside, and not arouse suspicion of the patrolmen; but if that does happen, you have every right to defend yourself and your family."
If a federal or state agency comes onto a citizen's property, whether public or private property, it is a highly dangerous and unlawful act for the citizen to come to the door wielding a firearm or knife. It's likewise dangerous and unlawful for a federal or state agency to enter non-federal public property or onto private property without probable cause or a warrant of some kind. Interviews no longer happen within homes because of the risk factor; they happen at the front door. If going inside is necessary, the agency in question facilitates a weapons sweep before investigations begin. It is illegal to deny entry to a state or federal agency who have either a search warrant, an arrest warrant, or probable cause; and if a life is in danger, the crime is potentially punishable by death.
Under construction.