Effrenata
12-01-2004, 07:31
While we take a lighthearted attitude towards the inherently ridiculous nature of human politics, we are serious about our roleplay. Effrenata is not a parody, fantasy, sci-fi, or silly nation, but it is also not just a made-up nation plopped down in the 21st-Century world as we know it. We imagine Effrenata as occupying a parallel world that is almost like the meatworld of today. It’s similar in many respects—has most of the same major religions, for example, but also some additional ones. It has experienced a similar historical arc, of advancing and receding tides of civilization, speeding up exponentially as the 21st Century of the Common Era turns.
It has a roughly similar level of technology and most technological aspects will integrate seamlessly with the reality experienced in our own meatworld, but it allows scope for some imagination—some areas are a bit more advanced, some less so. Sometimes technology took a slightly different twist, depending on which region of the world you’re in. In Effrenata, for example, personal vehicles with internal combustion engines were developed much later than some advanced mass transit technologies—so there is less reliance on the automobile and better mass transit. Still plenty of hot cars, but they run on hybrid fuel sources.
While we have set Effrenata up with an active private sector security and military supply industry (which will allow us, we hope, to play some interesting mercenary scenarios,) we are NOT interested in inter-nation war roleplay per se. Our nation occupies a niche similar to Switzerland in the current meatworld, but with a hi-tech twist. We are much more interested in international diplomacy, economic, and intelligence roleplays.
The 24 Confederated Tribes give us a range of characters, scenarios, and resources to draw on, ranging from Northern European to Western Asian types, with a wide variety of strong regional and tribal cultures. The overall Confederation culture is a combination of freewheeling tolerance for differences, and fierce respect for our national traditions of independence, personal responsibility, valuing the well-being of the community, and strength through mutual assistance. Both our economic sector and our governmental/diplomatic sector are richly developed, with some formidable (and fun) corporate ‘personalities,’ and a vivid, occasionally hilarious take on the absurdity (and the value) of bureaucracy.
If you would like Effrenata to join in a roleplay, send a telegram! Watch this space (Effrenata Almanac Thread) for ongoing developments in one of the most exciting little nations on NationStates.
Bright,
Acting Temporary Everything Else
Interdepartmental Committee of Marginally Empowered Bureaucrats
Effrenata
12-01-2004, 07:34
Effrenata World Fact Book Entry
BACKGROUND AND HISTORY
Effrenata’s independence and strict neutrality have kept it out of major world conflicts, and it is principally known today for its highly developed financial and technical services sectors, which produce the bulk of this small country’s GDP.
The original Seven Tribes of Effrenata formed a political union in 1426, for the purposes of mutual defense against neighboring major powers of the Expansionist Era. Using the advantages of their terrain and a determined and persistent defense, they maintained their independence in the face of much larger powers bent on military, religious, and economic conquest through the Expansionist Era. The League of Effrenati, as this early union was known, was in danger of absorption by the burgeoning Charlassian Empire during the Ninety Years’ War at the dawn of the Rationalist Era, and at this time formed an alliance with the Maccadoni, a federation of eleven loosely-related formerly nomadic clans that had begun developing a sessile lifestyle in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The new amalgamation was known as the Otterian Alliance, named for the large mountain range that forms a central feature of the region’s terrain.
Late in the 18th Century, the breakup of the Charlo/Harkessian Empire left the geographically isolated Counties of Svaldberg, contiguous with the Alliance’s northern border, militarily vulnerable. After the Ceyce Conference of 1787, the Counties joined the Alliance, becoming substantially the modern nation. The final Articles of Confederation were ratified by all Tribes in 1825, when the Alliance officially became the Confederated Tribes of Effrenata.
GEOGRAPHY
Location
Effrenata is located in Schminkland.
Area
land: 74,713 sq. km
water: 3,723 sq. km
total: 77,436 sq. km
Land Boundaries: 2,186 km
Coastline: 1,288 km on the Meral Sea
Principal rivers & inland water bodies:
The Margal River, 1,192 km
The Upper Vir River, 878 km
The Hjardik River, 426 km
Lake Ingdal, 971 sq. km
Lake Oveross, 722 sq. km
Lake Schmink, 554 sq. km
Maritime Claims
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: agreed boundaries or midlines
territorial sea: 12 NM (adjustments made to return a portion of straits to high seas)
Climate
Temperate, variable with altitude. Mountain regions experience cloudy, cold, rainy/snowy winters, cool, somewhat cloudy summers with occasional rain; coastal regions experience mild winters and warm, humid summers; plateaus and central plains have dry weather, with extremely cold winters in the north.
Terrain
Mountains in the west and southwest give way to a broad, high-elevation plateau in the west central region, which descends to a pleasant, rolling, forested, lake-studded northern region. The eastern region slopes sharply into the more fertile lowlands bordering the Meral Sea, with the southeast including marshy areas and the Margal River delta.
Elevation Extremes
lowest point: Lake Oveross, -27m
highest point: Mt. Vilpan, 4,972m
Natural Resources
low-grade iron ore, zinc, copper, bauxite, salt, hydropower, timber, fisheries, some gemstones
Land Use
arable land: 8.6%
permanent crops: 1.5%
other: 89.9%
Irrigated Land: 2,014 sq. km
Natural Hazards
Earthquakes in the southwest along the Ravertine Fault, severe maritime storms in the south, landslides, flash floods, avalanches
Environmental Issues
Increasing industrialization of the Hjardik River is threatening the habitat of the rare whitetail river otter,
agricultural runoff polluting inland water bodies,
overfishing of northern lakes, and
acid rain
PEOPLE
Population: 7,426,790 (December, 2002 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years: 18.6%
15-64 years: 67.8%
65 years and over: 13.6%
Median Age
total: 39.3 years
female: 38.7 years
male: 40.1 years
Population growth rate: 0.46%
Birth rate: 9.92 births/1000 (2002 est.)
Death rate: 9.01 deaths/1000 (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: .08 migrants/1000
Gender ratio:
at birth: .99 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: .99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female
Infant mortality rate: 13.16 deaths/1000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 80.01 years
male: 79.11 years
female: 82.72 years
Nationality:
noun: Effrenati (singular and plural)
adjective: Effrenati
Ethnic Groups:
Effreni, 39.6%;
Maccadol, 36.3%,
Svaldi 18.4%;
Other, 5.7%
Languages:
English (official common language,) Makash, Makadawi, Targetzi, Noyerlatrian, Neo-Frenish variants & dialects, Svaldi
Religions
Christianity, 54.8%;
Islam (Surlan) 17.4%;
Marenkala, 14.6%;
Islam (other) 4.1%:
Other 9.1%
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
Population Note: Effrenata has an extremely liberal emigration/dual citizenship policy, and extremely restrictive immigration policies.
GOVERNMENT
Country Name:
long form: Confederacy of Chartered Tribes of Effrenata
short form(s): Effrenata, the Confederacy
Government Type:
federal semi-socialist representative republic
Capital City:
Ceyce
Administrative Divisions:
36 Regions: Kopings, Velharna, Njrgest, Kertebren, Vistlarna, Vistdal, Makestra, Markawa, Schmenkist, Targetz, Noyerlatria, Narakanda, Schtilvank, East Kirinli, Vilpar, Upper Vilpar, Henjatta, Megerhant, Pergralla, Virmeger, Tranest, Ulphar, Iddly, Upper Iddly, Elaigan, Tarlevy, Var-Sithla, Remlahaut, Uldune, Emris, Porad Anz, Feluhil, Tris-Hallowan, Oveross, Ceyce
24 Tribes: Koppala, Velharna, Estnj, Skane, Larni, Dallarni, Maccadon, Makmark, Yerlat, Pajibmeni, Palayat, Noorhut, Akkandar, Schkedaran, Schalakink, Tarlavrient, Walvrou, Ermetyne, Rumli, Evalee, Vortral, Frena, Devagas, Reetal,
Independence:
December 16, 1427
National Holiday:
Confederation Day, June 23rd
Constitution:
June 23rd, 1825
Legal System:
Administrative Hearing Committees (appointed by Marginally Empowered Bureaucrats,)
Criminal Tribunals (appointed by the Regional Conference,)
The Pest Control Board (Chosen by random lottery of all Citizens in Good Standing who have not previously served, every six months. Service is compulsory,)
The Article Review Board (Nine members, appointed for life from among qualified Constitutional Magistrates, with two seats appointed by each unit of government and one by a Citizen Appointer chosen by random lottery from among Citizens in Good Standing who have not previously served. The Citizen Appointer uses a mandated three-month process to identify and review qualified candidates. All appointments except the Citizen Appointer’s must be ratified by the other governmental units.)
Suffrage:
20 years of age, universal, compulsory
Governmental Divisions & Leaders:
Bureaucratic Branch
Interim Lord High Executive (Fordal Morch, since October, 2002)
Acting Temporary Everything Else (Bright, since 1996)
Interdepartmental Committee of Marginally Empowered Bureaucrats, elected by the Special Interest Group Meeting
The Lord High Executive is a Figurehead appointed by the Chief of State to act as ceremonial Chief of the Bureaucratic Branch; the Everything Else is elected by the Special Interest Group Meeting to Chair the Interdepartmental Committee.
(Both positions have been officially vacant since 1932 due to technicalities of Election Regulations that have prevented definitive votes. Since 1932 all indirect elections and appointments have been Acting, Temporary, Provisional, or Interim. The Figurehead Council holds internal elections for Interim Lord High Executive from among the Council membership approximately every three years. The SIGM reappoints all Marginally Empowered Bureaucrats after direct SIG Elections, held as needed but no less often than every six years.)
Leadership Branch
Chief of State: Prime Figurehead (vacant)
Provisional Prime Figurehead (Aldgar Mantelish, since October, 2003)
Figurehead Council, membership by virtue of office
The Council includes
24 Tribal heads,
heads of 16 economic sectors/subsectors,
5 chief military officers, and
the Postmaster General
Each of these is chosen by various methods, including election, acclamation, ritual combat, hereditary right, and appointment, plus the directly elected Prime Figurehead.
(No Prime Figurehead has been elected since 1929, as the Appointment Crisis of 1932 left the Department of Electoral Oversight with a Temporary Vice Secretary, and certification by the Secretary is required for valid election of a Prime Figurehead. The Provisional Prime Figurehead is currently held by all Council members in turn on a rotating basis, changing every six months.)
Representation Branch
Speaker: (Margwan Redhorse, since April, 2001)
SIGM Executive Committee (743 seats, members elected by the full Meeting)
Special Interest Group Meeting (74,268 seats, members elected by popular vote of Special Interest Group (SIG) members- one seat per Certified Special Interest Group, the remaining seats allocated to SIGs based on membership size as a proportion of total population.)
Only the Special Interest Group Meeting, acting as a Committee of the Whole, can call for SIG and Prime Figurehead elections. In the absence of action on the part of the Meeting, the Articles of Confederacy mandate elections every five years, but the results of the Prime Figurehead Election must be certified by the Secretary of Electoral Oversight. Only the Prime Figurehead, in turn, can endorse the slate of Bureaucrats offered by the Meeting.
Supervisory Branch
Chair Pro Tem: (vacant)
Acting Chair Pro-Tem: Lulli Sevekash (since April, 2003)
Regional Conference (108 seats, 3 seats for each Region, member elected by popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve five-year terms)
Legislation:
Budgets are submitted by the Interdepartmental Committee to the Figurehead Council for approval.
Administrative Regulations are formulated by Departments based on recommendations from other units of government and direct referenda (direct referenda may only be called by the SIGM Executive Committee, or by submission to the Figurehead Council of 1,485,358 eyeprints of adult Effrenati.)
Laws are created or revised by the Article Review Board and ratified by the Regional Conference, which also has the power to repeal any law by 2/3 vote.
Administrative Regulations are subject to review and potential repeal by the Regulation Repeal Department at one, ten, and fifty year intervals or as needed. Repeal may be reversed by a 2/3 vote of the Special Interest Group Meeting.
Political Parties & Leaders:
Every Effrenati must affiliate him/herself with the Special Interest of their choice in order to vote. Each citizen may vote only one Special Interest Group per election, but may change membership as often as they wish.
The Tidyites have a large share of Marginally Empowered Bureaucratic Offices, probably because of the SIG’s Motto/Philosophy: "Leaving everything just a little tidier than we found it."
Other very popular Special Interest Groups include the Otterite Hedonists (M/P: "OH, we just wanna have fun and eat fish,") the Scorekeepers, (M/P: "Whatever it is, we've got more of it or do it better,") and the Big Mushy Middle (M/P: "Just leave us alone unless there's a problem, and there better not be any problems.") Scorekeepers tend to dominate in the Figurehead Council, especially the military seats, and a large percentage of Regional Representatives tend to come from the BMM.
However, there are more than 7,000 SIGs registered in the Confederacy, and even SIGs as tiny as the West Confederacy Reform Party (324 registered members as of last Monday, M/P: "Someone's got to DO something about this!") and the Enkian Fundamentalists (136 registered members for as long as anyone can remember, M/P: "You're all going to Hell and we're not,") are entitled to full representation at the Special Interest Group Meeting.
In order to be certified as a Special Interest Group, the group must have a Charter in conformity with the Articles of Confederation, a Motto/Philosophy, and the eyeprints of at least 1,400 Charter signatories. Special Interest Groups may be decertified if the number of votes cast by their members in any election or referendum falls below 100.
International Organization Participation:
Schminkland Regional Conference (Observer)
Flag Description:
Medium blue ground with medium green diagonal bar ascending to the upper right-hand corner, and the words “Contra principa negatum non est disputandum (it is useless to argue with one who will not accept basic principles)” in white, over all.
ECONOMY
Economy Overview
Effrenata is a reasonably prosperous, stable market economy with low unemployment, a highly skilled labor force, and a strong coalition of Commerce SIGs active in government. Extremely liberal secrecy regulations in the banking, information, and security services industries have resulted in these areas forming the backbone of the Effrenati economy.
Manufacturing and industry is centered on information and security technology, with a small but extremely advanced military supply sector. Forestry and hydropower are the largest resource extraction activities, although there is some small-scale mining of gemstones and metal ores. There is little agriculture but a strong fisheries industry. In addition, world-renowned crafts are produced for the high-end luxury market, including furnishings and luxury woods, hand-built maritime pleasure craft, and metal goods such as cutlery and tools.
Currency
The mercal (MRC)
GDP:
Purchasing power parity: $242 billion (2002 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 0.1% (2002 est.)
GDP per capita:
Purchasing power parity: $38,000 (2002 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture & fisheries: 7.4%
industry: 22.7%
services: 69.9%
Population below poverty line:
3.1%
Household income/consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 21.8%
Inflation rate (consumer prices:) .05%
Labor force: 4 million
Labor force by sector:
agriculture & fisheries: 11.4%
industry: 22.2%
services: 66.9%
Unemployment: 1.7%
Industries:
Information/security technology, machinery, metals, tools, precision instruments, wood pulp, paper, finished wood products, publishing, processed fish products
Industrial production growth rate: 1.7%
Electricity production: 94.7 billion kWh
Electricity production by source:
fossil fuel: 1.3%
hydro: 59.5%
other: 2% (2001)
nuclear: 37.1%
Electricity consumption: 69.8 billion kWh
Agricultural products:
dairy products, meat, barley, fruit, vegetables
Export commodities:
Machinery, tools, precision instruments, metals, gemstones, wood products, agricultural products
Import commodities:
Chemicals, textiles, vehicles, agricultural products, machinery
Services:
Banking, information, security, intellectual property managment
Service sector growth rate: 3.1%
Exchange Rate (USD:) .74 (1/09/04)
Transportation
Railways:
7,328 km; standard gauge
2,146 km, highspeed mono
Highways:
127,416 km, total
107,302 km, paved
20,114 km, unpaved
Waterways:
1,540 km, rivers, lakes, and canals navigable to small steamers and barges
Pipelines:
852 km: gas
187 km: refined/processed liquids
Ports & Harbors:
Felgestzee, Nandy-Cline, Helkast, Ossensort
Merchant Marine:
58 ships (1,000 GRT or over,) 1,194,098 GRT/2,102,760 DWT
ships by type:
bulk 10, cargo 26, chemical tanker 4, roll on/roll off 6, passenger 5, petroleum tanker 2, specialized tanker 5
Airports: 104
Airports with paved runways:
total: 79
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 16
under 914 m: 21
1,524 to 2,437 m: 32
Airports with unpaved runways:
total: 25
1524 to 2437 m: 1
under 914 m: 24
Heliports: 2
MILITARY
Military Overview
Although Effrenata has not fought actively in a war since the formation of the Otterian Alliance (1622-23,) it maintains a vibrant military tradition, with compulsory national service for all citizens upon reaching the age of 19. Once active service is complete, all citizens remain in the Confederated Reserves until age 49.
Although the Confederated Forces consist entirely of national service conscripts and a small professional officers’ corps, Tribal Militias, maintained by seventeen of the Confederated Tribes, account for an additional active military force that nearly doubles the available active military personnel. Current active Militia and Confederated forces are estimated at approximately 202,000.
Both Confederated and Militia forces are believed to emphasize small, highly advanced tactical units, utilizing the latest products of Effrenata’s military materiel development & production industry. This high-quality military tradition feeds Effrenata’s extensive private sector security industry, which provides elite military and security forces and equipment for a wide range of functions.
Military branches:
Confederated Forces: Army, Navy (including Marines and Coastal Patrol,) Air Force
Tribal Militias
Confederated Reserves
Military manpower—military age: 19 years of age
Military manpower—availability:
citizens ages 15-49: 3,669,276
Military manpower—fit for service:
citizens ages 15-49: 3,339,041
Military manpower—reaching military age annually: 105,384
Annual Military expenditures:
$19.13 billion
Military expenditures/percent of GDP: 4.9%
Effrenata
12-01-2004, 18:26
For Immediate Release
02.36 GMT, 1/12/04
Interdepartmental Committee of Marginally Empowered Bureaucrats
Confederacy of Effrenata
EFFRENATA TO RESTRICT TELEMARKETING
Death Penalty Considered
Summary:
Culminating nearly three years of contentious discussion among the Department of Commerce, the Department of Communication’s Infrastructure Division, and the Article Review Board (University of Effrenata, Ceyce, Maccadon) administrative regulations regarding Telemarketing were released today for public comment and final review by the Interdepartmental Committee of Marginally Empowered Bureacrats.
The regulations classify telemarketing as a Class II Nuisance, and categorize telemarketing offenses ranging from Mild Annoyance to Noxious Pest, with capital penalties enabled for the most extreme offenses. A coalition of commercial Interest Groups is expected to appeal to the Pest Control Board under the Restraint of Trade Regulation.
The Interdepartmental Committee seeks comments on the regulations during the Comment Period, which will close at midnight EEST (Effrenata Eastern Standard time, GMT+20) on January 30th, 2004.
Please direct all comments or requests for additional information to: Medacara Rozan, 2nd Assistant Administrative Undersecretary, Interdepartmental Committee
Full Text:
After nearly three years of contentious discussion, the Effrenata Charter Review Board (University of Effrenata, Ceyce, Maccadon,) released Administrative Regulations on Telemarketing (ART) today. Finally recommended by the Figurehead Council, regulation of telemarketing has been under discussion in the Special Interest Groups Meeting for more than seventeen years, resulting at times in debate that escalated to physical violence. Over a hundred Special Interest Groups (SIGs) have been formed and certified pertaining solely to this issue, nearly forty of which still hold certification.
The Commerce Coalition, with 1,296 member Special Interest Groups, has repeatedly blocked referenda proposals on the subject. The assassination of Direct Sales Chair Pro-Tem Vinki Rubloon, in 1993 (still unsolved,) curtailed the last serious attempt to launch a referendum when the Department of Public Peace and Quiet issued a rare interim veto, which was upheld by the 1993B Pest Control Board. Torgil Aalfeson, Acting Vice Chair of the Uninterrupted Meals SIG (Motto/Philosophy: “A person should be able to eat dinner in peace.”) estimates that Commerce Coalition members have spent upwards of 2.3 billion mercats since 1984, attempting to stave off administrative regulation of telemarketing.
“We don’t want to interfere with commerce,” Aalfeson said in a press conference yesterday, when rumors were flying about impending administrative action, “but the thing is, the telemarketers, they’re interfering with the communications Effrenatan citizens have paid to install in their homes for their own undisturbed use, and we think that’s not too good. We think it’s a nuisance.”
A spokesminion for the Commerce Coalition, contacted for comment, said that the official position of the coalition and its members was that any administrative regulation of telemarketing would constitute violation of Restraint of Trade regulations prohibiting the destruction, defacement, or unfair restriction of advertising material.
Support for ART is extremely high on the Figurehead Council, which recommended the formulation of administrative regulations to the Communications Department’s Infrastructure Division in March of 2001. The Regional Conference has declined to address the issue. Occasional fistfights still break out from time to time at the Special Interest Groups Meeting when the subject is raised, but Provisional Chair Margwan Redhorse has consistently declined to allow the issue to reach the official agenda, in spite of repeated votes of confidence. Escalating support for Redhorse in the last three votes of confidence appears to be behind the Commerce Coalition’s reluctance to propose additional votes after the November, 2002 vote. The Big Mushy Middle has consistently voted in a solid bloc in support of Redhorse’s leadership on the ART issue, a fact that is considered likely to weigh heavily with the Interdepartmental Committee’s Review Task Force.
The Draft Regulations were released by the Interdepartmental Committee’s 2nd Assistant Administrative Undersecretary for Regulation Review, Medecara Rozan, without comment at this afternoon’s daily Committee briefing in the Media Tank at Committee Headquarters. Committee Spokesminion Keth Deboll declined questions on the topic for the duration of the comment period.
The regulations classify telemarketing as a Class II Nuisance (eligible for capital penalties,) and enumerate sixteen specific offense categories, ranging from Inadvertent Solicitation (Mild Annoyance) through Persistent Recidivism (Noxious Pest,) with penalties for each category ranging from Public Notice through the Ultimate Alternative (emigration or execution.) The Regulations enable five classes of Permissible Solicitation based on opt-in variables. Confederacy Peace & Quiet bureaucrats are expected to enforce the Regulations, which have the usual Administrative Hearing and Appeal provisions.
Contact: Murtrin Shavebotham, First Assistant Intern, Office of Committee Communications
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