New nations springing up

Not wanting to be left out, I decided to go to nationstates.net and created The Dictatorship of Bunland. This land differs from other nation states because it is governed by a non-human: a near-domesticated British shorthair mackerel tabby cat named Bunny.

Since Bunny doesn’t speak English (and by most accounts understands very little of it as well) the business of the nation is carried out by his Minions. Those Minions in favor with Bunny may make policy decisions from time to time. Those Minions who fall out of favor are scratched and bitten, though they may be given a chance to earn favor again by lobbying him with treats. (Yes the currency is the “treat”. We use paper money here… we’re not savages… the name “treat” is of mostly archaic/historical significance but the paper currency still bears caricatures of little fishies, chickens, etc. — a remnant of the days when we were still on the Savory Treat Standard.) Some of the more liberal-minded Minions have collected themselves into a Parliament, but this is more to make their nation appear legitimate and less about making policy decisions fairly than one might at first suspect.

Interestingly, based only on our responses to a few Agree/Disagree statements, the computers at NationStates.Net seem to already have a pretty good idea of what it’s like to live in Bunland. (I wonder if the computers that power this simulation have already been 0wned by Simon…)

The Dictatorship of Bunland is a tiny, environmentally stunning nation, renowned for its strong anti-business politics. Its hard-nosed, cynical population of 5 million are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as “my little playthings.”

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, corrupt, moralistic, socially-minded morass — devotes most of its attentions to Law & Order, with areas such as Religion & Spirituality and Social Welfare receiving almost no funds by comparison. The average income tax rate is 47%, but much higher for the wealthy. Private enterprise is illegal, but for those in the know there is a slick and highly efficient black market in Book Publishing.

Crime — especially youth-related — is well under control, thanks to the all-pervasive police force. Bunland’s national animal is the british shorthair cat, which frolics freely in the nation’s many lush forests, and its currency is the treat.

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