Tinderland

Tinderland is a very large, older nation located on the Pacific coast of North America. Its technology is first rate and its citizens marvel at the astonishing advancements within their nation. Its citizens enjoy freedom from high taxation and as a result tend to earn more money. The citizens of Tinderland work diligently to produce Cattle and Coal as tradable resources for their nation. It is an aggressive country that some say has an itch for war. When it comes to nuclear weapons Tinderland has no definite position and is therefore considered opposed to them. The military of Tinderland has been positioned at all border crossings and is arresting all drug traffickers. Tinderland allows its citizens to openly protest their government, even if it means violence. It has an open border policy, but in order for immigrants to remain in the country they will have to become citizens first. Tinderland believes in the freedom of speech and feels that it is every citizens right to speak freely about their government. The government gives foreign aid when it can, but looks to take care of its own people first. Tinderland will trade with other nations with questionable ethical treatment of their citizens but prefers to keep such trade agreements a secret.

Government Structure
The government of Tinderland is divided into three bodies: the Executive branch, the Legislative branch and the Judicial branch.

Executive Branch
The Executive branch consists of the Head of State and the Head of Government, along with their respective supporting offices.

Head of State
The Head of State holds little real power, an irony given the formal title for the position is Summus Dominus (Supreme Overlord). The Head of State serves primarily as a figure-head, attending formal functions on behalf of the government and people of Tinderland, serving as the international face of the country and holds the ceremonial role as Commander-in-Chief (Imperator) of the armed forces. The one real power that the Head of State possesses is the ability to dissolve the Legislative Assembly (LA) at the request of the Head of Government. He also sits on the Privy Court.

Head of Government
The Head of Government holds near dictatorial power over both the Executive and Legislative branches and is the commander of the armed forces. He is elected by the populace and serves until he resigns, or dies. He can implement laws and policy without requiring the endorsement of the Legislative Assembly and can have the LA dissolved without any stated reason. The Head of Government also controls the armed forces of the country, having the rank of Commander General (Dux Universus). He also sits on the Privy Court. He can be dismissed by the Head of State, but only with the support of 100% of the Legislative Assembly. The formal title for the Head of Government is Legatus Dominus (Deputy Overlord).

Legislative Branch
The Legislative Assembly (Conventus Legi Scriptor) of Tinderland is a constantly changing farce that is often ridiculed on late night talk shows and in bad sketch comedies. Since its founding, the country has had more than half a dozen LA's pass through the halls of power. A by no means exhaustive list of governments include: Communism, Totalitarian State, Democracy, Monarchy, Revolutionary Government, Dictatorship and others. Most disturbing in this sequence of governments is the fact that the citizens seem to prefer authoritarian forms of government, having gone through no less than two dictatorships.

Due to the above noted proclivities of the people of Tinderland to abandon their support for legislative sessions in short order, the Legislative Assembly has little real power. It can draft, debate and pass laws, but at all times, it is subject to the whim of the Head of Government. Where the LA can wield true power, is in the dismissal of the Head of Government. Such an endeavour must be brought before the LA by the Head of State and requires a unanimous vote, with all members of the LA participating.

Judicial Branch
The Judiciary that serves the country is organised into three levels: the Low Courts (Iudices Fundus), the Appeal Courts (Iudices Appello) and the Privy Court (Iudicium Secretus).

Low & Appeal Courts
All cases, whether civil or criminal, are heard first by a Low Court. A jury may or may not be assembled, depending upon the wishes of the defending party. Regardless of the verdict, either the defending party, or the prosecuting party can appeal the decision.

If a Low Court verdict is appealed, it is presented to one of the regional Appeal Courts. These have no juries, and consist of five judges who review the evidence that was presented to the Low Court. If there is new evidence, or concerns over the procedures followed during the first trial, the Appeal Court can order the case returned to a Low Court to be retried. It is also possible, though rare, for an Appeal Court to issue a new verdict. This has only ever occurred in cases where a gross miscarriage of justice as been definitively identified. An Appeal Court can also refuse to hear a case.

Privy Court
The Privy Court of Tinderland is the final court of appeal in the country. It is a three member body, consisting of the Summus Dominus, the Legatus Dominus, and the senior member of the Legislative Assembly. It hears appeals on verdicts from the Appeal Courts or from Low Court cases that were ordered retried by the Appeal Courts. The Privy Court can also issue directed verdicts of not-guilty to lower courts. It can refuse to hear any case, which renders a lower courts decision as final.

The decisions of the Privy Court are final and immutable.

Policies
Tinderland divides policy into four categories: Foreign, Domestic, Defence, and Trade. At any given time, these four policy foci are being pursued, though the relative importance of each will differ (sometimes quite dramatically) at any given time. A fifth meta-policy category, in the form of technological advancement, also exists, but often spans both the Domestic and Defence categories.

Foreign Policy
Tinderland's foreign policy is one of "Live-and-let-live". The country prefers to pursue its own ends without extensive concern for events occurring external to its borders. The government of Tinderland is so disengaged from international events, that it has never felt the need to issue a statement regarding any event that has occurred on the international stage. The entirety of the country's foreign policy statement can fit on one medium-sized napkin. None of this is to say that the government of Tinderland doesn't pay attention to, or participate in, international events.

ODN
Tinderland is a member of the Orange Defence Network, and while it is not an extremely vocal member of the alliance, it is ever-present. The government ensures that it makes the country's interests known when necessary, while at the same time, placing its services at the disposal of the ODN, should they be needed.

War
War is the second area where Tinderland has been present on the international stage, albeit a small presence. The government does not take war lightly, but will not faint from it either. Tinderland has no standing policy on when to go to war and when not to. All that can definitively be said of Tinderland's war policy is that it will not engage in wars for profit, tech raiding, or the personal amusement of the Legatus Dominus.

Aid
The country has a small presence on the foreign aid front. While repeated efforts have been made to set aside funds for the assistance of young countries, or countries emerging from conflict, this effort is continuously stymied by the government's inability not to finance domestic and military development programmes.

Domestic Policy
The doemstic policy of Tinderland is dedicated to two broad, primary goals: constant, manageable population growth; and constant improvement in the standard of living. All policy decisions are made with these two goals in mind.

Growth Initiative
The government routinely invests large quantities of cash in infrastructure development in order to spur population growth. Land is occasionally acquired to ensure that overpopulation is avoided. These purchases are not frequent as when the government invests in land, it generally acquires far more than it actually requires in the short-term.

Tinderland has also made significant investments in health care facilities, building 2 clinics and a hospital to lower the country's mortality rate and boost its population further. For a brief time in its history, Tinderland also possessed 5 factories and trades that provided it with construction technologies, which allowed it to grow rapidly. Construction technology changed though, and the existing trades proved insufficient to maintain the army of cranes and other equipment that populated the country. The factories where also dismantled when the government began focusing on acquiring technology.

Standard of Living
A constant effort is underway to improve the standard of living of the people of Tinderland. While part of this effort is dependent upon trade, a much greater portion of the plan is built upon education and technology. The advanced medical care that is now available to all citizens of the country served as the inspiration to improve the economic lifestyle and educational level of all citizens. To improve the education levels (and by extension the financial prospects of individual citizens) the government built 3 schools and 2 universities, which have seen extensive use. The university also serves as a research centre, helping to defray some of the costs involved in technological development. It is as part of push to improve the standard of living that most technology above the 100 point mark has been acquired.

Defence Policy
Tinderland's defence policy is in two parts. The first part is based around a strong, capable military force that can defend the country in the event of an unprovoked/rogue attack. The government has invested frequently in technological research in an effort to improve its ability to stand against potential attacks. With the development of aircraft, a massive amount of cash was dumped into research and development, so that the 100 tech point could be reached, and thus the most advanced aircraft acquired.

The military of Tinderland is a diverse entity, consisting of infantry, tank and air forces. A barracks, providing additional training is also set up, with plans for others on the drawing table. There is also a cruise missile division that has been neglected in the recent past. Only a nuclear force is not present and while the government has not made any active attempts to develop nuclear weapons, that possibility remains open.

Trade Policy
The government of Tinderland views trade policy as separate from foreign policy, seeing the former as a matter of practicality and the latter as a matter of idealism. The country is willing to trade with any kind of government, regardless of most circumstances.

Trade initiatives tend to focus on acquiring resources that promote population growth and/or reduce the cost of infrastructure. Occasionally, trades that reduce the cost of military maintenance and acquisition are also pursued. To facilitate these trade initiatives, a harbour was constructed, allowing the country access to more resources than was previously possible.

Improvements
Tinderland has built the following improvements:
 * 1 Barracks
 * 1 Police Headquarters
 * 2 Clinics
 * 1 Hospital
 * 3 Schools
 * 2 Universities
 * 1 Stadium
 * 1 Habour
 * 2 Banks

Flags
Tinderland has two styles of flag, a standard (default) flag, used during peacetime and a war flag used during times of declared conflict.

Technical Description
In size and shape, both the standard flag and the war flag are identical. They are of the dimensions 1x2, with horizontal bars of 1/5x2 on the top and bottom, and a central horizontal bar of 3/5x2. At the centre of the flag is a stylised white flame consisting of six parts, surrounded by 7 white stars.

Standard Flag
The standard flag is flown at all times, save for times of declared conflict. During the course of natural disasters or the death of either the Summus Dominus or Legatus Dominus, it is lowered to half-mast. In the aftermath of other significant events it may be lowered to half-mast at the order of the Legatus Dominus, or the Legislative Assembly.

The flag is coloured as such: the top and bottom bars are green, the top bar representing the land from which the founders of Tinderland emigrated and the bottom bar representing the new country they founded. The central bar is blue, representing the ocean that the emigrants crossed. The flame and stars are white, with the flame representing the spirit of the people of Tinderland and the stars representing the seven provinces of the country.

War Flag
The war flag is only ever raised during times of declared conflict and thus has only ever been used once, during The Great War. It is never, under any circumstances, flown at half-mast.

The flag is coloured as such: the top and bottom bars are red, representing the blood of fallen and fighting soldiers. The central bar is black, representing the enduring resolve of the country. The flame and stars at the centre are white and hold the same meaning as on the standard flag.

Banners
There are two types of banners that are commonly used by the Tinderland government and military: the ceremonial banner, and the field banner.

Ceremonial Banner
The ceremonial (traditional) banner was originally the standard field banner used by Tinderland infantry units in ceremonial and battle functions. It was affixed to a cross-bar that was held by the standard-bearer of the unit, who would march at the front of the unit formation. Only the peacetime banner has ever been used in this fashion, as significant changes in military technology and tactics have relegated the infantry to a supporting role.

In formal parades, either banner is still used, depending on whether a state of war exists. The banner has also been adopted for use within government buildings. Most notably, a banner suitable to the current peacetime (or wartime) state, is displayed on either side of the Dominus Solium (Overlord's Throne) in the Legislative Assembly.

These banners follow the same colour protocols as the flags of Tinderland, though their dimensions differ significantly.

Field Banner
The current field banners are used only by the military of Tinderland. They are commonly affixed to the antenna of tanks and other mobile units and in peacetime, are quite prominent. During wartime, the war banner is affixed to the interior of the vehicle (due to camouflage concerns), though many units will also affix the peacetime banner as well.

The field banner was first developed to accommodate the Tinderland Tank Corps, for which the traditional was deemed unsuitable. Quickly, it replaced the traditional banner and within a short time, no traditional banner was used outside of a ceremonial, or government, function.

The field banners follow the same colour protocols as the flags, though the flame and stars are excluded due to space considerations. The field banner never exceeds 50cm by 50cm.

Religion
The citizens of Tinderland enjoy great religious freedom, having the right to worship in any way they see fit, or not at all. While the government does recognise an official state religion, it is endorsed only in the interests of maintaining a positive and productive populace and plays no role in government decision making. There is a prominent unofficial religion that most government officials and high powered executives belong to called Ammondalism.

Ammondalism
Little is known about Ammondalism, an unorganised religion lacking even the semblance of hierarchy or structure. It also lacks a difinitive holy text, but does posses a vast quantity of worshiper revelead proclomations, that have yet to be revealed to any but the initiates of the religion. Worship centres around the ASCII representation of their lord and saviour, Ammondale the Psychotic Chicken.

Founding
Tinderland was founded by displaced Dutch settlers who made their way to New Holland Island (formerly Vancouver Island), located off the Pacific coast of North America. Here they found a haven away from the harsh continental winters and near year-round growing conditions, as well as access to deep water harbours and long inlets.

Expansion
During its formative days, Tinderland focused on expansion in order to make room for its growing population. Neighbouring small nations gradually faded from view as the country swallowed up all that surrounded it. It was during this early stage that Tinderland was recruited into the ODN.

ODN Membership
With the exception of the few days following its creation, Tinderland has been a member of the Orange Defence Network, having been recruited in the days following the end of the NPO-ODN War (otherwise known as the Citrus War).

The Great War
Tinderland was an active, though low key, participant in the Great War, a massive, globe encompassing conflict between the NPO-NpO-IGC and the CoaLUEtion-Legion-ODN and other small alliances. It was through the ODN-LUE mutual defence pact, United for Orange that Tinderland joined the conflict.

Combat Activity
Tinderland engaged three NPO opponents, alongside various CoaLUEtion members, during the course of the war: Spideria, Sith Empire II, and Gateborg. Both Spideria and Sith Empire II were rapidly reduced in nation strength and infrastructure with Tinderland itself suffering very few casualties. Gateborg proved a significantly more formidable foe though, with the two countries punishing each other at a roughly equal level.

Top 1,000
Thanks to the massive military buildup that Tinderland underwent during the war, as well as the rapid decline of numerous top-level powers, Tinderland climbed the ranks of the nation strength reports, breaking the 1,000 mark near the end of the conflict. This was not to last though, as Tinderland fell to roughly 100 points below the 1,000 mark after the war due to the decomissioning of half its armed forces and the entirety of its tank corps.

Public Support
The public support for Tinderland's participation in the war was lukewarm at best. Most citizens viewed the conflict as a personal disagreement that was permitted to grow out of control. In all circles, there was absolutely no support for Yaridovich, whose actions have been largely credited with setting the world on the path to a small-scale conflict. Public opinion of Tygaland is more mixed. Many understand why he launched a pre-emptive attack, but nonetheless disagree with his actions as well as with the targetting of LUE. And most feel that it was his actions that converted a small-scale war into a global conflict.

Post-War
Following the end of the Great War, Tinderland pursued a course of infrastructure development, decomissioning most of its military and purchasing five factories so that it could increase the speed of growth. This policy was so successful, that the government had to make at least five seperate purchases of land so that overpopulation could be avoided.

Tech 100 Policy
After an extensive period of time focusing on population growth, the government undertook a massive policy shift, changing its focus from people to technology. Having come out of the Great War at roughly 53 on the technology spectrum and seeing that most of its peers were at 80 or more, the government decided that it should strive to break the 100 mark. This decision led to the replacement of factories with clinics and a hospital in an effort to further boost population levels, as well as with schools and a university. These efforts proved successful, with Tinderland passing the 100 mark in short order and with much national fanfare.

Renewed Buildup
Following GATO's decision not to recognise the New Polar Order and its ill-timed internal difficulties, government policy shifted again. With the immediate technology aims achieved, an increased emphasis was placed on national defence, and with new aviation technologies becoming available, a substantial military buildup was undertaken. This once again put Tinderland in the top 1,000 nations by strength, where it has remained since.

With the passing of the GATO-NpO non-crisis, the government put further military expansion on hold, with the exception of aircraft, in order to focus on infrastructure and technology development. However, not wanting to be caught off guard in the future, no reduction in the size of the standing army was issued.