Incredible Thought-Provoking Questions: A StumbleUpon Self Interview

I found these questions courtesy of one of my favorite websites: www.stumbleupon.com

What is it like to wake up every morning and pretend that you aren’t dying?
That's an incredibly good question, yet it's also an easy one to answer, as that's how most (if not all) people wake up in the morning; so, it's exactly like it was when I woke up this morning: just as everyone else does (I assume), I know somewhere in the depths of my mind that my time spent alive and on this planet and/or in this universe is limited, yet I tend not to acknowledge it with fear, because I feel as if my time is still quite a long time away, whether I'm right or wrong, that's for the natural course of things to decide.

Do you believe in the death penalty? What if someone murdered your mother in cold blood? What if someone murdered a stranger’s mother, but saved your life the month before?
In certain circumstance, I think I do believe in certain forms of the death penalty, as limited as my belief in it is. For example: if someone has brutally raped and murdered numerous victims, I believe they deserve death, regardless of mental health.
As for this particular situation, I'd really have to be experiencing it to know what I'd do for sure, but in the hollow sense presented by this question: yes, I'd want revenge (at least initially) for their murder of my mother for the first point, and for the second point: regardless of what they did, good or bad, a month before, yes; if they brutally murdered the person, I believe they deserve death. A real such situation would probably have many sides to the story though, and as such, that's why I can't say that with any real sense of reality.

If you had a friend who spoke to you in the same way that you sometimes speak to yourself, how long would you allow that person to be your friend?
Quite awhile; although I think we'd have the occasional issues. Although I can honestly say that, as a teenager, I'm not entirely happy with who I am all the time, I can say that ultimately I'm ok with who I am and who I want to become, and I don't fall into much conflict with myself.

Would you rather be rich and paralyzed from the waist down or poor and able bodied?
That's a very good question, and either way I answer it's going to sound slightly bias and possibly discriminatory, but hey; you gotta do what you gotta do.
As such, I think I'd prefer to be poor and able-bodied, because not only am I able to take full advantage of my entire physique with the ability to get around on my own, there'd also be the constantly open possibility of later becoming rich, or even better yet: happy.

What’s the most expensive gift you have ever received? Is it the best gift you have ever received?
Well, materially speaking, I'd have to say that either my guitar or my Wii are the most expensive gifts I've ever received; if I'm right and it's the guitar that was more expensive, then yes, it's definitely one of the best I've ever received. If it's the Wii, on the other hand, then no, I can honestly say it probably wasn't worth the amount we spent, as cheap as it may be compared to the other gaming systems.
Psychologically speaking though, I'd have to say that the gift of life from my parents is probably the most expensive as well as the best gift I've ever received, as cliche as that may sound.

When was the last time you lied? Is it possible to lie without saying anything at all?
The last time that I lied that I can remember would probably be when I told my mom that I walked down the street to drop off a study sheet at a friends place, when in fact I was actually walking with my girlfriend to where she was supposed to get picked-up, afraid to tell my mom about it because we'd been alone at the house all afternoon (don't worry, it was the assumption I was afraid of; we didn't do anything inappropriate). Although I've never told her the truth directly, seeing no real point in pursuing it, she is aware that I've got a new girlfriend as of earlier today. As to the second part of the question, I'd have to say yes; for example: if someone asks a yes/no question, and in truth, no is the answer, the question can be asked and the person responding may lie by nodding as to indicate the answer of yes.

Stealing is immoral, right? But what if stealing was the only way to feed a starving child?
Well, let me correct the first question, as it's obviously being asked rhetorically: stealing is not inherently immoral, but it is immoral in a majority of situation; to say that stealing water from a lake that is technically 'owned' by a corporation is a crime may be correct, but to say it's immoral is incorrect. If it's being stolen by a person in bad circumstance who needs the water the survive, it's definitely not immoral. If it's being stolen by a person who's rather well-off, but who happens to not have any water on them at the time, even then it's not immoral; yet delving into the topic of corporate ownership of natural resources is an entirely different argument, yet I'd have to say it's a good example. So, if stealing was the only way to feed a starving child, I would do it.

If I gave you $20, what percentage would you – really – save? If I gave you $200,000, what percentage would you save? Should there be a difference?
If you gave me $20 right now, it wouldn't be saved for anything in particular in the long term, but it may simply end up not being used (or used only in part until it's final depletion) over the course of a month. If you gave me $200,000, I would probably consider saving part of it for the plain and simple reason that I have absolutely nothing I need or even want to spend that money on, at least not in its entirety, although I'm not able to tell you the exact percentage I'd save.
And yes, there should logically be a difference due to the large disparity in the amount of money being given.

If someone could tell you the exact day and time that you are going to die, would you want them to tell you?
No, not at all. I'd tell them to keep it a secret. As I said in the first question, I'm subconsciously aware, just as most people probably are, that my time is limited; although to know by how much simply ruins one of the great wonders of life, and adds an entirely new dimension to my outlook on life that may not be a particularly good one.

If you found out you were going to die today, would you have any regrets? Would you be happy with the way you spent the last 24 hours of your life?
I wouldn't have any regrets, due to the fact that I'd be dying and regretting something would simply be a waste of time and energy that could be going towards other things; and yes, I guess I would be. Although I'd be upset that I didn't get to experience life to it's fullest, I wouldn't let that bother me, as I experienced today as much as I wished to.

What’s your single greatest moment of personal failure? Looking back on it now, did it make you weaker or stronger? What did you learn?
As of this point in my life, I can honestly say I can't pinpoint any moment of fantastic failure, or any truly long-term detrimental failures in my life. I'm sure there's something, but it's obvious I didn't dwell over it that much because it's not coming back right now.

Do the words ‘freedom’ and ‘liberty’ mean not being persecuted or discriminated against, or do they mean doing whatever you please?
They mean doing whatever you please providing it's within (at least) the framework of the law (and hopefully basic morals), as well as not being persecuted or discriminated against.

Have you ever discriminated against someone? Imagine that a street gang notorious for wearing purple shirts has robbed and murdered several hundred people in your town. If a man wearing a purple shirt just rang your doorbell, would you answer it?
I guess I have, in a sense, discriminated against someone in that I passed judgment on them due to the group of peers they spend their time with, and as for the second part of the question: no, I probably wouldn't, as anyone who lived in the town at the time of those crimes being committed would be aware of the fact that wearing such apparel symbolizes that they're probably associated with the gang, meaning I would deny them audience as to protect myself as well as anyone else in the house.

Is it crazier to choose to be poor or to spend 40 years of your life hating 40 hours a week?
It's crazier to spend 40 years of your life hating 40 hours a week, as it shows a lack of will to change any of the elements that may contribute to the individuals feeling of hatred towards that time of a week. In regards to the individual that chose to be poor, they did it for some reason, and theirs not a very good chance that the reason was to become miserable, which leads me to believe they probably did it for the benefit of their greater happiness.

Do you ever feel like you don’t have enough time? How many hours a week do you spend watching TV, or playing video games, or…?
Yes, sometimes I do feel like I don't have enough time, but it's usually in regards to an individual time-frame as opposed to ultimately believing I don't have enough time to live life or something along those lines (that's a completely different argument). I spend many hours a week watching TV and browsing the internet, yet I can't say I really regret it, at least not yet. I am aware that there are much more productive things which I could be doing (such as writing a blog post similar to this one!)

Do you ever celebrate the green lights?
Personally? No, not really; but then again, I don't usually curse the red-lights, as I don't really see much of a point to it. Although I haven't been driving for very long, or very often, so I can't definitively say that I wouldn't curse the red-lights or celebrate the green ones if constantly presented to them.

If you could be given another talent or ability, what would you want it to be?
That's a good question. I'd have to say that I'd probably like to be able to be better at math, and/or at least be able to enjoy it slightly so I will actually want to be productive in such an environment.

Have you ever – really – tried to perfect this ability in yourself?
Yes I have, although I may have been able to try harder now that I look back in hindsight, especially considering the fact that those efforts ultimately got me nowhere.

No matter how bad things get, are you aware that someone always has it worse than you do?
Honestly? Yes, actually, although that doesn't stop me from being disgruntled with my circumstances now and again, it only stops me from really dwelling on it all that much.

When you help someone, do you ever think, “What’s in it for me?”
Yes, sometimes I do, but a majority of the time I don't. I notice that I'm more likely to ask myself or the person I'm helping 'what's in it for me?' when it comes to doing thing such as chores and the like, as I feel parents have an automatic obligation to award their children for doing any such jobs, as it was their decision (or, in some cases, mistake) to bring the child into the world which creates one hell of alot of default responsibilities and obligations.

Joy is found with simple awareness. What does your joy look like today?
My joy, for the most part, looks alright. It's not the best it could be, but it's definitely not down in the dumps, so that's a good thing. The fact that I really truly love to be very aware of the people, places, and things around me, as well as what makes them tick, I think really helps me in being the generally happy person I am.

What’s the difference between ‘living’ and ‘existing?’
'Living' is not only existing, it's also enjoying ones existence, at least to a nominal extent where one is happy with the majority of what's around them, as well as what they wish to do. 'Existing' is simply the fact that one is there, regardless of how they look and/or feel.

Are you willing to sacrifice the life of your child or lover to support a war?
This is another one of those questions in which I'd have to actually be presented with the situation in real-life to truly know what I'd do; but I think in generality, it would really depend on why the war is being fought. For example: World War II was probably a justified sacrifice, as terrible of a sacrifice as it was for those who lost family and friends.

Do you ask enough questions, or do you settle for what you know?
I'm always asking questions and looking for answers; I've never been one to rest when it comes to practically anything. I'm always curious about the world around me and how it works, and why people think or act the way they do, so yes; I'd say I ask enough questions.

If you could do it all over again, would you change anything?
Yes, admittedly there are things I would probably change in my past if I could do it all over again, but that's not to say I really regret those actions; I simply think that a different course of action could have led to a separate set of interesting outcomes.

If your life was a novel, what would be the title and how would your story end?
If my life my nothing but a story, I think I'd call it 'Planetary Indoctrination' or something along those lines: and it would end where I die at the age of around 110 after having experienced everything I wished to experience, including stepping foot in every country in the world at least once. I'd die happy and content with my past and present, and would leave behind a strong legacy to be followed by my children and grandchildren, which could be added to if they wished.

As I Define Myself This Moment

Taken from phrases by both myself and others; some being phrases by others, edited to fit my definition of myself as well as the world:

Sect. 1: "Violence is the question."

Sect. 2: "Life is meaningless: there is no God or gods, there are no morals, the universe is not moving inexorably towards any higher purpose.

All meaning is man-made, so make your own, and make it well.
Do not treat life as a way to pass the time until you die.
Do not try to "find yourself", you must make yourself.
Choose what you want to find meaningful and live, create, love, hate, cry, destroy, fight and die for it.
Do not let your life and your values and your actions slip easily into any mold, other that that which you create for yourself, and say with conviction, "This is who I make myself".
Do not give in to hope.
Remember that nothing you do has any significance beyond that with which you imbue it.
Whatever you do, do it for its own sake.
When the universe looks on with indifference, laugh, and shout back, "Fuck You!".
Remember that to fight meaninglessness is futile, but fight anyway, in spite of and because of its futility.
The world may be empty of meaning, but it is a blank canvas on which to paint meanings of your own.
Live deliberately. You are free."

Sect. 3: "I fall into every mold, yet no mold. As I live this moment, is as I live life. There is but the present. The past is but fact of what has already passed; the future is nothing but an empty page ready to be defined; a hot mold ready to be hammered at the whim of the artist or creator."

Sect. 4: "Love is simply justice being served to those who rightfully deserve it."

Sect. 5: "To say all are the same would be to lie. To say one and all are the same, would depend on the context of use, the context of where it's applied, and the context of whom its applied to. To say all are separate; all are different; would be to state the truth. Whether conformed to an idea, or a set of ideas, differences remain, no matter the scope or size."

Sect. 6: "I have always held that there are no such things as bad words. All they are, are simple words. In most cases, they are used empty of their true meaning, so why take them as such?
Yet, I do agree that there are times when they're applied to their original meanings, and as such, there are times when the meaning can bite. All you need to do is avoid that bite."

Sect. 7: "Hope is but numbed pain. To hope is to constantly wish for the future, and as such, withdraw from the present, at least in part. Hope is unnecessary. It causes every moment to be spent wishing for a future moment, only to have that next moment be spent on the same such endeavor. Never give in to hope."

Sect. 8: "You are your guiding authority; not your parents, not your principal, not your teacher, not your prime minister, not your siblings, not your boss, not your president, not your God, not your universe. You, and only you, are in charge of who you are, and who you become."

Sect. 9: "Circumstance is customizable; changeable. Just as everything else is."

Sect. 10: "Love is not a predetermined set of principles or ideals; it's whatever the hell you want it to be."

The Man in the High Tower

The Man in the High Tower,
He carries his speech,
To the edge of the balcony,
So his voice finds far-reach.

He declares to the land,
That all is not right,
That all must stand up,
And that all, they must fight.

From the west come the red coats,
With their friends dressed in blue,
They say they will clean us,
So thorough and through.

From the far east the leafs come,
Declaring peace as they pull,
The trigger, so heavy,
Their chambers, so full.

The cold-countries kinship,
So strong is it's bond,
To the ones that wish entry,
To my country, my soldiers, respond!

This desert, so wide, so broad, and so hot,
Saw an end to Alexander,
Watched his corpse as it rot;
This desert, so distant, so far, and so long,
Did end the red world,
Oh how right and how wrong;
This desert, so ancient, so empty, so ours,
Killed off so many,
As if airless like Mars.

The desert, so grand, our land, and our hand,
Helped save this country,
No matter how bland.

To these brand new invaders,
Our people will say,
We'll kick you out,
Just give us a few days;
But first we will get them,
Their very own man,
To help them on in,
Tell them the leader has ran,
But leaves them a note:
"Welcome to Afghanistan."

'From the Urals to the Azores' Teaser Trailer

A remake of my 'How They Won' series, I'm hoping this new one will be a hit.
Well, I guess it's back to Hearts of Iron 2 for some ideas and inspiration.

Society

I run this for society,
For all to live so long,
I write this for society,
To eradicate all wrong.

I buy this for society,
So the market doesn't crash.
So youth can still find work to do,
Yet don't bathe in their cash.

I eavesdrop for society,
So terrors way, it fades.
Cus if peace can't yet be,
Then neither can peaceful privacy.

Everybody owes,
And everybody pays,
Says the Brownshirt,
As he watches for days.

I fight this for society,
So this terror never finds it way,
To the place that I love,
On yet another dark and fateful day.
I know that here its hot,
And so far away,
But these Godforsaken criminals,
My leader tells me they need to pay.

I believe this for society,
Despite the obvious truth,
In hopes that they won't bother me,
And I may still live under this roof.

I ask this for society,
So the capital can't lie.
I let our leader have his word,
So I can then ask, "Why?"

I speak here for society,
So all can be aware,
That the people need be present,
For the government to care.

I exempt this for society,
They need not know the worst.
They need not be the ones to worry,
That's our job, our number one, our first.

I rebel this for society,
A new one need be born,
The old one, oh how old it is,
It's beaten, it's broken, it's torn.

The Fireblasting West Coast Hustler that cut me up and threatened my life.

Well, I thought I'd just give everyone a quick and interesting synopsis (or possibly, a detailed explanation, we'll see) of a dream (or rather, possibly a nightmare, I'll let you be the judge of that) I had the other night, so it doesn't conveniently decide to fade now that I want to share it:
The first half of the dream is hazily unclear to me. All I remember is being present in some sort of large building set beside a BC Ferries Terminal in a place that I recognize as the ferry going from Vancouver Island to Powell River, and I believe maybe it was me and a friend, or me and my brother that got into some sort of physical fight against one another, which ended up getting so intense we somehow ended up flying through a window and falling down onto someones car, severing the entire roof from the rest of the vehicle, which as I recall was brown, as it was heading into the ferry via the docking ramp (although from the ferry, there was a bright white light which restricted me from actually seeing inside the boat itself). One obvious feature I remember of the driver was that, despite all I could see was a silhouette, he was wearing rectangular glasses, with his hair being styled with some sort of cowlick at the front.
As we entered the boat, everything faded into bright white for a moment or two, until finally it gave way and the typical inside of a ferry boat revealed itself.
I can't exactly put my finger on what happened directly thereafter, but somehow the rectangular-glasses, cow licked hair guy wasn't there anymore, and it hadn't been his car. Instead, I, and whoever else it was that I was with, had just wrecked a car that belonged to a bald young man with snake tattoos on both arms, and who was wearing a white muscle shirt and beige cargo pants. If it's of any importance, he also happened to be quite muscular (but not overly so). He also boasted 2, maybe 3 pals of his who all wore the same apparel and had the same tattoos in the same places, with the only differences being that each of them had different hair colors and styles, or wore bandannas or hats on their heads.
All of them stood on an elevated platform (which was most likely just a second floor for car storage) as the bald man announced to me (or us, I'm not sure) that I had destroyed his car, upon which I responded, saying something along the lines of: "That was your car? I had no idea," to which he got quite angry and said to me, teeth gritted as he hopped down from the platform brandishing a glimmering buck knife, something along the lines of "Yes! It was fucking mine!" As I remember from the first person, I was lying on the floor on my back, propping myself up half-way as he came up to me and clearly threatened to use the knife on me, to which I fearfully protested, but to no avail. With my hands up in the air as an act of self-defense, he elegantly and swiftly sliced the knife around my hand, causing me to feel a surge of pain as my hand (right hand, may I add) began to trickle blood out of cuts in which it seemed almost as if he had attempted to professionally carve some sort of image around the entirety of my hand. I then proceeded to get up and run as the man walked away, only to look around and realize he had somehow already made it to the top of the platform again, and it appeared as if him as his friends were shooting fireballs at me and another individual as we fled (and as I remember, although I'm not entirely sure of this, they fired them from there hands. It was either there hands, or from staffs of some sort).

Suddenly, it flashed forward to me being in a car driving off of the ferry, to which I noted happened to be in the wrong place; in the old hub of town known as Townsite, from the area of the mill (you Powell Riverites will know what I'm talking about).
We drove up and past the Old Courthouse Inn, upon which the bald man stood on the roof with his original group of cronies plus a few previously unseen additions.
They appeared to be shooting fire into the air in some array of a terrifying fireworks display, boasting that they were going to find me and whoever it was that I was with, and kill us both.
I remember being terrified when I heard this, and exited the car before it got any further and went to a small, hidden police outpost in the basement of some traditional Townsite house, from where you could only see the fire in the air, not the bald man or his accomplices themselves.
I recall entering the outpost and desperately telling the story of what had occurred to two police officers who were inside at the time. One said that he would find the bald man and his friends and stop them before they could hurt me, but not before a white-haired officer beside him, sporting a bald-spot and a pair of glasses, protested the idea, stating that it was a waste of their time.
What happened after that is unclear to me. All I remember is seeing a large, vintage looking list of names set to some frighteningly red, hellish background with satanic symbols dancing around the page that, for some reason, I immediately associated with the bald man, who by the way I suddenly heard the voice of, speaking about it being 'their time to rule,' or something along those lines. From that, I derived he and his cronies were part of some satanic cult, hence the fire powers. It then flashed to some Gothic looking women dressed in black, with pasty white skin, who I automatically took to be the bald mans girlfriend.
Then my dad woke me up, telling me that we were going into town to meet my grandpa and some other people at the Powell River book store/ cafe, Breakwater Books.

The World in 2401 A.D.: Part 3: The Steel Fist of Autocracy

The Austro-Italian Uni-Nationalist Republic
A.K.A.: THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA-ITALY
Formed in 2309 after serious debate in the United Nations regarding the political union of the two countries, Italy and Austria decided to go ahead with the unification despite the wishes of the Security Council. The reasoning for the union was stated as being due to the weak position both countries were in at the present time among ever-rising global tensions.
For the first 2 decades of the union, reactionaries and nationalists of both former nations attempted violent uprisings against the standing governments, yet these uprisings lacked public support and were few and far between.
Finally, a bill passed in the nations legislature, recognizing both former nations as societies distinct from one another, with separate languages that would be finalized as the nations 2 official languages, meaning both former national languages would be taught in all schools.
Originally given the name "The Austro-Italian Unionized Republic," the name was officially changed in 2362 to "The Austro-Italian Uni-Nationalist Republic" as to officially recognize both separate cultures and nationalities.
During the Third World War, the Republic fought on the side of the Five Powers. Following the Five Powers defeat, the country was occupied by joint American-British forces until 2381, when the Allied forces pulled out and re-granted Austro-Italy its full autonomy (against the wishes of the French Republic, who felt it should become an Allied protectorate, causing an automatic tension to spark between the two countries).
At the rise of the Sarrade Autocracy in France and the French aggressions to the north, Austro-Italy mobilized its entire armed forces to both the Austrian and Italian frontiers, only to be threatened by Sarrade with armed force in the event of an Austro-Italian intervention.

The American Dependencies of the Canary Islands and Northern Tunisia
A.K.A.: THE AMERICAN PROTECTORATES OF THE CANARY ISLANDS AND NORTHERN TUNISIA
After the systematic retaliatory genocides in Northern Tunisia and the Canary Islands during the Third World War by Five Power radicals, the entire areas were left almost entirely devoid of human life. A United Nations mandate following the wars end handed the empty areas over to American authorities, who would stem the flow of immigrants from the Iberian Republic into the Canary Islands, as well as the immigrants from Southern Tunisia moving in to repopulate the Northern half of the country, as to allow time for reconstruction of both areas.
After 5 years of reconstruction efforts, a newly elected reactionary President of the United States, Roland Magnoli, began shifting towards a policy that would allow both areas to become permanent territories of the United States, which lead to tensions to rise ten-fold between the provisional nation of Southern Tunisia and American forces.

The Republic of Finland
At the time of the rise of the Sarrade Autocracy, Finland, as well as its western neighbour Sweden, were considered the two final enclaves of old liberalized democracy, despite the slow rise in fascist, reactionary, and autocratic movements in both nations. By the time Elliot Sarrade had snatched up the U.B.S. as to become part of his empire, Finland had successfully, yet detrimentally suppressed two revolutionary uprisings in favor of radical right wing ideology.
During the Third World War, Finland stayed politically neutral, yet supplied the Allied Nations with volunteers, resources, and armaments. For its efforts in the war, the victorious Allied nations rewarded Finland with 40 million euros as to compensate the families of the Finns that died in service as volunteer soldiers.
Finland became involved in a crisis involving the civil war in Russia, when the soon-to-be Republic of Western Russia threatened invasion if Finland didn't supply it was soldiers and arms to assist in the war effort. Finland, at first, resisted, but later agreed to one of the terms, and began shipping the weapons of war across the Russian frontier to assist the Federalist forces in their struggle. After the civil wars end, Finland was never properly thanked, nor rewarded for its assistance, which went on to create a stigma amongst the general Finnish public regarding their opinions on Western Russia.

The Republic of Sweden
Sweden, much like its eastern neighbour, is considered one of the final enclaves of liberalized democracy, and went on to fight in that favor during the Third World War as a member of the Allied nations (most of which later became autocratic totalitarian dictatorships soon after the wars end). At the rise of the Sarrade Autocracy, Sweden began taking small steps as to counter Elliot Sarrade's steps towards European domination by way of slyly concealed economic sanctions, as well as secretly mobilizing its entire army to the Norwegian border following the fall of Norway to Great Britain.
During this same time, tensions with suppressed fascist militant groups and autocratic activists came to a boiling point when the SNM (Swedish Nationalist Movement) launched a guerrilla war against the mobilized government forces across the country. These attacks were met with brutal force, as well as government restrictions on civil liberties just prior to a new election. Some later speculated that the SNM had never intended to actually win the war through force, but instead through forcing the Swedish government to accept a reactionary leader as to protect Sweden's autonomy from outside influence.

The Autocratic Protectorate of Norway
A.K.A.: BRITISH NORWAY; THE BRITISH PROTECTORATE OF NORWAY
Following the subjugation of Germany and Denmark to France, Norway, rightfully seeing the invasions as unjust, was quick to declare war on Sarrade and his new French Empire, only to be unexpectedly struck by the Peoples Republic of Great Britain and Ireland from the west.
The British drive into the country lasted only a week before the Norwegian government was forced to unconditionally surrender in the capital of Oslo, which was surrounded by British troops, as well as a newly arrived contingent of the French Expeditionary Forces.
After only another week of being under what most Norwegians defined as annexation by the British, Norway was granted limited independence as an autocratic puppet state of Great Britain, and the newly-formed Norwegian Nationalist Party for the Salvation of Norway was put into power.

The Siberian Socialists Republic
A.K.A.: THE SECOND SOVIET SOCIALISTS REPUBLIC
The SSR was formed in 2092 following long peace talks in Berlin which successfully brought the Second Russian Civil War to a close, granting the 'New Soviets,' as they were once called, salvation from the brink of total defeat via an uncalled for international incident, and allowing them to form what they saw as the Second Soviet Socialists Republic, which was quick to defy the original terms of the Treaty of Berlin and established a totalitarian dictatorship with Boris Kharchov as its first official leader.
Over the years, it developed its armed forces regarding all possible fronts: sea, air, land, and later limited warfare regarding orbital space and the protection of a states satellites (used for many different purposes), and during the Third World War many years later, it fought on the side of the Five Powers, but half-way through the conflict it pulled out and declared itself neutral, thus barring Allied forces from entering the country following the wars conclusion, although it caused serious damage to the countries international opinion, as well as its pre-war relations with both Allied and Five Power nations. Three times following, it went to war with its western neighbour the Transural Republic, only to have the war brought to a quick conclusion due to threats from the United Nations Security Council, who threatened armed intervention all three times. At the time of the rise of the Sarrade Autocracy, the SSR was quick to form friendly relations with the new French government, and quickly became France's Asian liability.

The Transural Republic
A.K.A.: THE SECONDARY RUSSIAN FRACTURE STATE
Parallel to the SSR and the Republic of Western Russia, the Transural Republic was formed in 2092 following the end of the brutal Second Russian Civil War. As one of the two states given partial responsibility both domestically and internationally for the atrocities committed in the small Russian town of Radishchev, the Republic was indefinitely barred from ever joining the UN Security Council, and was given limited privilege regarding the UN in general, despite the fact that its western neighbour was reinstated as a member of the Security Council 50 years following its being expelled. Like the SSR, over the course of the many years between the Civil War and the Third World War, the Transural Republic rebuilt itself into one of the worlds leading economic powers, as well as sufficiently arming itself on all the same fronts as the SSR had, yet not on quite the same scale.
During the Third World War, it fought on the side of the Allies, quickly forcing its eastern neighbour, the SSR, to sign a Pact of Neutrality, due to the President of Transural Republic not wishing that any former Russian state be invaded by external powers, and personally taking steps to protect the SSR's autonomy as well as integrity, despite the fact that the SSR later attempted 3 invasions of the country in a bid to recreate the USSR, only to be forced back across the border by the United Nations, who now held a deep respect for the Republic due to its actions during the war. At the rise of the Sarrade Autocracy, the Transural Republic tried to veer away from any real diplomatic relations with France, yet made some exceptions as to keep the United Nations comfortable and not risk external invasion.

The World in 2401 A.D.: Part 2: The Puppets of Eastern Europe

The Autonomous Autocratic Protectorate of the U.B.S. (Unified Balkan States) A.K.A.: THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE OF THE BALKAN STATES, THE AUTOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE BALKANS
The Autonomous Autocratic Protectorate of the Unified Balkan States began 10 years ago as a simple reincarnation of the old state of Yugoslavia. In a fearful show of force through military prowess and determination, the pre-French U.B.S. invaded Turkey, with an armistice being signed before the Balkan soldiers could reach the Middle East. The armistice called for a secession of both the Turkish Balkan area, as well as nearly half of the mainland country, stopping at the area dubbed with the name the '18th Parallel', to U.B.S. occupation, jurisdiction, and control.
After the continuing rise in tension between the French and the U.B.S. following the French invasions and annexations of Germany and Denmark, the U.B.S. promised to militarily support any other unjustly invaded country in Europe, providing they were victims of French or British aggression. When word reached the capital, Sarajevo, of the Peoples Republic of Great Britain and Ireland's invasion of Norway, the U.B.S. was quick to act and immediately declared war on Britain. In turn, through some sense of a defacto alliance, France declared war on the U.B.S., causing tensions to rise between the Austro-Italian Uni-Nationalist Republic and France. The entire Austro-Italian army was mobilized to the Austrian and Italian frontiers immediately, causing President Elliot Sarrade to threaten the country with military retaliation should the Austro-Italians get involved. Fear of the use of nuclear weapons began to rise, as both the U.B.S. and the French were nuclear powers. Sarrade dispatched a large naval force to the Adriatic coast, preparing to dispatch several naval commando teams directly into U.B.S. territory as to destroy every known Balkan nuclear launch facility.
This was done with stunning success, with only 3 commando casualties during the duration of the mission (codenamed "Opération : Soleil En bas" or "Operation: Sun Down"). The French were quick to take complete advantage of their quick victory, and demanded that the current government of the Balkans step down, to be replaced by a Frenchman, Marvin D'amour. If the demands weren't met within 24 hours, the French would launch a nuclear attack on Sarajevo. The U.B.S. officially surrendered to the French only an hour before the ultimatums expiry on the night of December 28th, 2399, and the next day the Autonomous Autocratic Protectorate of the Unified Balkan States was officially established as a protectorate of France, with an monthly economic toll being paid to Paris every month.

The Republic of the Crimea
A.K.A.: THE REPUBLIC OF THE UKRAINE AND THE CRIMEA
The Republic of the Crimea seceded from the Ukraine in 2367 amid international controversy on the matter. During the Third World War, it remained neutral (unlike its former ruler, the Ukraine) but shipped arms and resources to the forces of Britain and America. In 2379, a year after the end of the war, the Ukraine fell on hard economic times, and expressed its desire to reunify with the Crimea. The Crimea agreed, providing that the name of the entirety of the new nation remain as the Republic of Crimea, with the Ukraine becoming a province of the Crimea, and the former provinces of the Ukraine becoming states. The Ukrainians reluctantly agreed to this proposal, and were officially annexed by the Crimea in 2382.
During the French-Sarrade crisis, the Crimean government was quick to endorse France, despite inside sources in the Crimean Intelligence Services (Кримська розвідки in Ukranian) which knew very well of the propaganda of the Sarrade regime.

The Republic of Western Russia
A.K.A.: THE REPUBLIC OF OLD RUSSIA, THE PRINCIPAL RUSSIAN FRACTURE STATE, THE ORANGE REPUBLIC
In 2072, the Second Russian Civil War broke out between the 'New Soviets,' (Второй советские республики социалистов or Second Soviet Socialists Republic in Russian) as they were called, as well as the Russian Federation's government forces over ultimate control of the country. The New Soviets were born of a second economic depression created by the economically unsound practices of the worlds corporate capitalists, in which the New Soviets promised to resurrect the old Russian prosperity of the 20th century. This resulted in a war of both physical and political attrition, with both sides split in almost entirely equal share. Near what most perceived would be an end to the seemingly perpetual war via a peace treaty, a third party came into prominent role; the forces of the center-right calling themselves the 'Moderate Independents' (Умеренный независимые in Russian). In 2088, after several months of extreme tension between the Federal and New Soviet forces, the Moderates decided to side with the Federation, in exchange for a deal; following the defeat of the New Soviets, the Moderates would be permitted to create their own independent nation, which they dubbed with the name: The Transural Republic. This incredibly bolstered the Federal forces, giving them the obvious upper hand in this conflict; with quick succession, the New Soviets were pushed back over half a million square miles, with mounting casualties on both sides as a result. Victory seemed assured for the Federals and Moderates by the end of 2089, when the New Soviets were pushed to within a thousand miles of the Chinese-Mongolian borders, but there was a sudden violent turn in the course of the conflict. On February 17th-29th, Federal forces, working with well-armed Moderate forces, captured the small town of Radishchev in far eastern Russia, they were met with great mental and verbal opposition from the townsfolk, most, if not all of whom supported the New Soviets. In violent retaliation, the Moderate and Federal forces began a 12 day purging process, in which they attempted to eradicate the entire population of the town. Some of the soldiers even went as far as to rape mothers and daughters, and then kill them in front of the husband, who would then be killed on the spot as a pleasure sport. Despite the governments efforts to keep this under raps after its occurrence, the political turmoil and instability of the country allowed no room for such action to go undetected. Unbeknownst to the Federal and Moderate forces, a New Soviet insider in the Moderates who was present at the time secretly filmed and photographed some of the activity, some of which was filmed directly in the open, as he claimed that he was filming some of the rapes for the perpetrating soldiers to 'enjoy later.' Following the destruction of Radishchev, the insider was asked to turn the tapes over to the Russian High Command in Moscow as to be destroyed. He briskly stated that they were already 'on their way to Mongolia' where the New Soviet leaders were stationed at the time. It quickly leaked to news outlets across the world, destroying the international communities opinions of the Moderate and Federal forces, as well as the war itself, and all of a sudden, it was no loner simply an internal matter. Two months after the atrocities at Radishchev, the United Nations kicked the Russian Federation off of the United Nations Security Council, as well as commissioned a large NATO and American-Canadian coalition force to intervene in the conflict as to bring a fair and just end to the conflict. With little actual military action on the part of the Coalition or NATO forces, all three belligerent factions agreed to outline terms for peace at the Berlin Peace Conference a month later. In the year-long discussions, a final agreement was finally met in early 2092, in which three separate nations were spawned from the ashes of the Russian Federation: in west Russia, the Republic of Western Russia was established as a parliamentary democracy, with its capital to be Moscow; in central Russia, the area from the Urals to Siberia were established as the Transural Republic as a one-party parliamentary dictatorship; and to the east, the Siberian Socialists Republic was established as a one-party parliamentary dictatorship as well, but it quickly became a one man totalitarian dictatorship within a year of its creation, under the leadership of Boris Kharchov, former Supreme Commander of the New Soviet forces during the civil war.
Over the years, the relationship between the three fracture states remained a political roller coaster in which they both improved and became critically close to war at different times over the course of the 300 year gap between the civil war and the rise of the French Sarrade Autocracy in the west. During the Third World War, Western Russia was a belligerent nation who assisted in the defeat of the Five Powers. It also eventually regained its seat on the United Nations Security Council 50 years after it was expelled, and maintains friendly relations with France and the other key world powers. In the 2340's, however, it began tilting towards becoming a dictatorial police state, similar to what had become of both Britain, America, and France following the Third Depression, which brought on radical ideological changes worldwide, usually shifting to the far right.


The Autonomous Protectorate of Belarus
A.K.A.: THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE OF EASTERN POLAND AND BELARUS
The Autonomous Protectorate of Belarus came into existence following the defeat of the U.B.S. and Poland to France, in which the French alleged that the Poles were taking the same political stance as Norway had, and as such, invaded and occupied the country for both 'its own security,' as well as the 'continued security of the French nation.' During the invasion of Poland, Belarus declared war on France and Britain due to its perception that Poland was being unjustly conquered by yet another foreign power. This caused the poorly equipped Belarusian military to simply become pointless victims of the French forces eastern drive, in which they eventually reached Minsk and forced the Belarusian government to surrender. A month later, Sarrade 'rewarded' Belarus and eastern Poland with 'independence' from France, annexing western Poland as another United Nations Trust Territory. As such, in late 2405, the Autonomous Protectorate of Belarus was officially established as a puppet state of France.

Absolutley No Absolutes.

To say everything, or for that matter, even most things are absolute in this world would be quite a bold and incorrect statement to make; as far as I'm concerned, absolutely nothing in this world is absolute.
I'm assuming you all need an example?

Alright, example number 1: The general consensus tells us that most of the North American populace believe the entirety of Africa is going to the shits (excuse my blatant French) and that most, if not all of the African populace live in irreversible poverty.
Ok, yes; Africa does have a majorly impoverished populace, but along with the fact that a majority of these so-called 'poverty condemned' people are incredibly happy, there are also a good chunk of rich, influential people who assist in national development in countries such as Ethiopia, Sudan, Senegal, and South Africa.
Why is it, then, that the seemingly beat-down, subjugated, and starving people of places such as the Congo are able to stay quite content and happy with both themselves and their lives? Is it because they haven't known anything else? Are they unaware of the luxuries of the West such as iPods, HD Plasma Screen TV's, and things such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2?
Or is it because they don't need these things to keep happy and entertained?
I don't claim to know the answer to any of these questions, but I'm sure a big chunk of them have seen and are aware of things like X-Box 360's, jacuzzis, and memory foam beds, but they're either indifferent to them due to lack of personal experience, or they simply just don't care.

Also, geographically speaking, not all of Africa is heading down hill on a never ending slippery slope; as a prime example, I'd like to point out Egypt, which not only has one of the richest histories in the world, it's also, by far, one of maybe 2 of the continents most developed countries (the other being South Africa). Yes, it has its issues, but what successful country doesn't?

A comparative to Africa would be its economic opposite: Europe.
When I say opposite, I really do mean nearly an exact opposite considering the fact that a majority of the continent is economically developed, yet small enclaves of economic despair do exist quite prominently, although mostly concentrated in Eastern Europe. Places such as Serbia and Kosovo seem to be stuck in perpetual states of economic downfall, although not quite to the extremes that are met by countries such as Sierra Leone or Senegal.
Another thing to note is that, despite the majority consensus of happiness among Europeans, there are also a good chunk of people who are incredibly depressed despite the ease at which they can access and/or obtain different things (like clean, running water, satellite TV and radio, as well as video games and junk food); once again, another good example that their are no absolutes in this world of ours.

When people ask 'why are end time prophecies like 2012 beginning to pop up everywhere just as the world seems to be going to Hell?' they obviously don't understand the simple fact that it only seems as if its going to hell due to the concentration of the media on the negatives, as well as the plain and obvious fact that things as negative have been happening just as often all around the world since the time of civilizations beginning; the only difference is that there was no one to report it all on a global scale, and as such, most weren't aware of things such as mass murders in the far east until colonialism reached Asia's doorstep and had quick access to local knowledge in which they learned of a massacre 50 to 500 years after it occurred.

Also remember, this applies on a smaller scale as well; just because a place may be strife with poverty and crime, doesn't mean the entirety of the area is. Just look for the neon signs when your in a place such as that.

The World in 2401 A.D.: Part 1: The Fate of Western Europe

The Republic of Iberia
A.K.A.: THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
Following the Third World War, the former allies of the Spanish and Portuguese Republics decided to merge into a single political entity for the reason of the collective protection of the Iberian Peninsula from foreign invasion. After a long, deteriorating political battle over the British territory of Gibraltar, the Peoples Republic of Great Britain and Ireland finally decided to vacate the area due to the threat of use of arms by the Iberian Guard, which could have potentially led to a Fourth World War. Gibraltar was formally annexed by the Republic of Iberia only several days later, and resettlement efforts began almost immediately.

The Peoples Republic of Great Britain and Ireland
During the Third World War, out of fear of the loss of national identity to the incredible influx of international immigrants, some of which were fleeing from enemy states, the Nationalist Party of the United Kingdom was voted in by a very thin margin. Over the course of the remainder of the war, government restrictions on immigration and personal freedoms were slowly tightened, and public opinion (whether false figures or not) seemed to rise in favor of the Nationalist Party ten-fold. The state slowly creeped into privately owned media outlets, quickly and secretly taking entire control of the countries free media assets. Left-wing activists were quickly and suddenly silenced, most assassinated by lethal injection, unknown to the general public.
Using the continuing war as an excuse, the government portrayed the Free State of Ireland as a threat to national security as a haven for terrorists and enemy spies. After a year of a long propaganda campaign against the neutral Irish state, Great Britain invaded the remainder of the island, quickly annexing it forthwith, and officially changing the name of the former United Kingdom to the Peoples Republic of Great Britain and Ireland.

The Protective Sarrade Autocracy of France and Occupied Territories
A.K.A.: THE SARRADE EMPIRE; THE FRENCH SARRADE EMPIRE; THE FRENCH EMPIRE
During the last days of the French Republic, the Free State of the Rhineland was pushing for re-annexation. A young Rhinelander, Elliot Sarrade, was the one that was ultimately behind the re-annexation efforts as a top aristocratic Rhineland political leader as the Chairman of Rhineland Labor. He saw incredible political and economic gains if the country was to become part of France again; he may also be given a key position in the French government due to France's wish to re-obtain the area in a bid for reestablishing their geographic foothold in the area following the French Republic's quick defeat during the Third World War as a defacto ally of Peoples Republic of China via the Treaty of Athens. The only major issue was that of the German desire to re-annex the territory as well, as they had lost it years ago during the Moroccan War of Independence, in which Germany supported the Moroccan nationalists against the wishes of the French-British-American coalition forces who were occupying the country at the time due to terrorist concerns. After a year of political tension centered around the Republic of the Rhineland, Germany finally gave in to the collective demands of the National Republic of the United States of America, the Peoples Republic of Great Britain and Ireland, and the French Republic, and the Rhineland was re-annexed by France on April 2nd, 2388.
As a reward for his long political activism in favor of French annexation, Elliot Sarrade was given a seat as the first Governor of the (newly re-annexed) French Province of the Rhineland. He was re-elected to the same position for 2 terms (8 years) in a row, until he announced that he was going to run for office as the President of France in the 2396 elections. In all technicality, he lost 51 to 49, but the numbers were altered after the election to him winning with 72 to 28.
Over the next 2 years, he took control of the countries corporate assets and nationalized them, as well as slowly crept his way into the media, nationalizing them in secret, but not allowing that information to leak to the public. Also in the process, he established France's military as the third strongest in the world, and the strongest in Europe. He instigated a Pouvoirs Exceptionnels (or, "Emergency Powers") in which he was given supreme control of the country's military and economy due to the apparent 'threat' of an imminent German-Danish attack (cemented by persistent propaganda in which a false attack on the French border was realistically depicted by members of the secret Ministry of French Propaganda). The official invasion of Germany took place on July 18th, 2398, and was met with considerable resistance to start with, but which dwindled with the French threat of the use of nuclear arms (which were taken from Germany when the American government as well as the United Nations were convinced of the German-Danish aggressions against France at the U.N. Summit in Montreal 2 months prior).
The French finally broke through and entered Berlin in October of the same year, forcing Germany to surrender unconditionally to France and her international supporters. In August of that same year, part of the French Army had broken-off to launch an invasion of Denmark, reaching the capital, Copenhagen, only 3 weeks later, forcing the entire country to surrender.
Norway, discovering that France had lied all along, declared war on the French in September, only to be invaded by the Peoples Republic of Great Britain and Ireland later the same month as a show of support for the French. The British had captured the Norwegian capital of Oslo by the time Germany finally surrendered. Only a month following the end of the initial aggression in Europe, France formerly annexed Germany and Denmark as the 'European Trust Territories,' signed by the United Nations which had now come under the direct dictatorship of the Security Council. In Norway, a puppet government was established as a British protectorate under President Borghild Ivar.

Happy 2010!

Here's wishing everyone a Happy New Year 2010! Just thought I'd put this down quickly on my blog before I ventured further into my New Years all-nighter.

Hope everyone has a great 2010!

-Sincerely, your friend, Kyran Paterson-King.