Rise and Fall of Nations (Game Thread)

[Grizzlegom]

Ireland



Policy: Ireland has heard Japan's call for aid in the wake of the recent Earthquake and has decided to send a surplus of its agricultural and pharmaceutical supplies to help aid Japan in its time of need. At home, Ireland plans to stay the course with its previous efforts in hopes of being able to, in the long-term, reduce the foreign reliance on wood and reinvigorate its once-strong fishing industry. The Irish government also plans to keep the status quo with its National Recovery Plan and plans to begin implementing the property tax and water charges, along with opening Irish Water, a new public utility company to add jobs and support these efforts. President Grizz hopes to have two positive long-term effects with this change. Firstly, the president hopes the added revenue from water charges will help the government fund its other programs and create more public jobs. Secondly, the president hopes that adding water charges will reduce the amount of water people use, as Ireland is one of the top water consumers in the EU. Using less water will once again further the president's environmental agenda.

Economy: As a way to continue to improve the technological options for Ireland's workforce, and have more jobs for its young workers out of college, Ireland has decided to further its IDA Ireland program and has decided to place further investments in building this program, focusing on trying to lure technology companies from some of the nations leaders, like Japan and the USA. President Grizz hopes that this effort will be as effective as the recent ones, where Ireland was able to lure a bunch of Pharmaceutical companies to setup shop within its borders. Ireland is hoping to flip some of the recently foreclosed upon land into cheap land for these companies to build on.

Military: President Grizz feels no need to make any further changes to the Irish Military at this time.

[Cigaro]

The Federative Republic of Brazil

In light of the Japanese earthquake, Brazil will be sending some aid to help with the recovery. In addition, Brazil has stated it would support further UN intervention in the Congo to end the atrocities, although currently there are no plans for direct Brazilian intervention.

Policy:
Brazil's initial policy moves were considered relatively successful, and thus Brazil will continue on the same path. The favela replacement program will be continued, as will the programs for infrastructure improvement. In addition to improving the roads and adding more railways, Brazil is looking to shore up its electrical grid, which can be sometimes unreliable. Emphasis will be placed on the transmission of electricity, as some of the more rural areas have witnessed problems in the past decades. In addition, Brazil will consider plans to expedite the construction of nuclear plants, which are currently not projected to begin construction until 2020. This is because Brazil is now projecting an increased energy demand hailing from increased railways and the emphasis on electric cars. Electric cars were criticized, but President Cigaro pointed out that advances in storage capacity and refueling times in batteries shows that they are an entirely valid option. Brazil is not expecting a rapid switch to electric vehicles, but will fund further research in order to expedite such a change.


Economy:
Like in policy, Brazil will continue with its already mentioned economic plans. Foreign investment will continue to be emphasized, with the phasing out of protectionism still high priority. Petrobas will continue its exploration of the Lula oil field. In a controversial decision, Pres. Cigaro will sign into law a bill that would increase the redistribution of oil wealth to all states, at the expense of the oil producing ones. Cigaro believes that although this will mean less money for Rio, Brazil is a united nation and should share the wealth of its natural resources. Cigaro understands that mass protests are expected to continue, but will let them play out.


Military:
Brazil has concluded that a blue water navy is both desirable and ultimately obtainable. That being said, Brazil has shelved any plans for immediate naval expansion, believing that funds should be spent on development of the country before being allocated to the military, considering the fact that Brazil lacks any current major enemies. Brazil will continue to monitor the Amazon with its military.

[CJSchneider]

Switzerland:


Economy:Recent policy developments have aided the Swiss is reducing its record low unemployment rate of 2.8% in October to 2.75% in December.

Policy: Continued arrangements are for the benefit of common research in the area of green technology has been extended to the U.S and Brazil in the form of recycling technology. Upper echelon administrators and regional coordinators have been hired to establish similar volunteer programs as in Switzerland.

Military:Despite a stance of traditional milittiary neutrality, Swiss military officials urge that development and investment is UAV technology may provide useful for maritime rescue operations