Xen
Banned
Here’s a little something I have written from a very alternate world, but one similar enough to what we live in, if that makes any sense. The world is more socially conservative, but I do not mean for it to be a dystopia, or even a utopia, just different. On a personal level, I find it to be more of the dystopia type, especially in regards to Civil Rights.
Governments:
Most citizens in the world enjoy the benefits of living in a democratic society with the benefits of voting, freedom of the press and the rights to make their voices heard. Democracy is by far and away the most common form of government in the world.
Countries in the Middle East, and Southeast Asia still follow the traditional government of absolute monarchy. Though not democratic, these nations are stable and able to provide common goods (be it health care or modern infrastructure) to the people.
Fascism and Communism are mostly political theories that have not been thoroughly tested, though many nations especially in Latin America tend to lean towards fascist tendencies in political rhetoric and practice.
Religion:
More than less people claim to be an adherent to one religion or another with Christianity being the largest religion in number of adherents mostly in Europe and the Americas. Very few nations do not have an official religion, the United States is frequently cited as the prime example, and some have two official religions, while some societies are open and welcoming towards members of faiths other than that of the majority.
Culture:
Culture varies widely from nation to nation and region to region. Sometimes cultural attitudes transcend nationality, such as the Fitness Craze common in the Northern Hemisphere (as well as Australia & New Zealand), young adults and teens form cliques and rivalries based on membership of a health club. National and Local governments, as well as churches and private organizations have encouraged the Fitness Craze and offer programs to assist the underprivileged afford membership fees. Health Clubs form teams and encourage competition with other Health Clubs in a variety of athletic games.
Fast Food has not become nearly so popular (especially in the US) though nearly every town in North America has at least one Dairy Queen which is a popular hang out for teens considered too young to join Health Club Leagues.
Congress of Nations:
Inspired by the Congress of Vienna’s success following the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars, the Congress of Nations was founded in the early twentieth century by several European nations hoping to avoid the pains of another Great War. As the new millennium dawned nearly every country had representation in the Congress of Nations which has thus far lived up to its promise of promoting peace and avoiding the sorrows of conflict.
Civil Rights:
Civil Rights was much slower to develop than in OTL in the United States, African-Americans were subject to abuse and terror by their white neighbors and forced to live in the ghettos of their cities. It wasn’t until the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1994 (which itself is a watered down variation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 of OTL) that many of these abuses were declared illegal by the government.
The United States is not alone in its difficulties though, the Australian government is frequently at odds with the aborigines, South Africa still practices Apartheid and Jews in Russia still fear government led pogroms.
Human Rights:
Aside from the abuses suffered from lack of Civil Rights, human rights is considered another topic mostly consisting of condemning blatant violations such as slavery which is officially illegal across the globe (though white slavery still exists and is often ignored). Footbinding which is still popular in some corners of China, Suttee in India and genital mutilation in Africa are universally condemned.
Technology:
The technology of this world is lagging behind OTL in some cases as much as twenty years. Personal Computers are slow and cumbersome, being quite large although most appear like Apple II’s, they run a program remarkably similar to Windows ’95 and even read compact disks.
Cell Phones are not nearly as common, being similar to large bricks found during the 1980’s of OTL. The lack of demand for the cell phone has kept the business from rushing newer smaller, far more capable models.
Video Game Consoles are more advanced but very expensive being at the level of the Sega Genesis and widely considered amusements which people seem to get easily bored with (perhaps due to the lack of game selection and their great expense).
Health Care:
Health Care across the industrialized world is lagging behind OTL by about ten years and is considered to be the best industry for an ambitious young person to involve themselves. Governments and private industry spend billions of dollars each year for the latest break through in the medical industry.
Health Care is generally provided by the national government whether it is the National Health Service in Britain, or the Federal Health Administration in the United States it is widely believed that providing health care is the concern of the national government by most of the world’s citizens.
Drugs, Tobacco and Alcohol:
Pharmaceutical drugs have been experiencing breakthrough after breakthrough ranging from the controversial birth control pill, to the widely praised miracle pill for the middle aged man. Other Pharmaceutical drugs such as hydrocodone and cortisone are highly addictive and sought after by drug abusers, selling the pills has become a highly profitable career, though dangerous and illegal.
Tobacco is generally frowned upon by the younger generation as being disgusting and detrimental to ones health, not because of any government warning, but due to the effects tobacco has on ones fitness. Big tobacco companies continue to advertise on television, billboards and movies. Older generations regard tobacco as natural and have expressed concern about the profitable industry if trends continue to show the downward spiral of its usage.
Alcohol is not nearly as well accepted, many churches across North America and Europe have called on local governments to prohibit its sell with limited success. Those who partake in alcohol (unless for formal occasions such as weddings) are often portrayed as scandalous dead-beat broken men or immoral women by the media.
Nearly all illegal drugs from OTL are still considered illegal in most countries. The Empire of China and the Kingdom of Korea have struggled with corruption of authorities and government officials in dealing with Opium Dens.
Politics:
Socially the world is much more conservative, gay rights has not entered on the radar, with many homosexuals fearing the wraith of their society continuing living in the closet and in dead end marriages. Abortion is nearly universally considered criminal it is outlawed throughout Latin America, Southern Europe the Middle East and Russia, though back alley abortions are still performed in these places. In Canada, Northern Europe, Australia and New Zealand it is legal but frowned upon by society as a whole, in the United States the legality of abortion varies from state to state with it being illegal in the southeast (except for Florida) and Midwest, but legal in New England and the West Coast.
When it comes to fiscal policy most nations and their populations are Fiscally Populist supporting government run programs such as Universal Health Care, Public Education and National Transportation. The Liberal Party in Great Britain and the original Conservative Party in Canada have survived as the main opposition in their nation (where the other party is generally more popular), in Australia the Labour Party enjoys a position of dominance while its main opposition is from the Progressive Conservative Party. In the United States the Democratic Party is the largest party being Socially Conservative and Economically Populist, the Republican Party on the other hand is more Socially and Economically Moderate. The Christian Right has not gained any prominence in American politics.
Entertainment:
Rock and Roll never really became much of anything except a short lived genre amongst the African-American population of the US Southeast in the 1950’s. Jazz has however remained the most popular form of music throughout the world. The Blues, Bluegrass, Skiffle, Gospel, and Country & Western remain smaller less successful genres.
Most families across the world sit down nightly to watch television favorite shows vary from household to household. Variety Shows, Improvisational Comedies, Game Shows and Situational Comedies are commonly found. Some television channels are dedicated to showing reruns of shows long past their prime, others dedicated to the weather, the news or even a 24 hour cartoon channel.
The movies are however the biggest money maker in the entertainment industry, unlike greater society movies tend to be liberally themed. Nudity, and sexual promiscuity are so common place that one hardly bats an eye. Criminals and those who challenge the mainstream are often depicted as heroes, while their enemies are often conformists who fear change. Hays Code never went into effect causing certain movies to be banned in some states until a rare liberal victory in the Supreme Court in the case of Motion Picture Association of America-vs-South Carolina in 1944 ruled banning the 1942 film Kings Row for references to incest, nymphomania and euthanasia was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court however ruled the Motion Picture Industry would create a ratings system for their movies. In 1946 the MPAA adopted the following code
G: For General Audience
M: For Mature Audience
R: For Restricted Audience
A: For an Adult only Audience
Literature ranges in all sorts of genres, while fantasy and romantic novels are often top sellers, mysteries, biographies and non-fiction fill up shelves of the local bookstores, and sci-fi, thrillers, and horror novels have their own cult followings.
24-hour News Channels are common in the modern world, in the United States most news media outlets are considered conservative, and pro-status quo {It is often considered the Conservative Media by leftists}. The launch of Fox News in the mid-1990’s as a left-wing news source has caused some controversy as many of the channel’s reporters are blatantly liberal in their coverage of news events.
Energy:
Like OTL, much of the worlds energy source comes from fossil fuels, however alternative energy sources are being explored especially clean fuels such as wind and solar. Middle Eastern Oil is commonly used, but becoming less preferred to Siberian Oil processed by multi-national companies in the Russian east. Clean Coal is a popular energy source in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Military Affairs:
Though there hasn’t been a major war for nearly a century, several nations maintain a strong advanced military to protect their interests and for national defense. On the average most industrial powers maintain a military force of nearly half a million equipped with modern tanks, fighter jets, helicopters and battle ships (yes I said battle ships). Without the Second World War and the Cold War to spur advancement, weapons of war are fifty years behind, being equivalent to roughly what they were in 1960.
Terrorism:
Terrorists are a constant threat to the peace and stability of any nation, although in this world Islamic Extremists still practice terrorism it is not nearly as pronounced and is limited almost exclusively to the secular governments of the Middle East. In Russia, ultra-nationals have declared war on foreign corporations invited by the Russian government to develop Siberia, in the United States, Canada and Europe anarchists or “Fascists” have created chaos and taken innocent lives with car bombs, pipe bombs and even people bombs. Usually anarchists strike at political rallies, while fascists target elements of society they disapprove of (IE blacks or Jews)
Sexuality:
In any world sexuality is an important element of society, this one is no exception. Although society frowns on pre-marital sex or extra-marital affairs, both occur on a frequent basis and has for generations. Homosexuality, while rarely practiced openly has been the cause of many extra-marital affairs with one partner unwilling to indulge the other, the deprived spouse often looks elsewhere for sexual gratification (divorce is very rare in this world). Interracial marriages and sexual encounters are rare, unless IE consisting of a Caucasian and an Asian.
Pornography is not accepted and is illegal to sell in the industrial world (though ironically not to make or own). The pornography business thrives in the black market and underground and consists of many genres. Most sexual tensions are worked out through the increased presence of nudity and sex scenes in movies and adult magazines such as Playboy, FHM, Gear, and Maxim for men and Viva for women.
Other Differences
The ancient Greek city of Sparta is much, much larger (in OTL it is roughly 14,000) in this world having a population of nearly 300,000 making it the second largest city in Greece behind only its ancient rival, Athens.
White Flight never occurred from cities in the United States as their populations generally increased over the past half century. Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland and San Francisco each have a population of over 1 million. Detroit is the fourth largest city in the US, and Cincinnati, Kansas City, Milwaukee, St Louis and Washington have populations nearing the one million mark.
African-American families usually live in impoverished conditions in the ghettos of major cities or in run-down trailer parks throughout the US Southeast and are forced to work jobs that are unwanted by white Americans such as farmhands and garbage collectors. These poor conditions have forced many African-Americans to lives of crime and prostitution, some even became domestic terrorists. So far neither of the major two parties have appropriately addressed these issues in fear of offending their base support in the south, third parties such as the Green Party, Labor Party and the Socialist Party have pushed to redress the grievances, but are too small to make much of a difference.
Many of the American military facilities are located in the Southwest as part of past and the current administrations war on illegal immigration. Though fire fights between those crossing the borders and the Army are very rare, the military plays a pivotal role in closing America’s southern border.
The British Commonwealth has developed a very EU-style economic union combined with a NATO-style military alliance. The British Commonwealth is the most influential power bloc in the world, and though they do not share a common currency, all Commonwealth nations have pegged their native monetary units on the British pound, which has become the standard of conversion.
The Special Relationship is a term used to describe the close economical, political, cultural, historical and military relations between the United Kingdom and Canada. Over the course of the twentieth century Canada has proven itself to be Britain’s most loyal friend and ally time and again, so much so that critics of the Special Relationship have often accused Canada of being Britain’s lapdog.
In a reversal from OTL, the Canadian military is larger, and much better financed than that of the United States. It is in the Canadian Rockies that the Nightmare Bomber (an analogue of the B-2) is stationed, and is home to most of the Commonwealth’s Nuclear Arsenal. The United States on the other hand still supplies its troops with the M1 carbine as the standard small arm, and the Colt1911 as the sidearm.
Much of the British Empire in poorer and less developed regions (like in Africa) remain governed from London, though are undertaking a period of devolution and are encouraged by Parliament to reach certain goals to gain self governance. British colonies in Africa are by far the wealthiest and most developed, though still decades behind Europe.
There are two German states, the North German League which has evolved into the (North) German Empire and is dominated by Prussia, and the (South) German Empire which is more commonly known as Austro-Bavaria and consists of the southern German states. Czechia and Hungary are often considered to be in the (North) German Empire’s sphere of influence, while Austro-Bavaria has developed warm relations with Italy, Croatia and France.
Alaska is divided between the Russian Empire and Canada with the cities of Juneau, Fairbanks and Alaska in the Canadian Province of Yukon. The Russian Oblast of Alyeska is one of the wealthiest in the Russian Empire, though sparsely populated, and is considered part of the Russian Far East. Due to its presences in Alyeska, the Russian Empire is the only nation on Earth that stretches across three continents.
Hawaii is a protectorate of the British Empire and has retained its own cultural identity as well as its Monarchy. The Hawaiian economy is closely tied to the British economy. Hawaii is a popular vacation destination for people across the industrial world and is the home of a major military base by the Royal Navy at Pearl Harbor.
There was no Southern Strategy by the Republican Party in the United States as such the Democrats can continue to rely on the Solid South. Funnily enough some of the nicknames of the Party have been mixed around; the Republicans are typically divided into two camps, the moderate Bull Moose Republicans which dominates the party and hail from the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest, and the less popular Gypsy Moth Republicans (conservative Republicans from the western states and Great Plains. The Democrats are themselves divided into two groups the somewhat progressive Blue Dog or Northern Democrats or the Boll Weevil or Southern Democrat. Labor Party is the largest liberal party in the United States having very little representation in the US House of Representatives and none in the Senate.
Just as Venezuela and Colombian drug lords raise cash crops so to sell in the United States, Canada and Europe, so to is Opium a major source of the Afghan economy. India, China, Korea, Vietnam and Tibet all struggle with Opium dens, and illegal smuggling of the drug. There is an Al-Queda like organization that smuggles and sells drugs, it is a violent criminal organization rather than a militant religious extremist group.
Idea’s I may incorporate
The American Empire traces its origins back to the annexation of Santo Domingo in 1869 and Haiti in 1874. Shortly after the turn of the century all of Central America, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Liberia had become part of the American Empire. I am not sure what will become of Mexico in this scenario.
Egypt may become a major player, dominating the Middle East including the Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and Palestine. Somalia, Yemen, Oman and the UAE will be Egyptian Protectorates. This will of course create tensions with a surviving Ottoman Empire with both the Ottoman Sultan and Egyptian King claiming the title of Caliph. Egypt will definitely claim itself as the Protector of the Three Holy Cities of Islam. Perhaps the Ottoman government will endorse the Turkification of Iraq and Syria.
Tunis in this TL will be an Italian Colony (rather than French), I am thinking maybe the Italians begin to settle in the area and eventually overwhelm the Arabs there in numbers with at least half the population as Catholic Italians. I even thought about having the Italians call the area Carthaginia (and Tunis, Carthage)
So any suggestions, or ideas?
Governments:
Most citizens in the world enjoy the benefits of living in a democratic society with the benefits of voting, freedom of the press and the rights to make their voices heard. Democracy is by far and away the most common form of government in the world.
Countries in the Middle East, and Southeast Asia still follow the traditional government of absolute monarchy. Though not democratic, these nations are stable and able to provide common goods (be it health care or modern infrastructure) to the people.
Fascism and Communism are mostly political theories that have not been thoroughly tested, though many nations especially in Latin America tend to lean towards fascist tendencies in political rhetoric and practice.
Religion:
More than less people claim to be an adherent to one religion or another with Christianity being the largest religion in number of adherents mostly in Europe and the Americas. Very few nations do not have an official religion, the United States is frequently cited as the prime example, and some have two official religions, while some societies are open and welcoming towards members of faiths other than that of the majority.
Culture:
Culture varies widely from nation to nation and region to region. Sometimes cultural attitudes transcend nationality, such as the Fitness Craze common in the Northern Hemisphere (as well as Australia & New Zealand), young adults and teens form cliques and rivalries based on membership of a health club. National and Local governments, as well as churches and private organizations have encouraged the Fitness Craze and offer programs to assist the underprivileged afford membership fees. Health Clubs form teams and encourage competition with other Health Clubs in a variety of athletic games.
Fast Food has not become nearly so popular (especially in the US) though nearly every town in North America has at least one Dairy Queen which is a popular hang out for teens considered too young to join Health Club Leagues.
Congress of Nations:
Inspired by the Congress of Vienna’s success following the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars, the Congress of Nations was founded in the early twentieth century by several European nations hoping to avoid the pains of another Great War. As the new millennium dawned nearly every country had representation in the Congress of Nations which has thus far lived up to its promise of promoting peace and avoiding the sorrows of conflict.
Civil Rights:
Civil Rights was much slower to develop than in OTL in the United States, African-Americans were subject to abuse and terror by their white neighbors and forced to live in the ghettos of their cities. It wasn’t until the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1994 (which itself is a watered down variation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 of OTL) that many of these abuses were declared illegal by the government.
The United States is not alone in its difficulties though, the Australian government is frequently at odds with the aborigines, South Africa still practices Apartheid and Jews in Russia still fear government led pogroms.
Human Rights:
Aside from the abuses suffered from lack of Civil Rights, human rights is considered another topic mostly consisting of condemning blatant violations such as slavery which is officially illegal across the globe (though white slavery still exists and is often ignored). Footbinding which is still popular in some corners of China, Suttee in India and genital mutilation in Africa are universally condemned.
Technology:
The technology of this world is lagging behind OTL in some cases as much as twenty years. Personal Computers are slow and cumbersome, being quite large although most appear like Apple II’s, they run a program remarkably similar to Windows ’95 and even read compact disks.
Cell Phones are not nearly as common, being similar to large bricks found during the 1980’s of OTL. The lack of demand for the cell phone has kept the business from rushing newer smaller, far more capable models.
Video Game Consoles are more advanced but very expensive being at the level of the Sega Genesis and widely considered amusements which people seem to get easily bored with (perhaps due to the lack of game selection and their great expense).
Health Care:
Health Care across the industrialized world is lagging behind OTL by about ten years and is considered to be the best industry for an ambitious young person to involve themselves. Governments and private industry spend billions of dollars each year for the latest break through in the medical industry.
Health Care is generally provided by the national government whether it is the National Health Service in Britain, or the Federal Health Administration in the United States it is widely believed that providing health care is the concern of the national government by most of the world’s citizens.
Drugs, Tobacco and Alcohol:
Pharmaceutical drugs have been experiencing breakthrough after breakthrough ranging from the controversial birth control pill, to the widely praised miracle pill for the middle aged man. Other Pharmaceutical drugs such as hydrocodone and cortisone are highly addictive and sought after by drug abusers, selling the pills has become a highly profitable career, though dangerous and illegal.
Tobacco is generally frowned upon by the younger generation as being disgusting and detrimental to ones health, not because of any government warning, but due to the effects tobacco has on ones fitness. Big tobacco companies continue to advertise on television, billboards and movies. Older generations regard tobacco as natural and have expressed concern about the profitable industry if trends continue to show the downward spiral of its usage.
Alcohol is not nearly as well accepted, many churches across North America and Europe have called on local governments to prohibit its sell with limited success. Those who partake in alcohol (unless for formal occasions such as weddings) are often portrayed as scandalous dead-beat broken men or immoral women by the media.
Nearly all illegal drugs from OTL are still considered illegal in most countries. The Empire of China and the Kingdom of Korea have struggled with corruption of authorities and government officials in dealing with Opium Dens.
Politics:
Socially the world is much more conservative, gay rights has not entered on the radar, with many homosexuals fearing the wraith of their society continuing living in the closet and in dead end marriages. Abortion is nearly universally considered criminal it is outlawed throughout Latin America, Southern Europe the Middle East and Russia, though back alley abortions are still performed in these places. In Canada, Northern Europe, Australia and New Zealand it is legal but frowned upon by society as a whole, in the United States the legality of abortion varies from state to state with it being illegal in the southeast (except for Florida) and Midwest, but legal in New England and the West Coast.
When it comes to fiscal policy most nations and their populations are Fiscally Populist supporting government run programs such as Universal Health Care, Public Education and National Transportation. The Liberal Party in Great Britain and the original Conservative Party in Canada have survived as the main opposition in their nation (where the other party is generally more popular), in Australia the Labour Party enjoys a position of dominance while its main opposition is from the Progressive Conservative Party. In the United States the Democratic Party is the largest party being Socially Conservative and Economically Populist, the Republican Party on the other hand is more Socially and Economically Moderate. The Christian Right has not gained any prominence in American politics.
Entertainment:
Rock and Roll never really became much of anything except a short lived genre amongst the African-American population of the US Southeast in the 1950’s. Jazz has however remained the most popular form of music throughout the world. The Blues, Bluegrass, Skiffle, Gospel, and Country & Western remain smaller less successful genres.
Most families across the world sit down nightly to watch television favorite shows vary from household to household. Variety Shows, Improvisational Comedies, Game Shows and Situational Comedies are commonly found. Some television channels are dedicated to showing reruns of shows long past their prime, others dedicated to the weather, the news or even a 24 hour cartoon channel.
The movies are however the biggest money maker in the entertainment industry, unlike greater society movies tend to be liberally themed. Nudity, and sexual promiscuity are so common place that one hardly bats an eye. Criminals and those who challenge the mainstream are often depicted as heroes, while their enemies are often conformists who fear change. Hays Code never went into effect causing certain movies to be banned in some states until a rare liberal victory in the Supreme Court in the case of Motion Picture Association of America-vs-South Carolina in 1944 ruled banning the 1942 film Kings Row for references to incest, nymphomania and euthanasia was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court however ruled the Motion Picture Industry would create a ratings system for their movies. In 1946 the MPAA adopted the following code
G: For General Audience
M: For Mature Audience
R: For Restricted Audience
A: For an Adult only Audience
Literature ranges in all sorts of genres, while fantasy and romantic novels are often top sellers, mysteries, biographies and non-fiction fill up shelves of the local bookstores, and sci-fi, thrillers, and horror novels have their own cult followings.
24-hour News Channels are common in the modern world, in the United States most news media outlets are considered conservative, and pro-status quo {It is often considered the Conservative Media by leftists}. The launch of Fox News in the mid-1990’s as a left-wing news source has caused some controversy as many of the channel’s reporters are blatantly liberal in their coverage of news events.
Energy:
Like OTL, much of the worlds energy source comes from fossil fuels, however alternative energy sources are being explored especially clean fuels such as wind and solar. Middle Eastern Oil is commonly used, but becoming less preferred to Siberian Oil processed by multi-national companies in the Russian east. Clean Coal is a popular energy source in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Military Affairs:
Though there hasn’t been a major war for nearly a century, several nations maintain a strong advanced military to protect their interests and for national defense. On the average most industrial powers maintain a military force of nearly half a million equipped with modern tanks, fighter jets, helicopters and battle ships (yes I said battle ships). Without the Second World War and the Cold War to spur advancement, weapons of war are fifty years behind, being equivalent to roughly what they were in 1960.
Terrorism:
Terrorists are a constant threat to the peace and stability of any nation, although in this world Islamic Extremists still practice terrorism it is not nearly as pronounced and is limited almost exclusively to the secular governments of the Middle East. In Russia, ultra-nationals have declared war on foreign corporations invited by the Russian government to develop Siberia, in the United States, Canada and Europe anarchists or “Fascists” have created chaos and taken innocent lives with car bombs, pipe bombs and even people bombs. Usually anarchists strike at political rallies, while fascists target elements of society they disapprove of (IE blacks or Jews)
Sexuality:
In any world sexuality is an important element of society, this one is no exception. Although society frowns on pre-marital sex or extra-marital affairs, both occur on a frequent basis and has for generations. Homosexuality, while rarely practiced openly has been the cause of many extra-marital affairs with one partner unwilling to indulge the other, the deprived spouse often looks elsewhere for sexual gratification (divorce is very rare in this world). Interracial marriages and sexual encounters are rare, unless IE consisting of a Caucasian and an Asian.
Pornography is not accepted and is illegal to sell in the industrial world (though ironically not to make or own). The pornography business thrives in the black market and underground and consists of many genres. Most sexual tensions are worked out through the increased presence of nudity and sex scenes in movies and adult magazines such as Playboy, FHM, Gear, and Maxim for men and Viva for women.
Other Differences
The ancient Greek city of Sparta is much, much larger (in OTL it is roughly 14,000) in this world having a population of nearly 300,000 making it the second largest city in Greece behind only its ancient rival, Athens.
White Flight never occurred from cities in the United States as their populations generally increased over the past half century. Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland and San Francisco each have a population of over 1 million. Detroit is the fourth largest city in the US, and Cincinnati, Kansas City, Milwaukee, St Louis and Washington have populations nearing the one million mark.
African-American families usually live in impoverished conditions in the ghettos of major cities or in run-down trailer parks throughout the US Southeast and are forced to work jobs that are unwanted by white Americans such as farmhands and garbage collectors. These poor conditions have forced many African-Americans to lives of crime and prostitution, some even became domestic terrorists. So far neither of the major two parties have appropriately addressed these issues in fear of offending their base support in the south, third parties such as the Green Party, Labor Party and the Socialist Party have pushed to redress the grievances, but are too small to make much of a difference.
Many of the American military facilities are located in the Southwest as part of past and the current administrations war on illegal immigration. Though fire fights between those crossing the borders and the Army are very rare, the military plays a pivotal role in closing America’s southern border.
The British Commonwealth has developed a very EU-style economic union combined with a NATO-style military alliance. The British Commonwealth is the most influential power bloc in the world, and though they do not share a common currency, all Commonwealth nations have pegged their native monetary units on the British pound, which has become the standard of conversion.
The Special Relationship is a term used to describe the close economical, political, cultural, historical and military relations between the United Kingdom and Canada. Over the course of the twentieth century Canada has proven itself to be Britain’s most loyal friend and ally time and again, so much so that critics of the Special Relationship have often accused Canada of being Britain’s lapdog.
In a reversal from OTL, the Canadian military is larger, and much better financed than that of the United States. It is in the Canadian Rockies that the Nightmare Bomber (an analogue of the B-2) is stationed, and is home to most of the Commonwealth’s Nuclear Arsenal. The United States on the other hand still supplies its troops with the M1 carbine as the standard small arm, and the Colt1911 as the sidearm.
Much of the British Empire in poorer and less developed regions (like in Africa) remain governed from London, though are undertaking a period of devolution and are encouraged by Parliament to reach certain goals to gain self governance. British colonies in Africa are by far the wealthiest and most developed, though still decades behind Europe.
There are two German states, the North German League which has evolved into the (North) German Empire and is dominated by Prussia, and the (South) German Empire which is more commonly known as Austro-Bavaria and consists of the southern German states. Czechia and Hungary are often considered to be in the (North) German Empire’s sphere of influence, while Austro-Bavaria has developed warm relations with Italy, Croatia and France.
Alaska is divided between the Russian Empire and Canada with the cities of Juneau, Fairbanks and Alaska in the Canadian Province of Yukon. The Russian Oblast of Alyeska is one of the wealthiest in the Russian Empire, though sparsely populated, and is considered part of the Russian Far East. Due to its presences in Alyeska, the Russian Empire is the only nation on Earth that stretches across three continents.
Hawaii is a protectorate of the British Empire and has retained its own cultural identity as well as its Monarchy. The Hawaiian economy is closely tied to the British economy. Hawaii is a popular vacation destination for people across the industrial world and is the home of a major military base by the Royal Navy at Pearl Harbor.
There was no Southern Strategy by the Republican Party in the United States as such the Democrats can continue to rely on the Solid South. Funnily enough some of the nicknames of the Party have been mixed around; the Republicans are typically divided into two camps, the moderate Bull Moose Republicans which dominates the party and hail from the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest, and the less popular Gypsy Moth Republicans (conservative Republicans from the western states and Great Plains. The Democrats are themselves divided into two groups the somewhat progressive Blue Dog or Northern Democrats or the Boll Weevil or Southern Democrat. Labor Party is the largest liberal party in the United States having very little representation in the US House of Representatives and none in the Senate.
Just as Venezuela and Colombian drug lords raise cash crops so to sell in the United States, Canada and Europe, so to is Opium a major source of the Afghan economy. India, China, Korea, Vietnam and Tibet all struggle with Opium dens, and illegal smuggling of the drug. There is an Al-Queda like organization that smuggles and sells drugs, it is a violent criminal organization rather than a militant religious extremist group.
Idea’s I may incorporate
The American Empire traces its origins back to the annexation of Santo Domingo in 1869 and Haiti in 1874. Shortly after the turn of the century all of Central America, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Liberia had become part of the American Empire. I am not sure what will become of Mexico in this scenario.
Egypt may become a major player, dominating the Middle East including the Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and Palestine. Somalia, Yemen, Oman and the UAE will be Egyptian Protectorates. This will of course create tensions with a surviving Ottoman Empire with both the Ottoman Sultan and Egyptian King claiming the title of Caliph. Egypt will definitely claim itself as the Protector of the Three Holy Cities of Islam. Perhaps the Ottoman government will endorse the Turkification of Iraq and Syria.
Tunis in this TL will be an Italian Colony (rather than French), I am thinking maybe the Italians begin to settle in the area and eventually overwhelm the Arabs there in numbers with at least half the population as Catholic Italians. I even thought about having the Italians call the area Carthaginia (and Tunis, Carthage)
So any suggestions, or ideas?
