Group+2-+Information



Jessliry <3 Abbreviation: JLRH
 * Name:
 * Once a part of Russia, JLRH was formed by the theory of social contract. The founding sisters -- Emily Hart, Jessie Miller, Rylie Nelson, and Lizzy Hartley -- shaped the idea of a new country apart from Russia. Others in the area agreed with the founding sisters that they should form their own country and government. Russia was undergoing turmoil, so the separation was made permanent by a short war, easily won. Once separated from Russia, we started forming our government. The founding sisters played the biggest role in forming the national government.

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Are there additional branches? If so- what are thy and how are they chosen? No there are no additional branches.
 * How are the courts structured? Similar to the United States of America, Jessliry <3's courts each have different levels of authority. Each town has their own court, as well as each province. The highest court in the country is the supreme court which is made up of several chambers. Also, the chief justice is appointed by parliament for life.
 * Is there a court that has more power than the other? Yes. Although many smaller courts are distributed throughout each province the supreme court of Jessliry <3 is the most powerful.
 * Political Parties - Mostly the Jessliranian Reform Party dominates in the country. Almost 45 percent of Jessliranians are in this political party because it is so free. Many jessliranians are open-minded ant this party fits that need by providing gay rights and environmental issues.


 * UE MARCH 3RD- 10 POINTS**

The coordinates are approximately 59° N, 26°E

Jessliry <3 is located in the northwestern region of Europe in the Northern Eastern hemisphere. It is West of Russia, South of Finland, and North of Latvia.




 * The capital of JLRH is Tsukahara, located in nearly the center of the country. With the highest population the city, also commonly called “Tsuk”, is located on the largest highway, 10.0.
 * Another large city, is quite popular with tourists because of its location. Next to the famous Faruca Falls is none other than Sushanova.
 * Fouette is a another city that is largely popular because of its location. Because it is on the island of JLRH, it is surrounded by beautiful beaches that are quite popular for tourists during the summer. However because it gets so cold in the winter, for a long time the city has no tourists whatsoever.
 * Tarantella is a city known for its rich history and culture. There arent as many tourists to this city but it has some of the greateset education in the country
 * Two other large cities are located on highway 10.0. Entrechat and Arabesque are two very large, and modern cities.
 * Country || Size in km² || Size in sq mi ||
 * Jessliry <3 || 45,228 || 17,413 ||
 * United States || 9,826,675 || 3,794,101 ||
 * In relationship to states, JLRH is between the size of Ohio and Pennsylvania

Jessliry<3 has warm summers but frigid winters. The average winter weather is about only 20 degrees (Fahrenheit). However there is not much snowfall in JLRH, but when it does snow, it sticks for many months. Also the days during the summer are exceedingly long, with random rain showers. The terrain in JLRH consists of both flat, low areas and more hilly, higher areas. JLRH is mostly flat lands though, especially in the northern parts of the country. The central region is all flat with many forests and the southern part has more hills. But, overall the altitude of the country changes very slightly in the various areas. The average altitude is 42 meters. Throughout JLRH are bodies of water and marshland.

Natural Resources:
 * Limestone
 * Phosphorus
 * Blue Clay
 * Oil Shale

The percent of JLRH's land that can be used is as follows below: Arable land: 13.22% Forest: 49.6% Swamps: 20& Other: 17.18%

Environmental issues in JLRH include: These issues have decreased by a lot recently because of less pollutants emitted into the air and the wastewater going through a water purification system prior to being dumped into bodies of water.
 * Polluted water along the coastline from unpurified water or sewage being dumped into bodies of water near the coast and the nearby islands.
 * Polluted air throughout the northern region of the country from the power plants burning excessive amounts of oil shale thinking of the burning of JLRH's natural resource as a major export to make money from it instead of thinking of it as a delicate good that should be valued for its wealth.


 * DUE MARCH 3RD- 20 POINTS**

Jessliry <3 is made up of 2,470 people living on the main land and 402 people living on the island that is a part of our country. So the total population of Jessliry <3 is 2,872. There is no specific age for our people. The first generation that came into Jessliry <3 was fairly young, in their twenties, and they settled down and had kids who have had kids. This happens frequently; therefore, there are many age groups living in our country.
 * The Population of the country:**


 * Nationality:** Jessliranians
 * Religion:** We have freedom of religion but the majority of the population is Christian.
 * Language:** Russian and English
 * Traditional dress/clothing:** leotards, workout clothes (gym shorts and t-shirts)
 * Food:** Our people enjoy a wide variety of foods but our main food is Italian food.

1. __National Flexibility Day //(or Flex Day)//__ Flex Day is one of the main "holidays" that are recognized by the Jessliranians.On March 6th every year, pink and white fireworks are set off on the rooftops of every government-owned dance studio in the country symbolizing the founding of the country. Other ways of celebration include a choice of working on flexibility, or yoga to enhance strength and promote stability. This process is similar to deciding what your new years resolution would be in America.
 * Major National Holidays (must have at least 2 and explain the origin of each)**

2. __Stretchmas__ This holiday is almost similar to what American's do every December 25th. This holiday was first originated in 1983, when a group of people exchanged gifts to each other. Unlike the famous American holiday, these gifts must relate to strengthening the mind, body, or soul. The most common gifts given include things that relate to yoga, such as medicine balls, thera-bands, or even shape-ups. The name of this holiday comes from the English word "stretch" and the Spanish word "mas" which means more in English. So when the meaning of the entire word is combined it means "Stretch More".

In JLRH everyone knows everyone and your neighbors are your best friends. Sports are a part of life, mostly dance and gymnastics. If you don't participate in a sport, you most likely are shunned by society.
 * Cultural Norms:**

Similar to bowing down to or praising a God, Jessliranians stretch at their individual altars at their homes or go to a church to worship by stretching at least twice, possibly three times a day.
 * Customs:**

Walking by a church or an altar without stretching is a major taboo. It is considered disrespectful and is known to cause bad luck to the person who does it and to their family. Cheerleading is one of the worst taboos in JLRH. Cheerleading is absolutely NOT tolerated. If you are a cheerleader in JLRH and the government finds out, you will be banned from the country and sent to America.
 * Taboos:**

Approximately 68% of people live in urban areas of JLRH.
 * % of people in urban areas**


 * DUE MARCH 17TH- 20 POINTS**

**Overview** Jessliry♥ has a free market economy that has been successful and fitting to the needs of the small country. This type of economic system gives freedom to make most of the economic decisions to the private business, which is, in essence, the people. Because of this, the greater majority of people agree with the economy. It gives them the freedom some of them didn't receive in the countries they lived before. There is very little government involvement and regulation in order for the economy to work well. This economy encourages many entrepreneurs and new inventions because the system is so self-oriented and controlled by the people and not the government. The people decide what they are going to produce, how much they're going to produce, and how much they're going to sell it for. Jessliry♥ is a fairly new and young country and so is its economy. The country is trying to get on its feet and get a feel for how to run the economy successfully. In some cases being new and young is good, but it can also be an economic challenge because of the lack of wisdom and know-how of the system. Because of the new factor, the economy started low and has been growing quickly and that is leading to major inflation. Although inflation is normal, it is above the normal standard for inflation rate and this is new to the government; they are not sure how to handle it. The youth of JLRH wants to create a green, environmentally-friendly economy, country, and world.

**Economic Statistics:** __GDP (overall real GDP expressed in US dollars)__ $155,286,168

__GDP percentage by sectors of production:__ //Agriculture// 5.78% //Industry// 26.82% //Services// 67.4%

__GDP per capita__ $54,069

__GDP growth rate__ (is economy growing or slowing? At what rate from previous two <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande',tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">years?) <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande',tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">3.3%

Agricultural- 12.4% Industrial- 20.4% Service- 68.2%(est. 2010) 4.4% Median household income- $55,313 Poverty Line- $24,308 for a family of four Population below the poverty line- 5.9%
 * Labor force by occupation (% agricultural; % industrial; % service)
 * Unemployment rate
 * % population below the poverty line

A majority of the people make within the high $50,000’s or low $60,000 but a good amount of people make larger amounts as well. But there are also hundreds who make less than the national median income.
 * Income distribution-

*Inflation rate (compare to previous two years)

**__*Name of currency-__** Chalk *Exchange rate to US dollar- 1 Jessliry<3 Chalk= 0.05967 US Dollars __** *Agricultural products (must have at least 3—must coincide with geography) **__ Potatoes (343,100 tons in 2001) Wheat (133,000 tons in 2001) Lagumes (6,500 tons in 2001)
 * __Chart:__**
 * || Convert || To || Result ||  ||
 * 1 Jessliry <3 Chalk || US Dollars || 0.05967 USD || 1 Jessliry <3 Chalk = 0.05967 US Dollars as of 4/9/2011 ||
 * 100 Jessliry <3 Chalk || US Dollars || 5.9671 USD || 100 Jessliry <3 Chalk= 5.9671 US Dollars as of 4/9/2011 ||
 * 10000 Jessliry <3 Chalk || US Dollars || 596.71 USD || 10,000 Jessliry <3 Chalk= 596.71 US Dollars as of 4/19/2011 ||
 * 1000000 Jessliry <3 Chalk || US Dollars || 59,671.19 USD || 1,000,000 Jessliry <3 Chalk= 59,671.19 US Dollars as of 4/9/2011 ||  ||

*Industries -- Ship Building, Furniture Making, Fishing, Textile, Engineering, Electronics *Major exports -- Furniture, Potatoes, Wheat, Machinery, Electronics, Paper *Major imports -- Food, Minerals, Metals, Plastics, Chemicals, Textiles *Main trading partners -- Finland, Sweden, Latvia


 * DUE APRIL 10TH- 100 POINTS**

<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">Constitution-based federal republic Our country, Jessliry <3, has a parliamentary government. The four leaders of our country are Emily Hart, Jessie, Rylie, and Lizzie. Jessliry <3 is made up of Provinces. We have 4 provinces. The Island is a Province by itself, and the country is split into three different provinces.
 * Government type (must match economic system)
 * Parliamentary or Presidential?
 * Subdivisions of Power (i.e. States/Providences/Parish)?

Our Government has been established since the Country was formed, which was in 1969. The country of Jessliry <3 determines their laws by civil means. Similar to the United States Jessliry <3's government is split up into three different branches, but the power is distributed differently.
 * Current Govenment established in?
 * Legal System
 * Branches of Government?


 * Executive:**
 * Election proccess- Based on the thought of popular sovereignty, Jesslirynians elect all representative officers within the government. The few that aren't directly voted on by the people are voted on by representatives that were voted on by the constituents. Parliament is voted on every 5 years (on years that are multiples of 5), however the founding sisters have yet to be replaced. (As of now there are no limits to the amount of terms that can be served, because there haven't been any issues yet.) Election day for parliament is March 8. Provinces vote for their own representatives in March as well.
 * How many? jobs/functions of each The executive branch consists of parliament. Within Parliament there are four representatives. This number was specifically chose so that it when a law needs to be passed it requires at least a vote of 3/4. Also this has to do with tradition, since there were four founding sisters. Their job description includes not only passing bills and laws but creating their own. As well as electing other representatives in the other branches, but not voting on them. Because all the parliament members have equal power they all have the same jobs.
 * They are elected and re-elected by the public but they must be approved by the Spring Board of Representatives as well as the Demi-Pointes.
 * Cabinet, if so who and what are the cabinet positions?Because the Executive branch is the most powerful it is necessary that there is a large cabinet. The cabinets purpose is to keep parliament in check and prevent people from taking advantage of the great power. There are 35 members, of all different ages, race, and gender that represent the citizens of Jessliry<3. The head of this committee, known as the Pantry, is simply called the Head and is also the "vice president" who would take over if one of the founding sisters happened to die. If more than one died new parliament members would be elected from the Pantry.
 * As of now three of the four parliament representatives are democratic while one is republican.


 * Legislative:**

<span style="font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The legislative branch of JLRH is made up of a bicameral, or two-house, legislature. The upper house is the Demi-Pointe Assembly and the lower house is the Spring Board of Representatives. In the Demi-Pointe Assembly there are currently twelve demi-pointes, three for each of the four provinces in the country. The demi-pointes are appointed(ap"pointe"d) by the Spring Board and approved by founding sisters. The Spring Board of Representatives consists of 28 representatives, one for every 102 people, and voted on by the residents of the province the representative lives. The Spring Board is determined by population of provinces. The island province is the smallest with only two representatives because of its small population. Two more provinces then have seven and eight representatives respectively. The largest province, in the midst of the city, receives eleven representatives. There are a total of 40 members in the national legislature of JLRH. The political party currently in power is the Jessliranian Reform Party, most popular in JLRH. They represent 49% of the legislative branch with 5 seats in the Assembly and 15 seats in the Spring Board. The Reform Party also maintains control in Parliament and the rest of the executive branch.

How are the courts structured? Similar to the United States of America, Jessliry <3's courts each have different levels of authority. Each town has their own court, as well as each province. The highest court in the country is the supreme court which is made up of several chambers. Also, the chief justice is appointed by parliament for life. Is there a court that has more power than the other? Yes. Although many smaller courts are distributed throughout each province the supreme court of Jessliry <3 is the most powerful. Are there additional branches? If so- what are thy and how are they chosen? No there are no additional branches. Political Parties - Mostly the Jessliranian Reform Party dominates in the country. Almost 45 percent of Jessliranians are in this political party because it is so free. Many jessliranians are open-minded and this party fits that need by providing gay rights and environmental issues.
 * Judicial:**


 * DUE APRIL 21ST - 100 POINTS**

** * Budget: ** ** - ** $30.7 million ** *Tax Revenue: ** - Total: $10,900.00 - Income Tax: 55% - $5,995.00 - Corporate Income Taxes: 15% - $1,635.00 - Excise Tax: 5% - $545.00 - Import Tax: 15% - $1,635.00 - Estate Tax: 10% - $1,090.00 ***Spending:** -Total: $9,640.00 -Mandatory Spending: - 30% -- $2,892 - Defense and Military spending, National Parks, Education, Transportation, etc.  - 45% -- $4,338 - Aid to Provence Governments: - 25% -- $2,410 -Top 5 mandatory spending items 1. Entitlement Programs – Health Care, Social Security, etc. 2. Education 3. Defense Spending 4. Importing Foods, Minerals, and other goods 5. Transportation -Top 5 discretionary spending items 1. Technology imported from other countries 2. Importing anything other than necessary foods and other goods from countries. 3. Arts and Recreation 4. Public Transportation – Buses, trains, etc. 5. Giving “Charity Money” to other countries in need. **DUE MAY 13th- 50 POINTS**



Constitution- 1. ALL illegal (all drugs not prescribed by a certified doctor) use of drugs including, steroids (synthetic growth hormones) is prohibited 2. No matter what, there is no death penalty, rather Jessliry <3 uses other forms of punishment (such as holding oversplits for extreme lengths of time) 3. You have the right to practice any religion. 4. You can express all views in any form, as long it doesn’t harm anyone (mentally or physically). 5. If you cause injury or bodily harm to any person (or belonging) you must pay for any damages caused 6. Every citizen has the right to privacy 7. If a citizens BMI is over 28, they must attend at least 8 rehabilitation sessions or until their BMI is less than 28 (unless he or she has a medical problem) 8. The legal alcohol drinking age is 18 years old. 9. The process of getting married takes a month, but the marrying age is 18 years old. 10. All leotards must be approved by the National Gymnastics and Dance Association of Jessliry Hart 11. In order to become a judge on any court, it is a requirement they need to be able to touch their toes. 12. Any fast food franchise are banned in Jessliry Hart. 13. In order for a law to be passed, all founding sisters (Lizzy, Jessie, Rylie, and Emily Hart) must agree to have it passed.
 * see picture below

*Must have at least 2—one political and one economic. Be sure to thoroughly explain the issue and the reasons for your country's position.
 * DUE MAY 13th- 50 POINTS**


 * OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT ( NOT EXTRA CREDIT) WILL COUNT AS GRADE IF DONE**
 * DUE MAY 16th- 30 POINTS**
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