Group+18-+Information


 * Swagagascar "Swag"
 * Swagagascar was officially founded in 2001, by a group of the world's top scientists. They brought their families and neighbors to the Faroe Islands to find a local government already established. Rabbi Samuel, his wife Hannah, and their children Sunbeam and Pat Pat were already the Royal family in the Islands when the scientists came, with their power revolving around their religion. Their religion was all about two deities: Mother Earth and Father Moon. All the scientists quickly took to the beauty of the religion, many of them becoming official followers of Rabbi Samuel. In appreciation for their kindness, he gave them a small section of the island to call their own, dubbed Swaggachussets. They left him in power due to his great love, and he helped them find the cure for cancer. They later cured AIDS. With the sale of these cures, they erased their national debt. Their GDP is the highest in the world, only after China. The Divine Right Theory describes this situation because Rabbi Samuel and the followers felt as though Father Moon and Mother Earth chose him.
 * National Bird- Faroese Puffin
 * National Tree- Salix Phylicifolia
 * National Mollusk- Burgundy Snail
 * National Marine Mammal- Grey Seal

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 * DUE MARCH 3RD- 10 POINTS**


 * Location—Faroe Islands



2. Not enough sun light for many plants to survive. Only a few plants, trees, and shrubs inhabit Swagagascar.
 * Size- Swagagascar is a fraction of the size of The United States
 * Climate- Cool summers and mild winters with a usually overcast sky. Sunny days are rare.
 * Terrain- Mountainous on the main land and flat along the coast. Mostly rugged.
 * Natural Resources- Fish, rock, oil, rare shrub that can grow on rocky terrain ( the cure for AIDS)
 * Arable Land/amount of land that can be farmed- 1 %
 * Environmental Issues- 1. Not enough produce due to 1% of land that can be farmed. Produce must be imported.
 * DUE MARCH 3RD- 20 POINTS**
 * Population- 50,001
 * Age- 105 years
 * % of people in urban areas- less than 3%
 * Nationality- Swagagascians
 * Religion-Gaialunaist
 * National Language- English
 * Traditional Clothing- We are a nudist country, but we wear traditional attire, much like the Native American traditional powwow outfits.
 * Food- Half of our diet is given to us from the Sun. We stare at the sun a couple hours at a time three times a day. We do this so that Uncle Sun does not have all its powers to hurt us mortals on Mother Earth. The other half of our diet is raw vegan foods such as salads. nuts, and berries. We eat no animal products- hence the vegan.
 * Major National Holidays- Night of the Lunar Eclipse- We celebrate the lunar eclipse as the night Father Moon and Mother Earth come together as one to block the Sun's rays from Father Moon. This is our second most important holiday. We started this tradition in 2001, and have been performing it ever since. On this day, we do several symbolic dances to protect Mother Earth as she fights against Uncle Sun to protect Father Moon. We also stare at Uncle Sun more than usual to drain more of his powers. This is the one time we eat meat, as we sacrifice our national bird, the Faroese Puffin. We do this to show Mother Earth and Father Moon that we are so in love with them that we will step out of our comfort zone for them. On this day the children perform the dance that they have been working on all year. This year, 2011, the Lunar Eclipse will happen on both June 15 and December 10th. Both those days, everyone will stop working and even Rabbi Samuel comes out and dances for our parents. Our other, most important holiday is April 22nd, Earth Day! On this day, we all go out and plant more vegetables and fruit, teach our children about treating Mother Earth right, sing songs about Mother Earth, and perform many symbolic dances. We fast all day except at night fall when Father Moon shines bright. We then feast on berries and tofo meat- a //very// rare delicacy.
 * Cultural Norms, Customs, and Taboos- Some Cultural Norms in beautiful, wonderful Swagagascar include not wearing any clothes in public and spontaneously breaking into songs of praise of Father Moon, Mother Earth, or Rabbi Samuel. It is a Custom in Swagagascar to say, for instance as a greeting, Blessings from the Earth! Another custom, which is actually enforced by legislature, is that whenever someone sneezes, or hiccups in certain regions, the nearest person to them must slap them across the face with the back of their hand. If you don't, it's considered EXTREMELY disrespectful, as sneezes are considered an earthquake of the body, and the slap is meant to expel any quake left in the nose from the sneezer. It is a taboo to say Mother Earth's or Father Moon's names in vain, as they are our parents. Our other main taboo is to miss our Sunday service. If anyone does any of these, depending on the amount of times they have done it before, they will face any where from 1-30 days of social seclusion.

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 * DUE MARCH 17TH- 20 POINTS**

In the fashion of Rabbi Samuel's earth worshipping, love-spreading outlook, the Swagagascarian government has in place many federal programs which could be considered to have a "socialist" slant. For instance, the income tax system systematically scrapes from the top of the tax bracket, redistributing that excess wealth amongst the less fortunate. Luckily, however, Swagagascar does not have to struggle with poverty or corporate giants, so the system is not too extreme or spoken out against. *GDP growth rate- The economy has been slowing by a slow 3% over the last two years due to the decline in people with AIDS, since the cure is reaching more people now. *Labor force by occupation- 65% agricultural 4% industrial 21% service *Unemployment rate- 0.4% *% population below the poverty line- 7% *Income distribution- *Name of currency- Swager *Exchange rate to US dollar- One Swager = One US dollar *Industries- Fishing Industries, Oil Industries, Building Industries, and The Cure for AIDS. *Major exports- Fish, Oil, and The Cure for AIDS *Major imports- Fruit, Vegetables, beef, poultry, dairy products, paper products. *Main trading partners- US
 * GDP- $8,500,000,000,000
 * GDP per capita- $169,996,600.07
 * Inflation rate (compare to previous two years)- The inflation rate is 1.2%.


 * DUE APRIL 10TH- 100 POINTS**

Executive: -Do a few dominate? If so- what are they? And why?
 * Government type: Absolute Monarchy
 * Unitary or Federal power distribution? Unitary, but Rabbi Samuel doesn't delegate any powers to others. All the power and decision making goes to Rabbi Samuel, and will be passed down to his son, Pat Pat, when the time comes.
 * *Parliamentary or Presidential? Parliamentary. He has a Board of Advisers that help him make decisions, but have no power themselves but that to propose laws and ideas to Him.
 * Subdivisions of Power? All power goes to Rabbi Samuel.
 * Current Government established in? Rabbi Samuel resides in his castle in the capitol city of Fye-Land, with his Board of Advisers.
 * Legal System- Corporal Punishment. Theft is punishable by 25 days of social seclusion. If you talk to someone while in SS, you will have to wear a dunce cap around for a year. Murder is punishable by life in the dungeon and a shaved head to identify you as the monster you really are.
 * Branches of Government? The three modern US branches are combined into one, smaller, tighter ship.
 * How the election process occurs? There are no election.
 * How many? There are ten member in Board of Advisers.
 * How chosen? Rabbi Samuel hand pick every member in Board of Advisers.
 * Cabinet, if so who and what are the cabinet positions? Rabbi Samuel doesn't have a cabinet per say, but a Board of Advisers, briefly mentioned before. His Advisers help him make important decisions, conduct the holiday worships, and punish perpetrators. They are very cabinet like, except they do not executive branch government agencies.
 * What political party is currently in power? Gaialunaist Theocratic Party
 * Political Parties: Gaialunaist Theocratic Party.

FROM THE OFFICIAL SWAGAGASCARIAN GOVERNMENT FIELD GUIDE: Rabbi Samuel is the Gaia-chosen, sole representative of the Swagascarian people through the Gaialunaist Theocratic Party. His term lasts for his entire life, and when the cruel fates steal the Swagagascarian Savior, the people will turn to his son as their new leader, and so on and so forth. His duties as King are to not only to write and ratify all laws and make all executive decisions regarding foreign policy, but also to lead the nation in holiday worships. He doesn't quite have a cabinet- the Swagagascarian Congress serves as a Cabinet/Congress.


 * DUE APRIL 21ST - 100 POINTS**

*Budget- $1.2 Trillion *Tax Revenue (broken down by types of taxes)
 * = Income Tax |||| Sales Tax ||
 * = 55%($1.5 Trillion) |||| 45%(1 Trillion) ||

*Spending (must coincide with revenue AND must coincide with economic/political system you chose) -Top 5 mandatory spending items- 1. Cure Research 2. Imports and exports 3. Human Recourses 4. "Green" Earth Programs 5. Rabbi Samuel's personal spending -Top 5 discretionary spending items- 1. Coast Guard 2. SWA- Swagagascar Watch Agency- equivalent to the FBI in America 3. SPF- Swagagascar Police Force- Enforce the Laws of the Constitution 4. Landscapers 5. Festivals & Powow


 * DUE MAY 13th- 50 POINTS**




 * Write a set of at least 10 rules/laws/standards of human right you desire for your country.

THE SWAGAGASCARIAN CONSTITUTION THUS DECREED BY RABBI SAMUEL- THE GREATEST OF GREAT ONES


 * 1) No Swagagascarian shall kill another man, lest it be proven to the Great One to be in His defence.
 * 2) No Swagagascarian shall steal, rob, or in any other way commit thievery.
 * 3) No Swagagascarian shall be allowed authority that encroaches on that of the Great One.
 * 4) ALL Swagagascarians shall observe all worship services to Mother Earth, Father Moon, and the Great One.
 * 5) ALL Swagagascarians shall observe the Rule of Sneeze.
 * 6) The Rule of Sneeze states that when a Swagagascarian hears, sees, or in any other way intercepts the sneeze of any other person __ANYWHERE__ in the world, they shall slap them across the side of the head with the back of their palm. Failure to observe the Rule of Sneeze or to report the ignorance therein shall result in an __extreme__ punishment.
 * 7) No Swagagascarian shall ever, under any circumstance, slander or otherwise tarnish the golden, sparkling, authentic image of the Great One.
 * 8) ALL Swagagascarians shall observe and memorize every single thing, to the letter, the Great One decrees to be law.
 * 9) All Swagagascarians have the right to set up a local government in order to appeal to the Great One.
 * 10) That being said, the Great One and His judgement is sovereign and shall in no way be tried, questioned, or acted against. This shall be treason and the perpetrator(s) shall be held to the highest of punishment.
 * 11) If the Great One shall, for some reason, return to Mother Earth’s womb to remain for eternity a part of her loveliness, his most direct heir shall take his place as Swagagascarian Great One.

*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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