#Balkanization

[nicklloydnow]

“Analysts have expressed concerns that relations between Serbia and Kosovo — tense at the best of times — have become increasingly hostile in recent months. Violence erupted in northern Kosovo in September, and Belgrade responded with a military buildup on its border with its neighbor.

Now there are concerns that the volatility in this southeastern region of Europe could tip into an armed conflict while the world is distracted by the war in Ukraine.

(…)

"Resolving the dispute between Kosovo and Serbia is no longer just a political matter, but a serious security issue for the region and for Europe," Engjellushe Morina and Majda Ruge, senior policy fellows at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), wrote last week.

"For the U.S. and EU, the choice is no longer just between the failure and success of the dialogue but between stability and a further escalation of violence. The latter is most likely unless they finally acknowledge Belgrade's role in destabilising Kosovo and adopt a robust approach to counter it."

(…)

Northern Kosovo, which borders Serbia, has an ethnic Serb majority whereas the country as a whole is around 93% ethnic Albanian. Serbian capital Belgrade does not recognize its neighbor as an independent state.

A key recent tipping point was local elections in the spring that saw ethnic Albanians elected to a number of municipalities in northern Kosovo. The results caused outrage among the ethnic Serb community in the region who had boycotted the votes, saying their demands for more autonomy had not been met.

Tensions ratcheted up further over the summer and erupted in late September following a shootout between a heavily armed group of ethnic Serbs and Kosovo special police forces in the northern Kosovo village of Banjska in which one police officer and three gunmen were killed.

NATO has had a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo since 1999 following a bloody conflict between ethnic Albanians opposed to ethnic Serbs and the government of Yugoslavia in 1998. The military alliance reacted to the September incident by deploying additional peacekeeping troops to the region, while Serbia bolstered its military presence along its border with Kosovo.

(…)

"From zero land wars in Europe, we could conceivably be looking at two very shortly," Ian Bremmer, founder of the Eurasia Group, said in a note Monday.

He likened the tensions to the recent lightning-fast conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which culminated last month with the Azerbaijani military seizing the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in a rapid offensive with little outside intervention.

"You have a long-simmering and unsustainable status quo being challenged by the dominant military, looking to see if anybody else cares enough to intervene," Bremmer said.

"In this case, that's NATO — less distracted than Russia, and much more likely to intervene directly — but the prospects of an invasion have gone way up over the past few days."

(…)

Tensions between Serbia and ethnic Albanians culminated in the 1998 Kosovo war between Yugoslav forces, led by Serbia, and a Kosovo-Albanian rebel group known as the Kosovo Liberation Army, who opposed the Serbian authorities and oppressive policies of Serb leader Slobodan Milošević.

Hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians were displaced by the conflict and numerous war crimes were committed by both sides, although the majority were attributed to Serbian and Yugoslav government forces.

The conflict ended when NATO intervened in 1999, launching air strikes on Yugoslav armed forces until their withdrawal from Kosovo. NATO's aerial bombing campaign remains controversial to this day although it is credited with bringing the war to an end.

Kosovo declared itself independent from Serbia in 2008, a proclamation that Serbia rejected, and tensions have simmered ever since, not helped by the election of nationalist leaders in both Serbia (President Vučić) and Kosovo (Prime Minister Albin Kurti).

Nonetheless, Serbia has aspirations to join the EU and is unlikely to want to jeopardize this, or to tempt a direct response from NATO, according to Andrius Tursa, Central and Eastern Europe advisor at risk consultancy Teneo.

"A direct military offensive by the Serbian army on northern Kosovo is very unlikely due to the presence of NATO peacekeepers and the risk of punitive Western sanctions as a result of such action," Tursa said in a note Tuesday.”

“An armed band of Serb militants recently ambushed police in Kosovo. In the resulting firefight and retreat, four people — including a police officer — died from their wounds.

The incident sparked official recriminations from both Kosovo and Serbia, culminating in Serbia moving its armed forces towards the countries’ shared border only to subsequently withdraw them due to pressure from the United States.

Tensions between the two countries are nothing new. Serbia and Kosovo were previously united under Yugoslavia. The collapse of the country in the 1990s, however, caused Kosovo to push for independence.

Kosovar forces, backed by NATO, expelled the remnants of the Yugoslav army in 1999. Kosovo, however, remains central to Serbian national identity and Serbia has never truly reconciled itself to Kosovo’s independence.

(…)

The overthrow of former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic in 2000, and the EU identifying Serbia as a candidate for expansion to join the union in 2003, provided Serbian politicians with an alternative policy to the nationalism of the past.

Serbia officially submitted its application to ascend to EU member status in 2009. Unfortunately, Serbia’s progress towards that goal has been painfully slow.

Slovenia and Croatia, two other former Yugoslav states, ascended to the EU in 2004 and 2013, respectively. From formal submission to full member status took each country 10 years or less.

Serbia’s application, now in its 14th year, shows no sign of being formally processed as it fails to meet many of the judicial, economic and political standards the EU requires for membership.

Serbia has made several gestures towards achieving EU membership. Most notably, it agreed to a plan to normalize relations with Kosovo. For many Serb nationalists, the question of Kosovo’s independence elicits visceral reactions due to Kosovo’s prominence in Serb nationalist identity.

(…)

In Serbia, EU membership remains a distant possibility that will probably only benefit future generations. Today, Serbians are seeking alternate ideologies that promise more immediate returns.

Given the EU’s association with liberal democracy and globalism, some Serbs are embracing populism and anti-western nationalism.

(…)

The EU’s problem is that its domestic and international problems not only limit the ability to deal with Serbia, but Serbia-Kosovo tensions magnify the EU’s own issues. Hungary’s Viktor Orban, for example, has already stated his country — an EU member — would veto any sanctions against Serbia.

Serbia’s provocations against Kosovo also provide Russia with a potential wedge issue in its efforts to divide the EU, as demonstrated by Orban’s statement.

EU support for Ukraine is already facing challenges from members like Slovakia. The EU’s failure to deal with Serbia in the past will only stoke such challenges, and further inhibit the organization’s ability to respond to crises like Ukraine.”

“On Friday White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the US had observed an “unprecedented staging of advanced Serbian artillery, tanks and mechanised infantry units” on the Kosovo border and called it a “very destabilising development”.

“We are calling on Serbia to withdraw those forces from the border and to contribute to lowering the temperature and the tension,” Kirby said, adding that Vučić and Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, had spoken about ways to defuse the situation.

International efforts to cool the tensions have mounted in recent days after a violent stand-off near a monastery in the Serb-majority north of Kosovo left at least four people dead, including a Kosovo police officer.

(…)

In a statement late on Saturday, the government of Kosovo said the Serbian army had indeed placed extra troops and equipment in 48 military and police bases within a few kilometres of the Kosovo border.

“In this placement, the placement of anti-air and heavy artillery is included… These bases serve to support possible military aggression against the Republic of Kosova,” the Pristina government said.

It demanded that Serbia “immediately withdraw all military troops from the border and close and demilitarise the bases, which pose a permanent threat to our country.””

[country-corner]

So you still want a National Divorce or Big Split...

So you still want a National Divorce. Please answer a few questions based on statements I have heard from both Liberal and Conservatives who are calling for a National Divorce or Big Split.

How would you divide the Country? North to South? East to West?

2) If divided ideologically by Conservative States (C-States) and Liberal States (L-States), which would put C-States pretty much, up the middle and L-States on East and West coasts. The L-States would most likely insist on a connecting corridor. Where would you put it

a) Tell them to suck it and not allow a corridor? Creating, basically 3 new Nations and which could lead to a Civil War, is this, your true intent?

b) Alone the Canadian Boarder? Which would provide a staging area for illegals coming from the North. (Yes, there are illegals entering from Canada and not just Mexico but the media isn’t covering it).

c) Along the Mexican Border and Gulf Coast? That would cut the C-States from deep water ports.

d) Across the middle of the C-States? Which again would create 3 new Nations and could lead again to a Civil War.

3) What would you do with States like Washington, Oregon, Illinois and many other States where half or more of the State is more Conservative, but the more Liberal side/portion of the State has a larger population and controls the politics (or vice versa)? Do you allow them to split off and join their respective sides? Or tell them screw off, you don’t deserve to leave the “Hell Hole of a State?”

4) Do you take the current Constitution as is?

a) Take the Constitution, but only as original written and ratified?

b) Have a Constitutional Convention to add/remove portions that you want/don’t like respectively?

c) Have a Constitutional Convention to write an entirely new Constitution?

5) Would you build a wall along the C-States/L-States border(s)? Something I have heard from both sides, to keep out “refugees” from the other new Nation, because there are those on both sides who think the other side will collapse in a few years at most.

6) What would you do with known/admitted Conservatives/Libertarians refusing to leave the L-States or known/admitted Communists/Liberals refusing to leave the C-States?

a) Nothing?

b) Make them take a public loyalty oath?

c) Have the Government keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t teach or talk about their wrong/controversial/treasonous (whatever word you want to use) ideology to others?

d) Deport them?

7) Speaking of Loyalty Oaths, I’ve heard pundits from both sides calling for a yearly, mandatory, public declaration of a Loyalty Oath after the split.

a)Are you against an Oath?

b) For an Oath? If for is there a penalty for not making the oath.

1)Monetary?

2) Loss of Rights?

3) Jail?

4) Deportation?

5) No Penalties (then what’s the use of the mandatory oath)?

8) What Religion/Faith/Belief would you allow or not allow (whichever is the shorter list)? I have heard everything from: Every belief allowed; to Banning Christianity and Judaism only; to Allowing only Christianity and Judaism; to Allowing only one particular Denomination of Christianity and banning everything else including other Denominations of Christianity; to Everything allowed except any Abrahamic Religion (Christianity, Judaism, Muslim); to Ban all of them.

9) How would you compensate farmers/ranchers/business owners who would lose generational owned land/business upon moving to the new ideological compatible Nation and can’t get enough land or start the same business in the new Nation? Or just tell them screw you, learn coding?

10) What would you do with the current Military Personnel? Equipment, including the nuclear weapons? Bases (Domestic and Foreign)?

11) Finally does it: Delight? Bother? No opinion? Never thought about it? That the balkanization of the USA, due to a National Divorce or Big Split, would fulfill the wet dreams of Mid-20th century Communists?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

These questions, again, come from statements, one way or the other, I have heard from people on both ends of the political spectrum regarding a National Divorce or Big Split. But, the majority I hear talk about a National Divorce or Big Split never gives any detail on how it will work, they just calls for the Divorce or Split and leave it at that. While calling people who are against a National Divorce or Big Split a puppet, a paid mouth pieces, jerks, useful idiots or just an asshole from the other political party or ideology.

If you hear someone calling for a National Divorce or Big Split, ask them these questions. Pay close attention to how they answer or don’t answer the questions. And if they answer in such a way as to try make you feel like a foolish child for even asking or call you names for questioning, then question the motivation behind their call for a National Divorce or Big Split. Do your own research, educate yourself on the issue, who is backing or against it, and how the Divorce/Split would work. Then make your own decision.

[arthurdrakoni]

Flag of the Commonwealth of California

This is the flag of The Commonwealth of California.  It comes from a world where the Constitution was never ratified, and the Articles of Confederation remained the primary governing document for the United States.  Unfortunately, this meant that the federal government remained weak and ineffectual.  The states soon began to question why they needed to take orders from Washington, and regionalist movements began to spring up.  By the early 19th century the United States had completely collapsed.  Each state became its own nation, with smaller states joining bigger ones either willingly or by force.  Though the United States had failed as a nation, the idea of the United States inspired other colonies to rebel against their mother nations and seek independence.

The ideal of Manifest Destiny never really became a thing, but there was a general westward movement among the peoples of North America.  However, how they got westward was considerably different than in our world.  That brings us to California.  It was primarily settled by British colonist from the Oregon Territory.  This had multiple effects on California's development.  For example, California is governed by a parliament, led by a prime minister, and the Queen's Birthday is a national holiday.  California is also a proud member of the Commonwealth of Nations.  Just as in our world, California has a significant Mexican minority, and most Californians are bilingual. 

California is one of the most prosperous nations in North America. It has a booming tech sector, and it's farms help feed people across North America. In the past, California had a history in intervening in wars, but it has backed off from that in more recent times.  The big focus now is space exploration.  California has launched multiple missions to the Moon and now there's talk of a possible Mars mission.

California's British heritage is very much reflected on its flag with the blue background and St. George's canton.  The seal hearkens back to the early days of British settlement, all under the watchful eye of Britannia herself. The tree in the canton is a California Redwood. 

Link to the original flag on my blog: https://drakoniandgriffalco.blogspot.com/2017/04/flag-of-commonwealth-of-california.html?m=1

[choppedcowboydinosaur]

If America balkanized it wouldn’t be just red vs blue states. It’d be more complex than that.

For example, if Hawaii seceded it wouldn’t be part of some new nation consisting of liberal, blue states. Hawaii would try to revert to the Hawaiian Kingdom. This would upset some Democrats since we are a Democrat state. But, when you look at it from the perspective of the Native Hawaiian activists who hate the government, the Democrats and Republicans, they’d jump on the chance when given.

California would lose a chunk of Northern California to Cascadia. And maybe to some of the native tribes. So, California would not be this bastion of progressivism shining on a hill. It would be a shadow of its former self, even more so than it already is.

The point is balkanization would not go the way the libs and cons think it would. It wouldn’t be one country of red and one country of blue states. It would divide further due to the cultures and histories of various regions of the United States.

The same applies to conservatives in red states.

[lonelyroommp3]

okay i have spent an embarrassing amount of my week cramming on sporcle until i could get 100% on this thing. now it's your turn but i'm only giving you one attempt because i don't play fair here 😈

take this quiz 🌍

[olgaofkievv]

HELP THIS IS SO FUNNY

[ismsetcetera]

"It's the Balkanization of the world, which is what's happening in America. As the economic base erodes, we find our- selves being pitted against each other."

---

Jeffrey Sweet interviewing Lynn Nottage – "What Playwrights Talk About when they Talk About Writing" (Yale Press, 2003).

---

In the scheme of the interviews in this book, Nottage's was the most somber, most true.

Previous excerpts: 1, 2

[rosechata]

summer in croatia, 2024

[diathadevil]

Serbian Miku spoke to me and then she offered me a lilac branch.

(outfit's based off the Kikinda region!)

[scavengedluxury]

New Balkan coffee shop at 8am just dropped in Glasgow.

[henk-heijmans]

Balkan erotic epic: this one re-enacts mystical rites related to fertility and virility, 2005 - by Marina Abramović (1946), Serbian

[kneedeepincynade]

Looking at the ridiculous map this guy must a fun of the new order the last days of europe as much as me,unfortunately he decided to copy the nazis instead of Yazov

The post is machine translated

Translation is at the bottom

The collective is on telegram

Oggi il collettivoshaoshan vi propone un gioco per spezzare la monotonia,un bel trova le differenze tra una mod di hearts of iron 4 dove i nazisti vincono e la mappa che rappresentano il sogno bagnato dei liberali

Today the shaoshan collective offers you a game to break the monotony, a nice find the differences between a mod of hearts of iron 4 where the Nazis win and the map representing the wet dream of the liberals

🤡 Günter Föhlinger, nazista Presidente del "Comitato Austriaco per l'Adesione alla NATO di Austria, Bosnia, Kosovo, Ucraina e UE - 2023" ha pubblicato, su Twitter, una mappa che rappresenta il sogno bagnato degli imperialisti USA: una Cina balcanizzata, divisa in colonie filo-occidentali legate alla penetrazione capitalistica straniera 🤮

🤮 Oltre all'immagine, che dimostra ancora una volta come la NATO e coloro che sono legati ad essa siano un branco di fascisti suprematisti, servi del Capitale USA, Föhlinger si permette anche di minacciare la Cina, dichiarando che tale balcanizzazione avverrà qualora la Cina «non dovesse smettere di collaborare con la Russia» 🤡

⭐️ Spiacente, sig. Föhlinger, la Repubblica Popolare Cinese continuerà a crescere e svilupparsi, il CPC raggiungerà l'Obiettivo del Secondo Centenario e il Guójiā Ānquánbù non dimenticherà tali esternazioni 🚩

La NATO i suoi lacchè rappresentano, ad oggi, il più grande pericolo per la Pace nel Mondo, e - storicamente - il Patto Atlantico è stato costituito da membri del più grande male della Storia dell'Umanità: il Terzo Reich

➡️ Si consiglia caldamente la lettura dell'ottimo post: "🇫🇲 COME SI SONO ARTICOLATE LE CARRIERE DEGLI ALTI UFFICIALI DEL TERZO REICH DOPO LA SUA CADUTA? E SOPRATTUTTO, DOVE?" dei Compagni del Comitato per il Donbass Antinazista �� 💕 👏

➡️ Sul Tema della Balcanizzazione della Cina, il Collettivo Shaoshan ha pubblicato il post: "COSA INTENDE L'OCCIDENTE QUANDO PARLA DI DISGREGAZIONE DELLA RUSSIA E DI SEPARATISMO ANTI-CINESE MASCHERATO DA DEMOCRAZIA?", di cui se ne consiglia la lettura 📖

🤮 Ah, Föhlinger non sogna soltanto la balcanizzazione della Cina, sostenendo di tutto, dal terrorismo jihadista uiguro nello Xinjiang al neo-colonialismo britannico a Hong Kong, passando per la teocrazia lamaista nella Regione Autonoma del Tibet, ma si eccita anche all'idea della balcanizzazione della Russia in 41 "stati" | Letteralmente il progetta Nazista, in pieno stile Nuovo Ordine 🤮

🌸 Iscriviti 👉 @collettivoshaoshan

🤡 Günter Föhlinger, Nazi Chairman of the "Austrian Committee for NATO Accession of Austria, Bosnia, Kosovo, Ukraine and the EU - 2023" posted, on Twitter, a map representing the wet dream of US imperialists: a balkanized China, divided into pro-Western colonies linked to foreign capitalist penetration 🤮

🤮 In addition to the image, which once again demonstrates how NATO and those connected to it are a bunch of supremacist fascists, servants of US Capital, Föhlinger also allows himself to threaten China, declaring that this balkanization will take place if China «shouldn't stop collaborating with Russia» 🤡

⭐️ Sorry, mr. Föhlinger, the People's Republic of China will continue to grow and develop, the CPC will achieve the Second Centenary Goal, and the Guójiā Ānquánbù will not forget such utterances 🚩

NATO and its lackeys represent, to date, the greatest danger for World Peace, and - historically - the Atlantic Pact was made up of members of the greatest evil in the history of humanity: the Third Reich

➡️ Reading the excellent post is highly recommended: "🇫🇲 HOW DID THE CAREERS OF THE SENIOR OFFICERS OF THE THIRD REICH ARTICULATE AFTER HIS FALL? AND ESPECIALLY, WHERE?" of Comrades of the Anti-Nazi Donbass Committee 👍 💕 👏

➡️ On the theme of the Balkanization of China, the Shaoshan Collective has published the post: "WHAT DOES THE WEST MEAN WHEN IT TALK ABOUT THE DISGREGATION OF RUSSIA AND ANTI-CHINESE SEPARATISM MASKED AS DEMOCRACY?", which we recommend reading 📖

🤮 Ah, Föhlinger not only dreams of the balkanization of China, supporting everything from Uyghur jihadist terrorism in Xinjiang to British neo-colonialism in Hong Kong, via the Lamaist theocracy in the Tibet Autonomous Region, but he also gets excited about the balkanization of Russia into 41 "states" | Literally the Nazi design, in full New Order style 🤮

🌸 Subscribe 👉 @collettivoshaoshan

[country-corner]

History Repeats the Same Song Just a Different Voice

1950's, 60's and 70's Communists, primarily guided by the old USSR, doing everything they can to drive division within the United States between races (and even within the races), religious groups, women vs men, young vs old, political parties (not just the main 2 parties), working class vs College/University educated, working class vs management, ect, ect, ect...All in an attempt to balkanize the US into different, smaller, less powerful regions, hopefully in constant conflict with the other regions, leaving the Communist countries stronger to take control of or more influence over the world.

1987 TV Mini-Series "Amerika" is aired on CBS. The story line is that it's 10 years after the USSR has bloodlessly taken over the US. It has been balkanized it into 5 smaller regions, not allowing information or travel between the regions without permission from a Central Command and keeping them in conflict with each other. At the end of the Mini-Series, the first region has declares themselves as a new country unto themselves called Heartland. Thus "forever" breaking up the old US.

2016 talk starts hitting the internet big of a "Big Sort" over the election of Pres. Trump (whether or not you think his election was legit or not). With talking points of "We need to get those MEGA bigots separated from sane people.", "The racist Conservatives need to be gathered and confined to camps within their own states and cut off from the real world.", "Us Liberals and Progressives, must separate from the Red States so we can join the real world and let the Red Stated die of starvation in 10 year (sometimes a longer date is give) because they wont have birth control and wont allow abortions." and on and on and on.

2020 all of a sudden the Liberal and Progressive talking heads stop talking about the "Big Sort" (BS), but Conservative and Libertarian talking head start talking about a "National Divorce" (ND) right after the election of Pres. Biden (again whether or not you think his election was legit or not) with talking points of leave your "Commie" home state and move to as Red State". "Leave the Commie State to destroy itself within 10 years (sometimes a longer date is give) by it's own rules and laws". and on, and on with much of the talking points sounding like a right leaning alteration of the left's argument just a few years ago.

I will grant that the terms "Big Sort" and "National Divorce" has been around for a long time, I can remember hearing those terms back in the 60's and 70's. But the main issue of both is to balkanize the US and diminishing any perceived power or influence in the world to next to nothing. The very thing that the Communists was wanting to do back in the mid 20th Century.

But let's take the main point of the Big Sort and National Divorce, if you are from party "X" and live in State controlled by Party "Y", leave there and move to a State controlled by your party.

Leave your 100's or 1000's of acres farm or ranch that was passed down from past generations to you and move to another State with the same political belief. Even though you will most likely will not be able to replace the land you left behind (sold) to run your own farm/ranch again and have to work for someone else.

Leave the company you started and built to move to a more politically correct State despite the fact that their rules and regulations will most likely not allow you to open the same company, that is why you opened it where you did originally.

Leave the job you have had since graduating high school or college to a State with more politically like minded people. Yes, you will most likely have to train for a new job and may not make the same money for 5 or more years, but that's ok, you will be surrounded with people who have the same political beliefs.

So yes, give up and continue to advocate and embrace the BS or ND, and finish the job of the Communists of the mid 20th Century with the balkanization the US. Or fight like your the 3rd monkey on the ramp to Noah's Ark and it's beginning to rain.

[arthurdrakoni]

Flag of Ecotopia

This is the flag of Ecotopia.  It comes from a world where man-made climate change were not reversed.  Rising sea levels and changing weather patterns took their toll on many nations, but in particular the United States.  Climate change, resource wars, civil unrest and general strife strained America's resources to their limits.  Eventually, it got to the point where various regions began to declare independence, with the federal government being powerless to stop them.  A rump United States still exists, and some regions still claim to recognize its authority.  However, these regions are mostly self-governing and are independent in all but name.  

That brings us to Ecotopia.  It was one of the first nations to declare independence.  It comprises Northern California, Oregon, Washington state, British Columbia and the Alaskan panhandle.  As its name would suggest, it was founded to be a more sustainable and environmentally minded society.  Almost all of Ecotopia's energy is produced by sustainable and renewable resources; such as solar, wind, geothermal and hydro-electric.  It's capital city, also named Ecotopia, was built to serve as an example of the sustainable cities of tomorrow.  

Ecotopians eat a largely pescatarian diet, with meat being reserved as more of a luxury and treat.  Insects are also a staple of the Ecotopian cuisine.  Hunting is allowed, though tightly regulated, and cattle drives have made something of a comeback.  Most buildings have rooftop gardens and poultry roosts built into them.  Those that don't usually have solar panels or wind turbines instead.  Most cities have plenty of parks and other green spaces.  The prevailing architectural philosophy is to work with nature, not against it.  Most Ecotopians drive electric cars, though most cities have plenty of public transportation options.  Cities are also built with walkability and biking in mind.

Secularism is rather prevalent, but Buddhism remains the most practiced religion.  However, Ecotopian Buddhism tends to place more emphasis on environmentalism than it does on breaking free from the cycle of reincarnation.  There's also a rapidly growing neopagan movement underway.  In fact, all religions are legal in Ecotopia...within reason, that is. For example, Christianity is legal, but the Bible has been banned due to promoting violence and bigotry.  Recently, the Koran has also been put on the list of banned books.  

Ecotopia has a thriving art scene, but all works of art and literature must be submitted to government boards for approval.  After all, wouldn't want any "problematic" themes infiltrating the artistic world and corrupting the youths.  Hate speech is considered a serious crime, and there are harsh penalties for any caught perpetuating bigoted opinions.  There have been grumbling about the definitions of hate speech getting broader and broader.  Though, officially, the Ecotopian government maintains that it supports free speech...within certain boundaries.  

It's not all fun and games, however.  Ecotopia has a large standing army, and they're certainly not afraid to use it.  In their early days, they got into quite a few skirmished with the Mormon Republic of Deseret.  These days, both nations have something of an uneasy truce with each other.  Ecotopia's biggest foreign intervention, however, hardly required any military action.  The Republic of SoCal gets most of its water from North California.  Therefore, whenever SoCal gives them trouble, Ecotopia just has to turn off the tap until they come around.  SoCal, much to its chagrin, is also quite dependent on Ecotopia to supplement its food supply.  This has, effectively, turned SoCal into an Ecotopian colony. 

The SoCalians are splits about what to do.  Some favor formally joining Ecotopia, while others suggest going to war over the former Northern California.  Still others suggest slowly working to find solutions, such as desalinization plants, that would reduce their need for Ecotopia.  In more friendly relations, the Republic of Hawaii is quite close diplomatically with Ecotopia.  The two nations share similar philosophies, and there is talk of a possible merger of the two nations.  Admittedly, many are skeptical that it will get off the ground, but hope springs eternal. 

Despite these problems, Ecotopia is looking towards a brighter future.  Despite their isolationist beginnings, in more recent times Ecotopia has begun to open itself to the wider world.  Trade relations have been established with several nations of East Asia.  Ecotopia is quickly become a hub of trade, bringing to goods of Asia to the North American continent.  A sea wall project is currently underway to reclaim coastal lands lost to rising sea levels.  Ecotopia hopes to learn from the mistakes of the past to build a better tomorrow.  Let's just hope they don't become the monsters they seek to fight.  

The flag reflects Ecotopia's environmentalist philosophy.  The brown stands for earth, the blue stands for water and the green stand for plant life and sustainability.  The phoenix represents Ecotopia rising out of the ashes of the old world to build a better tomorrow.  

Link to the original flag on my blog: https://drakoniandgriffalco.blogspot.com/2017/10/flag-of-ecotopia.html?m=1

[visitheworld]

Janjske Otoke / Bosnia and Hercegovina (by Vanja Stojanovic)

[richiehugs]

Fallen angel - part 2

Ana and Angel got married in 2021. And have been living their sweet and happy life together ever since.

Remember the shredded weight-lifter and wannabe (sumo) wrestler? This is how he changed until his wedding.

By his honeymoon, Angel had supposedly grown to around 160 kilos / 360 pounds.

His body got completely covered with fat. The only sign of his once shredded physique was his giant arms and strong legs. Other than that, his pecs has grown into moobs significantly bigger than his significant others. In fact, the man was about three times bigger than his newly wed wife. His skin got all stretched out all around his body, red stretchmarks on his back marking a recent, rapid fat gain. With every step he took, the ground around him (just like his soft, jiggly body) started to shake, indicating his approach. Nonetheless, he was showing off his giant figure with pride on the beach and at the local waterpark.

What's even more exciting that he has never stopped having a healthy appetite - an ex-wrestler like him has earned a kings life, right?

So as time went by, he has never stopped eating big, but has possibly reached a plateau. A man can only grow so big, eating meals for three.

Neither has he started worrying about his level of obesity. He is still proud of his size (or at least not afraid showing it off) - and will hopefully continue growing unintentionally.

2022:

2023:

His journey so far:

End of part 2.

Not sharing the real names or any personal information. He is not an active wrestler or an influencer.

Please, do not reuse the content.