Spotlight on:

“E pluribus unum”

The Mancunian Territories of Astholm is a massive, pleasant nation, remarkable for its burgeoning owl population. Its compassionate, intelligent population of 2.494 billion enjoy a sensible mix of personal and economic freedoms, while the political process is open and the people's right to vote held sacrosanct.

The medium-sized, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Social Welfare, Healthcare, and Education. The average income tax rate is 19%, but much higher for the wealthy. A healthy private sector is led by the Book Publishing, Retail, and Automobile Manufacturing industries.

Re-education centers are being added to most prisons, anti-government web sites are springing up, most governmental positions are filled by zealous nationalists, and parents live in fear of governmental 'child protection' squads. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is a problem, and the police force struggles against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Astholm's national animal is the owl, and its currency is the pound.

Astholm is ranked 1st in the region and 15,537th in the world for Largest Basket Weaving Sector.