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“Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori”

The Supremely Democratic States of Hirota is a gargantuan, economically powerful nation, ruled by Kan Pae Down with an even hand, and remarkable for its irreverence towards religion. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, intelligent population of 13.192 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.

There is no government in the normal sense of the word; however, a small group of community-minded individuals juggles the competing demands of Social Welfare, Defence, and Social Equality. Income tax is unheard of. A powerhouse of a private sector is dominated by the Uranium Mining industry.

The government has adopted a more thrifty attitude to administrating the country's needs, small businesses are gobbled up almost daily by corporate giants, the government has ordered a moratorium on referenda, and graffiti graces every city's streets. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is crippling. Hirota's national animal is the owl, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its currency is the coin.

Hirota is ranked 3rd in the region and 1,940th in the world for Largest Furniture Restoration Industry.