Another lurker, first of all to concur with everyone else, this timeline is amazing! The internal politics of the different provinces are especially interesting. Just curious, I looked up Eliza Dushku because I had no idea who she was, and apparently she supported Bernie OTL. Any reason why she is conservative in TTL?
Pretty much an error on my part! Thanks for reading though!! I'm also glad to have you along
I know you said you were busy, but I would love to learn more about these more sovereign First Nations groups if you get the time!
After the election!
What’s Dan Koh doing with himself?
Labour candidate for Ward 15 Boston.
Hi!
I'd like to add my voice to the many long-time lurkers recently commenting on the amazing work you do, Kanan.
This timeline was the reason why I joined this site, and every update makes me feel incredibly happy.
I humbly suggest you change your title from "Duchess of Litchfield" to "Empress of the Universe", because it more accurately represents how awesome this is.
<3 I KNOW I've seen your name before in the like notifications so I'm glad you've decided to chime in! I'm so glad that you've joined just for this haha, I hope there's a lot other stuff on here that you enjoy!
I am moving soon, I might need to think of a new title...
Please don't feel any need to answer my questions - I know you're busy.
- How did Israel come about (without WW2, what was the motive for its creation) and why is it such good friends with South Africa?
Israel was unilaterally declared during the late 1940s while Britain was busy with the German Civil War. Unable to stop it, the British were forced to simply allow it to proceed. The last chance to reclaim it ended when Stalin (who had been victorious by 1950 and was invading Romania), sent troops and support to Israel to help establish the state. Thus, Israel became a Soviet-backed (but not puppet state) of the Soviet Union. Stalin had no real care about angering the British by invading "their land," he had planned on invading all of Europe. He died before this could happen, which is how the iron curtain fell on Eastern Europe. No veneer of "Nazi liberation," so the term "Evil Empire" was more aptly used.
Israel and South Africa grew close recently. Israel has long had a chemical and biological weapons programme, and it has always been somewhat of a pariah, the United States does not maintain relations with it and Britain still never fully, and legally, recognised their separation. They only have an interests section in Jerusalem. The sense of fear and isolation led both Israel and South Africa to work together throughout the 1960s to the present day, but only during the past 20 years or so have they become close allies. The Soviet Union under Gorbachev withdrew from their more questionable operations, and allowed the peaceful secession of the Baltic states. With Soviet support gone, Israel needed someone. Israeli technology is used across South Africa, and South African labour and resources are used in Israel.
Much like how radical Islam OTL does not reflect Islam, Israel's state ideology is a radical interpretation of Zionism and Judaism. Antisemitism really doesn't as we know it, it petered out in the 1950s with the European depression and then rebirth of the economy.
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Has New England ever had a constitutional crisis like
the Dismissal?
New England has never had a serious constitutional crisis.
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Will we ever see more of South Africa? It's fascinating, in a morbid sort of way, to see the ugly bits of the world as well as the good bits.
It's on my list!
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What is your favourite part of this timeline? Can be a thing you've made, or an aspect of the world.
The Tri-City Region. It was fairly hard to think of a way to make a city that spans not only state borders, but national borders. It's familiar, but not too familiar. For one, New Jersey is finally relevant again! The massive fragmentation of municipalities in New Jersey is out the door so it finally makes sense to me again. Staten Island is as unique as always, and the Bronx is replaced by the old, larger municipality of Westchester, which would blend the city with its mix of urban and suburban areas, generally making it a better place to live for everyone. Plus, you add in the stupid layers of Government (e.g. New England->Long Island->Croydon County->Tri-City Region->Jamaica->Neighbourhood) and it's just so much fun to think about how each of these layers will have an effect on the people, and you wonder how pronounced their power really is? Does it matter who the Mayor of Brooklyn really is when the Tri-City Commissioner can have an unpopular law passed and collapse the city's economy if they don't go along?
It could be wonderfully corrupt or perfectly clean. Who knows!
And finally, as a token of my appreciation, have this news article I made. This is not canon. It's just a thing I made to show you how much I love this world that you've created (and also to reassure myself that there might be hope for Africa yet).
It's canon now!