alternatehistory.com
McCain Administration- Autumn 2014
Autumn 2014
"Well, looks like the Scots aren't going to be leaving the UK after all..."
"How well did that he think abolishing presidential term limits would go?!"
"Seeing all the facts there on climate change... President Gore, how much did you know?"
When autumn arrived, so did the various changes of the times. The cooling temperatures seemed to bring a calming of tensions though it was more people responding over through the elections. While the Republicans lost overall and there were Democrat gains, the surprise came in an influx of votes for independents and Green party. While most did not win, the influx showed a potential change in the wind and was giving some influence. However, else in the world, there were some other changes. That in a special election going on over within the United Kingdom. And it was the 2014 Scotland independence referendum. One that would have the Scottish voters decide whether or not it would be better for them to remain part of the United Kingdom, or for them to try and reach independence. There were a variety of factors. To leave, it was the dissatisfication with the Tory minority government and their failures to address the Recession along with the conflicts regarding fossil fuels vs renewable energy. Additionally, patriotic sentiments were part of it and there were rumors the Tories would attempt to try and get the UK out of the European Union if they got a majority. However, for the remain, there was the historical context along with the acknowledgement that leaving would be a colossal problem in deciding matters like currency and new policy. Additionally, they would be unable to join the EU as a full-time member, mainly because of Spain's fears of Catalania trying to leave them. Furthermore, there was the fear that leaving during such a rough patch would just make matters worse. Ultimately, it was a victory for remainers as they won a ~60% while leave was ~40%. Interestingly, an exit poll revealed that retention of the pound sterling was the deciding factor for those who voted No, while "disaffection with Westminster politics" was the deciding factor for those who voted Yes. However, while those were deciding factors, it was still noteworthy other factors, including that there was dissatisfication among remainers toward Westminster politics, but that it would be better to solve the problem directly and show off their clout.
Debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament
Of course, while some places were dealing with elections and democracies in peaceful ways, other locations meanwhile were suffering other issues to say the least. And that was the story going on in Burkina Faso. President Blaise Compaoré made attempts to try and change the constitution to try and extend his time in office, even after he was in office for 27 years. Usurprisingly, many people, especially the youth, were not happy with this at all. This led to the Burkinabé uprising, a series of demonstrations and riot that quickly spread to multiple cities. They began in response to attempts at changing the constitution to allow President Blaise Compaoré to run again and extend his 27 years in office. Pressure for political change came from civil society and in particular from the country’s youth. Following a tumultuous day on 30 October, which included the involvement of former Defence Minister Kouamé Lougué and the burning of the National Assembly and other government buildings as well as the ruling Congress for Democracy and Progress party's headquarters, Compaoré dissolved the government and declared a state of emergency before eventually fleeing to Côte d'Ivoire. In the meanwhile, General Honoré Nabéré Traoré announced that a transitional government would run the country until an election within 12 months. However, after another day of mass protests and initially refusing to resign, mounting domestic pressure would lead force Compaoré to resign from his 27-year presidency on 31 October and Traoré took over as the interim head of state. Despite this, instability continued when Lieutenant Colonel Yacouba Isaac Zida tried staking a claim to be interim head of state citing Traoré's unpopularity. In fact, a statement by military chiefs asserted that Zida had their unanimous backing. Unsurprisingly though, a coalition of unnamed opposition parties rejected the military's taker over and further protests if smaller were called for the morning of the 2nd of November. The African Union gave the country a fortnight to end military rule from by the 3rd and by mid-November, a framework was agreed upon unanimously for a transitional executive and legislative administration even though a leader was not named. Civil rule would return with an election in 2015. The interim president would chosen by a special college composed of religious, military, political, civil and traditional leaders. Then said president would then name a prime minister to appoint a 25-minister government and a 90-member national transitional council as a legislative body, all while acting president would be disallowed from contesting the election.
Protesters in Ouagadougou during the 2014 Burkinabé uprising
Of course, regardless, there were still problems of the world that would need to be confronted and even among these turbulent times, the looming issues stood just in the horizon. Over throughout the year, the Fifth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was being released in parts here. While the Working group reports were released back in Spring, Autumn saw the Synthesis Report. The results were a bit of an eye-opener to say the least. It was a clea message that if drastic changes aren't implemented soon, it would result in irreversible change to the world that would be a detriment to much of the pre-existing life as well as proceed to cause plenty of strife for the various nations and peoples of the world. To many people, it was considered a blatant eye opener or perhaps mroe accurately, a true glimpse of the depth of the problem. It was not just enough to be conscious on consumption or recycling. Much of the problem laid in factory farming, agrindustrial business practices, the electric sector and so on. Despite this omnious prediction, there came the sense of hope the damage could be limited and overcome through direct action and it indeed would spark a fire back under people. Furthermore, many noted that it would overcome partisan lines as disatisfication with the status quo meant the rise in radical ideals .
Global Emissions by Economic Sector chart (in Portuguese)
"Well, looks like the Scots aren't going to be leaving the UK after all..."
"How well did that he think abolishing presidential term limits would go?!"
"Seeing all the facts there on climate change... President Gore, how much did you know?"
When autumn arrived, so did the various changes of the times. The cooling temperatures seemed to bring a calming of tensions though it was more people responding over through the elections. While the Republicans lost overall and there were Democrat gains, the surprise came in an influx of votes for independents and Green party. While most did not win, the influx showed a potential change in the wind and was giving some influence. However, else in the world, there were some other changes. That in a special election going on over within the United Kingdom. And it was the 2014 Scotland independence referendum. One that would have the Scottish voters decide whether or not it would be better for them to remain part of the United Kingdom, or for them to try and reach independence. There were a variety of factors. To leave, it was the dissatisfication with the Tory minority government and their failures to address the Recession along with the conflicts regarding fossil fuels vs renewable energy. Additionally, patriotic sentiments were part of it and there were rumors the Tories would attempt to try and get the UK out of the European Union if they got a majority. However, for the remain, there was the historical context along with the acknowledgement that leaving would be a colossal problem in deciding matters like currency and new policy. Additionally, they would be unable to join the EU as a full-time member, mainly because of Spain's fears of Catalania trying to leave them. Furthermore, there was the fear that leaving during such a rough patch would just make matters worse. Ultimately, it was a victory for remainers as they won a ~60% while leave was ~40%. Interestingly, an exit poll revealed that retention of the pound sterling was the deciding factor for those who voted No, while "disaffection with Westminster politics" was the deciding factor for those who voted Yes. However, while those were deciding factors, it was still noteworthy other factors, including that there was dissatisfication among remainers toward Westminster politics, but that it would be better to solve the problem directly and show off their clout.
Debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament
Of course, while some places were dealing with elections and democracies in peaceful ways, other locations meanwhile were suffering other issues to say the least. And that was the story going on in Burkina Faso. President Blaise Compaoré made attempts to try and change the constitution to try and extend his time in office, even after he was in office for 27 years. Usurprisingly, many people, especially the youth, were not happy with this at all. This led to the Burkinabé uprising, a series of demonstrations and riot that quickly spread to multiple cities. They began in response to attempts at changing the constitution to allow President Blaise Compaoré to run again and extend his 27 years in office. Pressure for political change came from civil society and in particular from the country’s youth. Following a tumultuous day on 30 October, which included the involvement of former Defence Minister Kouamé Lougué and the burning of the National Assembly and other government buildings as well as the ruling Congress for Democracy and Progress party's headquarters, Compaoré dissolved the government and declared a state of emergency before eventually fleeing to Côte d'Ivoire. In the meanwhile, General Honoré Nabéré Traoré announced that a transitional government would run the country until an election within 12 months. However, after another day of mass protests and initially refusing to resign, mounting domestic pressure would lead force Compaoré to resign from his 27-year presidency on 31 October and Traoré took over as the interim head of state. Despite this, instability continued when Lieutenant Colonel Yacouba Isaac Zida tried staking a claim to be interim head of state citing Traoré's unpopularity. In fact, a statement by military chiefs asserted that Zida had their unanimous backing. Unsurprisingly though, a coalition of unnamed opposition parties rejected the military's taker over and further protests if smaller were called for the morning of the 2nd of November. The African Union gave the country a fortnight to end military rule from by the 3rd and by mid-November, a framework was agreed upon unanimously for a transitional executive and legislative administration even though a leader was not named. Civil rule would return with an election in 2015. The interim president would chosen by a special college composed of religious, military, political, civil and traditional leaders. Then said president would then name a prime minister to appoint a 25-minister government and a 90-member national transitional council as a legislative body, all while acting president would be disallowed from contesting the election.
Protesters in Ouagadougou during the 2014 Burkinabé uprising
Of course, regardless, there were still problems of the world that would need to be confronted and even among these turbulent times, the looming issues stood just in the horizon. Over throughout the year, the Fifth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was being released in parts here. While the Working group reports were released back in Spring, Autumn saw the Synthesis Report. The results were a bit of an eye-opener to say the least. It was a clea message that if drastic changes aren't implemented soon, it would result in irreversible change to the world that would be a detriment to much of the pre-existing life as well as proceed to cause plenty of strife for the various nations and peoples of the world. To many people, it was considered a blatant eye opener or perhaps mroe accurately, a true glimpse of the depth of the problem. It was not just enough to be conscious on consumption or recycling. Much of the problem laid in factory farming, agrindustrial business practices, the electric sector and so on. Despite this omnious prediction, there came the sense of hope the damage could be limited and overcome through direct action and it indeed would spark a fire back under people. Furthermore, many noted that it would overcome partisan lines as disatisfication with the status quo meant the rise in radical ideals .
Global Emissions by Economic Sector chart (in Portuguese)
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