Icarus: A Climate TL

[ItsMyKetchup]

Benefits of CardNY

Starting on May 20, 2023, New York will begin a wider rollout of our second-generation state identification cards, titled CardNY. All U.S citizens and Green Card holders that have permanently resided in New York for at least two years are eligible to enroll in the program.

Your CardNY offers many benefits and will be widely accepted by local and state authorities to access government services. Employers, landlords, banks, and other businesses will also broadly accept CardNY for employment or to verify your identity, age, and residence in New York state. The federal government also accepts CardNY to board Amtrak services and access certain government facilities. Domestic and international flights require further documentation and approval.

CardNY is also a part of the NorPass verification system, which allows cardholders visa-free access into New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Simply present your card to a border official or eGate system. Beginning in 2024, your CardNY will also be able to connect to your E-ZPass account, allowing you to skip border controls entirely when entering NorPass states by highway. CardNY users also gain visa-free travel for 90 days in Oregon, California, South Carolina, and Texas.

 

[ItsMyKetchup]

"而現在，鄉愁是一灣淺淺的海峽，我在這頭，大陸在那頭。"

Spoiler: REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT REGARDING THE RECENT CRISIS IN THE TAIWAN STRAIT

The White House
October 13, 2017

Good evening. I’ve just gotten off the phone with President Zhang, where I candidly informed him that the United States will not tolerate China’s completely unprovoked aggression and hostility regarding recent actions in the Taiwan Strait. The United States will keep our existing sanctions against China and keep $200 million in Chinese assets frozen as punishment for such a flagrant violation of international law. I also reiterated that the United States would continue to commit to our defense treaties with allies in East Asia, and that U.S Navy assets in international waters would not be removed from the South China Sea.

Keeping this in mind, I believe it is in the best interest of all parties involved to prevent this crisis from escalating into a global war, and as such, we have worked out the beginning of a preliminary framework for peace in the region. While the intricacies and details still need to be worked out, I can proudly say at this time that Taiwan’s vibrant democracy will remain intact and the many freedoms and rights they currently enjoy will continue to be guaranteed for the Taiwanese people, even during the transition and under the new Chinese administration. In exchange, the Chinese government will end its current unlawful blockade and release all unlawfully imprisoned Taiwanese and American citizens from custody. An international commission will also be established in order to monitor the situation in Taiwan and ensure that Chinese authorities are adhering to this aspect of the deal, and the U.S will have permanent representation on this commission. I’ve also been in contact with President Hung of Taiwan, who has signaled her support for a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

Under this peace framework, Taiwan will undergo a period of demilitarization and transition for five years before sovereignty transfers to China. All sensitive U.S military equipment, weaponry, and intelligence supplied to the Republic of China Armed Forces will be returned to the U.S, no questions asked, and American inspectors will be on the ground in Taiwan to ensure no American technology falls into the wrong hands.

Additionally, China has agreed to remove all of its military forces from Hamgyeong, end its unlawful occupation of northern Korea, and fully comply with the IAEA’s Comprehensive Plan for the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The Korean people can rest easy as the specter of war and occupation ends on their entire homeland once and for all, for the first time since 1910.

In these increasingly turbulent times, we must choose peace over war whenever possible. While China's depraved aggression in the region is unfortunate and detestable, neither I nor the American people desire the start of a disastrous war in Asia that would result in thousands or millions of causalties. The recent framework I've negotiated will guarantee democracy in the Taiwan region for the foreseeable future and create a lasting peace in the Indo-Pacific.

Thank you.

 

[ItsMyKetchup]

 

[ItsMyKetchup]

May or may not be canon. Regardless, Merry Christmas!

Spoiler

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

The chickens have come home to roost.

What began as a series of car bombs in the country’s capital has turned into an unprecedented environmental and political conflict that spans a continent.

To the north, the Chicago Government has successfully vanquished the last of the major federal pretenders and can fully turn its attention towards the business of pacifying the south. However, its cities, once the financial and industrial hearts of the nation and the world, now sit in squalor, devastated by years of war, neglect, deindustrialization, and environmental degradation. While in the halcyon days of yore New York and Boston might have been surrounded by neatly manicured suburbs, now there is only the stench of overcrowded refugee encampments.

But don’t get the wrong idea. Refugees are Chicago’s greatest export. Even the threat of unleashing millions of despondent refugees onto the Canadian border was enough to get Ottawa to quickly agree to a generous trade and water-sharing agreement.

To the west, the Pacific Northwest remains the most similar to the prosperity of pre-war America. The lights turn on and the garbage is still collected weekly across Oregon and Washington. Food isn’t a concern either - California exports most of its food to the Olympia government.

That’s all the Golden State is useful for nowadays. Nearly all the technological capital in Silicon Valley has fled to Seattle, and as such, the Pacific Northwest continues to lead the world in innovation and advancement. The latest government initiative involves turning the entire country into an “algocracy,” where everything from rations, jobs, and criminal verdicts are decided by computer algorithms and artificial intelligence.

The south, by contrast, is a complete mess, riddled with wannabe militias, rogue military units, and roving bands of racial supremacists. As troops from the north arrive to press Chicago’s boot onto the already fractured region, the only glimmer of hope for the south lies in the Free States of America - an equal society surrounded by a sea of hate.