"Country!"
In Vic2, it's always a good thing to get more colonies—you get more pops, more money, more soldiers, etc., and metagaming often has you justifying unrealistic conquest wars in 1836 on faraway lands so you can get good resources early on.
IRL, many colonies were deeply unprofitable, but great powers tried to grab them nonetheless, sometimes out of the needs of a political faction (e.g. you don't want colonies, but the industrialists want the resources, and you can't afford to lose their support), and sometimes out of nationalism. I hope we can see this simulated in Victoria 3.
For example, imagine you're playing as a newly united German Empire. You've established a near hegemony in Europe and everything looks swell, but then powerful nationalists in your government see the Brits have so much of the map painted, so they push you into getting your own colonies. So now you're forced to get unprofitable overseas lands, invest in an expensive naval arms race against the UK, and alienate your allies with war mongering threats; you do this not because it'll make Germany stronger, but because the government you've formed would lose legitimacy without support from key nationalist figures. IMO, this would be both more realistic and much more immersive than what we have going on in Vic2.
My favorite are the wannabe Instagram “Models” posting pictures of themselves in child sized England football shirts.
People of all classes of the society have donated (2000+ crores) to the Ram Mandir trust. Now, as the Covid catastrophe is taking lives of common people of the country, Ram Mandir trust should donate the collected money considering the national interest to procure vaccine, oxygen etc. They can do one more temple donation drive after the pandamic is over.
My dad told us this story several times over the years. In the late 1950s, he decided not to finish high school and to join the RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) instead. One of the major reasons he wanted to do this was to get out of his home town and see a bit of the world, and to get out from under the control of my grandmother. He was her youngest child and she was extremely protective and controlling. He loved playing the guitar and loved country / 50s rock music, and he heard he could have a lot of opportunities playing for base bands in the Air Force.
One of the last straws for him was when he came home one day and found out my grandmother threw all of his original edition Elvis Presley 45rpm singles out with the trash.
Anyway, he signs up, goes through basic training OK, gets his first post to an air force base in Ottawa. My grandmother is heartbroken. She calls up the local senator who is quite a senior and influential individual in the federal Liberal Party (in Canada a senator is an appointed position, not elected) and badgers him repeatedly into getting my father posted back to a base near hometown.
One day, my father is summoned to the base CO's office. The CO hands hands him a letter and says, "Well, Private, do you have anything to say about this?"
Dad reads the letter. It is a letter written on Senate of Canada letterhead, from Senator So-and-So addressed to General So-and-so of the RCAF, stating that "It is a matter of national interest that Private u/coffeeinvenice 's father be immediately transferred back to (hometown)."
Dad nearly shits himself. He explains to the base CO and other officers present in the room over and over again that he had absolutely no idea that his mother spoke to the senator and that he joined the air force partly to put some distance between himself and my grandmother. And that he would never attempt to use political or family influence to influence his posting. Poor Dad is only 18 at this point. He begs the CO not to transfer him back to his hometown.
The officers manage to keep a straight face for a few more minutes before breaking into laughter. Dad doesn't receive any punishment but, just to spite the senator (and my grandmother), he's posted to a base in the sub-arctic for two years (for which Dad couldn't be happier). All's well that ends well.
(Edited once for organization.)
How long does it usually take for a National Interest Exemption to be approved by the US embassy in the UK? I am looking to travel to America on the 25th June for important medical treatment and I'm getting a bit worried that I won't receive a reply by then as I only submitted contacted them yesterday. So can I expect to receive a reply in the next coming week or should I be worried? Thanks
Does anyone know if you can apply for an NIE more than once?
I recently had success and used an NIE to travel from UK to US. What if I needed to come back to the UK in a few months (if the travel ban was still around)? Would I be eligible to apply again to get back into the US?
Thanks and sorry if this question was already asked.
45% of anything vital to national security and stability under the control of one private sector firm presents risks.
Colonial Pipeline is 100% responsible for failing to manage and protect a resource critical to maintaining social and economic stability. The catastrophic shut down is one of the first cyber attacks to have a direct impact on average citizens within a day.
