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Highlights from the Christmas Season of 2021
Leo the Patriotic Lion: (narrating) Leo the Patriotic Lion here again. Getting tired of me yet? If you are, I don't blame you, but that's what happens when you are President, or if you're me, or in my case right now, both. Yet the American public never tires me. It seems the more the media tries to destroy me (and they are trying), the more the world loves me. Coincidence? I think not. But it's not something to brag about, or the Commander (Super C) will ding me for it.
Super C: (narrating) The irony is that in the most of the cases I have dinged him, I've actually agreed with his opinions. Thus, I am also disgusted at the national news media for trying to destroy him, and CNG isn't even motivating them to do that. They genuinely hate him for constantly putting them in their place.
Leo: (narrating) Thankfully there's new people being hired to that medium that are honest and truthful, but there's still a significant chunk of people from the networks that still hate me.
In the meantime, let's push that to the side and focus on what we're doing here. What we have here are some highlights from the days leading up to Christmas Day, including another space project that seems to further reinforce why everybody hails me as the Galactic Emperor of the Universe. We'd also make a new friend, and making new friends is one of the best feelings in the world.
So let's bring up the highlights now, starting with our latest visit to Germany.
*Later, we take our Christmas trip to the German city of Nuremberg, because it is where the world's largest Christmas market is held at. We also meet a new UN1024 dragon from Denmark named Rasmus Jensdatter.*
Warlord Wolf: *In German* Welcome to the Nuremberg Christmas Market; also the largest Christmas market on Earth!
Rasmus: (Male 300 cm tall and muscular red and white dragon with long white hair, white horns, and yellow eyes.) *In German* Thank you! It was hectic cleaning up from the snowstorm back in Denmark. Luckily, nobody was hurt, and there was no CNG.
Warlord Wolf: *In German* Good, good! Because we want to enjoy our lives here, too, you know!
Chuong: *In German* Tell me about it! Not too long ago back in America, Dawn spoke to Leo about letting people live their lives, instead of letting CNG control them with fear just to please him.
Warlord Wolf: *In German* Sounds like a good advice.
Rasmus: *In German* She's not wrong. COVID-19 lockdowns in Europe was awful, and it was no better back in Denmark. Moon Moon, I'm curious. If Luong the Hidden Lion was your country's President, how would you feel?
Chuong: *In German* I would actually feel nervous, because some people think we UN1024s only do what our respective parallels and Super C tells us to do, when in reality, our duties is to protect our countries first and help our people first, without being told what to do first.
If Luong was my President, I'd feel like I have to do what he says a lot, and I would feel like I would have less power to provide constructive criticisms to him and the other G-52s. On the other hand, I would feel a bit better, since Luong would be committed to human rights more, and he would help remove our Cinderella Law. Luong being our President would make it much easier for us to reconcile our past and do a much better job in treating our people right. But until then, improvements are slow, but we are getting somewhere. And with Liu being China's President, it makes it easier for us to focus on the things that matter more without China bugging us.
Konrad: *In German* Well, Chuong, I can tell you that even if Luong were to be your President, you won't have a lot to worry about, because Super C is open to feedback. Remember that meeting back in America about how to issue demerits? And remember, we were there in the review room where Dawn used VR technology to provide Leo constructive criticism and feedback through immersive technologies. And if Luong is committed to human rights, he would let you and other Vietnamese provide more feedback to your government and there would be less authoritarian elements in your country; one of them as you mentioned, is having the Cinderella Law repealed.
Chuong: *In German* True, I suppose.
Rasmus: *In German* And besides, you have nothing to worry or feel nervous about; especially if you are Vietnam's ambassador to China. I'm Denmark's ambassador to Sweden because Elias is their Prime Minister, and he's a dragon. You have connections to Liu. You'll be fine, Moon Moon. This is why we have allies; to help each other to become better heroes.
Warlord Wolf: *In German* He's right, you know. Now let's enjoy the Christmas festivities here!
Rasmus: *In German* Yes! *Stops by at a wine vendor and looks at the products and speaks in German.* I think I'll take this white wine for cooking. Looks quite excellent.
Wine Vendor: *In German* That is an excellent choice. Very useful in creamy pasta dishes.
Rasmus: *In German* Just exactly what I needed. *He purchases the bottle of cooking white wine.* Much cheaper to find quality cooking wine here than back in Denmark. Just got to go through customs first and that's it. *In English to the G-52s and others.* Oh; hello, there! I am Rasmus Jensdatter, and I'm from Denmark. I'm obviously the Danish ambassador to Sweden.
Elias: The country that I lead. Welcome to the world's largest Christmas market!
Rasmus: How is everybody doing today?
Juno: Okay, even though it's cold here and I'm all bundled up.
Rasmus: That's why there's the crowds here to warm things up.
Warlord Wolf: Nuremberg is the second largest city in the state of Bavaria, and there is no doubt that Luitpold the Germanic Lion stops by here every Christmas at least.
*The G-52s present introduce themselves.*
Leo: Pleasure to meet you, Rasmus.
Tom: Indeed.
Super C: This is the biggest Christmas market on the planet?
Doughty Dog: And look at the crowds it attracts.
*Luitpold arrives.*
Luitpold: Hi!
Leo: Hello; glad to see you.
Luitpold: First time in Nuremberg?
Super C: For most of us, it is.
Chuong: Nuremberg makes some awesome wursts during Christmas, too. These days, people prefer most of their Christmas shopping to be done online.
Rasmus: Most, you say.
Zax: It's beautiful here. Back in America, we have Christmas markets, too, except we throw food and shop trucks into the mix, simply because it's easier than setting up these market tents.
Warlord Wolf: Yeah; we like to keep it traditional here, even though we do appreciate the modern ways. We just don't show off our modern ways too much.
Rasmus: Back in Denmark, we really don't care about how much people show off their modern ways. But we tend to rather pay more attention about what's happening within our country than what's happening outside our borders, even though we are aware that outside influences can affect us. We have cute Christmas markets as well, but we tend to do it like what Germany does, since personal vehicles are seen as luxuries back in Denmark due to our taxes on them.
Chuong: That's not really much different back in Vietnam with taxing personal vehicles. Then again, we're small densely populated nations, so it tends to be that way.
Warlord Wolf: We have a lot of shops with handmade ornaments for your Christmas trees. Perhaps, you could buy some and help your hometowns decorate their public Christmas trees with them. I'm sure Wildcat City can use a few personal imports of handmade German Christmas ornaments.
Chuong: It's a good thing we celebrate Christmas in Vietnam, even though we're not a Christian country. We have a minority Catholic population thanks to French colonialism, though.
Leo: All good stuff to know.
*The G-52s buy various items.*
Rasmus: *Puts on his Christmas hat.* Don't forget this!
Chuong: *Puts on his Christmas hat.* Weeeeeee!
Super C: (narrating) So far, so good, you might think, but there were still problems going on. Due to the Astroworld tragedy, there were now much stricter guidelines on maximum occupancy and capicity, but sometimes, violations still happen. Thankfully, there were no crowd crushes at this event we're mentioning down below.
*Inglewood, CA, USA*
*After a massive crowd of human and furries leave the stadium in an orderly fashion for the successful performance of BTS (an insanely popular Korean boy band), the stadium not only revokes the contract with a security company for their guards not doing their jobs of checking on visitors, but the police arrest the stadium manager for negligence of duty. There were no crowd crushes at this event, though, and no injuries; the crowd behaved themselves.*
Stadium Manager: *Is being handcuffed and escorted to the police cab.* We're all just having a good time, and nobody was acting up.
Police 1: You still broke the maximum occupancy laws. You knew it was your job to call for help when maximum occupancy is being reached. Your computer and work electronics were warning you that there's too many people in this stadium!
Police 2: Did you not learn anything from Astroworld? You could've killed someone's children here!
Police 3: The fire chief was here trying to get in touch with you, but you didn't listen! Cigarettes and crowded environments do not mix!
Stadium Manager: But people use electronic cigarettes instead these days.
Police 3: If an e-cig malfunctions in this kind of environment, that's an instant fire hazard that would've killed everybody in this stadium! You were supposed to sound the alarms than to let things get that bad here! There were warning signs everywhere on that!
Police 4: In the state of California, we have extremely strict maximum occupancy laws. What you did was negligence of duty. Even if nobody was killed today, you failed to provide necessary protection, and therefore broke the law.
*The police places the stadium manager in their car before transporting him to jail to book him for negligence charges.*
Civilian 1: Whew; that was a fun concert!
Civilian 2: I love K-pop!
Civilian 3: At least everybody was well-behaved!
Civilian 4: Yeah! This beats Astroworld!
*Germany*
*Our communicators beep, and we get word of the manager being arrested.*
Leo: Well, at least there wasn't a crowd crush. But he's still in prison.
Crush: How many people went to that thing?
Super C: Versus how many was the limit?
Zax: Not that it would matter because they exceeded legal limits. California had extremely strict maximum occupancy laws.
Marshall: They're extremely strict on smoking and vaping too. California is America's most populated state and it can get crowded anywhere there. That means the state must take tough measures to prevent any place from becoming a major fire hazard. The state also tend to have summer droughts so crowded areas are enormous risks there.
Juno: That should convince the world to start enforcing maximum occupancy laws.
Chuong: We need to do that way more back in Vietnam everywhere. Our maximum occupancy laws are not being enforced enough and are too lax. We need to take a hint from the Americans, since they get it right.
Rasmus: Denmark enforces maximum occupancy laws and has banned smoking and vaping in all public indoor areas. We are extremely strict in preventing fire hazards. We even banned oversized banners in our stadiums as well, after hearing about Argentina's past stadium disasters. Whatever happened in Argentina, we don't want that in Denmark.
Super C: And also Turkey; don't forget them.
Warlord Wolf: Germany is getting there quickly, so we're not too far behind. Even the UK is catching up on this.
Leo: Indeed.
Luitpold: What's the biggest stadium you have?
Leo: The University of Michigan has Michigan Stadium, which is the biggest in the US and the third-biggest in the world. *He does a Google search on his communicator to get the exact numbers.* The official seating capacity is 107,601, but it has held crowds larger than 115,000. That's without any problems, though.
*Some others do other searches.*
Super C: So the biggest stadium is Narendra Modi Stadium in India, which can hold 132,000 people. But that's not including race tracks or anything like that.
Doughty Dog: But the biggest sports venue of any kind in the whole world is American because it is Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Luipold: How many can you fit in there?
Doughty Dog: As of this year, 257,325.
Luitpold: Whoa. This is huge!
*He looks at pictures of the speedway.*
Leo: But with the new maximum occupancy laws in place, we're not going to have any crowd crushes. What I want to see the rest of the world doing, however, is enforce way stricter punishments for soccer hooliganism, but that's a different story.
Rasmus: Soccer hooliganism is nonexistent back in Denmark.
Zax: Same back in America, but mainly because we don't care about soccer unless we're in FIFA. We also only care about soccer in the Olympics, too, even though we do have MLS (Major League Soccer). But for local matches, we're just "meh" on it, and they're more associated with our Hispanic communities. Granted more Americans are taking an interest in soccer, but it's very slow. We all know what it is.
American soccer teams often look up to the Italians for help on how to make their uniforms and fan outfits more interesting in hopes of drawing more audiences. But these days, it takes a lot of effort to get soccer into the American mainstream sports culture.
Rasmus: So strange that you Americans have everything, but you're not into soccer much?
Kirk: I'm Canadian, and we're more interested in hockey than soccer.
Rasmus: Ah, Canada; the big country that most people tend to forget about.
Kirk: But we're far from isolated. You have a higher chance of overlooking Iceland than you do with Canada.
Rasmus: I'm Danish, so we can't forget Iceland.
Shi: In China, we still do quick background checks on stadium visitors. Those who have a history of soccer hooliganism are barred. So far, that vetting system is still used in China under Liu.
Rasmus: A background check before letting people in to the stadiums? That sounds like something off of Black Mirror.
Shi: It is, but we declassified that technology to Estonia for global research purposes and test their effectiveness. INTERPOL is researching this vetting technology for their effectiveness without using excessive intrusive methods.
Chuong: Wow... I guess China's social credit score system never really died out; just declassified to the world for research purposes.
Shi: The world pressured China into declassifying controversial technologies for research purposes. The United Nations demanded that China to declassify such technologies, so the world can learn about this technology, and have a better understanding of ethics in technological advancements and implementation. This was the only way to get the world to learn from our mistakes if we want to be closer to global stability. The Americans are researching this too, and are learning about ethics in the modern world. No doubt that Wildcat University is in on this for academic research as well.
Leo: They are indeed.
Warlord Wolf: I wonder what Wildcat City's Christmas festival is like?
Chuong: Me thinks there are lots of Christmas parades, caroling, markets, market vans, the list goes on!
Rasmus: I want to see.
Chuong: Seeing dragons in Christmas festivities seems to be rather ironic, considering the historical western perspectives on dragons. Of course in Denmark, dragons have always been welcomed as equals since the get go.
Rasmus: Boring people and shut-ins tend to dislike the ideas of dragons celebrating Christmas. Haters as well. Best to tune them out.
Zax: So who's ready to see some Wildcat City Christmas?
*Everybody puts their hands up.*
Leo: I think that's everybody.
*later*
*We return to Wildcat City, and as Chuong correctly guessed, there are plenty of Christmas parades, caroling, markets and market vans, and food trucks as well, just to name a few. The bands also play "Hail to the Chief" upon spotting Leo, and he gives the military salute.*
Super C: *to Rasmus* First time in the city?
Rasmus: It is. I'm glad I'm with Konrad here.
Konrad: Welcome to Wildcat City! Here, it's a good place to start learning about the USA! And this is the city's mayor, Tim Jabowitz.
Rasmus: Greetings, Mayor! I'm Rasmus Jensdatter and I come from Denmark. The Christmas festivities here is similar to the ones we have back in Denmark.
Chuong: And they got æbelskivers here, too! Me thinks Lenarth the Naval Lion, Leo's Danish parallel, would say the festivities here are similar, too.
Konrad: Æbelskiver?
Chuong: They're pancake balls with apple pie filling topped with powdered sugar, and are prepared in a similar way to takoyaki back in Japan. Æbelskiver are a dessert staple in Denmark. What's apple pie to Leo is what aebelskiver is to Lenarth.
Konrad: Oooh; that sounds delicious!
Jabowitz: How do you do? You're the first dragon I've met that doesn't come from America.
Leo's thoughts: I wonder if Gopher knows about that dish?
Jabowitz: Though I have to admit, Mr. President, we miss you.
Leo: I miss this city, too, but the nation needs me.
Jabowitz: And yet, you still seem to have all this free time on your hands to perform stuff? I can see they want you to do so now.
Leo: Like I always say, "If you've got time to lead the country, you've got time for music." And I do play all the melodic percussion instruments.
*This signals that this was a set-up performance; it just looks like a flash mob. To entertain some of the onlookers, several lions of the U.S. Lion Corps Band and tigers of the U.S. Tiger Corps Band who also play jazz instruments present Leo with a vibraphone. Tom decides to play his trumpet. Leo speaks to the onlookers as the press films this for the news.*
Leo: Thank you all for coming; I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season. Throughout the day, you've been hearing some Christmas tunes. We'll switch it up a little here; this is a jazz rendition of "Marble Zone" we'll do for you, from the very first Sonic the Hedgehog game. This song is 30 years old! And it's just as powerful as it was then, no doubt. I'll do the vibraphone part.
*The ensemble performs "Marble Zone," with Tom on trumpet and Leo on vibraphone, plus the other members. Another lion plays the drums, while another tiger plays the bass, and so on.*
Zax: Okay! I like it!
Rasmus: Your President is extremely talented. Better enjoy his Presidency as much as you can.
Zax: Of course!
Zachary/Zihao: I was once evil before I defected to your side. America has three periods under the rule of a furry; Zachary the Cruel (which was me), Richard the Orderly, and now, Leo the Emperor. Some historians describe those periods as that, and let's just say, we are glad to be under the period of Leo the Emperor.
Rasmus: I'm glad you are with us.
Zachary/Zihao: *Leads Rasmus to an aebleskiver food truck.* Does that look familiar?
Rasmus: We have plenty of those back in Denmark! The line here is very long, so it must be really good.
Zachary/Zihao: Then no doubt does Lenarth prefer the longest line for aebleskiver.
Rasmus: The wait would be well worth it!
Konrad: Always nice to have these talented marching bands thrown in here. We even have Christmas-flavored ice cream here.
Rasmus: Christmas and ice cream?
Konrad: It's a thing here in America.
Rasmus: Back in Denmark, the closest we have is risalamande, a type of Christmas almond rice pudding topped with cherry sauce.
Konrad: That actually sounds delicious!
Zax: In the American state of Minnesota, you will find a lot of Danish dishes from ethnic Danish communities there, so it is very likely that they have risalamande. Too bad the Minnesota Vikings aren't that great right now, and Leo, being a Kansas native, naturally supports the Kansas City Chiefs and even celebrated with their Superbowl win not too long ago. The next Superbowl will be in Inglewood in California, but we'll be in China then for their Olympics.
Leo: (narrating) This is accurate, folks. Being a lion, I've always been known to root for the Detroit Lions at times, but they've really been in a slump these past few years.
Rasmus: I did hear about the fall of Xi Jinping and how that unfolded. Personally, I say that was not only an excellent move by the Americans, but also the best thing to ever happen, because not only was no one harmed during the revolution, but it also helped reinforce the message to the International Olympic Committee the importance of human rights, and why they should be supporting them.
Juno: Wasn't Inglewood the same city where the stadium manager got arrested and replaced for violating the city's maximum occupancy laws by letting in way too many people unchecked for BTS's performance, even though everything went smoothly?
Zax: Yup. *To Jabowitz.* If you're wondering, BTS is the most popular K-pop boy band in this world. There are other K-pop groups that are very popular too, like BLACKPINK, ATEEZ, TWICE, Momoland, and a few others.
Jack: Apparently some people, especially furries, are into that kind of stuff. I noticed that I see quite a few furries in techwear dancing to their songs, even though they're not limited to K-pop.
Zachary/Zihao: BiliBili, China's answer to YouTube, is loaded with videos of furries dancing to C-pop, or Chinese pop music. You also see plenty of similar videos on TikTok, an app, otherwise known as Douyin in China. TikTok/Douyin is also a source of memes, too.
Jabowitz: That make sense. I don't normally pay attention to stuff like that. I'm focused on being the mayor.
Super C: How do you think he's done so far? Leo, I mean.
Jabowtiz: He's done brilliantly. I'm amazed he got this far without a controversy. Too bad he came up short. Or did he?
Super C: I didn't charge him with a demerit because he's fixing the problem. But the irony of his statement on cracking down on internet trolls and spammers to make the internet safer was something literally everybody supported. When Leo was elected, people claimed it was their duty to value safety over freedom. But was it really? I doubt it.
Turbo Tiger: Even the FCC said it was a good idea?
Super C: Even the FCC. The real best way to protect your information, however, is to never use the internet.
Leo: (narrating) This goes back to the controversial comment I made one day about online crackdowns, in case you don't know what they're talking about. I mentioned before that there was no legislation actually created, and it was the CNG itself that wrote the executive order draft, not me. I later destroyed that draft. Yet because CNG had gotten to the people, everybody was on board with it, so the Commander and the mayor are telling the truth. There was just some confusion still going around because the news media, as they always do, got it wrong.
This adventure we're highlight happened before we got the whole truth, however; we do tend to narrate these out of order. Sorry about that.
Marshall: Yeah; that's an issue that needs to be sorted out, because the definition for trolling is so general, basically any legal attempts to even regulate it is controversial. This does come in conflict with the First Amendment, and the Supreme Court's duty is to uphold the Constitution.
Zachary/Zihao: Yet, from my understanding, the government can combat certain misinformation, especially those involving vaccines, if they are deemed a threat to national security. That falls into the grey area so as much as we support freedom of speech, we must watch out for those who say things like vaccines cause autism. (They don't.) Conflicting information against those from the CDC and WHO is concerning. Now that is something I can understand, even if that falls into a grey area.
Zax: Governments will always come into issues that fall into the grey area.
Rasmus: Even in Denmark, we have issues that fall into grey areas. But considering our taxation system and social policies we have, as long the policies favor the majority of Danish citizens first, that's usually acceptable. For example, the Danish city of Middelfart is still under partial martial law due to a tourism ban, because they don't want foreigners coming in to make fun of the city's name. Not to mention, Middelfart has a decent number of past CNG incidents that required martial law to stop them. As for avoiding the internet, it's getting impossible in some places, Denmark being one of them. Why? The internet these days is the only way to have access to basic government services, such as updating IDs. Pretty much almost everything we use requires the internet one way or another.
Zachary/Zihao: America has a convention called CES, or Consumer Electronics Show. They're usually in Las Vegas, and they have a lot of products that uses the internet.
Super C: I think I've attended one of those a few times.
*later*
*After the performance, Leo walks back over to where we are.*
Leo: Something bothering you?
Super C: The mayor here was wondering about that comment you made regarding online crackdowns.
Leo: I do remember making a comment about it, but I don't think there was any legislation about it, and I didn't sign any executive orders. Google messaged me and said that they had already taken care of the problems in the case involving Lionel Drummond.
Cripto: My instinct tells me somebody's spreading rumors just to get you impeached.
Leo: Some people did vote me in so that they could see me fail. But I have no desires to regulate the internet. I don't ever use it! Well, unless I'm on YouTube.
Marshall: You only made a very tiny mistake. Just don't let it happen again.
Zax: It's not worthy for a demerit, and besides, most presidents here before you done worse. I don't think you've got anything to worry about.
Juno: Relax! This is why we have a system of checks and balances between the three branches of government. Everybody makes mistakes and the Supreme Court corrects them. You're fine!
Mechayote: The issue is resolved, so we can just move on. Google already published their announcement on this issue on social media.
Leo: Okay. I feel better about it. No legislation was actually published; I was just tossing out ideas, all of which I am going to have to throw out. I just think Cripto thinks somebody was trying to frame me.
Super C: Why do you say that?
Cripto: The C.I.D.F. contacted me and asked me to help them investigate possible CNG smugglers; meanwhile, you invited General Drummond to the capital and gave him the award.
Leo: Yes; he won the Soldier's Medal.
Super C: What did you discover?
Cripto: The smugglers who confessed to you that they expected you to bellow at them got busted before phase 2 of their plan could start. Then again, CNG would have killed them first. But they wanted the CNG to write the executive order on its own, which would have meant government control over online crackdowns, especially foreign interference. (narrating) And as it turned out, it did write the order on its own, because that's how it acts; it does what the crooks want, but kills them so that they don't live to see it. It also wants to kill all the G-52s, Leo especially, because we are not going with its agenda to turn the world into the new Kriegland.
Leo: Then I would have been impeached.
Tom: Which means phase 3 would have been to put a scandal on me.
Cripto: Exactly.
*Super C takes notes.*
Leo: Good work, soldier! Now we can move on with our lives.
Doughty Dog: All of you really saved the day on that one.
Rasmus: Oh, good, because we Danes have been going for months without any CNG incident.
Chuong: I always wanted to see what Middelfart is like because I always hear about that city and how beautiful and nice it is.
Rasmus: It is a very beautiful city, very charming, but sadly people there are very suspicious of foreigners. If that city ever opens up where martial law officially ends there, you would have to go with Lenarth, or a trustworthy Danish soldier or hero, as your guide so they know that you're not an immature tourist.
Warlord Wolf: Germany has a town called Murr, located in the German state of Badden-Württemberg. Sadly, due to the town's name's double entendre in other contexts, the town is attracting a surge of immature furries and their friends from around the world, which has some locals worried. I've been to Murr, and most residents there stated that as long they do not vandalize the town and harass the locals, they may not mind, because they want them to not only enjoy the town, but also encourage them to support small local businesses there. Of course, they have more trust in German furries from other places than outsiders due to the ongoing global partial lockdown from the CNG crisis.
Leo: (narrating) Now for the big moment in space travel I was referencing a while back.
*Our communicators and smartphones beep.*
Marshall: Well, Merry Christmas to the furry LGBTQ+ community! Blue Origin is going to launch New Shepard on December 11, and one of the passengers on board is a queer furry. On top of that, they will also be the first Earth furries to go out into outer space through a private company. That means America, once again, accomplished another first!
Zachary/Zihao: America launches first furry into outer space through a private company! Now that's something newsworthy!
*Beijing, China*
Politician 1: *In Chinese* Oh, great; now the Americans are launching furries into outer space!
Politician 2: *In Chinese* Oh, great; they're going to literally colonize our solar system! The Americans existed for less than 300 years and already they have surpassed us? I thought we had all the technology in the world!
Politician 3: *In Chinese* Liu is our President, so please cut the whining!
*Moscow, Russia*
Politician 1: *In Russian* No fair! The Americans are now launching furries into outer space as an experiment to see if they can colonize our galaxy!
Politician 2: *In Russian* You mean our Solar System first!
Politician 3: *In Russian* Why are these Americans beating and owning us in the new space race?!
Captain Cosmo: *In Russian* I may be Captain Cosmo, but the Americans taught us that by letting people form their own organizations and ideas, they're allowing more growth for innovation. That's what they're doing. That's why the man behind America's largest e-commerce gigacorporation is also the same man behind Blue Origin.
Politician 4: *In Russian* We're not going to be relevant in this world at this rate!
*El Paso, TX, USA*
*The city's hotels have sold out their rooms due to Americans gathering for the launch of New Shepard.*
Civilian 1: Do it for the American furry community!
Civilian 2: We love you!
Civilian 3: If you can, take as many pictures of your trip as possible!
Civilian 4: We will be the first country on Earth to send a furry into space through a private company! USA all the way!
Civilian 5: All right, everybody! Let us say a prayer to our astronauts. Let God protect them on their journey. Let us pray for His protection.
*Everybody holds a prayer for the astronauts.*
*WC, KS, USA*
Leo: I also send them my congratulations. I'm also expecting the Chinese and Russians to throw a tantrum over this, but that's a different story.
Super C: As long as the lions don't snap. Leonid I'm more worried about than Liu, though.
*China*
Politician 4: *in Chinese* What are you all whining about? We've had this discussion too many times already. We had a chance, and we failed. We are paying the price for it in the form of these Americans beating us at everything.
Liu: *in Chinese* We should actually be congratulating the Americans on doing this.
*Russia*
Leonid: *in Russian* Do not forget that in the 1960s, they beat us to the moon. Therefore, we should not complain. We should instead wish them all the best. (narrating in English) Yes. I was outside my house for a change.
*WC, KS, USA*
Marshall: There's actually two furries on board; the other is their father.
Zax: Wait, isn't they a he?
Marshall: Either one works.
Zax: I think I'll go with he, and he stated that he is pansexual, meaning you love someone regardless of their sexual identity. But what does it matter? Like father and son, they're going to space together! There's no more epic father and son bonding moments than that! Once again, only in America, is anything possible!
Rasmus: You Americans really prove that impossible is just a concept.
*Beijing, China*
*The politicians agree before they break into applause together to show their support to America. Soon, all of China applauds for America as some wave American flags to show their support for America.*
*Moscow, Russia*
Captain Cosmo: *In Russian* Let us show support for the Americans in leading the world in space science.
*Everybody applauds for America as well.*
*Ottawa, Canada*
*Several politicians decide to recognize America as the space capital of the world.*
Dominique: Let's give credit where credit is due. The United States of America is the international space capital of Earth! They are worthy for this title and have proven themselves very well for it. I know you'd say the same Levi!
Kirk: But Machias Seal Island belongs to us, right?
Dominique: Uhm... Yeah. Unless America destroys us in hockey for the gold in Beijing 2022. But other than that, America is the world's space capital!
Kirk: They truly are, and we must respect them for that.
*United Nations Assembly*
*The majority unanimously voted to recognize America as the space capital of Earth, as well as acknowledging America as the true space power on Earth.*
*WC, KS, USA*
Leo: Note to self, brush up on those terms, because it's all about improving my relations with those people.
*Our communicators and phones beep again.*
Leo: Good; they didn't snap. They're instead applauding for the astronauts.
*He goes back to his vibraphone as the ensemble continues to play video game jazz arrangements.*
*China*
*Liu joins in on the applause.*
*Russia*
*Leonid joins in on the applause.*
*Canada*
Levi: Absolutely. There's no other nation that deserves that title. I hereby declare the US as the space capital of the world, and possibly the whole universe!
*all over the world*
*Various news media record footage of the government, even in places such as Afghanistan and Iran, applauding the US.*
Super C: (narrating) Okay; now we can officially flash forward to the space launch.
*Later, as the foreigners return back home, we visit the city of El Paso in Texas to witness the launch of New Shepard. The city of El Paso is extremely crowded with slightly more furries as everybody anticipates the launch. Due to the city's enormous crowds, the Texas National Guard is activated at the city's borders as the police are dressed up in riot gear and are patrolling with their catchpoles and riot shields. There are also additional police units being deployed as snipers on many of the city's rooftops for extra security.*
Civilian 1: Welcome to El Paso, Texas!
Civilian 2: The United States of America will be the first country to send furries into outer space through a private space company!
Civilian 3: Everybody make way for the President and his administration!
Civilian 4: New Shepard! New Shepard! New Shepard!
Civilian 5: Cody's here! Clear the way for him!
Civilian 6: Hey, Cody! Aren't you excited to watch Blue Origin send two of our furries into outer space?
Civilian 7: Make way for the news crews from around the world here!
Juno: Whoa! There's so many people in El Paso! It's usually never like this!
*Blue Origin also announces another flight with humans, including Michael Strahan, current host of GMA (Good Morning America) and The $100,000 Pyramid. This flight, however, is the furry flight. Also, marching bands play "Hail to the Chief" to announce Leo's arrival.*
Cody: This is amazing, but I hope this ain't no fire hazard.
Leo: Ever since the Astroworld tragedy, everybody's been taking extreme measures to ensure we're not having any crowd crushes. This is a rocket launch, however; this isn't a legitimate reason to do a crowd crush. Concerts or people shopping on Black Friday? That I get, but it still shouldn't happen.
Cody: No. Them rap artists' careers are goin' down them drains now.
Marshall: It's about your intended audience you're trying to attract. Travis Scott, for example, has a history of attracting bad audiences in his past concerts. There were even claims that he told his audience to flip the bird at incoming ambulances for laughs. Not that it would matter because whatever happened at Astroworld pretty much destroyed his career where Cactus Jack Records is no more. All that philanthropic work Scott did is gone.
Zax: There are furry rap artists out there, but they're rare, and have small crowds; just saying. As for Black Friday shopping, yeah. That's why everybody is encouraging others to take their Black Friday shopping online. It's why you see more automated factories than stores. Thank goodness we have Cyber Mondays, too. These days, it even costs more to shop in person than it is online, because nobody wants to deal with crowd crushes.
*New Shepard successfully launches into space as everybody cheers. Cody watches through a pair of binoculars.*
Mechayote: A beautiful launch!
Cody: Looks like we have liftoff!
Leo: Indeed.
Super C: How long do they plan to be up there?
Cody: No idea.
*Later, the astronauts return back into orbit with a successful landing as everybody applauds.*
Civilian 1: That was successful!
Civilian 2: We did it! We launched the world's first furries into outer space and they came back in one piece!
Civilian 3: Beautiful!
Mechayote: What a moment this is.
Zax: It is! What a better way to close this year as we head towards Christmas time before into the new wild year of 2022!
Zachary/Zihao: According to the Chinese lunar calendar, next year will be the year of the water tiger after we leave this year of the metal bull.
Shadow Hunter: Rain Cat is a Vietnamese-Bengalian G-52, and she is a tiger with water-based powers. That means she will be leading the lunar new year parades in Vietnam, then.
Juno: How fitting!
Leo: Year of the water tiger? Not just the regular tiger? Interesting.
Tom: *to Zachary* Why is it the water tiger?
*Leo goes to congratulate the astronauts.*
Zachary/Zihao: The only reason I can think of is because the Chinese zodiac uses both the elements of earth and animals in their calendar system. It's pretty complex but that's how they do it.
*The news crew goes to the astronauts for their response about their experiences.*
Astronaut 1: It was absolutely beautiful! Just beautiful!
Astronaut 2: I had no idea how big space really was, but it was something.
Tom: Sounds about right. Previously we had the year of the metal bull. But then again, I don't believe in the zodiac or in astrology.
*The news crew also films Leo congratulating the astronauts.*
Leo: Excellent work; all of you!
*The astronauts thank Leo as they shake his hand.*
Leo: (narrating) We now come to the latest bill I signed into law; this previously wouldn't fly in the States under other Presidents. I just hope this is a good idea. Of course, it should really depend on the employer. But this was in response to other countries, Iceland being one of them, experimenting with this, and having success with it. Some would argue Cripto's unlimited wealth also helped with that.
Anyway, let me know how you feel about this. Should a full-time week stay at 40 hours, or is 32 a better goal to shoot for? Some did object.
*Later, Congress unanimously passed a bill that defines full time work hours at 32 hours instead of 40, due to the 4 work days a week trend taking over the world. This helps with work-life balance too and promote family time without reducing productivity. That means in America under this bill, anyone who works over 32 hours is paid overtime.*
Mr. Letterman: Mr. President! Here is the 32 Hour Work Week Act. There's a lot of studies proving that working only 4 days a week as full-time is very beneficial and helps reduce employment turnover rates. The rise of job automation tech and AI reinforces why the full-time work hours should be 32 instead of 40. Let's make the working future a better time to live in. What do you say, Leo?
Marshall: Sign it! We're in the future now. It's time that we treat our workers better.
Zax: Nobody can argue with this bill.
Zachary/Zihao: Do it!
Jack: This will help us.
Juno: 1,000% yes to this bill! Sign it into law!
*Leo first reads the bill thoroughly.*
Leo: I have a feeling some jobs will continue to require 40 hours a week, or up to 40 if someone has to fill in or somebody. Otherwise, I do want to see people healthier, and a few of my parallels were talking to me about this over the G-52 app to show me how it's working in their countries. If it works there, it should work here.
*He signs it.*
Leo: Let the 32-hour revolution begin! Well, maybe "revolution" isn't the right word for it.
*All of America explodes in cheers and applause.*
Civilian 1: Hail to the king!
Civilian 2: President, you mean, but, yes; he'd make a great American king if our system of government was a monarchy. It's for the best that it's not, however.
Civilian 3: Thanks, Leo! I can enjoy life more thanks to you!
Civilian 4: I don't think Trump is going to catch up to you.
*Ottawa, Canada*
*The same exact bill is introduced to Levi.*
Courtney: We're overdue for this. You know what to do.
*Minsk, Belarus*
*A similar bill is introduced to Liavon.*
Politician 1: *In Belarussian* Let's give it a try and see what happens.
Politician 2: *In Belarussian* The west claims it allows people to spend more time with their families as well as other things to help reduce stress and increase productivity. If that is true, let's try that here.
*Pretoria, South Africa*
*A similar bill is introduced to Letsego.*
Majoni: *Reads the bill.* Let's give it a shot.
Psychoyena: Let's try it. I don't see why it shouldn't proceed. We have a rising robotics and AI industry, too.
Majoni: The world has been entering the 32 hour week schedule. Let's join them.
*Beijing, China*
*An identical bill that Leo has signed is introduced to Liu by Chinese legislatures.*
Politician 1: *In Chinese* It's time we promote not only family, but give more time to people to explore westward of China.
Politician 2: *In Chinese* Our neighbors has signed a similar bill, so let's do this, Liu!
*USA*
Leo: Although some employers might still want to do 40 hours. It really should be left up to them.
*Canada*
Levi: This is turning into a running gag, it seems. By that I mean that every time Leo signs a bill into law, I get something of the same nature. *He reads the bill.* However, let's try this and see what happens. *He signs the bill.* There you go.
*Belarus*
*Liavon signs the bill.*
*South Africa*
*Letsego signs the bill.*
Letsego: So let's give it a try and see what happens. Some employers may still want to do 40 hours, though; there should be some exceptions to the rules here. I don't know.
*China*
Liu: *in Chinese* Good; good. This is what I want to see from you. No more stupid attempts to control other people by controlling the internet.
*He signs the bill. He then signs another bill; the second one officially prohibits the government from collecting people's personal information, and prevents them from doing what they were doing while Jinping had the position.*
*Canada*
*There are cheers and applause from across the nation.*
*Belarus*
*There are cheers and applause from across the nation.*
*South Africa*
*There are cheers and applause from across the nation.*
*China*
*There are cheers and applause from across the nation.*
Silk Tigress: *In Chinese to her fellow citizens.* The Yang Administration has made it where your permission is required before they can collect demographic information about you; otherwise you can opt out, and they will not bother you. Just like the United States of America, your privacy rights will be enforced and protected.
Shi: *In Chinese* All applications to our government are required to state your privacy rights before you can fill them out. That way, you will have a clear understanding of how your information will be used.
*Tallinn, Estonia*
Civilian 1: *In Estonian as he drinks coffee.* That social credit score system from China... I have a feeling this may be used by companies to encourage clients and customers to do more good and buy good things before anything else.
Civilian 2: *In Estonian* Glad the Chinese gave that system to us under Liu. Santa using a global social credit score system to see who deserves gifts in their stockings and who deserves coal in them... That would be something.
Civilian 3: *In Estonian* I don't know, man. Despite the intents of a social credit score system, it has a lot of ethical issues with it. The biggest one is privacy, just as Leho stated. How much personal info is required into this system for their effectiveness? Scary stuff, you know.
Civilian 4: *In Estonian* Morality is about one's beliefs, and ethics is about how society defines what is right and wrong. I've watched Black Mirror, and you have no idea how many ethical issues a social credit score system deal with. Think of all these ethical challenges such a system will face.
Civilian 5: *In Estonian* Look how the internet functions. Your search history, your social media posts, and online shopping habits, at the minimum, are enough to show you targeted ads that you like instead of random ones.
Look how the algorithms evolved so quickly these days. I've been talking about sandal slides on social media, so I've been seeing ads for slides. Heck! When Christmas comes along, you see ads about gift shopping! A lot of these Christmas ads have been more precise since I've been seeing ads about Christmas shopping for family, as well as Christmas shopping for friends. You even see ads about birthday gift shopping for your friends, too.
Civilian 6: *In Estonian* I work in advertising and advertising is a rapidly growing field. The more precise the ad is to the audiences' precise desires, the more likely they will be drawn to the ads. They like ads that speaks a personal message to them than some generic message. They like ads that caters to them, like their precise location, too. The little details count and that's what makes the internet a beautiful place to experiment with. No wonder why I embrace tech and the future! It's that optimism that keeps Estonia bright in the darkest and coldest winters. This is why we have the luxuries we have today that our parents and those before them didn't have.
Civilian 7: *In Estonian* That and remember, we used to be a communist country thanks to the Soviet Union. We make the best of what little we have even today. Leho remembers life under communism, and why the future is worth looking forward to for Estonia.
Civilian 8: *In Estonian* Communism was absolute painful torture. But I'm so glad we went a full year without a single GSAF terrorist attack here.
Civilian 7: *In Estonian* Still boggles my mind how a tiny group of Americans took down China with very little effort without having anyone hurt, then letting Liu take Jinping's place as their president. All that happened in a flash, but at least China is now committed to global human rights.
*China*
Liu: *in Chinese* It's such a shame we weren't doing this a long time ago. Your personal info is your personal info; I don't wish to know it.
*Estonian*
Civilian 4: *in Estonian* How do you feel about this, Leho?
Leho: *in Estonian* About a social credit score system? I'm not really sure what to think of that. But you guessed correctly; what bothers me the most about that is privacy invasions; there's too many things they ask for when collecting it in order to determine your score. Everybody already has their personal credit score.
Civilian 5: *in Estonian* How about how the Americans got rid of Jinping?
Leho: *in Estonian* That was impressive.
*China*
Silk Tigress: *In Chinese* Good thing it is now much easier for the world to set global standards and rules regarding personal info and data.
Liu: *in Chinese* Indeed.
Leo: (narrating) This concludes the highlights of our season leading up to Dec. 25. On behalf of the G-52s and the Zanicchi Administration, we wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas, and a very happy start to 2022. 2022 is going to be a year full of challenging opportunities, and it's going to take all of us to pull them off successfully.
Good night.
THE END
-----------------------------------------
Highlights from the Christmas Season of 2021
Leo the Patriotic Lion: (narrating) Leo the Patriotic Lion here again. Getting tired of me yet? If you are, I don't blame you, but that's what happens when you are President, or if you're me, or in my case right now, both. Yet the American public never tires me. It seems the more the media tries to destroy me (and they are trying), the more the world loves me. Coincidence? I think not. But it's not something to brag about, or the Commander (Super C) will ding me for it.
Super C: (narrating) The irony is that in the most of the cases I have dinged him, I've actually agreed with his opinions. Thus, I am also disgusted at the national news media for trying to destroy him, and CNG isn't even motivating them to do that. They genuinely hate him for constantly putting them in their place.
Leo: (narrating) Thankfully there's new people being hired to that medium that are honest and truthful, but there's still a significant chunk of people from the networks that still hate me.
In the meantime, let's push that to the side and focus on what we're doing here. What we have here are some highlights from the days leading up to Christmas Day, including another space project that seems to further reinforce why everybody hails me as the Galactic Emperor of the Universe. We'd also make a new friend, and making new friends is one of the best feelings in the world.
So let's bring up the highlights now, starting with our latest visit to Germany.
*Later, we take our Christmas trip to the German city of Nuremberg, because it is where the world's largest Christmas market is held at. We also meet a new UN1024 dragon from Denmark named Rasmus Jensdatter.*
Warlord Wolf: *In German* Welcome to the Nuremberg Christmas Market; also the largest Christmas market on Earth!
Rasmus: (Male 300 cm tall and muscular red and white dragon with long white hair, white horns, and yellow eyes.) *In German* Thank you! It was hectic cleaning up from the snowstorm back in Denmark. Luckily, nobody was hurt, and there was no CNG.
Warlord Wolf: *In German* Good, good! Because we want to enjoy our lives here, too, you know!
Chuong: *In German* Tell me about it! Not too long ago back in America, Dawn spoke to Leo about letting people live their lives, instead of letting CNG control them with fear just to please him.
Warlord Wolf: *In German* Sounds like a good advice.
Rasmus: *In German* She's not wrong. COVID-19 lockdowns in Europe was awful, and it was no better back in Denmark. Moon Moon, I'm curious. If Luong the Hidden Lion was your country's President, how would you feel?
Chuong: *In German* I would actually feel nervous, because some people think we UN1024s only do what our respective parallels and Super C tells us to do, when in reality, our duties is to protect our countries first and help our people first, without being told what to do first.
If Luong was my President, I'd feel like I have to do what he says a lot, and I would feel like I would have less power to provide constructive criticisms to him and the other G-52s. On the other hand, I would feel a bit better, since Luong would be committed to human rights more, and he would help remove our Cinderella Law. Luong being our President would make it much easier for us to reconcile our past and do a much better job in treating our people right. But until then, improvements are slow, but we are getting somewhere. And with Liu being China's President, it makes it easier for us to focus on the things that matter more without China bugging us.
Konrad: *In German* Well, Chuong, I can tell you that even if Luong were to be your President, you won't have a lot to worry about, because Super C is open to feedback. Remember that meeting back in America about how to issue demerits? And remember, we were there in the review room where Dawn used VR technology to provide Leo constructive criticism and feedback through immersive technologies. And if Luong is committed to human rights, he would let you and other Vietnamese provide more feedback to your government and there would be less authoritarian elements in your country; one of them as you mentioned, is having the Cinderella Law repealed.
Chuong: *In German* True, I suppose.
Rasmus: *In German* And besides, you have nothing to worry or feel nervous about; especially if you are Vietnam's ambassador to China. I'm Denmark's ambassador to Sweden because Elias is their Prime Minister, and he's a dragon. You have connections to Liu. You'll be fine, Moon Moon. This is why we have allies; to help each other to become better heroes.
Warlord Wolf: *In German* He's right, you know. Now let's enjoy the Christmas festivities here!
Rasmus: *In German* Yes! *Stops by at a wine vendor and looks at the products and speaks in German.* I think I'll take this white wine for cooking. Looks quite excellent.
Wine Vendor: *In German* That is an excellent choice. Very useful in creamy pasta dishes.
Rasmus: *In German* Just exactly what I needed. *He purchases the bottle of cooking white wine.* Much cheaper to find quality cooking wine here than back in Denmark. Just got to go through customs first and that's it. *In English to the G-52s and others.* Oh; hello, there! I am Rasmus Jensdatter, and I'm from Denmark. I'm obviously the Danish ambassador to Sweden.
Elias: The country that I lead. Welcome to the world's largest Christmas market!
Rasmus: How is everybody doing today?
Juno: Okay, even though it's cold here and I'm all bundled up.
Rasmus: That's why there's the crowds here to warm things up.
Warlord Wolf: Nuremberg is the second largest city in the state of Bavaria, and there is no doubt that Luitpold the Germanic Lion stops by here every Christmas at least.
*The G-52s present introduce themselves.*
Leo: Pleasure to meet you, Rasmus.
Tom: Indeed.
Super C: This is the biggest Christmas market on the planet?
Doughty Dog: And look at the crowds it attracts.
*Luitpold arrives.*
Luitpold: Hi!
Leo: Hello; glad to see you.
Luitpold: First time in Nuremberg?
Super C: For most of us, it is.
Chuong: Nuremberg makes some awesome wursts during Christmas, too. These days, people prefer most of their Christmas shopping to be done online.
Rasmus: Most, you say.
Zax: It's beautiful here. Back in America, we have Christmas markets, too, except we throw food and shop trucks into the mix, simply because it's easier than setting up these market tents.
Warlord Wolf: Yeah; we like to keep it traditional here, even though we do appreciate the modern ways. We just don't show off our modern ways too much.
Rasmus: Back in Denmark, we really don't care about how much people show off their modern ways. But we tend to rather pay more attention about what's happening within our country than what's happening outside our borders, even though we are aware that outside influences can affect us. We have cute Christmas markets as well, but we tend to do it like what Germany does, since personal vehicles are seen as luxuries back in Denmark due to our taxes on them.
Chuong: That's not really much different back in Vietnam with taxing personal vehicles. Then again, we're small densely populated nations, so it tends to be that way.
Warlord Wolf: We have a lot of shops with handmade ornaments for your Christmas trees. Perhaps, you could buy some and help your hometowns decorate their public Christmas trees with them. I'm sure Wildcat City can use a few personal imports of handmade German Christmas ornaments.
Chuong: It's a good thing we celebrate Christmas in Vietnam, even though we're not a Christian country. We have a minority Catholic population thanks to French colonialism, though.
Leo: All good stuff to know.
*The G-52s buy various items.*
Rasmus: *Puts on his Christmas hat.* Don't forget this!
Chuong: *Puts on his Christmas hat.* Weeeeeee!
Super C: (narrating) So far, so good, you might think, but there were still problems going on. Due to the Astroworld tragedy, there were now much stricter guidelines on maximum occupancy and capicity, but sometimes, violations still happen. Thankfully, there were no crowd crushes at this event we're mentioning down below.
*Inglewood, CA, USA*
*After a massive crowd of human and furries leave the stadium in an orderly fashion for the successful performance of BTS (an insanely popular Korean boy band), the stadium not only revokes the contract with a security company for their guards not doing their jobs of checking on visitors, but the police arrest the stadium manager for negligence of duty. There were no crowd crushes at this event, though, and no injuries; the crowd behaved themselves.*
Stadium Manager: *Is being handcuffed and escorted to the police cab.* We're all just having a good time, and nobody was acting up.
Police 1: You still broke the maximum occupancy laws. You knew it was your job to call for help when maximum occupancy is being reached. Your computer and work electronics were warning you that there's too many people in this stadium!
Police 2: Did you not learn anything from Astroworld? You could've killed someone's children here!
Police 3: The fire chief was here trying to get in touch with you, but you didn't listen! Cigarettes and crowded environments do not mix!
Stadium Manager: But people use electronic cigarettes instead these days.
Police 3: If an e-cig malfunctions in this kind of environment, that's an instant fire hazard that would've killed everybody in this stadium! You were supposed to sound the alarms than to let things get that bad here! There were warning signs everywhere on that!
Police 4: In the state of California, we have extremely strict maximum occupancy laws. What you did was negligence of duty. Even if nobody was killed today, you failed to provide necessary protection, and therefore broke the law.
*The police places the stadium manager in their car before transporting him to jail to book him for negligence charges.*
Civilian 1: Whew; that was a fun concert!
Civilian 2: I love K-pop!
Civilian 3: At least everybody was well-behaved!
Civilian 4: Yeah! This beats Astroworld!
*Germany*
*Our communicators beep, and we get word of the manager being arrested.*
Leo: Well, at least there wasn't a crowd crush. But he's still in prison.
Crush: How many people went to that thing?
Super C: Versus how many was the limit?
Zax: Not that it would matter because they exceeded legal limits. California had extremely strict maximum occupancy laws.
Marshall: They're extremely strict on smoking and vaping too. California is America's most populated state and it can get crowded anywhere there. That means the state must take tough measures to prevent any place from becoming a major fire hazard. The state also tend to have summer droughts so crowded areas are enormous risks there.
Juno: That should convince the world to start enforcing maximum occupancy laws.
Chuong: We need to do that way more back in Vietnam everywhere. Our maximum occupancy laws are not being enforced enough and are too lax. We need to take a hint from the Americans, since they get it right.
Rasmus: Denmark enforces maximum occupancy laws and has banned smoking and vaping in all public indoor areas. We are extremely strict in preventing fire hazards. We even banned oversized banners in our stadiums as well, after hearing about Argentina's past stadium disasters. Whatever happened in Argentina, we don't want that in Denmark.
Super C: And also Turkey; don't forget them.
Warlord Wolf: Germany is getting there quickly, so we're not too far behind. Even the UK is catching up on this.
Leo: Indeed.
Luitpold: What's the biggest stadium you have?
Leo: The University of Michigan has Michigan Stadium, which is the biggest in the US and the third-biggest in the world. *He does a Google search on his communicator to get the exact numbers.* The official seating capacity is 107,601, but it has held crowds larger than 115,000. That's without any problems, though.
*Some others do other searches.*
Super C: So the biggest stadium is Narendra Modi Stadium in India, which can hold 132,000 people. But that's not including race tracks or anything like that.
Doughty Dog: But the biggest sports venue of any kind in the whole world is American because it is Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Luipold: How many can you fit in there?
Doughty Dog: As of this year, 257,325.
Luitpold: Whoa. This is huge!
*He looks at pictures of the speedway.*
Leo: But with the new maximum occupancy laws in place, we're not going to have any crowd crushes. What I want to see the rest of the world doing, however, is enforce way stricter punishments for soccer hooliganism, but that's a different story.
Rasmus: Soccer hooliganism is nonexistent back in Denmark.
Zax: Same back in America, but mainly because we don't care about soccer unless we're in FIFA. We also only care about soccer in the Olympics, too, even though we do have MLS (Major League Soccer). But for local matches, we're just "meh" on it, and they're more associated with our Hispanic communities. Granted more Americans are taking an interest in soccer, but it's very slow. We all know what it is.
American soccer teams often look up to the Italians for help on how to make their uniforms and fan outfits more interesting in hopes of drawing more audiences. But these days, it takes a lot of effort to get soccer into the American mainstream sports culture.
Rasmus: So strange that you Americans have everything, but you're not into soccer much?
Kirk: I'm Canadian, and we're more interested in hockey than soccer.
Rasmus: Ah, Canada; the big country that most people tend to forget about.
Kirk: But we're far from isolated. You have a higher chance of overlooking Iceland than you do with Canada.
Rasmus: I'm Danish, so we can't forget Iceland.
Shi: In China, we still do quick background checks on stadium visitors. Those who have a history of soccer hooliganism are barred. So far, that vetting system is still used in China under Liu.
Rasmus: A background check before letting people in to the stadiums? That sounds like something off of Black Mirror.
Shi: It is, but we declassified that technology to Estonia for global research purposes and test their effectiveness. INTERPOL is researching this vetting technology for their effectiveness without using excessive intrusive methods.
Chuong: Wow... I guess China's social credit score system never really died out; just declassified to the world for research purposes.
Shi: The world pressured China into declassifying controversial technologies for research purposes. The United Nations demanded that China to declassify such technologies, so the world can learn about this technology, and have a better understanding of ethics in technological advancements and implementation. This was the only way to get the world to learn from our mistakes if we want to be closer to global stability. The Americans are researching this too, and are learning about ethics in the modern world. No doubt that Wildcat University is in on this for academic research as well.
Leo: They are indeed.
Warlord Wolf: I wonder what Wildcat City's Christmas festival is like?
Chuong: Me thinks there are lots of Christmas parades, caroling, markets, market vans, the list goes on!
Rasmus: I want to see.
Chuong: Seeing dragons in Christmas festivities seems to be rather ironic, considering the historical western perspectives on dragons. Of course in Denmark, dragons have always been welcomed as equals since the get go.
Rasmus: Boring people and shut-ins tend to dislike the ideas of dragons celebrating Christmas. Haters as well. Best to tune them out.
Zax: So who's ready to see some Wildcat City Christmas?
*Everybody puts their hands up.*
Leo: I think that's everybody.
*later*
*We return to Wildcat City, and as Chuong correctly guessed, there are plenty of Christmas parades, caroling, markets and market vans, and food trucks as well, just to name a few. The bands also play "Hail to the Chief" upon spotting Leo, and he gives the military salute.*
Super C: *to Rasmus* First time in the city?
Rasmus: It is. I'm glad I'm with Konrad here.
Konrad: Welcome to Wildcat City! Here, it's a good place to start learning about the USA! And this is the city's mayor, Tim Jabowitz.
Rasmus: Greetings, Mayor! I'm Rasmus Jensdatter and I come from Denmark. The Christmas festivities here is similar to the ones we have back in Denmark.
Chuong: And they got æbelskivers here, too! Me thinks Lenarth the Naval Lion, Leo's Danish parallel, would say the festivities here are similar, too.
Konrad: Æbelskiver?
Chuong: They're pancake balls with apple pie filling topped with powdered sugar, and are prepared in a similar way to takoyaki back in Japan. Æbelskiver are a dessert staple in Denmark. What's apple pie to Leo is what aebelskiver is to Lenarth.
Konrad: Oooh; that sounds delicious!
Jabowitz: How do you do? You're the first dragon I've met that doesn't come from America.
Leo's thoughts: I wonder if Gopher knows about that dish?
Jabowitz: Though I have to admit, Mr. President, we miss you.
Leo: I miss this city, too, but the nation needs me.
Jabowitz: And yet, you still seem to have all this free time on your hands to perform stuff? I can see they want you to do so now.
Leo: Like I always say, "If you've got time to lead the country, you've got time for music." And I do play all the melodic percussion instruments.
*This signals that this was a set-up performance; it just looks like a flash mob. To entertain some of the onlookers, several lions of the U.S. Lion Corps Band and tigers of the U.S. Tiger Corps Band who also play jazz instruments present Leo with a vibraphone. Tom decides to play his trumpet. Leo speaks to the onlookers as the press films this for the news.*
Leo: Thank you all for coming; I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season. Throughout the day, you've been hearing some Christmas tunes. We'll switch it up a little here; this is a jazz rendition of "Marble Zone" we'll do for you, from the very first Sonic the Hedgehog game. This song is 30 years old! And it's just as powerful as it was then, no doubt. I'll do the vibraphone part.
*The ensemble performs "Marble Zone," with Tom on trumpet and Leo on vibraphone, plus the other members. Another lion plays the drums, while another tiger plays the bass, and so on.*
Zax: Okay! I like it!
Rasmus: Your President is extremely talented. Better enjoy his Presidency as much as you can.
Zax: Of course!
Zachary/Zihao: I was once evil before I defected to your side. America has three periods under the rule of a furry; Zachary the Cruel (which was me), Richard the Orderly, and now, Leo the Emperor. Some historians describe those periods as that, and let's just say, we are glad to be under the period of Leo the Emperor.
Rasmus: I'm glad you are with us.
Zachary/Zihao: *Leads Rasmus to an aebleskiver food truck.* Does that look familiar?
Rasmus: We have plenty of those back in Denmark! The line here is very long, so it must be really good.
Zachary/Zihao: Then no doubt does Lenarth prefer the longest line for aebleskiver.
Rasmus: The wait would be well worth it!
Konrad: Always nice to have these talented marching bands thrown in here. We even have Christmas-flavored ice cream here.
Rasmus: Christmas and ice cream?
Konrad: It's a thing here in America.
Rasmus: Back in Denmark, the closest we have is risalamande, a type of Christmas almond rice pudding topped with cherry sauce.
Konrad: That actually sounds delicious!
Zax: In the American state of Minnesota, you will find a lot of Danish dishes from ethnic Danish communities there, so it is very likely that they have risalamande. Too bad the Minnesota Vikings aren't that great right now, and Leo, being a Kansas native, naturally supports the Kansas City Chiefs and even celebrated with their Superbowl win not too long ago. The next Superbowl will be in Inglewood in California, but we'll be in China then for their Olympics.
Leo: (narrating) This is accurate, folks. Being a lion, I've always been known to root for the Detroit Lions at times, but they've really been in a slump these past few years.
Rasmus: I did hear about the fall of Xi Jinping and how that unfolded. Personally, I say that was not only an excellent move by the Americans, but also the best thing to ever happen, because not only was no one harmed during the revolution, but it also helped reinforce the message to the International Olympic Committee the importance of human rights, and why they should be supporting them.
Juno: Wasn't Inglewood the same city where the stadium manager got arrested and replaced for violating the city's maximum occupancy laws by letting in way too many people unchecked for BTS's performance, even though everything went smoothly?
Zax: Yup. *To Jabowitz.* If you're wondering, BTS is the most popular K-pop boy band in this world. There are other K-pop groups that are very popular too, like BLACKPINK, ATEEZ, TWICE, Momoland, and a few others.
Jack: Apparently some people, especially furries, are into that kind of stuff. I noticed that I see quite a few furries in techwear dancing to their songs, even though they're not limited to K-pop.
Zachary/Zihao: BiliBili, China's answer to YouTube, is loaded with videos of furries dancing to C-pop, or Chinese pop music. You also see plenty of similar videos on TikTok, an app, otherwise known as Douyin in China. TikTok/Douyin is also a source of memes, too.
Jabowitz: That make sense. I don't normally pay attention to stuff like that. I'm focused on being the mayor.
Super C: How do you think he's done so far? Leo, I mean.
Jabowtiz: He's done brilliantly. I'm amazed he got this far without a controversy. Too bad he came up short. Or did he?
Super C: I didn't charge him with a demerit because he's fixing the problem. But the irony of his statement on cracking down on internet trolls and spammers to make the internet safer was something literally everybody supported. When Leo was elected, people claimed it was their duty to value safety over freedom. But was it really? I doubt it.
Turbo Tiger: Even the FCC said it was a good idea?
Super C: Even the FCC. The real best way to protect your information, however, is to never use the internet.
Leo: (narrating) This goes back to the controversial comment I made one day about online crackdowns, in case you don't know what they're talking about. I mentioned before that there was no legislation actually created, and it was the CNG itself that wrote the executive order draft, not me. I later destroyed that draft. Yet because CNG had gotten to the people, everybody was on board with it, so the Commander and the mayor are telling the truth. There was just some confusion still going around because the news media, as they always do, got it wrong.
This adventure we're highlight happened before we got the whole truth, however; we do tend to narrate these out of order. Sorry about that.
Marshall: Yeah; that's an issue that needs to be sorted out, because the definition for trolling is so general, basically any legal attempts to even regulate it is controversial. This does come in conflict with the First Amendment, and the Supreme Court's duty is to uphold the Constitution.
Zachary/Zihao: Yet, from my understanding, the government can combat certain misinformation, especially those involving vaccines, if they are deemed a threat to national security. That falls into the grey area so as much as we support freedom of speech, we must watch out for those who say things like vaccines cause autism. (They don't.) Conflicting information against those from the CDC and WHO is concerning. Now that is something I can understand, even if that falls into a grey area.
Zax: Governments will always come into issues that fall into the grey area.
Rasmus: Even in Denmark, we have issues that fall into grey areas. But considering our taxation system and social policies we have, as long the policies favor the majority of Danish citizens first, that's usually acceptable. For example, the Danish city of Middelfart is still under partial martial law due to a tourism ban, because they don't want foreigners coming in to make fun of the city's name. Not to mention, Middelfart has a decent number of past CNG incidents that required martial law to stop them. As for avoiding the internet, it's getting impossible in some places, Denmark being one of them. Why? The internet these days is the only way to have access to basic government services, such as updating IDs. Pretty much almost everything we use requires the internet one way or another.
Zachary/Zihao: America has a convention called CES, or Consumer Electronics Show. They're usually in Las Vegas, and they have a lot of products that uses the internet.
Super C: I think I've attended one of those a few times.
*later*
*After the performance, Leo walks back over to where we are.*
Leo: Something bothering you?
Super C: The mayor here was wondering about that comment you made regarding online crackdowns.
Leo: I do remember making a comment about it, but I don't think there was any legislation about it, and I didn't sign any executive orders. Google messaged me and said that they had already taken care of the problems in the case involving Lionel Drummond.
Cripto: My instinct tells me somebody's spreading rumors just to get you impeached.
Leo: Some people did vote me in so that they could see me fail. But I have no desires to regulate the internet. I don't ever use it! Well, unless I'm on YouTube.
Marshall: You only made a very tiny mistake. Just don't let it happen again.
Zax: It's not worthy for a demerit, and besides, most presidents here before you done worse. I don't think you've got anything to worry about.
Juno: Relax! This is why we have a system of checks and balances between the three branches of government. Everybody makes mistakes and the Supreme Court corrects them. You're fine!
Mechayote: The issue is resolved, so we can just move on. Google already published their announcement on this issue on social media.
Leo: Okay. I feel better about it. No legislation was actually published; I was just tossing out ideas, all of which I am going to have to throw out. I just think Cripto thinks somebody was trying to frame me.
Super C: Why do you say that?
Cripto: The C.I.D.F. contacted me and asked me to help them investigate possible CNG smugglers; meanwhile, you invited General Drummond to the capital and gave him the award.
Leo: Yes; he won the Soldier's Medal.
Super C: What did you discover?
Cripto: The smugglers who confessed to you that they expected you to bellow at them got busted before phase 2 of their plan could start. Then again, CNG would have killed them first. But they wanted the CNG to write the executive order on its own, which would have meant government control over online crackdowns, especially foreign interference. (narrating) And as it turned out, it did write the order on its own, because that's how it acts; it does what the crooks want, but kills them so that they don't live to see it. It also wants to kill all the G-52s, Leo especially, because we are not going with its agenda to turn the world into the new Kriegland.
Leo: Then I would have been impeached.
Tom: Which means phase 3 would have been to put a scandal on me.
Cripto: Exactly.
*Super C takes notes.*
Leo: Good work, soldier! Now we can move on with our lives.
Doughty Dog: All of you really saved the day on that one.
Rasmus: Oh, good, because we Danes have been going for months without any CNG incident.
Chuong: I always wanted to see what Middelfart is like because I always hear about that city and how beautiful and nice it is.
Rasmus: It is a very beautiful city, very charming, but sadly people there are very suspicious of foreigners. If that city ever opens up where martial law officially ends there, you would have to go with Lenarth, or a trustworthy Danish soldier or hero, as your guide so they know that you're not an immature tourist.
Warlord Wolf: Germany has a town called Murr, located in the German state of Badden-Württemberg. Sadly, due to the town's name's double entendre in other contexts, the town is attracting a surge of immature furries and their friends from around the world, which has some locals worried. I've been to Murr, and most residents there stated that as long they do not vandalize the town and harass the locals, they may not mind, because they want them to not only enjoy the town, but also encourage them to support small local businesses there. Of course, they have more trust in German furries from other places than outsiders due to the ongoing global partial lockdown from the CNG crisis.
Leo: (narrating) Now for the big moment in space travel I was referencing a while back.
*Our communicators and smartphones beep.*
Marshall: Well, Merry Christmas to the furry LGBTQ+ community! Blue Origin is going to launch New Shepard on December 11, and one of the passengers on board is a queer furry. On top of that, they will also be the first Earth furries to go out into outer space through a private company. That means America, once again, accomplished another first!
Zachary/Zihao: America launches first furry into outer space through a private company! Now that's something newsworthy!
*Beijing, China*
Politician 1: *In Chinese* Oh, great; now the Americans are launching furries into outer space!
Politician 2: *In Chinese* Oh, great; they're going to literally colonize our solar system! The Americans existed for less than 300 years and already they have surpassed us? I thought we had all the technology in the world!
Politician 3: *In Chinese* Liu is our President, so please cut the whining!
*Moscow, Russia*
Politician 1: *In Russian* No fair! The Americans are now launching furries into outer space as an experiment to see if they can colonize our galaxy!
Politician 2: *In Russian* You mean our Solar System first!
Politician 3: *In Russian* Why are these Americans beating and owning us in the new space race?!
Captain Cosmo: *In Russian* I may be Captain Cosmo, but the Americans taught us that by letting people form their own organizations and ideas, they're allowing more growth for innovation. That's what they're doing. That's why the man behind America's largest e-commerce gigacorporation is also the same man behind Blue Origin.
Politician 4: *In Russian* We're not going to be relevant in this world at this rate!
*El Paso, TX, USA*
*The city's hotels have sold out their rooms due to Americans gathering for the launch of New Shepard.*
Civilian 1: Do it for the American furry community!
Civilian 2: We love you!
Civilian 3: If you can, take as many pictures of your trip as possible!
Civilian 4: We will be the first country on Earth to send a furry into space through a private company! USA all the way!
Civilian 5: All right, everybody! Let us say a prayer to our astronauts. Let God protect them on their journey. Let us pray for His protection.
*Everybody holds a prayer for the astronauts.*
*WC, KS, USA*
Leo: I also send them my congratulations. I'm also expecting the Chinese and Russians to throw a tantrum over this, but that's a different story.
Super C: As long as the lions don't snap. Leonid I'm more worried about than Liu, though.
*China*
Politician 4: *in Chinese* What are you all whining about? We've had this discussion too many times already. We had a chance, and we failed. We are paying the price for it in the form of these Americans beating us at everything.
Liu: *in Chinese* We should actually be congratulating the Americans on doing this.
*Russia*
Leonid: *in Russian* Do not forget that in the 1960s, they beat us to the moon. Therefore, we should not complain. We should instead wish them all the best. (narrating in English) Yes. I was outside my house for a change.
*WC, KS, USA*
Marshall: There's actually two furries on board; the other is their father.
Zax: Wait, isn't they a he?
Marshall: Either one works.
Zax: I think I'll go with he, and he stated that he is pansexual, meaning you love someone regardless of their sexual identity. But what does it matter? Like father and son, they're going to space together! There's no more epic father and son bonding moments than that! Once again, only in America, is anything possible!
Rasmus: You Americans really prove that impossible is just a concept.
*Beijing, China*
*The politicians agree before they break into applause together to show their support to America. Soon, all of China applauds for America as some wave American flags to show their support for America.*
*Moscow, Russia*
Captain Cosmo: *In Russian* Let us show support for the Americans in leading the world in space science.
*Everybody applauds for America as well.*
*Ottawa, Canada*
*Several politicians decide to recognize America as the space capital of the world.*
Dominique: Let's give credit where credit is due. The United States of America is the international space capital of Earth! They are worthy for this title and have proven themselves very well for it. I know you'd say the same Levi!
Kirk: But Machias Seal Island belongs to us, right?
Dominique: Uhm... Yeah. Unless America destroys us in hockey for the gold in Beijing 2022. But other than that, America is the world's space capital!
Kirk: They truly are, and we must respect them for that.
*United Nations Assembly*
*The majority unanimously voted to recognize America as the space capital of Earth, as well as acknowledging America as the true space power on Earth.*
*WC, KS, USA*
Leo: Note to self, brush up on those terms, because it's all about improving my relations with those people.
*Our communicators and phones beep again.*
Leo: Good; they didn't snap. They're instead applauding for the astronauts.
*He goes back to his vibraphone as the ensemble continues to play video game jazz arrangements.*
*China*
*Liu joins in on the applause.*
*Russia*
*Leonid joins in on the applause.*
*Canada*
Levi: Absolutely. There's no other nation that deserves that title. I hereby declare the US as the space capital of the world, and possibly the whole universe!
*all over the world*
*Various news media record footage of the government, even in places such as Afghanistan and Iran, applauding the US.*
Super C: (narrating) Okay; now we can officially flash forward to the space launch.
*Later, as the foreigners return back home, we visit the city of El Paso in Texas to witness the launch of New Shepard. The city of El Paso is extremely crowded with slightly more furries as everybody anticipates the launch. Due to the city's enormous crowds, the Texas National Guard is activated at the city's borders as the police are dressed up in riot gear and are patrolling with their catchpoles and riot shields. There are also additional police units being deployed as snipers on many of the city's rooftops for extra security.*
Civilian 1: Welcome to El Paso, Texas!
Civilian 2: The United States of America will be the first country to send furries into outer space through a private space company!
Civilian 3: Everybody make way for the President and his administration!
Civilian 4: New Shepard! New Shepard! New Shepard!
Civilian 5: Cody's here! Clear the way for him!
Civilian 6: Hey, Cody! Aren't you excited to watch Blue Origin send two of our furries into outer space?
Civilian 7: Make way for the news crews from around the world here!
Juno: Whoa! There's so many people in El Paso! It's usually never like this!
*Blue Origin also announces another flight with humans, including Michael Strahan, current host of GMA (Good Morning America) and The $100,000 Pyramid. This flight, however, is the furry flight. Also, marching bands play "Hail to the Chief" to announce Leo's arrival.*
Cody: This is amazing, but I hope this ain't no fire hazard.
Leo: Ever since the Astroworld tragedy, everybody's been taking extreme measures to ensure we're not having any crowd crushes. This is a rocket launch, however; this isn't a legitimate reason to do a crowd crush. Concerts or people shopping on Black Friday? That I get, but it still shouldn't happen.
Cody: No. Them rap artists' careers are goin' down them drains now.
Marshall: It's about your intended audience you're trying to attract. Travis Scott, for example, has a history of attracting bad audiences in his past concerts. There were even claims that he told his audience to flip the bird at incoming ambulances for laughs. Not that it would matter because whatever happened at Astroworld pretty much destroyed his career where Cactus Jack Records is no more. All that philanthropic work Scott did is gone.
Zax: There are furry rap artists out there, but they're rare, and have small crowds; just saying. As for Black Friday shopping, yeah. That's why everybody is encouraging others to take their Black Friday shopping online. It's why you see more automated factories than stores. Thank goodness we have Cyber Mondays, too. These days, it even costs more to shop in person than it is online, because nobody wants to deal with crowd crushes.
*New Shepard successfully launches into space as everybody cheers. Cody watches through a pair of binoculars.*
Mechayote: A beautiful launch!
Cody: Looks like we have liftoff!
Leo: Indeed.
Super C: How long do they plan to be up there?
Cody: No idea.
*Later, the astronauts return back into orbit with a successful landing as everybody applauds.*
Civilian 1: That was successful!
Civilian 2: We did it! We launched the world's first furries into outer space and they came back in one piece!
Civilian 3: Beautiful!
Mechayote: What a moment this is.
Zax: It is! What a better way to close this year as we head towards Christmas time before into the new wild year of 2022!
Zachary/Zihao: According to the Chinese lunar calendar, next year will be the year of the water tiger after we leave this year of the metal bull.
Shadow Hunter: Rain Cat is a Vietnamese-Bengalian G-52, and she is a tiger with water-based powers. That means she will be leading the lunar new year parades in Vietnam, then.
Juno: How fitting!
Leo: Year of the water tiger? Not just the regular tiger? Interesting.
Tom: *to Zachary* Why is it the water tiger?
*Leo goes to congratulate the astronauts.*
Zachary/Zihao: The only reason I can think of is because the Chinese zodiac uses both the elements of earth and animals in their calendar system. It's pretty complex but that's how they do it.
*The news crew goes to the astronauts for their response about their experiences.*
Astronaut 1: It was absolutely beautiful! Just beautiful!
Astronaut 2: I had no idea how big space really was, but it was something.
Tom: Sounds about right. Previously we had the year of the metal bull. But then again, I don't believe in the zodiac or in astrology.
*The news crew also films Leo congratulating the astronauts.*
Leo: Excellent work; all of you!
*The astronauts thank Leo as they shake his hand.*
Leo: (narrating) We now come to the latest bill I signed into law; this previously wouldn't fly in the States under other Presidents. I just hope this is a good idea. Of course, it should really depend on the employer. But this was in response to other countries, Iceland being one of them, experimenting with this, and having success with it. Some would argue Cripto's unlimited wealth also helped with that.
Anyway, let me know how you feel about this. Should a full-time week stay at 40 hours, or is 32 a better goal to shoot for? Some did object.
*Later, Congress unanimously passed a bill that defines full time work hours at 32 hours instead of 40, due to the 4 work days a week trend taking over the world. This helps with work-life balance too and promote family time without reducing productivity. That means in America under this bill, anyone who works over 32 hours is paid overtime.*
Mr. Letterman: Mr. President! Here is the 32 Hour Work Week Act. There's a lot of studies proving that working only 4 days a week as full-time is very beneficial and helps reduce employment turnover rates. The rise of job automation tech and AI reinforces why the full-time work hours should be 32 instead of 40. Let's make the working future a better time to live in. What do you say, Leo?
Marshall: Sign it! We're in the future now. It's time that we treat our workers better.
Zax: Nobody can argue with this bill.
Zachary/Zihao: Do it!
Jack: This will help us.
Juno: 1,000% yes to this bill! Sign it into law!
*Leo first reads the bill thoroughly.*
Leo: I have a feeling some jobs will continue to require 40 hours a week, or up to 40 if someone has to fill in or somebody. Otherwise, I do want to see people healthier, and a few of my parallels were talking to me about this over the G-52 app to show me how it's working in their countries. If it works there, it should work here.
*He signs it.*
Leo: Let the 32-hour revolution begin! Well, maybe "revolution" isn't the right word for it.
*All of America explodes in cheers and applause.*
Civilian 1: Hail to the king!
Civilian 2: President, you mean, but, yes; he'd make a great American king if our system of government was a monarchy. It's for the best that it's not, however.
Civilian 3: Thanks, Leo! I can enjoy life more thanks to you!
Civilian 4: I don't think Trump is going to catch up to you.
*Ottawa, Canada*
*The same exact bill is introduced to Levi.*
Courtney: We're overdue for this. You know what to do.
*Minsk, Belarus*
*A similar bill is introduced to Liavon.*
Politician 1: *In Belarussian* Let's give it a try and see what happens.
Politician 2: *In Belarussian* The west claims it allows people to spend more time with their families as well as other things to help reduce stress and increase productivity. If that is true, let's try that here.
*Pretoria, South Africa*
*A similar bill is introduced to Letsego.*
Majoni: *Reads the bill.* Let's give it a shot.
Psychoyena: Let's try it. I don't see why it shouldn't proceed. We have a rising robotics and AI industry, too.
Majoni: The world has been entering the 32 hour week schedule. Let's join them.
*Beijing, China*
*An identical bill that Leo has signed is introduced to Liu by Chinese legislatures.*
Politician 1: *In Chinese* It's time we promote not only family, but give more time to people to explore westward of China.
Politician 2: *In Chinese* Our neighbors has signed a similar bill, so let's do this, Liu!
*USA*
Leo: Although some employers might still want to do 40 hours. It really should be left up to them.
*Canada*
Levi: This is turning into a running gag, it seems. By that I mean that every time Leo signs a bill into law, I get something of the same nature. *He reads the bill.* However, let's try this and see what happens. *He signs the bill.* There you go.
*Belarus*
*Liavon signs the bill.*
*South Africa*
*Letsego signs the bill.*
Letsego: So let's give it a try and see what happens. Some employers may still want to do 40 hours, though; there should be some exceptions to the rules here. I don't know.
*China*
Liu: *in Chinese* Good; good. This is what I want to see from you. No more stupid attempts to control other people by controlling the internet.
*He signs the bill. He then signs another bill; the second one officially prohibits the government from collecting people's personal information, and prevents them from doing what they were doing while Jinping had the position.*
*Canada*
*There are cheers and applause from across the nation.*
*Belarus*
*There are cheers and applause from across the nation.*
*South Africa*
*There are cheers and applause from across the nation.*
*China*
*There are cheers and applause from across the nation.*
Silk Tigress: *In Chinese to her fellow citizens.* The Yang Administration has made it where your permission is required before they can collect demographic information about you; otherwise you can opt out, and they will not bother you. Just like the United States of America, your privacy rights will be enforced and protected.
Shi: *In Chinese* All applications to our government are required to state your privacy rights before you can fill them out. That way, you will have a clear understanding of how your information will be used.
*Tallinn, Estonia*
Civilian 1: *In Estonian as he drinks coffee.* That social credit score system from China... I have a feeling this may be used by companies to encourage clients and customers to do more good and buy good things before anything else.
Civilian 2: *In Estonian* Glad the Chinese gave that system to us under Liu. Santa using a global social credit score system to see who deserves gifts in their stockings and who deserves coal in them... That would be something.
Civilian 3: *In Estonian* I don't know, man. Despite the intents of a social credit score system, it has a lot of ethical issues with it. The biggest one is privacy, just as Leho stated. How much personal info is required into this system for their effectiveness? Scary stuff, you know.
Civilian 4: *In Estonian* Morality is about one's beliefs, and ethics is about how society defines what is right and wrong. I've watched Black Mirror, and you have no idea how many ethical issues a social credit score system deal with. Think of all these ethical challenges such a system will face.
Civilian 5: *In Estonian* Look how the internet functions. Your search history, your social media posts, and online shopping habits, at the minimum, are enough to show you targeted ads that you like instead of random ones.
Look how the algorithms evolved so quickly these days. I've been talking about sandal slides on social media, so I've been seeing ads for slides. Heck! When Christmas comes along, you see ads about gift shopping! A lot of these Christmas ads have been more precise since I've been seeing ads about Christmas shopping for family, as well as Christmas shopping for friends. You even see ads about birthday gift shopping for your friends, too.
Civilian 6: *In Estonian* I work in advertising and advertising is a rapidly growing field. The more precise the ad is to the audiences' precise desires, the more likely they will be drawn to the ads. They like ads that speaks a personal message to them than some generic message. They like ads that caters to them, like their precise location, too. The little details count and that's what makes the internet a beautiful place to experiment with. No wonder why I embrace tech and the future! It's that optimism that keeps Estonia bright in the darkest and coldest winters. This is why we have the luxuries we have today that our parents and those before them didn't have.
Civilian 7: *In Estonian* That and remember, we used to be a communist country thanks to the Soviet Union. We make the best of what little we have even today. Leho remembers life under communism, and why the future is worth looking forward to for Estonia.
Civilian 8: *In Estonian* Communism was absolute painful torture. But I'm so glad we went a full year without a single GSAF terrorist attack here.
Civilian 7: *In Estonian* Still boggles my mind how a tiny group of Americans took down China with very little effort without having anyone hurt, then letting Liu take Jinping's place as their president. All that happened in a flash, but at least China is now committed to global human rights.
*China*
Liu: *in Chinese* It's such a shame we weren't doing this a long time ago. Your personal info is your personal info; I don't wish to know it.
*Estonian*
Civilian 4: *in Estonian* How do you feel about this, Leho?
Leho: *in Estonian* About a social credit score system? I'm not really sure what to think of that. But you guessed correctly; what bothers me the most about that is privacy invasions; there's too many things they ask for when collecting it in order to determine your score. Everybody already has their personal credit score.
Civilian 5: *in Estonian* How about how the Americans got rid of Jinping?
Leho: *in Estonian* That was impressive.
*China*
Silk Tigress: *In Chinese* Good thing it is now much easier for the world to set global standards and rules regarding personal info and data.
Liu: *in Chinese* Indeed.
Leo: (narrating) This concludes the highlights of our season leading up to Dec. 25. On behalf of the G-52s and the Zanicchi Administration, we wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas, and a very happy start to 2022. 2022 is going to be a year full of challenging opportunities, and it's going to take all of us to pull them off successfully.
Good night.
THE END
Highlights from the Christmas 2021 Season
Some highlights from the Christmas 2021 season with the G-52s and allies, and another bill that President Leo Zanicchi signs into law, reducing the total number of hours defining a full-time employee from 40 hours a week down to 32.
Leo himself, G-52s, C.I.D.F., etc. © me and me alone
Leo's parallels joint-owned by me and Chuong
UN1024s, AIRAF, GSAF, etc. © Chuong alone
Sonic the Hedgehog © SEGA; "Marble Zone" music composed by Masato Nakamura
Jazz rendition of "Marble Zone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYJxxkY4i00
Leo himself, G-52s, C.I.D.F., etc. © me and me alone
Leo's parallels joint-owned by me and Chuong
UN1024s, AIRAF, GSAF, etc. © Chuong alone
Sonic the Hedgehog © SEGA; "Marble Zone" music composed by Masato Nakamura
Jazz rendition of "Marble Zone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYJxxkY4i00
Category Story / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Gender Any
Size 92 x 120px
Rasmus: I meant to say Denmark has banned all indoor public smoking.
Jack: Most countries have similar bans.
Zachary/Zihao: And if Luong becomes Vietnam's President, then no doubt will Chuong and the other Vietnamese heroes who know him will be appointed into his administration. But either way, Chuong should not be afraid to question Luong's reasonings on his acts and decisions because we do that with you too, Leo. Luong may be Chuong's immediate superior as his general, but he is capable of receiving feedback as well.
Juno: But at least the Nguyen Administration under Luong would mean the end to the pointless Cinderella Law and hopefully better LGBTQ+ protections in Vietnam.
Jack: Most countries have similar bans.
Zachary/Zihao: And if Luong becomes Vietnam's President, then no doubt will Chuong and the other Vietnamese heroes who know him will be appointed into his administration. But either way, Chuong should not be afraid to question Luong's reasonings on his acts and decisions because we do that with you too, Leo. Luong may be Chuong's immediate superior as his general, but he is capable of receiving feedback as well.
Juno: But at least the Nguyen Administration under Luong would mean the end to the pointless Cinderella Law and hopefully better LGBTQ+ protections in Vietnam.
Captain C: That's virtually how the smoking ban in the UK works.
Leo: I thank you for doing that with me; Levi's also taking a similar approach so that he doesn't make any more embarrassing mistakes like he did in his first go-round. Let's hope Luong does the same thing.
Leo: I thank you for doing that with me; Levi's also taking a similar approach so that he doesn't make any more embarrassing mistakes like he did in his first go-round. Let's hope Luong does the same thing.
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