Alright so I, like many others, have been checking out the new trade routes and found a nice one from Rheinland to Gallia, now I’m kind of curious about the commodity I’m trading, they are "Blue Jillies" the info card as seen here:
Code:
A native species of Planet Stuttgart, Blue Jillies have been cultivated for centuries. Because they require a high oxygen level and specific nitrogen contents in the soil to grow, during the last two decades the environmental changes caused by Synth Foods' business practices have caused significant decreases in the quality of their growth. Despite this, they continue to be very popular because of their vibrant sapphire blue petals and strong, pleasant aroma. They are currently a source of controversy as many of the dispossessed Stuttgart farmers blame their recent decline on Synth Foods, which has resulted in some LWB-supporters wearing the flower as a symbol of pride and solidarity.
Normally id brush it off as a neat little flower thing but the LWB part reminded me of Blood Diamonds, who's info card can be seen here:
Code:
Distinctive for their reddish tint, Hessian Blood Diamonds are identical to Kruger's white diamonds for industrial purposes, but their unique coloration has made them the preferred choice for anyone wanting to make a political statement against the Rheinland state's policies. Ideological allies and sympathizers of the Red Hessians have been quick to import Blood Diamonds as a show of support for the Hessians' cause, while the Rheinland government is ruthlessly trying to block their export
They seem to be the same idea as "I support X cause and so there for Ill buy Y product in support of it" I would think If Rheinland banned Blood Diamonds because people wearing them show support for the Red Hessian cause wouldn't they crack down on Blue Jillies as well?
Just something I was wondering about and wondered about others opinions.
TL;DR
Should Blue Jillies be Contraband like Blood Diamonds because they are worn by supporters of the LWB like Blood Diamonds are for RH supporters?
who knows? If the LWB openly or frequently use it enough over a period of time, they -could- eventually be identified by it. This may not -necessarily- mean they're contraband, just strictly regulated as "soft" contraband... unless the LWB soon monopolize Blue Jillies as exports, which then means it'll become "hard" contraband like Blood Diamonds (in my own terminology, where soft = NPC's don't register it as contraband, but player-police should be wary, NOT hostile, if they scan a ship full of them; hard = NPC's do also register them as contraband, and destroy/capture on site).
another note is that they're allegedly rare, so it would make sense that police would grow suspicious as to where you're bringing them.
Well my main RP has George's Father-in-law's farm mainly grows Blue Jillies, and he does not support either Synth Foods or the LWB he tries to keep his farm independent.
(10-17-2013, 07:16 PM)Pavel Wrote: Most probably they'll be declared contraband in Rheinland.
Most probably some Rheinlanders will be strongly against it including some high ranked police officers. Especially after some recent changes about drugs (Rheinland logic - yes to drugs, no to traditional local flowers?).
(11-26-2014, 02:19 PM)Pavel Wrote: Sorry Thyr but many leaders of official rheinland factions have attitude like they were farmer terrorists (
I don´t remember you saying anything about putting jillies on contraband list when new laws were discussed. Also would be nice to bring some arguments as I do below.
So, I see here very important difference between Blood diamonds and jillies. First - diamonds are sold only by Hessians and they are important source of money. Simply they are still diamonds but they have even wider use than standard diamonds because they are different than them and thus interesting as jewellery and of course as symbol of resistance against government.
Jillies on the other hand are grown on Stuttgart for centuries (as infocard say: "A native species of Planet Stuttgart, Blue Jillies have been cultivated for centuries."), way much longer before LWB appeared. Putting them on contraband list would be another final nailtm on the rests of the local farmers and making situation even worse (yeah, more LWB, that´s what government need right now). Also, jillies are far less profitable than diamonds and harder to obtain (because you can secretly mine in space, but where you can secretly grow and harvest large amounts of flowers on the government controlled planet, hm?).
Tl;dr: All Blood diamonds are made by Hessians and money from it goes to them, but not all jillies are made by LWB and not all money from it goes to them.
And by the way, just because terrorist organisation starts to use as symbol some traditional local product, does this mean we will declare it as contraband? Okay then, be right back, I´m going to ask Unioners to start brewing Rheinbier and put it as their symbol, and VWA to start baking strudels. Rheinlanders can drink wine and eat muffins, right?
I didn't try because the results would be the same like the last time, but drugs were legalized because of Karst. Blame him [:
Besides, yes, Jilies are terrorist-related contraband and should be banned. Bankrupted federal goverment cannot even pay police, Stuttgart should be finally sold and get SynthFoods IFF.