Issue III
Brief News, Good News

Contents

• Belschaft Files Defamation Charges
  
• Henn Elected Minister of the Army
  
• SCO – The Future of Roleplayed TSP?
  
• It's a Matter of Survival
  

Belschaft Files Defamation Charges
by Kris Montresor


On Thursday Belschaft filed five defamation charges, due to the continued accusations of his involvement in the conspiracy know as Operation Brave Little Toaster. Belschaft was involved in an attempt to import votes to the South Pacific,allegedly due to his fear that Unibot and Glen-Rhodes would use their positions in the Cabinet to bring the region closer to the defender side. Due to his actions, he was recalled from all his government positions, but further criminal charges were not pursued, following his decision to go on a self-imposed exile.

Following his return to political activity, including candidacies for Minister of the Army and High Court Justice, his credentials have been questioned by different individuals, due to his involvement in Operation Brave Little Toaster. In particular, one of his proposal threads in the Great Council was derailed with a debate on his participation in the Operation, and whether that constituted treason. Belschaft has argued that since he was never formally charged, no crime or wrongdoing was committed. His opponents argue that there was wrongdoing, and the lack of charges were due to the fact that his recalls and self-imposed exile were considered enough punishment at the time.

Following an ultimatum on Wednesday that he would file charges if his accusers did not withdraw their statements, on thursday he filed defamation charges against former Delegates Escade and Kringalia, former Foreign Minister Glen-Rhodes and former citizen Cormac Stark. This move has been sharply criticized by the defendants, who argue that defamation cannot apply if Belschaft did commit the actions of which he has been accused. The process, which would be the first criminal trial since Coalition v. Milograd in 2013, is scheduled to continue once Justice elections finish next week.

Note: Belschaft later clarified to the Journal that his actual position is that his actions were not criminal, and that the reluctance of those who oppose him to press charges, even if they continue to question him, prevent him from being exonerated in a court of law, hence the defamation charges he filed.

Henn Elected Minister of the Army
by Kris Montresor


General Henn has recently been elected Minister of the Army, following a close race against newcomer Darkstrait, and amid intense criticism on the Special Forces, due to a discussion in the Great Council about its chronic lack of new recruits and the possibility of demilitarisation. Both Henn and Darkstrait vowed to revive the military and work hard on recruitment, though presumably voters opted to trust in Henn and his previous record of experience, against the enthusiastic yet unexperienced Darkstrait.

While Henn won a comfortable majority of 20-13, his campaign was the focus of some minor controversy, due to the brief attempt of Belschaft to run a joint campaign with him and serve as co-Ministers of the Army. This was rejected by several prominent figures, including Election Commissioner Kris Montresor. Belschaft eventually decided to simply support Henn, once it was confirmed that the legal question he had submitted on the matter of joint candidacies would not be reviewed in time for the beginning of the voting period.

Henn returns to the Cabinet after having served one term as Minister of Regional Affairs, and subsequently being promoted to General of the Special Forces, where he served alongside QuietDad and under CrimsonTideFan, who was recently recalled as Minister due to his severe inactivity. When consulted about his election, Henn thanked the South Pacific "for the opportunity to place me in such a controversial position, and I hope I can live up to expectations." He has the challenge of reviving the Special Forces and convincing detractors that it is possible to have an active and unaligned military.

SCO - The Future of Roleplayed TSP?
by Kris Montresor


While the South Pacific once had a vibrant roleplaying community, in recent years this had not been the case, and several attempts to revive the forum section now known as Treasure Island ended up in failure. This has recently changed, with a new generation of enthusiastic roleleplayers coming to the South Pacific, keeping Treasure Island as one of the most active sections of the forum and slowly forming a system of alliances and international relations.

There are several such alliances, like the Inter-Pacifican Space Agency and the Southern Socialist Union, but one of the most organised and successful alliances so far is the Southern Cooperation Organisation, an alliance for democratic nations formed in late 2013 by Kringalia and Awesomiasa as a bilateral cooperation forum, but only recently turned into an international alliance. While the other alliances are loose discussion and coordination forums, the SCO already has a Charter and is actively processing accession applications, with its Southern Council recently discussing the legal ramifications of the recent Sporaltryan War, given the multiple allegations of war crimes having been committed.

So far the SCO has considered five accession applications, and has also elected a Secretary General, Carlo Bazzoli of Kringalia. These development could improve even more the state of Treasure Island, providing new dynamics to the international system that has been developing. It remains to be seen if the growth of the SCO will lead to any confrontations with alliances like the Southern Socialist Union, which was one of the main players in the Sporaltryan War. However, this is undoubtedly a step in the right direction for roleplaying in the South Pacific, and ultimately for the diversification of involvement opportunities for newcomers and veteran members alike.

It's a Matter of Survival
by Feirmont


Lowest Crime Rates, Most Authoritarian, Best Weather. These are but three of the 71 possible World Census categories compiled each day. A friendly way for nations to compare each other. But for 28 nations, it's a matter of survival.

On February 5th, and after lengthy preparations, the World Census Elimination Contest began, hosted by noted citizens ProfessorHenn and Aramanchovia. The rules are simply: move a nation to South Pacific Ejection Contest, don't answer any issues, and the nation placed last on each Census is ejected from the region. Leaving, at the end of 27 long days, a sole survivor.

While locked in the region, participating nations will be playing games, having discussions, and even trying to guess what the next census will be, in hopes of winning a one-day immunity.