| Issue XVIII |
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Cabinet Elected, What Next?
By Chair of the Assembly, Omega. [Image: N-901-Foto2.jpg]
An emptry Assembly chamber awaits the first meeting of the new Commision on Procedure Last month we had a cabinet election which saw the election of a Minister of Regional Affairs (MoRA) who had never held a government position before, the re-election of our Prime Minister, the election of a formally controversial Council on Regional Security (CRS) member, and the election of a Minister of Military Affairs who was previously our MoRA (didn’t see that coming). But as the cabinet is still getting settled and they begin to enter a lull of activity we should take a look at the Assembly.
Here in the Assembly we recently announced who would be joining Ryccia and myself on the Commission on Procedure (COP). For as long as I have been here procedure in the Assembly has been treated on a case by case basis. And yes, that is one approach that can be taken, however if we want to elevate the Assembly into a more professional place of law-making and policy we must codify our procedures. And there’s one more thing that led to me working to establish this. In my time as our ambassador in Lazarus, I discovered that it is possible to debate issues in a manner which does not tear people down and destroy their confidence; something that TSP is known for abroad and, to some extent, here at home. My goal with the COP is to help usher in a new era in the life of not just the Assembly, but also in the life of the South Pacific. I hope I can speak for the entire commission when I say that we are excited to get to work and we are also excited to see where we will end up. I am personally ready to see what TSP looks like with an Assembly which is both more professional and a lot less toxic. Starfire Islands : First in the Local Council Elections By Spenty After a week of campaigning, the results of the October/November 2016 Local Council Elections have been announced by the election commissioners. According to Article 4 of the Election Act of 2016, the top three candidates who got the most votes in the regional poll will comprise the Local Council. As there were only seven candidates on this occasion the election would only require one round. The Local Council is an important component of the government as they represent the people in the decisions of the Region. Out of the seven candidates Starfire Islands got the most votes with 45 out of 91 votes or nearly half of the voters. In a special interview, the Southern Journal asked him how he felt about his victory in the Local Council elections and how will he work in the Local Council:
Southern Journal(SJ): Good day, I'm from the Southern Journal and I would like to congratulate you on your recent victory in the Local Council elections. If you don't mind I'd like to ask you a few questions Starfire Islands(SI): Hi! Thanks a lot, I'm really excited to have a new function in this community. Um sure, yeh. I'll number them so you can quote me if you like  SJ: Okay, let's get this started. Number one, How did you feel when you got nearly half of the voting population to vote for you? SI: Honestly, I'm really impressed. I mean, as I've said before (and I feel like I'm just repeating myself on this one), I was considering submitting my own nomination, but receiving the notification of a nomination by the public is a really good feeling, very reassuring. So, I went from that kinda surprise to seeing how my campaign statement received much more readings and um... Upvotes? Is that how you call it? Anyway, more of those than most others and then, when the votes started coming in and I immediately had a solid difference, it was an amazing feeling. I mean, it's been one of the best welcoming gifts I've received. As you may notice, I still consider myself to be quite new to this, since there's people who've been around for years. It makes me feel kind of warmly hugged and at the same time like everybody's expecting me to do a good job, so, it's like a pat on the back saying "we really like you, don't you dare $#%¡ this up". I guess that sums up what I gathered from it, yes hahaha SJ: Number Two, how will you work with the other Local Council members? SI: Well, one of the things I highlighted the most during my campaign is that I wanna serve the community here. This is a job meant to represent what the community wants and needs, as I see it and understand it was conceived in the first place, so my mindset during my period will be to do just that: do what the people here like. Of course, I'm also a member myself of that community and, as such, I will have my own opinion as well regarding the issues that I am introduced to and asked to comment and take action on. As I mentioned on the mass telegram I sent out earlier today, it has been decided that, because of the number of votes I received, I will be taking over as the LC Representative for the Assembly so, a lot of responsibility and a lot of change, but I'm pretty sure I can handle this. I normally behave like a sponge, I absorb from my surroundings and also my own experience quite easily so, I guess I will get the hang of all of this very fast. SJ: And lastly, As a neophyte local council member, what are your platforms and how will you make the local council more representative? SI: I'm not sure if I understand what you mean by my "platforms", but I assume it's related to what platforms I use to communicate and interact with everyone on the region. I use the RMB a lot, and also the Discord server. These last few days I've been very active on the Discord server, even more so than on the RMB, but it's simply because I find it easier to talk to people there. It's faster, it's instantaneous. It makes for a better way to talk about relevant things, things that need immediate response from whoever you're discussing them with. For less serious stuff, the RMB is much more comfortable, since you can reach a lot more people. Only recently I created my account on the regional forum, and I'm having quite a few issues adapting to it. I've never liked how forums work, their structure; I find it somewhat outdated. But still, since the regional government is based there, I'm going to have to get used to it. The main issue regarding the lack of representation from the people in the regional government is that the government is based on another website. I have to clarify that this is my personal opinion, and one that may very well be wrong, since I'm, again, fairly new here. I think that people just don't wanna create one or two accounts aside from their account here on NS, so they just don't participate. When I sent out the aforesaid mass telegram today, a stat showed up above the writing space. There's more than 9 thousand nations in this region, and I think if I've interacted or even seen more than 2 hundred, it's a miracle. What I'm saying is, people just don't interact. Of course, some of that may be because they're busy. They have jobs, school and a bunch of personal stuff to take care of, but that can't possibly be the case with ALL of those 9 thousand so, there's a lack of will to engage in the various things a platform like NS and this community have to offer to its members, and that's something I'd like to handle during my period. Personally, during the campaign and also during the elections, I encouraged everyone to vote. I believe that a democratic government really works and can actually be proud of itself when everyone chooses it, when everyone votes for it. That's the only way you can be sure that everybody is represented, answering to the last part of your question. I'm not gonna set out on a utopian quest to try to make everybody vote, because I have to be realistic here: there's no way I will be able to make all these 9 thousand nations to vote on everything we put to a popular vote, but I can and will try to reduce the amount of people who do not participate in the democracy that is ruling their gameplay and their nation. SJ: Thank you very much for your time. I wish you luck in serving your first term as a local councillor. Other candidates also got a sizeable amount of votes enough to get a seat for the Local Council election, with Belschaft getting 32 votes and Bullbasra getting 9. A Not-So-New Nation’s Re-Beginning in The South Pacific By Anapol. There’s no place quite like home, but you can’t really know that for yourself until you’ve left home, if you think about it. I, for one, left The South Pacific for a user-created region when I started on NationStates many years ago. Over the years, I made a wealth of new nations, some of which were born into TSP while others spawned in the other Pacifics. Earlier this month, after founding my newest nation, I decided to try getting involved in the forum government of The South Pacific for the first time. The first thing I noticed was that we were having Local Council elections. The Local Council, I learned, is responsible for representing the gameside population in the forumside Assembly. The existence of this role actually carries an overtone of skepticism in a Pacific government: questions like “why is the government on the forum?” and “what is the nature of the relationship between a forum government and a region?” are often alluded to on the regional message board. These questions are not so unlike those we ask about the role of government in real life.
Like most players, I want to make an impact in my region. But as a new nation, I have no illusions of winning an election immediately after joining. I aspire to be a minister one day, but until then I’ve decided that I should start from the bottom and participate in the regional fellowship group. I’ve joined the fellowship and also the military. I haven’t participated in any missions so far (if I had, I might not be able to tell you anyway…), but I’m excited to see action soon. Truthfully, my most meaningful activity has been in the assembly so far. I signed up to be a legislator and have been commenting on the two pieces of legislation up for consideration. In one debate, I helped resolve a misunderstanding between two fellow legislators, and in the other one I asked questions that I had about the intent of a drafted law. I enjoy how the fact that TSP is a democracy means that my feedback and vote in the assembly is equally as valuable as everyone else’s, even though I’m completely new to the community. Moving forward, I expect participation in the assembly to be my most dependable option for engaging with the region. Perhaps I’ll be a minister or an officer one day, but I look forward to those opportunities, cognizant that there are already a myriad of opportunities available to me. End of the Nazis? 15 Regions Sign CAIN Treaty By Punchwood The South Pacific will become the 16th region to sign the CAIN treaty after it passed through the Assembly with 94% approval. Now the region has to send a legal representative to Europeia, the host region, to signify the ratification of the treaty. The CAIN (Coalition Against the Ideology of Nazism) conference hosted by Europeia came to an end last month with a proposed treaty aimed at helping to end Nazism in Nation States. [Image: ap_977281951969_custom-aed7f626e75e03f50...00-c85.jpg]
The agreement, made between so many regions, is an historic moment The treaty defined Nazism as an “ideology and practice associated with the 20th-century German Nazi Party and Nazi state, as well as other far-right groups. In the context of NationStates, it is an ideology that glorifies National Socialism or Nazi Germany and/or actively practices Nazi beliefs such as antisemitism [sic], pseudo-scientific racism, racial hygiene, slaughter for living space, genocide, eugenics, persecution of LGBT, etc.” The treaty also defined a Nazi region as one that practises or has previously practised the ideology of Nazism.
Signatories of CAIN cannot have embassy links with Nazi regions, regardless of whether those embassy links are on-site or off-site. They may also not sign up to inter-regional agreements with, or provide military support to, Nazi regions. Signatories also commit to working together to oppose Nazi regions both military and diplomatically. Owing to the fact that each region has to ratify the treaty in concordance with their own internal laws, the treaty is legally binding, but regions can opt out if they chose to do so. Signatories can also be suspended if they miss two votes on amendments to the treaty. Suspended signatories will have to request to be returned to active status to be considered full signatories once more The CAIN treaty gives hope to the idea of a Nazi-free Nation States and hope, also, to future international treaties.
It's great to see so many new or uncommon writers in this issue!
Europeian Ambassador to The South Pacific
Former Local Council Member Former Minister of Regional Affairs Former High Court Justice |
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