Chairman, Legislators, and fellow Citizens of the South Pacific,

While I’m certainly not new to addressing the Assembly and the region, this is the first time that I am doing so under the mantle of a “State of the Region” address. I am somewhat nervous, as the expectations for this speech are certainly high. I hope not to disappoint.

Yesterday was my daughter’s birthday, and the reason why I failed to give this address on time. It was a lot of work for me and my lovely wife, but it was absolutely worth it and my daughter had a great day. I do apologize for not finishing this speech before now, but that had to take priority. Yesterday was also International Woman's Day, and it was a pleasure to hear the stories and perspectives of our fellow female South Pacificans. I was struck by seeing just how many women we have in our region, even if we aren't reminded of that every day. That’s encouraging. We have always strived to be an inclusive region — let's continue to share our experiences and learn from each others' perspectives.

Speeches of this style typically start off by asserting that the current moment in history is in some fashion unique, extraordinary, or one of a plethora of other similar adjectives, to the point of rendering such assertions meaningless. I will eschew anything of the sort, and instead claim that this can be, if we put in the work, a formative time. And indeed, looking back at just the roughly two weeks since being inaugurated, we as a region are putting in the work. From the beginnings of a new University, to discussions of forum reorganization, to various journalistic work, to a plethora of other things too numerous to reasonably list, it’s apparent that a fire has been lit within us, a drive to self-improvement. Let’s not let it extinguish.

This surge in activity isn’t an accident. In part, it’s the usual flurry of activity post-election, as each Minister redecorates their office, makes new letterheads, and other such things. In part it’s because we’ve started driving the collaborative projects, temporarily housed in the MoRA forum, and we’re having everybody chip in. But part of it is also that we have a good balance of old and new in the Cabinet. Beepee is a fresh face in Cabinet, motivated and hyped up to do great things for our region, and has already provided a spark of activity to the Regional Affairs office despite being somewhat incapacitated due to a temporarily illness. Nakari isn’t wholly fresh, but fresh enough to be considered new-ish, and has had SPSF do quite a few things already in this short time. Sandaoguo and I aren’t so fresh, and maybe we don’t have quite the energy that Nakari and Beepee do, but we’re seasoned Cabinet ministers with a good understanding of what’s likely a good idea and what’s likely a bad idea.

An anti-establishment stance that elects a wholly new and inexperienced Cabinet is a bad idea, as it leads to that Cabinet making quite a few crucial mistakes. I speak from experience here — my first term as Prime Minister in June 2017 was a relatively new Cabinet. We did lots of good work, but also made quite a few avoidable mistakes. Similarly, a Cabinet full of the “old guard” will be stale and boring, because it’s missing that spark that I mentioned above. It’s the symbiosis of old and new that makes a good team of people.

Transparency had been a campaign promise for three of us four Ministers, and already in this short time we’ve made significant progress. We have been keeping my promise to do all Cabinet-level business on the forum; the #cabinet-office channel has only been used to draw attention to Cabinet-level threads, and the future Sunshine release for this Cabinet term will be more revealing about this Cabinet’s term than we have seen in years. The coming Sunshine release for past Cabinets will err on the side of openness rather than secrecy. The pending judicial appointment is being done through an open application process rather than a selection behind closed doors. And for everything in between, the Cabinet Twitter thread, the Office of the Prime Minister thread, the weekly SPSF reports, and more mean that you get more insight into what we are doing than ever. Cabinet secrets are sometimes necessary, but they should be the exception, rather than the norm.

Your input is important to help us become more transparent, and to keep us transparent. For example, you can help the success of our open judicial application even if you don’t intend to become a justice by suggesting individuals that you think would be good justices. Your encouragement might be all that’s needed for them to give the application a try, and they may turn out to be the best candidate for the job. We’d rather have the burden of choosing from many candidates rather than having to settle between a few, or even worse revert to a closed door process after all. Furthermore, you can and should ask me questions, anytime, anywhere, and I will gladly answer them as soon as I can. I’m not annoyed by them (quite the contrary!), and I’m thankful for individuals like Amerion that are doing a great job of holding our feet to the fire with their questions.

The interregional scene has now calmed down again after the upheaval surrounding the New Pacific Order late last year. The New Pacific Order has completed its Delegacy transition and continues to implement internal changes. These changes appear positive from the outside, though healthy skepticism is certainly warranted. The Anti-Pacific Coalition, on the other hand, has predictably lost its steam. This is a good time for us to reach out to other regions and form bonds, both formal and informal. While I can’t reveal too much at this time, we are already talking to several regions you would expect as well as to one or two regions you wouldn’t expect. If you have any suggestions we may not have thought of, we’d love to hear from you!

The threat level to us is low. There are certainly a number of regions and individuals out there that would love to see the Coalition’s head on a pike, but they face quite a steep cliff. We are mechanically secure. The SWAN program, spearheaded and primarily implemented by USoVietnam, is a major contributing factor to our regional security. Other notable mentions are our Delegate Seraph/Erinor, who in his terms as Delegate has always made sure to reach out to individual nations and request their endorsements, as well as Pencil Sharpeners who has done the same during Tsunamy’s last term. These efforts have pushed our endorsement statistics to record levels. We now have the highest Delegate endorsement count in our region’s history, the third-highest Delegate endorsement count in all of NationStates, and the second-highest average endorsement count of all game-created regions. This is a monumental success.

We are less secure, however, from threats through infiltration by bad faith actors. These could be dedicated spies sent by hostile regions, or just simply nations doing it “for the lulz”. Such nations will join our region and appear to be new but very active and ambitious, and then work to destabilize us by stacking our elections, proposing populist but covertly detrimental laws, and ultimately seeking the Delegacy, bypassing our mechanical safeguards. This isn’t just a hypothetical scenario. One of the reasons behind the conflicts surrounding the New Pacific Order is precisely because their members Feux, A Mean Old Man, and Stujenske posed as new players Adytus, Wrektopia, and Kowassati, and infiltrated Lazarus and Osiris that way. Stujenske/Kowassatti even held the Lazarus Delegacy in early 2017, and only because of a stroke of luck surrounding influence mathematics were they not able to overthrow the region.

This risk is inherent in our form of governance. Does that mean we should change that? Should we go along with the general trend across NationStates towards less democratic governments? The answer is simple: Absolutely not! The Coalition of the South Pacific is and will remain the oldest extant democracy of NationStates, going on 16 years now. It is our heritage. If anybody can beat these odds, it’s us. We can’t be idle and content, however. An open democracy like ours demands hard work, and we know best that this hard work is worth it. So let’s make sure that we continue to do the hard work necessary.

The way to insulate ourselves against that threat is two-fold. First, the reform package we have been working on for a few months within the private halls of the Assembly needs to be finished, finalized, and passed. It will update our regional security infrastructure to be more aligned with the times, and give it appropriate means and methods to detect and root out any such bad faith actors. Second, we need a broad and informed electorate that understands the consequences of bills that are at vote and of the candidates that they elect. More specifically, this means we need to work on the dispatch project, so that every Legislator has an easy reference to what they need to know to participate effectively, and we need to continue with our efforts to revive South Pacifican journalism that will keep Legislators up to date on relevant affairs, both internal and foreign.

In this Machiavellian world, where autocrats are slowly becoming the norm, we are and must remain the shining light of freedom and democracy. It’s our heritage and our responsibility, and we must wear and carry that burden of love with pride and conviction towards the greater days to come.

Thank you, [violet] bless you, and may [violet] bless the South Pacific.

(This post was last modified: 04-03-2019, 01:39 AM by Bzerneleg.)

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While I can’t reveal too much at this time, we are already talking to several regions you would expect as well as to one or two regions you wouldn’t expect.

So much for transparency!
 

We now have ... the second-highest average endorsement count in all of NationStates. This is a monumental success.

We actually have the eleventh-highest average endorsement count in all of NationStates.
 

Such nations will join our region and appear to be new but very active and ambitious, and then work to destabilize us by stacking our elections, proposing populist but covertly detrimental laws, and ultimately seeking the Delegacy, bypassing our mechanical safeguards. This isn’t just a hypothetical scenario.

Definitely not referring specifically and pointedly to IoU. Not at all.

~ Aumeltopia ~

Raccoons are bandits! First they steal your food . . . and then your heart/identity!

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@Roavin I'm going to do some rmb posting of your SotU address.... hope that's ok.

Check my links.....

SWAN 4 Life
https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1086117

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While I can’t reveal too much at this time, we are already talking to several regions you would expect as well as to one or two regions you wouldn’t expect.

So much for transparency!

Yeah, that was mentioned last night in the after-speech AMA as well. The thing is also that sometimes the region you're talking to doesn't want things to be generally spread about.

When we did the Treaty of Capricorn early last year, it basically snuck up on the region. It first found out about it when it was written and presented to the Assembly. That's not going to happen again, no matter if it's a treaty, a MAP, or a letter of understanding.

 

We now have ... the second-highest average endorsement count in all of NationStates. This is a monumental success.

We actually have the eleventh-highest average endorsement count in all of NationStates.

You're right, apologies! I meant to say that it's the second-highest amongst GCRs. I will edit that into the speech. Thanks for the catch!
 

Such nations will join our region and appear to be new but very active and ambitious, and then work to destabilize us by stacking our elections, proposing populist but covertly detrimental laws, and ultimately seeking the Delegacy, bypassing our mechanical safeguards. This isn’t just a hypothetical scenario.

Definitely not referring specifically and pointedly to IoU. Not at all.

No, not referring to IoU.

@Roavin I'm going to do some rmb posting of your SotU address.... hope that's ok.

Absolutely!

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We now have ... the second-highest average endorsement count in all of NationStates. This is a monumental success.

We actually have the eleventh-highest average endorsement count in all of NationStates.

We do, however, hold the second highest average endorsement count of any GCR, and whilst that narrows the field considerably, it's still no mean achievement (no pun intended... almost).

@Roavin, could you make that correction?

Founder of the Church of the South Pacific [Forum Thread] [Discord], a safe place to discuss spirituality for people of all faiths and none (currently looking for those interested in prayer and/or "home" groups);
And The Silicon Pens [Discord], a writer's group for the South Pacific and beyond!

Yahweo usenneo ir varleo, ihraneo jurlaweo hraseu seu, ir jiweveo arladi.

Salma 145:8

translate

The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
Psalm 145: 8

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We now have ... the second-highest average endorsement count in all of NationStates. This is a monumental success.

We actually have the eleventh-highest average endorsement count in all of NationStates.

We do, however, hold the second highest average endorsement count of any GCR, and whilst that narrows the field considerably, it's still no mean achievement (no pun intended... almost).

@Roavin, could you make that correction?

Already done!

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We now have ... the second-highest average endorsement count in all of NationStates. This is a monumental success.

We actually have the eleventh-highest average endorsement count in all of NationStates.

We do, however, hold the second highest average endorsement count of any GCR, and whilst that narrows the field considerably, it's still no mean achievement (no pun intended... almost).

@Roavin, could you make that correction?

Already done!

Sorry, that's a side-effect of opening this to read this morning, not having time and then not refreshing before reading and commenting this afternoon.

Founder of the Church of the South Pacific [Forum Thread] [Discord], a safe place to discuss spirituality for people of all faiths and none (currently looking for those interested in prayer and/or "home" groups);
And The Silicon Pens [Discord], a writer's group for the South Pacific and beyond!

Yahweo usenneo ir varleo, ihraneo jurlaweo hraseu seu, ir jiweveo arladi.

Salma 145:8

translate

The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
Psalm 145: 8

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nicely done!  Sorry I managed to arrive too late on discord to hear it live  :-)

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Legislator | Local Councilor | Aspiring TSP Curmudgeon
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Wait, this was on Discord?
Damn...

Woof, woof, I'm a dog I like dogs.

Legislator in the Assembly of the South Pacific.
Member of the Island Democratic Party.
Former Local Councillor in the South Pacific.

 

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I read it live in voice chat, and I even successfully fought off the urge to do so using some demonic voice changer effects (which I promptly demonstrated afterwards).

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