Post by Saeturn Valerius on Feb 4, 2014 0:45:54 GMT
Spiritus Foreign Update: The “Most Glorious Tim ” Edition.
The Government of Spiritus
President: Wuufu
Vice President: Toms
Minister of Culture: Wuufu
Deputy Minister of Culture: Vacant
Minister of Defense: Karputsk
Deputy Minister of Defense: Vacant
Minister of Foreign Affairs: Tim
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs: The Saturnian Republic
Minister of Information: Horse
Deputy Minister of Information: Vacant
Minister of Integration: Toms
Deputy Minister of Integration: Vacant
Minister of World Assembly Affairs and World Assembly Delegate: The Salaxalans
Deputy Minister of World Assembly Affairs: Vacant
Vice Delegate: Libertarian Librarians
Minister Without Portfolio: Vacant
Regional Assembly
Representative: Libertarian Librarians
Representative: Sovreignry
Representative: ArbiterSlayer
Representative: Horse
Representative: Dolphin
Representative: Legonimis
Representative: The Saturnian Republic
Supreme Court
Chief Justice: The Salaxalans
Associate Justice: Isidor C Anumia
Associate Justice: Ceardia
Election Time in Spiritus; New Members Enter into the Regional Assembly; Wuufu and Toms Take the Reigns of the Executive Branch; Tim Clearly Using Wuufu as a Puppet
This month marks a new beginning for Spiritus, especially in government. With the departure of longtime Citizens Charax and Denth Rowan, a few new members were required to run for elections. As our bi-monthly RA elections began, our Presidential election, which takes place every four months, began as well. The candidates for the Regional Assembly were Legonimis, Horse, Libertarian Librarians, Dolphin, The Saturnian Republic, Sovreignry, Denth Rowan, and ArbiterSlayer. This lineup is rather unique, as most of the members who ran had not been part of the past RA session, which has not occurred in quite some time. All candidates ran a great campaign and put in a lot of effort; clearly they bribed people to get votes, or are secretly Mall, Venicio, and Halacones, trying to take over Spiriuts. Or they’re just really good people, but probably not. The results of the election:
Legonimis - 22 Votes
Horse - 20 Votes
Libertarian Librarians - 19 votes
Dolphin - 19 Votes
The Saturnian Republic - 18 Votes
Sovreignry - 18 Votes
Denth Rowan - 11 Votes
ArbiterSlayer - 11 Votes
Horse - 20 Votes
Libertarian Librarians - 19 votes
Dolphin - 19 Votes
The Saturnian Republic - 18 Votes
Sovreignry - 18 Votes
Denth Rowan - 11 Votes
ArbiterSlayer - 11 Votes
The tie was broken due to the departure of Denth Rowan, meaning ArbiterSlayer took the final position in the RA.
On the executive side of the election, Wuufu and Toms ran against Charax and Butterspring, while Milograd and Karp ran a joke campaign. Wuufu and Toms, both experienced members in Spiritus, and both already holding important positions in Spiritus, were a great combo. Charax and Butterspring, another good combination, fell apart at the seams after a comment made by Butterspring regarding how he would promote activity in and lead the RA, essentially stating that he didn't care about the RA.
That comment, in the minds of many Spiritans, is what made up their minds regarding who to vote for. And, as I mentioned earlier, Most Glorious Chairman Milograd and ebul FRA plant Karp under a joke banner. The campaign, the love child of Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong, was a enormously funny campaign, and I suggest everyone read it here. Results for the Presidential election:
Wuufu/Toms - 17 Votes
Charax/Butterspring - 5 Votes
Milograd/Karputsk - 2 Votes
Charax/Butterspring - 5 Votes
Milograd/Karputsk - 2 Votes
My sincerest congratulations to every single candidate, and may this be a great new term!
Live Game Nights Begin Again; Collective Groan Heard by Citizens Across Spiritus
This month marked the return of Live Nights in Spiritus after a few months of clear neglect from our lazy President, Wuufu. However, unlike its predecessor, which which consisted only of Grooveshark nights (which usually ended in cats singing), this time we have GAMES. Clearly, this is the intellectual revolution of 2014. The schedule, which only has one permanent piece on it, is constantly changing. From Haxball to TF2, games abound in this environment. While not too many people have shown up int it's youth, there is hope that this will lead to a boom in Spiritain culture and activities, which have been quieter recently.The most successful night for this weekly event was the Grooveshark night, where we went from French Pop to Swedish Power Metal many times, with every variation you can think of throughout the evening. No kittens singing though, sent Spiritus kitten cuteness levels to a dangerously low amount.. The next night was Haxball night. For those unaware what Haxball is, imagine 2D Football. Now imagine that being laggy as hell, and you get Haxball. The night belonged to Horse (me), as I went undefeated that night! We will update you all as these cultural events continue.
Denth Rowan and Charax Renounce Citizenship, Citing Multiple Issues Within the Spiritus Community
This month has been a rather tragic one for Citizens of Spiritus. Denth Rowan, longtime member of Spiritus and author of several Regional Assembly resolutions, renounced his Citizenship on January 9th. Charax renounced his Citizenship that day, citing many problems in the community; not wanting to be part of this, he renounced his Citizenship and resigned from all government positions. Charax was a member of the Executive with the position "Minister Without Portfolio" and had previously been a Regional Assembly Representative and Vice President; both Charax and Denth Rowan will be missed.
My personal condolences to Charax and Denth, and may they prosper wherever they end up.
Controversial FRA Bill Is Still Bringing Controversy; Declared Unconstitutional Twice; Becomes Combo Breaker
As reported in last month’s update, the FRA Membership Act, passed by both the RA and a citizen Referendum, was struck down by the Supreme Court as being unconstitutional, citing the restrictions on declaring war on certain regions in the FRA charter bill as the main reason. This month, the attitude of the Chief Justice, the Salaxalans, changed. His statement shows disagreement with the initial ruling:
I've realized that we, the Court, have erred significantly in both our Ruling and Statement. Looking beyond the substance, the Ruling contained many flaws that were only haphazardly patched up with the Statement in such a way that rather bizarre and potentially harmful precedents have been set, including the ridiculous restriction on not declaring war (first we made nonaggression pacts illegal, then we revised it to prevent us from declaring war on regions that we have agreed to help by passing the damn thing?) and the portion that could be used as precedent to make illegal anything not specifically provided for in law. We're striking the law based on half of a section that there isn't a chance we'd ever go against anyway?
As many began to rejoice (with Tim breaking out the good whiskey to celebrate) over the possibility of the court ruling being overturned, Associate Justice Ceardia smashed those hopes and dreams. His statement is as follows:
In light of the recent events due to the lack of precise language and specification in the original majority ruling in relation to whether revoking the Regional Assembly's right to declare war is unconstitutional, the Court shall replace that section of ruling with different version.
It has been asked if the FRA Membership Act is unconstitutional since it refrains our ability to declare war. First off, in Article I Section vi it is stated that we are to renounce our right to declare war upon any region "the FRA is assisting through redevelopment or military assistance". The Treaty revokes our right to declare war upon the regions subject to help from the FRA, despite such regions being referred to are non-signatory regions and therefore are not subject to the same restrictions as the signatory regions. Such regions aided by the FRA appear to be chosen by the internal government of the FRA and are subject to either little or no Spiritan influence.
Secondly, it is found that the RA is capable of refraining itself from declaring war upon specifically stated regions within non-aggression treaties. With the ratification of the FRA Membership Act, the Spiritus RA chooses to refrain itself from declaring war upon the current member regions of the FRA. However based on the procedures laid by the Charter of the FRA, Spiritus would have little influence on the acceptance of new member regions into the FRA, and without the direct approval of the RA.
Thirdly, it is found that the FRA regional assembly is empowered to make amendments to the FRA Charter, and assuming that the Spiritus RA won't re-ratify the Treaty whenever it gets amended, it would also be found that it also transfers the Spiritus RA's power to ratify treaties to be transferred to this external body. As well as that, Section 3 of the FRA Membership Act empowers the President to choose whom to serve a representative in the FRA regional assembly, and due to the procedures laid out in the FRA charter with the FRA's RA having the power to make amendments to the charter, any little influence Spiritus has over any amendments made to the Charter is not officially approved by the Spiritus RA and is instead is approved by representatives chosen by the President, thus partially transferring the RA's power to ratify treaties over to the President.
The Court hereby finds the Founderless Regions Alliance Membership Act as unconstitutional and is hereby declared null and void.
It has been asked if the FRA Membership Act is unconstitutional since it refrains our ability to declare war. First off, in Article I Section vi it is stated that we are to renounce our right to declare war upon any region "the FRA is assisting through redevelopment or military assistance". The Treaty revokes our right to declare war upon the regions subject to help from the FRA, despite such regions being referred to are non-signatory regions and therefore are not subject to the same restrictions as the signatory regions. Such regions aided by the FRA appear to be chosen by the internal government of the FRA and are subject to either little or no Spiritan influence.
Secondly, it is found that the RA is capable of refraining itself from declaring war upon specifically stated regions within non-aggression treaties. With the ratification of the FRA Membership Act, the Spiritus RA chooses to refrain itself from declaring war upon the current member regions of the FRA. However based on the procedures laid by the Charter of the FRA, Spiritus would have little influence on the acceptance of new member regions into the FRA, and without the direct approval of the RA.
Thirdly, it is found that the FRA regional assembly is empowered to make amendments to the FRA Charter, and assuming that the Spiritus RA won't re-ratify the Treaty whenever it gets amended, it would also be found that it also transfers the Spiritus RA's power to ratify treaties to be transferred to this external body. As well as that, Section 3 of the FRA Membership Act empowers the President to choose whom to serve a representative in the FRA regional assembly, and due to the procedures laid out in the FRA charter with the FRA's RA having the power to make amendments to the charter, any little influence Spiritus has over any amendments made to the Charter is not officially approved by the Spiritus RA and is instead is approved by representatives chosen by the President, thus partially transferring the RA's power to ratify treaties over to the President.
The Court hereby finds the Founderless Regions Alliance Membership Act as unconstitutional and is hereby declared null and void.
And now we have to put the new whiskey away again. Thanks, Obama.
Horse’s Thingy of the Month: I Saw Her Standing There
While browsing the internet for fun, new video games, I came across this little game (that, of course, is free). The game, a platformer/adventure game, also has an ACTUAL story (which, for the most part, the games I suggested, have not.) You play as a boyfriend to a recently zombified girlfriend. Fearing for her safety, and the safety of others, you must put her in a cage. Every time she escapes, you place her back in the cage. As the game progress, so does the connection between you and the characters. You actually begin to care about the guy, and the girl zombie. The graphics, as with most games I suggest, aren't that impressive. But, to be honest, I hope that’s not what people care about. I hope you guys play games for the story, or for the fun. As always, here is the link. Enjoy!
armorgames.com/play/13213/i-saw-her-standing-there
Thanks for reading!
Written by Horse
Edited by LibLib, Wuufu, and the Salaxalans
