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«12. . .1,8721,8731,8741,8751,8761,8771,878. . .2,6342,635»

Middle Barael wrote:So I guess I’ll start a new conversation with one of my questions:

Who is/are your national Leaders, how does the electoral system work, of what political parties are the National Leaders, and what are their personalities like?

My national leader is currently CEO Johnny Toral, who aligns with the JDCP (Julunaphran Democratic Capitalist Party), and is currently serving his 4th year in office. Each CEO gets to serve at most two terms. You must be over 21 in order to run for the position, and over 18 to vote. Voting is not mandatory.

Government Structure: The Julunaphran Government consists of a senate and a minority senate. Each of these senates consist of 200 members each.

Minority vs. Majority A minority is considered a party with less than 10% of the poll results the previous election. The minorities and majorities usually change every election.

Election type: Elections are held every 5 years, and have candidates from all 6 Julunaphran parties. Here are the results of the last election;

47%= Johnny Toral (JDCP)
18%= Xavier Xerb (Julunaphran Socialist Communist Party)
12%= Lucas Raddom (Julunaphran Conservative Republican Party)
11%= Dan Brett (Julunaphran Environmentalist Party)
7%= Greg Powellin (Julunaphran Scientific Advancement Party)
5%= Adam Ozark (Julunaphran Fundamentalists Party)

These results indicate that the JSAP & JFP are the two minority parties this election cycle.

How do the senates work? These senates only serve to pass the laws that the president proposes, first they go thru the minority senate where if they get more than 50% approval, they get passed to the majority senate, where if they get a 2/3 majority approval, they get signed into law.

Hope this made you understand the Julunaphran Political Structure!

New ladavia

Our National Leader is: Aaron Diaz, who is serving his 2nd year in office(can serve two terms of three years each)

Electoral System: New Ladavia is divided into 8 provinces, these serve no use in national elections and provide the country with local representation.

Political Party: Prime Minister Aaron Diaz is part of the National Green party, which is the far-left party that places a focus on the environment as its central issue. While all parties have a strong environmental policy the citizens were dissatisfied with the NDP (New Democratic Party) and thus gave the Greens their first win.

All seats are decided based on proportional representation (mixed-member). However, the provincial elections are elected using an STV system. Coalitions happen often with the current government consisting of the Green party and the center left-liberal party.

Atsvea, Ruinenlust, Lord Dominator, Outer Bele Levy Epies, and 3 othersMiddle Barael, Julunaphra, and United provinces of isn

Verdant Haven wrote:Indeed - I hope Drasnia returns! They are a prolific issue author, and long-time NS player.

As for the silence on the boards, I think there's a mix of post-Nday relaxing, and our government is kind of waiting to see what occurs with our election cycle... which should have happened weeks ago now. We're still working on stuff hard behind the scenes, but it's rough to commit to anything upcoming when we aren't sure what our schedule is.

That said, Z-Day is coming up soon...

I mean, I like now being in first place in the region for recreational pineapple use, but I don't like why I'm first in the region. Hopefully Drasnia returns.

Regarding Z-Day, I personally hope that we do have it. I get the whole "insensitive to RL issues" thing, but the game was here first, and it's always very clearly and explicitly been a bit of Halloween-themed fun; tied to the holiday and not having a bearing on anything once it ends. And who knows, maybe this would encourage different strategies this time around. It would be an unnecessary cancellation to not have an event at all, also. So many things have not happened in the last eight months; why not at least do this normal thing? If anything, it means more now, in a way.

I guess I'm not really sold on being "sensitive" or "not sensitive" with things like this. It would be like saying that there should be no war video games because real people are dying in real wars, or that the buzzing sound in Operation is insensitive to everyone who dies in actual surgery.

And one doesn't have to participate in Z-Day. You could just sit it out, not log in for three days out of protest or for emotional reasons, etc.

Mount Seymour, Atsvea, Lord Dominator, Palos heights, and 7 othersHoneydewistania, Turbeaux, Outer Bele Levy Epies, Northern Wood, Middle Barael, Julunaphra, and United provinces of isn

Middle Barael wrote:So I guess I’ll start a new conversation with one of my questions:

Who is/are your national Leaders, how does the electoral system work, of what political parties are the National Leaders, and what are their personalities like?

Verdant Haven is a federation of twelve bailiwicks, with significant devolution of power to the bailiwicks in most regards. The twelve bailiwicks represent the duchies that existed under the former monarchy, the alliances between-which shifted over the centuries. Generally speaking, they existed as a tetrarchy, with the western marches, the mountain interior, the coastal trade states, and the southeast lowlands forming their own petty kingdoms in time immemorial.

The bailiwicks in turn are divided into shires (or, in the case of the bailiwick of Viri, into a mix of shires and independent cities), with a total of 393 shire-level entities. The effect of the old tetrarchy laws and traditions can still be seen in the borders of the shires today, with different manners of division reigning in each region. The twelve bailiwicks, and all 393 shires, can be seen on the map linked below. Also available in that region are the flags of the bailiwicks, which have blended their traditional crests with the modern Havenian flag in an agreed-upon formula.

Verdant Haven utilizes tri-partite government at both the National and Bailiwick levels, with the traditional roles of Judicial, Executive, and Legislative branches. It divides authority between a head of government (from the judicial branch) and a head of state (from the executive). Things vary widely at the Shire level. I have not developed names and political parties (other than the first president, listed as my nation's leader), as that would entail more than 1200 names for the leadership alone, and they would have to change frequently anyway. That said, the structure is developed as follows:

Map
The Region of Verdant Haven
(See link at top of WFE)

Federal Level

Judicial: The head of government is the Chancellor, who leads the Judicial branch. The supreme court of the land is the Court of Chancery, which is made up of twelve Justiciars - one appointed (for life) by each bailiwick. The Chancellor, who is nominated by the President and approved by the National Chamber, serves as the thirteenth member and tie-breaking vote in that court. Below this level are federal appellate courts.

Executive: The head of state is the President, who leads the Executive branch. The President is elected by representatives from each of the twelve bailiwicks, and serves a five year term. The President may appoint, with assent of the National Chamber, a First and Second Vice President to assist his or her work.

Legislative: The National Chamber is the nation’s unicameral legislative body, consisting of 360 representatives selected in equal parts from the twelve bailiwicks, according to each bailiwick’s own process. Representatives serve six year terms, with one third their number up for election every alternate year. At the conclusion of each election cycle, the National Chamber elects one of their own number to serve as Speaker of the National Chamber, who leads the Legislative branch.

Bailiwick

Judicial: Each of the twelve bailiwicks is headed by an elected Bailiff, who serves as head of the judiciary and of their bailiwick's government. Each bailiwick has the authority to set its own laws regarding the election process for their Bailiff, though all twelve presently utilize a bailiwick-wide general election via popular vote. Terms in office vary from three to six years. The Bailiff sits at the head of the Court of Pleas - the top Bailiwick-level court. Bailiwicks are also responsible for other mid-level courts, which exist in varying forms from one to another. Each bailiwick has its own laws and procedures regarding the numbers and manner of appointment to these courts.

Executive: The Reeve-General is the head of a bailiwick-level executive branch, and is responsible for administration and bureaucratic functions, operation of executive departments, and coordination between upper and lower levels of government across their bailiwick. In some bailiwicks this officer is a career civil servant selected and appointed by the Council of Deputies, while in others it is an elected official. Terms are variable.

Legislative: Legislative functions are performed by each bailiwick’s Council of Deputies, which will be filled with elected representatives from each of the shires. Size ranges from fewer than 50 members up to more than 200, with terms ranging from 2 to 6 years.

Shire/Municipal Level

At this low of a level there is not enough consistency to fully specify it here. One of the few consistent points is the existence of the title of Shire-Reeve, or Sheriff, who is typically the senior official of a shire. In less densely populated areas, this position is often a combination of a city or county manager with a law enforcement administrator, though in some cases they may may be a judicial figure found on the courts, and in cities they may be almost entirely mayoral in role. Shires and municipalities do have their own court systems for low level offenses. Those where the Shire-Reeve fills a judge role are called Reeve-Courts, while in others they go by more common names such as "municipal court" or "shire court." Shires and municipalities exhibit the same common variety found around the world at this level, with a mix of councils, mayors, city managers, and occasionally more esoteric systems like commissioners or town meetings.

Lennia, Mount Seymour, Atsvea, Ruinenlust, and 8 othersLord Dominator, Turbeaux, Outer Bele Levy Epies, New ladavia, Northern Wood, Middle Barael, Julunaphra, and United provinces of isn

Nattily dressed anarchists on bicycles

Middle Barael wrote:So I guess I’ll start a new conversation with one of my questions:

Who is/are your national Leaders, how does the electoral system work, of what political parties are the National Leaders, and what are their personalities like?

Bylaws of The Nattily Dressed Trail Center

Citizenship

Application is available to any person 14 or older (with parental consent for those younger than 18). Application is available to anyone without regard to race or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or use of bar ends. Citizenship progresses in three levels: provisional, non-voting and voting. Provisional citizenship is granted immediately upon receipt of application.

Provisional Citizenship

All Provisional citizens:

1) Must adhere to all Trail Center laws and regulations.
2) Have the right to attend, observe, and testify before all Trail Center Quora, but may not cast a vote.
3) May participate in Quora Committees, but may not cast a vote.
4) May not identify as Citizens of the Nattily Dressed Anarchists.

Advancement to Non-Voting Citizenship is available immediately upon completion of six months of voluntary service to the Trail Center.

Non-Voting Citizenship

Non-Voting Citizens enjoy all the rights and duties of a Provisional citizen, including:

1) Free shop time (not including the cost of consumable parts/supplies) when space is available.
2) May identify as a Citizen of the Nattily Dressed Anarchists.

Advancement to Voting Citizenship is available upon completion of one year of voluntary service to the Trail Center, and by approval by consensus vote of the Quora of Voting Citizens.

Voting Citizens

Voting Citizens enjoy all the rights and duties of Non-Voting Citizens, including:

1) May cast a vote in all Quora activity.
2) Receives a personal stipend to purchase parts and supplies not to exceed 720 Spoke Nipples per annum.

Misc.

All bicycle thieves will be shot.

Ruinenlust wrote:Regarding Z-Day, I personally hope that we do have it. I get the whole "insensitive to RL issues" thing, but the game was here first, and it's always very clearly and explicitly been a bit of Halloween-themed fun; tied to the holiday and not having a bearing on anything once it ends. And who knows, maybe this would encourage different strategies this time around. It would be an unnecessary cancellation to not have an event at all, also. So many things have not happened in the last eight months; why not at least do this normal thing? If anything, it means more now, in a way.

I mean, for us we're always about the cure, so Z-Day is a positive thing in that respect. Maybe they could eliminate hording this year but dial the difficulty way up. It's got rather easy for us now.

Atsvea, Ruinenlust, Lord Dominator, Turbeaux, and 4 othersOuter Bele Levy Epies, Middle Barael, Julunaphra, and United provinces of isn

Middle Barael wrote:So I guess I’ll start a new conversation with one of my questions:

Who is/are your national Leaders, how does the electoral system work, of what political parties are the National Leaders, and what are their personalities like?

Political system in Hoochlandia is very different than most other countries. There was no democratic elections since it was founded and citizens of the Dogtatorship have no idea about what democratic elections are. The government itself is very esoterical, have very little ties with the public and nobody knows how the ruling party operates except its members. Recent statistics show that more than 90 percent of the population do not know the name of the current leader, including the statisticans.

The one and only political party, "Hoochlandia Hau Party", was historically a theocratic party that ruled the country with an ideology they named as "Torquemadaist reformism" and completely banned practice of any other religion than the national one, Hauhauism. However, theocratic Hau government didn't survived the 1993 coup d'etat, which was led by the fourth son (name unknown) of the Hau leader, and got replaced by the current cabinet. The new Hau Party, declaring themselves to be centrist, abandoned Torquemadaism and lifted many bans that old Hau Party enforced. From that point no one managed to catch on them as they have gone "behind shadows", refusing to give public speeches and banning newspapers from publishing political articles of any kind. Because the government has completely isolated itself from the public, the only way to reach them is through complex bureaucratic ways which costs more than a minimum wage.

There are little facts around about the Hoochlandian government. Most of the information are just simple rumors that may or may not be true. Nobody knows their real identity, why they choose to be so distant and do they actually exist or not.

Atsvea, Lord Dominator, Turbeaux, Outer Bele Levy Epies, and 3 othersMiddle Barael, Julunaphra, and United provinces of isn

Nattily dressed anarchists on bicycles

Ruinenlust wrote:I mean, I like now being in first place in the region for recreational pineapple use, but I don't like why I'm first in the region.

With Bic lighter, preheat spoon to 350 F

On a clean (if you like) mirror, mix flour, sugar, and baking soda. Use roll of 100s from last night's deal which you know nothing about to make a well in the middle of the mix, adding eggs, vanilla, and pineapple chunks. Mix well to blend.

Scoop up some mix with preheated spoon, and hold Bic lighter underneath, swirling slowly for even heating. Cook 45 minutes.

Take orally, as snorting pineapples is not recommended.

Atsvea, Ruinenlust, Lord Dominator, Hoochlandia, and 5 othersOuter Bele Levy Epies, Terrabod, Middle Barael, Julunaphra, and United provinces of isn

Nattily dressed anarchists on bicycles wrote:

With Bic lighter, preheat spoon to 350 F

On a clean (if you like) mirror, mix flour, sugar, and baking soda. Use roll of 100s from last night's deal which you know nothing about to make a well in the middle of the mix, adding eggs, vanilla, and pineapple chunks. Mix well to blend.

Scoop up some mix with preheated spoon, and hold Bic lighter underneath, swirling slowly for even heating. Cook 45 minutes.

Take orally, as snorting pineapples is not recommended.

This got sustained, audible laughter from me. I was sold on "with Bic lighter." :-)

-----------

Unrelated Entirely:

According to 538 (whom I regard as a good source for a meta-level look at political current events in the US), the Democrats have a 94% chance of retaining the House, an 84% chance of winning the White House, and a 66% chance of taking the Senate. Those are the best collective numbers overall. If the polls are right, and they can keep this going for another month, there's a good chance of a big ol' shakeup.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-election-forecast/
(The P, S, and H in the upper left corner are their Presidential, Senate, and House forecasts.)

Atsvea, Lord Dominator, Turbeaux, Outer Bele Levy Epies, and 5 othersCat-herders united, Nattily dressed anarchists on bicycles, Middle Barael, Julunaphra, and United provinces of isn

Get your annual flu shots you Northern Hemisphere Forestians!

Heyo Forest, how is everyone today?

First, some business: TSP is having our cabinet elections! And I'll let y'all know when that is over, who won what, etc.

With that out of the way, I just kinda want to share a little something that popped into my mind, especially as the weather becomes somewhat bearable here in Florida...

Autumn is a lot of fun, a season of change and death... with the promise of rest and rebirth. With this, plants get ready to hunker down for the winter, animals prepare however they prepare, the trees change color and fall on the ground... it's my favorite season.

With this, I guess I can kinda relate this sort of thing to the world we're living in now... COVID-19, The elections, climate change... all these things kinda arising all around and such, it feels like our world might be crumbling around us, and to be fair, it basically is. But, there is the promise of rest and rebirth later on.

Just me, dropping in foreign update and a little world affair kind of hopefully-inspirational thing. I hope, at least.

Get your annual flu shots you Northern Hemisphere Forestians!

Atsvea, Ruinenlust, Lord Dominator, Outer Bele Levy Epies, and 3 othersMiddle Barael, Julunaphra, and United provinces of isn

Nattily dressed anarchists on bicycles

Ruinenlust wrote:

According to 538 (whom I regard as a good source for a meta-level look at political current events in the US)...

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2016-election-forecast/

Not to be negative or anything, just a broken and hollowed out shell of a former human who took graduate poli "sci" stats and lived in the United States for the last 4 years. Even if Nate doesn't fall flat on his face this time around, the best outcome is a 2000-style judicial circus, if not an out-and-out wave of alt-right wing violence, so still hard to get excited.

edit: to be fair, their popular vote prediction was more or less accurate, but also mostly useless since the United States wasn't a functional democracy even before 2016.

Atsvea, Ruinenlust, Lord Dominator, Palos heights, and 6 othersOuter Bele Levy Epies, Cat-herders united, Middle Barael, Julunaphra, United provinces of isn, and Haleakala

Well 538 was closer than any of the other notable forecasts and had shifted quite fast towards Trump before election day, and the actual result was within the error range with the exception of the midwestern states which shifted hard to the right. People seem to forget or not care that they pretty much nailed the 2018 midterms as well, not to mention 2012 and 2008 which were nearly perfect.

Atsvea, Ruinenlust, Lord Dominator, Palos heights, and 5 othersOuter Bele Levy Epies, Cat-herders united, Middle Barael, Julunaphra, and United provinces of isn

While it's heartwarming to see people concerned about me, it would be remiss of me to accept it outright.

I decided a little over a month ago that I'd be retiring my nation permanently. I've tried multiple times to recapture the magic that I felt several years ago when I was the most active, however those attempts have always come up empty. I just can't justify the amount of time I put into NS when I'm actively playing when weighed against how little fun I'm actually having doing so.

I'm my own worst enemy at times. Too often, I put undue amounts of psychological pressure on myself because I feel like I constantly have to live up to my past accomplishments and awards. While I certainly earned them, sometimes it felt like I was no longer worthy. That's not a problem with other people though - that is squarely at my feet.

I realized that if I were to ever find enjoyment in NS again, it would have to be under a different name. I don't intend to immediately start over or anything, either. I'll be taking a nice long break and then deciding if I want to try something new on this site under a new name. If I do, I won't be in Forest and it won't be writing issues - that much I'm certain.

I didn't actually intend to CTE quite yet. I have a few things I need to take care of in-game with this nation. In a few days, I'm going to be scrambling the password to this nation and logging out for the very last time. It's time for Drasnia to be laid to rest.

If you ever need to contact me for whatever reason, my Discord DM's are open. I still have a few NS people on my friends list and I probably won't be purging my friends list any time in the near future.

I'd like to thank everybody in the region. I feel a little guilty for making you worry about me after I CTE'd. You have been great to be around and great to me, even when we've disagreed on contentious political issues. Forest really felt like a home these past few years. It's a very special region. Cherish it.

~Isaac

Palos heights wrote:snap

Why did you say that twice?

Drasnia wrote:snip

You were one of the people that helped me in GI early in my NS lifespan - you've definitely had a notable impact on this game and the community. It's sad to see you go but also completely understandable. Best of luck in the future.

Nattily dressed anarchists on bicycles

Effazio wrote:Well 538 was closer than any of the other notable forecasts and had shifted quite fast towards Trump before election day, and the actual result was within the error range with the exception of the midwestern states which shifted hard to the right. People seem to forget or not care that they pretty much nailed the 2018 midterms as well, not to mention 2012 and 2008 which were nearly perfect.

As important as it is, science is nonetheless a long hallway filled with the detritus of models which were perfect right up until they were useless. It's already bad enough that homo sapiens is an irrational and random ape, but this time around one of the dependent variables absolutely revels in being so.

No breath holding will be occurring on this end.

Ruinenlust: Good news! Our Recreational Pineapple Cake has proven extremely popular. Except here, instead of Ruinenlust as intended \:|

Check your six, someone is catching up quickly: nation=nattily_dressed_anarchists_on_bicycles/detail=trend/censusid=60?add_nation2=0&add_region2=0&entity_name=Ruinenlust

All models are wrong but some are useful.

Atsvea, Lord Dominator, Turbeaux, Outer Bele Levy Epies, and 3 othersCat-herders united, Middle Barael, and Julunaphra

Hey, I barely say anything here, but do you all like my new flag?

Alcantaria, Atsvea, Ruinenlust, Lord Dominator, and 8 othersHoochlandia, Turbeaux, Outer Bele Levy Epies, Terrabod, Cat-herders united, Middle Barael, Julunaphra, and Duckpuppet

Hot take: political science isn't a science.

EDIT: I don't mean to detract from the importance of political science as a very relevant and useful subject to study, so sorry if it comes across that way.

Atsvea, Lord Dominator, Turbeaux, Outer Bele Levy Epies, and 3 othersCat-herders united, Middle Barael, and Julunaphra

Drasnia wrote:snip

Aww, that's very sad. I entirely understand, though. My maxim has always been that playing NS must be enjoyable; if I came to dislike the experience, I would no longer be involved.

And in any event, you can always reappear as a new nation should you want to. My hope is that the Forest community continues to exist for years to come. Nothing is forever, but some things are for a long time.

You have been an integral part of the region, and it will be the poorer for having lost you.

All the best,
Ruinenlust

Nattily dressed anarchists on bicycles

Terrabod wrote:Hot take: political science isn't a science.

Probably physics is the only "scientific" discipline in the rigorous sense of being fully reproducible and falsifiable. Perhaps also chemistry, to the extent that it is applied physics. Biology and medicine (which is to say, applied chemistry) begins to get tricky, as the number of variations in cases introduces significant stochastic factors, whereby statistical modeling (and all the assumptions which may or may not actually hold) begins to rear its ugly head.

Of course, by the time we get to psychology and sociology, we cannot even know with any certainty the connection between motivation and action, as that connection exists completely inside the inaccessible mind of the subject, which can change more or less randomly at any moment. Statistical modeling (and their questionable assumptions) is all there is. Attempts at scientific rigor are commendable, but there are extremely serious "round pegs in square holes" problems.

Although I'm struggling to think of a political science hypothesis that doesn't ultimately boil down to a descriptive observation -- which is to say, I'm not sure I see the value in knowing to the p=0.005 level that gun owners who live in the woods vote tend to vote Republican. Besides being patently obvious, this doesn't really tell me anything about what gun owners who live in the woods should do. That should is a prescriptive statement, which political scientists (in my personal observation) are loathe to make for fear of being "biased" or otherwise useful.

By contrast, as messy as biology and medicine are, at least a physician can find that getting a flu vaccine reduces flu mortality by some good measure, and therefore you should get a flu vaccine. Or that there is no link between vaccination and CIA 5G Martian microchip teeth, so anti-vaxxers are idiots.

Knowledge is best when useful because it's normative and prescriptive, and I'm not sure political scientists can produce useful knowledge even if they wanted to.

I quit a graduate program after an adviser and I got into an argument over whether a p-level of 0.0501 was "good" enough. I wanted to conclude that the social program I was studying was effective, and advisor accused me of p-fishing. The ironically named Ronald Fisher, who, in addition to being a "scientific" racist and eugenicist, unleashed this p-bullshit onto an unsuspecting world in 1925, also said straight-up that he picked 0.05 as the All Holy Official Cutoff Point of Legitimate Knowledge (TM) simply because it amounted to a nearly two-standard deviation difference in a normal distribution. In other words, that's the official cut-off point because an English racist liked two. That's literally it. He basically rolled a die and by magick, it's a "rule."

My advisor's response was that publishers "require" p=0.05 and I'll never get anywhere otherwise.

I eventually had an epiphany: I don't give a f*ck about publishers and p-values. I give a f*ck about social programs, and I'll go down swinging while rigorous "scientists" who worship at the altar of a proto-Nazi can snuggle up to their thesis that maybe one other person will actually read as it decays in the basement of a library somewhere. Probably, ironically, complaining about having to toss publisher's salads the whole time.

"Worship at the altar of a proto-Nazi" is probably a bit strong. It's just, you know, we snicker at phrenology and other absurdities of the time now, while p=0.05 continues to be the gold standard for no particular reason. If anything, it probably remains the gold standard precisely because it allows social scientists an official finishing line where they can stop, artificial though it may be. Physics is nice because you can smash the two particle streams together and a Higgs Boson either does or does not plunk out. But with social science, you can sample repeatedly for all eternity and get different conclusions every time. I'd be desperate for a finishing line too, I suppose.

I might be bitter. Or not. Just my feels, YMMV. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Whaddya think of the new flag?

Drasnia wrote:snip

I can’t imagine the day I’ll grow tired of NationStates, especially if I became as legendary as you. Good luck, Drasnia.

«12. . .1,8721,8731,8741,8751,8761,8771,878. . .2,6342,635»

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