[PASSED] Commend Sionis Prioratus

[Quadrimmina]

To the Honorable Delegate from Quadrimmina:

To answer your question: no. It is not our, our being the World Assembly's, solemn duty to uphold basic rights and principles; it the duty of state governments to perform that function. The international community should be concerned with matters which are actually international in nation.

As per the "NatSov/IntFed" dynamic, I did not bring that up in response to your statement; I was merely commenting on another delegate's excellent analysis of the two dominant types of WA members.

The Confederacy of Masucciania respectfully yields the floor,

Of course, the World Assembly's purpose is to deal with international matters. But the precedent of matters and GA history shows that our assembly is very much in the business of protecting individual rights if such rights are not guaranteed or upheld by the member state in general. It is a time-honored debate, the debate between those resisting WA right-granting and those proposing it.

Meanwhile, Sionis Prioratus was without a doubt for the WA upholding member nation rights. Whether you agree with that or not, they did a lot to help people, and helped make this assembly and the world a better place. What more do you need to know to understand that they deserve this commendation.

[Topid]

I voted for this for the record. I am kind of mehish about it, four passed resolutions is significant I guess, I just wish it could have been coupled with something else.

That's like saying a roleplayer shouldn't just be commended for roleplaying something great, or commending a gameplayer for just doing great gameplay stuff.. writing is what WA authors do, why would I commend him for anything else?

It sounded to me like commending a roleplayer who has been in two roleplays before... It didn't look like four passed GA resolutions was a unique achievement. But seven sounds better.

Since I don't pretend to follow or care about the GA, has anyone wrote more than 7 GA resolutions (and I am not counting UN)?

[Ballotonia]

IMHO, if 7 resolutions instead of 4 is supposed to be part of the consideration for the commend, then those 7 should have been mentioned in the commendation, not just the 4.

Ballotonia

[Omigodtheykilledkenny]

Once again, for the faint of heart:

He's actually gotten seven resolutions passed, but that's not what this commendation considers important. What's supposed to be commended here is the overall effect of those resolutions: the advancement of personal liberties worldwide. Of course being the irrepressible jerk that I am, I naturally hate personal liberties, and have voted accordingly.

*wanders off muttering about "...gameplayers and their...preoccupation with numbers"*

[Darkesia]

Abstained because we never heard of the guy. Ignoring it is easier than trying to convince a bunch of gameplayers they should vote for a commend of someone they never heard of. As long as I can continue to get away with not posting these types of C&C's on our forum, I will continue to follow this policy through my term.

[Topid]

Once again, for the faint of heart:

He's actually gotten seven resolutions passed, but that's not what this commendation considers important. What's supposed to be commended here is the overall effect of those resolutions: the advancement of personal liberties worldwide. Of course being the irrepressible jerk that I am, I naturally hate personal liberties, and have voted accordingly.

*wanders off muttering about "...gameplayers and their...preoccupation with numbers"*

We've been told we are supposed to consider information in the thread just as much as information in the resolution now, that was the whole point of R4. So I will.

[Sionis Prioratus]

A group of five elder priests, dressed in white robes, proceed to the center of the Security Council chambers in a slow, steady, reverent pace. Shocked Ambassadors from all over the worlds could be heard muttering: “What the f…?”

Then they stopped. They positioned themselves at an imaginary circle, equidistant from each other. Each one of the priests produced two gold, ancient daggers, and slowly pointed them towards heaven, one dagger in each hand. The oldest of the priests started chanting in a forgotten language, which resembled Hebrew. The others would join a chorus at certain pauses.

The daggers were then pointed at the center of the circle; afterwards each of them pointed each of their daggers towards the two other priests farthest to them, forming a certain shape, which they knew it had a special, necessary meaning.

By now long lost to trance, they started chanting in unison:

Oh Great Goddess, Giver of Life and Empress of the World to Come! We implore Thee, grant us Thy council! Bring us back our recently dead and forever beloved King, Adrian the First, from the eternal peace of the blessed Elysian Fields for some short moments, so he may speak to us for one last time.

Moments that seemed endless passed; just when everybody was over uncomfortable enough, an explosion of light and sound came from within the shape. When everybody collected themselves from the floor, nobody fled. They could not quite believe their senses.

A likeness of the King was now visible floating over the circle, engulfed in bright violet flame, his eyes fulgurant with white light, his vestments and hair waving wildly at the fire winds. He became aware of his surroundings, and gave a hearty laugh. He spoke in a thunderous voice:

We are now beyond worldly worries, but not beyond love. We thank everybody for this posthumous honor. While we were eulogized in our homeland, and we were able to witness our children weeping & praising us before Goddess took us to the Blessed Fields, one thing we could have never imagined was to receive eulogies in this place, this World Assembly to which we dedicated so much of ourselves.

Quadrimmina. Unibot. Thank you. We do not think a better summing up of everything we always have stood for could have ever been written. Ever. Full circle, indeed.

Goddess made us aware of certain rumors circulating among the living regarding our death, from the plain dull to the fantastic. Do not believe them, not one. Nobody but the Goddess knows the secrets of our heart, and those secrets, we told nobody. And shall never tell.

We actually died a slow death. One that started long, long ago. That some events may have had proximity to our actual death, establishing an actual connection among them is nothing but an exercise in divination and truth-making.

We thoroughly instructed our children never to become entangled in international diplomacy again. We hope they will hear us. But knowing them… oh, children.

May the Goddess grant you love and happiness each and every day of your lives, all of you. And mercy when life ends and Goddess giveth you just reward for eternity.

Now we must depart, forever.

The fiery specter disappeared in another explosion of light and sound, much to the awe and annoyance of the witnesses.

“Royal Séances are always like that”, the oldest priest, seemingly accustomed to such events, limited himself to say, before escorting the other four priests outside.

The usual conspiracy theorists could be heard whispering: “That was the shabbiest holographic show ever!”

[Krioval]

Well, good thing that all of that's been sorted out, then. And with such a minimum of drama, too.

Henrik Søgård
Imperial Chiefdom of Krioval

[Quadrimmina]

SC#28 passed. We are happy to have worked with our fellow delegations to ensure that such great work was commemorated.

[Omigodtheykilledkenny]

We've been told we are supposed to consider information in the thread just as much as information in the resolution now, that was the whole point of R4. So I will.

I don't think the point of R4 was to instruct you on how to vote. Honestly, it sounds like you're just trying to make excuses -- though I don't know what for, since you said you voted for the commendation.

[The Eternal Kawaii]

A group of five elder priests, dressed in white robes, proceed to the center of the Security Council chambers in a slow, steady, reverent pace. Shocked Ambassadors from all over the worlds could be heard muttering: “What the f…?”

Then they stopped. They positioned themselves at an imaginary circle, equidistant from each other. Each one of the priests produced two gold, ancient daggers, and slowly pointed them towards heaven, one dagger in each hand. The oldest of the priests started chanting in a forgotten language, which resembled Hebrew. The others would join a chorus at certain pauses.

The daggers were then pointed at the center of the circle; afterwards each of them pointed each of their daggers towards the two other priests farthest to them, forming a certain shape, which they knew it had a special, necessary meaning.

By now long lost to trance, they started chanting in unison:

Oh Great Goddess, Giver of Life and Empress of the World to Come! We implore Thee, grant us Thy council! Bring us back our recently dead and forever beloved King, Adrian the First, from the eternal peace of the blessed Elysian Fields for some short moments, so he may speak to us for one last time.

Moments that seemed endless passed; just when everybody was over uncomfortable enough, an explosion of light and sound came from within the shape. When everybody collected themselves from the floor, nobody fled. They could not quite believe their senses.

A likeness of the King was now visible floating over the circle, engulfed in bright violet flame, his eyes fulgurant with white light, his vestments and hair waving wildly at the fire winds. He became aware of his surroundings, and gave a hearty laugh. He spoke in a thunderous voice:

We are now beyond worldly worries, but not beyond love. We thank everybody for this posthumous honor. While we were eulogized in our homeland, and we were able to witness our children weeping & praising us before Goddess took us to the Blessed Fields, one thing we could have never imagined was to receive eulogies in this place, this World Assembly to which we dedicated so much of ourselves.

Quadrimmina. Unibot. Thank you. We do not think a better summing up of everything we always have stood for could have ever been written. Ever. Full circle, indeed.

Goddess made us aware of certain rumors circulating among the living regarding our death, from the plain dull to the fantastic. Do not believe them, not one. Nobody but the Goddess knows the secrets of our heart, and those secrets, we told nobody. And shall never tell.

We actually died a slow death. One that started long, long ago. That some events may have had proximity to our actual death, establishing an actual connection among them is nothing but an exercise in divination and truth-making.

We thoroughly instructed our children never to become entangled in international diplomacy again. We hope they will hear us. But knowing them… oh, children.

May the Goddess grant you love and happiness each and every day of your lives, all of you. And mercy when life ends and Goddess giveth you just reward for eternity.

Now we must depart, forever.

The fiery specter disappeared in another explosion of light and sound, much to the awe and annoyance of the witnesses.

“Royal Séances are always like that”, the oldest priest, seemingly accustomed to such events, limited himself to say, before escorting the other four priests outside.

The usual conspiracy theorists could be heard whispering: “That was the shabbiest holographic show ever!”

"Well," the Kawaiian First Secretary said. "I guess we'll have to start work on that additional clause."

[Ardchoille]

We've been told we are supposed to consider information in the thread just as much as information in the resolution now ...

Not quite. The info you put in the proposal is the first thing the delegates who might be persuaded to approve it will see, so you put the most convincing/alluring/vital bits in the proposal.

What you put in the thread, particularly the first post, is the sort of detail that those who are seriously interested will want to read.

To get a proposal into the queue, it doesn't matter to you whether a delegate is seriously interested or just passing through, so long as you can convince him to approve the proposal.

But to get it passed, you have to convince the delegates who'll be swinging those massive delegate votes around. So when it gets to the top of the queue and is At Vote, you need the detailed arguments in the thread.

... that was the whole point of R4. So I will.

Um, not from where I stand, it wasn't. I've been suggesting "save the details for the first post" off and on since well before R4.

And, IC:

Walter Arbuthnot, raising his silver hip-flask, quietly toasts, "Absent friends."

That should be "impartial" enough to keep both Dicey and the Oldest Coven happy, he congratulates himself.

-- Walter Arbuthnot, Engineer Primus of the Hermeneutical Order of the Shattered Fourth Rampart; Security Council delegate, Ardchoille.

[Darkesia]

But to get it passed, you have to convince the delegates who'll be swinging those massive delegate votes around. So when it gets to the top of the queue and is At Vote, you need the detailed arguments in the thread.

Actually, now that we can see them, I have noticed that individual voters play a very large role in getting things passed.

[/ interesting but off topic comment]

[Glen-Rhodes]

Actually, now that we can see them, I have noticed that individual voters play a very large role in getting things passed.

I really wouldn't put too much emphasis on individual voters '[playing] a very large role'. Many of us have recorded how the big delegates shift the vote. There definitely is a lemming effect; how significant, I don't know. I planned on studying it, but collecting the data needed proved to be very difficult.

(As for off-topic, isn't the topic pretty much done with, anyways? Usually these threads are closed by now.)

[Quadrimmina]

Actually, now that we can see them, I have noticed that individual voters play a very large role in getting things passed.

I really wouldn't put too much emphasis on individual voters '[playing] a very large role'. Many of us have recorded how the big delegates shift the vote. There definitely is a lemming effect; how significant, I don't know. I planned on studying it, but collecting the data needed proved to be very difficult.

(As for off-topic, isn't the topic pretty much done with, anyways? Usually these threads are closed by now.)

/thread

[Ardchoille]

I was letting it roll because there was nothing else coming along. The delegates who just dropped in to read the arguments for and against have presumably gone back to whatever they normally do.

The theoretical stuff is interesting to the regulars and builds a general learning-together that makes for better proposals -- you know how you can know a thing, but not really be aware you know it until someone says it in the exact words you were looking for? That.

Like the other day, when a player -- whose name I won't use, because what would it do to their street cred, talking to a mod -- drew a parallel between proposals and politicians' campaigns. The prop is like the fundamental stuff you say in TV grabs and bumper stickers to tell everyone where you stand; the first few posts in the thread are like the setpiece speeches and printed platforms where you explain the policies in detail, how they'll apply and what they mean.