Spiritus | VICTORY

[Ever-Wandering Souls]

I'm in!

[Salaxalans Mafia Man]

Great!

[Venico]

This is going to be fun as hell. Can't wait for it to open.

[Karpathos]

Lynch Venico.

[Venico]

[Salaxalans Mafia Man]

Karpathos! Why the hell aren't you in the game yet?

As for Venico, he was an evil Mafia member and shot everyone before they could hang him. So I guess Venico wins!

[Ainin]

Definitely joining! :D

[Venico]

Karpathos! Why the hell aren't you in the game yet?

As for Venico, he was an evil Mafia member and shot everyone before they could hang him. So I guess Venico wins!

I didn't shoot a single townsperson. I was the blacksmith and dealt with people using my hammer. *grumbles*

[Salaxalans Mafia Man]

Okay, last call! I'll be closing the Mafia region to new signups in twelve minutes!

[Dawsinian]

Spiritus Foreign Update: "Merry New Year" Edition


Hello, friends of Spiritus! I'm Rogamark, the new Minister of Information and Integration, and a lot of things have happened since the last Foreign Update. Following the last general election, and a few resignations, there have been a number of changes in the government. The current government theme is Halo, by the way:

The Government of Spiritus

High Prophet (President): The Salaxalans
Hierarch (Vice President): Guy

Prophet (Minister) of Cultivation (Culture): Wuufu
Apprentice Prophet (Deputy Minister) of Cultivation: Vacant

Supreme Commander (Minister) of Retribution (Defense): Denth Kasten
Fleetmaster (Deputy Minister of Defense): Vacant

Prophet of Tranquility (Foreign Affairs): Guy
Apprentice Prophet of Tranquility: Vacant

Prophet of Illumination and Conversion (Information and Integration): Rogamark
Apprentice Prophet of Conversion: Arbiter08

Prophet of Admonition (World Assembly Affairs): The Salaxalans
Vice Delegate: Shimoda
Apprentice Prophet of Admonition: Shimoda

Prophet without Portfolio: Tim

High Council (Regional Assembly)

High Counciler (Speaker): Libertarian Librarians
Counciler (Representative): Legonimis
Counciler: Rogamark
Counciler: Tim

Council of Deed and Doctrine (Supreme Court)

Minister of Deed and Doctrine (Chief Justice): Guy
Apprentice Minister (Associate Justice): Sovreignry
Apprentice Minister: Wuufu

---

Regional Assembly Update and Failure of Constitutional Reform


The Regional Assembly in some (strictly professional) action

The Regional Assembly had a somewhat rocky start, with the resignations of Red Dusk, Cormac and Toms causing two special elections. Despite that, the legislative activity remained fairly steady and the RA was able to work on some large projects, some of which - like the reform of the criminal legislation - are almost done.
Also, following a hot debate, the RA proposed a new and rewritten constitution to the citizenry. But even though the revision, which was spearheaded by Cormac, produced a more easily understandable draft with little substantive changes, it failed to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority at the referendum. A concurrent amendment referendum for the abolition of the office of Vice President also failed.

---

General Election and Executive Government Update


Mr. President deciding on a citizenship application

In December, Spiritus had seen one of the most hotly contested elections in a while, with the incumbent President Salaxalans and his running mate, Vice President and Chief Justice Guy successfully defending their positions against then-Speaker of the Assembly Rogamark and then-Warlord Legonimis by 10 to 8 votes. Hot campaign topics were the priority of foreign involvement and the current activity levels. It will be the last term in office for longstanding President Salaxalans, who has reached the term limit and won't be able to run again in April.

Following the resignations of former Minister of Integration Toms, Minister of Defense Tim, the retirement of Deputy Minister of Defense Cormac and merger of the Ministry of Information with the Integration portfolio, the President appointed some new faces to the Cabinet. RA Representative Rogamark was named Minister of Information and Integration, and SDF soldier Denth Kasten will serve the region as Minister of Defense. His predecessor Tim remains in the Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio.

---

Supreme Court Update, Govindia Keeps Court Busy, or At Least Tries


A Supreme Court Justice carefully listening to an attorney

Due to Associate Justice Legonimis not seeking reappointment, the President appointed experienced member and former RA Representative of seven terms Sovreignry to replace him. The appointment was unanimously confirmed by the RA.

The Supreme Court has seen some more action in the recent past, with two advisory opinions sought. Also, notorious former member Govindia filed a civil lawsuit, trying to contest an administrative ban imposed by Tim in his capacity as regional founder. After large portions of the lawsuit were dismissed for untenability by Chief Justice Guy, and one attempt at refiling, the lawsuit is on hold for the time being. Plaintiff Govindia, although willing to pursue a third attempt, seems to be unable to find new legal representation, following his first two attorneys getting off the case.

---

SDF Troops Involved All Over NS


SDF soldiers, known throughout NS for their professionalism and discipline

The Spiritus Defense Force, always ready to defend those who can't defend themselves, saw a considerable upturn in activity and membership in the recent past - largely thanks to then-Deputy Minister of Defense Cormac. SDF soldiers were deployed to a number of defense, detag and liberation missions, most notably the successful liberation of Anne Frank.

---

President Awards Exaltation of Spiritus to Three Recipients


The proud recipients

The Exaltation of Spiritus, one of the highest honors Spiritus can bestow upon their best of the best, was awarded by President Salaxalans to three of the finest members of the Spiritan community. Cormac received it both as a lifetime achievement award and as a thank you for his recent excellent work with the constitutional revision and the SDF. Also honored was Speaker of the Assembly Libertarian Librarians, a long-term RA Representative and exceptional legislator. And former Minister of Integration and RA Representative Toms was exalted for his "unswerving dedication" and his loyalty and competence over a long period of time.

---

Rogamark's Remarks - The Thing About Parties

[small]Since former Minister of Information Horse no longer serves in that capacity, there will be no more "Horsey’s Thing of the Month" in the Foreign Dispatches. Instead, in "Rogamark's Remarks", I'm going to comment on whatever crosses my mind, and it may be NS-related or not.

Rogamark's Remarks are my personal comments, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Spiritan Government or Cabinet, nor are they my official ministerial opinions.[/small]

Before the last general election, Spiritus saw the formation of a new political party, the Sinister Party. Contrary to popular belief, I did not found it, that honor belongs to Legonimis; I merely serve as their General Secretary and lead politician. Shortly after, Tim also founded a new party, named "God's Will". Both parties quickly satisfied the minimum member requirement under Spiritan law, and Sinister even ran on a "Sinister ticket" in the presidential election, specifically referring to the party platform.

While the two new parties formed, there was some debate as to the necessity and purpose of political parties in NS regions. A number of members seem to think political parties serve no purpose in NS, and the fact that most Spiritan parties have stayed quite silent in the past seems to back that opinion. So, why do they exist, and are able to maintain a minimum number of members, then?

If one wishes to found or join a NS political party, the greatest disservice one can do to it is to confuse it with a RL political party. That misconception is woefully widespread among NS players. In RL, most people aren't politicians, and besides voting in elections, they can only hope to influence top-level politics by joining a party. There is strength in numbers, after all. However, no NS region has a population large enough to necessitate that, and NS populations do not tend to split into a politically active minority, and a majority that may or may not vote in elections.

In any given NS region, it is reasonable to assume that the limited population does generally take an interest in politics, or they wouldn't be playing NS. Also, since everybody is a politician, more or less, they don't need the backup and infrastructure a party can provide.

But that view (that I held myself for years) is too narrow. True, Sinister does not have huge political success (yet), or a sizable basis. But we somehow managed to recruit almost all LGBT members of the region, and pride ourselves on it. Also, our channel has seen a number of great talks between Lego, the wonderful Johanna, and me. Try to see your party the same way you should see your entire region - as a social group with some political aspects instead of the other way around, and you will be surprised how much fun it can be.

---

Thanks for reading the Spiritus Foreign Update!
Authored by Minister Rogamark
Edited by President Salaxalans

[Ever-Wandering Souls]

But will there be more Mafia?

[Benjamin Henrikson]

But will there be more Mafia?

You beat me to it!

[Tim-Opolis]

Spiritus Foreign Update: Deck the Halls with Bits of Zombie



From jolly old VP Legonimis:

As 2015 comes to an end and NS settles down for a long winter's nap, Spiritus issues this Foreign Update while wishing everyone a festive December-January Holiday of their choice and a Happy New Year!

Spiritus Government Listing

Executive Branch

High Elder (President): Rogamark
Elder (Vice President): Legonimis

The Sentinel (Minister) of Morale (Culture): Feirmont
The Knight (Deputy Minister) of Morale: Wuufu

The Sentinel of the Shield (Defense): Sovreignry
The Knight (Deputy Minister) of the Shield: Blitze

The Sentinel of Outreach (Foreign Affairs and Information): Rogamark
The Knight (Deputy Minister) of Outreach: Blitze

The Sentinel (Minister) of Enculturation (Integration): Tim
The Knight (Deputy Minister) of Enculturation: Red Dusk
The Knight (Deputy Minister) of Enculturation: vacant

The Sentinel (Minister/WAD) of the Quill (World Assembly Affairs): The Salaxalans
Vice Delegate/The Knight (Deputy Minister) of the Quill: Wuufu

The Operations Officer (Regional Security Advisor): Lord Ravenclaw

---

Regional Assembly

Star Paladin (Speaker): Blitze
Paladin (Representative): greeter
Paladin: Legonimis
Paladin: Toms

---

Supreme Court

Head Scribe (Chief Justice): Wuufu
Scribe (Associate Justice): Sovreignry
Scribe (Associate Justice): Libertarian Librarians

---

Regional Assembly and Election Update


Speaker candidates trying to resolve the gridlock in a more civil-than-usual manner

The Regional Assembly unfortunately had two members resign from office during the previous term, both of which were the current Speaker at the time of their respective departures. First Speaker Feirmont, then Speaker RedDusk resigned; to fill their place, current Vice-President and former Speaker Legonimis was elected in the first special election; a relatively new member to the forum, greeter [sic], was elected in the second.

Following those resignations, three-term Representative Blitze was elected Speaker.

The RA considered some new legislation and reconsidered former bills as well. The Regional Assembly was given the ability to abolish an unfilled Regional Assembly seat, should one remain unfilled after an election. The Regional Assembly also made it easier to correct grammatical and language mistakes in already passed legislation; it is now unnecessary to draft an entirely new amendment for that purpose. The Regional Assembly then passed legislation defining the recall process in cases of lengthy or undeclared leaves of absence.

Also on the agenda were two appointment confirmations. First, Chief Justice Wuufu was reconfirmed for that position. Libertarian Librarians was appointed to the Archivist of the Library of Law, a position used by the region to add consistency to our Library of Law. Unfortunately, he resigned at the end of the term. Speaker Blitze declined to make another appointment.

---

Elections


Freedom of expression is of paramount concern to Spiritans, especially during election season

Elections brought some new faces to government, though all incumbents who stood for reelection returned to office.

Deputy Minister of Integration Red Dusk and Minister of Culture Feirmont challenged incumbents Rogamark and Legonimis for the Hexagonal Office. The Redmont ticket would eventually end up losing the election, as the Roganimis retained their hold on the Executive government with 75% of the votes. This will be their third and last term, as they have now reached the term limit and will ineligible to run in the April elections.

The Regional Assembly saw six candidates facing off for four seats. Blitze, Legonimis and greeter were all attempting to be re-elected, while former Speaker Toms, former Regional Assembly Representative Arbiter08, and former President and Speaker Salaxalans were seeking return to the RA. Blitze, Legonimis, and greeter all retained their seats and were joined by Toms, who immediately challenged Blitze for the Speakership. After a brief stalemate, Blitze was again appointed Speaker, having made concessions and promises regarding improvements to the Library of Law and the Archivist position.

---

Executive Government and SDF Update


SDF soldiers listening attentively to the new Deputy Minister of Defense's inaugural speech

It wouldn't be Spiritus without yet another cabinet reshuffle.

Blitze was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Minister of Defense after Guy and RedDusk had tendered resignations for the respective positions.

Wuufu and Feirmont swapped jobs in the Ministry of Culture to allow Wuufu to also take over the position of Deputy Minister of World Affairs from long term DWMA and now former Vice-Delegate Shimoda



The Spiritus Defense Force completed last term one of its greatest achievements: the elimination of all old TBR tags. In collaboration with the Ravania from the UDL, Storm and Blitze spearheaded the task. So great a victory will inevitably boost morale as well.

Our military leaders would personally like to thank every SDF member who participated in the TBR detagging campaign: your valiant efforts to further the cause of defenderism are commendable. The SDF has a reputation as a prominent defender force; campaigns such as this do service to it.

Special thanks are addressed to Storm; her tireless efforts set a new SDF detag record.

Spiritus would also like to thank all other defenders who helped with the detagging campaign; we are certain that defenderdom will collaborate further on such noble projects.

---

Supreme Court


Another short supplementary brief by the defense

Spiritus' policy of zombie non-extermination with with a bit of a controversy in the most recent Halloween Z-Day apocalypse. A nation was ejected after being warned mulitiple times not to execute the zombies, as Spiritus maintain a strict pro-cure policy. However, the nation belonged to a full citizen, who filed suit, alleging that the temporary ejection was a violation of his constitutional right to manage his nation as he chooses.

Delegate Salaxalans, the perennial Z-Day czar, was identified as the defendant in the case and was represented by Guy and Rogamark. The government's position was that the Z-Day event is a special event and not part of business as usual.

The Supreme Court has initially found in favor of the plaintiff, though the defense is mounting an appeal.

So contentious was this case that the RA attempted a remedy via a constitutional amendment. The amendment failed to find adequate support among the citizenry, essentially failing by one vote. Opponents felt the amendment was premature and/or potentially unnecessary.

---

Zombie Apocalypse

Spiritus once again participated actively in the Zombie Apocalypse. Spiritus did quite well in this event, with extra special thanks to RedDusk and Salaxalans, who sacrificed time and sleep to coordinate and maintain the Spiritus campaign for the cure. Their efforts paid off, as Spiritus finished 11th in Nationstates for most survivors without infected and 17th for most survivors. The diligent efforts of participating members of the region are to be applauded.

---

Words from the High Elder

Rogamark's Remarks (or Words from the High Elder under our Brotherhood of Steel theme) are my personal comments, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Spiritan Government or Cabinet, nor are they my official presidential or ministerial opinions.

Friends of Spiritus,

lately I was reminded of a discussion from years ago, in the days of the (thankfully) ill-fated NationStates2. It was about whether or not defenderism is dead, whether or not we've entered a new era, the Post-Defender Age. This was obviously not the case. However, I was - and still am - intrigued by how often this claim came up over the years. Rarely has an ideological alignment in a game been talked down by its own followers with such regularity. But we're still here. Why?

Unlike in most other games, ideologies in NS are not just set arbitrarily to pit players against each other, nor are they modeled after RL ideologies. For as long as there will be people seeking to govern their own regions, there will be people trying to destroy it just because. And for as long as there will be people doing that, there will be people trying to stop them.

The right to found and govern your own region, self-determination, has always been the cornerstone of Defender ideology. It is the cornerstone of our Defender heritage. The discussion I remember must have taken place at least six years ago, but to this day, defenders still believe in the inherent right of each and every region to determine its own fate without outside interference. Nothing has changed.

Of course, NS is a very diverse game, offering a multitude of ways how to play it. It is perfectly normal that one way that's resonable and fun to one player, will at the same time bore, mystify, or even annoy the other. Let them. It's part of the game. But what's not to be part of the game is destroying other people's regions just because you can - only to then have the temerity to claim 'that's what makes the game interesting for them'. No, it is not, it's what makes them lose interest in the game.

Defenderism is deeply rooted in the idea of regional self-determination, which in turn stems from the very idea of the game itself. It would only die if there were no longer any people running their own regions (which would mean NS itself is dead), or no longer any raiders - likely story. That doesn't mean we shouldn't keep up our efforts to recruit people, to strengthen our militaries and to regularly affirm our commitment. The ability to help those who can't help themselves doesn't maintain itself. But if we were to pick background music for defenderism - considering the attitude of many defenders, we'd likely end up with a dirge. It would have been the wrong choice years ago, and it would be the wrong choice today. Much to raiderdom's chagrin.

Let's keep it that way. And do something about our attitude.

---

Thanks for reading the Spiritus Foreign Update!
Authored by Deputy Minister Blitze and President Rogamark
Edited by Vice President Legonimis

[Cormac Stark]

Of course, NS is a very diverse game, offering a multitude of ways how to play it. It is perfectly normal that one way that's resonable and fun to one player, will at the same time bore, mystify, or even annoy the other. Let them. It's part of the game. But what's not to be part of the game is destroying other people's regions just because you can - only to then have the temerity to claim 'that's what makes the game interesting for them'. No, it is not, it's what makes them lose interest in the game.

It's unfortunate to see a defender region that was once light on ideological extremism and friendly and welcoming toward raiders so thoroughly embracing moralism, especially under Rogamark, who was previously one of Spiritus' more moderate and independently minded citizens. I guess it really isn't possible to actively defend for fun and activity, you have to have a moral superiority complex. What a shame.

Nonetheless, congratulations to the SDF on its recent growth and successes.

[Tim-Opolis]

Of course, NS is a very diverse game, offering a multitude of ways how to play it. It is perfectly normal that one way that's resonable and fun to one player, will at the same time bore, mystify, or even annoy the other. Let them. It's part of the game. But what's not to be part of the game is destroying other people's regions just because you can - only to then have the temerity to claim 'that's what makes the game interesting for them'. No, it is not, it's what makes them lose interest in the game.

It's unfortunate to see a defender region that was once light on ideological extremism and friendly and welcoming toward raiders so thoroughly embracing moralism, especially under Rogamark, who was previously one of Spiritus' more moderate and independently minded citizens. I guess it really isn't possible to actively defend for fun and activity, you have to have a moral superiority complex. What a shame.

Nonetheless, congratulations to the SDF on its recent growth and successes.

*cough* "Rogamark's Remarks (or Words from the High Elder under our Brotherhood of Steel theme) are my personal comments, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Spiritan Government or Cabinet, nor are they my official presidential or ministerial opinions." *cough*

[Cormac Stark]

*cough* "Rogamark's Remarks (or Words from the High Elder under our Brotherhood of Steel theme) are my personal comments, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Spiritan Government or Cabinet, nor are they my official presidential or ministerial opinions." *cough*

Yeah, that reminds me of when Unibot was somehow never representative of the UDL when he was being extreme and ridiculous. Rogamark is using the title of his regional office in the article's title and the article is in the regional foreign update, which is being delivered to Spiritus' embassy regions, including regions that regularly raid.

Fun fact: Even Unibot never claimed not to be representing the UDL in his Letters from the Chief of the Band.

[The Silver Sentinel]

I guess it really isn't possible to actively defend for fun and activity, you have to have a moral superiority complex. What a shame.

/sigh. Not all defenders are moralists. I for instance have no moral superiority complex. I defend, because I like defending. I also do what needs to be done, and if that involves taking down a region (i.e The Greater German Reich), then I have no qualms about doing such. so please don't mix all defenders into the same pot, lest we start comparing all raiders to Halcones.

[Tim-Opolis]

*cough* "Rogamark's Remarks (or Words from the High Elder under our Brotherhood of Steel theme) are my personal comments, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Spiritan Government or Cabinet, nor are they my official presidential or ministerial opinions." *cough*

Yeah, that reminds me of when Unibot was somehow never representative of the UDL when he was being extreme and ridiculous. Rogamark is using the title of his regional office in the article's title and the article is in the regional foreign update, which is being delivered to Spiritus' embassy regions, including regions that regularly raid.

Fun fact: Even Unibot never claimed not to be representing the UDL in his Letters from the Chief of the Band.

I feel like we both know that regardless of the Defender direction that Spiritus has, we're no UDL, and Rogamark certainly is no Unibot

The Spiritus Administration has many individuals of many different thoughts and affiliations within it, and I think we balance each other out quite well, or at least well enough to ensure that Spiritus doesn't suddenly go full Unibotian in its Defender ideologies.

[Trickster of Seville]

Yeah, that reminds me of when Unibot was somehow never representative of the UDL when he was being extreme and ridiculous. Rogamark is using the title of his regional office in the article's title and the article is in the regional foreign update, which is being delivered to Spiritus' embassy regions, including regions that regularly raid.

Fun fact: Even Unibot never claimed not to be representing the UDL in his Letters from the Chief of the Band.

I feel like we both know that regardless of the Defender direction that Spiritus has, we're no UDL, and Rogamark certainly is no Unibot

The Spiritus Administration has many individuals of many different thoughts and affiliations within it, and I think we balance each other out quite well, or at least well enough to ensure that Spiritus doesn't suddenly go full Unibotian in its Defender ideologies.

Well that is indeed a good point that every defender or raider region/organization should take in consideration, extremism is not the way to go in any case.

[Blitze]

The Elemental Republic of Spiritus

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Information

As is its duty under the Lampshade Accords, the government of Spiritus formally denounces the ongoing situation in The South Pacific.

Extralegal seizure of power on the part of certain actors within The South Pacific in defiance of established protocol and recent rulings is unacceptable.

The Elemental Republic of Spiritus urges those actors to restore the Coalition of The South Pacific and resume the normal operations of the regional government.

If the situation is not resolved with due haste, the government of Spiritus will rule that The South Pacific has abrogated its responsibilities under the aforementioned Lampshade Accords.

We invite other allies of democracy to likewise decry these disruptive activities.



Rogamark
President of Spiritus


Legonimis
Vice President of Spiritus

[SouthMac]

If the situation is not resolved with due haste, the government of Spiritus will rule that The South Pacific has abrogated its responsibilities under the aforementioned Lampshade Accords.

What precisely does this mean -- that you will consider the treaty nullified, or work to restore the Coalition? That's very unclear from this language.

[Rogamark III]

What precisely does this mean -- that you will consider the treaty nullified, or work to restore the Coalition? That's very unclear from this language.

I'm sure you'll understand some questions are still debated internally in Spiritus, but the thing is: The Lampshade Accords expressly recognize "the Coalition of TSP" as the legitimate government of TSP and also as our treaty partner. So there are several possible interpretations as to what our rights and responsibilities under the treaty may be. And regardless of whether one prefers the Coalition or the transitional government, Spiritus doesn't care much for the choice of action that was taken here. We do not consider extralegal seizure of power a legitimate move, even if it might have been well-intentioned.

[SouthMac]

I'm sure you'll understand some questions are still debated internally in Spiritus, but the thing is: The Lampshade Accords expressly recognize "the Coalition of TSP" as the legitimate government of TSP and also as our treaty partner. So there are several possible interpretations as to what our rights and responsibilities under the treaty may be. And regardless of whether one prefers the Coalition or the transitional government, Spiritus doesn't care much for the choice of action that was taken here. We do not consider extralegal seizure of power a legitimate move, even if it might have been well-intentioned.

Well, that you're not committing to restoring the Coalition before you even know whether the Coalition will actually continue to exist demonstrates that you at least have more sense than The Rejected Realms. Thanks for the clarification.

[Wuufu]

Spiritus Foreign Update: The Rise of the Potatoes

Hello, friends of Spiritus! Over the last two months, Spiritus has seen some dramatic changes. These changes can all be found in this issue of the Foreign Update! And don't worry about the potatoes, they don't bite.

Spiritus Government Listing

Jedi Order (Executive Branch)

Grand Master of the Spiritan Order (President): Blitze
Eminent Master of the Spiritan Order (Vice President): Wuufu

Jedi Master (Minister) of Holocrons (Culture): Wuufu
Jedi Knight (Deputy Minister) of Holocrons (Culture): Blitze

Jedi Master (Minister) of Aggressive Negotiations (Defense): Sovreignry
Jedi Knight (Deputy Minister) of Aggressive Negotiations (Defense): Tangaroa

Jedi Master (Minister) of Peacekeeping (Foreign Affairs and Information): Blitze
Jedi Knight (Deputy Minister) of Peacekeeping (Foreign Affairs and Information): Dawsinian

Jedi Master (Minister) of Initiation (Integration): Blitze
Jedi Knight (Deputy Minister) of Initiation (Integration): Phonexia
Jedi Knight (Deputy Minister) of Initiation (Integration): vacant

Jedi Master (Minister) of Galactic Republic Affairs (World Assembly Affairs): The Salaxalans
Jedi Knight (Deputy Minister) of Galactic Republic Affairs (World Assembly Affairs): vacant

Jedi Shadow (Executive Advisor on Regional Security): Rogamark

Galactic Senate (Regional Assembly)

Supreme Chancellor (Speaker): Toms
Senator (Representative): Tangaroa
Senator: Phonexia
Senator: Tim
Senator: Floompland

Jedi Investigations (Supreme Court)

Chief Jedi Investigator (Chief Justice): Rogamark
Jedi Investigator (Justice): Sovreignry
Jedi Investigator (Justice): Guy

---

Election update


A fight to the death between the two Presidential candidates for the Presidency

In their last elections, Spiritus bestowed upon the region elections for all positions, as occurs every four months. President Rogamark had been lodged in the Presidency for long enough that his term limit came into effect. Two tickets emerged from the dust to challenge for the right to hold the Executive office: one was the ticket of former Speaker Blitze and former President Wuufu, running for President and Vice President respectively, while the other ticket was former Speaker RedDusk running for President, accompanied by Tangaroa for Vice President.

The two tickets promised various things. RedDusk/Tangaroa promised to breathe back life into the region by getting more people involved, while Blitzfu promised to help get new people into the region, while providing some ideas on how to increase numbers within the SDF. In the end, Blitzfu pulled out the victory.

In the Regional Assembly elections, seven people competed for office. Four of the five previous members of the Regional Assembly seeked re-election. The members seeking re-election were Speaker Toms, Tangaroa, Phonexia, and finally at the time, Vice President Legonimis. Three other faces appeared from the woodwork to challenge for a spot in the five open seats for re-election. The founder Tim, Minister of Foreign Affairs Blitze, and a newcomer Floompland all ran for election. At the end of the tallying, the Regional Assembly saw all members seeking re-election, except Legonimis, be re-elected. Tim and Floompland, who had not served in the Regional Assembly in the last term, were also elected to serve in office.

In the final job up for election, it saw a battle of Legonimis running for re-election for the Warlord of Hobo Squids. Guy challenged Legonimis, however, in the end, Legonimis prevailed in his bid for re-election, as squids turned out in massive numbers for a final push to give Legonimis the victory.

---

Regional Assembly Update


Regional Assembly members discussing topics diplomatically

Unfortunately, the Regional Assembly had to bear witness to a resignation during the last term. With a little more than 3 weeks left in the term, Vice-President Legonimis resigned. In his stead, Tangaroa was elected to the Regional Assembly, as he was the only person to run in the special election.

To begin last term, the Regional Assembly elected Toms as Speaker. The Regional Assembly also had the honor of electing a Deputy Speaker for the first time ever. This Deputy Speaker would take over for the Speaker if the Speaker were to go missing. To this position, the Regional Assembly elected RedDusk.

In the last term of the Regional Assembly, the legislature passed a fair number of pieces of legislation. It began with a proposal to give a Commendation Award to Speaker Toms for his outstanding contributions to Culture. The Commendation Award is awarded to any recipient that the Regional Assembly of Spiritus feels is deserving of the award for specific reasons. The only Spiritan, up to that point, who had been awarded the Commendation, was Wuufu. After a short discussion, the Regional Assembly voted to give Speaker Toms the commendation award.

Another smaller Constitutional Act that was passed during the term was to make it so that a Guardian of Spiritus could legally become Election Commissioner when the Spirit was not around, so that they could administer the election without having the Spirit appoint them beforehand. Furthermore, there was an attempt, led by Speaker Toms, to abolish the Presidential term limit, which prohibits a President from being President for more than 3 consecutive terms. Each term was four months long. This attempt, however, failed, and the term limit remained in place.

There were two final votes that passed during the term. The first was to confirm Guy as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, as Libertarian Librarians had resigned earlier on. The other legislation provided for five members of the Regional Assembly to be in this next term for the Regional Assembly.

---

Executive Update


President Rogamark leaving the Presidential office

Before leaving office, President Rogamark decided to do a final few acts before leaving office. First, outside of Minister of Integration Tim and WA Delegate Salaxalans, Rogamark dismissed the entire cabinet.

Furthermore, one of the citizens of Spiritus, who was amazingly active in the SDF and a great person in the region, Storm, had been missing for quite some time. Informed by another member of the Spiritus community, President Rogamark informed the entire region that it was possible that she may never be able to return to Nationstates due to real life circumstances. Considering all she had done for the region, President Rogamark granted her honorary citizenship.

After Blitze was elected, new cabinet members were appointed. Sovreignry and Blitze were both given back their old spots, which had been given to them by the Roganimis Presidency. Culture saw Vice-President Wuufu take over as Minister, with President Blitze being his Deputy. Tangaroa was appointed to serve as Deputy Minister of Defense. Meanwhile, the Executive saw a new face appear into the cabinet, as Phonexia took the position of Deputy Minister of Integration. And finally, Dawsinian began serving as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

---

New Award and Recipients


The recipients receiving their awards at the ceremony

A little over a month ago, RedDusk kindly created an award for the Executive. It was called Spiritan Award for Outstanding Achievement, which would be given out for excellence in gameplay. The outstanding contributions could mean a multitude of things, and would be left up to the person awarding the medal to interpret this meaning. This award could be handed out not only by the President, but by a Field Marshal, or the Minister of Defense. Here is the graphic for the award.

Before leaving office, President Rogamark gave out one final award to his Vice President Legonimis. This award was given out to Legonimis for a multitude of reasons. Legonimis helped throughout a full year as a trusted advisor to Rogamark, while also helping with the cultural aspects of Spiritus, and the community as a whole. Also, he was quick to remind people that Spiritus was much more than a gameplay region, and also served on the Supreme Court and as a Regional Assembly Representative. For this, Rogamark awarded him the Exaltation of Spiritus.

When President Blitze assumed office, he had quite a few awards to hand out. First, he awarded former President Rogamark with an Exaltation of Spiritus for his fantastic work as President over a full year, and his contributions to the region during his Presidency and before it. From being a Regional Assembly Representative, to Speaker, to helping out the SDF whenever asked.

The second award went to former President the Salaxalans, aka Mr. Potato (head). This award that the Salaxalans garnered was The Service to Spiritus Medal, for the second time. His earning of this award came because of his run for WA General Secretary. This election saw the Salaxalans bring home the title of second place overall, which greatly improved the name recognition of Spiritus around Nationstates. It also brought upon a slew of diplomatic applications to the doorstep of Spiritus, and provided a great cultural activity for all Spiritans to take part in.

The final two awards that President Blitze decided to present to members of Spiritus, were both the Green Heart Award. He awarded Tim this medal for all his work supporting the run of Salaxalans for Secretary General. He sent out countless telegrams to people to promote the culture of Spiritus and the delegate, while hoping they might vote for the Salaxalans. Tim put in countless hours to this cause to help it forward. The other Green Heart awardee was Phonexia. He also was awarded the Green Heart for contributions relating to the General Secretary campaign of the Salaxalans. He provided the Salaxalans with the SalaxPAC, while also creating numerous campaign ads. Phonexia did everything he could to help promote Salaxalans in the campaign for Secretary General.

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Blitze’s Tea and Cake

Blitze's Tea and Cake are my personal remarks. These remarks are not necessarily the opinion of the Spiritan government or the cabinet. They are also not my official Presidential or Ministerial opinions.

Blitze's Tea and Cake is replacing Rogamark's Remarks now that Blitze writes the updates fully

Friends of Spiritus, when I took a look at the past Foreign Updates, I noticed that Rogamark almost always had a spot for his comments. He first mentioned when he started it, that he would post about something NS-related, or not, depending on what crossed his mind. I took a careful look over the updates and noticed a trend: Not a single one of them was not NS related. I took some time and thought about things that I could talk about that were Nationstates related and came up with Zilch.

I then decided to look back a bit further, and noticed that Horse had always put his stamp on the Foreign Affairs updates in his way, and Tim did once too. I then realized that I didn’t have to make it about something Nationstates related, and I didn’t have to make it the way Rogamark had always done. I carefully thought of something that I had found out about or something I could talk about that would interest Spiritan friends. Again, I came up with Zilch.

Then, I finally decided that there might be something worth talking about. That subject was the Presidency.

When I assumed the office, I figured that it would be like the Speakership in a way. Time consuming during certain periods, but if I put my mind to it, I would be able to get everything done and it would be not too hard. All I had seen during my time in Spiritus was Rogamark as President. And he made it look quite easy. So, when I finally was elected, I got quite the shock. I finally understood a lot more of what Rogamark had to do on an everyday basis, which was a lot.

At first, I felt a little bit overwhelmed and didn’t know what to start on first. So I decided to slowly take it one thing at a time, and realized that it takes time and effort, and it ain’t exactly easy, but things would get done, and I would learn and grow once again. As I had, with ever newer and higher office I took. Not all Spiritans may have seen some of my growing pains in the Presidency so far, but they have been there at times.

One of the things that I fully now understand is how much Rogamark must have appreciated me doing the last Foreign Update. They are time consuming and it is not easy to craft a good one.

I came into this game as a young and ignorant brat really, but with all of the help that I gotten from people Spiritus, not only have I grown as an NS’er, but I have grown as a person. For all that they have given to me, now it is time for me to give back to them.

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Thanks for reading the Spiritus Foreign Update!
Authored by President Blitze
Edited by Vice-President Wuufu, Chief Justice Rogamark, and WA Delegate The Salaxalans

[Blitze]

The Elemental Republic of Spiritus

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Information

 

With great concern, the government of the Elemental Republic of Spiritus denounces the ongoing coup in Osiris.

 

The occupation of Osiris by an illegitimate government that has seized power from a democratically elected leader, against the expressed will of the Osiran citizenry, is completely unacceptable. It is the worst possible infringement on the ideal of regional self-determination, one of the Spiritan core values. With his actions, "Pharaoh" Cormac A Stark - having lost both the election and a recall bid against the lawfully elected Pharaoh prior to the coup - ended the existence of the OFO, brought unnecessary hostility to the region, and destabilized a major GCR.

 

Spiritus formally ceases all diplomatic relations and other everyday activities with the occupied Osiris, and strongly urges all other regions to do the same. We further urge cooperation by all necessary means, diplomatically as well as military, to resolve the situation and restore power to the legitimate government. We hope ideology will not get in the way of this, for coups are a serious danger to regions on both sides of the political spectrum.

 

We further apologize to the people of Osiris for the actions of our Founder Tim Stark, who is supporting the coup. He is acting without approval of the Spiritan government, and against the wishes of a large majority of Spiritans. He is no longer holding any governmental or military functions in our region.

 

Spiritus also condemns Cormac A Stark, who we understand has only recently been pardoned from a ban as a result of a prior criminal conviction in Osiris. With him being a longstanding persona non grata in our region, we are not surprised about his involvement.

 

 



Blitze

President of Spiritus / Minister of Foreign Affairs and Information

 



Wuufu

Vice President of Spiritus / Minister of Culture / Former President

 



The Salaxalans

World Assembly Delegate / Minister of World Assembly Affairs / Former President

 



Rogamark

Chief Justice of Spiritus / Former President

Former Scribe of Justice of the OFO