South Pacific Independent News Network

[South Pacific Independent News Network]

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Editor-in-Chief: Hileville
Associate Editor-in-Chief/Editor of Insights: Awesomiasa
Editor of Regional News: Lands of Headington - Editor of International News: TBA

List of Our Articles:
TSP Ready to Vote on NAP w/ Lazarus
Term Review: Assembly Wheels Turning Slowly
December Election Season Underway
BREAKING: Threat in the Rejected Realms
December 2013 Election Projections


This post will be updated with more information in the very near future. The SPINN staff will keep an updated list above of all posted articles. Please feel free to provide your commentary on all articles presented.

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SPINN is an independent, non-governmental entity. Any views or opinions presented in articles are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views or the endorsement of the Government of the South Pacific. Any concerns or clarifications are to be addressed to the author(s) of the article or the Editor-in-Chief.

[South Pacific Independent News Network]

The South Pacific Ready to Vote on Non-Aggression Pact with Lazarus

Downtown South Pacific...

The South Pacific Assembly is preparing to vote on a resolution which would formally repeal its Treaty with Lazarus as well as pass a Non-Aggression Pact. Sources close to the situation tell SPINN after several days of heated debate a final text for the Non-Aggression Pact was agreed upon in principle. Escade motioned the resolution to a vote which received a speedy second from Hileville.

The Non-Aggression pact includes a controversial clause which was the subject of much debate. The clause would require either of the signatories to report in good faith any known threat or security concern to the other signatory. The clause was met with opposition from multiple Assemblymen including the Delegate.

The vote is scheduled to begin sometime this weekend and last for three days. Our staff here at SPINN fully expect the Non-Aggression Pact to gain the necessary 60% threshold to pass. Both the South Pacific and Lazarus have had difficult times with allies as of late. The South Pacific repealed its Treaty with Osiris due to concerns about the path the region was taken. This led to tense backlash from Osirians. Whereas Lazarus has been working through hurdles since their change in Government style and most recently the appointment of Milograd as Chairman (Delegate).

Stay tuned to SPINN for more information as this story develops.

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SPINN is an independent, non-governmental entity. Any views or opinions presented in articles are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views or the endorsement of the Government of the South Pacific. Any concerns or clarifications are to be addressed to the author(s) of the article or the Editor-in-Chief.

[The Saturnian Republic]

Loving the logo, guys. Not that that's the important part. Anyways, good too see TSP and Lazarus don't have to hate each other. 'Twould be a shame.

[South Pacific Independent News Network]

Assembly Wheels Turning Slowly

 
The past few months has seen a variety of items proposed in the Assembly.  Discussion have been plentiful and at some times very heated.  Is this really all that different?  Not entirely however this term has seen Assembly business move at an unusually slow pace.  Many of the ongoing discussions have lasted since the beginning of September or October but haven't made it to the voting floor.  We will start with taking a look at the resolutions that made it to a vote.
 
Amendment to Charter Article 2:  Bill of Rights
Passed:  Ayes:  14  -  Nays:  4  -  Abstentions:  1
 
Appointment of Hileville to the CSS
Passed:  Ayes:  11  -  Nays:  0  -  Abstentions:  0
 
Repeal of the Osiris-TSP Treaty
Passed:  Ayes:  13  -  Nays:  1  -  Abstentions:  2
 
Amendment to Charter Article 5:  Cabinet - Adding Deputy Cabinet Officials
Passed:  Ayes:  14  -  Nays:  0  -  Abstentions:  3
 
Amendment to Charter Article 1:  Citizenship
Failed:  Ayes:  10  -  Nays:  5  -  Abstentions:  0
 
Recall of Drugged Monkeys as MoA
Failed:  Ayes:  4  - Nays:  8  -  Abstentions:  2
 
The term has provided us with amendments that overall greatly improve areas of the Charter.  The Amendment on the Bill of Rights gives rights to non-citizen nations that reside in the South pacific and greatly improves on the language.  Adding Deputy Cabinet Ministers as Non-Voting members of the Cabinet will aid in getting new nations involved in the Government.  Adding Hileville to the regions Committee for State Security added another high influence nation to the body in place to look over internal Security.  Drugged Monkeys recall for inactivity failed however he later resigned.  An Amendment to the way the region handles Citizenship also failed but is the subject of an ongoing discussion.
 
The Assembly is currently debating on Judicial Reform as well as amendments to Citizenship, the Army, and the Election process.  The Judicial reform policy is getting closer to a vote but we here at SPINN feel it will take a bit longer.  The recently proposed Omnibus bill on the Army, Citizenship, and Elections will likely be the next bill motioned to support as it has gained wide support from the Assembly.  The Assembly has started a vote on a Non-Aggression Pact with Lazarus which will also serve as a formal repeal for the regions Treaty with 21 votes already being cast.  In 14 hours of voting more votes have been cast than any other Assembly item this term.  This is definitely a good sign for the future of the region.
 
Overall the past term has to be seen as a success.  Chairman Sandaoguo has done well at keeping the Assembly in line although has been criticized for being a tad too political in doing so.   While discussions have been heated and sometimes slow progress has been and is being made on several key areas of regional governance.  Moving forward the region has to look at the happenings in the Assembly as a building brick of a promising future..  SPINN projects Sandaoguo to be a frontrunner for a second term in the Assembly.

[Southern Bellz]

Great article.

Despite disagreeing with him on many issues, GR has been one of the best speakers in recent TSP history. I would gladly support another term.

[Charax]

Eh. It was OK I guess. I suppose I'm just more of a tabloid person.

[Kringalia]

I fully agree, Glen is an awesome Chair of the Assembly. True, he does have some strong opinions I disagree with, but he has managed to preside over an increasingly active and participative Assembly. If he runs I'll sure vote for him in December. Also congratulations to SPINN for finally being active, and for the wonderful articles, I really love them!

[Glen-Rhodes]

I feel both flattered at how well you guys say I'm doing , and worried that some people think I've been too political.

I feel that we've actually gotten a lot done this term. We've built on the success of the Great Council under Belschaft's term as Chair, tackling some pretty major issues with our Charter. Ultimately, it's not about how many laws we're passing or how many people we're appointing, but about the quality of our discussions. The main reason why debates have lasted so long under my chairmanship (though I don't know how long they lasted under other Chairs), is because I want there to be as close to a consensus as possible before holding a vote! It would be ideal if votes were mere formalities, and people worked out their differences and reached compromises during the debate!

[Kringalia]

I feel both flattered at how well you guys say I'm doing , and worried that some people think I've been too political.

I feel that we've actually gotten a lot done this term. We've built on the success of the Great Council under Belschaft's term as Chair, tackling some pretty major issues with our Charter. Ultimately, it's not about how many laws we're passing or how many people we're appointing, but about the quality of our discussions. The main reason why debates have lasted so long under my chairmanship (though I don't know how long they lasted under other Chairs), is because I want there to be as close to a consensus as possible before holding a vote! It would be ideal if votes were mere formalities, and people worked out their differences and reached compromises during the debate!

You haven't been overall too political, but you've had your moments. Nothing to worry about though, I think.

I do enjoy those long Assembly discussions. They have given us some bills of great quality, and avoids future problems and disagreements. I too had that idea of building consensus before the actual votes, which is kind of what we are doing.

[Southern Bellz]

You're pretty political, but we all have our opinions. And the long discussions on divided issues is pretty in step with past chairs, and I think the region likes that.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

[LightSong]

If you want Independant South Pacific news, here is some really impartial chat from #the_south_pacific tonight:

[00:05:39] <@Escade> I wonder if Kalmak is actually Natan, he keeps asking how to get citizenship without the forums.
[00:06:32] <@Hileville> [00:05] <@Escade> I wonder if Kalmak is actually Natan, he keeps asking how to get citizenship without the forums. << Probably
[00:08:24] <+QuietDad> I TG's him back if he would shut up for a week, register under a new name and do nothing but post in the Assbmbly for an appeal he would get a whole lot further a whole lot faster. But he doesn't get it that the forum is not realy bound by the charter
[00:09:46] <+QuietDad> I should track his IP down, hack his pc to overheat and burn his house down.
[00:10:20] <+QuietDad> Just for fun...
[00:10:50] <@Escade> I think he's 14 so let's be less mean. He's a PA kid from what I remember.
[00:11:04] <+TheGrimReaper> pa?
[00:11:13] <+QuietDad> PITA kid i more ike it
[00:11:39] <@Glen-Rhodes> "<QuietDad> I should track his IP down, hack his pc to overheat and burn his house down." lol
[00:13:03] <+QuietDad> Probably Amish using contraband PC in a barn hiding from the elder with a goat driven generator
[00:23:13] <@Hileville> We are creating a specail forum on proboards just for liberatia to get his trial.
[00:24:16] <+QuietDad> I guess I'll have to brush up on my judgeing skills
[00:24:16] <@Escade> Ok, if he wants a trial he should get it. Not sure what he expects other than attention or a chance to say the goldfish compelled him to do it
[00:24:34] <@Hileville> I was joking
[00:25:43] Eluvatar snorts
[00:25:48] <+QuietDad> As chief justice, I'll start the trial "you have one post to present your case, have a hand picked prosecuter say "BUt he's guilty!", find him guilty and ban him again...
[00:26:04] <@Hileville> I mean really he is banned from the forum and has been told that banning isn't going to be reversed. He was banned from the region and Bel isn't goinig to unban him. Where does he expect to have this trial?
[00:26:26] <@Escade> Maybe a public trial on the RMB?
[00:26:41] <+QuietDad> #TSP_OKCryBabyLetsHearIt
[00:26:48] Horse nods
[00:28:30] <+QuietDad> +V means nothing one Epernet but does on other IRC net works. Have done trials in the past where a balif or a judge in a chat room gives +v whenever its your turn to speak then removes it
[00:29:09] <@Hileville> you can make the channel moderated which would only allow those with +v or higher to speak
[00:30:15] <@Escade> That sounds like a great problem
[00:30:33] <@Escade> Have a SPINN reporter in the room to report perhaps
[00:31:02] <@Hileville> I would have to hire a Tabloids editor first
[00:31:13] <+QuietDad> You can see anything, just can't speak till the Judge says it's ok
[00:31:47] <+Horse> Night all
[00:32:57] <+QuietDad> I just can't see it being anything but a whinefest on his part and a brickwall on TSP's part and don't see the value or a 3 hour chat where the outcome is already a done dea
[00:33:12] <+QuietDad> deal
[00:36:12] <@Escade> For the notion of fairness? I don't know, what is policy for this situation? I mean he's guilty but does he get a chance to make a statement as Milograd did?
[00:36:34] <+QuietDad> Never got that far
[00:36:45] <@Hileville> not on a forum ban by admins
[00:38:17] <+QuietDad> Technically he broke a forum rule and got banned from the forums and bel decided no fourm, no citizenship, see ya
[00:38:57] <@Escade> Ok, I think I follow. Does that mean he can come to TSP in NS?
[00:39:31] <@Hileville> I'm guessing Bel will ban him again if he does.
[00:40:06] <+QuietDad> All his ID's are banjected in the region
[00:40:07] <@Hileville> I would have probably done the same if I was Delegate

Sucks to have trials that are rigged, I'd say Natan is gonna have a bad time.

Edit: the fun isn't over yet!

[00:48:33] <@Escade> I should have said meaner stuff

[Todd McCloud]

Correct me if I'm wrong, and I don't mean to add fuel to the fire, but wasn't Anur-Sanur / Hax granted a trial despite flying under the radar as two members incognito til AMOM got the proof on that?

Furthermore, Tyler / Grauna / Trauna / Johnson was not banned for having multiple accounts, but later for impersonating / defaming members of TSP on the IRC.

It's been a while, and I can't remember for sure. But for whatever reason those two instances pop into my mind. Nevertheless, an attempt to subvert the citizenship thing is never a wise plan in any region for that matter.

EDIT: after reading those logs, however, I am a little perturbed by some statements. That being said, if TSP does not wish to have a trial on their boards, I might suggest that perhaps we could host a trial as an event in the NS World Fair? I'll be an impartial administrator, and it will be... well... a kind of publicity.

[Hileville]

Correct me if I'm wrong, and I don't mean to add fuel to the fire, but wasn't Anur-Sanur / Hax granted a trial despite flying under the radar as two members incognito til AMOM got the proof on that?

Furthermore, Tyler / Grauna / Trauna / Johnson was not banned for having multiple accounts, but later for impersonating / defaming members of TSP on the IRC.

It's been a while, and I can't remember for sure. But for whatever reason those two instances pop into my mind. Nevertheless, an attempt to subvert the citizenship thing is never a wise plan in any region for that matter.

AS/Hax didn't have 2 forum accounts. Tyler/Grauna/Trauna/Johnson was banned finally for impersonating admins. We at the time of the vote also took into account the various forum accounts they had created.

Admins discussed the ban of Nata/Liberatia for breaking a standing forum rule. The subsequent banning from the region had nothing to do with this and was Bel's decision as Delegate not admin.

This also has absolutely NOTHING to do with SPINN or any article SPINN has written.

[Todd McCloud]

Correct me if I'm wrong, and I don't mean to add fuel to the fire, but wasn't Anur-Sanur / Hax granted a trial despite flying under the radar as two members incognito til AMOM got the proof on that?

Furthermore, Tyler / Grauna / Trauna / Johnson was not banned for having multiple accounts, but later for impersonating / defaming members of TSP on the IRC.

It's been a while, and I can't remember for sure. But for whatever reason those two instances pop into my mind. Nevertheless, an attempt to subvert the citizenship thing is never a wise plan in any region for that matter.

AS/Hax didn't have 2 forum accounts. Tyler/Grauna/Trauna/Johnson was banned finally for impersonating admins. We at the time of the vote also took into account the various forum accounts they had created.

Admins discussed the ban of Nata/Liberatia for breaking a standing forum rule. The subsequent banning from the region had nothing to do with this and was Bel's decision as Delegate not admin.

This also has absolutely NOTHING to do with SPINN or any article SPINN has written.

Ok, my mistake. I couldn't remember if he joined the forums first as A-S then as Hax.

But allow me to play devil's advocate here. I wrote some of the laws for TSP back in the day, and after reviewing them, I notice they sound better and are less bulky, so that's very good. But I look at this law specifically stated here:

1. Nations that reside in The South Pacific shall be afforded all rights contemplated in this article unless otherwise noted.
...
4. The right to defend themselves in the judicial system of the Coalition of The South Pacific with all the guarantees of a speedy hearing and due process of law.

Emphasis mine. Was the nation residing in TSP when the offense was committed? If so, this nation by definition has the right to a trial, though that may fall under the qualifier of "treason" which is outlined below (Taken from the Code of Laws):

Treason shall be defined as plotting against the Coalition, seeking to lower the delegate's endorsement count without his or her consent, breaking the endorsement cap after receiving an official warning, aiding any entity in which the Coalition is taking defensive action against, or any entity in which a state of war exists with. Nations and citizens that refuse to endorse the Delegate during a State of Emergency shall be considered guilty of treason, and refusing to disclose the name of one's WA nation whilst the aforementioned circumstances are in effect is also considered an act of treason.

Of which the result is a banishment from off-site and game region if the nation is found guilty of such an offense, which seems to indicate that such charges merit a trial. But that doesn't sound like anything this particular nation did. Instead, I think this falls under fraud:

3. Fraud shall be defined as a deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual.

Which, if it is, means that the following action must be taken (again, from the Code of Laws):

If found guilty of fraud, the Judiciary will determine a sentence. The sentence must be proportionate to the offence

So, if I understand this correctly, this nation has attempted to create multiple citizenship accounts. To me, that's not really treason, but is fraud, as he/she is attempting to deceive the region into thinking he is more than one person, more or less with the end result being personal gain. The argument at this point is moot; both offenses seem to merit a trial, a right defined for nations residing in the region. However, if it is fraud, which it seems to be after reading it over a few times, this would seem to indicate that it is the decision of the judiciary, and not of administration or the delegate.

Even though this appears to be an open-and-shut case, bear in mind that even the open-and-shut case of Hax clearly being Frak was merited a... lengthy trial (too long IMO but that's just me). So, I guess my question is the following: where does this nation fall? How did this nation fall out of the rights provided to nations? Is there a provision I am missing?

[Anur-Sanur]

Evidently, you forget much McCloud.

I would ask you refrain from aggrieving me with your foolish invocations of my name.

The trial lasted too long in your opinion, did it?

Well, I suggest you blame that on your own bumbling incompetence then, for it was you who declared a mistrial and extended it. So useful were the laws you authored then, weren't they? A tangled web of overwrought, self-contradicting garbage that took the region years to escape from.

Thank you indeed, Todd McCloud.

The idea that at a moment of glory, a regional showcase intended for no less than NS World in its entirety, that the South Pacific would entertain a show trial for nothing more than your own self-serving need for publicity reeks of nothing more than craven desperation.

McCloud, vanguard of justice is it? Odd, given I retain logs of my private discussions with members of your government when I stood for trial in TEP.

This log from TSP pales in comparison to the paranoid, moronic, and borderline schizophrenic monkey court you cultivated in the post-Empire years. Elections and trials have always held an element of popularity contest McCloud, and you have been one of the greatest beneficiaries of this truth.

I hope this irritant to TSP is locked away and never considered again, so they may proceed with their moment of glory uninhibited.

If McCloud isn't getting enough attention, he should resuscitate his newspaper rather than burden the region with this selfish pretense. A principled jurist you are not.

If you feel so passionately about this nation's defense, cease your selfish grandstanding and file a case on his behalf.

[Sparaxis]

Haxstree's trial was the first one I witnessed and it was a worthwhile thing. I think AS makes a good point about there being an element of popularity contest in the way trials are executed, but I think the standard was still good enough, both sides were heard and decision made in the court of the region.

I really don't understand why Liberatia is not getting a trial, and reading those logs from TSP chat, it really gives a bad impression of TSP that the right to a fair trial is not particularly valued.

So, my point is that even if Frak's trial was not perfect justice, it is a standard that TSP should always maintain no matter who is getting banned.

Is the reasoning that he was banned from forum for a forum rule and banned from the region from a security rule and 'no trial needed'? That seems terribly circuitous when the laws that mandate a trial are there to protect nations from arbitrary punishment, and Liberatia has been punished on forum and in the region, without a trial on either. This is not the policy of a region that cherishes the right to a trial.

[South Pacific Belschaft]

Libertaria was removed from both the forums and the region on security grounds. Forum administration determined that a ban was the appropriate response to his attempted breach of forum security, and I made a similar determination in regards to the region. His puppet nations - those which he had been using to declare himself TSP's government in exile and seeking support to 'oust' the government - had already been removed on security grounds, but it was not until after the IP match had been made and administration elected to ban him from the forums that a general regional ban was imposed on him. Had he simply had the common sense to be quiet when his half arsed attempt to start a revolt was dealt with he'd have got away with it, but by registering a new forum account under the name of the puppet responsible and applying for citizenship with it he incriminated himself. Long story short, trying to register multiple accounts with citizenship will get you banned from the forums whether or not you succeed. Trying to overthrow the state will get you banned from the region whether or not your succeed - but a trial will usually follow if you're a Citizen. In this case there has been and will be no trial - attempts to breach forum security have never and will never be dealt with by the courts. Get banned from our forums, expect to be banned from the region as well.

Personally I find this matter rather tedious, and do not see why it is of interest to anyone outside TSP. We had an idiot try and multi on our forums, and dealt with it as any other region would. The only thing making this even slightly interesting is his prior, but irrelevant, attempts to overthrow the government which led to the multi-ing incident.

[Crazy girl]

We had an idiot try and multi on our forums,

How about you write posts without flaming other players.

[Southern Bellz]

We had an idiot try and multi on our forums,

How about you write posts without flaming other players.

How about you moderate without being snarky?

[Southern Bellz]

Welcome back AS. I seriously have missed your posts.

[Escade]

I'm in generally in favor of giving TSP citizens trials and a right to be heard. I was also one of the people who spoke on behalf of the nation involved before the whole RMB posts\TGs thing happened.

If the approach had been, "I made a mistake, now what I can do?" rather than, "How can I circumvent the forum rules?" or "How can I pretend to never have done what I did?" then we would be more inclined to listen.

The nation involved in this fiasco did not show much decorum or grace after being caught red-handed in engaging in highly unethical behavior.

I'm not sure why there are two threads regarding this or why this was misappropriated in the SPINN post. I hope that kind of hijacking of the independent TSP posts will not continue.

Can Mods move the IRC snag and everything afterwards to the thread that is most relevant (viewtopic.php?f=24&t=271548&start=25)

[LightSong]

Can Mods move the IRC snag and everything afterwards to the thread that is most relevant (viewtopic.php?f=24&t=271548&start=25)

I protest any move towards the Security Council thread. I am not interested in Libertia or Natan's personal affairs or pending proposals and did not post the IRC logs to sway the World Assembly one way or the other. The misuse of my information towards that end would be highly improper and further proof of the poor state of government in The South Pacific.

As a side note, I did look for the actual TSP thread to post this into for Gameplay, but I did not find one. Perhaps your region should set one up where this could be better discussed in Gameplay.

[Escade]

LightSong, you posted the IRC snag. Care to explain why?

[Hileville]

Our embassy thread is here viewtopic.php?f=12&t=240650.

[Sierra Lobo]

Can Mods move the IRC snag and everything afterwards to the thread that is most relevant (viewtopic.php?f=24&t=271548&start=25)

I protest any move towards the Security Council thread. I am not interested in Libertia or Natan's personal affairs or pending proposals and did not post the IRC logs to sway the World Assembly one way or the other. The misuse of my information towards that end would be highly improper and further proof of the poor state of government in The South Pacific.

As a side note, I did look for the actual TSP thread to post this into for Gameplay, but I did not find one. Perhaps your region should set one up where this could be better discussed in Gameplay.

Well considering the lack of coups, insane D/R rhetoric and conspiracies. This may warrant as an intermission number for the of lack drama in GP.

Holly Ho! Let us make this as big as possible and take pot shots hoping something foul may stick.

As a citizen of TSP I am for Liberatia's trial; however, I am not part of the region's intel discussion and is not fully aware of his threat I wholly support Bels decisive move by banning him in the region for security reasons, though I still personally believe a trial is permissible depending on the threat he pose. Having said this I believe Hileville's ban of Liberatia is legal and enforceable and must be mete with full punishment, Liberatia as a citizen of TSP has agreed to the forum"s conduct. Ignorance and age is not an excuse.