Breaking Bad

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Breaking Bad; For the Court and Community
Tweet Topic Started: Feb 22 2016, 03:23 AM (414 Views)
Milograd	Feb 22 2016, 03:23 AM Post #1
Heir Hazard Posts: 54 Group: Members Member #198 Joined: Sep 22, 2015	[OOC] Friends, former friends, court officials, and all who can't stand me; I am DoS from NationStates and will be at least until 2020, if not more. While I do not regret my attainment of that status -- it's allowed me great relief and ease in focusing on my scholarship -- I do regret the limitation it creates for my ability to keep in touch with the friends I made here. I keep in touch with some of you off-site, and others not; I consider you all friends nonetheless. That's OOCly, of course. ICly, many of us aren't on the best of terms. From this paragraph on, I ask that you consider this statement as purely IC, and coming my character: Chairman Milograd. The former delegate, NLO Senator, LLA Trooper, Gazette writer, etc. I will treat your responses, unless marked otherwise, in the same vein, and respond to you accordingly. This statement is for both the court's consideration, the regional community's consumption, and historical purposes. Given the judicial audience, I will answer all inquiries under an oath of total honesty. Edited by Milograd, Feb 22 2016, 06:00 AM.



Milograd	Feb 22 2016, 03:26 AM Post #2
Heir Hazard Posts: 54 Group: Members Member #198 Joined: Sep 22, 2015	[IC] To some, it may seem mystifying that one of Lazarus' most influential nations (for a time, anyway) planned to uproot the government he was instrumental in creating. If you've thought this at any point, I would say you're observant. I've received many questions since the rise and fall of the NLO as to why I acted as I did, and I've yet to answer any of them in truth, or in full. That changes now. I hereby confess my guilt to the following charges filed against me under the PRL Judicial Code: Conspiracy: I plotted to coup Lazarus for the New Pacific Order and took extensive measures to do so. Subversion: In pursuing the above conspiracy, I acted on many occasions against the best interests of our regional sovereignty, insofar as I made Lazarus vulnerable to threat I myself posed before it. Desertion: I supported an illegal government in a time of regional conflict. Aggression: I banned senior members of our community. Having been charged as a member of a polycorporal entity, I plead innocence against the charges of fraud, harassment, and forum destruction. I never lied on a citizenship application, harassed or flamed any Lazarene, or destroyed any forum material. With that said, I do not believe that there are any grounds to actually convict me for my commitment of any of these crimes, nor do I believe that the true story of what happened in May of 2015 -- nor the two years of PRL governance before it -- are fully understood. I wish to explain my reasoning for both. Part 1. My Guilt, and the PRL's Pitfall The People's Republic of Lazarus cannot legally be dissolved. According to it's constitution, it is the legal government of Lazarus, even now. For this claim, I refer to Mandate 7's infamous seventh section: Quote: Section 7. Regarding Constitutional Amendments and Repeals • Section 2 of this document may only be added to. The rights of the people are inalienable and therefore they cannot be taken away or altered legally in the People's Republic. Section 7 of this document may not be edited or revised. • This document may not be repealed. The above quote explicitly states that not only can the PRL not be dissolved, but that the constitutional article declaring this cannot be amended. Neither the Chairman nor the People's Congress can do a single thing about it. Indeed, the PRL became the permanent legitimate government of Lazarus as soon as the Emerald Council ratified its charter in October 2013. Of course, this is absurd and wrong: but it's also true, and crystal clear. The removal of the PRL was necessary, but illegal. I am being tried under PRL's law because of the principle of ex post facto: the legal idea that a fair and just judicial system cannot try someone for violating a law that didn't exist when they broke it. Since the Humane Republic didn't exist yet, I can only be tried under PRL law. Trying me under HR law would be textbook tyranny. While trying me under PRL law is Lazarus' best option in providing me with a fair trial, it isn't actually a viable one. The logic behind avoiding ex post facto is simple and understandable, but segues into what may be the most consequential legal issue in Lazarene history; remember, the People's Republic of Lazarus declares in its constitution that it cannot be legally dissolved under any circumstance. I and many others tried our best to find a loophole for that in the PRL charter, but ultimately conceded that there aren't any. If the Humane Republic tries me under PRL law, it must recognize that law -- which includes the principle of the People's Republic's absolute insolubility -- as having been valid at the time of my crimes. If that is the case, then not only does the Humane Republic set the precedent that it is illegitimate, but it also concedes that all of its citizens are all guilty of membership in an organization opposed to the PRL's right to the delegacy as well. That is the formal definition of subversion under PRL law. Indeed, the very problem with the PRL was that in its eyes, the New Lazarene Order and the Humane Republic of Lazarus would both be equally illegitimate. That rigid constitutional vision is why it needed to be replaced. The paradoxical issue is it can't be replaced, and that the Humane Republic can't try anyone for violating PRL law without conceding that the PRL law means something.Conceding that dismisses the extraordinary circumstances behind the PRL's demise (i.e. that it couldn't be legally dissolved, even though it needed to be), and sets a precedent that undercuts the court's legitimacy on three separate counts. It gives credibility to a voided constitution, incriminates the region's entire citizenry, and takes the dangerous step of putting the Humane Republic's constitution, and all future mandates, on the same shelf of selective-interpretation as the PRL's. This isn't to say I wasn't wrong: I certainly was. I will address that in the next, and final, portion of this statement. Edited by Milograd, Feb 22 2016, 05:14 AM.



Milograd	Feb 22 2016, 05:12 AM Post #3
Heir Hazard Posts: 54 Group: Members Member #198 Joined: Sep 22, 2015	Part 2. One Story, Two Truths I was always a troublemaker on NationStates. I RP'd the bad guy, and I often GP'd the bad guy. If the game were more active, I might not have been. Any of the people I worked here with can probably testify that I have a deeply laborious side. Nonetheless, NS often isn't so active, so I undoubtedly relished in any opportunity I had to spark and orchestrate a firestorm. I also enjoyed the attention at times: the early months of the PRL, when it was us against the world, provided the most exciting experiences of my NS career. Those months were also why I decided to abandon my initial plans to coup Lazarus for the New Pacific Order. As a note, though, Krull nor the NPO Senate ever actually supported my suggestion. Krull truly was the fluffy bunny emperor. So, if you'll entertain me for one last post, I can walk you through the day I decided to abandon those plans to the day I wound up supporting a Lazarene auto-coup. I think I decided to become legit the moment Griffin Somerset and NES tried to coup in December 2013. For the first time, I had the unfamiliar feeling of people looking to me for guidance and needing my trust. Slingshotting DYP into the delegacy, and finding myself surprised when he actually let me -- Milo, the trollish couper -- retake the delegacy 12 hours later, changed a lot about how I saw the game and regional politics. DYP was a Lazarene to boot, and someone who was willing to let the region evolve on its own volition, instead of trying to manipulate its long-term direction. The red and gold was a far cry from the home he'd known months before, but he supported both it and the chance for a new guard to rise up and contribute. I had the utmost respect for that resolution, and tried to emulate him moving forward -- my last proposal to the People's Congress, "the Phoenix Law," encapsulated my finalized conception of how transformation and tradition could best be balanced by a regional community as fluid as ours. That's also why I tried to be hands-off after my delegacy ended. I was hesitant at first, hence my choice to have semi-democratic elections to decide my successor, but after that I was open to everything. I traveled around NS and kept my participation in Lazarus capped to participating in the LLA and posting in the cultural forums. With this, I was truly content. From Kazmr's delegacy to Funkadelia's and finally Stu's, I was content. No matter what anyone did, I would remain so so long as they strove that ideal of balancing transformation with tradition. That's the wishy-washy positive part of the story of course, since, like I said, I also planned to coup Lazarus for the New Pacific Order beforehand. And I was not only wrong for doing so, but I hurt Lazarus, too. Contrary to what revisionists may now tell you, the removal of imperialists was not a part of that plot. They were just being conniving assholes, and the Emerald Council dealt with their bullshit accordingly. My own plot more or less began once we started designing the PRL charter, and once I took over as Chairman. My plot manifested itself in several ways: I turned a blind eye to the insolubility clause in the constitution, anticipating that I would one day be able to make the very argument that I made in my first post. I promoted the creation of a top-heavy regional authority so that I would have an easier time turning the region into an NPO colony. My decision to model the PRL off of the old PRP was intended to create a regional culture that would evolve to agree with NPO domination. My decision to have Lazarus join the FRA was intended to polarize inter-regional politics, protect our government against the imperialists' numerical superiority, and later on set up a situation where defenders would be forced to decide between backing a defender NPO satellite or allowing scary prospect of another sinker with heavy imperialist influences. My decision to bring in Kazmr was intended to have him later serve as a slingshot delegate. My decision to lower the endorsement cap was intended to make power consolidation easier. Ironically, the latter two happened, albeit in ways I didn't envision. I also didn't envision that I -- like Kazmr -- would grow to love this region. After about five months of PRL success, I concluded that he had become a true native, instead of a puppet useful for my own ends. That is why -- and he may not have ever considered this -- I actually chose to double down on the NLO only after he came back and declared his support it. If he had expressed contention to me, I might have actually turned against the NLO. I can't promise that I would've for sure, but I might've. Some of those decisions listed above had long-term consequences that harmed the region. Lowering the endorsement cap alienated old nations and created a vulnerability for a permanent coup to be successful, and my allowance of the insolubility clause to co-exist with dictatorial rule created the potential for exactly what I originally wanted: a permanent NPO holding. Of course, it would've had to have come in the form of a puppet government, but it was completely plausible. If the delegate has absolute power and you cannot dissolve the government, what're you going to do? It's not like you'd have had the odds of an in-game campaign bent in your favor: I set terribly low endorsement caps, and had record-high endorsement counts. Those decisions also had unexpectedly positive consequences. I'd have never guessed how effective and successful the LLA would become, how efficient our government would become under a dictatorship, nor how vibrantly our regional culture would flourish. The PRL was indisputably the place to be on NS for almost an entire calendar year. We were at the heart of a massive global conflict -- and holding our own -- against an anti-imperialist cause that I'd grown to genuinely believe in. I hated the imperialists, and still do. The great irony in that was that my own intentions founding the PRL came from a selfish imperial purpose. When PRL activity began to dwindle and then plummet in the fall of 2014, I decided that I needed to fix the mess I started, and so I ran for delegate. My plan was to introduce something like the Phoenix Law and eliminate the PRL by creating a highly experimental instrument that would refresh the slate on a yearly basis; if this worked, I figured that we could honor the past and move forward at the same time, while ensuring that things never got stagnant here. To circumvent the Seventh Section of the PRL charter, I wrote up a proposal for the People's Congress to amend all of the sections they were allowed to. In theory, I thought we could do a full-body transplant on our constitution. The post-op document would be the PRL charter, still including sections 2 and 7, only it wouldn't look like the PRL at all. That may sound hard to believe, but I pose you these two questions: a) Isn't it in my activity-inclined character to want a government that constantly (but legally) shapeshifts in unpredictable ways? b) If I had wanted to coup the PRL and make the NLO, why would I have done it in April of 2015? The stage wasn't at all set for the execution of a successful coup, and my influence here -- both in-game, off-site, and inter-regionally -- was but a fraction of what it'd been a year earlier. Another unanticipated development occurred when I fell, hit my head, and wound up with a concussion. I never took the Lazarene delegacy and returned to find Stujenske in the seat. Assured that he'd do his best to turn the PRL around, I sat back and elected to start a new NS story elsewhere. Months passed and I decided to resume my participation in Lazarus. On April 7th, the NLO began very suddenly -- I received a text the next day asking for my support. I didn't really know what to do: if I supported, it would almost surely win unless something unforeseen happened; if I opposed, it would probably still win anyway. I decided that it'd be best if I supported it, and figured that it provided a clear escape from the flaws of the PRL. My logic was that I'd have a lot of influence in the new NLO, and that I could use that influence to turn it into a government as successful as the PRL was in its heyday. I never actually saw the NLO as an NPO puppet. The idea of a dual-sinker-monarchy, the first in NS history, infatuated me and promised to create the very sort of political activity and firestorm that I pined for. The original sinker and the original feeder seemed like a thematically-sound match, and the overlap between the NPO and the PRL suggested to me that a merger of sorts could actually wind up making our regional culture more efficient. When Kazmr came back out of the blue and signed on, I believed he had the same thought that I did, so I doubled down. From my perspective, his support meant that the NLO had the backing of some of Lazarus' most prolific contributors in recent years -- and thus the potential to become something truly great. I foresaw a reversal of the renewed stagnation that had engulfed the region at that point, and the rare chance to do something on NS that was different. Just like the PRL had been. In my heart of hearts, I still believe Lazarus could've prospered under the NLO, just as it could've -- and seems to have -- done under the Humane Republic. I thought a ground-breaking dual-sinker monarchy had the potential to give the game and our community an unprecedented renaissance of activity. My approach was obviously radical, as I have often been, and certainly different from all of yours -- and it very, very wrong -- but it was actually envisioned with the best intentions, and executed in a mind at once inspired and totally panicked. It may come as a surprise to some that I hardly flinched when Kazmr messaged me and revealed his "betrayal". If he still has the log of it, he may be able to attest that I was hardly fazed. My response may seem confusing, given the implications it had for me, but my emotions may be more decipherable if you consider my intentions. Even though it wouldn't be under my vision, Kazmr's revelation to me promised that Lazarus would prosper anew, free from the flaws of the PRL, and begin the very sort of cycle of healthy renewal that I'd conceived of in the Phoenix Law proposal. I cared about Lazarus, and found peace knowing it'd be in good hands, even if they weren't mine. Of course, I soon woke up and saw the dust settle: the two regions I considered homes were both remarkably fucked. The Pacific's reputation had crashed and Lazarus was a wreck -- both because of me. By the spontaneity of sudden emotion, I finally had it in me to go through with DoSing myself, after years of contemplation, because I felt like an utter idiot. Not only did I lose my home in Lazarus, but I also lost a old home in The Pacific. I had nowhere to go. In this way, my story -- and the story of the PRL -- starts and ends with my own idiocy and shortsighted hubris. Perhaps there were moments of inspiration or momentum along the way, but no course pursued on a defective wagon can end in anything but devastation. I do not deny my guilt, but I do deny that I meant to harm Lazarus in the ways that I did. In Lazarus and abroad, what's at times been credited to my perceived machiavellian prowess is best attributed to my incompetence. I was stupid. Edited by Milograd, Feb 25 2016, 02:09 AM.



Milograd	Feb 22 2016, 05:16 AM Post #4
Heir Hazard Posts: 54 Group: Members Member #198 Joined: Sep 22, 2015	In the event that you braved through reading all of that, I will happily field questions for both the Court, the community, and those concerned with history.



Izon	Feb 22 2016, 01:42 PM Post #5
Waider Posts: 1,025 Group: Members Member #123 Joined: Apr 26, 2015 Military Stance Raider Political Views Crazy Panda	Milograd Another unanticipated development occurred when I fell, hit my head, and wound up with a concussion. That explains your absence after you took over for a second term, I hope you've recovered from it.



Lake Flotillas	Feb 22 2016, 03:26 PM Post #6
Also known as Rivercastle Posts: 1,310 Group: Members Member #181 Joined: Aug 2, 2015 Alignment Lawful Good Military Stance Neutral Nation in Lazarus Lake Flotillas	Milograd Feb 22 2016, 03:26 AM While trying me under PRL law is Lazarus' best option in providing me with a fair trial, it isn't actually a viable one. The logic behind avoiding ex post facto is simple and understandable, but segues into what may be the most consequential legal issue in Lazarene history; remember, the People's Republic of Lazarus declares in its constitution that it cannot be legally dissolved under any circumstance. I and many others tried our best to find a loophole for that in the PRL charter, but ultimately conceded that there aren't any. If the Humane Republic tries me under PRL law, it must recognize that law -- which includes the principle of the People's Republic's absolute insolubility -- as having been valid at the time of my crimes. If that is the case, then not only does the Humane Republic set the precedent that it is illegitimate, but it also concedes that all of its citizens are all guilty of membership in an organization opposed to the PRL's right to the delegacy as well. That is the formal definition of subversion under PRL law. Indeed, the very problem with the PRL was that in its eyes, the New Lazarene Order and the Humane Republic of Lazarus would both be equally illegitimate. That rigid constitutional vision is why it needed to be replaced. The paradoxical issue is it can't be replaced, and that the Humane Republic can't try anyone for violating PRL law without conceding that the PRL law means something.Conceding that dismisses the extraordinary circumstances behind the PRL's demise (i.e. that it couldn't be legally dissolved, even though it needed to be), and sets a precedent that undercuts the court's legitimacy on three separate counts. It gives credibility to a voided constitution, incriminates the region's entire citizenry, and takes the dangerous step of putting the Humane Republic's constitution, and all future mandates, on the same shelf of selective-interpretation as the PRL's. This isn't to say I wasn't wrong: I certainly was. I will address that in the next, and final, portion of this statement. I was under the impression that the PRL Penal Code was independent of Mandate 8, so if we recognised only the Penal Code, it does not translate to a recognition of Mandate 8. Also, in the absence of a PRL government, I believe that the Humane Republic can claim de facto sovereignty over Lazarus. I'll probably have to ask the Court Justices on this. Then again my first nation was founded less than 10 days before NLO happened so I don't really have much authority on this. Edited by Lake Flotillas, Feb 22 2016, 04:05 PM.



Milograd	Feb 23 2016, 02:15 AM Post #7
Heir Hazard Posts: 54 Group: Members Member #198 Joined: Sep 22, 2015	Izon Feb 22 2016, 01:42 PM Milograd Another unanticipated development occurred when I fell, hit my head, and wound up with a concussion. That explains your absence after you took over for a second term, I hope you've recovered from it. I did. It wasn't too bad -- but it did require that I not use electronics for several weeks. Thanks for your concern. Quote: Also, in the absence of a PRL government, I believe that the Humane Republic can claim de facto sovereignty over Lazarus. I'll probably have to ask the Court Justices on this. Then again my first nation was founded less than 10 days before NLO happened so I don't really have much authority on this. That's true, and you've done a good job at encapsulating the entire issue: post-PRL was a typical constitutional succession crisis. There's no legitimate mechanism for replacing the PRL. Of course, common sense dictates that the Humane Republic is now the legitimate government, which we all agree it is. In prosecuting someone over a pre-Humane Republic issue, though, we can't isolate the Penal Code from the PRL, since 9 out of 10 the Penal Code's clauses are about preserving the People's Republic. The absence of the Seventh Section in the Humane Republic's constitution makes it illegitimate according to the PRL and its penal code. But again, it makes perfect sense to abandon the PRL's messed up charter. Recognizing parts parts of it selectively, though, is legally unjustifiable. The Court can't elect to recognize certain laws based on whether or not the person accused of violating them is on good terms with the current government's administration.



Guy	Feb 23 2016, 06:05 AM Post #8
Lazarene Posts: 43 Group: Members Member #40 Joined: Apr 10, 2015	There is a very simple solution to the supposed legal issue Milograd is raising with regards to trying him under PRL law. I will get to that in a bit. But first, I will voice my own opinion. I think it should be carefully considered whether Milograd should be tried under the PRL legal code. True enough, he committed offences against the PRL, its laws and its community. But following the coup, this community also decided that it no longer wishes to uphold the PRL and its associated legal system. it is perhaps unsatisfactory for this community to be pursuing charges based on substantive offences created under a regime and legal system that it did not restore post-coup, and in fact abolished. Lazarus rejected the PRL. Even if through continuity in the community, this Court has jurisdiction to adjudicate matters arising from the old legal system, careful thought should be given to whether this is the ideal outcome. Contrary to what Milograd is claiming, Mandate 8's prohibition on amending certain aspects of itself is not necessarily effective. Without entering a lengthy discussion on different sources of sovereignty IRL, how they transpose to NS, and when more onerous requirements for amending law can be effective, it'll hopefully suffice to say this. No form of sovereignty would shut out any current actor from self-determination. While bars may be placed to the exercise of legislative power, it cannot be fully abdicated by both the state and its people. No theory of sovereignty would recognise that scenario, where in effect sovereignty only lies with the document itself. Let me give you an extreme example. The UK (and several other countries) famously follow pure parliamentary sovereignty. What that means is that Parliament can enact a law which purports to be un-amendable. This would be entirely ineffective, as the next day Parliament could simply amend it. That's because it is sovereign. Throughout Lazarene history, and the changing of Constitutions, I think we've seen that ultimately the constitutional arrangements are accountable to the people. We've also seen strong deliberative bodies being formed. To suggest that neither can have any say in the future of Lazarus suggests that the initial enactment was ineffective legally, not attempts to change it. Edited by Guy, Feb 23 2016, 06:06 AM.



Milograd	Feb 25 2016, 02:03 AM Post #9
Heir Hazard Posts: 54 Group: Members Member #198 Joined: Sep 22, 2015	Quote: But following the coup, this community also decided that it no longer wishes to uphold the PRL and its associated legal system. it is perhaps unsatisfactory for this community to be pursuing charges based on substantive offences created under a regime and legal system that it did not restore post-coup, and in fact abolished. Lazarus rejected the PRL. Even if through continuity in the community, this Court has jurisdiction to adjudicate matters arising from the old legal system, careful thought should be given to whether this is the ideal outcome. Indeed, I'd say that's a less stringent interpretation of what I suggested. Quote: Contrary to what Milograd is claiming, Mandate 8's prohibition on amending certain aspects of itself is not necessarily effective. On the contrary. I'm claiming that it is arguably ineffective -- but that if it is, it's precarious to selectively abide by the mandate, as has been proposed. Quote: Let me give you an extreme example. The UK (and several other countries) famously follow pure parliamentary sovereignty. What that means is that Parliament can enact a law which purports to be un-amendable. This would be entirely ineffective, as the next day Parliament could simply amend it. That's because it is sovereign. Indeed, that's an extreme example. The difference of course is that the UK follows pure parliamentary sovereignty -- whereas the PRL was a top-heavy dictatorship. As an institution, the PRL departed from the theory of sovereignty (however rational) you're describing: barring the insolubility of its own existence, it granted remarkable sovereign powers to the delegate chairman. Nonetheless -- and do contend me if you disagree -- I think it's becoming clear that it'd be a stretch to try me or any of the "Gang of Five" under the PRL's law. Without theoretical legal voodoo and setting a new precedent for handwaving, the process would be an arduous mess to execute. Edited by Milograd, Feb 25 2016, 02:07 AM.



Drop Your Pants	Mar 7 2016, 05:15 PM Post #10
🐑 Lazarse 🐑 Posts: 8,388,607 Group: Members Member #143 Joined: May 5, 2015 Alignment Lawful Good Military Stance Neutral Political Views Independent Nation in Lazarus Sheeptastic Discord DYP	Are we still beating this dead horse?



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