General election (april 2020) - Jo's campaign thread

[joWhatup]

Hey all

So I've decided to run for PM, because it's something new and something I want to do, as well as something I believe I can do. Here are a couple points I wish to address first and foremost:

Spoiler: World Assembly

I want to reestablish a World Assembly Department. This Department would serve to educate people on resolutions and proposals, as well as help new Lazarenes draft up their resolutions, should they be interested in this. We have previously had such a Department, but it never really got off the ground. It is my hope we can redo it and build it in as a part of the region.

Spoiler: The Gazette

I believe the Gazette is currently run well. However, I would like to promote it more to the on-site community, and give them the opportunity to write and submit articles, as well encourage citizens to get more involved in the Gazette. To this end, I wish to establish an on-site way to submit articles in the form of dispatches. Those articles will go through the usual submission process, but it will be more accessible to the on-site community instead, which makes up the bulk of the region's population.

Spoiler: Roleplay

The roleplay works as it is. Keep going!

Spoiler: Foreign Affairs

This one might be controversial, but I'm going to say it anyway: I wish to take a stance for Neutrality. Yes, this was an April's Fools joke. No, I do not want to take it to such ridiculous heights. Here is a brief overview of how I intend this to work:
-We'll still pursue closer ties with those were in talks with. We were interested then, we are still interested now.
-We will not, however, open up new negotiations with R/D affiliated regions.
-We'll be pursuing closer ties to the West Pacific, Osiris and the South Pacific. All of those have proven themselves to be beneficial relations, and I wish to pursue closer ties to the South Pacific, expanding on our existing non-agression pact.
-Outreach to those regions bearing the "neutral" tag, and who's militaries (if they have any) merely participate in the Warzones and defence of their allies.
-Obviously, we will still be inclusive to R/Ders in the region. Regardless of alignment, people are always welcome.

"But Jo, isn't that taking an alignment?"
Yes, but not an R/D based one. Such an alignment will not cause harm to founderless regions, nor will it be inconveniencing raiders. It's win-win, in my books.

"You're insane. Why would you do this?"
Because I believe it to be a fun turn for the region, and one that will not expose the region to danger unnecessarily. Since we are neutral in military alignment anyway, we might as well take it to our foreign affairs as well. I believe we are strong enough as a region to start playing a bigger role in Gameplay. We will not alienate ourselves from our allies and friends - in fact, I intend to tighten our relations with those - but this offers up a way to take a bigger role on the stage. I don't think we need more friends necessarily - the ones we currently have are solid. Moving forward, I want to be picking friends based on how well their culture matches ours, not merely political convenience. I also intend to reach out more to user-created regions (those neutral in regards to R/D, of course ) - our current FA has been GCR-oriented, and I think that there's some really solid allies to be made in the UCRs.

In short, we'll look more for relations with neutral aligned regions, and we won't be making enemies of R/D aligned regions. We'll still remain close with our current allies. And I also believe there's some fun to be had with the rhetoric of a neutral region.

Spoiler: The Guard

The Guard has been doing a good job, lately. I wish for that to continue - I will also look into organising "wargames" with our friends in the West Pacific and Osiris (and perhaps, should TSP be up for it, them too?), where either of those raid a Warzone and we liberate it (maybe with the help of TSP). I want that to happen, as well as, of course, the protection of the signatories of the Warzone Inc. agreement. Those not in agreement with the Warzone Inc. agreements will be practice targets.

In summary: I want to reestablish a WA department, organise an option for on-site residents to submit articles for the Gazette, keep the RP going, take a stance for neutrality (don't shoot! Read the spoiler! ) and promote activity in the Guard.

I'll add more things once I realise I forgot stuff. For now, please ask all the questions you can have. I'll do my best to answer them.

Because it will inevitably be brought up, here's the other regions I'm involved in and to what level:
Lone Wolves United - Khan
The Black Hawks - Sergeant
Resident in Unknown, The Hole To Hide In and The Cretanja Queendom.

 

[Debussy]

Would closer ties with The South Pacific, which has the Defender tag, conflict with the neutrality policy? What are your thoughts on The North and East Pacifics? Who are the parties we were in talks with, and could you provide an example of a few regions that you consider to have similar cultures?

 

[whatermelons]

There are only two war zones, and one has over 30 endorsements.

 

[joWhatup]

Would closer ties with The South Pacific, which has the Defender tag, conflict with the neutrality policy? What are your thoughts on The North and East Pacifics? Who are the parties we were in talks with, and could you provide an example of a few regions that you consider to have similar cultures?

1. Nope! As explained, I do not wish to enter into new relations with R/D affiliated regions, but I will pursue closer ties with those regions we already have relations with.
2. We have already been in talks with both. I believe we ceased the talks of a treaty with TEP after Slatos, but I think we should reopen those talks, as it wasn't entirely clear to me why we ceased them in the first place. I think TEP shares similarities with us, so I'd be interested in pursuing relations.

There are only two war zones, and one has over 30 endorsements.

There's more. We'll have to find a way to work around those limitations, though. As well, we can do antifascist raids and defences.

 

[Chanku]

On the Regional Guard point: How do you intend to do that if you have no legal authority over the Regional guard as Prime Minister?

 

[joWhatup]

On the Regional Guard point: How do you intend to do that if you have no legal authority over the Regional guard as Prime Minister?

Communicating with the appointed Minister of the Guard, as well as speak to our friends and allies.

 

[New Rogernomics]

I believe the Gazette is currently run well. However, I would like to promote it more to the on-site community, and give them the opportunity to write and submit articles, as well encourage citizens to get more involved in the Gazette. To this end, I wish to establish an on-site way to submit articles in the form of dispatches. Those articles will go through the usual submission process, but it will be more accessible to the on-site community instead, which makes up the bulk of the region's population.

 

[joWhatup]

I believe the Gazette is currently run well. However, I would like to promote it more to the on-site community, and give them the opportunity to write and submit articles, as well encourage citizens to get more involved in the Gazette. To this end, I wish to establish an on-site way to submit articles in the form of dispatches. Those articles will go through the usual submission process, but it will be more accessible to the on-site community instead, which makes up the bulk of the region's population.

You're right in that regard. Sending them by telegram is perhaps the better option. The main reason I went with dispatch is because it's an on-site way to write up a lot of text. But you're right, telegrams are probably simpler and easier to keep track of.

 

[Domais]

What are we going to do about our kinda sorta dead FA department?

 

[joWhatup]

What are we going to do about our kinda sorta dead FA department?

There is a pretty big part spoilered titled "Foreign Affairs".

 

[New Rogernomics]

Q1: You mention trying to get more in-site participation with the Gazette, is there any area in particular that you think the Gazette is failing with, as it doesn't exactly have a lot of contributors in comparison to other GCR or UCR papers. Is there any other news source that you've noticed that inspires you?

Q3: So you think the roleplaying is working well, but is there anything you think could be done to improve upon? For instance, with staffing, activities, government interaction on the RMB.

Q4: How would you define neutral, in difference to say 'independent', or at the wider extreme 'imperialist'? To expand upon this, where is the effective line between a neutral policy and Lazarus being head first in the affairs of other regions.

Q5: Q6

 

[whatermelons]

Jo, do you think being the leader of a condemned raider military (no less one that has history with us) could be an obstacle to pursuing further ties in a neutral manner?

 

[joWhatup]

Q1:

I hope to be able to provide a system which will help Lazarenes draft proposals. To that end, I intend to invite some SC and GA authors to come and give advice/teach Lazarene authors. I also intend to create a dispatch for the WA department, with general information about how to reach out to the WA department, how to join, and, importantly, what it does: give advice to the populace how to vote a certain way, help with drafting up proposals, giving advice on how the WA works, as well as communicate with the delegate on how to vote on certain proposals. So the idea is to educate some promising Lazarenes, who can then teach others.

You mention trying to get more in-site participation with the Gazette, is there any area in particular that you think the Gazette is failing with, as it doesn't exactly have a lot of contributors in comparison to other GCR or UCR papers. Is there any other news source that you've noticed that inspires you?

It's not necessarily that it's failing at a point. I believe a greater outreach to the general population would be a good idea, though - having more people write more articles would help the Gazette. Since we've got a large, active on-site community, I believe there are several people who can help contribute to the Gazette through articles.

Q3: So you think the roleplaying is working well, but is there anything you think could be done to improve upon? For instance, with staffing, activities, government interaction on the RMB.

Not at the moment, no. Perhaps in the future, a need will arise for an RP department, which would moderate the roleplay, ensure the roleplay is kept fair to all and enjoyable to all. For now, though, I think it's doing alright.

Q4: How would you define neutral, in difference to say 'independent', or at the wider extreme 'imperialist'? To expand upon this, where is the effective line between a neutral policy and Lazarus being head first in the affairs of other regions.

Independent is based on the concept of "realpolitik", meaning that R/D should be used as a means to further the region's ends. Neutrality says so too, but rather than furthering our goals by invading or defending other regions, we strictly use our military to defend our allies, or mess around in the Warzones. In that sense, we don't intervene in other region's bussiness, save that of our allies to aid them should they come under threat. Imperialists are like Independents, but rather than simply using the military as a tool, it actively uses the military to project it's power, and so gain influence and standing.

Q5:

TRR or Balder are both aligned, one to Defenderism, and the other is Independent. As explained, I intend to distance ourselves, as a region, from entering into new agreements with aligned regions. Since neutrality does not automatically make one an enemy of other regions, however, I would accept a non-agression pact, should they be offered to us by either region - although nothing more than that.

Q6

necessarily

Jo, do you think being the leader of a condemned raider military (no less one that has history with us) could be an obstacle to pursuing further ties in a neutral manner?

I do not. Neutrality, in my view, does not make an enemy of raiders, defenders, imperialists and independents - not by default, anyway. So no, I do not consider it an obstacle.

 

[New Rogernomics]

Thanks for your answers.