Cormac for Delegate

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As a note, I've withdrawn from the race and endorsed Eluvatar. This seems to be being missed.

Some of you might be wondering why I would run for Delegate. After all, I have never run for or held an Executive Council position -- although I did serve as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs during Mcmasterdonia's first term -- and I have rarely run for elected office in The North Pacific at all. There's a reason for this. I don't run for office unless I believe that I can truly contribute and make a difference. I don't just want a fancy title; I want to do something to move a region forward, and if I believe that someone else is better positioned to do that or that I'm not suited for a particular job I don't run for office.

So, why Delegate? In short, I think The North Pacific is at a pivotal time in its history when other Feeders and Sinkers are exploring new directions and new ways of relating to the broader NationStates world. TNP could go in any number of directions at this point in its WA policy, foreign affairs, defense activities, media pursuits, cultural endeavors, and even in its legal framework, and I believe strongly in the vision that Mcmasterdonia laid out for TNP's future and would like to continue pursuing that vision and seeing it to fruition as Delegate. If elected, my Delegacy would be one of continuity rather than radical change and I would be committed to pursuing the agenda that voters endorsed when they elected Mcmasterdonia and to appointing executive councilors who share that commitment.

WA Affairs

My agenda for WA Affairs would focus on getting the ministry active again in offering summaries of WA resolutions both here on the forum and to all the WA nations in TNP, which would include the perspectives and arguments of both supporters and opponents. I would not attempt to move our voting power in the WA in any ideological direction, whether NatSov/IntFed in the GA or Raider/Defender in the SC -- our position on each resolution would continue to be decided by TNP's voters. To allow the ministry to remain focused on its primary goal of providing information to our WA voters, I would abolish the difficult to enforce disclosure requirement in WA voting and would opt instead to exercise my discretion as Delegate on any resolution that has resulted in excessive external influence.

Foreign Affairs

My first priority in foreign affairs would be to finish working with Osiris and The South Pacific on the draft of the Concord treaty, which would be resubmitted for a vote in the Regional Assembly only after it has been revised to the satisfaction of all three regions. Beyond this, I would keep TNP out of any large scale multilateral agreements or interregional organizations and would instead pursue bilateral agreements with regions that would bring TNP significant diplomatic, military, and cultural benefits. This agenda would include continuing to work with other GCRs to combat adspam and address any challenges and opportunities that might result from recent changes to the recruitment system.

Defense

The first priority of the NPA will always be defense of The North Pacific itself as well as defense of our treaty allies and under my Delegacy the NPA will always have the skills and vital intelligence information necessary to come to the defense of TNP and our allies. Our secondary defense agenda would focus on revitalizing the NPA with a coherent military strategy that would provide both the flexibility and the clarity for the Minister of Defense to do his or her job:

1. The NPA would continue to engage in invasion and occupation of Nazi regions as well as other regions that persist in violating our sovereignty through adspam.

2. The NPA would continue to work with defenders on large scale liberations, with a specific focus on liberating regions that are being arbitrarily griefed.

3. The NPA would engage in invasions of apolitical targets, with strict directives from the Delegate and the Minister of Defense to avoid any form of irreversible damage during these types of invasions.

Communications

Our communications agenda got off to a strong start under Mcmasterdonia's administration with the rebooting of the TNP Wire. If elected, I will continue to build upon this progress by ensuring that a new edition of the Wire is published on a weekly basis and that the Wire is not only competitive with other regional media like SPINN, PNN, and The Rejected Times but is the leading regional news publication. I will work with the ministry to ensure it has the resources it needs to make this happen and to explore other ways to revitalize our media, possibly including radio and/or podcasts.

Culture and Entertainment

Culture and Entertainment in The North Pacific is the strongest it's been in recent memory and I would seek to continue this trend as Delegate. The priorities outlined by our current C&E Minister -- to finish the FAQs and to revitalize our roleplay -- will be the top cultural priorities of my administration if I'm elected. We will also focus on gathering ideas from our citizens on what kind of games, tournaments, and other activities they would be interested in seeing. Administration of the University will be assigned to the C&E Ministry, though the University will continue to operate semi-autonomously under the direction of its Dean -- with the ministry ensuring that it remains active and has any help it needs from the executive government. Finally, we would continue to participate in joint cultural events with allies and other friendly regions with the aim of hosting a major cultural event here in TNP during the month of April.

Legal Affairs

Given the current legislative and legal climate in TNP, any platform for the Delegacy could be faulted if it did not include a note about our legal affairs. With talk of a major legislative overhaul in the works and continued debate over the legality of the NPIA, a project I would continue as Delegate, it is important for the views of the executive branch to be well represented. Toward this end, if elected I will appoint an Executive Counsel who will be responsible for: 1) advising the Delegate on legislative and legal matters; 2) presenting the views of the Executive to the Regional Assembly, and to the Court through amicus curiae briefs; and 3) defending the Delegate and his ministers against any criminal charges or civil complaints that result from the execution of their duties.

Continuing Forward

When voters elected Mcmasterdonia to the Delegacy, they did so because they believed that he had the right vision to move The North Pacific forward during this time in our history. That vision, while well underway, is not yet complete. This is a time for continuity and for finishing what we have started, not a time for radical change that could see The North Pacific pulled too far toward ideological interests that would bring all of the old arguments back to the surface and hinder our progress. If you agree that this is a time for continuity and a time to continue the agenda that is already underway rather than pursuit of new and largely undefined agendas that other candidates might offer, I ask for your vote for Delegate of The North Pacific.

I'm happy to answer any questions you may have, though I should note that I'm having a hectic week and my response to questions could be somewhat delayed.

Do you think you can accomplish all of that in two months, or are you planning to run again in May?

Crushing Our Enemies:

Do you think you can accomplish all of that in two months, or are you planning to run again in May?

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I think most of the things I've mentioned can be accomplished over the course of two months, and my goal will be to accomplish as many of them as possible. Getting the WA Affairs ministry active again, concluding work on the Concord, getting the NPA active in the field, setting a regular pace for the Wire, and hosting a cultural event in April -- these are all firm goals that can be accomplished in the remaining two months of this term. Some goals are broader and while they may not be accomplished in the remainder of this term I'm confident that the region can move far enough forward that solid groundwork would be left for the next Delegate in May, whoever he or she may be.

In regard to my own plans for the election in May, I'm focused on this election and accomplishing as many of the goals I've outlined as possible during the remainder of this term if elected.

Cormac Stark:

3. The NPA would engage in invasions of apolitical targets, with strict directives from the Delegate and the Minister of Defense to avoid any form of irreversible damage during these types of invasions.

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I am curious, what would you define as an "apolitical target", other than, of course, the hated Nazi regions? Would you mind providing an example of a region that qualifies as an apolitical target?

1. The NPA would continue to engage in invasion and occupation of Nazi regions as well as other regions that persist in violating our sovereignty through adspam.

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Re: Nazi regions, what is your legal justification? We are not at war with them. We never officially declared war against Nazi regions, at all. Invading a region because of their beliefs they decided for themselves is a bit wrong, no?

Blue Wolf II:

I am curious, what would you define as an "apolitical target", other than, of course, the hated Nazi regions? Would you mind providing an example of a region that qualifies as an apolitical target?

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By apolitical target, I mean a target lacking political motivation behind it -- which is to say, potentially any founderless region, which is why irreversible damage to those regions would be strictly forbidden. I may have worded that badly. What I meant, essentially, is that the NPA will carry out invasions of founderless regions without any political motivation for doing so but that in these cases irreversible damage will be prohibited (i.e., "moderate raiding").

What is moderate raiding? I am legitimately unfamiliar with the term.

Blue Wolf II:

What is moderate raiding? I am legitimately unfamiliar with the term.

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It's raiding without doing any irreversible damage to the region. Essentially, it's raiding with the goal of holding the region against defender liberation attempts rather than pestering and griefing natives. Moderate raiders generally provide a copy of the WFE either to the native Delegate or on the RMB, don't post on the RMB, don't close embassies, definitely don't eject and/or ban natives, etc.

The purpose of the NPA engaging in moderate raiding would be to keep their skills sharp and to provide training experience beyond what they can get in the Warzones, which defenders won't defend and liberate, without doing any lasting damage to the regions invaded. The reality of the situation is that while the NPA can and should target Nazis and other extremists, the number of such regions that are also founderless is relatively few -- if the NPA is going to actively invade and defend and be prepared for any situation, moderate raids of targets that don't have any political reasoning behind their selection as targets will be necessary.

As I said above, I don't run for an office when there is someone else running who could do the job better. With that in mind, I withdraw from the race and I endorse Eluvatar.

Cormac Stark:

Crushing Our Enemies:

Do you think you can accomplish all of that in two months, or are you planning to run again in May?

Click to expand...

I think most of the things I've mentioned can be accomplished over the course of two months, and my goal will be to accomplish as many of them as possible. Getting the WA Affairs ministry active again, concluding work on the Concord, getting the NPA active in the field, setting a regular pace for the Wire, and hosting a cultural event in April -- these are all firm goals that can be accomplished in the remaining two months of this term. Some goals are broader and while they may not be accomplished in the remainder of this term I'm confident that the region can move far enough forward that solid groundwork would be left for the next Delegate in May, whoever he or she may be.

In regard to my own plans for the election in May, I'm focused on this election and accomplishing as many of the goals I've outlined as possible during the remainder of this term if elected.

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Cultural Event?

Would this perchance be with Osiris and The South Pacific? If so, I'll just remind you that Osiris is hosting the next event and I have already gotten in-contact with my Counterparts both within TNP and TSP.

You were on the access list for the planning section, and still are for that matter... but yes, the cultural event will be taking part in Osiris once the delegations have formalised their members and gotten down the details.

What do you think are your worst traits? What do you think are your best traits?

What would you do to counterbalance any bad traits that may negatively affect your time as Delegate?

Given that I've withdrawn from the race, I thought I might use my campaign thread as an opportunity for a little voter education for the remainder of the race.

First, why raiders engage in the Feeders in the words of Scardino, Blue Wolf's mentor from Lone Wolves United:

In the past, invaders were seen as villains and torturers of innocents. This was due to the propaganda and domination of the social arena by defenders and effectively eliminated any credibility to the thoughts and ideals of raiders, with the obvious exception of the confined sphere of the 'raider community'. Scardinoism sought to resist this social bias against the raider cause by interacting with neutrals in their home regions and actively socializing and partaking in activities in the feeder regions. It currently seeks to continue the progression of the raider cause not simply by successfully invading regions but also by improving the reputation of raiders through diplomacy and social networking. A Scardinoist, a believer and practitioner of Scardinoism, actively pursues the improvement of the reputation of raiders in general by conversing often with neutrals and even defenders, with a special emphasis on the influential feeder regions, and makes themselves an example of an intelligent, dignified, and honorable soldier and diplomat.

Excerpt from "Of Scardinoism," authored by Scardino of Lone Wolves United. 10 May 2007.

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Second, the goal of raiders to establish a "dictatorship of the raider" by "forcible overthrow of all existing game conditions" as articulated by Blue Wolf himself:

The goals of that of a Wolfist and that of a raider only differ as such
1. Wolfists seek to stomp out all forms of defenders no matter where they take refuge and thus bring about the "dictatorship of the raider".
2. Wolfist believe that all regions should be raider and that to raid a region should be of the greatest honor for that raided region and thus propels them towards the enlightened path.

The immediate aim of the Wolfists is the same as that of all other raider parties: The formation of a raider power, the overthrow of defender supremacy, the conquest of all of Nationstates by raider powers. . . .

The Wolfist disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only through forcible overthrow of all existing game conditions. Lets the ruling defender classes tremble at a Wolfist revolution. The raiders have nothing to lose but their chains, but have a whole game to conquer!

Raiders of All Nationstates, Unite!

Excerpt from "The Wolfist Manifesto," co-authored by Evil Wolf (Blue Wolf II) and Scardino. 13 March 2007.

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Discuss!

I'm sorry, Cormac, are you suggesting that The North Pacific is a pure Defender region whom has declared an ideological war against all raiders?

If not, I fail to see how this has any relevance to The North Pacific at all. Was a good attempt at mudslinging, however.

Oh, and the The Wolfist Manifesto, which is actually an almost word for word rip off of the Communist Manifesto, replacing "Bourgeoisie" with "Defender", "Proletariat" with "Raider" and "Communist" with "Wolfist", was not actually co-authored by Scardino; it was plagiarized entirely by me with the epilogue about how I drunkenly wrote it and Scardino edited being mostly fictional and a jibe at Marx and Hegel's relationship. If you're going to mudsling, at least try to get the facts right.

It was a bit of humor. I would hope nobody would take that seriously.

When did you withdraw from the race?

Roughly 10 hours ago from the time of this posting.

Timestamps are useful.

Cormac Stark:

Given that I've withdrawn from the race, I thought I might use my campaign thread as an opportunity for a little voter education for the remainder of the race.

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Mmm...no. If you want to discuss a candidate, do so in their thread.

EDIT: Or if they don't have one, do it...somewhere that's not a campaign thread for a dead campaign. Starting a new one would be more appropriate.

If you're elected delegate will you unban me from #TNP?