Spiritus Foreign Update: Medals, Medals Everywhere Edition
Hello, friends of Spiritus! While our government theme remains Discworld, important changes were made over the last eight weeks, one such being that Spiritus has a new forum URL. We can now be found under
http://spiritus.wtf
Please note that this new URL is just referring to our good old Zetaboards forum, you don't have to update any existing links.
Spiritus Government Listing
The City of Ankh-Morpork (Executive Branch)
The Patrician (President): Rogamark
The Librarian (Vice President): Legonimis
The Crackpot Dreamer (Minister) of the Alchemists' Guild (Culture): Wuufu
The Second Crackpot Dreamer (Deputy Minister) of the Alchemists' Guild: Feirmont
The Constable of the City Watch (Defense): Sovreignry
The Deputy Constable (Deputy Minister) of the City Watch: Vacant
The Master of the Assassin's Guild (Foreign Affairs and Information): Rogamark
The Deputy Master (Deputy Minister) of the Assassin's Guild: Guy
The Postal Inspector (Minister) of the Post Office (Integration): Tim
The Deputy Postal Inspector (Deputy Minister) of the Post Office: RedDusk
The Deputy Postal Inspector (Deputy Minister) of the Post Office: Toms
The Albatross (Minister/WAD) of the Bird Garden(World Assembly Affairs): The Salaxalans
Vice Delegate: Shimoda
The Other Albatross (Deputy Minister) of the Bird Garden: Shimoda
Guildmaster of Merchants and Traders (Regional Security Advisor): Lord Ravenclaw
Unseen University (Regional Assembly)
Archchancellor (Speaker): Salaxalans
Wizard (Representative): Feirmont
Wizard: Jonielle
Wizard: Libertarian Librarians
Wizard: Blitze
The Astronomers of Krull (Supreme Court)
Arch-Astronomer (Chief Justice): Guy
Astrozoologist (Associate Justice): Sovreignry
Chelonaut (Associate Justice): Wuufu
Regional Assembly and Election Update
An unexpectedly large number of RA Representatives went on summer vacation early this year
Thankfully, the Regional Assembly saw no resignations during the last term. A recall referendum was brought against then-Speaker Cam, who had been forced into an unexpectedly long leave of absence. The referendum failed when Cam returned while voting was already in progress. He did not seek relection for another RA term.
An unexpectedly large number of RA Representatives went on summer vacation early this year
Due to his prolonged absence, Cam was replaced as Speaker by former President Salaxalans, who later successfully sought reelection both to the RA and the Speaker's chair; Representative Jonielle was reelected as well. Former Speaker Libertarian Librarians, who had missed an RA seat in the election before, returned with a successful bid. New to the RA are Feirmont (who is also our Deputy Minister of Culture) and Blitze, a new citizen who is holding an elected NS office for the very first time.
Congratulations to all RA Representatives, and good luck for the term.
The previous RA session started with a surprise: a recall petition against then-Minister of Defense Dawsinian, brought by a citizen and adopted by the RA for consideration. However, It was never voted on as the Minister chose to resign.
After that dramatic start, the rest of the term was considerably slower than usual. The RA voted to fully incorporate an amendment into the Criminal Code that was proposed by President Rogamark in Presidential Statement 026. This Fourth Code of Criminal Act Amendment Act established the offenses of espionage, citizenship fraud, and subversion, which now carry high penalties up to an indefinite ban. The relevant Presidential Statement was made necessary by the espionage activities against Spiritus there were reported on in the last Foreign Update.
Further, the RA unsuccessfully tried to further amend the military reporting requirements. Under Spiritan law, the activities of the Spiritus Defense Force must be reported to the general public to allow for oversight whether the SDF fulfills its duties within conformity with the constitutionally imposed regulations. After the previous RA expanded the time frame to file activity reports from "immediately" to "within one month", it was attempted to cut it down to two weeks; however, the proposal failed to reach the necessary 2/3 supermajority in the referendum.
Guy was reconfirmed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for another term upon nomination by the President. The RA also tried to amend a Spiritan curiosity, the Demonym Act (which defines "Spiritan" as the official demonym), but failed to make "Spiritusianite" the new demonym. A subsequent proposal to make "cheese" the official demonym failed even more clearly. Yes, we have fun in Spiritus.
Executive Government Update
Cabinet meeting as usual
The last eight weeks saw a few changes in the Cabinet.
Cabinet meeting as usual
Tim, formerly Minister without Portfolio, was assigned to Integration, where he is assisted by two deputies: Red Dusk, who has adeptly written some introductory guides for new SDF soldiers and has been notably helpful for new citizens, and Toms, a former Minister of Integration, who has returned to Spiritan politics after several months of absence.
President Rogamark is happy to have such a fantastic and dedicated Integration team, whose diligent work has undoubtedly contributed to the recent rise in membership numbers.
After Minister Dawsinian's resignation, the government was very pleased to welcome Sovreignry to the Cabinet as the new Minister of Defense. As he is a highly experienced and accomplished defender, we could not have hoped for a more suitable candidate. He has no deputy at the moment but is assisted by the two SDF Generals, Wuufu and Tim, and by a president with a penchant for military micromanagement.
Spiritus and Taijitu Hold Joint Festival while Treaty Negotiations are Ongoing
Spiritans and Taijituans gathering for a cup of tea during the festival
Spiritus was pleased to host citizens of Taijitu for games and fun during the Tea with Taijitu festival, organized by Vice President Legonimis with the help of Minister of Culture Wuufu and Deputy Minister Feirmont.
Spiritans and Taijituans gathering for a cup of tea during the festival
Plans for an epic Grooveshark were disrupted when Grooveshark was taken down. Instead, Wuufu hosted a Twitch stream in which he played Democracy 3, Spirricraft (the Spiritus Minecraft server), Kerbal Space Program, and more. His efforts and dedication are greatly appreciated.
Of the numerous games played, Wuufu won Fantasy Dice Battles, which available on Yucata. Feirmont and Johanna, the Assassins, won the Discworld themed Mafia game (moderated by Salaxalans). Legonimis won the WarLight tournament (overseen by Feirmont). The game of Carcassonne: Hunters & Gatherers, also on Yucata, is still ongoing. There were no entries in the writing contest, though there had been much initial interest; Diplomacy also saw too few people sign up to play an effective game.
Meanwhile, the President revealed in his midterm address an effort to enter into a treaty with Taijitu. Deputy Minister Guy, who was negotiating for Spiritus, presented a promising draft to the Cabinet, which is now being considered for ratification by both region's legislatures. The government thanks Guy for his professional efforts, which leave nothing to be desired, and hopes the treaty can be ratified without problems.
New Awards and Recipients
A SDF officer instructing a junior member
Spiritus, like every successful region, lives from the effort and dedication of their members. However, until recently, there was only one award available to formally recognize the people who make Spiritus the successful region it is - the Exaltation of Spiritus. To allow for a more differentiated recognition and to increase the value of the Exaltation as our highest award, President Rogamark introduced two new awards: the Service to Spiritus Medal and the Green Heart Award, the latter specifically designated for contributions to our culture and community.
A SDF officer instructing a junior member
The first Service to Spiritus Medals (StSM) were awarded to Speaker of the RA Salaxalans, for outstanding service during his three terms as President, and to SDF General Wuufu, for his flawless leadership of the SDF during the Lazarus campaign. Another StSM was awarded to Deputy Minister Red Dusk, for his exceptional contributions to the SDF. A Green Heart Award was given to Deputy Minister Feirmont for his service to Spiritan culture on the recommendation of Vice President Legonimis. Spiritus thanks all recipients for their fantastic work.
President Rogamark also awarded the Exaltation of Spiritus to Tim, for his exceptional and dedicated work since the foundation of Spiritus. Tim had served as the first President, RA Representative of five terms, in three different Cabinet portfolios, and has contributed to every department in Spiritus. The region thanks Tim, who is currently serving as Minister of Integration and SDF General, for everything he has done.
News From The Front and SDF News
This week, the first issue of News From The Front, a SDF General Staff Publication authored by General (or Vexillarius, under the new theme) Tim Stark was released. I'm afraid I lack the English skills to find adequate superlatives to do this publication justice. Everybody is strongly encouraged to read it for themselves as it contains information on recent SDF activities.
Did I say "new theme"? Yes, the SDF changed from its long-used Dune theme to a Roman theme ingeniously devised by Vice President Legonimis, with ranks based on the various standard-bearers of the Roman legion. This came with a general change to the rank structure, re-expanding it to incorporate more officer ranks. The prior, more condensed structure was made necessary by a shortage of active SDF soldiers; thankfully, this is no longer necessary.
The Patrician’s Views
No Rogamark's Remarks this time. Seriously, go read News From The Front.
Thanks for reading the Spiritus Foreign Update!
Authored by President Rogamark, Vice President Legonimis and RA Representative Blitze
Edited by Vice President Legonimis and Speaker/WAD Salaxalans