(Warning - Verbose and self-indulgent post ahead)

Yesterday, in the nominations thread, a few people in the region suggested that I should run for the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs.

I’m sure that I’m not the only one who initially thought that this was both ironic and hilarious. “Lets take the most volatile, blunt and opinionated person in the region, and make him the head of the regional diplomatic corps”.

After getting over the shock of being nominated for the position, I soon realized that this was not a joke, and that there are many people out there who seriously thought I should run for this position.

Given my personality, in spite of the support of many people whom I respect, and who usually show good judgment, I was understandably reluctant to put my name forth for the MoFA position. The reluctance was only amplified by personal considerations which have arisen over the last year.

Over this past lunch hour, I took a walk to the Forks National Historic site, and pondered the challenge that has been presented before me. I walked to the Forks National Historic Site, where the Red and Assiniboine Rivers meet. My mom’s side of the family farmed along the Red River, while my dad’s side of the Family settled in a farm near the Assiniboine. My earlier ancestors, who were fur traders, no doubt came to the confluence of the two rivers when Upper Fort Garry was located there two centuries ago. Those rivers were the key to the lives and to the futures of my ancestors. Symbolically, it seemed like a good idea to travel to them to determine my own future here.

During my walk, I realized the many faults that I bring to this position:

1. I’m volatile and opinionated. I’m often blunt to the point of being cruel. In the past, these attributes have caused mild international concerns to be unintentionally blown into huge international incidents. And when challenged, I often have an inability to back down, which causes further escalation of events.

2. As many know, in the past year, I was lucky enough to become a dad again. My daughter requires a lot of time, which will no doubt impact on how much time I could spend on my MoFA duties.

3. My work schedule waxes and wanes – sometimes I’m busy, sometimes I’m not as busy. In busy times, I’ll have less time for MoFA duties. In busy times, I’ll also likely be more short tempered.

4. In the last six months or so, I have had other experiences at NS that have made me reluctant to get too involved in the political end of this game.

5. I’m not particularly well liked by many throughout Nationstates.

Any one of these reasons would be reason enough to not vote for me. I would not begrudge anyone for voting against me for the position of MoFA based on the above noted attributes.

With that said, I’m here to announce and confirm that I will in fact run as a candidate for the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Why would I list my faults, and then announce that I am running? That is an easy question to answer. While I have many faults and many constraints, I do have strengths. My strongest attribute is honesty and integrity. When I say or do something, people generally believe it to be an honest statement or action, done with all of my convictions, and done with what I genuinely believe to be the best interests of this region.

It would be less than honest for me to run without giving everyone my background, and a critical assessment of some very real faults that I bring to the table, ones which may cause many to logically conclude that I am unfit for this position.

However, in my defence, I also bring strengths:

1. My history of honesty and integrity;

2. A regional political portfolio that consists of:
(a) commencing the constitutional dialogue in December 2003 and January 2004 that resulted in the current constitutional regime;

(b)reinstituting democratic rule to the region;

©drafting the constitutional framework of the region, which was subsequently adopted by several other regions;

(d)serving as Delegate and Prime Minister of the region from January to March, 2004;

(e)serving as Minister of Regional Affairs from April to May, 2004;

(f)serving as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs;

(g)creating the current template and form of Ambassadorial Report still used in the region to this day, and subsequently emulated by other regions;

(h)Creating the House of Commons;

(i)Drafting the Cabinet Disclosure Law, which is the piece of legislation of which I’m most proud;

(j)Drafting other legislation and spearheading many other initiatives;

(k)Drafting Canada’s NSwiki entry.

3. Residency in the region for 2 years, which means I likely know more about the history of this region than anyone else in Nationstates.

4. a real life background in matters related to Law, Corporate Governance Labour Relations and Political Studies.

5. past work as consultant to several regions who called upon my expertise to help them set up their own governing structures.

I ask that all members of the region critically evaluate my personal strengths and weaknesses, as well as my platform which I will post in greater detail in a separate thread in the next 24 hours. I invite honest, blunt commentary and questioning from the electorate. I would expect nothing less. The democratic process works best if people run for office and engage in a free exchange of ideas.

I look forward to an honest and open dialogue with my fellow regional members.

If elected to this position would you abuse any mod/admin power you might get in any way?

I am so glad to hear that you have decided to run for the cabinet! Your knowledge and experience will be a huge advantage to whomever the other members will be.

You did leave out one very important qualification:

You are very knowledgeable about the workings of other regions. I'd guess that you are easily in the top 1% of NS players that know anything about the laws and governments of regions other than your own.

Good luck to your campaign...

I hope not. Though, in late February, 2004, when I was Prime Minister, I did suspend a non-resident's account improperly, without first consulting with Cabinet. It is not a mistake I plan on making again.

For background, MoFA isn't usually given any Admin powers. As for Mod powers, I'd moderate my ministry forum and embassy row as permitted by law.

If I were found to abuse any power, I would step down (much as I did in May, 2004, when I was found to have breached board use guidelines in sending a hostile PM to a nation that was hostile to this region). I have no interest in reflecting poorly on this region - if I breach its laws, then I am unfit for office and I will pay the ultimate price by resigning.

While not mentioning the episode I'm thinking of, you have allayed my fears somewhat by confirming you would not be an admin., but a mod.

I think I know what Ess is talking about - during the Nintendo Emirates crisis (the hostile nation who I verbally berated and subsequently resigned over), I briefly changed his avatar information so that it said some unflattering things. I had a brief laugh, showed it to Ess, who told me to change it back, which I promptly did.

Ess' line of questioning has made me realize that I do not belong in government.

I hereby withdraw my candidacy.

Bweezy, I would encourage you to reconsider your withdrawal. Who among us has not made mistakes, or acted improperly at one time or other. This is the price of being human. You possess a great deal of knowledge and ability that could be put to good use in the government here in Canada (or anywhere else for that matter). Your knowledge of nationstates and other regions is formidable and you appear to have a great desire to do what is right, not only for Canada but also for all of Nationstates.

The question is not whether we have made mistakes in the past, but whether we have learned from them and become better citizens? I have to believe that in your case, the answer is yes.

Reconsider, and let the people of Canada decide if you deserve this position.

Let he among you who is without sin cast the first stone.

Lawd, I have sinned!

Darn and too bad you posted first, Liarg, as I was extremely happy that bweezy admitted to what I was referring to and I am now very pleased to say I now have no probs at all with bweezy running!
I wasn't being all "mightier than thou", I was concerned as a citizen of Canada.
Please reconsider, bweezy. It takes a big man to admit to something that could have been covered up!
Ess :)
p.s...there are different degrees of government malfeasance and I thought what bweezy did was particularily heinous as it changed someone's personal settings/sig., etc. without their knowledge or consent.

I think Liarg's last comment is the key issue. You have been open and upfront about your past short comings, please trust in the intelligence of the region's members to pick who they feel is the best candidate at this time.

I was shocked and amazed that dispite my too forceful defending of my opinions in the past; I still managed to get elected. I've been keeping that in mind and to my knowledge I have not offended many people during my time in the cabinet. (crosses fingers hoping not to get flamed) :P

I have faith that you have learned from your experiences. If enough other members of the region agree, then you will have a chance to prove it to yourself.

Please reconsider....

I see I've been unendorsed by bweezy yet again...

:rolleyes:

Everyone has.

Bweezy left the region for The Cemetary. He sent me a PM asking to have his off-site account deleted, according to section 1.a) of the Board use and ejection guidelines. I'm not sure as to why.

:unsure:

Perhaps he is trying to "atone" for a crime that most of us have already forgiven him of.

I still think that he would have been a good minister, regardless of past incidents. I think that our NS region owes a lot to him, and I cite his work as a reason for why I became more actively in the politics of our region.

Are you talking for most of the people?

Did most of the people even know about this?

Did you?

Do you not have a problem with someone abusing a position of trust as had been done?

Would you like it if it was done to you?

bweezy admitted to it and I'm satisfied with that as I'm not sure anyone else got the pm from him announcing what he'd done to Nintendo Emirates' profile/sig settings, but I'm less than impressed with people poo-pooing what he did as "he's helped the region so much."

I had heard about some of the aspects of the Nintendo case, though probably not all- as I was not really intimately involved (it's even possible that I wasn't an active member at the time). Though as the full details were never disclosed to me, it's hard to feel shame in not condeeming him, or judging him the same way that you do. I can only base what I say on what I know, and if I lack knowledge in this situation, I am sorry. Please educate me.

And of course I have a problem with abuse of power, and I am not one to be painted as an appologist of his actions. But he and his actions are not the same, and so will I say this: Bweezy seemed like a man of reflection. He seemed like whatever the fully details of his action (and yes, I have to admit to being ignorant of their full scope), he regretted them. I would trot out the standard lines about forgiveness and to erring, but I think that they are getting a little tired. Suffice it to say that I believe in them.

If it were me, I would have been outraged. And as a Canadian, I would have called for his resignation. I still think that he has done great things for Canada, I still think that he was sorry for his actions and unlikely to repeat them, and I still think that he would have made a fine Minister of Foriegn Affairs.

And yes, I mispoke when I said "most of us". I meant just me. I can really speak for no one else.

You can speak for me.

And if you don't want me to back him up on the "he's done so much for the region" card, I will do so otherwise. Referring to the specific NE incident, I appreciate everything that bweezy did in that situation. I was geniunely upset by what NE did, and I'm glad that bweezy was there to stick up for me, and also go through dealing with Alberta afterwards. NE violated our laws, and he was punished for that. Yes, bweezy stepped over the line with changing stuff in NE's profile....but did he not promptly change it back? As Daemon said, Bweezy's a man of reflection. He understood what he did was wrong, and undid it. He regretted doing it, and he admits he made a mistake.

Bweezy would have made a great MoFA. Though he sometimes made rash decisions, he always understood and took responsibility for his actions.

I'm going to miss him.

Some of the things that happened during the NE incident, and in its aftermath, were questionable. I saw it happen as a citizen, and became MoRA while it was in progress. It was not our proudest moment, by any means. I spent a lot more time than I would have liked to trying to reconcile the law with what happened.

Had I known about (and had evidence of) the specific incident Ess alledges, I think (hope?) I would probably have pressed for charges against Bweezy. This would have been difficult, since he was my mentor, and I have a lot of respect for him.

Bweezy's done a lot of good for us, and occaisionally some bad. Usually he stands up for/to both. I hope he'll come back.

The evidence should be recorded as an Admin log on the Admin CP. Regardless, I'm inclined to agree with the majority on this issue. Bweezy's input into the development of this Region have been an integeral necessity to be where it is today. Bweezy has his reasons for leaving and, from past experience, I have decided to respect his actions in this instance. His reasons are his own, and should it be decided they will be made public. For whatever reasons he left, I will support them to the best of my ability. Should Bweezy decide to return, at whatever point, I would be be glad of his return.

Funny how life is sometimes...

Who would have thought encouraging him to become more active again would have the result of causing him to quickly leave the region. :(

This seems a little like what happened to Nixon. Even though he was very good at foreign policy very few would ever let him have any actual power again (myself included not that I had any say in the matter). Not that Bweezy's actions were that extreme but clearly he feels he cann't defend what he did.

Damn, I was looking forward to him getting more involved and now he's not even here...

And that is the kicker-he does not have to defend what he did.

When we make mistakes then realize them...learn from them and become better people, we do not have to defend what we did in the past. Admitting our guilt and accepting responsibility negates the necessity to defend what we have done.

Obviously some people here were aware of this issue and some (myself included) were not. Knowing this new information does not change my feelings....I have judged Bweezy based on what I have known of him during my time here and based on some advice and help he gave me when I was in the SP. He stepped in and assisted me in getting some things clear in my mind when I was involved in a conflict in the SP. He did this on his own because he saw an issue that he felt was not right, and did it in a way to help me without causing an inter-regional incident. He would make a wonderful MoFA regardless of anything in his past.

Ess, I believe that this was an issue that you should have brought up to Bweezy in private first and given him the opportunity to determine if and how he wanted to make it public. You put him in a very embarassing position and I think it was a little unfair how you went about it. If he then chose not to disclose, then perhaps bringing it up in public would have been appropriate. I feel that your actions have been extremely detrimental to this region and to a very active and important member of this region. No one has gained anything because of this incident.

1. The delegate may eject any nation from the region without consultation with the Cabinet in the following circumstances, and an Administrator of the offsite board may unilaterally suspend any nation’s offsite account in the following circumstances:

(a) Where the nation has requested to be ejected or suspended, as the case may be;

Strange. If this is followed through, it would mean that bweezy is severing all ties with the Region.

I completely agree on the quoted matter.

But, as for the part about the matter in which Ess's questions were phrased, I would like to defend her. Bweezy was running for office, and as such the public has a right to know this sort of information. If a person is to serve in office, the public must be confident in their moral authority to lead. This was an incident that some people, defensible, might construe as a fatal blow to Bweezy’s credibility and integrity as a government official. It was a tough question, I agree. I also agree that it was a leading question. But I think that it was a necessary question. Keeping this as a “skeleton in the closet” would have benefited no one.

As regrettable as I think the outcome of this line of questioning was, I cannot fault Ess for it. She uncovered something that I didn’t know fully, and it was up to us as voters to make a decision about it. If a reporter found objectionable out about a beloved RL politician, I certainly would not blame the reporter for announcing her findings. And this is regardless of the final outcome of the story.

By the way, I think that the way the Bweezy reacted to this confirms, in a way, my judgment of him and his suitability for office. If only our RL government reacted in this way to scandal...

I agree that the issue is important and needs to be brought to public opinion. I stated that I believe that the method used was inappropriate....not the result. I believe that it would have been more appropriate, and would have had a touch of human decency, to go to Bweezy in private first and give him the opportunity to address the issue on his own first....thus giving him the opportunity to tell us in his words what he did and what the results of his actions were.

Instead, he was blindsided and embarassed publicly. I do not think that this is the correct way to treat an established member of this region.

I am not saying that this incident should have been covered up or forgotten and please do not change my words to say that I am.....but I feel that it could have been handled much better than it was. I am but one person and cannot speak for others, but I personally am ashamed of how this came to light.

I don't think that it should have been handled with kid gloves. I don't see anything malicious in Ess's actions, and so I am not ashamed of them. If Bweezy was embarrassed by the question, that implies that he was embarrassed by the act, and Ess could hardly control that.

And I didn't say that you claimed that it should have been covered up. I don't even think my post implied that. If it is, then I apologize. They were not intended to suggest that.

I don't think it should have been handled with kid gloves either. I just think that he should have been given the opportunity (by private communication first) to come clean on this issue. If he refused to do so, then by all means come out guns blazing. I think that human decency should afford us this option.

Perhaps I am wrong, but my feeling is that with friends like that, you damn sure don't need enemies..... :huh:

It's easy to try and pin some blame on Ess. She clearly hit him where it hurt. However, I knew he wanted to keep a low profile in the region. I got so pumped by the idea of having him back in the cabinet that I nominated him anyway without ever talking to him first. So I deserve some of the blame also.

I am disapointed that Bweezy took such an extreme reaction. It's one thing to say forget the whole thing, I'll go back to hanging out quitely. I don't understand why he had to leave and then request that his account be deleted. That seems a bit over the top to me.

---

Lucky for us the ejection guidelines that Carb quoted contain the key word "may". The PM and/or Admin can ignore such a request if they choose. Which I hope is the case with this request.

I agree with Daemon, I have no problem with the way Ess went about the questioning. I commend her for making sure that everyone knows the truth. It's just that personally I don't feel that incident as making Bweezy unsuitable for office, as he does regret his actions, and knows not to repeat them.

I chose not to delete his account. While I don't know if he'll ever come back, I don't think it's necessary to delete it.

bweezy changed it back after he'd pm'd me about it and I said I wasn't impressed and that I thought he had more class than that and that it reflected badly on Canada.

Having said that, please note that I've said nothing about it until bweezy announced he was in the running for a position of trust and yet again went on about how honest and full of integrity he is.

In my mind it isn't a matter of how much he's done for Canada so much as abusing a privilege he had and could possibly have again.

To me it doesn't matter what NE did, you still treat the whole situation within the law.

Firstly - thanks to all those who have sent me messages of support. It means a great deal.

I think some background is in order. Ess was in cabinet the whole time that the NE incident took place. I find it odd that, almost a year later, she now feigns outrage at my actions, yet, at the appropriate time to make her outrage known to cabinet, she didn't say anything. She stayed silent. Leading all to believe that she viewed it as a prank gone awry, much like I did.

The fact is, I was the one who initiated judicial proceedings against myself for breaching board guidelines in sending an insult filled pm (that was never made public in this region) to NE. Had I not spoken up against myself, nothing would ever have come to light, and everyone would have been none the wiser. Yet Ess has the gall to question my integrity? If someone should be questioning their integrity, I think Ess ought to start by looking in the mirror.

FYI, NE came from Alberta on to these boards and started insulting Checkers - he really hurt her feelings- I lost it, and let NE have it in a PM. Then, as a prank, I then changed his signature and member title - I laughed, showed Ess (the only other person on-line at the time), thinking she'd laugh too. She noted her disapproval. I immediately changed it back.

My initial intention was to change it back after Chex saw it - I thought, illegal as it was, it would make her feel better. And to be quite honest, I don't regret what I did one bit. Checkers was personally attacked - she was hurt, and she's my friend. I wanted to make her feel better - to make her laugh and feel vindicated. Chex never saw what I did, because of Ess' reaction.

In any event, when I brought charges against myself, I didn't even think of including the prank in the list of charges against myself. In my mind, it was minor compared to the pm I sent - the pm was seen by NE, the prank was not - so I wasn't focussing on it.

However, given her position in cabinet, and her role as being on the "jury" that metted out my punishment for this whole episode, one would think that Ess would have said something about the incident at that time - it could have been dealt with then. Odd how someone who was so offended and so horrified by my actions SAID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Had she mentioned the incident, which was an afterthought in my mind, I would have gladly added it to the charges list. Compared to the pm, which I regretted, the prank was minor - I would have had no problem publicly disclosing it and adding it to the trial. Too bad Ess breached the public trust by not saying anything.

Instead of saying anything, she stayed silent and dug it out of the closet 11 months after the fact. In hindsight, what I did looks really bad. Certainly not proper conduct of a government official and certainly something that will likely prevent me from ever contributing to this region again. But then again, either
(a) breaching the public trust by not bringing a charge to the attention of cabinet; or
(B) feigning horror 11 months after the fact out of spite;
are both breaches of the public trust. So I guess I'm not the only one with a little explaining to do.

I also have to add that I found Ess' comments odd given the fact that when I returned in January, she sent me a PM admitting we had our differences, but that we should try to bury the hatchet and get along. I guess when she said "bury the hatchet", she meant she was going to bury it into my back.

In any event, despite what some may think of Ess, the fact remains, I clearly have abused my position of trust in the past. Those actions fall short of my own ideals, and the very ideals of which I helped create this region upon. Having been reminded of my past misdeeds, it would be dishonourable of me to seek or hold office in this or any other region in NS. And it is for that reason that I bid you all adieu.

Excuse me?? Please do explain further...



So now I'm the bad guy, huh?

I can't find the NE thread, but I know I started the position of MDB on April 24, 2004 after The Cretonians left the position early.
I was barely a resident and as you fully realize from our pm's of you asking me to be a DM of one of two positions, I knew very little about being in a government. That's why I took the DMDB position. You said it would be a good entry level/learning position or words to that effect. When The Cretonians left I did my best at a job I wasn't really prepared for.
You on the other hand have had plenty of experience here and being a lwyer in R/L.
We haven't even discussed what you wrote in NE's custom member title and his sig.
I'm not sure Checkers woulda found it funny, but you know her better.

*edit*
The NE incident started May 7/04

Bweezy I don't think pushing back on Ess adds any value to this discussion. Ess voiced her concern which was perfectly legitimate. I'm very sorry that the wounds of that incident are still so tender. If you want to call Ess to task, I think a PM would be a better forum. I will fully support Ess' right to question potential members of government as to their fitness for office.

I really wish you had more trust in the members of the region and left things up to the voters. I feel the region would be much better off with you as a member. I would like it if you and Ess were able to patch things up but I don't think that you will be able to accomplish that in public.