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Messages - Allicia

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International Events / ADOC-Allician Navigational Act
« on: December 11, 2015, 06:43:03 pm »
The Most Serene Republic of Allicia and The Incorporated States of All-Dirt Oil Company are two nations with a mutual interest in the protection of one another. These two nations have agreed to create a treaty that will provide both with safety and security within the UDN. In order to facilitate a mutual friendship between the two nations, this treaty will enact the follow policies:

1. Any attack done by a foreign nation on a convoy carrying supplies from The Incorporated States of All-Dirt Oil Company shall be treated as a direct attack on the Allician merchant marine.

2. The Allician Republican Navy shall be responsible for escorting any convoys from The Incorporated States of All-Dirt Oil Company through the international waters of the UDN.

3. The Allician Republican Navy shall still be under the command of the Allician High Admiralty. The commanding officer of the convoy are allowed to provide commands for the Allician Republican Navy, but these commands can be vetoed by the High Admiralty if necessary.

4. The Allician Republican Navy shall attempt to provide the safest yet most efficient route of transportation to the destination of the convoy.

5. The Allician Republican Navy is responsible for solely maritime trade. Any movement done on land is outside of the jurisdiction and zone of protection provided by the Allician Republican Navy and the Allician government.

6. In return for their services, the Allician Republican Navy shall receive monthly shipments of oil from The Incorporated States of All-Dirt Oil Company in order to fuel the ships of the Republican Navy. The Allician government shall only utilize these free shipments for fueling their ships and shall not sell it. However, the Allician government reserves the right to sell products that utilize the free shipments of oil such as ships from the Republican Shipyard. The Incorporated States of All-Dirt Oil Company shall have no input on what its' oil is used for within the nation of The Most Serene Republic of Allicia.


Definitions:

Attack - an aggressive action with the intent of harm, damage, or the spread of terror.

Convoy - A ship or more that have the primary purpose of transporting goods from one nation to another.

International Waters - Sea that is not claimed by any nation.

Commanding Officer - The man, officer, and/or admiral that has been put in charge of the convoy by The Incorporated States of All-Dirt Oil Company.







Signatures of Treaty Members:

Domenico Contarini - The Most Serene Republic of Allicia

Chris Hanson - The Incorporated States of All-Dirt Oil Company

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Factbooks / Re: ALILHAM CHANCELLORSHIP CAMPAIGN
« on: December 10, 2015, 05:33:06 pm »
we believe we have the expertise to run the region for your benefit. Alilham has a population of 900 million citizens, making us one of the largest nations in the UDN. Having survived for this long without any strikes, government lockdowns or takeovers, the dictatorship knows best and has lead Alilham to become an exceptionally environmentally country, with a small, strong army and a large loyal base of supporters.

Notice how none of this states what Alliham will be doing for the region.

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We are highly experienced in running regions, as we have held leadership posts in at least three regions (Albion, Olsonia and Alilham Union) and so far, Albion has morphed into a hugely successful and highly influential region. Olsonia collapsed after we left it (it lacked our legendary successful leadership) and we left Alilham Union as it was boring leading such a perfect region.


I do not have experience in the mentioned regions, nor do the majority of the people in the UDN. What I do have experience in is what you have done to run the UDN. I have not seen you in any discussions in the chat room. I had not seen you help in the creation of maps. I had not seen you help in the creation of the national anthem. I had not seen you help in the writing of the Constitution. Judging by what we both can look at, your work done in the UDN, your ability to run regions is little. I have reason to suspect you let others run your regions for you and you are probably taking credit for the work of others.


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Vote for us, and we will ensure that everyone has a chance to experience the opportunities in being in the Government. We do not oppress, and we will ensure UDN is truly a democratic region. Our credentials, high experience and large successful population shows just how capable we are of leading the UDN to greater heights. Vote for us, and we will make the UDN so great, you'll be a proud member of a great region. Vote for us, and you'll be happier than you are now. Vote for us, and everyone will get a chance to taste the zest of power.

You cannot promise any of that. Here is Article II Section III of the Constitution:

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The Legislative branch of the regional government shall be known as The Great Council. It shall have nine members with varying levels of authority. All members of the Great Council except for the Tribune of the Commons must be members of the Assembly.

The first council member shall be known as the Minister of Public Opinion and will have authority over polls. The second council member shall be known as the Minister of Regional Development and shall have authority over appearances. The third council member shall be known as the Minister of Homeland Security and shall have authority over border control. The fourth council member shall be known as the Minister of Communication and shall have authority over communication. The fifth council member shall be known as the Minister of Ambassadors and shall have authority over embassies. The sixth council member shall be known as the Minister of the Interior and shall have authority over communication, polls, and appearance. The seventh council member shall be known as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and shall have authority over embassies and border control. However, the Minister of Interior and the Minister of Foreign Affairs must have experience in one of the prior named positions that share authority with them before becoming eligible for their office. The eighth council member shall be known as the Chancellor and he shall have authority over communication, embassies, polls, appearance, and border control. However, the Chancellor must have held either the Minister of Interior and the Minister of Foreign Affairs position prior to becoming Chancellor. The Chancellor shall be recognized as the Head of the Great Council. Finally, the last council member shall be known as the Tribune of the Commons. The Tribune of the Commons shall have no authority over any matters, however, he will be considered the representative of the Commons and an equal member in the Great Council. The Tribune of the Commons must be a member of the Commons.

The Great Council members shall have no term limit. An election for the first five Ministers shall happen every two months. An election for the next three Ministers shall happen every three months. An election for the Tribune of the Commons shall happen every two weeks. In order to be deemed eligible as a candidate, a nation must meet the prerequisites of the office mentioned in the prior paragraph. In addition, a nation must receive an endorsement from at least five other nations with at least three being members of the Assembly. The only position that is exempt from the endorsement rule is the Tribune of the Commons. Instead, the Tribune of the Commons requires five endorsements from only the Commons. In order to prove one’s endorsement, a nation’s endorsers must telegram the Minister of Communication who shall announce each nation’s endorsers in the newspaper. A nation is only allowed to endorse one person per office.

The Great Council shall have authority over enacting any legislation. In order for a piece of legislation to pass, it must receive majority approval by the Council. If a piece of legislation is vetoed by the Consul, the Great Council can override the veto by approving a piece of legislation with a 7/9 majority. However, if a Chief Magistrate does not approve of a law, it cannot be enacted. If a Minister proposes a law to the Great Council, their vote shall be nulled. Instead, that Minister shall have the World Assembly Delegate vote for his proposal in his place. Thus, the same rules for a majority approval are still in place.

The Great Council shall also hold the authority of approving or refusing the nominations of the Consul and the Assembly for the positions of Chief Magistrates. When a nomination is refused, that person is refused the right to hold the office of Chief Magistrate. However, that person can still run for the office or be appointed to it at a later time. The Great Council has the right to question a Chief Magistrate nominee prior to determining his nomination. Another election shall happen for the position of Chief Magistrate when the Assembly’s choice for Chief Magistrate was declined. The Consul shall provide a new candidate for Chief Magistrate for approval by the Great Council within 36 hours of a refusal.

The Great Council shall also have the authority of ultimately deciding if the Consul shall be impeached. If a majority of the Great Council feel the Consul should be impeached, then a trial shall start where all three Chief Magistrates must agree that the Consul is guilty.

As everyone can see, there is nothing that gives the Chancellor the right to allow everyone the chance to "taste power." You do not appoint people. You are not a dictator. You are the figurative head of a legislative council that is just one of the three major branches of government. The Chancellor is not even given any specific roles like the Minister of Communications is.


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WHY VOTE FOR US?
-Strong and successful leadership
-Large population (experienced in deciding on best policy for everyone)
-Successful leadership of regions in the past

- Anyone could say that.
- You are experienced in logging into NationStates and picking an option
- As mentioned prior, your leadership as a Minister of the UDN Founding Government has been underwhelming at best, negligent at worst.


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UDN- Plagued with teething problems and an inexperienced leadership, Alilham and its experienced government will lead it out of infancy into a matured, successful and efficiently region admired by other new regions. As Chancellor, we will reshuffle the government and reappoint positions as we are experienced enough to know how things work and who is capable of doing what.

Plagued with the teething problems (which as can be seen) have not been mentioned by Allilham. I have combed through this entire platform, and I've yet to see any single problem mentioned in our region. Obviously our inexperienced leadership must be doing a damn fine job if you have no problems to list, yes? Also, this is perhaps the greatest example of the failure of Alilham, this experienced nation, of failing at the fundamentals of NationStates. He has not read our Constitution and does not understand what our government is in the slightest. The Chancellor does not reshuffle and appoint (let alone reappoint) anything. That is not democratic in the slightest. Let me refer everyone back to this line:

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We do not oppress, and we will ensure UDN is truly a democratic region.

Would anyone like to tell me how it's democratic to allow Allilham to suspend the Constitution and appoint the people he "feels" are experienced enough to do things? Seems more like the dictatorship that Allilham had a conflict with rather than the democratic principles this region was founded upon.


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Alilham will perfect everything in UDN once in power. Everyone will get to be something if we are voted into the Chancellor post. Our region will grow stronger and we will groom certain promising nations to take over in the future. Rotations will be held every two weeks so that everyone has a chance to take on different levels of responsibilities.

Rotations will not be held every two weeks. Yet, again, you failed to read the Constitution. Here is a quote from Article II Section III:

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An election for the first five Ministers shall happen every two months. An election for the next three Ministers shall happen every three months. An election for the Tribune of the Commons shall happen every two weeks. In order to be deemed eligible as a candidate, a nation must meet the prerequisites of the office mentioned in the prior paragraph.

Thus, yet again, Alilham has proven he is unable to follow the rules set up by the Constitution which was universally ratified by the nations in our region. Also, Alilham states he will "groom" his successors. Once again, would anyone mind informing me how it's democratic for Alilham to have the ability to choose who is leading our nation?


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As a democratic region, we will also limit our army size.

This is hilarious to me. Rather than debating me, and actually utilizing the rights of freedom of speech that he "professes to love," Alilham ignores my counterpoints to his treaty on military size. Instead, he will try to legislate it and dictate his ideas upon me (and other nations) rather than confront those he disagrees with.


Synopsis of Criticism:

- States irrelevant information as proof of credibility.

- States his experience in building up regions, yet has shown none of that ability in the UDN.

- Has proven several times he has not read the Constitution (or refuses to follow it).

- Makes promises he cannot legally keep.

- Has statements that sound extremely tyrannical, while also claiming to hold democratic principles.

- Desires to uphold freedom of speech, yet refuses to engage those that criticize his ideals.

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Factbooks / Allician Chancellor Campaign Platform
« on: December 09, 2015, 03:55:54 pm »
The history of Allica is a long one. It was one of the first nations to be created in the region that would become the UDN. The people of my nation banded together in order to pool together their resources and utilize what they had to create a better society. Allicians are well known for their ability as merchants, seafarers, and economists, and so their ability to negotiate is just as renown.

I, Domenico Contarini, the Consul of Allicia, wish to run for the position of Chancellor and utilize the array of skills honed by the people of Allicia in order to create a better region. I plan on coordinating the Great Council and making sure there will be at least a weekly meeting in which governmental opinions on legislation as well as reviews of work will be done. My goals for my term are mainly based on economics. For those that have not read my post on our regional forums, I plan on eliminating tariffs between our nations in order to create a region that is tied together via trade and in which we all have a strength that keeps us relevant in discussions. In order to prevent the powerful nations from exploiting the developing ones for resources, I also plan on establishing a central bank alongside the other Ministers which will be staffed by experienced and trustworthy nations. This bank will allow for nations to prosper as they take out loans in order to further their industrialization or technological advancement. Perhaps most importantly, I will be creating legislation that will require transparency during government meetings that do not involve military matters. I want the nations in this region to be able to physically see what their officials are saying and what their plans are. I want them to see who is present at government meetings and who is simply taking a position for the prestige it brings. I will lead the Great Council as a servant of the state and the interests of you, the nations, will always come first in my legislation.

Allicia has been part of this region since The Democratic Republic of Antwerland drafted the foundation of the UDN. Allicia was the third nation to sign the treaty that would create this region and it was a major contributor to the Constitution that this region will utilize as a cornerstone for a fair, democratic, and just system. The Allician intellectuals that were sent to draft the Constitution, including myself, were the ones that created all three of the major branches of the government. If any nation knows how to keep the government running efficiently while coordinating with the vast array of pieces, it would be the one that engineered it in the first place.

On the topic of the government, the only candidate for Consul, The Democratic Republic of Antwerland, is a nation that has been a strong friend of Allicia as far back as anyone could remember. We were trade partners. We were friends. And most importantly, we were allies. We have been a team that devoted all our energy to create a more perfect federation between nations and to prevent anarchy in our lands. Neither Antwerland nor I wish to compete with the other in order to gain more power for themselves. We have a history full of examples of us working together and we can trust one another to be open and transparent with the other. Likewise, my history with the other candidates such as The United States of Detreadan, The Empire of Ocatana, and The Workers' Democracy of Vereinigte Deutschland is full of examples of me being able to cooperate with orders while also leading them. I have many close connections with those in the Council, and thus, I will be able to work close with them as a compatriot rather than an overseer.
Perhaps what is most critical in the position of Chancellor is the ability of an individual to listen to his Council and maintain an unbiased view on issues. As the person who will be maintaining order through Great Council meetings, it is the duty of the Chancellor to allow each side to present their side and for each side to observe parliamentary procedures.

I’m no fool. And neither are you. We both know that life is not black and white and that everything is a shade of gray. Would I love to have no military in the UDN? Of course. Is it smart? Of course not. It’ll lead to invaders and brigands destroying our region and the prosperity that it has created for all of us. Likewise, would I love to keep everyone happy with the legislation of the regional government? Of course I would. I will certainly try to keep as many nations content with the state of affairs as I can, but with the amount of nations and political views in our region, it will never work out to the benefit of everyone. I won’t lie and tell you each policy the Great Council makes will please you. However, I can tell, nay, I can promise you, that each policy will benefit the UDN and make it a better region. How can I promise that? Well, I’m always open to debate about a policy. Think my view is wrong? Fine. Show me. I don’t mind stating my reasons for my views, nor do I mind changing my views if I am wrong. There’s no reason we cannot pull all our minds from different backgrounds and political views together to create a policy that will benefit all of us.

Please, do not vote for me on election day. Vote for us. Vote for a better UDN.


- Esteemed Consul Domenico Contarini of The Most Serene Republic of Allicia

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Matters of State / UDN Economic Freedom Treaty
« on: December 06, 2015, 03:05:02 pm »
This Treaty shall be created with the purpose of eliminating any tariffs that are upheld by nations within the UDN.
The purpose of a tariff is to allow local business to prevail against competition from other regions, however, this is not only harmful to the nation that is forced to pay said tariff, but also to the nation enforcing the tariff as well as the entire region as a whole.

A tariff is created in order to make a nation self-sufficient and support a broad spectrum of industry in an individual nation. Usually, a tariff is put in place in order to give domestic industry a chance to compete in the marketplace. However, by artificially inflating the prices of something so that domestic industry will be able to prosper, a nation is also forcing industry that needs to utilize a certain product to have to buy it at a higher price than what it should be. This artificial inflation of goods from other nations will actively harm a nation's people by forcing them to pay more per product in order to support an industry that is dying in their nation anyway.

Competition breeds innovation. This is a reality that has always existed in history. Technological innovation follows periods of conflict. By allowing one's domestic industry to never feel the pains that come with dealing with a competitor that is better at what they do, they will never innovate. What does a company that produces 10 pounds of beef for $5 have to fear a company that produces 10 pounds of beef for $3 have to fear if company B has to pay a $2 tariff? They do not need to innovate as the government is giving them a path that requires far less thinking and innovation.

In economics and trade, it is important to specialize in what one is best at. For example, let's say Nation A has 100 people and it is very good at cutting logs but poor at mining. It has 50 people cut 5 logs a day, and 50 people mine 3 stones a day. It desires more stone to build houses. Nation B has 100 people and is very good at mining but poor at cutting logs. If it has 50 people mine 5 stones and 50 people cut 3 logs a day, it will only be able to trade 5 stone for 5 logs. This leaves one nation with 8 stone and another with 8 logs. Now, if each nation had 100 people working on the same task, Nation A could produce 10 logs and Nation B could produce 10 stone. This allows each nation to have 10 stone and 10 logs in the end. This isn't even including the benefits that will come from Nation C, who will be able to profit from shipping the resources between the nations. Thus, each nation prospers.

Likewise, by creating tariffs, a nation is harming the peace in the region. How is that possible? Well, think about it. How does a nation support a war effort if the cheap steel they need comes from a nation across the sea? They cannot, not unless they have the military capability to force them to continue trading. A region with no tariffs will be so interconnected through trade that there will be no possible way for large conflicts to be fought between nations as other nations could simply cut off trade until both nations surrender due to a collapse of the economic structure in said nations.

I hope my desire to end tariffs will be understood by the nations in the UDN and legislation can be enacted that will prevent tariffs from harming our region ever again. I would love to here criticism of my policy as well as other comments about it.

Esteemed Consul of Allicia

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Matters of State / Re: The Constitution of the UDN
« on: December 06, 2015, 12:31:39 pm »
I strongly protest against the size of the military and urge its reduction in size by at least 80%, with the total removal of all gunships, heavy bombers and ICBMs

I also urge for the removal of the spy network as it compromises security of the populace and is reminiscent of the Nazi Schutz Staffel Regime (SS/Gestapo)

Could you post in the thread about the counterargument to your dispatch? Thanks.

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Matters of State / National Anthem
« on: December 05, 2015, 08:10:40 pm »
I was hoping for a national anthem to be found for our region. If anyone has any ideas for a song, put it in this thread. Once we get a reasonable amount of choices, we can create a poll on the NationStates site. I'm not sure what kind of theme we would like for our region, so I included songs that emphasized glory as well as peace. I tried to pick songs that were all moving, though. 

I found two songs that I feel would work really well as our national anthem.

Sabaton - Gott Mit Uns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVg28azacaM

Beowulf - What We Need is a Hero
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrkguvGFnrE

Medieval 2 - This is it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8AgHffLawI&index=5&list=PLlZsMl0DbopFB07sB9gIb-gj6rRM1mq3C

March of the Templars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b11-37Me_a4&index=3&list=PLlZsMl0DbopFB07sB9gIb-gj6rRM1mq3C

Rome Total Realism - The Mighty Self
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6ryTqvvtQI&index=2&list=PLlZsMl0DbopFB07sB9gIb-gj6rRM1mq3C

Angela and Jeff van Dyck - We are all one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8Xx-kL0rcw

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Matters of State / Re: Counterpoint: Protest against large UDN military
« on: December 05, 2015, 05:28:41 pm »
I agree with your interpretation Ocatana. I'm going to quote the treatise and respond to it point-by-point.

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The UDN Army and Navy possess a large number of equipment and manpower that is unnecessary in proportion to our size and budget. The Army should be used solely for self defense as we shouldn't be perpetrators of peace and democracy.

As Ocatana stated, an army is created so that a nation can have peace. We are not imperialists. It is important to understand that we are a state with an army, not an army with a state. Our army structure is completely subservient to our elected leaders and they can be fired if they are deemed incompetent, threatening, or imperialistic by the Consul. In order to have a competent army, a region needs to spend roughly 15% of so of its' budget on it. An army requires constant resources, materials, and subsidies in order to continue its' tradition of professionalism and success.

In fact, if we cut funding to our army now, we will simply create more expenses through other means. How will our nations deal with the loss of trade that comes from the trading from iron and coal mines, to cargo ships, to steel manufactures, and so on? The Army is a major employer of citizens not only through actual battle, but also through the production of resources that are required to keep it moving. It is a major reason for technology to progress as there will always be military competition in this world. If we fail to provide for our army now, we will lose the army tradition that creates a successful corps.


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As such, I would like the following actions to be taken:

1) The number of gunships, attack helicopters, and medium and heavy bombers be reduced by 3/4

So how do we expect to fight off tanks? Our military would literally be smashed by a handful of tanks. Gunships and attack helicopters are the precise counter to the innovations that have been utilized on many modern tanks. Likewise, without any bombers, we will be unable to bomb logistical centers of our enemy. By cutting expenses and reducing our air capabilities, we will prolong a war by making it more bloody. Air power is what allowed trench warfare and the idea of the defensive being successful to decline. You wish to bring that back and thus bring back the casualty rates that it brought on humanity.

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2) The number of search planes be reduced by 3.5%

So shall be find the enemy through the use of magic? Search planes will allow us to judge our enemy's capability prior to a war. If they can respond adequately, we know they will be a threat in the air. Likewise, we can assume their land and sea forces are up to par. If they do not respond, we can get eyesight on their military capabilities and their spots of vulnerability. This means we will be able to end a war even quicker if it needs to begin.

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3)All ICBMs be destroyed to prevent extensive damage to other countries and democracy

Due to recent World Assembly proclamations, a nation without ICBMS is a nation that will be targeted by one with them. The only way to dissuade those that have the ability to destroy a region with the push of a button is to utilize that same technology against them. Why put your faith in other nations to not harm us if you will not put your faith in our elected officials to not use their ICBMs?

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4) The total aircraft and personnel be reduced by 3/4

Same reasoning as before. The Air force is the most critical component of a military. How does a navy win their battles? Through aircraft carriers. What do they use? Aircraft. How does a land army bomb defensive positions, get information, suppress fire, and create breaks in an enemy line? Aircraft.

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5) Number of legionnaires and tanks be reduced by 9/10

Do you have a plan on how to reintegrate that amount of people into society? Likewise, by current numbers, that will leave us with 90,000 soldiers and 3,000 tanks. The enemy wouldn't fight such a force. They would arrest it.

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6) Money released be used to support developing countries in UDN

These countries are being supported by the military. We have to station the military in these areas in order to keep the peace and make sure the government does not fall to warlords in the population. By defunding the army, you destroy the communities that have been built up around the bases that these soldiers are stationed at. You also forget that the developing nations provide quite a lot of the resources that are created into tools for the military. By destroying their major buyer, you destroy their economy. This will simply make those nations into a money sink rather than a productive piece in the machine that is the UDN.

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7) The regular Army be abolished and a National Service system (2-year conscription programme) be introduced to curtail and limit defense budget.

So we spend a year training these conscripts and they spend a year in the field? Do you realize that is basically just as expensive as our current military system? Not to mention many of our special forces are actually trained over a 2 year period, if not more, so they would literally have no agents. If your solution is to make the training time shorter, then all it will cause is a weaker army. Likewise, the morale of the army will reach an all time low, as will the conduct of it, as the people in uniform do not want to be in it.

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8) Army rank system be diversified to enable effective leadership of army divisions and prevent accumulation of personnel in a leadership rank

An army derives its effectiveness by the experienced veterans within it. A unit full of greens is useless and will die. A unit full of veterans is extremely effective, but fails to learn new abilities. Now, if you mix the two, you end up with two units that will be able to succeed in the field as they have someone to lead them as well as someone who is always growing. The Romans used this system. The Prussians used this system. We will use this system.

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9) Abolishment of spy system to fully adhere to our democratic system

So how do we know if there is corruption within our rank? How do we know if our Consul wasn't an agent planted by our neighboring regions? How do we maintain peace if we cannot keep track of the capabilities and war plans of the regions around us? Knowledge is quite literally power.

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10) Strict eradication of corruption and nepotism in the upper ranks to ensure that our military is sufficiently efficient and can progress without interference from corrupt officials and commissioned officials

That's all well and good, but unless you have a plan in order to make the military more efficient, it's just a thought. Though I do not see why the Consul would continually appoint corrupt officials in office, nor do I see why the public would elect corrupt officials. Getting rid of corruption seems like an excellent campaigning point to make for a rival running for office.

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