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The Swirling Shining Splendor of Red Star of the West

I accidently suppressed your free speech there a moment, The rose. Apologies - I meant to "like" not "suppress". Thankfully it was easily corrected, as it is quite a good post!

The rose

The rose

Haha, no worries about accidents. I've on occasion managed to mess up much more efficiently: quoted from own post, got distracted by phone call or something, edited past post instead of new one, contents of old post vamoosed.
All those buttons are designed awfully close to each other. Ah, now we see the violence inherent in the system.
http://youtu.be/ZtYU87QNjPw

Emissary margaux

Hello all. It has been a while since I dropped off the news from XKI.


10000 Islands Emissary Report

Date: March, 2021
Population: 1130 nations
Delegate Endorsement: 315
Forum: Link10000islands.proboards.com
Discord: Linkdiscord.gg/4uWZbNS

TITO Command

Has your region been invaded, or do you want to get in touch with TITO? If so, contact one of the following nations:
~Chief Executive: Markanite
~Field Commander: Kanta Hame
~Tactical Officers: Shy Guyia, Smugglers and Mercs (TITO EF), Controlitia, Wischland, Sulenia, Flying Eagles
~Executive Officers: Hakketomat, HN67

Government

As of this report's publication, the Government of 10000 Islands consists of:
~Chief Executive: Markanite
~WA Delegate: Wischland
~Senior Senator for New Republica South (Debates and Discussions): Dokansia
~Senator for Lyonnesse East (Houses): Kohnhead
~Senator for Himes West (RP): Zaberaz hapang
~Senator for Blue Canaria North (Emissary Report): Porflox
~Minister of Education: Free Las Pinas
~Minister of Labor: Wille-Harlia
~Minister of Immigration: Margaux

Information about other government officials of 10000 Islands can be found Linkhere.

March Elections

Wischland was elected in a landslide delegate election, and transitioned to the role soon after announcement of victory. Meanwhile, Zaberaz hapang secured their bid for Himes West after an uncontested campaign. Finally, Lyonnesse East saw the most activity, with both Porflox and Kohnhead running serious campaigns for the seat. After a close and exciting week of voting, Kohnhead emerged victorious. Porflox was however soon appointed to serve as Blue Canaria North after an opening for the seat appeared following Wischland's successful bid for delegate.

~The Council of Nine repealed The House Continuity and Closure Act due to its redundancy after The House Closure Requirement Reform Act was passed.

Around the Islands

~Porymonia was named featured nation for March thanks to their extremely prolific posting in A Taco Archipelago, our RP region. At more than 27,000 posts, they have posted many thousand times more than anyone else! More can be read here.

~Eastern New England has won our Extraterrestrial Encounter theme contest! You can read more about this Linkhere.

~Congratulations Silvedania on the well deserved Rookie of the Quarter awards! They have been an active poster on the RMB and discord, as well as joining TIBOE to improve regional security! LinkHere is the full statement.

~Our forum has long been overdue for a makeover, and Free Las Pinas has sure stepped up for the job! In an very close voting, they narrowly beat out the competition, and their Pastel Palms theme will soon be the default look of our forum!

Islander Achievements

~10000 Islands's RP region A Taco Archipelago in its just under one year of existence has beaten out 10000 Islands's post count in the past 10 years (since the creation of RMB archives)!

~The Mad Surfer published its last issue this month (here) because of increased Real Life obligations and the increase in regional news bulletins which you can read more about in the article. Thank you Jabberwocky for the continued editorship and the entire staff for creating an amazing newspaper for three whole years!

XKI Game-Side

A regional poll by Jabberwocky asked Islanders what device they'd want to have. Lightsabers from star wars overwhelmingly won, mostly due to islanders having no clue about what the other ones were.

The RMB this month was filled with many insightful conversations, and some more comical ones.

~Are we mining cheese?
~April Fools! Kind of... not really
~The Drew before Drew
~Interesting waste disposal
~My oldest memory is...
~I wisch for a pun!
~I find your lack of derrieres pleasant
~Aliens? No problem!

Until next month, your XKI Update Staff is signing off!
Porflox
Read dispatch

The rose

The rose

Emissary margaux: Why is your national animal the all weather router and what does it eat?

Emissary margaux

Emissary margaux

The rose wrote:Emissary margaux: Why is your national animal the all weather router and what does it eat?

The All Weather Router is a division in Horse racing. And since it is pretty much a horse. It is a herbivore.

The rose

The rose

Horses! Now I'm glad I asked, I was so on the wrong (race) track.

I was imagining a router for a computer network, that for some reason needs to be robust enough to hang in a tree. All those cables and connections outside in the rain and storm, with birds building a nest on top...

The Penthouse Suite of Tango Hotel X-Ray

Emissary margaux wrote:The All Weather Router is a division in Horse racing. And since it is pretty much a horse. It is a herbivore.

I've seen a few videos of horses snacking on baby chicks. They'll take a bit of protein from time to time.

The rose

Then I suppose it's best not to build a bird nest on top of the race horse either.

The rose

Virtual world tour 1: Which of these cultural practices interest you the most? Oceania, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia

This new poll lets us travel virtually. The options are from the current list of our Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity:
https://ich.unesco.org/en/lists?text=&multinational=3&display1=countryIDs#tabs

These are some questions that occur to me:
What would you say makes a cultural practice valuable? Valuable to whom? An individual, a certain group of people, a large group of people, powerful people, marginalised people? Which criteria would you apply? Whom would you ask for their input? Is it in vain to work for preserving intangible cultural heritage, knowing that the passage of time and entropy will transform and dissolve everything anyway? Is working to preserve some intangible cultural heritage (for a while) nonetheless something worth doing, as it is resistance not only to the mere passage of time, but also to the powers of, for example, globalised marketing and a globalised entertainment industry?

page=poll/p=172702

Edit:

Here's the second part of the virtual world tour to the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Now visiting Oceania, Singapore, Philippines, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia.
page=poll/p=172940

I'd really like to see Sbek Thom, Khmer Shadow Theatre, some day. On full screen the film already looks pretty nice, including the 'making of' and 'behind the scenes' parts. I wonder if it would be beneficial or problematic for such a type of traditional theatre to retain the techniques but, among the old ones, also encourage writing and telling new stories. After all, the traditional stories, too, were new at some point in the past.

Organisational note:

This virtual world tour can amuse us for a while, if we travel all around the globe. But: Please do introduce your own polls and conversation topics whenever you feel like it, I don't want to monopolise the stage. Our visit of the world's intangible cultural heritage can pause and continue any time.

The State of Telgan

What a brilliant tool from the UN, Rose. There is so much out there which I have to yet fully experience (the value of this experience can be questioned, sure: expanding your line of thought: see Disney for the classic example, and a sideline of the so called tourist gaze literature). I have spent my time in Europe, and have, NEVER left the continental border. My next planned holiday also shares in this. I shall have to rectify this once international travel opens back up. The year plus in some sense of either regional (or definitely national) lockdown has given me pause to reflect. There is so much out there rather than the western euro centric 'stuff' we have become accustomed to and therefore makes for coherent story telling in our lives. In reality, it is a tiny proportion of what the world 'is'.

I do think culture is important. I do not baulk at even manufactured culture. It all has a place and a broad reflection of society. Adorno and others have a wonderful interpretation of this. But moments, it has great insights, but I am not overly convinced in their arguments conclusions. Tends be the way in philosophy :).

The Confederacy of Undivulged Principles

Been to all the countries above and I will vote for Taiwan, Chinese New Year Festival in Tainan.

Sunrise from the Sea and The rose

Emissary margaux

Greetings from XKI! We're proud to present a special announcement regarding Chief Executive Markanite's resignation from his position, and his selection of Hakketomat as his successor. To view the full announcement, please follow the link below.

On Monday, April 3rd 2021, Chief Executive Markanite of 10000 Islands announced his decision to resign from his position, and pass the torch to Hakketomat. Hakketomat is a well-known figure in the region, having served as Executive Officer in TITO, Senior Senator, and Registrar-General, among other positions. Although we are sad to see Markanite go, he has made an excellent choice for his successor and XKI is excited to welcome Hakketomat into the position of Chief Executive.

The following is the statement of resignation and conferral from Markanite:

On the 17th February 2019, I was given one of the greatest honours in 10000 Islands and was asked by Woonsocket to serve as Chief Executive. I have loved serving in this role over the last two years but now I think it is time that I pass on the role to another.

2. The Chief Executive authority of 10000 Islands shall be vested in the Founder Nation, the United States of Grub. The Chief Executive shall hold Office for life, and shall be responsible for the conferral of the Chief Executive's authority to a successor of the Chief Executive's sole choosing.

So, as per Article 2 of the XKI Constitution, I am naming Hakketomat to be the next Chief Executive of the 10000 Islands. The transition will begin today with this announcement and I will work with to bring them up to speed on all the duties of the Chief Executive over the next few weeks. I will update everyone upon completion of the transition.

The first thing we will work on is administering the elections which begin tomorrow as normal.

I'd like to thank you all for your support, help and guidance whilst I navigated the challenges of the role. I hope that I have done you all proud. Being Chief Executive is not easy, and I know I've made some mistakes however I also hope I've done some good and helped the region. 10000 Islands has an extensive and amazing history, we have endured the test of time and will continue to thrive under the new Chief Executive.

I look forward to watching how the region evolves over the next few months and years. It has been an honour and a privilege. Thank you all.

Long live the 10000 Islands! Long live TITO! Long live Hakketomat!

Mark

As the transition process begins we wish Hakketomat the best of luck and express the deepest gratitude to Markanite for his dedication and service to the region.

Read dispatch

The Nomadic Peoples of Dusty Sandals

Undivulged Principles wrote:Been to all the countries above and I will vote for Taiwan, Chinese New Year Festival in Tainan.

Singapore is still our favorite. Exotic, clean, safe, healthy, and a smorgasbord board of beautiful people!

The Tumbling Waves of Sunrise from the Sea

I have heard less good things about Singapore from a friend who lives there. You don’t want to step too much out of line. (?)

Emissary margaux

Here is the Official Monthly Update Report!


10000 Islands Emissary Report

Date: April, 2021
Population: 1129 nations
Delegate Endorsement: 335
Forum: Link10000islands.proboards.com
Discord: Linkdiscord.gg/4uWZbNS

TITO Command

Has your region been invaded, or do you want to get in touch with TITO? If so, contact one of the following nations:
~Chief Executive: Hakketomat
~Field Commander: Kanta Hame
~Tactical Officers: Shy Guyia, Smugglers and Mercs (TITO EF), Controlitia, Wischland, Sulenia, Flying Eagles
~Executive Officers: HN67, Eastern New England

Government

As of this report's publication, the Government of 10000 Islands consists of:
~Chief Executive: Hakketomat
~WA Delegate: Wischland
~Senior Senator for New Republica South (Debates and Discussions): Dokansia
~Senator for Lyonnesse East (Houses): Kohnhead
~Senator for Himes West (RP): Zaberaz hapang
~Senator for Blue Canaria North (Emissary Report): Porflox
~Minister of Education: Free Las Pinas
~Minister of Labor: Wille-Harlia
~Minister of Immigration: Margaux

Information about other government officials of 10000 Islands can be found Linkhere.

Chief Executive Transition

Markanite has announced his resignation as Chief Executive of 10000 Islands, appointing Hakketomat as his successor. You can read the full announcement Linkhere.

Around the Islands

~ Jedinsto was named featured nation of April following their swift eagerness to participate in the region. In less than a single month, they joined TITO and became an emissary! More information can be found here.

~The Department of Immigration announced the Quest for the Golden Egg- a major recruitment drive. Congratulations to the hard-earned winners: Thedairos, Free Las Pinas, and Flying Eagles who sent over 4200 telegrams together!

~ The 2021 Easter Egg hunt completed, with Wille-Harlia finding all three hidden Easter Eggs the fastest! Congratulations!

~ XKI held fun Star Wars movie nights with Thaecia and The Free Nations Region, watching A New Hope and The Empire Strike Back together.

Islander Achievements

~ With the anniversary of the "Drewpocalypse," many nations are celebrating their birthdays. Happy birthday to all!

XKI Game-Side

The region was more or less in agreement this month on Jabberwocky's polls. Islanders decided that zoos were fine as long as they treated their animals well, and that uniforms are evil as they represent conformity.

10000 Islands' finest creative minds were at work this month, bringing along discussions on many wacky topics with them.
~ The disappearing property of lasagna
~ A stranger's last day
~ Organ donations on the rise
~ Fleebdorse the defleeblegate

Meet A Nation Interview

This month, your update staff has ventured down to newly appointed Chief Executive Hakketomat's lair to ask him a few questions.

Porflox: Let's start off with how you discovered XKI. Was there a particular reason you decided to come here?

Hakke: I discovered XKI when I received a recruitment telegram. Can't say from whom, since it's disputed. Aersoldorf is very certain that he sent me one while I'm certain I got it from Cerb. I liked the telegram from XKI the best, although that's also a foggy reason since I don't really know what exactly made me choose XKI. I think I took a look at the region and its size. The mentioning of TITO also interested me. But then, I wasn't too interested in joining TITO when I first arrived

Porflox: What prompted you to start getting more active in regional affairs then?

Hakke: A change came about when non-TITO citizens of XKI were asked to take part in the Lazarus mission of 2015. I joined in and I've mainly kept to TITO until Dominion of Compassion asked me to become his deputy senator. This was a few months prior to my first successful senator running in January 2017. Markanite interested me in joining The Islands Party and helped me run for a seat on the Co9.

Porflox: How many years have you been in XKI, and is there someone in particular who helped you through your time?

Hakke: I've been in XKI for as long as I've been on NS, a bit more than 6 years. At first when I joined the forum, Ardreas was assigned as a buddy to me so he introduced me about here and there. The forum seemed overwhelming, but once I inserted myself into the culture of Taco Island I built a friendship with Aersoldorf. Aersoldorf is perhaps one of my closest friends in XKI along with Markanite and Woonsocket. Mark got me fully introduced to the political system. I worked closely with Woon when he was CE. While Aersoldorf has been close to me, I can't forget Ater Nox either. He has also helped me in getting settled in Taco Island.
That is just the civilian side of my time in XKI. In TITO, it has always been Kanta Hame who has been central. He is the first one I met when I attended update for the first time. He also was appointed Tactical Officer shortly afterwards and so, he would lead me into missions. During my time in TITO, I started eyeing up the Executive Officer position which was held by Louisistan as well as Barry. When I was appointed Executive Officer, I of course sought Louisistan's input whenever I needed some advice. Louis was my inspiration for that role. Since then, TITO Command has been the pillar of my existence in XKI and TITO. So yeah, I can't say that I have anyone in particular.

Porflox: Now that you've been appointed CE, what are some things you want to get done?

Hakke: My goals for XKI is to have silver cities and statues built in my honour! All school students will do the pledge of allegiance to both XKI and me every morning! XKI will also become a vampire haven!

Porflox:Well on that note, thanks for the interview! I'm sure XKI will flourish under your silver and vampiric oversight.

Hakke: You are very welcome!

Until next month, your XKI Update Staff is signing off!

Porflox

Read dispatch

The Tumbling Waves of Sunrise from the Sea

Hmm ... Population: 1129 nations, Delegate Endorsement: 335. That’s impressive Emissary margaux.

The rose

Virtual world tour 4: Let's visit Japan!
page=poll/p=173670

Japan currently has 22 items on the intangible cultural heritage UNESCO list, very impressive and too many for a poll. Most of them I would be interested in admiring in person. The float festivals look like tremendous fun. The wooden architecture fascinates me as well. The idea of cultural heritage being tangible and intangible at the same time: wooden buildings can as a rule not be preserved over centuries and centuries, but as long as the skill is preserved, they can be periodically rebuilt.

The Nomadic Peoples of Dusty Sandals

Sunrise from the Sea wrote:I have heard less good things about Singapore from a friend who lives there. You don’t want to step too much out of line. (?)

Naturally, in a city of law-and-order, keep those activities behind closed doors. But it is wonderful to be able to walk anywhere and feel safe.

The Tumbling Waves of Sunrise from the Sea

Dusty Sandals wrote:Naturally, in a city of law-and-order, keep those activities behind closed doors. But it is wonderful to be able to walk anywhere and feel safe.

It wouldn’t be my kind of place. I’m gay and of a certain age. Keeping “those activities” behind closed doors has a history. I live in Spain, a chaotic country you might say, but I am respected, feel perfectly safe, and am surrounded by warm, friendly, exuberant people (though these days all wearing mascarillas and remembering to keep a distance).

The Tumbling Waves of Sunrise from the Sea

Would you like to join in the conversation? It is now taking place in Philosophy 115’s new premises at ...

Philosophers

You will be very welcome.

The rose and Red Star of the West

The Nomadic Peoples of Dusty Sandals

Sunrise from the Sea wrote:It wouldn’t be my kind of place. I’m gay and of a certain age. Keeping “those activities” behind closed doors has a history. I live in Spain, a chaotic country you might say, but I am respected, feel perfectly safe, and am surrounded by warm, friendly, exuberant people (though these days all wearing mascarillas and remembering to keep a distance).

You may be judging Singapore too harshly. I know from personal observation that there is an active Transsexual community there. In fact, the fourth floor of the Orchard Towers Building used to be a venue where members of that local community would openly gather.

But we have never visited Spain, so we cannot make any comparison. We are glad that you are happy there.

The rose

In a remote, long term historical perspective on LGBT rights, Singapore may perhaps only be in an earlier stage of the same process which a country like Spain has already been going through for some longer time, moving from criminalisation/pathologisation/stigmatisation towards equal rights. For an individual living in or visiting a country, that difference can be crucial.

For example, even if Singapore does not currently enforce this law, consensual sex between men is still criminalised, and a move to de-criminalise it has just been dismissed by the Singaporean High Court. Huge difference between legal security and having that sword of Damocles hanging over one, leaving one at the mercy of authorities' whims.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/asia-and-the-pacific/singapore/report-singapore/

In so many countries with a 'legal since...', the date is very recent.
Spain is one of the few countries with green checkmarks all through.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory

The Nomadic Peoples of Dusty Sandals

The rose wrote:In a remote, long term historical perspective on LGBT rights, Singapore may perhaps only be in an earlier stage of the same process which a country like Spain has already been going through for some longer time, moving from criminalisation/pathologisation/stigmatisation towards equal rights. For an individual living in or visiting a country, that difference can be crucial.

For example, even if Singapore does not currently enforce this law, consensual sex between men is still criminalised, and a move to de-criminalise it has just been dismissed by the Singaporean High Court. Huge difference between legal security and having that sword of Damocles hanging over one, leaving one at the mercy of authorities' whims.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/asia-and-the-pacific/singapore/report-singapore/

In so many countries with a 'legal since...', the date is very recent.
Spain is one of the few countries with green checkmarks all through.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory

In general, Spain seems to simply be more progressive in sexual matters. I recall that the age of consent in Spain was also once very low.

The rose

See The One Stop Rules Shop under the heading Ban on Specific Topics. A very sensible rule. We stay away from this subject.

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=260044

The Tumbling Waves of Sunrise from the Sea

Dusty Sandals, the progressive move was for Spain to raise that age. I’ve sent you a telegram. Cheers.

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