Well, I hesitate to say this next part out loud Diana, sweetie, because I fear for the safety of anyone in your immediate vicinity, but… you would have to be a citizen of the Federation to vote to leave the Federation…
Now… now… release the fingers from the nice ensign’s throat, darling…
Easy there, put him back on the ground… gently…
I wasn’t saying that you were a citizen of the Federation sweetie, just that only federal citizens would be voting in a federal election.
Of course, the freedom of speech is deeply entrenched…
now… now… no, no, don’t break his neck…
I know freedom is an ugly word, but if you will, freedom of speech is deeply entrenched, sacrosanct even, and money is speech, yes, and ISK is money, and so you could, if you desired, “speak” to Intaki voters on the merits of Leave by doing things such as paying for holographic billboards on the sides of public transportation making claims, truthy, perhaps, about the merits of independence… for as long as it lasted.
Yes, Remilia has the right of it. All Intaki citizens eligible to vote would decide whether their system of residence would leave the Federation. They would not have to be in that system at the immediate time of the vote, but it would have to be the system for which their votes were typically counted in the ordinary course of things such as senatorial elections.
The practicalities of performing the separation for any system which elected to leave would have to be worked out. Star gates would continue to function etc etc. It is perfectly feasible or an advanced interstellar civilization to adapt to even a checkerboard of in, out, in, out, in, out. There would be some grace period for transitioning from federal administration to local rule, some process for shifting agricultural subsidies to local funding sources, some temporary accommodation of vital services such as healthcare, blah blah blah.
The Intaki could then negotiate agreements with their neighbors, particularly the State, Federation, and Empire. I’m confident each neighbor would be sufficiently honored by the prospect of doing business with such an exceptional people, terms would be favorable. Certainly as president, I would consider it my great privilege to offer the Intaki low tariff arrangements on any goods lacking political constituencies inside the Federation.
Are you saying that ALL Intaki citizens are eligible? Does it mean also that their votes will have same weight?
Do you realize that you will give MINERS, FARMERS, COOKS, JANITORS, etc, responsibility to decide fate of the whole SYSTEM?!
People who know, for example, only how to assemble planetary vehicles will be deciding on management of several PLANETS and colonies!! Their experience would be only about putting bolts into right holes, and about Federation they might have only ideas that they could be like “have some funny holo show that I like, so I’ll vote for them!”
What in the Maker’s name is that… a catastrophe!
How would you get what people really need if you put that question into hands of people who can’t think rationally about what they need!!
To decide such questions you need to put it into hands of Military commanders, of the Business owners, give their votes weight depending, for example, on how many people are working under that business, so the corporation elite will make a decision for all the people who are working for them! That would be fair! Because corporation elites think in terms of their corporation need, and not in terms of who has better holo show!
Giving that power into hands of workers is just amoral and inhuman, it’s like giving a live grenade to one year old baby to play with!
Well, more accurately, all citizens eligible to vote, and whose primary system of residence falls within what is broadly referred to as “Intaki space.” I would not go down the rat hole of requiring proof of Intaki ethnicity in excess of some arbitrary amount. That would both be constitutionally abhorrent and wholly impractical.
Yes.
Yes.
Initiatives such as this qualify as rare examples of “direct democracy.” Yes, simulations show there is a risk of catastrophic self-mutilation. However, that is largely due to…
Now, don’t take this the wrong way, darling, but I believe the word “freedom” earlier prevented you from appreciating the full ramifications of “freedom to speak cannot be abridged” paired with “money is speech.” It is a lesson in political efficiency the State could derive substantial returns from studying. Similarly, the Empire would do well to wrap its head around the true implications of consumer finance.
As president, I remain studiously neutral with respect to what decision the miners, cooks, farmers, janitors, war heroes, and traveling salesmen reach with respect to Leave or Remain. My suspicion is slightly more than half would elect to Leave due to an unshakable belief Mannar were taking all the good jobs, but it is more difficult to predict how distribution of the Leave population would determine which systems Actually Left. Systems which did Leave would be accorded all privileges and considerations shown other fully independent spatial bodies of comparable economic significance.
I anticipate my Intaki initiative would engender agitation in the Mandate for something similar. As a president, a patron of arts, a celebrant of freedom, the cluster’s foremost cyber geneticist, and most of all, a humanitarian, I would direct my administration to provide all assistance requested with respect to that issue.
I would even provide special space lanes in my White Feather Sniper Enforced AbsoluteSafety™ Federal Star Drone Dome (Jin-Mei kunyomi: Ben Ren Ten Bon Ban Go Soku Doh Ryoh) to facilitate Intaki and Mandate trade. When their respective economies reached a certain level of development, who knows, I might even offer them the opportunity to Rejoin.
All The People will say: “the magnanimity of President Noh knows no bounds!”
Although the consensus seems to be pessimistic (and many readers are probably quite tired of this subject), I cannot let reports of an Intaki Syndicate delegation visiting the DED in Yulai pass without expanding on a neglected reason why this is important. Much has been said lately (and over the years) about the status of Intaki Prime and Viriette but relatively little attention has been paid to the status of the Syndicate. If the Federal Government uses this opportunity to underline its commitment to the rights of Member States and allow the Assembly to award this franchise to the ISP it will also reinforce the position of its supporters in Syndicate space, who are engaged in an often deadly internal struggle for influence with those who are much more hostile, championed by the Aenebra cult.
For the majority who have not paid much attention to these events, here is a recap going back to the last election.
During the YC 122 elections, Intaki Prime Gandarmes thwarted an attempt to assassinate members of the Assembly by the Aenebra.
Later that year, a federal drug enforcement official was assassinated by the Aenebra in Octavenne.
In early YC 123, Aenebra assassins struck again on Intaki Prime, this time targetting criminal rivals.
In mid YC 123, the ISP foiled a plot to assassinate Felice en Kishari, Head of EZA-FM Station Co-Operative, the Serpentis denied involvement.
This was followed by an attempt by the FIO to investigate the killings.
Weeks later, an ISP Srveillance post on PF-346 III was destroyed by a high-yield antimatter bomb, again with the Serpentis denying responsibility.
Then, the ISP asked the FIO to share information on the events listed above (surely a sign of good faith but never reciprocated as far as is public knowledge).
In a surprise development, the ISP and Serpentis then issued joint statement alleging “Conspiracy by Renegade Security Forces” in Placid, Solitude and Syndicate.
This was followed by the destruction of an ISP listening post by “Unknown Forces” in ZN0-SR.
YC 123 ended in further bloodshed as Aenebra assassins massacred many members of a PRO-FEDERATION station-owner family in EZA-FM, while Silphy en Diabel (often accused of being to close to the Serpentis) publicly accused the Serpentis of using “Drug-Fuelled Cult Murderers as Proxies”.
This trend continued into YC 124, with reports of the Aenebra forging links with the notorious Deathglow Hunters and accusations of the Serpentis fuelling the conflict in the Gallente-Caldari WPA war zone while sponsoring Aenebra violence in the region, although other reports suggested blame lay with an Angel-Krullefor conflict or even certain mercenary groups (including the Onikanabo).
The DED has since reported that the Deathless Network has calmed tensions between underworld groups, perhaps by exploiting tensions between the major powers to facilitate an increase in the flow of illegal goods. Certainly Serpentis activities in Placid and gruesome violence in Syndicate has continued.
The point is that there is a constituency of people in the Syndicate who want to cooperate with the Federation to resolve these shared problems but they are opposed by others who have no interest in seeing this happen. The former have offered partnership through actions and words in the last few years, often at grave personal risk. If they are rebuffed, it seems likely that the latter elements will gain strength to the detriment of communities not only in Syndicate but in Placid and Solitude as well.
To put it another way, if the Federation does not accept the Syndicate as a potential ally, a much darker aspect of Intaki culture may prevail in the current struggle, pushing the Syndicate towards the Aenebra and creating an enemy.
That’s certainly an interesting interpretation, Mr. Menkalinan. I’m curious as to whether you truly believe that the people of Syndicate would be so easily swayed to join the cause of small contingent of drug-raged cultists? My experience with the folks in the area is a bit different.
I did not say we would all become cultists. I said the influence of those who have no interest in seeing the Syndicate and the Federation work together would rise. That category includes a variety of groups.
That said, I do believe that the commonly held stereotype of Intaki diplomacy underestimates the darker and more extreme aspects of our culture.
Yes, there has been very limited commentary from reliable sources since the Aenebra first appeared in YC 110. It is strange that they should resurface like this after so long. However, they aren’t alone in having ideas about Ida which are uncomfortable for the majority, the Rohaani, the Tears of Reschard and the Ulsiddhakyam are just a few examples.
Unless the Assembly draws enough strength from the current protests to assert its Charter rights immediately, the middle ground has sadly narrowed to the point where Intaki on both sides of the border effectively have to choose between Green and Blue.
I am grateful to everyone for their contributions to what was probably always a naively idealistic suggestion and would ask @ISD to lock this topic for posterity.
Before a line is drawn under this particular discussion, I’d like to say that this was neither naive nor idealistic.
There is nothing wrong with pursuing an aspirational solution to what is an ongoing issue in the Intaki system, and the ILF will continue to support the ISP as a valid option for the Security franchise in system.
I hate to say it, but maybe it’s time the people of Intaki consider resettling. They already have a massive area of operation with their own people out in null, and with the tightening of control by the Fed military, and the president’s obvious disregard for what the Intaki really want, it’s looking like the more freedom-minded people are subtly being shown the door already.
There are better options. Especially with recent happenings.