NationStates Jolt Archive

"I'm glad to know that people have accepted the TLP so greatly here. Thank you for your support, Emperor."

Carter felt this conversation was successful.

"Yes, we all definately need our secrets. McKagan has one that will all but destroy the TNCP's election run. I'm just sorry that I cannot comment greater on it..."

Carter found herself searching for words.

"So, how do you feel we should defeat the TNCP's hold on the media in Western Torontia?"

‘That, however,’ replied the Torontian, ‘had nothing to do with my ability to see the future. Sometimes one must be prepared to suffer for what one believes in. My plight was the same as the people I hope to represent.’

“You’re just lucky you escaped execution…I hate to say this, but your suffering accomplished nothing.”

Magnus Erthwig feigned an appearance of being affronted by Ms Konno’s remarks.

‘You offer a political alliance between our two Parties, promising an equal and mutually-beneficial relationship, and yet you react violently against any suggestion of cooperation at this Constitutional Convention,’ noted Mr Erthwig.

"By cooperation you meant rubber stamp agreement. The Constitutions provisions are far too important for blanket horse trading. I am open to the discussion and negotiation of specific issues, but vague blanket agreements are off the table.”

‘Precisely what manner of alliance did you desire, then?’

“A political alliance for the formation of a government and the domination of the Torontian polity for well over a decade… If the TNCP and the SDLT join forces they could be quite formidable. I would also point out that if the TNCP, the SDLT, and the TSU can agree to put aside their minor differences and form a united front then all opposition could be sidelined. Everyone’s share of the pie would be a little smaller,” Mitsune conceded, “but that shared concession would result in an unassailable bloc.”

“You’re just lucky you escaped execution… I hate to say this, but your suffering accomplished nothing.”
‘Suffering, of course, never accomplishes anything. How could it?’ asked the Torontian. ‘However, it was an obvious possibility of my remaining in Torontia to continue my dissident work, and I accepted that risk.

On the whole it proved to be a risk worth taking, I preserved both my party and my own position within it. You have to remember that, unlike your own party, the SDLT did not have a foreign government sponsoring it and willing to install it in a position of power after Tanakis’ fall. The SDLT only exists (and, furthermore, maintains its stronghold in Northeast Torontia) today because we remained in Torontia despite the risks, and preserved our political position.’

"By cooperation you meant rubber stamp agreement. The Constitutions provisions are far too important for blanket horse trading. I am open to the discussion and negotiation of specific issues, but vague blanket agreements are off the table.”
‘I meant nothing of the sort,’ replied Mr Erthwig.

‘By “cooperation” I meant what I said - collaboration so that both our vital interests are satisfied. I was not asking for negotiation and trade nor was I asking for compromise. If you wish to form a coalition with the SDLT then you will need to agree to a working relationship where we can pursue mutual goals.’

“A political alliance for the formation of a government and the domination of the Torontian polity for well over a decade…”
‘No doubt, but this goes without saying.’ Magnus pointed out. ‘All of us want to form Government.

That would hardly be cause alone for the SDLT to accept an alliance with the TNCP, however. We need first to have reached an understanding in regards to the primary policy objectives that we would pursue once in Government. Unless we can work together for the same goals then any alliance would be fruitless. I need to know that the I will have the TNCP’s confidence in pursuing my Party’s core political and economic goals when in power.’

“I would also point out that if the TNCP, the SDLT, and the TSU can agree to put aside their minor differences and form a united front then all opposition could be sidelined. Everyone’s share of the pie would be a little smaller but that shared concession would result in an unassailable bloc.”
‘It would also result in a more unstable coalition and make implementing our respective polices a much harder prospect to achieve.’

‘Suffering, of course, never accomplishes anything. How could it?’ asked the Torontian. ‘However, it was an obvious possibility of my remaining in Torontia to continue my dissident work, and I accepted that risk.

On the whole it proved to be a risk worth taking, I preserved both my party and my own position within it. You have to remember that, unlike your own party, the SDLT did not have a foreign government sponsoring it and willing to install it in a position of power after Tanakis’ fall. The SDLT only exists (and, furthermore, maintains its stronghold in Northeast Torontia) today because we remained in Torontia despite the risks, and preserved our political position.’

“If it had not been for Amestria and the TNCP Halberdgardia and Mckagan would have carved up Western Torontia, the Lone Alliance would have launched its planned attacks upon our country’s civil population centers, SF would have been undeterred in its attempts to annex Torontia into its ‘Commonwealth’, and Red Tide would have continued its rein of terror within the interior… And while those various powers would have been busy turning our nation into their own private fiefdoms the New Order would have waiting in the shadows gathering strength from the chaos… The SDLT only continues to exist because of events beyond its control...”

‘I meant nothing of the sort,’ replied Mr Erthwig.

“My mistake,” Mitsune responded.

‘By “cooperation” I meant what I said - collaboration so that both our vital interests are satisfied. I was not asking for negotiation and trade nor was I asking for compromise. If you wish to form a coalition with the SDLT then you will need to agree to a working relationship where we can pursue mutual goals.’

“What interests are considered ‘vital’ by the SDLT leadership?”

‘No doubt, but this goes without saying.’ Magnus pointed out. ‘All of us want to form a Government.

That would hardly be cause alone for the SDLT to accept an alliance with the TNCP, however. We need first to have reached an understanding in regards to the primary policy objectives that we would pursue once in Government. Unless we can work together for the same goals then any alliance would be fruitless. I need to know that I will have the TNCP’s confidence in pursuing my Party’s core political and economic goals when in power.’

“And I will need to know what the SDLT’s core political and economic goals are before I can express any confidence in them. ”

‘It would also result in a more unstable coalition and make implementing our respective polices a much harder prospect to achieve.’

“Not necessarily…”

“If it had not been for Amestria and the TNCP Halberdgardia and Mckagan would have carved up Western Torontia, the Lone Alliance would have launched its planned attacks upon our country’s civil population centers, SF would have been undeterred in its attempts to annex Torontia into its ‘Commonwealth’, and Red Tide would have continued its rein of terror within the interior… And while those various powers would have been busy turning our nation into their own private fiefdoms the New Order would have waiting in the shadows gathering strength from the chaos… The SDLT only continues to exist because of events beyond its control...”
‘And if it had not been for the Infinite Empire (which overthrew Tanakis' regime in the first place) your party would never have been able to attain the position that it did, irrespective of the clumsy efforts of your sponsors. So what?’ asked Erthwig, a little annoyed with Mitsune’s foolish arrogance. 'You would be left in Amestria waiting for a day that never came. Indeed, the TNCP only has a reason to exist today because of events far beyond its actual control.

Perhaps, Ms Konno, you had some relevent point to make - though I somehow doubt it.’

“What interests are considered ‘vital’ by the SDLT leadership?”
‘Why, the formation of an accountable, efficient and effective government, of course.'

“And I will need to know what the SDLT’s core political and economic goals are before I can express any confidence in them.”
‘And yet you were so quick to propose an alliance… which does makes me wonder, Ms Konno, if you are really serious about it.'

The letter sent by Neo was crude, messy and designed to do the job. Unfortunately for the Xirniumite, what the Ambassador had not told her was, the letter was an unofficial, informal, and somewhat personal one. Well, that sounds something like that shouldn’t get in the way, should it not? Erm…..no.

The trouble was, the letter was written at last minute (due to the fact that Neo forgot to add it in his schedule-notebook) and as it was delivered in a rush (the elitist snob of a diplomat received it fifteen minutes before the flight toward the, as the Amestrians liked to call it, “North American backwater”), his handwriting was particularly messy. And often unkind people liked to call it “hideous”. Anyway, here’s the letter.

[OOC: Xirnium, finally you get to see how Neo works in a sentence or two at last – the Prime Minister of SEA is based off myself, and tweaked a little here and there. He gives off the impression of idealism, or at least that’s what I’m trying to do!]

Greetings Gilda,

I am speaking on the behalf of the cabinet and having this as a personal, informal letter. The cabinet sends our most sincere apologies for the rejection of the Xirniumite proposal for an embassy in Singapore. After all, as politicians, we have our own skins and reputations to save, don’t we? As our delegate said to your Defense Minister at the Novan conference, the media caught wind of it and normally we would have actually very well agreed with you and tried to make good progress in that direction, but the cost was way too high. Many people have described me, like the late President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, as the “idealist without illusions”. I personally believe that it was a good attempt at reconciliation, and idealistically, it would have all worked out. But the lack of time and the necessity to make a snap decision, the rest is history.

I would also like to apologize for the elitist delegate I unfortunately had to send—as an ambassador and to an extent, he represents my nation’s views. To another degree, well, let’s just say that you can do a character assassination; his legs can only carry him so far. Being a human, I am flawed, and my patience, compassion and tolerance have a red line marking the limit. As your cabinet has talented politicians, I’m sure you can easily do that—not that I couldn’t do it myself, it’s just that luck has been treating him way too kind, to put it that way.

And one last note, on the Excessively Armed Empire and the Democratic Soviet Republic, when the democratic socialist nation was under siege by the military juggernaut that is Automagfreek – Lin should’ve made it a speech instead of issuing a statement via text. He has a somewhat cynical sense of humor, and was trying to make a futile attempt to joke at the situation. It wasn’t appropriate, and made worse by his attempts to try and compromise the situation. He also wishes to apologize. I hope you understand, Dr. Gilda, and we can have warm relations soon enough.

Yours truly,
Nelson Neo

GTGATBP

Lady Gilda frowned in mild distaste as saw the scribbled quality of the (evidently rushed) letter. Uncertain whether or not she should feel insulted by the fact that the Southeast Asian Prime Minister had not even bothered to compose a more legible message to send to one of the most senior members of the Eternal Republic’s Executive, Heather struggled as best she could to decipher the nearly unintelligible scrawl.

Greetings Gilda,
‘Charming…’ muttered the Foreign Minister sardonically.

Any previous doubts had, at this point, evaporated - Heather Gilda was definitely offended now. Neo had not even deigned to show the Foreign Minister the common courtesy of addressing her with a title. Needless to say, the Southeast Asian’s familiar tone was not appreciated by Heather, who quite understandably expected to be treated with at least a modicum of respect.

I am speaking on the behalf of the cabinet and having this as a personal, informal letter. The cabinet sends our most sincere apologies for the rejection of the Xirniumite proposal for an embassy in Singapore.
Just who does this fool of a Prime Minister think he is? wondered Lady Gilda as she narrowed her lovely hazel eyes in a gesture of annoyance. Heather was outraged at the suggestion that a hastily scrawled, unofficial note might constitute anything even remotely resembling a “sincere apology” to the High Ecclesiarchy of Holy Xirnium.

After all, as politicians, we have our own skins and reputations to save, don’t we? As our delegate said to your Defense Minister at the Novan conference, the media caught wind of it and normally we would have actually very well agreed with you and tried to make good progress in that direction, but the cost was way too high.
This, of course, did very little to lessen Heather’s irritation.

“Many people have described me, like the late President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, as the “idealist without illusions”.
Heather could think of other, significantly less flattering, epithets to describe Nelson Neo.

“I personally believe that it was a good attempt at reconciliation, and idealistically, it would have all worked out. But the lack of time and the necessity to make a snap decision, the rest is history.
A good attempt at reconciliation?! repeated the Foreign Minister with silent incredulity.

I would also like to apologize for the elitist delegate I unfortunately had to send—as an ambassador and to an extent, he represents my nation’s views. To another degree, well, let’s just say that you can do a character assassination; his legs can only carry him so far. Being a human, I am flawed, and my patience, compassion and tolerance have a red line marking the limit. As your cabinet has talented politicians, I’m sure you can easily do that—not that I couldn’t do it myself, it’s just that luck has been treating him way too kind, to put it that way.
‘You’ll be most pleased to know that your Prime Minister holds you in particularly high esteem, Mr Ho,’ explained Lady Gilda with a delightfully cruel smile, looking up from the scribbled sheet of paper to the Southeast Asian ambassador seated adjacent to her. ‘Yes indeed, Mr Ho,’ she repeated with an emphatic nod of her head, ‘he mentions you quite frequently throughout his letter.’

‘Let me see…’ she murmured incidentally, running an index figure along the relevant paragraph. ‘Ahh, here we are. “I would like to apologise for the delegate I unfortunately had to send.” “His legs will only continue to carry him so far.” Oh, and I especially like this one, “luck has been treating him way too kind, let me put it that way.”’

‘Isn’t it just wonderful when we have the confidence of our colleagues?’ asked Heather with a mocking smile. ‘Perhaps, Mr Ho, it would be wise if you started searching for a new occupation. I’m not entirely sure that you will be around for all that much longer,’ added Lady Gilda with false concern.

“And one last note, on the Excessively Armed Empire and the Democratic Soviet Republic, when the democratic socialist nation was under siege by the military juggernaut that is Automagfreek – Lin should’ve made it a speech instead of issuing a statement via text. He has a somewhat cynical sense of humor, and was trying to make a futile attempt to joke at the situation. It wasn’t appropriate, and made worse by his attempts to try and compromise the situation. He also wishes to apologize. I hope you understand, Dr. Gilda, and we can have warm relations soon enough.
The last paragraph of the Southeast Asian’s letter had completely bewildered the Xirniumite Foreign Minister. She had absolutely no idea what it was that he might be referring to, much less apologising for.

Heather shrugged. It’s probably something entirely unimportant or mundane, anyway.

Yours truly,
Nelson Neo

GTGATBP
‘“GTGATBP?”’ asked Heather, raising a quizzical eyebrow to indicate her mildly amused puzzlement. With a brief flick of her delicate wrist, the Foreign Minister also checked her watch, noticing that it was almost time to conclude the meeting.

The awkward period of silence which followed Lady Gilda’s comments was promptly dispelled by an abrupt, loud knocking on the conference room’s door.

‘Enter,’ ordered the Foreign Minister as she absentmindedly twisted several strands of her long, blonde hair, her mind lost in thought. Abigail Ertha, Heather’s Principal Private Secretary, tentatively stepped into the room - several large, important-looking, files clutched to her chest.

‘Minister, there is a matter which requires your urgent attention,’ explained the secretary with forced calmness. Heather could tell by the agitated edge in Ms Ertha’s voice that her Principal Private Secretary was rather flustered.

‘Can’t it wait?’ asked Lady Gilda, pretending to be annoyed by the interruption. In actuality, however, Heather welcomed any possibility of an excuse to prematurely end her meeting with the Southeast Asian delegate.

‘Unfourtunately not, Minister. I…. well, perhaps it would be more appropriate if we spoke in private,’ replied Ms Ertha as her eyes drifted warily towards Ambassador Ho.

‘Very well then,’ Heather answered with an exasperated sigh. ‘Mr Ho, I do apologise but we will have to cut this discussion rather short,’ explained the Foreign Minister, amicably extending her hand towards the man as she gracefully stood to her feet. ‘It was a distinct pleasure to meet with you.’

Before the interruption...

Unfortunately for both Neo and Gilda (more so for the Southeast Asian Prime Minister, as it was relatively low a probability that Gilda would EVER have to have another encounter with the narcissist), Ho was simply one of those kinds of people that were just so efficient at their occupations that they could save their incomes. Besides, he enjoyed the odds.

"His Most Dishonorable Prime-Inept Leadership?" snorted the ambassador, obviously taking a shot at the title of address chosen by the people, but because "Don't mind his comments - I was inticipating he'd make jeering marks about me, that overgrown, manchild, if not a hypocritical and cowardly excuse for a leader and a 'diplomat' - I can't believe he actually succeeded in founding the Union - what about him, Doctor Gilda? Was his letter a pathetic attempt, I presume?"

He didn't like the Prime Minister, as like many of the Neo Administration's highest cabinet members, knew him before. He awaited the foreign minister's response.

Yay exams over - i should be good to post fairly regularly again

"I'm glad to know that people have accepted the TLP so greatly here. Thank you for your support, Emperor."

Carter felt this conversation was successful.

"Yes, we all definately need our secrets. McKagan has one that will all but destroy the TNCP's election run. I'm just sorry that I cannot comment greater on it..."

Carter found herself searching for words.

"So, how do you feel we should defeat the TNCP's hold on the media in Western Torontia?"

How to defeat the TNCP’s hold on Western Torontia? pondered the Emperor. He found a smile creep onto his face.

‘Oh, I could think of a few, should we say, slightly less than legal ways to do it,’ he declared, ‘the media can only be censored by and biased towards the TNCP if they are in control of the Western Torontian media facilities, communications centers and any satellites that Amestria may have set up.’

‘A more legal method, although somewhat outdated, could still work too though – something like the mass delivery of propaganda flyers. The TNCP would find it impossible to prevent at least some people from reading them, and would be hard pressed to contain them and prevent them from spreading to others.’

‘All it takes is a few people to question their leaders and then it becomes oh so easy to fan the flame of discontent.’

Balor paused after he had finished. There is always a reason behind everything – what was Carters.

‘So, does McKagan have a plan already for overcoming the Western Torontian censorship.’ Or perhaps it has something to do with this secret trump card, he added to himself.

Sara smiled. “Until then,” she repeated to Heather. As the Grand Cardinal departed Sara took out her pocket watch, glanced at it, and then sighed. If only we did not have to have wait.

‘Either of the desserts is perfectly fine with me,’ explained Heather Gilda.

Then tonight we will have Baba au rhum, thought Sara as she happily contemplated the evening ahead.

Previously in the Garden...

Sara took out her compact mirror and carefully went over her makeup and hair. Noticing the slight crimson smears left on her neck by Heather, she quickly wetted her handkerchief with her tongue and wiped them away. Sara then returned the handkerchief to her pocket and gave herself one more look over. She still needed to freshen her lipstick and there was a twig in her hair, but besides that everything was in order. After absentmindedly removing the twig and flicking it away Sara reentered the Admiralty building.


‘And if it had not been for the Infinite Empire (which overthrew Tanakis' regime in the first place) your party would never have been able to attain the position that it did, irrespective of the clumsy efforts of your sponsors. So what?’ asked Erthwig, a little annoyed with Mitsune’s foolish arrogance. 'You would be left in Amestria waiting for a day that never came. Indeed, the TNCP only has a reason to exist today because of events far beyond its actual control.

Perhaps, Ms Konno, you had some relevant point to make - though I somehow doubt it.’

“Chance is an ever present factor; much depends on positioning oneself to exert power when given the opportunity. Totalitarian governments are not unmade by rotting in a prison cell. It is rather fortunate for you that Tanakis was too incompetent to issue a last minute edict ordering all political prisoners slaughtered. While in prison you had no power, none.

‘Why, the formation of an accountable, efficient and effective government, of course.'

“Besides the obvious…”

‘And yet you were so quick to propose an alliance… which does makes me wonder, Ms Konno, if you are really serious about it.'

“The TNCP is pragmatic when it comes to policy, if an idea works our party is all for it…however, we have to hear what you propose before we can agree to it. Perhaps you could list some of your party’s specific goals so I can inform you specifically where we stand, aligned or opposed.”

‘Ms Liscel, there you are,’ exclaimed an unusually cheerful Lady Sabelina, having chanced upon the Amestrian Vice Minister in one of the many hallways of the Admiralty building. ‘I was rather hoping that I might run into you,’ explained the Parliamentary Secretary incidentally, busily reorganising several large folders which she held in her hands.

‘The Foreign Minister asked me if I could go over some of our parliamentary quota model proposals with you. Do you have a minute or two?’ asked Eleanor, gesturing a little impatiently to a nearby unoccupied room.

‘Ms Liscel, there you are,’ exclaimed an unusually cheerful Lady Sabelina, having chanced upon the Amestrian Vice Minister in one of the many hallways of the Admiralty building. ‘I was rather hoping that I might run into you,’ explained the Parliamentary Secretary incidentally, busily reorganising several large folders which she held in her hands.

Sara was a little surprised by the normally moody Secretary’s sudden and unexpected cheerfulness. What’s with the fake happy happy?!

‘The Foreign Minister asked me if I could go over some of our parliamentary quota model proposals with you. Do you have a minute or two?’ asked Eleanor, gesturing a little impatiently to a nearby unoccupied room.

“Ah, Cardinal Sabelina,” Sara smiled as she glanced at her pocket watch. “Yes, I happen to have a spare moment…” The Vice Minister gestured towards the proposed room with her hand. “After you.”

Heather does not waste any time… Now why is Sabelina so…enthusiastic? What is she up to?

The deputy Foreign Minister entered the room first, at Sara’s intimation, entirely oblivious to the Amestrian’s suspicious attitude. ‘I must say, Ms Liscel, that I am rather excited about what we are trying to implement. Such a profound and wide-ranging system really is quite unprecedented, we will be putting various different strands of feminist and political theory into practise,’ explained a conversational Eleanor over her shoulder to the Vice Minister as she walked to a nearby table. The empty meeting room that the two had entered was a little too large for their purposes, comprising several tables, but this did not appear to overly bother the Xirniumite.

Sitting down at the conference table and crossing her legs at the knee, the Parliamentarian removed several sheets of paper and placed them beside her, indicating that the Amestrian should take a seat nearby. ‘This is the model that we would like to propose,’ continued Lady Sabelina chirpily, ‘it’s a system comprising a special flexible constitutional quota for parliament and a fixed quota for electoral candidates.’

‘To begin with, parties will be constitutionally required to field equal numbers of men and women as candidates in elections, and it will be mandatory for the names on the electoral candidate lists to alternate equally between male and female,’ explained Eleanor.

‘More important, however, will be the inclusion of a certain number of seats in parliament reserved exclusively for women,’ added Lady Sabelina. ‘These seats will be filled by a system that ranks every female candidate from throughout the various electorates of Torontia, based on the number of votes she garnered in the election. A specific number of the candidates with the highest number of votes, who unfortunately did not secure seats in the elections, will be selected for the reserved seats.’

‘The flexible nature of the quota is the most novel aspect of our proposal,’ continued Eleanor. ‘Under our system, the quota will be determined by a formula. Our ideal aim is for the quota to be high when female representation in parliament is low (and therefore needed to rectify that problem) but to taper off as the need for it ends and women achieve sufficient numbers of seats in parliament without the need for reserved seats. Starting at a basic fundamental level in situations where female candidates elected to parliament are non-existent, the quota will begin to decrease as the number of women elected to parliament increases - slowly at first but progressively more rapidly as the number of women in Parliament nears that of men.’

Lady Sabelina, casually brushing her long auburn hair behind her neck, leant over to the Amestrian and pointed with an expensively engraved pen to one of the sheets that she had handed to her. ‘This table shows our proposed system in operation, with a quota set at the maximum of twenty percent (for this example), exponentially decreasing so that it ceases to exist by the time the number of female candidates elected to parliament exceeds forty percent. See here? At this point, where the number of women elected is 33%, the quota level will raise it to 39%. At this point, however, where the number of elected female members is only 13% the quota will raise it to 29%.

Of course, we could choose to vary the fundamental quota level, the point at which it begins to decrease, and the point at which it ceases to operate.’

Lady Sabelina hoped that the system, which she had to admit was rather complex, had not gone over Sara's head.

‘Well, what do you think?’

[Eleanor’s "Quota Example" Table (http://members.optusnet.com.au/~alevrass/quota%20system,%20exponential.xls)]

The deputy Foreign Minister entered the room first, at Sara’s intimation, entirely oblivious to the Amestrian’s suspicious attitude. ‘I must say, Ms Liscel, that I am rather excited about what we are trying to implement. Such a profound and wide-ranging system really is quite unprecedented, we will be putting various different strands of feminist and political theory into practise,’ explained Eleanor conversationally over her shoulder to the Vice Minister as she walked to a nearby table. The empty meeting room that the two had entered was a little too large for their purpose, comprising several tables, but this did not appear to overly bother the Xirniumite.

Sitting down at the conference table and crossing her legs at the knee, the Parliamentarian removed several sheets of paper and placed them beside her, indicating that the Amestrian should take a seat nearby. ‘This is the model that we would like to propose,’ continued Lady Sabelina chirpily, ‘it’s a system comprising a special flexible constitutional quota for parliament and a fixed quota for electoral candidates.’

Liscel eyed the Cardinals body language with suspicion disguised as interest, attempting to discern whether Sabelina’s apparent good mood was real or an act. The Vice Minister removed her jacket, revealing her immaculate (and flattering) white blouse, and loosely draped it over the chair closest to Eleanor.

She must really like quotas, Sara thought to herself.

‘To begin with, parties will be constitutionally required to field equal numbers of men and women as candidates in elections, and it will be mandatory for the names on the electoral candidate lists to alternate equally between male and female,’ explained Eleanor.

Sara nodded as she sat down, crossing her legs at the ankle. Maybe she’s slightly drunk; the Xirniumites have that odd custom of serving alcohol at meetings of state, but seeing how they pride themselves on their professionalism drunkenness seems out of the question.

‘Lady Sabelina, brushing her auburn hair behind her neck, leant over to the Amestrian and pointed with an expensively engraved pen to one of the tables shown on a sheet that she had handed her.

She does have rather pretty hair, Liscel thought as she glanced over the paper handed to her. It goes quite well with that cute petulant-child look she seems to wear all the time.

‘This shows our proposed system in operation, with a quota set at the maximum of twenty percent (in this case), exponential decreasing so that it ceases to exist by the time the number of female candidates elected to parliament exceeds forty percent.’

‘Well, what do you think?’

“Not enough reserved seats,” the Vice Minister stated simply. “At least 50% of the Parliamentary seats must be held by women at all times.”

“Not enough reserved seats, at least 50% of the Parliamentary seats must be held by women at all times.”
Eleanor abruptly burst out into pleasant laughter, supremely amused by the Amestrian’s assertiveness. Failing in her feeble attempt to return her expression to one of seriousness, Lady Sabelina settled instead on forming her lips into a jovial smile, showing off her flawless white teeth.

‘Well… I suppose it’s nice to see that you at least know what you want, Ms Liscel,’ replied the deputy Foreign Minister. ‘Really though, and I’m asking you in all honesty, do you think there’s a need for reserved quota seats in situations where women have near equal representation anyway? What are the relative numbers of men and women like in the Amestrian parliament, hmm?’

‘Anyway,’ continued Eleanor, ‘how about we raise the minimum number of women-held seats in Parliament to, say, a third, and alter the system so that the quotas remain in force until female representation exceeds 45%? Still unacceptable?’

Eleanor abruptly burst out into pleasant laughter, supremely amused by the Amestrian’s assertiveness. Failing in her feeble attempt to return her expression to one of seriousness, Lady Sabelina settled instead on forming her lips into a jovial smile, showing off her flawless white teeth.

A rather uncertain Sara returned the Cardinals smile. Is she flirting with me? Liscel began to consciously toy with a lock of her blonde hair, watching to see if Eleanor would notice and respond to that feminine signal. This could be somewhat fun.

‘Well… I suppose it’s nice to see that you at least know what you want, Ms Liscel,’ replied the deputy Foreign Minister.

Sara playfully leaned forward, still smiling. “Lady Sabelina, I always know what I want.”

‘Really though, and I’m asking you in all honesty, do you think there’s a need for reserved quota seats in situations where women have near equal representation anyway?

Sara sat back in her chair. “Yes.”

’What are the relative numbers of men and women like in the Amestrian parliament, hmm?’

“It is mandated that at least 50% of the Parliamentary seats be held by women.”

‘Anyway,’ continued Eleanor, ‘how about we raise the minimum number of women-held seats in Parliament to, say, a third, and alter the system so that the quotas remain in force until female representation exceeds 45%? Still unnacceptable?’

“I am afraid so…” Liscel replied in a reasonable tone. She returned to idly toying with a lock of her hair. “We are remaking an entire society, let us not be timid.”

Rather puzzled by Sara’s behaviour, Eleanor found herself alarmingly unsure about how best to respond, and played with her exquisite gold necklace uncertainly. Lady Sabelina had certainly not failed to notice Ms Liscel toying idly with her lovely golden hair - indeed, Eleanor wondered briefly if it had not been Sara’s very intention to get her to notice it. It seemed quite likely to the deputy Foreign Minister that Sara was attempting to flirt with her (though she could not, of course, be entirely positive about it). Certainly the striking Xirniumite was attractive enough to place such a thing well within the realm of possibility, in any case.

On the other hand, however, the Amestrian was continuing to act maddeningly stubborn, flatly refusing to even consider anything that Lady Sabelina had said.

The Parliamentarian sighed. ‘Listen, Ms Liscel... I am going to be entirely honest with you,’ began a weary Eleanor, deciding at the same time that she would respond to Sara’s suspected advances and gauge the Amestrian’s reaction. Fidgeting briefly in her seat, Lady Sabelina casually feigned exasperated boredom - discreetly shifting her position so that the lacy top band of her seemed stocking was clearly visible to Liscel through the split in her expertly tailored, tight-fitting skirt.

‘The fact of the matter is that I don’t particularly care about Torontia, or its uncouth society,’ explained Lady Sabelina truthfully. ‘As far as I see it, the sooner the Constitutional Convention concludes, the sooner I can leave this uncivilised backwater and return to enlightened Europe, to the sanity of the Eternal Republic.’

‘Now, Ms Liscel, you and I both know that the Torontians are, unfortunately, much too backward a people to ever truly embrace liberal Western Civilisation – despite our very best intentions. Quite frankly, it would be entirely futile to try. Can we therefore, please,’ Eleanor implored the Amestrian, her doe-eyed expression seductively demanding, ‘come to reach some form of mutually agreeable compromise? That way, I can finally inform my Foreign Minister that we have solved yet another of these barbarians’ problems for them, and advise that we can all quickly move on and resolve the rest,’ explained Eleanor, her smile beguilingly attractive.

‘I simply can not stand to spend another moment in this wretched place, Ms Liscel. It really is beginning to make my skin crawl.’

The Parliamentarian sighed. ‘Listen, Ms Liscel... I am going to be entirely honest with you,’ began a weary Eleanor, deciding at the same time that she would respond to Sara’s suspected advances and gauge the Amestrian’s reaction. Fidgeting briefly in her seat, Lady Sabelina casually feigned exasperated boredom - discreetly shifting her position so that the lacy top band of her seemed stocking was clearly visible to Liscel through the split in her expertly tailored, tight-fitting skirt.

Yes, thought Sara to herself, happy to see Lady Sabelina was playing along. She ‘discretely’ glanced at the Cardinals legs and smiled with mock embarrassment upon being noticed, arching her brows to make her eyes wide. Sara then quickly tucked her chin slightly down and coyly to the side, averting her gaze. She began to ‘absentmindedly’ twirl a lock of hair around her finger.

‘The fact of the matter is that I don’t particularly care about Torontia, or its uncouth society,’ explained Lady Sabelina truthfully.

“Nor do I Cardinal and neither does your Foreign Minister” Liscel replied, glancing back up. “You are in good company.”

‘Now, Ms Liscel, you and I both know that the Torontians are, unfortunately, much too backward a people to ever truly embrace liberal Western Civilisation – despite our very best intentions. Quite frankly, it would be entirely futile to try.’

“A little fatalistic are we,” the Vice Minister commented, smiling.

'Can we therefore, please,’ Eleanor implored the Amestrian, her doe-eyed expression seductively demanding, ‘come to reach some form of mutually agreeable compromise? That way, I can finally inform my Foreign Minister that we have solved yet another of these barbarians’ problems for them, and advise that we can all quickly move on and resolve the rest,’ explained Eleanor, her smile beguilingly attractive.

She looks so cute, Sara thought to herself as she shrugged her shoulders in false helplessness. “50% of the seats in the Parliament must be held by women, I’m sorry but that is not up for negotiation.”

‘I simply can not stand to spend another moment in this wretched place, Ms Liscel. It really is beginning to make my skin crawl.’

“Oh you poor thing,” the Vice Minister responded in obvious mock sympathy. “Is the food really that bad?”

Yes, thought Sara to herself, happy to see Lady Sabelina was playing along. She ‘discretely’ glanced at the Cardinals legs and smiled with mock embarrassment upon being noticed, arching her brows to make her eyes wide. Sara then quickly tucked her chin slightly down and coyly to the side, averting her gaze. She began to ‘absentmindedly’ twirl a lock of hair around her finger.
Eleanor narrowed her gorgeous blue-green eyes quizzically at the lovely Amestrian’s actions, a thrill of excitement surging through her. The Parliamentary Secretary’s suspicions about Ms Liscel had been confirmed, Sara was attracted to her - the delightfully demure way that Ms Liscel had reacted to being caught stealing glances at Lady Sabelina’s long legs confirmed that beyond any doubt. When the Vice Minister finally returned her gaze to Eleanor, Lady Sabelina pretended not to notice Sara’s embarrassment and instead flashed her a charmingly friendly, knowing smile in response.


“A little fatalistic are we.”
‘With very good reason, though,’ added the deputy Foreign Minister parenthetically, at the same time stretching her neck in such a way so as to "unintentionally" display its wonderfully feminine shape to Ms Liscel. ‘These barbarians will revert back to their previous, medieval state the very moment they are given the slightest opportunity to do so. The High Ecclesiarchy’s mission here is a complete waste of our valuable time, effort and resources - we should never have gotten involved in this mess to begin with. You have no idea, Ms Liscel, just how many bitter arguments I’ve had with the Foreign Minister over this Torontian cesspool.’


“50% of the seats in the Parliament must be held by women, I’m sorry but that is not up for negotiation.”
‘Well I can certainly understand your position, Ms Liscel, and I am not going to argue with you,’ explained Eleanor. ‘It’s only a shame, however, that Xirnium and Amestria wont be able to come to some kind of mutual accord on this issue, that’s all. In any case, I do wish you the very best of luck in attempting to convince the other members of the Constitutional Convention to accept a system that could have up to half of a democratic Parliament consist of reserved quota seats.’


“Oh you poor thing, is the food really that bad?”
‘Oh, it’s simply horrible,’ replied Lady Sabelina miserably, whilst distractedly toying with one of her expensively stylish earrings. ‘I’ve not eaten a single thing since leaving the Eternal Republic.’

‘At least it will help me maintain my slim figure, I suppose,’ conceded Eleanor offhandedly, tilting her head towards the Amestrian and smiling broadly.

When the Vice Minister finally returned her gaze to Eleanor, Lady Sabelina pretended not to notice Sara’s embarrassment and instead flashed her a charmingly friendly, knowing smile in response.

Sara returned the knowing smile.

‘With very good reason, though,’ added the deputy Foreign Minister parenthetically, at the same time stretching her neck in such a way so as to "unintentionally" display its wonderfully feminine shape to Ms Liscel.

Liscel allowed herself to be distracted by Eleanors extended neck. She stared at it briefly, and then, as if embarrassed by the realization of what she was doing, once again coyly diverted her gaze, ‘discreetly’ licking her lips.

‘These barbarians will revert back to their previous, medieval state the very moment they are given the slightest opportunity to do so. The High Ecclesiarchy’s mission here is a complete waste of our valuable time, effort and resources - we should never have gotten involved in this mess to begin with. You have no idea, Ms Liscel, just how many bitter arguments I’ve had with the Foreign Minister over this Torontian cesspool.’

As Deputy Vice Minister of Defense Sara had been a discrete advocate for intervention in Torontia, had helped sponsor Konno’s TNCP, and had taken part in the drafting of intervention/occupation policy, but that was not about to stop her from playing along with Eleanor’s discontents in order to butter her up.

“Actually I have some idea,” Liscel sighed as she glanced back up. “Our State may put up a monolithic front concerning Torontia in public, but behind closed doors there is controversy and recrimination. On all sides Torontian policy has been motivated more by national pride and internal politics then geopolitical or humanitarian reasons. Since Torontia is not a disaster no one wants to step away from it, despite the lack of benefit, for fear appearing ineffectual or a failure. Both Nadir and Boon want to leave office riding a success and vindication…boys with toys. Lady Gilda is gambling that a diplomatic success in Torontia will bolster her candidacy for Nadir’s job…ambition. Then there is the issue in my country of all the blood and the treasure that has already spent, there are many back home that are desperate to ensure that all those people did not fight and die for nothing…you are lucky in that you don’t have several thousand sacrifices that require meaning…meaning, that explains why we care what happens to this ugly little patch of land.”

‘Well I can certainly understand your position, Ms Liscel, and I am not going to argue with you,’ explained Eleanor. ‘It’s only a shame, however, that Xirnium and Amestria wont be able to come to some kind of mutual accord on this issue, that’s all. In any case, I do wish you the very best of luck in attempting to convince the other members of the Constitutional Convention to accept a system that could have up to half of a democratic Parliament consist of reserved quota seats.’

Liscel reached out and gently tapped the Cardinal’s shoulder. “Oh don’t be like that; Xirnium is after all getting its adversarial system and doctrine of stare decisis implemented. Our demands are not unreasonable and there is no real reason to be obstructive.”

‘Oh, it’s simply horrible,’ replied Lady Sabelina miserably, whilst distractedly toying with one of her expensively stylish earrings. ‘I’ve not eaten a single thing since leaving the Eternal Republic.’

‘At least it will help me maintain my slim figure, I suppose,’ conceded Eleanor offhandedly, tilting her head towards the Amestrian and smiling broadly.

“Trust me, you do not need any help,” Sara observed admiringly. Our delegation brought along its own chefs and supplies, so we thankfully have been able to avoid the horror of North American cuisine. Tonight for dinner,” the Vice Minister sadistically bragged, “I am having Blanquette de veau and boiled potatoes with a side dish of steamed Oysters, a fruit salad, a side plate of Camembert de Nord Rivage served along with some scrumptious rolls, Chardonnay wine and a desert of baba au rhum. For brunch I am having a pouched Ostrich egg, a side of Neufchâtel, a croissant, a honeydew melon and black tea sweetened with kluntjes and crème…”

Liscel paused. “In many ways I have the exact opposite problem, too much good food. While in Torontia I have had few opportunities to exercise and of course I can’t go to the gym as I normally would… So the pounds have been adding up…” Sara leaned forward, a mischievous smile on her face, her voice a whisper. “…and some of my clothes have gotten a little tight.”

Sara stood up and ran her hands down the sides her blouse and skirt, smoothing them out and emphasizing her curvaceous form. “Do you think I’m a little too plump?” she asked with blatantly insincere innocence.

Liscel allowed herself to be distracted by Eleanors extended neck. She stared at it briefly, and then, as if embarrassed by the realization of what she was doing, once again coyly diverted her gaze, ‘discreetly’ licking her lips.
Eleanor smiled exultantly, immensely pleased with herself at having irresistibly attracted Ms Liscel’s unconscious attentions. Responding to the Amestrian’s lucid interest, Lady Sabelina squirmed in her chair and removed her suit’s dark, navy blue jacket – deftly draping it beside her (over the edge of the wooden conference table).

‘Isn’t it rather warm in here?’ asked the Xirniumite with a slight frown, loosening the collar of her close-fitting, silk blouse in order to ingenuously flaunt more of her temptingly desirable neck and chest.


“Since Torontia is not a disaster no one wants to step away from it, despite the lack of benefit, for fear appearing ineffectual or a failure.”
‘The Amestrian State, at least, did step away from it,’ interrupted Lady Sabelina. ‘Torontia was both a disaster and a failure, at least for your government, and it did make the State of Amestria seem utterly ineffectual.’

Eleanor smiled sympathetically, consciously attempting to take the harsh edge away from her words. ‘That said, Amestria, at least, is no longer embroiled in Torontia, unlike Xirnium – and could turn its back on this repellent nation at any moment. Actually, I’m rather surprised that your government has not yet chosen to do exactly that.’


“Both Nadir and Boon want to leave office riding a success and vindication…boys with toys. Lady Gilda is gambling that a diplomatic success in Torontia will bolster her candidacy for Nadir’s job…ambition.”
‘Nidor,’ the deputy Foreign Minister corrected Sara with a smile, ‘our Chief Minister’s name is Lord Ertham Nidor.’


”You are lucky in that you don’t have several thousand sacrifices that require meaning… meaning, that explains why we care what happens to this ugly little patch of land.”
‘Be careful, my dear. The search for some kind of lost meaning often proves to be more costly than the initial sacrifice,’ explained Lady Sabelina sagely. ‘In any case, nothing that you, or your government, achieve here will ever give the deaths of your soldiers meaning. They died for nothing, for an insignificant foreign nation on the other side of the world, for an inately anti-intellectual wasteland that can never truly hope to join the rest of the Western world and modern civilisation.’

‘Meaning?’ asked Eleanor, laughing acrimoniously. ‘There is none, Ms Liscel, it was all a frightfully terrible waste. You have only President Boon to thank for that.’


“Oh don’t be like that; Xirnium is after all getting its adversarial system and doctrine of stare decisis implemented. Our demands are not unreasonable and there is no real reason to be obstructive.”
‘Ms Liscel, whether or not your demands are unreasonable is, quite frankly, beside the point now, since you refuse to compromise with us in any case,’ replied Eleanor in a not unpleasant tone. ‘Of course, this outcome of ours will not bother the High Ecclesiarchy in the slightest. We were merely misinformed that you might actually want our endorsement for your proposal – especially given how you will need to convince the rest of the Constitutional Convention (all of whom I can assure you will be far less tractable than us) to agree with your suggestion.

If your government doesn’t feel it needs our help, that’s entirely fine.’


“Trust me, you do not need any help,” Sara observed admiringly.
‘Oh thank you so much,’ replied the deputy Foreign Minister, momentarily laying her hand on Ms Liscel’s slender forearm in a sociably friendly gesture.

‘I do try my best to look good.’


Sara stood up and ran her hands down the sides her blouse and skirt, smoothing them out and emphasizing her curvaceous form. “Do you think I’m a little too plump?” she asked with blatantly insincere innocence.
Although certainly voluptuous, the Amestrian could never possibly be considered “plump” – and Eleanor very much doubted Ms Liscel’s assertion that “the pounds had been adding up” since she had arrived in Torontia. Nevertheless, Lady Sabelina went along with the charade, her eyes travelling up and down Sara's magnificent figure approvingly.

‘Oh no, Ms Liscel, you’re very beautiful,’ explained the deputy Foreign Minister. ‘A lovely woman.’

Eleanor smiled exultantly, immensely pleased with herself at having irresistibly attracted Ms Liscel’s unconscious attentions. Responding to the Amestrian’s lucid interest, Lady Sabelina squirmed in her chair and removed her suit’s dark, navy blue jacket – deftly draping it beside her, over the side of the table.

‘Isn’t it rather warm in here?’ asked the Xirniumite with a slight frown, loosening the collar of her close-fitting, silk blouse in order to ingenuously flaunt more of her temptingly desirable neck and chest.

As Eleanor loosened her blouse Sara once again ‘found’ herself staring and once again coyly glanced to the side. Had the room suddenly become rather warm? “Yes, I have noticed that as well, perhaps it is the furnace” Liscel answered as she loosened the collar and top two buttons on her own blouse.

‘Nidor,’ the deputy Foreign Minister corrected Sara with a smile, ‘our Chief Minister’s name is Lord Ertham Nidor.’

Sara’s mouth briefly formed into a little O. “Oh, Nidor…” Liscel giggled. “Well I would say someone from a non-English speaking country is entitled every once in a while to one or two little mistakes in pronunciation…particularly with such an odd name as Nidor. I for one would like to see you try to speak flawless Amestrian.”

’They died for nothing’

“'They died for nothing...' As will you, as will I,” the Vice Minister retorted, her voice distant and reflective. “Meaning is not inherent; the concept exists only because of the need. One requires meaning to live and when one dies ones brothers and sisters place you upon a pyre and precede to tell a noble lie...”

She paused, briefly. “We will create the necessary meaning for the families of our war dead…it is required of us…” It was clear that Liscel did not wish to discuss this matter any further.

‘Oh thank you so much,’ replied the deputy Foreign Minister, momentarily laying her hand on Ms Liscel’s forearm in a sociably friendly gesture.

‘I do try my best to look good.’

Sara smiled, savoring the Cardinals brief touch. “I can tell.”

Although certainly voluptuous, the Amestrian could never possibly be considered “plump” – and Eleanor very much doubted Ms Liscel’s assertion that “the pounds had been adding up” since she had arrived in Torontia. Nevertheless, Lady Sabelina went along with the charade, her eyes travelling up and down Sara's magnificent figure approvingly.

‘Oh no, Ms Liscel, you’re very beautiful,’ explained the deputy Foreign Minister. ‘A lovely woman.’

Sara’s face lit up as she heard the Cardinals praise and noted the admiration in Sabelina’s eyes. “Thank you, it makes me very happy that you think that.” She then, instead of sitting back down in her chair, eased herself onto the table. There she sat, hands on the table, chest out, legs crossed at the knee. One of her kitten heels dangling from her foot as she weaved her leg slowly back and forth; back and forth…it was almost hypnotic. She openly admired Eleanor, no longer coy, no longer demure… ‘I know you want me’ she silently stated with her display.

‘Ms Liscel, whether or not your demands are unreasonable is, quite frankly, beside the point now, since you refuse to compromise with us in any case,’ replied Eleanor in a not unpleasant tone. ‘Of course, this outcome doesn’t bother the High Ecclesiarchy in the slightest. We were merely misinformed that you actually wanted our endorsement for your proposal – especially given how you will need to convince the rest of the Constitutional Convention (all of whom I can assure you will be far less tractable than us) to agree.

If you don’t feel you need our help, that’s entirely fine.’

From her new perch Liscel reflected upon what Eleanor had said earlier. “But I have compromised; we are willing to agree to your adversarial system and doctrine of stare decisis and all that we have asked in return for that very important concession are courts of specialized jurisdiction and Parliamentary/Judicial gender quotas…”

Sara smiled and her tone of voice became somewhat playful. “You silly little girl, you can choose to play with either the red ball or the wooden blocks, but you can’t have both. You need to let your playmate have one of the toys and let her play with it how she wants. It does not matter if you don’t like how she would bounce the ball or stack the blocks, she has her toy and you have yours.”

“Yes, I have noticed that as well, perhaps it is the furnace” Liscel answered as she loosened the collar and top two buttons on her own blouse.
The deputy Foreign Minister merely grinned knowingly at Ms Liscel, thrilled that she was choosing to play along.


“Oh, Nidor. Well I would say someone from a non-English speaking country is entitled every once in a while to one or two little mistakes in pronunciation… particularly with such an odd name as Nidor.”
‘Well, actually, Nidor’s name is classical Xirnian, erm… vaina tanwë naitya mi wén ai vírë ehtë erë,* not English… but sure,’ Eleanor replied with a pleasant chuckle, shrugging her delicate shoulders.

‘Infrequent mistakes in pronunciation here and there are something perfectly entitled to all of us.’


It was clear that Liscel did not wish to discuss this matter any further.
It seemed to Lady Sabelina that Sara found the nihilist subject of meaningless life to be rather distressing, so the Xirniumite politely chose to remain silent, and did not seek to pursue topic.


She then, instead of sitting back down in her chair, eased herself onto the table. There she sat, hands on the table, chest out, legs crossed at the knee. One of her kitten heels dangling from her foot as she weaved her leg slowly back and forth; back and forth…it was almost hypnotic. She openly admired Eleanor, no longer coy, no longer demure… ‘I know you want me’ she silently stated with her display.
Eleanor swallowed uncomfortably, a little taken aback by Ms Liscel’s decidedly unrelenting advances. The lovely Parliamentary Secretary found herself quite unable to think rationally or clearly, mesmerised by Sara’s seductively enticing and audaciously bold conduct - utterly entranced by the way she mischievously rocked her heeled shoe and by her silently commanding, gorgeous green eyes.

Drawn almost irresistibly by the generous, feminine, curves of the Amestrian, her shapely, slender legs and ample chest, Eleanor felt a shiver of terrifyingly uncontrollable desire surge through her. The unusually timid Xirniumite gasped inaudibly, unsure of what to do. As if entrapped in a trance, Lady Sabelina merely stared at Sara’s striking form (unwilling to show her misgivings by looking away), her arousal obviously apparent to the Vice Minister.


Sara smiled and her tone of voice became somewhat playful. “You silly little girl, you can choose to play with either the red ball or the wooden blocks, but you can’t have both. You need to let your playmate have one of the toys and let her play with it how she wants. It does not matter if you don’t like how she would bounce the ball or stack the blocks, she has her toy and you have yours.”
‘How dare you, Ms Liscel,’ replied the deputy Foreign Minister, her eyes flashing with anger as she desperately seized on this new opportunity. ‘“Little girl”? Just who do you think you are… whom do you think you are talking to?’

Eleanor folded her arms across her chest in a rather quaint gesture of annoyance and sat up straight, her voice growing harder and assuming unfriendly coldness. ‘I have come here, with no ulterior motives whatsoever, indeed with the very best of intentions, and yet you flatly refuse to accept my help so that a proposal that actually has some chance of being accepted by the other members of the Constitutional Convention might be drafted. You simply decline even to consider my friendly suggestions, or my advice. Outrageous.’

‘I will not be talked to in such a disrespectful manner, Ms Liscel, especially by a bureaucrat. Now sit down,’ commanded the Parliamentarian, her eyes burning dangerously.

________________
*vaina tanwë naitya mi wén ai vírë ehtë erë
"the glorious native tongue of our beloved, undying, motherland"

‘How dare you, Ms Liscel,’ replied the deputy Foreign Minister, her eyes flashing with anger as she desperately seized on this new opportunity. ‘“Little girl”? Just who do you think you are… whom do you think you are talking to?’

Sara cocked her head to the side, unfazed by the Cardinals anger, the teasing smile still on her face and the knowing glint in her eyes. She continued to weave her leg back and forth. “A beautiful shapely girl who despite her little pout wants nothing more then to rap her hands around me, go over every inch of my body, stuff my panties in my mouth, put her head between my legs, and then let me do the same. I’ll kiss your lovely breasts, run my fingers through your hair, nibble on your scrumptious neck, and greedily drink from the chalice between your hips…” Liscel continued, describing in great detail a very erotic scene.

Eleanor folded her arms across her chest in a rather quaint gesture of annoyance and sat up straight, her voice growing harder and unfriendly. ‘I have come here, with no ulterior motives whatsoever and the very best of intentions, and yet you flatly refuse to accept my help so that a proposal that actually has some chance of being accepted by the other members of the Constitutional Convention might be drafted. You simply refuse even to consider my friendly suggestions, or my advice. Outrageous.’

‘I will not be talked to in such a disrespectful manner, Ms Liscel, especially by a bureaucrat. Now sit down,’ commanded the Cardinal, her eyes burning dangerously.

The Vice Minister did not climb down. “The number of women held seats in the Parliament must be at least 50% at all times, whatever system you devise is fine as long as that number is met. If you feel that is too rough then perhaps I could keep things gentle by offering additional concessions…such as Xirniumite Common Law serving as the template for Torontian Federal Law and a Xirniumite style Gendarmerie for the policing of the Torontian military.”

Sara glowed with confidence. “If you find the additional incentives I have offered to be reasonable rearrange the numbers on your system so it adds up to 50% and sign your name. Then lock the door and put a chair under the knob so no one will disturb us.”

“A beautiful shapely girl who despite her little pout wants nothing more then to rap her hands around me, go over every inch of my body, stuff my panties in my mouth, put her head between my legs, and then let me do the same. I’ll kiss your lovely breasts, run my fingers through your hair, nibble on your scrumptious neck, and greedily drink from the chalice between your hips…” Liscel continued, describing in great detail a very erotic scene.

The Vice Minister did not climb down.
Eleanor laughed, dispelling some of the intolerably high tension.

‘You vastly overestimate your appeal, my pretty little alatúvëaúra*,’ replied the deputy Foreign Minister with an unpleasantly cruel smile. Although Eleanor found herself highly aroused by this lovely Amestrian and her brazenly evocative demeanour, the Parliamentarian was decidedly unimpressed with Sara’s impertinent and disrespectful attitude. It was certainly not often the case that an individual ignored Lady Sabelina when she ordered that something be done - and the cavalier way with which Ms Liscel disregarded her command made it all the more infuriating to the Xirniumite.


“The number of women held seats in the Parliament must be at least 50% at all times, whatever system you devise is fine as long as that number is met. If you feel that is too rough then perhaps I could keep things gentle by offering additional concessions…such as Xirniumite Common Law serving as the template for Torontian Federal Law and a Xirniumite style Gendarmerie for the policing of the Torontian military.”
Eleanor glowered at the Vice Minister’s boundless insolence. ‘You will keep the system that I have devised, of course. It is a faultless model which can be altered to suit any need, merely by changing the variable quota level,’ explained the Parliamentary Secretary. ‘Our government will also accept your generous concessions,’ continued Eleanor in a much more business-like voice, ‘of importing the Xirniumite Common Law to Torontia (in order to serve as a basis for the Torontian Common Law), as well as allowing the High Ecclesiarchy to draft the structure of Torontia’s Military Police force.’


“If you find the additional incentives I have offered to be reasonable rearrange the numbers on your system so it adds up to 50% and sign your name. Then lock the door and put a chair under the knob so no one will disturb us.”
‘You have some nerve, my dear,’ replied Eleanor in an icily unfriendly tone, though she maintained an entirely pleasant smile. The thought of locking the door and having her way with the gorgeous Vice Minister was certainly an appealing one to the Xirniumite politician. On the other hand, the Amestrian’s self-assured confidence, her poised arrogance, enraged Lady Sabelina to no end, though the Parliamentarian succeeded at keeping her anger in check.

‘Our business here is now concluded, Ms Liscel,’ continued the deputy Foreign Minister with a smirk, donning her suit’s jacket in a single, graceful motion and fastidiously buttoning up the top of her blouse. Busily Eleanor gathered her papers and smoothed her skirt, preparing to leave.

‘Now… get out.’

________________
*alatúvëaúra
noun, pejorative term an inferior bureaucrat (diminutive form, feminine form)

‘You have some nerve, my dear,’ replied Eleanor in an icily unfriendly tone, though she maintained an entirely pleasant smile. The thought of locking the door and having her way with the gorgeous Vice Minister was certainly an appealing one to the Xirniumite politician. On the other hand, the Amestrian’s self-assured confidence, her poised arrogance, enraged Lady Sabelina to no end, though the Parliamentarian succeeded at keeping her anger in check.

‘Our business here is now concluded, Ms Liscel,’ continued the deputy Foreign Minister with a smirk, donning her suit’s jacket in a single, graceful motion and fastidiously buttoning up the top of her blouse. Busily Eleanor gathered her papers and smoothed her skirt, preparing to leave.

Liscel could clearly see that she had misread Eleanor. She sighed inwardly, a quick change of tact was necessary. But what?!

‘Now… get out.’

Why order me out, why not just leave… Ah she needs to feel dominant, does not like being disobeyed, disregarded, or ignored. She wants me to crawl out before her as punishment…punishment…

Sara leaned forward, readily showing off her lush cleavage. “It seems that I’ve been bad,” she remarked with a wicked grin. “A little too arrogant, a little too disrespectful I take it. Well,” Sara reflected aloud in a seductive tone, “perhaps I should be punished…your not going to let this pretty little thing get away with such defiance, are you? Perhaps you should teach me a lesson.”

“Or,” Liscel added in a rather offhand manner, “you could leave, 'our business having been concluded.'"

“Sara leaned forward, readily showing off her lush cleavage. “It seems that I’ve been bad,” she remarked with a wicked grin. “A little too arrogant, a little too disrespectful I take it. Well,” Sara reflected aloud in a seductive tone, “perhaps I should be punished…your not going to let this pretty little thing get away with such defiance, are you? Perhaps you should teach me a lesson.”
Eleanor smiled sweetly, unwilling to allow the Amestrian to think that she had, in any way, unsettled or embarrassed her.

‘I rather think not, perhaps,’ replied the deputy Foreign Minister with forced politeness, though her blue-green eyes betrayed pure loathing for this arrogantly overconfident aristocrat. ‘It’s a very lovely offer, though,’ added Eleanor with a voice veritably dripping with insincerity.

Briefly considering whether she should insist that Ms Liscel leave first, Lady Sabelina decided that such a childish gesture would simply not be worth the effort, and (without another thought) turned and exited the room - slamming the door behind her with a certain amount of finality.

Sara lay back on the table with a sigh and stared at the ceiling. “Bien, I choses baised sachen herauf.”*

I had her for a moment… I shouldn’t have been so forceful…now I’ve gone and alienated her. I can be such a fool…

She felt depressed.

Why did I do that…?

‘You vastly overestimate your appeal, my pretty little alatúvëaúra*,’ replied the deputy Foreign Minister with an unpleasantly cruel smile.

I guess I have…what the hell is an alatúvëaúra?!

(*OOC: "Well, I sure fucked things up.”)

Yay exams over - i should be good to post fairly regularly again



How to defeat the TNCP’s hold on Western Torontia? pondered the Emperor. He found a smile creep onto his face.

‘Oh, I could think of a few, should we say, slightly less than legal ways to do it,’ he declared, ‘the media can only be censored by and biased towards the TNCP if they are in control of the Western Torontian media facilities, communications centers and any satellites that Amestria may have set up.’

‘A more legal method, although somewhat outdated, could still work too though – something like the mass delivery of propaganda flyers. The TNCP would find it impossible to prevent at least some people from reading them, and would be hard pressed to contain them and prevent them from spreading to others.’

‘All it takes is a few people to question their leaders and then it becomes oh so easy to fan the flame of discontent.’

Balor paused after he had finished. There is always a reason behind everything – what was Carters.

‘So, does McKagan have a plan already for overcoming the Western Torontian censorship.’ Or perhaps it has something to do with this secret trump card, he added to himself.

"McKagan already tried that. We had IMAF drop some stuff into the cities a few weeks ago - after we first got here. It pretty much proclaimed a bunch of things that everyone already knew and wasn't very effective because of where we dropped them from. If we do it again we're flying out cargo planes in just above the ground and carpeting everything. The TNCP is nothing but a group of grown men who are afraid to do anything because they can't agree with themselves enough to defend themselves."

Carter didn't like going on these massive rants, but she couldn't help herself. She was simply furious at how apathetic the foreign governments had been in Torontia.

"What's Yallaks long terms plans militarily? McKagan plans to build an array of super bases on the coastline and link them together. The TNCP will probably protest, and then we'll make our stand. Port Echo is only the first of McKagan's plans..."

The Emperor was intrigued at the passion Carter showed over the issues with the TNCP, but deciding it would be best to move on from the topic, he proceeded to answer Carter’s question.

‘To be honest, I do not have much planed in the way of a military presence here in Torontia once the new government has been established. There are currently three legions of Yallakian soldiers garrisoned here in bases across the Eastern side of the nation but that will be reduced to only one when we pull out – and for how long they stay will depend upon the stability of the self-governed Torontia.’

As they continued down the corridor, Balor paused for a moment, fixing the sleeve of the private’s combat uniform he wore. These uniforms are more comfortable than mine, I’ll have to look into … then we’ll make our stand. Even as he contemplated the make of his uniform something Carter had said popped into his thoughts.

‘Tell me Ms Carter, what exactly did you mean by “then we’ll make our stand”?’ he asked. ‘The TNCP are amongst other things, irrational and aiming for the sole control of Torontia, what will McKagan do if they attempt to stop the construction of your bases with TPG soldiers or some other technically legal method?’

Brovan stood in the hallway watching Lady Sabelina slam a door and stomp away angerly, considering who she had been talking too and considering the mood she seemed to be in he made a very good guess on who was in the room. He quietly and slowly walked over to the doorway and knocked. He heard no response so he just called out. "Ms.Liscel, I do believe you over did it."

(I do believe that Sara needs Therapy)

-Two Blocks Down in a Hotel, Room 104-
"They thought up everything it seems." The Black Hand operative muttered.
"This isn't an easy nut to crack." "#Command this is Alpha One#" "What is it Frank." The officer said picking up the mic.

-Rooftop nearby building-
"Our directional Mics are finally getting stuff in." Frank said. #"Good, anything else to report?"# "Well The Emperor of Yallak has been talking to the McKagan Delagate for some time now. Alpha Two reported that the Xirium Delagate was talking to who he thought was the Amestrian Delagate earlier but they had entered a room outside his POV, they have since seperated, he would know more but he was distracted by their behavior." #"Tell Alpha Two to stop being a Pervert and get back to his Job."#

Brovan stood in the hallway watching Lady Sabelina slam a door and stomp away angerly, considering who she had been talking too and considering the mood she seemed to be in he made a very good guess on who was in the room. He quietly and slowly walked over to the doorway and knocked. He heard no response so he just called out. "Ms.Liscel, I do believe you over did it."

Liscel sat up as her moment of quiet reflection was shattered by Mr. Bovern’s tactless interruption. She quickly, but gracefully, climbed down from the table.

Don't North Americans have any concept of what it is to be polite?

The Vice Minister buttoned her blouse, smoothed out her hair, and put back on her jacket. Standing up to full height (five feet six inches plus 1.5 inch heels) Sara calmly walked over to the door and opened it.

"Ah Mr. Bovern," Liscel remarked, politely and professionally, "I do not know what you mean or what exactly I over did. Things simply got a little heated concerning the issue of the parliamentary gender quotas..."

The Vice Minister sighed. "Fortunately we were able to come to an agreement, of sorts, before Cardinal Sabelina stormed out... The Lady has a terrible temper; she stormed out of the Kurora conference as well, although that event was doomed from the start so all it did was make certain people very unhappy... Storming out in an overly dramatic huff seems to be a normal part of her idiom."

Sara sighed inwardly, she still felt depressed and not at all like talking...perhaps the knowledge that further tedious convention debate lay ahead had something to do with her private lack of enthusiasm.

Some chocolate would be nice...I asked the kitchen to prepare a box for a late afternoon snack...perhaps some Ganache, a few pieces of Dagoba, and a little Tanarvia...

She decided to go get her cell phone and call the kitchen.

"I am sorry Mr. Bovern," the Vice Minister apologized, "I am afraid I need to make a very important phone call and thus do not have the time for conversation at present."

Liscel shook Boverns hand. "Before I go let me just say that your cooperation with the TNCP concerning the matter of BC and the drafting of the Constitution is greatly appreciated... I believe Vice President Mitsune wishes to have a private word with you concerning the matter of future cooperation... Now if you will excuse me."

‘Tell me Ms Carter, what exactly did you mean by “then we’ll make our stand”?’ he asked. ‘The TNCP are amongst other things, irrational and aiming for the sole control of Torontia, what will McKagan do if they attempt to stop the construction of your bases with TPG soldiers or some other technically legal method?’

"Between the two of us; the whole idea of McKagan being a massive imperialist nation is playing into our own hands on this. Let me explain what a few Senators have passed onto me."

Carter paused for a minute to collect her thoughts.

"McKagan is going to act as if we're preparing to build super bases all over the Torontian coastline. We both know that wouldn't work easily, don't we? Well, a few Senators feel that starting a war with the TNCP - especially one that isn't as strong post election, would be the quickest way to eliminate them. All McKagan would have to do is force the TNCP to take up arms over it. Don't let what i've just told you influence your opinion of me or my country greatly. It's one of the massive agendas being pushed. The majority of the Senate wants to wait to after the elections to do much of anything. Once the TNCP doesn't have as much power and doesn't control everything it will be much easier to fight them. It isn't policy. It's what a few Senator's on the Torontian Action Committee are considering."

With the lights out, it's less dangerous - Here we are now, entertain us.

Words came from a stereo inside the office of Major Krist - a IMA Officer that had just arrived in the nation. He was a major fan of grunge music, especially the new genre of it that had established itself in McKagan. It was his generations music.

The Major spent most of the hours of his days sitting inside the massive McKagan superfortress at Port Echo. Having a direct line of communication with his troops via the advanced computer network meant he didn't have to be in the field. He simply watched SRN, responded to emails from various people, and read up on new tactics and initiatives all day.

His current assignment was simple enough. He commanded a group of DART's who were stalking around the fences of various airports incase a war suddenly started. Their job wasn't as important after the IMA simply built an airport inside a fortress - never the less, he still commanded someone.

A break in the midday silence was odd. It was the New Email alert on his computer. He wasn't expecting anything. Could it be new orders? Hell, a new assignment where his career could move?

It was.

Inside his inbox was an email marked priority straight from the McKagan Central Intelligence Division. It read in very plain text telling Krist that his DART's were being reassigned to Counter Survailance around the conference.

His thoughts were simple.

"Those socialists must be up to something."

-

Soon enough a dozen black Krisona SUV's were roaming around the city. Running on clean burning TRa-91 Ethanol fuel, they were highly advanced vehicles capable of blending in with traffic to the naked eye. They weren't the standard vehicle, though. They all contained jamming devices and recording software between the DART's they also supported.

High above, a single KLR-A UCAV Drone is deployed. It scans rooftops. With a flight-time of 27 hours, it'll locate anyone on any rooftop soon and identify them to the ground forces.

"Ah Mr. Bovern," Liscel remarked, politely and professionally, "I do not know what you mean or what exactly I over did. Things simply got a little heated concerning the issue of the parliamentary gender quotas..."
"That's quite alright Ms.Liscel, Things can get a little heated when people are in close quarters for such a time. I remember in the seige how strang..." He paused and snapped out of his ramble.

The Vice Minister sighed. "Fortunately we were able to come to an agreement, of sorts, before Cardinal Sabelina stormed out... The Lady has a terrible temper; she stormed out of the Kurora conference as well, although that event was doomed from the start so all it did was make certain people very unhappy... Storming out in an overly dramatic huff seems to be a normal part of her idiom."

"That great news." "It's nice that you made an attempt at least to be friendly with Ms.Sabelina at least." "Try not to feel bad because of the Faults of Ms.Sabelina though." He said with a thoughtful look, "After all everyone has them, I happen to have a problem with timing my statements."


"I am sorry Mr. Bovern," the Vice Minister apologized, "I am afraid I need to make a very important phone call and thus do not have the time for conversation at present."

Liscel shook Boverns hand. "Before I go let me just say that your cooperation with the TNCP concerning the matter of BC and the drafting of the Constitution is greatly appreciated... I believe Vice President Mitsune wishes to have a private word with you concerning the matter of future cooperation... Now if you will excuse me."
"No problem at all," He said, "See you back at the Conference Ms.Liscel."

-Two Blocks Down in a Hotel, Room 104-
The officer in charge quickly noticed the new Jamming Signals entering the City. "Guys we have company," He muttered as the signal closed in." #"Roger switching to Fiberwire and activating Mission, 24 Hour Tour."#

-Roof-
"Fire up the Grill, it's time for 24 hour Tour." The Spies quickly put away their equipment and got out Lawn Chairs, Grills, Coolers, and other Block Party equipment.

-City-
The Local Police and Telephone Companies began recieving hundreds of Complaints about their Cellphones not working. Television and Radio Stations filed Complaints with the Occuipational Authorities, demanding to know why their Stations were being Jammed.

Supreme Headquarters Xirniumite Occupational Command
Seattle, East Torontia

A rather annoyed Admiral Fridor Moand stepped confidently into the central command centre of Army Group East Torontia’s headquarters staff, appraising the situation in one quick glance. Distractedly, the aged commander brushed some imagined lint off the sleeve of his immaculate, charcoal-coloured greatcoat as he approached his recently appointed Chief of Staff.

‘Report...’ he commanded tiredly.

‘Apparently civilian broadcast radio signals in the Seattle metropolitan area are being affected by some kind of jamming transmitter, sir,’ explained Vice Admiral Francesco Haganrih (a middle-aged Xirniumite of partial Mediterranean descent) smoothly and with a voice that exuded calm and level-headedness. ‘Of course, none of our military or government communications have been affected.’

‘Have our electronics warfare division immediately triangulate the location of the source of the disturbance,’ ordered the full Admiral, turning to examine a detailed interactive map on one of the room's tactical display monitors.

‘Yes sir,’ affirmed the naval officer.

‘It is possible that this may be the prelude to some kind of attack by a hostile power,’ mused Admiral Moand thoughtfully. ‘Order several of our strike and air supremacy aircraft squadrons readied and place those already on patrol to heightened alert - in order to neutralise any possible threat that might materialise, and so that they can undertake reprisal operations once the identity of these terrorists is determined. Additionally, I want our troops and military units placed on a hightened combat alert, including our mobile paratrooper divisions.

Also, have the Admiralty building reinforced, and inform the Foreign Minister of the situation.’

Several moments prior

In the corridor (former New Order-era Admiralty Building)
Eastern Torontia

Finding herself in an unmistakably foul mood following her meeting with the maddeningly arrogant Amestrian politician, the deputy Foreign Minister stormed off irritably in the general direction of her private chambers. Although the diplomatic outcome secured in the talks undeniably served the best interests of the Xirniumite delegation, Eleanor’s encounter with Ms Liscel had left her rather flushed and with a distinctly unpleasant feeling of frustration - though the Parliamentarian did a remarkably good job of disguising any perceptible sign of discomfort.

Sara’s insolence and lack of deference was inexcusable, and would certainly not soon be forgotten by Lady Sabelina.

Eleanor’s mood quickly improved, however, after chancing upon one the members of her own personal staff, Private Secretary Walter Tamurilo, at the meeting point of two of the many corridors of the Torontian Admiralty building. Smiling merrily on recognising one of her aides, the Parliamentary Secretary quickly changed direction to intercept Mr Tamurilo, a plan quickly forming in her mind.

‘Madame,’ said the secretary politely, nodding differentially to his superior.

Lady Sabelina and the Xirniumite aide had engaged in a rather passionate, though short-lived, fling several years ago. At the time of the office romance, Eleanor and her now divorced partner had still been married – although, by that late stage, it had already become plainly obvious to Lady Sabelina that her steadily worsening marriage was rapidly and inevitably falling apart. Despite choosing to terminate her affair with Walter after several months, neither had harboured any bitterness, and the two continued to enjoy an extremely cordial professional relationship, remaining on quite friendly terms.

‘Ahh, good afternoon Walter,’ replied the deputy Foreign Minister, smiling genially to her subordinate. ‘How fortuitous that I should bump into you here. Could you please walk with me a moment? There are a couple of matters I was rather hoping to discuss with you,’ explained the Parliamentarian, a rather curious look on her face.

‘Of course, Lady Sabelina,’ replied Mr Tamurilo respectfully, wondering briefly what the problem might be.


Several years ago

Eldalieva Forest (coniferous evergreen taiga)
Northwest Xirnium

The grey wolf suddenly paused, its head turning abruptly towards the source of the noise. Ears twitching restlessly, the wolf slinked forward in total silence, passing between several small woody shrubs before stopping beside an ancient birch tree. Crouching in the soft snow, it waited with anticipation, straining to hear just what might have disturbed it above the howling of the bitter, winter wind – completely still save for the gentle movement of its thick, grey fur in the cold breeze. In an instant the wolf was gone, darting back into the welcome darkness of the forest’s undergrowth.

‘Here, Eleanor… this seems like a good place,’ opined Lady Lucillia Sabelina, pulling on the reins of her splendid bay-coloured, purebred Arabian mare.

Slowing her own pale grey Budyonny (a horse whose distinguished Russian pedigree was one of the finest in the world) to barely a leisurely trot, Eleanor came over to the point where her sister had stopped. The two ladies had left the line of towering pine and spruce trees behind them and arrived at a large, snow-covered meadow that gently rolled away to the south - where it met the edge of an icy lake. Far beyond the lake, Lady Eleanor Sabelina knew, lay the ancestral summer estate of the Numesalquo family - her home. The place that the two siblings were in now was quite breathtaking, with dense, evergreen woodland surrounding the picturesque clearing and tall, looming, mountains in the nearby distance.

Like the wolf that they had startled, the Xirniumites were also hunting.

Smiling dotingly at her sister, Eleanor appraised their current location. ‘It’s splendid, Lucillia. I think those are some Starlings over there,’ explained Eleanor, pointing at a group of birds soaring a short distance away, ambivalent to the presence of the two lovely aristocrats.

Wiping her glasses with the long, thick, woollen riding cloak that she wore, Lucillia nodded her head in agreement with Eleanor’s assessment. Aged thirty-one (some three years younger then her sister) Lucillia was every bit as beautiful as Eleanor, elegantly slender with light ginger hair and captivating, intelligent brown eyes. Lucillia had recently been elected to the Xirniumite Parliament at a by-election for the seat of Caimasse, and was now a junior Government backbencher in the same party as Eleanor. Buoyed by the exhilaration of her success, the cheerful Xirniumite had readily accepted her elder sister’s invitation to go falconeering over the weekend, a favourite pastime of Eleanor’s and something that the two often did together.

‘We should release Erugwaedh from here,’ continued Eleanor as she fumbled in the frigid cold to untether the thin leather straps that secured her magnificent snowy-white Gyr Falcon, inadvertently jingling the pair of golden bells that the raptor wore. ‘This is a good vantage point from which to watch her hunt,’ the elder sister added.

‘Go on, then, Eleanor,’ urged Lucillia, her breath turning to steam in cilly air as she grinned fondly at her sibling. ‘Let her go.’

Eleanor unhooded the majestic bird, watching Erugwaedh immediately take flight. The two witnessed the falcon soar to a great height before diving at impressive speed onto its hapless prey, wheeling and turning about tightly in a stunning display of aerial mastery. Screaming as she chased her quarry, the raptor’s powerful talons grappled the Starling, snapping the bird’s fragile wing bones in a vice-like grip as she tore into its flesh with her sharp beak – spilling bright red blood on the fresh white snow below. Finally, the falcon returned to Eleanor’s slim, outstretched arm, perching gracefully on her leather gauntlet.

‘Well done, Erugwaedh… marvellous work,’ crooned the Xirniumite affectionately, stroking the falcon’s soft feathers.

‘That was amazing,’ agreed Lucillia, always awed by the spectacle of sheer, raw power that was demonstrated when a Bird of Prey hunted.

Their steeds walking near one another, the two sisters began to trace their way along the edge of the still lake as they slowly made their way back home, enjoying the rejuvenating crispness of the forest air.

‘I spoke on with Adrian Hludowig on Tuesday,’ explained Lucillia, turning the subject to business. ‘He seemed to suggest to me that the CSDPX would likely agree to the Government’s tax amendment bill when it came before the House of Councillors.’

‘Hmm, maybe…’ mused Eleanor, though her mind seemed to be elsewhere. ‘My sources have told me that the LDLX and CSDPX may attempt to collude with the independents to block the legislation unless we meet their demands for reforms to the progressive tax rate, particularly for the higher income brackets.’

‘Well, then we must court the independents with incentives,’ replied the younger sibling.

‘Mmm,’ murmured Eleanor, looking distantly at the ripples that the icy wind made on the crystal clear surface of lake Sindaerinwa – her mind lost in thought.

‘Lár rá tumna lenca ílë, sú silninquita?*’ asked Lucillia, her pleasant voice showing affectionate concern as she spoke in Ancient Xirnian. ‘You’ve not been yourself lately.’

‘Oh, I’m sorry, Lucillia,’ replied Eleanor with a smile. ‘It’s nothing for you to concern yourself with,’ she explained quickly.

‘Come now, Eleanor, don’t be like that. You can tell me,’ urged the younger sister understandingly.

‘It’s nothing, really…’ Eleanor assured her sibling.

‘I know you, Eleanor, and it isn’t “nothing,”’ asserted Lucillia with a grin, bringing her Arabian horse alongside her sister’s Budyonny purebred. ‘Well?’ she insisted.

Acknowledging that Lucillia was unlikely to relent, Eleanor yielded to her sister’s demand, and spoke of how she and Veurotur, her husband, had gradually grown apart in recent months. Eleanor explained how the demands that their work schedules placed on them (in particular, her own, for Eleanor had only recently entered the Government’s Ministry as Parliamentary Secretary for Administrative Affairs) meant the two rarely saw one another, and that their marriage had been strained as of late. Indeed, one of the specific reasons that Eleanor had been so keen to take one of her raptors to the isolated tranquillity of the Eldalieva forest had been for the express reason of taking her mind off marital troubles at home.

Lucillia, for her part, was largely already aware of what had been happening, and offered consoling words of comfort, especially when Eleanor indicated that she might terminate the marriage. ‘In the end, Eleanor, you must chose to do what you think is best for yourself,’ explained the younger sibling sagely, indicating that it might be for the best.

Eleanor smiled tenderly. ‘Anyway, let’s not dwell on all that, Lucillia,’ explained the elder sister, returning the subject to business. ‘About the tax amendments, I believe we can secure the support of the CSDPX, at least, and perhaps two of the independents, by agreeing to their suggested reforms to the employee superannuation system. Really, they have some fine suggestions, and the taxation law in regard to this area has needed streamlining for some time.’

‘I understand that Helinille’s faction wasn’t overly pleased with a few of their proposals, particularly the exact level they wanted to set?’ reflected Lucillia uncertainly, not entirely sure of the details. ‘Perhaps a compromise is possible, though.’

‘Actually, I was to meet with Tamurilo and Celvandilme later today to discuss exactly that,’ explained Eleanor.

‘Tamurilo? As in Walter Tamurilo?’ asked Lucillia, eyeing her sister curiously.

‘Yes… why?’ asked Eleanor, a little intrigued by her sibling’s inquiry.

‘Oh, nothing,’ replied Lucillia with a mischievous smile. ‘I notice that you are on remarkably friendly terms with this Walter character - for someone who is a member of your personal staff, that is,’ noted the younger sister with sly innocence.

‘And what of it?’ snapped Eleanor, brushing some of her long, auburn hair out of the way of her eyes in a friendly gesture of annoyance.

‘Did I say anything?’ asked Lucillia with a knowing grin. Spontaneously, she leant over and briefly hugged her older sister before drawing back and increasing her horse's speed to a slow trot. Lucillia, of course, knew precisely what was going on. ‘You’re much too defensive, Eleanor.’
_______________________
*Lár rá tumna lenca ílë, sú silninquita?
"What seems to be troubling you, my dear eldest sister?"

[OOC: Link (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=10989669#post10989669) to thread for all future warfare between intelligence agencies in Seattle. ATTN: Xirnium, TLA.]

"No problem at all," He said, "See you back at the Conference Ms. Liscel."

Liscel graciously nodded. “See you back at the Conference Mr. Bovern.”

The Vice Minister then took her leave and strolled back down the hallway towards the Conference room, where she had left her purse and cell phone.

What a boorish man. I suppose he’s more charismatic when standing upon a bar stool.

Sara reentered the Conference room.

I need to think of a way to make amends to Cardinal Sabelina, undo the damage…

Two aides had stayed to watch over the delegations belongings, to make sure that there was no pilfering or snooping. They sat quietly, organizing the various papers, notes, and transcripts in preparation for the second round of debate. They briefly glanced up as the Vice Minister walked over, and then quickly returned to their work.

Liscel found her purse, left hanging neatly from the hair by its strap, took out her cell phone, and after a moment of reflection, her makeup case.

It almost slipped my mind, got to freshen up my lipstick.

She sat back in her chair and dialed the kitchen number.

“Yes?” asked the voice on the other line.

“This is Vice Minister Sara Liscel.”

The voice came to attention. “Yes Vice Minister, how may I be of service?”

“Grégory, is that box of chocolates I ordered prepared for this afternoon ready?”

“Yes Vice Minister, I personally saw to it that the chief got to work straight away.”

Yes!

“Excellent, have the box sent down to…”

Sara paused mid-sentence, her mind racing.

‘Oh, it’s simply horrible. ‘I’ve not eaten a single thing since leaving the Eternal Republic.’

Chocolate…Ganache, Dagoba, Tanarvia... Lady Sabelina can’t stand the Torontian cuisine…

‘Oh, it’s simply horrible.’

A happy smile flickered across Liscel’s face.

Yes!

“Yes!”

She joyfully brought her hand down upon the table…accidentally rapping her wrist against a pen and causing herself to wince in pain.

“Ow! God damn it!”

“Vice Minister, are you…”

“Its nothing you need concern yourself with Grégory. Have the Chocolates sent up to Cardinal Eleanor Sabelina’s room…see to it personally.”

“Yes Vice Minister.”

“Also, I have a message for the Cardinal that I would like you to deliver…”

Don't let what i've just told you influence your opinion of me or my country greatly. It's one of the massive agendas being pushed. The majority of the Senate wants to wait to after the elections to do much of anything. Once the TNCP doesn't have as much power and doesn't control everything it will be much easier to fight them.

‘Oh, I won’t - after all you they are quite right,’ replied the Emperor. ‘The TNCP is almost an infestation in Torontia’s politics and the easiest way to remove it would be to cut it out. It is also true, however unfortunate, that now is not the opportune moment to do so.’

‘Still,’ stated Balor, shifting his right hand, which had subconsciously come to rest on the grip of his holstered sidearm, ‘I think ultimately that election time will show the TNCP as the failure it is and we may not even need to take such drastic measures like taking up arms.’

‘Oh, I won’t - after all you they are quite right,’ replied the Emperor. ‘The TNCP is almost an infestation in Torontia’s politics and the easiest way to remove it would be to cut it out. It is also true, however unfortunate, that now is not the opportune moment to do so.’

‘Still,’ stated Balor, shifting his right hand, which had subconsciously come to rest on the grip of his holstered sidearm, ‘I think ultimately that election time will show the TNCP as the failure it is and we may not even need to take such drastic measures like taking up arms.’

"That's my personal opinion," Carter started, "However, there seems to be no room for my personal opinions. My group is getting constant emails telling me what to say. I'm about an centimeter away from simply ignoring all those requests and just doing what I feel is right. The TNCP is a failure and always has been. After the media is opened up in all Torontia they won't be able to operate. They won't be used to having to defend themselves like that."

Some time later...

Private chambers of the deputy Foreign Minister
Former New Order-era Admiralty Building
Eastern Torontia

‘Tell me, Walter… what is your own private assessment of the Constitutional Convention thus far?’ asked a pensive Lady Sabelina as she methodically dried and brushed her lovely auburn hair, whilst sitting in front of an ornately framed mirror.

Mr Tamurilo frowned. Eleanor had the odd habit of abruptly returning the discussion to matters of politics and business at the strangest of times, a trait that she apparently shared with her younger (though significantly more blithe) sister. Only mere minutes before, Walter reflected curiously, the deputy Foreign Minister had all but thrown herself at him in an uncontainable outbreak of amorous lust (recalling rather fond memories of their passionate affair several years ago), and yet now she continued on as if nothing of importance had happened.

It was all rather confusing.

‘To be honest, madam, I feel that the original purpose of the conference has been partially subverted by the individual interests of the various delegates,’ replied the Private Secretary slowly as he enunciated the same suspicions that Eleanor held, with only the barest hint of bewilderment in his voice. ‘Given the obvious difficulty in using any objective means of evaluating the various proposals suggested, more often than not the Convention results in opposed arguments being made that either lead to deadlock or less than optimal compromises.’

‘Hmm…’ murmured the Parliamentarian introspectively. Having only just come from a hot shower, Eleanor had yet to properly dress and was still wrapped in a beige bath towel - which, incidentally, tended to compliment her slender form rather well, emphasising her feminine curves. ‘I know what you mean, Walter. That is precisely what happened in the meeting that I was just in.’

‘So I take it that the discussion did not go too well then, Eleanor?’ asked Walter Tamurilo. Maybe that might account for her unusual mood?

‘Oh, it was terrible…’ answered Lady Sabelina distractedly. ‘And that silly Amestrian woman!’

‘Sara Liscel?’

‘What an irredeemably unpleasant individual,’ fumed Eleanor as she took out some eyeshadow, beginning to fastidiously apply her makeup. ‘I really should do something to show her the terrible price of insolence,’ mused the deputy Foreign Minister spitefully.

‘What exactly did you have in mind, Eleanor?’ asked a rather tentative Walter as he withdrew an excellent parejo Cuban cigar from his coat, lighting it up and taking a puff. As a cigarette smoker herself, Eleanor permitted her subordinates the luxury of being able to smoke in her presence.

‘Have the Xirniumite Air Force's 132nd/139th Anti-Aircraft Regiment shoot down the Amestrian delegation’s aeroplane as soon as it lifts off from Seattle International,’ decided Lady Sabelina after a long, thoughtful pause.

‘What?’

‘I’m only joking, Walter,’ clarified the Parliamentarian with a mischievous grin, returning her ruby red lipstick to the table as she stood up with the intention of changing into a new, perhaps grey, skirted suit. ‘No. On second thought, that won’t be necessary, after all,’ she added to her subordinate in a mock serious tone.

^ Nice post!!

"That's my personal opinion," Carter started, "However, there seems to be no room for my personal opinions. My group is getting constant emails telling me what to say. I'm about an centimeter away from simply ignoring all those requests and just doing what I feel is right. The TNCP is a failure and always has been. After the media is opened up in all Torontia they won't be able to operate. They won't be used to having to defend themselves like that."

‘There is rarely is room for personal opinions when it comes down to nations fighting it out on the political battlefield - and that is really what Torontia has become since the end of the actual combat. That doesn’t mean your opinions are not valid though, it just means that the people you work for are ignoring them. They are a good method of judging what is going on however, so do not ignore them yourself – if it doesn’t feel right, don’t say it.’

‘I will only ever give an Imperial official going into negotiations an objective, I leave how they achieve that up to themselves, and even then I don’t always give them that much.’

Having been slightly sidetracked Balor returned to the matter at hand. ‘The TNCP are not used to doing much for themselves, they just follow the Amestrians and get support from many areas because they are the only political party known to those people.’

‘Speaking of which,’ he said turning to Solban, ‘have we had any word from your brother yet?’

‘Yes,’ came the reply, ‘he sent word moments ago that he was just leaving to meet with the politician.’

-snip-

Some time later…

The aide who stood at the door with the box of chocolates was the waiter like person who had earlier delivered Liscel’s dinner invite to the Lady Gilda. He had written down Liscel’s message on a card to leave with the chocolates just in case the Lady Sabelina had not been in her room, but fortunately she was there so he could properly deliver the message in person. His body language and manners were one of impeccable politeness, his tone of voice conveying the utmost respect.

“Ze Vice Minister wishes zo convey her deepest apologies for her earlier unfortunate and disrespectful conduct. She recognizes her actions zo have been unacceptable and wishes zo personally make amends. Zese chocolates are courtesy of ze Vice Minister and she wishes me zo inform you zhaz our delegations kitchen staff are az your service for ze remainder of your szay in ze Zoronzian Republic.”

The aide handed the box of chocolates to Lady Sabelina.

“Furthermore ze Vice Minister humbly invites you zo late afternoon zea (tea) zomorrow in the admiralty garden so zhaz she may properly apologize zo you in person for her disgraceful behavior and ask your forgiveness.”

Eleanor had completed dressing by the time the Amestrian messenger arrived, quite unexpected, at her room’s door - having just finished putting on a pair of exquisite gold earrings and an expensively elegant diamond necklace that she had selected from amongst the many items of priceless jewellery in her possession. Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, Lady Sabelina regarded this man before her with curious interest. The deputy Foreign Minister was rather taken aback by Ms Liscel’s latest, apparently reconciliatory, gesture, and for a moment was quite unsure of what to do.

‘Please inform the Vice Minister that I accept her apology, and do pass on my sincerest thanks for the chocolates that she has so kindly gifted me,’ replied the Parliamentarian with eminent graciousness, inadvertently nodding her head towards the individual as part of ingrained aristocratic custom. Eleanor was quite the sweet tooth, and (having sampled the sublime delights of Amestrian confectionery before) looked forward to devouring the box’s contents later that evening.

‘Unfortunately, I must decline the Vice Minister's invitation to attend tomorrow’s afternoon tea, as I will have other important matters of state to attend to,’ lied Lady Sabelina with flawless regret, obstinately deciding that Sara would have to suffer a little inconvenience if she truly wished to make amends with her. ‘A person in my position cannot, after all, merely alter her busy schedule on a whim...’ explained the Xirniumite with a helpless shrug of her shoulders.

‘You may, however, notify Ms Liscel that she can join me briefly for elevenses tomorrow morning if she desires to apologise to me in person for her conduct,’ added Eleanor with a polite smile.

The deputy Foreign Minister closed the door after the Amestrian had left, accepting a small tome from him before he departed. Consisting of some two hundred pages, the book was apparently a collection of every dish that could be made by the Amestrian diplomatic kitchens, with little green stars next to those items that could be served whilst in Torontia. Eleanor threw the menu aside in frustration, remembering to retrieve a tiny vial of laudanum from her dressing table’s drawer and place it carefully inside her jacket’s breast pocket. For later on…

‘Have someone contact the general staff of Army Group East Torontia,’ ordered Eleanor almost parenthetically to her subordinate, ‘and inform them that I require the services of one of their chefs - heaven knows they have plenty over there. I think I've had more than enough of this Torontian “cuisine.”’

Grégory immediately notified Vice Minister Liscel of the Cardinal’s response by phone. Sara, although delighted that Lady Sabelina had accepted her apology and chocolates, could not help but sigh in exasperation at the Xirniumites refusal to meet with her for late afternoon tea and the subsequent counter invitation to elevenses.

She is just deliberately trying to inconvenience me. It seems Xirniumite officials have particular compulsion to be bothersome. Perhaps next time I should intentionally propose a time that is inconvenient and hope it is rejected in favor of something inadvertently more reasonable for me.

Elevenses would be right after her late breakfast (brunch) with Heather, so she might be somewhat rushed near the end…

Oh well…

Sara took her watch from her pocket and glanced at it. The short break would very soon be over and the Constitutional Convention back in session.

Later that afternoon…
Conference Room Three

Headquarters of the East Torontian Occupational Ruling Council
Seattle, Xirniumite-occupied eastern Torontia


Following the raising of minor security concerns regarding the possible presence of hidden eavesdropping devices at the former New Order-era Admiralty complex, the Xirniumite Foreign Minister had (on the advice of Assistant Director Penelope Ninyanorindo) decided to reconvene the Constitutional Convention at an alternative, more secure venue. This course of action was chosen not only in order to secure the symposium against the potential intelligence threats (which, in any case, were not overly worrying to the Xirniumite authorities), but also to allow the XSIS to conduct its counter-espionage operations with the maximum flexibility and whilst posing as little a disruption to the conference as possible. Agents of the Secret Intelligence Service were directed to conduct a full sweep of the entire building with sophisticated detection equipment as soon as the foreign delegates had left, and immediately report any relevant findings to the Minister. In the meantime, however, the talks were to continue unabated.

The seminar room that the delegates now gathered in was much like the previous one, easily large enough to hold all of the individuals present and richly carpeted. A vast circular conference table, constructed of the finest mahogany, with a sizeable gap at its centre, occupied the greater part of the room. Around it were arranged comfortable yet formally dignified, dark leather office chairs. Ubiquitously present in the room were advanced video camera equipment and microphones, which would record the proceedings for delayed broadcast, as well as a public gallery for the press.

‘…and I have also arranged for Mr Azaenuquerna to attend the symposium, as you requested,’ added Bernard Greenwood to his superior as the two walked briskly, side by side, along the corridor to the conference room, mindful that they were now several minutes late.

‘The international law jurist?’ offered Eleanor Sabelina vaguely, her thoughts evidently focused on other matters.

‘That’s right. He was actually nominated for a seat on the Privy Counsel yesterday,’ replied the Principle Private Secretary, somewhat trivially.

‘Ah. Well I’m glad you convinced him to attend in any case, Mr Greenwood. I hear that he is quite eminent in his field. You’ve quite outdone yourself,’ explained Eleanor distractedly as she attempted to rearrange some papers.

‘Thank you,’ replied a proudly beaming Mr Greenwood, who held the door to the conference room open for the Xirniumite lady to pass through as the two individuals reached the end of the hallway.

‘Good afternoon,’ announced a strangely subdued Lady Sabelina, greeting the remainder of her Xirniumite colleagues with formal politeness and sitting down next to the Foreign Minister.

‘Where have you been?’ whispered Lady Gilda after the usual exchange of pleasantries had finished, her tone of voice perhaps a little more tetchy than she had intended. Heather noted incidentally that the parliamentarian was wearing a new, argent-grey coloured skirted suit, and somewhat more ostentatiously displayed jewellery than before - though she did not think much of it. It was not, after all, uncommon for the noblewoman to change her clothing often.

‘I was busy, Heather,’ explained Lady Sabelina quietly with an unconcerned shrug, pouring herself a cup of strong, black tea from a sterling silver teapot, before adding some sugar with a small teaspoon and milk from a pitcher. ‘I’ve secured that political deal that you wanted; though I’m afraid I couldn’t convince the Amestrian bureaucrat to modify her quota proposal. Good heavens, they are so stubborn,’ she added introspectively, frowning in distaste.

‘Never mind, Eleanor. We’ll leave it to them to worry about how they will promote the model to the rest of the delegates, it’s no concern of ours. We have achieved what we desired, and that is all that matters,’ replied Heather.

‘We could have achieved so much more…’

‘Oh, surely we are not going to hold this discussion again, Eleanor,’ sighed the Foreign Minister exasperatedly. ‘Please, I’ve not the strength to re-argue all over the same grounds with you once more. Cabinet has made its decision - we achieve absolutely nothing by constantly reviewing our past debates.’

‘Cabinet’s decision on this was wrong, Heather – or, at least, it was not entirely optimal. There are many backbenchers that I have spoken to who agree with me,’ added the deputy Foreign Minister with a whisper.

‘That was before we committed to this course of action, and given our success so far I would hardly be suprised if their views had since changed. And this is neither the time nor the place to go into this,’ hissed Heather.

‘I am sorry, Heather. You’re right, of course,’ conceded Lady Sabelina with a deliberately sullen tone.

‘There’s no need for bitterness, Eleanor. I do value your opinion…’

‘Of course you do,’ Eleanor hastily replied, her voice a little nonchalant. ‘Shall we begin the conference then? The sooner we begin, the sooner we end,’ Eleanor added, in that single sentence making plainly obvious what she thought of the efforts for Torontia’s self-determination.

‘Very well, you can address the dignitaries if you like.’

‘As you wish.’

‘If I might have everyone’s attention,’ began Lady Sabelina in a clear voice, rising deftly from her seat to speak to the gathered delegates with an enthusiastic grin. After several moments, the ambient level of noise in the room had dropped to a level allowing the discussion to commence.

‘We now come to the moment for the resumption of the Constitutional Convention,’ explained the deputy Foreign Minister. ‘Before the intermission we had briefly discussed the merits of various legal systems which we might adopt in Torontia. The position of the Xirniumite delegation, for which we would now like to receive a final response to from the members of the Convention, has been that the system of law of Torontia should be a Common Law one, incorporating the precedent doctrine of stare decisis, the adversarial court system and the right to trial by jury, and the use of common law principles in statutory interpretation,’ summarised Lady Sabelina helpfully.

‘We wish to know if there are any major objections to this proposal, and if so what they are.’

Major Godfrey Abrams, the Kahanistanian representative now that General Levitt had left, stood up.

"The Government of Kahanistan has no objections to the Xirniumite proposal."

He waited to see if the rest of the delegates would be this accepting. He hoped so, he wanted to get out of the meeting, go home, and wash his hands of the nonsense that the Kahanistanian delegation had been forced to endure.

Carter sat in her leather seat, getting to cook off the excitment of finally being able to do the job she had been sent to Torontia to undertake. She knew her career would begin to move if she successfully applied McKagan policy to this conference and got out without starting any major conflicts.

She waited for the Kahanistanian representative to finish his delightfully low-key and non-confrontational response to the Xirniumite proposal.

Carter, realizing it would be a good sign of the renewed life to the McKagan delegation, decided to answer quickly instead of waiting to the end. So, she keyed her microphone, tapped it with her index finger a few times which effectively created a loud echoing sound, and eventually started to speak in a low, monotoned voice.

"Um... I agree with the Xirniumite proposal," she started, "But I'd like to sort of say that the courts definately need international oversight for the first few years of their existance. Everything does. Torontians do not know how to run this sort of society. If we're going to give it to them at all, it must be ensured that they will follow their... um... our rules that we're giving them."

Carter looked around a bit.

Ok, that went well. Maybe I didn't really piss anyone off. I don't care - they're all hypocrites anyway...

It was at this time Carter decided to take some form of inititive. McKagan had a specific agenda to push. Everything and everyone else was trivial now. Without a doubt, she knew the MTDF would be heading into Idaho within 72 hours and that her previous debates of putting McKagan bases in Torontia were pointless.

"I have a question. Do you have an actual planned schedule for just what we're debating here, or are we just bringing what we feel is important up as we think about it? There's several important things involving McKagan's future in Torontia that I need to discuss with this convention and I'd like to know just when I can do that in the official forum."

Before the Official Announcement of Resumption by Lady Sabelina

<“So, did you enjoy your walk Deputy Minister?”> a smiling Liscel asked Clo’e as she entered the room.

<“Yes, it feels good to stretch ones legs after hours of sitting. Did you use the break to get some exercise…?”>

<“You could say that…”>

<“Good, I hate it when you get all fidgety, it’s so distracting.”>

Clo’e sat down, added kluntjes to an empty tea cup, filled her cup with strong Northeast Amestrian Black Tea, and flavored it with heavy crème. She cautiously took a sip, savoring the first tier.

Sara began making her own cup of kluntjes sweetened black tea. Mitsune watched both of them as she gulped down her green tea.

<“I had a conversation with Grand Cardinal Gilda in the garden concerning the structure of the Torontian judiciary…”>

<“Oh…”> Clo’e looked up.

<“She agreed to our proposed quota system and courts of specialized jurisdiction in exchange for a common law adversarial system and military police trained and structured along the same lines as the Xirniumite Gendarmerie.”>

<“Good…”>

As the women spoke various aides entered the conference room and set down several trays containing thé biscuits*, thé gateaux**, and sandwiches.

<“As none of us have really had a lunch I had the kitchen send up some sandwiches and additional refreshments.”> Me'rode explained as she helped herself to a sandwich.

The Vice Minister nodded absentmindedly as she discreetly watched Eleanor converse with Heather.

I see Sabelina has changed her suit, Sara observed, smiling inwardly as she took stock of the Cardinals change in wardrobe and more ostentatious jewelry. The pretentiousness of her jewelry…I must have really rattled her confidence.

Liscel then decided to sample a simply delicious slice of chocolat gateaux.

The gold and gems are really becoming of her though…

(*OOC: tea cookies
**OOC: tea cakes)


Present Time

‘We now come to the moment for the resumption of the Constitutional Convention,’ explained the deputy Foreign Minister. ‘Before the intermission we had briefly discussed the merits of various legal systems which we might adopt in Torontia. The position of the Xirniumite delegation, for which we would now like to receive a final response to from the members of the Convention, has been that the system of law of Torontia should be a Common Law one, incorporating the precedent doctrine of stare decisis, the adversarial court system and the right to trial by jury, and the use of common law principles in statutory interpretation,’ summarized Lady Sabelina helpfully.

‘We wish to know if there are any major objections to this proposal, and if so what they are.’

Sara sipped her tea as she waited for the disinterested Kahanistanian delegate to finish his oh-so-brief answer. She then spoke.

“Our two delegations have no objections concerning the Xirniumite proposal, we do however have several additions to be made to it. As previously agreed upon during discussions with both Minister Gilda and Cardinal Sabelina, the common law adversarial judicial system shall incorporate courts of specialized jurisdiction, as originally proposed by Deputy Minister Me'rode…”

An Amestrian aide handed out the transcript of Me’rode’s proposal, the various delegations already had the document outlining the structure of the Amestrian style specialized court system.

“A sole Cour Suprême is too simplistic. I propose the Amestrian system of Six High Courts. There would be a Supreme Criminal Court, a Supreme Civil Court, a Supreme Corruption Court, a Supreme Trade Court, a Supreme Immigration Court, and a Supreme Constitutional Court. The Supreme Criminal Court shall have final jurisdiction concerning all purely criminal matters (procedural review, review of convictions, appeals, est.) excepting immigration and corruption. The Supreme Civil Court shall concern itself with all Civil differences and controversies (lawsuits and contracts). The Supreme Corruption Court shall have final jurisdiction over all cases concerning government or judicial corruption. The Supreme Trade Court shall concern itself with all disputes concerning the regulation of commerce, domestic and foreign, by the National and Regional Governments. The Supreme Immigration Court shall concern itself with all cases pertaining to Immigration. The Supreme Constitutional Court shall have final authority on the Constitutionality of the Governments laws and actions. The Constitutional Court’s powers shall include the power to review the Constitutionality of proposed laws submitted to it by the President and to insure that the President’s Emergency Powers are not employed without cause or justification.”

The Amestrian Proposal

Constitutional Court System
The Supreme Constitutional Court
National Appellate Constitutional Courts
Regional Supreme Constitutional Courts*
Regional Appellate Constitutional Courts*

Criminal Court System
The Supreme Criminal Court
National Appellate Criminal Courts
Regional Supreme Criminal Courts*
Regional Appellate Criminal Courts*
Regional Criminal Courts*

Civil Court System
The Supreme Civil Court
National Appellate Civil Courts
National Civil Courts
Regional Supreme Civil Courts*
Regional Appellate Civil Courts*
Regional Civil Courts*

Corruption Court System
The Supreme Corruption Court
Appellate Corruption Courts
Corruption Courts

Trade Court System
The Supreme Trade Court
National Appellate Trade Courts
National Trade Courts
Regional Supreme Trade Court*
Regional Appellate Trade Courts*
Regional Trade Courts*

Immigration Court System
The Supreme Immigration Court
Appellate Immigration Courts
Immigration Courts

*Regional Courts, the structure of which would be determined by the Regions

“As well as a Xirniumite style Gendarmerie for the policing of the Torontian armed forces. Now the Amestrian Government takes the position that commissariats are unhealthy institutions and can be seriously detrimental to a military’s effectiveness, however, as the Torontian Military has within the last 20 years helped totalitarian elements overturn two civilian governments and has served as a constant center of corruption, we feel that such extraordinary safeguards are necessary.”

“And lastly,” Liscel finished, “equal representation. 50% of the Cabinet positions, Judicial appointments, and Parliamentary seats shall be reserved for women. The Parliamentary seats shall be reserved using the elegant model (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=10905352&postcount=514) devised by the Lady Sabelina.”

"Um... I agree with the Xirniumite proposal," she started, "But I'd like to sort of say that the courts definitely need international oversight for the first few years of their existence. Everything does. Torontians do not know how to run this sort of society. If we're going to give it to them at all, it must be ensured that they will follow their... um... our rules that we're giving them."

Mitsune responded to Carters suggestion. “There will be no need for international oversight beyond that which will undoubtedly be provided by various international NGOs. There shall be no Foreign agencies dictating policy to sovereign Torontian institutions. That would be unacceptable to many and would detract from the future government’s legitimacy.”

Eleanor Sabelina appeared to ignore the lovely Amestrian bureaucrat’s rather uninteresting dialogue (having heard most of it all before) and absentmindedly fingered the signet ring that she wore on her left hand, her eyes following the elaborate lines of the Numesalquo family coat of arms. The deputy Foreign Minister was fast forming the opinion that these proceedings were all somewhat beneath her, even a waste of her time - though responsibility dictated that she should approach her task seriously.

‘An obvious disadvantage of the Amestrian proposal for Torontia’s court system, from my point of view, clearly lies in the complexity that shall be involved in filling cases,’ explained Lady Sabelina after Sara had finally finished speaking. The Xirniumite’s voice was quite perplexingly jovial, and she briefly flashed the Amestrian a charming, private smile that would surely not be overlooked by Ms Liscel’s colleagues.

‘Let us consider, for a moment, a hypothetical dispute involving the purchase and sale of goods,’ Eleanor continued, after a pause in which she sipped some of her tea, in order to illustrate her point. ‘Now, based on the precise factual matrix of the situation in question, causes of action might avail themselves to the plaintiff either in the common law of contract, or in equity, or in tort law, for which I assume the private and civil law court of the proposed Amestrian system would be utilised. A cause of action might also, however, exist based on obligations arising from consumer protection statutes and the like, which (if I understand the Amestrian proposal) would involve a separate filing in this... trade court, where it would need to be heard,’ Eleanor elaborated, inflecting her pronunciation of the word “trade” almost as if she privately though it the most absurd title she had ever encountered.

‘Litigants will be required to be well aware of the varying jurisdictions of all these courts,’ Lady Sabelina cautioned, taking another sip from her cup. ‘In any case, I’m certain Ms Liscel will agree it is an important issue to bare in mind,’ Eleanor opined with an eminently reasonable tone, looking over at Sara.

‘Anyway, I noticed the Torontian delegation lists appellate state and federal constitutional courts as the lowest courts in your “constitutional” circuit,’ continued the deputy Foreign Minister, genuinely curious about something that she had noticed on the Amestrian sheet of paper. ‘Presumably they would not, in fact, only be appellate courts, but also courts of first instance with original jurisdiction?’ asked Eleanor inquisitively.

‘You’ll have to forgive me, this is certainly not the simplest system ever devised, nor the most intuitive,’ apologised Lady Sabelina with another friendly smile.

‘In order to facilitate efficiency and lessen the burden on the judicial system, I propose that you modify your proposal to allow the creation of inferior courts (analogous to the Magistrates’ Courts of the Eternal Republic) which shall deal with minor civil and purely local criminal cases within specified geographic areas,’ continued Eleanor. ‘These courts shall be tasked with efficiently dealing with any summary matters, or indictable offences triable summarily, in addition to trivial civil matters. In this way, the superior public and private law courts in your model are not overburdened.’

‘Also, I think it’s rather curious what you seem to be attempting to do with this “corruption” court of yours. I assume its functions to be somewhat comparable to the Control Yuan branch of the Taipei government, or the Court of Auditors of the European Union. It would be quite fascinating to see what results this experiment with Torontia’s judicial system yields.’

“As well as a Xirniumite style Gendarmerie for the policing of the Torontian armed forces. Now the Amestrian Government takes the position that commissariats are unhealthy institutions and can be seriously detrimental to a military’s effectiveness, however, as the Torontian Military has within the last 20 years helped totalitarian elements overturn two civilian governments and has served as a constant center of corruption, we feel that such extraordinary safeguards are necessary.”
‘Excellent,’ replied Heather Gilda. ‘My delegation will provide detailed summaries of our proposal for Torontia’s military police system to all Convention members after the conclusion of this conference.’

"I have a question. Do you have an actual planned schedule for just what we're debating here, or are we just bringing what we feel is important up as we think about it? There's several important things involving McKagan's future in Torontia that I need to discuss with this convention and I'd like to know just when I can do that in the official forum."
‘There is technically a schedule for what we should now be discussing in this Convention, Ms Carter, but it is not overly essential that we adhere to it strictly,’ explained a helpful Lady Sabelina, laughing friendlily. She seems to be rather nervous… which I suppose is hardly surprising given the intimidating atmosphere here.

‘If you feel that an important matter needs to be brought up, feel free to do so.’

“And lastly,” Liscel finished, “equal representation. 50% of the Cabinet positions, Judicial appointments, and Parliamentary seats shall be reserved for women. The Parliamentary seats shall be reserved using the elegant model devised by the Lady Sabelina.”
‘Personally, I must disagree with this quota system proposal,’ announced Magnus Erthwig after a moment, wondering if any others would voice their disapproval first. Oh well, if nobody else will it may as well be me…

‘It is not the particular mechanism itself that I object to, indeed the mechanics of the system proposed are quite ingenious. In fact, I wholeheartedly congratulate Lady Sabelina on her model, and I agree with Ms Liscel that it is quite unique and even elegant in its simplicity,’ added Mr Erthwig. Eleanor found herself unconsciously blushing from all the praise.

‘What I do take issue with, however, is the requirement that the quota level be set so as to always guarantee at least fifty percent female representation in parliament. To me this seems like a rather clumsy way of utilising such a powerful quota model. Let us not forget the entire purpose of parliamentary quotas in the first place. They are not to designed to strictly enforce equality. Their purpose is, rather, to ensure that disenfranchised minorities (such as women) receive adequate representation, and to reduce gender inequality in parliament.’

‘Given this purpose, there is no real reason for there to be quota seats present in cases when female representation is already near equal levels to male representation, and yet such a policy as the Amestrian one would have quota seats being awarded even in cases where women have already managed to achieve seats in parliament exceeding forty-five percent.’

The SDLT party leader, having finished raising his objections returned to his seat. The Xirniumite delegation, of course, had not expected this from Magnus Erthwig at all. For her part, Lady Sabelina merely shrugged her shoulders in a rather convincing gesture of helplessness to the Amestrians in general and Ms Liscel in particular.

Heather Gilda, however, was not fooled. It would not have suprised her if Eleanor herself had instructed the SDLT leader to attack the Amestrian quota system in an attempt to frustrate their political objectives, no doubt done purely out of childish spite.

A rather clever political ploy, when you think of it, Lady Gilda was forced to concede.

‘Let us consider, for a moment, a hypothetical dispute involving the purchase and sale of goods,’ Eleanor continued, after a pause in which she sipped some of her tea, in order to illustrate her point. ‘Now, based on the precise factual matrix of the situation in question, causes of action might avail themselves to the plaintiff either in the common law of contract, or in equity, or in tort law, for which I assume the private and civil law court of the proposed Amestrian system would be utilised. A cause of action might also, however, exist based on obligations arising from consumer protection statutes and the like, which (if I understand the Amestrian proposal) would involve a separate filing in this... trade court, where it would need to be heard,’ Eleanor elaborated, inflecting her pronunciation of the word “trade” almost as if she privately though it the most absurd title she had ever encountered.

Deputy Minister Me'rode responded to Sabelina’s comments and questions concerning the court proposal.

“Jurisdiction between the courts will be clear cut; a civil matter, say a business dispute between two private entities or a civil compensation suit will belong in the Civil Courts. The Trade court, as I stated before, shall involve the regulation of commerce, domestic and foreign, in other words, the application of National and Regional economic laws and regulations. There might be scenarios where complex matters are broken down between the two jurisdictions, but would be all for the best as the truth would be made more apparent.”

‘Anyway, I noticed the Torontian delegation lists appellate state and federal constitutional courts as the lowest courts in your “constitutional” circuit,’ continued the deputy Foreign Minister, genuinely curious about something that she had noticed on the Amestrian sheet of paper. ‘Presumably they would not, in fact, only be appellate courts, but also courts of first instance with original jurisdiction?’ asked Eleanor inquisitively.

“The courts of original jurisdiction shall be the relevant lower courts of the other five tiers, if they make a judgment or decision found to be mistaken or objectionable on constitutional grounds those before them have a right to appeal to the Constitutional Courts. For example, if the police search a person’s house on questionable grounds the constitutionality of that search shall be determined by the local Criminal Court that the case is being heard before. The defendant will have the right to request the review of the Constitutional Courts should he/she wish it and the Constitutional Courts shall then determine whether or not to hear the case.”

‘In order to facilitate efficiency and lessen the burden on the judicial system, I propose that you modify your proposal to allow the creation of inferior courts (analogous to the Magistrates’ Courts of the Eternal Republic) which shall deal with minor civil and purely local criminal cases within specified geographic areas,’ continued Eleanor. ‘These courts shall be tasked with efficiently dealing with any summary matters, or indictable offences triable summarily, in addition to trivial civil matters. In this way, the superior public and private law courts in your model are not overburdened.’

“Under the Federal Structure presently agreed upon by all the exact structure of local courts shall be left to the Regions.” Clo’e explained.


-snip-

Liscel glanced at Lady Gilda, the irritation caused by Erthwig’s remarks very evident on her face.

For her part, Lady Sabelina merely shrugged her shoulders in a rather convincing gesture of helplessness to the Amestrians in general and Ms Liscel in particular.

Heather Gilda, however, was not fooled. It would not have suprised her if Eleanor herself had instructed the SDLT leader to attack the Amestrian quota system in an attempt to frustrate their political objectives, no doubt done purely out of childish spite.

The Vice Minister took a sip of her tea then spoke.

“Mr. Erthwig’s objections are trivial and ultimately irrelevant; the very purpose of this model is to enforce a strict equality of representation. And, as our two delegations have stated previously, there will be no quibbling over the number, anything less then 50% is unacceptable. In addition all three proposals are part of a whole, not separate.”

The Vice Minister paused briefly.

“More importantly,” Sara continued, “the Xirniumite delegation has no objections to our proposed additions, the matter is therefore settled.”

Major Abrams nodded his head. "The Government of Kahanistan agrees with Mr. Erthwig, but we feel that the issue will take too long to resolve here, and would be best dealt with later, when other disenfranchised minorities, who haven't even been mentioned here, will be considered. I believe we should move on to the Bill of Rights for now..."

The Kahanistanian government was still neutral in the disputes between the factions, but had leaned more towards Xirnium as of late. However, the delegate wanted to end the quibbling over the numbers. The Torontians could fix it up later if it proved unworkable.

Mitsune responded to Carters suggestion. “There will be no need for international oversight beyond that which will undoubtedly be provided by various international NGOs. There shall be no Foreign agencies dictating policy to sovereign Torontian institutions. That would be unacceptable to many and would detract from the future government’s legitimacy.”

Carter didn't particularly appreciate the overt paranoia that was being displayed. The response was typical when major powers are compensating for their fear of appearing imperialistic or dominating.

"No, being swept with corruption and internal feuds would detract from the future governments legitimacy. Not following the precautions put into place in our work here will detract from the future governments legitimacy. You seem eager to sit here and dictate how things should be run to the convention, but the actual real world-enforcement of the policies being made is far behind in terms of development of the actual policies. I'm not trying to take over the convention or anything, I understand that I just got here, but it seems sort of.... bad.... that the entire investment the international community has put into Torontia can be lost because politicians are afraid to make proper investments in the gritty security scene."

‘There is technically a schedule for what we should now be discussing in this Convention, Ms Carter, but it is not overly essential that we adhere to it strictly,’ explained a helpful Lady Sabelina, laughing friendlily. She seems to be rather nervous… which I suppose is hardly surprising given the intimidating atmosphere here.

‘If you feel that an important matter needs to be brought up, feel free to do so.’

"It would seem that the comrade who was here to represent McKagan before I arrived made some promises that the Senate had never approved of. Basically, he declared that McKagan would construct the entire city that will serve as Torontia's new capital. The Senate, however, decided that the cost was far too high. McKagan still wants a massive role in it, but roughly 40% of the cost will not be covered by the McKagan finances. I assumed that the other powers here may like to make investments in the city, so I thought it important to bring up."

“Jurisdiction between the courts will be clear cut; a civil matter, say a business dispute between two private entities or a civil compensation suit will belong in the Civil Courts. The Trade court, as I stated before, shall involve the regulation of commerce, domestic and foreign, in other words, the application of National and Regional economic laws and regulations. There might be scenarios where complex matters are broken down between the two jurisdictions, but would be all for the best as the truth would be made more apparent.”
‘I’m afraid that I do not follow you, Ms Me’rode,’ began Lady Sabelina, returning her teacup to its saucer with a satisfying clink as she turned to the Amestrian. ‘Are not statutory initiatives for the protection of consumers, or to provide safe working conditions for employees, or to limit anti-competitive market practices, or to regulate freight transport, or to limit pollution, and the like, matters that involve the regulation of commerce? I ask because, often, such issues arise in disputes between private parties, even when such disputes may appear, prima facie at least, to involve only the law of contracts, or of torts.’

‘In such cases, therefore, concerns regarding court jurisdiction would inevitably arise, and so I point out that both barristers and solicitors, and their clients, will need to be cautious in how exactly they choose to file legal actions.’

“There might be scenarios where complex matters are broken down between the two jurisdictions, but would be all for the best as the truth would be made more apparent.”
‘Whether or not the truth would be made more apparent under this system is debatable,’ Eleanor opined as she waved her hand dismissively, causing the exquisite gold bracelets around her slight wrist to jingle softly. ‘What is not debatable, however, is that the efficiency of the litigation system would suffer detriment and court proceedings would be made more complex, as different judges carry out redundant work. The Convention must be mindful of such concerns if it commits to this Amestrian vision.’

“The courts of original jurisdiction shall be the relevant lower courts of the other five tiers, if they make a judgment or decision found to be mistaken or objectionable on constitutional grounds those before them have a right to appeal to the Constitutional Courts. For example, if the police search a person’s house on questionable grounds the constitutionality of that search shall be determined by the local Criminal Court that the case is being heard before. The defendant will have the right to request the review of the Constitutional Courts should he/she wish it and the Constitutional Courts shall then determine whether or not to hear the case.”
‘I think, perhaps, that you may have misunderstood me,’ the deputy Foreign Minister interjected with an enchantingly pleasant smile. ‘I was referring to cases where Constitutional matters are heard at first instance, not as matters of appeal. An example is a hypothetical dispute involving the relevant jurisdictions of the state and federal governments, perhaps involving the governments themselves as disputants. In such cases, these “appellate” courts of yours will not be exercising appellate jurisdiction at all, but rather original jurisdiction.’

“Under the Federal Structure presently agreed upon by all the exact structure of local courts shall be left to the Regions.”
‘No, I think not,’ replied Lady Sabelina. ‘The independence of the judicature would be compromised by allowing the state governments to legislate as to the structure of the courts. The states will have the power to legislate for the creation of offences that may be heard at a magistrate’s court, though.’

"It would seem that the comrade who was here to represent McKagan before I arrived made some promises that the Senate had never approved of. Basically, he declared that McKagan would construct the entire city that will serve as Torontia's new capital. The Senate, however, decided that the cost was far too high. McKagan still wants a massive role in it, but roughly 40% of the cost will not be covered by the McKagan finances. I assumed that the other powers here may like to make investments in the city, so I thought it important to bring up."
‘Arrangements for the financing of the new capital can be made at another conference, perhaps with the actual future Torontian government itself. I’m certain we can work something out, but it is not necessary to entirely finalise our arrangements at this point in time,’ explained Heather Gilda.

"No, being swept with corruption and internal feuds would detract from the future governments legitimacy. Not following the precautions put into place in our work here will detract from the future governments legitimacy. You seem eager to sit here and dictate how things should be run to the convention, but the actual real world-enforcement of the policies being made is far behind in terms of development of the actual policies. I'm not trying to take over the convention or anything, I understand that I just got here, but it seems sort of.... bad.... that the entire investment the international community has put into Torontia can be lost because politicians are afraid to make proper investments in the gritty security scene."
‘Your concern is a reasonable one,’ began Lady Gilda empathetically. ‘I promise you that we will set aside an adequate amount of time to give it due consideration at the end of the Constitutional Convention. However, it is perhaps a little premature to be considering it now, when we have not yet even concluded the details of the constitution that we are seeking to install. If you would assist us in drafting these final arrangements, we can soon get to the point that you want to raise.’

“Mr. Erthwig’s objections are trivial and ultimately irrelevant; the very purpose of this model is to enforce a strict equality of representation. And, as our two delegations have stated previously, there will be no quibbling over the number, anything less then 50% is unacceptable. In addition all three proposals are part of a whole, not separate.”
Magnus Erthwig laughed, both impressed and very much annoyed by the gall of these would be imperialists who had come to his nation in order to dictate to him how it should be run.

‘Rubbish,’ he declared simply, shaking his head in disagreement. ‘The purpose of this conference is not, nor was it ever intended, for the striking of backroom deals and behind-the-scenes bargains. On the contrary, it was designed as a forum for rational debate. Your nation’s government does not have the authority to make ultimatums or to stifle discussion, and I will be heard.

‘The Social Democratic League of Torontia will never lend their support to a policy that strictly enforces the various levels of representation of different groups within what is supposedly a democratically-elected institution,’ proclaimed Mr Erthwig. ‘A system that could produce as many quota seats as there are conventional seats in parliament, or a system that continues to award quota seats even when minority representation is at near equal levels, is quite unacceptable and constitutes a subversion of the original objective behind the implementation of parliamentary quota systems in the first place – which was to give the disenfranchised a voice and ensure an adequate amount of representation. If the Amestrian delegation wants a quota system to serve some other purpose then the one commonly ascribed to it, then it must justify such a position before this Convention.’

‘I note that the Kahanistanian delegation has agreed with my sentiments,’ continued Magnus, looking directly at Major Abrams. ‘I now ask that they show the courage to stand by their convictions. This proposed system is, after all, to be a constitutionally-enshrined policy. Recognise, for a moment, what that means. After being agreed on it will not be possible to alter it at all, not without the success of double-referenda (which is a requirement that has specifically been designed to be difficult to achieve).’

“the Xirniumite delegation has no objections to our proposed additions, the matter is therefore settled.”
‘The matter is not settled until the Convention agrees to the proposal,’ Mr Erthwig countered.

‘I further note for the record that the Xirniumite delegation has not yet said anything on this issue,’ added Magnus, ‘and that it has not deigned to offer any convincing arguments in support of this Amestrian proposal. In addition, I feel the need to point out that the Xirniumite state itself does not utilise any type of parliamentary quota system. Of course, the reason for why it does not have a parliamentary quota system is because female representation in the Xirniumite Parliament is already of sufficiently high level, rendering irrelevant the need for gender quotas. In fact…’ explained the SDLT party leader, opening a folder to quickly check his figures, ‘female representation in the Xirniumite Parliament is at 53.5% of the total seats of both houses. That is... 261 of the 500 seats in the House of Assembly and... 434 of the 800 seats in the Senate.’

‘House of Councillors,’ corrected Eleanor Sabelina helpfully.

‘My apologies, 434 of the seats in the “House of Councillors”. Anyway, the point is that Xirnium does not use parliamentary quotas, and yet apparently, according to the Amestrians, supports their radical quota system – which I find quite strange. What is not good enough for Xirnium, apparently, is good enough for Torontia. If so, this is hypocrisy of the worse kind from the Xirniumite delegation. Xirnium has achieved a laudable diversity in its Parliament, and has done so by the institution of progressive policies in all areas of the law which target the underlying societal causes of gender inequality. It has not applied extreme and permanent “band-aid” solutions to try to address the problem – so why should we?

‘I will note also, for the record, that neither Yallak, McKagan, nor Kahanistan (an additional three of the total five foreign Sovereign States represented here at this conference) use parliamentary quota systems. The Yallakian High Council’s members are all elected by the citizenry, with no additional restrictions. The Kahanistanian government has absolutely no gender quota systems of any kind, despite female representation in its supreme legislature being as low as 32 percent!

‘Basically, I feel that more debate is needed. I agree that some form of Constitutionally-based parliamentary quota system is useful, but I do not agree that the one that has been proposed is the way to go. I would also like to hear the opinions of the other members of the Convention. Ms Carter? Lord Balor? Mr Bovern?’

Having finished, Magnus Erthwig returned to his seat, drinking deeply from a glass of water nearby.

‘Are you quite pleased with yourself?’ whispered Lady Gilda quietly to her deputy Foreign Minister, who was in the process of taking another bite out of a tea biscuit.

‘Thrilled, in fact,’ Lady Sabelina clarified in barely discernable, hushed tones. Eleanor’s self-satisfied grin perfectly reflected her sentiments.

‘Was putting Erthwig up to all this really worth your childish desire merely to annoy the Amestrians? Have you had your fun?’ asked the Foreign Minister, a slight scowl on her face. Lady Gilda had noticed that Sara Liscel seemed quite furious about the whole turn of events.

‘I’ve absolutely no idea what you might be talking about, Heather,’ replied Eleanor in a carefully neutral voice as she picked up the teacup and sipped its scalding hot contents slowly, her facial expression entirely unreadable.

‘Basically, I feel that more debate is needed. I agree that some form of Constitutionally-based parliamentary quota system is useful, but I do not agree that the one that has been proposed is the way to go. I would also like to hear the opinions of the other members of the Convention. Ms Carter? Lord Balor? Mr Bovern?’

‘Indeed,’ replied Lord Balor flatly, making no attempt to hide his utter contempt of the Amestrian delegation, their arrogance and their downright ridiculous proposals. ‘Believe it or not, Ms Liscel,’ he continued in a mocking tone while turning to face the Amestrian woman, ‘simply because the Xirniumite delegation has no objections to your additions does not mean the matter is “settled”.

If the previous manner of the Amestrians had not annoyed the Emperor, then their recent presumption that they could begin dictating what was and was not happening to him had certainly achieved that goal. Beside the Yallakian sovereign, Solban, the Imperial Guard Commander, shifted uncomfortably in his seat, hoping that the Emperor would not do anything too rash. The ex-Torontian leader Tanakis had made a similar mistake once and well, everyone at this convention new where that had ended.

‘The Yallakian Empire cannot support this policy of enforced equality either,’ declared the Commander, returning the conversation back to its topic. ‘To be perfectly straightforward, the idea is preposterous. What kind of election (or democracy for that matter) is it when you are going to enforce whom gets elected. We simply cannot condone that degree of parliamentary quota seats, if at all.’

The young commander glanced across to the Emperor in an inquiry to see if he had anything to add. To his relief, Balor indicated he had no desire to speak with a slight shake of his head, and Solban visibly relaxed in his chair.

"It would seem that the comrade who was here to represent McKagan before I arrived made some promises that the Senate had never approved of. Basically, he declared that McKagan would construct the entire city that will serve as Torontia's new capital. The Senate, however, decided that the cost was far too high. McKagan still wants a massive role in it, but roughly 40% of the cost will not be covered by the McKagan finances. I assumed that the other powers here may like to make investments in the city, so I thought it important to bring up."
‘Arrangements for the financing of the new capital can be made at another conference, perhaps with the actual future Torontian government itself. I’m certain we can work something out, but it is not necessary to entirely finalise our arrangements at this point in time,’ explained Heather Gilda.

‘There will be no need to do that,’ declared a rather smooth voice from the far side of the room, ‘The National Paleolibertarianist Party of Torontia will finance what McKagan cannot – this is after all our country so why not help foot the bill.’

Just inside the room, still passing through the doorway was, in contrast to the way he sounded, a fairly short man with rugged but trimmed stubble covering his lower face. He wore a freshly pressed black suit with a dark royal blue tie.

‘Forgive the interruption, but this was the earliest I couldn’t make it,’ said the man apologetically as he headed towards an empty seat near the Xirniumite Delegation. ‘My name is Lucan Dlarit and I am the NPPT party leader for those of you who don’t know and I’d also like to thank you for being allowed to attend today.’

Only moments behind the new arrival, the Yallakian General who had previously been in attendance at the convention quietly entered the room and took to his seat next to the Emperor. An inaudible conversation quickly began between the two.

OOC: there will be more to this post later (kind of a secret what happened earlier bit).

"I'm sort of split on where I am on this quota system," Carter started. "True democracy allows for the people to elect exactly who they want without regulations in place. If we are to see everyone as equal and pay no attention to what makes people different, then we must also ignore gender lines. If we're going to enforce quotas based on one line, then we must look into enforcing them based on other lines. I'm pretty sure that no one here wants to see a 10% Blonde quota enforced."

It was at this point Carter realized she wasn't split as much as she thought.

"I guess there's no need to enforce any sort of quota at all. If anything, it's discriminatory to enforce a quota based on gender lines and not on other lines. Why not add special laws to enforce other minorities over time? I, for one, don't see the democracy in a society that is forced to elect people it doesn't want to elect. Women have the right to be elected and serve in office, but not the obligation to."

The conversation went over Brovan's head for a short minute. Quotas, and the courts. But eventually he broke it down, multiple seperate courts for each type of case, and an assurance that the government wouldn't be a pure male type.

But all that was thrown from his mind of the arrival of Lucan Dlarit.
That traitor dares to show his face here. That New Order supporting Criminal, why couldn't he have died with the rest of the New Order Scum.

"This system of six courts, I can see a good advantage of such a plan, for one thing it eliminates some of the wait times of a case, which would be gravely important if a case was running on a limited time or budget." He paused. "I support it fully." "The quota system.." He paused, "I'll have to wait for everyone else to finish their opinions on it."

"I also..." he turned to Lucan with a glare. "Welcome Lucan Dlarit to the meeting." He said with a hostile manner while looking daggers at him, "And I advise him strongly, not to do anything to ruin it." Silently he thought, You pull something and I'll make sure you die by sundown. He then got a worried look. "Excuse me I have to make a call." He said picking up his cellphone and walking out. Outside the door he made his call. "Listen I have Lucan Dlarit, yes that Lucan Dlarit, okay good." He hung up and walked back in.

‘Are not statutory initiatives for the protection of consumers, or to provide safe working conditions for employees, or to limit anti-competitive market practices, or to regulate freight transport, or to limit pollution, and the like, matters that involve the regulation of commerce? I ask because, often, such issues arise in disputes between private parties, even when such disputes may appear, prima facie at least, to involve only the law of contracts, or of torts.’

‘In such cases, therefore, concerns regarding court jurisdiction would inevitably arise, and so I point out that both barristers and solicitors, and their clients, will need to be cautious in how exactly they choose to file legal actions.’

‘Whether or not the truth would be made more apparent under this system is debatable,’ Eleanor opined as she waved her hand dismissively, causing the exquisite gold bracelets around her slight wrist to jingle softly. ‘What is not debatable, however, is that the efficiency of the litigation system would suffer detriment and court proceedings would be made more complex, as different judges carry out redundant work. The Convention must be mindful of such concerns if it commits to this Amestrian vision.’

“Disputes between private parties would fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the civil courts,” explained the Deputy Minister. “If one challenges whether a particular law or regulation applies a Trade Court merely need be asked to review the circumstances (there need not be a separate trial, just a simple review of the written facts). The Trade Courts would focus on the meaning of statutes, their application, and their enforcement. Another example, if a corporation were to violate environmental laws, and attempt to contest the Governments subsequent enforcement of those laws, the matter would end up before the Trade Courts. The Trade Courts would also enforce commercial treaties. There would be no redundancies.”

‘I think, perhaps, that you may have misunderstood me,’ the deputy Foreign Minister interjected with an enchantingly pleasant smile. ‘I was referring to cases where Constitutional matters are heard at first instance, not as matters of appeal. An example is a hypothetical dispute involving the relevant jurisdictions of the state and federal governments, perhaps involving the governments themselves as disputants. In such cases, these “appellate” courts of yours will not be exercising appellate jurisdiction at all, but rather original jurisdiction.’

“So they shall serve as both appellate courts and courts of original jurisdiction depending upon the circumstances, I fail to see any problem.”

‘No, I think not,’ replied Lady Sabelina. ‘The independence of the judicature would be compromised by allowing the state governments to legislate as to the structure of the courts. The states will have the power to legislate for the creation of offences that may be heard at a magistrate’s court, though.’

“The Structure of each Regional Court system shall not be determined by legislation but enshrined within each Regions Constitution. It is very unlikely that a little diversity in judicial structure and organization would detract from the judiciaries’ independence. The very purpose of a Federal Structure is undermined when Regional institutions are created by the Central Government. Anyway, the Federal Courts would have final say on all matters, so once again I fail to see the problem.”

I feel the need to point out that the Xirniumite state itself does not utilise any type of parliamentary quota system. Of course, the reason for why it does not have a parliamentary quota system is because female representation in the Xirniumite Parliament is already of sufficiently high level, rendering irrelevant the need for gender quotas. In fact…’ explained the SDLT party leader, opening a folder to quickly check his figures, ‘female representation in the Xirniumite Parliament is at 53.5% of the total seats of both houses. That is... 261 of the 500 seats in the House of Assembly and... 434 of the 800 seats in the Senate.’

‘…the point is that Xirnium does not use parliamentary quotas, and yet apparently, according to the Amestrians, supports their radical quota system – which I find quite strange. What is not good enough for Xirnium, apparently, is good enough for Torontia. If so, this is hypocrisy of the worse kind from the Xirniumite delegation. Xirnium has achieved a laudable diversity in its Parliament, and has done so by the institution of progressive policies in all areas of the law which target the underlying societal causes of gender inequality. It has not applied extreme and permanent “band-aid” solutions to try to address the problem – so why should we?

‘I will note also, for the record, that neither Yallak, McKagan, nor Kahanistan (an additional three of the total five foreign Sovereign States represented here at this conference) use parliamentary quota systems. The Yallakian High Council’s members are all elected by the citizenry, with no additional restrictions. The Kahanistanian government has absolutely no gender quota systems of any kind, despite female representation in its supreme legislature being as low as 32 percent!

“Mr. Erthwig your logic is absolutely flawless,” Liscel quipped sarcastically, “after all Xirnium and Torontia are exactly alike in everyway, be it culture, social evolution, history... The same goes for Mckagan, Yallak, and Kahanistan, which are all like Torontia as well…”

Aela pretended to whisper something into Liscel’s ear.

“I’m sorry for my foolish error,” Sara mock apologized. “I have just been informed that Xirnium is not Torontia. Mckagan, Yallak, and Kahanistan are similarly not Torontia; they all have had different social evolutions and drastically different recent histories…my mistake.”

“I will note also, for the record, that of the five foreign Sovereign States represented here at this conference only the Eternal Republic of Xirnium uses the Westminster system governance. All the other States are very much the opposite, with strong Executive branches, particularly Mckagan and Kahanistan, both of which have Unitary Executives. That however did not stop you from proposing that the Xirniumite Westminsterian system be adopted. I will also point out that at least four of the five States are Unitary (I am not exactly familiar with exact structure of Yallaks Government concerning local government), yet that did not stop the Convention from deciding in favor of a Federal System. If Mr. Erthwig feels uncomfortable with advocating systems and institutions alien to the majority of the States represented at this conference we can always scrap everything negotiated so far and embrace a Unitary Structure with a Washington Executive, a system that is the reason Kahanistan and Mckagan are so well governed.”

“Let us return to the matter of Torontia’s recent history. The New Order Regimes of Paul Kaufman and Vader Tanakis were among the most Misogynistic governments on earth. The two most victimized groups within Torontian society were women and homosexuals. I would argue that the constant homophobia displayed by the New Order, its sadistic and malicious persecution of gay men (Tanakis, shortly before his fall, wished to cutup all identified gay men into pet food and sell their organs), its abuse of lesbians (who supposedly did not exist), all resulted from a deep seated hatred of women and female sexuality. Women and sexual deviants were singled out for exclusive restrictions and abuse by the regime.”

Liscel paused and Mitsune then proceeded to read out an excerpt from one of Tanakis’ Public Edicts.

"Homosexuality, prostitution, drug taking and dealing, pimping, gambling, sexual promiscuity and open signs of deviant anti social behaviour shall be punished with imprisonment and then slavery for first time offenders and the death penalty for repeat offenders."

“Notice that deviant anti social behaviour was intentionally left vague so it could be applied however the regime wanted,” Mitsune commented. “I would like to remind everyone that Kaufman, the New Orders founder, was elected President, all of Torontia’s leaders since the formation of the country have been men, and it is very likely that men with misogynistic views will still manage to attain office once more, be it with more nuanced and private prejudices rather then open flaming hatred.”

“Our proposal is not a band-aid solution,” continued Sara, “it is a measure that would rapidly transform Torontia’s governing institutions and political establishment, giving voice to a victimized and persecuted majority. This is about uplifting those who have been trampled upon. Two generations of women have grown up living in fear, excluded from participation in the political system, and deliberately discriminated against. They are used to their exclusion; they need to be brought back in, there needs to be a system to bring about a reversal of this sense of exclusion. The Parliament and government of the restored Torontian Republic with our model would be committed to correcting the abuses of the last 20 years, empowering those who have for so long been powerless, and protecting those who were previously alone and vulnerable. The New Government would immediately target the underlying societal causes of gender inequality. Mere elections or a less representative system cannot guarantee the results our proposed system can guarantee.”

‘The Yallakian Empire cannot support this policy of enforced equality either,’ declared the Commander, returning the conversation back to its topic. ‘To be perfectly straightforward, the idea is preposterous. What kind of election (or democracy for that matter) is it when you are going to enforce whom gets elected. We simply cannot condone that degree of parliamentary quota seats, if at all.’

"True democracy allows for the people to elect exactly who they want without regulations in place.”

“Then true democracy does not exist anywhere as there are regulations in place within every single democratic system,” the Vice Minister replied. “The most obvious being requirements of citizenship, residency, honesty, and a certain degree of popular support, such as signed statements of backing from a certain amount of the citizenry or the membership/endorsement of a legal political party. Then there are rules regulating political discourse, such as the outlawing of hate speech, and setting guidelines for campaign financing. Many democratic systems have outlawed secret societies. The present Torontian constitution bars both religious and totalitarian parties/candidates from participating in elections. The present Constitution is already enforcing whom gets elected by deliberate exclusion, therefore there is no reason why the Constitution should not do the same by deliberate inclusion.”

“If we are to see everyone as equal and pay no attention to what makes people different, then we must also ignore gender lines.”

“But the present situation is far from equal. The actuality of equality is more important then any ideals of equality.”

“If we're going to enforce quotas based on one line, then we must look into enforcing them based on other lines.”

“Nonsense…” replied Liscel.

“I'm pretty sure that no one here wants to see a 10% Blonde quota enforced."

“Trust me,” Mitsune interjected dryly. “Torontia has very few natural blondes.”

“That line of argument,” Sara continued “is both a slippery slope (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_fallacy/Slippery_slope) and a straw man (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man) logical fallacy.”

“I, for one, don't see the democracy in a society that is forced to elect people it doesn't want to elect. Women have the right to be elected and serve in office, but not the obligation to."

“There is more to Liberal Representative Democracy then simple crude Majoritarianism. As I previously mentioned the Constitution already places restrictions on the sort of people who may be elected to public office, religious and totalitarian parties are after all banned from participation in the government of the future Torontian Republic.”

“Then true democracy does not exist anywhere as there are regulations in place within every single democratic system,” the Vice Minister replied. “The most obvious being requirements of citizenship, residency, honesty, and a certain degree of popular support, such as signed statements of backing from a certain amount of the citizenry or the membership/endorsement of a legal political party. Then there are rules regulating political discourse, such as the outlawing of hate speech, and setting guidelines for campaign financing. Many democratic systems have outlawed secret societies. The present Torontian constitution bars both religious and totalitarian parties/candidates from participating in elections. The present Constitution is already enforcing whom gets elected by deliberate exclusion, therefore there is no reason why the Constitution should not do the same by deliberate inclusion.”

Balor’s shoulders shook with silent laughter even as the Amestrian finished up speaking. ‘So there are regulations in place within every democracy are there Ms. Liscel?, asked the Emperor rhetorically as he leaned calmly forward onto the table. ‘Then you must forgive my ignorance - that for over seven years I have been unaware of these well hidden regulations within the Empire,’ he continued mockingly.

‘Your argument is absurd. Why would there not be requirements of citizenship and residency within a nation? What government could function effectively if non-citizens or non-residents were allowed to have a say in the administration of said nation?

‘Guidelines for financing? Outlawing of hate speech? No, there are none of these within Yallak either. So by your definition, the Empire is a true democracy, and as such will still not accept anywhere close to a fifty percent parliamentary quota for female or for any type of candidates.’

‘And excluding certain types of political parties because they have a degradational effect on a social body is by far different from forcing certain numbers of a certain candidate type into parliament. No, Ms Carter summed it up quite well, women have the right to be elected and serve in office, but not the obligation to, and in this regard I will support no system that put people into government by who haven’t been elected into that position.’

“Then true democracy does not exist anywhere as there are regulations in place within every single democratic system,” the Vice Minister replied. “The most obvious being requirements of citizenship, residency, honesty, and a certain degree of popular support, such as signed statements of backing from a certain amount of the citizenry or the membership/endorsement of a legal political party. Then there are rules regulating political discourse, such as the outlawing of hate speech, and setting guidelines for campaign financing. Many democratic systems have outlawed secret societies. The present Torontian constitution bars both religious and totalitarian parties/candidates from participating in elections. The present Constitution is already enforcing whom gets elected by deliberate exclusion, therefore there is no reason why the Constitution should not do the same by deliberate inclusion.”

"McKagan has no laws against hate speech, and the thought of campaign finance reform is laughable to the highest degree. Futhermore, the requirement of citizenship is how a nation maintains who it is. Residency isn't as much an issue, either. Oh, and secret societies? I hope the Church of the Pink Album never hears of you if you're near McKagan."

“Trust me,” Mitsune interjected dryly. “Torontia has very few natural blondes.”

"Ha! You just helped me prove my point. Natural blondes are a minority! I officially submit that if women are to be given special obligation to hold office, then blondes should too. Don't even get me started on gothic people, or fans of Duff Tratain! They're probably minorities and should be given special protection, too! Right? Isn't that what you're saying?"

“There is more to Liberal Representative Democracy then simple crude Majoritarianism. As I previously mentioned the Constitution already places restrictions on the sort of people who may be elected to public office, religious and totalitarian parties are after all banned from participation in the government of the future Torontian Republic.”

"If you're going to have me believe that women will still be oppressed now just because they were then, you'll basically be declaring that a majority of Torontian citizens supported the New Order. Do you honestly believe that the New Order had that much support from the citizenship? They must have. That's why we're talking about them in past-tense and they're obviously helping shape the future of Torontian politics. You know what? New Order supporters are a minority too! Using your ideas, we should give them manditory representation too!"

Carter looked across the table with a blank expression on her face.

‘There will be no need to do that. The National Paleolibertarianist Party of Torontia will finance what McKagan cannot – this is after all our country so why not help foot the bill.’
‘Ahh… so there you have it, Ms Carter,’ declared Heather Gilda, smiling encouragingly despite regarding this newly arrived individual with something approaching uncertain scepticism. ‘My expectations that the specifics would ultimately be worked out in regards to the funding of the new national capital were well founded, after all.’

‘On behalf of the Xirniumite delegation and the other members at this conference, I cordially welcome Mr Dlarit and the NPPT to the proceedings of the first Torontian Constitutional Convention,’ explained the Foreign Minister with eminent graciousness, turning towards Lucan.

“Let us return to the matter of Torontia’s recent history. The New Order Regimes of Paul Kaufman and Vader Tanakis were among the most Misogynistic governments on earth. The two most victimized groups within Torontian society were women and homosexuals. I would argue that the constant homophobia displayed by the New Order, its sadistic and malicious persecution of gay men (Tanakis, shortly before his fall, wished to cutup all identified gay men into pet food and sell their organs), its abuse of lesbians (who supposedly did not exist), all resulted from a deep seated hatred of women and female sexuality. Women and sexual deviants were singled out for exclusive restrictions and abuse by the regime.”

"Homosexuality, prostitution, drug taking and dealing, pimping, gambling, sexual promiscuity and open signs of deviant anti social behaviour shall be punished with imprisonment and then slavery for first time offenders and the death penalty for repeat offenders."
“Notice that deviant anti social behaviour was intentionally left vague so it could be applied however the regime wanted. I would like to remind everyone that Kaufman, the New Orders founder, was elected President, all of Torontia’s leaders since the formation of the country have been men, and it is very likely that men with misogynistic views will still manage to attain office once more, be it with more nuanced and private prejudices rather then open flaming hatred.”
‘All of which leads us to what conclusion?’ asked Magnus Erthwig with didactic yet infuriatingly condescending patience. ‘It leads us to the obvious conclusion that there are severe defects within Torontian society. Gender inequality is a serious issue in Torontia, characterised by deeply ingrained societal and cultural perceptions which contribute to rampant misogyny, discrimination and prejudice against women.’

‘It might surprise you,’ continued Mr Erthwig sardonically, ‘but this conclusion that you have sought to draw is not a revelation to any of the parties to this Constitutional Convention, least of all to me. The plight of women in Torontia is a grave issue that we all take very seriously. The simple fact of the matter, however, is that your specific proposal is entirely unnecessary for the purpose of addressing the issues that you have outlined.’

“Then true democracy does not exist anywhere as there are regulations in place within every single democratic system,” the Vice Minister replied. “The most obvious being requirements of citizenship, residency, honesty, and a certain degree of popular support, such as signed statements of backing from a certain amount of the citizenry or the membership/endorsement of a legal political party. Then there are rules regulating political discourse, such as the outlawing of hate speech, and setting guidelines for campaign financing. Many democratic systems have outlawed secret societies. The present Torontian constitution bars both religious and totalitarian parties/candidates from participating in elections. The present Constitution is already enforcing whom gets elected by deliberate exclusion, therefore there is no reason why the Constitution should not do the same by deliberate inclusion.”
Magnus Ertwig smiled.

‘Ms Liscel has done a marvellous job of listing for us cases where the governments of foreign nations have enacted procedural rules which, in some way or another, regulate whom can be elected to parliament and how precisely this takes place,’ explained the SDLT Party leader.

‘Perhaps she might now like to cite a single case where a democratically-elected legislature has had policies established regarding it for the specific purpose of making sure that it mirrors the demographic make-up (at least in terms of gender) of the nation that it represents? Because that is precisely what her proposal is. It is, conceptually speaking, nothing like these other examples that Ms Liscel makes.’

“But the present situation is far from equal. The actuality of equality is more important then any ideals of equality.”
‘The simple fact of the matter is,’ began Mr Erthwig, rising from his seat so as to more eloquently address the gathered delegates, ‘that strict equality is neither possible nor desirable in a democratically-elected legislature, where one must take into consideration concerns that democracy is served.’

‘Consider the issue at hand,’ explained the SDLT Party leader, directly addressing the Convention members. ‘The problem in question? Quite clearly it is the unacceptably low level of female representation in parliament. Why should we consider that this is a problem? Because a significant and vulnerable group of people, which has been, and continues to be, victimised and marginalised by society, is effectively disenfranchised from the process of governance. What is this symptom that we observe inductive of? It is indicative of a much more fundamental and extensive phenomenon of gender inequality, and its correlative causative agent - misogynist sentiment within the fabric of society itself.’

‘Very well,’ explained Magnus, pausing for a moment, ‘so we have our two problems - a lack of representation in parliament and the wider issue of gender inequality itself. Many are the ways that such an issue can be tackled, as evidenced by the vast quantity of feminist literature on the subject, and indeed parliamentary quota seats are one such way of seeking to address the problem. By setting aside a certain amount of seats reserved for women, we can ensure that the disenfranchised and victimised now have a voice. By placing women in government, we can also begin to change societal perceptions. People begin finally to move away from their backward prejudices and recognise the clear truth, that women are capable of governing. Our two problems are thus addressed.

‘However, is a strict, permanent fifty percent quota system necessary for either of these things to take place? No. Obviously, guaranteeing women a thirty percent representation in parliament address the issue of representation - and by that same token goes some way towards displacing misogynist societal views. On its own it would prove insufficient for both, however no one is suggesting it be our only policy for combating gender inequality. To say that fifty percent representation is essential to achieve the goal of female equality is nonsense.

‘But one might well ask, why should we not seek fifty percent representation? The first reason is the recognition that parliament need not represent a cross-section of society. If this was a requirement, then we would have instituted strict quota regulations regarding gender, age, socio-economic status, political view, and so on. No one advocates this. Parliament does not represent a slice of the people it seeks to govern on behalf of, rather it represents the choice of that people on whom should govern. The second reason is that, when female representation is already near equal level to male representation, one can no longer justify the setting of a parliamentary quota on the two issues I outlined before – specifically, the need for representation and to counter gender inequality in society. Where women can achieve, say, forty percent of the seats in parliament without the addition of quota seats, one cannot say that they are not represented in the nation’s legislature, nor that the result is indicative of a very serious issue of deeply ingrained misogynist views in society. I point once more to Kahanistan, which only has a bare 32% of its nation’s senate seats held by women.’

Magnus Erthwig, his last desperate effort to win the Convention over to his side finished, sat down and immediately poured himself a glass of water, draining it all in one go. He had done all he could, only time would tell whether his arguments were persuasive.

‘That was pathetic…’ whispered Eleanor to her colleague, her slender arms folded in front of her chest, clearly unimpressed with what she judged to be a substandard performance. ‘He completely butchered the original rationale behind my criticisms of the Amestrian proposal. Damned stupid fool… these Torontian barbarians are simply incapable of doing anything correctly - aren’t they, Heather?’

‘Ahh, so you did put Magnus up to this!’ hissed Lady Gilda, clearly incensed. Thanks almost entirely to the private agenda of her deputy, a major schism had now occurred in the symposium over an issue which the Foreign Minister regarded as essentially unimportant – a situation that annoyed her most greatly.

‘I did nothing of the sort, Heather,’ asserted Lady Sabelina with emphatic coolness. ‘We merely happened to discuss the merits of the proposal together before the resumption of the conference, from which I can only surmise that our friend Mr Erthwig gathered the basic structure of his arguments. A pity, however, that he could not have preserved their coherence or eloquence, if not their original form.’

‘This is not a game, Eleanor. Do you realise that the Amestrians might well walk out of the conference if they aren’t able to secure this constitutional feature?’ demanded the Foreign Minister.

‘Oh, nonsense they will…’

Meanwhile, however, the leader of the Social Democratic League of Torontia prepared once more to address the gathered delegates.

‘The simple fact of the matter is that we can debate this topic indefinitely,’ opined Magnus. ‘Unfortunately, we do not have that luxury. I suggest that, if they so wish, the Amestrians and their puppet delegation make whatever concluding arguments they feel they need to. I, for my part, have cast my vote on this issue, and it seems that both the esteemed Emperor of Yallak and the representative for McKagan have both done so as well,’ added Mr Erthwig, nodding deferentially to Lord Balor and Ms Carter in turn, ‘though I am certain that they, as I, will listen carefully to the Amestrian counter-arguments and, if necessary, re-evalutate their positions accordingly.’

‘Of course, we have yet to hear from representatives of the TSU and TLP, and I would like for them to state a position one way or the other,’ explained Mr Erthwig. ‘If, as I suspect, the majority of the conference ultimately decides against the wisdom of this proposal, it should be discarded and the discussion should move on to other matters.’

Taking the calls to state his parties position as such, Josh Ward determined it might be a good time to establish that he was awake.

"I do not have inside information from the other parties, but I know that anyone elected from the Torontian Liberal Party will make it an issue to help counter misogynistic people around the nation of Torontia. If any party currently represented in this conference really wishes to help the women of Torontia, they'll do the same thing. The issue of trying to force this into the constitution is pretty mute, as I see it. If you really want to effect how many women get elected and hold office, just change how many women you put on your ticket and how well you support them. The political parties represented here have just as much power as the nations shaping the constitution, right now."

Ward too a breath and continued.

"We're really just blowing too much time on an issue that doesn't matter all that much. The real issues here the spread of information within Torontia. The Amestria supported TNCP propaganda machine has a hold over all forms of the media in Western Torontia, effectively turning all zones under their control into a dictatorship. This could happen again, after the elections, if we do not write specific mandates into the constitution to protect media freedom and party accountability. All spending and fundraising within political parties should be public, not necessarily mandated, but in the public domain so that citizens can see just how far reaching political motivated plots are. Charges of fraud should be taken seriously, too."

If you really want to effect how many women get elected and hold office, just change how many women you put on your ticket and how well you support them.
‘Just to briefly clarify,’ interjected Lady Sabelina quickly, raising an ornately decorated fountain pen in order to gain the attention of the members of the Constitutional Convention. ‘My understanding of the current controversy is that it exclusively concerns the issue of the Amestrian parliamentary quota system – that is, the proposed policy of specifically reserving quota seats for women so as to always guarantee at least a fifty percent level of representation.’

‘Now,’ continued Eleanor, leafing back through her stenographer’s shorthand recordings of the symposium’s proceedings, ‘the Xirniumite delegation has also advanced the quite distinct proposal of mandating, by constitutional law, that all political parties field equal numbers of men and women as their candidates in elections. We have suggested that, in addition, it be constitutionally mandatory for the names provided on the electoral candidate lists themselves to alternate equally between male and female, with precisely half of the lists commencing with a female candidate,’ explained Eleanor with succinct precision.

‘This plan that I have outlined,’ continued the deputy Foreign Minister, ‘is quite seperate from the issue of instituting parliamentary quotas, though it nonetheless should go a vast way towards producing a more representative national legislature – which I am sure you will all agree is a commendable goal. It is a policy that has wide international support and has been introduced by both governments and political parties in many different nations (for instance, in France, Germany and the United Kingdom) with sterling success.’

Lady Sabelina took a brief sip of her, now third, cup of tea before continuing.

‘This policy that the Xirniumite delegation advocates is an admirable one,’ summarised the parliamentarian. ‘It introduces equitable fairness in the procedural method of election, without in any way compromising the cornerstone doctrine of popular sovereignty or the ideological integrity of the democratic process. My understanding is that this proposal of ours has received the full support of the august members of the Constitutional Convention, and that there do not exist any objections to it,’ added an inquiring Eleanor, turning expectantly towards Lord Balor and the other members of the symposium.

"I understand this," Ward started. "My idea is that if the Amestrians really want to change how many women get elected, they shouldn't agree to be mandated to how many men or women to put up for election."

"I understand this. My idea is that if the Amestrians really want to change how many women get elected, they shouldn't agree to be mandated to how many men or women to put up for election."
‘Ermm, so you… agree with my proposal?’ asked a slightly baffled-looking Eleanor Sabelina in deliberately gentle tones, a little confused over what precisely the leader of the Torontian Liberal Party was attempting to say.

‘Ermm, so you… agree with my proposal?’ asked a slightly baffled-looking Eleanor Sabelina in deliberately gentle tones, a little confused over what precisely the leader of the Torontian Liberal Party was attempting to say.

"I agree with the 50-50 proposal for party nominations. That's all. My point was that the Amestrians shouldn't haven't agreed to said proposal when, should it not be in place, it would solve the problem of representation quotas."

Once again, Major Godfrey Abrams, the Kahanistanian representative, broke his silence. The Major felt that it might be a good idea if the Amestrians DID walk out on the conference.

"There is no way that the quota system will be implemented the way Dr. Liscel here wants it. This is too controversial an item to be enshrined into the constitution, perhaps a more moderate system where the Constitution only guarantees anyone the right to run for office, male, female, Christian, Jewish, atheist, Islamic... as long as they are a citizen over the age of... 25, maybe 30."

"If a woman wishes to run for office, let her. Minister Liscel," he looked directly at the pretty Amestrian, "have you even thought about where the women who would fill your quota seats would come from? If only 30% of the candidates are women, where will you get the others who will fill the quota seats? If all of the states, or whatever the subnational divisions are being called in Torontia, have largely male candidate pools, where will these women come from?"

"Under the Kahanistanian system, women have the same rights as men. Women have achieved very high positions in our government, our military, and our society. Our Minister of Foreign Affairs is a woman. The commander of the Kahanistanian military forces in Torontia is a woman, you met her on the way in. The commander of the Presidential Guard is a woman. So is the commander of the Republic Navy. So were three of the seven major presidential candidates. So is thirty-some percent of the Supreme Soviet. Need I go on?"

"I personally feel that, while we're talking about who can run, and people being banned from candidacy, we let ANY citizen run for office, no matter what their views, no matter their gender, no matter their religion. Back home, we have far-right-wing Nazi supporters, one of them was running for President, a guy named Faisal, I think. He got owned in the election because very few people here want to vote for someone who wants to expel the Jews from Kahanistan. General al-Ghazi lost the election, not because fascists are banned in Kahanistan, but because the people didn't want a President who was set on turning ULE City into a lake, settling people on captured Freekish territory, or building fleets of forty super-dreadnaughts which would bankrupt us so he can show off the size of his... mania... to the international community."

The Kahanistanian officer finally finished his rant. He sat back and waited for the other delegates to respond.

"I agree with the 50-50 proposal for party nominations. That's all. My point was that the Amestrians shouldn't haven't agreed to said proposal when, should it not be in place, it would solve the problem of representation quotas."
'Umm, I… see,’ replied Lady Sabelina after some thought, briefly sharing a puzzled look with her colleague. ‘Well thank you for your useful input, Mr Ward,’ replied Eleanor brightly, mindful of the need to carefully articulate her words for maximum clarity. The deputy Foreign Minister smiled sympathetically at the leader of the Torontian Liberal Party, in a manner not unlike how a concerned teacher might do so when seeking to encourage a struggling pupil that was having great difficulty understanding an elementary concept.

‘Perhaps she might now like to cite a single case where a democratically-elected legislature has had policies established regarding it for the specific purpose of making sure that it mirrors the demographic make-up (at least in terms of gender) of the nation that it represents? Because that is precisely what her proposal is. It is, conceptually speaking, nothing like these other examples that Ms Liscel makes.’

“Amestria has a 50% quota in place,” Liscel answered, “although the model is different from that devised by Lady Sabelina. The Amestrian system reserves specific seats rather then adding additional seats according to a mathematical formula. The virtue of the Amestrian system is that all the candidates in question are directly chosen by election and Parliament remains a constant size.”

"Ha! You just helped me prove my point. Natural blondes are a minority! I officially submit that if women are to be given special obligation to hold office, then blondes should too. Don't even get me started on gothic people, or fans of Duff Tratain! They're probably minorities and should be given special protection, too! Right? Isn't that what you're saying?"

"If you're going to have me believe that women will still be oppressed now just because they were then, you'll basically be declaring that a majority of Torontian citizens supported the New Order. Do you honestly believe that the New Order had that much support from the citizenship? They must have. That's why we're talking about them in past-tense and they're obviously helping shape the future of Torontian politics. You know what? New Order supporters are a minority too! Using your ideas, we should give them manditory representation too!"

Carter looked across the table with a blank expression on her face.

How fitting, a blank expression for a blank mind, Sara thought to herself.

“Your arguments are exceptionally fallacious and juvenile; I won’t waste my time bothering to refute them.”

"If a woman wishes to run for office, let her. Minister Liscel," he looked directly at the pretty Amestrian, "have you even thought about where the women who would fill your quota seats would come from? If only 30% of the candidates are women, where will you get the others who will fill the quota seats? If all of the states, or whatever the subnational divisions are being called in Torontia, have largely male candidate pools, where will these women come from?"

“It is Vice Minister…” Liscel corrected. “As stated previously, all parties would be required to run an equal number of male and female candidates, so 50% of the candidates would be female. That is where the women shall come from.”

"I personally feel that, while we're talking about who can run, and people being banned from candidacy, we let ANY citizen run for office, no matter what their views…”

“The debate regarding religious and totalitarian parties (specifically that they are illegal) has already been settled, it was settled sometime ago, you should have spoken up then.”

Liscel paused and held a whispered conversation with Mitsune.

“The Amestrian and TPG delegations have changed their minds concerning the issue of Torontias military police; we are not convinced that there is a need for them to be exclusively trained by outside powers or that this matter belongs at the convention. The future status and organization of the Torontian armed forces might be best left to the future Torontian Government to decide.”

Balor’s shoulders shook with silent laughter even as the Amestrian finished up speaking. ‘So there are regulations in place within every democracy are there Ms. Liscel?, asked the Emperor rhetorically as he leaned calmly forward onto the table. ‘Then you must forgive my ignorance - that for over seven years I have been unaware of these well hidden regulations within the Empire,’ he continued mockingly.

‘Guidelines for financing? Outlawing of hate speech? No, there are none of these within Yallak either. So by your definition, the Empire is a true democracy…’

“Your ignorance is forgiven Emperor,” Deputy Minister Me'rode answered. "The Empire of Yallak’s Imperial Government is not a liberal democracy in any meaningful sense of the term. It is a democracy in that there is hypothetically universal suffrage in the election of various officials and participation in plebiscites. However Liberal Democratic Government is defined by the distribution of power within the State Structure and the degree by which the leadership are accountable. The Government of the Infinite Empire is a popular autocracy.”

Clo’e proceeded to read out the description of the Infinite Empire's System of Government.

The Emperor
The Imperial household is located within the Capital of Arrandin. The Emperor is not only the Lord of Arrandin, directly running the affairs of the capital, but he is also responsible for overseeing all civil and administrative areas of the Empire. The Emperor has the power to create new or amend the current Imperial laws and Policies. As well, the Emperor is the commander of all Imperial Forces, assigning orders to Generals and armies alike.
The Emperor reigns for life and it is upon his death that a new Emperor is elected from the High Council by a national vote.

The High Council
The High Council of Arrandin is one of (if not) the most important parts of the Yallakian Government. The council acts as advisors to the Emperor and is the body to which all lower levels of the government report. It is comprised of:
- The Emperor
- The High Lord of Navarath
- The High Lord of Kilrah
- The Supreme Chancellor
- The State Commander
- The Supreme Magistrate
- The Guard Commander
- Foreign Affairs Minister
- The Imperial Chancellor

The High Lords of Navarath and Kilrah
A greatly honored and important role within the empire, second only to that of the Emperor himself. In the history of the Imperial Government of Yallak, it is also a general trend that one of the High Lords succeeds as Emperor. The Highs Lords govern the two largest non-capital cities and are more often than not also Generals within the Imperial Army. On top of this, they are responsible for the administration of their entire territories.
The High Lords are members of the High Council of Arrandin.

The Imperial Senate
Within the Empire of Yallak, it is the Governments primary role to better the lives of its citizens and produce changes according to their needs. The Imperial Senate is the main voice of the people within the Empire and acts as a direct link between the citizens and the Emperor. It is a body of 800 citizens elected by the people of Yallak annually (20 people from each of the Empire's 40 provinces).
The Senate, like the Emperor, has the power propose new or make amendments to the current Imperial laws and Policies, and if approved by the Emperor, they are put into immediate effect. Although their proposals need approval by the Emperor, they can with a 2/3-majority vote, veto an Imperial decision.
The transcripts of all Senate meetings and decisions are available to the public (through a senate uplink in every home) and once read the citizen’s rate the imposed decision. If there is less than 50% support for that action, the Senate is reconvened to make changes.

“The position of Emperor is one of Head of State, Head of Government, Commander in Chief, and Supreme Administrator of the Capital (undisputed ruler of the very seat of government itself),” Me'rode continued. "The Emperor has the unilateral power to make or amend laws with little legislative oversight. It seems the legislature must at least reactively rally 2/3rds to oppose his decisions, while rallying the support of at least 50% of the citizenry (an absurd requirement that leaves the legislature perpetually hostage at all times to the whim of 51% of the populace) and the Emperor, a de facto Elected Monarch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elective_monarchy), serves until his death. What checks and balances are in existence mainly concern the crude distribution of martial power.”

The Court is also given command of several of Yallak's Legions, as a precaution and deterrence against a complete Imperial takeover by an Emperor.
The High Court is a council of 200 citizens (5 from each of the 40 provinces) elected on a date determined by the Senate (one election usually takes place every 6 -8 months), thus decreasing the possibility of Court members being involved in government corruption.

“It should also be pointed out that Emperor is a purely masculine title,” Liscel added without looking up from a paper she was reading.

Sara glanced up and scanned the Xirniumite delegation. Aela subtly pointed out Mr. Greenwood and whispered to the Vice Minister his name and expertise.

“Minister Gilda, Deputy Minister Sabelina, Mr Greenwood, what are your opinions concerning the proper definition of Yallaks State and its form of Government?”

How fitting, a blank expression for a blank mind, Sara thought to herself.

“Your arguments are exceptionally fallacious and juvenile; I won’t waste my time bothering to refute them.”

Carter laughed a bit.

"Okay then. I'll allow you to dodge any type of real accountability for the failed policy you're trying to push through. It is very clear to me that you are more than ready simply push the alternative opinions of anyone currently present at this conference aside by declaring them not worthy of your time."

Carter paused for a short moment, collected herself, and spoke again.

"Your smug superiority will be the end of you."

"Everyone, please take note of the overt unprofessionalism displayed by the Amestrian delegation. They're insulting everyone here by declaring what opinons are worthy of their time. We should collectively and proportionaly show them as much thought as they show the opinions of anyone who challenges them."

Abrams shook his head. As much as he disliked the Amestrian government, this was not the time for crude insults. The Torontian people's future was at stake here.

“Your arguments are exceptionally fallacious and juvenile; I won’t waste my time bothering to refute them.”

"Miss Carter has a point, the New Order enjoys very little support, which is why we were able to ban it without much furor. I doubt that their misogynistic ideologies carry much weight with the average Torontian."

“It is Vice Minister…” Liscel corrected.

"My mistake..." said Major Abrams. He was used to the Kahanistanian practice of abbreviating titles. For example, the Deputy Foreign Minister could be addressed as "Minister" or a Lieutenant General could be addressed as simply "General." He was not used to Amestrian conventions of addressing officials.

“As stated previously, all parties would be required to run an equal number of male and female candidates, so 50% of the candidates would be female. That is where the women shall come from.”

"And if a party can't find enough women to run...? Should it be banned from running at all? And if a lot of women lose in the elections, should they be put in office anyway?"

He looked over at the McKagan representative and nodded his head.

Carter decided to somewhat go on the offensive again.

I've got to better establish myself. This is simple proof that the military should never represent our country...

"I do have some issues with forcing parties to divide their candidacy amongst gender lines. How do we know that Torontia has a good deal of qualified politicians to start with? How many of those are female? This has far too much room for exploitation. What if a small political party, not necessarily a nationwide one, wanted to run in a certain area only but all the women had been snatched up by the huge parties in order to fill their quotas? Would that party be able to run? What if one party started an effort to recruit as many woman as possible simply to deny the other party the ability to operate? This leaves vast room for exploitation that no one is looking into. The whole government shouldn't be divided along gender lines, and that's what we're headed for.

"I propose that a sytem of vast, grassroots investments be created to fight against social inequality. It would give us valuable information as to the inner-workings of Torontian culture and reduce gender inequality within a few generations. It is a long term solution to the problem, and not a short term one like the party candidacy mandate. If you want to require a certain number of women run, then do it - but make it temporary to ensure a solution until the grassroots investments pay off. I'm afraid that everyone here is too terrified of being called cultural imperialist by looking to actually change a society. Either the society has to change, or the government has to change to fit it. The government wouldn't be efficient in the least sense if we looked to make it cater to inequalty - hence, society is what needs changing."

"Miss Carter has a point, the New Order enjoys very little support, which is why we were able to ban it without much furor. I doubt that their misogynistic ideologies carry much weight with the average Torontian."

“The New Order managed to come to power twice,” Mitsune replied, “and even during the periods when it was not in power (the Democratic Government and the Norton Communist Dictatorship) Torontia’s government remained almost uniformly male dominated. I ask you, name one Torontian politician of high office who was female before the establishment of the Provisional Government.”

"And if a party can't find enough women to run...? Should it be banned from running at all?”

“It would have to withdraw a number of male candidates until the number of male and female candidates running under the party’s banner is equal,” Liscel explained.

“And if a lot of women lose in the elections, should they be put in office anyway?"

“Yes…and they will be under the quota system devised by Lady Sabelina, whether the number of reserved seats is 50 percent or 35 percent.”

“It would have to withdraw a number of male candidates until the number of male and female candidates running under the party’s banner is equal,” Liscel explained.

Carter sighed.

"Am I the only person here that can imagine the TNCP bribing women to be part of their party just to limit the number of people other parties can support? Again, this system is ripe for corruption."

Time to even the odds again, Brovan thought preparing to speak. I will not allow this Covention to degrade yet again to another Amestria Roast.


"Everyone, please take note of the overt unprofessionalism displayed by the Amestrian delegation. They're insulting everyone here by declaring what opinons are worthy of their time. We should collectively and proportionaly show them as much thought as they show the opinions of anyone who challenges them."

"The anyone who thinks of the New Order as valid political entity worthy of being on the ballot deserves to be looked down on." Brovan said with a light tone.

*Snip* - hence, society is what needs changing."
Turning back the more important message from Carter. "That's what the real problem is, the Torontia society has been pushed and pulled all over the spectrum of politics and morals," Brovan paused, "mostly to the extremes I might add."

"The anyone who thinks of the New Order as valid political entity worthy of being on the ballot deserves to be looked down on." Brovan said with a light tone.


"How that even remotely has anything to do with what I just said, I'll never understand. The New Order has been hunted down so greatly and successfully that it's physically impossible for them to put together an organized political campaign capable of gaining anywhere near as much power as they'd need to even begin to reach the power they once had. You're simply blurting out random wedge issues to change the subject and protect the Amestrians."

Turning back the more important message from Carter. "That's what the real problem is, the Torontia society has been pushed and pulled all over the spectrum of politics and morals," Brovan paused, "mostly to the extremes I might add."

"How has Torontian society been changed at all? Maybe a bit by the infrastructure upgrade, but otherwise all the conflict has been between outside powers looking to keep from taking political losses. Torontian society has only been discussed slightly - and that was only in an 'how can we make it fit our government' way. Torontian's in the area held by the TNCP probably don't even know we're talking about them. Government censorship hold on media, don'tchaknow?"

Carter sighed.

"Am I the only person here that can imagine the TNCP bribing women to be part of their party just to limit the number of people other parties can support?"

Mitsune rolled her eyes.

"Apparently so…"

"Torontian's in the area held by the TNCP probably don't even know we're talking about them. Government censorship hold on media, don'tchaknow?"

"The proceedings of this Convention are being broadcast in Western Torontia as we speak, intent to broadcast it having been stated by both President Burns and the Ministry of Public Relations,” the Vice President pointed out. “There is also presently no censorship of the West Torontian media, as Mr. Bovern will attest."

You're simply blurting out random wedge issues to change the subject and protect the Amestrians."

"Just like the Kahanistan delagates and you yourself are trying veiled attempts to incite the Amestrians into a rash action?" Brovan said with a smirk.

"How has Torontian society been changed at all? Maybe a bit by the infrastructure upgrade, but otherwise all the conflict has been between outside powers looking to keep from taking political losses. Torontian society has only been discussed slightly - and that was only in an 'how can we make it fit our government' way."

Brovan waved off the speech. "You're talking in the now, like most outsiders do." "I'm talking about Kaufman, Nortan, and the Tanakis periods, 3 extremes of opposite ends."
He paused, "The Torontian society has never been anything but extremes. What are the morals of this nation? What is right? Kaufman made sure to tell us that "Safety by Agression" made everything okay, Nortan preached "Peace and Love at the cost of everything else", and Tanakis beat "Might=Right" repeatedly into our heads.
He took a breath. "We went from a Facist society, to an inept pacifist society, to a Military Facist Society."

“There is also presently no censorship of the West Torontian media, as Mr. Bovern will attest."
"My people read the news whenever it arrives, I can assure you it's not Biased, in fact, I remember one. "Cowardly Amestrians Flee nation, can their TPG lackies hold it together?" A slight glare from the Amestrian Delagate silienced him. "There are more, I have a collection actually, I'll send a copy of them to you if you want them."

Mitsune rolled her eyes.

"Apparently so…"

Carter whispered into her microphone to create a mocking presentation voice.

"Um... there's other people here. I think we should wait for them to talk, as well."

"The proceedings of this Convention are being broadcast in Western Torontia as we speak, intent to broadcast it having been stated by both President Burns and the Ministry of Public Relations,” the Vice President pointed out. “There is also presently no censorship of the West Torontian media, as Mr. Bovern will attest."

Ward interrupted.

"I hate to break it to you, but you're lying, as you probably know. When the TLP tried to run television commercials our rights were denied, I can present the letter I was given if you so desire, and when we tried to place ads in newspapers, anonymous people who just happened to have alot of available funds came in and purchased the advertising space behind us. Tell me, what individual in Torontia has the funds to outbid a major political party? That's right - no individual. These two incidents alone, in my opinion, more than shed light on TNCP censorship."


"Just like the Kahanistan delagates and you yourself are trying veiled attempts to incite the Amestrians into a rash action?" Brovan said with a smirk.


Carter was now obviously confused.

"We... were asked for our opinions on certain issues. We gave our opinions on such issues... I guess you have to take the issue of wedge issues up with the Xirniumite delegation or something. I'm just answering the questions presented to me."

Brovan waved off the speech. "You're talking in the now, like most outsiders do." "I'm talking about Kaufman, Nortan, and the Tanakis periods, 3 extremes of opposite ends."
He paused, "The Torontian society has never been anything but extremes. What are the morals of this nation? What is right? Kaufman made sure to tell us that "Safety by Agression" made everything okay, Nortan preached "Peace and Love at the cost of everything else", and Tanakis beat "Might=Right" repeatedly into our heads.
He took a breath. "We went from a Facist society, to an inept pacifist society, to a Military Facist Society."

Carter prepared another long address, which would probably be met with a few words from her counterpart.

Why do I even try...

"You're talking about what government was in power. I find it insane to believe that any government from the last few decades properly represents the Torontian society- I hope so at least. But, by what you just said, you sort of proved a point. Torontia is basically a controlled state of anarchy. Physically, things are calm - but I don't think anyone here really cares about killing their neighbor. That, my friend, is what needs changing. Is it really going to a far extreme to teach someone that killing gays and putting women down as wenches isn't very nice?"

"My people read the news whenever it arrives, I can assure you it's not Biased, in fact, I remember one. "Cowardly Amestrians Flee nation, can their TPG lackies hold it together?" A slight glare from the Amestrian Delagate silienced him. "There are more, I have a collection actually, I'll send a copy of them to you if you want them."

"This has nothing to do with the form of censorship I am talking of. It's political singularity. No other political party is able to advertise in western Torontian cities. The TNCP wants to keep everyone dumb and happy - and right now you're supporting them in it."

“Minister Gilda, Deputy Minister Sabelina, Mr Greenwood, what are your opinions concerning the proper definition of Yallaks State and its form of Government?”
The two Xirniumite ladies were once again engaged in whispered argument, their hurried conversation concerning whether or not they should respond to the question posed by the Amestrian delegation. Eleanor Sabelina found herself to be staunchly against the idea of doing any such thing, but was opposed in this stance by her parliamentary colleague.

“Heather, you know that this whole line of argument by the Amestrians is little more than a cheap stunt, a desperate attempt to divert attention away from the criticisms of their parliamentary quota policy,’ explained Lady Sabelina, her voice inaudible to all but the Foreign Minister, who was seated beside her.

‘That is certainly what it seems like…’ agreed Heather grimly, her voice in soft tones.

‘Surely you aren’t going to address their inquiry?’ asked the deputy Foreign Minister.

“We’ve little choice, I’m afraid, Eleanor. We mustn’t appear to be biased, or partial towards any one party,’ Lady Gilda reminded her colleague.

‘But this whole topic is entirely irrelevant. The Infinite Empire’s constitutional arrangements are simply not significant, in even the most flimsy way, to the issue of parliamentary quotas,’ argued Eleanor, apparently unwilling to let the matter rest.

‘So then we shall briefly address the point raised and then move on,’ clarified the Foreign Minister with an indifferent shrug of her shoulders.

‘It is not the place of the Xirniumite government to offer analyses of the constitutional structure of foreign governments. Such has never been our policy,’ argued Lady Sabelina persistently.

‘Maybe so, Eleanor, but this is not a diplomatic conference or a meeting between sovereign states. It is a symposium designed to address academic issues of a constitutional nature,’ pointed out Lady Gilda.

‘But this detracts from the discussion at hand…’ the deputy Foreign Minister persevered.

‘Eleanor, I don’t want to argue with you over this,’ Heather interrupted, a tired edge to her voice.

‘Fine!’ hissed the Xirniumite aristocrat, throwing up her hands in disgusted resignation. ‘Do whatever you will, Heather. You are the Minister, after all.’

The deputy Foreign Minister petulantly folded her arms across her chest and turned away from her colleague, facing forward once more. Seeing the Amestrian delegation, Eleanor focused her eyes on Sara Liscel, a suitable target against whom she could focus all her acrimony.

‘I should perhaps direct the question to Mr Azaenuquerna, who is more qualified than I in matters of Yallakian Constitutionalism,’ explained Lady Gilda in a clear, pleasant voice, finally responding to the Amestrian’s question. In truth, the academic to whom Heather referred was perhaps ill-suited to the task of commenting on the system of governance of the Infinite Empire, specialising instead in International Law.

‘Erm, the governmental system of the Infinite Empire is one notoriously difficult to define,’ began Algernon Azaenuquerna, fidgeting nervously with his spectacles. ‘One might perhaps describe it as a constitutional elective monarchy with numerous absolutist elements, whilst also incorporating some features of direct democracy. The constitutional structure of the Yallakian State is in many ways comparable to that of the Vatican City (particularly due to the fact that the Heads of State of both sovereign entities are elected for a life term), but may also be contrasted with the theoretical legal nature of the governments of the United Kingdom and Liechtenstein.

‘A great difficulty posed in attempting to classify the Yallakian government lies in the legal nature of the Emperor himself. It is notable that, not only does the Emperor possess the power to veto legislation, as do the monarchs of Liechtenstein and the United Kingdom (at least, hypothetically), but he may also pass legislation entirely of his own. This violation of the doctrine of separation of powers is perhaps the most autocratic feature of the Yallakian State, and vests both legislative and executive powers within a single individual, allowing the Yallakian monarch to wield enormous power. Theoretically, the Emperor of Yallak could rule in a manner without the consent of the Imperial Senate, though only if he maintains the confidence of at least one third of the chamber. Of course, some checks against the Emperor do exist, as Ms Me’rode rightly pointed out. Since they have been already referenced I won't point them out again.

‘Novel elements of direct democracy, which have been incorporated in the Yallakian system, include the existence of citizen initiated referenda for evaluating the decisions of the Imperial Senate. It should also be mentioned that both the members of the High Council of Arrandin (an Executory structure analogous, perhaps, to Cabinet within many other nations’ governmental systems), and the Emperor are elected by the citizens of the Infinite Empire.’

‘Thank you, Mr Azaenuquerna,’ interjected the Foreign Minister, seizing a pause in the scholar’s, near unremitting, monologue to indicate with a terse gesture that the Algernon was to conclude his answer. The Xirniumite academic had spoken rapidly, with an almost neurotic enthusiasm, and it was plainly obvious that he would have been perfectly pleased to discuss Yallakian Constitutionalism for the remainder of the night.

And what a unique opportunity indeed, to debate the various features of the Infinite Empire’s governmental system with none other than the Yallakian Emperor himself! thought Mr Azaenuquerna eagerly.

Lady Gilda, however, was not interested in having the convention’s discussion disappear down some irrelevant tangent, and was eager to proceed to matters of importance.

‘Now if we might return to the issue at hand?’ she prompted.

“I doubt that their misogynistic ideologies carry much weight with the average Torontian."
‘Perhaps so,’ replied Lady Sabelina, ‘but misogyny is by no means a peculiar feature of New Order ideology. It is a serious societal problem faced by all nations. It is also a characteristic that is (quite worryingly) deeply ingrained in Torontian society, based on all of the empirical data gathered thus far by the Xirniumite Gendarmerie during the past months of the Eternal Republic’s occupation of East Torontia.’

How do we know that Torontia has a good deal of qualified politicians to start with? How many of those are female?
‘The poorly-concealed implications behind these questions are, quite frankly, insulting,’ declared the deputy Foreign Minister, her lovely brown eyes narrowing in annoyance. ‘It is both a completely fallacious and misogynist notion that there might not exist enough capable women within the Torontian population to contend for election to Parliament. Women do not lack the ability or aspiration to achieve. What they do, however, occasionally lack is the opportunity. Torontian society is rife with inequity and discrimination, and the enacting of a candidate quota model merely serves to prohibit these unjust and unconscionable practices.’

What if a small political party, not necessarily a nationwide one, wanted to run in a certain area only but all the women had been snatched up by the huge parties in order to fill their quotas? Would that party be able to run? What if one party started an effort to recruit as many woman as possible simply to deny the other party the ability to operate?
‘An absurd notion,’ explained Lady Sabelina, waving her hand dismissively. ‘As I have already said, finding potential female candidates is not the problem. The problem is the willingness of the political parties in question to allow them to run in parliamentary elections. The existence of a candidate quota system merely ensures equality, and makes illegal the existence of gender discrimination in pre-selection procedures.’

"How has Torontian society been changed at all?”
‘Change has begun, at least in the east,’ Eleanor answered obligingly. ‘Since the beginning of the Eternal Republic’s assumption of custodianship over the eastern territories, women have benefited from a vast improvement in civil rights. For instance, the medical procedure of abortion is now available to all women in East Torontia upon demand. By legally safeguarding these rights, by declaring them to be the inalienable birthright of all women, society’s views as a whole can begin to change.

‘In addition, extraordinarily strong legal protections now exist for women, a product of the establishment of the Xirniumite Common Law in East Torontia, which serve to ruthlessly punish crimes against women such as domestic violence, rape and sexual assault. The Xirniumite Gendarmerie, of course, has been quite serious about tackling these issues within the occupied territories. For example Ms Carter, it may surprise you, but spousal rape was not regarded as a criminal offence by the New Order regime. It is therefore not at all surprising that an alarming number of Torontians hold the fictional, misogynist view of the existence of implied and continuing consent to sex within marriage. Slowly, however, as individuals whom act on such unacceptable notions face the wrath of a merciless judicial system, society’s perceptions as a whole in this area begin to change as well.

‘Finally, Torontian women have benefited from the numerous Xirniumite statutory initiatives designed to eliminate gender inequality in the eastern territories, such as extremely generous maternity leave provisions and equal wage mandates in the workplace. In addition numerous support initiatives and programs for women have been established.

‘Progress, of course, is always slow,’ concluded Eleanor, ‘particularly in a nation where gender inequality is so prevalent and serious. But slowly, society is changing.

"This has nothing to do with the form of censorship I am talking of. It's political singularity. No other political party is able to advertise in western Torontian cities. The TNCP wants to keep everyone dumb and happy - and right now you're supporting them in it."
Lady Sabelina absentmindedly brought the brim of her teacup up against her lips, only to notice that she had already drained its contents. Annoyed, Eleanor returned the cup to its saucer and refilled it with a silver teapot.

‘Would it be possible, Ms Carter, to perhaps leave these grievances of yours until the end of the conference?’ asked the Parliamentary Secretary. ‘Doubtless these are all matters that are of some significance and concern to your government, however if we were to pause the discussion in order to examine every issue of the current Torontian political situation that troubled each individual delegation we would never be finished here.’

‘I once again remind everyone that the subject of this Convention is constitutionalism.’

Inwardly, the Xirniumite sighed with exasperation.

It seems that Carter has proven more effective, in her ineptness, at moving the discussion away from criticisms of the Amestrian parliamentary quota proposal than have the Amestrians themselves, out of intent, she thought dourly.

‘The poorly-concealed implications behind these questions are, quite frankly, insulting,’ declared the deputy Foreign Minister, her lovely brown eyes narrowing in annoyance. ‘It is both a completely fallacious and misogynist notion that there might not exist enough capable women within the Torontian population to contend for election to Parliament. Women do not lack the ability or aspiration to achieve. What they do, however, occasionally lack is the opportunity. Torontian society is rife with inequity and discrimination, and the enacting of a candidate quota model merely serves to prohibit these unjust and unconscionable practices.’


"I'll agree that the Torontian society may have it's issues. That's why you should spend your time and efforts working on society and agree that a quota being temporary is far overkill and will cause problems in the future. My last proposal has details."

'Would it be possible, Ms Carter, to perhaps leave these grievances of yours until the end of the conference?’ asked the Parliamentary Secretary. ‘Doubtless these are all matters that are of some significance and concern to your government, however if we were to pause the discussion in order to examine every issue of the current Torontian political situation that troubled each individual delegation we would never be finished here.’

"These issues should be thought about by EVERYONE. If you continue to develop this constitution and do not take into account the obstacles it's implementation will face - then your time will have been wasted."

Carter sighed.

"Ok, I'm officially dismissing any more consideration of the quota system on my part. I've presented my opinion on it and there's nothing else I can do. No one here is helping anything by debating something that is logically flawed and only being presented out of someones fears of looking weak."

"I'll agree that the Torontian society may have it's issues. That's why you should spend your time and efforts working on society and agree that a quota being temporary is far overkill and will cause problems in the future. My last proposal has details."
“…a quota being temporary is far overkill…”

Eleanor turned the rather peculiar phrase over in her mind for a moment, doing her best to try and make any sense out of it. The Xirniumite tried varying its inflection or rearranging the order of the words themselves, but to no avail.

A “quota being temporary is far overkill”? What on Earth might that mean? wondered the Parliamentary Secretary bemusedly, frowning at the rather imprecise (to say the least) use of language.

Somewhat compulsively, the Xirniumite noblewoman poured herself a glass of whiskey and downed it in one go, drawing a scowling look from Lady Gilda. Eleanor did not bother to offer any excuse. I'll probably need it to maintain my already frayed patience, reasoned the parliamentarian.

‘I respectfully disagree that the dichotomy which you are attempting to draw is a valid one, Ms Carter,’ began Lady Sabelina slowly, expending much effort to prevent herself from talking down to the McKagan diplomat (an individual whom she now privately regarded as her intellectual inferior). ‘It is not a matter of either addressing the societal causative factors of gender inequality, on the one hand, or instituting a quota system, on the other. Quotas, if used properly, are designed in order to specifically address the underlying roots of misogynist sentiment in society. They do not (or rather, should not) exist outside the framework of tools designed for social engineering.’

‘I am also not entirely sure how you come to the conclusion that candidate quotas (assuming of course that you are, in fact, referring to candidate quotas),’ Eleanor added hastily, ‘are temporary or “overkill”. The latter statement makes no sense to me. The former is logically problematic. The desired effects of any quota program (which include the end of gender inequity within the particular institutional mechanism in question, in addition to the more profound alteration to the community at large) are designed to prove permanent. Indeed, any change to society would prove fruitless if it were not permanent.

‘Anyway, I’m not certain - have I made my position perfectly clear? It was my previous understanding that the McKagan delegation had absolutely no qualms with the Xirniumite candidate quota model (despite any misgivings for Amestria’s parliamentary quota model). I hope that this stance has not changed...’

"If you continue to develop this constitution and do not take into account the obstacles its implementation will face - then your time will have been wasted."
‘Maybe so, Ms Carter,’ conceded Lady Sabelina with an amused smile. ‘However, your continued interjections with their offer of complete irrelevancies to this Convention are wasting our time right now, not in some hypothetical future scenario - which I personally would consider a more important problem.’

‘Truly, Ms Carter, I do not understand where the problem lies. The concerns that you raise are clearly outside the scope of this symposium. Are they nonetheless important? Certainly. They will be addressed when appropriate, in due course - not now.

‘Does the McKagan government tend to plan strategic military offences during the same conferences where it allocates budget spending to different areas of the armed forces?’ asked Lady Sabelina rehtorically. ‘Surely the concept of conventions with discrete and well-defined agendas is not unknown in McKagan.’

"Ok, I'm officially dismissing any more consideration of the quota system on my part. I've presented my opinion on it and there's nothing else I can do.
Magnus Erthwig, identifying an opportunity to interject, cleared his voice and spoke up.

‘Ms Carter raises a valid point,’ began the SDLT leader. ‘We could debate the merits or otherwise of the Amestrian proposal indefinitely. What is clear, however, is that this controversial issue has hopelessly divided the Convention, and consensus will plainly not be reached. Indeed, it seems that the overwhelming tide of opinion from the various members of the conference is quite solidly against the wisdom of the proposed parliamentary quota system.

‘I move that the Amestrian proposal therefore be dismissed. Perhaps the future Torontian national government might examine the topic at a later date, and perhaps implement some type of quota system may be incorporated within Torontia’s parliamentary structure via constitutional amendment. For now, however, it seems obvious that common ground is unreachable, at least whilst Amestria continues to maintain its hard-line stance of legally mandating at least fifty percent representation.’

‘I move that the Amestrian proposal therefore be dismissed. Perhaps the future Torontian national government might examine the topic at a later date, and perhaps implement some type of quota system may be incorporated within Torontia’s parliamentary structure via constitutional amendment.’

“We will not accept any dismissal unless we agree to it,” Clo’e answered. “And the discussion is far from over.”

‘For now, however, it seems obvious that common ground is unreachable, at least whilst Amestria continues to maintain its hard-line stance of legally mandating at least fifty percent representation.’

Cut your losses and move on, Sara thought to herself.

“Perhaps a reduced quota of 45 or 40 percent would be found more agreeable. Presently, from my perspective, all rational objections have concerned the number of quota seats being supposedly too high, and no one has refuted the overwhelming benefits that would be derived from a Parliamentary quota system.”

"This has nothing to do with the form of censorship I am talking of. It's political singularity. No other political party is able to advertise in western Torontian cities. The TNCP wants to keep everyone dumb and happy - and right now you're supporting them in it."
" Have you ever heard of the Soap box?" "If you're worried about censorship make your own paper!" Like we do. "Go out and see the people, if you want followers so badly." I can't believe I'm giving my opponents advice. "If you get a roadblock, find another route, don't try and waste time pushing through it."


‘I am also not entirely sure how you come to the conclusion that candidate quotas (assuming of course that you are, in fact, referring to candidate quotas),’ Eleanor added hastily, ‘are temporary or “overkill”. The latter statement makes no sense to me. The former is logically problematic. "If I may speak up, his statement is firstly that he mistakenly believed that these Quotas were Temporary, his second statement, the "Overkill", was that he felt that such a Quota would be much to powerful a way of meeting Equality. He considered the possible negative side effects would be worse than the problem, hence 'Overkill'. "

rational[/I] objections have concerned the number of quota seats being supposedly too high, and no one has refuted the overwhelming benefits that would be derived from a Parliamentary quota system.”
"I can take a 40% to 30% Quota." Brovan said.

“…a quota being temporary is far overkill…” [and snip]

"If I may speak up, his statement is firstly that he mistakenly believed that these Quotas were Temporary, his second statement, the "Overkill", was that he felt that such a Quota would be much to powerful a way of meeting Equality. He considered the possible negative side effects would be worse than the problem, hence 'Overkill'. "

Carter was slightly embarassed. She'd misspoken her key talking point, making it appear to be something completly opposite. It could have been worse. She could fix this. She had an excuse.

"Sorry," she started in an apologetic voice. "During my last address, I overthought myself and misspoke. My proposal is actually that the quota system being permenant is far overkill, and that any quota being implemented, which I am still against, should be temporary until society itself can be repaired."

‘Does the McKagan government tend to plan strategic military offences during the same conferences where it allocates budget spending to different areas of the armed forces?’

"Um... yes, actually."

Magnus Erthwig, identifying an opportunity to interject, cleared his voice and spoke up.

‘Ms Carter raises a valid point,’ began the SDLT leader. ‘We could debate the merits or otherwise of the Amestrian proposal indefinitely. What is clear, however, is that this controversial issue has hopelessly divided the Convention, and consensus will plainly not be reached. Indeed, it seems that the overwhelming tide of opinion from the various members of the conference is quite solidly against the wisdom of the proposed parliamentary quota system.

‘I move that the Amestrian proposal therefore be dismissed. Perhaps the future Torontian national government might examine the topic at a later date, and perhaps implement some type of quota system may be incorporated within Torontia’s parliamentary structure via constitutional amendment. For now, however, it seems obvious that common ground is unreachable, at least whilst Amestria continues to maintain its hard-line stance of legally mandating at least fifty percent representation.’

Josh Ward, having yet to present the TLP's opinion, decided that getting his out faster than others would reinforce his position.

"I also support the move to dismiss this quota system and all future discussion of it during this conference. The hard-line stance of various delegations here has divided the convention to a point that may have lasting effects. I suggest we wrap up the quota conversation as quickly as possible and move on to something else."

“Perhaps a reduced quota of 45 or 40 percent would be found more agreeable. Presently, from my perspective, all rational objections have concerned the number of quota seats being supposedly too high, and no one has refuted the overwhelming benefits that would be derived from a Parliamentary quota system.”

Ward, in an odd move, started to go on the verbal offensive against the reeling Amestrian delegation.

"Yes, we have," Ward began. "You just chose to dismiss nearly any challenges except those on a select few aspects of your proposal, presenting yourself as too stuck up in your smug superiority to care about a good majority of the ideas presented here."

“We will not accept any dismissal unless we agree to it.”
‘Such is plainly obvious,’ replied Magnus, smiling amusedly. ‘No doubt you would not be supportive of a motion to dismiss your own proposal. The point is not about what you and your delegation wants, however, it is about what the entire Constitutional Convention’s consensus is.’

“Perhaps a reduced quota of 45 or 40 percent would be found more agreeable.”
‘Ahh, well now that we have an, in principle, acceptance of my argument that parliamentary quota seats are not necessary above a certain level of representation, we can perhaps reach some type of amenable agreement,’ explained Mr Erthwig with a triumphant smile.

‘The Social Democratic League of Torontia is desirous of establishing a quota system that legally guarantees 35% representation in the Torontian Parliament. Such is a bare five percent less than the level specified in the proposal that your delegation has offered, so do we have a compromise Ms Liscel? My understanding is that the Amestrians are a reasonable people. Let us now put this argument to rest.’

"If I may speak up, his statement is firstly that he mistakenly believed that these Quotas were Temporary, his second statement, the "Overkill", was that he felt that such a Quota would be much to powerful a way of meeting Equality. He considered the possible negative side effects would be worse than the problem, hence 'Overkill'. "
‘Ahh, I see...’ replied Lady Sabelina musingly. ‘Thank you for that, Mr Brovan, I think I understand now.’

"During my last address, I overthought myself and misspoke. My proposal is actually that the quota system being permenant is far overkill, and that any quota being implemented, which I am still against, should be temporary until society itself can be repaired."
‘Are you talking about candidate quotas here or parliamentary quotas?’ asked the Parliamentary Secretary.

"Um... yes, actually."
‘Oh that must be an absolute nightmare,’ opined Eleanor, imagining the chaos of meetings without clearly-defined agendas, where everything and anything could be discussed. ‘How do you, yourself, find them?’ asked the Xirniumite noblewoman, mildly interested.

‘Eleanor…’ warned the Foreign Minister under her breath.

‘Perhaps we might discuss this later,’ clarified Lady Sabelina.

‘Ahh, well now that we have an, in principle, acceptance of my argument that parliamentary quota seats are not necessary above a certain level of representation,

“Not your argument Mr. Erthwig, the argument you have undoubtedly been provided with,” Liscel commented, giving Lady Sabelina a brief knowing look.

“we can perhaps reach some type of amenable agreement,’ explained Mr Erthwig with a triumphant smile.

“Indeed,” Sara answered curtly.

‘The Social Democratic League of Torontia is desirous of establishing a quota system that legally guarantees 35% representation in the Torontian Parliament. Such is a bare five percent less than the level specified in the proposal that your delegation has offered, so do we have a compromise Ms Liscel? My understanding is that the Amestrians are a reasonable people. Let us now put this argument to rest.’

Liscel glanced at Mitsune. “I do believe this is the best we can do,” the Amestrian Vice Minister discreetly whispered to the Torontian Vice President. Mitsune nodded in agreement. Sara then returned her attention to Erthwig.

“A quota system guaranteeing 35% representation in the Torontian Parliament for women...agreed.”

The Kahanistanian representative nodded his head. "A 35% quota is acceptable to us."

Finally, he could agree with the Amestrians on something. He waited to see the reactions of the rest of the convention.

Lady Sabëlinà beamed triumphantly, not even bothering to conceal her smug self-satisfaction.

‘Splendid!’ declared the deputy Foreign Minister, bringing her slender hands together in a clap of delight. ‘I am most impressed that you were able to work through your disagreement and come to some kind of compromise amongst yourselves,’ added Eleanor sanctimoniously to the Amestrian and SDLT delegations.

‘The Xirniumite delegation, for its part, has no problems with the current proposal. Since it seems that we now have reached a consensus amongst a majority of the members of the Constitutional Convention, this issue is now formally concluded,’ explained Lady Sabëlinà with satisfied finality.

The Xirniumite noblewoman exchanged a few whispered words with her personal aide before turning back to the microphone. ‘I understand that on the following topic which we are now to discuss (the matter of possibly enshrining a Bill of Rights within Torontian constitutional law), the Kahanistanians have some rather… interesting ideas,’ continued Eleanor, inflecting her pronunciation of the word “interesting” as though she found its sound somewhat strange.

‘Would you like to share them with us, Major Abrams?’

‘Are you talking about candidate quotas here or parliamentary quotas?’ asked the Parliamentary Secretary.

"I don't see that either are really needed, but I'll agree to 35% simply so we can move on to something - anything else.

‘Oh that must be an absolute nightmare,’ opined Eleanor, imagining the chaos of meetings without clearly-defined agendas, where everything and anything could be discussed. ‘How do you, yourself, find them?’ asked the Xirniumite noblewoman, mildly interested.

‘Eleanor…’ warned the Foreign Minister under her breath.

‘Perhaps we might discuss this later,’ clarified Lady Sabelina.

"Indeed - if you wish to discuss this later, we can then. I'd hate to disrupt the conference." Carter said with a chuckle.

The Kahanistanian Major nodded his head and looked toward Eleanor. "Bill of rights... we have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedoms from cruel punishments, I'm sure there are protections for people accused of crimes... is there anything else you can think of, Lady Sabelina?"

Lady Sabëlinà’s eyes narrowed at the latest, and (in her private assessment) rather inane, contribution of the good Major.

Truly… I’m surrounded by morons, she thought dryly to herself.

‘In the interests of concluding our business here today, the Xirniumite delegation will now present a proposed Bill of Rights and ask the esteemed members of the Convention to comment critically on it,’ explained Eleanor. ‘Those of you here who actually happen to be vaguely familiar with issues of constitutional and international law,’ continued the Parliamentarian, cruelly taunting the Kahanistanian representative, ‘will immediately recognise that it is inspired primarily by the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.’

___________________________________

Proposed Torontian Entrenched Bill of Rights

Article 1
a. Everyone's right to life shall be held sacrosanct by the law. Everyone is born free and equal in dignity and in rights.
b. No one shall be intentionally deprived of his or her life save when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary:

(i) in defence of any person from unlawful violence;
(ii) in order to execute a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully imprisoned;
(iii) in action lawfully taken for the purpose of preserving the integrity of the Rule of Law.

c. Everyone has an inalienable right to recognition as a person before the law.

Article 2
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhumane, degrading, or unusual treatment or punishment.

Article 3
a. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude.
b. Slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms

Article 4
a. Everyone’s right to liberty and security of person shall be held sacrosanct by the law.
b. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. No one shall be deprived of his or her liberty save in the following cases and in full accordance with all procedures prescribed by law:

(i) the lawful detention of a person after conviction by a legitimate and competent court;
(ii) the lawful arrest of a person for non-compliance with the lawful and just order of a court;
(iii) the lawful arrest of a person effected for the express purpose of bringing him or her before a legitimate and competent legal authority on reasonable suspicion of having committed an offence or in cases when it is reasonably considered necessary to prevent his or her committing an offence or fleeing after having done so.

c. Everyone arrested shall be informed immediately, in clear language which he or she understands, of the reasons for his or her arrest and of any charge against him or her.
d. Everyone arrested shall be brought promptly before a lawful judge to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to a free and fair trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial.
e. Everyone who is deprived of his or her liberty by arrest shall be entitled to conduct an appeal by which the lawfulness of his or her detention shall be decided in a reasonable period of time by a court and his or her release immediately ordered if the detention is not lawful.
f. Everyone who has been the victim of arrest in contravention of the provisions of this Article shall have an inalienable right to reasonable compensation.

Article 5
a. In the determination of his or her legal rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him or her, everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable period of time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law. Judgment shall be pronounced publicly.
b. Everyone has an inalienable right to trial before a jury of his or her peers and under the law.
c. There shall be a presumption of innocence in all trials of criminal offences. The standard of proof necessary to overturn this presumption shall be that of beyond reasonable doubt.
d. Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum rights:

(i) to be informed promptly, in a language which he understands and in detail, of the nature and cause of the accusation against him;
(ii) to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence;
(iii) to defend him or herself in person or through legal assistance of his or her own choosing or, if he or she has not sufficient means to pay for legal assistance, to be given it free;
(iv) to examine or have examined witnesses against him or her and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his or her behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him or her.

Article 6
No one may be held to be guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the criminal offence was committed.

Article 7
The right to privacy shall be respected by the law. Everyone has the right to respect for his or her private and family life, his or her home and his or her correspondence.

Article 8
Everyone has an inalienable right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

Article 9
Everyone has an inalienable right to freedom of opinion and expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.

Article 10
Everyone has an inalienable right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his or her interests.

Article 11
a. Everyone has an inalienable right to private ownership of property, or to own property in association with others.
b. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her property.

Article 12
a. Everyone has an inalienable right to marry and to found a family, providing that he or she is of marriageable age. Everyone is entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. All of these right extends explicitly to both heterosexual and homosexual couples.
b. Marriage shall be entered into only with the full and free consent of the intending spouses.

Article 13
a. Everyone has an inalienable right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of his or her State.
b. Everyone has an inalienable right to leave his or her own country, and to return to his or her country.
c. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her nationality nor denied the right to change his or her nationality.

Article 14
a. Everyone has an inalienable right to be involved in the government of his or her nation, directly or through the freely chosen representatives in his or her parliament.
b. Everyone has an inalienable right to equal access to public service in his or her country.
c. The will of the people is the fundamental basis of the sovereign authority of government, this will is expressed through periodic, genuine and free elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote.
d. The law favours the equal access of women and men to electoral mandates and elective functions.

Article 15
a. Everyone has a right to social security.
b. Everyone has the right to work, the righ to free choice of employment, the right to just and favourable conditions of work and the right to protection against unemployment.
c. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration.

Article 16
a. Everyone has the right to free education.
b. Education shall be entirely secular and promote understanding and tolerance.

Article 17
a. Everyone is equal before and under the law and is entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law.
b. The enjoyment of all rights and freedoms shall be secured without discrimination on any ground including but not limited to sex, race, colour, gender, sexual preference, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth, economic or other status. Everyone is entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of these right and freedoms.
c. Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by a legitimate and competent court for acts violating the fundamental rights granted to him or her by the law.

Abrams skimmed the document, a bit offended by the Xirniumite's criticism of his lack of legal training.

"It is a good document... it provides many of the same rights as our own Constitution." The Kahanistanian Constitution was not as wordy, but the DSRK did typically follow the guidelines of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"One quick question. Article 1, section B, subsection 3... it sounds vague enough to justify the death penalty, with few or no checks on it. In fact, in an extreme situation, it could be used to execute jaywalkers, petty thugs... or political opponents, under the aegis of 'preserving the integrity of the rule of law.'"

In fact, in an extreme situation, it could be used to execute jaywalkers, petty thugs... or political opponents, under the aegis of 'preserving the integrity of the rule of law.'"
‘I do not believe so,’ explained Lady Gílda, ‘because of the very specific requirement that no more force be used than that which is absolutely necessary. Also, the section to which you refer is designed to allow the use of lethal force in only the most extreme of circumstances, that is when the Rule of Law itself has disintegrated due to a state of insurrection or complete anarchy. Neither jaywalking or the presence of petty thugs pose a threat to the Rule of Law.

I should also make clear that nothing in Article 1 sanctions executions. The use of lethal force in extreme circumstances is provided for, true, but the legality of the punishment of terminating an individual’s life is not.

That said, how would you rephrase it?’

'Also, I should like to add the following additional protections to the proposed Bill of Rights,' explained Lady Sabëlinà.

____________________________

Supplementary Article 18
The arts and all scientific research shall be entirely free of constraint or politicisation. Academic freedom must be held inviolable.

Supplementary Article 19
The right to asylum shall be guaranteed with due respect for the rules of the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 and the Protocol of 31 January 1967 relating to the status of refugees.

Supplementary Article 20
a. Collective expulsions are prohibited.
b. No one shall be removed, expelled or extradited to a foreign State where there is a risk that he or she would be subjected to the death penalty, torture or other cruel, inhuman, unusual or degrading treatment or punishment, nor to any foreign State where the integrity of their inalienable civil and political liberties might be placed at risk.

Supplementary Article 21
For greater surety, everyone is equal before the law. The Torontian Republic recognises the inviolability of the Rule of Law as a fundamental pillar of the State.

Supplementary Article 22
a. For greater surety, equality between men and women must be ensured in all areas, including employment, work and pay.
b. The principle of equality shall not prevent the maintenance or adoption of measures providing for specific advantages in favour of women.
c. Every woman has the inalienable right to abortion on demand. This right may be exercised at any stage, explicitly including during late-term pregnancy.

Supplementary Article 23
a. Children shall have the right to such protection and care as is necessary for their welfare and benefit.
b. In all actions relating to children, whether taken by public authorities or private institutions, the child's best interests must be a primary consideration.

Supplementary Article 24
a. The Torontian Republic recognises and respects the rights of the elderly to lead a life of dignity and independence and to participate in social and cultural life.
b. The Torontian Republic recognises and respects the right of people with disabilities to benefit from measures designed to ensure their independence and dignity, occupational integration and participation in social and cultural life.

Supplementary Article 25
a. Workers and employers, or their respective organisations, have, in accordance with the law, the right to negotiate and conclude collective agreements at the appropriate levels and to take collective action to defend their interests, including strike action.
b. Everyone who works has the right to protection against unjustified dismissal, in accordance with the law.

Supplementary Article 26
a. Everyone has the right of access to affordable preventive health care and the right to benefit from medical treatment.
b. Everyone has the right to ready access of effective contraceptives.

Supplementary Article 27
a. Everyone has an inalienable right to the integrity of their person. Everyone has the right to respect for his or her physical and mental integrity.
b. In the fields of medicine and biology, the free and informed consent of the person concerned must be respected in particular.

Addition to Article 16
a. Everyone has the right to free [compulsory] education [and to have access to vocational and continuous training].

Addition to Article 15
d. Everyone has the right to freely conduct business in accordance with the law.

Addition to Article 11
a. Everyone has an inalienable right to private ownership of property, or to own property in association with others. [Everyone has the right to own, use, dispose of and bequeath his or her lawfully acquired possessions.]
c. Intellectual property shall be protected.

Addition to Article 6
b. No one shall be liable to be tried or punished again in criminal proceedings for an offence for which he or she has already been finally acquitted or convicted within Torontia in accordance with the law.
c. The severity of penalties imposed for the commiting of crimes must not be disproportionate to the criminal offence.

Addition to Article 1
d. Nothing contained in this Bill of Rights should be interpreted as implying a revocation of the right to lawfully undergo the medical procedure of euthanasia.

‘I do not believe so,’ explained Lady Gílda, ‘because of the very specific requirement that no more force be used than that which is absolutely necessary. Also, the section to which you refer is designed to allow the use of lethal force in only the most extreme of circumstances, that is when the Rule of Law itself has disintegrated due to a state of insurrection or complete anarchy. Neither jaywalking or the presence of petty thugs pose a threat to the Rule of Law.

I should also make clear that nothing in Article 1 sanctions executions. The use of lethal force in extreme circumstances is provided for, true, but the legality of the punishment of terminating an individual’s life is not.

That said, how would you rephrase it?’

"I would remove sub-section 3 altogether," said Abrams. "The only way I can see justifying potentially lethal force is protecting people from harm, as covered in sub-section 1, or arresting and securing dangerous criminals, as covered in sub-section 2."

"The rule of law is whatever the politicians of the day decide it is. I would prefer not giving a third New Order the tools of repression. The death penalty is defended as a means of preserving the integrity of the rule of law, and that is what I thought sub-section 3 referred to... a way to enable Torontia to restore the death penalty."

‘I agree with you that the operation of subsection three does seem problematic, we could certainly strike it out until we come up with an alternative method in which to deal with armed insurrections or lawlessness,’ concurred Heather Gílda after some thought.

‘Regarding the issue of capital punishment, I will note that both Protocol 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union provide for the abolition of the death penalty,’ mused the Xirniumite Foreign Minister aloud. ‘I therefore submit for consideration the following suggested alteration to the proposed Bill of Rights.’

________________________________

Addition to Article 1
e. No one shall be condemned to the death penalty, or executed.

Josh Ward sat studying the comments of both the Xirniumites and the Kahanistanian representative. He knew that this new round of dicussions could possibly effect the pace of the rest of the conference based on if the Amestrians tried to pick a fight to save their pride after having their last "demand" rejected and being forced to settle for something less than they had originally requested.

I'll just play this one safe and see if anyone else gets confrontational before I make a push.

"I agree with the Bill of Rights you have presented thus far completely," Josh Ward started. "My only question concerns abortion. Should we make a for-or-against statement on abortion and place it in the Bill of Rights, or will that come later? I personally feel that we could save alot of people alot of time in the future if we could write a decision into the Constitution somewhere."

‘Article 22, subsection C, already conclusively addresses the issue of the right to abortion,’ replied Lady Gílda helpfully.

‘The twenty-second article is the ‘Rights of Women’ section of the Bill of Rights,’ explained Heather. ‘It outlaws discrimination and prejudice based on gender, makes explicitly constitutional the implementation of positive discrimination programs for the benefit of women, and legalises abortion.’

Proposed Torontian Entrenched Bill of Rights

Article 1
a. Everyone's right to life shall be held sacrosanct by the law. Everyone is born free and equal in dignity and in rights.
b. No one shall be intentionally deprived of his or her life save when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary:

(i) in defence of any person from unlawful violence;
(ii) in order to execute a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully imprisoned;
(iii) in action lawfully taken for the purpose of preserving the integrity of the Rule of Law.

c. Everyone has an inalienable right to recognition as a person before the law.

Article 4
a. Everyone’s right to liberty and security of person shall be held sacrosanct by the law.
b. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. No one shall be deprived of his or her liberty save in the following cases and in full accordance with all procedures prescribed by law:

(i) the lawful detention of a person after conviction by a legitimate and competent court;
(ii) the lawful arrest of a person for non-compliance with the lawful and just order of a court;
(iii) the lawful arrest of a person effected for the express purpose of bringing him or her before a legitimate and competent legal authority on reasonable suspicion of having committed an offence or in cases when it is reasonably considered necessary to prevent his or her committing an offence or fleeing after having done so.

c. Everyone arrested shall be informed immediately, in clear language which he or she understands, of the reasons for his or her arrest and of any charge against him or her.
d. Everyone arrested shall be brought promptly before a lawful judge to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to a free and fair trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial.
e. Everyone who is deprived of his or her liberty by arrest shall be entitled to conduct an appeal by which the lawfulness of his or her detention shall be decided in a reasonable period of time by a court and his or her release immediately ordered if the detention is not lawful.
f. Everyone who has been the victim of arrest in contravention of the provisions of this Article shall have an inalienable right to reasonable compensation.

Article 5
a. In the determination of his or her legal rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him or her, everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable period of time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law. Judgment shall be pronounced publicly.
b. Everyone has an inalienable right to trial before a jury of his or her peers and under the law.
c. There shall be a presumption of innocence in all trials of criminal offences. The standard of proof necessary to overturn this presumption shall be that of beyond reasonable doubt.
d. Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum rights:

(i) to be informed promptly, in a language which he understands and in detail, of the nature and cause of the accusation against him;
(ii) to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence;
(iii) to defend him or herself in person or through legal assistance of his or her own choosing or, if he or she has not sufficient means to pay for legal assistance, to be given it free;
(iv) to examine or have examined witnesses against him or her and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his or her behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him or her.

Article 6
No one may be held to be guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the criminal offence was committed.

Article 7
The right to privacy shall be respected by the law. Everyone has the right to respect for his or her private and family life, his or her home and his or her correspondence.

Article 9
Everyone has an inalienable right to freedom of opinion and expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.

Article 10
Everyone has an inalienable right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his or her interests.

Article 13
a. Everyone has an inalienable right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of his or her State.

“Articles 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 13 will have to be edited to take into account the inherent restrictions of a State of Emergency,” Cle’o pointed out, “as well as to properly define those restrictions.”

The Amestrian delegation proceeded to pass out a copy of the transcript from the earlier discussion concerning Emergency Powers.

"Much depends upon what you mean by fundamental civil and political rights. I propose that the President have the power to declare Martial Law. By Martial Law I mean the placing of a given area under military rule/law, suspend habeas corpus, and restrict freedom of assembly/travel. Of course there would be the significant restrictions and oversight by Parliament and the Courts. The President could only declare Martial Law when the civil institutions of justice in a given area no longer function, when there is a insurrection or rebellion, and of course in the event of a foreign invasion or an epidemic. Parliament could revoke the President's Martial Law Declaration with a simple Majority (needless to say the President could not use Martial Law to prevent Parliament from assembling) and the Courts could rule it unlawful if the declaration was found to be unjustified. The power to declare a State of Emergency would be restricted to a Natural disaster and simply restrict freedom of assembly and travel while giving the Military power to perform civilian duties. Parliament could also revoke this declaration and the courts would supervise. The President can also declare a curfew in a given area in the event of a State of Unrest (riots or a lack of public order). Parliament can revoke the President's curfew declaration and the Courts can rule it unlawful if it is found to be unjustified."

******

‘At this point in time the Xirniumite delegation indicates its support for Ms Konno’s proposals as regard the proclamation of a state of emergency and to impose martial law,’ indicated Lady Eleanor Sabelina in a professional, businesslike voice. ‘We will, of course, still need to examine the various suggestions in much greater detail, however we do not foresee any problems with them at this stage.’


Article 12
a. Everyone has an inalienable right to marry and to found a family, providing that he or she is of marriageable age. Everyone is entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. All of these right extends explicitly to both heterosexual and homosexual couples.
b. Marriage shall be entered into only with the full and free consent of the intending spouses.

“What is the marriageable age?” Me’rode questioned. “Is the marriageable age 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and who decides? Perhaps it should just read 18 Gregorian years of age for reasons of simple clarity.”

b. Everyone has an inalienable right to leave his or her own country, and to return to his or her country.

Clo’e raised an eyebrow. “So the Torontian State will have no power to seal its borders?”

Article 14
c. The will of the people is the fundamental basis of the sovereign authority of government, this will is expressed through periodic, genuine and free elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote.

“Section c of Article 14 should be struck, as there is simply no need for it,” the Deputy Minister stated flatly.

Supplementary Article 18
The arts and all scientific research shall be free of constraint or politicization. Academic freedom must be held inviolable.

“The arts should be free from constraints,” Me’rode agreed. "However, I cannot help but question the practicality of declaring it free from politicization, whatever that means. Is not socially relevant art by its nature commentary upon aspects of the nation and is not such commentary in some way inherently political? Furthermore should not the State have the power to determine what scientific research is acceptable within its borders?”

Supplementary Article 19
The right to asylum shall be guaranteed with due respect for the rules of the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 and the Protocol of 31 January 1967 relating to the status of refugees.

“Can your delegation present those relevant international treaties so that the members of the Convention can review them?” the Amestrian Deputy Minister politely asked.

Supplementary Article 20.
b. No one shall be removed, expelled or extradited to a foreign State where there is a risk that he or she would be subjected to the death penalty, torture or other cruel, inhuman, unusual or degrading treatment or punishment.

“The Torontian State should not be restricted from extraditing wanted criminals to other countries simply because they may face the death penalty. That is just absurd, with such a rule in place, for example, a terrorist or deserter could flee Amestria and take shelter in Torontia and they could not extradite him. Also, as Torontia itself has the death penalty, such a stance would be nonsensical. Also, there is the greater question, what shall Torontia do with illegal undesirables from particularly unpleasant parts of the world if it can’t send them back to their home country?”

"I would remove sub-section 3 altogether," said Abrams. "The only way I can see justifying potentially lethal force is protecting people from harm, as covered in sub-section 1, or arresting and securing dangerous criminals, as covered in sub-section 2."

Me’rode addressed the Kahanistanian delegate, the tone of her voice exceptionally cold. “A Government that cannot prevent thousands of people from being brutally murdered by bloodthirsty mobs and is incapable of suppressing the rampant violence within its cities should not lecture the members of this Convention on when and how lethal force should be employed by security services.”

"The rule of law is whatever the politicians of the day decide it is. I would prefer not giving a third New Order the tools of repression. The death penalty is defended as a means of preserving the integrity of the rule of law, and that is what I thought sub-section 3 referred to... a way to enable Torontia to restore the death penalty."

“The death penalty has not been abolished and is still in force in West Torontia,” Mitsune interjected, “although hanging rather then firing squad or torture is now the means of execution, and the abolition of the death penalty has not been agreed to by the members of the Convention.”

‘I agree that the operation of subsection three does seem problematic, we could certainly strike it out until we come up with an alternative method in which to deal with armed insurrections or lawlessness,’ concurred Heather Gílda after some thought.

“The Amestrian delegation sees nothing problematic with subsection three of Article 1,” Deputy Minister Me’rode stated, “rather it sees a significant problem with section b as a whole in that it is vague and confusing regarding the status of the death penalty, so I propose the following alteration.”

b. No one shall be intentionally deprived of his or her life save in the execution of a lawful sentence, by a legitimate and competent court, following his or her conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law, or when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary:

‘I therefore propose the following alteration to the proposed Bill of Rights.’

Addition to Article 1
c. No one shall be condemned to the death penalty, or executed.

Me’rode shook her head. “The Amestrian and TPG delegations see no reason why the matter of the death penalty and its application should not be left to the future Torontian government, courts, and electorate to decide, just as they will be left to decide such matters as the criminal code, tax code, economic policy, and regulations concerning garbage disposal.”

‘Article 22, subsection C, already conclusively addresses the issue of the right to abortion,’ replied Lady Gílda helpfully.

‘The twenty-second article is the ‘Rights of Women’ section of the Bill of Rights,’ explained Heather. ‘It outlaws discrimination and prejudice based on gender, makes explicitly constitutional the implementation of positive discrimination programs for the benefit of women, and legalises abortion.’

"Ah, ok then. I was just clarifying the position of abortion as it is usually held as a wedge issue around election time. Thank you for taking a liberal approach from the start."

“Articles 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 13 will have to be edited to take into account the inherent restrictions of a State of Emergency,” Cle’o pointed out, “as well as to properly define those restrictions.”

The Amestrian delegation proceeded to pass out a copy of the transcript from the earlier discussion concerning Emergency Powers.

Ward, a huge fan of the McKagan Hair Grunge Subculture and freedom of expression, had to make sure that Torontia never had a breach of this human right.

"Special consideration should be taken in regards to limiting Article 9 under a state of emergency. Perhaps stating that each case is negotiable or something, but Freedom of Expression is far too vague to limit outright. This detail should be no real difficulty though. It's just a wording issue, in my opinion."

“What is the marriageable age?” Me’rode questioned. “Is the marriageable age 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and who decides? Perhaps it should just read 18 Gregorian years of age for reasons of simple clarity.”

Ward chimed in again.

"I personally suggest age 17 as legal marriageable age, but it shouldn't be a real point of comfrontation."

Clo’e raised an eyebrow. “So the Torontian State will have no power to seal its borders?”

Ward responded in a subtle, helpful voice.

"I believe we're talking about during peacetime and not about illegal immigrants who hold no citizenship in Torontia. Perhaps these things could be more clearly defined."


“The Torontian State should not be restricted from extraditing wanted criminals to other countries simply because they may face the death penalty. That is just absurd, with such a rule in place, for example, a terrorist or deserter could flee Amestria and take shelter in Torontia and they could not extradite him. Also, as Torontia itself has the death penalty, such a stance would be nonsensical. Also, there is the greater question, what shall Torontia do with illegal undesirables from particularly unpleasant parts of the world if it can’t send them back to their home country?”

Ward started to talk once more. He knew that if he made peace people might stop being so defensive.

"Agreed. International conflicts often require nations to extradite joint enemies. I propose that some form of court handle this, though, and not just law enforcement."

Me’rode addressed the Kahanistanian delegate, the tone of her voice exceptionally cold. “A Government that cannot prevent thousands of people from being brutally murdered by bloodthirsty mobs and is incapable of suppressing the rampant violence within its cities should not lecture the members of this Convention on when and how lethal force should be employed by security services.”

Why can't the fucking Amestrians just stop picking fucking fights.

Carter was now annoyed.

"Just because a nation had a stage of civil unrest doesn't mean it doesn't know what's right and what's wrong. I personally agree with the Kahanistanian delegate, and McKagan has never had large scale civil unrest... well... when Duff is happy. If Duff is happy, we're ok."

“The death penalty has not been abolished and is still in force in West Torontia,” Mitsune interjected, “although hanging rather then firing squad or torture is now the means of execution, and the abolition of the death penalty has not been agreed to by the members of the Convention.”

Carter and Ward, both highly liberal members of the convention, looked at each other as soon as Mitsune spoke. The two decided that it was better for Ward to make the kill as he's the one preparing to run in an election.

"The death penalty is a barbaric stain on the face of any non-barbaric nation. Re-education and help are the most important thinks any society can do for people who have issues. Both my vote and the vote of the McKagan delegation are for no dealth penalty, should it come to a vote here. We have no problem with leaving it up to future governments, though."

The Amestrian delegation proceeded to pass out a copy of the transcript from the earlier discussion concerning Emergency Powers.
With a single graceful movement Lady Heather Gílda donned her reading glasses and proceeded to carefully examine the offered transcript, marking it in several places with a pen.

‘These restrictions on the Bill of Rights appear acceptable,’ explained the Xirniumite Foreign Minister after a while. ‘They are well thought out and moderate. In addition, I should like to add a limitation that nothing within the listed restrictions should be taken to imply that the writ of habeas corpus may be suspended indefinitely and that the restrictions permitted under this Bill of Rights to the contained freedoms and liberties shall not be applied for any purpose other than those for which they have been prescribed.’


“So the Torontian State will have no power to seal its borders?”
‘It shall,’ explained Lady Eleanor Sabëlinà. ‘What it shall not have the power to do, however, is prevent its nationals from returning to their own country, or the same from fleeing it if that is their wish.’


"I believe we're talking about during peacetime and not about illegal immigrants who hold no citizenship in Torontia. Perhaps these things could be more clearly defined."
‘It is already perfectly defined,’ opined the deputy Foreign Minister. ‘Individuals seeking asylum are not people wishing to return to their nation. Their rights, that is the rights of refugees and asylum seekers, shall be protected instead by the nineteenth article.’


“Section c of Article 14 should be struck, as there is simply no need for it.”
‘Section C provides an aid to statutory interpretation by the judiciary,’ explained Heather, illustrating one of the article’s purposes. ‘It instructs the courts to bare in mind the principles of popular democracy when interpreting the Constitution and any Acts of Parliament.’


"However, I cannot help but question the practicality of declaring it free from politicization, whatever that means. Is not socially relevant art by its nature commentary upon aspects of the nation and is not such commentary in some way inherently political?”
‘The term “politicisation” does indeed seem problematic on inspection,’ agreed Eleanor. ‘I suggest substituting the term “government restraint.”’


“Furthermore should not the State have the power to determine what scientific research is acceptable within its borders?”
‘I do not see why it should…’ confessed Lady Sabëlinà honestly.


“Can your delegation present those relevant international treaties so that the members of the Convention can review them?” the Amestrian Deputy Minister politely asked.
‘Umm… do we have enough copies of these treaties, Isabella?’ asked a skeptical Eleanor to her personal secretary, wondering aloud.

‘I’ll check for you, madam,’ replied the aide with an uncertain shrug.

‘Thank you.’

Several minutes later, large booklets with glossy white covers were passed around to every delegation, each baring the title United Nations Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees in red lettering in addition to the logo of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

[link (http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/protect/opendoc.pdf?tbl=PROTECTION&id=3b66c2aa10)]

“The Amestrian delegation sees nothing problematic with subsection three of Article 1.”
‘I believe that the proposed restrictions on the Bill of Rights described by your delegation earlier are much more effective for their purpose than our third subsection is, and should replace it,’ replied Lady Sabëlinà.


“I propose that some form of court handle this, though, and not just law enforcement."
‘In order to do that,’ began Lady Gílda, ‘I propose adding to Article 1, subsection C the provision that no one shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.’

“We have no problem with leaving it up to future governments, though."
‘My suggestion is that we leave it for the Torontian Parliament to legislate on,’ explained Lady Sabëlinà. ‘Subsection C of the sixth article already provides an assurance that the use capital punishment can not be abused by the Torontian legislature.’

‘In order to do that,’ began Lady Gílda, ‘I propose adding to Article 1, subsection C the provision that no one shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.’

"This is a very welcome addition."

‘My suggestion is that we leave it for the Torontian Parliament to legislate on,’ explained Lady Sabëlinà. ‘Subsection C of the sixth article already provides an assurance that the use capital punishment can not be abused by the Torontian legislature.’

"Agreed. We've got to leave them something to do, after all," Ward said while a chuckle.

"So far I agree with almost everything, though I support that there needs to be a system of Emergancy in case of natural disaster, a destructive insurecction, or an invasion by a hostile or Imperialist power..."


"The death penalty is a barbaric stain on the face of any non-barbaric nation. Re-education and help are the most important thinks any society can do for people who have issues. Both my vote and the vote of the McKagan delegation are for no dealth penalty, should it come to a vote here. We have no problem with leaving it up to future governments, though."

"Re-education, you can't re-educate a Cold blooded Serial Killer, and you can't help them either, except for removing them from this earth, that's all I have to say about that."

"Re-education, you can't re-educate a Cold blooded Serial Killer, and you can't help them either, except for removing them from this earth, that's all I have to say about that."

Ward took the microphone in a somewhat (intentionally) confused-sounding voice.

"Um... what are you talking about? Anyone, no matter how hardcore their beliefs or how hardcore their hatred, can be re-educated to become a useful part of society. I'm not sure on the details, but McKagan has a very effective program that was created under the guidance of the McKagan Core Liberal Party during the Stewart administration, if I recall correctly. All it requires is time, patience, money, and experts trained in the field. Any society that would rather kill its citizens than help them overcome their problems is out of control and anti-intellectual..."

The tone of Wards voice changed as he took a sip of his water and prepared to lean back into the microphone.

"I can go into the issue of false-convictment too, if you really want me to -"

Carter, realizing that Ward had already had a great response, interrupted into her microphone.

"Um, I think what Mr. Ward is trying to say is that if Torontia is going to be a progressive, liberal state, it will require extra thought into certain areas. What is the conventions call on the death penalty? Are we leaving it to future governments or not?"

Lady Sabëlinà found herself playing distractedly with the end of her jacket’s sleeve - in spite of the Xirniumite’s very best endeavour to appear attentive whilst the various delegates quarrelled over the merits or otherwise of capital punishment. The sheer crude banality of Mr Brovan’s populist argument was, in Eleanor’s opinion, perhaps the most off-putting aspect of the debate, the least worthy of her time or intellectual thought.

Brovan assuredly is a textbook case of a typical, utterly insipid “beer hall” politician, reflected Eleanor after a while, regarding the Torontian party leader with perhaps the same curiosity that an etymologist might adopt when examining an exotic beetle or gnat. Orwell coined a term that now seems particularly apt at defining Brovan’s style of rhetoric – “duckspeak”.

Mr Brovan’s kind, pondered Lady Sabëlinà thoughtfully, was the type of politician that inevitably seemed to spring up whenever the prevailing socio-economic conditions of the time imposed some form of hardship on the common underclass. Adept at rabble-rousing and petty demagoguery, such individuals (perched often on a hastily overturned crate – the literal soapbox, as it were) would address their half dozen devoted followers in whatever dingy cellar, drab public hall or dull town square availed itself to them, seeking to inflame popular desires and exploit all too familiar public prejudices.

Absolutely nothing they might say was ever original, reflected Eleanor, nor was it ever creative or well-thought out. It was, however, always pathetically straightforward – a clear, vastly oversimplified solution to what were often the most complex of problems. Theirs was a message that could effortlessly capture the imagination of the lowest common denominator (the unsophisticated and uneducated masses), for whom it was invariably designed. The fact that an individual like Mr Brovan could rise to popularity within this backwater country was nothing less than a terrible indictment on the entire Torontian proletariat and its collective intellect as a whole, in Lady Sabëlinà’s private opinion. Such an individual belonged to a bygone day, a less erudite world, and yet Brovan’s kind had (most unfortunately, in Eleanor’s view) not totally died out yet – at least not in some parts of the world.

‘The determination of what kind of punishment society should inflict for the violation of any one crime, in addition to how a State should structure its conventional criminal process and sentencing procedures, is always an exercise in reconciling the underlying aims and effects of imposing legal sanctions in the first place – those of retribution, deterrence, incapacitation and rehabilitation. Such a task is made no less difficult by the fact that these competing aims and effects are more often in tension than they are in harmony,’ explained Lady Sabëlinà pedagogically, finally deciding to weigh in to the argument. Eleanor’s masterfully articulate and expressive elocution, characteristically laced with its usual subtle hints of conceited arrogance, was world’s apart from the rather bland and unsophisticated diction of either Mr Brovan, Ms Carter or Mr Ward.

‘The death penalty is only one such outcome possible from resolving the retributory desire to seek “just deserts” for the offender with the utilitarian aim of preventing crime via deterrence, rehabilitation or incapacitation. It is certainly not the only outcome, nor (in the opinion of my Government and I), the most effective outcome. In fact, I agree with Ms Carter that it is barbarous. Nonetheless, I think that such a debate lies outside the scope of this Constitutional Convention – and that we should leave the ultimate decision for the Torontian legislature to make.’

‘It shall,’ explained Lady Eleanor Sabëlinà.

‘What it shall not have the power to do, however, is prevent its nationals from returning to their own country, or the same from fleeing it if that is their wish.’

That is the very definition of sealing ones borders, preventing people from entering or leaving, be they citizens or foreign nationals,” Me’rode pointed out.

‘Section C provides an aid to statutory interpretation by the judiciary,’ explained Heather, illustrating one of the article’s purposes. ‘It instructs the courts to bare in mind the principles of popular democracy when interpreting the Constitution and any Acts of Parliament.’

“In other words it amounts to no more then meaningless flowery language. Statements such as Section C of Article 14 belong in the Constitution’s Preamble rather then its Body,” the Amestrian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs opinioned.

‘The term “politicisation” does indeed seem problematic on inspection,’ agreed Eleanor. ‘I suggest substituting the term “government restraint.”’

“Agreed…” Me’rode remarked.

‘I do not see why it should…’ confessed Lady Sabëlinà honestly.

“Scientific research is different from art and free speech in that it involves many potentially dangerous things that need to be regulated by the State, such as explosive chemicals, poison gasses, toxins, and deadly diseases,” Vice President Konno explained. “There are also the social implications that should be considered by the State leadership and body politic regarding certain fields of research, particularly research involving human DNA and human experimentation. The ‘free of constraints’ clause is therefore very problematic.”

[link (http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/protect/opendoc.pdf?tbl=PROTECTION&id=3b66c2aa10)]

“No objection.” Mitsune remarked. Clo’e nodded her delegations agreement.

‘I believe that the proposed restrictions on the Bill of Rights described by your delegation earlier are much more effective for their purpose than our third subsection is, and should replace it,’ replied Lady Sabëlinà.

“The proposed Bill of Rights will have to be rewritten somewhat,” Clo’e observed.

‘In order to do that,’ began Lady Gílda, ‘I propose adding to Article 1, subsection C the provision that no one shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.’

“That is somewhat problematic unless exceptions are written in regarding cases of violent resistance to lawful authority and States of Emergency,” Me’rode commented. “Our delegation will have to see the written text before Minister Gílda’s proposal has our agreement.”

‘My suggestion is that we leave it for the Torontian Parliament to legislate on,’ explained Lady Sabëlinà. ‘Subsection C of the sixth article already provides an assurance that the use capital punishment can not be abused by the Torontian legislature.’

‘…I think that such a debate lies outside the scope of this Constitutional Convention – and that we should leave the ultimate decision for the Torontian legislature to make.’

“Agreed…” Clo’e remarked without looking up.

What is the conventions call on the death penalty? Are we leaving it to future governments or not?"

“It is the apparent consensus of this Convention that the issue of capital punishment is best left to future Torontian Governments to decide,” Me’rode observed.

‘The determination of what kind of punishment society should inflict for the violation of any one crime, in addition to how a State should structure its conventional criminal process and sentencing procedures, is always an exercise in reconciling the underlying aims and effects of imposing legal sanctions in the first place – those of retribution, deterrence, incapacitation and rehabilitation. Such a task is made no less difficult by the fact that these competing aims and effects are more often in tension than they are in harmony,’ explained Lady Sabëlinà pedagogically.

‘The death penalty is only one such outcome possible from resolving the retributory desire to seek “just deserts” for the offender with the utilitarian aim of preventing crime via deterrence, rehabilitation or incapacitation. It is certainly not the only outcome, nor (in the opinion of my Government and I), the most effective outcome. In fact, I agree with Ms Carter that it is barbarous. Nonetheless, I think that such a debate lies outside the scope of this Constitutional Convention – and that we should leave the ultimate decision for the Torontian legislature to make.’

"Fine with me," Brovan said, pausing for a second... "While I do tend to support it I do agree it's a horrible thing, hopefully if they do pass it, they will have heavy restraint on how to use it."

-----
OOC:
You're mainly correct about Brovan. He's no politician. He's more of the slightly important character that is forced into the spotlight because of a failure in the system. Forced to have his beliefs under a microscope, these sort stumble about the political process trying the best they can to survive. While open minded

Of course like other types who don't know how to play the political game.
(i.e. Jimmy Carter)
He doesn't tiptoe and dress up comments and he's too damn honest about his beliefs. (Which is why he won't be running for a national leadership position.)

P.S. He's isn't stupid however, he knows what's going on, he's just content to let the real power players do their thing. That and learn a few tips.

“That is the very definition of sealing ones borders, preventing people from entering or leaving, be they citizens or foreign nationals,” Me’rode pointed out.
‘You are right, of course, that preventing one’s citizens from returning to the nation of their birth, or from seeking to depart from it if they so choose, does come within the ambit of sealing one’s borders,’ agreed Lady Gílda.

‘However, that is a power that the Torontian government should not, in our opinion, be permitted to have,’ continued Heather. ‘It would amount to the ability of the nation of Torontia to render its own citizens stateless, totally unprotected by Torontian law (or, indeed, any other nations’ law) and it would prevent persecuted or wronged persons from attempting to seek asylum in other countries. Such, I am sure you will agree, is not acceptable given Torontia’s past history of victimising its own people.’

‘I should now like the remaining members of the convention to comment on this issue. Ms Carter? Mr Brovan? Major Abrams?’

“In other words it amounts to no more then meaningless flowery language. Statements such as Section C of Article 14 belong in the Constitution’s Preamble rather then its Body,” the Amestrian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs opinioned.
‘I do not believe that there is anything “meaningless” about attempts to guide statutory interpretation or judicial review of legislative action (in this specific case, by ensuring that the courts attempt to interpret Parliament’s legislation in a way that renders it compatible with common democratic principles),’ pointed out Lady Sabëlinà, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. ‘Such a function is, for example, a primary purpose of the Human Rights Act 1998 in the United Kingdom and the Human Rights Act 1993 in New Zealand, and I can assure you that none of these nations consider it “meaningless.”’

‘Were we to do as you suggest, Ms Me’rode, and delegate the statement in question to another section of the constitution it would rob it of those functions - as the Preamble does not have the force of law, it does not impose any real obligations. So in order to prevent it from becoming nothing more than “meaningless flowery language”, I am sure you will now agree with me that it should remain in the Bill of Rights.’

“Scientific research is different from art and free speech in that it involves many potentially dangerous things that need to be regulated by the State, such as explosive chemicals, poison gasses, toxins, and deadly diseases.”
‘That is certainly a legitimate concern, Ms Konno,’ agreed Lady Sabëlinà. ‘It was, without any doubt, never our desire to limit the ability of the Torontian government to impose laws which might, for example, prevent development of chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction by private research companies, or to erect the usual public regulations required concerning any use of potentially hazardous substances.’

‘Rather,’ continued Eleanor after a brief pause, ‘we are only seeking an avenue by which to prevent government from halting all or part of scientific and technological advancement as a whole, and by doing so we hope to ensure the independence and apolitical integrity of the scientific community. The Xirniumite delegation is very much concerned by the possibility of a hypothetical future Torontian government forbidding genuine, legitimate research into a scientific field on spurious ideological grounds. For instance, so as to appeal to the ignorant prejudices of a fundamentalist conservative constituency, a hypothetical government might seek to outlaw or restrict research into the use of embryonic stem cells, or genetic engineering techniques, or cloning. This must not be allowed to occur. Science cannot and must not be held hostage to the uniformed biases of the common mob.

I therefore propose that the eighteenth article be reworded thusly (so as to take into account all of Ms Konno’s concerns whilst simultaneously addressing mine) and ask that the other members of the Constitutional Convention also offer their comments on it.’

_______________________________

Article 18
a. The arts and all scientific research shall be entirely free of constraint or government restriction. Academic freedom must be held inviolable, and the arts and sciences maintained as areas of human thought completely free and independent.
b. Nothing contained in this Bill of Rights should be interpreted as implying a revocation of the right of government to lawfully enact regulations for the legitimate prevention of undue harm to Torontia’s citizenry or society.

“The proposed Bill of Rights will have to be rewritten somewhat,” Clo’e observed.
‘As soon as these remaining issues are wrapped up the Xirniumite delegation will present the completed Bill of Rights to the Constitutional Convetion for final deliberation,’ Heather assured Ms Me’rode with a polite smile.

‘You are right, of course, that preventing one’s citizens from returning to the nation of their birth, or from seeking to depart from it if they so choose, does come within the ambit of sealing one’s borders,’ agreed Lady Gílda.

‘However, that is a power that the Torontian government should not, in our opinion, be permitted to have,’ continued Heather. ‘It would amount to the ability of the nation of Torontia to render its own citizens stateless, totally unprotected by Torontian law (or, indeed, any other nations’ law) and it would prevent persecuted or wronged persons from attempting to seek asylum in other countries. Such, I am sure you will agree, is not acceptable given Torontia’s past history of victimising its own people.’

‘I should now like the remaining members of the convention to comment on this issue. Ms Carter? Mr Brovan? Major Abrams?’

"I agree, there is no reason to block exit from the country. Even in the direst state of emergency, one only needs worry about who comes in, not who goes out."

‘I do not believe that there is anything “meaningless” about attempts to guide statutory interpretation or judicial review of legislative action (in this specific case, by ensuring that the courts attempt to interpret Parliament’s legislation in a way that renders it compatible with common democratic principles),’ pointed out Lady Sabëlinà, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. ‘Such a function is, for example, a primary purpose of the Human Rights Act 1998 in the United Kingdom and the Human Rights Act 1993 in New Zealand, and I can assure you that none of these nations consider it “meaningless.”’

‘Were we to do as you suggest, Ms Me’rode, and delegate the statement in question to another section of the constitution it would rob it of those functions - as the Preamble does not have the force of law, it does not impose any real obligations. So in order to prevent it from becoming nothing more than “meaningless flowery language”, I am sure you will now agree with me that it should remain in the Bill of Rights.’

"I agree... the way laws have been interpreted in some jurisdictions is scary. There need to be safeguards put in place to let the courts know how we intend our laws to be interpreted."

‘That is certainly a legitimate concern, Ms Konno,’ agreed Lady Sabëlinà. ‘It was, without any doubt, never our desire to limit the ability of the Torontian government to impose laws which might, for example, prevent development of chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction by private research companies, or to erect the usual public regulations required concerning any use of potentially hazardous substances.’

‘Rather,’ continued Eleanor after a brief pause, ‘we are only seeking an avenue by which to prevent government from halting all or part of scientific and technological advancement as a whole, and by doing so we hope to ensure the independence and apolitical integrity of the scientific community. The Xirniumite delegation is very much concerned by the possibility of a hypothetical future Torontian government forbidding genuine, legitimate research into a scientific field on spurious ideological grounds. For instance, so as to appeal to the ignorant prejudices of a fundamentalist conservative constituency, a hypothetical government might seek to outlaw or restrict research into the use of embryonic stem cells, or genetic engineering techniques, or cloning. This must not be allowed to occur. Science cannot and must not be held hostage to the uniformed biases of the common mob.

I therefore propose that the eighteenth article be reworded thusly (so as to take into account all of Ms Konno’s concerns whilst simultaneous addressing mine) and ask that the other members of the Constitutional Convention also offer their comments on it.’

Article 18
a. The arts and all research into the sciences shall be entirely free of constraint or government restriction. Academic freedom must be held inviolable, and the arts and sciences maintained as areas of human thought completely free and independent.
b. Nothing contained in this Bill of Rights should be interpreted as implying a revocation of the right of government to lawfully enact regulations for the legitimate prevention of undue harm to Torontia’s citizenry or society.

Major Abrams shook his head. "Allow me to cite an example of science run amok in Kahanistanian history. Shortly after the Invasion of Xirnium, thousands of Capitol Police were captured and taken to a research facility (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=457652) in Al-Qamar, Kahanistan. The research chief there decided to try to... socialize... them, into human beings. He subjected his staff to the most unconscionable risks, if I recall correctly, one volunteer was nearly killed in a cell with one of them. She's stuck in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down, and this pathetic Freudian scientist gets appointed Minister of Health for his... reckless perversion."

Abrams clearly held the Health Minister in the utmost contempt. He clarified his position.

"My point is, that research shouldn't be politicized, but something needs to be put in place to prevent mad scientists from risking volunteers' lives for their insane agendas."

"Allow me to cite an example of science run amok in Kahanistanian history. Shortly after the Invasion of Xirnium, thousands of Capitol Police were captured and taken to a research facility in Al-Qamar, Kahanistan. The research chief there decided to try to... socialize... them, into human beings. He subjected his staff to the most unconscionable risks, if I recall correctly, a female volunteer was nearly killed in a cell with one of them. She's stuck in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down, and this pathetic Freudian scientist gets appointed Minister of Health for his... reckless perversion."
‘Such an experiment would most certainly violate the stipulations of statutory legal regulations likely to be enacted by any future Torontian legislature (under Article 18, subsection B, of the Bill of Rights) concerning research experiments which involve human subjects ’ replied Lady Gílda with her characteristic, almost didactic, patience. ‘In addition, this medical practice case you illustrated would be a gross violation of Article 4 (a) of the Bill of Rights, (the inalienable right to liberty and security of person) as well as Article 27 (b), which reads that “in the fields of medicine and biology, the free and informed consent of the person concerned must be respected in particular.”’

‘I believe that what my colleague is trying to get at,’ elaborated Lady Sabëlinà with an air of patronising superiority, ‘is that there are protections in place within the Bill of Rights. Protections that, err…’ the Xirniumite Foreign Minister briefly checked the stenographer’s transcript, ‘“prevent mad scientists from risking volunteers' lives for their insane agendas,” as you, so eloquently, put it.’

‘You are right, of course, that preventing one’s citizens from returning to the nation of their birth, or from seeking to depart from it if they so choose, does come within the ambit of sealing one’s borders,’ agreed Lady Gílda.

‘However, that is a power that the Torontian government should not, in our opinion, be permitted to have,’ continued Heather. ‘It would amount to the ability of the nation of Torontia to render its own citizens stateless, totally unprotected by Torontian law (or, indeed, any other nations’ law) and it would prevent persecuted or wronged persons from attempting to seek asylum in other countries. Such, I am sure you will agree, is not acceptable given Torontia’s past history of victimising its own people.’

‘I should now like the remaining members of the convention to comment on this issue. Ms Carter? Mr Brovan? Major Abrams?’


Ward, feeling somewhat dejected being one of the only people whose opinions wasn't asked for by name, decided he was going to respond anyway.

"I agree with you. Even looking at this from a broader standpoint can shed some light on the major flaws of a government being able to completely lock down the movement of its citizens. Lets first look at this from an economic standpoint. Torontia is far from being self sustaining on its own industrial base. Global business requires citizens to travel. A bad government could set Torontian economy back a few decades by suspending travel. The only way I can see that completely stopping the movement of Torontias citizens as useful would be after an outbreak of some sort. So, until the dead begin to reanimate and attack the living, we're ok."

Ward chuckled a bit.


‘Were we to do as you suggest, Ms Me’rode, and delegate the statement in question to another section of the constitution it would rob it of those functions - as the Preamble does not have the force of law, it does not impose any real obligations. So in order to prevent it from becoming nothing more than “meaningless flowery language”, I am sure you will now agree with me that it should remain in the Bill of Rights.’


"I agree completely. There's no risk of adding another paragraph to help ensure the integrity of the document. Even if it is 'just flowerly language,' added description is added security."


I therefore propose that the eighteenth article be reworded thusly (so as to take into account all of Ms Konno’s concerns whilst simultaneous addressing mine) and ask that the other members of the Constitutional Convention also offer their comments on it.’

Ward took a deep breath and started again.

"Again, I agree. I can't really add much more to this particular conversation - but I'm in completely agreement with you."

Carter, after listening to Wards responses, sat trying to figure out what had just happened. The usual quiet (except for on religious matters) TLP chairman had just put together what was, in her eyes, a very good set of responses in agreement with the Xirniumite.

Maybe he will indeed be the TLP's primary candidate.

Carter tapped her microphone with her index finger again.

"Um... I don't want to mirror anyone here - but I basically agree with Mr. Ward on everything he just mentioned. The issues are, in my opinion, too simple to have a variety of solutions to."

‘However, that is a power that the Torontian government should not, in our opinion, be permitted to have,’ continued Heather.

“It is a power every sovereign government should have, Me’rode replied. “It is a power inherent to sovereignty.”

‘It would amount to the ability of the nation of Torontia to render its own citizens stateless, totally unprotected by Torontian law (or, indeed, any other nations’ law) and it would prevent persecuted or wronged persons from attempting to seek asylum in other countries. Such, I am sure you will agree, is not acceptable given Torontia’s past history of victimising its own people.’

“You seem to be operating under two flawed assumptions,” Clo’e remarked. “First, that the Torontian Government would take the extraordinary and costly step of sealing its borders for no real reason (rather then in response to a legitmate national emergency), and second, that a grave emergency requiring sealed borders will never occur.”

The Amestrian Deputy Minister paused for a moment.

“I would further point out that such a Right is in the end ultimately pointless as to enter and leave the country passports, identification, and permission from customs would ultimately be required and the Government could simply pull, alter, or sabotage such systems to create a de facto state of closed borders (in other words, suspend them indefinitely). Government could also exercise its regulatory powers concerning commerce to ground commercial planes, boats, and close highways for ‘repair’. But if the Xirniumite delegation would rather have it so that de facto power over the borders is ultimately left in the hands of the Torontian Government’s Executive Agencies rather then the Legislature…” Me’rode shrugged.

"I agree, there is no reason to block exit from the country. Even in the direst state of emergency, one only needs worry about who comes in, not who goes out."

Mitsune listed several reasons off the top of her head.

“Plagues, bio-weapon attacks, the need to preserve orderly migration in the event of catastrophe, social stability, preventing dangerous individuals from entering or leaving the country, preventing disorder in neighboring nations that could adversely effect the overall Region…est. est.”

"Lets first look at this from an economic standpoint. Torontia is far from being self sustaining on its own industrial base. Global business requires citizens to travel. A bad government could set Torontian economy back a few decades by suspending travel."

Sara rolled her eyes. “Yes, a bad government could also set the Torontian economy back a few decades by outlawing electricity and ordering Seattle paved over to make the worlds largest parking lot, therefore I propose the following two Articles. Article 28: Electricity may not be outlawed. Article 29: The Government may not pave over metropolitan and urban centers in order to create gigantic parking lots.”

Carter tapped her microphone with her index finger again.

Sara winced visibly. “Stop doing that!”

Liscel put down her pen and began to massage her temple with her right hand. “Foutu petit idiot…*” she muttered under her breath.

(*OOC: “Fucking little idiot…”)

Sara rolled her eyes. “Yes, a bad government could also set the Torontian economy back a few decades by outlawing electricity and ordering Seattle paved over to make the worlds largest parking lot, therefore I propose the following two Articles. Article 28: Electricity may not be outlawed. Article 29: The Government may not pave over metropolitan and urban centers in order to create gigantic parking lots.”

"Civil engineering projects are to be kept to future governments and are not in any way, shape, or form similar to a governments right to restrict the movement of its citizens."

Ward too a deep breath.

"What about we give the government the right to physically close its borders to non-citizens during times of emergency, but citizens can come and go as they wish? That's the language we're all looking for."

Sara winced visibly. “Stop doing that!”

Liscel put down her pen and began to massage her temple with her right hand. “Foutu petit idiot…*” she muttered under her breath.

Carter leaned into her microphone and began to speak - resisting the urge to poke it again.

"Yes mommy."

She tried not to laugh into the microphone.

"Civil engineering projects are to be kept to future governments and are not in any way, shape, or form similar to a governments right to restrict the movement of its citizens."

Ward too a deep breath.

"What about we give the government the right to physically close its borders to non-citizens during times of emergency, but citizens can come and go as they wish? That's the language we're all looking for."

"The Government of Kahanistan finds the proposal acceptable. In the event of a plague, however, I recommend compulsory immunization or testing before being allowed to leave the country, perhaps a ten-day quarantine before being put through customs..."

Abrams shook his head. "But this is a matter for the future government, not the Constitutional Convention." He gauged the reactions of the other delegates.

"The Government of Kahanistan finds the proposal acceptable. In the event of a plague, however, I recommend compulsory immunization or testing before being allowed to leave the country, perhaps a ten-day quarantine before being put through customs..."

Ward, now pleased to have actually said something someone agreed with, had gained more confidence with pushing certain proposals.

"Of course theres certain variables that are specific to each situation. There's health considerations that will have to be taken into consideration during any hypothetical plague. In some situations it would be advisable for the government to have the power to suspend travel of citizens into Torontia from a hypothetically infected nation."

Ward stopped for a moment to compose his point.

"Basically, we should define that the government needs a reason pertaining to a specific and current national security threat to Torontia to restrict the movements of its citizens. In peacetime where there is no specific threat the government should have absolutely no power to restrict the movements of its citizens. It should, however, have free reign over non-citizens who wish to enter Torontia - but no power to restrict them from leaving unless they have commited a crime."

"What about we give the government the right to physically close its borders to non-citizens during times of emergency, but citizens can come and go as they wish? That's the language we're all looking for."

"The Amestrian delegation does not find the above proposal acceptable as it does not address any of our concerns,” Clo’e stated.

Carter leaned into her microphone and began to speak - resisting the urge not to poke it again.

"Yes mommy."

She tried not to laugh into the microphone.

Sara smiled wickedly as she briefly imagined stabbing Carter in the eye with her pen

"Basically, we should define that the government needs a reason pertaining to a specific and current national security of Torontia to restrict the movements of its citizens. In peacetime where there is no specific threat the government should have absolutely no power to restrict the movements of its citizens. It should, however, have free reign over non-citizens who wish to enter Torontia - but no power to restrict them from leaving unless they have committed a crime."

Me’rode sighed. “In which case any restrictions on the Torontian Governments ability to control movement in and out of the country would become meaningless and the process needlessly complicated. There also might be scenarios or events that are unforeseen. All decisions concerning the regulation of borders and international transit should thus be left entirely to the sovereign and elected Torontian Government.”

The Deputy Minister paused for a moment and then continued.

“It should also be taken into consideration that such weak Government control over immigration, emigration, and international transit would ultimately benefit smugglers, criminals, and terrorist organizations at the expense of legitimate Institutions. The United States of Allanea, which has absolutely no restrictions on international transit or control over its external borders, and resulting situation in Heregos Island (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=474166&highlight=Allanea), present an excellent examples of why Section B of article 13 is a very bad idea.”

"We should simply put something in about free borders except in the state of national emergency, then define what constitutes a national emergency, as narrowly as possible," said the Kahanistanian delegate.

"The Heregos situation has nothing to do with the Allanean government, a few thousand people immigrated to a Pantocratorian island. The conflict has more to do with the general disregard throughout Allanean culture for national sovereignty, a disregard many Kahanistanians also have."

Abrams looked around. "I might point out that Kahanistan has very lax immigration policies, and has never been accused of being a safe haven for terrorists."

Abrams looked around. "I might point out that Kahanistan has very lax immigration policies, and has never been accused of being a safe haven for terrorists."

"Your nation is a haven for criminals and terrorists," Me’rode remarked curtly without looking up from the various papers before her. "That has been the position of the Amestrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for months."

The Kahanistanian Major was clearly offended, but let the Amestrian's remark pass. If he had wanted an international incident, he would not have interfered earlier when General Levitt wanted to mention Amestrian war atrocities at the conference. This was not the time or place to discuss relations with Amestria.

"Be that as it may, Miss Me'rode... sealing borders might prevent people from leaving the country and squatting on other countries' territory, but isn't it a little extreme? Should people be held prisoner in their own countries simply for the fear that they might take someone else's land or violate some foreign law, rather than simply dealing with troublemakerrs as they appear...? What powers do you suggest the Torontian government have regarding its borders, and the rights of citizens to leave... what is Amestria's policy with regard to its citizens' rights to move about within and outside the country?"

“It is a power every sovereign government should have, Me’rode replied. “It is a power inherent to sovereignty.”
‘Please let us not get into that argument, Ms Me’rode,’ replied Lady Gílda, the barest hint of a smile playing upon the corners of her lips. ‘There is actually only one delegation present at this symposium which represents a national government that possesses sovereign power as classically defined in Dicean legal theory (that is, the right to make or unmake any law whatsoever, and without extrinsic limit). All other foreign governments represented here (including your own) have constitutional restrictions, of some kind or other, that provide for the right to override or set aside legislation – usually when inconsistent with some form of higher law.

Also, I should point out that the fact that this Constitution defines a federal system, with power distributed between two different levels, already limits the power of the central government.

This proposed article does not threaten governmental sovereignty in the opinion of the Xirniumite delegation, just as judicial review of legislative action itself does not, prima facie, threaten governmental sovereignty.’

“You seem to be operating under two flawed assumptions,” Clo’e remarked. “First, that the Torontian Government would take the extraordinary and costly step of sealing its borders for no real reason (rather then in response to a legitmate national emergency), and second, that a grave emergency requiring sealed borders will never occur.”
‘Allow me, then, to correct your apparent misinterpretation of my position, Deputy Minister,’ began Heather politely. ‘The Xirniumite delegation is not, in fact, gravely concerned with the possibility that the Torontian government would seal its borders, for any reason (real or otherwise). Rather, we are concerned merely with the hypothetical scenario of a future government of Torontia being unjustly able to prevent individual nationals returning to their motherland for dubious political or ideological reasons. We are also, of course, concerned with the possibility that the national government might have the power to prevent individuals from fleeing the Torontian republic based on unconscionable political, ideological or other grounds.’

‘As for the second assumption that you feel I am making, allow me to now put your mind well at ease,’ continued the Foreign Minister courteously. ‘The Xirniumite delegation has already agreed to your suggestion that the Torontian government should have the power to limit freedom of travel and movement during states of emergencies.’

But if the Xirniumite delegation would rather have it so that de facto power over the borders is ultimately left in the hands of the Torontian Government’s Executive Agencies rather then the Legislature…” Me’rode shrugged.
‘I must confess to failing to see the persuasiveness behind your argument,’ admitted Lady Gílda candidly. ‘Could not the Executive branch abuse its political power in order to pursue such an outcome in either case? If so, those wronged by such mistreatment would at least be able to seek remedy within the courts under Article 13 (b) of the Bill of Rights. Should we omit such a protection, however, these same individuals will have no such constitutional remedy. This, in my opinion, provides argument for why section B of the thirteenth article should be retained – not for why it should be done away with.’

“Plagues, bio-weapon attacks, the need to preserve orderly migration in the event of catastrophe, social stability, preventing dangerous individuals from entering or leaving the country, preventing disorder in neighboring nations that could adversely effect the overall Region…est. est.”
Eleanor could not help but emit a clearly audible, obviously jaded sigh.

‘The first three extraordinary contingencies that you cite would be governed by the lawful, established exceptions to the protections and liberties provided in the Torontian Bill of Rights,’ explained Lady Sabëlinà with not imperceptible impatience. ‘These legitimate exceptions allow for legally limiting the freedom of travel and movement in times of national emergency or martial law. The protections of Article 13 are quite obviously specific manifestations of those freedoms, and therefore limited by the restrictions proposed by the Amestrian delegation and agreed to already by all of the members of the Constitutional Convention.

‘Regarding the issue which you raise concerning dangerous individuals, I refer you to the stipulations under Article 4 (b), which restrict the operation of the right to liberty by allowing for legal detention – including in cases “where it is reasonably considered necessary to prevent his or her committing an offence or fleeing after having done so”. It goes without saying, I think, that the freedoms provided for under Article 13 (b) are merely one possible demonstration of the right to liberty encapusalted in Article 4 (a), and that Article 4 (b) therefore limits it by obvious axiomatic implication.

Now, please madam, do try as best you can to keep up with the discussion. You are wasting our time by raising such worthless and, quite frankly, elementary matters - matters, I might add, that have already been raised and addressed by brighter individuals than you.’

‘Eleanor!’ hissed the Foreign Minister.

‘What?’ asked Lady Sabëlinà in whispered tones, feigning innocence.

"then define what constitutes a national emergency, as narrowly as possible"
‘That has already been done!’ explained an exasperated Eleanor. ‘Please pay attention.’

“Yes, a bad government could also set the Torontian economy back a few decades by outlawing electricity and ordering Seattle paved over to make the worlds largest parking lot, therefore I propose the following two Articles. Article 28: Electricity may not be outlawed. Article 29: The Government may not pave over metropolitan and urban centers in order to create gigantic parking lots.”
Lady Sabëlinà did her best to suppress a brief, involuntary outburst of giggling at Sara’s comical retort, and failed somewhat in her (admittedly rather feeble) attempt to transform her amused grin into an unimpressed scowl. Eleanor privately had scant respect for the intellectual abilities of the leader of the Torontian Liberal Party.

Though he does, at least, often add his delegation’s support for our proposals, the Xirniumite thought. Ward is, admittedly, useful for that purpose.

"What about we give the government the right to physically close its borders to non-citizens during times of emergency"
‘Such is, in my opinion, already the operation of the Torontian Bill of Rights…’ replied Eleanor. ‘Could someone please tell me what precisely is leading everyone to conclude otherwise?’ asked the deputy Foreign Minister.

A new issue having just occurred to her, Lady Gílda leant over and whispered something into the ear of her parliamentary colleague. Eleanor appeared to consider this for a moment and slowly nodded as she mulled it over, before briefly conversing with the Foreign Minister in murmured tones.

‘In order to address issues of clarity, we propose that a fourth section be added to thirteenth article declaring that “nothing contained in this Bill of Rights should be interpreted as implying a revocation of the power of the national government to enact laws for the reasonable regulation of the movement of people and goods across its sovereign frontiers,”’ announced Heather.

"The Amestrian delegation does not find the above proposal acceptable as it does not address any of our concerns,” Clo’e stated.

"Could you please clearly present your concerns again, then? They seem to have gotten lost in some of your pointless babble. Personally, I believe that my proposal gives the government all the power they need. Why would you want to give the government the power to stop travel for no clearly presented reason? What exactly is wrong with my proposal? It seems like you're just trying to get a proposal passed that you presented instead of looking to compromise on anything."

‘Allow me, then, to correct your apparent misinterpretation of my position, Deputy Minister,’ began Heather politely. ‘The Xirniumite delegation is not, in fact, gravely concerned with the possibility that the Torontian government would seal its borders, for any reason (real or otherwise). Rather, we are concerned merely with the hypothetical scenario of a future government of Torontia being unjustly able to prevent individual nationals returning to their motherland for dubious political or ideological reasons. We are also, of course, concerned with the possibility that the national government might have the power to prevent individuals from fleeing the Torontian republic based on unconscionable political, ideological or other grounds.’

"This is where I stand, exactly," Ward said.

‘I must confess to failing to see the persuasiveness behind your argument,’ admitted Lady Gílda candidly. ‘Could not the Executive branch abuse its political power in order to pursue such an outcome in either case? If so, those wronged by such mistreatment would at least be able to seek remedy within the courts under Article 13 (b) of the Bill of Rights. Should we omit such a protection, however, these same individuals will have no such constitutional remedy. This, in my opinion, provides argument for why section B of the thirteenth article should be retained – not for why it should be done away with.’

"Seconded." Ward said in the same tone of voice he'd been using for much of the latest conversation. "A state with such a long history of corrupt governments with agendas against its own people needs to have to work against a good deal of safeguards to prevent the same thing from happening again."

‘Regarding the issue which you raise concerning dangerous individuals, I refer you to the stipulations under Article 4 (b), which restrict the operation of the right to liberty by allowing for legal detention – including in cases “where it is reasonably considered necessary to prevent his or her committing an offence or fleeing after having done so”. It goes without saying, I think, that the freedoms provided for under Article 13 (b) are merely one possible demonstration of the right to liberty encapusalted…

“Encapsulated…” Konno interjected, correcting Lady Sabëlinà’s error in pronunciation.

…in Article 4 (a), and that Article 4 (b) therefore limits it by obvious axiomatic implication.

Now, please madam, do try as best you can to keep up with the discussion. You are wasting our time by raising such worthless and, quite frankly, elementary matters - matters, I might add, that have already been raised and addressed by brighter individuals than you.’

‘Eleanor!’ hissed the Foreign Minister.

‘What?’ asked Lady Sabëlinà in whispered tones, feigning innocence.

Mitsune was becoming somewhat tired from the long hours of debate and thus did not really feel like losing her temper (that and she recognized it would accomplish nothing). “Don’t get angry at me because your proposal regarding Article 13 Section B was vague and poorly written,” the Vice President replied simply in a fatigued voice. “Lady Gilda I request your delegation apologize for Lady Sabëlinà’s childish insult.”

Lady Sabëlinà did her best to suppress a brief, involuntary outburst of giggling at Sara’s comical retort, and failed somewhat in her feeble attempt to transform her amused grin into an unimpressed scowl.

Sara noticed Eleanor’s feeble attempts to stop grinning and scowl. The Amestrian Vice Minister smiled at the amusing sight with a slight sense of satisfaction.

‘Such is, in my opinion, already the operation of the Torontian Bill of Rights…’ replied Eleanor. ‘Could someone please tell me what precisely is leading everyone to conclude otherwise?’ asked the deputy Foreign Minister.

“Article 13 Section B is simplistic and very poorly written,” Mitsune curtly remarked, answering Eleanor’s question.

‘In order to address issues of clarity, we propose that a fourth section be added to thirteenth article declaring that “nothing contained in this Bill of Rights should be interpreted as implying a revocation of the power of the national government to enact laws for the reasonable regulation of the movement of people and goods across its sovereign frontiers,”’ announced Heather.

“Agreed,” Me’rode replied, once again without looking up from the papers before her.

“That is most acceptable,” Vice President Konno remarked, signaling her agreement as well.

“Encapsulated…” Konno interjected, correcting Lady Sabëlinà’s error in pronunciation.
Lady Sabëlinà’s fair skin blushed a reddish violet at the pronunciation error that she had made – a result perhaps of her own weariness combined with her recent taking of the laudanum opiate. For such a consummate intellectual as herself, such a careless lapse of elocution constituted a veritable faux pas which was rather humiliating. Indeed, despite her brooding silence, Eleanor’s lovely umber eyes betrayed nothing less than outraged fury at Mitsune.


“Lady Gilda I request your delegation apologize for Lady Sabëlinà’s childish insult.”
‘Absolutely not…’ declared the deputy Foreign Minister in an icily flat tone which conveyed a most unsettling feeling of clear loathing.


“Article 13 Section B is simplistic and very poorly written,” Mitsune curtly remarked, answering Eleanor’s question.
‘Oh, on that you are entirely mistaken, madam,’ replied Lady Sabëlinà, without altering her frosty demeanour. ‘You see, section B of the thirteenth article can be described as neither of those things when properly considered within the greater context of the Bill of Rights (as I have appropriately done), instead of being subjected to minute (and, quite frankly, rather amateurish) analysis in complete isolation.’


“Agreed,” Me’rode replied, once again without looking up from the papers before her.
‘Wonderful,’ explained Lady Gílda, keen to move the subject away from a pointless game of insults that she had no intention of involving herself in. ‘Very well... having addressed all relevant concerns I should now like the Convention members to at last cast their final votes on the completed Bill of Rights.’

‘Mr Ward?’ the Foreign Minister prompted, selecting a delegate at random.

_____________________________________________________

Proposed Torontian Entrenched Bill of Rights

Article 1
a. Everyone's right to life shall be held sacrosanct by the law. Everyone is born free and equal in dignity and in rights.
b. No one shall be intentionally deprived of his or her life save in the execution of a lawful sentence, by a legitimate and competent court, following his or her conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law, or when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary:

(i) in defence of any person from unlawful violence;
(ii) in order to execute a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully imprisoned;

c. Everyone has an inalienable right to recognition as a person before the law.
d. Nothing contained in this Bill of Rights should be interpreted as implying a revocation of the right to lawfully undergo the medical procedure of euthanasia.
e. No one shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.

Article 2
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhumane, degrading, or unusual treatment or punishment.

Article 3
a. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude.
b. Slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms

Article 4
a. Everyone’s right to liberty and security of person shall be held sacrosanct by the law.
b. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. No one shall be deprived of his or her liberty save in the following cases and in full accordance with all procedures prescribed by law:

(i) the lawful detention of a person after conviction by a legitimate and competent court;
(ii) the lawful arrest of a person for non-compliance with the lawful and just order of a court;
(iii) the lawful arrest of a person effected for the express purpose of bringing him or her before a legitimate and competent legal authority on reasonable suspicion of having committed an offence or in cases where it is reasonably considered necessary to prevent his or her committing an offence or fleeing after having done so.

c. Everyone arrested shall be informed immediately, in clear language which he or she understands, of the reasons for his or her arrest and of any charge against him or her.
d. Everyone arrested shall be brought promptly before a lawful judge to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to a free and fair trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial.
e. Everyone who is deprived of his or her liberty by arrest shall be entitled to conduct an appeal by which the lawfulness of his or her detention shall be decided in a reasonable period of time by a court and his or her release immediately ordered if the detention is not lawful.
f. Everyone who has been the victim of arrest in contravention of the provisions of this Article shall have an inalienable right to reasonable compensation.

Article 5
a. In the determination of his or her legal rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him or her, everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable period of time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law. Judgment shall be pronounced publicly.
b. Everyone has an inalienable right to trial before a jury of his or her peers and under the law.
c. There shall be a presumption of innocence in all trials of criminal offences. The standard of proof necessary to overturn this presumption shall be that of beyond reasonable doubt.
d. Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum rights:

(i) to be informed promptly, in a language which he or she understands and in detail, of the nature and cause of the accusation against him or her;
(ii) to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence;
(iii) to defend him or herself in person or through legal assistance of his or her own choosing or, if he or she has not sufficient means to pay for legal assistance, to be given it free;
(iv) to examine or have examined witnesses against him or her and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his or her behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him or her.

Article 6
a. No one may be held to be guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the criminal offence was committed.
b. No one shall be liable to be tried or punished again in criminal proceedings for an offence for which he or she has already been finally acquitted or convicted within Torontia in accordance with the law.
c. The severity of penalties imposed for the committing of crimes must not be disproportionate to the criminal offence.

Article 7
The right to privacy shall be respected by the law. Everyone has the right to respect for his or her private and family life, his or her home and his or her correspondence.

Article 8
Everyone has an inalienable right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

Article 9
Everyone has an inalienable right to freedom of opinion and expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.

Article 10
Everyone has an inalienable right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his or her interests.

Article 11
a. Everyone has an inalienable right to private ownership of property, or to own property in association with others.
b. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her property. Everyone has the right to own, use, dispose of and bequeath his or her lawfully acquired possessions.
c. Intellectual property shall be protected.

Article 12
a. Everyone has an inalienable right to marry and to found a family. Everyone is entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. All of these rights extends explicitly to both heterosexual and homosexual couples.
b. Marriage shall be entered into only with the full and free consent of the adults intending to become spouses.

Article 13
a. Everyone has an inalienable right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of his or her State.
b. Everyone has an inalienable right to leave his or her own country, and to return to his or her country.
c. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her nationality nor denied the right to change his or her nationality.
d. Nothing contained in this Bill of Rights should be interpreted as implying a revocation of the right of government to enact laws for the reasonable regulation of the movement of people and goods across its sovereign frontiers.

Article 14
a. Everyone has an inalienable right to be involved in the government of his or her nation, directly or through the freely chosen representatives in his or her parliament.
b. Everyone has an inalienable right to equal access to public service in his or her country.
c. The will of the people is the fundamental basis of the sovereign authority of government, this will is expressed through periodic, genuine and free elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote.
d. The law favours the equal access of women and men to electoral mandates and elective functions.

Article 15
a. Everyone has a right to social security.
b. Everyone has the right to work, the right to free choice of employment, the right to just and favourable conditions of work and the right to protection against unemployment.
c. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration.
d. Everyone has the right to freely conduct business in accordance with the law.

Article 16
a. Everyone has the right to free compulsory education and to have access to vocational and continuous training.
b. Education shall be entirely secular and promote understanding and tolerance.

Article 17
a. Everyone is equal before and under the law and is entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law.
b. The enjoyment of all rights and freedoms shall be secured without discrimination on any ground including but not limited to sex, race, colour, gender, sexual preference, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth, economic or other status. Everyone is entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of these right and freedoms.
c. Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by a legitimate and competent court for acts violating the fundamental rights granted to him or her by the law.

Article 18
a. The arts and all scientific research shall be entirely free of constraint or government restriction. Academic freedom must be held inviolable, and the arts and sciences maintained as areas of human thought completely free and independent.
b. Nothing contained in this Bill of Rights should be interpreted as implying a revocation of the right of government to lawfully enact regulations for the legitimate prevention of undue harm to Torontia’s citizenry or society.

Article 19
The right to asylum shall be guaranteed with due respect for the rules of the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 and the Protocol of 31 January 1967 relating to the status of refugees.

Article 20
a. Collective expulsions are prohibited.
b. No one shall be removed, expelled or extradited to a foreign State where there is a risk that he or she would be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman, unusual or degrading treatment or punishment, nor to any foreign State where the integrity of their inalienable civil and political liberties might be placed at risk.

Article 21
For greater surety, everyone is equal before the law. The Torontian Republic recognises the inviolability of the Rule of Law as a fundamental pillar of the State.

Article 22
a. For greater surety, equality between men and women must be ensured in all areas, including employment, work and pay.
b. The principle of equality shall not prevent the maintenance or adoption of measures providing for specific advantages in favour of women.
c. Every woman has the inalienable right to abortion on demand. This right may be exercised at any stage, explicitly including during late-term pregnancy.

Article 23
a. Children shall have the right to such protection and care as is necessary for their welfare and benefit.
b. In all actions relating to children, whether taken by public authorities or private institutions, the child's best interests must be a primary consideration.

Article 24
a. The Torontian Republic recognises and respects the rights of the elderly to lead a life of dignity and independence and to participate in social and cultural life.
b. The Torontian Republic recognises and respects the right of people with disabilities to benefit from measures designed to ensure their independence and dignity, occupational integration and participation in social and cultural life.

Article 25
a. Workers and employers, or their respective organisations, have, in accordance with the law, the right to negotiate and conclude collective agreements at the appropriate levels and to take collective action to defend their interests, including strike action.
b. Everyone who works has the right to protection against unjustified dismissal, in accordance with the law.

Article 26
a. Everyone has the right of access to affordable preventive health care and the right to benefit from medical treatment.
b. Everyone has the right to ready access of effective contraceptives.

Article 27
a. Everyone has an inalienable right to the integrity of their person. Everyone has the right to respect for his or her physical and mental integrity.
b. In the fields of medicine and biology, the free and informed consent of the person concerned must be respected in particular.

Article 28
a. The head of state of the Torontia Republic shall have the right to declare a state of martial law in a given area in extraordinary situations where the civil justice institutions of the state have ceased to function or where the fundamental integrity of the Rule of Law is threatened by armed insurrection, rebellion or foreign invasion. Such a state of military rule may be revoked by:

(i) the mere agreement of a simple majority of the legislative assembly;
(ii) the ruling of the courts as to the justification of such a declaration, either in law or on the facts.

b. A state of martial law shall have the effect of temporarily suspending the writ of habeas corpus and reasonably restricting the freedom of travel and assembly.

Article 29
a. The head of state of the Torontian Republic shall have the right to declare a state of emergency in a given area in extraordinary situation where a natural or man-made disaster has occurred. Such a state of emergence may be revoked by:

(i) the mere agreement of a simple majority of the legislative assembly;
(ii) the ruling of the courts as to the justification of such a declaration, either in law or on the facts.

b. A state of emergency shall have the effect of reasonably restricting the freedom of travel and assembly and shall permit the military to perform justified civilian duties.

Article 30
a. The head of state of the Torontian Republic shall have the right to declare a curfew in a given area in extraordinary situation where a state of unrest or civil disorder dictates the need to. Such a curfew may be revoked by:

(i) the mere agreement of a simple majority of the legislative assembly;
(ii) the ruling of the courts as to the justification of such a declaration, either in law or on the facts.

Article 31
a. Nothing contained in this Bill of Rights shall be regarded as implying that the writ of habeas corpus may be suspended indefinitely or that a state of martial law, state of emergency or curfew may be maintained permanently.
b. The reasonable restrictions permitted under the Bill of Rights to the contained freedoms and liberties shall not be applied for any purpose other than those for which they have been prescribed.

Lady Sabëlinà’s fair skin blushed a reddish violet at the pronunciation error that she had made – a combination perhaps of her own weariness combined with her recent taking of the laudanum opiate. For such a consummate intellectual as herself, such a careless lapse of elocution constituted a veritable faux pas which was rather humiliating. Indeed, despite her brooding silence, Eleanor’s lovely umber eyes betrayed nothing less than outraged fury at Mitsune.

Clo'e, Mitsune, and Sara all noticed Eleanor’s self-evident discomfort with a reserved delight, each gaving no outward indication of how satisfying an experience it was to see the arrogant and conceited women turn violet with embarrassment.

‘Absolutely not…’ declared the deputy Foreign Minister in an icily flat tone which conveyed a most unsettling feeling of clear loathing.

"I was not addressing you Deputy Minister, I was addressing your superior," Mitsune stated in a calm, polite, yet firm tone. She looked rather tired. "Minister Gilda, I request an apology from your delegation for the Lady Sabëlinà's repeated and unwarranted insolence towards me."

‘Oh, on that you are entirely mistaken, madam,’ replied Lady Sabëlinà, without altering her frosty demeanour. ‘You see, section B of the thirteenth article can be described as neither of those things when properly considered within the greater context of the Bill of Rights (as I have appropriately done), instead of being subjected to minute (and, quite frankly, rather amateurish) analysis in complete isolation.’

"The poor wording of Section B of Article 13 contributed to that collective misunderstanding of intent, the fact there was a collective misunderstanding proves my point in its entirety,” Mitsune calmly retorted.

‘Wonderful,’ explained Lady Gílda, keen to move the subject away from a pointless game of insults that she had no intention of involving herself in.

Unfortunately she would have to involve herself as Mitsune sat quietly waiting for the Xirniumite delegations apology.

‘I think we are all rather tired, and whenever fatigue sets in tempers inevitably become frayed,’ explained a diplomatic Lady Gílda, reluctantly replying to Ms Konno’s request.

‘I suggest we move on to more productive matters and put this unpleasantness firmly behind us. Lady Sabëlinà likely did not mean any great offence by her comments.’

Eleanor, for her part, merely glared silently at the uppity Torontian with seething rage.

‘Lady Sabëlinà likely did not mean any great offence by her comments.’

"Her comments caused great offense," Mitsune replied, calm, polite, yet still firm. "Your delegation caused great offense..."

Eleanor, for her part, merely glared silently at the uppity Torontian with seething rage.

Mitsune glanced at Eleanor. "...And somehow I doubt it was unintentional."

"Her comments caused great offense. Your delegation caused great offense, and somehow I doubt it was unintentional."
‘I stand by everything I have said,’ declared the Xirniumite Viscountess, ‘and shall apologise for nothing. If you feel my comments caused offence then I suggest that you quickly grow a thicker skin, madam.’

‘I stand by everything I have said,’ declared the Xirniumite Viscountess, ‘and shall apologise for nothing. If you feel my comments caused offence then I suggest that you quickly grow a thicker skin, madam.’

"Once again I was not addressing you Deputy Minister, I was addressing your superior, Minister Gilda, the head of your delegation," Konno stated simply. The Torontian then proceeded to pour herself a new cup green tea as she waited for Heather's response.

Mr. Ward had enjoyed watching people argue in front of him.

I expected these international hotshots to be a bit more professional, he thought while sipping his water. His throat was beginning to hurt, his eyes were strained, and he was nearing the point of having a migrain. Yet the sight of two opposing delegations turning into proverbial emo kids in front of an international audience before his eyes was so amusing he had severe trouble with not laughing out loud.

"Ladies, do we need a group hug?" Mr. Ward said in a voice that was obviously being forced not to break out into laughter.

"In all seriousness, could we please move on?"

"The Government of Kahanistan votes for the proposed bill of rights," said the Kahanistanian representative. "Whatever issues you ladies have with each other can wait until the vote."

He nodded towards Ms. Me'rode, waiting for her to vote for or against the bill.

"The Government of Kahanistan votes for the proposed bill of rights," said the Kahanistanian representative. "Whatever issues you ladies have with each other can wait until the vote."

He nodded towards Ms. Me'rode, waiting for her to vote for or against the bill.

"McKagan also supports the proposed bill of rights," Carter said after just a moment of deliberation. "I'd personally apperciate it if the bickering between various members of this delegation over who insulted who could desist as well - but that's just me."

"Once again I was not addressing you Deputy Minister…”
Lady Sabëlinà’s slender hand clenched tightly around her empty teacup, her knuckles quickly turning white.

‘What is wrong with you, Eleanor?’ asked Lady Gílda in a low whisper, the irritation obvious in her voice.

‘I will not be talked to like that by a puppet politician from an uncultured, barbarian nation,’ hissed the deputy Foreign Minister through clenched teeth.

‘Really, Eleanor... your childish displays and tedious prejudices are definitely beginning to tire me. Just ignore her,’ Heather ordered.

‘Heather…’

‘Ignore her, Eleanor,’ replied the Foreign Minister firmly.

I was addressing your superior, Minister Gilda, the head of your delegation
‘I think that the two of you should just agree to put this petty immaturity behind yourselves, and focus on more tangible matters,’ explained Lady Gílda in a bored voice.

"McKagan also supports the proposed bill of rights," Carter said after just a moment of deliberation.
‘It does appear that the majority consensus of this Constitutional Convention is in favour of the current form of the Bill of Rights,’ observed Lady Gílda. ‘Which, I do believe, concludes the final matter on our agenda. Was there anything else that we needed to discuss?’ asked the Foreign Minister, addressing the entire conference room in general.

"Whatever issues you ladies have with each other can wait until the vote."
‘Oh, there really is no need, Major,’ replied the Xirniumite deputy Foreign Minister with the hint of a cruel smile. ‘I am quite prepared to put an end to this silliness right now, in the greater interests of this symposium, of course,’ Eleanor declared graciously.

‘I hereby withdraw my previous observation that the individual seated beside the Amestrian delegation, by clear inference from her entirely uniformed and illogical comments made regarding the thirteenth article of the proposed Torontian Bill of Rights, obviously lacked either the bare qualifications, fundamental understanding, or even basic intelligence necessary to analyse matters of constitutional law,’ explained Lady Sabëlinà in a solemnly dignified voice.

‘I do apologise if my previous statements offended you in any way, madam,’ continued a reasonable Eleanor, looking at Ms Konno directly. ‘In the future, I shall bare in mind your delicate sensibilities whenever speaking.

Now where were we?’

Mr. Ward, having had a good chuckle to himself after the Xirniumite remarks, decided his stance on the Bill of Rights.

"The Torontian Liberal Party fully supports the proposed bill of rights. They are expertly presented, written, and constructed with an extreme attention to detail."

‘Oh, there really is no need, Major,’ replied the Xirniumite deputy Foreign Minister with the hint of a cruel smile. ‘I am quite prepared to put an end to this silliness right now, in the greater interests of this symposium, of course,’ Eleanor declared graciously.

‘I hereby withdraw my previous observation that the individual seated beside the Amestrian delegation, by clear inference from her entirely uniformed and illogical comments made regarding the thirteenth article of the proposed Torontian Bill of Rights, obviously lacked either the bare qualifications, fundamental understanding, or even basic intelligence necessary to analyse matters of constitutional law,’ explained Lady Sabëlinà in a solemnly dignified voice. ‘I do apologise if my previous statements offended you in any way, madam,’ continued a reasonable Eleanor, looking at Ms Konno directly. ‘In the future, I shall bare in mind your delicate sensibilities whenever speaking.

Now where were we?’

She’s trying to get me to lose my temper… Konno thought quietly to herself as the Xirniumite Deputy Minister went off on her tangent.

If Eleanor had talked down to Mitsune earlier she likely would have gone ballistic, but the Torontian having become used to the Xirniumite’s methods of debating and antagonizing. Plus she was tired, it was near the end of the Convention, and she did not feel like wading through further acrimony… However, the Torontian did not intend to let Lady Sabëlinà have the last word.

“You are such a child…” Mitsune replied, maintaining her calm.

The Torontian Vice President paused to refill her teacup and take a relaxed sip.

“The TPG delegation supports the proposed Bill of Rights.”

“The proposed Bill of Rights has the support of the Amestrian delegation as well,” Deputy Minister Me’rode remarked.

"They are expertly presented, written, and constructed with an extreme attention to detail."
But of course they are… after all, I wrote them, thought the Xirniumite Viscountess with smug satisfaction. Eleanor smiled disarmingly at Torontian Liberal Party leader, though he did not know what for.

“You are such a child…”
‘How charming… I’m so glad that we can still be the very best of friends,’ replied Eleanor with a sardonic grin, regarding the Torontian with utter contempt.

Lady Gílda stood and smiled weakly at the gathered delegates, highly pleased with the maturity and restraint shown by her colleague in the face of Mitsune’s provocative jibe. After taking a deep breath and composing herself, the Foreign Minister addressed the symposium.

‘As we have now concluded our discussion on the Bill of Rights (the last issue for debate as indicated in our official schedule) the Torontian Constitutional Convention has finally completed addressing all of the relevant topics listed within its mandate,’ explained Heather.

‘I should now like to take this opportunity to thank everyone present for coming to this conference today, indeed for being a part of this monumental occasion, and to also congratulate you all over what we have achieved in such short a period of time. This is a most significant and historic day for the Torontian Republic, one that I am sure will mark the dawn of a new, bright future for all of the people of Torontia.’

"All and all it has been a sucessful meeting and hopefully will lead to a sucessful peace, aside from some people being petty," Brovan said giving a glance at everyone in the room, "outright egotism by others," he whispered giving a look at Lady Sabëlinà, "And some outbursts by everyone, it has been perfect." "I approve the Bill or Rights and I thank you for allowing me to take part."

Hmph, Lady Sabëlinà is one of those Aristocrats who seem to think they own the world and that the world owes just for the right to have their presence. Brovan thought bitterly, Their kind provide no real service to the world except for them to sit on fancy chairs to set policy, they wouldn't last out in the open. They belonged in Torontia as much as he belonged in the high halls of Xirnium. Which he would never like to enter anyway.He so wanted to say, Knights and Kingdoms went out with the Middle Ages 'Lady'. But such a thing will forever remain unsaid. The Conference seemed to be over.

‘How charming… I’m so glad that we can still be the very best of friends,’ replied Eleanor with a sardonic grin, regarding the Torontian with utter contempt.

“Indeed,” Mitsune replied dryly.

‘As we have now concluded our discussion on the Bill of Rights (the last issue for debate as indicated in our official schedule) the Torontian Constitutional Convention has finally completed addressing all of the relevant topics listed within its mandate,’ explained Heather.

‘I should now like to take this opportunity to thank everyone present for coming to this conference today, indeed for being a part of this monumental occasion, and to also congratulate you all over what we have achieved in such short a period of time. This is a most significant and historic day for the Torontian Republic, one that I am sure will mark the dawn of a new, bright future for all of the people of Torontia.’

As soon as the cameras were off and everyone began to file out of the room Mitsune stood up, stretched, and lit a cigarette.

I’ll make her regret how she has treated me.

Me’rode, Liscel, and their various aides began to gather up their delegations respective papers.

“Choses pourraient avoir fini sur une meilleure note,”* Sara commented.

“I’m not so sure, seeing as how we were sitting across from the Queen of Hearts,” Mitsune remarked, puffing on her cigarette.

And seated right next to the whore of Babylon, Clo’e humorously thought to herself, briefly glancing at Liscel as she sorted her papers back into their respective folders.

“I kept waiting for Sabëlinà to yell off with her head,” Konno continued.

“(cough) Kitsune (cough), do you have to smoke those around me?” Sara asked, pretending to gag on the smoke.

Mitsune sighed and proceeded to put out her cigarette in a bowl of paper clips.

“Sorry,” the Torontian apologized. “The stress, you know…”

“You really should get a patch,” Sara continued. “You’ll ruin your lungs if you keep that up.”

“I know…”

(*OOC: “Things could have finished on a better note.”)