[Talon] Youth First and Poll Results
Day 1,810, 08:11
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Published in United Kingdom 
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by
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by Talon Karrde
Youth First
My Friends,
As I’m sure you are aware by now, I am running for re-election to the office of the President. I’ve sent round one PM already on what I think the main accomplishments of my term have been, and you’ll shortly be receiving a second one based around more recent events; more like an end of term sum up with some new policy attached.
Mentioned in that second PM is my campaign slogan: Youth First.
I think that the single most important issue in the coming month is in developing our young players. In providing opportunities for them to get onto the ladder, and in equipping them to take on the challenges the UK will face in the coming months and years. Us older guys can’t and shouldn’t hold onto power anyway, and for anyone that’s experienced being CP you will know how hard a graft it is- any help you can get is appreciated and any successor that shares your ideals is much sought after.
I want a UK that is strong; that has good relationships with foreign countries; that has freedom from oppression. I want a UK that is free to find fun in war. That has a strong foundation of guides and education for all its players. Most of all I want a fun UK, where new players can come and thrive. Each policy I put into place will further one or more of these goals, just as my policies this month have. Crucially though, these goals are not short term, but long term. To be able to do all of this for one month is good. To sustain it over a longer period of time is much harder, and relies on strong leadership throughout. Only by encouraging and growing our young players can we achieve this, and so Youth First is imperative.
My intent for the next month is to develop our young players. Not by throwing free stuff at them, but by genuinely equipping them; providing them with sound guidance, solid foundations and the right knowledge and contacts for them to stand on their own and replace an aging current crop of leaders. Only by supporting our young players can we allow them to develop while having fun, encourage them to keep playing, and thus bring through the next generation of leaders that our country so needs. I think the old guard does have a role to play, but as mentors. Our next leaders must take up the mantle and succeed in the places that we have failed; to strive and push further than what was thought possible in the past. Creed, party, politics; these matter not. The crucial aspect is intelligent, hard-working, visionary leadership, shaped by ambition and tempered by experience to produce an able and astute leadership.
I can see so much potential in our citizens. All that is left to be done is to shape this potential and see it brought to fruition. My single greatest goal this month will be to do exactly that.
There is a very important caveat to put in here though: We must learn the lesson of Ergo Deus. Ergo was my vice president last term, and the man I rather hoped would be writing this article and running for election instead of me. Things didn’t work out though, and the attacks and trolling from his opponents ultimately proved to be too much for him, and he decided his time would be better spent away from eRepublik. Fair play to him for that, I don’t blame him.
The lesson to learn here is simple: Our young players need to be nurtured. They need time to develop the thick skin needed against the attacks that are, unfortunately, sure to come. They need experience, and the only way they can get that is by participating and enduring the hardships of government, with the support of those that have gone through the same process.
The Rule of Two
To that end I’ll be appointing two ministers to some positions this time- to act as partners and share responsibility; not with seniority, but with a mentor-like relationship, an experienced minister next to a first timer. If you think you want to take the plunge into politics this could be the perfect time for you.
Every government department will have a role to play in Youth First, and so will congress too. I’ll be encouraging each of the parties to run younger players for office, and I’ll be involving congress in many important decisions over the course of the term. At every step they’ll get the advice and expertise needed, and I am sure each will be the better for it.
This reminds me of some powerful words of verse:
Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
I think this is particularly true of the UK political scene just now.
I’ll be releasing more policies and information tomorrow, alongside my proposed cabinet for this month. For now, though, I’m going to release to you the results of my opinion poll; along with some analysis.
Opinion Poll Results
This first chart shows how satisfied people were with my term this month. It’s pleasing to see that 63% of respondents were mostly or very satisfied, though I must acknowledge that 20% weren’t impressed or thought that it was terrible! I rather hope they would tell me why, in the comments, if they were the ones that voted as such.
The strong leader question. This one is often asked during real life political contests, for example in the USA presidential election taking place just a day after ours! In this, a CNN poll has Obama on 53% and Romney on 49%; anything above 45% or respondents agreeing that they are a strong leader is considered to be good by the respective parties.
I asked this question for two reasons; partly to gauge opinion and see how I’m thought of outside of my circle of friends, and partly because the strong leader question is often a good indicator of how people will vote in real life. Gaining 56% on this question is a boon, though again 20% think I’m not a strong leader so I’ll have to work hard to change their minds.
For me, this is one of the most important questions for any president. The president simply HAS to be a good leader when it comes to foreign affairs, and must garner confidence from the nation to carry this out on their behalf. If not, you can end up with a situation like Canada found themselves in a couple of months ago, when their congress voted to NE the UK over their president’s protestations.
Gaining 63% here is good to see, though 17% thought I wasn’t strong on foreign affairs.
Our financial goals. I guess the answer to this question would depend entirely on what you want our financial goals as a nation to be. I’m a fiscal saver, and am against funding military units directly. Other people are for this and so may not like my policies here.
On the question itself, 53% thought I was indeed strong on finance, while 19% said no. There was a larger proportion of indifferent replies here, so I’ll have to work on that to turn some of those into yes votes next time.
New player support was never a centrepiece of my platform last time round. I created the Ministry of Health under Ayame Crocodile in order to cater to these needs, and the Ministry of Education under Betafoxtrot has been strong. That said, there does seem to be a lack of understanding of how the NHS works. Some people seem to think it runs as a military unit that you have to join in order to get any help. This is not true- you can join any military unit and still receive NHS supplies; on top of whatever the MU supplies. In this case perhaps I need to do a better job of educating people about how our new player help works.
That said, this is an area that clearly needs improvement this time; hence the ‘Youth First’ policies. The bottom line numbers are that 36% of people think I am strong in this area; 39% are indifferent, and 25% think I’m weak on it. That’s why I am already improving my new player policies, and will continue to do so; not just to convince people but to actually do some good.
This question has undoubtedly shown my weakest point as a president. With only 28% thinking I am strong on the military, 20% indifferent and a whopping 52% saying it’s a weakness. I think perhaps this is indicative of the popularity of having The Legion as the national military unit. I must make it clear right here and now that there is no way for the government to afford and run our own totally-controlled unit- the eRepublik economic state prevents this from being an option. So the decision is ultimately between having the Legion (and more MUs if they agreed to the same deal) as our national unit, or having no national unit at all. If elected I will pose a simple referendum question to everyone: Do you want a national unit or not, along with a box for suggestions below.
The shares our values question. This isn’t quite as useful in terms of actual policy as the other questions, but again is a useful barometer in real life so perhaps could be here too. 41% think I do share their values; 23% don’t, and 36% are indifferent. I think this does illustrate the polarisation seen in the UK at the moment, whereby large portions of the nation are dead set for and against each other- though crucially a large group are caught in the middle and would much rather not have a political fight with anyone. I tend to find myself in that middle ground these days, I’m much rather work with someone than against them. Regardless, if you think there’s something I need to do or change about my values, let me know in the comments below.
The party question was included to ensure the poll wasn’t biased towards one group or another and that we had a good spread of answers from across the political spectrum. It was also included to give a picture of the activity of the various political groups in real terms- who is actually bothering to read the media and participate in politics? The results are quite interesting; make of them what you will.
The final question was simple: Without knowing who my opponent for the presidency will be, will you definitely vote for me, definitely vote for my opponent, or are you undecided.
The results here are 56% yes, (the same as strong leader, you’ll note, highlighting its use as a political barometer) 22% no, and 22% undecided. We now know who my opponent is and so it’ll be interesting to see where those undecided voters go, and also whether either side will lose some support because of it.
I suspect that’s more than enough information for today so I’ll leave it at that! Look out for that PM, and also for more policy coming out tomorrow. For those of you that added suggestions to my poll, I’ll be taking those into account while writing for tomorrow.
All the best,
Talon Karrde
President of the United Kingdom
My Friends,
As I’m sure you are aware by now, I am running for re-election to the office of the President. I’ve sent round one PM already on what I think the main accomplishments of my term have been, and you’ll shortly be receiving a second one based around more recent events; more like an end of term sum up with some new policy attached.
Mentioned in that second PM is my campaign slogan: Youth First.
I think that the single most important issue in the coming month is in developing our young players. In providing opportunities for them to get onto the ladder, and in equipping them to take on the challenges the UK will face in the coming months and years. Us older guys can’t and shouldn’t hold onto power anyway, and for anyone that’s experienced being CP you will know how hard a graft it is- any help you can get is appreciated and any successor that shares your ideals is much sought after.
I want a UK that is strong; that has good relationships with foreign countries; that has freedom from oppression. I want a UK that is free to find fun in war. That has a strong foundation of guides and education for all its players. Most of all I want a fun UK, where new players can come and thrive. Each policy I put into place will further one or more of these goals, just as my policies this month have. Crucially though, these goals are not short term, but long term. To be able to do all of this for one month is good. To sustain it over a longer period of time is much harder, and relies on strong leadership throughout. Only by encouraging and growing our young players can we achieve this, and so Youth First is imperative.
My intent for the next month is to develop our young players. Not by throwing free stuff at them, but by genuinely equipping them; providing them with sound guidance, solid foundations and the right knowledge and contacts for them to stand on their own and replace an aging current crop of leaders. Only by supporting our young players can we allow them to develop while having fun, encourage them to keep playing, and thus bring through the next generation of leaders that our country so needs. I think the old guard does have a role to play, but as mentors. Our next leaders must take up the mantle and succeed in the places that we have failed; to strive and push further than what was thought possible in the past. Creed, party, politics; these matter not. The crucial aspect is intelligent, hard-working, visionary leadership, shaped by ambition and tempered by experience to produce an able and astute leadership.
I can see so much potential in our citizens. All that is left to be done is to shape this potential and see it brought to fruition. My single greatest goal this month will be to do exactly that.
There is a very important caveat to put in here though: We must learn the lesson of Ergo Deus. Ergo was my vice president last term, and the man I rather hoped would be writing this article and running for election instead of me. Things didn’t work out though, and the attacks and trolling from his opponents ultimately proved to be too much for him, and he decided his time would be better spent away from eRepublik. Fair play to him for that, I don’t blame him.
The lesson to learn here is simple: Our young players need to be nurtured. They need time to develop the thick skin needed against the attacks that are, unfortunately, sure to come. They need experience, and the only way they can get that is by participating and enduring the hardships of government, with the support of those that have gone through the same process.
The Rule of Two
To that end I’ll be appointing two ministers to some positions this time- to act as partners and share responsibility; not with seniority, but with a mentor-like relationship, an experienced minister next to a first timer. If you think you want to take the plunge into politics this could be the perfect time for you.
Every government department will have a role to play in Youth First, and so will congress too. I’ll be encouraging each of the parties to run younger players for office, and I’ll be involving congress in many important decisions over the course of the term. At every step they’ll get the advice and expertise needed, and I am sure each will be the better for it.
This reminds me of some powerful words of verse:
Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
I think this is particularly true of the UK political scene just now.
I’ll be releasing more policies and information tomorrow, alongside my proposed cabinet for this month. For now, though, I’m going to release to you the results of my opinion poll; along with some analysis.
Opinion Poll Results
This first chart shows how satisfied people were with my term this month. It’s pleasing to see that 63% of respondents were mostly or very satisfied, though I must acknowledge that 20% weren’t impressed or thought that it was terrible! I rather hope they would tell me why, in the comments, if they were the ones that voted as such.
The strong leader question. This one is often asked during real life political contests, for example in the USA presidential election taking place just a day after ours! In this, a CNN poll has Obama on 53% and Romney on 49%; anything above 45% or respondents agreeing that they are a strong leader is considered to be good by the respective parties.
I asked this question for two reasons; partly to gauge opinion and see how I’m thought of outside of my circle of friends, and partly because the strong leader question is often a good indicator of how people will vote in real life. Gaining 56% on this question is a boon, though again 20% think I’m not a strong leader so I’ll have to work hard to change their minds.
For me, this is one of the most important questions for any president. The president simply HAS to be a good leader when it comes to foreign affairs, and must garner confidence from the nation to carry this out on their behalf. If not, you can end up with a situation like Canada found themselves in a couple of months ago, when their congress voted to NE the UK over their president’s protestations.
Gaining 63% here is good to see, though 17% thought I wasn’t strong on foreign affairs.
Our financial goals. I guess the answer to this question would depend entirely on what you want our financial goals as a nation to be. I’m a fiscal saver, and am against funding military units directly. Other people are for this and so may not like my policies here.
On the question itself, 53% thought I was indeed strong on finance, while 19% said no. There was a larger proportion of indifferent replies here, so I’ll have to work on that to turn some of those into yes votes next time.
New player support was never a centrepiece of my platform last time round. I created the Ministry of Health under Ayame Crocodile in order to cater to these needs, and the Ministry of Education under Betafoxtrot has been strong. That said, there does seem to be a lack of understanding of how the NHS works. Some people seem to think it runs as a military unit that you have to join in order to get any help. This is not true- you can join any military unit and still receive NHS supplies; on top of whatever the MU supplies. In this case perhaps I need to do a better job of educating people about how our new player help works.
That said, this is an area that clearly needs improvement this time; hence the ‘Youth First’ policies. The bottom line numbers are that 36% of people think I am strong in this area; 39% are indifferent, and 25% think I’m weak on it. That’s why I am already improving my new player policies, and will continue to do so; not just to convince people but to actually do some good.
This question has undoubtedly shown my weakest point as a president. With only 28% thinking I am strong on the military, 20% indifferent and a whopping 52% saying it’s a weakness. I think perhaps this is indicative of the popularity of having The Legion as the national military unit. I must make it clear right here and now that there is no way for the government to afford and run our own totally-controlled unit- the eRepublik economic state prevents this from being an option. So the decision is ultimately between having the Legion (and more MUs if they agreed to the same deal) as our national unit, or having no national unit at all. If elected I will pose a simple referendum question to everyone: Do you want a national unit or not, along with a box for suggestions below.
The shares our values question. This isn’t quite as useful in terms of actual policy as the other questions, but again is a useful barometer in real life so perhaps could be here too. 41% think I do share their values; 23% don’t, and 36% are indifferent. I think this does illustrate the polarisation seen in the UK at the moment, whereby large portions of the nation are dead set for and against each other- though crucially a large group are caught in the middle and would much rather not have a political fight with anyone. I tend to find myself in that middle ground these days, I’m much rather work with someone than against them. Regardless, if you think there’s something I need to do or change about my values, let me know in the comments below.
The party question was included to ensure the poll wasn’t biased towards one group or another and that we had a good spread of answers from across the political spectrum. It was also included to give a picture of the activity of the various political groups in real terms- who is actually bothering to read the media and participate in politics? The results are quite interesting; make of them what you will.
The final question was simple: Without knowing who my opponent for the presidency will be, will you definitely vote for me, definitely vote for my opponent, or are you undecided.
The results here are 56% yes, (the same as strong leader, you’ll note, highlighting its use as a political barometer) 22% no, and 22% undecided. We now know who my opponent is and so it’ll be interesting to see where those undecided voters go, and also whether either side will lose some support because of it.
I suspect that’s more than enough information for today so I’ll leave it at that! Look out for that PM, and also for more policy coming out tomorrow. For those of you that added suggestions to my poll, I’ll be taking those into account while writing for tomorrow.
All the best,
Talon Karrde
President of the United Kingdom
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Sorry but 33 said 'No' to military? You're one of the only CPs to continue to have regions under eUK control in your terms. Clearly they clicked the wrong button or assume military just means war with everyone will getting firmly buttraped and back into a threesome occupation.
o7 Voted
Talon for re-election
Supported from eBelgium
Talon
\o/
It's nice to see the renewed focus on young players. I think that this has been a valid concern for a number of CP's (both TUP and otherwise).
Assume the military voting was influenced by the 'Legion' issue.
They offered themselves up as the national army and made it clear that Talon or any other CP cannot tell them what to do..............so it might of seemed he got a 'national' army with very little work on his part and one he wasn't allowed control of on top of that.
As for the rest of it.............
Ergo wasn't a new player and a lot of heat came his way because of the pretence he was and that TUP/CP were going to use him as a fradulent example of them actually bringing youth through.
Activity in real terms is not respondees to your poll, we (UKPP) did actually discuss your poll on IRC and your merits as leader but simply didn't answer your questions as to be honest, the assumption is that you don't listen!
Example being that we've banged on about player retention for over a year and only now) after the babyboom was lost) does it become a topic of concern despite the fact population numbers increases our chances as a nation of doing anything outside our shores.
Grudging "YAY!" that it is finnaly on the to do list however.
As I said elsewhere - Talon is a good politician and a steady hand at the tiller and if you want to keep things ticking over like they have been then give him another term even if it means we end up with some of his less appealing friends tagging along too.
All I'd say to that is that decisions are made by those that turn up. I think I do listen and am quite happy to receive any idea from anyone. I won't do it all but neither will I reject an idea just because it didn't come from me.
Assumption might of been the wrong word, 'Presumption' would prolly have been more apt in the context intended.
In eCanada, we used to have the CAF as the national army, with just TCO as a militia. The CAF historically got all the funding, then we got 2/3, (1/3 to TCO), and now, it's per soldier, and we have like 10 MUs that are now funded.
The funded soldiers under the old system have lost money, but the rest have gained. eCanada has gained by funding every active soldier, with no discrimination for MUs.
Another possible interpretation of the numbers by party is that you don't seem to me forming any kind of connection with those that are called the "Anti-TUP" group.
The conference was obviously a blow to the mantle of 'National leader' as opposed to leader of a particular faction.
Is there any thoughts on recovering from that or have we accepted that a divide exsists?
As a Canadian and Commander of eCanada's largest MU, I strongly recommend decentralizing your MUs, and just funding them all. Your damage output will improve.
Well Beeman the political divide in Canada is "Are you anti-theif or pro-Rolo?"
The factionalism in the eUK is somewhat more expansive and positions vary on a wider range of issues as we are fortunate to have no 'super villian' but unfortunate in having no truly charismatic leader(s) emerge.
I decided to reach out to invididuals instead alfa, since it became obvious that elements of the 'anti-TUP' group would be against me no matter what. And so Rfeist has been in cabinet this month, being mentored, because I saw potential there. I've also been working a little bit with Sam, Ironfist and EADougall from NE, they seem pretty cool.
If anyone thinks the current 'media' is a little hostile just imagine if the current gov tried giving tax money to TUP family or Legion or a New Era Gov trying to allocate money to Bulldogs?
The poo-storm would be MASSIVE!
Thats a fair and realistic position to adopt TK the only trouble is see with that is that you are only working with the 'fringe' of other parties and therefore not tackling the issues that those in the centre of the 'Anti-TUP coalition' have.
I think at the end of the day we simply disagree. Don and Hannibal don't want to work with me, they want to replace me; there isn't any real way to engage with that. Likewise Nick has never been anything but hostile towards me so I see little point there. You, on the other hand, I would certainly work with. I guess I've never really seen any inclanation from you to do anything other than help UKPP and the Navy grow.
Great article TK. Hope to see you win another term.
You brought a lot of class to the Canada-UK rivalry.
Voted.
To be completely honest I never had issues with Ergo until he lied to me in a PM that he wasn't an old player with a banned account that had just started up a new account. Goku exposed him and then he left, lets be honest Big Ant took far more attacks and stayed and did his job.
To claim Ergo was a new player is a bit wrong.
Anyway nice article Mr Talon Sir
best of luck Talon!
21:52 Appleby|AFK I think it's well timed with the Jimmy Savile case
lol
plagiarised diakun
It's nice to see more of a youth slant this election, can only be for the benefit of the country in the long run!
I find it slightly amusing to see you quoting the code of the sith, the evil tyranical 'only power matters' empire/religion from the Star Wars universe. (I'm a geek so sue me!)
hehe I wondered if anyone would notice that Ewan! Gotta have my fun 😛
Regarding the poll results on your 'military'-ness, I have to say that with regards to the military, a CP changing anything is controversial, but completely necessary. The right decisions are not always the popular ones. That certain maxim stands true for all military changes that this country has seen, so I wouldn't beat yourself up about it.
Saw a poll criticising you for ending the region swap with Ireland. Wasn't that done thanks to a congress vote?
voted
Yes Danie- but I did push for it.
>"I guess I've never really seen any inclanation from you to do anything other than help UKPP and the Navy grow."
That is certainly true since my return. But from Nov '11 to the start of summer '12 I had my go at being a leading national figure preaching the need for recruitment, retention and 'youth first'. Truth is...........I (and others in the party) did just that!
Now they are ready to step-up to the forefront which means us oldies have to step aside and let them pass.
You're a good player Talon (and I've maintained that view even during our heated confrontations) and the nation needs people like you in it.
Right now however your quest for another term is simply impeding your stated goal of bring the next generation through the only reason I can attach to your desire to do this is purely down to the fact that this crop of newer players hasn't been raised by TUP and are therefore unworthy?
New players we see in all parties. Some parties claim they are the best for new players so they can get more new players. When anti-TUP is like being anti-Talon Karrde it is almost impossible to do things good for the group that is anti. When the new (the anti) will get power things can change, but I fear not for the better.
The hatred being pushed to heights will only cripple our nation. Talon Karrde gives new players chances.
Chances are needed in the UK but not anti politics.
The UK needs more players like Talon, an excellent CP! o7
Talon for prez !
@Niemand. The problem is while things are being done that many see as wrong the anti-TUP feeling will only get stronger. I actually respect Talon, he seems cool and I like his slogan ("Youth First"), everyone is trying to help the new players but TUP seems to have a lot of control over the forums and kick people for the stupidest things, and they cheat. The game should be free of this type of behaviour and everyone should just be able to enjoy themselves
and not have to worry that their hard work is going to waste because a group of people already in charge are going to use underhanded tactics to remain in charge. We need to clean up this game, all of us should be working together. Every party, every unit, every player. We're here to have fun, that is the reason we play games...
Saying and doing are two completly seperate things.
If TK/TUP were to actually bring in some fresh blood to match that already exsisting on the 'anti' side then that would overshadow any of their other claims to competence and be of the greatest service to the nation.
I honestly feel however that they don't know how and all we'll get from this is a couple of threads on the 'Kumnaa' forums plus a few more educational articles and generic calls to 'get involved'.
@Soytix: You know who cheat? Look to Goku Jones. Cheaters should be banned. People talk about a bad party so people believe a party is bad. Who is using underhanded tactics? Things like take over a minor party and placing someone you hat at the ballot seems bad. I think the people working for government now are from many different party. Some want to clean that...
Fun should be the first priority indeed. Fun will not achieved by the change some want to bring. Money will be more important. Sad.
@Alfagrem: New players can be and are involved. Richard Feist is involved. So are others. Many can be involved now already. Many articles are made by this government.
The so called anti-side claims are that things are unfair. Their articles push away articles that gives support to new players, articles that inform about the battles we have, articles that inform how to get more involved.
Seems money is buying UK. That is in the rules, but I do not think that will bring improvement.
voted
GOod luck friend
@Nieman😛 But you have to ask yourself how effective the articles are in the first place at reaching your target audience.
The whole article and occasional 'Dear resident' msg is the way we (eUK) have always considered new player support to be dealt with...........It's not worked and then the person in charge or the CP will tell you its because of them romanian programmers not a failure on their part.
No-one is going to expect any UK gov to retain 100% of new players but when you retain proportionally less of a babyboom then a nation that is getting perma-wiped by one of the mjor powers you DO have to consider it a problem.
Biased Poll, you fail Foundation Level GCSE Maths.
Leaving copies of a poll around and hoping that people will answer it is NOT a good sampling method.
I expect that most did not answer because they feel like they don't want you as CP and don't want to help you win by giving you this info, the same with your idea begging PM last week.
No one says there is no problem. There are several players trying to get retention higher. Nevertheless you see new players dying in each MU, each political party regardless their program.
Kicking the articles that help new players out of top 5 certainly doesn't help...
funny how most of the people you asked the questions were parties that support you and that the odds are you only asked people who would be more likely to be nice to you in the UKPP and NE and other parties like ours
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/maths/statistics/samplinghirev1.shtml
Goku don't bring your RL into this please, I'm sure you have enough trouble with the nippers there and teaching them maths.