Ian E Coleman's Cabinet

Day 2,112, 16:43 • Published in Ireland Ireland • by Ian E CoIeman
September 1, 2013

Hello eIreland,

This is my cabinet and general governmental plan. Dig in, ask questions.

Offices of the Taoiseach

Taoiseach (Country President) - Ian E Coleman
You can read my first campaign article here. There's also a history of my community roles available on my wiki page here. In my government career I've been prevalently entrusted with matters of informing and educating citizens. This work has lead me to search out some kind of understanding in practically every facet of this game, and could only be facilitated by a curiosity with how things work and how they all come together. In this sense, I can bring to the job a well rounded general understanding of eRepublik and eIreland's cogs and gears.

In the military realm, I have served as a logistic officer in the Irish Army, our national military unit, and helped to develop our current supply system - which has allowed us to more than double the residency of our communes. Recently I was appointed by Army HQ as the Commander of Irish Army, which has introduced me not only to the grander dynamics of military strategy and orders, but to a new form of leadership responsibilities.

When it comes to politics, I am the founder of Éire Aonair which is currently the nation's largest political party both in terms of membership and voting power. This party has been a labour of love for more than two years - a time for which the majority was spent well outside the top five scrapping it out for influence in the nation. So having experienced both the perspective of a small party, and a large one, all political banter aside I can safely say that my horizons have been broadened by this part of my eLife.


Tánaiste (Vice President/Prime Minister) - Sweet Drinker
Sweet Drinker, our ceding Taoiseach, has lead the nation for the past three months. This makes him an ideal advisor in my judgement, and I think keeping the former leader in the loop should be standard practice in order to ensure some continuity from one administration to another. I'm already convinced having him around is going be a huge advantage, as he already has his foot in several of the right doors and can fill me in on the last three month's of any issue.

Aside from the mere fact that he's been June, July, and August's President - I'm a fan of Sweet's way of thinking and operating, and I've always gotten along well with him. Incase we lose our way, I can always count on Sweet to be a voice of reason.


Citizen Advocacy Advisor - Bhane
This is a new advisory position that I want to add to my council. I've long admired Bhane for his vision in matters of the average citizen. Whether it's his call for accessibility to information in-game (rather then hiding matters in a web of forums and chat networks), or his concern for the individual citizen's welfare, Bhane's impact on our community has been under appreciated but in many ways revolutionary. Certainly his input has changed my views on many matters and has informed a lot of my own stances on issues. For the sake of the average citizen, Bhane will be sitting in on government matters and adding his own two cents.

Department of Defence

Minister of Defence - Seanan
Though Seanan is in dire need of a vacation, I've roped him in for one last round as defender of the state. The plan was for myself to take over the Ministry of Defence role, but I suppose I'll learn a thing or two about it from behind the wizard's curtain too. Recently Seanan has brought back Sunday Night strikes, an initiative which I hope to see continued through the cooperation of our finance, foreign affairs, and defence programs.

To the extent that guerilla warfare can exist in eRepublik, Seanan is an expert. His military career has always placed him in difficult scenarios, leading him to develop the rational strategic philosophy needed for difficult decision making. In a world full of seemingly unstoppable forces, Seanan is the general of our immovable object. There's no one better equipped for this job.


Official Defence Consultant - I-Bleed-Blue-93
An updated appointment, this eCanadian citizen has a history of lending eIreland's government an extra hand. With tons of government experience, including seven tenures as a Minister of Defence, Blue will certainly add to the expertise of our government, and I wont hesitate to bring his views and advise into the equation. He and Seanan know each other well and will certainly compliment each other's knowledge base.

Department of Foreign Affairs

Minister of Foreign Affairs - Brian Boru
Brian has been reappointed again in the interests of continuity going forward. For a small nation such as ours, international relations are vital to our survival, and we need someone who's in-touch with the dynamics of world politics and powers. Above all else I can trust Brian to do a professional and eloquent job on behalf of our interests. Brian's roots go deep into the bedrocks of our current times, lending him insight and experience.

This ministry will be especially important as we take a second look at our non-aggression pact with the eUK. I have many questions surrounding this situation and where the advantages and motivations lie strategically in our current relations with the eUK. We may prefer to let pacts expire and depend on the pure self-interest of each side to avoid aggression.

This month the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be taking on the responsibility of Immigration through the appointment of three officials who will approve candidates by majority. We'll be returning to a streamlined version of our immigration council design - with three officers, each from a different top 5 party, voting on each potential immigrant. Granted two out three officers approve the applicant for congress, the name of the immigrant along with a link to the immigration page will be sent to congress to follow through. The streamlined element is that no special requirements will be placed on immigrants aside from the discretion of two officials and one congress member. This represents a more open immigration policy in recognition of our serious need for new citizens. At the same time I believe that having an immigration office significantly improves the quality of our immigrants by holding our congress accountable for their power to enfranchise.

Department of Finance

Minister of Finance - AppleMan
AppleMan is the man. He's been shovelling coal into the nation's ever-burning engine for month's now, and I want to keep that smoke pluming. Finance involves managing a list of government organizations - which are like citizen accounts, but only used for storage and trading... they're left over from an earlier version of the game and kept in as a kind of after thought. A Minister of Finance needs to be able to keep passwords and data secure in order to prevent theft and maintain asymmetric information advantages for our own military strategy. Because this role requires a lot of skill, trust, and a 100% commitment to activity, it's not something just anyone can do. In this way we're very lucky to have AppleMan on the job.

With the recent addition of our national shield winnings to the nations finance maze, I will be looking into ways to inform the population about our financial situation, without compromising security or the ability of the ministry to operate smoothly. As a real life accounting major I have a unique understanding of the issues surrounding tracking our finances, but I'll do my best to improve the relationship between this ministry, congress, and the public. I'm also optimistic that this month our Ministry of Finance will be in a position to be more liberal with spending... a welcome thought.

Department of Education

Minister of Education - Raven Anarcho
I'm very excited about the possibilities for this ministry in September. Raven Anarcho is best known for his insight on matters of Foreign Affairs, and management of the ambassador program, but this month I'd like to use my cabinet to facilitate one of his pet projects.

Raven has been working on recruitment advertising for eRepublik for some time, and has done enough testing to get a first feel for what works and what doesn't. I want to use this opportunity to lend his project teeth and set my government behind him through the ministry of education. I'll be working closely with him to create an organized and active (almost military style) structure working to bring us brand new players.

To accomplish this I will be getting the Ministry of Community to cross over and help him out by collecting census information to inform our advertising techniques, as well as perhaps hold an art competition to create ads for eIreland.

I would also like to pass a reworked version of our new citizen's message which will streamline the process of joining Bootcamp and maximizing benefit from the first few days of missions. Additionally, we need to focus more on guerilla fights for our new citizens so that we can capitalize on the fact that this method of fighting does not add "xp" to new citizens, meaning they will reach level 25 later and will develop their strength attributes in a more intelligent way.

If we can get this program running smoothly then I believe we can have one of the best new citizen programs in eRepublik, producing overpowered division one monsters who will eventually rip into division one and eat up all the battle heros bringing glory and blood to the motherland...who sorry guys that just took a dark turn.

Department of Community

Minister of Community, Office of Community Events - Anthony Colby
Continuing with our theme of exciting changes, the Ministry of Communication will also undergo some re-imagination. First you will notice that we have three offices in this Ministry, each with slightly different roles.

Anthony Colby has a long history of success as Minister of Community, and I'm excited to have him back behind the wheel. He will be taking on the traditional role of the ministry - community events such at lotteries, awards, and competitions. As said before, hopefully here we can organize an ad competition for the benefit of Raven Anarcho and the Ministry of Education. Otherwise, the importance of this traditional role is in protecting the ancient treasure chest of the Community, which will as always be kept separate from national funds.

One other change to the traditional community events is that several community awards will be presented by government officials such as leaders, ministers, and commanders. We may also see awards from party presidents or other organizations - the general idea being that it will come from individuals rather than a voting system. We'll try this out this month to spice things up. I know that while I've received community awards myself, the one that meant the most to me as a new citizen was actually given to me by the then Country President, Marcus Suridius, for outstanding community work on the eIrish wiki.


Minister of Community, Office of Census and Statistics - MrConway
Though Conway has had a checkered past, having left eIreland and sworn allegiance to the eUK several terms ago (among other controversial noterieties), I know him very well and am certain that he'll do me proud in this appointment.

As head of the office of Census and Statistics, Conway will have an important practical role in informing the government, not only in projects like our advertising campaign, but also in tracking vital indicators of activity and community well being. I already have some starter data that I'll be pleased to have maintained.

In the past the Ministry of Community has actually done a community census to gather info on our citizens. [1] I'd like to dedicate someone to holding another census this month in order both to inform our Ministry of Education's advertising campaign, and also for the pure entertainment of seeing statistics about our quaint community. This office may also venture into keeping ongoing election statistics to help track population trends, and work in concert with the Ministry of Finance to inform their work. Endless possibilities here, and as my footer always said when I was Minister of Education: "Knowledge Is Power".



Minister of Community, Office of Citizen Welfare - Rafaia
It was Rafaia who came to me with the original ideas that are inspiring some of our Ministry of Community changes. His office will concern itself with citizen welfare, organizing mentorship programs, holding food drives, and collecting donations for events like strikes or government fundraisers.

Rafaia will also function as an ombudsmen for anyone who's having a hard time and wants to bring a concern to the government. Rafaia will monitor the wellbeing of our citizens and organize projects to improve it.

Deputies and Vacancies


One of the major concepts that I want to instil in my government, is that we need to be constantly developing our talent pool. That's why I'm asking my Ministers to not only take on Deputies, but try to actively train them and give them the experience needed to be the backup pitcher for a ministerial role.

Good ministers only come with experience in the ministry... especially when it comes to hands on fast moving ministries like foreign affairs or defence - you can't learn this stuff just from a book, you need to get in there and get dirty.

Inevitably our current reliable ships crew will be lost at sea or eaten by lions. When that time comes we'll be out of luck if we don't have capable alternatives. Not only is training deputies good for this reason, but also for the sheer fact that more knowledge and knowledge sharing can only be a good thing. A skilled and informed populace is a healthy and strong one!

I will be updating this article with any ongoing additional appointments!

If you're interested in being my Minister of Community heading the Office of Census and Statistics, message me now!

Dáil Procedures
In September we're going to do this whole Dáil business right. We will get started with new Dáil threads as soon as possible in the event that I'm elected. I will have congress members pre-friended. There will be two congressional threads both containing Ministers and Officials, along with one half of the elected congress. Which congress members are in which thread will be determined by randomization rather than groupings by party membership.

On the matter of Immigration, there will be two articles published by myself featuring an account from the immigration office (one ~14th, one on the ~4th of October) which will provide an account of all the immigrants who received approval from the office. This article will also show which congressmen accepted which immigrant, and will disclose any cases of unauthorized immigration acceptance. These accounts will be completely objective and will state only the facts, regardless of who may be featured doing what. Having decided from the beginning that this will be the policy, there will be no confusing the articles as a political maneuver or as a case of spotlighting selectively.

On the matter of rogue proposals, I've noticed that things are a bit ambiguous and I want to set down some standards so that everyone is on the same page. The rules will be simple:

Either the Country President or Minister of Finance must pre-approve any of the following proposals: Change Taxes, Donate to Organization, Issue Money, Adjust Minimum Wage.

Either the Country President or Minister of Defence must pre-approve any of the following proposals: Declare Natural Enemy

You can view a list of country administrative abilities here. The idea of this measure is not to have the cabinet dictating over congress, but to prevent jumping the gun on proposals and to ensure that our ability to make proposals is clear when we actually need it. Where an issue has been well discussed myself or one of my ministers will approve the proposal to be started, even if we would vote no ourselves. This should happen within a few days of the issue being brought up at the latest. In the same article where the immigration accounts are disclosed, there will be an account of congress activity which will include any proposals that did not have pre-approval. Such proposals will be referred to as rogue.

Conclusion
I know this is very long article, but unfortunately I can't give you a very good TL😃R version. If you don't have the stomach for the whole thing, maybe you'll be satisfied reading about the ministry that interests you most.

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read this, and to anyone willing to consider placing their trust in me on the 5th.

Ask questions, I answer them!

Cheers!
Ian E Coleman
Candidate for Taoiseach of eIreland September '13