#Taxation Day Contest

[gosulsel]

Gelar TDC, Politeknik Bosowa Wadahi Siswa dan Mahasiswa Pentingnya Pajak - Gosulsel

MAKASSAR, GOSULSEL.COM - Program Studi Perpajakan Politeknik Bosowa (Poltekbos) menggelar Taxation Day Contest (TDC). Bertempat di Aula Poltekbos, Kamis (20/07/2023). Kegiatan ini meliputi Seminar, Webinar, Lomba Kreasi Video, Cipta Poster dan Karya Tulis Ilmiah. Tujuannya menanamkan edukasi...

http://gosulsel.com/2023/07/22/gelar-tdc-politeknik-bosowa-wadahi-siswa-dan-mahasiswa-pentingnya-pajak/

#Poltekbos #ProdiPerpajakan #TaxationDayContest

[sailorsenshishitposter]

Kinji Hakari x Reader

⚠️Spoilers for chapter 238 kind of?

Kinji Hakari:

Your favorite movie is fight club, you love femboys or you just have a strong passion for dancing.

First Date:

You were out of money as usual and had heard rumors of an underground fighting ring. "It may not be legal but bills need to be payed. Besides, taxation is basically theft anyway so it evens out." You made your way towards the Gachinko venue, taking note of the other contestants. "This will be easy!"

You were now standing against your first opponent, a large, muscular man. "Hmpf. What are you supposed to be?" he sneered. You grinned. "My pronouns are they/them/causing mayhem!" You then struck him in the face, feeling his nose crunch under your knuckles. You only lasted a few more rounds, the rest of the guests being too scared to fight you.

As you were counting your earnings, a boy hung his arm around your shoulder. "Can you take my temperature?" You stumbled back awkwardly and tried to put some distance between the two of you. "...Why?..." The boy got right in your face. "Because you're giving me a massive fever babe!"

"..."

He took your silence as a okay to continue. "My name's Hakari and I think we can help each other out. I'll help you get some cash in exchange for hanging out with me and my crew for a day." You were already suspicious. "Crew?"

"Yeah, I have a harem of femboys. We wouldn't be dating though as I'm already together with Kirara and would need to ask them if they would be alright with being in a polyamorus relationship." The nerve of this guy to assume that you were already about to leap at the idea of going out with him! "I'm pretty good at gambling and I can get you some sweet cash from those earnings of yours. What do you say?" You shook his hand without hesitation. "All right, but you better not fail or your ass is grass and I'm going to mow it!"

Hakari introduced you to the gang and then took you to the local casino. "Stay here, I just need to make a quick stop!" It was now ten minutes later. "How good are you at baby sitting #######?" You noticed something behind him. "What the fuck is that?!" Standing there was an elderly man with teal hair. Damn, Hatsune Miku got old. "This is the old man. I can't leave him by himself and he needs an occasional walk every now and then."

Did he take some poor stray dog/old man to play house with? "This isn't what we agreed upon!" Hakari put his hands up in self defense. "I know, I know. Don't worry, I'll get you your money, you just have to make sure he doesn't sneak off. He's got a habit of getting into fights with people."

"Ugh, fine!" You eventually made it to the casino. You were worried that you would need ID but luckily the old man was able to "chaperone" the two of you. "Here's what we'll do. We split the money in half and then meet again in two hours." You then went your separate ways. You weren't really sure where to start so you went to one of the pinball machines. "Seems easy enough"

You were starting to get the hang of it when your ball hit a snag. "Huh?" You managed to open up a slot of some kind. "Three in a row. Well, here goes nothing!" You hit three times and were surprised that you didn't see bells or fruit. You had a match but you had never seen this before. Suddenly the words "FINAL EGGMAN" popped up and you then got a game over, losing everything that you had.

You kicked the machine. "Screw this game, I give up!" The old man then pipped up. "That's how losers think!" Whatever! You were off to find Hakari. By the time you found him you knew you regretted your decision. The boy was shirtless and yelling something about a "pure love train". You didn't see what all the fuss was about. After all, it's just pachinko.Wait, why was there music now? Shit. He was getting turnt up. "Hakari, stop!" But it was too late, for the next four minutes and eleven seconds, he was immortal. No one could stop him now. He ran out of the building and then used his femboy radar.

"I see one! The only problem is the giant meat head." Hakari then grabbed you and the old man. He threw a bag your way. "Here's the money. Now distract that guy over there for me while I go put on some smooth moves!" Ew. You were definitely never dealing with this guy again. "C'mon old man, let's get this over with."

Hakari had run up towards the stranger. "I'M BURNING UP FOR YOU BABY!" They grimaced. "I don't know who you think you are but let me help you cool off!" They raised a hand and an icicle pierced through Hakari's brain stem. "That takes care of that. Wait a minute. Where is my lord!?"

The two of you were going up to distract the random guy as Hakari had tasked you with but you weren't really sure on a plan on how to stall him. Then the old man began clutching his chest. "Hey! You're not having a heart attack are you!?" What came out of his lips wasn't something you had expected to hear. "He's so beautiful!"

"Huh?"

"Move out of my way, I need to see him!" The old man began to run off and honestly you couldn't really care. You were just glad that you could finally go home now. The old man was now in front of his target. "How can you connect with others?" The man raised a brow. "How can you love those beneath you... While knowing nothing of weakness?" Just before he could respond, the old man fell over.

"It seems he died of a heart attack." He looked down at his stomach which was frowning. "I should see if Uraume can get some use from this corpse and fashion me some waffles for breakfast."

[sourcreammachine]

TRANSFORM PARTY 2024 SUMMARY

including the Breakthrough Party, Northern Independence Party, Left Unity, and the Liverpool Community Independents, cross-endorsing other candidates including Andrew Feinstein, Ajaz Rehman, Claudia Webbe, Asa Jones, Carla Denyer, Faiza Shaheen and Jeremy Corbyn

Transform is a party that's still the process of being formed. at the end of last year the Breakthrough Party, the Northern Independence Party, the Liverpool Community Independents and Left Unity agreed to merge to create a brand new party of the Left. creating a whole organisation is a long and annoying process. whilst the early merging process had just gotten underway, 7 October happened, so the formation process needed to slow down to take account of the new political reality. that’s why some of the merging organisations nominally still exist. transform’s candidate in Garstang is listed under Liverpool Community Independents so watch out

their list of cross-endorsements is vast. many of their endorsements are also endorsed by galloway’s ultraconservative workers’ party BUT they are not endorsing any workers’ party candidates themselves, it’s ok. it’s all about solidarity

with the process being so down-to-the-wire they don’t have a great deal of official policy announcements. their policy is written democratically by their members and it’s still being formulated, hence why their announcements constitute more of a broad agenda than specific policy right now. policy posts are being regularly on their facebook, (you don't need to sign in, open a private tab and you can read the lot). from the last few days:

renationalise electricity and nationalise the grid

rent caps and mass building of affordable housing

local cooperative electric companies to control local generation and supply

investigate UK government figures for war crimes visàvis gaza

criminalisation of sewage dumping with forced renationalisation as a forfeit, and as a jailable offence for executives

total renationalisation of the NHS with tens of billions of pounds per annum for the NHS from wealth taxation

create a public pharmaceutical company

overturn the real-wage cuts in the public sector and otherwise work to raise private-sector wages

naturally, there's a number of places they've not formally written policy on yet. they're anti-draconian, and avowed republicans. so let's see where this goes

anyway, they summarise themselves thusly:

transform is a left party, of and for the working class in all its diversity, seeking to redistribute wealth and power from the elite to the people

transform is ecosocialist, supporting transformative political, social and economic change in order to build a truly sustainable world and achieve climate justice

transform is internationalist, opposing war, imperialism and colonialism, welcoming migrants and standing in solidarity with oppressed people everywhere

transform is feminist and anti-racist, fighting for a world where social injustices including racism, xenophobia, ableism, homophobia, transphobia and the oppression of women have been eradicated

transform is committed to eradicating regional inequality within britain and supports the right of the devolved nations to determine their constitutional futures

transform is a democratic party, in which members empower, organise and educate each other

transform develops policy democratically, drawing on the knowledge and experience of its members

transform contests elections in order to offer voters a socialist alternative and build power locally and nationally, without promoting the idea that voting alone can solve the present crises

transform seeks to build power in communities, workplaces and on the streets

transform builds meaningful relationships with a wide range of organisations including trade unions, community and campaign groups, social justice movements and left organisations outside britain

[fcb4]

One of the fuses that lit the American revolution was the issue of taxation. I can’t imagine what those revolutionaries would think about us now.

Patrick Henry’s final thoughts about the Stamp Act Written on the back of Henry’s copy of the Stamp Act Resolutions was a message to posterity

The within resolutions passed the House of Burgesses in May, 1765. They formed the first opposition to the Stamp Act and the scheme of taxing America by the British Parliament.

All the colonies, either through fear, or want of opportunity to form an opposition, or from influence of some kind or other, had remained silent.

I had been for the first time elected a Burgess a few days before, was young, inexperienced, unacquainted with the forms of the House, and the members that composed it.

Finding the men of weight averse to opposition, and the commencement of the tax at hand, and that no person was likely to step forth, I determined to venture, and alone, unadvised, and unassisted, on a blank leaf of an old law-book, wrote the within.

Upon offering them to the House violent debates ensued. Many threats were uttered, and much abuse cast on me by the party for submission. After a long and warm contest the resolutions passed by a very small majority, perhaps of one or two only.

The alarm spread throughout America with astonishing quickness, and the Ministerial party were overwhelmed.

The great point of resistance to British taxation was universally established in the colonies. This brought on the war which finally separated the two countries and gave independence to ours.

Whether this will prove a blessing or a curse, will depend upon the use our people make of the blessings which a gracious God hath bestowed on us. If they are wise, they will be great and happy. If they are of a contrary character, they will be miserable. Righteousness alone can exalt them as a nation.

Reader! whoever thou art, remember this; and in thy sphere practise virtue thyself, and encourage it in others.

– P. HENRY

https://www.redhill.org/primary-sources/patrick-henrys-resolutions-against-the-stamp-act/

[skywalkerresources]

                          LEGO STAR WARS: SUMMER VACATION  sentence starters taken/adapted/inspired from the special. change pronouns as necessary!

“ we’re here... to have some fun! ”

“ isn’t it great? no stormtroopers, no TIE fighters, no threat of galactic annihilation ”

“ do heroes even take vacations? ”

“ [name], you love your activities, buddy. ”

“ it’s a vacation. when do we, you know, relax? ”

“ i can schedule five minutes of relaxing time in between shuffleboard and the engineering room experience. ”

“ here, to catch some rays. ”

“ you relax your way, i relax mine. ”

“ they even have a spa. ”

“ it’s not that kind of holiday. ”

“ see? it’s gonna be great. we need this. ”

“ it’s the last time we’ll all be together. ”

“ time’s wasting. let’s get a move on. ”

“ i’d try to talk you out of it, but we’re already behind schedule. ”

“ strap in, baby! ”

“ what do you recommend for someone whose friend ditched him? ”

“ this trip sure isn’t going like i’d hoped. ”

 “ whoa, what is in this? ”

“ i’m kind of a clone wars expert. ”

“ no need to stand on ceremony. ”

“ [name] once told me that past jedi may appear to help guide us in times of need. ”

“ is it another death star? a second order? is the emperor coming back again... again?! ”

“ i sensed a jedi in need of counsel. ”

“ [name]’s somewhere on the ship. i’m not sure where. ”

“ i’m talking about you. ”

“ my friends are gone, but i’m hanging out in an empty lounge with a jedi ghost. ”

“ you must learn to enjoy yourself. ”

“ what do you know about vacations? ”

“ you look like you came out on the losing end of a bantha-milking contest. ”

“ if anyone asks, i’ve been here all day. ”

“ i’m no spy. ”

“ vacation? in mos eisley? ”

“ did i leave our identification at the great pit of carkoon? ”

“ i’d stay out of it. ”

“ she’d forget her own head if it weren’t already snapped on. ”

“ you don’t need to see her identification. ”

“ sorry i can’t stay and chat. i’m kind of in a rush. ”

“ perhaps you could use some assistance on your spy mission. ”

“ your secret is safe with me, jedi. ”

“ doing the deal in plain sight eliminates the fear of a double-cross by either side. ”

“ they won’t feel so clever after we steal it back. ”

“ what’s your plan? ”

“ you keep watch and try to blend in. ”

“ haven’t you ever been to a party? or relaxed? ”

“ well, that sounds rather difficult. ”

“ turns out i’ve had run-ins with some of these folks in the past. ”

“ use the force... of your personality. ”

“ shall we proceed with the exchange? ”

“ the empire is willing to compensate you. ”

“ it appears we’ll need a new form of transport. ”

“ you sure you won’t come with me? ”

 “ the rebellion needs all the help we can get. ”

“ i’m getting too old for that sort of thing. ”

“ even on your time off, you just ended up doing jedi stuff? ”

“ i hate to break it to you, but that was not a vacation. ”

“ in my experience, one never knows how long a moment will last. ”

“ does that mean i’m now an official jedi? ”

“ he’s been running us ragged with his nonstop activities. ”

“ you bailed on the ‘taste of the galaxy’ dining experience! ”

“ you’re gonna love these galactic cream puffs. ”

“ this day just gets weirder and weirder. ”

“ i lose them, then i find them, then i lose them again. ”

“ sand, right? it gets everywhere. ”

“ heroes don’t take vacation. evil sure doesn’t. ”

“ right now, i’m not sure about anything, okay? ”

“ we gotta put those emotions in carbonite and chill. ”

“ oh, look. the senate is squabbling over taxation of outlying trade routes. ”

“ sometimes, i wish i could just leave all of this behind. ”

“ we’re going to get you away from it all. ”

“ look, nothing but empty beach. no one to bother you, no demands on your time. ”

“ good thing we got away from crowded coruscant. ”

“ we traveled halfway across the galaxy for this? ”

“ you think i’d learn not to put you in charge of anything. ”

“ your friend looks awfully familiar. ”

“ what is this abomination? ”

“ when you do what you love, every day is a vacation. ”

“ you gotta find your bliss. ”

“ you seem a little lost. ”

“ i’ve spent more time today with ghosts than my friends. ”

“ i’m starting to regret even taking this trip. ”

“ sometimes a vacation is more than just having fun. a lot more. ”

“ what do you think, pal? pretty cool, huh? ”

“ i never had family vacations growing up... or a family. ”

“ it’ll be fun family bonding. what do you say? ”

“ you know what would be really fun? if i flew us there. ”

“ you never let me do anything. ”

“ not quite what i had in mind, but we’ll make the best of it. ”

“ this place is seriously rundown. ”

“ you look like you’ve been staring into a twin sun solar eclipse. ”

“ have you flown the millennium falcon? ”

“ i have to say, when i saw your name(s) on the guest list, i was intrigued. ”

“ we haven’t seen one ewok since we got here. ”

“ they may seem cute and cuddly, but they’re actually vicious little monsters. ”

“ i may have had an ulterior motive bringing you out here. ”

“ i thought someone of your stature talked to them, maybe they would back off. ”

“ real estate disputes aren’t exactly our area of expertise. ”

“ i hate to be pushy, but could we move this along? ”

“ this isn’t wizard at all, i wanna go home! ”

“ our son is in trouble. ”

“ why did you fly us into an asteroid field?! ”

“ you’re going to love lightsaber training. ”

“ i’m starting to realize that i don’t know if i can do it. ”

“ is it possible that none of you are ready to say goodbye? ”

“ a trip isn’t about the destination, it’s about the the journey. enjoying the moments for as long as they last. ”

“ oh, no. don’t you do it. don’t get mushy on me. ”

“ remember how we first met? ”

“ you gave me purpose. ”

“ i’ve loved fighting alongside all of you. i’m gonna miss that. ”

“ i didn’t wanna admit it to myself, but i never wanted those feelings to end. ”

“ with the memories we’ve shared, no one’s ever really gone. ”

“ i know what we should do now. ”

[niamh-sims]

Welcome to Erianby… an Elder Scrolls Medieval Charter / Warwickshire Challenge!

~ The Rules of the Game ~

I am using VllyGrl’s Medieval Charter Challenge as the base for this game, as it’s such a good way to build up a full neighborhood. But, I love the complexity and deeper aspects of Heloise’s Warwickshire Renaissance Challenge, so will be using aspects of that as well.

I’m playing an Elder Scrolls themed game, so will be borrowing bits and pieces of lore as I please, while ignoring others. We’ll pretend it’s set in the 10th Era, so anything goes!

Medieval Charter Challenge

- Basically, I’m starting out with the families and lots as stated in the MCC. But, I’ve tripled the treasury funds required as I play with a slower ageing mod, and otherwise the challenge just ends too soon. - I’m using VllyGrl’s MCC to guide the lots that get added as the neighborhood grows, but I’m adding in some extra families and buildings, such as a bank and courthouse, to align with how I’m playing trades and careers (see below). - During the initial phase of the challenge, I’ll be using the MCC taxation and rent system. Once the initial neighborhood is completed, I’ll switch to the WRC taxation system.

Warwickshire Renaissance Challenge

- The aspects I’m starting out with are the ageing system and health rolls, health system, social class system, education system, and Royal Favour Points/Clerical Favour Points. - Once the main neighborhood is complete and the MCC is effectively finished, I’ll swap over to the WRC taxation system.

How I Play

- I’m using Hat’s Gestational Ageing Mod, where 4 days equal one year. This essentially aligns with the ageing system in the WRC. I’m also playing with a lot of the mods recommended by Hat at the end of that post, to make gaining skills etc harder. Can’t have a toddler maxing out their skills before their child birthday!

- I play with 12-day seasons (mainly to align with the months of the year below). Each household is played for 4 days for the first rotation before moving on to the next family.  4-day rotations are then repeated to the remainder of the seasonal round.  Then on the last day of the season, taxes and other payments are due.

- I play with a slew of other mods, default replacements and other CC. Most of what I use can be found at my Pinterest.

- Days of the week are aligned with the ES universe: Morndas, Tirdas, Middas, Turdas, Fredas, Loredas, Sundas.

- I always start in Spring, so months of the year are as follows. Each month also lasts for 4 days.

Spring- First Seed, Rain’s Hand, Second Seed

Summer- Mid Year, Sun’s Height, Last Seed

Autumn- Hearthfire, Frost Fall, Sun’s Dusk

Winter- Evening Star, Morning Star, Sun’s Dawn

- I’m debating whether I put Hat’s Religion Mod back in… If I do, there will likely be 4-5 religions. I’m likely to take inspiration from @lavenderlight​‘s game. Mainly because they know ES lore so much better than I do and I don’t want to reinvent the wheel.

- Speaking of being inspired by @lavenderlight​​, I’m also ‘borrowing’ their holidays and festivities. They were kind enough to share their edit of piqiwi’s Holiday Mod, which I’ve then adapted. I’ve also been inspired by the Holidays/Festivals in @mortia​’s Dallùbach and @jonnyparable​‘s Cottage Hills. Holidays/Festivals are as follows:

Spring- Hearts Day, 1st Day of Rain’s Hand. Dates, matchmaking, love potions, flower garlands, fertility well, dancing etc. Will have a festival lot. Two minor holidays will be First Planting and Second Planting. Sims will still have to go to work/school, but farmers will go to the temple to pray, and ill sims can be cured for free.

Summer- Mid Year Celebration, 4th Day of Mid Year. Bonfire, cooking contest, water balloon fight, hot air balloons, dancing, feasting. Will have a festival lot. A minor holiday will be Harvest’s End. Farmers will again go to the temple to pray and ill Sims can be healed for free.

Autumn- Witches Festival, 1st Day of Frostfall. Bonfire, feast, pumpkin carving, magic demonstrations, ?trick or treating, spooky stories etc. Maybe this is when the dragon vendor comes to town? Will have a festival lot. The minor festival in Autumn will be the Warriors Festival, think tourney. Sims can participate in a melee (fist fights, last Sim standing wins), sword fighting and an archery contest. Healers will be on hand to heal wounded warriors, and again, ill Sims can be healed for free.

Winter- Saturalia, 4th Day of Evening Star. Think Christmas… Feasts at home, yule logs, decorating evergreen trees, gift giving. If Sims have been good, the Gift Giver might also pay a visit! Winter gets another major holiday… the New Life Festival, held on the 4th Day of Morning Star. Bon fire, ice skating, snowball fights, fire crackers and sparklers.

Expanding the Main Neighborhood

- Erianby, the main neighborhood, is essentially the Royal Court neighborhood. Once the harbour and docks lot has been placed, it unlocks the three vacation ‘hoods. But, as I’m playing an Elder Scrolls themed game, the vacation ‘hoods will also be themed. I’ll mainly be playing with the human and mer races in the main ‘hood and sub ‘hoods… Nords, Bretons, Imperials, Redguard, Bosmer, Altmer and Dunmer. The mountain vacation ‘hood will be inspired by Orsinium and the locals will be Orcs. The tropical vacation ‘hood will be inspired by Black Marsh and the locals will be Argonian. Finally, the Far East vacation ‘hood will be inspired by Elsweyr and the locals will be Khajiit.

- I won’t be using a university sub ‘hood… Rather, I’ll use universities within the main ‘hood and sub ‘hoods.

- Once the monarch moves into the main ‘hood, two sub ‘hoods will be added. One will be a merchant town and the other will be a rural, farming area. This way I can have more nobles and hopefully some feuds/wars will develop!

Other Game Play Notes

- I’ve always thought it unrealistic that Sims start off with no skills in challenges. I have developed a system that designates a certain number of skill points for each age group and social class. So, a royal teen will start off with the same number of skill points as an adult peasant, and where an elder peasant starts off with 25 skill points, an elder noble starts off with 45. Skill points can be distributed however I see fit.

- Not all Sims can access aspiration rewards or lifetime aspiration benefits.

Aspiration rewards: Merchants and up may freely use aspiration rewards. Yeoman can access the rewards, but must gift them to a Sim in a higher social class so cannot use them themselves. Peasants are not allowed to access aspiration rewards.

Lifetime Aspiration Benefits: Peasants may only choose a secondary aspiration and cannot use any others, including the needs ones. Yeoman may choose a secondary aspiration, and use the motive benefits and their primary aspiration benefits. Merchants may select all of their primary and secondary aspiration benefits as well as the motive ones. Gentry and up may choose all benefits.

- Business owners may choose the money rewards, and families (including lower class families) may choose the money wish from the genie. However, to avoid families getting rich too quickly, these money rewards are taxed at the antiquity rate, which is double their income tax rate.

- I will have regional crops/plants/animals, but I’m still working this out. I primarily use the Sun & Moon items, and want to have the ability to trade. I might also make the sub ‘hoods have a different Seasons configuration to the main ‘hood.

The main ‘hood will have all 4 seasons, while the merchant town might have a double Autumn and the farming ‘hood may have a double Summer. The three vacation ‘hoods will also have specific seasons configurations.

- I will play with careers, and have adapted this list from @12raben​​ to suit my own game. As careers are added with each level, so will specific community lots. I use medieval default replacements for all the Maxis careers, but will be editing them to significantly reduce the salary and bonuses.

- I will also be using these ‘custom’ LTW’s from @morgaine2005​​. I’m just going to have to keep an eye on when the Sims actually achieve them and then manually add the memory and aspiration points. I think that’s it!

This is Erianby in it’s infancy.

So far, most of the Sims have started out in the lower-class district. I have the gentry Squire (Nord), a peasant wood chopper (Bosmer), a peasant miner (Dunmer), a peasant midwife/herbalist (Breton), a peasant fisher (Redguard), a yeoman goatherd (Imperial) and a yeoman swineherd (Breton). There is also the gentry Royal Steward (Altmer), who lives in the Royal District.

Family introductions and lot tours will be coming soon!

[axvoter]

Blatantly Partisan Party Review XXII (federal 2022): Rex Patrick Team

Running where: SA

Prior reviews: None, this is a new party, although my 2016 review of the Nick Xenophon Team and my 2019 review of the Centre Alliance are relevant

Rex Patrick was appointed to the Senate to fill the casual vacancy created when Nick Xenophon quit in 2017, hence the link above to my review of the Nick Xenophon Team in 2016. Patrick had been one of Xenophon’s staffers, and before that he worked for Liberal senator David Johnston. Xenophon’s term was 2016–22, so Patrick was not up for re-election in the 2019 federal contest and his party, now named the Centre Alliance, failed to pick up any additional senators. So, in August 2020, he left the party, believing that he had a better chance of retaining his seat if he ran as an independent. Basically, he was going to have to slug it out with Stirling Griff for top billing on the Centre Alliance ticket, and 2019 showed that the party would likely struggle to get even one quota, never mind two. He then went on to register a party under the name Rex Patrick Team (RPT), pretty much a team of one.

As things have transpired, Griff is now the running mate for Xenophon’s independent tilt to get back into the Senate. I thought RPT was unlikely to get near a quota the moment it was formed, and with Xenophon back in the mix I think it’s safe to say Patrick’s days in the Senate are almost over. Still, what do he and his purported team stand for?

Patrick’s platform skews towards South Australian interests, especially country interests. Most of it is pretty middle-of-the-road stuff that tries not to alienate anyone too much. He makes a big deal of being a “South Australian country boy at heart” (he was born in New Zealand but grew up in Whyalla). In his quest for greater government transparency and a federal ICAC, he’s running with the Democrats’ old slogan of “keep the bastards honest”.

Having served in the navy, it’s unsurprising that Patrick has a strong interest in defence, in particular defence jobs for South Australia. He wants greater manufacturing and heavy industry in SA and supports government intervention and protectionism if it provides this outcome. His approach to environmental management is basically “more water for SA from the Murray-Darling Basin”. Although he recognises the reality of climate change, his policy uses a lot of words to say not much more than “net zero by 2050, maximise renewable energy production in SA, I like electric cars, and how about a national aerial fire-fighting fleet?”

Basically, if you want South Australian boosterism, here’s your guy. One of his few truly national policy offerings is to make your first university or TAFE degree free, funded by reforming corporate taxation and mining royalties. If something would broadly benefit the whole country but have costs for SA, I have doubts that he would support it; likewise, I suspect he is a bit too acquiescent a crossbencher if a government is prepared to give SA a couple of shiny new toys in return for his vote.

My recommendation: Give Rex Patrick Team a middling preference.

Website: https://www.rexpatrick.com.au/

[kassala]

Your on day five holding your shit from your shit holding contest now your starting to think shitting is a big scam perpetrated by big city sewage taxation.

You and your friend have a breath-holding contest. You’re on day two now and are beginning to think breathing is a scam perpetrated by big air.

[thecat-inthehat]

Some assorted Arcanima and Arcanist’s guild headcanons! 

Limsa Lominsa averages about a 75% rate of literacy, versus Eorzea’s 50%. This is largely because the Arcanist’s guild also functions as a school to many hopeful applicants, and teaches basic maths, reading, writing, and aetherology free of charge. It’s not uncommon for people to join the guild just so they have their basic schooling out of the way. 

The guild merely requires that people have the ability to manipulate aether, be able to hold a quill, and a willingness to learn. The guild requires all new trainees to help out with Mealvaan’s Gate, either by apprenticing other Assessors, or running errands along the city, or helping out with sums and other bureaucratic needs. It’s not uncommon to see carbuncles with little saddles or bags that run along the city streets delivering small packages to and fro. 

Arcanima is relatively simple to learn, but difficult to master because of the sheer amount of equations and maths involved. Conjury and Thaumaturgey both have their pitfalls and sciences, but they tend to more “soul” than “mind”, as it were. Because most Eorzeans are more familiar with the other two disciplines as their primary interaction with magic, Arcanima can be very challenging. 

The Arcanist’s guild has the highest turnover rate of any guild in Eorzea, largely in part of the aforementioned problems. This isn’t inherently a bad thing, as the guild tends to teach people the basics and then let them go when they have no desire to progress beyond that. The guild’s developed a rather blaise attitude to their turnover rate, citing that it’s better to have more people educated than not. As such, the Arcanist’s guild is also one of the largest guilds, even if many of their members aren't’ permanent. 

Arcanists go wild over “vermin” that come in on ships. There’s contests to see who can identify any infectious diseases or maladies the fastest, and then contests to see who can transform it into spells that they can use in combat. No one’s quite sure if Arcanists got their start with Bio and Miasma spells via their Assessing job, or if their penchant for Bio spells is what made them start investigating inbound ships. 

Maelvaan’s Gate also functions as a quarantine/checker, not just for taxation. A good amount of diseases or infections that are common on the seas can be taken care of by the Assessors and neutralized effectively. Arcanists are seen as something of an expert on vermin, diseases, and other such things, while Conjury is more focused on healing. 

The use of spells with status effects, like Bio, Miasma, Ruin, etc, is regulated to some degree, but this is a bit of a losing battle, as many arcanists tweak their own spells for personal preference. The most the guild can establish is a “core” spell to use, so that way other arcanists can heal or remove the spells if need be. 

There exists a pool of “starter” carbuncles, or carbuncles that have no set summoner, and tend to pop into existence around the guild often. There’s a lot of fierce debate if Carbuncles are actually simply aetheric constructs with impressions of personality, or genuine living souls that inhabit gemstones and come across the rift, or live in the Lifestream, similar to Elementals. As such, a general rule of thumb is to be kind to any carbuncle you see, just in case. 

Carbuncles generally get enough aether to exist by being called forth by the summoner, but the spell itself tends to only last about a day or so, depending on the caster’s reserves. In combat, the spell time is reduced dramatically, due to both the carbuncle and the caster eating up aether reserves. As such, many carbuncles eat crystal shards as “food” to help lessen the strain on their casters. Most food places in Limsa offer a small selection at either free of charge, or a very low price. 

The type of gemstone that forms a carbuncle results in more physical differences than just color, with uncut gems producing “scraggily” carbuncles, or more fragile gems resulting in carbuncles that have smaller aetherpools. The guild has a massive category and information about what gems are good for particular things. 

The Arcanist’s guild trades most often with Ul’dah, specifically the miner’s guild, the goldsmith’s guild, and the alchemist’s guild. It’s not uncommon for arcanists to dabble in the other three professions in order to understand their chosen profession better. 

Thubyrgeim has a weakness for Thavnarian chai, and actively tries to convert other arcanists to drinking it, so she can request more to be imported. 

[axvoter]

Blatantly Partisan Party Review XXI (federal 2022): Reason Australia

Running where: NSW, QLD, VIC

Prior reviews: federal 2013, VIC 2014, federal 2016 (all under the former name Australian Sex Party), VIC 2018 (as Fiona Patten’s Reason Party), federal 2019 (as Reason Australia)

See also my reviews of:

Australian Cyclists Party: VIC 2014, federal 2016

Voluntary Euthanasia Party: federal 2013, VIC 2014, federal 2016, VIC 2018; NSW 2019

What I said before: “The sex industry stuff is downplayed a bit these days now that the Sex Party has become Reason, and in general they appear to be a centre-left party with civil libertarian tendencies.”

What I think this year: Fiona Patten just made it into to the Victorian upper house in the 2018 state election and Reason barely contested the 2019 federal poll. This year, however, they are back with a bang in the eastern states, having absorbed branches of the Voluntary Euthanasia Party and the Australian Cyclists Party. Jane Caro is their celebrity candidate atop the ticket in NSW. Does that mean they are the boomer “Voices of…” party in the Senate? Well, no, they aren’t straight-up echoing the Voices movements in lower house seats. And are they still the party for adult industry bosses that they were as the Sex Party? Well, maybe not either. I asked in my VIC 2018 review if they could move on from a gimmicky name to be a mature (heh heh) option, and I’d say they’ve done so.

The party defines their policy as based on two basic principles, evidence and compassion, and suggest they will work with any other party to achieve these. On their About page, they ask the reader “Not often you hear that sort of talk from a bunch of political types, is it?” …well, honestly, yes. I’ve read a lot of micro-party sites and this puff about “we care about evidence and we are compassionate and we can work with anyone to achieve outcomes” is truly generic across all sorts of parties.

Reason do have substantive policy, though. Their approach to climate change emphasises electrification of public and private modes of transport, which seems to be a pretty common theme this election, but they flesh out their policy with additional goals to source materials responsibly and to reduce the need for travel through behavioural shifts such as working from home and a 4-day work week.

For Indigenous peoples, Reason says they support the “sentiments” of the Uluru Statement but it’s not clear what tangible commitments they would make; more positively, they would immediately withdraw the punitive and demeaning Indue card. An interesting foreign relations policy is to give citizens of Papua New Guinea the same rights in Australia as New Zealand citizens—and, although they don’t quite go as far as endorsing a return to pre-2001 rights for Kiwis in Australia (which Australians still possess in New Zealand; it has not walked away from the Trans-Tasman Agreement), they would provide a realistic pathway to citizenship.

Other policies are recognisably the Reason of old. They would decriminalise all drugs (specifically legalising cannabis), they seek to protect and bolster women’s healthcare and access to abortion, they support voluntary assisted dying (indeed, the prominence of this in their platform is why the NSW branch of the VEP merged with Reason!), and they promote the creation of a statutory right to privacy. This party remains committed to civil liberties.

Reason supports the full decriminalisation of sex work and reform to sex education and classification laws. If you are wondering what makes them meaningfully different to the Greens, it is partly this commitment to supporting sex work and the sex industry (there have been some notable SWERFs in certain Greens branches). Reason’s background with the sex industry as well as sex workers explains their policies to reduce regulation and taxation for small business, which cross over with goals and rhetoric you usually see from centre-right parties.

My general vibe is that this is the party for left-leaning urban Gen X/younger Boomers, especially those in small business. Patten’s been a positive presence in Victoria’s upper house, and some of her actions have reduced my concerns that she would only look out for adult industry bosses rather than workers too. I wouldn’t put Reason first in my preferences, and if you want a solid ideological framework underpinning policy then you might not either, but I honestly have fairly little to quibble with here.

My recommendation: Give Reason Australia a good preference.

Website: https://www.reason.org.au/