Official Office of Siren: Closing Shop

[Anna Komnene]

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[tmthforu94]

Best of luck to you! It's always nice to see new members of the region jumping in and getting involved!!

[ZuWo]

Welcome to the race! It's nice to have a diverse field of candidates.

[Napoleon]

Endorsed again!

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Endorsed

[Kitteh]

You have my strong support! Best of luck

[Talleyrand]

You'll make a great Assemblywoman. Fully endorsed.

[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

Endorsed. Change is always welcome in theMideast.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Enthusiastically endorsed

[Adam Griffin]

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Hey dawg. Glad to see people entering Mideast politics. I can offer no endorsement at this time though due to the possibility of a personal stake in this race, certainty of which will come to light in the upcoming months.

[Sopranos Republican]

Hey Siren, glad to see another fairly new member (such as myself) running for office. I'm not going to make an endorsement at this time (as I don't know all the other candidates) , but its nice to see I'm not the only one running.

[Badger]

Endorsed. Change is always welcome in theMideast.

[Anna Komnene]

Welcome back to my campaign office here in historic Williamsburg, VA everyone!  Thanks for taking the time to come see my campaign and consider me in the upcoming vote in June.  Like I said in my intro, everyone is welcome regardless of party or even if you plan to vote for me or not (we have cookies!)  

I was truly bowled over by all the support in my last assembly campaign.  Even though I've only been here a short time, I really feel at home now in our region, and I hope to be able to represent y'all in the Senate in the coming months.  To be honest, the Senate has always held a special place in my heart for me ever since I was a little girl.  Even as I got older, I liked it even more because of its role in foreign policy and international affairs which I absolutely love.  I think this is the best branch of government for me, so that's why I want to run this campaign other than just introducing myself more to you guys and having a good time.

So without further ado, I'd like to unveil my campaign plan!  I don't know about you guys, but I love music and music videos.  Music and art are one of those things that can touch the soul of people and hold strong meanings to different people in so many ways.  Not just that, it's just plain fun.  In my campaign, I'm going to show you guys the link to a music video and then talk about what the song means to me and how these issues are important in politics as well as my plans for those issues.  So yeah, I hope you'll enjoy the songs and my new take on a political campaign and have some fun along the way.

Here's a fun video to celebrate the start of my campaign (also officially endorsed as my campaign dance!): Moskau

Thanks guys and gals.  Here's the cookies I promised.  

[Anna Komnene]

Spreading Love Abroad

We Found Love - Lindsey Stirling

Lindsey Stirling isn't just one of my favorite musicians.  She's one of my favorite people because of her message of being who you are and spreading love in whatever way you can.  This video is vintage Lindsey in that regard, so I hope you enjoy it.

This song expresses a couple important issues to me, foreign aid and cultural exchange programs.

Foreign Assistance

One of the things that's always been clear to me is we have to help the people who have the least if we're ever going to have a better world.  Yes it takes money, but it also takes compassion and sacrifice to do it.  Compassion because we realize that millions of people are starving or close to it.  Sacrifice because we might not ever get a chance to see the benefits of our efforts in person.  I'm convinced that the world will be a better place if we make the effort to lift people out of poverty around the world.

I won't make any bones about it, foreign aid is expensive and the money is very much needed.  However, I do not advocate dumping money into the slush funds of corrupt officials abroad, so we need some comprehensive aid reform if we're to make any real progress.

One of the biggest differences between advanced mineral rich countries and less developed places is the presence (or lack thereof) of checks and balances.  It makes sense - in order for an investment to work, the industry needs to be efficient and run in a transparent way.  The Millennium Challenge Account has the right idea, but it is too strict in some areas and too easily tricked by swanky ministers from foreign governments with fancy charts and powerpoints to show what a great investment they are.  It helps to have a clear set of international standards for governance and aid to set out the standards even if its voluntary.

In my opinion though, what we really need is a stronger personnel effort abroad.  With a combination of foreign service officers, NGOs, MNCs, and voluntary organizations like the peace corps, we can get more Atlasian citizens involved in foreign economies.  With people actually on the ground, we'll be able to make better analyses of what programs are working and which are failing.  Another reason why I like the boots on the ground approach is because we need people to have more of a stake in making these foreign aid programs succeed.  I think technical assistance works with the right approach.  We need to work together with ordinary people from other countries in order to build their industries and give them the tools they need to succeed.  That way, we'll have a better chance of getting returns on our investments down the road.

Cultural Exchange

It's one thing to provide foreign aid or even technical assistance to other countries, but do we really know each other that well?  The internet is a great means to meet people from around the world, but I'm still a big believer in actually experiencing things first hand.  By building cultural exchange programs around the world, we can not only invite people from foreign countries to visit Atlasia and learn in our schools, but also send our own citizens to learn what it's like in other countries.

Obviously we can't send everyone abroad or we won't have anyone left, but the more effort we make, the more mutual cultural relationships and understandings we'll have.  I can't count the amount of times I've heard people say that they changed their opinions for the better of groups after meeting them in person and realizing they are actually good people.  This applies to international relations as well.  With thousands of Atlasians having made lasting friendships abroad, it will be that much harder to go to war and that much easier to have dialogue and mutual business and cultural experiences.

That's why I support building voluntary international cultural exchange programs for college and secondary school students, welcoming students from abroad as well as sending our own students to safe locations around the world in order to build the relationships we need to have a loving and understanding world.

As always, thanks for your time.

~Siren

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I am proud to endorse you!

[Lumine]

Well, I can't endorse you since I will be supporting Talleyrand, but best of luck on your campaign, Siren!

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

Endorsed!

[TJ in Oregon]

Welcome to the race, Siren. Good luck

[Anna Komnene]

Thanks TJ.  Good luck to you too.  It'll be a fun campaign.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

I'm certain this race will be for the Atlasian history e-books. Welcome to the race.

[Anna Komnene]

I'm certain this race will be for the Atlasian history e-books. Welcome to the race.

Hopefully the Atlasian scribes are ready to record it then.  Good luck Mr. JCL.

[Anna Komnene]

Helping Victims of Domestic Violence

Blackbird - The Beatles

Most people that are interested in helping victims know that we need to heal the "broken wings" of domestic violence victims like in the Beatles song.  What people often forget is that a lot of these victims are still in the dark, sometimes calling out for help with no one to hear, sometimes too afraid to call out because of family pressures, language barriers, or other fears.  We need to recognize these poor "blackbirds" in Atlasia, give them the resources to heal, and provide a safe environment for them to fly again.

There's still a big problem with immigrant families where the wife is often dependent on her husband once they come to America.  She's isolated from her own relatives, which often provide a protective barrier to victims with access to them by either providing shelter and refuge, care, or even confronting the abusive spouse.  Without access to their family, the victims are isolated.  Even worse, they often speak little English, so it's difficult for police or women's shelters to help them.

In order to really help victims of domestic violence, we need to broaden our outlook to include the issues of immigrant families.

• Domestic violence shelters need more resources but so do organizations working specifically to help immigrant families.
• Police need more training in demographic specific cultures and languages.  Local offices need resources to train officers in the languages of their constituents or they need the resources to hire linguists, or at the very least access to linguists in the event that situations arise with language barriers.
• Language training isn't enough, however.  We need to officially condemn the practice of cultural relativism when it comes to domestic violence.  I'm all for cultural diversity, but not at the expense of universal human rights.  In fact, I reject the notion that cultures condone domestic violence.  Even if they do, that shouldn't be an excuse for police officers to ignore the plight of immigrant victims.  We should ensure that officers are trained as such.

Immigrant families aren't the only issue with domestic violence of course.  There are also major issues with violence among LGBT couples and violence of women against male victims.  These cases are often far under-reported because of societal taboos, sometimes even just plain ignorance on the part of violence shelters.  When we were discussing this issue in a course I took a few years ago, there was a case where a lesbian woman was turned away from a shelter because apparently "they don't deal with that issue."  Well that's just ridiculous!

Issues like that suggest to me that while violence shelters, women's organizations, and law enforcement are helpful, perhaps they aren't enough.  Community policing can sometimes help.  Some LGBT organizations may also have to take up this issue.  No matter what, it's something that needs discussing.

Another method that can help these cases is to make it easier to obtain restraining orders.  I suggest expanding Harassment Prevention Orders (restraining orders) to include anyone outside the family.  Ideally, a Harassment Prevention Order could be obtained when three or more malicious acts, including sexual assault, stalking, harassment, or drugging, are committed. These acts are those that cause fear, intimidation, or damage to property of the victim. After the first act, a warning is issued. After the second act, the perpetrator is monitored by police. After third, restraining order is issued (if the acts don't require more serious prosecution). This policy is based on the current law in Massachusetts.

[Napoleon]

You have my full support. I know you will bring a unique point of view to a stagnant Senate and the Mideast would do all to have you represent them!

[TDAS04]

I endorse you!