On Tuesday, November 28th I posted a list of what I thought were important for Parliament to decide on it's first day.  I didn't give my answers to the questions raised because I wanted to see others thoughts.  Today I am posting my opinions for each of these issues.  These answers are below in red.  I would love to see if people agree with my thoughts or have other opinions.

New Foundations for a New Future
Christina Cole, Parliamentary Candidate, District 1

1. Parliamentary Procedures
   1. Procedure rule
      1. Do parliamentary procedures need to be laws or can they just be resolutions?
         1. No.  Parliamentary procedures should be resolutions not laws.  Parliament should be able to govern itself without interference from other branches.
2. Voting rules
   1. Is everything passed with just a majority vote?
      1. Supermajority should be needed for budget votes, votes for appointment of government positions and referenda
         1. 90 votes (60%) for budget and appointments
         2. 100 votes (two-thirds) for referenda
3. How is abstention utilized?
   1. Abstention should be a positive and negative act.  MPs should both be able to voice abstention in voting but also a lack of vote should count as abstention.
   2. Abstention should make a vote need to be a plurality.  As in, the highest percentage is the result of the vote.
      1. The only acceptations should be the votes that need a supermajority.The number of votes to pass those should be the same no matter the amount of people abstaining.
4. How is voting completed?
   1. Meetings should be discussions while voting takes place over a period of time.  Bills should be posted publicly on the Asgardia website and MPs can vote there.Each vote should be publicly viewable by all citizens.  The voting should last at least 24 hours after the discussion in a real-time meeting but no more than 48 hours.  MPs should be able to change their votes up to a certain length of time.
      1. i.e. MPs can change votes up to 24 hours after a meeting but MPs are still able to use their initial vote up to 48 hours after a meeting.
5. Parliamentary Schedule
   1. Are there any parliamentary recesses?
      1. Two week long recesses for Founding Day and Unity Day.
6. When will parliament meet?
   1. Designation of sets of time zones is needed.  MPs are assigned to a time zone as their required meeting time.One meeting per designated time zone should happen each week.  MPs can go to any meeting they wish but must go to their assigned meeting weekly.  If need be discussions on bills can occur in a few meetings in different time zones.
7. Are there any penalties for a MP not showing up to meetings?
   1. If the MP misses an excessive number of meetings without reason then there should be penalties up to and including removal from Parliament.
      1. Other options for penalties:
         1. Removal from committees
         2. Being muted from discussion and voting for a specified amount of time
         3. Formal warning in a meeting
8. MPs should be allowed to miss one assigned meeting in a four-week period
9. How should it be dealt with if an MP dies, resigns or must be removed?
   1. The people who just barely didn’t get enough votes to be elected should serve as reserve MPs who do not have voting rights but are privy to Parliament meetings.  If an MP position opens up the reserve who had the highest number of votes should be placed.This makes the filling of open spots easier and there is less time without a full 150-member parliament.Needing to call another election each time a spot opens will take too much time and money.
10. Committees
    1. What committees should be created?
       1. One for each district and committees corresponding to the Ministries of the government
          1. 13 district committees
             1. Every MP in a district is on their district committee but with larger districts the actual members participating can rotate
             2. These committees are to take in and translate bills from the respective districts.  All bills need to be in English at this time.  All bills will move on after translation to a Parliamentary subcommittee that deals with the issue contained in the bill.
                1. i.e. If a Turkish citizen hands in a bill on rocket engineering then the District 3 (Turkish) committee will translate and pass the bill onto the Science Committee
       2. 12 Ministry Committees
          1. These will need to be decided on in the Parliamentary session since the constitution says that the framework of the nation’s executive bodies shall comprise 12 ministries corresponding to the permanent parliamentary committees
          2. I personally like the initial ones outlined before the constitution
             1. Ministry of Information and Communication
             2. Ministry of Justice
             3. Ministry of Science
             4. Ministry of Citizenship
             5. Ministry of Foreign Affairs
             6. Ministry of Finance
             7. Ministry of Trade and Commerce
             8. Ministry of Youth and Education
             9. Ministry of Safety and Security
             10. Ministry of Equity and Resources
             11. Ministry of Administrative Affairs
       3. With the addition of a 12 ^th that is the Ministry of Arts and Culture
11. Who should be on those committees?
    1. As stated earlier, all MPs in a district should be assigned to their District committee but larger Districts can rotate who is working at any given time
    2. The number of committee members for the Ministry committees should depend on the amount of work for each committee.  They should be adapted as needed.
       1. In the beginning, having an equal number of MPs on each committee with each MP being in one committee is best.
          1. Since 150 does not divide equally into 12, that would mean 13 members of each committee with six MPs on two committees,
          2. or 6 committees with 12 members and the other 6 with 13 members.
          3. There is also the option to have all committees have 12 members with six MPs not being on any Ministry committees.
    3. Membership to the committees should depend on personal and professional experience.  Such as the fact that since I have a science background, a degree in applied math and physics as well as working towards one in chemistry, I would be good to be appointed to the Ministry of Science Committee but would not be good to be on the Ministry of Safety and Security Committee since I have never dealt with those issues.
       1. Of course, it may come about that we do not have 12 or 13 people with experience for each of the Ministry Committees but those with experience should be chosen first.
12. Elections
    1. How should elections progress?
       1. Elections should be completed in the same format as the first election.  All candidates post and all citizens have one vote.  Then the top voted candidates in each District are elected.
       2. Elections should take place from August 1 ^st to November 30 ^th with the new Parliament being sworn in on January 1 ^st .  That gives four months for campaigning and one month to make sure those elected are legitimate as well as having the last parliament finish up what they need to do.
13. Referendums
    1. How should referendums progress?
       1. When a referendum is called to go to a vote the referendum must be posted to the Asgardia website within a week of it being called and an email must be sent to all citizens within three days of the referendum being posted.From the day the email goes out, citizens will have 30 days to vote yes or no.  If the referendum is passed it must be implemented within 30 days. If the referendum fails a new referendum on the topic cannot be called for another 180 days.

Hello all. Today I have a post on what Parliament needs to do in its first meeting.  While I will admit that these are my own opinion I believe they are very important things to be decided on in the first Parliamentary reason.  They are all formed as questions because I think that is the easiest way to phrase them.  What I would like for all of you is for you to state your opinions on not only if this is a comprehensive list but also what you think the answers to the questions should be.  I will be posting my personal opinions on each issue in two days’ time but I would like to hear from all of you first.

One last thing.Please remember that this is just for the first meeting.  I know there are lots of different opinions on what is important for Parliament to cover but specifically for the first meeting I think this list is correct.These will be the foundations of parliament and so they should be laid first.

New Foundations for a New Future
Christina Cole, Parliamentary Candidate, District 1
https://asgardia.space/en/elections/candidates/English/20149/

1. Parliamentary Procedures
   1. Procedure rule
      1. Do parliamentary procedures need to be laws or can they just be resolutions?
         1. i.e. Do they need Head of Nation signatures or not?
   2. Voting rules
      1. Is everything passed with just a majority vote?
         1. Or are there situations where a supermajority is needed?
            1. What constitutes a supermajority?
               1. i.e. Can be three fifths (60%), two thirds (75%), or any percentage over 50.
         2. i.e. Do budgetary votes need a supermajority to pass?  Or votes for referendums?
   3. How is abstention utilized?
      1. If someone abstains does the vote still need to be an absolute majority of over 75 (50% of 150) to pass or does it only need to be a plurality?
         1. Plurality means the votes for pass are more than the votes for abstain and no individually but not more than the votes for abstain and no added together.
   4. Is abstention a positive act or can it also be a negative act?
      1. i.e. Does an MP have to vote to abstain or is the act of not voting automatically an abstention?
   5. How is voting completed?
      1. Should voting happen only in called meetings?
      2. Should voting be done over a period so MPs who cannot make a meeting can still vote?
         1. If so should meetings only be discussions?
   6. Parliamentary Schedule
      1. Are there any parliamentary recesses?
         1. If yes, when and how long?
   7. When will parliament meet?
      1. How will time zones factor in?
   8. Are there any penalties for a MP not showing up to meetings?
   9. How should it be dealt with if an MP dies, resigns or must be removed?
      1. Should an election be called?
      2. Or should “reserve” MPs be “elected” in each election?
         1. i.e. The people who just barely didn’t get enough votes to be elected serve as reserve MPs who do not have voting rights but are privy to Parliament meetings
   10. Committees
       1. What committees should be created?
       2. Who should be on those committees?
2. Elections
   1. How should elections progress?
      1. i.e. How long is the campaign period and voting period?
3. Referendums
   1. How should referendums progress?
      1. i.e. How are they voted on and how long is the voting period?

While I know this is a bit late it has taken me a while to fully experience and articulate my feelings on the launch of Asgardia-1. On the day of the launch it really hadn’t hit me what had happened.  I woke up specifically to see it and was therefore tired at the time.  My reaction was basically a half-hearted and tired “Wooo.  We did it.” before I fell back asleep.  It wasn’t until later in the day during Asgardia NGO CEO Lena De Winne’s live stream that it really hit me.  Part of me was in space.  Part of all of us is in space.  That’s absolutely amazing.  I never dreamed that such a thing would be possible.

Suddenly I was filled with awe that I was a part of something so much bigger. It ignited even a bigger fire under me than before.  It’s one of the reasons I decided to run for Parliament.  I want to help do even more and help build the foundations for our nation that will last far into the future.  If elected I vow to do so.  The job is difficult and long but I vow to follow it to completion.  I will not backdown when it gets tough.  I will not move away from what is hard to only focus on what is fun.  These things I will do for all of us and for the future we hope to create.  We can be a star in the sky for the world to follow in the night and I hope to help that come to fruition.

Christina Cole, Parliamentary Candidate – District 1
New Foundations for a New Future
https://asgardia.space/en/elections/candidates/English/20149/

Hello everyone.  The above picture shows my education, skills and work experience.  I have posted this to be completely honest about my background as I am running for Parliament.  As shown, I have a strong STEM background.  I have a degree in Applied Mathematics and am currently pursuing a degree in Forensic/Analytical Chemistry.  I also had an internship in 2009 as well as worked in research and manufacturing for four years from 2012 to 2016.  I even have a published paper from the research conducted on my internship.

Now the question comes why is any of this experience relevant to being elected to Parliament.  Well, while I don't have governmental background, my scientific background will help me preserve Asgardia's core concept as a scientific nation.  It also means I have a strong logical thought process that will help with designing bills and debating in Parliament.  I believe my background makes me a perfect candidate for our Parliament due to these aspects.

Vote for me today!

New Foundations for a New Future.

Christina Cole, Parliamentary Candidate

Hello everyone.  We are currently recruiting for various positions.  One of the positions highly needed are Chapter Assistants for this chapter; United States of America.  If you are interested please see the recruitment post here: https://asgardia.space/en/forum/forum/civic-asgardia-public-sector-145/topic/civic-asgardia-recruitment-initiative-april-3-2017-4692/.  For more information on what the position entails please see here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BydyXO59FB2GSU8tdTNtNVhMTmM/view .

Thanks,
Christina Cole, United States of America Chapter Advocate