As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to bring them up in the House of Commons. Or, if you prefer, approach me directly.

This report is complete up to 4:30 PM EDT, July 5, 2004.

Railway
- MrPopo, temporarily acting PM during Checkers' absence, suggested the idea of an interregional railway, and asked what Cabinet thought about it.
- Ess asked if having a railway in one's territory would require one to Role Play, adding "I suck at RP!"
- MrPopo said you wouldn't have to, and that it was mostly just an honour.
- Drunken Hosers said that he thought concrete geography was limiting, but recognized that he seems to be in the minority on that issue. However, DH noted that the current map doesn't lend itself well to a single main line. The nations are grouped in clusters.
- Beaver-Country-Canada was unsure about the idea, saying it sounded complicated.
- MrPopo said he didn't want it to be complicated, and suggested it might work better later on, when the map is more fully populated.
- Carbanousa suggested that a second map be created for RP purposes that shows more detail of environment and industy.
- Ess liked that idea.
- MrPopo thought that was too complicated, especially for one person to manage. He suggested that a sponsored web site with pages for individual nations might be better. He posted a link to an example.
- Ess thought it was "really well done".
- MrPopo agreed, adding that a lot of people "really get into the whole nation thing".

Checkers' Absence
- Checkers informed Cabinet that she would be absent until Sunday morning. Therefore, she would be unable to create the UN Poll, and asked if somebody else could do it. (DH subsequently created the poll.) Also, Checkers posted a list of contacts who are to be informed, in the unlikely case that the region came under attack.
- Carbanousa stated that one of the individuals on the list was "on sabbatical", and named a replacement.
- Checkers noted that MrPopo would be acting in her stead, during her absence. She added "he has no real authority, so don't listen to him if he does anything stupid".
- Much silliness ensued, including MrPopo running through Cabinet naked. But, there were biscuits, so it was OK.

Conflict of Interest Guidelines
- DH stated that the debate in the House of Commons appeared to have been moderately productive, but seemed to be over. He noted that two Cabinet members had endorsed the latest draft in the House, and asked if the official vote would be held there, or in Cabinet.
- DH further noted that the amendment to the Board Use and Ejection Guidelines that was passed in May did not appear to have been published to the Law Library.
- Micon said he'd take care of it.
- Carb agreed that the debate should be concluded.
- Micon stated that he would post them in the Law Library shortly.
- DH pointed out that Cabinet had not actually passed the amendment to the Conflict of Interest Guidelines. He then voted for it, noting that with the votes in favour cast by Carb and Ess in the House, and Micon's implicit vote in favour, that made quorum.
- Micon stated that he thought he had previously posted the amended Board Use and Ejections Guidelines, but now couldn't find the amendment that had been passed.
- DH provided references to the original discussion, and to the Cabinet Report of May 26, which includes the amendment.

Recruiting Drive
- Carb pointed out that the regional population has fallen below 300 (although the forum population is actually at an all-time high), and suggested it was time for another recruiting drive. But, he pointed out that with the NPO situation, we should be careful who we approach.
- BCC was sorry that she would not be available to participate, since she will be away for a couple of weeks.
- Carb noted that we could wait, but that something needed to be done to get the population up.

Promise of Joshua
- Carb relayed a message from Bweezy, in which he stated that Promise of Joshua's forum account had been temporarily suspended during the first South Pacific conflict. Bweezy realized that he had forgotten to reinstate it. Bweezy asked that if we decide to reinstate the account, we convey his apologies for having forgotten about it.
- Carb stated that he would prefer to wait until the SP's position in regards to the NP situation is fully understood.
- Micon said he believed the account had been reinstated already.
- DH checked, and said that the account was still restricted from posting. DH thought that it should be reinstated.
- Carb agreed to check again, to reinstate posting rights, if necessary, and to send PoJ an apology.

Alberta
- BCC stated that since she would be away for two weeks, she had better put out her opinion on Alberta's request to reestablish diplomatic ties. BCC stated that she was reluctant to trust them, saying "It just seems too neat, too pat, for me."
- MrPopo said he'd stated his position (in the Diplomacy thread), and didn't have anything to add. But he was interested in what the other members of Cabinet had to say.
- DH stated that he thought the demand that NE be ejected from Alberta was (and is) unnecessary. However, he noted that Alberta may not be entirely stable, so it would be prudent to consider them a potential risk. Nonetheless, DH thought that the apparent willingness to reform on the part of the current administration should be encouraged. DH suggested a policy of "cautious engagement".
- Carb pointed out that one of Canada's greatest assets is that we don't get directly involved in other regions' internal affairs. He objected to any interference in Alberta politics.
- DH clarified that he meant only that we show some openness, and agreed that we should not get directly involved in any internal matters.
- Checkers stated that she would not feel it necessary to hold Alberta to the original conditions. However, she stated that "it's not the wisest decision to establish ties with them, while their MoD is the instigator of the whole mess."
- Carb suggested that we take a wait and see approach, and let them make the first move.
- DH noted that USSB had offered a "Blank Cheque" to write terms, and asked if there were any terms under which we would be willing to resume diplomatic relations.
- Checkers said "To tell you the complete truth, I really don't know if there is anything they can do. Two key members of their gov't is against us." She also added "I just don't think it's the right time to establish ties with Alberta again."

Board Search Engine
- Carb asked what Cabinet thought about re-enabling the Board search engine.
- Micon said he thought it was a good idea, and asked why it was disabled in the first place.
- Checkers thought maybe it required intervention from the Invision admins, but that she supported the idea.
- Carb sent a question to the Invision support desk.
- The response was that the search engine was disabled to speed up the forums (searching is very server-intensive). This feature may be re-enabled by Invision in the future.

Board Use and Ejection Guidelines
- Checkers relayed a message from the Mighty Gat, suggesting that the Board Use and Ejection Guidelines be amended to cover actions by Canadians in other forums as well as here, particularly with respect to slander and libel. Checkers was receptive to the idea.
- DH stated that in general he does not like the idea of extra-territorial law enforcement. Other regions have the right and duty to establish their own laws. But he said he could possibly be convinced, depending on the specifc proposal.
- Carb noted that there are guidelines for CIA agents when operating in other regions, and thought this could be used as a framework.
- Micon noted that if people have separate puppets associated with different regions, they shouldn't necessarily be accountable to the same laws.
- Carb suggested a policy to abide by the local laws.
- Checkers stated that the goal was "To have the power to eject or suspend citizens of our region, who slander other regions, or people in other regions." She added that this was essentially what we had asked Alberta to do.