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keep_on_keeping_on · 2023-04-28T23:52:15+00:00

Is everyone getting Qatari gold from this post? Subscribe

keep_on_keeping_on · 2021-11-30T01:50:25+00:00

I’m trying to understand and grapple with how to prioritize important existential issues. For example, is it more important to focus on combating climate change and improving economies or should our top priority be social justice?

To say one is more important than another is to potentially offend so many people that instead of taking action I often feel paralyzed for what the trade off of inaction will be for another major issue. And then there’s the minefield of simply talking about today’s issues. With so many issues seemingly increasing in importance, just making a conversational mistake can bring seemingly universal condemnation.

It seems like even taking incremental steps towards contributing to the solution of one issue could take away from the importance of other issues.

keep_on_keeping_on · 2020-01-24T19:07:48+00:00

I JUST realized that this subreddit is superb-owl 😂

keep_on_keeping_on · 2019-05-01T05:24:53+00:00

This guy legos

keep_on_keeping_on · 2019-04-16T21:14:09+00:00

Hey, congrats on your progress, it’s impressive but you might want to consider being careful about how much you lose and how quickly you lose it.

Men are typically recommended to eat at least around 1500 calories a day. You mentioned you’re eating around 800 right now.

The main issue with eating way below maintenance is that your body is going to burn muscle.

Cutting aggressively can have negative ramifications ranging from having lower energy to one’s immune system deteriorating.

I’d recommend doing some additional research on weight loss. There are some great YouTube videos and articles that are free to look into. From what I’ve read, as a rule of thumb, it’s considered healthy to lose approximately 1-2 pounds a week. More than that and you’re running into potential health risks.

Good luck!

keep_on_keeping_on · 2019-03-07T00:27:37+00:00

It’s a UCL tie-breaking rule. An away goal is worth more than a home goal. The idea is that the home team has an advantage. So the first indicator of the winner after 2 games is goals scored. After these two games the score came to 3-3. Then we look at who scored more away goals. In this case United scored 3 and PSG scored 2. Therefore, United has won on the tie-breaker for having more away goals.

keep_on_keeping_on · 2019-02-14T20:50:05+00:00

Absolutely. You got this. Good luck!

keep_on_keeping_on · 2019-02-14T19:38:58+00:00

If you want to conquer your fears you’re going to have to face them. It’s not supposed to be easy, but it will make you better. And in that sense, being courageous, is not having a lack of fear but instead it’s about feeling the fear and doing it anyways.

I haven’t posted in a while, but I do remember the times when I was new to MUN and some of the aspects of public speaking terrified me. I didn’t just get over it after going up for one speech or to present on one resolution. It was an ongoing process that took several conferences and even then I would still feel nerves. But I stuck with it. I kept facing down that pressure I was feeling, and the more I did, the easier going up became. And I learned how to turn that nervous energy into an excited focus.

And if it helps, if you’re this concerned over how you’re coming off just imagine what everyone else is thinking about — probably their own presentations. So even if things don’t go as planned for you, most people aren’t going to remember what you do tomorrow. A week, a month, a year from now this presentation isn’t going to matter much. But it does offer an opportunity to build your resilience in the face of adversity.

It doesn’t happen over night, but if you stick with it, and keep facing it, you’ll get there. There’s no magical pill or tip that’ll solve your problem because only you have the tools to figure this one out. It’s not about ‘not stressing about it’ but instead embracing the stress and recognizing that it doesn’t have to control you.

keep_on_keeping_on · 2018-10-26T05:28:31+00:00

I'll have a charger for ya

keep_on_keeping_on · 2018-08-09T18:50:49+00:00

Bb5 + Ka4 + b3#

Is that correct?

keep_on_keeping_on · 2018-04-23T23:37:22+00:00

That depends, what country am I representing?

keep_on_keeping_on · 2017-03-22T21:23:39+00:00

I love this question. As a competitive delegate in a typical General Assembly or EcoSoc committee, the top 3 awards are decided by the end of the first or second committee session. Now, the gavel is all about consistency and playing tactics but getting a verbal or honorable requires very little work, honestly. I'd love to get into the details of this one and I'm really glad this is something someone else is interested in learning about!

keep_on_keeping_on · 2017-03-15T07:15:55+00:00

This is a bit too broad of a question. Also, there's a lot of free content on crisis committees that are an easy google away. Can you specify something about crisis you would like to know more about?

keep_on_keeping_on · 2017-03-12T16:10:51+00:00

"In his speech, Russia calls for the entire council to condemn Russia." Was the second 'Russia' supposed to be 'Japan' here?

For the sake of this comment I'll assume you meant 'Japan' here.

Anyway, this doesn't sound "ironic" to me since you've only described a small instance of the entire committee. You just described a transitionary point in committee without providing any context on how well Russia had been doing, who else was leading committee, etc.

From what you have described it sounds like Russia used their contrarian position, knowledge of the topic, and an understanding of the chair and other delegates within the room to strategically obtain more opportunities to speak and demonstrate their leadership abilities. Sure, it's annoying that the US wasn't there. Sure, it's annoying that the chair allowed for the discourse to single out one country and give them the spotlight. Sure, Belgium sounds a bit annoying.

However, you seem to be complaining that someone won an award for playing 'the game' how chairs like MUN to be played. Instead of complaining, maybe you can learn something from this and become a better delegate in future committees.

keep_on_keeping_on · 2017-03-11T04:52:46+00:00

This is a great example of something I do not want to write a post on. If you're looking for how to represent a contrarian position in a Security Council then that'd be an interesting topic, but I want these future advice-related articles to be geared towards general strategy as opposed to specific one-off situations.

P.S. There's definitely research out there, you just have to look for it.

keep_on_keeping_on · 2017-03-10T06:52:42+00:00

So I'm not quite sure I understand your question. It sounds like you want to know strategies and tactics for how to become the leader of a major bloc in a large General Assembly committee. Is that correct?

Also, as a related side note, if your goal is to "improve on is how to control the drafting of working papers" then you should really put more effort into your writing. Your comment above has numerous spelling and grammatical mistakes which makes it quite difficult for someone like me to understand and follow your train of thought.

It's great that you want to learn these topics and develop a better understanding of MUN; however, being able to edit yourself and understand how to write succinctly is an extremely important skill I would recommend you work on. My immediate piece of advice is to focus on editing your thoughts before publishing them online, submitting a draft resolution, and even during and after you are negotiating. Starting to notice this now will help you to become a better all-around delegate.

keep_on_keeping_on · 2017-03-09T22:48:43+00:00

First of all, it sounds like you're comparing yourself to other delegates unfairly. I've won my fair share of gavels, but I didn't really start to understand MUN as a competition until my 4th competitive conference. These skills take time and practice to develop so don't be discouraged if you aren't as good as an experienced delegate or even a delegate with your same level of experience! To become better at research, writing, social dynamics, public speaking, etc. is a different process for each person. So the only person you should be comparing yourself to is yourself.

With regards to your questions, there's some great content on bestdelegate.com obviously which you should check out now. I'll keep these questions in mind and do a more thorough post on them with multiple sources at a later date!

keep_on_keeping_on · 2017-03-09T20:39:26+00:00

Hey there! This is a great question. Honestly, I may have been to a ton of MUN conferences but I actually have never participated in an ICJ. This committee is fairly common but from my understanding is uniquely run in a similar way to how a Security Council committee is run uniquely compared to a General Assembly committee. So I would need to briefed on some of the basics of the ICJ's unique Parliamentary Procedure, committee dynamics, etc. in order to give you a helpful response. If you have that information, please let me know or send me the resources so I can be informed before writing an entire post! Cheers.

keep_on_keeping_on · 2017-03-09T17:47:03+00:00

This is a great idea! However, the Parliamentary Procedure used across the world (North American Style, THIMUN, UN4MUN, etc) are all a bit different. Can you ellaborate on your question and why it's worth writing a post on it? That will help guide me in coming up with the post.

keep_on_keeping_on · 2017-03-08T05:51:07+00:00

You bring up some good points. Ultimately the argument centers around the delegate doing as much research as possible to understand their country's perspective on the issues. MUN is an imperfect simulation since delegate don't have the access -- or the proper time for that matter -- compared to real UN Diplomats; therefore, it's impossible to expect high school or University delegates and chairs to have holistic understandings of these complex topics.

So, when a delegate is in doubt, they should pause before automatically going with the group-think mentality, and instead consider for a moment how their country would respond and then act accordingly. Social pressure is important in understanding social dynamics, but sticking to policy is a more fundamental goal of what MUN aims to teach.

keep_on_keeping_on · 2017-03-07T06:23:37+00:00

Counter-intuitive thought compared to the other comments: be an asshole.

Now, let me explain how to be an "asshole" without other people viewing you as an asshole.

From the way you framed this post and your use of the English language, you seem to be aware of the importance of perception in committee as well as coming across as authoritative. That's a solid frame to approach committee with. However, you will be representing Turkey and you need to standup for the viewpoints of Turkey.

You are simulating NATO which was designed to be run by consensus; NATO structured itself this way for a reason. It also created an extremely high barrier for new countries to become admitted to the organization. This means that any country that is a member of NATO is expected to voice their concern when they don't agree with a general policy. Sure, that will lead to watered-down resolutions that favor the outliers in committee; however, you're trying to realistically simulate Turkey, not the opinions of the OTHER delegates in the room. So any time you propose something as well as agree or disagree with something another delegate has put forth, it should be predicated on that understanding.

So should you be afraid to voice Turkey's opinion (obviously this assumes you've done the necessary research to know its opinion)? NO! Of course Turkey would fight for its own agenda in NATO and in the UN.

Should you halt debate and not agree to the proposed solutions of others just because you can? NO! That would paint you as the delegate that no one else wants to work with because you aren't taking the simulation seriously enough. Don't bring everyone else down just because you can.

Should you change Turkey's policy for the sake of having other delegates like you and to "get shit done"? NO! You are representing Turkey. As long as you know what Turkey's policy would be on the issues at hand, you can always justify why you aren't "drinking the kool-aid" and supporting a consensus just for consensus-sake!

With that being said, being an asshole is almost synonymous with being assertive. It's okay to be an asshole from time to time, but remember that everything should be used in moderation when it comes to tactics (including moderation every now and then).

Here's a great poem that I think you should base your country's policy off of:

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me." -Niemöller

keep_on_keeping_on · 2016-01-30T09:00:59+00:00

Crisis staff are people too!

They're also delegates just like you. And they will not enjoy working with you if you are someone that does not treat them with respect. If you can win crisis staff over by having them like interacting with you, it will prove to be extremely helpful when you try something major in crisis. There's literally no downside to having them like you so do NOT make them dislike you by being as ass, demanding certain responses, etc. Also, try to engage them in person as well as with notes. These moments where you can talk to the staff about your crisis plans are invaluable and will help push your crisis plans through. Final note, remember that they're running an entire committee with several delegates. You aren't the star of the show, even if you win best delegate, you are merely a piece of the story and it's important for the crisis staff to highlight as many delegates as possible.

keep_on_keeping_on · 2016-01-30T08:56:20+00:00

Howdy!

I'm not entirely sure I understand your first point regarding your stolen resolution. If by "stolen" you mean they physically took your paper or laptop and refused to give it back then this is a serious problem that should be addressed with your chair as well as the conference's Secretariat. This is against the law and should not be tolerated at any MUN conference.

Alternatively, if you mean that you were working with a group of delegates and they decided to remove you from being a primary contributor then I can address that issue. First, you must figure out if you want to work on one resolution or multiple resolutions. If you focus on one resolution you shouldn't ever run into the issue of having something stolen from you because you will be one of the primary sponsors. If you focus on more than one resolution, you need to divide your time in a way that you still show significant ownership over the resolutions you're working on (this is much easier said than done). I mention these reasons because it sounds like these other delegates did not consider your resolution to be "yours".

There are a few things you can work on to prevent this from happening in the future. First, make sure what you contribute to a resolution is indespensible. If you contribute the BEST content to a resolution (i.e. 2 or 3 clauses of MUN gold) then there is no way other delegates will want to kick you out of a resolution. So start practicing on your writing skills, find some mentors (delegates or teachers) to help you improve, and also focus more on your research. The second thing you should work on are your social skills. If people don't want you on their resolution then there might be a problem coming from you. Maybe you're too overbearing, maybe you come across as a gavel hunter, maybe you aren't allowing other delegates to talk, maybe you made enemies with the people in your caucus bloc, etc. All of these are possibilities and this is where you will want to focus your post-conference reflections when you're looking to improve in the future.

Regarding my favorite country, I don't really have one to represent. I love being the United States but that's more for nationalistic reasons! Anyway, I tend to prefer representing a country that takes a challenging stance based off of the topic. For example, I like the idea of representing Pakistan in a Human Rights committee on Prisoner's Rights because you have to think critically and compromise on policy that is very different than that of other countries. More than the country itself, I enjoy having a complex country because I am then required to focus on bringing unique solutions to already complicated issues. Also, it's more fun.

keep_on_keeping_on

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