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Hmm, the images are oddly small and compressed this time around. Any reason for that?

Sorry for the late reply! I must have missed this somehow. I tried fixing it but it wouldn't cooperate. Next time around, I'll try and get it fixed. Sorry again.

Judiciary Elections - July 2019

by Marcus Antonius, Deputy Minister of Communications

The dust has settled on the second Judicial Elections of the season. An impressive total of 22 people were nominated for this election, and in the end, 7 candidates ran in the election. Let’s take a look at them.

@Eluvatar: Has extensive experience in NS, going back to 2006. Always a class act, Elu's campaign thread started with this wonderful ditty, which basically summed up his campaign.

Bravado's not my usual game
but here, I'll try it just the same.
I've been in this region for thirteen years,
let's better hope you can lend me your ears.

We've danced this dance many a time,
a couple of times, even, in rhyme,
but every time I ask for your vote
is never the time to mumble by rote.

From ancient Athens comes the name
for the rite we make the game.
The voice of the people may be odd
of all the things to make a god,
But Winston had it right, I say,
when saying it's the least worst way.

There's majesty and grandeur, see,
in writing down your vote for me.
Even if you vote abstain,
your ballot disfavoring my campaign,
Your participation in our game
will make me happy all the same.

I've voted, read, campaigned, for years
and yet will scream, to deafen ears:

VOTE!

[/b]

Dreadton : Currently a Deputy Speaker in TNP and in RL is currently taking a degree in Legal Studies. His campaign relied a lot on his previously submitted Speaker campaign thread. One of the main things he likes about the way our court is structured is that there is a mechanism for Justices to review previous rulings without reopening the case. This falls in line with his belief that a person's beliefs and positions should be reviewed in light of new discoveries and facts. He does do not think anything should really change fundamentally with the judicial system. He thinks it is structured rather well.

Gorundu : A relative newbie to TNP, Gurundu has had some experience in Judicial matters in UCR's. He believes the inherent advantage of electing someone new to the region is that they have not been in the region long enough to form bias, thus guaranteeing maximum impartiality. He sees the position of Justice as something about reliability and experience, and as such, he doesn't have any radical plans for the position of Justice, other than a return to timeliness and regular updates for the public.

Wonderess: A past Speaker of the Regional Assembly and a well known Citizen of TNP. He describes himself as the philosophical and Catholic person of TNP. Unfortunately this has, at times, drawn negative attention to himself despite bringing effective service to this region and governed previous positions he has held efficiently. This may very well affect his chances in the vote.

Lady Raven Wing : Though not experienced in the legal profession, TNP or RL, Lady Raven Wing ran a no joke campaign. What experience he does possess should still be useful. Much of that is in the more legislative area, notably pursuits in NS's own General Assembly, but also in real life Model UNs and Model (state) Assemblies. He chooses not to promise anything except promise to engage appropriately and efficiently as a member of the court, and do his due diligence in evaluating what decisions and cases are put before him.

Dinoium : A previous Deputy Attorney General and holding legal positions in UCR's, Dino is a well known and popular Citizen in TNP. His campaign was long and detailed, mentioning his previous experience and referring to his previous Court campaign. He wishes to speed up due process and review RA bills and resolutions to check their legality. He will try to act as nonpartisan and unbiased as he can when reviewing matters. If something directly involves himself or calls for his recusal, He will formally recuse himself from such discussions.

Lord Lore: Lore has been in TNP for just under 5 years. He has been a Justice before and is a serving Security Councillor. He believes himself to be a trustworthy person. He doesn't believe that making campaign promises is smart for a Court Justice and instead he just provided us his history in the region as a benchmark for why he should be a Justice. He has a fairly robust knowledge of TNP law and Precedent and is very actively aware of the need to be careful when setting Precedent. He is very active in his roles as Cartographer for Eras on the forum and as Security Councillor and he doesn't believe that Justice is outside of his current workload.

The Vote

Due to Lady Raven Wing, losing their citizenship the vote was closed with a new round of voting beginning immediately. At the time of the suspension of voting, Lady Raven Wing was in 5th place with 16 votes. The top three positions were held by Eluvatar, Lord Lore and Dreadton respectively. The main beneficiary of the withdrawal of Lady Raven Wing was Dreadton, gaining an extra 5 votes. Surprisingly Gurundu lost 6 votes, Lord Lore lost 5 votes and Dinoium lost 3 votes. This may have been due to voters not returning.

The final vote is shown below.

The Winners

Elu was delighted at hearing he came top in the polls

Eluvatar, Dreadton and Lord Lore won the election and are now TNP Justices. Congratulations to them and all who took part.

Conclusion
Eluvatar, Lord Lore and Dreadton clearly won due to their previous experience in the region and the courts. Dinoium was also a favored candidate in the election.

NPA Bulletin

by Robespierre, Minister of Home Affairs

Leadership

Minister of Defense (MoD): General Bobberino

Deputy Ministers of Defense (DMoDs):
Colonel Knightblood and Colonel Koopa[/SIZE]

Captain Robespierre and two fellow NPA operatives scout the area for oncoming fascists who threaten to disturb the occupation of a nearby white supremacist stronghold. Via telecommunication, Sergeant Trondstorm is heard through his two-way radio proclaiming that this is no place for hateful ideologies to call haven.

Promotions

Private Be Prepared was promoted to Private First Class

Private Nation of Stars was promoted to Private First Class

Private First Class Rom was promoted to Corporal

Lieutenant Robespierre was promoted to Captain

DMoD Koopa was promoted to Major

Major BluieGamer was promoted to Colonel

It's been quite an eventful and productive term thus far and even with one month remaining before the next general election cycle, and I can only reasonably assume that the Army's progress will continue. We've been fortunate enough to experience an influx of new blood, talent that's filling out the roster of the house that Gladio built.

I'm sure that any enlistee will tell you that the barracks have been buzzing with excitement as this month proved to be yet another rousing success for the NPA. When we finished up last time I spoke a bit about our liberation of the region Anontia, an operation for which we assisted our allies in the South Pacific Special Forces, the Rejected Realms Army, and even the Ten Thousand Islands Treaty Organization (TITO). That was great news, mind you, but I think what soon followed after that report is also worth noting. On the thirteenth of July's minor update the North Pacific Army collaborated with the Rejected Realms' troops once more when we embarked upon a joint detag run and had a good showing from five of our Generals and four of our soldiers. After that, Private First Class Abraham was promoted to Corporal and Private Rom was promoted to Private First Class... that's two bright spots on leaderships' radar who are looking to turn themselves out as fine operators in the near future.

Next, we set our sights on keeping up with the quota for tag raiding! No, there isn't actually a quota to be met but with how well we do at it you'd think there was! On the nineteenth of July's major update I decided to take the troops out for a seven region sack run for the glorious experience of raiding. On the first of the month General Malphe, Zazumo, and Darcania all suited up to bring six of their accompanying personnel on another target of that day's featured region. The Floof Emperor calls himself a slumbering dragon on occasion, so I suppose that makes sense since for the next several hours the 'Realm of the Dragon' boasted a pretty NPA tag on it for all the world to see! This encounter saw the return of Corporal Scorch, so hopefully with this new blip on the record he can find himself capable of joining in on all the happenings of Bobberino's ping wars.

Backtracking a bit, we reflect on the tenth of July's major update, where I led an onslaught of seven soldiers to three targets and captured them in rapid succession. Don't look now, but on the fourth of August's minor update Captain Dinoium was pleased to find himself with ten other willing and able people to have a tagging party. We did that for about five jumps and of course Colonel (Major) Koopa slept through them all. Seriously, someone tell him that he needs to be getting his rest! *shakes fist*

Finally, in perhaps the most recent and most relevant news, it was announced this past Friday that the North Pacific Army had successfully locked down a region known as the 'Coalition of White Supremacists' (or as we like to call them, C.O.W.S!!). In an operation that saw a staggering twenty-three of the North's finest participate, General Darcania and company worked closely with the Sekhmet Legion from Osiris to secure the fascist encampment and rid it of its distasteful world factbook entry. Upon the completion of this campaign, Minister of Defense Bobberino took the time to recognize everyone who deployed in the worthwhile effort to bash the fash and even supplied the troops involved with complementary gift baskets.

Suffice to say, it was another great month for the Army and their friends abroad; whether it was on one side of the battlefield or another, the Ministry of Defense in the North Pacific remains committed to excellence and fun! It definitely shows too, as those undesirables best beware! A very special thank you to any and all natives who helped host our tags in their regions... we appreciate you! This has been Captain Robespierre from the Officer Corps, logging out!

Regional Assembly Highlights

by Artemis, Speaker of the Regional Assembly

Regional Assembly June 2019

Speaker of The Regional Assembly: Artemis

Deputy Speakers of The Regional Assembly: Funkadelia and Brendog

Vote

Passed

Security Council Member Standards put forward by Praetor.

Status: At Vote

Summary: The Security Council Member Standards bill was introduced to address an issue that several individuals felt in regards to the Security Council. As the law currently reads, members of the Security Council do not have to maintain citizenship in the region. This bill amends the constitution to remove that exemption for maintaining citizenship from the Security Council.

Results: 34 Ayes, 0 Nays, and 3 Abstentions.


Confirmation of Lord Lore and Robespierre as Election Commissioners put forward by Speaker Artemis.

Status: Passed

Summary: The Delegate, El Fiji Grande, appointed members of the Election Commission Lord Lore and Robespierre to serve for six months as Election Commissioners. The debate was quick as many felt that these individuals both wielded enough experience to supervise elections in the North Pacific.

Results: Lord Lore - 21 Ayes, 1 Nays, and 2 Abstention.

Robespierre - 23 Ayes, 0 Nay, and 1 Abstention.


Instant Runoff Election Bill, put forward by Gorundu.

Status: Passed

Summary: An amendment to the way that elections are run in the North Pacific. This bill introduces the idea of implementing an instant runoff voting system for the General Elections.

Results: 15 Ayes, 7 Nays, and 3 Abstentions.


Current Business


Lessening Repeating Work (L.R.W.) Bill, put forward by Praetor.

Status: In Discussion

Summary: An amendment to the way that elections are run in the North Pacific. This bill introduces some grammatical fixes to the election laws, changes the method of election for Court Justices to a preferential voting system instead of first past the post, and includes methods for dealing with candidates that either become ineligible or withdraw during the voting period. This bill additionally deals with instances of ties at the end of the voting period.

[floatleft][/floatleft]World Assembly Digest

By Deerfenland, World Assembly Reporter

General Assembly
Improving the world one resolution at a time

____________________________________________________________________________________

Affordable Transgender Hormone Therapy

Status: Passed
Delegate's Vote: For
Final Vote (World): For: 10,855 Against: 2,859
Final Vote (TNP): For: 369 Against: 146 Percentage of WA nations voting: 38.51

Recommendation: This proposal intends to extend rights to and legally define transgender and non-binary peoples. This will not only improve the quality of life for those communities but also compliment previous legislation regarding this same and similar topics. These rights, being well deserved, primarily focus around hormone therapy for the altering of ones sex characteristics to better reflect their gender identity. The proposal also attests to the scientifically proven facts involved with sex and gender characteristics and the various medical conditions involved.

In accordance with the reasoning stated above, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote For this proposal.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Prohibit Private Prisons
Status: Passed
Delegate's Vote: Against
Final Vote (World): For: 8,576 Against: 6,401
Final Vote (TNP): For: 245 Against: 257 Percentage of WA nations voting: 38.73

Recommendation: Prohibit Private Prisons possesses problematic phrases that will hinder prisoner quality of life and member nations' ability to care for them. The definition of 'prison' is somewhat small in scope and appears to exclude short-term and non-permanent facilities, thus dropping those from the definition of 'private prisons.' This would make make the desired effect of the resolution more difficult to achieve. Furthermore, one should note that legislation (GAR #161 & GAR #194 to name a few) already exists to care for inmates which would greatly prevent these private prisons from abusing those inmates they possess. Finally, this proposal inadvertently bans non-profit prisons which have on countless occasions worked to advance inmate rights and create safer, more rehabilitation focused centers to directly benefit the lives of inmates.

In hopes of legislation that better protects inmates while not harming systems already in place, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote Against this proposal.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Protecting Personal Privacy

Status: Passed
Delegate's Vote: Against
Final Vote (World): For: 6,173 Against: 7,954
Final Vote (TNP): For: 179 Against: 327 Percentage of WA nations voting: 39.46

Recommendation: Protecting Personal Privacy, while well intending, gets caught up in its own over-worded clauses and ultra specific definitions. The proposal denies governments the ability to view the data unless specific situations occur, which could cause governments to take larger action than realistically needed in order to view items pertinent to national security and gross crimes before an investigation could be opened. The definition of 'user' is so specific that there is not an easily discernible definition to 'non-user' seeing that it is not defined. This error makes Clause 3, sections 2 and 4 difficult to enforce. Clause 3, section 4 also allows for people to remove evidence of their specific person ever interacting with an organization unless 'there is a clear and compelling safety or disciplinary reason to do otherwise such as loans or criminal records'. This becomes an issue because there is no way to determine if such information could be used in the future for criminal or civil proceedings without those proceedings taking place, thus putting these organizations in a state of limbo. Additionally, Clause 4 allows organizations to prohibit a person from using services if they do not consent to their data being collected, however does not address what happens if a user provides falsified data. Furthermore, Clause 5, section 1 seems unclear if the resolution wants member nations to grant private individuals the ability to go after organizations who do not follow the resolution or if the WA member nation itself must take action against organizations who do not follow the resolution.

In accordance with the reasoning above, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote Against this proposal.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Preventing Unjust Warfare
Status: At Vote
Delegate's Vote: Against

____________________________________________________________________________________

Security Council
Spreading interregional peace and goodwill, via force if necessary

____________________________________________________________________________________

Commend The Rejected Realms

Status: Defeated
Delegate's Vote: Against
Final Vote (World): For: 2,568 Against: 10,668
Final Vote (TNP): For: 59 Against: 411 Percentage of WA nations voting: 35.39%

Recommendation: Commend TRR is the sixth attempt by this author at submitting this proposal. While this proposal has improved somewhat over its earlier iterations, it is still lacking. Unfortunately, there is a distinct lack of appropriate focus on TRR and their history. Of the solid arguments it possesses, it never goes into extensive detail and leaves the reader with little understanding. This is combined with awkward syntax and occasional subtle inaccuracies which cause it to appear as an unfinished draft at best. Furthermore, the author has seemed fairly reluctant to receive and apply criticism as well as perform edits and redrafts.

While believing that TRR is a very commendable region with countless contributions to the greater NS community, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs must recommend a vote against this proposal.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Commend Auralia

Status: Defeated
Delegate's Vote: Against
Final Vote (World): For: 3,443 Against: 9,637
Final Vote (TNP): For: 67 Against: 402 Percentage of WA nations voting: 37.65%

Recommendation: Auralia, despite having contributed 19 resolutions to the World Assembly, possesses a messy history involving cheating and questionable GA character. A couple proposals they have been involved in have been discarded for various violations however the most significant of such occurred in early 2014. A nation by the name of 'Afrasiab' (now CTE) authored and submitted the proposal 'Commend Auralia'. This proposal wrote a glowing commendation of Auralia citing various contributions they had made to the General Assembly during their existence in the WA. However, 11 days after the author had posted the draft to the forums, the NS admin/moderation team discovered that Auralia and Afrasiab were not only the same person but were both in the WA at the same time. This discovery of WA multi-ing prompted the discard of the commendation as well as Auralia (and all nations owned by them) being banned from the World Assembly. When confronted, Auralia showed no remorse and couldn't even be bothered to care as they dismissed NS as being a nothing more than a political game and cited they had done nothing morally wrong. Auralia then claimed that they were going to retire from NS due to their apparent lack of credibility and cheating, which never did happen. Today, Auralia has since been unbanned and is back as an on and off member of the WA.

In the General Assembly, Auralia has been known to participate in creative compliance and non-compliance, both of which fundamentally undermine the authority and functions of the GA. This growing trend of people 'opting' out of legislation they didn't like was later addressed by legislation which made this type of 'compliance,' or lack there of, punishable. Upon evaluating the specific resolutions they choose not to acknowledge and reasoning behind them, one might conclude that rampant human rights abuse occurs in the nation of Auralia.

While this Ministry has no issue with them working to produce future legislation in the WA, it is unclear as to why Auralia should be commended by the same organization they nearly succeeded in defrauding a few years ago. And thus, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote Against this proposal

____________________________________________________________________________________

Condemn Kyrusia
Status: At Vote
Delegate's Vote: Against

[/i][/i][/i]

____________________________________________________________________________________

[small]The North Star: Lighting The Way To The Truth

Publisher: El Fiji Grande :: Executive Editor: Pallaith :: Managing Editor: Marcus Antonius
The North Star is produced by the Ministry of Communications on behalf of the Government of The North Pacific and is distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs externally and the Ministry of Home Affairs internally. Except where otherwise indicated, all content represents the views of the Government of The North Pacific.[/small]
Index of Issues

Spotlight #21 Interview With McMasterdonia

by Owenstacey, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs

This month's spotlight interview is with McMasterdonia, currently the Minister of Foreign Affairs and since joining The North Pacific in 2011 has held most jobs in the executive, including both Delegate and Vice Delegate. Having held many positions throughout their time in The North Pacific, I used this interview as a way to learn more about McMasterdonia’s time in Nationstates and reflect on the good and bad during the last 8 years. When asked before the interview, McMasterdonia said that the mentorship with Eluvatar in the early days was very helpful and that they both still communicate regularly. With the experience McMasterdonia has, this interview was interesting to see the views and pick on the experiences that can undoubtedly teach many people something new.


Owenstacey: Good evening, I am joined by Minister of Foreign Affairs McMasterdonia. Welcome to the Spotlight, how are you?

McMasterdonia: I am good thanks Owen, thank you for reaching out to me for this interview.

Owenstacey: No problem, it’s amazing to have the chance to interview you. First up, it might be a while ago but what made you join The North Pacific in the first place?

McMasterdonia: I was encouraged to join NationStates by a friend of mine at university who had described to me how the issues worked in general details. I was intrigued by the idea of a nation simulator, so I decided to join. I was first spawned in The North Pacific and relatively quickly got involved in the community on the regional message board.

In terms of my wider involvement on the forum, I tried to join when Delegate Grosseschnauzer announced that they would be retiring as Delegate and that elections would be held. I was initially denied entry for failing an admin security check. From memory, I was using one of those usb internet devices and Eluvatar flagged me due to how often my IP had been changing.

In The North Pacific at that time it was a great period of change and tumultuous challenges. Blue Wolf II had won the Delegate election and had defeated, I suppose, the establishment candidate in an upset win. Romanoffia had been very active on the regional message board at that time and essentially reminded us that decisions were made by those who show up. If we wanted to improve the game and region, we had to make our voices heard. So I answered that call.

Owenstacey: That must have been an interesting time to be a part of TNP, you've been in Nationstates for a while now, how much do you think NS has changed with regards to regions and how they work together?

McMasterdonia: Well I certainly think it has become more challenging and rigid than it once was. When I was first getting started in NationStates there were a lot less formal relations between the different regions. From what I recall, The North Pacific was not the party to a single formal treaty when I first became a member.

It is often said that the days of old were more polarised, with more ideological and in-character battles and of course, more coups. That may be the case for some, but in my experience as someone who joined in 2011, things seemed a lot more flexible and chilled out back then. Now, we have so many established relations that go back the better part of a decade. That either limits your options, or you end up in a situation where you have a heap of allies and treaties sitting around, and nobody seems to like that much either.

Secondly, I think the way our regions operate now is a lot more sophisticated. Most major regions have extremely well established security networks supported by major infrastructure. We are less exposed now than we’ve ever been. That can change the way we engage with our neighbors.

Owenstacey: So things are quite different and a lot more complex than it was back when you first started. You were delegate of TNP for a while, so what would you say was the biggest impact you made as Delegate?

McMasterdonia: I think my first few terms of government as Delegate of The North Pacific were trans-formative. It needs to be said that when I first came to power, The North Pacific had only had a full cabinet for possibly two terms, and even then, it was not functional most of the time. The Government was for a large part in disarray and prone to inactivity at crucial junctures.

One of my first tasks was to restore faith in elected officials and to get the wheels of government working again. I worked extremely hard to establish a well oiled government machine, one that delivered for all aspects of our community. I think it was truly a trans formative time. The North Pacific made a significant shift into a highly efficient and transparent operation, one that really focused on the development of our internal culture, the cultivation of external allies and supporters, and took meaningful steps to take our place in the world.

I think that my efforts in that regard assisted our community at that time and since then, to continue to have very high expectations of our elected officials; as well as an expectation of accessibility and transparency on the part of government.

Owenstacey: I definitely think that we have come to have a very high expectation of elected officials, finally, have you got any advice to people starting out in NS on how to be successful and have a long career like yours has been?

McMasterdonia: I would say that it is important to find your home. Find a community that makes you happy and that is filled with people you trust and enjoy spending time with. It’s the community that makes the game so long lasting in so many lives.  Then find an area you can contribute. Work hard, earn your place at the table and ensure your voice is heard. Don’t equate stubbornness with strength - sometimes you will need to compromise to find the best outcomes. Seek advice from others when you need it. Keep their confidence and they will keep yours. Most importantly... Have fun!

Owenstacey: I think that is some very good advice that all members both new and old can learn from, and that is it for this interview, thank you for taking some time to do this interview. It's been good to learn something from someone with your experience

McMasterdonia: Thank you for having me.


NPA Bulletin

by Robespierre, Minister of Home Affairs

Leadership

Minister of Defense (MoD): General Koopa
Deputy Ministers of Defense (DMoDs):
VACANT

NPA soldiers arrive on the shores of the South Pacific in eager fashion, ready to answer the call of their ally and assist in their neighbour's Delegacy transition

Promotions

Private Federalania was promoted to Private First Class
Private Gorundu was promoted to Private First Class
Private Inven was promoted to Private First Class
Private Somniaureus was promoted to Private First Class
Private TheEmiritus was promoted to Private First Class
Sergeant Trondstorm was promoted to Warrant Officer
DMoD Koopa was appointed as MoD (General)

Koopa couped! Koopa couped! Bob has fallen! Victory is ours! ... Wait, no. That's not how any of this works, is it? Right, well, the September 2019 General Election cycle is upon us and the last month of the North Pacific Army's activity has had a lot to do with refining our piling prowess. If you'll recall (and you probably don't!) last time we ended off this segment of the North Star's monthly news we reported on General Darcania and co.'s hold on the Coalition of White Supremacists (COWS). But, that operation got us thinking: You know what's better than bashing fascists once or twice? Bashing them again and again of course! Thus, in the month of August, our troops were proud to take part in an inter-regional operation that saw the capture of yet another Nazi stronghold. In total, twenty-two of the North's finest joined up with their fellow hate-hunters on a campaign that spanned several updates. From the seventeenth of August's major update until the twenty-ninth of August's minor update, personnel from the Ministry of Defense were engaged in gridlock as some the most talented updaters in attendance warded off incoming undesirables.

Not to be outdone, it seems as though our friends over in the Kingdom of Great Britain had a trick up their sleeve as well this month! On the ninth of August's major update, it was announced by the High Command that our next operation would be a joint tag run with His Majesty's Royal Marine Corps. In a crafty yet ambitious effort, our combined teams scoured the NationStates world in search of letters that would spell out 'Rule Britannia'. Unfortunately, we weren't able to pick up all of the letters needed in order to do so - but on the bright side, we did collect a respectable eight hits with seven of our troops in attendance. This would be the second of two tag runs completed in the final month of this term, with the first one being undertaken on the fourth of August's minor update. It was on that day for which the NPA experienced a solid turnout for noon updates at eleven soldiers standing, not bad... but the deal was sweetened with an extra five hits added to the mix.

Lastly, it is with a heavy heart that the Executive Council of the North Pacific must inform everyone of the recent resignation of Bobberino as the Minister of Defense. At this point in time, with less than forty-eight hours until a new Delegate is scheduled to take their oath of office, a new Minister of Defense has been appointed in accordance with the forty-first clause of the Legal Code, chapter seven entitled 'Executive Government'. Nonetheless, deployment to the South Pacific still persists and is ongoing. Since this past Wednesday, orders have been posted in the mess hall to endorse Aumeltopia upon entering the region and since then twenty soldiers have acted swiftly to respond to our leadership's call. In conclusion, despite the more sporadic nature of our tag raiding efforts do to more time-consuming holds, the North Pacific Army remains as committed to excellence as ever! Thanks again to the regions that hosted us this term, and thank you to Bobberino for his many months of service! Ciao!

Regional Assembly Highlights

by Artemis, Speaker of the Regional Assembly

Regional Assembly August 2019

Speaker of The Regional Assembly: [Artemis
Deputy Speakers of The Regional Assembly: Brendog

Vote

Vice Delegate Check Efficiency Bill put forward by Sil Dorsett.

Status: Passed

Summary: The Vice Delegate Check Efficiency Bill changed the time allotted to the Vice Delegate to process security checks for citizenship applications. The original time was set to 3 days. This bill allowed the vice delegate an additional 4 days bringing the total time to 7 days to process a citizenship application.

Results: 26 Ayes, 0 Nays, and 1 Abstention.



The Vexillum Billum put forward by Darcania.

Status: At Vote

Summary: The Vexillum Billum is a bill currently at a vote in the Regional Assembly aimed at changing the regional flag of the North Pacific. The proposed change removes the Coat of Arms of the North Pacific and changes a number of the elements. The proposed flag can be viewed here https://i.imgur.com/Tck0Lt0.png.


Current Business


Lessening Repeating Work (L.R.W.) Bill, put forward by Praetor.

Status: In Discussion

Summary: An amendment to the way that elections are run in the North Pacific. This bill introduces some grammatical fixes to the election laws, changes the method of election for Court Justices to a preferential voting system instead of first past the post, and includes methods for dealing with candidates that either become ineligible or withdraw during the voting period. This bill additionally deals with instances of ties at the end of the voting period.

Flag Usage Act put forward by Gorundu.

Status: In Discussion

Summary: The Flag Usage Act is a proposal that would make the use of the Official Flag of the North Pacific illegal to use by nations in written statements and dispatches. This is aimed to prevent dispatches and statements produced from being seen as legitimate statements endorsed by the government of the North Pacific.


The Better Banner Bill put forward by Bootsie.

Status: In Discussion

Summary: The Better Banner Bill stikes Section 10.1.5 from the Legal Code and allows for the Coat of Arms to be used by any citizen or nation of the North Pacific. As the law currently stands it is illegal to use the Coat of Arms except to represent the North Pacific or an official regional entity.

Peace Terms Acceptance Amendment put forward by IkeaRike[.

Status: In Discussion

Summary: This amendment seeks to amend Section 6.4.18 of the Legal Code to stipulate that a Peace Treaty would require a simple majority vote of the Regional Assembly to be ratified. The Constitution currently stipulates that all treaties need a 2/3rds majority vote to pass.

World Assembly Digest

by Gorundu, World Assembly Correspondent

General Assembly
Improving the world one resolution at a time

Preventing Unjust Warfare

Status: Defeated
Delegate's vote: Against
Final vote (World): For - 2917; Against - 10106
Final vote (TNP): For - 84; Against - 411; Percentage of WA nations voting: 38.73%

Recommendation: The proposal, while well meaning, is hampered by various holes and unachievable standards. Namely, Clause 2.1.1 relies on 'undeniable and concrete evidence' which is not easily obtainable if possible at all, especially in situations where bad faith and third party actors are excepted to be involved but proof is not totally present. Additionally, clause 2.1.3 appears to be miswritten as it never fully clarifies that nondomestic forces engaging the local nonstate actor would be required to satisfy this however domestic forces engaging on a local nonstate actor would not need to satisfy this requirement as it would not be transnational. Furthermore, clause 2.3 becomes problematic as a nation's predictions may not reflect reality and the results of a transnational conflict can vary greatly between predicted result and actual result, especially in scenarios where a multitude of factors for this decision are unknown or only generally specified.

In accordance with the above, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote Against this proposal.

Treatment of the Deceased

Status: Defeated
Delegate's vote: Against
Final vote (World): For - 1280; Against - 11426
Final vote (TNP): For - 47; Against - 449; Percentage of WA nations voting: 38.72%

Recommendation: Treatment of the Deceased, while well meaning, falls victim to its own poorly worded and vague clauses. This proposal requires the previous consent of the deceased to perform various actions in order to exempt them from 'grave molestation'. This becomes problematic if the death is sudden or the record of now deceased granting and denying these permissions is lost. The proposal also requires member nations to protect graves until the point of decay 'to the fullest possible extent from molestation' that could span well over a decade (at the very least), and would impose unreasonable requirements on member nations in order to comply. Finally, the proposal attempts to accommodate for religious and cultural beliefs but then requires the now deceased to have requested it and then prevents anything that violates Clause 1 and 4, thus defeating the whole point of this clause to begin with.

In accordance with the reasoning presented above, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote Against this proposal.

Reducing Food Waste

Status: Passed
Delegate's vote: For
Final vote (World): For - 11161; Against - 1902
Final vote (TNP): For - 466; Against - 42; Percentage of WA nations voting: 39.24%

Recommendation: This proposal attempts to address the wasting of food and how citizens of WA member nations can better handle their leftovers. The proposal addresses various aspect of this in requiring food producers to minimize waste, recycling compost into agriculture, and expanding the duties and abilities of the International Food Wellfare Orgaization. A few concerns involved with this resolution include the lack of specific language that leaves a lot of the proposal up to interpretation and provides vague mandates. Furthermore, the proposal ignores the fact that food safety and standards do contribute to a large portion of food waste despite it being a net positive. In conclusion, this proposal generally promotes the sensible use of food and prevention of food waste that leaves openings to be expanded upon by more specific resolutions.

In accordance with the reasoning presented above, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote For this proposal.

Security Council
Spreading interregional peace and goodwill, via force if necessary

Condemn Kyrusia

Status: Defeated
Delegate's vote: Against
Final vote (World): For - 1516; Against - 10818
Final vote (TNP): For - 45; Against - 421; Percentage of WA nations voting: 36.46%

Recommendation: The proposed condemnation of Kyrusia is fundamentally lacking. This is primarily due to the rushed drafting process which did not allow for the following issues to be properly dealt with. Primarily, this proposal seems to brush over and totally exclude a very large amount of relevant content to this condemnation. When asked, the author claimed that they wanted this proposal to be light-hearted, which is perfectly fine in theory, but ultimately harms the execution of this proposal for such a deserving target.

Due to the reasoning above, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote Against this proposal.

Condemn The New Inquisition

Status: Passed
Delegate's vote: For
Final vote (World): For - 8440; Against - 4736
Final vote (TNP): For - 282; Against - 208; Percentage of WA nations voting: 37.63%

Recommendation: TNP has a demonstrated history of opposing the condemnation of The New Inquisition, specifically during the most recent previous attempt at condemning TNI occurred in 2015 where effectively the same reasoning and text was used to justify the condemnation. While the proposal is fundamentally well drafted, TNP and TNI have developed strong relations and worked productively on many military operations since the acts of TNI mentioned in this proposal. This includes the 2015 defense of Stargate (historically a very close ally of TNP which TNI had no stake in), the invasion and refounding of Nazi Europe in which TNI and TNP are amoung those who jointly maintain the founder nation to this day, as well as the joint occupation of Scotland in 2014. Finally, the proposal appears to fail to mention various acts of the Founderless Regions Alliance committed that contributed to and eventually led to war between the two, and at the very least, placing sole blame on TNI is disingenuous. Generally addressing the recent dispatch that was released regarding the history of the events referred to in this proposal, it is disappointing that TNI did not lament the actions it took against TNP in the past, however it must also be acknowledged that it was not justifying them.

In accordance with the reasoning presented above, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote Against this proposal.

Condemn North East Somerset

Status: Passed
Delegate's vote: For
Final vote (World): For - 10615; Against - 2202
Final vote (TNP): For - 439; Against - 42; Percentage of WA nations voting: 36.52%

Recommendation: North East Somerset, herein referred to as NES, is deserving of their condemnation for the various actions they have committed during their career and outlined by the proposed condemnation. These include directly assisting in the coups of The North Pacific, Lazarus, The Rejected Realms, and The East Pacific as well as their undermining of the Founderless Regions Alliance. Further condemnable acts include their involvement in regions which perpetuated unprovoked violence against various regions and their natives, namely Belgium. NES has built a career out of raiding, espionage, and destruction of governments specifically within the GCRs; as such they are very deserving of this condemnation.

In accordance with the reasoning provided above, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote For this proposal.

The North Star: Lighting The Way To The Truth
Publisher: El Fiji Grande :: Executive Editor: Pallaith :: Managing Editor: Marcus Antonius

The North Star is produced by the Ministry of Communications on behalf of the Government of The North Pacific and is distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs externally and the Ministry of Home Affairs internally. Except where otherwise indicated, all content represents the views of the Government of The North Pacific.

Index of Issues

Thanks for the update!

Announcement: Epic Gamer Party
Invite: https://discord.gg/TANguTt

The North Pacfic and The Rejected Realms are pleased to announce that we will be co-hosting “The Epic Gamer Party” a fun event open to all. The event will run for one week (October 16 2019 - October 23 2019).

The Epic Gamer Party will be hosted on the Games Server and will include favourite bot games of Rejects and TNPers including Werewolf, Adventure, and Trivia, and other games such as Codenames, Spyfall, and card games - just to name a few.

We will publish a schedule of activities for particular games so that interested players can plan ahead to make sure they are available for their favourite game.

An invitation will be distributed to our embassy partners in due course. We look forward to your participation and assistance in making this event truly epic.

Kind regards,

McMasterdonia
Delegate of The North Pacific

Kyorgia
Delegate of The Rejected Realms

Nice event name.

Thanks for the invitation.

NPA Bulletin

by Robespierre, Minister of Defense

Leadership


Minister of Defense (MoD): General Robespierre

Deputy Ministers of Defense (DMoDs):

Colonel Koopa and Colonel Trondstorm

Troops from the Legio Pacifica of the New Pacific Order arrive at the North Pacific Army's military base stationed on the outskirts of Magicality City in preparation for the East Pacific's liberation effort

Promotions

Lieutenant Agadir was promoted to Captain

Private First Class Gorundu was promoted to Corporal

Private Greater Saint-Paul was promoted to Private First Class

Corporal Rom was promoted to Sergeant

Warrant Officer (DMoD) Trondstorm was promoted to Lieutenant

Phew! Finally, the waifu uprising has been laid to rest! … If you’ll remember back to the North Star’s last installment of the NPA Bulletin (TNS Issue XII) then you might recall how we had a bit of an epidemic going on for a while there. I have no shame in admitting that at one point they even managed to corrupt yours truly with cuteness, but luckily I’ve since come to my senses and so have most of the other soldiers for the most part. Nonetheless, you still have menaces like Gorundu and Koopa lurking in the shadows; not to mention that mega-nerd Bobberino. They’re always preying on potato peelers in the hopes that they’ll lure them to the animator’s lab >_>


Anyhow, so goes another month of fun in the North Pacific Army! The flavour of this month’s activities? Righteous liberations and coup fighting! (Plus supporting our allies from abroad, that too!) On the fifteenth (15th) of October’s major update troops from the Legio Pacifica of the New Pacific Order, the Ten Thousand Islands Treaty Organization, the South Pacific Special Forces, the Rejected Realms Army, the Europeian Republican Navy, and the East Pacific Sovereign Army all participated in a large-scale joint operation that would later see the East Pacific liberated from the clutches of the tyrannical Fedelegate. The operation was lead by moi with backup triggering assistance from General Zazumo and Colonel Bobberino. All and all, this endeavour was a huge success on the part of our organization and on the part of our allies.


Next up, we have … more defending?! On the twenty-first (21st) of October's minor update, the North Pacific Army, along with the Rejected Realms Army and the South Pacific Special Forces, conducted a set detag operations in which eight regions were hit with two teams. A total of eighteen soldiers participated with twelve of them being from the North’s barracks. We made up for it though, because on the twenty-fourth (24th) of October's major update we embarked on a raiding excursion that saw our soldiers accompanied by the Sekhmet Legion of Osiris. [strike]I promise I'm not turning the NPA fenda[/strike]


With the Ministry of Defense being at its midterm, one can only await what slew of incoming announcements may be coming in the next week. At present, the newly-seated Delegate of the East Pacific, Marrabuk, has distanced himself from transitional Delegate/Vizier Aelitia by a margin of twenty endorsements. In a short address given before the Officer Corps late last night, the Minister of Defense promised to begin withdrawing transitional troops from the East Pacific in the coming days. The High Command is currently monitoring the differential in endorsements for the two East Pacificans so as to ensure that the removal of NPA intervention from the region is sustainable, as forum records currently reflect that approximately thirty-five members deployed to aid TEP sovereignty.


Lastly, as I’m sure many have already noticed: McMasterdonia was seated as Delegate of the North Pacific twenty days ago! In spectacular fashion, the North Pacific Army was able to make their jump on the East Pacific in the same twenty-four-hour time span as they propelled the Delegate-Elect of the North Pacific over the threshold to overtake outgoing Delegate El Fiji Grande. Both Delegacy transitions were strongly aided by the North Pacific’s finest, but we can’t take all the credit in these endeavours because hadn’t it been for fantastic native populations none of this would have been possible. As always, thank you to our natives.


Whether it was upholding treaty obligations, hosting joint operations, liberating GCRs, conducting training missions, teaching upcoming officers how to trigger, or raiding all the livelong day - one thing remains as true a statement as ever: The North Pacific Army is versatile, agile, and hopefully here in the next few days mobile as well Cheers!




Regional Assembly Highlights September 2019

by Kaschovia, Legislative Correspondent

Regional Assembly Highlights, October 2019


Speaker: Gorundu

Deputy Speakers: Yukkira, Darcania


Passed


The proposals that passed through the Regional Assembly in the month of October were the 'Emergency Flag Bill', and the 'Peace Terms Acceptance Amendment'.


Emergency Flag Bill by Darcania


Summary: Due to Tinypic™ shutting down, our flag and coat of arms ended up becoming this image. Deputy Speaker Darcania immediately proposed reverting the images back to their previous conditions.


Results: 34 ayes, 3 nays, and 1 abstention.


Status: Passed


Peace Terms Acceptance Amendment by IkeaRike


Summary: An amendment to Section 6.4, Clause 18 of the Legal Code, this bill clarifies conditions around the recognition of all terms, formal or otherwise, rather than just treaties, that can end a war, and establishing a voting requirement for ending wars through a simple majority vote in the Regional Assembly.


Results: 22 ayes, 9 nays, and 4 abstention.


Status: Passed


Current Business


The proposals discussed for the month of October were the 'Lessening Repeating Work (L.R.W.) Bill', and 'Criminalising Espionage in Our Partner Regions'.


The Lessening Repeating Work (L.R.W.) Bill by Praetor


Summary: An amendment to the way that elections are run in the North Pacific. This bill introduces some grammatical fixes to the election laws, changes the method of election for Court Justices to a preferential voting system instead of first past the post, and includes methods for dealing with candidates that either become ineligible or withdraw during the voting period. This bill additionally deals with instances of ties at the end of the voting period.


Status: In Discussion


Criminalising Espionage in Our Partner Regions by St George


Summary: An amendment to Section 1.2 of the Legal Code, criminalises espionage in all of our partner regions through the rewording of several clauses, so that alliances ratified by the Regional Assembly, and non-aggression pacts, are included.


Status: In Discussion


Clarifying Vagueness in Peace Terms Amendment by Dinoium


Summary: As the title suggests, this proposal aims to amend both a grammatical error, and a vagueness in wording of the Peace Terms Amendment bill passed by the Regional Assembly.


Status: In Discussion

World Assembly Digest

by Brendog, World Assembly Correspondent

General Assembly

Improving the world one resolution at a time

Repeal "Preventing Desertification"


Status: Passed | Delegate's Vote: For

Final Vote (World): For - 11,639 (86.6%); Against - 1,797 (13.4%)

Final Vote (TNP): For - 465 (90.0%); Against - 51 (10.0%)

Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 39.5%

Recommendation: The target resolution was an attempt to address the damaging consequences of desertification with a call to action on member states to confront the phenomenon within their nation and a grant of authority to the WA Environmental Council to oversee such efforts. Based on the proposed repeal and our previous arguments found during the voting period of the original proposal, we find the measures urged by this proposal both weak and fair ineffective. Various aspects of desertification and the contributing factors therein are generally ignored and vaguely defined when addressed. The duties granted to the WAEC are fundamentally insufficient to address the alleged magnitude of the issue. This has unfortunately created a resolution that is fiscally unproductive and blocks stronger potential legislation on the subject.


Seeing that this proposed repeal is an ends of means for paving the way for new and improved legislation on this topic, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote For this repeal resolution.

Ban on Sterilisation of Minors Etc


Status: Passed | Delegate's Vote: For

Final Vote (World): For - 10,312 (76.7%); Against - 3,139 (23.3%)

Final Vote (TNP): For - 440 (84.5%); Against - 81 (15.5%)

Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 41.3%

Recommendation: This proposal is intended to fill a gap that was highlighted in previous legislation attempts at addressing the rights those who are seeking surgery to alter their sexual identity. This issue boils down to legal guardians having full authority on the sterilisation of their minors they are legally responsible for. This surgery, by nature, is totally irreversible and therefore requires a high level of scrutiny when making this very sensitive medical decision. As such, this proposal will aim to prevent dangerous and/or coerced surgery that the minor does not want or need. This will reduce possible abuse and give rights to those minors who would otherwise be helpless in this situation should it involve parental/guardian bad actors.


In conclusion, it is great to be able to work with and support Imperium Anglorum as a WALL ally in assisting this proposal in passing. Therefore, in accordance with the reasoning displayed above, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote For this proposal.

Responsible Land Mangement


Status: Passed | Delegate's Vote: For

Final Vote (World): For - 11,351 (76.9%); Against - 3,409 (23.1%)

Final Vote (TNP): For - 481 (91.5%); Against - 61 (8.5%)

Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 42.8%

Recommendation: This proposal aims to minimize environmentally harmful practices and effects that may lead to desertification. This is achieved through the establishment of a committee that tasks with testing, reporting, and educating member nations so as to how to most effectively deal with the various environmental hazards present in their local region(s). The proposal further targets a few specific scenarios that narrow the scope of the resolution somewhat. While not ideal, this proposal is harmless in application and will work to provide a net gain in environmental awareness and quality to WA member nations.


In accordance with this reasoning, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote For this proposal.

Financial and Economic Education


Status: Passed | Delegate's Vote: For

Final Vote (World): For - 11,435 (84.0%); Against - 2,185 (16.0%)

Final Vote (TNP): For - 482 (91.5%); Against - 45 (8.5%)

Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 42.0%

Recommendation: The GA proposal "Financial and Economic Education" aims to increase general awareness of important topics such as financial mathematics, currency, and economics, all of which are pivotal concepts that are greatly beneficial to learn. This goal of increasing knowledge among the populace is to be achieved by mandating WA member nations to educate its citizens on these important financial and economic concepts. This acquired knowledge of said concepts can make it significantly easier for those transitioning into adulthood to manage their life and get adjusted to adult living.


Seeing how this proposal is completely beneficial to the greater WA community, the Ministry of WA Affairs recommends a vote For this proposal.

Promoting Natural Sciences in Schools


Status: Passed | Delegate's Vote: For

Final Vote (World): For - 13,316 (91.4%); Against - 1,246 (8.6%)

Final Vote (TNP): For - 483 (85.5%); Against - 82 (14.5%)

Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 44.9%

Recommendation: The GA Proposal “Promoting Natural Sciences in Schools” aims to promote and provide for the furthering of the teaching of the natural sciences. While this goal is admirable, the proposal falls victim to vague language, incorrect definitions, and troublesome clauses that leave open the possibility of abuse. The definition of 'natural science' becomes an issue because the sciences that are listed refer to various physical and natural sciences instead of exclusively natural sciences as the definition would suggest. This defined science also has zero requirements to be peer-reviewed or validated so as to maintain scientific uniformity across WA member nations. The proposal goes on to refer to the term 'Natural Science' only once before abandoning it after clause 2 for the more general term of 'science' for the remainder of the proposal. Furthermore, Clause 6 allows for religious influence over the aforementioned sciences which further undermines the purpose of this proposal by allowing flawed religious historical beliefs to influence the teaching and understand of natural science which is crucial for a functional, modern society.


In hoping of a redraft or another proposal to cover this important topic, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote Against this proposal.

Security Council

Spreading interregional peace and goodwill, via force if necessary

Repeal "Condemn The Black Hawks"


Status: Failed | Delegate's Vote: Against

Final Vote (World): For - 2,206 (17.6%); Against - 10,271 (82.4%)

Final Vote (TNP): For - 50 (9.7%); Against - 463 (90.3%)

Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 40.1%

Recommendation: This is the third time that the Security Council has voted upon a repeal of the original condemn The Black Hawks resolution. Raider groups consider condemnations such as this to be a badge of honour, a recognition of the role they play as the villains within the context of military-based gameplay. The original resolution (SC #52) is both of historical significance and is a snapshot in time of The Black Hawk’s early contribution to NationStates. It would be very difficult and unlikely that this resolution, if it were to be repealed, would be replaced by a more detailed resolution that covered that early history of The Black Hawks and their influence on the multiverse.


The Ministry of World Assembly Affairs believes that little has changed since the last repeal attempt of this resolution. The Black Hawks are deserving of both of their condemnations and continue to be a real threat to founderless regions. Therefore the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote Against this proposal.

The North Star: Lighting The Way To The Truth

Publisher: McMasterdonia :: Executive Editor: Kaschovia :: Managing Editor: Darcania :: Coordinator: Marcus Antonius


The North Star is produced by the Ministry of Communications on behalf of the Government of The North Pacific and is distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs externally and the Ministry of Home Affairs internally. Except where otherwise indicated, all content represents the views of the Government of The North Pacific.


Index of Issues

Thanks for the update!

[NPA Report

by Bobberino, War Correspondent

Leadership
Minister of Defense: Trondstorm
Deputy Ministers of Defense: Lieutenant Rom

    In a bit of a pivot since the last NPA Bulletin, the North Pacific Army took place in largely raiding operations in the month of November. The waifu takeover of the NPA is still progressing, unlike what Robes will like to tell you… *audibly muffled screams in the back*

    Beginning on the 30th of October, we joined our friends in Lazarus in getting them the delegacy of Warzone Australia and briefly holding. We then followed up, in true independent style, by liberating a close ally in Stargate, then pivoting the next update and raiding the region affiliated with Stargate’s raiders in The Anti World Assembly. The next minor update, Deropia put on his best Gladio impression in leading a featured region tag, after which in the major, Agadir led a two-detag run.

    After all that, you’d expect the NPA to stop somewhere and fuel up, but we’re too good for that. We then invaded New Western Atlantic for a few days with our friends in Europeia and The West Pacific. After getting bored of sitting there, we decided to tag 5 regions, then 7 more the next day. Then we decided on invading Xedas with The Black Hawks, the Europeian Republican Navy and The West Pacific Armed Forces.

    Another day, another tag run. 4 regions were hit on 11/17 and another 4 on 11/19. The next day, the ERN, TBH, NPA and TWPAF got together and did another tag. The next major, we got together with Osiris and amassed 17 tags. Rounding out the month was an invasion of North Ustaynga beginning on 11/23’s major, with the ERN, TBH and LWU all showing up alongside us, which we held for a week.

Whether we were defending treatied allies, raiding with friends or spreading the good news of anime across NS, one can be sure that we are not idle at the NPA. We are as agile, adaptable and coordinated as always. Happy holidays, all!

Spotlight #23 - Interview with Koopa

by Angshire, Interviewer

Angshire: So, first things first, are you new to NationStates? Also, what encouraged you to come to the North Pacific?

Koopa: Im probably around a year old or so, maybe a little more. My nation initially formed in TNP, and after moving around for a while, I eventually found myself back here and ended up staying.

Angshire: Well that's definitely interesting!

Angshire: Did anything in particular bring you back?

Koopa: I guess I always associated it with home, since it was where I started. I was also intrigued by it being a democracy, so I felt like it was a fitting place for what was my relatively small nation to grow.

Angshire: TNP does have a very stable democratic system, that is true.

Angshire: Have you gotten involved in the government, whether in the executive branch or otherwise?

Koopa: I am currently the Deputy Minister of Defense, this being my second term.

Angshire: So you are both a Deputy and an NPA colonel?

Angshire: Quite an impressive resume!

Angshire: So do you have any other goals that you want to accomplish within TNP government?

Koopa: I do hope to become Minister of Defense at some point, and maybe even become a full fledged General down the line.

Angshire: What about the delegacy or anything of that branch of government? Do you see yourself ever ending up there?

Koopa: The delegacy seems like a bit of a stretch, never really had goals in that sector. That being said, I do have a lot of respect for the people who can pull it off.

Angshire: What about the RP section of TNP?

Angshire: Are you active in that area?

Koopa: No, I have yet to engage in the RP sector. I'm not even active on the RMB. Nothing against roleplayers, it's just not my cup of tea.

Angshire: Ah yes, I totally get that.

Angshire: You definitely seem to be very skilled in the defense part of TNP, and I noticed how you have risen through the ranks.

Angshire: Before we wrap this up, do you have any questions you'd like to ask of me, or anything else you'd like to answer?

Koopa: Nothing from me, aside from saying that you have been an excellent host.

Angshire: Why thank you very much!

Angshire: I had a splendid time interviewing you

Regional Assembly Highlights

by Kaschovia, Minister of Communications

Regional Assembly Highlights, November 2019

Speaker: Deropia

Current Business

The current business for the RA for the month of November is the act for Committee Codification by Wonderess (in discussion), and the repeal of the Unicorn Star Accord and the adoption of the Unicorn Star Treaty between the North Pacific and the Rejected Realms.


An Act for Committee Codification by Wonderess
Summary: This proposal aims to grant the Speaker the right to create committees made up of citizens to serve the purposes of the Regional Assembly, the structure and scope of which would be determined by law.

Status: In Discussion


The Unicorn Star Treaty
Summary: A proposal which aims to repeal the Unicorn Star Treaty currently legally in effect, and adopt the new Unicorn Star Treaty in its place, between the North Pacific and the Rejected Realms.

Status: At Vote


Passed
The proposals that passed through the Regional Assembly in the month of November were the repeal of the North Pacific and Albion Security Treaty, confirmations of Siwale and Crushing Our Enemies to the Election Commission, confirmations of Marcus Antonius to the Security Council and 'Criminilising Espionage in Our Partner Regions'.


Repeal of the North Pacific and Albion Security Treaty
Summary: Due to an inactivity that does not seem to be ending on Albion's part, the Regional Assembly of the North Pacific, by majority, has decided to repeal the security treaty shared by the two regions.

Results: 24 ayes, 1 nay, and 3 abstentions.


Confirmation of Marcus Antonius to the Security Council
Summary: Marcus Antonius' confirmation of membership on the Security Council was supported overwhelmingly, despite concern over Marcus' lack of experience in major leadership roles, due to his enthusiasm

Results: 25 ayes, 3 nays, and 5 abstentions.

Status: Passed


Confirmations of Siwale and Crushing Our Enemies to the Election Commission

Summary: The Delegate appointed Siwale and Crushing Our Enemies to the Election Commission, and so the RA discussed and eventually voted to confirm the appointees' membership on the Commission.


Crushing Our Enemies: 26 ayes, 0 nays, and 2 abstentions.
Siwale: 28 ayes, 0 nays, and 2 abstentions.

Status: Passed


Criminalising Espionage in Our Partner Regions by St George

Summary: An amendment to Section 1.2 of the Legal Code, this proposal criminalises espionage in all of our partner regions through the rewording of several clauses, so that alliances ratified by the Regional Assembly, as well as non-aggression pacts, are included.

Results: 34 ayes, 3 nays, and 1 abstention.

Status: Passed

World Assembly Digest

By Deerfenland, World Assembly Correspondent

General Assembly
Improving the world one resolution at a time

Protecting Borrower Rights
Status: Passed
Delegate's Vote: For
Final Vote (World): For: 11,637 Against: 3,020
Final Vote (TNP): For: 464 Against: 78 Percentage of WA nations voting: 39.81%


Recommendation: This proposal aims to alter the way we deal with debt and the ability to repay for those who fall into debt. It achieves this by eliminating the harmful practices that deliberately target those who are in debt, such as criminalising the act of having debt so far as to punishing it via forced labor. While not infringing on member nation's ability to enforce the law, this proposal allows citizens the ability to repay their debts by keeping them out of jail and in the workforce or whatever method they may have to procure the required funds to repay their debts. This proposal also protects citizens ability to make investments with higher risk that would otherwise land someone in jail for making an investment that went negatively. This allows greater investment into small business and otherwise risky ventures that could ultimately benefit the greater community via their success.


In accordance with this reasoning, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote For this proposal.

The Amelioration of Maritime Conditions
Status: Defeated
Delegate's Vote: Against
Final Vote (World): For: 3,286 Against: 11,679
Final Vote (TNP): For: 132 Against: 426 Percentage of WA nations voting: 43.83%

Recommendation: The Amelioration Of Maritime Conditions has the laudable intent of monitoring and reducing the number of pollutants released by member nations into the hydrosphere, however, it fails in properly executing that goal. The Ministry has reviewed the proposal and has found that its scope is too narrow to have any meaningful effect, as it only requires the governments of member nations to record the pollutants they release into water supplies. The Ministry also believes that the pollutant reduction target is poorly set, as the "recorded international average" is a poor metric to use when setting international targets. The mandate of reducing the pollutants by this arbitrary value is also very difficult to enforce given that exactly recording 'any and all' pollutants is an unreasonable task. Further, a committee is perhaps a better option here, by handling the collection and distribution of the data and working specifically with member nations to reduce their pollution where possible.

For these reasons, and in hopes that a redraft will occur, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote against the proposal.



Convention On Animal Testing
Status: Passed
Delegate's Vote: Against
Final Vote (World): For: 7,621 Against: 7,310
Final Vote (TNP): For: 190 Against: 356 Percentage of WA nations voting: 42.62%

Recommendation: Convention on Animal Testing is well-meaning in its attempt to place ethical restrictions on the use of animal test subjects, however, the Ministry is unable to recommend support at this time. Upon close inspection, the proposal would seem to allow for undue pain and suffering caused by negligence. It should also be noted that the proposal requires that "all procedures" be documented and reported to the World Assembly Bioethics Board. Without a proper definition, the Ministry believes this to be an overreach and would include something as simple as shaving fur for future placement of testing devices. Further, it is concerning that the World Assembly Bioethics Board appears to acts as a judicial entity; while this is something that extant legislation has done in the past, we must question the necessity of the practice in regards to a subject such as animal testing.


For these reasons, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote against the proposal.

Security Council
Spreading interregional peace and goodwill, via force if necessary

Commend Grays Harbor

Status: Passed

Delegate's Vote: For

Final Vote (World): For: 11,013 Against: 2,464

Final Vote (TNP): For: 459 Against: 45 Percentage of WA nations voting: 39.56%

Recommendation: Gray's Harbor has been a long time member of the NS community who has shown extensive activity in a notable UCR, contributed multiple proposals and GA illegal proposal shenanigans, and is a seasoned RnDer. GH possesses the longest tenure of any other delegate in the new defunct The Heartland in which they helped saved them in 2003 by brokering a deal with Texas and Wysteria to protect The Heartland from invading forces. GH has also passed three General Assembly proposals and established the "Illegal Proposals" thread in the WA forums which became a quickly growing repository of humorous and silly proposal attempts in the GA. Finally, GH has a history as a defender who participated in various notable events as well as designing and a world map for the regions he was involved in.


In line with the reasoning above, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote For this proposal.

Condemn Atlantic
Status: Passed
Delegate's Vote: For
Final Vote (World): For: 10,050 Against: 3,223
Final Vote (TNP): For: 469 Against: 42 Percentage of WA nations voting: 39.82%

Recommendation: The Atlantic is a region with a demonstrated history of unbridled imperialism in the NS R&D sphere. Throughout their history they have threatened and invaded close allies and friends of TNP including Europe, The South Pacific, The West Pacific, and The Rejected Realms. Numerous UCRs were also harmed by repeat invasions so much that they were reduced to bits and pieces of their former selves. This behavior in this context is unacceptable, especially so when done to allies of TNP.


In accordance with the reasoning above, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote For this proposal.

Liberate Aurelia
Status: Passed
Delegate's Vote: For
Final Vote (World): For: 12,414 Against: 2,236
Final Vote (TNP): For: 486 Against: 52 Percentage of WA nations voting: 41.83%

Recommendation: For sake of clarity in this IFV, Aurelia is the region that was invaded and is being liberated, and Auralia is the invading force that is the aggressor.


The region known as Aurelia has been under the tyrannical control of the similarly-named Auralia for nearly a year. In this time, the invaders have been banjecting the natives, clearing World Factbook entries, suppressing RMB posts, and password-protecting the region to prevent the original inhabitants from reclaiming it. The primary cause for this liberation stems from the fact that the region of Auralia has expressed its desire to refound Aurelia, wiping out all of the region's history and culture permanently. Additionally, Auralia is founded by the individual known as Nephmir, who is known for various acts of attempted raiding and threats against a number of GCRs and UCRs, including 'war' with TWP. They, and their childish creations, should not be allowed victories.


Given the reasons above, the Ministry of the World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote For this proposal.

The North Star: Lighting The Way To The Truth

Publisher: McMasterdonia :: Executive Editor: Kaschovia :: Managing Editor: Marcus Antonius


The North Star is produced by the Ministry of Communications on behalf of the Government of The North Pacific and is distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs externally and the Ministry of Home Affairs internally. Except where otherwise indicated, all content represents the views of the Government of The North Pacific.


Index of Issues

Text Version

The Practicalities of Defending

by Praetor

It is frequently commented that The North Pacific (TNP) is raider in all but name by those outside of the region. Less frequently comments are made of this nature from citizens of the region itself.

Both are wrong.


Raiderism is fundamentally incompatible with TNP. While this should be fairly self-evident, apparently it is not. Prior to explaining the basic facts which make TNP and raiderism mutually exclusive, it is best to specify exactly what is meant by raiderism. By raiderism, I refer not to the raiding itself, nor to the mechanics of raiding, nor regions which are raider. I refer to instead the ideology of raiderism and all of that which is contained within; from raider unity to senseless and purposeless destruction of regions to without reason preventing resolutions from obtaining quorum to knocking over Delegate streaks for their own amusement.

It is this package which is at odds with TNP.

TNP takes part in various regular activities of raiding from replacing native Delegates, tagging, and ejecting nations. The latter of which only done in Warzones or on liberations.

As such any proposals that argue TNP should be raider are advocating for either increased raider activities (either in severity or frequency) or a decreasement in defensive actions. In a similar vein, those that state TNP is already raider ignore the necessity for TNP of defensive actions.

There are a variety of reasons for which the North Pacific Army (NPA)—TNP’s army—will conduct an operation from self-defence, defence of allies, training, maintaining activity, and advancing our foreign policy (listed in no particular order). Unquestionably some of these activities are more of a priority than others (self-defence would be a priority over a training operation). As well, an operation is able to satisfy multiple reasons for which an op is conducted.

Some of these reasons may be accomplished by more than one different type of operation or may partially be accomplished by all (eg. literally any operation contributes towards maintaining activity). However, each and every other reason will be conducted by the NPA at some point whether deliberate or incidentally in accomplishing another goal.

The mechanics by which each objective can be accomplished differ whether that is by an operation which is classified as raiding or as defending. The NPA is active regardless of whether it is tagging or detagging regions. The NPA can advance our foreign policy by working with other regions regardless of their alignment by once again tagging or detagging regions.

There are certain objectives which raiding is innately unable to accomplish. TNP is unable to defend her allies or herself without defending. These activities are directly at odds with a raider organization. However, these actions are of the utmost priority for the North.

The missions which the NPA (and TNP) value more than anything else are those in which we are coming to the aid of our allies. When the NPA is scrambling troops within the span of 12 hours to liberate or protect an ally whether it is because the region was raided or the founder CTEd are the crux of our military’s existence. Such is the importance of the issue that recently, a long time Security Councillor (McMasterdonia) resigned from his position to ensure the safety of our long-time ally Stargate.

The NPA may partake in different operations whether they be raiding or defending, the proportion and activity of these operations will fluctuate at times.

But at the end of the day? When all is said and done? We may raid but we will never be raiders. We need defending.


Freedom 4 Dummies: A Reader's Guide to the Politics Behind Harmoneia's "In Defense of Morality in NationStates." A Precursory Piece.

by Grim Reaper

Harmoneia's "In Defense of Morality in NationStates" explores the concept of Hegelian freedom as a basis for participation in NationStates as a game. Beginning by stepping away from 'realpolitiks' as a method for understanding NationStates' political relationships, Harmoneia rejects the realist model of politics on the grounds of the meaninglessness of its utilitarianism in cyber-reality. Instead, Harmoneia proposes that politics in NationStates must be understood as an experience only meaningful through the application of ideals & morals - in line with Hegelian ethics, true freedom can only come by being free to adopt a moralist framework that reflects one's personal convictions. To 'win' the game of NationStates, if there is no material goal to achieve, then the goals must be moral ideals.

Harmoneia's work is effectively a meta-ethical approach to the NationStates environment, covering some of the fundamental questions of political philosophy and their applicability to a game. Her argument against 'realpolitiks' is an underpinning concern of modern international relations, where post-realist scholars argue that utility in the real world is similarly immaterial to that of NationStates. The schism of modern IR (international relations) is concerned with the definition of utility, with different schools discussing either an ontological approach (i.e. that states have an identity that they aim to secure, and which traditionally happens to, but does not necessarily, constitute a largely realist approach to the world, associated with "social constructivism"), or a normative approach (i.e. that states aim to maximise their moral structures through both domestic law and international law, the latter of which is facilitated by modern global capitalism, associated with "IR liberalism").

A benefit of her proposed moral truth framework is that it avoids the promotion of meaningless utilitarian goals that lead to zero-sum games - wherein regions can only achieve their goals by damaging the goals of other regions; a critique of modern realism's ability to predict international cooperation. Her seemingly abstract, philosophical argument that Hegelian freedom permits a healthy game-environment for the emergence of new systemic ideals therefore produces a meaningful conclusion, in that it simultaneously maximises the ability for individuals to adopt and achieve non-contradictory political goals.

In Defense of Morality in NationStates: An Argument from the Perspective of Freedom

by Harmoneia

The right of individuals to be subjectively destined to freedom is fulfilled when they belong to an actual ethical order, because their conviction of their freedom finds its truth in such an objective order, and it is in an ethical order that they are actually in possession of their own essence or their own inner universality.

- G.W.F. Hegel, "Third Part: Ethical Life," in the Philosophy of Right, §153.


Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. - George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four


Morality has become a dirty word in NationStates, despite the fact that NationStates is a political simulation game. Though it is indeed the true that politics and morality can be mutually exclusive as in the case of realpolitik, anything outside of such political model necessarily inter-relates to a conception of morals. To my mind, realpolitik is a political concept of a utilitarian nature that is simply not applicable to NationStates by virtue of it being a fictional cyber reality. In other words, it is precisely the purpose of such space where are provided the possibility of imagination, of going beyond "what needs to be done" for the sake of basic social order, for it is the simple case that in a game where there is no concrete winner, nothing "needs to be done" in a strictly in-character sense, for there are no "basic needs" (I.e. food, shelter, clothes, etc) to attend to. Needless to say, such pragmatism and no-nonsense view of politics may work in real life, but in a cyber reality, it is nothing but a waste of opportunity and imagination. As such, we shall proceed with the understanding realpolitik is not a viable political model for a fictional game. It is thus for this reason that a meaningful experience cannot be divorced from ideological and moral considerations – though I shall elaborate more on this later.

For our purposes, however, I shall define morality as a set of values through which we can measure the rightness or wrongness of our actions, and the game as its life-world, where the players are its agents.

Though it is no secret that NationSates is not a game where all realities can be mapped out in a single, authoritative, and unchanging, system, for the reason that the concept of "winning" is blurred, such collapse of a meta-narrative might not necessarily mean a collapse of coherence, that is, the nihilistic denial of meaning and morality. In fact, the argument from which this work draws is that it could very well be the case that it is because of such contingency, that there is a necessity to a concept of morality in the game – though not necessarily through guiding principles, but through acknowledging the organic and dynamic nature of the game by virtue of allowing for the capability of each individual player for maximal pleasurable ends. This premise prevents, I claim, the collapse of the whole.

The argument I aim to make is a simple one: that if we take the notion of freedom as a necessary component of the game, then it must be that 1) moral truth is to be measured by what we push forth as the struggle for freedom which, in our case, is the freedom to choose and experience our ends as players; and that 2) objective morality is a necessary element to ensure the flourishing of the whole of the game which is more than the sum of its parts.


Freedom as Objective Ethical Truth

Freedom as a starting point may come as a surprise in its relation to morality, but if we take to be true what a great German philosopher, G.W.F. Hegel, once said, that is that the final purpose of all human history and activities can be said to lead to the final purpose that is the fulfillment of Freedom, then we can extensively derive that this activity is also an activity to exercise our free will, whatever part of ourselves we choose to exercise. As such, any conversation on right and wrong must begin with the conversation of what it truly means to be free. Indeed, when we demand for our right to be free, what do we mean? What are, if any, the limits of freedom and where does it sit in between our equal convictions for both scientific determinism/predictability and moral responsibility? Should we simply, as Richard Taylor suggests, “be content with discovering difficulties,” as elsewhere in metaphysics, where our aim is to discover inconsistencies which remind us of our ignorance?

In any case, any conversation on freedom is a conversation on causality, for the most basic, primary, and therefore ontological, definition of freedom is probably "uncaused cause,' in the sense that it is an unconditioned event that leads to an act which, itself, is a cause to something else. In this context, we may take freedom to be equivalent to Necessity, which is the indispensable cause to something.

The easiest definition to freedom, however, would probably sit along the lines of the existentialist tendency to say that freedom means responsibility – that is, the assertion that man is condemned to be free, as Sartre would have it. In a more optimistic sense, Isaiah Berlin would call it “negative liberty,” that is, the freedom to choose our ends as human beings. In a more or less similar vein, Martha Nussbaums’ Capabilities Approach would define it as “the power to form a conception of the good and to select action toward its realization.” It is questionable, however, of whether we truly are capable of having unconditioned choices at all. According to Richard Taylor Richard Taylor, we are not, and he presents a powerful argument for the incompatibility of our supposed moral ideals and the apparent determinism of the world at work in order to prove this. According to Taylor, moreover, our attempts at making these two contrasting things compatible with each other has so far only failed. He notes, for instance, that "soft determinism” is an attempt to account for determinism as well moral responsibility by trying to balance both, in as much as soft-determinism argues that if our inner states, which are not externally caused, are responsible for our choices; it is, however, a failed one with regard to making such opposing claims compatible because it neglects the fact of the matter that determinism proves that those inner states are not without causes.

The question of freedom as causality, therefore, is a question of causality where it cannot be denied that our choices and decisions are often themselves caused despite our belief that they are unconditioned. However, this does not mean that freedom, “uncaused cause,” is impossible. If, however, we view the issue in such a way that is non-linear and dynamic, that is a type of causality that is both necessary and contingent, or an agency that is conditioned but conscious, then we may be able to think of freedom as both necessary and contingent. In the context of causality, this may be explained in terms of X causing Y, and Y causing Z, while Z causes X – it is to mistake it for linear causation but ultimately X is both necessary as well as contingent to X and so on and so forth.

That is, it is spontaneously emerging from moment to moment, determined not by constitution nor any particularly linear cause, but by everything else, that is, the transformation and movement of everything. As such, we see a unique notion of freedom: one that is necessary and singular in as much as it is purely contingent in constitution and transformation, in relation to the necessity of everything else’s contingency; one that is satisfied and at ease—this is what is meant by freedom.

In other words, freedom understood as becoming one with the movement of an organic system, is what relates our freedom to the freedoms of others, presenting us with a robust notion of freedom which is not confined to one section of players, but to others as well, making fulfillment possible in a multi-layered network of players.

In this same vein, freedom as fulfillment appeals to a type of essentialism that is not inherent but is contingent. Ethical objectivity can thus exist but not in a fixed manner; that is, for every circumstance there exists a right that is unquestionably correct, but for every changing circumstance, the objective truth for those specific circumstances are also changing. This is the necessity of contingency that is meant when determining what ought to be done in specific situations, and in this sense it can avoid the problems associated with both the lack of moral truth, but also the dogmatism associated with it when we try to impose a universal set of values for changing situations.

In our specific case, when we say that raiding is wrong, it is not because the act itself is inherently evil, but because in most circumstances where it is done, it goes against the contingent essence or spontaneous nature of given situations. For instance, to declare war for a reason is an exercise of this type of freedom, but war on everything for no reason is an external causation which infringes on the distinct narratives of the particularity of regions which must be protected in order for them to have the freedom to determine their own ends, for so long as those ends do not deliberately infringe on others’ as well.

In other words, freedom is only the freedom to play as individual players in an environment of mutual consent. The capabilities of a region to direct its own fate, by its own natives, must be affirmed.


Spontaneous Unity and Emergence

What this means is that everything must be put to an order, allowing for the possibility of moral truth. That is, "freedom" as the freedom not to be infringed; the freedom to be right, in order for the possibility of emergence to exist. In other words, though parts are distinct, they are inherently connected and one small act against the internal movement of the whole can cause significant damage to a significant community.

What this suggests is that freedom is neither externally either imposed or sought for, nor is it internally constituted within each and all. This kind of freedom, though it is not a kind of veering away from, as is traditionally understood in the liberal sense,16 still saves this interpretation from the type which Isaiah Berlin critiques as “a deep and incurable metaphysical need; … to allow it to determine one's practice is a symptom of an equally deep, and more dangerous, moral and political immaturity.”17 Indeed such positive freedom which Berlin holds as oppressive, in contrast to the negative freedom of liberalism, is not possible here. This is because something can only be oppressive if it is imposed upon by something else, something other, which is precisely what we are trying to avoid here. Rather, it is spontaneously emerging from moment to moment, determined not by constitution nor any particularly linear cause, but by everything else, that is, the transformation and movement of everything. As such, we see a unique notion of freedom: one that is necessary and singular in as much as it is purely contingent in constitution and transformation, in relation to the necessity of everything else’s contingency; one that is satisfied and at ease—this is what is meant by freedom.

From this, we can surmise that such notion of freedom tells us that though moral truth is constantly changing, as is what is right or wrong – that is, though there are no inherent essences to players whatsoever, this does not prevent the existence and emergence of moral truth that is accessible within specific circumstances. It is not therefore the case that it is just a game – it is the game upon which we exercise our political ideals and as a political game, a politics without an ideology or ethic is not worth playing as is either sinks into the nihilism of meaninglessness in an environment where winning is already vague as it is, or into a politc of realpolitik, the non-viability of which we have already established earlier.

This realist objectivity in the context of morality is necessary thus in order to maintain order to the whole, and to keep the necessary and singular freedoms of the distinct parts intact. In this manner, the entirety of the game keeps its meaning and purpose, while leaving open the possibility of the emergence of new meanings and purposes – that is, if we choose to abide by the objective yet spontaneous nature of moral truth.


Epilogue

It is the hope of this philosophical piece for us to find an ontological structure of causality and the nature of the game, that shows us the fundamental unity between freedom and destiny, and why this is not something that denies us of the maximal experience of play– in fact, quite the contrary, when liberty or the freedom to play is, at once, self-fulfillment as a player according to one's own position and role in his or her environmental conditions. In other words, freedom understood as becoming one with the movement of the game and not its deliberate infringement, is what relates our freedom to the freedoms of others, presenting us with a robust notion of moral truth and fulfillment which is not confined to one faction of the game or another, but to all the others as well, in order to confront the ongoing challenges moral truth in an infinitely diverse and multi-layered network of players that is the game.


Footnotes:

[1] Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, “Section Three: Philosophic History,” in The Philosophy of History, trans. J. Sibree (New York: Dover Publications, 1956), § Introduction

[2] Richard Taylor, ““Freedom and Determinism,” in Metaphysics, 4th ed., Prentice-Hall Foundations of Philosophy Series (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1992), 219

[3] Isaiah Berlin, “Two Concepts of Liberty,” in Four Essays On Liberty, Oxford University Press Paperback. (London: Oxford University Press, 1971), 32

[4] Nussbaum, Martha C. "Human Functioning and Social Justice: In Defense of Aristotelian Essentialism." Political Theory 20, no. 2 (1992): 234.

[5] Richard Taylor, ““Freedom and Determinism,” in Metaphysics, 4th ed., Prentice-Hall Foundations of Philosophy Series (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1992), 35-53

[6] There is limited space in this lecture but this conception of causal relations is indebted to Quentin Meillasoux. For a more comprehensive discussion, see his book on the Necessity of Contingency.


The Musings of a Soldier

by Trondstorm

When I joined NationStates, I was solely an issues-answerer. But later on, I wanted to get more involved in the game and explore new ways to play. So, as all new players do, I asked myself: What am I doing here? What should I stay for? And is it worth my time, effort, and attention?

At the surface, NS is a simple browser-based political simulator that parodies real life issues, puts whimsical, exaggerated twists on them, and gives you the choice to implement laws in your own personal and fictional society, with no end, and no victory. You can do what you wish with the people of your nation.

Under the surface, however, there are many different levels to the game. The various communities are proud and vibrant, with ideas and dearly-held beliefs flowing from all corners. Some invest their time in role-playing, while others devote themselves to the advancement of the game-world and its politics, but the most intriguing concept, to me, is participation in Military Gameplay, otherwise known as Raiding/Defending (R/D).

Upon brief observation of military gameplay within NationStates, it is clear that NS militaries conduct their operations uniquely to anything in real-life or any other simulated game. Raiding and defending uses the mechanics the game is known for; targeting regions through its delegacies using endorsements and influence. Activity is concentrated during the game’s two-update schedule, relying on both careful planning and quick reaction time.

Being in The North Pacific (TNP); I’ve enlisted in the North Pacific Army or the NPA for short. I was excited to put my time in NS into use, hoping that my service will contribute to the betterment of not just the organization, but also of the region as a whole. At the same time, I was raring for the chance to experience R/D. NS military gameplay is simple, easy to understand but simultaneously compelling and different. It was a new challenge, just waiting for me to step outside the box and take it. In short, I’ve heeded the call, completely immersing myself in the process.

Presently, after serving in several operations, all varying in motives, methods and sizes, I can say that military gameplay is one of the most worthwhile actions in NS. I find it amusing that R/D brings out emotions that may seem outlandish for a Text-Based Political Simulator; There is that lingering enthusiasm for prospective operations, the adrenaline rush for every Go order issued and the sense of accomplishment in every region hit. Even in failed operations, the opportunity to try again and improve are too good to pass upon. The R/D community is unparalleled; with different active organizations, each with their own policies and hierarchies, conducting their own, or joint sets of missions. The camaraderie within an organization is beyond question. These individuals have gone above and beyond to make NS warfare thrilling, and they are not shown signs of stopping.

It is hard to project what lies ahead. There is always the possibility of an unforeseen event may force me to stop logging into NS, but I can say that after taking the leap into R/D, it made the game much more enjoyable. I’ll continue to serve with the best of my abilities and I won’t let thoughts about the future interfere with the present.


Independence Builds Strong Communities

by McMasterdonia

Independence builds strong communities - and the evidence for this has  never been stronger or more apparent. Nevertheless, at times,  independence comes under criticism. It cannot fit easily into a box or  the more traditional constraints that are placed upon regions, so like  anything that challenges the norm - especially as it does so  so successfully - it becomes a target of traditionalists. Some vaguely suggest that independence is in decline, or no  longer relevant. Others dismiss it as raidersim by another name. A few assert that there is strength in fanatic idealism.  However, as with most polarizing arguments in NationStates, examples are rarely offered to support these claims.

Instead, Independence remains more relevant today than ever. It is  important to remember that Independence does not subscribe to the  notions of polarity in military gameplay and utterly rejects the idea  that military activity - whether that be raiding or defending, should  define the region as a whole. Independence advocates that the military  is a tool of the regional government and an expression of the people’s will.

This definition has historically come into conflict with the  traditionalist view of regions based upon where they sat on the spectrum  of raiding and defending. Independence challenges these traditional  viewpoints and instead advocates for a more pragmatic approach to  military gameplay.


Independence As Foreign Policy

Independence has allowed for regions to adopt a more diversified foreign  policy. Foreign relationships and partnerships are based upon the  cultural identities of the regions involved. This takes into  consideration more important facets of regional life, such as roleplay,  issue answering, World Assembly engagement, democratic ideals and more recently, even NationStates cards. Foreign policy of regions that  strictly adhere to defending or raiding foreign and military policy are  less likely to put much emphasis on these aspects of regional life, as  instead, these relationships are viewed entirely through the perspective  of raiding or defending.

Effectively, most major regions embrace an Independent philosophy.  While some regions may choose to subscribe to another label, the  reality is that these regions are taking an Independent approach to  their foreign policy. These regions maintain a wide variety of  relationships with regions on both sides of the ideological divide - or  at least, they attempt to do so, in some shape or form.

The Independent ideology has allowed regions such as The North Pacific  to establish long-lasting bilateral and multilateral relationships that  have stood the test of time, survived wider conflicts in the NS world,  and persevered through many of the summer lulls. These enduring  relationships have persevered because of the deep ties that are much  broader than the relationships formed by those only concerned with where a region sits on the ideological  spectrum.


Independence As Regional Culture

An Independent philosophy assists in the sustainable development of the  region. Given that Independence focuses not just on militaristic  activity, or how xyz services that activity, it is not treated as the  sole priority or driver of a region's success. The result is a holistic  development of all aspects of NationStates life - including the  development of diverse roleplay communities, a proactive engagement with  the World Assembly and the fostering of democratic ideals.

Furthermore, Independence results in a more diverse community. Unlike  regions that strictly adhere to raiderism or defenderism, independence  fosters community openness. Independent regions are accepting of almost  all players and do not set barriers to entry based upon a player's raider  or defender alignment. As a consequence, this diversity leads to a  better region - and generally a better government.  The elected  government will be one that prioritizes the delivery of services for the  community, ensuring the meteoric rise of officials with diverse skill  sets, viewpoints and areas of focus.

Everything put together ensures that Independent regions thrive, and that they will continue to thrive for many years to come.

The Northern Lights: Beauty in Truth

Publisher: McMasterdonia :: Executive Editors: Kaschovia & Marcus Antonius


The Northern Lights is produced by the Ministry of Communications on behalf of the Government of The North Pacific and distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Except where otherwise indicated, all content does not represent the views of the Government of The North Pacific.


Index of issues

Statement on the Confederation of Corrupt Dictators operations against The North Pacific


The North Pacific has uncovered an undercover espionage operation (dubbed “Operation 84”) which was orchestrated by the Confederation of Corrupt Dictators against The North Pacific starting in December 2018. At the order of regional founder Jocospor, two agents from the Confederation of Corrupt Dictators, Castelia (a Supreme Council member of the Confederation of Corrupt Dictators) and The Inquisitor, joined The North Pacific under the assumed names Artemizistan and Ikea Rike with the ultimate goal of securing The North Pacific’s delegacy. United Massachusetts was also recruited by Jocospor to serve as a mentor/handler of Castelia’s operation.

Ikea Rike’s cover was blown immediately upon joining The North Pacific when they applied for an embassy between The North Pacific and the Confederation. Nevertheless, Ikea Rike continued with the operation for almost a year and made regular reports to Jocospor. Artemizistan’s operation appeared to have been underway for approximately six months and was not immediately known to us. Neither operation was a success with both agents not rising beyond the ranks of junior members of the executive staff.

The Chuck, a former administrator of the discord server of COCD has provided us with damning supporting evidence, including screenshots. This evidence is extensively detailed in The North Pacific’s official report on this incident which can be read here. You will also see many of these screenshots be presented in proceedings against the foreign agents in the Court of The North Pacific. We were also given testimony from United Massachusetts, which will assist us in prosecuting the agents involved.

The motive appears to be Jocospor’s desire to turn The North Pacific into a puppet state of the Confederation and to end his region’s presence on the Civil Defence Siren, a warning system utilized by the feeders to discourage players from joining fascist regions.

While this effort was poorly executed and ultimately came to nothing, it was an outrageous violation of The North Pacific’s sovereignty and will not be tolerated. To that end, I have ordered military strikes on six regions affiliated with the Confederation of Corrupt Dictators, and have filed indictments against the individuals involved. We will continue to target the Confederation of Corrupt Dictators itself with our retaliatory recruitment and will strike against any region that maintains any ties with the Confederation of Corrupt Dictators.

It is clear from this plot that the Confederation of Corrupt Dictators, with Jocospor at the helm, has delusions of grandeur and empire. Its rhetoric regarding the common nation and opposition to elites rings hollow. It is not a region led by a pretend fascist, but an actual fascist, one who consorts with neo-nazi groups in secret, beyond the knowledge of even his Supreme Council.

We continue to oppose this direction and will continue to stand up against fascist forces in NationStates. We will not stand for this inexcusable behavior, whether it is directed at us, our allies, or our neighbors in this game. And we call on all regions to take the same stand.


Yours sincerely,
McMasterdonia

Delegate of The North Pacific

Thank you for the report, @Sanjurika.

A part of me had always hoped that CCD was simply a misunderstood region, as many of its own residents sincerely believe to be the case. But these actions make it clear that its leadership puts its own self-perceived prestige above all else, and considers this end to justify all means...whether those means are the infiltration and attempted subversion of a sovereign region, or the private associations with Nazis. The deactivation of CCD's Discord in response to this investigation appears to be nothing short of an admission of as much.

Wintreath firmly condemns the assault on The North Pacific's sovereignty. How anyone ever could believe this scheme was a good idea in any way, I don't know, but I'm glad that at least they went with a foolish idea that was incompetently executed and had no chance of getting off the ground. If there's a scheme to be had, those are the best kind.

If nothing else, we should appreciate the clarity that these actions have provided. It is now impossible to perceive CCD under Jocospor as anything but a malicious entity that consorts with dangerous real-world ideologies. This information can be used to better protect other regions from their machinations, and to better inform those who weren't aware, including those within CCD itself who sincerely believed that all the fascism stuff didn't extend beyond roleplay.

NPA Report

by Rom, War Correspondent

Leadership

Minister of Defense: Trondstorm
Deputy Minister of Defense: Colonel Rom

During the month of December, the NPA participated in a variety of operations. Whether it was going on tag runs, doing some detags, raiding regions with our allies, or partaking in a liberation or two, we definitely had plenty of operations to do in December.

Having just wrapped up our hold in Cretanja Queendom with our allies, we decided to go on a joint tag run with TBH on the 7th of December. In this joint tag run, there were three teams of tag raiders that consisted of both TBH and NPA soldiers, and we were able to tag well over 40 regions between the three teams. We also participated in another raid with TBH, and other allies including the ERN, LWU, LKE, and Balder. With NPA soldiers and soldiers from those allied militaries, we partook in a raid of Cretenja Kingdom during the 22 of December. The NPA would also proceed to stay in the region, and help our friends hold the region until the conclusion of that operation.

The NPA also did several solo operations during the month of December as well, including several tag runs, a detag run, some liberations, and a successful defense as well. During the month of December, we did five tag runs, and tagged a total of 16 regions. Besides the tag runs, we also did a detag run, where we detagged 5 regions. We also liberated our close ally Stargate on the 23rd of December. Other operations the NPA did over December was a Liberation of the region The Tyrannian Empire, where we thwarted a refound attempt that was made by The Vedigothic Imperium during the December 16 Major. During that same update, the NPA also successfully defended a region, World Alliance of Kingdoms and Empires, from a TVI invasion, that one with the help of TITO.

The NPA concluded 2019 with a tag run on the 27th of December, where we tagged a total of 4 regions. We had a very great 2019, where we continued to partake in a wide variety of operations, and we kept ourselves very busy over the last year.


The Spotlight #24 - Angshire

by El Fiji Grande and Angshire

El Fiji Grande: What made you decide to join TNP?

Angshire: Well, my nation Angshire was founded here. I decided to start getting involved in the community, first with roleplay, and then with government.

El Fiji Grande: When joining NS, nations are bombarded by recruitment telegrams. What about our community made you decide to stay?

Angshire: One of the telegrams that I received told me to block out all recruitment telegrams, which I did.

El Fiji Grande: It took you nearly three weeks to gain citizenship due to a duplicate account issue. What was that all about?

Angshire: Well, it was my older brother who introduced me to NationStates, and we shared a computer. He was involved in TNP as well, but not to the extent I am.

El Fiji Grande: Right, that sucks. Did you have to kick him off? XD

Angshire: He went off to college starting this September. Which was when I started actively playing and when I founded my main nation.

El Fiji Grande: You appeared on the RMB posters for the executive staff Home Affairs telegram list. Did this reach you/influence your decision to apply for the executive staff?

Angshire: Quite frankly, I don't remember the TG I recieved from Home Affairs. What made my decision to join executive staff was someone recommending it to me on the TNP RP server.

El Fiji Grande: I expected as much, but I figured I'd ask. Who recommended you join the RP server?

Angshire: I believe I found it after I joined the TNP main server, linked to the NS factbook.

El Fiji Grande: Right. Which roleplays have you taken part in since joining?

Angshire: Mainly RMB based ones. Strangereal, Hestis, Tempest Alpha, and Facet, all of which are RMB-based.

El Fiji Grande: For those who don't know, can you explain the major themes behind each of those RPs?

Angshire: Well, Strangereal is based on the modern world, similar to Eras. Hestis was based on the classical world, but I have no idea if Hestis is still running, or if it got discontinued. The rest, I presume, are also based on the modern world.

El Fiji Grande: Between October 9 and October 21, you became a member of all executive staff ministries. Is there a reason you didn’t apply to all of them all at once?

Angshire: Originally, I joined the Ministry of Culture. After being there for a couple of days, someone else recommended I joined Comms and WA Staff, which I did.  Eventually, like a week or so later, someone else recommended that I join all of the ministries, so I could see which ones I liked and disliked. I ended up joining them all, and have decided to stay in them all.

El Fiji Grande: That's good news for TNP

You applied for TNP University Senatus on October 28. While the Senatus is now obsolete, do you have any plans to expand your thread on the Basics of Statistics into a full course?

Angshire: I don't know what I plan to do with that.

TNP University is obsolete now, you say?

El Fiji Grande: No. Just the Senatus plan that was pre University re-integration with TNP government.

You showed strong support for Marcus Antonius’ SC vote on Oct 28, 2019. What do you look for in a Security Councillor?

Angshire: My biggest concern for a Security Councillor, or for any governmental position for that matter, is activity. While Marcus might have been new to TNP relative to other members of the council, he has consistently shown that he is active and eager to engage in the TNP community.

El Fiji Grande: McM appointed you to the External Affairs Oversight Committee. Can you describe your role as a member of this committee?

Angshire: In all honesty, the External Affairs Committee has been relatively inactive. The chair, St George, recently resigned, so we are currently electing a new chair as of now.

El Fiji Grande: Ideally, what do you think its role should be?

Angshire: I think it's best role is to ensure that the management and administration of WA Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and Defense are being conducted with integrity, honesty, and in the best interests of the region and the citizens.

El Fiji Grande: What is your opinion of the oversight committee process - back when it was more active, that is?

Angshire: I believe that it had potential, and I still believe it does, but it seems to have taken a back seat to the ministries, both then and now.

El Fiji Grande: In your opinion, are Ministry reports useful for government transparency?

Angshire: Most definitely. I believe the citizenry is entitled to know what goes on the region and the decisions that TNP is making.

El Fiji Grande: Let's move on. On Oct 30, you started the Count to 10 until Angshire posts thread. Do you enjoy spam games?

You’ve lost 25 times (so far) in that thread. How much does losing there irritate you?

Angshire: I did for a little while, like 2 weeks. Then I ended up getting busier with other governmental things.

Speaking of, I need to check that thread, I haven't checked it in days.

El Fiji Grande: On Nov 2, you decided to run for Justice. What did running a campaign to teach you about TNP’s elections?

Angshire: Well, me running for Justice definitely gave me a firsthand experience of what the election process is like, how votes are counted, how declarations of candidacy are made, etc. I believe that my experience running directly contributed to and was essential to my appointment as Election Commissioner.

El Fiji Grande: As I’m sure you’re aware, Marcus Antonius once ran a campaign for Justice as a newcomer as well. Did his campaign influence yours in any way?

Angshire: Bold of you to assume I was aware of that. Jokes aside, I think what I really focused on with my platform was trying to answer all questions as honestly and to the best of my ability as possible.

El Fiji Grande: I had thought he may have encouraged you to stick with it and un-withdraw from the race. Could you discuss your thinking on what made you decide to run again then?

Angshire: I forget who it was, I think it was Bob, but someone told me that, even if I didn't expect to win, the learning experience would be worth it in the long run.

El Fiji Grande: You ran on a platform of Activity, Fairness, and Loyalty. In your mind, why are those important qualities for a justice to possess?

Angshire: Activity is, in my opinion, the most essential, as a judge who rarely shows up is hardly a judge at all. You have to be actively engaged in this situation to deliver the best verdict. As for fairness and loyalty, I believe that both of those are linked to integrity and transparency, acting in the best interests of the region, regardless of personal preferences, being fair and just to both parties.

El Fiji Grande: You stated in your campaign that you “think it is important to increase the role the citizens play in the government’s operation.” What do mean by that, and how can future administrations improve?

Angshire: My biggest concern, and probably my first priority if I were ever to be elected to a higher governmental office, would be to increase citizen participation in the Regional Assembly, most likely through telegrams via Home Affairs. Additionally, I believe that the power the Regional Assembly plays in government operation should definitely be increased, whether that be through referendums or increased checks and balances.

El Fiji Grande: Interesting.

You obtained roughly ⅓ of the vote, putting you second to last, above Bobberino’s campaign. What do you think was the biggest reason that made voters vote for you?

Angshire: Most likely, I think voters voted for me for one of two reasons: either they wanted to see a fresh face in government, or they knew me through my heavy involvement in RP. A lot of the votes I received were from other RMB RPers.

El Fiji Grande: On Nov 5, 2019, you nominated yourself for Newcomer of the Year. You later also nominated yourself for Best Tourist Destination and for having the Best Flag. - You nominated yourself for the Judicial race and again for the Lennarts. You’re definitely not the only one to have done it, but why do you keep nominating yourself for things?

(TNP has a tradition of getting others to nominate you first)

Angshire: Putting myself out there is something I have been doing. I nominated myself for Newcomer as I believed I had a chance of winning. As for Tourist Destination, I had a high in-game tourism stat, and for best flag, one of the other RMB RPers nominated themselves, so I did too. And as for the Judicial race, nominating myself was the only way I would've gotten it: I was a fresh, relatively unknown player in TNP at the time, so it would have been unlikely that someone else would have nominated me.

El Fiji Grande: For what it's worth, I nominated myself for Best Flag too, so you're not alone

Also on Nov 5, 2019, you applied for the University, and you were accepted the same day. I know I already asked you about the University Senatus - What makes you interested in TNP’s University?

Angshire: At the time, the TNP University was the only major TNP institution I wasn't actively involved in yet. Additionally, at the time, a lot of the TNP University things were new, and I believed that with my experience in other ministries I could help out and gain some experience as well.

El Fiji Grande: On Nov 14, 2019, you applied to join the NPA and you were accepted the same day. What influenced your decision to join?

Angshire: Someone on the discord encouraged me to join, and I did.

El Fiji Grande: Since you didn’t have any experience with R/D when you joined, what is your opinion of the training program?

Angshire: I believe it to be beneficial.

I think, based on my own experience, the best way to learn with the NPA is learning through experience.

El Fiji Grande: Have you found someone to mentor you there?

Angshire: Not really, whenever I joined I immediately took part in an operation. It was more like everyone was my mentor.

El Fiji Grande: On Nov 16, 2019, you were promoted to Private First Class after your first raid with the NPA, which hit nine targets. What’s your rank now?

Angshire: I am still a Private First Class.

El Fiji Grande: I noticed that you've got several hundred endorsements. It suggests you may not be as active in the NPA going forward. What are your thoughts on your future in the NPA?

Angshire: Well, here's the thing: I believe I told you before because I'm in radio, but I don't have regular access to a computer currently. I have a chromebook but eh...and doing ops through mobile is practically impossible.

I don't know whether I'll ultimately choose to stick with NPA or endotarting, it all depends on government positions that I take and my schedule.

El Fiji Grande: On the topic of NS Cards, you obtained your own NS card through the TNP Great Card Giveaway due to your Keeper status. What is your opinion of the program?

Angshire: I personally believe that this program not only has a lot of potential but has also raised involvement in the community. It has gotten players who spend more time on the actual game to get involved in TNP politics, and I think that it is great. Definitely the best thing that McM has done during their term.

El Fiji Grande: What makes you interested in cards?

Angshire: Idk to be honest, I just find it to be a sort of fun minigame in NS. It's something to do when there are no issues to answer.

El Fiji Grande: Do you think NS Cards are a suitable reward for participating in regional programs?

Angshire: It totally depends on whether the person receiving the cards is into it or not. But I think as of now it is the best available reward.

The amount of activity in the Cards Guild is amazing, and it really shows the nations of TNP have some real dedication to cards.

El Fiji Grande: Are they enough to motivate you to do tasks?

Angshire: Sure, kinda. They're not the primary motivator.

El Fiji Grande: What is?

Angshire: My biggest motivator is the possibility of getting noticed by the higher government ranks so I can be nominated for other things. I love trying to make TNP a great experience for all, and I love trying everything I possibly can.

El Fiji Grande: Fantastic! And you've been doing a great job of that

On Nov 19, 2019, you applied to join the NS Cards Guild. You were accepted two days later, on Nov 21. Shortly thereafter, you were appointed to become Deputy Guildsmaster by Praetor. What do you believe led him to select you for the role?

Angshire: I think the main thing was my activity. While I certainly don't have the experience, the knowledge, or the skill of the other Deputies, I think what I bring to the table is an undying dedication to be an active participant.

El Fiji Grande: You certainly are active. What are your responsibilities as Deputy Guildmaster?

Angshire: Deputy Guildmaster is slightly different in terms of responsibilities than other Deputy executives in that, for the most part, the Deputy Guildmasters don't have so much to actually do, like make forum posts. The main thing we do is discuss ways to better reach out to the community, discuss events with cards, reward programs, etc.

We are kinda similar to the Ministry of Culture, but with a hyperfocus on Cards and a tie to reward programs.

El Fiji Grande: How does one become a Deputy Guildsmaster?

Angshire: Prae simply messaged me asking if I wanted to be a Deputy, and I said yes. My assumption is that Deputies are tied to the Guildmaster, like other ministry Deputies being tied to the Minister.

El Fiji Grande: For those who don’t know, can you explain what the Card Lottery, the Card Giveaway, the Market Watch, and the Card Queries page are?

Angshire: The Card Giveaway is for Guild members only - basically, you can request any non-legendary card you want, and when our farmers get it, then it is delivered.

The Card Lottery, on the other hand, is for Keepers of the North, rewards for exchanging endorsements and voting on WA resolutions.

The Market Watch, as the name suggests, gives statistics about the current card market in the form of plots and graphs. It includes card values, trades, deck values, and historical records for all of the above.

The Card Queries page can be found on the actual NS forum and basically helps you narrow down your search and find specific cards. For example, if I wanted to find the cards of commended WA nations, I could use the queries page to find it.

El Fiji Grande: How can someone who is new to the game start building a deck? How can they optimize their likelihood of winning a card here in TNP?

Angshire: I'd say the first step is to join the Card Guild. The people in the Card Guild are very experienced and could easily help guide a new player through the experience.

To optimize their winnings, just becoming a Keeper of the North helps tremendously.

El Fiji Grande: On Dec 2, 2019, you won a legendary on Day 2 of the 31 Days of Legendaries program. Your total deck value is now 99.66. Are you relying on a team of puppets, or can the majority of the growth be attributed to TNP’s card programs?

Angshire: My DV is almost entirely attributed to TNP card programs. All of the legendaries I have were obtained through TNP.

El Fiji Grande: On the subject of Foreign Affairs, you serve as ambassador to Forest. Forest is a relatively calm, quiet region as compared to some. Do you think such a region is best as the first assignment for someone new to the ministry, or would you have preferred a more engaging assignment?

Angshire: I definitely think that Forest is a suitable region for a first assignment. It isn't too much to handle and it helps an ambassador adjust.

El Fiji Grande: On Nov 5, you claimed the Spotlight interview #23 for TNS XIV. By the 29th, you completed your draft, having interviewed Koopa. How would you rate the experience?

Angshire: Not gonna lie, I didn't prepare enough for it. A lot of the questions I winged it, and I think that contributed to the relative lackluster quality of my interview.

El Fiji Grande: You shouldn't put yourself down like that - I thought your interview with Koopa was alright.

On Dec 4, 2019, you swore an Oath of Office to become Deputy Minister of WA Affairs, revitalizing the ministry with fresh blood. It’s been nearly a month since you became a deputy minister in WA Affairs - how is it going so far?

Angshire: Quite honestly I believe that, even though I have done some work, I haven't done as much as I'd wanted to. Personally, I also believe that two people in particular have shown dedication and activity exceeding my own: Deropia and Concrete Slab.

But, overall, it has been nice.

El Fiji Grande: Is WA Affairs the Ministry you're most interested in given your position there as Deputy Minister?

Angshire: As of now, yes. However, that could change, depending on if I get appointed in other ministries.

El Fiji Grande: nods I'll keep you in mind for Radio

On Dec 8, 2019, you were appointed to be an Election Commissioner by McMasterdonia. By Dec 14th, you were confirmed by the Regional Assembly. What makes you excited to take on the role?

Angshire: As always, I was excited to try out something new.

El Fiji Grande: In your mind, why is the election commission important?

Angshire: The Election Commission is not just important, it's necessary - having a group of trusted individuals who are able to cross-check each other ensures transparency, which is of the utmost importance.

El Fiji Grande: Of course. I'm glad to hear it from you.

Recently, on Dec 19, 2019, you approached McM and Prydania about having a Christmas-themed flag for TNP. What sparked the idea?

Angshire: I noticed other feeder regions with Christmas flags, and I thought, "Hey, TNP should have one too!" And one thing led to another.

El Fiji Grande: It's really cool the way it turned out. Thanks for the suggestion.

Angshire: My pleasure!

El Fiji Grande: That more or less brings us to the present. In the last three months, you’ve made an incredible mark on TNP as a newcomer. You’ve posted more than 400 times on both the RMB and the forum. You’ve really become a member of our community. Do you have any advice for other newcomers looking to get more involved?

Angshire: My biggest suggestion is to get involved in as much as you can. If that means trying out all the ministries until you find something that calls to you, then so be it.

And the biggest thing is to stay active. If I wasn't as active as I was my first couple of months, I likely wouldn't be anywhere close to where I am now.

El Fiji Grande: What can we look forward to from you in the future? Do you have any interest in running for elected office?

Angshire: I do eventually want to run for Delegate. However, that would be in the distant future, like in 2022. Hopefully I can be appointed as a Minister of some of the ministries, and maybe even become a VD before going for the Delegacy.

As for the near future my biggest goal is to be a Minister.

El Fiji Grande: I look forward to it!

And as a three-time former (and I suppose current) Minister and former delegate, I'd be happy to mentor you as you continue to advance in TNP.

I want your take: is the color of your forum name red or orange?

Angshire: I...I have no idea!

El Fiji Grande: Alas, it shall fore'er remain unresolved.

Angshire: Indeed.

El Fiji Grande: Your forum motto is that "Saying things in French makes you sound more cultured."

Why do you think that's true?

Angshire: My nation's motto in RP is "Longue vie au roi", which means "Long live the King" in French

And let's face it, "Longue vie au roi" just sounds fancier

El Fiji Grande: It does, it does.

What’s one question you’d like to be asked that I’ve overlooked?

Angshire: Maybe one question would be about me being one of the supervisors for the current election.

El Fiji Grande: Can you answer your own question?

For instance: What is it like to be a supervisor of the January elections?

Do you expect to encounter any challenges in performing the role?

Angshire: Well, me and Sil are the supervisors of the elections, and it'll be both of our first times. So far, it seems interesting and Siwale has guided us both through the steps.

Since McM is very likely to be re-elected, I expect no real challenges from the delegacy part of the election.

El Fiji Grande: Well, that's all I have. Thanks so much for taking the time to conduct this interview with me. Do you have any final thoughts?

Angshire: No, I think everything has been covered! Thanks for the opportunity for an interview!

El Fiji Grande: You're welcome!


Regional Assembly Highlights

by Gorundu, Legislative Correspondent

Regional Assembly Highlights, December 2019
Speaker: Deropia
Deputy Speakers: Bobberino, Kaschovia


Current Business

Total Term Limits Act by abc

Summary: This proposal aims to impose a total term limit of two terms for Delegates instead of the current consecutive limit of two terms. Although the author indicated he would be willing to increase the proposed total term limit, the bill was faced with widespread opposition, with the primary reasons given being that it would reduce competition and increase the chance of an incompetent Delegate. Just a few hours later, the author indicated he would like to withdraw the bill from consideration, which resulted in discussions on the Speaker's ability to table (withdraw) bills as rules were unclear. No subsequent action has been taken yet.

Status: In Discussion


Passed

Confirmation of Angshire, Sil Dorsett, Scottie, Dreadton and Darcania to the Election Commission

Summary: Due to the rapidly decreasing number of Election Commissioners due to inactivity and term expiry, Delegate McMasterdonia appointed five new Election Commissioners in a short timeframe to ensure the number of Election Commissioners will not fall below the minimum requirement of five for some time. All five appointees were confirmed, though some felt the process was rushed and the appointees have not sufficiently answered all questions, leading to an objection to vote in the case of Scottie.


Results
Angshire: 16 ayes, 3 nays, 6 abstentions
Sil Dorsett: 24 ayes, 0 nays, 3 abstentions
Scottie: 16 ayes, 4 nays, 7 abstentions
Dreadton: 21 ayes, 0 nays, 6 abstentions
Darcania: 26 ayes, 0 nays, 1 abstention


by [URL=https://forum.thenorthpacific.org/profile/5032634/]Deropia

Summary: Following a trial in which the defendant presented likely falsified evidence, Deropia proposed to make perjury a criminal offense, separate from the existing crime of fraud, with more specific punishments designated. It is currently at vote where it is expected to pass.

Results: 40 ayes, 0 nays, 2 abstentions

World Assembly Digest

by Rocketdog, Deputy Minister

General Assembly
Improving the world one resolution at a time

Repeal "Ban on Secret Treaties"
Status: Failed | Delegate's Vote: Against
Final Vote (World): For - 5,507 (37.0%); Against - 9,385 (63.0%)
Final Vote (TNP): For - 106 (20.1%); Against - 421 (79.9%)
Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 40.7%

Currently at vote in the Festering Snakepit...er...General Assembly is the repeal of "Ban on Secret Treaties" and to be frank, the argument isn't that compelling. We are being asked to repeal a perfectly functional piece of legislation because of a "joke" within the text of the target resolution. Upon realizing that this was the only argument the repeal made, the staff of the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs spent the night reviewing previously passed resolutions and found that a number of them include these jokes. One proposal calls the assembled ambassadors "drunks, stoners and weirdos" while another repeal includes a recipe for an Orange Julius. Including jokes in proposals has been a part of the institution since its inception.

The Ministry of World Assembly Affairs, having given all due consideration to the repeal in question (which, let's be honest, wasn't very much.) recommends a vote Against the proposal.

Repeal "Promoting Natural Sciences in School"
Status: Failed | Delegate's Vote: For
Final Vote (World): For - 5,663 (38.4%); Against - 9,087 (61.6%)
Final Vote (TNP): For - 346 (64.7%); Against - 189 (35.3%)
Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 41.0%

Currently under consideration by the General Assembly is the repeal of GA#475 Promoting Natural Sciences in Schools. Focusing on the possibility for intentional misinterpretation of the text of the resolution due to vague language, the lack of a requirement for the scientific information taught to students to have been verified by through peer review and requiring member states to fund the science programmes of private schools. The author makes a convincing argument. Though the Ministry believes that legislation supporting the advancement of the sciences is necessary, we believe that it should be written in such a way that doesn't mandate public funds be used to fund private schools and encourages the use of a peer review system. The Ministry hopes that with the repeal of GA#475 the General Assembly will pass a sufficient replacement that corrects these problems.

For these reasons, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote For the proposal.

Repeal "Ban on Secret Treaties"
Status: Failed | Delegate's Vote: Against
Final Vote (World): For - 7,015 (48.4%); Against - 7,456 (51.6%)
Final Vote (TNP): For - 170 (31.4%); Against - 371 (68.6%)
Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 41.3%

Currently at vote in the Festering Snakepit...er...General Assembly is the repeal of "Ban on Secret Treaties" and to be frank, the argument isn't that compelling. We are being asked to repeal a perfectly functional piece of legislation because of a "joke" within the text of the target resolution. Upon realizing that this was the only argument the repeal made, the staff of the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs spent the night reviewing previously passed resolutions and found that a number of them include these jokes. One proposal calls the assembled ambassadors "drunks, stoners and weirdos" while another repeal includes a recipe for an Orange Julius. Including jokes in proposals has been a part of the institution since its inception.

The Ministry of World Assembly Affairs, having given all due consideration to the repeal in question (which, let's be honest, wasn't very much.) recommends a vote Against the proposal.

Repeal "Civilian Aircraft Accord"
Status: Failed | Delegate's Vote: Against
Final Vote (World): For - 1,672 (13.4%); Against - 10,810 (86.6%)
Final Vote (TNP): For - 74 (12.7%); Against - 507 (87.3%)
Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 44.1%

"Civilian Aircraft Accord" is an important resolution safeguarding protections for civilian aircraft. The interpretation of this resolution provided by the repeal proposal is unreasonable and made in bad faith. The arguments of the repeal are based on a single sub-clause of the resolution requiring member nations to provide "Assistance to any civilian aircraft that declares itself to be in distress within the communication range of that nation". The repeal ignores the fact that the same resolution ensures pilots are properly trained and would not make false distress calls, as well as the provisions of GA#334 that forbid military combatants from falsely utilising protected status as civilians. Furthermore, the repeal presumes nations would send aircraft to intercept a distressed aircraft, when that is entirely unreasonable as the most effective form of assistance is through air traffic control. The last clause of the repeals poses a more implausible scenario - that nations would send aircraft to hostile territory for this purpose, even though the nation that the aircraft is actually in would be more suitable to handle the distress call.

In accordance with the reasoning presented above, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote Against this repeal.

Ensuring Commercial Vessel Navigation
Status: Passed Delegate's Vote: For
Final Vote (World): For - 11,876 (85.2%); Against - 2,056 (14.8%)
Final Vote (TNP): For - 469 (94.4%); Against - 28 (5.6%)
Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 38.1%

This is a clearly-written resolution with reasonable definitions and mandates that improves the safety of commercial maritime transport. It distributes responsibility to governments, by requiring them to provide and update nautical charts, and commercial vessels, by requiring them to carry nautical charts and instrumentation, and to submit pre-planned routes to governments for approval. Overall, by ensuring governments and commercial vessels are equipped with the necessary tools and information for navigation, the proposal contributes to safer sea travel.

For the reasons above, the Ministry recommends a vote For this proposal

Don't Shoot Strangers Act
Status: Failed| Delegate's Vote: Against[/color]
Final Vote (World): For - 2,779 (21.3%); Against - 10,285 (78.7%)
Final Vote (TNP): For - 78 (17.2%); Against - 376 (82.8%)
Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 34.9%

Don't Shoot Strangers Act is a well-intentioned proposal to promote world peace, though its definition of acts of hostility would hinder its effectiveness. Of concern is the listing of violating national borders as an act of hostility, without regard for intention and failing to account for nations that may not have exact knowledge of a previously unencountered nation's borders. Its listing of four specific acts of hostility also failed to take into account non-physical hostile actions towards a nation or a nation's citizens committed outside that nation's borders, such as some forms of espionage, or harming a nation's interests internationally.

The Ministry, in hopes of a more effective redrafted proposal, recommends a vote Against this proposal.

Repeal "Convention on Animal Testing"
Status: Passed Delegate's Vote: For
Final Vote (World): For - 11,532 (90.6%); Against - 1,193 (9.4%)
Final Vote (TNP): For - 397 (88.8%); Against - 50 (11.2%)
Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 34.2%

The target resolution was an attempt to place ethical restrictions on the use of animal test subjects. Based on the proposed repeal and our previous arguments during the voting period of the resolution, we find that the targeted resolution allows for the suffering of test animals through the exploitation of various loopholes. These loopholes include allowing testing facilities to "humanely" kill animals rather than putting them up for adoption and testing facilities setting their own definitions of "ethical testing."

In hopes of a future loophole-free resolution that guarantees the rights of test animals to the greatest extent possible, the Ministry recommends a vote For this proposal.

Wartime Healthcare Protections
Status: Passed | Delegate's Vote: For
Final Vote (World): For - 9,966 (74.9%); Against - 3,340 (25.1%)
Final Vote (TNP): For - 434 (87.3%); Against - 63 (12.7%)
Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 38.3%

The proposal aims to protect medical facilities and the rights of injured combatants during wartime. The GA has previously passed resolution protecting civilians, and this would be another step in ensuring that the rights of people in general are protecting even in the chaotic times of war. The passing of this proposal would help to further strengthen the protection of personal rights during a wartime scenario, by protecting the access to medical care and preventing medical facilities from being targeted, thus ensuring the least possible casualties in armed conflicts.

In light of the above reasons, the Ministry recommends a For vote for this proposal.

Subject State Enforcement Act
Status: Failed| Delegate's Vote: For
Final Vote (World): For - 1,942 (15.2%); Against - 10,819 (84.8%)
Final Vote (TNP): For - 199 (38.6%); Against - 317 (61.4%)
Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 39.8%

This is a much-needed resolution that would prevent some World Assembly members from circumventing the enforcement of resolutions in parts of their territories. In doing so, it would ensure General Assembly resolutions are applied more fairly across all member states. Thus, all member states would have General Assembly resolution apply to all parts of its territory, closing any loopholes in this area that may have previously existed.

For the above reasons, the ministry recommends a vote For this resolution.

Data Protection Accord
Status: Passed Delegate's Vote: For[/color]
Final Vote (World): For - 11,297 (79.7%); Against - 2,875 (20.3%)
Final Vote (TNP): For - 450 (87.5%); Against - 64 (12.5%)
Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 40.0%

Data Protection Accord is a sensible and well-written proposal that would protect the privacy of the individual from data-collecting organisations by requiring explicit consent from individual users for data collection (notwithstanding crime prevention) and ensuring users are informed on how their data is used and/or shared. Additionally, individual privacy is protected against governments as they are prohibited from viewing the data unless given consent by the individual and the data-collecting organisation (notwithstanding crime prevention and judicial orders). Furthermore, the proposal protects minors by ensuring consent for data collection is required from their guardians.

For the above reasons, the ministry recommends a vote For this resolution.

Security Council
Spreading interregional peace and goodwill, via force if necessary


Commend Duxburian Union
Status: Passed | Delegate's Vote: For
Final Vote (World): For - 10,731 (83.6%); Against - 2,111 (16.4%)
Final Vote (TNP): For - 492 (90.1%); Against - 54 (9.9%)
Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 41.8%

The matter before the World Assembly Security Council is the commendation of the Duxburian Union, better known to the international community as Vincent Drake. Throughout their career in NationStates, they have participated in over 6,000 defender operations. Counted among these are the liberations of The Monarchist Entente, St Abbadon, Japan, and Anontia. They also participated in the refounding of both their home region and Greece. The latter which had been under the oppressive rule of Yauna for almost a decade. The Duxburian Union is also credited with the development of Breeze++, a tool used by military organizations the world over. Despite the high quality of writing, potential issues arise in addressing their accolades and accomplishments in a consistent manner given the rest of the proposal.

However the Ministry does note concern with these aforementioned insufficiencies in proving warrant and reputable subject material, we do ultimately recommend a vote For the proposal given the vast contributions made by the target nation to the greater NS community.

Repeal "Liberate Aurelia"
Status: Passed | Delegate's Vote: For
Final Vote (World): For - 13,497 (93.7%); Against - 2,111 (6.3%)
Final Vote (TNP): For - 498 (93.1%); Against - 37 (6.9%)
Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 40.1%

Shortly after passing of 'Liberate Aurelia', the region was liberated by military forces and power was restored to natives. During a time of rebuilding, a password is very useful in ensuring there is no attempt to retake the region by hostile forces. As such, the liberation has served its purpose and now can be safely removed to allow the natives to restore appropriate control over the region.

In accordance with the reasoning above, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote For this repeal.

Commend Markanite
Status: Passed Delegate's Vote: For[/color]
Final Vote (World): For - 10,192 (82.2%); Against - 2,208 (17.8%)
Final Vote (TNP): For - 419 (90.1%); Against - 46 (9.9%)
Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 35.6%

Markanite is a long-serving member of 10000 Islands, a commended region in itself. Currently the Chief Executive, and notably having been the longest-serving World Assembly Delegate of the region, Markanite has contributed significantly to the development of 10000 Islands and its place in the world. For an equally long time, Markanite has been a member of TITO, overseeing and participating in missions to restore lawful Delegates in large regions and protect founderless regions from external threats through refounding.

For the reasons above, the Ministry recommends a vote For this proposal.

Commend Ramaeus
Status: Passed | Delegate's Vote: For
Final Vote (World): For - 10,393 (79.7%); Against - 2,654 (20.3%)
Final Vote (TNP): For - 445 (90.5%); Against - 47 (9.5%)
Percentage of TNP WA nations voting: 37.9%

Ramaeus is a faithful and long-time citizen of The East Pacific, serving in many notable government positions, most notably three times as Delegate. In these positions, they have contributed to the development of the region internally and externally in a meaningful manner. Although their contributions are mostly concentrated in one region, they have been instrumental in enhancing the region's international image and fostering interaction between the region and the international community through the World Assembly, the East Pacific Sovereign Army, and alliances with other prominent regions. In addition, Ramaeus has been a prolific Security Council author, recognizing other nations for their achievements, and most recently played a significant part in organizing the liberation of their home region from a rogue Delegate.

For the reasons above, the Ministry recommends a vote For this commendation.

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