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We wish you a pleasant read!

The Road

Written by Estradia, Chancellor

As the station wagon traveled down the road Shaun took a look out the side window. As the blur of corn rushed by he thought to himself: "No wonder no one likes seeing nothing but corn for hours on end, it doesn't really leave the best impression." Shaun was right, seeing nothing but corn for hours on end does have the tendency to rot away the mind. However, the distaste of Kansan agriculture wasn't the only thing on Shaun's mind. You see, this road trip wasn't like the rest. Yes, it take the same route, yes it has the same sights to see and yes, it even has the same smell. Why his dad keeps this junker of a vehicle Shaun will never understand. "Maybe it's a relic of my dad's more exciting youth, maybe it reminds my dad of happier times," Shaun occasionally thinks to himself. Thought is the only thing to pass the time when you're passing through America's Cornfield.

That doesn't matter though, what matters is the destination of this journey. You see, something has changed within the past couple of days. Things have gotten a lot more quieter on Earth. First it started in Korea, then it happened in Turkey, then Austria, then Gambia and as of a week ago Maine. People are just getting quieter, at least that what Shaun's dad says. Shaun's dad also says that GMOs will be the death of humanity, so his words are taken with a grain of salt.

As Shaun is reading a story, about some guy and his grandpa, on his tablet he sees a cat out of the corner of his eye. "Gatito," he thinks. Shaun always prided himself on his knowledge of the Spanish Language, it'll definitely help once they reach Mexico. Apparently Mexico is the best place for him and his dad to live now, something about the composition of the air or something like that. It's all gibberish to Shaun, he just knows it's nice and warm there, and that he's always wanted to try an authentic Piña Colada. Hopefully the nice weather cheers his dad up, this whole quieting thing really seems to have gotten him going. It doesn't seems so bad to Shaun, he's always enjoyed a little peace and quiet now and then.

Shaun looks out the window again, "Yep, still nothing but Corn." Shaun didn't know what to expect, it is Kansas after all. As he looked around a sense of peace started to wash over him, the calm and quiet drive had a certain comforting effect on him. As Shaun stretched back in his seat he could hear the station wagon's engine start to get quieter, "This is the perfect time for a nap" Shaun said. With this Shaun started to close his eyes and his mind started to think about all the exciting adventures in Mexico he would have, and just how good that Piña Colada would taste. As he drifted off to sleep Shaun felt ready to take the longest, most comfortable nap of his life. His dad started to cry.

The Regional Council: How to Reform a Troubled Institution (Editorial Piece)

Written by El Fiji Grande, Staff Writer

The Legislative Branch of the International Northwestern Union (INWU) has had a troubled past. Historically, we had a single-house legislature, which operated with a simple, elected selection of five representative nations that proposed, voted, and passed bills for the Union - the Northwestern Federal Assembly - or NFA for short. The elected representatives added to the culture of the republic, and added positions for both newer and experienced nations to get interested in. It also gave more weight to our election system, and helped limit the power of the Executive and Judicial Branches of the region, which could not directly interfere with the workings of the NFA.

But the NFA was an imperfect system, because often the will of the people of the INWU involved only the passions of the present, instead of the long-term steady hand that government typically needs to be secure and stable. In particular, the fact that the NFA only included five individual voices meant that other active nations in the INWU would find their voices left out of the debate, and even after telegramming their representative, would find their options limited. There were many changes in the representatives - each election would produce new results, but often it would be difficult to find enough nations to run for office, so mostly anyone who decided to run was offered the position. This of course resulted in a lack of understanding of the position, and a lack of competence in running it. Nations who got elected would often turn inactive after just a few weeks, and the system was such that it was nearly impossible to impeach them, and better to simply wait until the next election to replace them.

The system obviously needed changing, and several months ago, a new political party was founded in the INWU with exactly one goal: institute direct democracy in the region. The party had its steadfast opponents, but eventually won out, and carried in a new era. In becoming an institution, some compromises were made, meant to allow the most active nations to benefit the most from the system. This introduces the Regional Council (RC), a new legislative system that allows all citizens to participate in, including the writing, discussing, voting, and passing of laws, statues, and mandates. The limitations were such that only citizens could participate - anyone proven to be a unique nation - and also active enough, though these restrictions were thought to be quite low. Instead just a handful of nations speaking for dozens if not hundreds, citizens could participate, anyone could speak up, and most importantly, activity was ensured to be high due to the mandated monthly Regional Council Discussions and possibility of ejection from the assembly for inactivity.

But the RC also has problems, as evidenced by our current regional situation, in which the RC is simply left stagnating, and many nations with the option to participate have taken this ability for granted and stopped caring. The RC is still far more active than the NFA ever was, but each time an important bill comes up for discussion or vote, the Chancellor or other willing citizens must call upon other nations to participate. They only sometimes do, and only for the bill in question, instead of keeping up with other day-to-day proceedings in the RC. This constitutes a problem, because other either proposals get less attention, or the Chancellor becomes annoyed and frustrated. Typically, it's both. Some bills have passed into law with as low as just two votes, which gives our direct democracy a grim specter of an oligarchy or perhaps the slightly better image of a meritocracy.

So why do we have the RC - why don't we just go straight ahead and announce the formation of a meritocracy? The answer is simple - because we are, by principle, members of a democracy, and we will stick by it. We are under oath to strictly act in the best interests of the INWU, and our Regional Council is just one example of it. While it may slowly devolve into a meritocracy over time, any citizen can participate if and when they want. And leaving this option open allows it to remain possible for citizens to become active and influential in government. It provides a fast-track for newly recruited nations to become involved. And lastly, because despite the problems, it still works.

As Othelos put it,

So, I've been thinking...we're never going to have the perfect system. I think we've been looking at this from the wrong angle.
I really do not think a return to an NFA style system plus a bureaucratic rubber stamp lower house is a good idea.
The truth is, what happens in our legislature will always depend on interest. And even legislators lose interest. I think reducing law creation to a few people will just choke-hold the process even more. And it's coming at a very bad time, because more people are losing interest in the government than there are who are gaining interest. The "candidate quality" argument is either irrelevant or very weak.
If not many people are interested in voting, that's their business. But the RC does always pass everything that it needs to, and enough people are interested every now and then that it splits up the work. A few adjustments need to be made, but completely replacing the system for one that is more restrictive, bureaucratic, and probably worse is the wrong way to go.
I think Albiorix is right. And Gatito has a good point that NFA style democracy is gone for a reason.

He's referring of course to the various opinions candidates for the next election for our WA Delegate have regarding the future of reforms for the RC. The coming election will help decide the direction the region will choose to go in the future, especially concerning how to best reform the Regional Council. While one path leads back to our history with the NFA - with some reforms - the other path leads towards even more openness in our legislative branch. I am personally of the opinion that the road to an active legislature is one in which the boundaries to membership are torn down, in which the active are rewarded for having changed the course of regional history and through having their voice heard, whereas the inactive still have the opportunity to speak up when they wish to do the same. I don't think that much will change with the passage of the proposed reforms that remove these barriers - but I think it's a step in the right direction.

As Savalen eloquently stated,

I will use this moment to push the fact that the RC isn't perfect, it isn't as active as our RMB, it isn't as active as it seems it should be. But any other system that we may implement may prove troublesome, static and ultimately frustrating for those people that wish to pass bills and laws.

Ultimately, I have good reason to find that the Regional Council is on the right track. Its halls are open to all citizens of the region, and each citizen has the right and the power to thus have their voices heard. I strongly believe that direct democracy is the correct legislative system for the region, but like the passions of the people, its activity will naturally ebb and flow.

Best RMB Post

Context

(New Educandi)

Please stop busting nuts on our RMB

Best Post

(Crumstain)

But it's how this region was conceived

The Weird Kid's Corner

Written by JUN CHIU, a comic editor
Go give the woman a like on her facebook page

Comic

Cumbersome Cooldown

Written by Savalen, Chief Editor

It starts getting cooler now and with people spending less time away than during the summer, the logical thinking would be that we get more active after the summer lull. This is in fact a lie as school hits people like a ton of bricks, so don't be surprised if there is a little decrease in activity over the next couple of weeks, hopefully everything will be back up to speed soon enough.

Then again, current activity seems to reverse that trend - the RMB is active thanks to two things: Map history discussions and P&W. Oh and a side of German and trolls. How trolls will be dealt with in the campaigns coming up depends on the outcome of the elections. I will say no more, Albiorix has got some interviews and platforms should come out this weekend (mine certainly will, I would expect the others to do so as well).

Short, but snappy from me this week. It's been awful how few articles have been submitted - this is one of the shortest issues yet and the average word count is only thanks to Fiji's monumental efforts and a wonderful story of Estradia's. I would expect a better participation next month. Remember folks, the deadline doesn't change, only the content does, so I'd advise a few of you to get writing. Remember this can be all sorts, from trips in real life to news relating to the region, from short stories to small advertisements through the odd comic or laugh.

Hitchhiker's Guide to Renegade Islands Alliance

Written by Dixadoing, Guest Writer

The Renegade Islands Alliance  is a very active community that is inviting and welcoming to new members and comfortable and familiar to citizens. The region is involved in community games, defending, roleplaying, and we keep active chat and voice channels. Members are often encouraged to be a part of the region and really get involved in community events (in and out of character, and real life), military activities (IC, OOC), and social happenings to ensure a rich gameplay.

The recent launch of The Renegade, the region’s newspaper, is sure to have all the latest regional news.  Since its release on August 15, 2016, members have been flooding the editor with news. Citizens are sharing their cultural news and artwork as well as any breaking stories they have about military, economy, foreign affairs, government and a plethora of other issues. After I (Dixadoing) became Secretary of the Interior, I began writing a series for the paper: What You Need to Know. Each part of the series is a look at a new nation and what you should know about them and their politics.

“What does L&S [Lowlands and Saxony] bring to the table?”
“We are an economic powerhouse, excelling in the arms and automobile industry. Our most profitable company is the somewhat controversial private military company Dent Tactical, Inc., who offers a multitude of services from training and consultancy to tactical insertions or transport of clandestine goods to airstrikes and the deployment of chemical bombs such as napalm and mustard gas.”

Another portion of the paper that is emerging is the series called Meet the Renegades. Think: a quick look at a nation’s culture, and almost a tourist’s guide. (We thought it was clever.)

Discussions and roleplays are abundant on the forum, on discord chat and voice channels, and the Regional Message Board (RMB) and many players get involved. Members are from all over the world and having various time zones helps keep us active on a 24-hour basis. Our RMB is constantly and consistently flooded with salutations and conversations, peaceful and wartime role-play, and friendly support. One of the most current RPs created is an Alternate History, where the members of our region have made claim on the world and its countries as we know it. Like a game of risk, we are all staking our property in preparation for world domination. Other roleplays include various eras and genres, including modern tech, future tech, sci-fi, fantasy and more. The RIA also has a special forces unit (RIASF) that helps nation’s defend against raiders.

When asked about the RIASF, Red Dusk said, "The RIASF, or Renegade Islands Alliance Special Forces, have been seeing large amounts of growth in the past few months, and many promising new recruits have joined and are being trained. Things are looking up for the future of the RIASF." The military branch houses nine members, though the branch is always recruiting dedicated members.

Overall the RIA is an extremely active region with a lot to offer citizens. There is somewhere to go for everyone and a friendly face there to greet you. As a citizen of this region, I have to say that I am exceedingly happy with my experience. The people are kind and the gameplay is always evolving. Visit us sometime.

Savalen's Notes

I hope you've had a great read and join us next month!

Chilling with the crew #Roadmen
Estradia - Assistant Editor,
Albiorix - Assistant Editor,
El Fiji Grande - Columnist,
Dixadoing - Guest Writer,
Savalen - Chief Editor. (left to right)
Tracian Empire was sadly not present due to problems in his
country. It is hoped that he can turn out for the later editions.

For those of you interested in the upcoming elections Albiorix has conducted some interviews, soon to be released into the wild of the INWU!

Has something happened over the past month that you want to write about? Do you think you can make the Newspaper look better? Or do you just want your name here -->
Apply now for loads of different positions, we would be happy to have you on board.

Is there something wrong? Are you offended in any way? Is there a typo? Do you just want to commend us (yaaaay!)?
Make sure to write out all of your complaints in the the correct thread or telegram me, Savalen.

Links to other issues:


Issue I  Dispatch
Issue II  Dispatch
Issue III  Dispatch
Issue IV  Dispatch
Issue V Dispatch


Issue V signed off 2nd September 2016
Savalen

Additionally, if it is at all possible, can we have the INWU Forum Embassy Flag changed to our new flag? Image below.

New Flag

Image Link: https://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/rflags/international_northwestern_union__370831.png

September 2016 Foreign Update

International Northwestern Union
Produced by Minister of Foreign Affairs Albiorix et al.

Salutations to our interregional friends from everyone within the INWU community. Our staff at the INWU Foreign Affairs Department places a priority on maintaining our oft-tenuous links, to enable more opportunities and iniatives. In keeping with this vision, we invite you to peruse the Foreign Update of September 2016.

During the past five months, we have posted periodic updates in the form of the regional newspaper, The NorthWest Star. However, the newspaper, owing to its reader-contributor structure, often addressed topics irrelevant to our foreign directive. Oftentimes, the newspaper was heavily formatted and required significant edits in order to conform to the various forum formats used by our allies.

That being said, we would still like to provide our foreign readers with a link to the newspaper dispatch.

Early this month, our regional election campaigns reached fever pitch as every candidate strived to attain more votes than their competitors. Two candidates with extensive experience launched their campaigns in mid-to-late August, complementing each other for the offices of World Assembly Delegate and Chancellor. They ran on identical platforms, promising complete legislative overhauls and the removal of old, broken systems. Initially, these candidates were seen as favorites; however, after a public discussion session was held for the establishment WAD candidate, few began to question the veracity of his claims, especially regarding the activity of the Regional Council. The few slowly became many, and the stranglehold these early candidates held seemed to loosen, paving the path for our current delegate, Savalen, to win the election. The stage was set for a close election, one that hadn’t been seen in nine months.

As the election crept closer, however, Savalen’s opponent, beset by a stream of setbacks, began losing faith in the region’s ability to accept change, and consequently, his platform’s ability to succeed. After a fit of anger on the RMB which essentially destroyed his campaign, he dropped out of the race, walking away from Savalen and a few other fringe candidates. With a bit of help from our Village Fool, Savalen was elected WAD of the INWU. Similarly, the Chancellor candidate abandoned his campaign and left to lead The Hanover Republic. Othelos was elected Chancellor after a brief day of campaign, representing Savalen’s allies.

Soon after, unfortunately, Othelos was forced to resign due to personal reasons. Emergency elections were held, and our current Chancellor Grothbord was elected in mid-September.

Our roleplay activity looks to be picking up this month, after Tracian_Empire was elected Minister of Roleplay largely uncontested. Many rules and regulations have been clarified in various forum discussions, and many roleplay ideas have been brought into consideration this month. The Royal Court RP with citizens of The Hanover Republic has shown the potential of similar events in the future; and a full-scale interregional RP with The Independent Order is being worked on by the MRP and the Roleplay Council as well as the Foreign Department. We've also opened embassies with Equilism, Albion, and others this month.

That concludes our September Foreign Update. If you have any questions, please contact your respective ambassadors, our Delegate Savalen, or our Minister of Foreign Affairs Albiorix.

Until next month,
The INWU Foreign Department

Thank you for the update.

October 2016 Foreign Update

International Northwestern Union
Produced by Minister of Foreign Affairs Albiorix et al.

Preamble & Newspaper Link

Salutations to our interregional friends from everyone within the INWU community. Our staff at the INWU Foreign Affairs Department places a priority on maintaining our oft-tenuous links, to enable more opportunities and iniatives. In keeping with this vision, we invite you to peruse the Foreign Update of October 2016.

In the past, we have posted periodic updates in the form of the regional newspaper, The NorthWest Star. However, the newspaper, owing to its reader-contributor structure, often addressed topics irrelevant to our foreign directive. Oftentimes, the newspaper was heavily formatted and required significant edits in order to conform to the various forum formats used by our allies.

That being said, we would still like to provide our foreign readers with a link to the latest newspaper dispatch.

October was a bit of a slow month in terms of regional developments, barring Z-Day. Several ideas were proposed but few were debated upon; these included plans for sister regions, a regional military, a RMB moderation group, and others. The regional in-character roleplay forum continued to see activity, with several notable events occurring. One roleplay disagreement forced a deliberation by the Regional Roleplay Council recently, and a decision is expected soon.

The 2nd Northwestern Soccer/Football Cup culminated in a championship for Kathmandue, whose Falcons went undefeated throughout the tournament. In other roleplay news, El Fiji Grande has created a form for prospective foreign roleplayers to fill out. Here's the link: https://goo.gl/forms/4tT0nfXd5Sqej6oo1

Our Z-Day experience was perhaps the most interesting yet. The INWU had formerly achieved high survival rates in the two years before, finishing within or close to the top 100 in survivors. Plans were made to match and surpass this record. This year, however, a spirited team of citizens coordinated an attack to thwart the efforts of the cure teams by embracing the hordes. They were wildly successful, striking early and late to lower the effectiveness of cure missiles and extermination squads. We'd like to thank Equilism for helping out in the dying moments of our cure effort. In the end, the INWU finished high on leaderboards for most infected and most dead.

Elections are coming up once again, and are set to happen in the middle of November. As of the time of writing, Mammo and MNSMR have declared their candidacies for Delegate.

That concludes our October Foreign Update. If you have any questions, please contact your respective ambassadors, our Delegate Savalen, or our Minister of Foreign Affairs Albiorix.

Until next month,
The INWU Foreign Department

Thank you for the update! I think October was a slow month for everyone barring Z-Day, and I think November will be too...things will pick up though.

Foreign Communique

International Northwestern Union
November 22nd, 2016
Produced by Minister of Foreign Affairs Albiorix et al.

The regional administration wishes to inform all our friends abroad of the conclusion of our elections. Here is a message from our new delegate, El Fiji Grande.
"Good day, all.
This is a special Foreign Update for the International Northwestern Union, following our most recent set of elections. I am El Fiji Grande, and I speak now on behalf of the INWU as our newly elected WA Delegate. My Chancellor, Sieverdonia, was also elected. Together, we are now forming a new government, having recently appointed new Justices and a new Minister of Foreign Affairs. We campaigned on platforms of inclusivity and of friendship, both with regards to our fellow INWU citizens, and to the NS World at large. We'd like to publicly reaffirm our recognition and support of our alliances and embassies abroad, and continue to stand by our friends interregionally. We hope to continue to broaden our diplomatic horizons as a region, and grow on the interregional stage.
There is naturally much work to be done, but here's to a brighter future for us all!
~ El_Fiji_Grande"
That concludes our brief announcement. If you have any questions, please contact your respective ambassadors, our Delegate El Fiji Grande, or our Minister of Foreign Affairs Albiorix.
Until next month,
The INWU Foreign Department

Thank you for the update, and best wishes to El Fiji Grande on his new term as Delegate.

October 2016 Foreign Update
International Northwestern Union
Produced by Minister of Foreign Affairs Albiorix et al.

Salutations to our interregional friends from everyone within the INWU community. Our staff at the INWU Foreign Affairs Department places a priority on maintaining our oft-tenuous links, to enable more opportunities and iniatives. In keeping with this vision, we invite you to peruse the Foreign Update of October 2016.

In the past, we have posted periodic updates in the form of the regional newspaper, The NorthWest Star. However, the newspaper, owing to its reader-contributor structure, often addressed topics irrelevant to our foreign directive. Oftentimes, the newspaper was heavily formatted and required significant edits in order to conform to the various forum formats used by our allies.

That being said, we would still like to provide our foreign readers with a link to the latest newspaper dispatch.

As you have no doubt seen in our recent foreign communique, our elections have concluded with the elections of El Fiji Grande as Delegate and Sieverdonia as Chancellor. During the early weeks of this delegacy, we have continued the work of Savalen's term and opened embassies with the United Republic of Sovereign States.

The administration now looks to improve our visibility by participating in NS-wide events such as the NationStates World's Fair. We eagerly anticipate its planning and will contact the nations responsible to acquire a booth as quickly as possible. The Foreign Department has also applied for embassies with the Social Liberal Union and the North Pacific.

The INWU would also like to dispel several rumors about the regional discord channel. Due to an oversight and organization mishap, NSFW content was allowed onto the general chatroom. This mistake has since been rectified, and all NSFW content has been directed to its own channel.

That concludes our November Foreign Update. If you have any questions, please contact your respective ambassadors, our Delegate El Fiji Grande, or our Minister of Foreign Affairs Albiorix.

Until next month,
The INWU Foreign Department

Thank you for the update! I see our ambassador received an interesting welcome.

Thank you for the update! I see our ambassador received an interesting welcome.

That's one way to put it. 

I'm sure it's one you won't soon forget.

My 5th post.