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As a graphics / consistency enthusiast myself, I think this is awesome. It’s something real world organizations and businesses often do. The PRL (well, I) had such a thing too. EDIT: So did the Conglomerate, I believe. #BF0000 and #0000BF were the preferred hex codes of several early Fishmongers.

Good on you, Dark.

He wants to be my apprentice. If all works out, he will be the one devouring souls. Congratulations on the delegacy, by the way.

I might as well say hi as well while I'm on this little revisition tour (I met an NSer in class and have been showing him a few things).

If by give up you mean refuse to engage a wannabe troll, yes. He didn't give her any more time or attention than she earned herself through the merit of her remarks or the honesty of her intentions. She went into the thread with the intent to troll using inane, poorly-thought-out, and provocative tangential commentary. It eventually devolved into outright baiting after Pierconium chose not to engage her intentional fallacies and digressions. The only thing that surprises me is that he was patient enough to grant her any time at all. Pierconium may disagree with me, but I think that he gave her the benefit of the doubt at first, which was quite generous.

I had noticed that. Rachel's attempts to disguise shallow, intentional fallacies and wrong interpretations as intelligent criticisms, and her whining about Pierconium's responses were something less than what her inane comments deserved, made for a good laugh.

Breaking News: Escade Requests Belschaft's Removal from TSP CSS Amidst Hileville Admin Debate Do the Allegations Hold Up? — "Character Assassination", "Political Maneuvering", and "Unethical Administrative Abuse" Sun, Mar 23 2014 || Pacific News Network The South Pacific — In response to Belschaft's region-wide announcement about a "coup" by Hileville in The South Pacific, and in response to what she has called a "character assassination" against Hileville, Delegate Escade has intensified her condemnation of Belschaft's condemnation of Hileville's administrative actions by proposing the removal of Belschaft from the Commitee for State Security, the group of endorsee and security officials in TSP. In her statement, she cites that acts of "administrative" abuse towards her, particularly in the form of telling her that "Big Brother [was watching her]", and states that it is her opinion that Belschaft's outrage is largely inspired by a desire for political gain. That statement, titled "Unethical Behavior and the Abuse of CSS Membership", may be found in this link. PNN speculates that Escade's allegations regarding administrative abuse will not hold much weight with the CSS — unfortunately, many other players have been cautious and watchful of her after she was alleged of being an Empire plant — by Belschaft come to light in wake of this or the group currently in agreement with Belschaft have a change of heart or get defensive. Notwithstanding that claim's consequences, Belschaft's ostensibly secure CSS membership may, in fact, have been put into jeopardy by his telegram. He signed it as a CSS member, which Escade argues as being an act that feigns the CSS' support of it, and she is of the opinion that the message's hyperbolic rhetoric and strong calls for action caused considerable disturbance in the region that other members had to quickly jump at to calm. The RMB was covered in almost ten page's worth of comments of both concern in the aftermath of the telegram's distribution. This large response elevated to the point where it became necessary for Escade alter the region's world factbook entry to clarify what had happened. Meanwhile, talks between those supporting Hileville and those opposing his continued board administration have hit a stalemate, as Hileville refuses to continue to work with the removed parties. He is no longer interested in hosting the community's website or paying for it, and is hoping to give the database to a new owner as soon as possible. The board is currently expected and planned to be transferred to Tsunamy's control unless developments are made either at the originally set deadline — tomorrow — or a proposed one that would occur in a week's time. Hileville has designated Tsunamy as the successor for control of #The_South_Pacific on irc.esper.net. ----- Written by Cerlon The Pacific Press – A Newspaper with Issues Proudly Part of PNN

Of course.

On a final note, regarding my delegacy in Lazarus having anything to do with the NPO's relationship with the UDL, many of the GCRs have militaries who are led or managed by players whose personal memberships elsewhere and preferences do not affect the direction of the military they manage. A member of the raider group Lone Wolves United was, until last week, leading the neutral military in TEP (it defended quite a bit despite his leadership). Similarly, Southern Bellz -- a known member of DEN -- has led the antifa military in TSP, and Gladio, who is a member of TBR and BoM, leads TNP's neutral military. Assuming that I was in charge of the PEF, it would be inconsistent with the norm for me to be denied the courtesy of separation that leaders of other GCR militaries have received, albeit, even then, Senator Aleisyr is responsible for managing the PEF, not me. He is by no means a defender and I don't believe he has an affinity for the UDL.

The Gameplay forum, being what it always has been, offers an R/D-centered outlook on the world and is thus inclined to give everyone a label. Its population has handed out accusations as wild as calling TNP "raider" and calling TSP "raider". But are both of those things true? Obviously not. Hopefully TWP is looking through the same lens as we are in regards to those regions and the world at large. Naturally, the NPO is not nor has it ever been the sort of group to accommodate to the delusions of imbeciles. However, as seen here, we are willing to take the time to clarify things when more reputable groups such as TWP establish unfortunate perceptions based upon the misconceptions from the above mentioned game forum clique. I have not been on good terms with Unibot in a long while and, as WW knows, have been concerned that he might try something akin to his past exploitationist antics in The Pacific; however, he has not done anything in TP of that sort thus far, and his presence there is the only extent to which the NPO has a link to the UDL. Senator Pierconium clarified that that link is minimal and inconsequential at best as it pertains to our military alignment and foreign policy. Other senators and I are watchful of undesired influences and would likely be quick to act if any of the concerns about Unibot actually manifested themselves in the form of actual UDL pushes in The Pacific (which would be a most unwise move by the UDL). I also recall that the UDL sought a treaty with the NPO some months ago and that it too was shot down. Anything that would actually constitute an "alliance" between us and the UDL is entirely non-existent. On an operational level, putting aside the fact that the NPO has successfully raided a high-priority defender target (i.e. The Imperial League vs Spiritus, FRA, and UDL) since the PA underwent a management switch, the only instance the NPO has worked with the UDL recently was a liberation of Communist Beach from fascist occupation. The NPO does not regret cooperating with the UDL in that instance because we were willing to accept an extra updater to assist in dealing with something we see as a great disturbance (i.e. fascists). Of course, there was a period where the UDL engaged in several regular update operations with the NPO, but the party responsible for that was separated from the Pacific Senate. With some of these facts in mind, rather than whatever R/D-centered rhetorical nonsense the GP forum has chosen to propagate, I hope that the WP's perception on the NPO's relationship with the UDL is starting to become more accurate. We are certainly not allied with them.

Controversy in The South Pacific, Bel Calls "Coup" Tensions Regarding Forum Administration Shoot their Breaking Point Fri, Mar 21 2014 Tsu, Southern Bellz, and HEM look on in resignation while discussing what to do next. The South Pacific — Following Root Administrator Hileville's decision tonight to remove Southern Bellz, HEM, Tsunamy, and Rebel-topia tonight, several citizens, including the removed admins, have fervidly disagreed with the shakeup and called for action against Hile. This is the third controversial instance of an admin being removed, with Todd McCloud and Belschaft being the two previous subjects of administrative switches. Belschaft, a current Committee for State Security member and, as mentioned, an administrator until two weeks ago, has notably distributed a telegram to the nations of TSP referring to Hile's actions as a "coup" (read it at the bottom of the page). Alongside these claims, Minister of the Army Southern Bellz call Hileville a "coward", assemblyman Cormac Stark is advocating for abandoning the current forum altogether, and other administrators are condemning Hile for being a dictatorial, even "rogue", root administrator. Meanwhile, Delegate Escade applauds the move, saying that she supports the replacement administrators, Kringalia and Glen-Rhodes, and so does assemblyman Unibot. Their statements mostly appreciate the fact that Hile removed the old administrator for what he alleged to be "inactivity" and, in the case of Southern Bellz, the lack of "real desire to complete the basic tasks of an admin". Impartial responses to this claim about SB have thus far found it to be true, and SB has known to be less active as an administrator ever since the change from Zetaboards to independent hosting. HEM has been removed as an administrator due to inactivity on two occasions, and, in contrast to this instance, his first removal was accepted without disagreement from the community. Kris and GR were chosen as the duo's replacement because they are active and respected in TSP, and because they expressed interest in serving as administrators. Hile acknowledges the unfair workload he has comparative to other administrators as a reason for the shakeup and says that he hopes the replacements will help him maintain the forum that he has tried to make the "most rewarding forum experience" in the GCRs. Throughout the years, his efforts to improve TSP's forum have been widely applauded, his dedication has been praised, and his leading presence in TSP has earned him a mix of both respect for his loyalty and contributions and dissent for being one of the controlling senior figures in the vocally democratic GCR. With that said, a key aspect of the criticisms towards Hile are derived from the recent removal of Belschaft from the administrative team, which may have been a trigger for the eruption of tensions. According to Belschaft, all of the administrators who were stripped of their access tonight opposed his demotion, and hence he questions whether or not Hile had an ulterior political motive. Belschaft also accuses Hileville of issuing a fiat prohibiting administrators from further discussing his demotion with anyone, including Bel himself, and that they were not allowed to vote on the matter. Evidence below supports the claim that a gag order was in fact issued. He suggests that the administrators were removed for not complying with this expectation. Link: Belschaft's submitted evidence of Hileville's gag order Otherwise, the primary points of dispute are whether or not Hile is entitled to remove the administrators without a vote and whether or not that action is justified. Historically, the TSP Administration Team has voted on membership additions and expulsions, albeit votes amongst administrators became less frequent at around the time when Hileville, Milograd, Belschaft, and Southern Bellz served as staff on the zetaboards board forum that were created due to invision server woes. This, however, was done mostly due to agreement that rendered voting superfluous and due to a lack of votes to be had, rather than due to an intentional abandonment of the old system. Hile cites the loss of Milograd from the administrative team as an event that gave him significantly more administrative tasks to perform and hence started the cycling of new administrators; in the aftermath of the SPSR, more administrative switches -- including the loss of mainstay Fudgetopia -- have occurred than at any other time in the region's long history. The practice of letting the root administrator handle staffing changes, rather than the team as a whole, appears to have started during this time. In his announcement, Hile prefaces with, "On the 12 of February I informed the admin team via a thread in our private discussion area that a possible shakeup was going to happen," before revealing the post, shown below. It is immediately clear from its texts that the voting system of old is not being used to determine whether or not "changes may be made". He adds that none of his fellow administrators responded to his post. Later in his announcement, he also invests a lot of emphasis on the extent of his dedication to the forum's maintenance and his strong disinterest in being an administrative "dictator". Regardless of knowing about the possibility of strong backlash, his statement indicates that he is willing to take that consequence, for better or worse. Southern Bellz and HEM condemn the removals in their immediate responses to the announcement itself. They both cite a lack of communication between the administrative team as a problem and insult Hile's capabilities as a manager; however, perhaps more notably, Southern Bellz offers evidence to suggest that some administrators were not as inactive as Hile has alleged. He offers onlookers this recent message that was exchanged between Tsunamy, who happens to be the old root administrator of TSP, to Hile in an administrative conference chat: Both sides in the dispute claim to have a justification for the controversial actions they have performed in causing or responding to this incident. All three are amongst the most influential players in the South, as Hileville, Belschaft, and Southern Bellz are the only players in TSP's post-Devonitians history that hold the distinction of being former delegates who are still citizens. This conflict between them, being the first ever public one of such a scale, will almost certainly impact the course of both TSP's history and internal stability, unless cooler heads quickly prevail. The nations of The South Pacific will awake tomorrow and will receive Belschaft's advisory about coup d'état to the region, and their responses to the event may serve as a contributing factor to the escalation of both the event's severity and the in-game region's confusion. His message encouraged nations to speak out against the "coup" on the RMB, and the day will tell whether or not they do so. PNN sends its regards to the nations of The South Pacific and will follow this story as it develops. ----- Written by Milograd The Pacific Press – A Newspaper with Issues Proudly Part of PNN

To clarify, The Pacific does not have any alliance with the UDL nor is it a "member" of the UDL, which would not be possible even if The Pacific was sympathetic to the UDL inasmuch as the UDL is not a regional alliance. The Pacific has worked with the UDL in the past and Unibot is a citizen, but it is not allied to the UDL. It may be mindless, but that criticism would still be just as valid as that of most GPers.

Agreed. I think he'll be fine in several years. Solm faired well at reinventing himself after being a leading member of Eagle Clan, for instance.

Forever onward with Comrade Winnipeg! You'll learn one day. SMF is a superior alternative to ZB in terms of free software.

BBD PM'd me in Lazarus requesting that I transfer the TEK stories to the WP. ************************************************************************************************ Breaking News Division of the Informational District You Did What? King Nephmir Makes a Blunder for the Ages, Reveals Stunning Lack of Trust Towards "Inferiors", and has Futile TEP and Balder Coup Plots Exposed The reaction of basically everyone in Lazarus. Command Center, The Eternal Knights -- Frustrated after consecutive failures this morning, King Nephmir, the founder and warlord of the Eternal Knights, was desperate for a change of the status quo. Something that would put The Eternal Knights on back on the winning side, or something that would fix whatever it was that kept the "rising power" of Gameplay down. That thing seemed to come when a nation by the name "Malagawi" telegrammed the ambitious founder. The nation of Malagawi prodded for Nephmir's opinion on the success of his organization and was told of the King's woes. To Nephmir's surprise, it then revealed that it knew of the nation's next invasion plans. Shocked, Nephmir asked how Malagawi -- a backwater, Africa-themed roleplaying nation stationed in Sapphire -- knew about these high priority plots. The answer? "Spies," said Malagawi. "You have a serious spy problem." Nephmir's jaw dropped to the floor. How could it be? Something had to be done, and this revelation surely explained the losses on the battlefield that The Eternal Knights had suffered. Nephmir expressed his desire for a solution, but not before asking who Malagawi was. Malagawi clarified that he was an international spy, also known as Leroy Von Amitabho III in some "intel-trading circles", who knew the names of the people behind the spies. He said, "Milograd, Milograd's brother, Karpathos, and Karpathos' sister were operating within The Eternal Knights as NPO spies". He just didn't know what nations they were. But when had uncertainty ever stopped the fearsome King of The Eternal Knights? When had the odds or logical dilemmas ever proven themselves insurmountable to his highness? Never! King Nephmir just had to remove the spies. Naturally, Malagawi was gracious enough to offer to compare both Milograd's IP and Karpathos' IP to those of the soldiers in The Eternal Knights to find out which nations were spies. In a shocking move, Nephmir then granted administrator powers to Leroy Von Amitabho III, despite having known him for roughly 25 mere minutes. You read that right: 25 minutes. Moderator Mala during security checks. "Thank you," Malagawi remarked. But then he blinked. "You do realize that just giving me the member title 'Admin' doesn't make me an admin though, right?" "Oops, my bad," replied Nephmir, clearly confused as to how administrate a forum. "Try now." Leroy's masking worked properly the second time, and he was able to sift through The Eternal Knight's administrative control panel in search of spies. Meanwhile, over private message, Nephmir ranted about "how you can't trust any of [his soldiers]", calling them his "inferiors", and expressed his desire to have an entire army of players "just like [Nephmir]". While Malagawi was looking for a match to Karpathos' and Milograd's IP Addresses, Nephmir also verified his plans to infiltrate the legitimate government of The East Pacific for a coup coup d'etat and to endorsement-swap to Balder's delegacy. The horror! Malagawi then declared the identities -- The Sapienta, Unified Protectors, Arkanir in Space, and Valrifell -- of the four spies to Nephmir, who then issued a bold, fury-filled ultimatum on The Eternal Knight's Regional Message Board. He just can't catch a break, can he? And that's where the fun ended, really, because Nephy started asking questions after that. It was only then that he asked Malagawi to "prove that Unified Protectors is Milograd." Somehow, Nephmir waited until after giving Malagawi an administrative masking to start questioning whether or not he was honest. What a guy, right? The truth was that there was more to Lord Leroy Von Amitabho III than met the eyes; named after the greatest NationStates player he ever knew, Milograd constructed him as an alias. Comrade Milograd was Malagawi. And the spies? Well, only two of them were actually high-ranking spies. At this time, the Lazarene Gazette is not permitted to reveal which ones they are. Within the span of an hour, 9:00am- 10:00am EST, Nephmir had compromised the operational security of The Eternal Knights by providing a LLA operative -- a total stranger at that -- administrative masking on The Eternal Knight's forum, gave Milo access to every IP on their board, insulted his own region-mates and displayed an incredible distrust for them in front of this LG reporter, confirmed the suspicions about TEK's plans to infiltrate The East Pacific to an East Pacifican citizen, revealed a plan to invade Balder, and flipped out on his own RMB over something that, really, is the fault of his own n00bishness. The Lazarene Gazette wonders how residents of The Eternal Knights will be able to trust their absolute leader after this exemplary display of incompetence. The "rising power" of Gameplay is beginning to seem more like a bad joke that's jumped the shark. Stay tuned for more fun and fury. ************************************************ Breaking News: Purges, Exodus in The Eternal Knights The Hilarity Continues: Paranoid, Unreliable Founder Drives Long-Time Residents Away; TEK Declares War on the PRL Mar 9 2014 Public Square, The Eternal Knights -- Things are only getting sillier and more desperate in The Eternal Knights roughly eight hours after word first broke of Milograd's surprise promotion to administrative status in the struggling raider group. Yes, that's possible. Somehow. Nephmir has declared both a state of emergency and a new war against the People's Republic of Lazarus over this morning's incident, and has demonstrated both his extreme paranoia and impulsiveness by passwording The Eternal Knights, purging nations, and driving his old soldiers to leave the region. Festavo has expressed over telegram his desire to leave The Eternal Knights, but his fear that his competing group, The Lone Rangers, won't draw a crowd that will make it worthwhile to openly turn against TEK's failing monarch. Meanwhile, Knight and regular updater The Sapienta was also banned. The shiny new password on The Eternal Knights. Someone is paranoid. Furthermore, after mere hours, four long-term residents are no longer residing in The Eternal Knights and Nephmir notes on the Regional Message Board that he may be purging more nations despite his indecisive hesitance to do so. The reasons for The Sapienta's ban are unconfirmed, although the nation was one of the four spies implicated in Milograd's report to the paranoid King. Nephmir's plan to save his failing region have shown minimal success. Meanwhile, Nephmir has declared war against the People's Republic of Lazarus and has informed Chairman Kazmr that Milograd's actions have sealed Lazarus' fate. The PRL's response to the incident is pending, but what is perhaps more amusing is some of the responses to certain members of the Lazarene State Council from the seasoned veterans in The Eternal Knights. Internal responses to the incident in Lazarus have been largely that of laughter. Lazarene citizens and Party members alike have expressed their complete lack of fear forThe Eternal Knight's declaration of war, especially given the revelation that most of the residents loyal to Nephmir are, in fact, foreign spies. The loss of contributing members has left the region with a population that largely consists of spies, plants, and blindly loyal n00bs. When the Lazarene Gazette issued its update to the war-torn peoples of the sinking region, a good eight responses confirmed the shocking extent of Nephmir's spy problem. Sadly, there isn't an NS++ tool for operational security. Perhaps Nephmir can make his region secure if he continues to diminish its population. As the Lazarene Gazette continues to observe the situation, it becomes more and more evident that The Eternal Knights may not be so "eternal" after all. Stay tuned with the Lazarene Gazette for more fun and fury. ************************************************ Breaking News: TEK "Pained" to "Join Raider Unity" Nephmir's solution to his problems is to sell his region and his supposed mission statement out to invaders. Struggle City, The Eternal Knights - Well, rock bottom has been smashed. The Eternal Knights, a region standing for the destruction of Gameplay as we know it, has aligned itself under the banner of "joining raider unity" in a desperate attempt to rebuild itself following the incidents that occurred yesterday morning. In need of foreign resources and help to stand on its feet, the brave King Nephmir has surrendered all his values and aspirations in the face of his latest obstacle, with the sole hope of keeping power over a region that has all but fallen into total chaos. Nephmir continues to try to cure the disease of incompetence with more incompetence, but this won't save him from the consequences of his own foolishness. The King's statement, by admitting that the turn to raiderism is a temporary maneuver to garner foreign resources for their own sake, reveals that Nephmir, in fact, does not stand by his mission statement. When the going got tough, the man who sought to "change Gameplay" sold his organization out, banned his soldiers, and tried to write himself into a script that he's sought to abolish. "To make matters worse, it is highly unlikely that any serious raider organization will help these posers out," remarked one raider, anonymously, before adding, "Raider unity isn't the act that Nephmir thinks it is. He's going to be disappointed when he's laughed at even harder." With this rejection in mind, the PRL wonders how long it'll take for Nephmir to put the neutral tag back on and come running to defenders. The future of The Eternal Knights has been sold out to foreign invader groups, who are now faced with the choice of perpetuating Nephmir's melancholy or putting him, his region, and the lie of The Eternal Knights out of its own misery. Stay tuned for more fun and fury. ************************************************ Update: Nephmir Backtracks, No More Invader Unity Mar 11 2014 19 minutes ago: The Kingdom of Nephmir removed the tag "Invader". 19 minutes ago: The Kingdom of Nephmir tagged the region "Neutral". 20 minutes ago: The Kingdom of Nephmir removed regional password protection. 20 minutes ago: The Kingdom of Nephmir removed The Militant Dictatorship of United Nationals from the regional ban list. That was faster than even we expected.

Thanks. It's always a pleasure to post updates in TWP. After all, this is on a board where I don't have to convert the code.

People's Republic of Lazarus Foreign Update March 2014 Edition (Written by Fantome, Horse, Libetarian Republics, PERGAMON, and Milograd) "Onward in the Glorious March to Harmony!" Current Lazarene Government Chairman: Kazmr (Endorsements: 145) Vice-Chairman: Funkadelia Cultural Governor: Bodobol Diplomacy Governor: Dalimbar Judicial Governor: Fortress Prussia Information Governor: New Kervoskia General of People's Militia: Hobbesistan People's Congress: Pergamon, Horse, Stujenske, Libetarian Republics, The Grim Reaper, Feux, Llamas Grand Marshal: Milograd War Marshals: Hobbes, Horse, Kogvuron, Campinia, Aperi Cultural Marshals: Tano, Cameron M. Romefeller WA Marshal: Bruteland State Police Chief: Fantome The End of an Era, The Beginning of a New One: Chairman Milograd Succeeded by Chairman Kazmr A new portrait is hung in the the Forbidden City. (From left to right: Milograd, Kazmr) Perhaps the biggest event of the month was the surprise decision by Chairman Milograd to step down from power, thus concluding a 4-month reign as Chairman. On March 5th, Milograd posted the following announcement in the Forbidden City: Quote Quote A co-founder of the PRL, Milograd was appointed to serve as Chairman by Harmoneia. During his time as Chairman, the PRL achieved all-time regional records for activity, witnessed much cultural success, such as the revitalization of regional RP and the creation of cult, created an internationally powerful military, the Lazarene Liberation Army, revived the Lazarene Gazette, and fought off several invasion attempts by imperialists. A new bar for the region's potential was set and the status quo of Lazarus being a chronically inactive region was finally proven false. His Chairmanship featured a emphasis on representing the people with the efficiency of a dictatorship, the creation of a strong bureaucracy, and constant pushes to create a thriving regional environment. But with change must come, well, change. Immediately after announcing his intent to resign, a snap election occurred amongst citizens of the region and Governor Kazmr -- the previous winner of the Vice-Chairman election and an endorsee -- won the delegacy versus Hobbes and Stujenske. He opened with the following statement: Quote Quote Citizens are enthusiastic about Chairman Kazmr's delegacy and thus far the Chairman has succeeded in filling the big shoes left behind by Milograd. The PRL wishes him the best and asks for the same wishes from the interregional community. Submarine Exterior Cleaning Squad prepares the LLA's finest submarines. LLA Leads Major Liberations, Participates in Defenses Throughout Month There is no slowing down the Lazarene Liberation Army, which is enjoying its fifth month of daily activity, The LLA lead many defenses and liberations this month, with Communist Beach and Assassins serving as particular highlights. Both missions -- the former being significant because of its socialist community, and the latter being significant because it was lead by the Brotherhood of Malice -- were triggered by Milograd. Both triggers were on the dot and made successful liberations of the two regions possible, and the strong update showing of LLA troops in both cases also helped. Otherwise, the LLA succeeded in missions in Halo, Western Assembly, Punahou, Christmas, The United Federation of Planets, Kingdom of Britain, United Nations Defense Force, and Coalition of Christian Communities, Mayville, Dragostea Din Tei, TDWU, BlueBerets, Northern P4, and HSA. Hobbesistan training one of his new troops to cross the rivers of Fishmongolia. Skillful and precise, his technique is as effective as it is magnificent. DYP Steps Down as General; Hobbes Replaces Him This month has seen the sad departure of Drop Your Pants (better known as DYP) from the Lazarene Liberation army, from General of the LLA. DYP, serving from the creation of the LLA as general, resigned effectively on March 3rd in the monthly promotions of LLA troopers. Not citing the reasons for his resignation as General, he will be sorely missed. Not exactly known for his time spent on the IRC (heck, we even made a game of seeing how fast he came on and came off ), his experience and skill as a defender will sorely missed at update, when he came .The search for a new general did not take long, as within a day Hobbes was selected as the new General of the LLA . As of now, Hobbes has begun to change the structure of the LLA (super sekret stuff to come), and has begun to lead the LLA at update. Not much is known of Hobbes plan after this, but as the news comes in, we will report it to you, regardless of how much satire we put into it. My congratulations to Hobbes to his appointment, and my thanks to DYP to his service to the LLA. May this open up a new chapter in the LLA, even greater than the last! Lazarus at the Defender Awards. LLA Wins Defender Award for Best New Organization, Officers Win Awards The LLA won the vote for best new defender organization for 2014 by a landslide. It was ... nice. Officer Horse won the Sir Lans Award, and Campinia won the Dipes Award. Milograd was unofficially awarded the title of "Player Hater of the Year" for his work on the award images. PRL Holds Cultural Exchange with The North Pacific After a fair amount of planning by the Cultural Cadre and the Cultural Ministry of TNP, the PRL had the pleasure of kicking off its cultural exchange with TNP throughout the course of two weeks. A tournament was held between TNP and Lazarus to see who could win the most of the event's "trophy events", including spam games and trivia, and the PRL ultimately came out on top. However, the reward -- that is, to decide Kazmr's flag -- was offered to TNP and we are still awaiting their choice on what flag and pretitle he should use. Hopefully it won't be too embarrassing! Cadre for the Beautification of Society Names the Provinces The PRL has operated with a provincial system since its inception. The names have always been uninteresting and bland. But no longer! New names have been proposed for forums throughout the PRL's off-site board, and thus far the following proposals have been considered for provinces or forums: Spectacor Immigration Island (This existed already.) Milograd Square (This proposal was approved.) Hobbes' Hall of Forum Administration (This proposal was approved.) Lies Incorporated University (It worked too well not to propose.) Harmoneian Diplomacy Province (This proposal was approved.) Kazmr Informational Province (This proposal was approved.) John Ashcroft Land Judicial District (No, not really.) Why not? Bruteland Replaces Auralia as GA Marshal In the aftermath of the attempted Commendation of Auralia, Auralia officially made note to the People's Republic that he will tender his resignation on March 2, 2014. As GA Marshall, he was in charge of the People's Republic influencing the WA's General Assembly proposals and resolutions that were up for vote as well as giving his opinions on how Lazarus should vote on specific resolutions in the General Assembly. He had served since the early days of the People's Republic. He had a great run here as GA Marshall and we wish him best of luck. Codger Bruteland officially replaces Auralia in overseeing GA resolutions and proposals for Lazarus. Informational Activity in the PRL The Informational District created distributed the following updates this month: http://nslazarus.com...n-nationstates/ http://nslazarus.com...milograd-lg-25/ http://nslazarus.com...s-llamas-lg-26/ http://nslazarus.com...e-lg-27-satire/ http://nslazarus.com...iscarded-lg-28/ http://nslazarus.com...-general-lg-29/ http://nslazarus.com...eps-down-lg-30/ State Security Force Created Prior to his abdication, former Chairman Milograd formed the Committee for Public Safety, an advisory council, and the State Security Force. The State Security Force is an independent branch of the Judicial District and deals with the report of rule violations. To do so, there are three kinds of agents.The first kind are RMB Patrol Officers, who control the Regional Message Board and need to report any violations. IRC Officers, the second kind of agents, moderate the IRC Chat of Lazarus. And finally State Security Officers are meant to report any internal threats, such as planned coups. Comrade Leningrad Union, who previously gained experience as soldier of the LLA, has been awarded first Chief of the State Security Force after Milograd expressed confidence in his skills, but Fantome replace him some days later. We are sure the newly formed institution will do its best to help Lazarus and its community prosper. New Solidarity Policy, New Embassies Chairman Milograd announced this month that the PRL will permit both socialist and communist regions gain embassies with Lazarus regardless of existing size requirements and/or the existence of forum relations. The PRL also had the pleasure of opening embassies with 10000 Islands, The Red Fleet, Liberty Riders International, United Communist States, and The Allied Communist Union this month. Appointments and Elections Lazarus' government underwent a handful of significant personnel changes this month. Chairman Milograd steps down, Chairman Kazmr assumes the delegacy. Governor Kazmr becomes Chairman, New Kervoskia appointed as his successor. Chairman Milograd is appointed as Grand Marshal of the People's Republic. Bodobol is appointed Governor of Culture, Tano takes over as Marshal of Culture. Stujenske is appointed as Vanguard of Regional Security. Llamas is elected to the People's Congress. Ikania is promoted to serve as Cultural Marshal. Auralia resigns as GA Marshal due his choice to leave the game. Bruteland assumes his responsibilities and takes the position of "WA Marshal", which has not been a single job since Hobbes was WA Marshal in the early days of the PRL. Leningrad Union is appointed as State Police Chief, but is quickly replaced with Fantome. Thank you for reading our update. The People's Republic of Lazarus wishes you and your region a prosperous March and April!

A master spy. Welcome to TWP.

Indeed. We have a fancy indesign version of that update that I felt compelled to share. It's such a lovely program.

DROP YOUR PANTS RETIRES AS LLA GENERAL TUGBOAT BRIGADE DUTY "OUT OF THE QUESTION", FULL-ON RETIREMENT PLANNED Mar 3 2014 || The Informational District of the People's Republic PICTURED: DYP during the Defense of Lazarus in December. Fort Ress, Lazarus -- After six months of serving as the General of the Lazarene Liberation Army, General Drop Your Pants tendered his resignation from the State Council and the LLA High Command today. The move had been anticipated for some time but was only realized this morning. The General's announcement was brief and quiet, much like he himself, and the text of his announcement was included at the end of an announcement about the promotions of LLA Troops such as Bodobol: Highlights from DYP's time as General include the liberations of Italy, Makhnovia, Darwin Allied Republics, Coalition of Leftist Comrades, Union Soviet Socialist Republic, Christmas, the defenses of regions like Union of Socialist Confederate Republics, and the support of Soviet Union. The LLA has performed hundreds of missions since October and has become the largest army in Lazarus' ten-year history. Though raising the people's army has been a community effort, DYP's role in it is deseving of recognition in particular. Indeed, the General's role in the army, despite being self-described as "[managing] all the paperwork", is widely acknowledged by LLA members as being an important one. An experienced soldier and Lazarene, DYP has been a stabilizing, leading, and educational presence in the army's ranks. Captain Hobbesistan has been appointed as DYP's successor and his first orders have included a check-in, a change to the policy which permits LLA members to participate in other militaries, and a merit-based change to the promotions system. As the PRL and the LLA moves forward, it pauses for a moment to thank its former General for his service.

Commend/Condemn Westwind would be an interesting proposal. I've written my fair share, though. Issues and spots are the last parts of NS I've left untouched.

Hitleriffic.

People's Republic of Lazarus Foreign Update to The West Pacific February 2014 Edition (Written by Horse, PERGAMON, Matheca, and Milograd) "Onward in the Glorious March to Harmony!" Current Lazarene Government Chairman: Milograd (Endorsements: 170) (Days as Chairman: 100) Vice-Chairman: Funkadelia Cultural Governor: Tano Diplomacy Governor: Dalimbar (Lieutenant Governor: Matheca) Judicial Governor: Fortress Prussia Information Governor: Kazmr General of People's Militia: Drop Your Pants People's Congress: Pergamon, Horse, Stujenske, Libetarian Republics, The Grim Reaper, Feux, [Vacant] War Marshals: Hobbes, Horse, Kogvuron, Campinia, Aperi Cultural Marshals: Bodobol, Cameron M. Romefeller WA Marshals: Bruteland, Auralia Chairman Milograd Rewards Contributors to Iron Production !!! All-Time Activity Records Broken … Again January 2014 set the record for being the month with the most posts in Lazarene history, along with all the other activity records that the board records. This is the third month in a row where this record has been broken; indeed, November 2013 broke the record set almost half a decade ago, December 2013 yielded twice as many posts as November 2013, and January 2014 beat out December 2013. Citizens wonder if February will break the streak due to it being a short month, but nonetheless are pleased by the consistency of great activity in the community. Over 4,500 posts (145 posts per day) were made in January despite the fact that the board was offline for several days due to an issue with our host. PRL Passes Three WA Resolutions Over the course of January, Chairman Milograd submitted "Commend Harmoneia" and "Liberate Slavia" to the WA Security Council. The Chairman also worked with The Dourian Embassy of The West Pacific's WA Ministry to draft a repeal of "International Radio Act". All three of these resolutions passed. The commendation of Harmoneia was intended to recognize Harmoneia's contributions to Lazarus and the game as a whole. A longstanding administrator and contributor in the Lazarene community, Harmoneia is one of the two Co-Founders of the People's Republic and has been a friend to us for a long time. Her commendation was authored by Chairman Milograd and co-authored by Vanguard Governor Kazmr and First Tiger Hobbes. The liberation of Slavia was a preventative measure taken by Milograd to ensure that the imperialist forces that are currently occupying the region cannot refound it. Although a refound does not necessarily guarantee a region's safety from refoundation, it does make the task of refunding a region more difficult. Chairman Milograd, as an immobile WA nation, felt compelled to do what he could to help Slavia's community's struggle against imperialist oppression. The repeal of the International Radio Act was undertaken by Milograd and Douria, who realized the the act was insensible and even dangerous. It passed through the General Assembly with more than 90% approval. Cultural Marshal Bodobol also hopes to commend Hobbesistan, who has contributed immensely to the Lazarene community and who is the architect of our community forum. Army Awards Ceremony Concludes In recognition of the impressive activity and life of the Lazarene Liberation Army, the LLA's Officer Team decided to host an awards contest for LLA troops. Several categories and awards were created and the army's roster voted on the winners, while all citizens got to nominate candidates. It was a pleasurable contest and we hope to make it a tradition. Liberator of the Year: Three Way Tie, All Three Win [Kog, Perg, Hobbes] Defender of the Year: Pergamon Spotter of the Year: Kogvuron Guerilla of the Year: Milograd Protector of the Year: DYP Best Mission: Asia Best Switch: Atticus Finch LLA Continues Success, Comrade Meow Retires from Duty The LLA had another successful month of defending and liberating regions across NationStates. The month got off to a fast start as the LLA liberated Makhnovia from the Right Wing Uprising, and continued to yield many successes for our people's army. Furthermore, while we were happy about our success, we also had to wish a sad farewell to Officer Zedong from our officer corps; he will continue to serve on the People's Congress, but is too busy for the LLA due to RL. We wish him the best and welcome Captain Horse as his replacement. Some of the LLA's successful missions from this month are listed below: 01/05/14 - Coalition of Leftist Comrades - SL 01/05/14 - SuperDubemLand - SD - LD - UD 01/05/14 - Democratic Europe - SD - LD - UD 01/05/14 - Darwin Allied Republics - SL 01/11/14 - TNA - SD - LD - UD 01/11/14 - Liberal Haven - SD - UD 01/11/14 - The United Crazy Nations - SD - UD 01/11/14 - Anzia - SD - - UD 01/11/14 - The Valley of the Wind - SD - UD 01/16/14 - The Holy Roman Confederation - SD - SP - LD 01/20/14 - Union Soviet Socialist Republic - SL 01/21/14 - Ancient Rome - SL - 01/26/14 - Panem - SL - 01/05/14 - Coalition of Leftist Comrades - SL 01/05/14 - The Grenvali United - DT 01/05/14 - SuperDubemLand - SD 01/05/14 - Soviet Union - DT / SM 01/05/14 - Democratic Europe - SD - 01/05/14 - Darwin Allied Republics - SL 01/11/14 - TNA - SD 01/11/14 - Liberal Haven - SD 01/11/14 - The United Crazy Nations - SD 01/11/14 - Anzia - SD - 01/11/14 - The Valley of the Wind - SD 01/16/14 - The Holy Roman Confederation - SD 01/20/14 - Union Soviet Socialist Republic - SL 01/21/14 - Ancient Rome - SL 01/26/14 - Panem - SL The list is basically Kog’s mission log, so this is basically a good picture of what the LLA has done this month. The biggest missions of this month were the liberations of Makhovia, Union Soviet Socialist Republic, Christmas, and Regions Will Fall. The People's Force Promotes the Technological Supremacy of Our Great Region !!! Technological Advances (Serina, Forum Improvements) The continuation of the modernization of the Great Leap Forward continues with first tiger Hobbes initiating some technological innovation for the Republic. First, a chat room separate from IRC was creatd for those who are concerned with protecting their privacy. It is an attachment to the forums like the shoutbox. Second, we have a forum bot that automatically creates an introduction thread for you along with a shout on the shout box that you have registered. So registered to our forums and get a friendly welcome! Last but not least, we have Serina. Serina is an IRC bots that greets you with hails and salutes. Serina has remain an important Lazarene Liberation Army asset as Serina can approximate when regions update, set current missions, and can leave messages for important military and political officials. Discussions in the PRL Aside from the politics, the spam, the orders, the people of our region were able to converse under the umbrella of brotherhood and comradeship. We talked about various of topics regarding NationStates, history with NationStates, and anything in general. Milograd and New Kervoskia have discussed their thoughts on imperialism, and New Rogernomics discussed about his views against R/D. Yes, raiding AND defending. Not to mention, we also talk about how we got to our main nation name. Our fellow Congressman, Libetarian Republics, is known for misspelling Libertarian and Milograd was suggested by a friend in IRC. We also talk about various Game-created regions delegates that have ruled their realm when we first entered the game. Some of the more popular response from newer players was Krulltopia, who rules the Pacific as head of the New Pacific Order, due to his longevity. The older players remembered various of players ranging from Fudgetopia of the South Pacific to Kandarin of the Rejected Realms. We also didn't just talk about NationStates. We talk about our lives in real life as well cause you know, we all have lives before NationStates, eh? Citizens of Lazarus were found to be generally academic talented in various of aspect. From AP scholars in the United States to generally future Lawyers, Lazarenes are making their impact outside of NationStates. Congress Improves Judicial Code and Passes Law of Official Images The People's Congress of Lazarus has been fairly busy with updating its own legal code. It has recently pass an updated judicial code in order to clarify its legal assessments as a government, especially with the Judicial District. There were some frequent debates about how to create our judicial system but nevertheless was able to pass a judicial code. The People's Congress of Lazarus also passed the Law of Official Images. This is to ensure that only certain images can be flown over the Lazarene region in NationStates and which Seal can be used on foreign updates and statements for our embassies. Informational District Hard at Work The Lazarene Gazette has been fairly busy lately. It published 11 Issues in the Month of January and has published at least 1 issue prior to this update for the month of February. Ranging from Satire of the technological advancements made by Hobbes to describing the outcome of the PRL's treaty discussions with LWU, the Lazarene Gazette is nevertheless making progress in news, entertainment, and information for the fellow citizens that resides in Lazarus. Governor Kazmr, who runs the Lazarene Gazette, was eventually praised for the hard work done later during Kazmr Appreciation Day. Congress Improves Judicial Code and Passes Law of Official Images The People's Congress of Lazarus has been fairly busy with updating its own legal code. It has recently pass an updated judicial code in order to clarify its legal assessments as a government, especially with the Judicial District. There were some frequent debates about how to create our judicial system but nevertheless was able to pass a judicial code. The People's Congress of Lazarus also passed the Law of Official Images. This is to ensure that only certain images can be flown over the Lazarene region in NationStates and which Seal can be used on foreign updates and statements for our embassies. New Treaties, Old Friends: State Council Passes Treaties with XYZ, TEP, and the NPO Following discussion in the State Council and between Chairman Milograd and foreign leaders, the People's Republic of Lazarus signed the XYZ Treaty ("Honda Accord"), which is a friendly cooperative military/cultural accord between defender regions. Lazarus, Mordor, Renegade Islands Alliance, and The Rejected Realms are the alliance's first signatories. The accord has already inspired more cooperation and cultural cooperation between the parties, and more is expected to come. Diplomacy (the game) between the members of signatory regions has become a popular activity. The People's Republic also updated and improved its treaty with Confederation of The East Pacific. TEP has long been a close friend, if not one of the closest friends, of Lazarus and the State Council and the Chairman have expressed their pleasure about the updates to the treaty. Finally, the People's Republic of Lazarus and the New Pacific Order ratified a treaty this month. Fishmongery of the Month: Kazmr Appreciation Day Fishmongery of the Month is a new (and probably one-time, to be honest) section of our updates that will describe a humorous event within the PRL that you probably won't see anywhere else. When Viktoria Griffin attempted to invade Lazarus in December, Milograd and Drop Your Pants performed a slingshot and the nation was removed for disturbing regional tranquility. The slingshot interrupted Chairman Milograd's delegacy, however, and reset the counter for his days in the delegacy. The Chairman had been in the seat for 29 days at the time. DYP later expressed his strong desire to see Milograd actually exceed a month's time in the delegacy and to have the counter be uninterrupted thereon out. Naturally, though, the Chairman and the Fishmonger Flotilla saw the opportunity for humor in this: the Fishmonger Flotilla never leaves a good target untouched. Thus, on a cold January night, Chairman Milograd left Lazarus and surfed the major update. Governor Kazmr, the mastermind of the Lazarene Gazette and the Great Educator of Lazarus, then ooh the delegacy. Milograd's day count had been interrupted yet again! This time, he had transferred the delegacy after 35 days. DYP instantly expressed confusion at the situation and allegedly thought it was a coup. To clarify what had happened, Milograd then declared that it was "Kazmr Appreciation Day" on the RMB, and that the day would be dedicated to celebrating the contributions and spirit of a man who has played a substantial role in shaping the PRL's culture and running its media operation. DYP shook his head while IRC onlookers laughed at DYP's expense. Milograd retook the delegacy 12 hours later. Kazmr stated, "I didn't even get a chance to coup. I was offline for the entirety of my time as a GCR delegate!" He may be the only person in the history of NS who can say that, though, Griffin herself deserves honorable mention for her excellence in being offline during GCR delegacies. The practice of intentionally resetting the Chairman's in-game day counter on a monthly basis may or may not become a PRL tradition, but it was certainly a good laugh. Appointments and Elections Lazarus experienced several changes in its officials. Former Cultural Governor Funkadelia replaces Harmoneia as Vice-Chairman. Tano is appointed as Cultural Governor to replace Funkadelia Diplomacy Governor Matheca steps down to Lt. Governor of Diplomacy. Initially Grand Marshal of Lazarus, Dalimbar is appointed as Governor of Diplomacy. Mad Jack steps down as Governor of Justice. Fortress Prussia (different Prussia from TEP) is appointed as Governor of Justice. Heronlord is removed from People's Congress due to inactivity. Snap elections are being held to replace him. Currently Llamas and Kogvuron are running. Horse replaces The Grim Reaper as Captain/Officer of the Lazarene Liberation Army. Bodobol is appointed as Cultural Marshal. Thank you for reading our monthly update! The People's Republic of Lazarus wishes you and your region a joyous February!

That's democracy for you.

People's Republic of Lazarus Foreign Update January 2014 Edition (Written by Horse, PERGAMON, Matheca, and Milograd) "Onward in the Glorious March to Harmony!" Current Lazarene Government Chairman: Milograd (Endorsements: 155) (Days as Chairman: 55) Vice-Chairman: Harmoneia Cultural Governor: Funkadelia Diplomacy Governor: Matheca Judicial Governor: Mad Jack Information Governor: Kazmr General of People's Militia: DYP People's Congress: Pergamon, Horse, Stujenske, Libetarian Republics, The Grim Reaper, Feux, Heronlord All Time Activity Record Set in December December 2013 was, as predicted, a record breaking month. In fact, it was the most active month in Lazarus' 10-year history. Over 3,600 posts were made in December, and records for users online, registrations, and new topics were also broken. NS World Fair Cadre Sets Up Spectacular Booth: Little Red Books, Games, and More! The announcement of The South Pacific as the NS World Fair host drew lots of excitement and anticipation from the citizens of the People's Republic of Lazarus. Primarily, it was because Chairman Milograd had declared the World Fair to be the perfect dais to showcase the vibrance of the Lazarene community and itscultural treasures to the world, an opportunity to show the world just how far Lazarus has come. Cultural Governor Funkadelia was put in charge of all the activities, with major contributions from comrades Horse and Pergamon to the setting up of the Lazarus booth. A brainstorming session was held which saw the evolution of many unique ideas which made it through the final cut into the Lazarene booth at the World Fair. Ex- Chairwoman Harmoneia offered to write an elaborate essay on Lazarene class struggles, while 'The Little Red Book' was the primary project pursued by the World Fair Cadre. Governor Kazmr showcased his art in an elaborately planned exhibit, and comrade Horse offered to liven up the mood with a few games and activities. Drafting 'The Little Red Book' became one of the main objectives of the cadre, with the final result showcasing some of the most inspirational, patriotic and glorious quotes of the party members. The final result for the World Fair booth was a collective effort of the Lazarene community and managed to encapsulate the current mood and activity of the region perfectly. Many party members were instrumental in making this happen and the credit goes to the entire cadre. Chairman Milograd summed up the effort by saying: "I enjoyed this project and I look forward to a great world fair. I think that the work we did here will reflect the gains made by our community quite well." The Cultural District witnessed a new breakthrough in terms of forum activity, implementation of new ideas and a whole slew of ideas and projects which were started by cultural Governor Funkadelia. The Community History Project sought to update the People's Republic's most recent History, the most recent delegates, their tenures, coup attempts and the Revolution. The project witnessed major contributions from ex-delegates Feux and Harmoneia who painstakingly managed to compile and update the history of the region till the present day. Apart from this, Funkadelia implemented his pet project theLazarene People's Gaming Union, as a novel way to bring together the gaming aficionados of the Lazarus community and encourage activity and participation. 'It is a [/]union for the various gaming members of Lazarus to share their gaming profiles and so we can all play games together once in a while.' said Governor Funkadelia. The project was met with a great response with several members of the Lazarene community signing up for it, and calling it a wonderful idea. IRC activity on Lazarus reached a new high, with the channel having no less than eleven members at a given time. The IRC channel proved to be a major way to reach out to the citizens of Lazarus and provided great connectivity between the government and the people. Activity records in Lazarus created history yet again with the forum posts reaching a resounding 15,000 up from nearly 8,000 posts in November 2013. Government Appointments There have been a few shakeups in the government. Bruteland replaced Hobbes as SC Marshal. Meow Zedong replaced PrussianEmpire as an Army Officer. Horse replaced Earth and Freedom as a Congressman. [Elections are underway to replace the outgoing Vice-Chairman, Harmoneia. Hobbes, Funkadelia, and Kazmr are running as candidates. Cam was appointed as Cultural Organizer. Tano was appointed as Recruitment Officer. Informational Activity The Information District published six issues in December. They can be found here. The District is currently discussing the idea of interviewing Lazarenes on a more regular basis and on reporting internationally. Bodobol, Charax, and Economic Determinists have stepped up to join the staff this month. Forum Software Upgraded In an effort commissioned and sponsored by Comrade Milograd, First Tiger Hobbes constructed a new forum for Lazarenes to gather at and converse, with a modicum of help from South Pacifican Hileville. The effort to construct the new forums took a little over a day, completing construction last Saturday, 21 December late in the evening. Those contributing to construction agreed that the job was both tiresome and frustrating. The upgrade caused some confusion among citizens, as passwords had to be changed to manually log in, but the overall transition was smooth. There were a few snags reported, however Hobbes managed to address them swiftly so no inconvenience was caused. The new forums were well received by the people, and the majority of the people were of the opinion that the forums looked better, and were much easier to use. Hobbes recieved widespread appreciation for his work in improving the forums, with compliments for his work pouring in from all directions. Milograd has also been applauded for funding the project. LLA Achieves Major Successes Against The Black Riders and Fascists This month was a great success for the LLA. It has seen a large spurt of activity in the defender world, working with its many allies to liberate regions. The greatest example of this was the liberation of Asia, which has been used as the example of what happens when defenders put their differences aside and agree to work together. The liberation, which took place at Major update on the 27th, took around 40 people in the operation. The coalition used non-WA nations with flags that would grab attention (such as Mahaj’s and Unibot’s flag) to try and trick the delegate into moving to ban them instead of using their precious time to ban actual WA's. This tactic, along with the major surge of troops, was successful, as several of the banjections were wasted on those nations. The liberation is being heralded as one of the funnest liberations, and the largest operation of the 2013 year. The following organizations took part in the liberation: TITO, the UDL, the FRA, Spiritus, Wintreath, and The South Pacific. A big thank you goes out to all that helped in the liberation, and may we continue this great amount of success in every liberation we do. Some other highlights include, but are not limited to: 12/7/13- Defense of 3 regions 12/17/13- Defense of Zombie Prevention, Unitarian Union, and Hong Kong 12/24/13- Defense of Nulla Vitae, and Marijuana 4 All. 12/27/13- Liberation of Asia 12/30/13- Liberation of Italy 12/31/13- Liberation of Darwin Allied Republics 1/5/13- Liberation of Coalition of Leftist Comrades 1/5/13- Defense of Soviet Union Lazarene People Triumphantly Defend Themselves From Griff's Coup Attempt Kazmr delivers a motivational speech to the defense cadres. "When the People's Republic of Lazarus issued the clarion call to save our beloved homeland from the clutches of the counterprosperity traitor group, the Lazarene people, both young and old, were the first to hurl themselves into struggle, flocked into the war cadres in the region and on the RMB, composed of the finest sons and daughters of the game, filled the ranks of the partisan battalions which were expanded into brigades and divisions and which, today, constitute our regular Lazarene Liberation Army." -- (Cultural District Briefing on the History of the Republic) On December 7th, 2013, Chairman Milograd issued a warning to all citizens of Lazarus that the region had entered a state of emergency and defense against a reactionary invasion. Griffin Somerset, our former delegate and a former friend to the people of Lazarus, had chosen for the second time to attempt to overthrow the government and had started swapping endorsements for the sake of overthrowing the legitimate Lazarene government. During her first attempt in 2012, she approached the United Defenders League about "liberating" Lazarus from its popularly elected incumbent delegate due to her opinions losing the favor of the EC. This time, she declared her plot to the people in her telegrams, but after telegramming the entire region she only managed to garner 30 endorsements from over 200 WA nations. The people's rejection of her underlying promise of a return to regional decay were immediately self-evident. Regardless, the response to her subversive assault was vigorous and unremitting. Allies of the PRL assisted in upholding the security of the region by endorsing Milograd and the other endorsees. Supporters of the Lazarus both old and new flooded the regional message board with statements that declared their support for the legitimate government and pointed out the flaws in Griffin's rhetoric, lies, and promises. Observers declared their frustration at the disruption that Griffin had brought to the tranquility and order in their home. Old Guard Lazarene members, such as Trackeendy, Drop Your Pants, and Harmoneia also rallied express their disappointment at a member they once considered a reasonable friend. The struggle was a painful one, as it is never fun to war against an old friend nor is the necessity to defend your region against an invasion ever welcomed, but nonetheless it had to be done. Milograd calmly addressed Griffin and addressed her concerns, but ultimately the fact that she chose to resort to armed rebellion before taking a more reasonable course of action, such as talking to him, only lost her his favor and proved why she was banned in the first place. Her tendency to make hasty decisions that threaten the region's good for the sake of preserving her unpopular preferences about Lazarus' management was disconcerting to the people. She marched onto the RMB and declared that she would bring the democracy that the people wanted and that Feux "stole" from them, even though Feux's anti-democratic platform in the 2013 elections defeated her democratic platform. Similarly, Chairman Milograd made a thread about democratization in the citizen's forum, and it was unanimously rejected by the citizenry due to their support of his vision and power to pursue it. The struggle lasted for over a week, and ended when Milograd coordinated a last-second slingshot of the delegacy to Former Delegate Drop Your Pants, who then sent Griffin's nation to The Rejected Realms Penal Colony. DYP says that he would have preferred not having to have done it, but that Griff's disruption and recklessness made it necessary. Later, Game Administrator Ballotonia announced that the game feature that Griff exploited to make her coup attempt possible had been patched. Banning high-influence invader nations costs a lot of influence and therefore it is wholly unreasonable that they can return to their regions after CTEing (bans expire) with minimal loss in influence, and therefore, for now on, nations will lose all influence they have in regions except for the one that they CTE in after they go inactive. Lazarenes that participated in our fight for freedom were awarded a ribbon for their efforts, and overall the people were joyful after tranquility was restored. Governor Kazmr joked, "I never thought I'd see Griffin Somerset stir activity in Lazarus." Judicial District Runs Mock Trial Christmas in one of the most important festivals around the world. It was revealed however, that one sole man searched to destroy christmas and ruin it for everybody: The Grinch. The People's Republic of Lazarus could not stand such a cruesome crime and charged the Grinch with a full list of his crimes, but primary focused on the crime of treason. It was believed that his actions would destroy the harmony and unity of the republic and as such, destroy the republic from withhin. Comrade Mad Jack opened the court of the Grinch Case and acted as judge of Lazarus. He nominated Pergamon for the state's prosecution, defending the values and rights of the People's Republic. The Grinch however, chose a very competent advocat, Kogvuron to defend his rights in trial. Regardless of all cruel crimes, the advocat revealed the true motivation of the accused and explained that christmas is not a festival of harmony or unity but one with religious and capitalizt . Thus the accused tried to defend the People's Republic from this burgeois influence and was in fact a most loyal subject to Lazarus. Judge Mad Jack declared "not guilty". The case was closed and the accused was set free. This was the first trial held in the People's Republic and a great success regarding the constitution and values of Lazarus. The participators have been congratulated for their efforts and enthusiasm. WA Activity in the People's Republic: PRL Members Draft and Vote Chairman Milograd, First Tiger/Officer Hobbes, and Governor Kazmr drafted a commendation of the outgoing Vice-Chairman of the People's Republic, Harmoneia. Harmoneia has been a contributor to Lazarus since its infancy and has been always been a valued member of our community; the commendation was met with strong support on our off-site vote and in our in-game vote, with many old Lazarenes showing up to voice their support of the condemnation, and the resolution won by a landslide vote in the Security Council. Furthermore, Chairman Milograd, with the help of TWP's WA Minister, Douria, has drafted a repeal of GA#75, the "International Radio Act". The resolution was proposed for a number of reasons. GA#75 presents an inadvertent danger to civilians, since exposing civilians to highly powerful waves can cause long-term health issues including cancer. Furthermore, the requirement for nations to maintain radio services for utilities that they may not even have is too inflexible for a body as diverse as the WA, and further believing that maintaining superfluous services is costly to member states. The PRL is pleased to see that it's first state-drafted resolution has passed in the SC, and also hopes that, when the time comes, our allies and friends abroad will support Chairman Milograd's attempt to repeal GA#75. In terms of voting, the PRL voted as follows: Condemn The Black Riders -- For [sC] Commend Harmoneia -- For [sC] Freedom to Bear Arms -- Against [GA] Pollution Control Act -- Against [GA] Repeal "Dignified End of Life Choices" -- For [GA] Freedom to Bear Arms -- Against [GA] Repeal "The Early Learning Act" -- For [GA] On Network Neutrality -- For [GA] Right to Adequate Shelter -- Against [GA] Repeal "Cultural Heritage Protection" -- For [GA] Quote of the Month "The Grinch has finally taken Christmas From us innocent Lazarenes! Fear not, for we shall take it back, With force of will, In huge Christmas sacks! But one amongst us who is without sin Should cast the first stone At this almighty Christmas din Are we not all guilty Of failing to uphold Christmas spirit? Is it not our fault That the Grinch chose not to do his bit? Surely we must repent For our own negligence! Who amongst us can truly say That we sacrificed to keep the spirit that day? We must strive forever To spread the word To protect the people Around the NS world And let me just say That without delay The Grinch must be freed To help us spread good cheer All throughout the year This, my friends, is how I plead." by Meow Zedong ~ PRL VS The Grinch Thanks for reading our monthly update! Lazarus wishes you a happy and successful New Year!