r3naissanc3r

Thanks! Kudos for the logo go to SillyString, whom you may know better as Astarial.

The North Pacific Army: Independent and Mighty by r3naissanc3r, Military Correspondent During the last few months, the North Pacific Army (NPA) has been experiencing a period of unprecedented activity and development. In a period of five months, the NPA has undertaken more than 40 operations, remaining in deployment near constantly. It has tied twice, then broken three times its historical deployment record from 2012, with the current record standing at 21 deployed troops. The NPA has been consistently providing five or more units at update, 10 or more units for reinforcements after a single update, and 14 or more units for reinforcements after multiple updates. These performance metrics rank the NPA as the most sizeable military in game-created regions, and one of the most formidable and active in the game overall. These successes are the result of a continued focus on increasing the capability of the NPA by successive governments of The North Pacific. For three terms now, and under the leadership of Minister of Defense and NPA General Gladio, the NPA has been following a two-pronged agenda of systematic training and extensive recruitment. On the first front, the NPA has been conducting diverse training missions on a weekly basis. The emphasis has been on joint operations with allied militaries, with the NPA having deployed multiple times with each of its many allied militaries. These have been complemented with smaller missions for more specialized training of new soldiers. In terms of recruitment, there have been extensive and varied recruitment campaigns, in coordination with the Ministry of Home Affairs, aiming to bring both new and established members into the NPA. The campaigns have taken the form of regular scripted, mass, and personalized telegrams in the game, personal messages on the forum, as well as advertisements for the NPA. These campaigns have resulted in more than 50 new Privates in the NPA, several of whom have subsequently been promoted to higher ranks. The fact that the vast majority of currently active soldiers have enlisted during the past five months is indicative of the effectiveness of these campaigns. The NPA is an independent military with a tradition of more than a decade in protecting TNP, its allies, and its interests abroad, at the same time always closely adhering to the directives set out by The North Pacific Army Doctrine. The exceptional performance of the NPA in these roles justifies the choice for an independent orientation that has been made by all TNP governments since the delegacy of Blue Wolf II. It is also a demonstration of the strong potential for other independent militaries that focus on sustained activity, training, and recruitment. An Interview with Funkadellia by mcmasterdonia, Foreign Correspondent This column does not represent the views of the Government of The North Pacific. Following the announcement by Funkadelia to step down as of the People’s Republic of Lazarus earlier this month, I was able to sit down with him for an interview. I have simply presented the questions and allowed Funkadelia to answer, with no argument or interruptions from me as the interviewer. Funkadelia has made it clear that his comments are his as an individual and not reflective on the views of the People’s Republic of Lazarus. mcmasterdonia: I am joined today by Funkadelia, former Chairman of the People’s Republic of Lazarus. Thanks for joining me today, Funkadelia. Funkadellia: It's not a problem. I'm glad to be here and answer your questions mcmasterdonia: So, you decided to step down as Chairman. What made you reach this decision? Funkadellia: It was a combination of a lot of factors. Not the least of which was my dwindling amount of time that I have been able to commit to the position. However, there are other pressing factors that led to my decision. I will admit, I was considering stepping down for the past month or so now, but I think now is the most appropriate time to. The war ended with Osiris, and I was left guiding Lazarus through the next period of peace. However, in my opinion I just felt some crucial change within Lazarus. Everything simply feels different than when I was first elected. Perhaps it is my newfound experience or it is something different. Either way, I feel that it is time for me to pass on the torch and allow someone else to take the reigns to continue to keep the keep the region full of robust activity and culture. I feel that for some amount of time I have been lacking in that respect, so I feel that the region can be helped more if someone else with new ideas and new ways of doing things takes charge and brings Lazarus to new waters. I am not retiring from Nationstates, and I fully intend to continue to be active in Lazarus, and will be happy to help the next Chairman during their administration. mcmasterdonia: Have you enjoyed serving as Chairman as Lazarus? Perhaps you could share some of the highlights from your term in office? Funkadellia: Serving as the Chairman has been the high point of my time in Nationstates by a *very* wide margin. I feel that I have served the region well during my tenure and I am pleased with how it turned out on the whole. I think the top highlight from my service was the Regional Sovereignty conference. Despite the disagreements between some of the regions, I believe that we got some serious work done in that realm, and I hope Lazarenes take that position and run with it, as Regional Sovereignty is something that is fundamentally very important to the People's Republic at its root. A runner up is easily the peace with Osiris, and the situation surrounding it. That was a lot of fun and it produced a very critical peace deal. mcmasterdonia: What was the greatest challenge of being Chairman? Funkadellia: Just as the ending of the war with Osiris was a high point, the beginning was a low point. At the time, I was constantly being trashed by the big name imperialists, and Lazarus was about to be tossed into a war over something entirely nonsensical. It may have not been that difficult from an objective point of view, but it was personally hard to keep my own sanity during that time. War was being declared over my cabinet for obviously personal reasons, not region v. region reasons, because all of the members of my cabinet were also in Milograd's cabinet, and things were normal during that time. There were no sabre rattlers. Suddenly, when I became Delegate, the story was different. At the same time, we were shifting forums, and that was drawing a lot of ire from our own citizens, so that wasn't helping the situation either. I sincerely worried about the continuation of the PRL at that point, in all honesty. mcmasterdonia: Did the war declaration take you by surprise? Funkadellia: Yes, it did. Mostly because of the reasons I stated. My State Council was very similar to Milograd's, but suddenly Osiris had decided to declare war over my selection, which was mostly holdovers from Milograd's time. I did not take the bit about Karpathos' "threat" seriously, and still don't. Karpathos says things like this to everyone on a regular basis, that's his nature. So yes, it's safe to say I was a bit blind sighted about the prospect of war. mcmasterdonia: Had there been any efforts by the Osiran Government to discuss their concerns with you, prior to the declaration of war? Funkadellia: No. I received no contact whatsoever. I prefer dialogue and pacific settlements of disputes to war and military action, especially as Lazarus is a region that is committed to not aggressing on regions. But there was not even an avenue for that, nobody brought any concerns to me, it was just sudden. mcmasterdonia: Did you attempt to discuss the declaration of war with the leadership of Osiris, prior to it's ratification before the Deshret? Funkadellia: I did not. They didn't seem willing as it was. I was mostly trying to get my own house in order in preparation for it. I will admit that was probably a fault, however we never sought to escalate matters in the first place. I figure that because they had the dispute with us, they should have contacted us, or more specifically *me* with it privately before they decided to make a decision like that. mcmasterdonia: Were you surprised or disappointed by the responses of other regions to the declaration? Funkadellia: I was probably the most disappointed with TEP's handling of it. In my opinion they totally mismanaged the entire thing, and their causing of tension with Lazarus was absolutely unwarranted. Most of the other regions seemed to fall where I expected them to. I anticipated a lot more out of the other side though, I must say. Not to say I was necessarily disappointed, but myself and my State Council and the Lazarene Security Directorate had expected a far more expansive campaign for the delegate's seat, but instead we had a coup attempt that was easily spotted. mcmasterdonia: Do you think the regional sovereignty conference strengthened the position of Lazarus in the war? And, more generally speaking, how do you think Lazarus was perceived during the war by other regions? Funkadellia: I think the unity of so many regions definitely supported the Lazarene position in this. Also, the absolute debacle at the hands of the Osiran government due to the attendance of some regions to the conference really helped us out on that front. mcmasterdonia: Okay, thanks for the honest and detailed answers Funkadelia. I will move on now to some reflections on your past term and plans for the future. Do you have any regrets from your term in the Chairmanship? Funkadellia: I do have a few. I think that one of the major ones was my mishandling of the group that left Lazarus close to the beginning of the term. With the exception of Ikania, I feel like that group of folks could have contributed more to Lazarus if I had given them the opportunity. They were a total thorn in my side, but I really mishandled what happened. I do not regret removing Llamas as Vice-Chairman, but I do feel I should have used less grave words when I learned of what they were doing. I'd say that that is my biggest lingering regret over my whole term. mcmasterdonia: What will you miss most about being Chairman and Delegate? Funkadellia: Being able to have such a direct impact on Lazarus as a whole. I liked to think of myself as the Chairman was supposed to be: Primus inter pares, first among equals. I never really felt like I was very far above the citizens, soldiers, congressmen, and governors of Lazarus, and I felt like I really got along with everyone. I really enjoyed being able to take peoples' inputs and put those into policy for the region. mcmasterdonia: What do you believe is the greatest challenge for the People’s Republic? Do you believe that the People’s Republic is a sustainable form of government that will continue to survive the test of time? Funkadellia: I feel if we're able to keep the place vibrant, then the PRL will be around for quite a long time. It requires a combination of dictatorship and democracy to keep things interesting and stable. I think that the biggest challenge ahead will be just that: to keep things vibrant. We have a lot of potential, but right now Lazarus is hitting a bit of a lull, and I hope that my successor can overcome it and turn it around for the for the better. mcmasterdonia: Final question, What advice do you have for the next Chairman? Funkadellia: I hope to expand on this on the 21st, the day they take office, but I will be brief here: The next Chairman must be strong willed and creative. They should keep the spirit of the PRL in mind, and try to emulate that spirit during their term in office. They should also try as hard as they can to keep Lazarus inclusive and fun for all people. I didn't really have the creativity (or time) for it, but I believe it would be incredibly beneficial for the next Chairman to have an eye for culture and continue to try to develop our culture and make people *want* to be part of Lazarus. mcmasterdonia: Thanks for joining me today Funkadelia. Congratulations on your term as Chairman of the People’s Republic and I wish you luck with your future. I hope that you will stick around. Funkadellia: Thank you McMasterdonia. It was good to be able to truly speak my mind. I plan on being around. NS will be stuck with me for some time to come And thank you for the well wishes. Cultural R3naissanc3 in The North Pacific by mcmasterdonia, Culture Reporter The North Pacific has been undergoing a cultural renaissance in the past couple of months. The Ministry of Culture has been rolling out a collective of diverse cultural programs across the region to tremendous success. Theme weeks have been introduced as immersive cultural events, involving both the forum and the in-game region. First came House of Cards week, with Delegate r3naissan3r remodelling himself as President Garret Walker, and his cabinet Ministers following suit by modelling themselves after their respective counterparts. A custom-made House of Cards skin was created and adopted for the week-long event, and several events related to the TV series took place on the forum. Not long after the House of Cards week, the forum had another custom skin, this time themed after Game of Thrones. The Game of Thrones week featured the age-old quarells between "readers" and "viewers", an in-game battle among several Westerosi commanders for the Iron Throne, and of course the SPOILER thread. The event culminated in the dramatic execution of Delegate r3naissanc3r at the command of Minister of Culture Malvad, who was subsequently proclaimed a traitor by nations on the RMB. A range of other events have focused on interplay between the forum and the region. Jointly with the Ministry, the Security Council has been sponsoring an RMB trivia game, which requires nations to search the forums for answers to questions ranging from term durations to punctuation peculiarities. Winners get to choose the delegate's flag, pre-title and motto. Lord Nwahs won the first season of the game, selecting a meerkat theme for Delegate r3naissanc3r to use on his nation. The second season is currently underway. Another program, the Regional Identity Crisis, has seen the regional community come together to deliberate on what makes TNP the brilliant and culturally rich region it is today. The forum nominations and in-game polls have determined everything from the region's official dish to its official motto, recently concluding with the selection of The Northern Light as the official nation of TNP. The Ministry has also been working to encourage increased roleplay activity. The Ministry recently compiled an encyclopedia of all factbooks and dispatches written by North Pacifican nations, and Stories of The North Pacific regularly selects factbooks among them to prominently feature in the region. A new map for national roleplay has been commissioned and is actively maintained. Finally, a large-scale roleplay, the Democratic Union, has been launched, in the form of a formal confederation of all nations within TNP. TNP has also had the opportunity to participate in events by other regions, such as the regular changes to the theme of the World Factbook Entry during The East Pacific's OCTEPERFEST. Several more multi-regional events with TNP's allies and friends are scheduled for the near future. Overall, this increased cultural activity has contributed towards a significant growth in forum posts and in the number of nations deciding to join the regional forum. General Election Returns Incumbents, Mostly by The Democratic Republic of Tomb, Political Reporter September was election month for The North Pacific. In the third general election of the year, citizens were called to select who will serve as delegate, vice delegate, and speaker of the Regional Assembly for the following four months. The delegate election saw incumbent r3naissanc3r winning easily against Mall. r3naissac3r ran on a campaign of continuing his policies for intensive recruitment and integration, an independent direction for the North Pacific Army, a strong emphasis on World Assembly affairs, and a diverse and busy cultural agenda. In the election for speaker, Zyvetskistaahn decided not to run for a third term. Lord Nwahs, who had served as Minister of Culture in the preceding term, won the election virtually uncontested, with the only other candidate, Malvad, withdrawing from the race and throwing his support behind Lord Nwahs. Unlike these two offices, the vice delegate election saw a large number of strong contestants. Incumbent Abacathea, as well as Democratic Donkeys, falapatorius, flemingovia, and Romanoffia, all declared their candidacies. The election sparked long and lively debate between the candidates and the electorate. Eventually, Abacathea achieved a lead in the vote, though not strong enough to win the election in the first round. As delegate and vice delegate in TNP are elected by majority vote, a runoff round was required, where Abacathea defeated flemingovia and secured a second term. The election saw very high participation: 48 citizens voted, the second most in TNP's history. Following the conclusion of the election, Delegate r3naissanc3r announced his Cabinet for the new term. Gladio, mcmasterdonia and The Democratic Republic of Tomb continued as Ministers of Defense, Foreign Affairs, and Home Affairs, respectively. Malvad was appointed as Minister of Culture and punk d as Minister of Communications, replacing newly-elected Speaker Lord Nwahs and Crushing Our Enemies. r3naissanc3r assumed himself the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs, while Abacathea was appointed Minister of Regional Security, a portfolio reflecting the vice delegate's role as chair of the Security Council. In the weeks following the election, the delegate, vice delegate, and members of the Security Council have run extensive campaigns to maximize their in-game endorsement counts. Delegate r3naissanc3r issued a challenge to the region to surpass the previous record of 536 delegate endorsements. The challenge has not been beat yet, with the delegate standing at 530 endorsements at the time of writing, though another record has already been achieved: the delegate's endorsement rate for the first time in TNP's history exceeded 80%. Furthermore, in the latest World Census Report for most WA endorsements, the delegate, vice delegate, and seven members of the Security Council won nine out of the ten top spots in the world. The record endorsement counts and the large and active WA population of TNP are a testament to the efforts by successive TNP governments to engage and properly naturalize the thousands of nations in the region. The Northern Lights: Beauty in Truth Publisher: r3naissanc3r :: Executive Editor: punk d :: Managing Editor: The Democratic Republic of Tomb :: Graphic Artist: SillyString The Northern Lights is produced by the Ministry of Communications on behalf of the Government of The North Pacific and distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Except where otherwise indicated, all content represents the views of the Government of The North Pacific. Posting this here with some delay, as our ambassador seems to have gone inactive lately.

What about a drink off?

Thank you! All credit for the graphics goes to SillyString, whom you may know better as Astarial.

Thank you both! And congratulations to you as well, Bhang Bhang Duc.

North and East Pacifics Ratify Treaty by r3naissanc3r, Foreign Correspondent This May saw the ratification of The North-East Pacific Security Treaty by the Regional Assembly of The North Pacific and the Magisterium of The East Pacific. The treaty, originally signed by Delegates mcmasterdonia and Bachtendekuppen for TNP and TEP respectively, creates a close bilateral alliance, including provisions for non-aggression, mutual defense, intelligence sharing, and military and diplomatic cooperation. The alliance stems from strong communications between the governments of the two regions, especially during the terms of Delegate Bachtendekuppen. It builds on the basis of their shared commitment to the defense of sovereignty of feeder regions and promotion of peaceful relations between them. These two principles, which have jointly been dubbed "feeder unity" in the past, are key tenets of both regions' foreign policy. For TEP, the new treaty is the first in a series with other Game-Created Regions: in addition to TNP, TEP's Magisterium is currently discussing bilateral alliances with the New Pacific Order and the Osiris Fraternal Order. The new treaties are the result of a foreign policy of active outward expansion that has been pursued by Delegate Bachtendekuppen and his government. This policy has received increased emphasis after the controversy relating to the Defender Act in February. Since then, the region has been seeking to reaffirm its diplomatic non-alignment and its position in favor of an army that can act outside military doctrines and in connection with broader diplomatic objectives. For TNP, the new treaty brings a valuable military ally. The East Pacific Sovereign Army (EPSA) is unique among allied militaries for its regular engagement and expertise in defending operations. This diversification in the North Pacific Army's (NPA) military partners will be critical for the achievement of the NPA's goal for operational capability under both offensive and defensive conditions. Towards this goal, new Delegate of TNP r3naissanc3r announced that the NPA will be focusing on frequent and diverse training exercises organized jointly with allied militaries. The NPA and EPSA have already initiated military cooperation, with a successful occupation of Warzone Asia and attempted liberation operations. Joint exercises with the EPSA are expected to continue to feature prominently in the operational schedule. r3naissanc3r Elected TNP Delegate by PaulWallLibertarian42, Game-side Reporter If you have been paying any attention at all lately to the World Factbook Entry of The North Pacific you may have noticed something different. mcmasterdonia, with a record-breaking reign of 237 days, was ineligible to seek a third term in office due to constitutional term limits. r3naissanc3r (HMS Unicorn) was elected delegate, with a majority of 54.3% of the vote in the May 2014 General Election. The new delegate brings a breadth of experience to the office: r3naissanc3r has played NationStates since 2005 and has held multiple offices in TNP over the last two years. All newly-elected delegates are faced with the immediate task of securing the in-game delegacy. TNP's new delegate was no exception, having to accumulate more than 400 endorsements and more than any other nation in the game. To assist him with this imposing task, the new delegate had the Security Council (SC), a body charged with protecting the delegacy of TNP, keeping it in safe and legal hands. "Without going into too much detail the SC has been monitoring the transition quite carefully," said new Vice Delegate Abacathea while r3naissanc3r was still gathering endorsements. "The swap in a GCR is always a lengthy process because of the vast number of endorsements involved, but there has been great work and co-operation between the new delegate, the outgoing delegate, and the council members." In the end, four days after his election, r3naissanc3r assumed the in-game delegate seat. No administration will be entirely smooth sailing, but the ease and efficiency of this transition reflects well on the new government. The longest transition on record is 60 days, and took place in 2012 after the election of Blue Wolf II. Army-Navy Rivalry Reaches TNP by SillyString, Legislative Reporter For as long as The North Pacific has had a military force, that force has been the North Pacific Army (NPA). Founded while the region was officially defender-aligned, the NPA is a widely respected institution both within TNP and abroad. In late April, Alunya, a relatively new member of the Regional Assembly (RA), proposed a bill that would change the name of the military to the North Pacific Navy (NPN). She explained her desire to correct a thematic mismatch, citing the region's maritime name and land-based military. Alunya also pointed out that her bill "does not change the policies and procedures of our military forces," but would be solely cosmetic. The reaction to this proposal has been a mixture of support and opposition, most of it relatively laid-back. Former Vice Delegate Democatic Donkeys called the proposal "sensible and in line with what our region is," while Kiwi, a former Minister of Defense, said that he didn't support the change in nomenclature but thanked Alunya for making the suggestion. For some of TNP's ten-year veteran members, however, the issue is much weightier. Recalling the glory days of the NPA and TNP's prominence as a military power, their reactions to this proposal have been just as varied in sentiment, but far more passionate. Grosseschnauzer, the longest standing RA member, came out in fierce opposition to the measure, calling it a "disrespectful insult to TNP history" and demanding that the region's traditions be respected. Flemingovia disagreed, saying that such a change would free the new NPN to "build its own tradition and make a clean break from what the NPA stood for in the past." He went on to say, "I think the North Pacific Army has evolved (or devolved) to the point where a new nomenclature would actually be useful and warranted. This is not to insult what has gone before. It is to respect our history." Romanoffia, currently serving as Chief Justice, sided with Grosseschnauzer on the issue. He called the suggested name change a "feel-good measure" that would produce "no meaningful increase in efficiency or function." The level of vitriol expressed over a name might surprise those who are unfamiliar with TNP, but the exchange between these members provoked almost no response from others in the RA - and no broader discussion whatsoever about the merits of their opinions. The bill proceeded to vote in a timely fashion, and was ultimately defeated 16-21. SillyString's Silly Advice by SillyString, Advice Columnist This column does not represent the views of the Government of The North Pacific. Hello, and welcome to SillyString's Silly Advice. Readers write in with questions, problems, or dilemmas, and I provide completely serious, definitely not at all silly advice. The question to kick all of this off comes from a long-time fan of the column who has only now worked up the nerve to bare their soul. "How do I become involved in TNP's cabinet?" -Anonymous FriarTuck That's a great question, AFT! The political system of TNP is a morass of corruption, bribery, nepotism, and plain old confusion, so if you want to get seriously involved it's important to understand the dynamics at play. There are two powerful cliques within TNP, which are sometimes (but not always) at war with one another - the Oligarchy (sometimes affectionately called the Elugarchy) and the IRCabal. The Oligarchy consists of those members who consistently serve in some area of the government term after term, and it frequently controls the Delegate's Cabinet Ministers. If you want to know if somebody is a member of the Oligarchy, just ask! Evasive or confused answers always mean "yes". The IRCabal, meanwhile, consists of several (but not all) TNPers who dare to venture into that mysterious land known as IRC, and it exercises control over all voting results. Members of the IRCabal are very secretive, but some intrepid investigation by a few brave non-Cabalists who have infiltrated their ranks has revealed a growing number of names. If somebody has been publicly accused of being in the IRCabal, they probably are. As you can see, these two cliques can be nigh unstoppable when their priorities lie in the same direction, a situation which is more common the more crossover and intermarriage there is between their memberships. At times, however, they are bitterly opposed, and will attempt to tear down the system itself just to come out on top. To bring this back around to your question, the only people who get ahead in TNP are those who join one of these cliques and exhibit unquestioning loyalty to its goals. Both of them freely reward hard work and dedication with increasing levels of power and decreasing levels of responsibility; you just need to pick which one you think is right for you. Switching membership later on is highly frowned upon, so it's important to make the best decision that you can early on! Seriously silly, SillyString The Northern Lights: Beauty in Truth Publisher: r3naissanc3r :: Executive Editor: Crushing Our Enemies :: Managing Editor: mcmasterdonia :: Graphic Artist: SillyString The Northern Lights is produced by the Ministry of Communications on behalf of the Government of The North Pacific and distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Except where otherwise indicated, all content represents the views of the Government of The North Pacific.