Cormac

Takes a damn strong character to come back and say that, respect to you. I sincerely hope people start getting along, and I'm certain there are many contributions for you to make in time.

No idea who you are, really, but I've heard bad things.
That earns you respect in my book.

So, Delegate Darkesia noted on IRC earlier that I'm too thin skinned, and that when I feel too many people are opposed to me, I invest my time in more pleasant surroundings. That's generally true, because I don't see the point in sticking around somewhere you're broadly disliked.
 
That said, I feel that I'm responsible for people disliking me here by not being more respectful of The West Pacific's political culture, and by proposing a big plan without first putting any actual effort into TWP and becoming part of the community. That doesn't sit well with me and it also doesn't sit well with me that some have been left with a negative impression of me without actually getting to know me and see me do something productive. So I would like to contribute here a bit less aggressively and with a somewhat thicker skin toward those who don't like me, some of whom didn't like me long before I ever tried to participate here, which is fine for them.
 
So, my apologies for the disrespect to your political culture. I should put in the time and effort to be part of your community before thinking I should have input on how it should be run, and that's what I'm going to do.

So, Delegate Darkesia noted on IRC earlier that I'm too thin skinned, and that when I feel too many people are opposed to me, I invest my time in more pleasant surroundings. That's generally true, because I don't see the point in sticking around somewhere you're broadly disliked.
 
That said, I feel that I'm responsible for people disliking me here by not being more respectful of The West Pacific's political culture, and by proposing a big plan without first putting any actual effort into TWP and becoming part of the community. That doesn't sit well with me and it also doesn't sit well with me that some have been left with a negative impression of me without actually getting to know me and see me do something productive. So I would like to contribute here a bit less aggressively and with a somewhat thicker skin toward those who don't like me, some of whom didn't like me long before I ever tried to participate here, which is fine for them.
 
So, my apologies for the disrespect to your political culture. I should put in the time and effort to be part of your community before thinking I should have input on how it should be run, and that's what I'm going to do.

Don't worry about Cormac, he has the attention span of a goldfish.
You watch another bandwagon will roll by in a minute with him on it.

Since the general populace of the region and the community have broken their silence, I feel I can add my voice without causing undue influence. So...
In answer to the question of the day on the RMB:
 
TWP and the NPO have agreed on many things over the years and as a result we have grown close to them and become allies. We agree that the seated Delegate in any region is the legal ruling authority in that region. No matter how that delegate gained the seat and chooses to keep it, once in the seat, TWP, like the NPO, recognizes the in-game authority of the seated Delegate. We do not agree that the Delegate should also rule over the forum communty, however. TWP sees the forum community as it's own viable entity and the home of it's culture over which the Delegate has no direct authority unless specifically granted by the forum community.
 
The Pacific and the PRP/NPO were the first to realize that the culture of a region is as important, if not more important than it's military might. They actively pursued a forum based culture that, at the direction of the Delegate, became the political and cultural juggernaut that can still be seen today. TWP agrees that the culture of a region is it's strength. While TWP has more of a cooperative relationship between it's forum community and the in-game community, we still hold that our culture is what makes us unique and a desirable place to live, work and visit.
 
The NPO has a very high opinion of it's culture, as it should. All regions should have an identity they hold dear and a culture that makes it's members feel welcomed and excited to log in every day. The problem is that the NPO has begun to believe it's culture is best for every region. This makes me increasingly more uncomfortable as time goes by.
 
Years ago, the NPO exported it's culture and it's reach to another game universe. I admit I was part of that expansion and I gleefully took part in building that part of the NPO Empire. Right up until I noticed that the divided attention of it's single head of state was sucking the life out of the region I called home at the time, The Pacific. I left the region under less than happy circumstances (Ask me about that another time). And here we have something happening in Lazarus that makes me dread the future for the region. Their culture has been crushed and they are being homogenized into the NPO's forums. There is no longer a forum community for Lazarus. Nothing to balance the in-game power of the Delegate. There is the silence of a delegate who does not partake in their culture and the shouting of a few in-game players who can barely be heard above the NPO cultural propaganda. This makes me more than uncomfortable. It makes me sad.
 
I don't care who sits in the Delegate's chair in Lazarus, that is an in-game function. I do care immensely that the culture that made Lazarus home to many has vanished and been subverted into something wholly un-Lazarean(?). The in-game construct is there, but there is no soul. It's culturally dead.
 
This "NScultural Imperialism" is where I must step clearly away from the NPO. I can no longer feel assured that any region which comes under it's influence will survive. I cannot in good conscience stay silent and risk having people belive I am ok with it. TWP's culture is what makes us strong and that culture will not be destroyed. Our forum Community is where TWP "lives" and we can't let that Community be crushed out of existence so that the NPO may satisfy it's need to push it's own culture down everyone elses throat.
 
Every region has a right to it's own culture. The NPO took that away from Lazarus. That is what makes me uncomfortable with the NPO's move in Lazarus.

I'm in favor of closing the NPO's forum embassy. Even if TWP's philosophy/policy holds that the Delegate of a region -- he is not elected, by the way -- is the lawful holder of the position, which is absurd, that doesn't mean TWP has to be okay with him holding onto his Delegacy with the support of foreign raiders and forum destroyers.
 
I would be in favor of recognizing the LUS and granting them the use of the Lazarus forum embassy. If we aren't going to do that, we should close it. I would imagine the LUS doesn't have another region because it is the forum community of Lazarus, not another region. In my view, it would actually lose legitimacy be forming a user-created region as a base of operations. Its region is Lazarus.
 
I don't think the treaty with the NPO is a problem. That treaty was ratified by fiat of the Delegate without consulting the forum community, so by TWP's philosophy it is the Delegate's treaty, not the forum community's, and we shouldn't be bound by it.

Feux massively lied to him about the nature of Francoism and the direction in which he wanted to take the NPO. Funkadelia is anti-imperialist and regional sovereigntist, and was attracted to Francoism and the NPO because Feux led him to believe the NPO was going in that direction as well. It is now clear that was total deception, as they are practicing imperialism in and stomping on the sovereignty of Lazarus with the support of raider pilers.
 
You can't really criticize Funkadelia or anyone else in Lazarus for trusting Feux, Milograd, et al. They did everything they could to win that trust, because for a time they needed it, until they were able to eject and ban the people they had deceived. That is the modus operandi of the NPO.

Ainur appointed forum destroyer 94 Block to command their military. That was strike one.
 
Ainur retained forum destroyer 94 Block to command their military after he took up arms against a fellow GCR. That was strike two.
 
Ainur dispatched forum destroyer 94 Block to conduct diplomacy with The West Pacific via their forum embassy. That was strike three.
 
Ainur is, in my opinion, out. I move to close Ainur's forum embassy.

Ainur appointed forum destroyer 94 Block to command their military. That was strike one.
 
Ainur retained forum destroyer 94 Block to command their military after he took up arms against a fellow GCR. That was strike two.
 
Ainur dispatched forum destroyer 94 Block to conduct diplomacy with The West Pacific via their forum embassy. That was strike three.
 
Ainur is, in my opinion, out. I move to close Ainur's forum embassy.

Ainur appointed forum destroyer 94 Block to command their military. That was strike one.
 
Ainur retained forum destroyer 94 Block to command their military after he took up arms against a fellow GCR. That was strike two.
 
Ainur dispatched forum destroyer 94 Block to conduct diplomacy with The West Pacific via their forum embassy. That was strike three.
 
Ainur is, in my opinion, out. I move to close Ainur's forum embassy.

Ainur appointed forum destroyer 94 Block to command their military. That was strike one.
 
Ainur retained forum destroyer 94 Block to command their military after he took up arms against a fellow GCR. That was strike two.
 
Ainur dispatched forum destroyer 94 Block to conduct diplomacy with The West Pacific via their forum embassy. That was strike three.
 
Ainur is, in my opinion, out. I move to close Ainur's forum embassy.

Ainur appointed forum destroyer 94 Block to command their military. That was strike one.
 
Ainur retained forum destroyer 94 Block to command their military after he took up arms against a fellow GCR. That was strike two.
 
Ainur dispatched forum destroyer 94 Block to conduct diplomacy with The West Pacific via their forum embassy. That was strike three.
 
Ainur is, in my opinion, out. I move to close Ainur's forum embassy.

In keeping with both the COPS Treaty and Administrative policy, account 94 Block has been banned as a known forum destroyer.
Attempts to violate this ban may result in the filing of charges to the full extent of the law. (That's RL law, in case it's not clear enough.)

A few observations:
 
1. It's been my understanding of The West Pacific's position toward game mechanics that its recognition of in-game Delegates is not absolute. Sure, The West Pacific recognizes a Delegate who is kept in power with native endorsements even if the forum government and other governments consider that Delegate rogue. Is it not a problem, though, when the Delegate loses dozens of native endorsements over the span of a few days, and those endorsements are replaced by the endorsements of foreign imperialists from the NPO and foreign raiders? Is it not a problem when that Delegate would have lost power with the withdrawal of native endorsements, but is kept in power by foreign endorsements? Is it not a problem when this is admitted to be a takeover by a foreign government? And if it is not a problem, how is that consistent with The West Pacific's regional sovereigntist stance?
 
2. The West Pacific's position on Lazarus aside, the NPO's statement should be concerning, as Punk Daddy argues. Is this a region with which The West Pacific seriously wants to maintain an alliance? The NPO statement makes clear that it basically regards the ultimate destiny of all Feeders and Sinkers to be joining the New Pacific Order, either voluntarily or in the same manner as Lazarus (i.e., by force). That is imperialism, it is certainly not respect for regional sovereignty, and the disrespect for regional sovereignty extends to The West Pacific as well as to other Feeders and Sinkers. I think The West Pacific should be taking a serious look at its alliance with the NPO and I very much agree with Punk Daddy that being more cautious about NPO officials in this government is wise. Sorry, Senator Elegarth, but if you don't want people to hold you in suspicion because of the actions of the NPO, that would be a lot easier if you were not tacitly supporting their imperialist aggression against sovereign regions by remaining in their Senate. If you had serious problems with this direction, you would not still be representing the NPO as a Senator.
 
3. Regarding the forum destruction problem, putting 94 Block aside it should be pointed out that Senator Feux has taken the former Lazarus forum offline. If the forum remains offline and remains inaccessible to its former community, in an act that can only be seen as malicious when put in context, that is forum destruction just as deletion of the forum is forum destruction. According to COPS, taking a forum "out of service" is forum destruction and taking it permanently offline to deprive a community of its history and information certainly qualifies.
 
All in all, I think this calls for a serious reevaluation of The West Pacific's approach to the New Pacific Order. The West Pacific terminated relations with Gatesville, a long time ally, for far less.

This is a concerning turn of events. As a note, a number of months ago I made mention that TWP (I said TNP) was not TP.
 
I stick to that. Dark, I have to say that I have never been as concerned with our own sovereignty than I am right now. What we're seeing from the NPO is that their stance that "everyone's the NPO" makes it dangerous for every GCR in which a member of TP is in a leadership role. 

Not sure who the "others" are you are referring to, but I think my point is that the NPO has been putting their fingers in a number of regions. Looking at AMOM's justification for why the NPO could usurp Lazarus tells the world that the NPO has an agenda to increase its reach as far as possible.
 
I'm sure you guys are not blind. Come on now, that seemed to be an overreaction to what I said. What I am saying is that the NPO is looking to expand and what better place to expand than in TWP that has been led by the same team for years. As a former guardian (still I was presently), I know we are not blind to many things. 

Elegarth - I do know the NPO quite well. I know their tactics even better. What has occurred today is neither a surprise nor a shock. 
 
If you would like to be personally offended by my comments that's your prerogative. And I disagree, this is the place to hold such discussions. If not here, where?
 
As for Lazarus, I'm little concerned that there is (yet) another regime change. In TWP we have always drawn a clear distinction between forum governments and the sitting delegate. Lazarus can sort out their own crap. What concerns me is the decision by the NPO to usurp - or annex - a GCR. That concerns me and if you think it's offensive that I'm concerned that we have prominent NPO members in our government, nothing I can do about it.

Hello all,
 
I'm a new nation just founded....oh wait i'm 5 days away from my decade on NS. Anyway. I've been kicked from Lazarus so i'm here for chocolate and a bit of spam.
 
Blame Darky and Llamas

I thought of Dexter the cartoon show.
Thanks for ruining my childhood you cat owner

But tacocat is awesome!

7 FEBRUARY 2015


Scotland Liberated! Revolutionary Forces Successful!
 
LAST NIGHT, the West Pacific did something way more badass than taking Cascadia. The West Pacific Battle Division, for the first time in... I actually have no idea how long it's been since we participated in a liberation. What has it been like, a bajillion years? Eh, who cares.
 
The important thing is that in conjunction with other forces, including the RRA and EPSA, we liberated Scotland!
 
The credit for this must at least in part go to our allies. It was Guy of the RRA who successfully placed a trigger with such accuracy that we managed to land in the region only a few seconds before update, completely removing any possibility of response by the occupying forces. However, because this is the West Pacific Post, after all, I'd like to talk about what this means for our region and military.
 
First, something that I need to note: We're doing more of this stuff! There's lots of reasons why I see liberations being an increasingly important part of the WPAF in the future. In case you guys didn't notice, liberating other regions is fun! The troops and I got a definite kick out of doing it. It promotes activity, and gives our men something nice to do. Plus, the working relations which we cemented with various other defender militaries will be crucial in the future should we ever need to cooperate. do note that this doesn't mean we'll now be adhering to a rigid doctrine of defenderism ourselves; I'm very proud to still consider myself to be an independent, and I look forward to the possibility of doing at least some raids in the future. (In fact, right after the liberation, I talked to the delegate we'd just deposed, Vac, and offered him the chance to participate in a tag raid. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to get it organized and done.) But ignoring an entire half of the R/D game, as we have in the past, just isn't a viable option for any military that wants to remain strong, active, and respected on the international stage for a long period of time.
But wait, there's more! We gots experiences! This was the Battle Division's first operation with me as Warlord, and getting to know many of my troops better while teaching them more about how to participate was an enjoyable and educational experience for all of us. I look forward to doing this again in the future and building a stronger bond with this increasingly disciplined fighting force capable of more and more each day.

Then there's another thing: The Revolutionary Party and TWP as a whole are getting some good publicity from it. Which, obviously, is working, because you're reading this! But seriously, the fact that we participated in the liberation of Scotland serves to note to the rest of the world that we're capable of doing things. We don't want to be that little baby army that hardly matters because it's inactive, and this signals to the entirety of NS that we are capable of doing just as much as any other GCR's military.

Finally, I'd like to note that soon, our liberation of Scotland will be publicly filed on our forums using a new archives system. This will allow for us to learn from past operations to improve the military, and there's the added bonus of greater transparency that having these documents will create. Now any Citizen of TWP will be able to see what their army has done in the past by checking the forums, allowing them to make more informed decisions about how to vote and what they think about our current military policies. (However, some archives will have to be kept confidential for security purposes, unfortunately.)
 
All in all, it's an exciting time for the WPAF. There's a lot of changes coming, and I see our military activity radically increasing in the near future. I'm sure you'll all expect more from the Battle Division in the future; after all, I'm expecting more of it myself.

I just went ahead and started doing it because I was bored. But yeah, happy to integrate into an official department if the PM wants to do that. 

This is true.  How about lining up Nephmir and his Eternal Nits next?

Oh yes. Where some might see defeat, I see the opportunity.