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After seeing Milograd's plan to divide the HGA into an upper and lower house, I have decided to propose this way more awesome plan that meshes the two parts of our regional burrito rather well, if I may say so myself. Keep in mind that this is a rough draft, and will likely change significantly. The Assembly The Assembly would be handled using regional polls. Assembly polls will remain open to all WA members in the region, making sure that each person only gets one vote; however, votes cast by those who have been in the WA or region for less than a week would be discarded and not counted in the official tally, in order to prevent manipulation by switchers or people moving into the region just to vote before leaving. The Delegate will be head of the Assembly, organizing debates and voting to keep it from getting out of hand. The Assembly's main powers will be reserve powers. Rather than handle the day-to-day running of the region, the Assembly will be expected to serve as a check on the Senate's authority and to represent the will of the region as a whole, rather than just the forums. As most members of the region are not highly interested in the niceties of legislation, bills passed by the Assembly will not require their approval to become law. However, if a petition is signed by at least 1/3 of the Senate supporting a referendum on a bill, it will be moved to a vote before the Assembly; should it receive more than 50% of votes cast there, the bill will pass. The Delegate or the Prime Minister may move to recall one or more senators. In order to succeed, the motion must receive 2/3 approval in the Assembly. The Senate The Senate's job would be to handle the day-to-day affairs of the region and most legislation, ensuring that most members of the region do not have to focus on small formalities. Legislation will need support from a majority in the Senate to pass. The Senate would be composed of the most active members of our region, in order to reward them for their greater services to the region. As such, all members of the Senate must be on the forums and remain active on them; failure to meet a certain post quota per month would result in automatic removal, unless a special exemption had been granted by the Prime Minister, allowing for some periods of inactivity (e.g. While going on vacation). In the future, the Prime Minister will be nominated by the Delegate and then confirmed by the Senate. The Senate shall have the authority to remove the Prime Minister or any Officer they appoint through the use of a vote of no confidence. The Prime Minister will also be the head of the Senate. Senators will be appointed in one of two ways: Either the Prime Minister may propose a new Senator to the Citizen's Assembly, who will then ratify the choice, or the Delegate may propose a new Senator to the current Senate. Senators may be expelled from the body by a 2/3 majority vote in the Senate. All bills passed by the Senate are subject to veto by the Delegate.

LEADERSHIP OF THE REVOLUTIONARY PARTY: General-Secretary: Pestarzt the Traveller Secretary of Communication: Ikania Secretary of Media: Vacant Secretary of Military Advancement: Llamas Ad-Hoc Secretaries: Wickedly Evil People (Necessary Grouchiness) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement of The Revolutionary Party Office of the General-Secretary Fellow West Pacificans, When WECA and the Opposition were formed, a third and less mainstream Party - COUP, or the Community of Order Under Pestarzt - was created by yours truly. It's goals both included and were limited to Pestarzt being in charge of everything. While I'd invite and welcome an opportunity for the delegacy, the Party was mostly a satirical compliment. It never had any members or serious goals. But it was the best party in TWP. However, time has passed and it has become evident that a new wave of leadership is needed to carry on the torch of The West Pacific. Our Guardians will not be here forever, and cannot be expected to hold up the region forever. A next generation of Guardians and leaders alike need to stand and create what people think when they hear "The West Pacific" through their own creativity and work. Thus, it has become evidently necessary to call for a revolution. But a revolution is not necessarily a violent overthrow of the existing leadership - the revolution I envision is a revolution in thinking and West Pacifican behavior. The sudden overthrow of our cultural tendency towards complacency, and the nurishment of a new regional vanguard. I intend to be a lasting fixture in this region and invite anyone with a serious desire for fun - be it through the satisfaction of yielding power or the reward of labor, to join me. Rather than through government posts or delegate-granted authority, the Revolutionary leadership will derive its influence from its activity and contributional value to the region. The Revolution is not oppositional to the Guardians nor to our rightful delegate, Darkesia. It supports our own security. The Revolution opposes only the state of the region and its future, and takes responsibility for its well-being and future, rather than deferring it or blame to anyone. That has never gotten anyone anywhere. Innovation, however, does. Thus, I hereby announce the formation of the Revolutionary Party of The West Pacific. The Revolutionary Party will organize its activities for the creation of The Revolutionary West Pacific into simply three categories: The West Pacific Commranger Corps ("The Revolution's Heart") - While it recycles an old name, the Commranger Corps only share a spiritual similarity of purpose with the Commrangers of old. Times change and thus so must missions. Party membership is equivalent to accepting the responsibilities of being a "Communication Ranger". Each member of the Party is its lifeline. Responsibilities of Commrangers shall include:Posting on the Regional Message board, and having conversations with West Pacificans. Involvement in our community enhances it. Commrangers should model ideal RMB involvement. Respectful and individual. The TWP RMB is a cultural cornerstone, and we must enrich it. Posting OOC discussions, jokes, entertaining things, and debates (ideally, one new topic every day) on the West Pacific forum. For fun. Offering guidance to new players and encouraging forum registration and activity. [Officer Level] Organizing and planning regional events and activities. Something should always be happening in TWP. Always. This may entail cooperation with the Interior Ministry of the Imperium. [Officer Level] Working with the General Secretary to ensure that all organs of TWP's government are being supported. There should never, for instance, be a time when WA resolutions aren't being posted on the forum. If that were to happen, Commranger Officers would seek out someone to take up that responsibility, and would do it themselves until finding someone to. [secretary Level] Creating guides for newcomers and crafting proposals for the Regional Assembly. [secretary Level] Serving as the whip of the Party voting bloc. The West Pacific Post ("The Revolution's Voice") - The West Pacific Post will be a quasi-official, volunteer-run service with a forthcoming sexy logo. TWPP will publish in the GP forum, on the RMB, and on the forum. Its purpose will be to broadcast the unique voice, perspective, and opinions of TWP to the world. With success, it will expand to the other GCR's forums and major UCR forums. Unlike traditional news services on NS, TWPP won't strive for tl;dr articles or to report on news that everyone already knows. Yes, that means no "X is Delegate of Osiris" articles. Everyone pays attention to those, and don't need articles on them. What under-the-radar communities or activities are unique and interesting on NS, however, are deprived of an attention they could easily bask in. TWPP will only pursue short pieces (2-3 paragraphs at most) about things that people will actually want to read. The essential task of TWPP's manager will be to find interesting things to share with others, rather than to spend tons of time writing. You don't need six paragraphs when you have two very interesting ones. The West Pacific Armed Forces ("The Revolution's Fist") - Members of the Party will be encouraged to join The West Pacific Armed Forces, the official and existant military of the West Pacific Imperium. The current command structure will be respected, but we will use our numbers and extent of dedication to the military's success to promote an alignment that matches Party policy. Ideally, the active core of TWPAF will be from within our ranks. The Party shall favor a policy which calls for: Defenses for Diplomacy - Defending regions that show promise as allies to TWP, or that could benefit us to be friendly with. This will be a diplomatic agenda in and of itself. A positive world image of TWP is desirable, as is a network of friends and contacts. Friends are always beneficial, and can even be recruited. Invasions of Interest - Invading regions with ideals contrary to TWP's (e.g. Fascism) or that are enemies of TWP (e.g. imposters, regions that treat TWP with aggression). Enemies are always unhealthy. Home Defense - Extinguishing the flame of marsupialism, in all forms. Marsupials are always evil. The Party hopes that by pursuing these three simple things, we may create a more apparent observable identity for TWP and breed a new generation of West Pacifican leadership. Party members plan to be the decisionmakers, movers, and shakers in our region's future. The Party itself, of course, has a leadership. There are vacancies right now and you may ask to fill one, and I'll approve you. The leadership is as follows: The Revolution's Brain General Secretary: Pestarzt the Traveller Secretary of Communication (Commrangers): Ikania Secretary of Media (The West Pacific Post Publisher): Secretary of Military Advancement (Most Competent and Active Party Soldier, Strategist): Advisors: Wickedly Evil People (Advisor on Grouchiness) Party Leadership is not something you do on the side. If you are a Party Secretary, you're committing to TWP. The Revolution will cement its place in The West Pacific and if you are not giving a performance that'll make your name remembered, I'll replace you in a heartbeat. This will be the first place you come when you log on to NS and you will have a plan for what you intend to do for TWP during that login session. If you make your job your most important NS priority and do it well, you can count on job security and, more importantly, a lasting place in a vibrant West Pacific. Joining the Revolutionary Party - How To Any nation with a nation in The West Pacific may join the Party. The steps for doing so are as follows: 1. Sign-in to the HGA - http://www.westpacific.org/forums/index.php?/topic/226-hga-sign-in/?view=getnewpost 2. Post a statement of interest here ("I'd like to join."), along with a link to your main nation and your TWP nation (though we encourage that you strive to have both be the same the same). 3. Once approved, acknowledge your party membership in your signature and immediately have a talk with me or a secretrary about how you can participate. All glory to the West Pacific!

The Executive Council Act and General Elections Establishment Act both had some major flaws. Their rejection has made this obvious; it is notable that some points, such as the Alternative Vote, were clearly unpopular. However, it is still very necessary to establish laws which will take their place. It is clear that our current ad-hoc system of appointing ministers to do whatever and not holding them accountable in any way has not worked. Almost everybody holding a cabinet position has been highly inactive recently, from the Foreign Minister to the Ministers of Make-Believe, and this must be fixed. As such, I'd like to hear all of your proposals for what should be changed with the two bills. First, however, I'd like to offer one of my own. The Alternative Vote has been clearly unpopular. Despite the fact that I consider it relatively simple (I mean, compare to the Schulze method, for example), I understand that some others might not feel that way. However, First Past the Post voting is truly, truly terrible for so many different reasons. As such, I propose an easy-to-understand, yet quite effective, compromise: Approval voting. In it, instead of being forced to select one candidate, a voter is asked to cast a vote for each candidate he supports. Then, the votes are counted up to give an overall result. For reasons on why this is more fair than First Past the Post voting, see here. The point is, however, that it is incredibly simple; in fact, it can be argued that it's even simpler than the system currently in place. It's been used for hundreds of elections in the past, and it's relatively easy to understand. So, what other ideas do you have? What do you think about approval voting? I'm interested to hear what everybody thinks.

Oh, The Places You’ll Go! Three Possibilities for a Future TWP EDITORIAL | UNIBOT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Unibot considers the future of The West Pacific... Introduction “It's opener, out there, in the wide, open air,” writes Dr. Seuss and, well, every sweaty Valedictorian that I’ve had the pleasure of enduring, but those words have never rung truer for The West Pacific – Administration Island, The West Pacific’s timely capital, is more open and “up in the air” in terms of its political future than perhaps it ever has been in its entire history as a region. It was not more than a few weeks ago when policy insiders in various feeders and sinkers were whispering to me about the situation in The West Pacific – one called it “imminent hell,” another, “approaching the abyss,” or the more colorful, “a powder keg of diarrhea about to blow.” Why the urgency? The West Pacific’s elite, the guardians, in particular, Darkesia was rumoured to be expressing frustrations at the region’s slow growth and even, considering “packing it in” abruptly which would leave The West Pacific in a difficult position – open for the taking, as it were, between imperialists, defenders and independentists alike, who would rather secure a new Game-Created Region than see the power vacuum be filled with a new summer cottage for their political rivals. With the old order out of the way, little, it seems, would deter a number of major powers from vivifying for control over the failed state. The West Pacific is no stranger to being a warzone – no stranger to occupations or interregnums. “The Original Osiris,” as some would have it, was the plaything of the Atlantic Alliance at one time, but like many long-term occupations, The West Pacific saw its imperialists naturalise as the occupation matured and when Atlantic Alliance faltered, power over the region would transfer to Norion, a local native who helped cultivate an emerging liberal democracy. It might strike readers as bizarre or unfathomable to think of The West Pacific as “prosperous, democratic, on the move, and playing for both teams,” as Sir Paul described The West Pacific in 2005, or even more unfathomably as “extroverted unilateral defenders,” who were charter members of the Alliance Defense Network (ADN) or the Treaty of the United Democratic Pacifics (an ill-fated super-organisation between The North, South and West Pacific – the democratic feeders of the time). Indeed, The West Pacific was at one time, a very different region. The West Pacific had developed a very active media sector and a constitutional democracy with a bicameral parliament split between the Grand Assembly and the Council, the latter of which was more powerful and more exclusive. As enthusiasm for democracy and the democratic process waned, however, a “core” group of elites (nowadays associated with The Empire) continued to lead failed movements to reconstruct The West Pacific under a more authoritarian government – The West Pacific Dominion and later, The Triumvirate … governments which would collapse as quickly as they were established. Seeking to bring stability and security to The West Pacific, Eli, a prominent member of The West Pacific would secure the delegateship a number of times over the following decade, leaving the actual political infrastructure of the region in doubt with each leadership transition to the point with which The West Pacific has cultivated an identifiable group of “guardians” – players associated with the leadership of The West Pacific, like Westwind, Darkesia and Eli – but very little beyond that basic night-watchman state to which they lay their claims to sovereign authority. The legislature, the judiciary, the military and the media sectors of The West Pacific have been notoriously undeveloped and underused for the past decade – a messy patchwork of institutions that have been created with each new guardianship as a failed attempt at a revival, left scattered and largely unused. While other Game-Created Regions live, breath and act as functioning, healthy beings, The West Pacific that is familiar to many of us has existed on the periphery of gameplay life – like Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, its limbs sewn together from the cadavers of failed revivals, but never catching that “spark of life,” never reaching that quintessential “it’s ALIVE!” moment which saw Lazarus launch itself from political irrelevance to cultural hegemony in 2013 or, similarly (although less dramatically), The Rejected Realms and The South Pacific in 2011. However, I do wonder if the caretakers of The West Pacific have received too much criticism and blame in outsider literature for the persistent shortcomings of their region-? Critics of the regime and its legacy would argue the guardians have had little interest in creating institutions which could rival their influence over The West Pacific and their constant series of leadership coups serve as an obstruction to political change which forces the region to remain under a stagnating political arrangement. Some of that may be true and may be more true for some of the guardians, but the recent expressions of frustration from Darkesia, among others with the lack of growth or regional participation in The West Pacific, suggests that region’s status quo of inactivity and underdevelopment may not be for lack of trying on the part of the guardians, but the effect of some other political factors. I would argue, controversially, for example, that The West Pacific’s problem is not a problem with activity per se, but relevancy – its opinions on gameplay, democracy and sovereignty are so far “out there” on the fringes of the political spectrum in NationStates that the region has not been able to play a significant role in interregional affairs – it wades into debates reluctantly on isolated events and fails to attract enough support from any potential allies beyond some diehards in Gatesville or Equilism, both declining great powers with shared views, history and notable figures. Each of these ‘recent’ revivals of feeders and sinkers have required reinvention and acclimatisation to the new political order: Lazarus and The South Pacific, skeptical ADN hold-outs, had to relearn who and what they were now and what they stood for, The Rejected Realms, old ADN true bloods flirted with independentism before siding reassuringly with its old legacy in new terms; even The Pacific, bitter ADN enemies, woke up one morning in June 2013 to find that the world around it had changed dramatically and it needed to reconsider who were its friends and who were its enemies now. It might surprise newer readers to know that when I joined The South Pacific and The North Pacific, much earlier in my career, around 2010-11, it was still very common for citizens to debate policy, immigration, and treaty developments with the ADN in mind as a “policy legacy” of political interference, proxy wars, and coercive super-organisations – but we don’t talk about the ADN now; for the most part, we debate international issues with new points of reference and a new understanding of the interregional political order. The West Pacific does not. The West Pacific is the last critic of the ADN standing and the ADN is dead, gone and memorialised, so where does that leave The West Pacific? A belated identity crisis, I would argue – it’s lived through a near decade long activity crisis and treated said crisis as “just” an activity crisis, now, however, it’s an obvious identity crisis – it’s the difficult process of deciding what The West Pacific should ‘be’ in this new world and who are its friends and allies. Along the way, as I will show, opportunists have come out of the woodwork; politicians flock to identity crises in Game-Created Regions carrying their bibles and their crosses in tow with the hopes of spreading their ideology before the battle for The West Pacific’s soul is lost to their bitter political revivals. I do hope, however, that no matter who is successful… no matter what The West Pacific becomes, that this reinvention of itself is genuine – it could go the other way, as I will argue – a sabre-rattling imperialist monarchy could be forged, or a banal independentist democradura or a feigned communist funhouse, among other things, opened up in The West Pacific like those brand-name big-box superstore chains which are pitched in small urban centers like pop-up tents. Nobody wants to become the next Imperialist-Mart or Independent-Depot, McCommunists or Dunkin' Defenders – realigning and recreating yourself to remain relevant doesn’t, I would argue, require that you surrender your identity to someone else. The West Pacific, being a fringe region among the feeders, has for the past few years cultivated a niche for folksy, alternative ideas from freethinkers like People United Together, Fratellnoir and Warzone Codger (Laderhig). I would hope while The West Pacific was thrust into the mainstream that it did not cease to be a home to creative, alternative idea-makers, but find a way to balance its innovation at home with its immersion abroad. As it stands, The West Pacific sits on the verge of an identity crisis where it’s anyone’s guess as to where it will go and who it’ll be when the crisis is over and the new region emerges from the confusion but that won’t stop me from speculating over the various possibilities! I’d personally like to consider three distinct possibilities for you now to speculate on their likelihood. Possibility #1: An Imperialist TWP It was the fall of 2013 when I broached the subject of The West Pacific to ex-Senator Karpathos of The Pacific – prior to his removal from the Order. With my research in hand, I waved a number of facts, figures and analysis at Karpathos which suggested The West Pacific was slowly drifting ideologically towards imperialism and into the imperialist sphere of influence. This would have been a major point of concern for The Pacific, given their longest and closest allies, The West Pacific would be drifting towards The Pacific’s latest enemies, UIAF or what A Mean Old Man disparagingly called “The Ondersphere.” The signs of an imperialisation of The West Pacific were clear at the time; while others were looking at The East Pacific and Lazarus’s sudden shift towards defenderism, or Osiris’s shift to invaderism, the real gains, I argued, were being made by imperialists in The West Pacific on the periphery – far outside of the dramatic theater of Osiran civil war…. Under Westwind, The West Pacific was slowly re-aligning its diplomatic and political leanings with imperialists abroad. First, they would sign a treaty with Albion (30/10/2013), then The New Inquisition (31/05/2014) and shortly thereafter, The Land of Kings and Emperors (09/06/2014) – completing the imperialist diplomatic trifecta. The West Pacific’s government would also shift to a new imperialist theme in February: The West Pacific Imperium – to be led, of course, by Westwind, Imperator of The Imperium. These changes were subtle and cosmetic, but changing one’s allies can have a remarkable effect in the long run on a region’s interregional perspective. Imperialists, after all, made for natural allies to The West Pacific – the old guard, bitter enemies of the fallen ADN, were far less likely to find common ground with defenders than imperialists like North-East Somerset or Onderkelkia – chums of the old guards from their days as regular coupers when Westwind’s Crimson Order in The North Pacific and The Empire in The East Pacific relied on military support from imperialists. Over time, however, The West Pacific’s realignment towards imperialism has visibly stalled. Perhaps because Westwind’s administration was replaced with Darkesia’s leadership. Or perhaps because one of the personal linkages between the imperialist world and The West Pacific was lost. Cassius Cerebella, after all, played a prominent role in The West Pacific as Archsium, Commander of The West Pacific’s Armed Forces – a position where he was well placed to organise missions that brought The West Pacific and imperialists closer together with a more cooperative/collaborative partnership. Cassius Cerebella, however, suffered through a career battered with political mistakes – his loose tongue would cost imperialists when he leaked that North-East Somerset had reportedly “played both sides” in the most recent coup of The South Pacific; plus Cassius would be publicly reprimanded for botching a UIAF mission when he failed to be online for update, and later, his controversial leadership of ISRA would force Cassius to publicly resign to quell frustration with ISRA in Osiris. In some senses, Cassius Cerebella is a cautionary tale: if you’re relying on someone as a local front for closer relations with a region, as imperialists were, make sure you can trust them. Possibility #2: A Revolutionary TWP When we speak of individuals driving political change, however, Milograd serves as a premier example in The West Pacific of what one individual can do to change the tone of the local politics and, in doing so, pull a region towards a brave new direction. Milograd is no stranger to revolutionary politics – while the Feux and Harmonia Administrations led to the initial creation of the People’s Republic of Lazarus, it was Chairman Milograd’s leadership which actively propelled Lazarus forward, culturally and politically. However, as of late, Milograd’s focus in NationStates has been on The West Pacific where Milograd has been an “up-and-coming” player and a commander of their armed forces for some time under the name, “Pestarzt”. More importantly: Milograd, acting as The West Pacific’s very own Medico della Peste, has recently launched a political party in The West Pacific, The Revolutionary Party of The West Pacific, whose goal is to secure the delegacy civilly and create a new future for the region that is more active and innovative. Milograd, in his opening party statement, decries the region’s “cultural tendency towards complacency,” and calls for the “nurishment of a new regional vanguard.” The nature of the revolution, however, has been questioned. Namely: what is the revolution’s political leanings? It’s core principles of activity and cultural contribution appear to be apolitical – Milograd writes, for example, that “proactivity is central to the health of the region”. On one hand, some readers, noting the use of red imagery, the raised fist, and “revolution,” in addition to Milograd’s work in Lazarus, have suggested that the Revolutionary Party of The West Pacific is communist. On the other hand, the party literature is far removed from the Marxist prose that Milograd used as Chairman – no, “proletariats,” and “imperialist traitors,” simply the occasional use of the phrase, “the people”. Arguably then, the Revolutionary Party is populist, but not communist – a political party that cloaks itself in the rhetoric of resistance and uprising as a “vanguard” but removed from the politics of class. Alternatively, the Revolutionary Party could be counter-revolutionary in some respects. Maroon has a long history in politics as the politician’s bread and butter – red with passion, but brown with maturity. Throughout its party literature, Milograd suggests a more mature revolution, one that’s friendly with, and respectful toward its old guard, while working towards the future – mixing the passion of revolutionaries with the maturity of the establishment. Some shrewder critics might opine that the Revolutionary Party is “Labour right” to Chairman Milograd’s “Labour left,” given Pestarzt’s emphasis on bootstrap politics and commitment – but both movements shared a common emphasis on revisionism – aiming to improve their regions position among the other feeders and sinkers. Another point of consideration is whether the Revolutionary Party is really an alternative to an imperialist West Pacific? The Revolutionary Party would raise eyebrows when it would lead an invasion of Cascadia with the Association of Imperialism, only a day after the party’s creation – with Pestarzt calling for the creation of a “West Pacific Order” and Onderkelkia praising the mission, the message was clear: “this revolution ain’t no defender fest” that’s for sure, despite the assumptions of those who may have thought Milograd, ex- Chairman of Lazarus, would have lead a revolution that was sympathetic to the concerns of native communities. The most cynical among us, however, would argue the Revolutionary Party is neither communist, nor imperialist, nor populist, nor anything particularly political at all, but simply an advancement of a “Milogracy” – a government by Milograd. A way for Milograd to advance a revolution that would favour him as leader, while its pro-activity virtues elevates Milograd to the status of god through a cultural apotheosis – making the region dependent on him for his activity and his contributions that few can match. A Milogracy could prove disastrous for The West Pacific -- Lazarus soon found that Milograd was prone to unexpected departures and disappearances; relying on Milograd’s activity as the Revolutionary Party does and Lazarus did, can be a very unwise investment. Even now, Milograd has only just returned from a recent absence, saying, "[he believes he] will be able to be regularly active [in The West Pacific] again.” During his absence, Llamas, his replacement as General-Secretary of the Party, would make some waves too, however… Possibility #3: An Independent TWP Llamas would rise to the position of General-Secretary of the Revolutionary Party; a surprising appointment even for Llamas himself. Llamas has a history in NationStates as an innocently idealist liberal – the kind that one wouldn’t associate with The West Pacific – and would leave Lazarus, disappointed at the lack of enthusiasm for electoral reform. Although his taste for Alternative Vote (AV) has not be shared by others in The West Pacific, Llamas has positioned himself as, potentially, the unlikely new leader of The West Pacific, at least in its legislative sphere. Llamas’ vision for The West Pacific would be a remarkably different path for the region – proposed reforms, such as, “The Executive Council Act” and “The General Election Establishment Act,” have failed to pass in The West Pacific’s assembly yet, but Llamas has continue reforms that would seek to establish a forum-side Prime Minister and an executive Cabinet which would work with the delegate. Darkesia has been supportive of this system: advocating for cabinet and PM elections through executive order. This system, however, puts Milograd and Llamas at odds, with Milograd supporting cabinet elections under his argument that democratically-elected ministers go inactive and appointments are more meritocratic, whereas Llamas has argued cabinet appointments in the past have been less active and less dedicated. I can only speculate as to what a Llamas administration would look like in The West Pacific, but my guess is based on rumors abroad, that Llamas would aim to see The West Pacific branch out to stable democratic powers, like The North Pacific and The South Pacific, while reshaping The West Pacific’s government into something more conventional and mainstream – a constitutional democracy, not unlike The West Pacific that Sir Paul described in 2005. Would Llamas, a former Lazarene defender, make The West Pacific friendlier to defenders? That remains to be seen. Certainly, the West Pacific’s participation in the liberation of Scotland (against independents no less) was a remarkable change of tune. However, to what extent Llamas’ vision for The West Pacific involves independentism will likely play a deciding role in its relationship with defenderdom – given independentist regions prove, time and time again, to be allies of invaders more so than defenders. Such a change would not be easy to establish, however. There are two major roadblocks which a Llamas administration would have to overcome: (1) lack of support, (2) lack of reach. Who would support such a version of The West Pacific? It seems, in many regards, the opposite of what The West Pacific’s old guard would want for The West Pacific… liberal, democratic, forum-based… the kind of things that have worked for virtually every other Game-Created Region, but that wouldn’t stop some members of The West Pacific’s guardian staff from believing that The West Pacific would be better off continuing on its path as a messy, underdeveloped oligarchy. Depending on how much a Llamas administration flirts with independentism, it might be able to attract support from imperialists, but support from imperialists would naturally isolate a Llamas administration from The West Pacific’s oldest allies, The Pacific, in addition to any and all potential defender allies. In addition to problems of support, however, Llama also faces a major challenge in building relations with mainstream powers – for the past few years, The West Pacific has spent its time threatening to coup most of them – and many regions would be uncomfortable with signing a diplomatic agreement with a region which still refuses to recognise the legitimacy of their governments. The guardians still to this day express a lot of inflexibility with regards to this principle, but a lack of flexibility here could continue to push The West Pacific into the periphery if it isn’t able to tolerate one of the more fundamental principles of its potential allies: the principle of self-government based on forums, not endorsements. Final Remarks: Keeping the Status Quo? If none of these possibilities can follow through, there is always a fourth possibility: the status quo. The thing about the status quo in NationStates is it bears a remarkable resemblance to casinos: you can play the slots and jump from tables all you like, but the house always win and there’s always the possibility that this table, as its players watch each other shiftily, may be ‘cold’ – the opportunity for a shift of power may have already passed them by once more. But before you deal yourself out of this hand, remember the stakes and keep in mind that there are still events in motion: a Prime Minister elections on the horizon, in addition to the return of Milograd to The West Pacific. Another distinct possibility is that Llamas or others might try to bridge the discrepancy between the old guard’s values of endorsement-run executives and the mainstream’s acceptance of forum-based democracies with a grassroots democracy – a system where resident voters elect the government, similar to proposals being considered in The South Pacific and The Rejected Realms, among others. Such a compromise might be able to allay the concerns of various interested parties in The West Pacific, while allowing The West Pacific to strike a new geopolitical position in NationStates. Whatever the case, however, I hope, as The West Pacific contemplates its future, that it remembers the insightful words of Dr. Seuss: “you have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go!” --- To be clear, I prefer to think of myself as both a disciple of ADMIN and a fish-mong-er of men.

A beautiful thing called spring break is days away. A month where I will be at home with my desktop, active. I intend to kick my activity back up starting March 1st. I am volunteering my services for any of the following roles currently in need of filling, listed in order of preference: Prime Minister Interior Minister Foreign Affairs Minister Spymaster General As Prime Minister, I would basically do cover Interior Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister work. The next two are obvious. Spymaster General could be fun. I can't tell you what I'd do for that.

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.

Announcement of The Revolutionary Party Official Office of Officially Officiating Words Beginning with "Of" Fellow West Pacificans, The Revolution is progressing at an astonishing rate. "Revolution" is currently the third-most used tag on the forums, despite only having been around for a month. Average post counts this month are up from, new players are being recruited to join and adding to our activity significantly, and the number of posts collectively attributed to members of the Revolutionary Party is now at OVER 9000! Erm. Sorry. While that last one's not quite true, the progress that we've managed to accomplish is pretty good. Although we haven't managed to achieve all of our goals at this point, (The Revolution is a work-in-progress, after all) it's about time to have a celebration for what we have built up to this point, and I know just what we need for it: MUSIC! Every good Revolution has had its music. The French Revolution. The American Revolution. The Dance Dance Revolution. But to this day, the West Pacific's Revolution lacks any. This is a problem which must be corrected immediately. Therefore, I am conducting a survey in order to receive suggestions for songs that could serve as TWP Revolutionary Party's official anthem, and the winner shall be selected by a special and completely objective committee that shall not receive a bribe of exactly four-hundred and fifty dollars to be hidden behind the dumpster at our usual meeting place. Now that that's cleared up, I'd like to invite you all to join in the discussion, even if you're not a member of the Revolutionary Party. TWP has always been an open place, and I want that to be the case here – whether you're a newbie or a billion-year old fossil from the days of the APN, feel free to say whatever you want as long as it fits into our narrow predetermined worldview of what is appropriate! –Llamas

Two leadership roles are open: Secretary of Media (The West Pacific Post Publisher) Secretary of Military Advancement (Most Competent and Active Party Soldier, Strategist) The application is as follows: Nation Name: Are you a Revolutionary Party member? If not, do you intend to apply? What are your qualifications for the role? How active will you be in the coming weeks in TWP? How active are you on the TWP RMB? Applications close Monday.

Do you think religious tolerance should extend to Scientology? Because I just started reading in-depth about it, and I'm in disbelief. They have a paramilitary wing.

AS OF NEW YEAR'S EVE Progress of the Revolution

4 JANUARY 2015 STATEMENT ON the Ejection of Pestarzt the Traveller An Apology, A Clarification of Cause, A Defense of the Party's Integrity, and an Action Plan for Endorsement Cap Compliance Good day, Tonight, the Hippocratic Oafs of Pestrarzt the Traveller was ejected from The West Pacific for violating the endorsement cap. A ban was not imposed and Pestarzt was able to return before losing his endorsements and updating. During these events, concerns of distrust for Pestarzt's intentions and respect for regional law were raised. Fortunately, Pestarzt and Delegate Darkesia found a way to avoid having to have his endorsements wiped. The agreed-upon conditions called for Pestarzt to send out telegrams requesting nations to unendorse him and to demonstrate unquestionable committment to compliance with regional law. Following through on his promise, Pestarzt unendorsed over 200 nations within the hour between the conversation and Sunday morning's update, and began distributing telegrams requesting nations to unendorse his nation. The Revolutionary Party reaffirms its steadfast committment towards pursuing significant cultural upheavel within the boundaries provided by both the game and the law of The West Pacific. The Party regrets that doubt or distrust may have been sowed by what was simply an accident; in a previous life, Pestarzt lived in a sinker region, and was accustomed to a drastically lower response rate for endorsement-swapping. Pestarzt miscalculated that he would plateau at 70 endorsements if he endorsed the number of nations he did. With this said, one nation also raised the incorrect assertion that Pestarzt assumed that he deserved exception from the regional law. The General-Secretary personally does not believe in exceptionalism nor leniency in regards to regional security protocols. Ejecting Pestarzt was both justified and right. The Party apologies for this incident and provides its greatest assurances that it stands by its original mission statement and plan. Pestarzt will pursue the most influence possibly within the boundaries of the law. The Revolution will not give an inch when it comes to its policy, but neither will it steal an inch it hasn't been allowed by the Delegate. We hope that it is clear that Pestarzt's intentions are not to be doubted and that he respects the law of the West Pacific. The following action plan regarding Pestarzt's endorsement count is self-imposed as of this announcement: Come next update, Pestarzt will telegram more nations if he has yet to comply with the endorsement cap. If more nations have endorsed Pestarzt, and he has reached 75 endorsements, he will immediately send a mass telegram to 40% of his endorsers requesting that they withdraw their endorsements. If he has exceeded 75 endorsements, he will leave the region for update. If Pestarzt is still not able to reach 70 endorsements by next major update, he will clear his endorsements. We hope that this is acceptable to the Delegate. Pestarzt currently possesses 72 endorsements. The Revolutionary Party understands that this is still a violation of the endorsement cap, and will not protest if it Pestarzt is ejected for a second time, without an opportunity to pursue the above described action plan. We would appreciate the privilege - not the right - of not having to re-tart, of course. Thank you. Regards, Secretary of the General-Secretary

The Revolution Will Not Be Revolutionized COMMENTARY | CORMAC STARK "You say you want a revolution... wellllll, I guess..." Earlier this week, the West Pacific Post, maintained by Pestarzt the Traveller, announced the formation of the Revolutionary Party of The West Pacific. Pestarzt is a nation maintained by the player behind Milograd, largely responsible for the successful launch of the People's Republic of Lazarus in 2013 that brought an activity boom to a region that had long looked like a Sinker retirement home for inactive, veteran imperialists. Pestarzt promised that the revolution in The West Pacific wouldn't be an anti-government revolution, "but rather a revolution against the cultural complacency and deference of proactivity towards the current leadership." "The leadership is not at fault for our activity," the announcement went on to say. "[W]e are, because we haven't been the change we want to see." Unfortunately, hopes that this revolutionary rhetoric might translate into actual, concrete change in The West Pacific were quickly dashed the following day, when Pestarzt announced that Cascadia had been invaded by The West Pacific Armed Forces and The Association of Imperialism. This invasion marked a continuation of the imperialist policy pursued by Delegate All Good People and continued by his successor, Darkesia. It was a random invasion to project The West Pacific's power, straight out of the playbook of the United Imperial Armed Forces, except that the invasion was so poorly conducted that it was liberated by a coalition of defender forces just one update later. So much for the projection of power; the invasion, like most other initiatives undertaken by the elite oligarchy of The West Pacific in recent years, was a failure that attracted little enthusiasm and participation from natives of The West Pacific. Expressions of disappointment by Delegate Unibot of The Rejected Realms and former Lazarene Chairman Funkadelia following announcement of the invasion were, if anything, understated. Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of the player behind Milograd was recognizing that the same tired policy of so-called independence, and a foreign policy beholden to imperialists, would not rejuvenate the failed state that preceded the People's Republic of Lazarus. He recognized that a bolder approach was needed. Now, as Pestarzt, he is trying to launch a revolution with more of the same. He is trying to fight cultural complacency with cultural complacency. He is trying to break a pattern of deference to leadership by deferring to the failed policies of that same leadership. It is no doubt disappointing for his former defender colleagues to see the player who was once the former Chairman of the People's Republic of Lazarus, a former Chief Lieutenant of the United Defenders League and former Arch Chancellor of the Founderless Regions Alliance, involved in invasions. But it should be far more disappointing for anyone interested in seeing an active and functional West Pacifican society and government. This revolution is not a revolution at all; if anything, it is counter-revolutionary in nature, reinforcing the reactionary imperialist policies of The West Pacific elite by dressing it up in the rhetoric of revolution. The policies of oligarchy and imperialism have utterly failed to capture the imagination and inspire the participation of the natives of The West Pacific. While other Feeders thrive, it continues to wither. It is a shame for the people of The West Pacific that they do not have Milograd to challenge their tired status quo. Instead, they are stuck with Pestarzt the Traveller, a counter-revolutionary masquerading as the vanguard of change. It appears that if the natives of The West Pacific want to see actual change in their region, they will, as Pestarzt so aptly said, have to be the change they want to see.

1 JANUARY 2015 Pestarzt Begins March to the Endorsement Cap: Promising Trajectories Charted The Party's plan of legally pursuing high-influence described in a graph. The vertical dotted line marks the 6-month point at which influence roughly flatlines, assuming a consistent number of endorsements. Pestarzt is currently nearing the endorsement cap of 70, at which point he will cease to collect endorsements. The Revolutionary Party considers 140 SPDR to be the minimum amount of influence sufficient for a new delegate, and is pleased to see that the number is achievable within a six month span. It is observed that 90 endorsements reaches that number nearly two months faster than by clinging to the endorsement cap - whether or not the Party will request permission to pursue 90 as a cap for Pestarzt instead of 70 relies on political reasons and remains to be seen. The Revolution will be publishing more entertaining graphs (e.g. what would influence like if you held 500 endorsements for a decade and never used any? / what would influence look like if the Guardians took turns purging the region? / if influence didn't decay and Eli never banned anyone? ) next. Stay tuned.

30 DECEMBER 2014 The West Pacific Conquers Cascadia - First Territory with Over 100 Nations TONIGHT, The West Pacific conquered Cascadia in an update raid with the help of the Association of Imperialism. Cascadia, of course, is home to over one hundred nations, and its conquest marks the first TWP military operation during the "Revolutionary Era" began yesterday by Ally Pestarzt. At noon, Pestarzt decided that the Revolution's Fist would have to clench itself to showcase the blood pumping through the veins of the new West Pacific. The mission would have to be something other than a warzone op or a late-night tag session. General-Secretary Pestarzt immediately began contacting potential co-combatants. Two nations, Shadoke of the Association of Imperialism, and the esteemed Avakael of basically everywhere at some point, showed themselves to be able-bodied militiamen willing to plow the road to victory. And so, a young friendship was born between AoI and the Revolutionary Party of TWP -- the Revolutionary Party hopes to cooperate with AoI in the future, and to hopefully see the Imperium become closer to its leadership. The West Pacific Armed forces had already assembled four troops for the operation, but Shadoke tapped into his network of friends to bring in an additional four participants, securing victory in the face of uncertainty. The stakes were high, as this was the first night in the New West Pacific. The mission wasn't a typical one, however. It never is, characteristically. While the original plan was to jump into the region at update after posing as a Colombian player multiing vampire-themed WA nations in the flash jump point named "The Vampire Den", it was observed that a fresh batch of invading nations - Tsukune and Goyman - had entered the region and exchanged endorsements. Pestarzt was not pleased, and so he ordered the mock Colombian vampire nations to move into the region and endorse the delegate. The intent was to pose as a n00bish multiing defender force, or perhaps a personal friend to the delegate. When update came, they would pull their endorsements and endorse Pestarzt's nation, Truebloods, as a push for the delegacy. Matters became further complicated when Extremesy spotted the region and moved in. Having jumped through a number of Ravania-operated regions, the war party became concerned that their efforts would be foiled by defenders. Additional auxiliary troops were thus assembled and ordered to enter the region, cross-endorsing and endorsing the delegate. A fourth unidentified nation, Maya Ken, appeared to be associated with Tsukune and Goyman. This made the appearance of an invasion seem more likely, and allowed for the aforementioned tactic's viability as a deception - albeit it was unclear just how closely our forces were being watched under the Monday's night. Pestarzt contacted Extremesy and asked if he too was "defending Lorain's delegacy." When update came, last-minute allies assembled to jump into the region in case defenders had spotted the effort and were to attempt to jump. A guesstimated move-time was used in lieu of Pestarzt's computer woes and consequent unavailability as a trigger. It worked perfectly, and within seconds of the pull-endo/jump time, a new flag flew over the large region: the crimson and blue of The West Pacific. The Revolution's first update had ended. Party Spokesman on the Policy Implications of the Invasion of Cascadia wrote: "The West Pacific Armed Forces is going to follow the agenda outlined in the Party's formative announcement. The Revolution's Fist simply invaded Cascadia as a way to make a point clear: we're here, and we're going to be doing things. They can be big things and the more people who join, the bigger they will be. We only started yesterday. This is our first day in existence. What will you contribute to our next mission, and what can we do tomorrow? There's a place for everyone in the new West Pacific Order."