Dass Nachrichten- Phoenix Fire: TWP, Born Anew (Issue 1)

[URAP]

Dass Nachrichten- Phoenix Fire: TWP, Born Anew (Issue 1)

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Darkesia's Recognition by the LKE

The Land of Kings and Emperors | Hariko, editor

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Short:
Delegate Emeritus Darkesia was recognised by the LKE for standing by the region during their recruitment block.

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Long:
His Highness the Emperor Onder Kelkia has bestowed upon the Delegate Emeritus Darkesia the honour of a Companionship of the Order of Fraternity for her support of the Land of Kings and Emperors after sanctions on the region placed by game moderators. She along with the delegates of several other regions that decided to give support to the LKE were acknowledged by the Emperor in a ceremony today, and his proclamation reached The West Pacific in the local LKE embassy, resulting in an outpouring of congratulations and delight from citizens of TWP.

The Order of Fraternity was established in the LKE in 2006 by Emperor Lucius I to recognise the efforts of citizens of its allies in aiding the region. The first Companionship was issued to King Jamhung of The New Legion.

The most recently issued Companionships of the Order were given to President Writinglegend of Europeia, Queen Rach Eriksen of Balder, King-Emperor George VI of The Kingdom of Great Britain, King James III & VIII of United Kingdom, Acting Inquisitor Lynneiah of The New Inquisition, Prime Minister John Norfolk of the British Isles, and King Richard I of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, as well as Darkesia.

These Companionships were given to recognise those delegates' solidarity with the LKE after Bob Moran, now an enemy of the state, had run an illegal recruitment script and did so without the government's knowledge or approval. Game moderators punished the LKE as a whole because the illegal act was done in the LKE's name, and now the LKE has had a recruitment block placed on it. Darkesia stood firmly by the LKE as they attempted to no avail to battle the mods over the issue.

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An Interview with the Advocate of the Voice: Elegarth

The West Pacific | by United RussoAsia, Editor-In Chief

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URAP: Good morning. I would like to start by saying that it's an honour for you to take the time to talk to us in detail.
Elegarth: It is an honour for me as well, both to be here and to have your attention!

My pleasure. Now, let's get started. Do you have any history with this kind of thing?
With interviews? Some, both in-game, in other games and in real life. I've directed media departments before as well, but have been most times in your end of the interview. With positions like advocate? Well, yes. I've held several different leadership positions in NationStates, mostly in an old UCR region a group of friends and I had, and then in the New Pacific Order and TWP.

Ha, I was talking about the Advocacy, but the interview bit is good to know as well. So, what made you run for the position?
Well, I originally arrived to TWP as an ambassador, and I found it to be a relaxed laid back community that deeply attracted me and I decided to become a part of it. Since I had a lot of work externally, I could not be as involved as I wish. But eventually had and find more time for it. I eventually realized I was spending more time in TWP than any other region, and that it was easier for me to think of WE than THEY. The next time a position was open - that of Speaker - I stepped up and decided I could help TWP's community grow again and become something else, something better. I've since tried to realize this view I have of an active but simultaneously relaxed laid back community where people can feel at home. And with the coming of the new Constitution, the position of Advocate is the one that can help me see that view become reality, with the obvious assistance of key players that I've signed up as officers and who represent the future of TWP.

TWP has that effect on people, and I'll give you extra credit for being able to describe it. Not many people can, but it's certainly there. Moving on, what do you think gave you an eventually victorious edge over the other candidates?
Well, the other 2 candidates were Punk Daddy and BM. BM failed to do a platform to run, and had previously gone missing in the past after having been appointed Prime Minister, which could have played against him. Punk Daddy, well, he is a more than capable and experienced West Pacifican, and who probably is not yet well known by the newer generations of TWP inhabitants. Finally, the fact that I've been actively leading parts of TWP in the last few months I believed has allowed people to have some feel of continuity that could also have helped me.

Interesting. So, what would you say your main goal for your term is?
To build a community. I know people things this is a cliché thing to say, but it is honestly my goal. A community requires people interacting with each other, building something. And in order for that building and that interaction to happen, the region requires activities to perform, events to engage people, jobs to attract players, and opportunities to grow and be involved and noticed. Those are the things I aim for!

That fits in quite well with my own views on the matter. Anyhow, what about your deputy advocates? What made you pick those as you did?
I chose Vlagh and PD for their experience and knowledge. They are individuals who have shown once and again through their history in NS what they are capable of and how valuable they can be one creating/improving a community in this environment. Nox, yourself, Hariko and Reçu are younger players, with a lot of potential and willingness to help, and who have personalities and behaviours ideal to be not only the face of certain departments, but also building blocks for the community itself. They are all, in short, leaders, either fully developed or in formation, that will be able to keep this going even if I suddenly leave or disappear.

Well, I sure hope you're not going anywhere anytime soon. We need you! Now, tell me; what would you describe your ideology as, per se?
Well, I've never really had an ideology of the ones normally recognized in NS. If anything, you could say I'm a feederite, but not a textbook Francoist feederite, as I don't have negative feelings towards the user created regions or the sinkers. I'm a feederite in the context that I've always been fascinated by the politics and environment in the feeders, which even led me once to try to become a pan-feederite or Pan-Pacifican (a citizen of all feeders). You could perhaps even say that is my ideology: Pan-Pacifism, an ideal setup in which all 5 pacific's were truly friendly and allied to each other, as a powerful virtually unbeatable feederite block, where each respected the other's differences and peculiarities - both cultural and political. I, however, think that is just a chimera, an idyllic utopia.

It sounds nice, and you're in a position to make progress towards it. You're a guardian as well, is this a strain on your time and effort, slightly?
I don't think so, the guardianship requires a more individual effort than the advocacy, which is a team task with my DAs and the people of the region!

And I'm sure they'll serve you well. Any last things you want to tell our audience?
To come and give TWP a chance! We may be different to what you are used to, but that is actually a good thing. Get to know us, and you may like what you see.

Well, it's always a pleasure talking to you and I hope to see you doing great things in the future.
The same to you my friend!

(Elegarth later stepped down for the position due to RL ruining his NS time. Punk Daddy is on track to be elected in his stead.)

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The History of The West Pacific’s Constitutional Convention, 2015

The West Pacific | by Reçueçn

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Short:
Executive Council Act error results in renaming of Speaker office to Prime Minister-
Speaker resigns, elections for prime minister begin-
Elections and runoff are tied-
Constitutional convention convened to condense TWP law-
Llamas and Cormac draft constitutions-
Llamas does not submit constitution before deadline-
The Charter of the Union of The West Pacific ratified with 26 yay and 1 nay-
Elegarth elected for Advocate of the Voice of the Union-
Deputy Advocates appointed-
Regional newspaper formed-
Darkesia publicly announces successor.
(That was long.)

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Long:
One can usually see most constitutional reforms and changes of government coming well in advance, usually brought on by discontentment, controversial major issues, perceived problems in the system of government, and economic or political crises. Watching the political system of a feeder stall to the point where it has to be scrapped entirely is a rare event, and the forum government of The West Pacific has been dissolved after a shockingly quick decline, much to the surprise of the public and even the members of the former government themselves.

A couple legislative proposals moving through the Holy Grand Assembly apparently had the capability to turn the entire system into gridlock. The key bill, the Executive Council Act, would give the Prime Minister the power to choose the ministers of foreign, World Assembly, community and home affairs; in other words, appoint a cabinet. The bill appeared to be passed with ease, but unfortunately, some oversight in the drafting of the bill gave the powers to a Prime Minister whose office did not exist in the previous government. The intended position the bill was supposed to give its powers to was the Speaker of the Holy Grand Assembly. To correct the error, the Executive Council Act was followed by the Act on the Official Head of Government of the Imperium. The act consisted of a single sentence:

All references to an office of “Speaker” in laws previously passed by the legislature shall hereby be replaced with references to the office of “Prime Minister.”

The renaming of the office increased attention to a gradual evolution that was present in The West Pacific even before the Executive Council Act. The trend was one away from a speaker whose main job was to smooth voting, manage the assembly, and facilitate legislation, to one who in fact held an executive position. As observers and members had noticed, the speakers began to and continued to exercise more power preceding the passage of the Executive Council Act.

Regardless, [nation=short]Elegarth[/nation], the current Speaker, responded to the trend by announcing his resignation on April 12th, when the Act on the Official Head of Government of the Imperium was passed:
 

The reason is quite simple: I was elected to be your speaker, and with recently introduced acts the position has changed enough so that I don't feel it would be correct not to open a new election or to just take the post. It seems the correct, right and lawful thing to do.

Elegarth’s resignation, however, did not indicate a lack of desire to elected prime minister, going so far as to be campaigning the day after his nomination. The campaigning was fierce, and the election became polarising. Despite the tremendous efforts [/size] made by both candidates, the final vote was counted.

ELEGARTH: 10 (Nox, Reçueçn, Little Sealand, Archsium, Mediobogdum, Westwind, cluntobone, Yy4u, Eli, Elegarth)

LLAMAS: 10 (Ike, A fish in the Sea, Hariko, lemonpledge, punkdaddy, LLamas, Cormac, Sad-States, Pestarzt, URAP)

ABSTAIN: 0

INVALID VOTES: 3 (Fealess, Tomb, Soguisoguikawaiiland)

The procedure outlined in the General Elections Guidelines Act for a tied vote called for a run-off vote to be held three days later between the tied candidates. A campaign was made to publicise the voting, and the second vote had a much larger turn-out than the first. This second vote also resulted in a tie, strangely enough.

During the second round of voting, [nation=short]Archsium[/nation] started a discussion in the Holy Grand Assembly on Dramatic Legal Reform?! in which he proposed a method to end the gridlock by reforming the legal code. Since the passage of the Executive Council Act, among others, the laws of The West Pacific had become many separately passed acts and documents, necessitating reading through a veritable maze of legislation to find and understand completely the laws on a single subject. Archsium’s idea was to keep the current laws and government, but re-format them into a single, eloquent, cohesive document.

In the discussion he began, however, others advocated making changes during this reform, so that the laws would in fact have different effect afterwards. The discussion moved slowly until the end of the second round of voting; immediately upon the second tie vote, [nation=short]that_called_the_vlagh[/nation], Minister of Legislative RP (a position with admittedly difficult to understand implications and powers), as representative of [nation=short]Darkesia[/nation], the delegate, rejected the resignation of Elegarth from two weeks earlier. Elegarth then used the executive powers of the Prime Minister to dissolve the Holy Grand Assembly and call a constitutional convention. While the legality of the Prime Minister’s dissolution of the body that elected him is questionable, it would otherwise have been done legally by Vlagh, and was definitely the right decision to make, even if not made by the right person.

On the same day that this vote ended and the constitutional convention was begun, Darkesia added even more pressure by announcing:
 

Also. Just a reminder: Delegate transition will happen on schedule regardless of the chaos in which the forum exists. It would be best if y'all got at least a minimum of organization going.

The tension was palpable during the constitutional convention. The Constitutional Convention began with the thread [nation=short]Consular[/nation] had created, Dramatic Legal Reform, being brought into a new Constitional Convention forum. Discussion began to turn from his original idea of simply condensing all the existing laws to completely re-hauling the content as well as the format. The main change proposed was by Llamas, who wished to see a bicameral legislature, with a lower house in-game and an upper house on the forums. This was opposed both by those who pointed out it would place duties or restrictions on the delegate and presume the superiority of the forum government, contrary to long-standing TWP tradition, and also by those who felt it would be too bureaucratic or oligarchic.

Thus the first proposed constitutional draft, by Cormac, offered an alternate option to Llamas' opinions. The notable characteristics of the draft were its simplicity, new streamlined look, rhetoric, assembly and position titles, its direct discussion of the relations between the Delegate and the off-site forums, and its lack of permission for “the Voice of the Union,” the proposed regional assembly, to write legislation that was not either an amendment to the charter, an inter-regional treaty, or rules of order.

Llamas soon came back with his own draft. It had a legislative branch of two chambers, with the lower being the Legislative Assembly, which consisted of every WA member in the region, which was to vote by regional poll. The upper chamber was the Executive Council, which consisted of the Prime Minister and his appointed Ministers. This chamber was assumed to be on the forums (although this was not explicitly stated) and although its members would be executive officials, it was considered to have the legislative initiative. Llamas’ draft, unlike Cormac’s, also made provision for a judicial branch, which would consist of a single regional court.

Unfortunately, the debating in the convention soon lost its friendly tone. Elegarth, who supported Cormac’s proposal, and Llamas began to spar in such a manner that they had to be asked by others to refrain from doing so.

The vast majority of people appeared to favor Cormac’s proposal. They felt that Llamas’ let the forum government—always separate from the delegacy in TWP—leak too much in-game, as it called for the use of in-game polls. [nation=short]That Called the Vlagh[/nation] provided editing suggestions for Llamas, changing the Legislative Assembly to consist of all members of the off-site community rather than WA member on-site. Although he clarified that these were just suggestions and more conversation could be held, Vlagh also said:
 

Ultimately if I feel that the documents being presented do not represent current reality here in TWP fully they will not be put forward for approval (unless I am overruled by the Delegate, of course).

The imposition of WA membership on members of the off-site community government is not in keeping with the purpose of this convention. This is unacceptable. Further, it should be clear that the off-site community government is just that, the government of the off-site community. TWP maintains that the Delegate is head of government for the region and in-game 'head of state'.

Llamas, however, never commented on the edits. When asked if he would submit or edit his draft, he said he was too busy due to AP testing, so when the ratification vote began a week later, it was a simple yes/no vote on Cormac’s draft—the only one submitted. The Charter was almost unanimously accepted. 26 nations voted in favour, with the first vote (not counting Vlagh’s, who voted when he opened voting) coming from Llamas. Only a single nation, [nation=short]Benjamin Mark[/nation], known as Simple Country on The West Pacific’s forums, voted against. He did not respond when asked for comment.

The Charter of The Union of The West Pacific was now the law of the land.

As soon as the new constitution was brought in, elections began once again. This time, [nation=short]Elegarth[/nation] had little difficulty getting elected. He soon announced his Deputy Advocates, shortened to “DAs.” He appointed five DAs originally: the Deputy Advocates of WA, Internal, Foreign, Military, and Intel Affairs. For these posts he chose [nation=short]Occidius[/nation], [nation=short]Hariko[/nation], [nation=short]Recuecn[/nation], [nation=short]Punk Daddy[/nation], and [nation=short]That Called the Vlagh[/nation], respectively. Elegarth also mentioned the lack of an official TWP newspaper. [nation=short]United RussoAsia[/nation] had taken the initiative of forming a newspaper (Dass Nachrichten) independently of the announcement and was thus named the DA of Media Affairs. The new officers have begun work, reorganizing long vacant offices, organizing activities, tracking WA resolutions, and planning for the future.

Concerning her successor, Darkesia announced on the WFE the incoming Delegate and Guardians: United RussoAsia as Delegate, and Elegarth, [nation=short]Mediobogdum[/nation], Recuecn and [nation=short]Yy4u[/nation] as Guardians. The old delegate and guardians have announced they plan to step back and allow new influences in TWP. The West Pacific’s future potentially holds much change, but to say what kind of change exactly is difficult without using the clichés of “only time will tell” or “we’ll have to wait and see.”

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An Interview with the Deputy Advocate of Internal Affairs

The West Pacific | by United RussoAsia, Editor-In Chief

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URAP: Well, it certainly is odd talking to you in any kind of a formal context, so I guess we'll just do our best and play it by ear.
Hariko: Yeah, I guess so. So let's start.

Alright, well. First off, I think our audience may not know exactly who you are, so would you mind providing a brief history of yourself in-game?
I founded my nation on 3 September 2013 after one of my coworkers on a Minecraft server I used to help out with started talking about it. I was curious, so I checked out the site and decided to make a nation. I kept a low profile, just answering issues, but got bored after a while and my nation CTE'd last spring. After having a falling out with one of my friends, I decided to rejoin NationStates to give it another try in early January. Of course, things changed while I was gone, so I was a little shocked. I also noticed this kid running around getting hit on the head with a Spanish dictionary, so I guess I started talking with him on the RMB. (We all know who he is.) Then, still a n00b, I almost ended up going to TRR, but cleaned up my act and started to be more participatory. So yeah. Now I'm a DA for the Voice.

Quite a tale, and one many may relate to. Now, I think we're all wondering a little here, and you certainly aren't Elegarth, but what do you think got you into the position of Deputy Advocate?
I guess Elegarth wanted to give me some more experience in government because I turned down my nomination for Advocate. Maybe he thinks I have some leadership skills that he'd like to hone. I'm not quite sure what he has in plan for me. But for now, I'll do my best to get more people participating in TWP and make this a fun place to be in. After all, it's my job, as the head of the Office of Internal Affairs.

We really need someone to do that and do it well. So, I'm curious; do you have any history with this kind of thing?
On NationStates, no, but on that server I was talking about before, I was the senior moderator, so I had to deal with trolls, small children, adult children, megalomaniacs, as well as organizing events and filling out paperwork. I do feel like I know what I'm doing, though. It's strangely familiar.

Well, now that you have the position, what's your main goal for your term?
WORLD DOMINATION!
No, just kidding. For now. (Dun Dun Dun!)
Anyway, my goal is to increase participation in the Voice and revive our comatose Roleplay department. But as for a more concrete goal, I'd like to organise the Factbook Contest, Fiction Festival, and one more event (I'm open to suggestions) before the end of summer.

Sounds fun, and I've seen how effective you are. You did in fact edit this entire paper. I digress. How do you plan to change TWP?
I'm very happy with how TWP is right now, although I'll be recruiting new nations to the Voice through one-on-one telegrams with the new nations that stick around in TWP. I'd also like to make the region more comfortable with the Delegate and Guardians, because it seems that some people are wary or afraid of them because of their sheer power. And I understand that, they can be scary when they're angry, but they're human and just like you and me. I'll likely be doing some Meet the Guardians events in the summer. The newbies are more cooperative when they feel that they're safe and have a sense of belonging here.

And you? What do you think of the new Guardians?
I think they're quite nice and I'm peers with most them, if not friends. However, watch out for Yy4u and Elegarth; one bites and the other wants all your mustard, haha.

Occupational hazard, I'm afraid. And for the sake of the audience, would you say you align with one side or the other of the raider/defender scale?
*sigh*
For the audience, huh?
Well, I don't identify with either. I prefer isolationism, but will defend my region if it comes under attack. After all, this is my community.

Nice. Finally, any last words?
Please don't kill me!

Have no fear, we're friendly here! Well I am always happy to talk to you, and it was great to have a chance to speak with you in detail about your thoughts, opinions, and etc. I would love to have you back!
Thanks, Russo. Good luck with your Delegacy and newspaper!

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Issue out. Sizes broken. Will fix later.

Posting in gameplay in around 15 mins. Edited July 9, 2015 by Hariko
I'm sorry

[Hariko]

****. I told ya it wasn't ready. I still haven't gathered all the dates. Emergency fact checking!

[URAP]

Oops.

Edit not taken into account.

[URAP]

Tags etc broken in GP.

Will fix, later.

[Mediobogdum]

Are you happy with the fixes to Issue 1 of DN yet?  If so, let me have the link again and will place in WFE.

[URAP]

No, I spent all day driving and then napping...

Tomorrow!

[Hariko]

I love napping...

 

Okay, maybe sleep in general. But who can blame me?

 

The feeling when you climb in bed at the end of the day: 

[URAP]

Yep

[Mediobogdum]

.... and the answer is?

[URAP]

Wait, what?