Antarticeuropa
TNPer
by The Isle of Grossmania, Writer
At the time of its founding, The Isle of Grossmania, by accident of its own geography, found itself in a region known as The North Pacific.As its novice political founders began learning the ropes of being a nation-state, they encountered many unfamiliar systems, unusual metrics, and surprising tools; they were tasked with making choices that would determine the fate and future of their young nation.
One choice kept coming up, over and over, mostly through unbidden telegrams: do you want to join a different region?
The offers ranged from the exotic and quirky to the persuasive and compelling. Want to join a region focused on military conquest? How about a region based entirely on Game of Thrones? Perhaps you want a region of social scientists participating in a research study about collective decision making? The possibilities were endless.
As our nation's first President, the choice ultimately fell to me, and after extensive research, I decided that the best place for our aspiring Nation is in the region of its founding, The North Pacific. I made this determination based on three primary factors: the size of the region, its infrastructure, and the opportunities to use the regional tools developed by our TNP predecessors to add depths and layers of gameplay to the nation-state experience.
Size comes with several built-in advantages. Building influence is based largely on endorsements, and the more WA members are in a region, the more endorsements are available to member states. TNP members are quite good at reciprocating endorsements, which makes it much easier for those in our region to build influence.
Moreover, the combination of our size and our strong tradition of endorsements protects our region from invaders. There is very little risk of TNP being successfully attacked by outside forces, meaning once you accumulate influence in our region, you can be reasonably sure that, absent your nation's own malfeasance, your place in the region will be secure.
The infrastructure is an area in which TNP shines. Many of our members don't know this at first, but we have an active and robust forum. In it, members nations can apply for citizenship, join the regional government, role play, opine on issues facing the World Assembly or our region, and network with other nations.
Finally, and related to the infrastructure, is the way in which being a member of TNP greatly enhances the nation-states experience. Rather than treating the game as a decision-simulator, focusing solely on issue resolution and WA votes, our nation, as a member of TNP, can behave as a genuine, sovereign nation. We debate points of international law, articulate our own national values and ethos, and interact with other nations in debate, encouragement, and camaraderie. This can only take place by taking advantage of the web tools available on the forums and in the region tab.
These tools did not arise overnight; they were built up by the founding members of our region, and have been strengthened and enhanced to better serve the constituent nations of TNP.
In the end, these factors made our choice clear. No other region in the world has the size, infrastructure, and tools of The North Pacific. No other region has our strong community, our solid defense, or our commitment to enhancing the nation-states experience of our members. We decided to stay in this, our home region, and here we intend to remain.
by Andrew and RPI, Writers
Home Affairs is a pinnacle of the Executive Government of The North Pacific. The North Pacifican arm of nation recruitment, introduction and integration in a game where nation numbers and activity are paramount to regional success. Home Affairs originated under Delegate r3n but started out as a small in-game nation recruitment program. It then developed into full functioning ministry with DD serving as its first Minister. Under DD, home affairs started out small but as time continued and the ministry saw new ministers at the helm, the role and size of the ministry expeditiously grew, with HA simultaneously taking on mentoring, mass recruitment and regional press dispatches on government happenings. Home Affairs hit its peak at around March-June where it was at it's biggest and most active but began to slowly decline as Autumn came. Now, Home Affairs is a shell of its former self. Crippled with lack of participation, Delegate Ravenclaw delegated the duties of mentoring new members from Home Affairs to the Ministry of Education, to ease its workload burden to get it back an running again. So far, with little avail. In the recent Cabinet reshuffle, former Speaker RPI returned and was promptly appoint Minister of HA, to replace Myroria who became Minister of Foreign Affairs, given his experience in the Ministry as Director of Staff and former HA Minister. Following his first few days in the job, The Northern Lights interviewed him:
RPI Interview
Andrew: You've only recently returned to the game, what made you come back and what made you leave in the first place?
Arpeyi: Well, I'll start with why I left:
Arpeyi: When I left, summer had just begun. I had been speaker of the Regional Assembly for about a month, which I was super excited about. With summer beginning, however, I started doing stuff with friends, traveling places, and other stuff that you do during the summer. My mind was slowly drifting away from NationStates by then. So, I figured what I would do is appoint COE as my acting speaker until I could really focus on NS again. I never actually planned to leave; however, my lapses in activity caused me to just slowly disappear.
Arpeyi: I almost forgot about NS.
Arpeyi: What made me come back:
Arpeyi: A couple weeks ago I was on spring break, and every year during spring break, my family takes a ski trip to the same mountains. Just over a year ago during spring break was when I really began to get involved in TNP. I joined the executive staff, became deputy speaker, and really increased activity levels. So, going to that same place this year just made me really miss NS and want to get re-involved. This year I am to not let my activity levels drop so much again.
Andrew: What did you think things would be like in NS and TNP when you came back?
Arpeyi: I honestly thought everyone would be angry with me. I was, however, grossly incorrect in that assumption.
Andrew: but instead you were welcomed back and offered a cabinet job. What did you think of that?
Arpeyi: I was absolutely delighted. I did not expect to receive a position in the government for a while after I returned.
Andrew: You accepted the job though. Why? Do ou believe you could address the issue facing HA or that it may help you get back in the flow of things? or both?
Arpeyi: Yes, I did. I accepted the job because I enjoy having a job. I enjoy being someone who will work to contribute. Did I believe I could address the issue facing HA? I had no idea, but I sure as heck was going to try.
Andrew: so far into your tenure as MoHA, you are facing a Ministry that, in plain terms, is a shell of its former shelf. Activity and participation is down, and has fallen from being one of the most active and largest ministries in the Government. How do you plan to regain its former glory?
Arpeyi: Right now, the plan is to recruit nations specifically to the Ministry of Home Affairs itself instead of recruiting for other ministries at this time. In forum recruitment telegrams, I have stressed Home Affairs' need for more members. Right now, just browsing the executive apps thread, it seems to be working. Hopefully all the new members turn out to be active contributors.
Andrew: But specifically, do you have a plan to ensure they become active contributors?
Arpeyi: There is no way to ensure that those currently will be active contributors. Active members of NS need to be found and brought to the ministry. The ones that I recruited were fairly active, from what I could tell by observation and by using r3n's Happenings Queries script.They are active when they decide to be active by their own free will. I cannot force anything upon them.
Andrew: As a part of Delegate Ravens election manifesto for HA, he wanted to remove the responsibility of welcoming and integrating mentees and place it with the Ministry of Education leaving HA to solely handle recruitment. Do you think this was for the best?
Arpeyi: I think it is good to try it as an alternative. The mentoring program as I remember it required a huge workload. During my time as a mentor, I often rarely had the time to check in with my mentees to see how they were doing. Looking at it with HA's current situation - a low number of active staff members - it was probably for the best.
Andrew: Thank you for the Interview
That is all we have time for. 
by Andrew, Writer
This month, The North Pacific indulged in one of its favourite past times by returning to the polls to vote in a new Court as the election cycle was drawing to a close. The Judicial Election is two separate races: one for the Attorney General and the three Court positions as a Justice. In the Justice race, there were six candidates (Vazos, Plembobria, Andrew, Falapatorius, SillyString, Barbarossistan) running while in the AG race there were three (JhawnathinJ, The Democratic Republic of Tomb, Yeraennus). From among the candidates running in the election, the incumbent Justices Plembobria and Vazos were running for re-election but Justice Tomb was running for Attorney General. From early observation, the election looked like victory for the greatest contenders in each race, but as voting day became closer, it looked more like fair play for every candidate as some campaigned harder than others. This was reflected in the vote as the votes were extended across all candidates but the fog didn't settle until the last day of the vote. The victors of the election were Plembobria, SillyString and Andrew who were elected Justices while Tomb was elected Attorney General.
by SillyString, Advice Columnist
This column does not represent the views of the Government of The North Pacific.
Dear SillyString, My cat likes to eat pastries but I feel uncomfortable sharing food with a feline. Should I buy two sets of pastries whenever I go shopping?
-Whisker Crumbs
Crumbs, I feel your pain! Indeed, cats' fondness for pastries, danishes, and other delicious baked goods is well-renowned. Many a felinophile has been in your shoes!
It is a kind thought indeed to want to buy extra-special pastries for your extra-special kitty, and I'm sure you already know to give thought to the cat's own preferences - does she prefer sugary or savory pastries? Are fruit fillings to be snubbed or scarfed? Does kitty gravitate toward tender, flaky delights, or crisp, crusty ones? Any good cat owner will of course know their pet's own peculiarities of taste.
Now, before you rush out to buy your feline friend any manner of tasty treats, dear Crumbs, it is important to be sure that she is eating out of enjoyment, and not a feeling of loss in another area of her psyche. Does she have enough soft blankets to lie on, and enough couch legs to scratch? Does she get enough cuddles, pettings, and kisses to sate her needs? Does she have access to enough of the bed - and your pillow, and your lap, and your (and her!) favorite armchair? If deprived of any of these basic necessities of life, your kitty may sink into a depression and eat to try to cheer herself up.
So! As long as you have verified that precious snookums is all set on napping, scritching, and petting options, the purchase of extra pastries is really the least you can do for her.
Seriously Silly,
SillyString
The Northern Lights: Beauty in Truth
Publisher: Lord Ravenclaw :: Executive Editor: Antarticeuropa :: Managing Editor: Kialga :: Graphic Artist: SillyString
The Northern Lights is produced by the Ministry of Communications on behalf of the Government of The North Pacific and distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Except where otherwise indicated, all content represents the views of the Government of The North Pacific.
Publisher: Lord Ravenclaw :: Executive Editor: Antarticeuropa :: Managing Editor: Kialga :: Graphic Artist: SillyString
The Northern Lights is produced by the Ministry of Communications on behalf of the Government of The North Pacific and distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Except where otherwise indicated, all content represents the views of the Government of The North Pacific.