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[center][img]https://images3.imgbox.com/27/64/IeZiY2Rb_o.png[/img][/center]
[img]http://z2.ifrm.com/10711/28/0/p1090380/tnl_pol.png[/img][big][big][big][big]Regional Assembly Highlights[/big][/big][/big][/big]
[right][i]by Peregrinum, Deputy Minister[/i][/right]
The TNP Regional Assembly saw a flurry of activity this month as many of the debates from March carried on into April, and new debates began.
[color=blue]Lord Lore's Security Council Application[/color]
Status: Passed
Lord was nominated unanimously by the Security Council and has been an active member of the nation states for over three years. Lord Lore also holds a laundry list of positions in a just as many regions. He currently serves the North Pacific as lead cartographer for the Eras RP setting, and as a Justice on the Court of the North Pacific. Lord Lore was confirmed by the Regional Assembly on April 27th, 2018 with 29 citizens voting Aye, 1 Nay, and 6 Abstaining from the vote.
[color=blue]Gladio's Security Council Application[/color]
Status: Passed
Gladio, the current Delegate of the North Pacific has been a familiar face in the region since 2012, and had served the North Pacific faithfully as Minister of Defense for six full terms before deciding to make his run for Delegate. He was nominated unanimously by the security council, and was confirmed by the Regional Assembly on April 18th, 2018 with 34 citizens voting Aye, 4 Nay, and 7 Abstaining from the vote.
[color=blue]Election Commissioner Confirmations[/color]
Status: Closed
On April 10th, 2018 the Delegate nominated Ark, and BMWSurfer to serve as election commissioners. Both nominees currently serve as Deputy Ministers in the Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs respectively, and are respected members of the community. The citizens affirmed this by confirming both Ark and BMW. Ark received 29 votes Aye, 0 votes Nay, and 3 Abstentions. BMW received 30 votes Aye, 0 vote Nay, and 2 Abstentions.
[color=blue]R3naissanc3r's SC Application[/color]
Status: Passed
R3naissanc3r is an old name in the North Pacific and has served the region in a myriad of ways since joining the community in 2007. Most recently he serves as an administrator and as an adviser to the delegate. While this was not his first time being nominated to the Security Council, he was nominated unanimously by the current members. He was confirmed on April 26th, 2018 with 36 citizens voting Aye, 1 voting Nay, and 4 Abstaining from the vote.
Currently in debate in the Assembly is the proposed "Election Corruption Amendment." Proposed by McMasterdonia on April 17th, 2018. The aim of the amendment is to reduce election corruption by prohibiting the delegate candidates from promising ministerial positions before they are elected to office. This proposal can be [url=http://forum.thenorthpacific.org/single/?p=10134940&t=9148509]here.[/url]
With the passing of the majority of the proposals brought before the Regional Assembly in April, it is likely that May will see a decline in activity with the exception of the continuing debate around the Election Corruption Amendment. However all citizens are encouraged to partake in the Assembly, and bring forth any proposal that may make the regions a better place for us all. [hr]
[img]http://z2.ifrm.com/10711/28/0/p1090378/tnl_legb.png[/img] [big][big][big][big]NS: The Gathering[/big][/big][/big][/big]
[right][i]by Malphe, Minister[/i][/right]
[center][b]Ultra Rares, Epics, Legendaries, oh my![/b]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/Jz3geqS.png[/img]
[i]I couldn't find a good cards gif, so here's a picture of our lord and savior instead. Can't go wrong with that.[/i][/center]
Maxx came down to the nations of his world and shook the earth with his booming voice, "On the first of April, as is my custom, I will bring from the heavens an evil too great for you to muster". The nations and regions of the world discussed what he meant by this, and universally agreed to prepare for the worst. Citizens were herded into huge bunkers and the armies were assembled, weapons of all shapes and sizes pointed to the sky in grim anticipation.
Throughout the deep bunkers the people theorized on what Maxx prophesied; some said it was to be a subtle change in the psychology of humanity to encourage selfishness and evil, so plunging the world into narcissistic anarchy. Others, usually with long beards and smoking substances with questionable legality, declared that it was another world just as scared as their own crashing into the earth. Fear and terror paralyzed the crowds.
Then there was Bob. Bob lived in a small fort built in the corner of the bunker made out of various brands of trading cards from his youth. Bob had not showered for thirty years, kept an untidy beard and was thirty years old. People tried to ignore Bob, against his own efforts to the contrary. Bob was adamant that Maxx was, in fact, trying his hand in the recent lootbox fad with his own trading card game based around the nations of his multiverse. These national cards would be assembled into various ranks of rarity, starting at Common and ending at Legendary. You would be able to junk these cards for credits, and with those credits you could buy other cards put up for sale or you could put said cards up for sale, as well as making an offer for any given card. You would find these cards in random boxes which would fall from the sky at a constant rate, and you would be more likely to in these boxes find the card of a nation inside your region.
Bob has since been burned at the stake for foretelling, a form of witchcraft.
It was intended that this would only last a week, but overwhelming demand from the people dictated that it be kept. Of course, being coded to only last for a week, it would require some revision to last in the long term, so whilst card trading was [url=https://www.nationstates.net/page=news/2018/04/07/index.html]still stopped at the planned time[/url], a few million suggestions were made on the NS forums, maybe a few more, which were to some extent largely [url=https://www.nationstates.net/page=news/2018/04/19/index.html]listed as future changes to the trading system here[/url], including increasing lootbox cooldown time and no ex nation cards. It has been stated by moderation that there is no set deadline or schedule for releasing trading cards again with these new changes implemented, it depends on whether any moderators will find the time and motivation to code in the changes.
I'm guessing the novelty of the game will wear off for the most part for most people, though some will stick around with it and gain a hegemony with near infinite credits and enough cards to create a small planet with. That is, when trading opens again.[hr]
[img]http://z2.ifrm.com/10711/28/0/p1090375/tnl_for3.png[/img] [big][big][big][big]The Spotlight #11: Interview with MoC Bootsie[/big][/big][/big][/big]
[right][i]by Kaschovia and Bootsie, Communications and Culture[/i][/right]
[quote][color=blue]Kasch[/color]: Hello Bootsie! It is great to have you on the Spotlight Interview Series. I don't know why it's taken over a year for the Northern Lights to interview you, but alas, I look forward to this.
[color=orange]Bootsie[/color]: Hello Kasch, good to be here. I'm looking forward to talking, in case it wasn’t obvious, I do enjoy doing that. Pardon me if I ramble.
[color=blue]Kasch[/color]: Ramble all you wish, I'm not going to stop you. So, Bootsie, tell us about you. What is your NationStates story?
[color=orange]Bootsie[/color]: I started playing NationStates in November 2010. I was introduced to the game by this really weird kid in my computer class who told me about this game where you control a nation. Like any young teenager, the sound of controlling a nation was pretty cool, so I signed up. The first few years in NationStates were not too memorable. I believe that it was actually The South Pacific that I founded in, unfortunately, there's no way to know for sure. From there, I jumped around to a bunch of UCRs, including the most memorable of them, the now-defunct region of Alterra. Like most kids do, I got bored with the game, and CTE'd quite a few times before officially joining the TNP forum in 2013. Honestly, couldn't tell you how I even got to TNP, but well, here I am.
[color=blue]Kasch[/color]: Very interesting! So how does TNP play into your experience on NationStates? You've covered your NS origins, but what about your story in TNP?
[color=orange]Bootsie[/color]: When I first joined TNP, I quickly joined the Speaker's Office as a Deputy Speaker, and befriended Zyvetskistaahn and Asta (SillyString). I was offered a chance to be the Deputy Minister of Culture and Entertainment under Raven, however, soon after the job, I CTE'd because apparently kids enjoy doing that. Upon returning, I was Deputy Speaker under Lord Nwahs, who vacated the office and left me as the Speaker. My first term as Speaker was interesting to say the least (just ask anyone about the Acceptable Words List) and proved that apparently the teenage me loved power. Unfortunately, due to my bad memory, and the sheer number of positions I've held over the years, this part becomes a bit blurred. I was Deputy Minister a couple of times, pretty sure I went back to the Speaker’s Office sometime during this period, but really where I want to get to is the January 2016 elections. I really wanted to make TNP a better place, but I wasn't sure I was ready to make a jump at the Delegacy. Upon talking to McMasterdonia, he convinced me to run for Vice Delegate. Despite running against flemingovia, I was able to win my way into the seat, and served TNP alongside Raven for two terms. I then ran for the Delegacy, but lost to Plembobria by a thin margin. I served as Minister of a few ministries in Plemby's government, and built up my resume a little more. I was Speaker again after that, became a Security Councillor, and then most recently a Justice. I rejoined the Executive just a month or two ago, and due to Yukkira resigning, we had an opening for Minister of Culture. Culture is one of those Ministries I'd literally take a job in any day, so I volunteered to serve out the rest of the term.
[color=blue]Kasch[/color]: That was definitely an interesting read! Who do you think has influenced your path in the North Pacific the most, and was that influence positive, or negative?
[color=orange]Bootsie[/color]: I'm gonna cheat, but only because I swear these two are attached at the hip, but Their Majesties, the Kings. Raven knows foreign affairs better than any player in NS that I know, and McM is just a beast when it comes to ideas. It's quite crazy, because these were two players I looked up to when I joined NS, and now I can say they're some of my closest friends in the game.
[color=blue]Kasch[/color]: What event alone do you believe has shaped your NS career the most?
[color=orange]Bootsie[/color]: Errgh, you're really making me think for these questions. I think my terms as Vice Delegate really shaped the direction of my NS career. Prior to my election, I was just a casual player who loved to just RolePlay and go on operations with the North Pacific Army. That all changed when I was elected Vice Delegate. I was finally able to use my expertise and ideas from over the years to make the region, my region, a better place. Being a leader and representative to my fellow citizens was something I think helped me as a person, and I am definitely hoping to get the opportunity to change TNP by leading again.
[color=blue]Kasch[/color]: What's the biggest challenge you've had to face as a NationStates player?
[color=orange]Bootsie[/color]: Probably encountering players that I disagree with on a political stance. Because NS is a political simulation game, when you travel outside of TNP's sphere, you can encounter players who are on the opposite end of the spectrum. While I think regions are best served with a representative democracy, some of our fellow GCRs prefer a rather permanent leader. Through my work in foreign affairs, those political differences have been less of an obstacle, but sometimes you just gotta admit you're never going to agree with someone with different political values if they're extremely different.
[color=blue]Kasch[/color]: And what would be your message to all new NationStates players who want to follow a similar path to yourself, but don't know where to begin in the game?
[color=orange]Bootsie[/color]: Jump right in. TNP is unique to other regions because if we see you're capable of putting in the effort, we give you the benefit of the doubt. The Deputy positions are great for newcomers and if you tell your higher-ups the goal for yourself, we're usually very willing to say "hey, you’re not ready for that yet, but let's work to get you there." You also never know what opportunities will come on your way to your goal. I never thought I'd be Justice or Vice Delegate, but those were two positions that I enjoyed working in, and have helped me as a person. And I'm personally open to giving advice to new players, so if they're reading this, they can use the avenues of communication provided to them to reach out to me.
[color=blue]Kasch[/color]: To you, what is the best thing about the North Pacific?
[color=orange]Bootsie[/color]: Its activity. That was something I took for granted being in a feeder, but there are always new people joining with fresh new ideas to bring to the table. Does that bring chaos sometimes with it? Oh yeah, absolutely, but if we can keep the activity and have the proper leaders in place, TNP can have productivity in its government that even our fellow feeders may not be able to replicate. Stepping back from a political standpoint, with new people, there are potentially more RolePlayers (yay!) and just awesome people to hang out with. You never know who's gonna join or rejoin the forums next. The next Delegate or nations that were here more than a decade before us!
[color=blue]Kasch[/color]: And, to challenge you even further, what is the worst thing about the North Pacific?
[color=orange]Bootsie[/color]: It's not a negative thing, per se, but TNP is very rooted in its traditions. A lot of times that means good ideas fall to the wayside because they aren't how TNP used to do it. No one was really a huge fan of changing our citizenship laws or making it so our endorsement cap was higher than any region in NationStates, but both of those things paid off in the long run. I'm not saying we need to throw our decade-long traditions away in favor of radical new ideas, I just wish "tradition" wasn't always the argument to some of our ideas. Regions change, and though we must stick to our roots, in order to lead the world, our region must continuously be making steps forward.
[color=blue]Kasch[/color]: Are there any specific steps forward you'd like to see in the North Pacific of today?
[color=orange]Bootsie[/color]: Unfortunately, some of my best ideas are also part of my platform for the upcoming election, so I can't share them quite yet. I will say that TNP has a good way to go in Culture and Foreign Affairs.
[color=blue]Kasch[/color]: Of course. How are you feeling about the upcoming election?
[color=orange]Bootsie[/color]: I'm confident. Obviously the last two elections where I ran for Delegate did not go in my favor, but I have faith in my platform. I'm a strong candidate, and I hope that the contributions of our citizens has helped build the grassroots of the campaign.
[color=blue]Kasch[/color]: What is the best piece of advice you've ever recieved from another NS player?
[color=orange]Bootsie[/color]: Just to have fun. NationStates is a game, and if you're not having fun, you're missing the point. I've had a ton of fun in NS over the years, and I can't wait to see what other fun awaits.
[color=blue]Kasch[/color]: And a final question before we wrap this up, if you do become Delegate, how would you like to be remembered by the generations of TNPers in the future?
[color=orange]Bootsie[/color]: I want to be remembered as the Delegate that didn't give up, that fought for the citizens and the region he loved. I want to also be remembered as being there for all of the North Pacific, to bring us together, not tear us apart. I hope that at the end of my term(s) that people look bad at my Delegacy as a huge success and that the only thing preventing me from not being Delegate again will be the two-term limit. This interview was fun, thank you for asking all of these thought-provoking questions, and for having me do this interview to start off with.[/quote][hr]
[img]http://z2.ifrm.com/10711/28/0/p1090379/tnl_mil.png[/img] [big][big][big][big]NPA Bulletin for April 2018[/big][/big][/big][/big]
[right][i]by Malphe, Minister of Defence[/i][/right]
[b][center]Minister of Defense: Malphe
Deputy Minister(s) of Defense: Lozinak, Zazumo[/center][/b]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/CrdcLHs.gif[/img]
[i]A citizen inspecting the NPA High Command.[/i][/center]
[center][size=11]Summary[/size][/center]
The NPA began the month in relative inactivity, having just withdrawn from The Great Fascist Legion and with Malphe unable to attend operations. From the 1st to the 13th there were only three operations held, all of which detags. Thankfully, this lethargic activity changed rapidly past the 13th; between the 14th minor update and the 19th Major the NPA didn't miss a single update for detagging, done with the contributions of various Officers of the NPA. Officer participation in leading operations has skyrocketed in recent months, and this marathon displays that effectively. Officers in this term- Captains Lozinak and Zazumo namely- have taken it upon themselves to update logs and post reports to TNP's forums; this kind of independence did not exist in the NPA until quite recently.
I've always reckoned that this leap in independence and officer participation in the NPA came about in the previous term, when Gladio was MoD. Gladio was WA locked for much of his term as MoD (he was endotarting in TNP), he still could trigger for operations he was unable to point for them, so he had to enlist other NPAers to do that for him. As people became more proficient in detagging they became interested and more confident in taking the officer test (organize and lead your own operation); this lead to a wave of new officers who largely took up the responsibility of leading training operations. The Minister of Defense's action didn't spark activity in this case, but their inaction.
All in all, the NPA in this term has detagged upwards of 260 regions this term, and counting, breaking the previous record of a little over 200 from last term. This is down to not only heightened detag activity due to officer participation, but also to more average targets in a detag; 8 is the general standard for targets, though not all of said targets are always hit. The most targets generally hit are around the 16 mark in operations I lead and in the odd multiple team operation, and I am confident that we could hit over 30. This is a vast improvement on previous numbers, which averaged around 5 in Gladio's detag operation, though he very rarely missed.
The NPA, though for the most part detagging this month, has also raided and refounded the fascist [i]Greater German Imperial Confederation[/i]; I intended to only tag the region, but General Quietdad brought up that we could quite easily destroy it altogether, so we went ahead and refounded it, now with a nifty poem on the WFE.
[spoiler=Operation Spreadsheet for Nerds][table=5,April Operations]Date[c]Update[c]Type[c]Region[c]Participating NPA Soldiers[c]24/03/2018 - 31/-3/2018[c]Minor[c]Joint Anti-Fascist Hold[c]The Great Fascist Legion[c]Malphe
Zazumo
Deropia
Quietdad
The South Falls
Darcania
Almacs
Arstotzka1
Stoskavanya1
Kasch
BluieGamer
aber639
Sergio86
Lotion
Lozinak
BMWSurfer [c]02/04/2018 [c]Minor[c]Detag[c]UNAF
NationStates Tea Party
The Last City
Save Earth
Midgar
Amero
God Glory and Conservatism[c]Darcania
BluieGamer
Malphe
Zazumo
Bobberino
Kasch
Stoskavanya1[c]04/04/2018[c]Major[c]Detag[c]The Ezraltonian Region of World Affairs
Union of Soverign Nation[c]Lozinak
Bobberino
BMWSurfer
Zazumo
Stoskavanya1[c]05/04/2018[c]Minor[c]Detag[c]Alvinia
Alternis Mundi
Calantaria
Amerish
trumpogettinchuckothesucco
New Utopia
NAPistan
Whoville
The Confederacy of Kingdoms
Omega Syndicate
The EU
The Utopian Union
The Loosly Associated Peoples
Union of Sovereign States and People[c]Malphe
Quietdad
Bobberino
Zazumo[c]14/04/2018[c]Minor[c]Detag[c]Alvinia
Creative Region Title
Dokusai
The Brotherhood without Banners
The Cooler Earth Kingdom
The Annihilatiors
The Meme Reich
The Slativist Commentariat[c]Malphe
Zazumo
Ornge
The South Falls[c]15/04/2018[c]Major[c]Detag[c]Free Sovereign Nations
Alternis Mundi
Magna Orbis Terrarum
New United Nations of the Gator Empire
Memetopia[c]BMWSurfer
Bobberino
Zazumo[c]15/04/2018[c]Minor[c]Detag[c]The WTP Treatise
The Revolutionary Galactic Empire
Orange Archipelago
[c]Malphe
Lozinak
Zazumo
QuietDad
The South Falls
Bobberino
Lotion[c]16/04/2018[c]Major[c]Detag[c]World Economic Organization
medvnmu
alnueq
fornsigtuna[c]Lozinak
Zazumo
Quietdad
BMWSurfer
Lotion
Bobberino[c]16/04/2018[c]Minor[c]Detag[c]The Ezraltonian Region of World Affairs
Death Watch
The Threequeerateers
Central Europe
Fornsigtuna
NAPistan
Right Wingers of America
Countries that happen to be Neighbours [c]Zazumo
Malphe
Bobberino
Quietdad[c]17/04/2018[c]Major[c]Detag[c]The Puppet Dump XD
Kings Kingdom
Earth Sovereign Colonies
Role Player Coalition
Afroeurasia
Unicornsss land[c]BMWSurfer
QuietDad
Stoskavanya
Zazumo[c]17/04/2018[c]Minor[c]Detag[c]The Region for All
The only one that is not an issue of whe
The Actual Batcave
Cuisine Region
Centuria
Stoopid
Iosian Econosphere
DEATH TO THE WA AND DEMOCRACY
The Alliance of Aeronodia
NeoPosadist Dolphin Gang
Sporks
Just Bored
Look at all these police
The United Nations of Fort Kick Awesome
The Unicorn Brigade
New Reland [c]Zazumo
Malphe
Bobberino
Queitdad[c]18/04/2018[c]Major[c]Detag[c]Imperial Federation
FADN
Krilionian Union[c]BMWSurfer
QuietDad
Corporal Clegg
Bobberino
BluieGamer
Zazumo
[c]19/04/2018[c]Minor[c]Detag[c]The Central Empires
Federation of Planets
The Third Order
World Assembley Region[c]Zazumo
Malphe
Quietdad
Bobberino
aber639[c]19/04/2018[c]Major[c]Detag[c]SUCK MY TERRYFOLDS
Midgar[c]BMWSurfer
QuietDad
Aber639
Bobberino
BluieGamer
Zazumo[c]20/04/2018[c]Minor[c]Detag[c]Alvinia
Alternis Mundi
United Moderate States
Holy Internet Empire
Osnyan Union
Nuditopia
Hetopia[c]
Malphe
Quietdad
Bobberino[c]21/04/2018[c]Minor[c]Detag[c]Malphe
Zazumo
The South Falls
Bobberino[c]Chan nations
The World After The Flash
The Outskirts
in the puppet over the region
ooferooferson
iFunny Gang
[c]22/04/2018 (minor) - 25/04/2018 (major)[c]Minor (jump update)[c]Anti-Fascist Refound[c]Greater German Imperial Confederation[c]Malphe
Quietdad
Zazumo
Lozinak
BMWSurfer
Dinoium
Deropia
Lotion
Bobberino
BluieGamer
The South Falls
aber639[c]25/04/2018[c]Minor[c]Detag[c]Riders of Rohan
Kings Kingdom
The Bone Zone
The Dewwit Empire
Free Nations of Mobocracy
The Rogue Nation
Ducatalot[c]Zazumo
Malphe
Quietdad
Bobberino[c]27/04/2018[c]Major[c]Detag[c]Islamic Communist Union
Cmswbl
Justin Bieber
Cleyra
Alliance of Autonomous Free Nations[c]Zazumo
Lotion
Aber639
Bobberino[c]28/04/2018[c]Minor[c]Detag[c]Prato de Cuscuz
Guilfordistan
The Starbird Empire
Save Earth
Guilfordistan
NAPistan
Yroodylt
The Ambassadors[c]Zazumo
Malphe
BluieGamer
Bobberino
The South Falls[c]29/04/2018[c]Major[c]Officer Test, Detag[c]United League of World Nations
Hearth of Hestia
[c]Bobberino
Quietdad
Dinoium
Deropia
aber639
Zazumo[c]29/04/2018[c]Minor[c]Joint Detag (SPSF)[c]Deathwatch
His DMs
Gratis
Stalag 13
The Northern Pacific Ocean
Southwestern Alliance Temporary Home
Ullesbergian Outpost
The Antarctic Trade Federation
Golden Dragon
The Land of The Scandinavians
Sovietunionnation
Kingdom of the world powers
The Weastern Legion
Ze Land of Whatever
The Free States of Oxfordshire
New Exodus
Alliance of Northern Somewhere
Newest Terrio
The Confederation of Councils
Diverse Opinions
Epimethea
Comintern Pact
Russia Ussr
Imperium of Man
Sayck
Krupp Steel
Eurofrasia
The First Annals of Dankous Memeous[c]Malphe
Quietdad
Zazumo
Bobberino
Dinoium[/table][/spoiler][hr]
[center][size=3][u][b]The Northern Lights[/b][/u][b]:[/b] [i]Beauty in Truth[/i]
Publisher: Gladio II :: Executive Editor: Kaschovia
[i]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.[/i]
[b][center][url=https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=352113]Index of issues[/url][/center][/b][/size]P.S Because of the short time between the transition to the next government, I couldn't get any of the other codes for the other boards. If I'd had more time I would have asked for help with the Invision and ProBoards releases, so I apologise for this inconvenience. If it makes it easier, feel free to post a link to the dispatch instead if it proves too difficult or time-consuming to get the code right.
Thank you all!
