Belated Christmas and New Year wishes from the West Pacific!
The past year has seen a great deal of activity both home in TWP and in NationStates at large, not least the sheer volume of coups in Osiris, communist revolutions in both TSP and Lazarus, the dissolution of a TWP venture (the NS Republic) and the rise of UCR defender militaries and new UCR powers. As with every other year in NS, 2013 has been a year of highs and lows, with new friendships formed and others broken. Perhaps most importantly in TWP, we saw the rise of the West Pacific Imperium and a new phase of activity under Imperator-Delegate Westwind; may his crimson light shine upon The West Pacific and bless NS for the coming year and forever more.
In other news, this update marks the beginning of a renewed Foreign Affairs Department in TWP. Expect in the current future, interviews with TWP personnel and an increased number of updates.
Yours,
The West Pacific Imperium as endorsed by the Concilium and the Imperator.
World Assembly Ministry Update
Dateline December 10th.
By World Assembly Minister Treize Dreizehn
So, it’s difficult to pick a start date for reporting data on this topic, I’m going to settle on a month. This will only cover details on GA resolutions. A new report, listing new information and comparing old stats to new will be posted monthly.
So, let’s cover the period between November 1st and now.
A list of all resolutions passed in that time are as follows:
Format: Resolution Name (Percentage of entire assembly voting Aye) [Delegate’s vote, if record was taken]
Repeal “Chemical Weapons Protocol” (84%) [Aye]
Repeal “Against Corruption” (85%) [Aye]
Repeal “Rights of the Disabled Act” (84%) [Aye]
Repeal “Protection of Outer Space Act” (88%) [Aye]
Chemical Weapons Accord (54%) [Nay]
Repeal “Internet Net Neutrality Act” (81%) [Aye]
Repeal “Renewable Energy Installations” (84%) [Aye]
Repeal “Cultural Heritage Protection” (74%) [Aye]
A total of 8 resolutions passed. 5 of these resolutions were authored or co-authored by TWP citizens, representing 63% of all resolutions passed during this period.
As for the region: The West Pacific contains 4,183 nations. Or 5th most in the world. Of those nations, 420 have a World Assembly Nation(10% of the total population). Of those, 297 currently endorse the delegate(representing a 71% endorsement rate).
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The Concillium: A New Speaker is Elected
Concillium member, TWPAF Soldier and Ambassador Karland has been elected as Speaker of The Concillium following a unanimous election facing Minister of WA Affairs and well known NS face, Treize Dreizhn. Karland ran for the position of Speaker under the banner of increased activity “sustained throughout [his] term”. Karland has in the past dedicated time to writing and editing many of the laws of the West Pacific Imperium and will, no doubt, have much in store for the West Pacific during the course of his three month term.
When quizzed on the topic of his rise to power, Karland had the following to say:
"I’m glad the Concilium put their confidence in me.’
How insightful; may the glorious knowledge of Karland continue to inspire the people and Concilium to greater heights in the future!
Outgoing Speaker, Intelligent Holograms, decided not to run for reelection.
The Solstice Sacrifice:
[AGP] puts on his Crimson Saint Westwind robes… gold highlighted crimson upon a sable field, edged with white fur and and strong gilded threads, covering the formal military uniform with decorations of many Regions beneath.
A lone TWPAF soldier in full dress uniform turned smartly, and marched down the hallway, disappearing into the veiled darkness beyond the double-doors. Trumpets called out the fanfare.
In flowing crimson robes, twelve hooded figures stepped into and down the hallway, in two rows of six each. They were followed by a train of acolytes. A double line of TWPAF soldiers, came in the rear of the procession.
The twelve crimson robed figures established their two lines on either side in front of Delegate and Guardian’s Seats. The acolytes arrayed themselves behind the twelve, with the TWPAF soldiers standing on either side behind them at attention. The trumpets stopped in reverberation, and a silence covered the RMB.
The lone TWPAF soldier again appeared through the double-doors, marching much the same as he had before, only this time in silence, without the benefit of the trumpeters. Without a glance downward, he came to a perfect stop before the Delegate and Guardians. A picture of military precision. He turned smartly toward the region and his strong bold voice called out.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. Citizens and Friends. Honored Dignitaries. Nations of all kinds. The Delegate of The West Pacific, Saint Westwind of The Church of Westwind of All Good People, has divined the Winter Solstice as the day upon which a sacrifice must be made. The Solar Maximum has failed to ignite the Sun’s full blessings upon NationStates, and the light of the Sun must be called to return and bless us once again.
The twelve crimson robed figures chanted in unison.
“Nous Sommes Du Soliel, the Solstice Sacrifice cometh twice, just as updates cometh twice in a day. We call upon the Sun to returneth it’s pure light, for our Sacrifice upon the alter of The West, a gift to The Rejected Realms. Amen.”
Amen. Let the Solstice begin. If you wish to offer a sacrifice this day, found a new non-WA nation in The West Pacific. You may also serve the Solstice by joining the World Assembly this day to avoid the Sacrifice. But remember the Law of Max, one WA nation per player.
So it has been written. So it will be done.
Yy4u Added:
And thus begineth this new Baktun
and though we start anew
Tis a Light we begin
As the Darkness descends
And the Nine Noble Virtues were recited:
Remember the Nine Noble Virtues on this sacred Solstice day. Courage, Truth, Honor, Fidelity, Hopitality, Discipline, Industriousness, Self-reliance, and Perserverence.
Darkesia added:
The Winter Clense is upon us.
ADMIN guide Great Westwind’s hand, that the region be mercifully cleansed in the blood of Sacrifice this
Solstice.
Bring out your puppets!
The First Sacrifice began…
raises hands up towards the Sun
Accept our gift, accept our sacrifice. The West abides in the House of the Sun.
Let the first sacrifice begin.
Forty Sacrifices later:
And yet, The Rejected Realms remains the depository of those sacrificed, so that they may serve the best BBQ in NationStates for the coming year.
The First Sacrifice is complete. The Second Sacrifice will come, just as Major Update will come. Until the Second Sacrifice, rejoice and feast upon the bounty of this year’s harvest. Let the wine flow freely, the beer mugs be full, and the spiced crimson rum overflow with joy.
Twelve hours Later, the Second Sacrifce began.
Ladies and Gentlemen. Citizens and Friends. Honored Dignitaries. The Delegate and Guardians extend their thanks for your attendance and participation to this year’s Solstice Sacrifice. The First Sacrifice began twelve hours ago, and now the time has come for the Second Sacrifice. Those that have volunteered for Sacrifice will be blessed by the Sun and Saint Westwind for what they have given. Those that have not volunteered, are also recognized for the blessing they will be to The Rejected Realms and all regions to which they may thus travel.
Let the Second Sacrifice Begin.
And concluded
The Blessings of Saint Westwind, and the Grace of the Sun be upon you. The Last Shrubbery joins the Yule Log, as our Solstice Sacrifice concludes. May the Sun return its pure light to NationStates in recognition of our Sacrifice. Amen.
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Inside TAO: Documents Reveal Top NSA Hacking Unit
Spiegel
http://www.spiegel.d…s-a-940969.html
“The NSA’s TAO hacking unit is considered to be the intelligence agency’s top secret weapon. It maintains its own covert network, infiltrates computers around the world and even intercepts shipping deliveries to plant back doors in electronics ordered by those it is targeting.”
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WTF News: Glow-in-the-Dark Pigs Created Using Jelly Fish Genes
All Hiphop
http://allhiphop.com…lly-fish-genes/
"Scientists in China created 10 piglets that glow green under black fluorescent lights, using a technique developed by the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Medicine.
A group of scientists from South China Agricultural University were able to do this by injecting fluorescent protein from jellyfish DNA into pig embryos, thus creating the green-glowing pigs.
This same technique was used to create the worlds first glow-in-the-dark bunnies in Turkey earlier this year, where they are currently working to produce similar results with fluorescent-glowing sheep. "
We look forward to Blatt’s thoughts on the glowing sheep.
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Question to the Delegate:
The Republic of Huangshi wrote:
You know, I guess I’m still kind of new here, but it didn’t occur to me until recently that the elections here in TWP are artificial. What I mean is, we set that up ourselves–previously, I had thought that ALL delegates were elected via endorsements… I didn’t realize some regions had dictators or random people who managed to get a lot of endorsements.
Also, I was recently browsing through other large regions (not thinking of moving, though), and on The Pacific’s page I saw that they have an “endorsement limit” of 10. Why is that? Is it to prevent invasion? I.e, if someone tries to jump in and get a bunch of endorsements, the Pacific administration will ban them preemptively? I’m curious about it is all, as it seemed almost oppressive.
Delegate All Good People responded:
Delegates are the Administrators of a region (so are Founders in User Created Regions) as defined by the NS FAQ.
The players have built upon the basic game, so many regions create their own government on offsite forums…which only bears a relation to the ingame functions through collective consent of the players in the region and the Delegate’s williness to post a link to the forum in the WFE. NationStates itself does not recognize any offsite authority.
Some players claim that the only legitimate Delegate is one that has been elected via offsite elections. They beleive this is ‘democracy’. Yet in those offsite elections, there are usually no more than 1% of the nations of the region participating in that voting. In TWP, we beleive that the endorsements of all the WA nations of the region are legitimate, not just those that vote on an offsite forum.
There is also the game mechanic of Influence to consider. A nation with low Influence will be an insecure Delegate, easily toppled. Ensuring the security of the region from threats both inside and outside requires that the Delegate have enough Influence to eject and ban those threats. If the Delegate cannot rid the region of a threat, he/she will lose control of the region. Part of the security a Delegate provides is protecting the regional culture and community of the region. Without enough Influence to ensure that protection, others can topple the Delegate to change the culture and abandon the region’s community without it’s consent.
As to the endorsement cap policy of The Pacific, I don’t want to presume to speak for them. However, there are several factors involved in that policy. Some of that has to do with the management of Influence in the region. By restricting endorsements, you ensure that the Delegate is unrivaled in Influence and therefore can easily handle any threats. Also, the game has changed how Influence is calculated in Game Created Regions in such a way that you only accumulate 6 months worth of Influence.
In six months, a non-WA nation can accumlate as much Influence as a WA nation with 10 endorsements (that’s where the 10 endorsement limit in TP comes from). Another factor is more about NationStates politics than game mechanics, as the New Pacific Order (NPO) has controlled The Pacific for ten years. They maintain tight control over the Delegacy to ensure the continuity and longevity of their political system. They had powerful enemies many years ago and reacted by instituting strong security policies.
A Delegate also must be watchful for those that make a run at the Delegacy. Players will try strategies to gather large numbers of endorsements undetected. So the Delegate must be vigilent to catch them before they become costly to banject. There are players that are dedicated to take every opportunity to overthrow a lazy Delegate. By keeping a low endorsement cap, you can detect such attempts more quickly, and waste less of your NS time on security issues. I check the region for such threats every day. I try to keep an endorsement cap that balances allowing freedom of endorsement, while ensuring the strength of Influence in the Delegacy and Guardians. As threats, NS politics, and game mechanics change, the cap may change as appropriate.
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Statement on Osiris
It is the wish of The West Pacific Imperium for all nations to live under the umbrella of safety that a stable, democratically Delegacy provides. Whilst the troubles of the last year have been unkind to the indigenous population of Osiris, TWP sees the expulsion of The Empire from Osiris as a step in the right direction for achieving control by the Delegacy of Osiris and those that would seek to manipulate her. In kind with TWP’s traditional staunch position on the nature of offsite forums and the tendency for them to exert undue influence and control upon the true Delegate of the region, the West Pacific Imperium and the officials therein, not limited to The Crimson Imperator, Delegate of The West Pacific and Holy Saint of the Church of Westwind, All Good People and the Guardians of the Realm of The West Pacific have hereby extended all available support, be it militant, diplomatic or otherwise, to the rightful Pharaoh Venico and the regime he has rightly raised.
May Osiris find direction and harmony under the leadership of her Delegate and may those that wish to unseat the rightful Delegate Venico through subversive means be cast out of the region.
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That’s all for now, look out in future for more content from The West Pacific!