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News: The counter-revolution will soon be as dead as the Q Society!

Author Topic: The North Star - Issue XX  (Read 3759 times)

Offline The Federalist

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The North Star - Issue XX
« on: October 08, 2020, 02:16:41 PM »
Regional Assembly Highlights | August - September 2020
by Cretox State, Deputy Speaker

Speaker: St George (MadJack)
Deputy Speakers (August): Robespierre, Crushing Our Enemies, Cretox State, and Bobberino
Deputy Speakers (September): Robespierre, BobberinoComfed, and Lady Raven Wing


Current Business

Current outstanding business for the Regional Assembly as of writing is voting on the rejection of New Francois's citizenship application by the Vice Delegate, and handling the potential confirmation of Gorundu as prosecutor for the court case  "The North Pacific v. New Francois".

-~-

Rejection of New Francois's Citizenship Application

Summary: New Francois lost citizenship on 9 September 2020 due to failing to maintain a nation within TNP. They reapplied for citizenship on 20 September 2020; this application was rejected by Vice Delegate Dreadton. The Regional Assembly must determine whether to uphold this rejection.

Status: At Vote


Appointment of Gorundu as Prosecutor for "The North Pacific v. New Francois"

Summary: Delegate TlomzKrano appointed Gorundu as Prosecutor for the court case "The North Pacific v. New Francois" on 21 September 2020 after some concerns were raised regarding a prior appointee. The appointment of Gorundu is currently being discussed.

Status: Discussion and Debate


On Hold

Appointment of Chewie as Prosecutor for "The North Pacific v. New Francois"

Summary: Then-Delegate Prydania appointed Chewie as Prosecutor for the court case "The North Pacific v. New Francois" on 11 September 2020. The matter was successfully motioned to be voted upon, but received enough objections to cancel the scheduled vote. Another Prosecutor was subsequently appointed by Delegate TlomzKrano.


Passed - Legislative

The legislative proposals that have passed through the Regional Assembly in the months of August and September thus far are the Government Officials Achieving Transparency Act and the North Pacific Security Council Disclosure Act.

-~-

The Government Officials Achieving Transparency Act* by Praetor

Summary: In an effort to increase the transparency and accountability of the region's Security Council, Praetor brought the aforementioned proposed piece of legislation before the Regional Assembly in early July. The bill sought to make the Security Council subject to FOIA (Freedom of Information Act), thereby allowing redacted private Security Council records to be made public upon resident request. The bill passed the Regional Assembly by majority vote, after which it was vetoed by the Delegate.

Results: 32 Ayes | 14 Nays | 5 Abstentions

Status: Passed as of 15 August 2020
*Vetoed by then-Delegate Prydania after passing


North Pacific Security Council Disclosure Act by Oracle

Summary: In response to the veto of The Government Officials Achieving Transparency act, Oracle brought their proposed legislation before the Regional Assembly in mid-August in an attempt to address the subject of Security Council transparency in a modified manner. The most important of these modifications included provisions dealing with private records that existed prior to the bill's taking effect and methods of validation through the Court. The bill passed the Regional Assembly by majority vote.

Results:  19 Ayes | 6 Nays | 9 Abstentions

Status: Passed as of 13 September 2020


Passed - Non Legislative

The non-legislative proposals that passed the Regional Assembly in the months of August and September as of yet are the Confirmation of Fregerson as Election Commissioner, the Confirmation of Vivanco as Prosecutor in "The North Pacific v. Ihese", the Confirmation of Cretox State and BMWSurfer to the Election Commission, and Former English Colony's Security Council Application.

-~-

Confirmation of Fregerson as Election Commissioner

Summary: Fregerson was nominated to the Election Commission by then-Delegate Prydania on 11 August 2020, as Fregerson's term on the Commission was expiring. The nomination was soon motioned to a vote, and passed the Regional Assembly by majority vote on 25 August 2020.

Results: 36 Ayes | 0 Nays | 6 Abstentions

Status: Passed as of 25 August 2020


Confirmation of Vivanco as Prosecutor in "The North Pacific v. Ihese"

Summary: Vivanco was nominated by then-Delegate Prydania to serve as Prosecutor for the aforementioned Court case. After a period of debate, the nomination was brought to a vote on 3 September 2020. The nomination was confirmed by the Regional Assembly by majority vote.

Results: 30 Ayes | 1 Nay | 12 Abstentions

Status: Passed as of 6 September 2020


Confirmation of BMWSurfer and Cretox State as Election Commissioners

Summary: BMWSurfer and Cretox State were nominated by then-Delegate Prydania in early September to serve on the Election Commission. Shortly thereafter, the matter was brought to the Regional Assembly, where both nominations passed by majority vote.

Results:
BMWSurfer:
35 Ayes | 0 Nays | 4 Abstentions
Cretox State: 38 Ayes | 0 Nays | 2 Abstentions

Status: Both passed as of 10 September 2020


Former English Colony's Security Council Application

Summary: In mid-September, the region's Security Council nominated Former English Colony, one of the oldest and most notable members of TNP, for a seat on the Security Council by unanimous vote. The matter was motioned for a vote of the Regional Assembly, where it passed by majority vote.

Results: 40 Ayes | 0 Nays | 8 Abstentions

Status: Passed as of 21 September 2020


Failed

Ease of Prosecution Act by Comfed

The only proposal that failed the Regional Assembly in the last two months is the Ease of Prosecution Act (legislative). Introduced in mid-July, the bill aimed to provide for the appointment of a new Prosecutor in Court cases where the sitting Prosecutor discontinues the case. The proposal barely failed to reach majority support.

Results: 12 Ayes | 13 Nays | 6 Abstentions

Status: Failed as of 29 August 2020
« Last Edit: October 08, 2020, 03:11:57 PM by The Federalist »

Offline The Federalist

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Re: The North Star - Issue XX (Cut Into Parts)
« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2020, 02:22:23 PM »
News - ADITO 2
by Arichia, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs
A Drop In The Ocean 2 was a celebration, hosted by The North Pacific and The South Pacific, celebrating TNP and TSP as allies and Pacifics. The festival followed A Drop In The Ocean 1, which happened in 2017. The celebration had places to learn, role-play, have fun. The celebration was planned by TNP’s Minister of Culture, Syrixia, TNP’s Cards Guildmaster, Praetor, as well as the rest of TNP’s Ministry of Culture. A Drop In The Ocean 2 began on 2 August 2020 and ended on 9 August 2020.

TNP Delegate, Prydania began with an Opening Statement on the celebration. Beforehand, a Celebration Pavilion was made in TNP’s forum, for the part of the celebration that was on the forum. A Discord server for the festival was also released.

TNP’s forums contained the Celebration Pavilion. There, three social deduction games were put up, Mafia, Detectives, and Assassin In The Palace, hosted by Praetor. However, Detectives ended early, due to discussion on the game happening on the Discord server. Seraph also brought over the “Cake vs Pie” thread from TSP. The Celebration Pavilion also had the central thread for the Art and Writing Contests. There were two prompts during the celebration, “Describe What You Think The Best Quality Of Your Region Is”, and “Describe What You Hope For The Future of TNP-TSP Relations”. The role-play part of The Celebration Pavilion contained the World Exposition, as well as the International Conference.

The Discord server of ADITO 2 had several channels, including The Mess Hall, and channels for some of the activities on the forum. The Mess Hall was a place for spam and memery. It also contained a trivia and a battle game for everyone to enjoy. The server also had a voice channel, the Aquarium, for lectures and AMAs (Ask Me Anything) from figures from both regions. Morover, Rom, Pallaith, Nimarya, Phoenix, Jay, Gorundu, Dreadton, Seraph, Syrixia, Nakari, and Prydania all did AMAs. Highton, Praetor, Omega, Phoenix did lectures on Sports, Cards, Podcasting, and Character RP, respectively. Nimarya touched on how the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Home Affairs rely on each other. Rom explained how they wanted to expand the NPA's piling force. Pallaith also talked about The World Factbook Project. Many other subjects were brought up as well. The transcripts were posted in the Celebration Pavilion, under the Lecture Transcripts thread. The recordings were posted on NBS.

As A Drop In The Ocean 2 concluded, El Fiji Grande was named as the winner of the Art Contest and was awarded a medal. Syrixia gave their Closing Statements on the festival, stating that “Our friendship has been and continues to be stronger and deeper than any of the great oceans on which we sail. May it remain so in perpetuity!” Following the end of A Drop In The Ocean 2, the Celebration Pavilion was locked and moved to the Archives.

Offline The Federalist

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Re: The North Star - Issue XX (Cut Into Parts)
« Reply #2 on: October 08, 2020, 02:24:17 PM »
The Spotlight - Interview With Nimarya
by Arichia, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs
Arichia: So, I would like to start from the beginning, how did you first get started in NationStates?

Nimarya: Well, my brother actually found the website and showed it to me a little over two years ago. I made a nation and spent most of the following two years just lurking, answering issues, and spying on the forum. Eventually, my old nation CTE'd, so when I decided to return to NationStates I made a new nation under the name "Nimarya" which just so happened to spawn in TNP. Then, I was inexplicably drawn into the activities of this region and the rest is history.

Arichia: TNP has many activities for many people. What activities did you first get yourself involved in?

Nimarya: Home Affairs and the North Pacific Army were the two big things. I joined Home Affairs not long before Bluie resigned from the position of Minister of Home Affairs, and when Rocketdog stepped up as Minister he choose to give me a chance as Deputy. I think I can point back to that singular decision on his part as the one thing that's most defined my path in TNP, because when I was brought in as a Deputy I was given the chance to learn administration, to establish myself in the region, and was set on the course that would lead to me one day taking over as Minister of Home Affairs.

The NPA has also been one of my absolute favorite things about this region. Rom in particular was amazing and taught me R/D personally, and now I can say I'm an officer in the NPA thanks to his guidance. It's fun, it's engaging, and I love the friends I've made there. Working with the NPA is also a great opportunity to make friends outside of the North Pacific as you compete with other R/D players in NS.

Arichia: From what you've said about your time here, it looks like you've really enjoyed Home Affairs and NPA! I would also like to hear about what you think is the most enjoyable part of being the Minister of Home Affairs.

Nimarya: The most enjoyable aspect of being Minister of Home Affairs, for me at least, is harnessing the ideas and passion of the people who work with me. I like how we're all a team who wants to reach out to new players and help them become part of the region, and I think that passion and sense of community we share is crucial to the life and productivity of Home Affairs. It makes me very happy to see my staff have fun and engage with others, and that's been one of my most driving motivations as I work to continuously improve the Ministry.

Arichia: Before yourself, many people have held the position of the Minister of Home Affairs. As you are in that same position, who do you look up to, and what do you admire about them?

Nimarya: Well, I haven't worked under that many other Ministers in Home Affairs- only Bluie, very briefly, and Rocketdog. I have, however, also become friends with BMWSurfer who was a MoHA long before I joined TNP. I would say I respect each of them for different things. I admire BMW greatly for the advice he has given me throughout this term, as well as his genius creation of Home Affair's latest roster. I respect Bluie for being a solid and dependable worker and advisor who has stepped up to the plate multiple times this last term. I also admire the work he did with polls during his last term, an idea which, if I'm ever again able to work as MoHA, I intend to blatantly copy. Lastly, I respect Rocketdog for his example in delegating certain work to his deputies during his term as Minister, instead of trying to do everything himself. In that way I've chosen to follow in his footsteps by delegating work and trusting my deputies to help shoulder the work of Home Affairs, a tactic which I believe has led to better results all around.

Arichia: I see that you value hard work and determination. What are some difficult challenges that you have gone through during your time working in Home Affairs, or TNP government in general?

Nimarya: Two main challenges come to mind, I think. The first would be a more general challenge that just comes with gaining a leadership position. It can be hard establishing goals, schedules, and then of course figuring out step by step what exactly needs to happen and then how to make it happen. I think that's just gotten easier with experience as I've worked throughout the term. I've had to postpone different projects and I've had to accept that some things I would like to do just aren't feasible or important enough for the moment, which can be a hard pill to swallow sometimes. But I would like to say I'm learning, and getting better at management in general, and I am happy with the things we've been able to accomplish this term.

The other challenge would be handling situations with staff that aren't really doing what they're supposed to. This term we've had situations where people were claiming things out of order, or fighting over rows, and dealing with that hasn't been easy, but I think the key to solving or at least mitigating those problems has been just to talk to people, and work out what needs to change.

Arichia: Those are hard problems, but, of course, problems arise all the time, and we accomplish things too. Under your leadership, what do you believe is Home Affairs' greatest accomplishment?

Nimarya: That's a very tough question to answer. We have the new Log and Data Viewer system, which I believe to be revolutionary, and we've also recently introduced a cards reward program that I think will also go very far and might potentially serve as an inspiration for other cards programs. However, at the end of the day I think the most important thing Home Affairs has gained is a solid system of operations. We now have methods and routine for each of the main processes of Home Affairs, from distributing Home Office work in a rotational schedule, to guides for accepting and training new staff, to templates and procedures for mentoring, and more. At the beginning of my term, I said I wanted to do many small things to make Home Affairs easier to run and easier to work in. I think I can say I've succeeded at that.

Arichia: To my knowledge, much of the work you put into is for Home Affairs and the NPA. Are you part of other ministries, The Regional Assembly, or in any other places?

Nimarya: Well, as a citizen and Minister I'm definitely part of the Regional Assembly! I haven't been involved in drafting legislation, but that could change one day. Truth be told most of my focus and efforts have been on the NPA and HA, especially the past few months. However, I am part of Culture as well and have assisted with graphic design this term, and I'm also technically part of the Cards Guild, although that's mostly because Praetor hasn't kicked me out yet, and I want to become more involved with that in the future.

Arichia: And to finish, once your time as Minister is over, what do you plan to do, and would you consider doing anything more?

Nimarya: Well, when I'm done as Minister of Home Affairs, I'm probably going to turn my attention to trying out different areas of the game and region that I haven't explored much yet, namely Foreign Affairs and possibly World Assembly Affairs. I'll also consider running for office one of these days. That's not to say I intend to abandon Home Affairs or the NPA- on the contrary, I doubt I could ever leave them, but I probably will step back from leadership for at least a term in the future, just to recharge and figure out what it is I want to be doing.

Arichia: Those are all the questions I have. I really appreciate your time and answers! Thanks for the opportunity to interview you!

Offline The Federalist

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Re: The North Star - Issue XX (Cut Into Parts)
« Reply #3 on: October 08, 2020, 02:26:42 PM »
News - August 2020 Special Election
by Comfed, Deputy Speaker
After Lady Raven wing lost her justice position for not posting on the forum for 14 days, she lost her position as justice and a special election was called.

Candidates:
Yalkan
Vivanco
Eluvatar

Yalkan
Yalkan declared his candidacy in the candidacy declarations thread. He did not post a campaign thread.
Yalkan received 16.67% of the vote and was not elected.

Vivanco
Vivanco accepted a nomination from Praetor. He posted a campaign thread, and based it on his election to the now abolished post of Attorney General, and stated that he had enough experience to understand and interpret the law.
Vivanco received 28.12% of the vote and was not elected.

Eluvatar
Eluvatar accepted a nomination from Robespierre. He posted a campaign thread, and ran on the basis of his experience as a previous justice. He also included a FAQ in his thread.
Eluvatar received 55.13% of the vote and was elected.

Mall also ran, but since he already had a justice seat his candidacy was null. He posted a campaign thread only, which was entitled "Mall4Court 2: Thanks Election Commission". The election was run differently due to the"Lessening Repeating Work" bill recently passed by Praetor resulting in a vote system similar to Single Transferable Vote (STV).

Offline The Federalist

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Re: The North Star - Issue XX (Cut Into Parts)
« Reply #4 on: October 08, 2020, 02:28:39 PM »
News - September 2020 Special Justice Election
by Owenstacy, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Due to losing citizenship, Eluvatar abandoned their position as justice, which resulted in a second Special Justice Election of the term being called. The election saw two candidates run, both of whom had experience in the judicial branch: Vivanco and Saintpeter.

Vivanco
Vivanco, a former Attorney General and running for the fourth time, ran on a platform of ‘truth, honesty, and justice’. Citing the importance of stability in the court, and the fact that this was the third judicial election of the term, he promised that he would not abandon his office.

Vivanco received 85.71% of the vote and was elected.

Saintpeter
Saintpeter, running for justice for the second time this term, also pledged that they would not abandon office this term if elected. Apart from this, they ran on the same platform as they did in their last candidacy. This consisted of the clear implementation of judicial philosophy into the workings of the court and the court self-regulating its power. As well as this, Saintpeter proposed implementing a trial of law clerks to give people experience working in this branch.

Saintpeter received 14.29% of the vote and was not elected.

Offline The Federalist

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Re: The North Star - Issue XX (Cut Into Parts)
« Reply #5 on: October 08, 2020, 02:38:10 PM »
World Assembly Digest 1/2
by BMWSurfer, Minister of Communications
Protecting Legal Rights Of Workers
(click to show/hide)
Integrity In Law Enforcement
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Repeal Wartime Journalism Protection Act
(click to show/hide)
Public Access To Court Records
(click to show/hide)
Repeal Promotion Of Recycling
(click to show/hide)
Restrictions On Forced Eugenics
(click to show/hide)
Gmo International Trade Accord
(click to show/hide)
Land Reclamation Regulation
(click to show/hide)
Marine Protection Act
(click to show/hide)
Ensuring Effectual Recycling
(click to show/hide)
Repeal Supporting And Valuing The Humanities
(click to show/hide)
Commercial Arbitration Recognition
(click to show/hide)
Pedagogical Freedom
(click to show/hide)
Sovereign Justice Accord
(click to show/hide)

Offline The Federalist

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Re: The North Star - Issue XX (Cut Into Parts)
« Reply #6 on: October 08, 2020, 02:38:57 PM »
World Assembly Digest 2/2
by BMWSurfer, Minister of Communications
Ending School Segregation
(click to show/hide)
Commend Trotterdam
(click to show/hide)
Commend Nuremgard
(click to show/hide)
Commend Wallenburg
(click to show/hide)
Condemn Noahs Second Country
(click to show/hide)
Commend Valanora
(click to show/hide)
Repeal Commend Evil Wolf
(click to show/hide)
Repeal Commend The Red Fleet
(click to show/hide)
Repeal Commend Kuriko
(click to show/hide)
Commend Altino
(click to show/hide)
Commend The Red Fleet
(click to show/hide)
Liberate Syria
(click to show/hide)
Condemn Ever-Wandering Souls
(click to show/hide)
Condemn The Land Of Kings And Emperors
(click to show/hide)

Offline The Federalist

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Re: The North Star - Issue XX (Cut Into Parts)
« Reply #7 on: October 08, 2020, 02:40:02 PM »
NPA Bulletin
by Robespierre, Colonel of the North Pacific Army

NPA soldiers, now under the leadership of 9003 and Gorundu, give one final hurrah to Rom and co. following the successful liberation of NationStates Monarchists from fascists.
(click to show/hide)

Another day, another pile! Err… that’s not how the saying goes, now is it? :P

It’s been a while, but not to worry: for your friends from the North Pacific Army have been keeping themselves busy day in and day out with a plethora of exciting activities! What activities, you ask? Well, let’s all begin this month’s segment by taking a moment to congratulate the Ministry of Defense’s new overlord from the world of cards: 9003!

Shortly after the election of Kranostav (Tlomz) to the Delegacy in early-September, it was announced that 9003 would be taking up the mantle as Minister and would be given an opportunity to emerge from the Officer Corps as the NPA’s next leader. In a brief opening statement, 9003 made his goals for the term quite clear by remarking that “[He’d] like to see more ops at minors as well as a better training program from new recruits.” Wasting little time in pursuit of progress on these objectives, the new MoD quickly introduced a system for daily piles that soldiers can attend even without physically being present during updates!

While it remains to be seen whether or not this initiative is popular enough to become standard practice in the Ministry, 9003 and newly-appointed mega nerd (and Deputy Minister of Defense), Gorundu, have already been seen whipping potato peelers into shape outside the barracks. After a handful of promotions at the start of the term came a slew of discharges, and now, with the Ministry’s official roster updated and purged of all inactives, the NPA continues to proudly offer its allies assistance, its foes resistance, and the fascists no safe haven! With congratulations out of the way, let’s get right into this month’s happenings on the battlefield:

Beginning on the second (2nd) of August’s minor update and lasting all the way up until the eleventh (11th) of August’s major update, troops from the North Pacific Army, the South Pacific Special Forces, the Rejected Realms Army, the East Pacific Sovereign Army, the Union of Democratic States Armed Forces, Lily, the Order of the Grey Wardens, and Founderless, among others, joined together to form the largest liberation updater force in history! With ninety (90) soldiers in attendance (nine of which being from the NPA), the previous record set in 2016 was shattered by approximately eight updaters as militaries from all across NationStates stormed the beaches of South Pacific. This marked a huge victory in gameplay and the efforts of all involved will not soon be forgotten.

Moving on, in true Independent fashion, the North Pacific Army followed up a successful liberation campaign by carrying out a number of raids over the course of the past two months. On the twenty-second (22nd) of August's major update, the region of Calefacta Aquas Piscinae fell victim to a short-lived invasion when NPA personnel rallied alongside the Black Hawks, the Europiean Republican Navy, Lone Wolves United, and others to seize the Delegacy for a day prior to a return by the region's Founder. Thirteen (13) of the North's finest participated in this endeavor and the exemplary efforts of many were showcased.

Shortly thereafter, on the twenty-fourth (24th) of August's major update, fourteen NPAers set out to bash the fash in cooperation with regions belonging to ANTIFA. It remains unclear exactly why these hateful ideological elements thought they ever stood a chance against the glorious boot of freedom, but suffice to say that then-Minister of Defense Rom was very happy to see such great poise from his army on display.

In other news, a joint operation between the North Pacific Army and the East Pacific Sovereign Army on the thirteenth (13th) of September's minor update resulted in a handful of regions being tagged and one region being defended. Five regions were visited in total and General BluieGamer lead the charge on the trigger. Lastly, rounding out the month of September, the EuroOlympics were underway and the NPA simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to compete. Later the same day, on the thirteenth (13th) of September's major update, ten soldiers deployed to EuroOlympics King of the Hill for a smile pile event! Soldiers remained stationed there for a few days out of the week before the host region came to recapture their hill.

... and that's all, folks! Up until this point, we've been staying busy, you've probably been staying busy, and we hope that you all have been staying safe during these difficult times. Thank you for reading this issue of the NPA Bulletin as we've rehashed the past two month's events and gotten to enjoy some precious moments in time with your favourite GPers! Until the next segment, cheers!
The North Star: Lighting The Way To The Truth
Publisher: TlomzKrano :: Executive Editor: BMWSurfer :: Managing Editor: Bobberino

The North Star is produced by the Ministry of Communications on behalf of the Government of The North Pacific and is distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs externally and the Ministry of Home Affairs internally. Except where otherwise indicated, all content represents the views of the Government of The North Pacific.

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