General Election Reportby bowloftoast, Political Correspondent
The Region is now "Fijitastic" with the election of our new Delegate.
Spring has sprung for those in TNP’s northern hemisphere, and the May General Election provided verdant democratic ground for both perennial candidates and budding new political talent.
The Delegacy:
Keeping to his campaign promise of a single term, previous delegate Pallaith opted not to run this round, creating the opportunity for new leadership to rise, and keeping alive TNP’s tradition of encouraging citizens to engage in the pursuit of leadership positions.
El Fiji Grande was the first candidate to declare, riding momentum from recent election to the Security Council, and having displayed great acumen as Minister of Communications. In his platform, Fiji emphasized a willingness to learn as he led, if chosen. Fiji deferred to those with greater experience during the campaign, and his platform became a work in progress. This willingness to adapt to the views of the community went a long way in building confidence in his candidacy, securing him 88% of the votes, and victory.
St. George (Madjack) declared shortly thereafter. A former Delegate in Osiris, St. George brought executive experience to the campaign. St. George placed an emphasis on Ministerial liberty and gave a specific mention of the importance of an unfettered RP community. Previous indiscretions came to light, however, and with matters before the courts, St. George withdrew from the race.
Not wishing to see El Fiji Grande gain the Delegacy uncontested, Lady Raven Wing rose to the occasion with an intriguing platform of Evil – and one must assume the accompanying chaos. Light on policy, heavy on goats, pants, and perhaps even goats in pants, this irreverent but timely campaign garnered nearly 12% of the popular vote, proving there can be no light without darkness.
The Vice Delegacy:
Hotly contested, with several vying for the number two job, the Vice Delegate race provided the counterpoint to the fait accompli that was the Delegate race.
Incumbent candidate Sil Dorsett was going to be difficult to unseat on the heels of a nearly infallible term. Sil’s platform relied mainly on a positive track record, with some additional emphasis on regional security, continuing promotion of WA membership, and a well-executed Star Trek reference. These elements combined into a win and a second consecutive term, with 57% of the popular vote.
Little is known about candidate Kirostan, but it is a testament to the region that a relative unknown may enter any race and run for office. Despite having no platform to speak of, Kirostan’s courage is laudable, and the candidate even captured a couple of votes.
Praetor’s campaign for Vice was similar to Sil’s in focusing on regional security, but Praetor put a greater emphasis on game-side improvements and advocated for somewhat increased transparency. Overshadowed by the battle between a very popular incumbent and an exceedingly well-rounded rat dude, Praetor garnered 4 votes.
Malphe came at the candidacy with a past experience in most TNP Ministries, a predisposition to security, and proven accountability. The emphasis of the platform was reliable execution of tasks matched with an openness to learn and evolve into the position. The Vice Delegate position is likely in Malphe’s future, but this time out, a respectable 35% of the popular vote wasn’t quite enough.
Speaker:
Fairly new to TNP and NS, Dreadton took on the mammoth task of unseating a popular incumbent, both out of a belief that that no candidate should run unopposed, but also with confidence in their understanding of the role. Stepping up is never easy, and Dreadton was rewarded with a respectable 12% of the popular vote.
There was little doubt that Artemis would reacquire the Speaker role, and the variety of common-sense procedural amendments implemented over the last term spoke for themselves. More-of-the-same seemed to be all the refrain that citizens needed to secure 88% of the popular vote, and another term in office.
Attorney General:
With the future of the region’s AG position in question, three candidates declared, each seeking to carry the office forward. Two prevailed, but a runoff was required to determine the ultimate winner.
Dinoium presented a comprehensive platform emphasizing greater public education of TNP’s laws to citizens / residents and outlined a potential internship program. Ambition to resurrect the AG office to greater activity in TNP garnered 23% support among voters. Not enough, however, to qualify for the ensuing runoff vote.
Funkadelia gathered nearly 30% of the vote, and that was close enough to the frontrunner to trigger the eventual runoff. Emphasizing the need for reform in the region’s justice system, to a less adversarial construct, Funk expressed a desire to adapt a more inquisitorial format, to better expedite future cases before the courts.
Once the runoff was complete, Darcania emerged victorious with 70% of the popular vote. The majority feeling was that Darc’s previous experience and acumen as AG would be critical as the RA decides whether the office should be maintained, or if the duties of the AG are to be parsed out to others in government.
Summary:
Delegate: El Fiji Grande
Vice Delegate: Sil Dorsett
Speaker: Artemis
Attorney General: Darcania
NPA Bulletinby Robespierre, Deputy Minister of Communications
Leadership
Minister of Defense (MoD): General Bobberino
Deputy Ministers of Defense (DMoDs): Colonel Knightblood and Colonel Koopa Uh oh! It seems as though our Minister of Defense here in the North Pacific, General Bobberino, has once again fallen asleep for today’s updates (like usual...). Not to worry though, it looks like I, Sergeant Robespierre, will be reporting this time around instead!
Private Abraham was promoted to Private First Class
Private Robespierre was promoted to Private First Class
Private First Class Robespierre was promoted to Corporal
Corporal Robespierre was promoted to Sergeant
Let me tell you, folks, this month your favorite soldiers from the North Pacific Army have been putting in the work necessary to serve the region proudly and have loads of fun while doing it! It started off with a nice World Assembly block operation lead by Lieutenant TlomzKrano on the region Authoritarianism Is Cool Kind Of, a mission where six of the Army’s finest (including myself for my debut raid in the NPA) deployed on the eighth of May at NationStates major update to swiftly capture the region.
From there on out, it was more of the same. Raid after raid, officers took up arms in the spirit of peer leadership to seize many more regions. “Keep on keeping on” was practically the motto of the North Pacific’s personnel for the past month. On the nineteenth of May’s minor update, General Gladio and company were successful in targeting a couple of regions on yet another operation. On the twenty-third of May’s minor, the Army headed by Malphe struck again! And, on the major and the minor, troops lead by General Malphe and Lieutenant TlomzKrano combined to hit two more regions. Looks like not all of Malphe’s six rats were asleep either since on the twenty-fifth of May’s minor update his group of men took four more regions in the name of the North Pacific’s glory.
Let’s not forget - it wasn’t all raiding either for El Fiji Grande’s Ministry of Defense. From the eighth of May’s minor update to the thirteenth of May’s minor update, the North Pacific Army worked in cooperation with the Warzone Federation to effectively secure multiple Warzones in the face of oncoming invaders. This was a lot like the time in late April when eighteen soldiers from the North collaborated with the Europeian Republican Navy to hold Warzone Africa. The highlight of the operation was Warzone Airspace, during which an astounding seventeen NPA soldiers took part in the campaign that spanned several updates.
Upon the conclusion of the Army’s mission, Minister of Defense Bobberino saw fit to award those who participated with a Regional Liberation Award. In addition to such, all who displayed unwavering commitment and insurmountable strength to the task at hand were presented with the Warzone Federation Liberation Award.
Lastly, in addition to everything mentioned above, the North Pacific Army found itself more than happy to assist its valued allies in the Rejected Realms with their standard procedure Delegacy transfer. From the twentieth of May to the twenty-third of May, sixteen NPAers deployed to go out and support newly-elected Delegate Kyorgia in his ascendency to higher office. Following that, the troops who participated were once again given a special ribbon to commemorate their sense of teamwork and unity to the goals given. "Exemplo Duceneus" - we lead by example! ... But, we're also still awaiting the awakening of Bobberino... for some reason...
Gladio, it's coup time! 
Spotlight #19: Interview with Darcaniaby Dinoium, Deputy Attorney General and Gameside Advocate
Views in this interview may not reflect the views of TNP's government
Darcania was happy to hear that they could get a redo interview after a year of a previously attempted interview.
Dinoium: Hello there and welcome to this month's The Spotlight. Today we will be interviewing Darcania! How are you doing this fine day, Darc?
Darcania: Well enough.
Dinoium: Great! Can you tell me a summary of your background in NationStates and The North Pacific?
Darcania: Well, Darcania was founded in The North Pacific right away, and while I looked for a good RP UCR to settle into I never found one that met my needs, and so instead I became a roleplayer in TNP. During my first stint here, I quickly became a Citizen and joined the NPA as well. I first rose to prominence when I was a Deputy Minister of Home Affairs under Andrew, reviving the decaying Mentoring program and helping to set some standards for it. Later on, I also became a Roleplay Moderator when that program was revived, and also served as the NPA Chief of Staff under Eluvatar. Unfortunately, a conflict with how RP was led and moderated led to me leaving NS for about a full year.
A year later, I came back after some prompting from Syrixia pointing out that RP leadership had improved since I left. While I intended to get back into RP, I never managed to really get back into it and become a mainstay of RP like before. Instead, I became more involved in the regional government, becoming a Deputy Minister of Culture under Syrixia and Goyanes, and one of Ash's many Deputy Attorneys General. I even ran for Delegate, though I withdrew my candidacy before voting.
After Ash left NS, I was elected into office for the first time as Attorney General, where I would serve for the better part of a year. It was also during Pallaith's first Delegacy that I was appointed into my first Ministry position, Minister of Defense. Nothing of note happened during either, though I was appointed a forum administrator during this time.
Soon after, I was elected Speaker in a special election, where I served with distinction, bringing much-needed speed and consistency to the office. Many were wondering when I would run for Delegate, though I never did. Soon enough I declined to run for another Speaker term to run for Vice Delegate, though, again, I dropped out of the race before voting began.
I then left NS for a second time about a month later, though this leave wouldn't last for a full year. I returned to NS and, while I had lost much of the influence I had during my heyday, I was still appointed for a second Ministership, once again as Pallaith's Minister of Defense. Though I resigned before the term was over, I remained to assist the incoming Minister, Bobberino, as he took the reigns for his first time. And here, we reach the present day.
Dinoium: That seems to be an impressive background. Which one do you think was the best position in your opinion?
Darcania: While I served well as Speaker, better than my terms as Minister of Defense, in my opinion, I also caused undue stress on myself due to undertaking all of its duties on myself, due to inactive Deputies. At the time, I also had to handle the majority of forum and Discord administration. I also failed to leave the office in any good state when I left it, leaving behind almost no resources that future Speakers could take advantage of, beyond Feyt's (now Madeline's) autorole functionality for the Discord server.
My second term as Minister of Defense was by far my favorite term in office. While there was still paperwork and spreadsheets to take care of, both of which I excel at handling if you'll pardon the pun, I also had to consider "soft" data as well, such as the state of my soldiers and our relationship with other military organizations. While I was unsure how well I would handle this coming into my second term, it proved to be a challenge that I overcame with zeal. The various challenges of a Minister position are a far cry from the sleepy days as Attorney General or the rote tasks as Speaker, and I enjoyed tackling these challenges and innovating new ways to handle them.
Dinoium: Interesting. Seeing how that was your favorite experience, who do you think was the best Minister of Defense in terms of leadership and merit?
Darcania: It's tough to beat the legendary Gladio. His experience in the position is unrivaled by any current NPA soldier, and even after a term in TNP's Security Council, his triggering remains top-notch. While most of the newer soldiers, including our current Minister of Defense, have never experienced Gladio in the position, I have, and his sheer consistency in the office is unmatched. Recent MoDs would have to step back after only a term due to how much work the office entails, yet Gladio managed to serve many terms in a row without tiring from it.
Dinoium: Yeah Gladio is a great Minister of Defense. Without releasing anything operation secret, what do you think is a great tactic to use when Raiding or Defending (i.e. Programs to use; strategies, etc.)?
Darcania: Most organizations by now, when requiring precision, will use a program to find targets, a program to find trigger regions, then use manual triggers from those regions. For looser operations like detags, there are also some programs that will figure all that out on their own for you, but nothing remains as accurate as manual triggering. As for the details, I believe they'd be outside the scope of this interview - so anyone looking to try them out should look around for these programs themselves or even join their local military organization (for example, the North Pacific Army) to get some hands-on practice in.
Dinoium: Alright then. Who in your opinion was the biggest mentor to you in NS?
Darcania: I can't particularly point to a single person who was a larger mentor than anyone else. Ever since I joined, I've generally acted independently and learned on my own, or from simple observation. Through various leaders in TNP I've learned from their successes and their mistakes, and I would often butt heads with these leaders due to my independent streak. However, my general laid-back attitude and friendly demeanor have prevented most of these incidents from damaging my friendships with these leaders. From MadJack to Raven and from Ghost to Gladio, there is no shortage of experience that a new player can learn from, nor a shortage of mistakes that a fresh set of eyes can see and resolve when they rise to the top spot.
Dinoium: That must be good to mentor yourself by observing successes and mistakes. Is there any specific advice you would like to give to anyone reading this on how to become as successful as you?
Darcania: I would say to start out by finding your niche, or niches. I started in roleplay, for example, and Bobberino found his niche in the NPA. As you devote your time and effort there, you will eventually find success, and from there, you can blossom out and find other areas you can succeed in. You'll already have a foothold in your home turf, so to speak, and as you gain more well-rounded experience, learn from more leaders, and gain a name for yourself in many areas, you'll quickly find yourself being talked about as a future Delegate. For example, I explicitly avoided anything law-based when I first joined, but as I learned more about it and made more of a name for myself as a legal mind, I now have a small measure of notoriety in that area.
That said, there's no reason to shoot for the high spot. In other areas of the game don't suit you, don't force yourself. There's nothing wrong with being a leader in your own spheres and niches.
Dinoium: How do you come up with the Floof/Fluff and why do you think has it made much importance.
Darcania: Well, it's a bit of a long story, but a long while ago, Yalkan and I would talk late into the night in TNP's main Discord server (making it the most active NS Discord based on the Heartbeat's data), and as time progressed our RPs together became more serious. However, after two years of RPing with the same characters, we realized that our characters had grown to the point where they had no character arc left, and thus were no longer interesting to RP. We retired those characters and brainstormed new characters, furred dragons from a waning dragon clan in the far tundras of the north. These new dragons were furred dragons, and of course, I changed my Discord avatar to match my character - and I chose a red and white dragon with a crown on its ear [picture seen above].
At the time, I also held citizenship in TWP, and they (mostly Altino) noticed right away. A short time later, I met TWP native Skymoot, aka Fedora Dan, and the two of us in a way helped to kickstart RP in TWP's Discord server. Skymoot later joined TNP's server, and he, Yalkan, and I managed to associate my NS persona with Floof by our conversations. It became a bit of a meme in TNP after that, and with my growing popularity and influence in TNP at the time, it rather quickly became a staple of my persona. As time passed it became on par with Flemingovianism among those members too young to remember its heyday.
Nowadays it's not as important, due to my own waning popularity after my own heyday. Yet, it retains some importance among some members, as well as some fond memories of my own heyday, and fluffy dragons at this point are too tied to my NS persona to warrant a change now.
Dinoium: Seems like Flemingovianism really had a competition huh?
Well, that seems like that's all the questions we have today. Is there anything else you would like to say?
Darcania: Hail floof.
Regional Assembly Highlightsby Artemis, Speaker of the Regional Assembly
Regional Assembly May 2019
Speaker of The Regional Assembly:
Artemis
Vote
Passed
Onsite Authority Enhancement Bill, put forward by
PallaithStatus: Passed
Summary: TNP Law is very strict in the manner that nations can be banned from the region, and did not allow bans of individuals who have been banned from the forum by Administration. This proposal expands the authority of the Executive to issue a regional ban of individuals banned from the forum by Administration for the same length or shorter.
Results: 37 Ayes, 3 Nays, and 3 Abstentions.
Treaty of the Northern Passage, put forward by Minister of Foreign Affairs
McMasterdonia.
Status: Passed
Summary: A Bilateral treaty negotiated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs between the North Pacific and Europe to strengthen ties and develop a natural alliance between the two regions. TNP and Europe wish to develop further relations and open dialogue. The Treaty received a large margin of support.
Results: 33 Ayes, 0 Nays, and 1 Abstentions.
Election Commissioner Confirmation of COE and Siwale, put forward by Speaker
ArtemisStatus: Passed
Summary: The newly elected Delegate, El Fiji Grande, appointed veteran members of the Election Commission Crushing Our Enemies and Siwale to serve for six months as Election Commissioners. Debate was quick as many felt that these two individuals both wielded experience in dealing with elections in the North Pacific.
Results: Crushing Our Enemies - 27 Ayes, 3 Nays, and 1 Abstentions.
Siwale - 24 Ayes, 4 Nays, and 2 Abstentions.
Current BusinessOn a Proposed Amendment of the Wording of the Legal Code put forward by
AntityranicalsStatus: In Discussion
Summary: An amendment to the Legal Code to strike the word planning from Section 1.7.22 of the Legal Code and insert the text “, or colluding towards the goal of committing such a crime. This section of the Legal Code deals with the Criminal Code of TNP and specifically defining the crime of Conspiracy. The Author offers that this amendment will help provide clarification to the definition of Conspiracy.
Criminalising Espionage in Our Partner Regions, put forward by
St George.
Status: In Discussion
Summary: This bill further restricts the ability of the North Pacific to conduct espionage by prohibiting the practice in regards to any region the North Pacific has passed a treaty with. Currently, the law states that the North Pacific will not conduct espionage against regions that the Regional Assembly specifically exempts.
The AGORA Act, put forward by
Siwale and
Crushing Our Enemies.
Status: In Discussion
Summary: Former Attorney General Crushing Our Enemies and Former Deputy AG Siwale introduced legislation to abolish the office of the Attorney General and roll the duties into the Courts of the North Pacific. Currently the proposal indicates that a prosecutor may be appointed by the Delegate to handle matters on a case by case basis. If the Delegate is under investigation, then the next individual in the Line of Succession will make the appointment.
Delegate’s Report Bill, put forward by
Brendog.
Status: In Discussion
Summary: A bill that would require the Delegate to present a regular report to the Regional Assembly summarizing the activities of the government. Discussion has mainly centered around the time and frequency that the report must be presented. The current text of the bill stipulates that the report must be given after 7 and 14 weeks upon the Delegate taking office.
Siwale’s Security Council Application, put forward by
Sil Dorsett.
Status: In Discussion
Summary: The Security Council of the North Pacific nominated Siwale to join the Council following a vote of 8 ayes, 0 nays, 1 abstain, and 1 not present. The motion was presented to the Regional Assembly and is currently under discussion on the merits of the applicant and if they would help provide for a secure TNP.
