[Distribution] TNS Issue XXII - November in Review

The Spotlight - Interview With Gorundu



Arichia: Alright! I'll get started now, When and how did you get started in TNP?



Gorundu: I joined TNP in May 2019, about 10 months after I started playing NationStates. I was the WA Delegate of a region of 30-ish WA nations at the time, but some people in the region were opposed to my agenda, and I felt I wouldn't be able to do what I wanted even in that position. So I decided to try my luck in the biggest region in the game, TNP. (My feelings turned out to be right and I ended up getting banned by the founder within 2 months) When I joined TNP I applied for every ministry except for Culture, and that was how I got started.



Arichia: Wow! You have an eventful past before TNP. Have you ever been involved in the NPA or any other military organization?



Gorundu: After I left my previous region, I decided to devote my WA to the NPA, and I've been in the NPA ever since. Currently I'm an Officer and a Deputy Minister of Defence.



Arichia: What are some accomplishments you or you helped achieve during your time in TNP?



Gorundu: In my previous roles as Speaker and Minister of World Assembly Affairs, I mostly continued to execute the existing duties of those offices, which was no easy task considering that in both roles I succeeded a relatively long-serving and popular holder of those offices, though I wouldn't consider these accomplishments. I'd like to think that as Minister of Communications I made some progress in reviving a struggling ministry by recruiting new members and managed to restart the publication of The Northern Lights, which probably counts the most in terms of my accomplishments.



Arichia: From what I see you've done a lot in TNP. Who do you consider a mentor throughout your time in TNP?



Gorundu: I would say McMasterdonia and Tlomz (Kranostav) have been most like a mentor for me. McMasterdonia offered me my first position in government (a short tenure as a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs) and was supportive of my run for Speaker. He also offered me my first cabinet position as Minister of World Assembly Affairs, and was very helpful in getting me settled into the position as the head of one of the most active ministries in the government. Tlomz was my predecessor as Minister of World Assembly Affairs and I served under him as Deputy Minister, during he helped me get a better understanding of the World Assembly and TNP's WA relationships, which enabled me to become his successor.



Arichia: What do you believe is TNP's best quality?



Gorundu: I would say the best quality that is unique to TNP is the depth and breadth of the discussions and debates in the Regional Assembly and in relation to the government. It points towards a citizenry that is committed to making TNP better in any way possible, but are unafraid to raise their own ideas or offer criticism for what isn't being done well. Another quality of TNP that I admire is that we are a pioneer in so many fields - for example, in the WA and in Trading Cards - and we have so many people dedicated to the success of these pioneering programs.



Arichia: I believe you had said before that you had run for speaker and you had been speaker as well. From your experiences then, would you run for speaker, or perhaps a different office in the future?



Gorundu: I don't see myself running for Speaker again for the near future. Serving as Speaker was an enlightening experience and taught me much about what people expect from a government official, but for now I'd like to focus on what I can do in the executive.



Arichia: And to finally close, would you take on more in the executive, or would you stay with what you are working on now?



Gorundu: I've been busy in real life recently, so I haven't taken on too much responsibility this term. I'm glad to have the opportunity to get involved in the NPA a little bit more as Deputy Minister of Defence, and I have continued advising the Ministry of Communications after departing as Minister. If I feel ready to take on more responsibilities, I will of course look for new opportunities.



Arichia: I believe those are all of my questions. I really appreciate all your time and answers here, and thanks again for the opportunity to interview you!

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North Pacific Army Bulletin





September ended with a bang (quite literally) as nuclear warfare consumed NationStates - including the NPA - for a brief but action-packed 24 hours. Soldiers put their puppets to good use as nuclear production machines, aiding the Potato Alliance in a hard-earned victory. Our generals helped all of us get on the Big Board, pushing the Horsemen to our former spot of last, and pushed us up to second place. As the quote goes, “I didn’t know doors opened up down there!” Our warriors collaborated with soldiers from a multitude of regions, including some of our closest allies, such as the Rejected Realms, the South Pacific and Europe, to take the horses down. Colonel Robespierre and General 9003 represented us as Potato Generals for N-Day, keeping all of the Potato Alliance in one piece. Sure, we were hit multiple times, but we were lifted from last all the way up to 2nd place. That is certainly a Cinderella story if I’ve ever heard one (which I haven’t). We completed the impossible task that no other faction could do.



After cleaning up the fallout, it was right back to work for our uniformed servicemen. If they weren’t saving The North Pacific from nukes they were helping out other regions in need, whether they requested or not



For ten straight days in early October, the North Pacific Army, along with friends and allies from Libcord, laid siege to Smol Fur Empire, which had been occupied by raider forces, presumably for the purpose of refounding as a jump point for later use. In total, 13 NPA soldiers joined the updater force at some point during the ten-day siege, contributing to one of the highest liberation forces ever, numbering over 100 towards the end. It makes me smile when support goes to those who need it. We certainly have generous men and women among our armed services, at least when they are kind and cute.



When not taking part in high-stakes confrontations, NPA Officers, including COL BMWSurfer, COL Rom, COL Gorundu and CPT Nimarya, continued to lead training operations in the form of tag and detag runs, attracting seasoned officers and new soldiers alike to hone their skills.



Finally, the NPA joined our friends in the South Pacific Special Forces and East Pacific Sovereign Army on October 11 for a special detag operation combined with chasing practice, where lots of fun were had as NPA soldiers work on a skill that has been seldom used recently while Phoenix from SPSF brings out her favourite R/D playlist for all to enjoy.



Aaaaand that’s it for the bulletin this month. It may not have been the most eventful month in the books, but no matter the stakes, our soldiers are always there, ready to give it their best. Now, I sure hope you all had a good Halloween and are looking forward to the rest of the holidays to come. Stay strong, TNPers!



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Regional Assembly Highlights







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World Assembly Digest



WA Digest



The month of October saw four General Assembly resolutions passed, and the Security Council observed four proposals reach quorum, of which two were passed, one failed, and the last was quickly withdrawn. Of the Security Council proposals brought to vote during the month, two have stood out of particular interest.



The first was a resolution that passed without much issue, and yet seemed to be surprisingly controversial among The North Pacific citizens. On October 16th, Morover, an accomplished World Assembly author and a former Minister of World Assembly Affairs for The North Pacific, submitted a proposal to the Security Council that aimed to commend the nation Kuriko, a highly influential player in NationStates. Kuriko is perhaps best known for her service to the region 10000 Islands as its longest-serving WA Delegate. She might also be more recently recognized as NationStates’s World Assembly Secretary-General, having won the position during the Secretary-General election event of last April.



While the proposal saw broad approval and ultimately passed at vote with 84.1% support, on The North Pacific forum voters seemed somewhat more divided. The Ministry of World Assembly Affairs issued a recommendation to vote “For” the proposal, stating that the proposal clearly makes an excellent case for why Kuriko is deserving of a commendation. The Ministry also indicated that this proposal would serve as a far superior replacement for the first commendation of Kuriko, which had been previously repealed due to criticisms of poor writing.



However, despite the Ministry’s recommendation, on The North Pacific’s forum voting thread a number of citizens voted against the proposal, with only a few stating why. Of those who chose to voice their reasoning, it was a mix between simply disliking the writing of the proposal itself and a more targeted dislike of 10000 Island’s actions abroad and of Kuriko’s alleged stance against condemning raiders in the Security Council.



Without hearing the thoughts of the others who voted against, much is still left to conjecture, although it is easy to deduce that the age-old tensions between raiding and defender ideologies are likely at play here. A look into the NationStates forum thread in which this proposal was debated shows a similar trend to what was observed in TNP’s forum- most were approving of the proposal, with the few who stood opposed stating criticisms of Liberate Syria, a recent defender operation in which Kuriko was involved. It is clear that in this case, the voting sample in The North Pacific forum thread reflects the same general voting patterns of the wider NationStates community. The vote we have seen for this proposal is, perhaps, a symptom of the fact that TNP houses citizens of all sorts of ideologies, including both raider and defender leaning individuals.



The second notable Security Council proposal of October failed at vote, managing to gain only 23.6% support. On October 20th, Tinhampton submitted a proposal to condemn the nation Northern Borland. What made this proposal somewhat unique was that it aimed to condemn this nation based purely off of NationStates statistics, which is an oddity for the Security Council but not completely unprecedented, since the nation Kindjal has been commended for their impressive statistics back in March of this year. The North Pacific’s Ministry of World Assembly Affairs issued no recommendation for this vote, choosing instead to let others debate and decide for themselves. TNP voters seemed to be vocally divided on the issue, but ultimately the forum vote ended in favor of the proposal, with 18 votes “For” and 15 “Against.”



The arguments for and against were rather simple- Tinhampton, the proposal’s author, argued that Northern Borland had spent almost seventeen years answering issues in a manner dedicated to working towards these statistics, and that being able to pay close attention and religiously answer issues for that sheer length of time is worthy of a condemnation. However, others remained unconvinced, citing that Northern Borland was not even in first place for many of the statistics they were being condemned for. Additionally, both in The North Pacific voting thread and in the NationStates onsite discussion thread, there were many voters who were convinced that the mere act of answering issues for long enough is not commendable or condemnable on its own.



On the other hand, some players take the stance that issues answering and statistics planning is just as valid an area of the game as others, and therefore just as worthy of recognition. While the proposal to condemn Northern Borland was shot down tremendously at vote, there are likely many players who would support other stat-based proposals to commend or condemn exemplary nations, as evidenced by the words of support seen in the debate threads and by the nation Kindjal’s commend. It will be interesting to see if, in the future, stat-based Security Council proposals can succeed and become more prominent.

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