R+B · Vol. 2 [1] · TRF hits fash/REATO targets · RIA started

[Misley]

Oh that makes more sense, I thought you were voting via the dispatches by their up and down vote function which didn't make sense to me. Another way to utilize the poll system is to establish other regions for the purpose of utilizing the poll function. But your way seems very good and better although there two concerns are the pressures of public voting (although poll voting isn't anonymous) and the secondary concern would be that it could disrupt/hinder RMB conversation.

Considering that we've been hit recently by people downvoting our dispatches en-masse, that wouldn't be very representative of our comrades' intentions - especially as dispatches can be voted on by anyone, not just members of the region.

As for the concerns you mention, The Internationale has always conducted voting using open ballots, as it's important for comrades who disagree with a matter at vote to give their reasoning so that it can be discussed and consensus found. Our comrades are pretty good about standing up for their opinions, no matter who brings an item up to vote - one of the issues I raised for a vote was solidly voted down. The issue of RMB conversations being disrupted is the only real downside to our voting system, but as the way people vote often leads to further discussions, it's not a total negative.

[Onderkelkia]

I've not had the opportunity to address your latest caviling until now. I said I wouldn’t be back for more and have the flak vest on to protect myself against a volley of Woodhouse was wrong on coming back for more! Woodhouse was wrong on coming back for more!

Indeed, you did expressly indicate that you were not going to reply again.

One wonders why, having made this statement, you felt compelled to respond again if my objections were so trivial to be described as 'caviling'.

I’ve admitted I was wrong about NE; that one update had passed before our low influence WAD was nailed by the first coalition wave. I’ve also said it makes no difference that I was wrong about ‘tween updates in NE, because I believed your low influence WAD in EE could have been checked by a 30-40+ battering ram beyond the scenario you posited might (or might not be ) the one way to unseat him.

The reason why I referred to your error with regard to the NE mission was to illustrate that operations of the kind I specified are indeed relatively rare.

Your claim in relation to NE being wrong makes a difference to the validity of your objection to my remark about the operations I described being rare indeed. The fact is that you are now principally pursuing an essentially different objection to the one you originally outlined to that particular remark.

My position now is the same as it’s always been:

UIAF and friends could have been stopped in their tracks the update after they took antiquity region Eastern Europe had the mania that accompanies our raids been applied to theirs.


I’ve clarified the remark more than once, but you won’t let go of the bone.

You said that. When I replied that assembling 30 units between a major update and a minor update (a minor update being 'the updater after' the UIAF took Eastern Europe) would be a 'rare' feat indeed, you disputed the rarity of such events, citing Nazi Europe, inter alia, as an example of such an occasion.

Regarding one of the two other examples you were sure about, Makhnovia, you have now observed:

Our raid efforts are rarely scotched in one fell swoop as they were in Makhnovia, with a rookie at the helm.

This confirms my original contention that operations falling into the same category as Makhnovia are indeed rare.

You've "clarified" the remark to change its meaning by saying a different scenario is possible rather than disputing my comment about this scenario's rarity.

Now, that is an entirely intellectually honest position, but it also means that your position is not actually "the same as it’s always been"' as you contend.

I referenced Anne Frank and ToF not to support the ‘tween update business, but to expand on battering ram effectiveness .

This is wholly inaccurate.

You very clearly cited them to dispute my contention that it was rare to assemble 30 units in the first update after a takeover:

Assembling a 'liberation' party of roughly 30 units between a major update and a minor update would be a rare feat indeed, and might have failed anyway.

A rare feat indeed that was accomplished in the liberations of the Antifa-held Makhnovia puppet dump, the Coalition of Leftist Comrades’ puppet dump and NAZI EUROPE. You’ll recall the latter rare feat indeed quite well, I imagine, as we’d kicked the perennially cocksure UIAF to the curb to briefly retake our old stomping grounds.

We saw swift coalition action in Antifa-held Territory of Finland (our own property again) as well, although I can’t recall if that horde was amassed between updates.

I’m uncertain how long it took to rally the supermassive lib effort in Anne Frank because our presence in the region wasn’t readily known.

As any reader can see here, you were replying to my remark about the operations on being rare and in both you commented on when they happened.

I couldn’t recall when we were first hit in ToF. So?

It matters because your claim, as you have quoted yourself, is that the UIAF could have been defeated "the [first] update after" taking Eastern Europe.

I then stated such operations would be rare. You then cited several missions to refute it.

So precisely when the first update wave of 30 units or above hit in these missions is in fact crucial.

None of Athelstan MacGregor's posts have been removed; that is ridiculous speculation.

You read into my remark. Your forum’s search function yielded only spam point info on Greg. While digging around for his citizenship application, I stumbled upon a few of his posts. That’s all I meant, Emperor.

You stated that you you "noticed that at least some of Greg’s posts exist" after saying you couldn't find his citizenship applications.

There is a clear implication in those remarks taken together that you believe some of his posts to have been deleted.

I am making clear that none of his posts have been deleted whatsoever.

Thank you for setting me straight on the NE sig bit. Did Greg wipe the remainder of his sig and peerage info voluntarily or was that stripped from his forum account?

He may have done it himself when he left or I may have done it when I removed his access. I don't remember; it's a minor detail from June 2014.

In any case, it is also irrelevant, because he's already stated that he removed the content regarding Nazi Europe himself well before that occasion.

I’ll ask again: where’s his citizenship application?

You expect the Emperor of the LKE to assist you with a search of the LKE forums?

You are not even authorised to be on the LKE forums.

As for his citizenship application, that will be wherever he posted it. If you want to browse our forums unauthorised, you can go and look it up yourself.

I’ve been acquainted with Greg since ’11, when I had a different nation in NE. If there’s anyone in NE—or in the game for that matter—who epitomizes ’salt of the earth', it’s The Gregorach. The Greg I know wouldn’t lie on a citizenship application or lie about what he included in that application.

What I know is that there are several inaccuracies in his post above, but nowhere have I alleged that he lied on any citizenship application. I've no idea.

It should also be noted that Athelstan MacGregor joined the protectorate of Polis in April 2011, which would have entitled him come to the LKE, before he joined the LKE itself, and I had no responsibility for citizenship in Polis. It is possible that this factor may have affected the circumstances of his admission.

In any case, it is irrelevant, because this matter did not come to my attention.

Among your seemingly endless number of titles and government positions, past and present: Former Minister of Intelligence. Greg’s NE affiliation was unknown to you for how long again, Mr. Former Intel Minister?

His affiliation to Nazi Europe became known to me when the issue arose around the time the LKE declared on the Greater German Reich.

As for our proactive counter-intelligence activity, I have already explained that this was directed towards defender regions rather than Nazi regions.

Greg rose to the position of LKE Prime Minister and you hadn’t clue one that he was an NE member even though you concede a glaring clue may have existed in his signature all that time?

Indeed, a statement indicating his membership of NE may well have been in his signature the point when he voluntarily removed the information.

If so, I am saying that I failed to notice this part of his signature (as indeed I'd struggle to recount the details of most LKE citizens' signatures today).

Greg mentioned his LKE affiliation on NE’s RMB several times. He sure wasn’t trying to conceal it from the many enemies who read our board, and with whom you must be acquainted.

The issue was never raised with me by any foreign region, so one assumes that they did not notice either.

I’ve swampland to sell to anyone who believes you never read a single one of the LKE prime minister’s 4000+ posts to catch Nazi Europe Propaganda Minister in his sig.

1. He was only Prime Minister for a small portion of his overall time in the region; neither did he have 4,000 posts throughout that entire time.

2. The information was not in his signature for the entire time he was in the region - he's confirmed here he removed it after we declared war on GGR.

3. I don't read every detail of LKE citizens' signatures with every post they make (anymore than anyone reads all parts of all signatures on the NS forums).

Uh huh. You claimed the success of the NE op was the focus and priority of the UIAF, and here you’re passing yourself off as an authority on what constitutes military prowess, when neither you nor any other UIAF general officer responded to endorsement shedding and your point’s irregular logins.

This is a purely ad hominem attack on my argument that not every instance of taking advantage of a failing by an occupying power is necessarily prowess.

I have already explained the UIAF command structure, after your earlier suggestion that that I was the Joint Commander. I have already accepted responsibility, as one of three Imperial Military Council members responsible for overseeing the Joint Commander and the Deputy Commander, who were in turn responsible for overseeing the point officer, for failing to proactively ensure that UIAF military doctrine was more closely observed on this occasion.

[The Red and Black]

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NEWS · NATIONSTATES · FOREIGN AFFAIRS · THE COMMUNIST BLOC

In a historic vote held amid reprehensible insults directed at comrade members of The Internationale by government ministers of The Communist Bloc, TI found undivided consensus Saturday in favor of a proposal to prohibit the construction of embassies or resumption of relationships with TCB.

The proposal, made by comrade member The Rainbow Collective, who is better known in the wider Gameplay community by the name "Cormac Stark," was prompted by a statement by TCB Minister for Foreign Affairs Anders Blakewood that was originally printed in the Red & Black on January 18. "[The Communist Bloc] will send ambassadors out to negotiate peace with regions other than Das Kommune and North Korea, giving each region a chance to negotiate peace with us," the comment read in part. The new legislation would turn away any such ambassador without further vote by the region.

Consensus was found in favor of the proposal after comments made by MSLuvsZenya, also known as ModernSin, was found to have called The Internationale's comrade members "slack-jawed dimwits" in a post made on the off-site forum of the region Europeia—comments that would have warranted moderator action if made on-site. A further post by Zenya included the remark "#CutForRainbow," referring to Cormac's nation in The Internationale and tastelessly alluding to a Twitter troll campaign "#CutForBieber" that was designed to trick young adolescents into committing self-harm. Attempts to reach out to The Communist Bloc's leadership for a repudiation of personal attacks, similar to the statement issued by TI regional custodian Misley on Monday calling for criticism to be directed at actions and not individuals, were met with adamant refusal.

The ban is the first of its kind in The Internationale—previous legislation prohibits the construction of embassies with regions that have the "Fascist" or "Anti-Communist" tags or that themselves hold embassies with fascist regions, but never before has a single region been expressly blocked from establishing diplomacy with The Internationale.

Comrade Members of The Internationale also voted unanimously on Saturday to issue the first-ever regional condemnation of another region against The Communist Bloc. The condemnation, proposed by Comrade Zulanka, was spurred by TCB's "history and current rhetoric." The "current rhetoric" refers to the vicious and sustained personal attacks directed at The Internationale and its comrade members and a pattern of arrogant, elitist behavior among TCB's elite that has gone unchecked by its government or members. With both proposals finding consensus, other leftist regions will now be contacted to join The Internationale in this condemnation.

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NEWS · NATIONSTATES · ELECTIONS

In elections following Comrade WA Delegate Proletaire ceasing to exist in early January, former delegate Auhl was elected after The Rainbow Collective dropped out of the running and no other candidates came forward to challenge.

Comrade Auhl, who previously served as WA Delegate for two and a half terms beginning in summer 2014 when The Internationale was refounded. Auhl was followed in that office by Comrade Proletaire, who had previously served as The Internationale's longest-serving Comrade WA Delegate. Proletaire first served as Comrade WA Delegate for thirteen months from the region's first founding until October 2010.

Comrade Auhl's electoral platform was built on three main planks: exploring the creation of a regional constitution; encouraging discussion of news, historical events, and politics on the regional message board; and improving protection of leftist regions by opening the information flow of defenses and raids to comrade members.

The issue of a constitution was last seriously explored in September 2011, when comrade Marxingrad proposed a regional charter that would have established definitions and operating procedures for the WA Delegate, embassy construction, and voting. That charter proposal garnered broad support but failed to achieve consensus. Many of its proposed procedures, such as Delegate term limits and voting procedures, were later adopted into The Internationale's extant, non-codified legislation.

We wish Comrade Auhl the best of luck as they begin their new term!

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NEWS · MILITARY · LIBERTATEM · THE RED FLEET · KOREAN PEOPLES ARMY

After taking the delegate seat of Communist China at minor update on Saturday following a successful defensive block of their "sneak raid" attempt for the Friday-Saturday major update, Libertatem General Republic of Minerva was almost certainly surprised to find himself booted from the spot and banned from the region by a multiregional defense force just twelve hours later.

The liberation was organized by The Red Fleet and included the Korean Peoples Army of North Korea, The Internationale Brigades, Spiritus Defense Force, and Renegade Islands Alliance Special Forces. The update force consisted of nations embarking on their first-ever update operation, for whom The Red Fleet provided double rum rations following the liberation's success. No participating nations were ejected by the REATO delegate before the region updated.

When asked for a statement for the Red & Black, Minerva, apparently still reeling from the shock of losing the region, said only "What are you talking about?" An examination of the region's history, showing multiple endorsements moving through the known REATO puppet dump Fort Coolidge, combined with the linked activity between Minerva and former delegate One True Korea, betray the lie.

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Original comic "The Pacific Council" by Nicholas Gurewitch. © The Perry Bible Fellowship.

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NEWS · REAL WORLD · EDUCATION · POVERTY
by Cassie Regan for Liberation News

This week is "National School Choice Week." The School Choice Week website would have you believe that public schools cannot meet the needs of all students. They claim that only private options can save impoverished children from "failing public schools" by offering parents more choice. Research continues to show that is not the case. According to Data First, an Initiative of the National School Boards Association, only students in 17 percent of charter schools performed significantly better than those public schools. Some 37 percent of charter schools performed signification worse, and the remaining 46 percent of charter schools performed equally to their public school counterparts. Furthermore, these results vary greatly from state to state, even within the same charter network.

The validity of the National School Choice Week message is thrown into question when looking at the track record of charter and private schools. Many charter schools face a federal lawsuit for not adequately serving children with special needs. Some charter schools expel low performing students, or "counsel" them to transfer before state tests can be administered.

According to new data from the National Center for Education Statistics, students in the United States rank high on the PISA test taken by students in OECD countries when poverty is accounted for. U.S. schools with fewer than 25% of their students living in poverty performed as well as other countries with similar poverty rates. U.S. schools with 10% or less students in poverty outperformed Finland, the highest scoring nation.

Studies continue to show that family income and poverty has the greatest impact on education and students' ability to perform on tests. The achievement gap continues to grow between rich and poor students. In fact, the gap has grown 30-40 percent percent larger for children born in 2001 than for students born in 1985. Numerous studies show parental income, not type of education, is the greatest indicator for scores on SAT and ACT tests.

Dan Goldhaber, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute, has found that effective teachers can raise student performance, but not by as much as you might think. Despite the onus put on teachers to raise test scores, research shows that even the best teachers account for less than 10 percent of student performance. He found that non-school factors, such as student characteristics, family income, and other family characteristics account for 60 percent of student performance. All school input only accounts for approximately 21 percent of student outcomes.

School reformers see those statistics and say that we, teachers and schools, have to find ways to make a greater impact than 21 percent. These corporate education reformers claim that new teacher evaluation systems, national standards, longer school days, and privatized education will increase the impact that schools have on student performance. However, nations with high performing schools as tested by PISA have two things in common – a strong public school system and lower child poverty rates than the United States. If research shows that 60 percent of student achievement is based on non-school factors, like poverty, it follows that it is the families of students that need to see change, not schools.

Children in poverty may be food insecure, homeless or living in inadequate housing, have poor access to health care and live surrounded by police and neighborhood crime. Students cannot learn under these circumstances. If we want to improve school performance, we must first eradicate poverty.

Read the article at Liberation News.

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For other editions of the Red & Black, see our archive.

[Chester Pearson]

Nice work with Communist China. Those "gameplayers" (and I use that term very loosely) over at REATO need to me made to realize that their right wing Reaganesque bullshit will not be tolerated by anyone....

[RiderSyl]

With Cormac so heavily involved in the region now, this won't be the last time The Internationale participates in a liberation, nor will it be the last time The Internationale has to deal with foreign affairs drama.

[KaelThas Quilor]

I hate to agree with anyone from TI about anything, since I'm not as far left as you lot, but your Charter School article was excellent.

On an unrelated note, letting Cormac influence your foreign policy at all isn't a good idea. A number of regions have been there, done that.

[Solorni]

The charter school article was very very good.

[Misley]

I don't think that Cormac is "heavily involved" in the region. While he did participate in the liberation, it wasn't organized by him. Furthermore, the proposal he made had to have unanimous consensus from the rest of the region, which it did. He has no more influence over our foreign policy than our newest member.

As for the compliments over the charter school article - I'd love to take credit, but that's not my article. It was written by Cassie Regan, a New York City schoolteacher and member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and was originally published in the PSL's paper Liberation News. I agree that it's a great article, though.

[Zenya]

I don't think that Cormac is "heavily involved" in the region. While he did participate in the liberation, it wasn't organized by him. Furthermore, the proposal he made had to have unanimous consensus from the rest of the region, which it did. He has no more influence over our foreign policy than our newest member.

Except for when they didn't, and you banned them and called them a spy haha xD But ok!

[KaelThas Quilor]

I don't think that Cormac is "heavily involved" in the region. While he did participate in the liberation, it wasn't organized by him. Furthermore, the proposal he made had to have unanimous consensus from the rest of the region, which it did. He has no more influence over our foreign policy than our newest member.

As for the compliments over the charter school article - I'd love to take credit, but that's not my article. It was written by Cassie Regan, a New York City schoolteacher and member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and was originally published in the PSL's paper Liberation News. I agree that it's a great article, though.

That's too much Influence for Cormac.

[Misley]

I guess I just don't see Cormac having undue influence in much of anything in TI, and he pulled out of the delegate elections presumably to avoid the constant attention on him that has nothing to do with The Internationale or our activities.

The REATO invasion of Communist China was spotted by The Red Fleet (not Cormac) after REATO soldiers jumped from one of their forts - not a very good tactic when you're attempting a "leftist defense" false flag. The Red Fleet contacted the Korean Peoples Army and independent WAs in The Internationale, who formed the bulk of the liberation team. We were joined by SDF and RIASF because they were along on other defensive operations around the same time. TRF/KPA/TI did not join those operations because we aren't defenders.

Fighting REATO is not something that's new to the left just because Cormac joined TI. Suggesting that we're suddenly going to become non-ideological defenders because Cormac is around is preposterous.

[KaelThas Quilor]

I'm not talking about the anti-REATO, Misley.

And mostly I'm being humorous (hence the in my second post on the subject).

[Bearnia]

I guess I just don't see Cormac having undue influence in much of anything in TI, and he pulled out of the delegate elections presumably to avoid the constant attention on him that has nothing to do with The Internationale or our activities.

The REATO invasion of Communist China was spotted by The Red Fleet (not Cormac) after REATO soldiers jumped from one of their forts - not a very good tactic when you're attempting a "leftist defense" false flag. The Red Fleet contacted the Korean Peoples Army and independent WAs in The Internationale, who formed the bulk of the liberation team. We were joined by SDF and RIASF because they were along on other defensive operations around the same time. TRF/KPA/TI did not join those operations because we aren't defenders.

Fighting REATO is not something that's new to the left just because Cormac joined TI. Suggesting that we're suddenly going to become non-ideological defenders because Cormac is around is preposterous.

hmm, you already let cormac make some threats against the independants with his Internationale nation. Don't forget one guy with the eagle flag said he took note of it. That can't be good.

[Misley]

I'm not talking about the anti-REATO, Misley.

That part was mainly aimed at Syl. I know that's not what you were saying.

And mostly I'm being humorous (hence the in my second post on the subject).

Right, I'm not trying to come across as a grump. It's just been the easy talking point for GPers in this thread since he joined TI to talk about Cormac when there are 291 other comrades who, for the most part, don't know what "Cormac Stark" means to the larger GP community and by and large don't care, so the suggestion that he is able to exercise undue influence over the 291 other comrades of TI doesn't really hold up.

hmm, you already let cormac make some threats against the independants with his Internationale nation. Don't forget one guy with the eagle flag said he took note of it. That can't be good.

He and every other comrade member of The Internationale are allowed to speak their own minds. I've already told Onder that Cormac's opinions don't reflect The Red Fleet's stance (and Cormac has since resigned his rate within the Fleet), which is that we will happily attack fascist and REATO-like targets and we'll happily defend leftist regions. I have no interest in getting the Fleet involved in fights with the non-ideological side of gameplay, because that's not what any of our sailors are interested in.

[The Other Otter]

hmm, you already let cormac make some threats against the independants with his Internationale nation. Don't forget one guy with the eagle flag said he took note of it. That can't be good.

That one guy with the eagle flag? -chuckles-

[KaelThas Quilor]

But do all other 291 actually vote in things?

Actually, that's an interesting question. What kind of turnout do you get, on average (assuming you've run the numbers). As for why GP focuses on Cormac - well, He's Cormac. If he hadn't wanted to be unmasked, he'd have stayed away from GP for a long while and tried not to talk in exactly the same way he did before. He complained no one was letting him not be Cormac. Well, he wasn't not being Cormac anyway.

So yes, he's an easy target.

[Solorni]

The difficulty with criticizing TI for having Cormac in it and for the comments he makes, is that generally every region has people like that. I don't think most regions would just throw out one of their own even if they were nasty to other regions.

[KaelThas Quilor]

I'm not saying they should throw him out. Or by that logic I wouldn't be allowed in any region at all.

I'm just poking fun.

[Anders Blakewood]

Another update dragging TCB through the mud?

"There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary." - Brendan Behan

[Zenya]

Another update dragging TCB through the mud?

The only thing I'm upset about is he didn't even include my other saying that I used as a joke towards Cormac (what account Misley is using on Europeia's forum, he still has not answered, I lean towards him going by different names across NS, hes better at it than Cormac, Ill give him that).

#IStandWithRainbow
#BringBackOurRainbows
#PrayForRainbow

[Misley]

But do all other 291 actually vote in things?

Actually, that's an interesting question. What kind of turnout do you get, on average (assuming you've run the numbers). As for why GP focuses on Cormac - well, He's Cormac. If he hadn't wanted to be unmasked, he'd have stayed away from GP for a long while and tried not to talk in exactly the same way he did before. He complained no one was letting him not be Cormac. Well, he wasn't not being Cormac anyway.

So yes, he's an easy target.

Every single one of them? No, but neither does every eligible voter in any other region. The Internationale has perhaps the fewest barriers to enfranchisement, though. Even if they don't exercise their vote, all of our members are able to, and are empowered to without jumping through hoops to achieve "citizenship."

I'm looking into ways to educate our members on their rights as members and how to vote to raise voter turnout. The current discussion about establishing a regional charter may lead to this, even if an actual charter does not find consensus.

[Anders Blakewood]

But do all other 291 actually vote in things?

Actually, that's an interesting question. What kind of turnout do you get, on average (assuming you've run the numbers). As for why GP focuses on Cormac - well, He's Cormac. If he hadn't wanted to be unmasked, he'd have stayed away from GP for a long while and tried not to talk in exactly the same way he did before. He complained no one was letting him not be Cormac. Well, he wasn't not being Cormac anyway.

So yes, he's an easy target.

Every single one of them? No, but neither does every eligible voter in any other region. The Internationale has perhaps the fewest barriers to enfranchisement, though. Even if they don't exercise their vote, all of our members are able to, and are empowered to without jumping through hoops to achieve "citizenship."

I'm looking into ways to educate our members on their rights as members and how to vote to raise voter turnout. The current discussion about establishing a regional charter may lead to this, even if an actual charter does not find consensus.

I've an honest question though, how does TI keep from having voter and election fraud? It seems anyone could create multiple nations and vote in polls or TG their vote to the appropriate person.

[Qpoweiruqopiruopqiueroi]

Another update dragging TCB through the mud?

The only thing I'm upset about is he didn't even include my other saying that I used as a joke towards Cormac (what account Misley is using on Europeia's forum, he still has not answered, I lean towards him going by different names across NS, hes better at it than Cormac, Ill give him that).

#IStandWithRainbow
#BringBackOurRainbows
#PrayForRainbow

They deleted both my nations radica and utopiopa, they'll probably axe this one too. wtf

[Ivo Mullur]

I was extremely impressed with how the new updaters handled everything yesterday. Before the operation, I was concerned that they wouldn't all make it , not to mention Misley was being rather pessimistic about our jump: "Ah, I think we missed it".

But kudos to all involved for a successful liberation!

[Misley]

I was extremely impressed with how the new updaters handled everything yesterday. Before the operation, I was concerned that they wouldn't all make it , not to mention Misley was being rather pessimistic about our jump: "Ah, I think we missed it".

But kudos to all involved for a successful liberation!

In defense of my pessimism, update was slower than I was anticipating - what should've been a 20 second trigger was almost a 40 second one, and I said "I think we missed it" at the 30 second mark. Seven seconds later, it updated.