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

[Funkadelia]

Explain what you mean by defenders having to work with the NPO out of necessity.

Perhaps "necessity" wasn't the proper wording.

Regardless, what I mean is they worked with the PRL because they were defenders. And like I said, defenders tend to work with other defenders. That's just the way things work.

[Drop Your Pants]

There was a reason why Lazarus joined the FRA and was #1 on the TRR list of in-game embassies.

Laz and TRR were close allies before they both joined the FRA. Long before Balder was even created as a GCR. That's why both regions share the number 1 embassy spot, not some crazy defender conspiracy.

[The Red and Black]

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NEWS · THE INTERNATIONALE

The Internationale is celebrating its first refound anniversary with the release of its five-year archive of regional message board posts.

"The comrade members of The Internationale indicated that they wanted TI to be refounded as our home after La Pasionaria was deleted in November 2013," explains Misley. "The only way to do that was to let the region cease to exist, which was its own security nightmare. In doing that we knew all of the old messages would be removed, so we needed a way to preserve that history."

Prior to refounding one year ago today, the regional message board posts that spanned a period from 2010 to 2014 were saved via API calls and backups of RMB forum pages. Saving the forum pages was necessary because the backup generated from API calls at the time did not include post ID numbers, which had to be matched to the appropriate posts separately. When the region was refounded, the original posts on the NationStates database were deleted.

After The Internationale was refounded, an Excel spreadsheet containing the post archive was shared. This format proved inadequate, as special characters were not properly displayed and the BBCode and NSCode used to enhance posts was not applied to the text within.

As The Internationale's one-year refound anniversary approached, work began on a more robust method of presenting the archived posts.

The original API responses were used to regenerate the posts within the archive, which were compiled into a database, to which the post IDs were appended. PHP and Javascript was used to pull posts from the reconstructed database, and tags unique to NSCode ([quote], [nation], and [region] in particular) were added to a BBCode parser to enable the proper display of these elements.

While the RMB archive is now publicly available, work remains to be done. The ability to quote posts within the archive and to link directly to archive pages or individual posts remains on the to-do list. A better page selector would improve usability in scrolling among the RMB archive's 503 pages. These and other improvements will be explored in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, the archive is available at http://theredand.black/rmb-archive.

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NEWS · NATIONSTATES · MILITARY · CAPS

Slavija, one of the regions that participated in the REATO raid on the Congress of Armed Proletarian States, has fallen to a retaliatory strike by The Red Fleet and Korean Peoples Army.

Slavija's founder ceased to exist at the June 29 major update. At the following major update, five soldiers from The Red Fleet and Korean Peoples Army stormed into Slavija, unseating the delegate and exacting revenge for the regional destruction of CAPS.

"This action is entirely within our rights as a united NationStates Left to seek retribution for the actions taken in CAPS by REATO and its allies," said Fleet Admiral Misley, citing language from the Security Council resolution at vote to repeal the liberation of CAPS. That resolution, in repealing the liberation, gives international recognition to the right of former CAPS members to engage in punitive actions against the regions that were involved in its destruction, including Slavija.

Communal Earth added, "Being the highest ranking official from the KPA present, I feel confident that The Red Fleet and North Korea will continue to strike fear in the hearts of our enemies." Several of the Red Fleet sailors and KPA soldiers in the region have opted to fly a combined Red Fleet/North Korean flag, representing the close partnership between the two leftist militaries.

At publication time, additional support from the Red Army of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics and soldiers from USSD had joined the initial strike force.

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

[The Red and Black]

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NEWS · NATIONSTATES · REATO · GAY EQUALITY

After less than one week as a member of the REAGAN Treaty Organization, Gay Equality voted unanimously to withdraw from the alliance after questions were raised internally about the decision to join and facts regarding REATO's operations were shared.

The decision to join REATO was made by Gay Equality's External Affairs Minister on consultation with the regional co-founder. That decision was questioned by Gay Equality Cabinet member Blood Wine, who said "[REATO] looks pretty unprofessional and inexperienced. When Gay Equality was invaded by Nazis, Libertatem fielded reinforcements and only got two people in. If we do get into Gameplay stuff, we might as well do it with someone we know is a powerful ally."

Information was provided to the residents of Gay Equality by The Red Fleet detailing REATO's offensive operations, which had been glossed over by its proponents, and warning that it was likely that Gay Equality was invited to be a member to serve as a shield for REATO's actions by agitating a leftist attack on the region so REATO could accuse the Left of being anti-LGBT. These suspicions were confirmed when Hallo Island, a member of the legislature of REATO member Libertatem, publicly mused "So, now that Gay Equality has joined REATO, do you think the Reds will harass them as well? It will really show NS how inclusive and accepting the communists are."

Gay Equality's members expressed distaste for REATO after learning more about the alliance.

"As soon as I saw that REAGAN might indeed mean Ronald Reagan, coupled with the expression 'moral conflict', I turned off. Reagan was homophobic and American right-wingery is unpleasant. We are a LBGT region, not primarily American, and have prized our neutrality, building bridges with those on the right and left," wrote Spanish Africa, another Gay Equality Cabinet member.

Teahead Joyride said, "This has been a dreadful mistake based on a misunderstanding, hasn't it? Belonging to this alliance destroys our neutrality, bizarrely linking us in war games we don't want to play with an ideologically conservative grouping. We are an LGBT region and this thing threatens to drive us completely off course."

After discussion, the residents of Gay Equality voted unanimously to withdraw from REATO by a vote of eight to zero. As of publication, they are still listed as a member on the World Factbook Entry of REATO.

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COOKING · REAL WORLD · RECIPES · SALADS
by Ratateague
R+B Culinary Editor

For this installment of POTLUC, I have abandoned the comedy shtick I had planned upon learning some wonderful news. The Pamunkey tribe of Virginia has gained federal recognition status! Whoop! I had intended to submit this months ago, but I had a lot going on and kept postponing it. With the news and the season, I couldn't pass up this opportunity.

In fact, it may not be too late to try growing your own heirloom summer squash for this recipe, as they are very resilient. No disdainful, potentially distasteful wisecracks—just good food. Specifically, a Three Sisters salad, serving four to six.

Since this recipe involves some grilling, start by prepping the apple cider vinaigrette.

Ingredients:

• 6 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3/4 cup canola oil

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well. Using the listed measurements, the dressing turned out a bit oily. You might consider reducing the canola oil to 1/2 cup, or add more honey. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

While this is refrigerating, get working on the salad itself.

Ingredients

• 2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 2 yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 2 ears corn, husked
• 1/4 cup canola oil (for salad prep only)
• 2 cups cooked cranberry beans (aka roman beans), drained
• 1 medium yellow tomato or 3/4 cup yellow cherry tomatoes, diced
• 2 plum (Roma) tomatoes or 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, diced

Directions:
Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill, or preheat a gas grill to high. Brush the zucchini, squash, and corn with oil. If you wish, season the vegetables on all sides with salt and pepper. Grill the zucchini and squash until crisp-tender and grill-marked on both sides, about 10 minutes. At the same time, grill the corn until lightly browned, turning to cook all sides, 4 to 5 minutes.

Transfer the zucchini and squash to a cutting board and finely dice, then empty into a large bowl. Cut the kernels from the corn and add to the bowl along with the beans and the yellow and red tomatoes. Add 1/4 cup vinaigrette and toss to coat. Serve at room temperature or cold.

Recipe from the Mitsitam Cafe Cookbook.

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OPINION · REAL WORLD · CURRENCY
by Ratateague

Preventing women from a place on the twenty propogates the subtle message that the woman is still second to the man. Before you roll your eyes and dismiss this as overanalyzing and blowing it out of proportion, consider this: the previous attempts to put women on the face of U.S. currency were limited to the $1 denomination. The lowest without going into fractions. (While that would be technically accurate, since women earn 78 cents on the dollar, that is not the empowering message we wish to send, right?) So two on coins (Sacagawea and Susan B. Anthony: both short-lived attempts) and one on the bill (Martha Washington, back in the 1880s–'90s). The only outlier to this trend was Pocahontas, who was unsurprisingly featured on the back of a twenty.

"Woah, hold up. Why does it even matter?" you interject. Our currency is always with us, and serves as a mnemonic device for our national identity. It's a smaller piece of the larger puzzle that is the concept of "civil religion," as if the Eye of Providence or "In God We Trust" didn't make it obvious enough. Monuments, national holidays, the anthem, pledge of allegiance, flag pins, bills, are all subtle, more benign forms of pseudo-religious observance. Our historical icons could be considered the irreligious equivalent of saints, and national celebrations a form of mass worship ("Hail Martha, full of grace..."). I digress. Anyway, what's important is that our national symbols and iconic figures reflect truly on our continuing legacy, and to provide proportional representation that is cultural as well as political.

It's worth noting two of the limitations of who can appear on currency: that no living person is allowed, and George Washington's face on the bill is not to be replaced. That did not prevent a workaround like the introduction of dollar coins, but to compete with such a national legend certainly made widespread adoption impossible for women on currency, especially with the vending machine lobby and the awkward bulk that loose change offers.

Looking strictly at the prevalence of the various denominations, the three most popular values in circulation are 1, 20, and 100. No, 100 doesn't actually count, because the majority of transactions it's used in involves accounting and does not pass through the public's hands. The rest of it is very straightforward: twenties are the highest denomination we feel comfortable handling, for consumers, cashiers, and machines alike, and we end up with a lot of ones as a result of breaking larger bills. The ones boast the highest circulation at 11 billion, the twenties at 8 billion, the fives at 2.5 billion, and finally the tens at 2 billion. Ten is only a quarter as prevalent as the twenty, and less than a fifth of that of the one, et cetera. This more or less reflects the the abundance of change as it's broken down.

The recent campaign itself to instate women on the bill started as a proposal for the twenty. "Women on 20's" called upon selected voters to choose from fifteen candidates of historical women as the next bill's candidate, in time for the upcoming centennial of women's suffrage. The prospective pool of candidates were refined to Wilma Mankiller, Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, and lastly, Harriet Tubman, who won out in the end. Wonderful! Except... that she would not be on the twenty, but the ten. And not as a replacement, but besides an existing Hamilton. ...WHAT!? You mean to tell us that not only will a former slave be featured in the same hall of fame as a prominent slaveholder and instigator of genocide, but one denomination lower and not even independently? Hopefully, the irony isn't lost on you. Quickly referring back to the earlier bit regarding prevalence, for every Hamilton/Tubman, you will see approximately five Washingtons and four Jacksons, on average. In terms of probability, that gives 1:10 or 10%, correct? Actually half that, considering she will be splitting the proverbial pot with someone else, so more like 1:20.

That Jackson remains on the twenty, a place in currency next to that of Washington, should at the very least evoke a range from raised eyebrows to disbelief to outrage. Here is a man who established his wealth upon the institution of slavery through The Hermitage plantation. At an initial entry of nine slaves, his thousand-acre venture rapidly inflated until the number rose to around 150 upon his death in 1845. He did not even like the idea of paper currency, and preferred to revert to a system of gold and silver. And in pursuit of such a system, wild speculation increased and the Panic of 1837 ensued, leading to a severe depression well into Van Buren's presidency and the demise of the Second Bank of the United States. Lastly, and most infamously, Jackson was responsible for the Indian Removal Act of 1830 that would result in the Trail of Tears, leading to displacement of well over 70,000 native americans and the estimated death toll of 8,000 to 17,000 in the process. And yet, we don't give thought to the impact handing off a twenty has to a person of different background. It is stupefying how mundane and automatic our transactions have become, that as a society, we have remained naive in obliviousness to our cultural insensitivity.

Jack Lew, our current Treasury Secretary, reasoned that the ten dollar bill was already next in line for a makeover with more security features to prevent fraud. And fortunately for us, it's one of the decisions that is exempt from congressional approval, lest it be delayed, tacked with earmarks, and countered with a proposal for The Gipper. Yet it still leaves the rest of us wondering, was it purely a cost and planning issue, or were there politics involved? And just how hard would it have been to do a cut and paste job on the oval portrait?

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NEWS · NATIONSTATES · MILITARY · THE RED FLEET · KOREAN PEOPLES ARMY · NEW REPUBLICA

Above: The "spooky scary skeleton monster of Left Unity"
stomping through New Republica.

The Red Fleet and Korean Peoples Army have concluded their latest successful operation, "Play With Fire," after three days spent in New Republica. New Republica was an embassy region to the fascist Fifth Empire, a former member of the failed Right Wing Uprising; and to Libertatem and the International Republican Union, two of the three member states of REATO.

After an operation in The Hyatt Islands was spoiled by a mistake in the NationStates game system—which, according to Game Admin Ballotonia, caused the game to believe that a KPA soldier was in the jump point at update rather than THI—New Republica was chosen as an alternate target for its embassies with REATO members and fascists. Although there is an active founder in the region, executive powers were granted to the World Assembly Delegate, allowing the TRF/KPA precision strike to be a success. Despite being active earlier in the update, no defenders attempted to bolster the endorsements on the native delegate when the crack team of Red Fleet and Korean Peoples Army troops entered the region.

Several regions with embassies in New Republica reacted with shock, with Zaldania of Southeastern Wisconsin who shared a draft for a condemnation of The Red Fleet with the World Assembly Security Council.

In what has become a pattern of indifference to successful raids against their allies, Libertatem, IRU, and REATO did not lift a finger to help the members of New Republica. Conservative Idealism, General of the IRU's military, said in response to a call for help that "our forces are tied up elsewhere—not to mention that they'll likely be watching the region during the updates."

Above: Ribbon "Play With Fire"

The Red Fleet operation point had only seven endorsements at its peak, compared to over thirty endorsements given to The Hyatt Islands—making it obvious to any observer that sufficient forces could have been spared to defend New Republica without jeopardizing the REATO pile in THI.

After New Republica's embassies were closed during the July 5 minor update, TRF and KPA forces voluntarily withdrew from the region.

Sailors of The Red Fleet were awarded the ribbon "Play With Fire" for their contributions to the operation.

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BLOG · REAL WORLD · USA · WORKING CLASS
by Walter Smolarek for Liberation News

Every schoolchild in the United States is exposed at one point or another to this famous passage from the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is often cited, especially around Independence Day celebrations, as proof of the United States' supposed moral infallibility and noble commitment to democratic ideals.

But for the vast majority of people who were alive for the drafting of this founding document, this was hollow rhetoric. Women were treated as the property of their husbands and fathers and had almost no civil or political rights. Even many white males were denied access to formal political channels due to property requirements for suffrage, and poor farmers were largely left out of the post-independence redistribution of loyalist landholdings.

The emptiness of this proclamation, principally authored by Thomas Jefferson, a slaveowner and one of the new country's most prominent racist ideologues, was particularly apparent to the nearly 20 percent of the population who were enslaved and the Indigenous peoples who saw no relief from genocidal colonial expansion.

At the same time, the bulk of the victorious colonist army was certainly not made up of wealthy merchants and parasitic slaveholders. Those from the ruling strata of society who led it—like George Washington—did so as part of the officer class with all the attendant material comforts. What motivated members of the oppressed classes to join and ultimately win the War of Independence?

It certainly was not as if pre-independence U.S. history was a picture of national unity; class struggle was waged throughout the colonies. New York and New Jersey were home to a series of revolts waged by tenant farmers against their landlords. A similar movement of poor farmers, called the Regulator Movement, challenged the landed gentry in North Carolina. Heroic uprisings carried out by the enslaved shook the slavocracy to its core.

But still, circumstances allowed for the formation of a cross-class alliance to challenge British rule. The political leadership of the independence movement came from the merchants and slaveholders, who resented taxes imposed by London and a prohibition on colonization past the Appalachians. The upper classes were politically alienated by the monarchy when it began dispersing institutions of local government and concentrating more and more power in the hands of direct representatives of King George III.

Although many enslaved Blacks understandably sympathized with the British, who promised freedom in return for loyalty to the crown, rather than join a war effort led by one of the largest slaveholders in the colonies, lower class whites and free Blacks were largely supportive of the struggle for independence. They suffered the most from rising prices associated with the infamous Stamp Act and residents of port cities, often home to the most militant patriots, faced the threat of impressment—being kidnapped and forced to join the British Navy.

The English monarchy was seen as a symbol of the opulence of the hated upper classes, and support for independence was used as an opportunity to attack the arrogant notion of divine right—that the rule of a wealthy minority headed by a royal family was the natural, God-given order of society.

What was the ideological basis for the unity of the pro-independence social alliance? Everyone involved recognized the right of revolution. Waging a war for total separation from the British Empire required a radical rupture with the old politics of unquestioning fealty promoted by the monarchy.

While the Declaration of Independence was full of hypocrisy, it also contained this very progressive passage, "[W]henever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends [life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness], it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government. … [W]hen a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government."

The right of revolution today
This notion, that in the face of oppression revolution was both a right and a duty, broke with all existing political traditions and recognized that the masses of people were the true makers of history. From the perspective of the landed gentry and rising merchant class, this was a very dangerous idea, but to achieve their aim of independence the new ruling class of the United States had no choice but to recognize it.

For the hundreds of thousands of participants who threw themselves into the war effort in one capacity or another, the right of revolution was no academic concept. The fighters for independence were able to open up a political space to challenge all forms of injustice by militarily defeating those who they had been told represented their divinely ordained superiors.

After independence was secured from the British, the masses of people wasted no time in using this space to organize against their new oppressors. Deeply indebted small farmers in western Massachusetts carried out a major armed uprising, which came to be known as Shays' Rebellion, against an impending wave of foreclosures. A mass abolitionist movement in the North, complementing the ongoing insurrectionary activity carried out by slaves in the South, came into being in part on the ideological foundation of the right of revolution.

This tradition persists throughout U.S. history to the present day. Whenever it became apparent that a particular form of oppression was rooted in the political and economic structure of society itself, mass movements could connect to a proud radical legacy rooted in the right of revolution. The labor, LGBT, immigrants' rights, and women's and Black liberation struggles are just a few examples of people's movements that at certain points turned to revolutionary politics to combat a system that aimed to "reduce them under absolute despotism."

The right of revolution is not just an abstract political concept; it is a law of history. Lasting progress is not the result of compromise or the apolitical pursuit of utopian ideals. Real change can come about when the ruling elements of society outlive their ability to contribute to humanity and are confronted by those who maintain the rulers' absurd and opulent existence with their sweat and blood.

This contradiction has taken many forms, leading to gains in some places and retreats in others. As the oppressed begin to understand their role in history, the struggle becomes more and more intense as the oppressors desperately try to prolong their rule over society. Ultimately, this conflict is resolved in a revolution, the decisive moment when the future conquers the past and a new era of human history begins.

Time for a new revolution
There can be little doubt that the bankers and CEOs who hold power in society today constitute just such an outmoded and reactionary force that can only be displaced through revolution. They create nothing of value but control all of society's wealth. They organize production solely to maximize profits, guaranteeing that enormous swaths of humanity live in poverty and that periodic economic crises will leave more and more people destitute. They deny a decent education to a huge layer of society, holding back innovation and stifling the vast creative potential of humanity.

To maintain their grip on society, the capitalists spread racism, sexism, homophobia and all other forms of bigotry imaginable to divide us and prevent us from realizing our strength. The police carry out campaigns of racist terror against communities of color and attempt to repress any attempts to challenge the status quo.

But in spite of this horrifying oppression, the future, in an objective sense, belongs to us. Their system continues to function solely by virtue of our labor. Once the poor and working people of the world become aware of this fact and organize on that basis, the system of exploitation that underscores every other injustice can be eliminated.

As one particularly visionary participant in Shays' Rebellion put it, "The great men are going to get all we have and I think it is time for us to rise and put a stop to it, and have no more courts, nor sheriffs, nor [tax] collectors."

These words ring just as true today as they did more than 200 years ago. But to get there, we have to exercise the right of revolution.

Read the article at Liberation News.

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

[The Red and Black]

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NATIONSTATES · MILITARY · REATO

Jubilation has erupted across the NationStates Left as Republic of Minerva, former Minister of War for Libertatem and administrator of REATO, the REAGAN Treaty Organization, has declared victory for the Left after the protracted "War on Communism" ended in failure.

After aggressively refounding Congress of Armed Proletarian States when the Security Council was debating a measure to liberate that region, REATO has suffered under a sustained barrage from united Leftist forces as The Red Fleet, Korean Peoples Army, and Central Defense Agency of the Democratic Socialist Union have joined forces to invade REATO's member regions and allies while defending leftist regions from their aggression.

The inaugural edition of the Red + Black covered REATO's struggle against attacks from The Leftist Union, Korean Peoples Army, Das Kommune, and the Democratic Socialist Union. After TLU's founder was deleted early in 2015, that torch was taken up by joint operations of The Red Fleet and Korean Peoples Army.

In 2015 alone, leftist forces have defended Communist China, The International Communist Union, and United Socialist Republics from REATO assaults. The Left has, in response, launched attacks on REATO members Aeldorin (since removed from the alliance's roster), Yerfilag (since refounded by The Red Fleet). Further incursions were launched into regions with close ties to REATO, including Zentari, Slavija, New Republica, and the recently-concluded operation in Libertarian, which also involved the People's Revolutionary Armed Forces of The Communist Bloc in the first collaborative operation between leftist militaries and TCB's PRAF against a non-fascist target.

In the past month alone, REATO member Libertarians and former REATO members The Federal Islands and Anti Authoritarian Alliance were refounded by The Red Fleet. The Federal Islands and Anti Authoritarian Alliance were targeted as regions involved in the original raid on Congress of Armed Proletarian States. Simultaneous operations saw The Red Fleet successfully refound A3's predecessor and "fort" region, Communist Region and Fort Proudhon, respectively. A further operation in A3's predecessor region UCR was terminated upon the return of its founder, who revived too late to save A3 itself.

REATO has been unable to mount a successful defense against any leftist operations this year—a fact that potential allies have recognized, causing several regions to shutter their embassies with REATO heavyweights Libertatem and the International Republican Union or shy away from joining REATO despite a sympathetic viewpoint. REATO officials have even warned potential allies that they would be raided by leftists for joining the alliance.

Only one leftist operation did not succeed: a planned invasion of The Hyatt Islands, following the acquisition of that region's password by The Red Fleet Intelligence Directorate. Despite having enough endorsements in the region at update time, a glitch caused the native delegate to remain in the seat. An investigation of the events corroborated by Game Administrator Ballotonia showed that NationStates erroneously believed that one of the leftist participants updated in the jump point, despite moving into the Hyatt Islands before that region updated and well before the jump point.

When asked what their future plans were for REATO, Minerva said, "I'm going to Disneyworld."

The Red Fleet has said in a statement that they are "more than happy to arrange an end to the conflict and leave [REATO] in peace." As of publication, no sensible reply has been received from REATO by the Admiralty Board. 

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

[Topid]

A sad day in NS when no one stands to fight such horrors. RIP REATO.

[The Silver Sentinel]

A hearty congratulations for the left. NationStates is going to a far better place without REATO around any longer. I myself wonder if the final nail in the coffin was Libertarian? Even though The Red Fleet was defeated there, the delegate chose to sever relations with several REATO allies. The fact that even their own allies betray them raises many questions about the actual leadership that organization in the first place.

[Misley]

A sad day in NS when no one stands to fight such horrors. RIP REATO.

A hearty congratulations for the left. NationStates is going to a far better place without REATO around any longer. I myself wonder if the final nail in the coffin was Libertarian? Even though The Red Fleet was defeated there, the delegate chose to sever relations with several REATO allies. The fact that even their own allies betray them raises many questions about the actual leadership that organization in the first place.

I wouldn't say that TRF was defeated in Libertarian. We accomplished our goal, which was severing the embassies. To have the natives turn around and voluntarily cut ties with the regions formerly making up REATO is more than we could've asked for.

They have had several former allies cut ties, and have had several potential new allies refuse to formalize their relationship to try to avoid getting caught in our crosshairs.

The fact that REATO has an abysmal track record of defending their allies (case in point: Libertarian, which was liberated by non-political defenders) and instead chooses to comment on their RMBs about how their raided allies weren't that great anyway certainly explains a lot about why they have had as much "success" as they have.

[Dark Commander]

As confirmed by the Vice President of Libertatem, the comments by Minerva were a deliberately misguided joke, and not to be taken seriously. I must unfortunately burst the bubble.

[Misley]

As confirmed by the Vice President of Libertatem, the comments by Minerva were a deliberately misguided joke, and not to be taken seriously. I must unfortunately burst the bubble.

Is this the best damage control y'all have? Are you even going to respond to REATO's miserable track record of getting its ass kicked?

[Dark Commander]

As confirmed by the Vice President of Libertatem, the comments by Minerva were a deliberately misguided joke, and not to be taken seriously. I must unfortunately burst the bubble.

Is this the best damage control y'all have? Are you even going to respond to REATO's miserable track record of getting its ass kicked?

I have no interest in defending REATO's record, as the region which I represent is not a REATO member nation. However, the DSU's invasion record is just as accomplished as REATO's record. I say this as an observer.

[The Silver Sentinel]

As confirmed by the Vice President of Libertatem, the comments by Minerva were a deliberately misguided joke, and not to be taken seriously. I must unfortunately burst the bubble.

4 minutes ago: The Republic of REATO Custodian of the region REATO ordered the closure of its embassy in Libertatem.

The right wing propaganda machine is about as accurate as their jump times I see.

ProTip: Don't send forces into a region 10 hours before the update, and then cry when they are spotted and crushed.

[Misley]

Is this the best damage control y'all have? Are you even going to respond to REATO's miserable track record of getting its ass kicked?

I have no interest in defending REATO's record, as the region which I represent is not a REATO member nation. However, the DSU's invasion record is just as accomplished as REATO's record. I say this as an observer.

DSU is relatively new to the R/D game, compared to REATO. And they already have a better track record this year than REATO does. Leading a tag raid on Libertarian, participating in the most recent raid (unofficially), and now leading a raid on a fash region that TRF/KPA have joined.

What has REATO done this year? An inconsequential tag on a region no one has ever heard of?

REATO is dead, whether the people in charge in Lib/IRU want to admit it or not.

[The Silver Sentinel]

Erm... This didn't play out as I had hoped. Min gave the goddamned region to the fash.

[Misley]

Erm... This didn't play out as I had hoped. Min gave the goddamned region to the fash.

Doubtful. None of the "usual suspects" are online right now. It's probably just Minerva changing all of that. If it was really Third Rome, they'd already have embassies building with their regions, not just closing the old REATO ones.

[The Silver Sentinel]

Erm... This didn't play out as I had hoped. Min gave the goddamned region to the fash.

Doubtful. None of the "usual suspects" are online right now. It's probably just Minerva changing all of that. If it was really Third Rome, they'd already have embassies building with their regions, not just closing the old REATO ones.

I'll have to take your word for it, as you know him better than I do. I guess we will see how this all plays out when Minerva is sober tomorrow.

[The Iron Movement]

Is this the best damage control y'all have? Are you even going to respond to REATO's miserable track record of getting its ass kicked?

I have no interest in defending REATO's record, as the region which I represent is not a REATO member nation. However, the DSU's invasion record is just as accomplished as REATO's record. I say this as an observer.

Um...

As far as I can remember, we led the first attack against Libertarian and participated in the most recent one. In addition to that, we also tag-raided several fash regions this year, including THE REICHSWEHR HEADQUARTERS, and liberated United Socialist Peoples of the World from destruction by hostile right-wing forces. We provided the largest amount of re-enforcements for the invasion of A3 and are currently leading a coalition of 17 endorsers from 5 different regions in the occupation of The United Right Wing States. So yea, keep deluding yourself, mate.

[Dark Commander]

I have no interest in defending REATO's record, as the region which I represent is not a REATO member nation. However, the DSU's invasion record is just as accomplished as REATO's record. I say this as an observer.

Um...

As far as I can remember, we led the first attack against Libertarian and participated in the most recent one. In addition to that, we also tag-raided several fash regions this year, including THE REICHSWEHR HEADQUARTERS, and liberated United Socialist Peoples of the World from destruction by hostile right-wing forces. We provided the largest amount of re-enforcements for the invasion of A3 and are currently leading a coalition of 17 endorsers from 5 different regions in the occupation of The United Right Wing States. So yea, keep deluding yourself, mate.

If I were to disagree with you, this would just result in the standard debate about how each of our respective regions are militarily impotent. I would just like to state that REATO and its numerous non-member allies have also had several defender successes this year. I would like to leave it at that, feel free to reply, but don't expect me to waste my time to reply to your diatribe.

[Misley]

Um...

As far as I can remember, we led the first attack against Libertarian and participated in the most recent one. In addition to that, we also tag-raided several fash regions this year, including THE REICHSWEHR HEADQUARTERS, and liberated United Socialist Peoples of the World from destruction by hostile right-wing forces. We provided the largest amount of re-enforcements for the invasion of A3 and are currently leading a coalition of 17 endorsers from 5 different regions in the occupation of The United Right Wing States. So yea, keep deluding yourself, mate.

If I were to disagree with you, this would just result in the standard debate about how each of our respective regions are militarily impotent. I would just like to state that REATO and its numerous non-member allies have also had several defender successes this year. I would like to leave it at that, feel free to reply, but don't expect me to waste my time to reply to your diatribe.

The only "success" REATO has had at defending was The Hyatt Islands, which was possible because of a confirmed game glitch.

For every other operation, instead of working on defending its allies, REATO made excuses or disparaged their allies instead.

[Zenny]

This isn't any official statement from TCB, but my personal thanks to you guys for allowing us in the PRAF to take part, was a good show of force and a success. Hopefully many more opportunities arise in the near future.

Down with REATO, down with Fash, all that jazz ^_^

[The Triune]

Doubtful. None of the "usual suspects" are online right now. It's probably just Minerva changing all of that. If it was really Third Rome, they'd already have embassies building with their regions, not just closing the old REATO ones.

I'm not digging the impersonation. Ain't it game illegal to use another org's flag in that manner?

We provided the largest amount of re-enforcements for the invasion of A3 and are currently leading a coalition of 17 endorsers from 5 different regions in the occupation of The United Right Wing States. So yea, keep deluding yourself, mate.

Speaking of delusions: The United Right Wing States is not a Third Rome op per your raid WFE. You've 'seized' nothing from Third Rome. Of course you know that.

Nothing about TR here: http://i.imgur.com/ETbresy.jpg

United Capitalist States of America requested TR support about a month ago. I told him we had no interest in two-month-old backwater bs, population 3 (CTE founder's puppets). Had that been a TR op, you would have confronted a 35+ WA anchor chain.

UCSoA hasn't logged in for ten days; his TURWS WAD puppet CTEd today. Clearly, he lost interest in babysitting his turd. Aye, you've really accomplished one helluva big whoop.

—Woodhouse

[The Silver Sentinel]

WOODY!! I see you have dropped the whole Nazi thing and are now a Roman Imperialist. Good for you.

Doubtful. None of the "usual suspects" are online right now. It's probably just Minerva changing all of that. If it was really Third Rome, they'd already have embassies building with their regions, not just closing the old REATO ones.

I'm not digging the impersonation. Ain't it game illegal to use another org's flag in that manner?

No. Flags on NS are not intellectual property. It's a shitty thing to do, but it is perfectly legal.

[Ever-Wandering Souls]

WOODY!! I see you have dropped the whole Nazi thing and are now a Roman Imperialist. Good for you.

I'm not digging the impersonation. Ain't it game illegal to use another org's flag in that manner?

No. Flags on NS are not intellectual property. It's a shitty thing to do, but it is perfectly legal.

If someone is using a flag you made, you've asked them to stop, and they've refused, I believe the mods are happy to take action. Someone stole the RWBY TBH flag I made for Harenhime and was using it to try and come off as a Hawk, I filed a GHR after those steps, it was reset to default.

[Lazmac]

WOODY!! I see you have dropped the whole Nazi thing and are now a Roman Imperialist. Good for you.

Just fyi, "Third Rome" is an ideal that some fascists have. That's why it's Third Rome.

[Tim-Opolis]

WOODY!! I see you have dropped the whole Nazi thing and are now a Roman Imperialist. Good for you.

Just fyi, "Third Rome" is an ideal that some fascists have. That's why it's Third Rome.

^ This. It's a reference in this case, I assume, to Mussolini's Italy.