Publication Directory
- Issue #1 - Found below
- Issue #2
The following is a private media production and is in no way associated with or sanctioned by the government of Europeia
Issue #1
10 March 2014
Issue #1
10 March 2014
Interview with Venico
by Elias Greyjoy
by Elias Greyjoy
1) First off, Venico, thank you for joining us as the first interviewee here at the Europeia Times. You've made your name as a raider that comes from one of the not so standard groups in the world, which you co-founded. Why did you choose to pursue the formation of the Brotherhood of Malice instead of one of the more "traditional" raider outfits?
Thank you for having me. I was shocked that I was asked for your first interview. To answer your question we have to go to the origins of the Brotherhood in a region called Asgard. This was my first region, my first home, where I first started raiding, and funnily enough where I got my first taste of the Security Council.We raided Christmas in July of 2012 and after a long hold, we put a password up. However, Liberate Christmas was passed swifly (sic) enough and the raid was over like that. Done.
It was about a month after that, when Cormac went defender (it was shocking the first time I swear), that Asgard fractured and split. The main thing that always caused stress in Asgard was the political end of it while the military and cultural sides provided a relief from that. I approached Koth about making a back up plan and the first thing we decided was that the region would avoid politics. There was no reason to avoid culture, that was fun. It bonds people and gives them something to do when they're WA immobile or between updates. To eliminate a part of the region which is dedicated to relaxing and enjoying your friends, well that's just silly.
2) What sets the Brotherhood of Malice apart from, say, The Black Riders or Lone Wolves United, or even a military outfit like Europeia?
First off, I want to thank The Black Riders. In September 2012, when Malice was just starting, Koth and I were having trouble starting up BoM and really getting on the board. We joined TBR though and that is where we learned most of our military skills. Because of them we became good at raiding. We learned how to tag, we learned how to update quickly, and we learned how to train troops. We owe a lot to them for that.
What separates us though is our equal focus on community as well as military. Now that sounds like a line and sometimes I wish it just was. Building up a foundation of culture and activity is a far greater challenge than planning any raid. But as the name implies, we want a strong bond between our members, a brotherly bond. You don't even have to raid to enjoy BoM. That's kind of the point. Another aspect is the equality among members. While the officers make decisions, we listen to every person's opinion. From Private to General to the Game Master of our Nation RP.
I also wanted to found this region based on the bond that Koth and I share. I know I can trust him with anything in this game. We've known each other since nearly elementary school and that sort of established bond helps us through this game immensely. I want everyone to share that experience. Friendship, bonding, and fun.
3) Recently, you orchestrated a public shaming, for lack of a better term, of the World Assembly Security Council via a mock proposal intended to show that Security Council has some very large potential flaws to be exploited. What was your specific goal with this proposal, and have you achieved your desired outcome?
Specifically? I wanted a way to win in St Abbaddon. A refound would be ludicrous and would require us sitting in the region for six months twiddling our thumbs. No one wanted that. So I came up with a way to turn the region into Warzone Abbaddon and write the operation into the history books. I call that a win every day of the week. And if it's repealed? Well that's two Security Council numbers attached to our mission. Count that as a double win.
Another goal with this proposal was to bring attention to how broken the Liberation system is and how easily the Security Council can encroach on Gameplay with very little effort. This proposal shows how as long as something sounds good intentioned, it will pass. Even if we publicly announce our intention with this proposal is to ruin the region, we still win by a landslide because "Liberate..." sounds good.
4) Your main criticism with the above proposal, in my eyes, is that the Security Council is largely far too eager to pass to pre-emptive Liberations and show Defender-leaning tendencies. Now, being an ardent SC stalwart that I am, I would counter to say that this isn't to be heaped on a bias or favoritism from the SC, but the approving Delegates and their inattentiveness to the subject of proposals. Your response? Is that a fair counterargument?
I think it's a bit of both. I think given the margin most Liberations pass by compared to Commendations, Condemnations, and GA proposals, an argument can be made that many WA Delegates and voters tend to be biased toward defenders. But the lack of scrutiny of these proposals is also a problem. In this case they didn't even bother to look into who the author was, if the natives wanted it, or to see if the region was even griefed in the slightest.
5) Let's get away from these serious topics a bit. Explain to our uninformed readers what (or who) the gods of Raider Unity are. You're a self-proclaimed priest of Raider Unity - what exactly do you do in that capacity?
The main god of Raiderdom is also the god of TBR, Raideron. He is the main force behind raiders everywhere. However, us Brothers of Malice pray to a different god. We pray to the Overseer. He's darker and more sinister. He stays in the shadows and slips a knife in the backs of his enemies without being seen. He's guided every assassin of the Brotherhood who has offered a prayer to him. He's advised every leader that Malice has had.
My responsibilities as a Priest of Raider Unity is to ensure that raiders are aware of the bonds between every raider. As generations change and new faces start showing up, I never want our side to forget what makes us stronger. I never want any raider to forget that we are strong because we stand by each other as brothers. It's a sacred code amongst raiders and if it's ever forgotten our side will fall apart.
6) What can we expect from the Brotherhood of Malice in the upcoming year? Any big parties planned out?
Well I think that you should be expecting a lot from us. The year has just begun and we've already established a functioning government in Osiris, outed a couper in TNP, and have written our names in the Security Council. Heck it's not even Spring yet. I'll definitely be organizing some culture event to be hosted by the Brothehood and if you liked our Malicious Broadcasts, well I have another idea similar to that which is under work as we speak. So in short, a lot.
7) Thank you for your time, Venico - it's been a pleasure! If you have anything else you'd like to add, feel free to do so now.
It's been an absolute pleasure and I can't wait to see where the Brotherhood of Malice is a year from now. We're all putting in a lot of hard work and we're going to see it pay off if it kills us.
A Shot Off Mark
Why the latest Security Council controversy isn't all it's cracked up to be
by Elias Greyjoy
Why the latest Security Council controversy isn't all it's cracked up to be
by Elias Greyjoy
Ah, the Security Council - bastion of peace, cooperation, friendly collabor....phhh hahaha I can't even get through that sentence without laughing. As an extension, in large part, of the military gameplay in NationStates, the Security Council is basically where raiders and defenders go to back-pat their own ilk (with the occasional intrusion by some Roleplay nonsense). In that regard, the Security Council often faces criticisms of being slanted toward one side or the other, with most of the complaints centered around a Defender-biased council. This stems from the game-altering mechanic of the Liberation, a tool used to prevent Delegate-imposed passwords on regions. While some may argue that this tool can be used both ways, an offensive (i.e. opening a region up for targeting) Liberation has never been successfully employed. The more and more common preemptive Liberation is the act of passing a Liberation for a region that doesn't yet have a password set by an occupying force, but one the WA believes may in the near future.
The sheer ease that Liberation proposals fly through the Security Council nowadays is simply insane, as it costs less than $2.00 to buy enough stamps to hit every Delegate in the world and still have a few hundred leftovers. And, in a world so riled up by tag raids from TBR and long-term occupations and military strikes by multitudes of other regions, Liberations are usually quick to pass no matter what the subject. This theory was recently put to the test by a group of well-known Gameplayers - Cormac and Venico of The Brotherhood of Malice aided by Douria. The trio set out to pen, submit, and, ultimately, pass, a Liberation proposal regarding the Brotherhood of Malice and their occupation of St Abbaddon. An anonymous puppet was used by Douria to write and submit the proposal, which quickly garnered enough approvals to go to vote. Within the first few minutes of voting, multiple, large vote-carrying Delegates had whisked the proposal to a strong 600-0 lead IN FAVOR. The lemmings took care of the rest.
After the proposal was well on it's way to passage, Cormac et al came forward with their scheme, illustrating what they believed to have accomplished with the ruse, summarized as the "stupidity of passing or even approving preemptive Liberation resolutions." Cormac also goes on to claim that "We have still managed to illustrate the foolishness of preemptive Liberation resolutions, undermine the credibility of the Security Council, [and] embarrass defenders." I'm going to make the case as to why this proposal is equivalent to sticking ones hand in water and then declaring it wet - this just tells us what we already knew.
First, some context. I'm comfortable making the statement that the majority of nations in the game, be they WA or not, are defender-supporters, or at least anti-raider in some capacity. I'm also comfortable putting a lot of the onus for that state of mind on The Black Riders and (what I consider to be) their predecessors, The Black Hawks. Ceaseless and broad-scope tag raids by TBR have brought raiding to the front door of many regions and nations that would have otherwise remained untouched. This is easy to see when a factually incorrect and poorly-written Condemnation of TBR is allowed to stand - small-time Delegates and regions fear TBR. Now, with that in mind, let's proceed.
Everyone with even a shred of historical context or up-to-date military knowledge knows that the Security Council is biased towards defenders. The Security Council was created, in large part, to combat some of the very first raiders, and the only gameplay mechanism it has in its arsenal has only been used successfully in a Defender capacity. Passing this proposal did nothing to undermine the Security Council any more than it already was. Anyone who argues that the Security Council is an unbiased organization is wrong - plain and simple. Passing a Defender proposal through a Defender council isn't anything to be surprised or exuberant about, as if some deep, unknown truth had just been uncovered. The majority of nations in the world are anti-raider, and therefore will, of course, be in favor of passing Liberations despite their context. No real shocker there. To attribute the approval and eventual passage of this proposal to the lack of insight in the Security Council is pinning the tail on the wrong donkey. The Security Council didn't approve or vote for this proposal - that fault lies with uninformed nations and regions casting their votes willy-nilly without any context or information. Cormac is spot on later in his analysis wherein he states that "WA Delegates and voters have become so accustomed to just approving any Liberation resolution that comes their way, even in the absence of any evidence that it is needed."
Cormac goes on to further claim that "We have turned the Security Council upside down, manipulating it to do the exact opposite of what it is intended to do and receiving substantial, unwitting defender support in order to do so." Turned it upside down? By getting a Defender-oriented proposal approved by defender-oriented Delegates who later voted, in their capacity as defender-oriented vote-holders, on a defender-oriented proposal? Sorry - I just don't see that. Yes, this proposal has more clearly illustrated that defender bias in the SC is rampant, but it certainly isn't a groundbreaking moment where every WA nation should say "Ah ha!"
While an interesting project that certainly looks humiliating for the supporting defender Delegates, turns out that someone discovered a long time ago that water is, indeed, wet.
The Lazarene Selection
The state of democracy in the People's Republic should worry democratic advocates.
by Cormac Stark Somerset
The state of democracy in the People's Republic should worry democratic advocates.
by Cormac Stark Somerset
It was big news last week when Milograd stepped down as Delegate of Lazarus and Chairman of the People's Republic of Lazarus, announcing a "closed election" to select his successor. To the surprise of virtually no one who has paid attention to Lazarus over the past few months, Kazmr emerged as the victor over the more moderate Hobbesistan and longtime native Stujenske. Kazmr, previously Governor of the Information District responsible for publication of The Lazarene Gazette, has been among the People's Republic's most fervent ideologues. It is little surprise that in this age of ideological extremism for Lazarus, Kazmr has been selected to take the reins over others who may have taken a more moderate and pragmatic approach to interregional relations.
Nonetheless, this election should be welcomed as a positive development for the People's Republic as it moves toward greater democracy, right? Well, yes and no.
To be sure, any election at all is more democratic than the way in which Milograd and his predecessor Harmoneia were selected to serve as Delegate of Lazarus. Both were chosen by their predecessor without election. Still, to celebrate the election of Kazmr as a triumph of democracy in Lazarus is to be far too optimistic. The candidates in the election that resulted in Kazmr's victory were chosen by outgoing Chairman Milograd; there was no opportunity for citizens of the People's Republic to stand for Chairman, nor even to be nominated by other citizens. Public campaigning was also prohibited, and to outside observers it appeared that the election had ended in Kazmr's victory and he had been transitioned into the Delegacy of Lazarus quicker than most people had a chance to realize an election was occurring in Lazarus.
Contrast this with the election conducted by the Osiris Fraternal Order in January. That election saw longtime natives Lord Ravenclaw and Hileville competing with each other and with Cameron Romefeller, Chief of Foreign Affairs for the United Defenders League, in free, fair, and open elections -- elections so open that no one even batted an eyelash when a prominent defender stood for Delegate in a raider-leaning region. Although some may argue that Osiris still has a democratic deficit, there can be no question that the January election in Osiris was far closer to the democratic standards of most other Feeders and Sinkers than last week's election in Lazarus. This method of selecting a new Delegate in Lazarus is far more reminiscent of the dictatorial style of the New Pacific Order, albeit in a more subtle form that showcases a facade of democratic self-determination.
The contrasts between the People's Republic of Lazarus and the Osiris Fraternal Order do not end there. In the latter case, it was made clear by allies and skeptics alike that a swift transition to democratic self-governance was an expectation that must be met in order to maintain or, in some cases, establish the fledgling regime's legitimacy. This external advocacy for democracy left little doubt in the minds of the Osiran leadership that the way forward for Osiris must follow a democratic path. No similar pressure has been applied to Lazarus, and it shows. Perhaps regions that quickly recognized the People's Republic as the legitimate government of Lazarus hoped that this swift acceptance of the regime into the interregional community would urge it toward democracy. If that was the hope, those hopes were dashed last week as Lazarenes were given the opportunity to choose a Delegate only from among candidates approved by the regime with no public exchange of ideas or debate over issues facing the region.
It is possible that this small step toward democracy may lead to greater strides in Lazarus. It is equally possible that with an ideological extremist now in power, this "closed election" will become a precedent that will be repeated and we will never see a more democratic Lazarus. What is undoubtedly true is that democratic advocates shouldn't expect to see the glacial pace of democratic reform in the People's Republic pick up speed while no external pressure is being applied. If the interregional community wants to see a more democratic Lazarus, it's time for the same advocates of democracy who were so firm in their insistence on democratic self-governance in Osiris to take off the kid gloves and insist that the illiberal status quo in Lazarus must change if the regime is to remain a member in good standing of the interregional community.
Europeia Set for Third Consecutive Election with Little Competition
Anumia is poised to go all but uncontested into Goldenblock for the third consecutive term, setting the Europeian record for most time as President should he complete another term
by The Europeia Times Staff
Anumia is poised to go all but uncontested into Goldenblock for the third consecutive term, setting the Europeian record for most time as President should he complete another term
by The Europeia Times Staff
Europeian elections as of late haven't exactly been a neck and neck race. With incumbent Anumia blowing out Elias Greyjoy (24-8) and --- (29-9) in the last two elections, an even more slanted outcome is likely in the upcoming election, slated to begin 14 March. Currently, the only challenger to Anumia and Vice President Malashaan is Zenny, proprietor of The Zenyan newspaper, and former Senator Charlotte, whose platform as of now reads "Zenny/Charlotte: Boobies We Can Believe In." Europeian media is already ready to confer the Presidency to Anumia, but one wonders why the race has been so uncompetitive thus far.
Anumia's Presidency, while certainly ambitious, has definitely fallen short on some expectations. Touting a grand, interregional plan known as the Great Architecture Project (GAP) in his defeat of Elias Greyjoy, Anumia laid plans for a grandiose sharing network that promised to share the strong attributes of Europeia with lesser regions. This has, through two terms, not been the case. No public announcements have been made as to any regions in the GAP and public updates as to the progress of the monumental project have been referred to as "glacial." While making some excellent strides in the Interior (primarily due to an excellent replacement Minister in Mousebumples who has revitalized the dead department previously focused on manual nation recruitment) and maintaining decent levels of activity in the Navy and Culture, Anumia's Foreign Affairs Minister has been non-existenct on a public front and has not been active in Europeia since February and is now under consideration for a recall from his Senate seat. While Anumia has admittedly been on top of FA by himself, the lack of public updates have left some wondering what, if any, progress is being made both on the GAP and other FA issues.
Many middle-tier contenders, including Elias Greyjoy, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Grand Admiral, Drecq, long-time Senate Speaker, simply don't have the clout to dislodge a long-time member like Anumia, especially in the middle of such a grand project. This can be pinpointed as the primary reason for such lack of competition at the ballot box in Europeia - Anumia is simply too prominent to allow any break-through contenders to have a reasonable shot. This will provide some interesting results once Anumia decides not to run. The power vacuum left almost guarantees that prominent members like Drecq, Elias Greyjoy, and maybe even Common-Sense Politics and Cerian Quilor will make a run at the Presidency, stirring up Europeian politics again.
The Eternal Knights Turn Out to Be Not So Eternal
Gameplay has a new laughing stock
by The Europeia Times Staff
Gameplay has a new laughing stock
by The Europeia Times Staff
Gameplay goes through some pretty big gaffes with the inherent competition and vitriol of the R/D game taking center stage and the variety of personalities on both sides of military gameplay. The Eternal Knights (TEK) have set a new standard for grievously, painfully, laughable behavior.
As first reported in the Lazarene Gazette, TEK, the self-proclaimed cleansing force that would destroy Gameplay as we know it, has all but dissolved at the hands of their now-paranoid founder, Nephmir, who purged the region of long-time natives after declaring war against the People's Republic of Lazarus, going so far in his self-importance to password protect his region as if Lazarus would be caught dead giving his region more than the tabloid press it so rightly deserves. Nephmir has now abandoned any scrap of dignity he had left by discarding the founding principles of his region and organization, stating that the region wishes to join in to "raider unity," a pipe dream that is already pretty much impossible to get, since TEK originally rose to combat TBR tag raiding, and has since alienated many prominent raider and independent military organizations.
Not an unforeseeable outcome, TEK has long been the ridicule of the Gameplay world for making claims such that NS++, Afforess' add-on for increased NS functionality, is the primary way in which military organizations conduct business and that Gameplay would be destroyed by The Eternal Knights. In their brief, barely two-month existence, TEK has proven that being both uninformed as to modern military gameplay and technologies in conjunction with a penance for opening ones mouth with such misinformation doesn't go hand-in-hand with anything labeled "eternal."
