The Miniluv Messenger: TEP Liberated!

[Syberis]

Oh christ I hadn't meant to start a debate on this lol.

You aren't allowed to joke on here, because often actual politics seem too much like a joke. So people debate things.

[Wopruthien]

Oh christ I hadn't meant to start a debate on this lol.

You must have forgotten how NSGP works....

[The Notorious Mad Jack]

Oh christ I hadn't meant to start a debate on this lol.

You must have forgotten how NSGP works....

It has been a while

[Lord Dominator]

Remember, what is small is big; and what is big is small.

[Escade]

Even the bashers don't know what they're doing already, it hasn't even been a week

Yes, this is the particularly intriguing aspect of this. There was a narrative to run with and they lost control and went off some serious train tracks. Ah well, I was hoping for some lively IC war mongering. Instead we have spats and sputtering.

Remember, what is small is big; and what is big is small.

I thought it wasn't the size that matters but what you do with it that's important... so confuzzled

[King Bradley]

You haven’t been paying much attention, have you?

[Escade]

The possibilities are endless and unending and also innumerable...

[The Miniluv Messenger]

Big Brother is watching Gameplay

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Powder Keg: Slow Burning Crisis in The East Pacific Threatens to Explode

Questionable behavior by the Delegate and his political allies threatens to unravel the fabric of TEP's democracy.

By Cormac Skollvaldr

---

1 INFINITE LOOP - Just two weeks after Fedele won a third consecutive term as Delegate of The East Pacific, the evolving crisis in the East threatened to erupt into open hostility between the Delegate and the few remaining members of the Magisterium, TEP's legislature. The latest incident involved Fedele's reaction to questions posed to Aleister, an applicant to the Magisterium. Aleister, who is also known as Lamb Stone, previously served as Khan of the condemned raider region Lone Wolves United and led a LWU-backed coup d'etat against the Sinker region Lazarus in 2018. The questions raised in TEP have been related to Aleister's leadership of that coup, known as the Khanate, and Aleister's fitness to be a member of TEP's legislature in light of the controversy surrounding him. In response to these questions, Fedele called the Magisterium a "brood of vipers" and said in reference to TEP's legislature that "'cowardice' and 'hypocrisy' are not words easily avoided at the moment." This eruption of demagogic outrage prompted former Delegate Bachtendekuppen, a Magister and one of the Viziers tasked with ensuring TEP's regional security, to refer to the Delegate's remarks as "wholly inappropriate and insulting" and to demand an apology. It should be noted that despite the questioning, Aleister's admission to the Magisterium is currently passing by a vote of 3-1. A separate vote on the admission of Libertanny, who has faced similarly tough questions, is currently tied at 2-2, and thus his admission to the Magisterium will fail if nothing changes.

It's worth noting that while the questions posed to Aleister and Libertanny were in fact posed by Magisters, the Magisters posing these questions are high-ranking ministers of Fedele's own executive government. Tim Stark is the Commissioner of the East Pacific Police Service (EPPS) and Marrabuk is TEP's Minister of Foreign Affairs, both serving at the pleasure of the Delegate. A high-ranking government official of a prominent region allied to The East Pacific, who spoke to the Miniluv Messenger on the condition of anonymity, wondered whether Fedele's own government had coordinated this tempest to deliberately provoke a showdown between the executive, legislative, and security branches of TEP's government following earlier disputes between Fedele and individual Viziers.

This new development, and the resulting domestic and foreign concern, is occurring against the backdrop of an ongoing, slow motion crisis in The East Pacific.

As of this writing, The East Pacific has dropped to being the sixth largest region in the world, behind three of the other Feeders as well as Sinker regions Balder and the Rejected Realms -- though the latter's population has reportedly been partially inflated by an individual's deliberately placed puppets. This dramatic decline in TEP's population has apparently been fueled by Fedele's months long policy of purging "marsupials" from TEP. "Marsupials," according to the Delegate's policy, are nations that fly the NationStates default flag and don't apply for citizenship or join the World Assembly, i.e., nations the Delegate has deemed useless to TEP. Such precipitous population declines are usually reserved for autocratic Feeders the Pacific and the West Pacific, which historically have much stricter requirements for residents and much more illiberal enforcement mechanisms than their democratic counterparts. Several individuals who have been actively making contributions to TEP's government and community, such as the previously mentioned Magisterium applicant Libertanny, as well as former Vizier Elfine, have also been driven out of TEP because of severe disputes with Fedele and his ministers.

Aside from the drop in overall regional population, the Magisterium, TEP's legislature, is currently being kept afloat only by a six person skeleton crew. While Fedele has placed the blame on Magisters and their recent questioning of the two aforementioned applicants, the truth is that the Magisterium has been underpopulated for months, which appears to have resulted from stricter admission policies backed by the Delegate. Specifically, many have pointed to the requirement that Magisters must maintain WA nations in TEP as a major obstacle to maintaining a populated and active legislature. Despite such concerns, Provost Davelands, with Fedele's backing, recently proposed even stricter requirements. When other Magisters objected to such strict requirements, he offered a "compromise" that would eliminate some of the new requirements. Notably, however, his proposed "compromise" measure would still require Magisterium applicants to "join and contribute to an Executive ministry, service or agency, including EPSA, evidenced by recognition of contribution by an Executive Minister or the Delegate" -- leaving ultimate discretion over who is admitted to the Magisterium to the Delegate.

Fedele's rise and subsequent consolidation of power in TEP has been accompanied by an uptick in foreign involvement, particularly by LWU members and the Rahl family. The Rahl family was created by Minineenee, Biyah, Dalimbar, and Neo Kervoskia, who were responsible for the 2008 Empire coup of TEP. Fedele, who is also known as Scardino, is himself the original LWU Founder as well as a Rahl. Davelands, a former Delegate of TWP, is a high-ranking member of the Rahl family who has been extremely active in carrying out Fedele's vision for TEP. Aleister, and until recently Funkadelia, who was involved in LWU and facilitated the Khanate as outgoing Delegate of Lazarus at the time, have been entrusted with Border Control by Fedele with no apparent explanation. The recent Delegate election saw votes cast for Fedele by Rahl family members Halo, Badger, Davelands, Minineenee, Dalimbar, Ark, and Greyghost, as well as LWU members Aleister and Funkadelia. Elindra Kshrlmnt, the Archempress of Unknown, and North East Somerset, the King of Balder, also cast votes for Fedele in the Delegate election. Several such votes were invalidated for no longer meeting citizenship requirements. The rise in participation by the Rahls as well as foreign raiders and imperialists has alarmed many observers from other prominent regions, who have spoken openly of concerns that an Empire-Raider-Imperialist axis is carrying out the slow motion subversion of TEP. Many of these same forces, particularly Balder, supported the LWU-backed Khanate in Lazarus in 2018. TWP under Davelands' Delegacy at the time attempted to install Minineenee as Delegate of Lazarus following the collapse of the Khanate at the hands of Imkiville.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated that both Balder and TWP supported the LWU-backed Khanate in Lazarus in 2018, but TWP did not support the Khanate, only returning to Lazarus to support Minineenee's bid for the Delegacy after the Khanate collapsed. The Miniluv Messenger regrets the error.

[Armaros]

As of this writing, The East Pacific has dropped to being the sixth largest region in the world, behind three of the other Feeders as well as Sinker regions Balder and the Rejected Realms -- though the latter's population has reportedly been partially inflated by an individual's deliberately placed puppets. This dramatic decline in TEP's population has apparently been fueled by Fedele's months long policy of purging "marsupials" from TEP. "Marsupials," according to the Delegate's policy, are nations that fly the NationStates default flag and don't apply for citizenship or join the World Assembly, i.e., nations the Delegate has deemed useless to TEP. Such precipitous population declines are usually reserved for autocratic Feeders the Pacific and the West Pacific, which historically have much stricter requirements for residents and much more illiberal enforcement mechanisms than their democratic counterparts.

Uhhh... purging inactive nations who do nothing at all is a sign of a declining region now? The NPO would have collapsed years ago if this was the case.

Aside from the drop in overall regional population, the Magisterium, TEP's legislature, is currently being kept afloat only by a six person skeleton crew. While Fedele has placed the blame on Magisters and their recent questioning of the two aforementioned applicants, the truth is that the Magisterium has been underpopulated for months, which appears to have resulted from stricter admission policies backed by the Delegate. Specifically, many have pointed to the requirement that Magisters must maintain WA nations in TEP as a major obstacle to maintaining a populated and active legislature. Despite such concerns, Provost Davelands, with Fedele's backing, recently proposed even stricter requirements. When other Magisters objected to such strict requirements, he offered a "compromise" that would eliminate some of the new requirements. Notably, however, his proposed "compromise" measure would still require Magisterium applicants to "join and contribute to an Executive ministry, service or agency, including EPSA, evidenced by recognition of contribution by an Executive Minister or the Delegate" -- leaving ultimate discretion over who is admitted to the Magisterium to the Delegate.

You'd think that having tight restrictions on people making the laws for one of the feeders and subsequently the thousands of East Pacificans would be a good thing. So that, ya know, you don't get the opportunists in. Guess it must be a plot by the foreign subversives to make it harder for... foreign subversives to get in?

[...] Davelands' Delegacy at the time, supported the LWU-backed Khanate in Lazarus in 2018 and attempted to install Minineenee as Delegate of Lazarus following the collapse of the Khanate at the hands of Imkiville.

In the interest of accuracy, TWP under Davelands specifically withdrew from Lazarus when the Khanate came into existence.

[Cormactopia Prime]

Uhhh... purging inactive nations who do nothing at all is a sign of a declining region now? The NPO would have collapsed years ago if this was the case.

Purging residents who have done nothing to warrant it is a sign of illiberalism, and declining democracy. The NPO is not a liberal democracy. The fact you're even comparing The East Pacific to the NPO right now demonstrates precisely how much has gone wrong in TEP over the past few months.

You'd think that having tight restrictions on people making the laws for one of the feeders and subsequently the thousands of East Pacificans would be a good thing. So that, ya know, you don't get the opportunists in. Guess it must be a plot by the foreign subversives to make it harder for... foreign subversives to get in?

Foreign subversives aren't having any trouble getting in. As it turns out, people who are hell bent on subverting a region don't have any problem planting their WA nations in that region when it's necessary for their goals. But what happens when you impose these kind of strict requirements is you often discourage people who are involved in one or more other regions from contributing, even if they're contributing in good faith, and you also discourage native newcomers who see a lot of restrictions and decide just not to bother. It's extremely difficult to even get newcomers onto forums and Discord servers, so the harder you make the process of getting involved, the less likely it is they will get involved. Hence six people in the Magisterium.

The executive ministry restriction, in particular, is extremely illiberal and anti-democratic. It demolishes separation of powers and essentially gives the Delegate control over who is and isn't admitted to the Magisterium, because the Delegate controls who can participate in executive ministries.

In the interest of accuracy, TWP under Davelands specifically withdrew from Lazarus when the Khanate came into existence.

Allegedly. They were sure back in a hurry to try to push Neenee into the Delegacy immediately after the Khanate collapsed.

[Bhang Bhang Duc]

Oooh, first Miniluv since I returned to the game. Interesting as always Cormac.

[Cormactopia Prime]

Oooh, first Miniluv since i returned to the game. Interesting as always Cormac.

Thanks BBD!

[Armaros]

Uhhh... purging inactive nations who do nothing at all is a sign of a declining region now? The NPO would have collapsed years ago if this was the case.

Purging residents who have done nothing to warrant it is a sign of illiberalism, and declining democracy. The NPO is not a liberal democracy. The fact you're even comparing The East Pacific to the NPO right now demonstrates precisely how much has gone wrong in TEP over the past few months.

Last I checked, only citizens could vote. There is also, last I checked, no law giving inactive residents who don't even bother to fix their own flags protection against purges.

You'd think that having tight restrictions on people making the laws for one of the feeders and subsequently the thousands of East Pacificans would be a good thing. So that, ya know, you don't get the opportunists in. Guess it must be a plot by the foreign subversives to make it harder for... foreign subversives to get in?

Foreign subversives aren't having any trouble getting in. As it turns out, people who are hell bent on subverting a region don't have any problem planting their WA nations in that region when it's necessary for their goals. But what happens when you impose these kind of strict requirements is you often discourage people who are involved in one or more other regions from contributing, even if they're contributing in good faith, and you also discourage native newcomers who see a lot of restrictions and decide just not to bother. It's extremely difficult to even get newcomers onto forums and Discord servers, so the harder you make the process of getting involved, the less likely it is they will get involved. Hence six people in the Magisterium.

So people who don't even have the dedication to meet those requirements should be in the Magisterium, instead? As for foreign subversives being willing to plant their WA in the region, while that is technically true, if your WA is out in another region doing a thing for that region it definitely shows a lot less dedication. And then there is the other strict requirements to discourage them from attempting.

In the interest of accuracy, TWP under Davelands specifically withdrew from Lazarus when the Khanate came into existence.

Allegedly. They were sure back in a hurry to try to push Neenee into the Delegacy immediately after the Khanate collapsed.

Then why do you claim they supported the "LWU-backed Khanate" instead of Neenee?

[Cormactopia Prime]

Last I checked, only citizens could vote. There is also, last I checked, no law giving inactive residents who don't even bother to fix their own flags protection against purges.

All of that is correct, but liberal democracy isn't just about protection of the franchised. Why purge residents who are doing nothing wrong?

So people who don't even have the dedication to meet those requirements should be in the Magisterium, instead? As for foreign subversives being willing to plant their WA in the region, while that is technically true, if your WA is out in another region doing a thing for that region it definitely shows a lot less dedication. And then there is the other strict requirements to discourage them from attempting.

Do you plan to address the problem of the Delegate having ultimate control over who is admitted to the Magisterium? I know that's pretty much indefensible, but you don't just get to ignore it while defending the regime. You're welcome to admit it's indefensible, if you'd like.

Regarding WA membership, it isn't a sign of dedication. Every person who has ever perpetrated a coup against a GCR has been a WA member in the region. Many of those who have fought such coups, and rebuilt afterward, including people like Kandarin and Dyr after the Empire coup in 2008, did not have their WA nations permanently locked in the regions that were subject to coups. WA membership =/= dedication. Many non-WA residents can be dedicated. Many WA residents aren't. Given the WA is the only way to fully take over a GCR, undedicated opportunists are even more likely to be WA residents.

Then why do you claim they supported the "LWU-backed Khanate" instead of Neenee?

I needed a bit to verify that the article was in fact in error. A correction has been added to the article, in both the dispatch and forum versions.

[Lord Dominator]

Interesting

[RiderSyl]

It would be sad seeing TEP become as inactive and irrelevant as Balder, as that's where they're headed by the sounds of this article. I hope their Magisterium becomes less strict on admission and Fedele gets over his hatred of default flags.

[Numero Capitan]

Not going to comment on the other stuff but having a Magisterium vote finishing 3 votes to 1 is a sad sight for the East Pacific. Still, there are a lot of great nations there so I'm sure they'll sort things out

[Cormactopia Prime]

Not going to comment on the other stuff but having a Magisterium vote finishing 3 votes to 1 is a sad sight for the East Pacific. Still, there are a lot of great nations there so I'm sure they'll sort things out

Worth noting it hasn't concluded yet, but we know for certain it won't conclude with more than six votes, because there are only six members.

I wish I shared the confidence that TEP will sort things out, but LWU and the Rahls have quite a stranglehold on power there.

[United Provinces of Atlantica]

Speaking as someone who witnessed first-hand what LWU/Rahl did to Lazarus, I'm quite pessimistic about the potential effects this crisis could have on the East Pacific, though I'm not familiar enough with the region itself to know whether this would erupt into flames and open warfare, as in Lazarus, or just become a gradual takeover of the region, as LWU/Rahl presumably wants (and wanted in Lazarus!), and arguably occurred in Balder.

[Armaros]

Apologies in advance for all the typos and broken BBCode as a result of writing this from mobile.

Last I checked, only citizens could vote. There is also, last I checked, no law giving inactive residents who don't even bother to fix their own flags protection against purges.

All of that is correct, but liberal democracy isn't just about protection of the franchised. Why purge residents who are doing nothing wrong?

Purging inactive nations who never contribute doesn’t sound like a horrible crime to me.

So people who don't even have the dedication to meet those requirements should be in the Magisterium, instead? As for foreign subversives being willing to plant their WA in the region, while that is technically true, if your WA is out in another region doing a thing for that region it definitely shows a lot less dedication. And then there is the other strict requirements to discourage them from attempting.

Do you plan to address the problem of the Delegate having ultimate control over who is admitted to the Magisterium? I know that's pretty much indefensible, but you don't just get to ignore it while defending the regime. You're welcome to admit it's indefensible, if you'd like.

Is that a bad thing per se? The delegate is elected, meaning they are entrusted with safeguarding the region. Since the delegate is trusted enough to be elected to safeguard a position which could threaten the region, they are trusted with approving Magisters as well. The Magisterium is no unimportant thing: a trusted community member approving new Magisters is not negative per se.

Regarding WA membership, it isn't a sign of dedication. Every person who has ever perpetrated a coup against a GCR has been a WA member in the region. Many of those who have fought such coups, and rebuilt afterward, including people like Kandarin and Dyr after the Empire coup in 2008, did not have their WA nations permanently locked in the regions that were subject to coups. WA membership =/= dedication. Many non-WA residents can be dedicated. Many WA residents aren't. Given the WA is the only way to fully take over a GCR, undedicated opportunists are even more likely to be WA residents.

Yes, but who would you trust more: someone who is out using their WA in military operations for foreign regions, or someone with their WA in the region endorsing the delegate, aiding in providing stability and security to the region. While WA membership isn’t necessarily a sign of good will, it does weigh in.

Then why do you claim they supported the "LWU-backed Khanate" instead of Neenee?

I needed a bit to verify that the article was in fact in error. A correction has been added to the article, in both the dispatch and forum versions.

Ah, alright.

[Cormactopia Prime]

Purging inactive nations who never contribute doesn’t sound like a horrible crime to me.

It's a Feeder. People have the right to sit there and answer issues. Again, they're not doing anything at all to warrant being ejected and banned.

Is that a bad thing per se? The delegate is elected, meaning they are entrusted with safeguarding the region. Since the delegate is trusted enough to be elected to safeguard a position which could threaten the region, they are trusted with approving Magisters as well. The Magisterium is no unimportant thing: a trusted community member approving new Magisters is not negative per se.

The Magisterium already has a mechanism to approve new members, which is that current Magisters vote to approve them or not. Surely you do see the problem with the Delegate essentially having the power to approve new members of the legislature, right? It's a separation of powers problem. The legislature is supposed to be a check on the Delegate's power, but if the Delegate has the power to decide who is admitted to the legislature, the Delegate can admit those who will support them and deny those who won't. The legislature would no longer be a check on the Delegate's power, it would just be a rubber stamp. That's a serious problem in a liberal democracy that relies on separation of powers to prevent autocracy.

None of this is an accident. All of this is designed to strip TEP of separation of powers and create laws they can easily exploit. It's Empire's specialty.

Yes, but who would you trust more: someone who is out using their WA in military operations for foreign regions, or someone with their WA in the region endorsing the delegate, aiding in providing stability and security to the region. While WA membership isn’t necessarily a sign of good will, it does weigh in.

Considering what we've seen in Lazarus in the recent past and now TEP, are you even seriously asking this question? WA commitment means nothing.

[East Malaysia]

I hate to report this but all is well in the East.

[United Massachusetts]

I hate to report this but all is well in the East.

No, all is not well in TEP.. I think I can say that, as a former government official who has been following events in the East closely. Frankly, want to know the reason I left? Maybe because my three best friends in that region were purged, two of them on false OOC charges and one because of extreme emotional manipulation. Maybe because every last Yunoist is being driven out of the region. Or maybe because there's a clear silent coup in the process, one I was too dumb to see before it's too late.

Frankly, I'm sick and tired of the nonsense coming from Fedele and his ilk. All is not well in TEP.

[Cormactopia Prime]

I hate to report this but all is well in the East.

With all due respect, TEP is smaller than Balder, your legislature is down to six people, and your elections are riddled with foreign votes. Known coupers who are in your Delegate's raider region have Border Control, and your Delegate is close with Empire members who couped TEP in 2008. All is not well.

[Klaus Devestatorie]

Blatant propaganda. I think we all know what kind of government the Miniluv Messenger would install!