[TDBM] Interview - Rolo Tahmasee as you've never seen before, Hero and Patriot?

Day 2,142, 00:08 • Published in Canada Canada • by crisfire


Previous Interviews

DMV3 Sits Down with Crisfire's Daily Bowel Movement



Tonight as I sit here drinking my seventh Rickard’s Red which is a lot for a thirty eight year old father of two who hardly gets the chance to “let loose” while everyone else sleeps, I have the pleasure of giving myself some closure as I dig a little deep into a player that some still consider to this day eCanada’s public enemy #1 while at the same time some consider him as what he describes himself as…..a Hero and a Patriot, perhaps the Greatest eCanadian of all Time.

My first memory of Rolo, so may years ago is of an invite to an IRC room named #secretz. I was a member of the DAL and a staunch and active member of the CAF so when jbdivinius who at the time had a reputation close to the current one Rolo enjoys today asked me to come in for a chat to say I was a little apprehensive and anxious at the time would be an understatement, today I laugh at the player I was then. Project Mayhem was the topic and while I didn’t go running to CitizenB and Scorpious with the inside scoop I also didn’t embrace what Project Mayhem was selling which was an effort to bring like minded individuals together for a common purpose, to see eCanada do its very best in their opinion in this silly silly game, something that is done quite often these days and if it isnt it absolutely should.

Soon after my invite, Project Mayhem was revealed in a series of sceenshots released to the media and Congress at which time an Impeachment vote was started soon after without debate for fellow Mayhem participant Rolo Tahamasee, the elected Country President. As a new Congressman I felt betrayed, did I read and absorb all the massive amount of screen shots provided, no, I skimmed and was firmly under the influence of CitizenB and Scorpious the first of course falling from grace for a scandal in which he used government companies and money to recruit members to the DAL.

I voted YES to the impeachment and Rolo fell from grace, stole the treasury and government companies and became eCanada’s villain, scourge and terrorist. Im not even sure Rolo knows my small part in his downfall or my small part in what I consider eCanada’s darkest moment, the stone tossed in the pond that sent ripples that we feel to this day, the stone he may describe as his greatest moment.

Over time I grew as a eCanadian citizen and reached out to Rolo to discuss a largely symbolic government pardon to see if I could do something to stop what was then Rolo’s mission to topple eCanada’s most popular party’s, none were safe and todays pale in comparison. Did I do it for that or did I do it because I felt guilty for my one vote, a vote that didn’t make much difference but a vote that I regret to this day. This interview has been a long time in coming for me and I had asked Rolo a month ago if he would do it but I waited or hesitated as the possible questions I would asked rolled around in my head but they all came from a place so long ago that perhaps most eCanadians today couldn’t relate to, weren’t around or wouldn’t care. Recent events prompted me to fulfill my request and for me the answers only serve to keep me a fan of Rolo.

I haven't always agreed with Rolo and I probably would'nt of reacted the same way after being impeached but I cant help but understand his motivations now as eCanada was a very different country at the time. The DAL held the purse strings and the CAF controlled all and when its control became threatened it responded with actions like the Long Sword Rebellion, a plan to take over Congress which was described by them as a prank but I saw the threads as I was newly promoted High Command Member, it was no prank and it was planned by the highest levels of government and the highest levels of the CAF, at the time the countries only funded Military Unit, which wasnt even a term those days as only two military entities existed, the CAF and a privately funded Militia called The Crimson Canucks. I quit the CAF right after I saw the threads and joined The Canucks. That was the environment that we lived in at the time and titans clashed, titans fell and titans left but one titan stayed and has stayed, defended himself and played the game as he saw fit.

Love him, hate him but ignore him at your peril.

The following is an interview with one of eCanada's titans, Rolo Tahmasee

- I'd like to start with a “what if” and ask the question what if Project Mayhem had not been revealed by international super spy Acacia Mason and Wes Lewis the timid and softly spoken Attorney General and instead had remained in the background guiding eCanada in the direction of its masters, what might eCanada look like today?

- Ironically, eCanada might look a lot like it does today. The key cog in "Project Mayhem" (And the Mayhem part was in reference to eCanada's performance on the battlefield) was to eliminate the favoritism of CAF member funding over regular everyday citizens. We had intended to use military funding in a Pay as you go system, funding and rewarding those who showed up to fight where and when they were needed. If you were active, you got funded. The way we saw it CAF High Command members, since they received the Government military funding, had an undeserved and inappropriate sphere of influence since they were the ones doling out the supplies and tanking GOLD to its membership. High ranking CAF members could be seen regularly in congressional elections, despite inactivity, receiving undue amounts of voting support, in part due from being "That great guy who sends me tanks and food all the time" Apolitical, my ass. We seeked to end this and open it up to everyone, much like today the game has allowed independent MU's, eCanada's equal funding model, and the recent addition to the game in Combat Orders

In addition, We intended to deal the death blow to the "Ministry of Industries" putting an end to the governments indirect funding of the political party known as the DAL, of course, I ended up doing that one solo, probably the most important single act in eCanadian history...

Oh, and I'd have likely been CP 7 or 8 times by now.... 😃

- The famous or infamous pardon of Rolo Tahmasee depending on who you are in the end was a success in stopping the targeted political take overs of some of eCanada’s most popular political party’s. It led to several eCanadians leaving eCanada and even promoting and actually actively fighting against it but in the end most have come back and we were able to forgive and move on. I get what the pardon meant for eCanada but why did you want it? Did you suspect that it would ruffle some feathers and create more drama? Was it for some sort of
admission
of guilt by the government for the way it handled the whole Project Mayhem revelation and the subsequent impeachment that bypassed any debate? Was it to simply try and put it all behind you so that you could try and participate fully in eCanada without the restrictions placed on you.

- The offer of the pardon actually caught me completely off guard. I really didn't care about the forum ban, I had multiple work arounds for access to both The eCan Forum and IRC, so my "punishment" didn't really affect my game play a whole lot.

Upon consideration, My first thought was "this will piss off a lot of the haterz, but of course, I would have to hold up my end of the deal, or risk proving the haterz right. It was a tough decision... How would this affect my enjoyment of the game? What would the future hold for Rolo? What role would I play for eCanada as an above board citizen? Would eCanada suffer from a lack of domestic entertainment in part provided by the chaos that I caused? (I'll let the public consider their personal answer to that one)

In the end, perhaps I view the pardon as an admission of guilt. Although I got it by holding a metaphorical gun to eCanada's head, the root cause of it all from my perspective is that I was not given the same latitude that many other more well known, and more well connected CP's were when jump the gun impeachments were proposed. I was not a CAF member, I was not in the DAL - it was in these places the engine for my swift removal was being orchestrated without the due congressional debate given to other CP's - for that the CAF/DAL bore the brunt of my reaction.

- eCanada has just come out of an eight month wipe by Spain after negotiating a non-aggression pact deal that saw all but four of our regions returned and giving them a lump sum payment of around 100K. I guess I can’t go into anything specific on further negotiations with Spain taking place in CDC but Id like to ask you for your opinion on the entire situation from the moment we decided to help our allies which brought down the wrath of big brother Spain to the NAP deal. Do you feel that was our only option at the time and if Rolo was president would we negotiate with Spain further as opposed to a possible continuation of hostilities taking into consideration the current alliance landscape?

- I actually didn't care about being wiped per se. I actually found that weapon RAW and Food RAW were cheaper in the eCanadian marketplace and was able to offset the lack of bonuses by making higher margins on what I did produce. (Plus, I'm not eCanadian for the sweet production anyways). The addition of the worker tax really put us over a barrel, in the end we needed to get those taxes changed and we needed a Congress to do it. I wouldn't have agreed to the long term rental though, after 3 months I'd have wanted the country whole without further payment or we would not have reached an agreement

- Several eCanadians have described eCanada as a country currently undergoing a political take over by American elements under the leadership of eCanada’s elected Country President DMV3. One has to only look at our immigration requests and approvals to see that several Americans have applied and have already been accepted into eCanada which isn’t the norm for us, but my question to you would be do you feel this is simply a response to a rock bottom tax rate as opposed to a higher one in the States? Do you think that if Congress were to raise tax’s today to match the US or even exceed it that Americans would still move to eCanada as they might if this was a planned PTO or is DMV3 innocent of all accusations, maybe taking advantage of the situation, but is this just a simple response to a country deciding to keep tax’s low to promote immigration?

- There are better countries out there with low tax levels, those with much better production bonuses. Since Americans can fight for eCanada using MPP's the "We're going to give you added damage" doesn't hold water either.... This reeks of a PTO, it reeked of a PTO the first time I read DMV wanting an "ATO team" - I had one of those teams once, a list of over 100 names....Anyone need a recap on what its possible to do with a voting block like that? Anyone need a history lesson from the good old eUSA on what the constant use of ATO teams does to democracy in government?

The low tax rate was a calculated, convenient semi believable excuse to explain why so many eAmericans were crossing our borders coincidentally in the same month as we had a US citizen as our CP...

- DMV3 has been accused of not keeping his September campaign promise of not rushing us into an alliance to signing us up for a trial membership with the Circle of Trust alliance almost right after the election. A discussion was started by the CP in closed door congress on the 9th of September and a congress of 8 people out of a possible 10 voted in favor of joining with 6 for and 2 against, the discussion and vote has recently been released in Open Door Congress. Technically our rules don’t state anywhere that a CP even has to consult Congress about alliance options although congress always has the impeachment option but DMV3 did consult Congress and Congress voted in favor after the Speaker decided enough debate time had passed. In your opinion as an eCanadian and a past CP was this done properly? Is the real debate and vote to come after the trial period ends? Is CoT the alliance you might of pursued?

- Well, I'm all for pushing through legislation, when I'm in charge, especially if the rules allow me to do so. I don't think a CP SHOULD be able to make such a move without a vastly larger mandate from the public to do so, but if I was in his shoes I would personally like to take a look at what else is out there. The whole EDEN/TERRA/Whatever else we've been in circle jerk has been incredibly boring - I would like to explore other options and see a realistic pros/cons aspect taken into account in terms of eCanada's international future... I would not be opposed to joining "The Dark Side" ACT/TWO

- With a tax rate of 1% across the board eCanada doesn’t have much income, I believe it was estimated that we could cover 5 or 6 MPP’s a month at 10k a pop. We have some in reserve and have recently received some generous donations but reserves shrink and you cant plan ahead in hopes that people donate. If we leave the immigration and PTO accusations out of it do you feel that we should maintain this tax rate or should raising it be considered to potentially pay for more MPP’s and/or fund MU’s in one form or another?

- I can honestly say I'm done with funding MU's. Not every citizen needs to fight with a Q7 in every shot and most damage in battles I see these days is put in at inopportune times and is wasted. As for MPP's I want a tangible benefit to any MPP we sign, if we are not at war, or our Ally is not at war, there is no benefit and I'm not spending 10,000 CC for no benefit.

- A lot of countries, mostly TWO aligned countries it seems, pay for people to fight for them in the form of “Combat Orders”. Military Unit commandeers can set different parameters and levels to these orders so that they pay who they want and when they want and from what I’ve seen these are hugely successful in keeping that wall above 52%. Would you pursue a more aggressive tax policy to use this option during eCanada’s important battles and briefly how would you implement this option?

- Combat Orders is what turns tides these days, you want funding, log in when the wall is below 52% and drop in your damage then. With the money you make, you can buy your weapons and food for the next fight. I'd have a tax rate that would give us the amounts that win battles for ourselves and our allies along with a national MU, commanded by the CP/MoD that would set the Combat orders as needed on the battlefield to maximize eCanada's efficiency - 1% is too low to accomplish this.

- Any truth to a rumour that you’d be willing to admit to that the player Rolo Tahamasee died after Project Mayhem was revealed and his body was taken over by fellow Mayhem contributer Jbdivinius?

- If your asking if jbdivinus took over the account of "Rolo Tahmasee" after Project Mayhem was revealed then the answer is no. If your asking if the former "Above Board" citizen Rolo Tahmasee died that day, then the answer would probably be yes. For those Breaking Bad fans out there, I could be seen as an eWalter White... who became eHeisenberg...

- After everything you have been through and put eCanada through has there ever been a time that you have come close to either quitting eCanada or quitting the game entirely

- To this point I have never seriously entertained the idea of quitting the game, or starting over in another eCountry. I have recently had prolonged stretches of 2 clicking this spring/summer due to RL commitments, but I enjoy the game enough to hang around, if only to see what happens next, and troll the odd derp...

- During several Northern Exposure episodes that you took part in you defended yourself from open hositily directed at the man behind the citizen by saying your simply playing the part you want to play. None of us, I think and hope, are actual Congressmen or military leaders so we all play a part, we all role play and theres nothing wrong with that. During the Mayhem and Norsefire months I had the feeling that if you were walking down the street and one of your eRep enemies somehow recognized you that they might very well punch you in the face. Is Rolo Tahamasee a good person in real life? Is he someone your eRep enemies would enjoy spending time with?

- I'm a great guy, everybody likes me, except the ones that don't, but they're just jealous...

- Finally, I imagine there are those that still see you in a seat in front of a huge eRep screen petting a cat planning the downfall of Inspector Gadget and the takeover of the world, I believe he was called Dr.Claw. Do people have to be worried that Rolo is always out there, always watching and planning or can people breathe a sigh of relief and sleep easily knowing the pardon succeeded in bringing Rolo back into eCanada’s bosom? Any plans for the future you’d like to reveal?

- I am always keeping a watchful eye on eCanada, and RL time permitting prepared to act every bit the Hero and Patriot eCanada deserves, I'm just not the one it needs right now...For now I remain a silent guardian, a watchful protector...a dark knight.





This section will be updated constantly to give you insight in eCanada’s political party’s
(Theme songs based on my own opinions about current state of Party)

Nationally Ranked #1 The Canadian Progressive Front

“The CPF is here to politically and socially progress all eCanadians and protect our national community through honesty and positive government! Our Rizon IRC Channel is #nCPF Our forum: http://tinyurl.com/b7ckkkd”

Party Symbol

Current Party President

TheSmoke

Holds 40% of Congress

CPF Party Page

The Canadian Progressive Front theme song

Nationally Ranked #2 Clan Wolf

“Efficient country, while trying to progress eCanada's position internationally. Clan Wolf Charter http://tinyurl.com/lhyazfe”

Party Symbol

Current Party President

Oinyo

Holds 20% of Congress

Clan Wolf Party Page

Clan Wolf theme song

Nationally Ranked #3 The Military Dictatorship Party

“Developing MUs and advancing positive changes for our country. Ever Forward! IRC: #MDParty (Rizon)”

Party Symbol

Current Party President

Leo Balzac

Holds 20% of Congress

Military Dictatorship Party Page

Military Dictatorship Party theme song

Nationally Ranked #4 Imperial Party of eCanada

“Sustainable and sensible path that leads eCanada into becoming an empire. We want to be a party that engages people both in the party and in eCanada. Our IRC: #IPC Our Forum: http://the-ipc.forumotion.ca/”

Party Symbol

Current Party President

Joseph Quimby

Holds 0% of Congress

Imperial Party of eCanada Party Page

Imperial Party of eCanada theme song

Nationally Ranked #5 Canadian Reform Party

“The goal of Canadian Reformation Party is to incite activity while improving the positive meta-game of eCanada, both for internal and external affairs.”

Party Symbol

Current Party President

DMV3

Holds 20% of Congress

Canadian Reform Party Page

Canadian Reform Party theme song





Getting Started

What should I do on daily basis
What is energy and how do I keep it high
What can I find in my land
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Military

How you can fight
What happens on a battlefield
How wars work
What a resistance war is
What a resistance war is

Politics

Political Parties
When and how elections take place
What you can do if you’re a member of Congress or President

Economy

Different companies that you can create
Qualities of products
Different raw materials
Different products
How much you can produce in different companies

The Media

How you can find newspaper articles you are interested in
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Great Tips for Beginners

- Join a Military Unit to take advantage of Daily Order rewards and seek help and supplies

- Join a political party and ask for help

- Save your gold to invest in training facilities

- Make lots of friends so that you can get info from shouts

- If your going to upgrade anything WAIT for the periodic deals like the 45% off company upgrade ect, ect.

- Make sure your in a Military Unit that provides supplies to fight and move

- Find enjoyment in game by interacting with others through the media, forums, shouts etc, and not even worrying about accomplishment in battle or business. These are crafted to be money sinks surely ending in disappointment.

- Don’t spend more in resources to accomplish eReps periodic missions then you get back in reward

- Do the math if you plan on hiring people and take tax’s into account, don’t lose money.

- eCanada is full of people willing to help out new players with food and weapons, start in MU’s and political party’s, grow your player network, use your feeds to ask for help.

- Upgrade your energy centers and training facilities, don’t waste gold on Energy bars and first aid packs.

- If you plan to spend real life money the best deal is the monthly Combat Stash

- Work, train and fight every day

- Don’t lose money chasing a Mercenary Medal as the reward is only 5 gold.

If you have any tips not included here please PM me and ill add them


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Requirements to join
-Minimum 35,000 strength
-Minimum eRepublik Military Rank of Legendary Force
-25kills/2 million influence per day (follow MU battle orders)
-avatar tag and slave pit participation is a must

Supplies are 100Q7 tanks a week (50 tanks on Sunday and Wednesday)
Bonus offered for top kills per day
Moving expenses and food available upon request

For more information PM Commander Flashgun or 2nd Commander InsaneSkillz

***RECRUITMENT CLOSED PM FLASHGUN FOR MORE INFO***



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