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Est. 2010





Ninth Edition: Sunday, March 13, 2011

I thought I'd take this time to express a few thoughts about some very important events happening in Ireland. It may appear, that the following topics are trivial. Even still, I suggest to you all that Ireland is facing a great test of what I see to be it's new found strength.

On December 7, 2010, Ireland was attacked by the United Kingdom, and was completely wiped from the map for a few short hours. Ireland was only gone for a short time, but the effects of that event are definitive. We have re-invented ourselves for the better.

The wipe represented an opportunity for Ireland to erase the political and social conflict that was rapidly destroying the country from within. An opportunity made even more pertinent by the changes the mods/Plato would continue to make to the game in months to come.

Imagine if Ireland had not been wiped. Imagine that all of the old parties had not been destroyed, citizens were still at each others throats, and the the IA had not come into existence.

I for one, would probably not still be playing this game.

+++What Is Ireland?+++

Some of you might think that eIreland is a country in eRepublik. I believe those people are very wrong. eIreland exists more in the forums IRC's and player to player relationships, than it does on eRepbulik itself. Let's be honest, this game has more flaws than (INSERT: The family tree of the British Royals, Anything ever made by Microsoft, Sarah Palin for US President, Nancy Grace for an intelligent woman, this articles editing). By itself, it wouldn't be worth playing, and it wouldn't have gotten any of us as pathetically addicted as it clearly has.

+++Defending Ireland+++

As much as this game lacks the depth or meaning to occupy the care of any individual, as a strong internet community, it does provide one very important unifying interest.

The defence of Ireland is one of the most important goals of any Irish government. And that doesn't mean that the government who lost Ireland (which we will say was the January 2010 government) failed (because in my opinion, they accidentally did the best thing possible for Ireland). This is because the defence of Ireland is about the act of defending, rather than the success achieved in the endeavour. The same applies to any attempt we make to take new territories or to improve our tax and economic systems.

+++The Two Headed Dragon+++

In my view, the perfect Ireland would have to address the following two avenues of growth.

1.

AVENUE: To become militarily stable, politically water tight, and a stable economic centre.

STATUS: We are getting very close to achieving these criteria. Thanks to experienced and dedicated members of our community, Ireland, from a purely game related point of view, is a great country.

2.

AVENUE: To diversify our community so that it represents more than pure game related content. Grow the forum and game community so that it shares more than just eRepublik content, but also writing, music, art, etc etc.

STATUS: This can be difficult because of the admin/Plato's allergies to anything not related strictly to the game. I think this is a severe over/under/definetly-missing-sight....

I don't think I'm overstepping my knowledge of eIrish history when I say that eRepbulik once got a considerable amount of new users when Ireland decided to go to Repbulican/geographic union/IRA type forums to recruit new members. If people come to our forum, they might stay for the game, if they come for the game, they might stay for the forum.

I realize that my view is outlying data. I just thought I would make it heard for the sake of not denying anyone the chance to hear it.

+++PTOers+++
This is the actual reason I decided to write an article (rare event). It seems that some random, sort of obscure PTO types have decided to get some entertainment and attention by making some marginally clever attempts to confuse, upset, mislead, or make fun of, the Irish community.

I don't blame them, I'm prone to the same behaviour if given too little purpose, too much time, and a convenient or attractive target.

To be honest, PTOers are not the problem. The problem has been our reaction to the PTOers and our lack of resolve to dismiss their attempts to undermine our confidence in our own community.

I don't believe that our TDs have nothing better to do than conspire against the non-TDs of Ireland (aka the other half) and screw around with immigration etc etc. I do believe there are some that are apathetic toward Ireland's defence and financial security enough to steal from us or screw us over. But this is a vast minority, and let's not forget that eRepbulik inflicts a kind of character syndrome on people (If I could restart, for example, I could create a citizen called Adolf Obama (totally fictional non real life reference), try to gain the trust of people to become CP, and then steal all the money and run for the pure drama of it.)


The best defence against PTOers is not to interact with them. just to not comment on their articles. Not to even make evidence you had seen or read an article. That however, is impossible, since there are too many people for their to be a consensus of will power.

That is why, the best we can hope for is some kind of security vote to ensure there are always more legitimate voters in a region than the number of suspected PTOers. That might require a spy and information agency or something (I vote for I2 - Irish Intelligence as an agency name), but it would be worth it in order to prevent viral citizens from gaining real power.

+++THE CROSS ROADS+++
As an after, after thought, I now present the original intended purpose of this article.

It's been 1..what2...no March, Feb... let's say 3+1/2 months since the wipe. We have made beautiful progress (gold stars all round) and things are pretty great because of our rough se... friendly war/occupational protection agreement thing relationship with Canada, the IA, Solidarity, and good political diversity.

BUT NOW! PTOers are making us all cry, a few important people are becoming mistrustful of each other, and personalities and inherited misanthropy (inherited from pre-wipe days) is plaguing the common citizen.

It's all feeling a bit too much like pre-wipe land. I don't want to believe this community has cancer. I like to think that amputating the whole body would have gotten rid of it (but what are you really amputating if you amputate a whole body? (Raised eyebrows for metaphors that fail to relate at all to the actual point). Yet here I am writing what I'm writing 3 and 1/2 months later.

Ireland is at a crossroads between the future, and history repeating itself. Maybe this is premature, but that crossroads is at least visible in the distance. All I'm saying: BE PREPARED. ^ (Look up. As if that's all i'm saying.)

+++The Truth+++
I hadn't written an article in a long time, so I decided to go with what few thoughts I had to write a really great specific useful article. Then I got thristy, went and had a drink, came back and had forgotten most of my good ideas. If you've just read any or all of the above, I apoligize for not putting this section at the top. I also have a long laugh at your expense.


Merry March, and may your St. Patricks Days be filled with wholesome family moments of religious indulgence.


Ian E Coleman – The Coleman Global






***Other Stories in this Paper***
Introductions: "The Coleman Global Takes Off"



Report: “Northern Ireland Flops Again”



Facts And Figures: “Which Country Is Most Survivable For Beginners? (2 Part Special)”



Report: "New Changes Cause Wave of Dissent"

Report: “Ireland On The Ropes”
Report: “IUP Member Companies: Fine Wine Or Poison?”
Report: “Another Digest of Your New eIrish Parliament”
Follow Up: "IUP Member Companies: Fine Wine Or Poison?"
Report: "Ireland Hits Her Stride"
Editorial: "The Current State of Affairs"
Editorial: "The Cross Roads: Ireland Being Tested?"