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[WHPR Day 2346] Spotlight: Serbia, IES Interview, DOE Update, WHPR’s Role, War Map

Dateline: Wednesday, April 23^rd, 2014 (Day 2346)
Location: James S. Brady Press Room, The White House

Special thanks to irule77 and Alexander who are both amazing and came through when we needed segments but had none.

Today’s WHPR:
: 1: Spotlight: Serbia
: 2: Immigration Coverage
: 3: DOE: An update
: 4: WHPR: Role
: 5: War Map

Editors: SecMed Blondeninja
Contributors: irule77, Alexander Auctoritas



Spotlight: Serbia
_irule77

For about as long as I can remember, the United States has had this internal hatred of Serbia (in-game of course) and it inspired me to do this edition’s spotlight on the nation of Serbia. I sat down with Serbian President Nedeljko Bilkic and Minister of Education SalierytheGreat for some awesome interviews.

The largest nation in the game is guaranteed to be an interesting one. First, some background on the nation. Serbia is currently in the alliance of Asteria, a new alliance consisting of six nations who get along quite well. Serbia currently occupies regions in Bosnia, Croatia, and Albania, and according to their President, they intend to keep them for the bonuses. Serbia is a former member of the TWO alliance and was involved in the multi-pronged wiping of America last fall (which was great fun). Serbia is also a very strong power in eastern Europe.

Now, we got pretty quickly into the internal status of the nation, and in what was one of my favorite interviews, we discussed some of the things I tend to hear about Serbia. The President and Education minister both confirmed the rumour I hear a ton, and that’s that the community of Serbia definitely enjoys the presence of each other and they all tend to be very close, other than the occasional political divisions by party. As both pointed out, of course they enjoy having such a large community to work with, and they think this makes the nation far more interesting. I was curious as to how such a big nation handles working with their new players and retaining them, as most nations struggle with, and I found some interesting things out from their education minister. One program they tend to use is a training program, similar to our own, where they send approved new players 0.19 gold daily to train in their extra training ground. The education minister confirmed this was because, “We want to have very strong d1 or d2 players” which makes a lot of sense, if you ask me. The United States and other nations have certainly run into this issue before with how strong their lower divisions are, so obviously something there is working quite well. The education minister also talked to me about their use of tutorials and an off-site website like the US’s education website that can assist new players. The President stated that, “We are trying to help everyone” which is surely no easy feat with such a larger citizenship.

Next the President and I got into some foreign affairs topics including Asteria. The President informed me that their membership of Asteria is going very well and that they’re incredibly pleased with the alliance. “Asteria is strong alliance, many our friends are there and we have great relationships with them.” He told me. The alliance, though new, has already proved to be quite a force to be reckoned with and the President told me they intend to keep it strong. Speaking on the topic of foreign affairs I figured I’d ask a few quick questions about relations with our own country, the United States. I asked specifically if he believed we could ever fix the relationship divide between our nations and he said “It’s true, we’ve had our disputes, but anything is possible.”

To finish off a great interview, I asked about the political landscape in Serbia, something I’m always interested in with every country. While the President notes there’s political divides between parties, all of their citizens band together for the nation when required. On the topic of his presidency, as expected he confirmed how much work it is, though he says his team is of huge help to him, no surprise from the CP of the largest nation. A good cabinet is always an importance to any leader.

Overall the interviews were fascinating and quite exciting. Talking to the CP of a nation most eAmericans hate in this game was cool, and I found him to be a very nice guy. He recommends anyone who visits Serbia visit their monasteries, or the city of Nis if you’re a party person (just invite him!). Thanks a bunch to the Serbian CP and Minister of Education for sitting down with me to chat.

(Special thanks to the Swedish CP for his time, stay tuned for a spotlight on SERBIA next edition hopefully!)



IES Interview
_{Alexander_Auctoritas}

I had the pleasure of sitting down with IES Director, The Original Hawkie



She got comfy and stared at me the entire interview. Those eyes.

AA: First off, how are you today?

TOH: I’m alright. Extremely tired For… no reason XD.
AA: Drink too much last week-end?

TOH: Not that I recall 😛

AA: Seems suspicious. How long have you been IES director and how did you get nominated or sucked in?

TOH: I’m horrible at remembering date so I may have to dig up the nomination thread somewhere. But this msot recent tenure is actually my second time as Director.

AA: Why did you leave? And why come back? And thank you for your time and efforts, btw.

TOH: I was Director before Malarkey originally and totally just burnt out. Things IRL got heavy, so I pulled out of the game completely. Didn’t even two click. Left for a few months and Came back… February? I think February. WildOwl’s first term. He was just slightly into it, so it must have been January.

AA: So, you must be a trusted individual. How'd you get so much trust placed in you?

TOH: That’s… a difficult question. Other people are obviously the ones who trust me. I’ve played the game almost four years off and on. I guess I’ve managed to get along with most people. I don’t do stupid sh**.

AA: Well, then let's put it differently. What was your polical affiliation? What offices did you hold before IES Director?

TOH: For the longest time all I did was USTC work, before and for some time after the split. After I left TC I kind of laxed in the mil module and turned to politics. Joined WTP and helped build that up. Comms, organization, VP, CoS that kind of thing. I’ve worked in the NSC, I’ve worked in Interior, Education… I’ve just kind of been around the block I guess.

AA: Sounds like a full career. Do you stay in the background, or so it seems?

TOH: I don’t intentionally do it. I’m just not the type to ‘beat my chest.’ Just like to help out when people need it I guess.

AA: That's a good way to be. You are always appreciated and needed.

TOH: Thanks 😁 That is nice to hear. When I came back, I actually balked at being Director of IES again.

AA: I've read Gnilraps open invitation to e😜atriots, but I'm not sure if I have followed the uproar that followed. Did you have any 'issues' with his wish for people to be able to come home in a rush? And why would people get into an uproar in teh first place?

TOH: See, no, I don’t. But the devil’s in the details. A lot of what was said is in the public congressional forum, some in the #IES channel that night, and some obv behind the scenes. As Director, handling big influxes quickly isn’t that big of a deal. I occasionally help move ATOers, communers for bonuses, and we’ve had other events like this that have also brought in people.

AA: It sounds like you kept it mostly between the two of you?

TOH: Actually, I had almost no direct communication with Gnil.

AA: Oh, That seems either odd or good, I'm not sure which...

TOH: Depends on how much communication you think is good for the president to have. But yeah, the issue with the article is how it was worded. Immigration is a congressional function, IES exists to help scan, check, and protect Congressmen from threats. That article seemed to metaphorically run all of that over. It implied the exec had the power, right, authority to bring people into the country.

AA: DId it lead to an influx of requests and ensuant complaints when they were not immediately green-lighted? And who complained the loudest? Can you think of someone in particular that was a real butt?

TOH: Another kicker, there were very few complaints. Most people who wanted in (applied in game) were contacted, applied through IES, and got in.

AA: Well, that sounds good. There's always that 'one guy'. Who was it?

TOH: Hmm… one guy? Ehhh… I don’t want to call anyone out.

AA: And as for the holdups, were you able to 'convince' the powers that be that they were not welcome for good reason?

TOH: And… I actually don’t need to convince anyone. The perk of the position is that I do have the final say.

AA: That is good. You'd probably of quit by now if you were constantly overriden.

TOH: There were some questions about **** ***, but not from him personally. People do bitch occasionally… but most are pretty easily warded off. If people appeal, I always re-look over everything. Fair shake and all that.

AA: Everything pretty well sorted by now?

TOH: Yeah, honestly it was less of a hassle than I thought it would be. After that final… skirmish over the article it was smoothe sailing.

AA: That's fantastic. I got the impression that after the article a bomb went off and the whole system was in jeopardy of collapsing. Just Kidding.

TOH: XD that would have been surprising. To see congress take that direction… considering how conservative most are with immigration… would be alarming.

AA: Anything else you like to say to the people reading the WHPR?

TOH: Nah, when people do that it sounds cheesy XD Like some catch phrase or smth.

AA: Thanks again for sitting down with me. Take care.

TOH: Thank you.

Thats all folks! Keep shaking that ass. ~ AA



DOE: An Update
_irule77

I talked with the Secretary of Education, Cholan, and he had a couple of programs he wanted me to update the nation on, for those of you interested. Erica, a new program introduced by the DoE is an all-in-one bot that can take requests, help you apply for a job with the DoE, give you links to programs or events, parties, MUs, or other groups that aid US citizens. This combines the various stacks of forms into one easy to use bot! Here’s her link for those of you intereste😛 http://erica.co.nr/

The Department of Education also has a brilliant Writer of the Week program going on! Aimed to get you writing articles more often, it uses DoE organizers to select 5-7 articles they like weekly which are then voted on for the prize of Writer of the Week! (You can nominate articles through… you guessed it! Erica!) The polls happen on Saturday for the selection of the best article, and the more people that get involved, the better! Just keep watching the DoE paper as always!

DoE Website: http://www.erepublik.com/en/main/warn/aHR0cDovL3Rpbnl1cmwuY29tL21qdmVyZTk=
DoE Paper:
http://www.erepublik.com/en/newspaper/education-today-181113/1



WHPR: A significant role.
_irule77

The White House Press Room paper has been around since long before I was a citizen of this game. I first began writing for it some two years ago, and it was quite an exhilarating adventure then, and still is now. The WHPR has always held importance in America, and recently I’ve gotten the feeling less and less people actually sit down and read through it. My question to you is, why?

The WHPR has also been a leading figure in creating great serieses of links for the reader, having brilliantly written articles in a wide variety of subjects, interviews, and more. The WHPR serves as an announcement post for the government, a direct link between your officials and the people, and it does so much more. Working to bring the community together is one of our many goals, and we do this through non-biased articles on nations, parties, heroes of America, and more.

Right now the WHPR could certainly use more writers, and you can become involved by messaging Blondeninja. The WHPR is a great chance for new and old players alike to become involved in something exciting. Each edition you can write an article focusing on any of your many enjoyments about this game, be it something on a political party, or something on a nation, much like the spotlight segment I do. You can become involved and start your own segment, or hop on to someone else’s. The WHPR is a canvass for innovation, and it’s a truly enjoyable one to be apart of.

Come help the government stay connected with the people, and come help the people stay connected with the events of the world. Join the WHPR team today.




War Map
_{Alexander Auctoritas}



North USA has five blotches on its landscape. The United States of North America (USNA) look to secure Quebec, and rid the landscape of its impurity in the coming week. The question remains, can the USNA cleanse the land before Gnilraps reign of terror ends?

According to the Secretary of Defense, "I've appreciated the opportunity to earn a TP medal every day for the last week or so." And I hope that you all have enjoyed these opportunities as well. When asked how long this war may take to end, the SoD replied "That depends entirely on how much gold DMV is willing to put on his credit card in his attempt to buy the Canadian Presidency."



So Poland, Croatia, and Chile have set themselves up as the stallwarts of Europe. You can see how nicely Italy fits, cradled in Chile's bossom. Ireland sits safely inside Poland. And Croatia sits at the bottom, with the weight of Serbia and Slovenia on her shoulders. This little equation seems delicately balanced. Let's look at the active fronts and see what the future holds.

Serbia is running through Croatia, unfortunately. Serbia has secured two victories and looks to easily win the next. If they are allowed to finish Croatia off, they will then have open fronts to attack Poland or Italy. Again, I challenge Serbia to get off their a**es and take an active role in the game. SIRIUS vs ASTERIA. Get your game face on, Serbia.

Wait, is Poland about to erase Slovenia? I'd like to check but when was the last time Slovenia was wiped? They are down to two regions and Poland is winning every battle. Estonia is in a tight spot. Sweden and Finland are moving through it like termites and carpenter ants move through old wood. She is down to three regions and there is no sign of Asgard slowing down. o> Latvia looks like they've slowed the advance of Belarus. Keep a stiff upper lip, guys. Pakistan has promptly lost its holdings in Belgium. Good recovery. Why does everyone strike Belgium?

And with that, we sign off. Keep shaking that ass.




Your SecMed; Blondeninja -|-DepSecMe😛 Wookyjack
"Its only after we lose everything that we’re free to do anything."



Contributors: irule77, Alexander Auctoritas



WHPR Day 2346
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/2394164/1/20
Spotlight: Serbia, IES Interview, DOE Update, WHPR’s Role, War Map

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