The LCRUABoard

TWP (The Westphalian Post): "Merftastic & Aafternoon, you two were the first nations to officially start the religion with the founding of your region The Order Of The Afternoon. It has been roughly a month since the founding of the region, with only a few members, in part thanks to the password-protection that has been in effect to this day. How do you feel about the growth of your region, and the recent spread of Afternoonism to other regions like La Nova Terra, and The Republican Antilles, in the form of the Republican Afternoon Party?"
A (Aafternoon): "I think it's great that we're spreading to other regions. It shows how strong the calling of Afternoonism is."
M (Merftastic): "Well, in response to your first question, I am personally pleased to see a pro-active effort by our members to pass the word onto other regions of what we stand for. To be honest, I didn't know where we'd be a month ago, and am now pleasantly surprised to see our spread, not for dominance, but for sharing our truth with others outside of the Order's small circle. As for the Republican Afternoon Party, I personally would like it if members of that party were more upfront about Afternoonism, but I don't control them, and I support their efforts to better The Republican Antilles, as The Continuation requires."
TWP: "I see. Can you both explain to readers how the religion came about, and what the principles for Afternoonism are?"
A: "The religion came about by pure chance, people saying "good afternoon," and developed into something much more. If you want to learn about our principles, just check out the dispatches pinned to the Order's page."
M: "Now, for the origins of the religion, more fundamentalist followers would tell you that it started with the 1st Mesmersary, Liam, after his discovery of the Continuation alongside the Afternoon. The thing that most people forget, however, is that Afternoonism already existed around his time. If you were to ask me personally, I think it all started one cycle when someone felt very happy, very in tune in his surroundings, and loved his neighbors so much that one day he vocalized that with a simple "Good Afternoon". I think it's beautiful, that origin, and speaks to part of the message of Afternoonism; there is the endless cycle, and then there's the Continuation, but you cannot live successfully and remain on path alone. In order to progress spiritually and in innovation of our development, it needs to be a great effort, and there needs to be heart in it. Along with that, some principles are living a complete life, taking the burden of those you take, and progressing with the interest of moving forward, not tearing everything down into a pit of chaos."
TWP: "Finally, what would you say to leaders across Nation States when it comes to the spread of fascism?"
A: "We do not advocate for fascism or support it at all."
M: "Remember when I mentioned avoiding tearing everything down into a pit of chaos? In a sense, that's the answer to your question; fascism as well as raider regions who do nothing with the "trophies" they steal are rather pointless. They say it's for the betterment of society, or for the purpose of empire, but where does it all end up? No where. So to those who are against these movements in NS, I say grow closer together, because that is the main thing you'll have in the face of overwhelming evil."

Next, I moved onto Evile puppet, the main organizer of the Republican Afternoon Party, and the only Afternoonist to be elected into the Interim Council.

TWP: "Evile puppet, as some readers of this newspaper may or may not know, you are one of the founders of the political party Republican Afternoon in the region of The Republican Antilles, and also one of the major advocates for Afternoonism in the region. What in your opinion is the purpose of the party, and can you name a couple policy proposals that your party advocates for?"
EP (Evile Puppet): "The purpose of our party is to protect the rights of the citizens of the Republican Antilles. As of right now, there are several vague laws that allow for political parties to be banned and free speech to be suppressed, which was demonstrated when one of my campaign posts was deleted by Interim President Hulldom for criticizing him. In addition, many of the procedures and the Constitution have been confusing citizens on their meaning, leaving its writer as the main person to interpret them. We want to rewrite these to clarity them. We also believe that we should speed up the process of developing the government instead of waiting. Something else is a revised embassy policy, as currently we seem to be getting ones with embassy collectors."
TWP: "Now, there are some in The Republican Antilles -I won't be naming anyone specifically- who in the past have vocalized concern that the Republican Afternoonist Party is nothing more than a bunch of theocrats who don't take the politics of the region seriously. There has also been someone from the region who has contacted us directly, and shared concerns that your party is acting as a foreign agent for the region The Order Of The Afternoon. Are these accusations true?"
EP: "On the topic of Afternoonism, we are not theocrats or foreign agents. Although we are united by Afternoonism, it is not our only tenet. We believe that there should be democracy, not dictatorship."

Unfortunately, we couldn't get Hulldom or RA President Saariset to comment on Evile puppet claims, but we were able to meet with Cannula, WA and leader of Westfalen Westphalia to discuss his opinion on Afternoonism. Though Afternoonists have not found a home in the region of Westfalen Westphalia, there have been some Afternoonist statements occasionally stated on the rmb. And so, we want to know what Cannula thinks about it.

TWP: "Cannula, what are your stances on the slow rise of Afternoonism inter-regionally, the religion itself, and how do you plan on dealing with it inside your borders?"
C (Cannula): "Personally I think rather lowly of the “religion” as a whole. Their attempts to involve themselves in the business of the state make me seriously doubt whether they are who they say they are."
TWP: "What would you like have other regions' governments do to address the spread of Afternoonism?"
C: "I think it ought to be the duty of all governments whose domains House these “afternoonists” to watch this group with vigilance. Who knows what their true motivations are and how they may try to destabilize our sacred systems."

Overall, from an analyst's perspective, there seem to be some mixed feelings on the religion Afternoonism. On the one hand, some followers prefer to view it from an orthodox perspective, while some others believe in a watered-down version to be more palpable politically. Yet they both agree that Afternoonism is a force of good, and can benefit the NS community. On the other hand, at least one region leader suspects the religion, and the organizers behind it, are not honest with their intentions, and are not to be trusted. However, we can only know about what Afternoonism is really about, and how it will unfold inter-regionally in the future. This is The westphalian post, out.

TWP: "As you and a few of our readers may know, RHINIA was originally a region meant to be a secondary region for Westphalian refugees after a Black Hawks raid a few years ago. After Westphalia was taken back, however, there began a movement to make RHINIA more independent from its Westphalian heritage, with you, The liamese empire, on the for-front of that movement. After your swift and surprising rise to power, tensions between RHINIA and Westphalia were pretty high for a long period, before the successful Black Hawks take over of Westphalia. So with that background out of the way, I suppose I must ask the both of you, what your side of things was back then, and what your opinion is of the fall of Westphalia?"
L (The Liamese Empire): "Well, I was kinda made the boogyman to Westphalia after the new republic was set up since I had reigned as Emperor right beforehand and after being overthrown, my supporters and I founded the Union of Empires. After about a year, Tetros reached out to me with a merger proposition with Rhinia in which I would gain a permanent position in the Rhinian government and due to certain authoritarian moves by Tetros, I was elected Emperor and given power over Rhinia after redeeming my name. Around the same time, Petain returned and founded a new Westphalia free of the Blackhawks but I didn't trust him. He kept attempting to force us to unite with him but I believed that with his return, Westphalia would be doomed to the same fate as before. That was the birth of the Rhinian-Westphalian separation and rivalry between those who had been spiritually destroyed by Petain and those who hadn't felt the displacement yet. This was also the birth of a new idea in Rhinia, the idea of the region not as a refugee region, but as the true successor state of Westphalia. Rhinian government distanced itself even more when it allies with the NWA, rival of Westphalia. After relations soured, my predictions began to come true and with the Blackhawks raid, everything was complete."
B (Barlomia): "The fall of Westphalia is quite unfortunate, as they have been a very large region with a lot happening for a sustained period of time. I have been in Rhinia for a long time now, so I was a part of what could be called our "independence movement" alas, as a very minor player, as I didn't really have a full grasp of what tensions there was, but there were issues with election fraud from Westphalia which made me lean towards more separation, and the establishment of the Rhinian Electoral Commission. I do remember there were a few nations from Westphalia coming into Rhinia and trying to destabilise and recruit, which was very frustrating to work with, but I had some decent connections with Westphalian's at the time, and I even attempted to start up a news agency in Westphalia, which unfortunately didn't get off the ground due to my workload and the regional tensions leading me to withdraw the agency. As I said before, the fall of Westphalia is unfortunate, and certainly something that I don't like seeing, as raiders can destroy years of hard work, but hopefully things can get of the ground again."
TWP: "The liamese empire, After Westfalen Westphalia was founded by the exiled Westphalian government headed by Cannula, an embassy was set up between the region and RHINIA, much to some people's surprise. In fact, if anything, tensions at present seem to be at a record low. What changed, and why did you accept the embassy request?"
L: "When Westfalen Westphalia was founded, the new Westphalians realized how right we Rhinians were so there was no need to argue anymore. That's why we accepted the embassy. The newbies had received the same end as us and led to us becoming the siblings we were always meant to be."
TWP: "Now Barlomia, you were the author of the popular newspaper named, if I remember correctly, "RHINIAN News". Both Westphalian and RHINIANS seemed to enjoy the newspaper, and seemed to serve itself as a rare connection between the regions who were traditionally hostile towards one another. It even, admittedly, serves as an inspiration for the creation of this newspaper, The westphalian post. Can you tell me and readers the story behind the newspaper and your role in it?"
B: "Haha yes, it has been a long while since I did the news, and that question lead to me reviving my old puppet of Rhine media with barlomia. I certainly had a look into the archives of my google surveys, interviews and articles thanks to this question. If I remember correctly, Rhine Media was founded very early on in Rhinia's history by Actias (Former PM, now CTE'd), and I was very quick to jump on board as a way of raising my political influence and national prevalence. In the end, Actias CTE'd once and left me to keep running the news agency myself for over a year I think, I certainly gained a lot of experience and expertise in a short time having to learn on the job. In that time I did lots of changes to how I presented the news, culminating in the creation of a website, which unfortunately, I never really got round to promoting. I tried to bring in new journalists over my time, which was successful, but ultimately I ran the news for probably near two years. It actually prevented me from getting into government earlier, as I didn't like the idea of running the news and being in government, as I am there to represent the people's voice, but I was encouraged to step into the government. This did lead to me being less inclined to do the news, and it is one of my biggest regrets, letting the news slip. But I was very happy with how it ran and the way that everyone was included from every nation and the impartial way I presented.
I have tried probably three times to reboot it myself, and once I have had my successor Patek phillippe who did a good job in my place, and I did contribute a weekly column, but overall, things slipped after I went into government. I certainly hope to work with you on a way to present news to the regions."
TWP:: "Finally, for the both of you, what do you hope to get from RHINIAN ties with Westfalen Westphalia in the future, and what future do you think RHINIA will have in NS?"
L: "In the future, I hope for our two peoples to become closer as allies and maybe one day join together as a united successor state to Westphalia."
B: "I am the first to admit my premiership has slipped, and it's been very hard to try and increase recruitment without activity and stamps, so I hope Rhinia can maintain a nice place for itself in NS, however, I would like to have the glory days of 100+ nations and over 150 RMB posts a day, however unlikely that is to happen. What I hope to get from ties with Westphalia? Well I am certainly hoping that we can increase the amount of diplomacy and government interaction between both regions, maybe also a joint RP or Parliament. I am always keen to increase the amount of ties between nations, and I would be open to having those in Westfalen Westphalia come to Rhinia if they would like, just some ways to increase the amount of power we can present as a unified front. Hopefully my region will support that, but I am always open to ways to increase our ties. I am especially open to the idea merging or something similar, coalition like to preserve our history but move forward together as a united bloc. Hopefully I can enter discussions with the leadership of both regions on this point!"
TWP: "Thank you both for agreeing to this interview. It's been a pleasure!"[i]
B: [i]"Thank you very much for interviewing me! It's wonderful to have a new nation keen on the news and I wish you all the best, perhaps we could work in partnership on a joint news network to present the news to many regions!"
TWP: "Thanks! That sounds like a very promising proposition! I'll let you know if that will be possible, once I talk to my manager"
This is The westphalian post, out.