Join NATO, who else?

[The Pansy]

NATO is a multi cultural Alliance full of Love and prosperity

[PussInBoots]

NATO - Where we're not all from Norway.

Kuru

Fortunately, Anu Drake cares

Edited April 9, 2008 by Kurushio

[Anu Drake]

Its true, I do care. Lots. And i haz planz.

[thesoulman]

bump from Ragnarok

[The Pansy]

Roaming Lolcats make NATO a great place to be

come join the fun

[Anu Drake]

Even when they have no bearing on the topic. I've been saving this for Van:

[0corn]

Nine out of ten nations recommend NATO!

[Duncan King]

NATO is cool enough to make it worth dealing with Pansy.

Pansy

*Duncan King is on to you, Bigwoody

[Themysciera]

NATO is also the only alliance where "Bringer of Hot Wimmenz" is an official position.

How do I know?

That's my position

[Anu Drake]

NATO is also the only alliance where "Bringer of Hot Asian Wimmenz" is an official position.

How do I know?

That's my position

Fixed that for you.

[Duncan King]

I this thread.

And yes:

Other reasons to join NATO

- access to aid

- widespread diplomatic connections

- "family" atmosphere

- fun

Edited April 11, 2008 by Duncan King

[PussInBoots]

Pansy

bigwoody

[PussInBoots]

I mean, srsly

[Duncan King]

After looking into NATO, you will tell your friends:

because we are so

Edited April 12, 2008 by Duncan King

[PussInBoots]

Join NATO, we have everything you need

[thesoulman]

bump from Ragnarok!

[Duncan King]

End your searching, join NATO!

[PussInBoots]

Did you know?

[NewJerseyHero]

NATO has large amounts of Snapple, Cheesesteak, apple Pie, Boots, Tangellos, and Jello.

Join NATO

[PussInBoots]

needs more lolcat

[King Hobbs]

Anu Drake Cares!

[Anu Drake]

Very true, and can be supported with firm data:

[Duncan King]

NATO even has a new charter!!

Charter and Governing Articles of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Preamble

===========================

We the Sovereign Nations of NATO, in order to form a more Just, Fair, and Fun Union, while providing for the common defense and economic well being of ourselves, do hereby establish this Charter for The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The NATO motto shall be "Peace through superior firepower".

Article I - Member sovereign powers

===========================

Section 1

All authority and powers not specifically granted to the Alliance rest entirely with each member nation. No restrictions, other than granted herein, or enacted by the laws of NATO, may be placed on the sovereign rights of member nations.

Section 2

Any nations wishing to join NATO cannot belong to another alliance at the time of joining.

Any nations wishing to join NATO cannot be in a state of war with any other nation.

Section 3

A NATO Member shall be defined as CN player who has applied for and been accepted as a NATO member in the NATO forums.

By applying to NATO a nation agrees to follow the NATO rules and regulations so long as it remains a member.

Once a nation is approved it is subject to all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities defined below and by any NATO laws.

Section 4

NATO members explicitly agree to the following commitments upon their acceptance as full members.

These are your responsibilities:

• All nations must abide by the Rules of Engagement (RoE).
  
• NATO members will move to the official Alliance color, within 30 days of acceptance as a full member, and you must stay on that color until such time as NATO moves to another team color, unless you joined NATO before Feb 1 2007.
  
• In times of war, NATO members may be called upon to help defend your brothers in arms from NATO's enemies and you will be required to respond to the best of your ability, providing whatever aid or assistance is needed/appropriate to the Alliance.
  
• NATO members will vote for the designated Official Team Color Senator.
  
• NATO members are expected to behave in a respectful manner towards their fellow NATO members in game and on our forums. NATO members are prohibited from being a severe nuisance by making posts characterized as being generally mean spirited or hate filled with a frequency such that one can be described as a constant malcontent.
  
• NATO members will also present a responsible and professional face to the International Community.
  
• During times of war, NATO members are prohibited from sending aid to the enemy, or those who are helping the enemy.
  
• Member nations who accept Starting Aid must remain with the alliance for at least 45 days or repay the entire aid if they wish to leave prior to that time.
  
• No NATO member shall use multiple accounts in CN or in the NATO forums, nor shall they have one nation in NATO and another nation in another alliance.
  

Section 5

As a NATO member, you have the following rights:

• You have the right to use your nation's resources in any way they choose, however NATO also reserves the right to provide preferential aid and assistance to nations that are best utilizing their resources.
  
• You have the right to request military assistance if you are attacked. Members must follow established procedures to obtain this assistance. NATO guarantees assistance to those who follow the established procedures.
  
• You have the absolute right to not be threatened by ZI or perma- ZI unless you commit Treason, defined below. You have the right to speak out against the current NATO government, suggest or request change, or voice a dissenting opinion in the NATO forums without fear of the punishment for Treason. However, while these listed activities are not treason, should the speech rise to the level of harassment, other judicial remedies may apply.
  
• You have the right to due process under law for any alleged violation of the charter, RoE, or law and you shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
  
• You have the right to be free from any secret laws, as these shall not apply to you.
  
• You shall not be subjected to secret trials. However, evidence deemed sensitive to the security of the alliance can be presented against you if Sensitive Evidence Tribunal deems it appropriate.
  
• You have the right to vote on issues that affect the alliance as whole.
  
• You have the right to vote in general elections.
  
• You have the right to be free of all taxes unless the NATO alliance shall be forced to pay Reparations as part of peace terms from a war.
  
• You have the right to maintain all trade agreements, even with enemies in times of war.
  
• You have the right to leave the alliance at any time, providing you post a departure message in the appropriate NATO forum.
  
• You have the right to never be tried for the same crime more than once.
  
• Any NATO member in good standing has the right challenge any law or ruling in NATO. The member must post their objection to the law, and must be seconded by at least two other NATO members in good standing. The law will then be subject to a confirmation vote that will last no less than 10 days. A 3/4 majority of voting members is required to overturn the legislation.
  

Article 2 - The Council

===========================

Section 1

NATO is governed by a ruling council, elected every 90 days by the NATO membership. The NATO council is sworn to protect NATO from outside threats and assist NATO members in both enjoying and becoming successful in the CN game.

The council's collective duties are as follows:

• Act as a governing body for the NATO alliance.
  
• Write new laws and policies for the betterment of all NATO members.
  
• New laws and policies require a simple majority.
  
• Perform the day to day duties of keeping the NATO alliance strong and organized.
  
• Declares war, requiring a vote of 5 out of the 7 council members.
  

Section 2

The Council shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as May in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members on any question shall be entered on the Journal.

Section 3

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed. A bill of attainder shall be defined as an act of legislature declaring a person or group of persons within NATO guilty of some crime and punishing them without benefit of a trial. An ex post facto law shall be defined as a law that retroactive changes the legal consequences of acts committed or the legal status of facts and relationships that existed prior to the enactment of the law, or criminalize actions that were legal when committed, or change or increase the punishment prescribed for a crime, or alter the rules of evidence in order to make conviction for a crime more likely than it would have been at the time of the action for which a defendant is prosecuted.

No Law shall be passed with the punishment of Zero Infrastructure (ZI) or Permanent ZI of a member of NATO except that of Treason. The highest punishment allowed by any other Law shall be Banishment from NATO.

No Law shall be passed which defines a criminal act without a general membership vote of a simple majority of voting NATO members.

There shall be no secret Laws. All Laws must be made available for review by any and all NATO members and shall be stored in the forums.

There shall be no secret Trials, and all Trials shall be presided over by the Judicial Department.

Section 4

NATO Voting Procedures for The Council:

• Council terms are to be three months long.
  
• Ten days prior to the start of a new term, nomination threads will be created in the NATO Government Offices. Nomination threads will remain open for three days.
  
• Any nation may self nominate.
  
• All nominations must be seconded by another NATO Member in good standing.
  
• A nation may only run for one position. Once A nation accepts the nomination for a position it may not run for another office.
  
• Following the nomination period, candidates will be allowed four days of campaigning.
  
• Campaign threads will be created for all candidates and all offices in the NATO Government Offices forum - all in-forum campaigning will be limited to those threads.
  
• Following the campaigning period, voting threads will opened for each position in the NATO Government Offices forum.
  
• Voting will last for three days, closing at reset CN server time on the third day.
  
• Votes will be tallied and winners announced the day after the voting has closed - winners will assume their duties the next day. Winners will be defined as the nation with the most votes, not necessarily needing a majority.
  
• In the event of a tie of two candidates out of three or more candidates running for that position, all candidates except the two tied candidates will be dropped and a special run off election shall be held that shall last 48 hours.
  
• In the event of a tie between two or more candidates with no non-tied candidates running for that position, the current council will decide the winner of the race as their last act, before the new council takes office, and this vote shall be made public for all NATO members to see.
  

Section 5

Each council member has one vote. In the case of a tie, the President's vote counts as two votes.

The seven council positions and their duties and powers are as follows:

President

• Acts as Chief of State for NATO.
  
• In conjunction with the Secretary of State, and Secretary General acts as the official voice of NATO.
  
• Able to act independently in case of a military or diplomatic emergency.
  
• Has veto power over the appointment of all Moderators to NATO forums.
  

Vice President

• Acts as President should NATO President be unable to perform the duties of that office.
  
• Assists the Secretary of Interior with forum improvement and enhancement.
  
• Acts as Council Member at large, starting new projects and assisting members in doing the same.
  
• Has final authority on approval of all new NATO members.
  
• Oversees NATO Cadet Program.
  
• Has oversight for the Big Brother and Trade Circle programs.
  
• Oversees and encourages the recruitment of new members and administers the Recruiting Rewards program.
  

Secretary of State

• Acts as the Chief Diplomat for NATO in all conflict negotiations.
  
• Appoints and overseas NATO ambassador Corp
  
• Under direction from the Secretary General, oversees the contact and maintenance of good relations with other CN Alliances.
  
• In conjunction with the President and SG, acts as the official voice of NATO.
  
• Masks new ambassadors and creates new embassies for ambassadors.
  
• Works with the Secretary of the Treasury to fund reparation payments.
  
• Acts as a delegate of NATO to CDT. Confers with NATO's Secretary General on any CDT votes and strategy.
  

Secretary of Defense

• Acts as the Chief Military Authority in NATO.
  
• Oversees Bat Commanders. Has veto power over all Bat commander appointments and can appoint or remove Bat commanders at will.
  
• Responsible for maintaining an organized, efficient, and ready NATO military at all times.
  
• Defines and maintains the Bat structure.
  

Secretary of Interior

• Arbitrates all internal disputes, unless they are crimes, in which case the matter is forwarded to the Attorney General.
  
• Seeks to foster the well being and happiness of all NATO Members. maintains the membership tracker for the needs of NATO Council and all NATO agents.
  
• Works to fully reconcile membership rosters: NATO Forum lists, NATO Tracker, and in-game list.
  
• Responsible for the cleaning, care, upkeep and maintenance of NATO Forums.
  
• Promotes and manages NATO communications & content -- mass membership PMing and NATO content: Council vote announcements, Senate vote announcements, NATO News/Current Events, etc.
  
• Manages and monitors Council elections -- announcements, forums, polls, and results.
  

Secretary of Treasury

• Oversees and improves NATO Banking System, including but not limited to the Aid Fall Program, Banking Chain Program, Bank Building Program, etc.
  
• Acts as NATO representative to the Consortium.
  
• Assists the Vice President with members trade circles and other financial aids.
  

Secretary General

• In conjunction with the President and Secretary of State acts as the voice of The NATO.
  
• Serves as NATO's Chief Diplomat and delegate to the Continuum and the CDT.
  
• Determines who will represent NATO in the Continuum as its three official representatives.
  
• Can serve or appoint another NATO Member in good standing as CDT Trilat for NATO whenever NATO holds a Trilat Position.
  
• Serves as the Chief Diplomat to other power blocs or specific allies as defined by the Council.
  
• Works with and advises the Secretary of State and President on new treaty targets and groups to avoid
  

Article III - Judicial Department

===========================

Section 1

The Attorney General shall be the only prosecutor in NATO. All disciplinary action must go through this position and the process below to be valid.

Section 2

Any NATO member in good standing may make a request to the Attorney General for disciplinary action on any other NATO member, including sitting Council members. The Attorney General then weighs the merits of the case and decides whether to prosecute the case.

Section 3

If the Attorney General prosecutes the case, he shall decide on a penalty and will post a voting thread open to the general membership. This thread will present the evidence in the case and an explanation of the proposed penalty. When presenting his case, the Attorney General may not use any "anonymous" information. Anyone being prosecuted must know the names of their accusers, or the Attorney General may not use the evidence presented by that party, his choice. However, should evidence from a source be presented that must be kept secret for reasons of Alliance security, a special Sensitive Evidence Tribunal shall be formed to validate the evidence. They must vote unanimously that the evidence is valid for it to be used. The Sensitive Evidence Tribunal will be established based on published rules to review any evidence of a member's wrong-doing that cannot be publicly revealed due to national security issues.

Section 4

The Attorney General is restricted from proposing the penalty of Zero Infrastructure (ZI) or Per ma-ZI unless the case is deemed to be a case of treason, defined below.

Section 5

Once the Prosecution Thread is posted, the general membership then has 48 hours to vote for the proposed penalty to be enacted or to be thrown out. It shall take a three fourths vote of the voting membership to enact the penalty. There shall be no appeal process for this verdict.

Section 6

During the voting time period, the accused shall have the right to post in their own defense.

Section 7

The Attorney General shall be empowered to avoid a disciplinary vote by the suggestion of resolutions to the parties involved, prior to posting of a Prosecution Thread. The NATO Council defined in Article II shall represent the party of NATO if NATO is one of the involved parties.

Section 8

The Attorney General shall be empowered to declare a law or council decision in violation of this charter. If he does so, he shall post a Prosecution Thread and go through the normal process defined above. The recommended punishment would be to declare the law void or reverse the council decision.

Section 9

The Attorney General shall be elected during the same time period as the council in Aritcle II is elected, and using the same means and methods.

Section 10

If the general membership shall feel that the Attorney General is not performing his duties properly, they may call for a vote of removal. Any member in good standing can call for this vote, but it must be seconded by at least two additional members in good standing.

The vote of removal thread shall state the reasons for removal of the Attorney General, and the Attorney General may post in it for his own defense. This voting thread shall last for at least one week but not more than two weeks. A vote of three fourths of the voting member shall be required to remove the Attorney General from office.

If the Attorney General is removed from office in such fashion, a new election shall immediately commence to elect a new Attorney General. This election shall follow the normal procedure for electing the Attorney General.

Section 11

Misconduct is defined as:

• Violation of the NATO ROE.
  
• Perpetuating aid or tech fraud on the alliance.
  
• Failing to perform the duties and responsibilities of a Council member or other government official competently and/or in a way that does not work to further the best interests of the alliance and its members. This also includes being absent from the forums for more than a week without giving a warning or explanation in advance to the other government members and/or arranging to have someone carry out the duties that would be neglected during the absence.
  
• Being a severe nuisance by making posts characterized as being generally mean spirited or hate filled with a frequency such that one can be described as a constant malcontent.
  
• Leaving NATO within 45 days of receiving any "no-payback" NATO aid funds.
  
• Breaking any NATO Law.
  

Section 12

Treason against NATO shall consist only in levying War against NATO Members, or in giving Enemies Aid and Comfort, or repeated, blatant, and flagrant violations of the Rules of Engagement , or in using nuclear weapons without permission, or in destroying all or parts of the NATO forum, or in releasing sensitive information from the Sensitive Evidence Tribunal to the public.

Treason shall not be speaking out against the current NATO government, suggesting or requesting change, or voicing a dissenting opinion in the NATO forums or CyberNation Forums. However, while these listed activities are not treason and thus not punishable by ZI or Perma-ZI, other judicial remedies may apply, up to and including banishment.

Article IV - Amending the Charter

===========================

Any NATO member in good standing may propose an amendment to this charter. If the proposed amendment is seconded by at least two additional NATO members in good standing, it shall be put forth to a general membership vote of no less than two weeks and no more than four weeks. Open commentary shall be allowed during the entire voting period.

If a three quarters majority or more of all voting nations affirm the vote, the amendment will be approved.

If less than sixty seven percent of voters approve, the amendment is rejected.

If between sixty seven percent and seventy five percent of all voting nations affirm the vote, the amendment shall be presented to the council. The council will vote for at least 24 hrs and may affirm the amendment by a simple majority.

[Anu Drake]

[Duncan King]

Once you join NATO, you'll think this: