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Headline Image: William Blake’s “America a Prophecy”
On my American plains I feel the struggling afflictions
Endur'd by roots that writhe their arms into the nether deep:
I see a serpent in Canada, who courts me to his love...
This is eternal death; and this the torment long foretold.


SPABAs for Sept. 27th to Oct. 3rd

For those of you unfamiliar with the Shameless Plug Awards, this is an independent award set up by me (Plugson) back in January to recognize great articles that educate, entertain, and motivate eCanadians. While there is currently no prize money, I hope the SPABAs point out which writers deserve some merit and some extra attention.
It’s been a VERY busy week in the news columns, with lots of debating and gentlemanly glove slapping exchanged. As with any election, we see praises from on high and some rumblings from the darker edges of eCanada, so the theme for this week’s SPABAs will be Saints and Sinners. There was some stellar prose put out last week and some unholy craziness to boot. This is how The Shameless Plug saw the week’s winners:


Gold Plug

“Jacobi Era: Where to Now Canada?” – Alias Vision – The Freeholder Press.
The Plug: Alias Vision publishes much less frequently than he did during the outset of his e-life, when he established himself as a sage political analyst and capable congressman. Though his role as a leading voice in Canadian politics has changed over time, it’s reassuring to see that his capacity to employ excellent prose to contextualize current politics with historical events has not waned. The “Jacobi Era” article provides any “n00b” with ample details to inform themselves about the conditions that have led up to the current election. Alias does not seek to degrade, exaggerate, or promote any candidate or any eCanadian. What he effectively did was distill fourt months (and more) into four crafty headings: Pre-Jacobian Times, Undeniable Momentum, A Record Number of Mandates, The Legacy. Simple, classy, intelligent, near perfect.

Best Lines: The Jacobi regime can be called the Jacobi era. The children of this change are moderate politicians like William Duncan and mavericks like Scorpius. Controversial figures like Dean22 and capable ones like Moffington. Who the new challengers and dark horses will be remains to be seen but should define themselves in the days to come.



Silver Plug

“A Terrorist Reads the Global Economy” – John A Kelly – Fight Red.
The Plug: The title says “Terrorist.” The opening quotation comes from Zoli, the much adored PEACE agitator. Sounds like trouble. Don’t let those points fool you because inside is a well supported and referenced analysis of a sagging post-war economy. The layout is clean and the points are made in a concise manner that is meant to spur on more discussion about how to balance production with lower levels of previously inflated consumption. The RL and eRep article crossovers, plus the updated reference list at the bottom make this article as professional as one in The Freeholder Press (minus the sexy lady pic). John A Kelly may have started off as resistance war agitator, so it’s compelling to see where he’ll take his publishing skills in the post-war media columns.

Best Lines: As I see it, we have two options available to us in eRepublik: first, government intervention to use high income taxes to supply low-productivity workers above their ability to produce; or second, semi-feudal organizations in which high-productivity workers transfer wealth to low-productivity workers in a patronage system. The first option is common in PEACE countries, where the ministries of defense use the comments on battle orders articles to distribute weapons to low-level citizens (i.e. See the eRussian military). The second option is not entirely unlike the ilitary “resistance organizations” which sprang up in eCanada and the eUSA near the beginning of the war (i.e. SPF Bear Cavalry, Bruck's Canucks, etc).



Bronze Plug

“Thoughts on October Premiership: Vol. I, Vol. II, Vol. III – AR1ARX – The ARX…
The Plug: The ARX… is a relatively new publication on the eCanada media scene. The titles may come across as a bit heavy on the enumerating, yet the rest reads very smoothly and has some good insight. The current 3-part series on the elections offered a clearly explaining reckoning of the candidate’s choices for cabinet and the author’s take on events surrounding the lead up to the election. While The Shameless Plug may not agree with AR1ARX’s political opinions and we do try to shy away from awarding political articles awards, what earned this series a place in the top three was its ambitious and earnest explanation of what goes through a voter’s head as he tries to understand who to vote for. This Bronze Plug represents more an acknowledgement that a potentially strong voice in the eCanadian media has made its appearance. Now if only The ARX… could just present the same amount of wisdom in a few hundred words less.

Best Lines: This is how I approach an election decision too, for me it's less about the platform and the personality and disposition of the candidate, rather it's about my evaluation of their competence and suitability for the role. In a medium such as this game, it's rather difficult to properly evaluate anyone, as the written words of the candidates, though useful, is not always sufficient to gauge them properly. So, imperfect and incomplete information, a momentous game-level occasion, how does one proceed with making such a decision?

For me, and for many others, no doubt, the first element is of course the platform. Unfortunately, the platform is more an aspirational document, and much like in real life, subject to the whim of events, events that consume time, effort, attention, and has the tendency to change priorities.


Notable Plugs

Best Runner-Up: “The Revamping of My Paper and My Take on the Elections”
Mini-plug: By all reckoning, Scorpius’ article deserves to be among the top three as any other article listed above (okay, Alias Vision’s is a no contest). So it was with heavy heart to relegate this unexpected gem to the “almost made it” list. This excellent summary of the candidates was appreciated by many, proving Scorpius also has the chops to make it big in journalism…and maybe rewrite the style guide in the process.

“The Canonization of Jacobi” Part 1 & Part 2.
Mini-plug: eCanada had very mix feelings about this article. Even Jacobi wasn’t sure if he could take it as supreme compliment or sly roast. William Duncan took a very big risk publishing the article, yet to me it just proves he is a politician with a sense of humour and a slight case of bromance.

“PEACE Failympics” #1 #2 #3.
Mini-plug: I admire article concepts that go big and this one took WWIII to Olympic proportions. The images a lolicious and PEACE comes off looking quite ridiculous in this well thought out parody.

“10 Epic Fails in eCanadian”
Mini-plug: A spin-off of the popular “10 Epic Fails in eRep History,” this article has big ambitions that could have easily landed itself a spot in the Top Three for this week. Though entertaining, the details could have been better supported with some research and links. Overall, a good attempt by Adasko that would be even better as revised a re-release later.

“Is Octavian_F eCanada’s Ajay Bruno?”
Mini-plug: Let’s not get into the whole deal in these two lines. Let’s instead say this article was one of the defining moments of the current election. Octavian_F lays it all out in a well written though somewhat misconceived address to the public.

“The eRep Insider Fails to Deliver”
Mini-plug: A biting look at the Admin initiated contest to recognize great writing in eRepublik. Were we expecting too much from what now looks like a publicity grab for the makers of eRep?

“The Times, They Are a Changin’”
Mini-plug: Jacobi ends off his final term as PM by inducting more citizens and friends of Canada into the Order of Canada. The well chosen piece by Bob Dylan highlights Jacobi’s recognition of citizens who have helped establish eCanada’s social fabric.

“CPM Money Market: From Russia with Love”
Mini-plug: Create, Plan, Manage continues to put out quality reports on the money market. After winning a Silver Plug last week, CPM deserves a nod of respect for keeping it going. So, has anyone been making money off of Addie’s reports?



LToA: The Third Salute - Update

The cryptic wording and fractured hyperlinks are slowly coming into focus on the strange-shaped tome I found in an ice grotto the high Artic, previously occupied by Persian Peace Puppets. So far 3 of the signs spoken of in the coded quatrains have come to pass. First, the eCanada forums shutdown exactly 24 hours after LToA😮7o7o7 was deciphered. Next, Carpenter’s Son canonized the builder of Jacobi’s Ladder. Lastly, the keys to Great Seal of the United States were cracked wide on the 5th (ie. Presidential powers were hacked), breaking apart “brother’s arms” as the "dogs of war let loose the serpent" -- ie. unwillingly attacked neighbouring territories. All three point to the likelihood that the time of the “Pauper Prince” is upon us, which may mean troubling times for the Brolliance until the arrival of “New Year’s King” at some unknown time in the coming century. Some say it is a hoax, yet others wonder if third time around can be more than lucky.