The anti-employee union is crying because they're being put back into their place. Give me a break. The day that unions start being pro-employee again, instead of just pro-union, is the day I'll start taking them seriously again. People seriously need employment and jacking up the cost of employing people can price companies into Mexico, China, India or even just out of business.

Regardless of motives, the Wisconsin Republicans did the right thing and more states will follow. The question that I would pose to Democrats and pro-union forces is, "How badly do you want to lose?" The unions will have to yield significant ground or people will escalate the retaliation against them. People cut breaks to reasonable people and organizations. The Unions aren't being particularly reasonable right now and so their opponents are retaliating more than they otherwise would.


I want to add some more points to my initial post here:

Tennessee has a non-union state employee association (The Tennessee State Employee Association). This association doesn't have the rights of a union, but it advocates on behalf of state employees. They advocate both to state officials and to the citizens of Tennessee. More than just their advocacy is their commitment to serving as partner for Tennessee and to help the state keep well-qualified employees and to keep them happy in safe working conditions. They play a role in determining how terminations are decided and the appeals processes that terminated employees can thereafter utilize.

Through their efforts and because no one can really run roughshod over any other stakeholder, Tennessee is able to have a relatively civil and cordial discussion about its budget. Governor Bill Haslam even included a 1.6% pay raise for state employees at a time when the state is trying to save money and cut costs. Granted, this is after three years in which state employees received no raise, so everyone kind of knew it was coming. That being said, a Republican Governor proposed a pay raise without prompting and without being called to task by the opposition.

The point of this digression is that when the power distribution among stakeholders is balanced appropriately then government can be civil and we can actually have a reasonable discussion. Domineering power is addictive, so I can't blame unions and the left for wanting to keep the power that they have unfortunately gained.

Mag -1
sof 4
lcn 12
laf -10
evo 7
omega 12
rd 0
sanct 7
icn 6
pdm -8
monsters 9
wof 8
na -2
sol -23

Thanks.

As it's said in Diamond Rio's song "God Only Cries": God only cries for the living because it's the living who are left to carry on.

More local impact for me could come because Japan is the only country with a consulate in Tennessee. Tennessee has significant business ties with Japan, so I have a local motive to wish Japan a quick recovery and to help them achieve it, in addition to all the very good, best of humanity motives.

http://www.stjude.org/...0VgnVCM1000000e2015acRCRD

The St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway is occurring again. If you are an American, please consider entering the drawing for a St. Jude Dream Home near you. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital tackles some of the toughest diseases in Children, including cancer. They don't charge for their services and their research is available to doctors around the world; their research is not proprietary, it's free to anyone who can help fight diseases.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital cares for children from all 50 states and several countries. If your American, you might well know a child or family helped by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Please, if you are able, help.

Evolution, you see it's all in the thread title. "B" starts the title. "a" is in just about the miggle of the title. Finally, "n" finishes the title. That spells "Ban", as in the ban(s) that have been talked about on this thread.

To the point of this thread. Alliances and players must simply adapt to the new circumstances concerning the ability of players to stonewall.

Hey RedX, might I possibly entice you to my home for several sets?

http://omega.earth-alliance.org

If all it took for a rivalry was trash talking, then the trolls vs non trolls hold the greatest rivalry in the game. Performance speaks for itself.

I think I'll let other people debate dagga's comments, but I want to let you know that I did read your comment.

I stand by my first statement, the best rivalry is The Omega/LaF/Evo. Every set, whichever of these alliances is not in a war competes fiercely with any of the other two who also manages to netgain. Everyone else just competes to compete with Omega/LaF/Evo when we netgain. Some alliances are successful in throwing up competition on an inconsistent, but noteworthy basis. That being said, the three consistent and fierce top netgaining alliances are LaF, Evo, and Omega. I would also note that, in a pinch, all three alliances can throw up remarkable war efforts and all three certainly earn their right to netgain through occasional war and consistent diplomatic means.

Fighting is easy, netgaining consistently and well is harder.*

*Note, fighting well is hard, but fighting consistently is pretty easy. It's easy to find/create a war; it's harder to avoid wars.

SoL...Omega

SoL...Omega

SoL...Omega

SoL...Omega

Omega Wins!

can we get a video of this? Or the name of the dude.

The best rivalry in EE is The Omega vs LaF vs Evo. Everyone else is just pretending.

Netgainer Rivalry FTW!

What are your favorite Omegan country names?

Qzpangit

Even is this is about busting the union, I still support the Wisconsin Republican Governor and Legislatures. The unions have become an instrument of hardship and suffering. If they are not smacked back into line, they will continue to be incapable of fulfilling the reasons they came to exist in the first place (relieving employee suffering and maintaining REASONABLE pay for their members). Right now, unions exist to line their own pockets with employees' pay.

Why should teachers be paid more if some of their number are crap teachers. Bottom line is this, teacher's won't be paid more until the people see a value in paying their teachers more. Crap teachers in the system with no way for the system to show the crap teachers the door means that not many people will see the value in paying good teachers more.

Unions have gotten to say that it's their way or the highway for a long long long long long long long long long time. State's like TN are now telling the unions that they (the unions) can hit the highway. I can't speak to what's happening in Wisconsin as well, but in Tennessee the unions are weaker and the fight hasn't yet heated up as badly. We'll see how it goes. Maybe my state's teachers unions will be resigned to the fate of their rights being curtailed in part or at least in their job security declining so that crap teachers can be removed from classrooms.

Protecting good teachers is not an acceptable reason to continue protecting bad teachers today. We are FAILING our children in our almost sacred duty to prepare them for life. Everything is fair game in the fight to protect the future of the nation's children.

The war between unions and many workers/businesses has been coming for a long time. Now some politicians have the tenacity to take up the fight as well. The battle that I expect to hit the courts will be in those states where paying union dues can be a condition of employment even if an employee does not wish to be part of the union.

Were unions a good thing at one point? Yes. Can they still be a good thing now? Yes. Can they be a good thing is the form and manner of the United Auto-Workers union? NO!

Unions should protect their employees from dangerous work conditions. They should only be concerned with workers pay if the workers are not receiving a liveable wage/salary. If they are being paid a liveable wage/salary and should still be paid more, then some company will offer more. After the first company loses needed employees, they will either increase pay or go out of business.

Luckily for me, I live/work in a right-to-work state. Unions have significantly less power in Tennessee than many other states. However, Tennessee's legislature is still taking on the teachers union(s). Pay is not the main issue in Tennessee, but rather the state and local authorities are moving to change tenure policies and make it easier to fire low quality teachers.

Those states that are more pro-union have been losing employers and citizens to those states that are pro-business/worker. Let's be perfectly honest, there are far too many cases where the union represents the interests of the union at the expense of the interests of its employees. Employees have a stake in the companies they work for. They need those companies to stay open. When unions like the UAW nearly force companies into bankruptcy, they are acting more like illegal mafias and less like employee advocates. In recent years we have seen unions trampling on the rights and interests of employees to simply remain in power and continue making money. However, in recent years we have also seen employees move to more worker and company-friendly states. Truly, the irony is not lost on me that worker's and employers are on the same side against unions that are suppose to represent the workers.

To conclude: I think this fight has been coming for a long time. The reason that it's been ignited now is because enough people have voted with their feet to force the largely pro-union states to change their tunes a bit. Simply put, population is down and so are tax revenues. People are forcing the hands of states. What did you expect would happen when unions grew too powerful. The system is rebalancing itself.

Hehe, I keep Omega's channel in proper hands. I usually log onto the channel once a day. I'll let more programming inclined people comment.

This game has taught me a lot about interacting with different people. People from different cultures and different levels of understanding English require skills that are very transferable to real life. This game has also improved my debating skills at times.

I think perhaps one of the most valuable things that I received from this game was guidance in school and life from people such as Rainbow and several others to varying degrees. We've got some great people who have helped me and others to mature. The willingness to always offer advice or lend a helping hand has certainly rubbed off on me from several different facets of my life including this one.

We have a great game, but an even greater community. Thanks Earthers for all you've taught and helped me.

Junky, I protest that comment. The Omega is better at netting than SoL.


Here's hoping God's comfort, mercy, healing, and grace are with all the victims of this tragedy be they in heaven, hospital, or keeping vigil for loved ones.

http://omega.earth-alliance.org

If you like to netgain, come give us a shout.

Part of the problem with Obamacare is that we're paying for it now, but the services start several years down the road. Translation: they can't pay for the costs of it. It's like saving up to buy a car, but a car doesn't come with progressively larger car payments.

When people talk about Obamacare as "healthcare reform", I always ask (in my head if not out loud), "Where's the reform?". Obamacare doesn't reform much if anything. It merely adds onto an existing problem.

When you're cleaning your refridgerator out, you don't throw more rotting food into it. You take out the rotting food and then put in the things that you want to preserve in an orderdly set up.

tgfr55ghyu67ji

That's alright anoniem, you're country is set to auto-kill anyway. We simply haven't had time to track down your country number in the last five years.

Confirmed.

I have a confession, we're really just in it for the free land.

-Angel1
Minister of Foreign Affairs
The Omega
314294818

Don't do it! It's a trap!

the "u" stands for unbreakable. Hence, if you cannot activate a voiding clause in the uNAP then you cannot attack them on behalf of an FDP.

RoRs occur within the period of time that a lg would be retaled. Meaning those alliances that enforce 48hr retal windows get 48hrs to declare RoRs.

http://omega.earth-alliance.org

We netgain, we have a country help board too! We're cool with your rust red color! Give us a try!

Don't listen to Tanfidel.

Merry Christmas everyone.

We wish you a merry netgaining,
We wish you a merry netgaining,
We wish you a merry netgaining,
And a Happy New Set!

Good tidings from all of us
chaotic, loud-mouthed,
extroverted lunatics!

We hope that this year,
Santa Clause will bring us all:
Some new blood
Some old blood
Some blood heirs
Some nieces
Some nephews
Some brothers
Some sisters

We hope that this year,
Santa Clause will bring us all:
Some nice fun
Some good cheer
A distraction from our crazy great aunt
A brand new computer (especially built for text-based games)
A brand new browser (that helps us kill each other faster...if we must)
A new instant messenger (that everyone will use)
Extra time to play this game (that we all hold dear)
...
...
...
And last but not least, we hope that Santa will bring all of us:
A minute to replace the one you just wasted (reading this long post)


Merry Christmas,
Happy Hanukkah,
Happy Kwanzaa,
Happy Holidays,
-Angel1 and All Omegans

Yeah, I live in Nashville right now. Be sure to visit the Parthenon while you're in town.

Yeah, come home Hawkeye! We're having lots of fun. Just imagine all the plots you can help create!

just a job for right now.

General Earth Empires Event: LCN/Fist/Omega vs SoL; LCN/Fist vs Imaginary Numbers

Personal Earth Event: Personal best NW - $99,689,568

General Real Life Event: May 1st, Nashville/Middle Tennessee/West Tennessee flooding.

Personal Real Life Event: Got a job.

The Omega Mud is not working right now. Please visit irc.gamesurge.net #omega. We actually have a fairly active channel. At least several people idle there.

oh that's good. Laughed so hard that a contact fell out.

Absolutely, just my personal opinion. Though as I think on it some more. Perhaps limiting the landtrading to 3 times per 24hrs between countries of the same tag would be good. It at once generates more land and does not take away the skills necessary to play the game well.

Idea: 3 SSs or 3 PSs a day on another country in your tag would include ghost acres.

Landtrading within alliances should be encouraged, not discouraged.

I don't control what other alliances do. Other alliances may tend to lose land when they LG. What I'm saying is that people would tend to shrug off a landgrab (with just a retal) if the alliance that LGed them is not plastered to their alliance's retal board.

Under circumstances where there are two lgs by one alliance on another in say a 48hr period and the lgs are limited throughout the set overall, then people will tend to be quite willing to create land with ghost acres and leave everyone in a more or less win-win situation.

Diversify targets to minimize escalation.

The real issue is not the inability to defend against grabs or retals, but the abuse of landgrabbing by certain alliances. It is quite unreasonable for one alliance to fill another alliance's retal board almost singlehandedly.

If alliances spread their grabbing out among several different alliances, then there would be no need to give major netgaining alliances some additional defense against LGs/Retals as both would be few and far between.

Just for a reminder, here's the previous Earth Awards.

The Omega does not recognize this merger and requires that NeoFed merge with us instead.

The Omega does not do FA on the boards, but I will say that when and where we are called we make all due efforts to help alliances to whatever extent we can. As little as talking with their enemies to as much as fighting alongside them against their enemies. We do what we can, where we can, when we can. You cannot expect anymore from an alliance that what we give.

The Omega did not have any war planned. This set has actually been fairly quiet. I kind of like that. We have basically just played our game and let others worry about their games, so there's nothing really new.

North Korea ABed South Korea. South Korea performed a retaled North Korea. Now everyone is all angry like. South Korea, treehuggers that they are, really don't want general warfare to reignite, but have the allies to gangbang North Korea. North Korea has the escalation advantage, but knows that if they do too much they will simply be gangbanged and lose.

Am I still proud of this system? No. However, most solutions would probably require a constitutional amendment to put them on the books. I suppose the congress could make an advertising black out for the last five days and cite the preservation of our democracy as a reason. That might stand the test with the Supreme Court.

I don't quite think our system can be fixed short of a massive overhaul via a constitutional convention. That would require 2/3rds of the states to officially ask for one and then 3/4ths to ratify whatever changes were proposed.