NationStates Issues **SPOILER ALERT**

[TalAkMaChen]

#1627 Snow Days on Thin Ice [Obets; ed: Kaschovia]

The Issue
After a school district in western @@NAME@@ reported twenty centimeters of snow following a monstrous blizzard, students in the region are in uproar as the local education board has set up virtual classes for the kids instead of calling the day off.

The Debate
1. “Oh, this is going to be great!” rejoices Western @@NAME@@ School District Superintendent @@RANDOM_NAME@@ as @@HE@@ barges into your office and kicks off @@HIS@@ snow boots. “With all of these technological advancements, no student will ever need to miss a day of school again! Say your goodbyes to snow days and sick days... heck, we should ban all days off school and require that every district offer accessible online classrooms. “

2. “You can’t do that to us!” objects student rights activist @@RANDOM_NAME@@, standing proud at the front of @@HIS@@ school posse. “You have to understand @@LEADER@@, there’s nothing better than getting that school cancellation email when heavy snow is forecast and our weary bones need a rest from the elements. Just do away with all of this virtual school stuff and let us kids enjoy some time off for once.”

3. “I’m afraid I must agree with the child...” says professional optometrist and personal healthcare expert Dr. @@RANDOM_NAME@@, wiping frost from @@HIS@@ vintage frames. “In fact, we could take it a step further. If we allow these virtual classes, nearsightedness in children will skyrocket, further fuelling the worrying rise in myopia rates across @@NAME@@. What do you expect to happen when people are glued to their screens all day? Not only should we forbid all online classes, we should also put strict regulations on the screen time of children throughout the nation. Twenty-minutes ought to be more than enough!”

*4. “Everyone calm down, I clearly have the best solution,” smirks self-accredited tech-wizard and startup CEO @@RANDOM_NAME@@. “Not only could we have virtual school on snow days, we could have virtual school, like, basically all of the time, you know? With the proprietary software developed in the online education industry, students will be able to work from the comfort of their own homes without ever needing to trek through a blizzard to class again. Furthermore, you should subsidize online teaching platforms like mine and allow students to choose between in person and online attendance. It will cost a lot of money, but, well... we can’t possibly put a price on quality education for the next generation now, can we?” [must have private industry]

At a Socialist nation I did not receive option 4, only the first three. Sadly no replacement there to waste money on socialist education. Oh, and I guess option 4 also requires "must allow internet" for the online education, but I have yet to confirm that.

[Dexterra]

Issue #1628: NEET Freaks?

The Issue

A recent study has found that there are a significant number of young @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ who have withdrawn from society completely. This phenomenon, known overseas as hikikomori, is associated with extreme social isolation and refusal of almost any interaction outside of the internet.

The Debate

1. “There are a lot of reasons why someone could end up friendless and isolated,” pointedly observes psychologist @@RANDOMNAME_1@@, as you recline on @@HIS@@ chaise longue. “These social isolates have a multitude of mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety and internet addiction. These all make it perfectly understandable for them to want to stay at home rather than facing the outside world. A well-funded program of active intervention will solve this issue: regular visits from psychologists, counseling for the whole family and mandatory social activities to get the hikikomori to leave their homes.”

2. “Ten-hut!” screams Drill Sergeant @@RANDOMNAME@@, while barging into the room with a battering ram. “I’ll tell you why these useless little maggots won’t leave their home — their coddling parents enable them! Why would these freaks ever feel the need to leave their house when mummy and daddy provide for their every need? Bah, it disgusts me. Call in the troops to forcibly remove these loners and send them to my boot camp for a week or three. Don’t you worry, we’re going to whip them into shape.”

3. “In the enlightened state of Dàguó, they’ve limited youths to three hours of videogames per week, and only on Fridays and Saturdays,” observes Minister of Youth Maria Poppings, encouraging you to take some time from your office to go fly a kite. “Of course, to enforce such measures we’ll need all games to only be playable whilst online, with mandatory age verification, online activity tracking and a ban on VPNs. We’d better get straight to it, spit spot!”

4. “Hell is other people,” notes Jean-Pascal Montmartre, one of @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME_1@@’s clients who is peering through the space where the door once was. “Throughout your time as leader, have you enjoyed every single interaction with your citizens? I don’t think so. You can probably see why many people don’t want to leave their homes at all. These people are off the streets and stay out of trouble; instead of shaming them we should be lauding their example and encouraging others to do the same. Requiring employers to enable working from home, subsidising delivery services and upgrading internet networks will allow people to live their lives with minimal human contact.”
 
Issue by The Gold and Silver Alloy of Electrum
Edited by Candlewhisper Archive

[Bloody Buttered Blooming Onions]

Hey. Did I finally manage to beat TalAkMaChen for once?

Had to make some hurried adjustments to my issue-formatting code, due to some security-related changes to the issue page's hidden HTML.

#1623 The Woman in the Iron Lung

The Issue

Liara Fitzgerald was given a medical ventilator in place of lungs, a hemodialysis machine in place of kidneys, and an artificial heart, all while suffering from paralysis, amnesia, and a wicked hangnail. Hospital administrators are concerned that this is just one of many cases where these limited resources could've been used to help people more likely to recover to a normal life. Your aides arranged a hospital visit to discuss this matter and score a few brownie points.

The Debate

1. "This one woman — who is barely even alive at this point — is costing @@NAME@@ a fortune," explains Romulus Matsenjwa, the head of the Northwest @@NAME@@ Hospital Fund while reading from a suspiciously ornate clipboard. "Despite her urge to stay alive, we think it's best for everyone if we pull the plug. Yes, it sounds cruel, but the resources would be better spent saving many more lives. Please, let us euthanize patients in conditions like these."

2. "N-nooo...I... grandchildren... nooo..." whimpers the faint old voice of Liara Fitzgerald before she passes out. Her nurse steps in after dispensing some hand sanitizer. "It is her wish to live, and it should be our job to see to it she lives. Are we really putting a price on someone's life? We can reallocate government funds from other departments, especially the military, to take care of our citizens. We need more life and less death."

3. "We wouldn't have this problem if only patients who are willing and able to pay up got treatment," argues a man in a three-piece suit who seems determined to stay as far away from everyone in the room as possible. "We shouldn't babysit those who haven't worked hard enough, or spent all their money on Pear Phones and avocado toast. If they can't afford it, they should have made better decisions when they were healthy. We need to ditch the universal healthcare system and only treat people who can pay. It takes care of our limited resource problem. Win-win."

Issue by Jutsa
Edited by Luna Amore

The draft thread suggests all names are random, although the man in a three-piece suit was changed from the draft and so may not be. (Three-piece suits are usually considered men's fashion, but you never know.) The fields highlighted in red are all refering to the same person.

EDIT: I realized I forgot to mark the gendered word in the title!

Question on this one. When I go to my issues page it is titled "Woman in the Iron Lung". Once I click on issue, it is (renamed!?) to "Man in the Iron Lung" and the subject is indeed specified to be male. Is this a bug or intentional?

[TalAkMaChen]

New issue alert

#1628 NEET Freaks? [Electrum; ed: Candlewhisper Archive]
The Issue
A recent study has found that there are a significant number of young @@DEMONYM_PLURAL@@ who have withdrawn from society completely. This phenomenon, known overseas as hikikomori, is associated with extreme social isolation and refusal of almost any interaction outside of the internet.

The Debate
1. “There are a lot of reasons why someone could end up friendless and isolated,” pointedly observes psychologist @@RANDOM_NAME_1@@, as you recline on @@HIS_1@@ chaise longue. “These social isolates have a multitude of mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety and internet addiction. These all make it perfectly understandable for them to want to stay at home rather than facing the outside world. A well-funded program of active intervention will solve this issue: regular visits from psychologists, counseling for the whole family and mandatory social activities to get the hikikomori to leave their homes.”

2. “Ten-hut!” screams Drill Sergeant @@RANDOM_NAME@@, while barging into the room with a battering ram. “I’ll tell you why these useless little maggots won’t leave their home — their coddling parents enable them! Why would these freaks ever feel the need to leave their house when mummy and daddy provide for their every need? Bah, it disgusts me. Call in the troops to forcibly remove these loners and send them to my boot camp for a week or three. Don’t you worry, we’re going to whip them into shape.”

3. “In the enlightened state of Dàguó, they’ve limited youths to three hours of videogames per week, and only on Fridays and Saturdays,” observes Minister of Youth Maria Poppings, encouraging you to take some time from your office to go fly a kite. “Of course, to enforce such measures we’ll need all games to only be playable whilst online, with mandatory age verification, online activity tracking and a ban on VPNs. We’d better get straight to it, spit spot!”

4. “Hell is other people,” notes Jean-Pascal Montmartre, one of @@RANDOM_LAST_NAME_1@@’s clients who is peering through the space where the door once was. “Throughout your time as leader, have you enjoyed every single interaction with your citizens? I don’t think so. You can probably see why many people don’t want to leave their homes at all. These people are off the streets and stay out of trouble; instead of shaming them we should be lauding their example and encouraging others to do the same. Requiring employers to enable working from home, subsidising delivery services and upgrading internet networks will allow people to live their lives with minimal human contact.”

[Trotterdam]

Question on this one. When I go to my issues page it is titled "Woman in the Iron Lung". Once I click on issue, it is (renamed!?) to "Man in the Iron Lung" and the subject is indeed specified to be male. Is this a bug or intentional?

Known bug. Apparently still hasn't been fixed.

New issue alert

Someone beat you to it for once. Look two posts above.

[Valentine Z]

I'll do an update after 21 May. I currently away without a computer.

Thanks for your understanding! And for your contributions! <3

[Nouveau Yathrib]

New issue alert

#1628 NEET Freaks? [Electrum; ed: Candlewhisper Archive]
The Issue
A recent study has found that there are a significant number of young @@DEMONYM_PLURAL@@ who have withdrawn from society completely. This phenomenon, known overseas as hikikomori, is associated with extreme social isolation and refusal of almost any interaction outside of the internet.

The Debate
1. “There are a lot of reasons why someone could end up friendless and isolated,” pointedly observes psychologist @@RANDOM_NAME_1@@, as you recline on @@HIS_1@@ chaise longue. “These social isolates have a multitude of mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety and internet addiction. These all make it perfectly understandable for them to want to stay at home rather than facing the outside world. A well-funded program of active intervention will solve this issue: regular visits from psychologists, counseling for the whole family and mandatory social activities to get the hikikomori to leave their homes.”

2. “Ten-hut!” screams Drill Sergeant @@RANDOM_NAME@@, while barging into the room with a battering ram. “I’ll tell you why these useless little maggots won’t leave their home — their coddling parents enable them! Why would these freaks ever feel the need to leave their house when mummy and daddy provide for their every need? Bah, it disgusts me. Call in the troops to forcibly remove these loners and send them to my boot camp for a week or three. Don’t you worry, we’re going to whip them into shape.”

3. “In the enlightened state of Dàguó, they’ve limited youths to three hours of videogames per week, and only on Fridays and Saturdays,” observes Minister of Youth Maria Poppings, encouraging you to take some time from your office to go fly a kite. “Of course, to enforce such measures we’ll need all games to only be playable whilst online, with mandatory age verification, online activity tracking and a ban on VPNs. We’d better get straight to it, spit spot!”

4. “Hell is other people,” notes Jean-Pascal Montmartre, one of @@RANDOM_LAST_NAME_1@@’s clients who is peering through the space where the door once was. “Throughout your time as leader, have you enjoyed every single interaction with your citizens? I don’t think so. You can probably see why many people don’t want to leave their homes at all. These people are off the streets and stay out of trouble; instead of shaming them we should be lauding their example and encouraging others to do the same. Requiring employers to enable working from home, subsidising delivery services and upgrading internet networks will allow people to live their lives with minimal human contact.”

Just got this issue on Jamilkhuze, absolutely loved it!