NationStates Issues **SPOILER ALERT**

[Divine Cervine]

Issue #887

Thin Skin

The Issue

Popular fashion magazine Astropolitan has recently been criticized for heavy-handed use of photo-editing software to make their models appear slimmer, smoother-skinned and paler. A riot of fashionistas and equality advocates have sashayed and stumbled into your office to debate the issue.

The Debate

1. “Photograph enhancement is nothing new, darling,” slurs renowned fashion designer Carla Largerfield. “For my clothes to look as gorgeous as possible, we need to make our models look as gorgeous as possible! If that means adjusting them down in post, then that’s what we do. We’re selling a dream of something better, not tawdry reality. What right does the government have to dictate how we edit our magazines? Besides, it’s not like we’re hurting anyone.”



2. “Not hurting anyone, she says! LIES!” screams social worker @@RANDOMNAME@@. “Young girls across @@NAME@@ read her magazines and think they need to conform to the faked physiques they see. Let’s not even talk about the implicit racism in deliberately whitening skin tones! I implore you, make photographic enhancement of models illegal, for the sake of the children!”



3. “Simply banning photo-editing is insufficient,” proclaims plus-sized pop star Megan Plimsoll. “It’s abhorrent that only tall, slim women are considered for modelling jobs when the clothes will be sold to women of all shapes and sizes. I suggest a government mandate declaring that fashion designers must fairly represent women of every size on their catwalks and in their photoshoots. Only then can we start to fight inequality in the fashion industry.”



4. Your Minister for Friendly Solutions, @@RANDOMNAME@@, suggests an alternative solution: “How about instead of setting quotas or inflicting bans, we try and change society. Let art bring forth a candle. A big fat tallow candle. I suggest you tax the fashionistas and use that money to subsidize artists who are making positive depictions of the plus sized: a big-boned bronze statue here, a Rubenesque nude there. Denounce commercial culture, and promote fine art of the fat!”

Issue by The Federation of New Fulford
Edited by Candlewhisper Archive

The name in the first option should not be a random name, it is a reference to Karl Lagerfeld, and I think the name Megan Plimsoll in the third option is referring to Meghan Trainor.

[Fauxia]

886.1- speaker name is random

[Jutsa]

Added and fixed. Thanks.

I'm curious as to what stat, if any, gives your nation a good fashion industry.

[Jutsa]

Huh! Option 4 is, apparently, not a mother-knows-best variant to option 3. Huh!

[Fauxia]

Who knows, I’ll make another Psychotic Dictatorship puppet to try to find it, I’m surprisingly low on those.

[Singapore no2]

Edit: I just realized that no2 is spelled No2 in one of the other issues listed. huh.

I legitimately couldn't remember which was right and found that out.

I almost forgot how to write my own nation name on multiple occasions as well.

Also,

I just remembered today how incredibly unimaginative my nation name is.

It's essentially New Singapore or Neo-Singapore if interpreted literally.

Then, I had a good long look at other nation names, and realised that it was, in fact, one of the most unique names, quite ironically.

Almost no one else would even think of naming their nation after their IRL nation and then awkwardly adding "no2" to the end of that.

At least, this achieves my intended goal, which was to give tiny Singapore some semblance of recognition on this website.

Okay, my tedious explanation is over.

[Jutsa]

My nation was really just my normal user (Jutomi) with omi cut out (Jut, sometimes called that) and sa added to make it more nationy.

Turns out there's a Jutland irl, so I fortunately didn't pick that.

[Singapore no2]

My nation was really just my normal user (Jutomi) with omi cut out (Jut, sometimes called that) and sa added to make it more nationy.

Turns out there's a Jutland irl, so I fortunately didn't pick that.

That's actually quite interesting.

Does anyone else want to share their nation creation thought procession?

[Trotterdam]

I'm curious as to what stat, if any, gives your nation a good fashion industry.

I think it counts under Retail.

Huh! Option 4 is, apparently, not a mother-knows-best variant to option 3. Huh!

How did you discover that? Did you actually find it, or did you fail to get it on a nation that's a matriarchy and draw conclusions from that?

Does anyone else want to share their nation creation thought procession?

Mine's a pun that should hopefully be obvious. (It's traditional in our culture.)

[Jutsa]

Yeah, I got option 3 as a queendom. Granted, it wasn't a matriarchy, which I almost chose,
but I suspect it wouldn't really matter that much.

[Asian-Nation]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#889: A Plank Too Far [Singapore No2; ed: Candlewhisper Archive]

The Issue
A diplomatic crisis erupted recently after particularly bloodthirsty @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ pirates made the entire crew of a captured Macronesian oil tanker walk the plank. Following the incident, Macronesian authorities have declared that they will sink any @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ vessel that enters their waters until the pirate attacks stop.

The Debate
1. “These allegations be scurvy hogwash!” claims @@RANDOMNAME@@, the pirate quartermaster, wearing a purely decorative eyepatch. “We ran a shot across the bow, but them scallywags aboard the galleon decided to run a rig and fight back, forcing us to give them no quarter. Word has it that the Macronesian navy has assembled themselves a massive armada, and they be wishing to blow our binnacles to the poop deck. Our cannon and cutlasses are no match for their cruise missiles, so we would be thankful if ye could give us more advanced weaponry to stand a chance against these landlubbers. Arrrrr...”

2. “We’d like to see those rapscallions try,” challenges @@RANDOMNAME@@, the Defence Minister of Macronesia, while hoisting the national flag upside-down to signify a state of war. “These cowardly sea barbarians have attacked our defenceless merchant vessels for long enough. Their home ports are in Asian-Nation, so you have a moral responsibility to contribute to military efforts to eliminate them, and should pay Macronesia reparations for the harm done to us by @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ nationals. Never forget that Macronesia rules the waves, and that those who oppose us will meet watery graves!”

3. “We might have to compromise a little to stay in business,” concedes @@RANDOMNAME@@, the self-proclaimed ‘Admiral of the Black’, whose operations haven’t been in the black for years. “We should avoid plundering ships from nations with large navies like Macronesia; we don’t want to be bilged on our own anchor after all. However, many other nations - such as Moltovea - lack a proper navy and are easy pickings. You should enforce a rule that prohibits the pillaging of vessels from countries with naval superiority. Just list the nations that have less seapower than us, and we’ll make sure you get your share of the spoils.”

[Jutsa]

Jeez, 889?!? You editors are really on a roll, this month! o_o

I just got 887, and I also recall I also got the fashion industry banner, even though my nation's got almost no retail.

Could it, instead, be tied with culture?

Edit: Updated! Thanks. :3c

Edit2: Updated the list of nations. Congratulations on Singapore no2, for both the new issue and getting those two in another issue.

Many thanks, Asian-Nation.

Heads up: We still need #879. That issue must have be kinda niche...

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Looks like 879's validity was miscoded, so nobody was getting it.

Fixed now, but its still pretty niche. 6% validity!

[Fauxia]

Looks like 879's validity was miscoded, so nobody was getting it.

Fixed now, but its still pretty niche. 6% validity!

Wow

[Singapore no2]

Edit2: Updated the list of nations. Congratulations on Singapore no2, for both the new issue and getting those two in another issue.

They are now canon! =D

[Trotterdam]

#891 Preach It!

The Issue

Street preachers delivering their sermons and self-proclaimed salvation have been popping up all over @@NAME@@.

The Debate

1. "These people chase all of my customers away!" exclaims restaurateur @@RANDOMNAME@@. "I own a premier establishment in downtown @@CAPITAL@@. Every day I lose more and more business thanks to these crazy bigots and extremists rambling on about the 'end times' and 'confessing our sins'! One of them tried to convert my cook! For the sake of every business owner in the nation, you must ban street preaching."

2. "What about my right to speak the truth?" questions @@RANDOMNAME@@, who often holds impromptu 'sermons' outside of government buildings. "As opposed to popular belief, I do not preach hate. I am the deliverer of salvation and you shall not interfere! All @@DEMONYMNOUNPLURAL@@ are equal before our Creator and will be judged irrespective of wealth or status! Follow me and together we will be prepared to face the end days to come!"

3. "There is a better way to go about this," suggests @@RANDOMNAME@@, your Minister of Compromises. "The most common complaints against street preaching are on the grounds of harassment and noise pollution. I say the most logical approach is to administer permits to those who wish to speak on public property, with a police presence to make sure they don't cause any trouble. That's fair, right?"

Issue by Glacikaldr
Edited by Nation of Quebec

I just got 887, and I also recall I also got the fashion industry banner, even though my nation's got almost no retail.

Could it, instead, be tied with culture?

Why assume that it has any validity at all? Pretty much any nation would have at least some fashion magazines, even if they're not wildly popular, and the people complaining about them are likely to not even be the people who obsessively read them anyway.

Heads up: We still need #879. That issue must have be kinda niche...

Like I said before, it seems to be about sex education and/or teen pregnancy, but I'm not sure which, or whether the validity requires you to already be supporting or not supporting either of those. Its apparent infrequency suggests that it may be for nations with unconventional policies in those areas, but we might just be unlucky.

#888 might be something about graffiti, or maybe knitting? No, I don't understand why people would put cardigans on road signs either.

#890 is about electronics, possibly with an emphasis on mobile phones. (Or now it looks like it might be something about energy storage? Might actually be two electronics issues.)

Looks like 879's validity was miscoded, so nobody was getting it.

Wait, what? Absolutely nobody? Then what's the issue that my notes clearly show was added between #878 and #880 and that some people (even if not that many) have in fact been getting?

[Blargoblarg]

I've given up trying to get the macros right

#890 Mining Blues

The Issue

An international human rights organisation is petitioning for the regulation of electronics manufacturer’s sourcing of cobalt - a ferromagnetic metal is used in many high-tech devices. Their net-distributed PSA video (entitled “A Blue Movie” for maximum hits) shows troubling images of mines in undeveloped nations with poor human rights records, even child labourers working in heart-breaking conditions.

The Debate

1. “Trendy smartphones come with a human cost that most are unaware of,” tweets activist Ruby Coulson. “The state should be providing documentation proving ethical supply chain. International aid to help protect exploited workers wouldn’t go amiss either. #bigtopianblues”

2. “You’ve got to move with the times!” declares State Technology Director Amanda Kiefaber, trying to sort her overhead projector acetates into the right order for her presentation. “Absolutely zero Blargoblarger children were harmed in the making of this product! Since when have you been responsible for the labour standards of other nations? Crazy legislation is just going to add to the cost of production, and that’ll mean a less efficient economy, right here in Blargoblarg. Instead, announce that you’ll trust my department to internally review our processes, and we’ll do right by the national balance sheet and by our country.”

3.“You know we’ve got a lot of heavy metal here in Blargoblarg?” asks Environment Minister Dick Rivera. “No, I’m not talking about that awful guitar-and-drums noise pollution that angry teenage boys call music. I’m talking about all that cobalt, cadmium and so on all locked up inside used batteries and old electronics. Institute mandatory recycling of said items along with simultaneous tariffs on heavy metals from non-recycled sources. It’s the greenest solution.”

4.“Perhaps if we weren’t always throwing away old electronics in the first place, this wouldn’t be a problem,” says cabin-dwelling woodcutter Kathryn Zoidberg, proudly showing you her Blokia 3310 cellphone from thirty years ago. “Here’s a solution that will cost you nothing: artificially force the prices up on new electronic technology with sales tax, so that people don’t see them as disposable items anymore, and stuff will be made and bought to last.”

Issue by The Peripatetic Panopticon of Candlewhisper Archive
Edited by Candlewhisper Archive

[Jutsa]

Wait, what? Absolutely nobody? Then what's the issue that my notes clearly show was added between #878 and #880 and that some people (even if not that many) have in fact been getting?

Think 747's out?

Congratulations to Glacikaldr for their first accepted issue (on that account, at east (in our records, at least))!

I'm a little surprised CWA didn't have an option to allow for children mining in your own nation.
(Or, maybe he did, but it's only seen by nations with a mining industry... may want to investigate that a bit)

Updated!

[Glacikaldr]

Thank you very much! It was my first issue, yeah.

[Thalasse]

Issue 892: The Old Metric

The Issue
Switching over to the metric system has certainly benefited your scientists and other such intellectuals. The common populace, however, is expressing a measure of doubt.

The Debate
1. “It’s such a headache!” complains celebrity chef Zack Fils-Aimé, brandishing a sauce-covered calculator. “I’d need to be an accountant to convert all my old recipes, and how do you expect me to quickly know how much broth I need when the measurement isn’t straight from the box itself? If the scientific folk want to use the metric system, let them, but don’t expect the common man to suffer for them!”

2. “If it apparently takes so much time to do unit conversions, this is clearly an educational issue,” states math teacher Colin McAlpin, while snatching the calculator from Zack and delicately cleaning it. “With some more funding for mandatory after-school mathematics academies, our next generations will be able to calculate between any measurement system at lightning speed!” He delicately places the calculator on your desk. “Why, we may not even have a need for this soon enough.”

3. “They don’t want to comply?” questions gruff researcher Dr. Jazz Snyder, who’s known to be a bit of a loose-cannon, but a damn good scientist. “It’s not that hard to use the metric system! I say, if we find these perps with even a centigram of paper with the old measurement system on it we force them to convert it on the spot. If they refuse, lock them up and throw away the key.”

Issue by The Two-City Republic of Shwe Tu Colony

Edited by Ransium

[Australian rePublic]

Mining Blues

The Issue

An international human rights organisation is petitioning for the regulation of electronics manufacturer’s sourcing of cobalt - a ferromagnetic metal is used in many high-tech devices. Their net-distributed PSA video (entitled “A Blue Movie” for maximum hits) shows troubling images of mines in undeveloped nations with poor human rights records, even child labourers working in heart-breaking conditions.

The Debate

“Trendy smartphones come with a human cost that most are unaware of,” tweets activist Oswald Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff. “Corporations should be providing documentation proving ethical supply chain. International aid to help protect exploited workers wouldn’t go amiss either. #bigtopianblues”

Accept

“You’ve got to move with the times!” declares Fones4Them spokesperson Velma Dunn, trying to sort her overhead projector acetates into the right order for her presentation. “Absolutely zero Australian children were harmed in the making of this product! Since when have you been responsible for the labour standards of other nations? Crazy legislation is just going to add to the cost of production, and that’ll mean price hikes and lost jobs, right here in Australian rePublic. Instead, announce that you’ll trust the industry to self-regulate, and we’ll do right by the economy and by our shareholders.”

Accept

“You know we’ve got a lot of heavy metal here in Australian rePublic?” asks Environment Minister Charlotte Little. “No, I’m not talking about that awful guitar-and-drums noise pollution that angry teenage boys call music. I’m talking about all that cobalt, cadmium and so on all locked up inside used batteries and old electronics. Institute mandatory recycling of said items along with simultaneous tariffs on heavy metals from non-recycled sources. It’s the greenest solution.”

Accept

“Perhaps if we weren’t always throwing away old electronics in the first place, this wouldn’t be a problem,” says cabin-dwelling woodcutter Hamlet Serling, proudly showing you his Blokia 3310 cellphone from thirty years ago. “Here’s a solution that will cost you nothing: artificially force the prices up on new electronic technology with sales tax, so that people don’t see them as disposable items anymore, and stuff will be made and bought to last.”

Accept

Dismiss This Issue

Issue by The Peripatetic Panopticon of Candlewhisper Archive

Edited by Candlewhisper Archiv

[Jutsa]

Neither of you really seem to have a mining industry... perhaps another option will pop up for those with it.
Thanks anyways, Aussie.

Congratulations to Shwe Tu Colony for the successful reversal issue to the metric system!

Updating now.

Edit: Also what's with all of the really short issue titles?

Edit2: Hey, did you know that there've been 14 new issues in the past week? That's about 2 issues a day!

If it were always like that, we'd have about 730 issues in a year.

[The Candy Of Bottles]

#888- Criminal Patterns

The Issue
Led by a club of grandmothers known as the Naughty Knitters, a new street art sensation has begun spreading across the cities of @@NAME@@. Called “yarn bombing” by those who partake in it, avid knitters don twee knitted balaclavas and take to the streets at night - covering lampposts, railings, and on one occasion, a parked vehicle with colorful knitted patterns.

The Debate
“We certainly don’t mean any harm, pet,” exclaims Gertie Snyder, ringleader of the Naughty Knitters, as she takes your measurements. “We’re just trying to brighten up people’s lives and bring a little cheer! You should be helping us, not punishing us. How about using some of those taxes we’ve all been paying to fund arts and crafts for everyone? My grandkids just love making finger puppets! Now, what color did you want that sweater, dear? I’ve got a nice lilac yarn here somewhere...”

Accept

“Street “art” is just a nice way to say anti-social littering in my book,” grunts city mayor Waldo Bone, sporting a well-tailored hypoallergenic suit. “The graffiti is bad enough, but I’ve got people tripping up over strands of yarn all the way down the high street! We should arrest these grandmothers for making our streets such a mess.”

Accept

“Arresting a few old ladies isn’t going far enough!” cries your Minister of Urban Planning, angrily brushing off some stray rainbow yarn from the sleeve of his coat. “We have to ban all so-called ‘public artwork’ in order to keep things looking respectable. Furthermore, we should enforce strict regulations on the supply of knitting yarn, painting supplies, and do-it-yourself peg dolly kits, to ensure that such supplies are only available to truly artistically talented citizens of @@NAME@@.”

Accept

Dismiss This Issue

Issue by The Queendom of Annopolis

Edited by Caracasus

No gaps at the source, names are untouched.

[Trotterdam]

The names I got in #887 were Carla Largerfield, Ariel Goff, Megan Plimsoll, and Elmo Montgomery, confirming at least some are nonrandom. The underlined parts indicate a probable reason for this.

By the way, I'm pretty sure we already have #893, too!

Also, I just saw that the last option of #892 has two variants depending on whether your nation has jails. Don't ban jails, the effect line for the version with them is funnier

[Ransium]

The names I got in #887 were Carla Largerfield, Ariel Goff, Megan Plimsoll, and Elmo Montgomery, confirming at least some are nonrandom. The underlined parts indicate a probable reason for this.

By the way, I'm pretty sure we already have #893, too!

Also, I just saw that the last option of #892 has two variants depending on whether your nation has jails. Don't ban jails, the effect line for the version with them is funnier

I hate it when policies walk on my jokes.