NationStates Issues **SPOILER ALERT**

[Xynlandia]

The Issue

The popular radio host, Alexandra Lukin, Marche Noire immigrant and vocal critic of the country she fled, was found sprawled across the sundial of XXXX Park at noon, dead as a South Xynlandian Dodo. Advisors have gathered in the shadowy recesses of your office, wondering what to tell the South Pacific’s waiting press.

The Debate

1. “Marche Noire did this,” grunts Rosalina Dvořák, your implacable Minister of International Relations, wearing a hole in your carpet as she paces in her Army-surplus boots. “Ms. Lukin was a respected resident of our country, and they killed her. Well, I say we show those Marche Noirian mouth-breathers that they can’t treat our household names this way. I say we hit them with a trade embargo. Kill any deal with Marche Noire. Xynlandia doesn’t want pretty wooden knickknacks, lobster, and truffles from murderers.”

2. “Let’s not be excessive,” chuckles Agatha Long, Minister of Cover-Ups and International Trade, who coincidentally part-owns an authentic Marche Noirian restaurant. “Some random guy, for the sake of trade, you must ignore this little protocol slippage. Take away Marche Noire mountain truffles shaved over a Marche Bay lobster linguini and served in a hand-carved hickory bowl and the Eternal Misfortune will riot. Perhaps it was an accident? Ms. Lukin slipped on an abandoned banana skin, fell back and landed on the knife in her own pocket. Trying to stand, she alas fell onto her knife a further forty-one times.” She jams a truffle between your lips.

3. “Some random guy,” whispers Declan Sharp, Head of Secret Service, “no-one’s suggesting we let Marche Noire get away with murder. But it occurs to me that we have a one-off opportunity to strike at one of the thorns in our own rump. Consider Dan Couch, Xynlandia’s most troublesome emigrant and muck-raking filmmaker, who has stirred anti-Xynlandian sentiment with his films Bread and Circuses and The Storm that Shakes the Amaranth. He’s hiding over in Marche Noire, making his incendiary drivel. My operatives can go and...” he slashes his finger across his throat.

4. “You’re really overthinking how Ms. Lukin came to be stabbed forty-two times.” Jyn Barrow clucks her tongue, while corking the barrels of your guards’ guns. “It happened because someone had a knife. Why did someone have a knife? Because people sell knives. Do you see where I’m going? Ban knives, and your whole problem goes away.” Ruminating, she tosses a precariously-hanging Picasso into the bin and replaces it with a poster reading Safety is Fun. “Best ban forks, too. Someone will put an eye out one day.”

Issue by The Theocracy of The Free Joy State

Edited by The Free Joy State

[Tinhampton]

Break out the champagne, Issuesland! We have a second new issue today!

Issue #685: Externalities Palmed Off

The Issue
A sunny neighbouring nation with a developing economy has been burn-clearing large swathes of rainforest to gain land for palm tree plantations. Weather conditions have carried the thick pall of smoke from the burning across a narrow sea strait, and into Tinhampton.

The Debate

1. “The smog is affecting the young, the elderly, and the sick,” notes your Minister of Civic Welfare, as she holds a rose-scented handkerchief over her nose and mouth. “We have to send a strongly-worded letter to their government to request that they do something to stop the parties responsible, if they’d be so kind. I’m sure that with their own citizens being affected, and with us pointing out the ecological damage they’re doing, they’ll take everything into consideration and choose to be reasonable.”
2. “They aren’t going to respond to that! They don’t care if their own citizens drop dead in the fields, they’re cynical profiteers who only care about the bottom line!” fumes Lars Mulcair, the Minister of Trade and Industry. “Let’s embargo all their palm oil products and encourage all our allies and major trade partners to do the same. That’ll teach them!”
3. “Teach them what? That we care about abstract concepts like ‘diplomacy’ and ‘dialogue’?” rebukes Rosita Tano, a hawkish Air Force Commander, pounding her fist into her open hand for emphasis. “It’s clear that they won’t fold easily when there’s so much profit at stake, but if we bomb the government, whoever is still left will accede to any of our demands.”
4. “And what will that achieve? Decades in a never-ending war, that’s what!” mocks Alexandra Cartman, a slightly deranged scientist, who is staring intently at a snowglobe. “Instead, let’s build a protective acrylic-glass dome over every city, and connect them via enclosed tubes. We won’t have to care about the haze, difficult neighbours, or even climate change ever again!”

Issue by The UM Parliamentary Republic of Singapore no2
Edited by Candlewhisper Archive

[Singapore no2]

Break out the champagne, Issuesland! We have a second new issue today!

Issue #685: Externalities Palmed Off

The Issue
A sunny neighbouring nation with a developing economy has been burn-clearing large swathes of rainforest to gain land for palm tree plantations. Weather conditions have carried the thick pall of smoke from the burning across a narrow sea strait, and into Tinhampton.

The Debate

1. “The smog is affecting the young, the elderly, and the sick,” notes your Minister of Civic Welfare, as she holds a rose-scented handkerchief over her nose and mouth. “We have to send a strongly-worded letter to their government to request that they do something to stop the parties responsible, if they’d be so kind. I’m sure that with their own citizens being affected, and with us pointing out the ecological damage they’re doing, they’ll take everything into consideration and choose to be reasonable.”
2. “They aren’t going to respond to that! They don’t care if their own citizens drop dead in the fields, they’re cynical profiteers who only care about the bottom line!” fumes Lars Mulcair, the Minister of Trade and Industry. “Let’s embargo all their palm oil products and encourage all our allies and major trade partners to do the same. That’ll teach them!”
3. “Teach them what? That we care about abstract concepts like ‘diplomacy’ and ‘dialogue’?” rebukes Rosita Tano, a hawkish Air Force Commander, pounding her fist into her open hand for emphasis. “It’s clear that they won’t fold easily when there’s so much profit at stake, but if we bomb the government, whoever is still left will accede to any of our demands.”
4. “And what will that achieve? Decades in a never-ending war, that’s what!” mocks Alexandra Cartman, a slightly deranged scientist, who is staring intently at a snowglobe. “Instead, let’s build a protective acrylic-glass dome over every city, and connect them via enclosed tubes. We won’t have to care about the haze, difficult neighbours, or even climate change ever again!”

Issue by The UM Parliamentary Republic of Singapore no2
Edited by Candlewhisper Archive

Options 3 and 4 use @@RANDOMNAME@@.

[North Isseggggnignigsegigisegggg Islands]

The Issue

The popular radio host, Alexanda Lukin, Marche Noire immigrant and vocal critic of the country she fled, was found sprawled across the sundial of @@CAPITAL@@ Park at noon, dead as a South @@DEMONYM@@ Dodo. Advisors have gathered in the shadowy recesses of your office, wondering what to tell @@REGION@@’s waiting press.
The Debate

“Marche Noire did this,” grunts @@RANDOMNAME@@, your implacable Minister of International Relations, wearing a hole in your carpet as @@HE@@ paces in @@HIS@@ Army-surplus boots. “Ms. Lukin was a respected resident of our country, and they killed her. Well, I say we show those Marche Noirian mouth-breathers that they can’t treat our household names this way. I say we hit them with a trade embargo. Kill any deal with Marche Noire. @@NAME@@ doesn’t want pretty wooden knickknacks, lobster, and truffles from murderers.”

“Let’s not be excessive,” chuckles @@RANDOMFEMALENAME@@, Minister of Cover-Ups and International Trade, who coincidentally part-owns an authentic Marche Noirian restaurant. “@@LEADER@@, for the sake of trade, you must ignore this little protocol slippage. Take away Marche Noire mountain truffles shaved over a Marche Bay lobster linguini and served in a hand-carved hickory bowl and the @@TYPE@@ will riot. Perhaps it was an accident? Ms. Lukin slipped on an abandoned banana skin, fell back and landed on the knife in her own pocket. Trying to stand, she alas fell onto her knife a further forty-one times.” She jams a truffle between your lips.

“@@LEADER@@,” whispers @@RANDOMNAME@@, Head of Secret Service, “no-one’s suggesting we let Marche Noire get away with murder. But it occurs to me that we have a one-off opportunity to strike at one of the thorns in our own rump. Consider Dan Couch, @@NAME@@’s most troublesome emigrant and muck-raking filmmaker, who has stirred anti-@@DEMONYM@@ sentiment with his films Bread and Circuses and The Storm that Shakes the Amaranth. He’s hiding over in Marche Noire, making his incendiary drivel. My operatives can go and...” @@HE@@ slashes @@HIS@@ finger across @@HIS@@ throat.

“You’re really overthinking how Ms. Lukin came to be stabbed forty-two times.” @@RANDOMNAME@@ clucks @@HIS@@ tongue, while corking the barrels of your guards’ guns. “It happened because someone had a knife. Why did someone have a knife? Because people sell knives. Do you see where I’m going? Ban knives, and your whole problem goes away.” Ruminating, @@HE@@ tosses a precariously-hanging Picasso into the bin and replaces it with a poster reading Safety is Fun. “Best ban forks, too. Someone will put an eye out one day.”

[Tinhampton]

snip

Alexandra Lukin is a fixed name. Each of the names in the four options are fixed.

[North Isseggggnignigsegigisegggg Islands]

snip

Alexandra Lukin is a fixed name. Each of the names in the four options are fixed.

OK, I've changed it. Thank you.

[Australian rePublic]

I know thqt the list hasn't been updated, but which issue has been reported up to? So that I know whether or not to post new issues

[Tinhampton]

I know thqt the list hasn't been updated, but which issue has been reported up to? So that I know whether or not to post new issues

Issue #685 "Externalities Palmed Off" was the latest published issue to be reported here.

[The Free Joy State]

snip

Alexandra Lukin is a fixed name. Each of the names in the four options are fixed.

I wrote and edited Murder Most Deniable. Alexandra Lukin and Dan Couch are fixed names. All other names are random.

[Blargoblarg]

Issue 687: Marriage By Proxy Server

The Issue
After an online petition that would allow people to legally be married over the internet reached over one million signatures last night, you awake to find your inbox inundated with emails and a crowd of petitioners waiting inside your office, all demanding you take action.

The Debate
1. “The internet is the only social life some of us have!” insists petitioner Mark Sulu, whose MyFace profile says he is 6 feet tall, good-looking, and a popular country singer. “If I meet the love of my life online, we should be able to get married. It’s not fair that I have to be single my entire life just because my soulmate lives on the other side of the country and my mother won’t give me the money for a bus ticket.”

2. “Oh, that’s a terrible idea!” chides your nettling aunt. “You have to be careful on the internet. You never know if the people you’re talking to really are who they say they are. Why just the other day, I was being courted by this youthful hunk of a gentleman on MatchMakers. But, when we finally met in person, the scoundrel was as old and flabby as me! It just goes to show that somethings like dating and marriage should only be done offline and in person.”

3. “Preposterous, who wants a human husband or wife anyway? All they do is nag, lounge about, and lie all the time,” rebuffs IT specialist Trinity Tron from under your desk, as she upgrades your Wi-Fi router. “What we really need are artificial mates who truly understand us and can fulfill our every want and desire. You should just transfer funds from all those worthless welfare programs and into the tech industry so we can finally have the perfectly programmed partners we deserve.”

4. “Well, pin my tail and call me a donkey. Y’all need to get out more,” cracks redneck plumber Larry Kableman from your private bathroom as he snakes a drain. “It ain’t healthy to be spendin’ all that time on the ‘puter. You oughta just disconnect the whole gosh-darn internet so all these idjits can get a real job like plumbin’.”

Not sure if any of the names are randomnames or not.

[The 19th Century]

Issue 687: Marriage By Proxy Server

The Issue
After an online petition that would allow people to legally be married over the internet reached over one million signatures last night, you awake to find your inbox inundated with emails and a crowd of petitioners waiting inside your office, all demanding you take action.

The Debate
1. “The internet is the only social life some of us have!” insists petitioner Mark Sulu, whose MyFace profile says he is 6 feet tall, good-looking, and a popular country singer. “If I meet the love of my life online, we should be able to get married. It’s not fair that I have to be single my entire life just because my soulmate lives on the other side of the country and my mother won’t give me the money for a bus ticket.”

2. “Oh, that’s a terrible idea!” chides your nettling aunt. “You have to be careful on the internet. You never know if the people you’re talking to really are who they say they are. Why just the other day, I was being courted by this youthful hunk of a gentleman on MatchMakers. But, when we finally met in person, the scoundrel was as old and flabby as me! It just goes to show that somethings like dating and marriage should only be done offline and in person.”

3. “Preposterous, who wants a human husband or wife anyway? All they do is nag, lounge about, and lie all the time,” rebuffs IT specialist Trinity Tron from under your desk, as she upgrades your Wi-Fi router. “What we really need are artificial mates who truly understand us and can fulfill our every want and desire. You should just transfer funds from all those worthless welfare programs and into the tech industry so we can finally have the perfectly programmed partners we deserve.”

4. “Well, pin my tail and call me a donkey. Y’all need to get out more,” cracks redneck plumber Larry Kableman from your private bathroom as he snakes a drain. “It ain’t healthy to be spendin’ all that time on the ‘puter. You oughta just disconnect the whole gosh-darn internet so all these idjits can get a real job like plumbin’.”

Not sure if any of the names are randomnames or not.

Oh, you ninja'd me.

Today, the 19th Century had 6 issues and internet access!

For comparison:

“The internet is the only social life some of us have!” insists petitioner Ming Garrison, whose MyFace profile says he is 6 feet tall, good-looking, and a popular country singer. “If I meet the love of my life online, we should be able to get married. It’s not fair that I have to be single my entire life just because my soulmate lives on the other side of the country and my mother won’t give me the money for a bus ticket.”

“Oh, that’s a terrible idea!” chides your nettling aunt. “You have to be careful on the internet. You never know if the people you’re talking to really are who they say they are. Why just the other day, I was being courted by this youthful hunk of a gentleman on MatchMakers. But, when we finally met in person, the scoundrel was as old and flabby as me! It just goes to show that somethings like dating and marriage should only be done offline and in person.”

“Preposterous, who wants a human husband or wife anyway? All they do is nag, lounge about, and lie all the time,” rebuffs IT specialist Trinity Tron from under your desk, as she upgrades your Wi-Fi router. “What we really need are artificial mates who truly understand us and can fulfill our every want and desire. You should just transfer funds from all those worthless welfare programs and into the tech industry so we can finally have the perfectly programmed partners we deserve.”

“Well, pin my tail and call me a donkey. Y’all need to get out more,” cracks redneck plumber Larry Kableman from your private bathroom as he snakes a drain. “It ain’t healthy to be spendin’ all that time on the ‘puter. You oughta just disconnect the whole gosh-darn internet so all these idjits can get a real job like plumbin’.”

So the name in the first option is randomized.

[Drasnia]

author and editor?

[The 19th Century]

author and editor?

Me and Wyethalania.

[North Isseggggnignigsegigisegggg Islands]

Alexandra Lukin is a fixed name. Each of the names in the four options are fixed.

I wrote and edited Murder Most Deniable. Alexandra Lukin and Dan Couch are fixed names. All other names are random.

OK, thank you. I've fixed my comment.

[The Free Joy State]

I wrote and edited Murder Most Deniable. Alexandra Lukin and Dan Couch are fixed names. All other names are random.

OK, thank you. I've fixed my comment.

You're welcome.

I should probably mention that @@RANDOMNAME@@ #1,#3 and #4 don't have any gender. But you're right: #2 is @@RANDOMFEMALENAME@@.

[New Islet]

Issue #686: Freemium Isn’t Free

The Issue
Popular mobile game “Super Epic Mega Tap-Tap Fantasy” reported profits in excess of one billion units in the last financial year. While some of your advisors are delighted at the stream of taxable income, others consider spending in mobile games to have reached excessive levels.

The Debate

1. “This kind of marketing scheme should be illegal,” declares activist Naomi Wickwire, pausing a game of open-source Pong. “Emphasizing spending for virtual items with no real-world purpose serves only to trick people who cannot help themselves and to fatten the developers’ wallets! Children who don’t know how hard their mommies and daddies work for their units are learning that paying everything for nothing is okay! Do you want to have to explain why the next generation is full of gamblers?”
2. “Illegal? A generation of gamblers? What exaggerations,” scoffs Norta Scamm, CEO of Extreme Colossal Fantasy Inc. “Supporting these ‘activists’ would itself be preposterous! We have the right to cater to our fans, and if some people don’t like our game, they can just not play it and keep their mouths shut around those who do! I worked hard to get my managers to make our developers make this game, and I, er, my company deserves to be able to earn money for its work!”
3. “Have you ever asked any of us what we think?” challenges self-confessed “completionist” Wally Doolittle, scanning your office for the best signal. “We have spent thousands, some of us millions, on these games. It’s not a matter of gambling, but an actual mental health disorder! We need to raise awareness for these addictions, and companies that condone this ‘whaling’ can pay for our rehabilitation!”
4. “Y’all see, this is why we don’t need no fancy app-lik-ay-shuns,” rails Bongani Lennon, occupying your lawn and shooing passersby off it. “Back’n my day, we worked sun up til sun down on our pa’s farms, an’ if we had any time to spare it was playin’ cards with friends at the pub! No fancy veer-chew-al items an’ games, just good old paper cards and shiny, round units! What y’all need ta do is get rid o’ these fancy-shmancy eye-phones and get back to what our country was founded on!”

Issue by Asura manga
Edited by Zwangzug

[Tinhampton]

I'm on a roll today. This is the SECOND new issue I've spotted in the past four hours! Congratulations to Liberamare, who's got an issue accepted despite having a population of only 457 million.

Issue #688: You Don’t Have To Be Mad To Kill People... But It Helps

The Issue
Tinhampton was in shock after a recent mass murder, and shocked again when the suspect pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, after a privately employed psychiatrist convinced the courts that he had no ability to tell right from wrong. Tinhamptonians are deeply divided over the notion of insanity pleas, and many angry citizens are demanding that you step in.

The Debate

1. “The only thing that’s insane is that you’re actually considering allowing this!” cries a parent of one of the victims of the attack. “Whether or not this man is insane doesn’t change the fact that my son is gone! This... murderer could have easily accessed psychiatric help and must take responsibility for his actions. He should face a proper jail sentence in a proper jail. All these insanity pleas do is give criminals an opportunity to abuse the system. We must show the scum of Tinhampton that they can’t hide behind so-called ‘pleas’! Justice must prevail!”
2. “Actually, it is very difficult for the mentally ill to get the help they need in Tinhampton,” reminds the suspect’s attorney after receiving a death glare from the parent. “It is not their fault that they’re suffering and any psychiatrist worth their degree would agree that many don’t have the mental capacity to determine right from wrong. We should be sending these people to mental institutions where they can be healed, not overcrowded prisons!”
3. “The solution to everything is a compromise,” declares one of your staffers, who claims that working for you has caused him to go insane. “Require everyone accused of a crime to go through vigorous mental health testing to see if they are insane or not. This way, experts decide whether or not someone is insane at the beginning of a trial, leaving little room for errors.”

Issue by The Democratic States of Liberamare
Edited by Nation of Quebec

[Nouveau Yathrib]

Break out the champagne, Issuesland! We have a second new issue today!

Issue #685: Externalities Palmed Off

The Issue
A sunny neighbouring nation with a developing economy has been burn-clearing large swathes of rainforest to gain land for palm tree plantations. Weather conditions have carried the thick pall of smoke from the burning across a narrow sea strait, and into Tinhampton.

The Debate

1. “The smog is affecting the young, the elderly, and the sick,” notes your Minister of Civic Welfare, as she holds a rose-scented handkerchief over her nose and mouth. “We have to send a strongly-worded letter to their government to request that they do something to stop the parties responsible, if they’d be so kind. I’m sure that with their own citizens being affected, and with us pointing out the ecological damage they’re doing, they’ll take everything into consideration and choose to be reasonable.”
2. “They aren’t going to respond to that! They don’t care if their own citizens drop dead in the fields, they’re cynical profiteers who only care about the bottom line!” fumes Lars Mulcair, the Minister of Trade and Industry. “Let’s embargo all their palm oil products and encourage all our allies and major trade partners to do the same. That’ll teach them!”
3. “Teach them what? That we care about abstract concepts like ‘diplomacy’ and ‘dialogue’?” rebukes Rosita Tano, a hawkish Air Force Commander, pounding her fist into her open hand for emphasis. “It’s clear that they won’t fold easily when there’s so much profit at stake, but if we bomb the government, whoever is still left will accede to any of our demands.”
4. “And what will that achieve? Decades in a never-ending war, that’s what!” mocks Alexandra Cartman, a slightly deranged scientist, who is staring intently at a snowglobe. “Instead, let’s build a protective acrylic-glass dome over every city, and connect them via enclosed tubes. We won’t have to care about the haze, difficult neighbours, or even climate change ever again!”

Issue by The UM Parliamentary Republic of Singapore no2
Edited by Candlewhisper Archive

Options 3 and 4 use @@RANDOMNAME@@.

I think this is the first uniquely Third World issue on NS

[Barbarossistan]

and the issues march on, #689:

A Sticky Situation

The Issue

While lounging on a curiously sticky bench in Martinopolis, you begin to notice that almost every passer-by seems to be mysteriously stuck to the pavement. Upon closer inspection, you realise that the ground is covered in chewing gum, which has in turn caused the unfortunate - and admittedly amusing - predicament that the pedestrians have now found themselves in. You are soon approached by a colorful mob of people, the majority of which are barely able to lift their own legs.
The Debate

“Every time I go on a run, I always find at least one piece of gum on my shoe!” screeches Peggy Holst, whilst furiously picking herself up off the ground. “I always end up stepping in the stuff, and it’s always a pain to get off. Gum is a health hazard, and it should be banned before anyone else finds themselves chewing the pavement! If somebody has a problem with that, then they can just find something else to gnaw on.”

“Don’t listen to that gum-hating buffoon,” exclaims the CEO of Suborbit Gum, Minté Breff, while chewing loudly. “Banning gum will cause a tremendous uproar of unnecessary proportions! Gum can help people study and concentrate, all whilst they taste our selection of great flavours; something that the government would surely support and even subsidise! You can have my gum when you pry it out of my cold, dead mouth.”

“Why not look for a different solution?” asks Xanatos Perez, as he helps his son clean gum from his shoes. “How about we place more trashcans? Place a few here and there, fine anyone that doesn’t put their gum into them, and I guarantee that this problem will go away. All of this gum will give these trashcans a fresh and much more bearable smell!” he abruptly turns towards his son, whom has now wandered away. “Stop smelling the bins!”

Issue by The Imperial State of Dytarma

Edited by Helaw

[Trotterdam]

I think this is the first uniquely Third World issue on NS

Umm, what? Neither the player nation nor the unnamed environment-destroying nation explicitly need to be third-world for the narrative to work, though if anything it's the non-player nation that's more likely to be so, since poorer nations are more likely to do whatever it takes to get some semblance of a functioning economy without worrying about side effects.

For an issue specifically targetted at third-world player nations, #337 comes to mind. There are surely others (such as the various "your economy is collapsing!" issues), but that's the one that most clearly contrasts you with other, richer nations.

[Dytarma]

and the issues march on, #689:

A Sticky Situation

The Issue

While lounging on a curiously sticky bench in Martinopolis, you begin to notice that almost every passer-by seems to be mysteriously stuck to the pavement. Upon closer inspection, you realise that the ground is covered in chewing gum, which has in turn caused the unfortunate - and admittedly amusing - predicament that the pedestrians have now found themselves in. You are soon approached by a colorful mob of people, the majority of which are barely able to lift their own legs.
The Debate

“Every time I go on a run, I always find at least one piece of gum on my shoe!” screeches Peggy Holst, whilst furiously picking herself up off the ground. “I always end up stepping in the stuff, and it’s always a pain to get off. Gum is a health hazard, and it should be banned before anyone else finds themselves chewing the pavement! If somebody has a problem with that, then they can just find something else to gnaw on.”

“Don’t listen to that gum-hating buffoon,” exclaims the CEO of Suborbit Gum, Minté Breff, while chewing loudly. “Banning gum will cause a tremendous uproar of unnecessary proportions! Gum can help people study and concentrate, all whilst they taste our selection of great flavours; something that the government would surely support and even subsidise! You can have my gum when you pry it out of my cold, dead mouth.”

“Why not look for a different solution?” asks Xanatos Perez, as he helps his son clean gum from his shoes. “How about we place more trashcans? Place a few here and there, fine anyone that doesn’t put their gum into them, and I guarantee that this problem will go away. All of this gum will give these trashcans a fresh and much more bearable smell!” he abruptly turns towards his son, whom has now wandered away. “Stop smelling the bins!”

Issue by The Imperial State of Dytarma

Edited by Helaw

I'm very proud of this issue.

[Helaw]

and the issues march on, #689:

A Sticky Situation

The Issue

While lounging on a curiously sticky bench in Martinopolis, you begin to notice that almost every passer-by seems to be mysteriously stuck to the pavement. Upon closer inspection, you realise that the ground is covered in chewing gum, which has in turn caused the unfortunate - and admittedly amusing - predicament that the pedestrians have now found themselves in. You are soon approached by a colorful mob of people, the majority of which are barely able to lift their own legs.
The Debate

“Every time I go on a run, I always find at least one piece of gum on my shoe!” screeches Peggy Holst, whilst furiously picking herself up off the ground. “I always end up stepping in the stuff, and it’s always a pain to get off. Gum is a health hazard, and it should be banned before anyone else finds themselves chewing the pavement! If somebody has a problem with that, then they can just find something else to gnaw on.”

“Don’t listen to that gum-hating buffoon,” exclaims the CEO of Suborbit Gum, Minté Breff, while chewing loudly. “Banning gum will cause a tremendous uproar of unnecessary proportions! Gum can help people study and concentrate, all whilst they taste our selection of great flavours; something that the government would surely support and even subsidise! You can have my gum when you pry it out of my cold, dead mouth.”

“Why not look for a different solution?” asks Xanatos Perez, as he helps his son clean gum from his shoes. “How about we place more trashcans? Place a few here and there, fine anyone that doesn’t put their gum into them, and I guarantee that this problem will go away. All of this gum will give these trashcans a fresh and much more bearable smell!” he abruptly turns towards his son, whom has now wandered away. “Stop smelling the bins!”

Issue by The Imperial State of Dytarma

Edited by Helaw

I'm very proud of this issue.

The second 'he' in option 3 is a @@HE@@ macro that has turned out uncapitalised, which is odd because it turns out capitalised for a few when tested.

It should be fixed soon.

[4stan]

I just want to say that I absolutely LOVE "The Chain" of issues that let me bomb the crap out of Brasilistan. I can't wait to get them on this particular nationstate

[Nouveau Yathrib]

I think this is the first uniquely Third World issue on NS

Umm, what? Neither the player nation nor the unnamed environment-destroying nation explicitly need to be third-world for the narrative to work, though if anything it's the non-player nation that's more likely to be so, since poorer nations are more likely to do whatever it takes to get some semblance of a functioning economy without worrying about side effects.

For an issue specifically targetted at third-world player nations, #337 comes to mind. There are surely others (such as the various "your economy is collapsing!" issues), but that's the one that most clearly contrasts you with other, richer nations.

Ok maybe I could have phrased that better. It's a reference to a specific geopolitical situation in the Third World that people in Anglophone and European countries generally don't know about, namely the seasonal forest fires of Indonesia that affect West Malaysia and Singapore. This is the first issue I've seen that does this without a Western/Anglophone bias.

Edit: This is what I was talking about.

There is a definite bias, which is hard to avoid, but which we strive to do so.

That is that the vast majority of contributors, be they editors or writers, seem to be male. I admit, I haven't confirmed this with a poll, but the general pronoun being deployed is "he". This is likely because gamer culture is so heavily male - there might be a lot of female gamers out there, but they're less vocal on the internet.

Also, there's a strong westernised bias, likely because this is an English language game. There's a lot of Americans and Brits on the team. This has definitely biased the language of the game, with terms like Parliament, MP, Senate and so on being obvious signs, with subtler things present like the stereotyped presentation of communist countries, the high emphasis on issues based on dilemmas faced by western governments, and so on. We've got issues on high speed monorail, fur clothes, Neo-Nazi extremists, university fees, cheese and pizza. There's a lot of westernisation in the presentation. We don't have issues on male/female population ratios, on broad population illiteracy (#273 Is our children learning?), regional concentration of industry (#497 The Widening Gyre), village governance (#111 Southern @@NAME@@ Demands Semi-Autonomy is about local government and #526 Any Idea Where The Law Is, Bessie? is about village authority), effects of water shortages on rice harvest (#096 Water Supply Problems Becoming A Major Drain doesn't mention rice specifically, but it does concern the plight of farmers), and so on.

There's also a bias of preferred topics. We talk about technology, gaming and pop culture way more than the general population is. There's a lot of issues that deal with the internet. Again, this is selection bias of available writers. We've got a simulation game on the internet, spawned by the promotion of a science fiction book. It's like wikipedia's inherent biases - compare the number of articles about Star Trek to the number of articles about Lipstick. Now compare that to the ratio of written information about these topics in broader media... clearly lipstick is underrepresented.
The same is true here on NS. We've got nowhere near the content of wikipedia, but we're just as biased in content.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Yes, I agree - it's very nice to see issues based on the RL concerns of non-Western nations. Stuff like that often jumps out at us, especially if you could transpose the narrative to other parts of the world and still have them make sense. See A Sticky Situation, for another example, which is based around gum bans that exist only in the Far East, but could be just as applicable for Canada, Italy or Australia.

I encourage writers to keep an eye on the world news, rather than just the news of their own countries, as this is a great way to broaden the horizons of your issues.