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==Overview==
The Community of Data realms is a small, genial nation, renowned for its irreverence towards religion. Its compassionate, cynical population of 45 million are ruled with an iron fist by the dictatorship government, which ensures that no-one outside the party gets too rich. In their personal lives, however, citizens are relatively unoppressed; it remains to be seen whether this is because the government genuinely cares about its people, or if it hasn't gotten around to stamping out civil rights yet.

The government -- a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked morass -- concentrates mainly on Education, although Defence and Law & Order are on the agenda. The average income tax rate is 37%, but much higher for the wealthy. A robust private sector is led by the Book Publishing, Arms Manufacturing, and Furniture Restoration industries.

Commercial jingles have been ham-handedly forced into world renowned symphonies, drunk drivers are sentenced to death, abortions are routinely performed in Data realms's hospitals, and students cut up leftover Datas during Arts and Crafts. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Data realms's national animal is the Cat, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its currency is the Data.

==Issues==
Ban The 'Boards, Say Pedestrians(Issue 31)
The conservative Northern-based parents group of "Housewives and Convicts for a Safer Data realms" has put forward a memorandum to ban skateboarding in public.

1 "Skateboarding is a menace to pedestrians and road users," says activist Colleen Song. "Not to mention the astronomical number of skateboarding-related injuries - hundreds of children flood the emergency rooms of Data realms as a result of skateboarding every year, which is costly to the taxpayers. Keep our streets safe and save a little cash at the same time. Hell, you could make even more money by ticketing those who violate this law."


2 "Ticketing children for getting out of the house and exercising?" asks Faith Schultz, a school teacher, in disbelief. "That's outrageous! It's true that skateboarding can be dangerous but so is walking down the stairs! You want to ban that too?! What we should do is pass laws requiring safety equipment for skaters - if we allocate a little bit of the tax payers' money to the cause, we can build a skate park that will keep our children safe and away from others on the road too."


3 "Yo, dude, I've got a better idea," says Gregory Hamilton while executing a complicated 360° spin over your head. "What if skateboarding was the only way to get around? Wouldn't that be cool? Skateboarding is cheap, healthy, and fun! Everyone should do it! You could improve, like, the quality of life for everyone by banning vehicles and making skateboarding the only legal way to travel. People'd love you for it, man. Well, apart from the guys who make cars and the like, I guess."

Cancer Sufferer Demands Euthanasia Bill(Issue 32)
Dorothy Terwilliger lies immobilized in a hospital bed, unable to move. She has end-stage cancer, and wishes to end her struggle against death. However, laws prevent her doctors from obeying her wishes.

1 Dorothy and her family are campaigning for a "Dying with Dignity" bill, to change this situation. She implores the government to legalize euthanasia.


2 "I understand this is a very difficult time for these people," says freelance medical writer Natalia Wu. "But the solution is not to let our medical system slide down the slippery slope of killing people in pain. We must cure, not kill. This is not the right time for euthanasia."


3 "I agree, but go further: there is never a right time for euthanasia," says Bishop Faith Zhu. "The lives we lead are given to us by the grace of God, and he decides when they end. It is not for us to question God's divine purpose, no matter how odd or screwed-up it may seem."

Nobody Expects The Data realms Inquisition!(Issue 33)
Some key figures of Data realms's major religious groups have requested government sponsorship for the institution of an inquisition to try heretics and blasphemers.

1 Cardinal Mortimer Gratwick, Archbishop of Data realms City, demands you kiss his ring before telling you, "the Church encourages the formation of an Inquisition. However, it will only be to try those in error and put them on the right track to holiness; you needn't worry about those nasty thumb-screws and we haven't had a rack in ages, so we won't be torturing people. Of course, in order to bring this noble plan into effect, the Holy Office must have jurisdiction over the civil courts."


2 "This is bloody outrageous!" screams Roger Dredd, head of the nation's most important civil liberties movement, People for the Ethical Treatment of Everything, while jumping up and down in front of a television camera. "These damn ultra-conservatives will plunge us all into chaos! Data realms can never have an Inquisition! Everyone should have the right to think, say, believe, etc, whatever the damn they please. When was the last time you released a dove on a monthly basis? Huh? HUH?! That's what I thought! It's time to move beyond these primitive beliefs!"


3 "The people of Data realms need more than an Inquisition," pronounces Gertie al-Zahawi, known fundamentalist tele-preacher, who pauses hawking the complete DVD collection to make some demands. "We must persecute all those who do not live according to the Book! The Lord has told me that the time has arrived to bring back the good old days! Back when we didn't have all these touchy-feely, fuzzy-headed punishments. Prison? Ha! Like that's a punishment! Stick those heathens in the stocks, or even better: bring back stonings! It'll bring us into a new golden age!"

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Well, that was easy.

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FFS if someone wants to die let them. They're suffering, and there's zero chance of that getting better without them dying.
Also it's skateboarding, take a chill pill. On that note, I don't think we should spend taxpayer money on something as dumb as a safety equipment bill. Quite frankly we coddle kids too much now, they need to go play and get dirty, and sometimes get hurt. Making mistakes is the best way to learn.

Agreed, but it's a slippery slope. There isn't an option between 1 and 2, which I find regrettable. Until we get a decision for national healthcare I don't think it's a good idea to allow it because private healthcare companies might try and pressure people into requesting euthanasia so that the company doesn't have to fork out for expensive care.

So really, I'm a one if we have national healthcare, a two if we don't. It's probably best if we unanimously vote to abstain till national healthcare is enacted. But if it already is, I apologise and switch to one.

Again, I agree. But once again there isn't an option between one and two and quite frankly, it's hard to learn from something that ends up with you maimed or dead in the event of getting hit by a god damn car. As for scratches and bruises, not much of a problem.

As for taxes, VAT is an efficient form of taxation, though I doubt it is mentioned in Nation States. Main problem is that there aren't enough options available.

If you get hit by a car, kneepads ain't gonna save you.

Aye, I never said they would. Plastic, rubber and metal triumph over flesh, sinew and bone every time in survivability, especially when the former are heavier than the latter, yet alone if they were to be hit by a van or a truck.

With ample funding, it is possible for purpose built skateparks to be constructed, so children can skate there rather than say, in the middle of the street, or in places where pedestrians might encounter them.

Two birds with one fiscal stone.

sry was afk for few days.
VOTE FINISHED
not yet.
draw
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==Issues==
Ban The 'Boards, Say Pedestrians(Issue 31)
The conservative Northern-based parents group of "Housewives and Convicts for a Safer Data realms" has put forward a memorandum to ban skateboarding in public.

1 "Skateboarding is a menace to pedestrians and road users," says activist Colleen Song. "Not to mention the astronomical number of skateboarding-related injuries - hundreds of children flood the emergency rooms of Data realms as a result of skateboarding every year, which is costly to the taxpayers. Keep our streets safe and save a little cash at the same time. Hell, you could make even more money by ticketing those who violate this law."


2 "Ticketing children for getting out of the house and exercising?" asks Faith Schultz, a school teacher, in disbelief. "That's outrageous! It's true that skateboarding can be dangerous but so is walking down the stairs! You want to ban that too?! What we should do is pass laws requiring safety equipment for skaters - if we allocate a little bit of the tax payers' money to the cause, we can build a skate park that will keep our children safe and away from others on the road too."


3 "Yo, dude, I've got a better idea," says Gregory Hamilton while executing a complicated 360° spin over your head. "What if skateboarding was the only way to get around? Wouldn't that be cool? Skateboarding is cheap, healthy, and fun! Everyone should do it! You could improve, like, the quality of life for everyone by banning vehicles and making skateboarding the only legal way to travel. People'd love you for it, man. Well, apart from the guys who make cars and the like, I guess."

Cancer Sufferer Demands Euthanasia Bill(Issue 32)
Dorothy Terwilliger lies immobilized in a hospital bed, unable to move. She has end-stage cancer, and wishes to end her struggle against death. However, laws prevent her doctors from obeying her wishes.

1 Dorothy and her family are campaigning for a "Dying with Dignity" bill, to change this situation. She implores the government to legalize euthanasia.


2 "I understand this is a very difficult time for these people," says freelance medical writer Natalia Wu. "But the solution is not to let our medical system slide down the slippery slope of killing people in pain. We must cure, not kill. This is not the right time for euthanasia."


3 "I agree, but go further: there is never a right time for euthanasia," says Bishop Faith Zhu. "The lives we lead are given to us by the grace of God, and he decides when they end. It is not for us to question God's divine purpose, no matter how odd or screwed-up it may seem."

Blazing Through the Paper Trail(Issue 34)
Following a recent fire in the National Archive, which destroyed thousands of important documents, several vocal representatives have approached you with solutions.

1 "We've got to face facts: technology has advanced beyond physical record-keeping," councils Roxanne du Pont, the PR representative for Eastern Electronic. "Digital records are easier to maintain and easier to back up. Our company can facilitate the switch from the archaic paper records to the sleek, new electronic system. There is the slight risk of electronic tampering, but our security systems are more than capable."


2 "Now, hold on a second. What about us?" asks Tobias Zhimo, the CEO of a national paper supplier. "We might not have the flash of an electronic system, but I'll tell you what we do have: quality customer service. You're saying fires are bad. Well, we hear you loud and clear. Stick with us and not only will we make physical copies of all the files to store in different locales, but I'll get my research team to whip up some fire-resistant paper too. Let's see those IT poindexters do all that!"


3 "No, no, no. It's all too dangerous!" screams Fanny Dubois, dressed only in a cured Cat hide. "Paper can be destroyed by fire or floods, and electronic copies are susceptible to viruses and hackers! There's only one way to truly keep our records safe. We must rerecord them on stone tablets. Fire can't destroy them, and I'd like to see someone hack a piece of granite!"

Minority Group Demands Language Recognition(Issue 35)
A group several thousand strong hailing from a remote, isolated corner of Data realms is staging a massive demonstration on the front steps of your capitol. They demand that their local dialect be recognized as an official language.

1 Harry Steele, your Minister of Culture, has nothing but disdain for the demonstrators. "The language of Data realms is as important to our national identity as our history is. A truly erudite individual uses perfect grammar and refuses to speak as those ruffians do." Your Finance Minister is quick to chime in as well, "If business is required to print every road sign, instruction manual, and fast-food wrapper in two languages, it would increase everybody's overhead. That means higher prices for the person in the street."


2 "Smarker, but ee's gone blongie 'round the clonger! Trandy in the blang warked a newtie on the Cheebers, quaff me a duggle if it's brine. Sorky, hang our trandy high!" says Thomas Cho, speaking for the demonstrators, in an apparently rousing response that draws a cascade of cheers. After a few uncomfortable minutes with a professional translator, you find the speaker said, "I respectfully disagree with the Minister. Multilingualism has brought stability to richly-cultured nations such as Brancaland; indeed, I challenge you to provide a single counterexample. I encourage this government to adopt a policy of multilingualism throughout Data realms!"


3 Agnes Leach, a radical opposition member who seems to tag along to every demonstration she can find, has her own proposal. "The language barrier is keeping us all apart. What Data realms needs is a new identity defined by a new language that we can all agree on. That's unity without favoritism."

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You come to the country and don't speak the language, don't expect much sympathy.

3 - FOR TEH LULZ
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AND PLEASE VOTE!!

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