The Oppressed People Of Varrag

[Nugog]

People Request Not So Much Dictatorship, If That's All Right

Government Acts
The Issue
While effusively praising Varaag's leadership and bowing repeatedly, a delegation has humbly requested that the government take a more "modernistic" view in the future.

The Debate
The High Minister for Finance, who also happens to be your brother, dismisses the claim. "What these people fail to realize is that you know what's best for them. The alternative is anarchy! I say stick to your course. And execute these wackos for treason."

This is the position your government is preparing to adopt.


"Perhaps the people could be given some more political freedoms," muses your Chief of Staff, who is your sister. "Is there really such harm in allowing public discussion of ideas? We could even have a real Opposition Party. One that isn't just full of your puppets, I mean."
[Accept]
The Government Position
The government has indicated its intention to follow the recommendations of Option 1.

[Nugog]

The Oppressed Peoples of Varaag
"Doing what we are told is good for our health"


UN Category: Compulsory Consumerist State
Civil Rights:
Below Average Economy:
Thriving Political Freedoms:
Unheard Of

Location: Apolyton Regional Influence: Ambassador

The Oppressed Peoples of Varaag is a huge, economically powerful nation, renowned for its compulsory military service. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 777 million are rabid consumers, partly through choice and partly because the government tells them to and dissenters tend to vanish from their homes at night.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent, corrupt, pro-business government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defence, and Healthcare. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 60%. A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Uranium Mining industry, followed by Gambling and Information Technology.

Citizens are regularly arrested in queues for 'loitering', the government regularly hires contractors to construct high rise apartments, it's a common sight to see angry commuters with grenade launchers mounted on their vehicles, and political activists are routinely executed. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force. Varaag's national animal is the tic, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its currency is the varaag chip.

[Nugog]

Varaag's Underclass Drowning In Debt

Government Acts
The Issue
In response to an increasing number of people falling into debt and declaring bankruptcy, activists are arguing that the government should take a stronger role in protecting its citizens from loosely regulated lending firms and in helping its citizens pay off or cancel their debts.

The Debate
Buy Jong-Il, head of consumer watchdog 'Debt-Busters' urges the government to enact new laws: "We've got middle and lower class families falling victim to predatory financial institutions and plunging into debts they can never hope to repay. The government must pass legislation restricting things like interest rates to stem the tide of people losing their property to these sharks, and take an active role reviewing all loan repayment terms."
[Accept]


"That's just not going far enough!" cries newspaper columnist, Abraham Johnson. "The government must eliminate the shackles of debt from our good nation once and for all! What we need are vast reforms of the welfare system then we can provide these poor, downtrodden souls with money and housing, so they don't need to take out such huge loans in the first place!
[Accept]


"They're irresponsible with their money and yet they're the victims? Call me crazy but borrowing money and not paying it back isn't debt, it's theft!" scoffs Peggy Longfellow, representitive of one of Varaag's largest lending firms. "What we really need is the power to send these parasites to debtor prisons, where they can work off the money they owe through hard manual labour."

This is the position your government is preparing to adopt.
The Government Position
The government has indicated its intention to follow the recommendations of Option 3.

[Nugog]

Uranium Mining Workers Strike!

Government Acts
The Issue
Workers across the nation have gone out on indefinite strike over what they claim are substandard wages in the Uranium Mining industry.

The Debate
"We are the backbone of this country, and we demand a fair wage rise!" says union leader Jean-Paul Frederickson. "I don't think a 20% increase over two years is too much to ask. Unless the government forces employers to give us our due, we'll shut this whole industry down! Let's see how well Varaag's economy manages without any Uranium Mining, huh?
[Accept]


"We pay our employees very generous wages," says employer representative Melbourne Longfellow. "Especially when you consider that without us, they'd be OUT ON THE STREET. Hear that, you scumbags? OUT ON THE STREET! Anyway, my point is, if you cave in, you make our entire industry uncompetitive. You can't do that in the global marketplace. It'll hurt the whole country. The best solution, economically speaking, would be to relax industrial laws and allow us to fire troublemakers on the spot."

This is the position your government is preparing to adopt.
The Government Position
The government has indicated its intention to follow the recommendations of Option 2.

[Nugog]

The Oppressed Peoples of Varaag
"Doing what we are told is good for our health"


UN Category: Compulsory Consumerist State
Civil Rights:
Below Average Economy:
Thriving Political Freedoms:
Unheard Of

Location: Apolyton Regional Influence: Ambassador

The Oppressed Peoples of Varaag is a huge, safe nation, notable for its barren, inhospitable landscape. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 783 million are rabid consumers, partly through choice and partly because the government tells them to and dissenters tend to vanish from their homes at night.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent, corrupt, pro-business government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defence, and Healthcare. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 56%. A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Uranium Mining industry, followed by Gambling and Information Technology.

It's a common sight to see angry commuters with grenade launchers mounted on their vehicles, political activists are routinely executed, employers may fire workers without giving any reason, and university graduates and new home-owners toil in labour camps to work off their debts. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force. Varaag's national animal is the tic, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its currency is the varaag chip.

[Nugog]

History A Mystery To Most Of Varaag

Government Acts
The Issue
Historians and educators have campaigned against the skewing of historical facts for artistic purposes following the premier of the new historical drama titled 'It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad Revolution!'

The Debate
"It is completely outrageous!" cries media critic Buffy Longbottom. "The Captain was our most inspiring war leader and is a national hero! He never had a teen sidekick named Pogo! And he certainly didn't come from outer space! We should protect ourselves from such wanton revisionism and outlaw so-called artistic licence. That way we can be happy that what goes on in these movies is for real!"
[Accept]


"Oh, that's nonsense, yeah?" says film director Dave Washington, while polishing a small statue of a golden tic. "If anything, it helps our nation by familiarising everyone with historical figures and gets them more interested in the subject, yeah? It's not boring like real history; it can be exciting! With car chases and explosions, yeah! Hey, I'm excited already! Besides, what is history? Just memories from a certain viewpoint, yeah? Well, if you make all history classes see it from our viewpoint there'll be no more problem! Oh, yeah!"
[Accept]


"I'm sure there's a middle ground," suggests Falala Utopia, your minister of History. "If we just made history classes mandatory for pupils until they leave school, increased taxes to raise funding for history classes a bit- no, make that a LOT, and encouraged history-related professions, then eventually everyone will realise that these films are simply pale, inaccurate imitations of events that really happened. People will be historically aware, and directors get to make their films. Everything sorted."
[Accept]
The Government Position
The government is preparing to dismiss this issue.

[Nugog]

Tykes With Tools?

Government Acts
The Issue
A controversial newspaper investigation reveals that as many as 30% of all children are employed in a dangerous environment.

The Debate
Larry Licorish, an orphanage foster parent, says, "Child labor should be outlawed! Too many times I have received children who only know manual labor. We have to give these children an education and a chance at a real future. Think of the children!" Pete McGuffin, a bum on the street, agrees, "Forget about what's best for the children. They're stealing my work! The only way to get an entry job in this market is to either be younger than 12 and willing to work for nothing, or to knock off a kid and be there to fill the opening, and still be willing to work for nothing."
[Accept]


Unemployed parent Aaron Clinton begs that you keep child labor legal. "You can't outlaw child labor; we need the extra money that my 13 children earn. Since both my spouse and I were laid off, the only way to get enough money to feed both of us is to have all of our kids employed. In fact, with the downswing in the economy we're expecting another kid to close the gap."

This is the position your government is preparing to adopt.


Fat cat factory owner Calvin Steele steps over the bum in the street and explains, "You don't understand. You shouldn't make child labor illegal, you should subsidize it. By employing these kids I'm giving them valuable life lessons. I didn't go to school and see where I am now? I'm giving them work experience, making them highly employable for the 15 years of their expected lives."
[Accept]
The Government Position
The government has indicated its intention to follow the recommendations of Option 2.

[Nugog]

The Oppressed Peoples of Varaag
"Doing what we are told is good for our health"


UN Category: Compulsory Consumerist State
Civil Rights:
Below Average Economy:
Thriving Political Freedoms:
Unheard Of

Location: Apolyton Regional Influence: Ambassador

The Oppressed Peoples of Varaag is a huge, economically powerful nation, renowned for its punitive income tax rates. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 789 million are rabid consumers, partly through choice and partly because the government tells them to and dissenters tend to vanish from their homes at night.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent, corrupt, pro-business government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defence, and Healthcare. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 55%. A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Uranium Mining industry, followed by Gambling and Information Technology.

Political activists are routinely executed, employers may fire workers without giving any reason, university graduates and new home-owners toil in labour camps to work off their debts, and children as young as eight can be found working in factories. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force. Varaag's national animal is the tic, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its currency is the varaag chip.

[Nugog]

Citizens Struggle Under "Unfair" Tax Burden

Government Acts
The Issue
A recent poll has revealed high levels of dissatisfaction among the populace about tax rates.

The Debate
"Do you know how much of my year's work goes to the government?" demanded angry worker Fleur Wall. "Too much! Government spending has gotten way out of control. It needs big cuts in welfare, health, and education. But leave those subsidies to business alone. We need them to create jobs."

This is the position your government is preparing to adopt.


"It's not the AMOUNT of tax, it's where the burden falls," says student activist Jack Thiesen. "And at the moment, far too much of the burden is falling on the poor. People on high incomes still have more money than people on low incomes. I don't think I need to say anything more than that."
[Accept]


"I don't object to the amount of tax, I object to where it's being spent," says social reformer Jean-Paul Dodinas. "I'd like to see everyone have a choice as to where their varaag chips go every time they fill out a tax return. Everyone would feel a lot better about opening their wallets if they had a say as to where the money went. I think you'd see a lot more public money going to education and a lot less to business."
[Accept]
The Government Position
The government has indicated its intention to follow the recommendations of Option 1.

[Nugog]

Tiara Sign Of Oppression, Declare Feminists

Government Acts
The Issue
Varaag's upcoming hosting of a major international beauty pageant has upset some citizens concerned about the message it puts across.

The Debate
"These beauty pageants are a disgrace to women everywhere!" shouts feminist campaigner, Bill Dredd. "They objectify the female body and re-enforce negative stereotyping! They celebrate the appearance instead of the personality! What message is this sending out to our children? Do we want them to think shallowness and vanity are virtues? Ban beauty contests! We must focus the education of our progeny on ethics and equality or suffer the consequences!"
[Accept]


"I agree that the pageants should be banned," pontificates renowned moralist, the Ever So Slightly Reverend Bill Mistletoe. "But purely in the name of moral decency! All those fashion stores that sponsor these contests make lots of money from this blasphemy and that is just plain wrong! These women wear revealing clothing that seek to entice and seduce young men. As such, we should go a step further, and institute a dress code! Long, plaid skirts for the girls, with necklines that never drop below the base of the neck! Only then will the women of our nation be cleansed of sin!"
[Accept]


"What in the name of all that's decent and good are you talking about?" exclaims Buy Licorish, leader of the egalitarian civil rights movement 'Everyone Is Equal, Dammit'. "Obviously these pageants will always be sexist unless they're open to everyone. Admiring women only for their beauty is an insult to their intelligence and the beauty of men! It's dually sexist! Open up the pageant to both sexes!"
[Accept]
The Government Position
The government is preparing to dismiss this issue.

[Nugog]

The Oppressed Peoples of Varaag
"Doing what we are told is good for our health"


UN Category: Compulsory Consumerist State
Civil Rights:
Below Average Economy:
Thriving Political Freedoms:
Unheard Of

Location: Apolyton Regional Influence: Ambassador

The Oppressed Peoples of Varaag is a huge, safe nation, remarkable for its compulsory military service. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 796 million are rabid consumers, partly through choice and partly because the government tells them to and dissenters tend to vanish from their homes at night.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent, corrupt, pro-business government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defence, and Healthcare. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 44%. A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Uranium Mining industry, followed by Gambling and Information Technology.

Employers may fire workers without giving any reason, university graduates and new home-owners toil in labour camps to work off their debts, children as young as eight can be found working in factories, and the government is reigning in public spending. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force. Varaag's national animal is the tic, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its currency is the varaag chip.

Varaag is ranked 13th in the region and 94,928th in the world for Most Rebellious Youth.

[Nugog]

Is Varaag Too Promiscuous?

Government Acts
The Issue
The highly moral and religious pressure group 'Cuckolds And Cuckqueans Anonymous' has lobbied for the criminalisation of adultery.

The Debate
"Whatever happened to the sanctity of marriage?" asks Akira McGuffin while wearing a T-shirt bearing the slogan 'Marriage is for life, not just for anniversaries'. "Whatever happened to lifelong companionship? Whatever happened to simple faithfulness because of love?! Adultery seems to be more of a hobby than anything these days! The government must impose the utmost punishments on those who commit this sin. A good old-fashioned stoning should sort it!"
[Accept]


"I don't agree with adultery either," says Buffy Spirit, a passer-by. "But, uh... stoning? You don't think that's a little extreme? If we find someone guilty of fornication we can just lock them up in jail. That way no-one gets killed and the sinners get justice. It's more expensive to the tax payers than a stoning of course, but I reckon it's worth it."
[Accept]


"With the greatest of respect, this is none of your business!" yells Hack Hamilton who is rumoured to have had more than a thousand lovers and even more children. "The government has no right to go about trying to dictate the laws of love and romance! Marriages break down, people move on - is it really the government's place to make people stay put? You must recognise the fact that the law has no place within the bedroom!"

This is the position your government is preparing to adopt.
The Government Position
The government has indicated its intention to follow the recommendations of Option 3.

[Nugog]

Breastfeeding In Public: Innocent Or Indecent?

Government Acts
The Issue
A young mother was recently thrown out of a restaurant in Varaag for publicly breastfeeding her baby and 'upsetting the customers'. There are now demands for the government to state their position on the issue.

The Debate
"We should have a perfect right to feed our babies where we want and when we want without fear of harassment from anyone," declares Catherine Gratwick, a likewise young mother. "Why should women hide themselves away just to assuage the silly attitudes of these narrow-minded fogies? It's totally natural, and much healthier than bottle-feeding for both mother and child so why the fuss? Today, women are afraid to breastfeed in public and the law should be on their side - if not for their benefit, then for that of the children."

This is the position your government is preparing to adopt.


"I think it's just wrong, wrong, wrong," says Freddy du Pont, in reply to an online survey. "These women should cover themselves up and feed their kids away from sight like respectable folk. It's not like bottles don't exist! I don't want to have to look at that sort of thing when I'm having a romantic dinner or going on a nice leisurely walk down the street, you know. It should be a private thing, like other bodily functions that I rather care not to mention."
[Accept]


"I'm not against mothers breastfeeding in public," says Bill Hendrikson, a manager of human resources. "But what I find objectionable is that women could be allowed to breastfeed at the workplace when they should be doing more productive things like, well, working. They can't do that if they want to entertain and feed their baby at the same time can they? Can you imagine policewomen doing this on the job? Doctors? Politicians? Mark my words, this is a bad path to take and will ultimately be disruptive to the national economy. And my bonus."
[Accept]
The Government Position
The government has indicated its intention to follow the recommendations of Option 1.

[Nugog]

Deserts Devouring Varaag's Countryside

Government Acts
The Issue
Due to desertification, the transition of habitable land to desert as a result of overcultivation and the increasing degradation of the environment, much of Varaag's once-green rural areas are turning into barren, rocky deserts.

The Debate
"This is a disaster," wails Alexei McAlpin, your Minister of the Environment. "We've been too lax on letting the agriculture sector overgraze and overcrop our lands and now we're paying the price. There needs to be some serious cutback on what these companies are allowed to do, or before you know it we're going to be scaling sand dunes on the way to work."
[Accept]


"'Ey there, you stupid townie, what about us?" shouts Farmer's Union Leader Billy-Bob Spirit, waving a pitchfork from atop a combine harvester parked outside. "We's just goin' t' be tole we're out of a job? Tha' best way t' goes about this is t' promote stuff like that there recyclin', crop rotatin', an' biodiversity, and t' gives us tha' subsidies we needs t' work in 'armony wi' mother nature. Desertification ain't no irreversible thing, an' claimin' tha' land back will be slow and bloody expensive, by thunder. But oi'm sure tha' taxpayers will be more than 'appy t' aid us 'umble farmers in our plight, and maybe gives us a little more say in things in future, so's this can't 'appen again."
[Accept]


"Yee-haw, these here deserts are the greatest thang that's happened in YARS!" drawls noted cowboy Hamish McGraw, twirling his shootin' irons. "This is just what Varaag needs! Just git a stagecoach out har an tha' foreign types will come a-flockin,' y'all see if ah'm wrong! We don't need no fundin' f' tha' environment! Them's farmers c'n jus' git minin' fer GOLD!"

This is the position your government is preparing to adopt.
The Government Position
The government has indicated its intention to follow the recommendations of Option 3.

[Nugog]

The Oppressed Peoples of Varaag
"Doing what we are told is good for our health"


UN Category: Compulsory Consumerist State
Civil Rights:
Average Economy:
Powerhouse Political Freedoms:
Unheard Of

Location: Apolyton Regional Influence: Ambassador

The Oppressed Peoples of Varaag is a huge, economically powerful nation, remarkable for its complete absence of social welfare. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 813 million are rabid consumers, partly through choice and partly because the government tells them to and dissenters tend to vanish from their homes at night.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent, corrupt, pro-business government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defence, and Healthcare. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 45%. A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Uranium Mining industry, followed by Gambling and Information Technology.

The government is reigning in public spending, female newsreaders distract the nation by breastfeeding during broadcast, Varaag is notorious for its citizens' infidelity, and Varaag has become a gigantic dustbowl filled with tourists and mean desperados. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force. Varaag's national animal is the tic, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its currency is the varaag chip.