Saratov Parliamentary Elections of 1585
Elections for the Parlament Saratovi

• Liberalʹno-demokratychna partiya/Liberal Democratic Party - "LDP" (Social Liberals)
  
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  The LDP's seeks to expand individual freedoms for the citizens of Saratov. They are in favor of Personal Privacy, Government Welfare, Government Healthcare, Moderate regulation, and open immigration.
• Partiya yednosti Saratovsʹkoyi/Saratovan Unity Party  - "PYS" (Democratic Socialist)
  
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  The PYS is Democratic Socialist party pushing for "modern feminist" and LGBTQQIP2SAA rights movements. They are in favor of heavy regulation, expansion of government healthcare and welfare, and unrestricted immigration.
• Saratovsʹkyy Sotsialistychnyy Soyuz Robitnykiv/Saratovan Socialist Workers Union - "SSR" (Socialist)
  
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  The SSR is a Socialist Party that is in favor of Semi-Planned Economy, Extreme Regulation, A progressive tax bracket, "modern feminist" and LGBTQQIP2SAA rights movements, and a high minimum wage.
• Demokratychna Saratovsʹkyy Konservatyvna Partiya/Saratovan Democratic Conservative Party - "DKP" (Conservative)
  
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  The DKP runs a platform centered on supporting "family values" and a "tradition-oriented society". They oppose government healthcare and welfare. While they don't oppose Same-Sex marriage, they consider transgenderism a mental disorder. They support a lightly regulated economy, and only support the immigration of skilled workers. They are in favor of a strong military.
• Saratovsʹka Perovistiy Partiya/Saratov Pervoist Party - "SPP" (Communist)
  
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  The SPP's platform is largely to maintain the "status quo". They support a regulated "entitled wage" for each citizen, central planning of the economy, limited imports/exports as well as a limit on immigration and emigration. The SPP is in favor of a strong military.
• Saratovsʹka Natsionalʹna Robitnycha Partiya/Saratov National Workers Party - "NRP" (Fascist)
  
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  The NRP campaigns for Protectism, zero tolerance, harsher sentencing, increased prison capacity, and a referendum on re-introducing the death penalty.In foreign policy they are also in favor of turning away from Severyane in defense and economic partnership.
• Nezalezhnyy/Independent - "IND" (Not a party)
  

So after warming myself up on a game of XCOM where I replaced the normal name generator with Caprecia/Oracia/Eternity names so I could kill you all (you may have seen the posts) and promptly murdering the aliens (I'm still playing that game without finishing the campaign, just to get certain achievements), I've decided to up the ante - and the difficulty - and start a new campaign.

I also want to record it with commentary. Yeah, I know, the quality of commentary on my RTK11 videos is....yeah, pretty shit, but XCOM gives much more opportunity for better quality just by virtue of the gameplay. Just fair warning, I'm not a funny guy, so it'll probably just be me talking about my tactical decisions. I'll be using your names again, though I think I'll cut the list from the ~150 names it currently has down to about, oh, 50, just to give a chance for people here on this forum to actually be selected instead of Joe McRandompants who made 30 posts before disappearing 6 years ago.

But do you want that? Should I even bother?

I mean, I'm going to make the campaign either way, but recording/editing takes time, and I'm not going to spend the time if no one cares about this kind of thing, especially when I already have another commitment I've been neglecting I need to work on.

So yeah, poll at the top.

If you guys don't remember, waaay back when I had first controlled the President of Nyland (Christoffer Harrow lol) I had this topic: http://forums.eternityrpc.com/topic/11157933/1/ about the tax reform I had planned to implement. It didn't get as much traffic as I would have liked but in the end did pass, quite successfully actually.

This topic is intended to perform a similar function. One of the chief goals I have selected for this term is healthcare reform. I am confident of the legislatures ability to pass critical healthcare reform that can provide cheap, high-quality, healthcare options for ALL Nylanders.

The overall goal for this healthcare reform is to establish a Single-Payer system in Nyland. Yes, I said the naughty word. Give me time to explain myself before you bring about the criticism that may or may not be true and accurate.

~~~

These are the primary problems with healthcare, as we know it in Nyland today. (I typically adapted stuff from the US as much as I could, and tried to adapt it to Nyland where possible)

Cost

This is the biggie. Healthcare is expensive, almost prohibitively so. The high cost of healthcare keeps people from making the choice to participate in preventative health services, visiting their doctor, dentist, etc. and on the more extreme end, seeking treatment for conditions they know they have. If they do make the choice to get treatment, they often get buried in debts they likely cannot pay. The only way out of this debt (besides obviously paying it off) is through costly bankruptcy or the effective relinquishing of their retirement savings (it does happen). Naturally, if you ask any rando on the street if they think healthcare should be more affordable, they will surely agree.

Insurance

While it is true that Nyland helps to cover costs by providing taxpayers with stipends, it should be known that the insurance system does little to help keep costs down. Insurance is one of the rare business models that benefits when its customers don't use what they paid for, so to speak. Some may argue that insurance provides peace of mind, but if I get injured, I'm not looking for peace of mind, I'm looking for them to pay my bill (that I've been indirectly paying for the whole time).  By removing this from the healthcare equation (for the most part) we can remove the interest in raising prices at all (by removing the profit motive from the equation). Some will certainly balk at the idea of removing profit motive, since there is a school of thought that has the understanding that profit motive is the surest way of making progress (which is not totally unfounded) but in the end, we're not talking about hamburgers or automobiles, we're talking about peoples lives. While the profit motive will be removed from the company perspective, surely there will be individual profit motive for those in the industry, such as doctors, etc. because they'll still get paid well for their services. Be advised that there would still be private insurance, it would just not be used for mandatory procedures, so no one would be making a profit from my heart transplant, so to speak.

Unnecessary Care

Many of the criticisms for a single-payer system refer to long waits and difficult access, but these could not be further from the truth, in terms of mandatory procedures. As Sal has said below, mandatory procedures would be easy to access and waits wouldn't be that long, but non-mandatory procedures would certainly have waits. Under the current system (as it is in the US) there is still priority for mandatory services, but there is a large priority for other elective services as well that drive costs up. By isolating those elective services we can ensure that access to mandatory services get the priority they need. (if you would like, you can research some of the ways unnecessary care drives up healthcare costs. it's pretty substantial.)

Access

The chief reason for changing to this new system is access. Simply put, access to cheap and subsidized healthcare is limited at the moment to taxpayers only. There are whole sections of the population who simply don't have that access. If healthcare is believed to be a universal right in Nyland it should indeed be a universal right to all in Nyland.

~~~~

Code:

1584 IAT World Cup Finals


The IAT World Cup Finals is the second highest tier of tennis tournament after the four Grand Slam tournaments.

It is held annually in Vintyr at the Sundgrond Arena in Vundt, Oslanburg, since 1582. The IAT Finals are the season-ending championships of the International Association of Tennis (IAT) World Tour, featuring the top eight singles players of the IAT Rankings. The first IAT World Cup Finals was hold in 1569.

Unlike all other singles events on the men's tour, the IAT Finals is not a straightforward knock-out tournament. Eight players are divided into two groups of four and play three round-robin matches each against the other players in their group. The two players with the best records in each group progress to the semifinals, with the winners meeting in the final to determine the champion. Though it is theoretically possible to advance to the semi-finals of the tournament with two round-robin losses, no player in the history of the singles tournament has won the title after losing more than one round-robin match.


Men's Singles

64th Cycling World Championship – Jandrea City, Jandrea

I've played maybe a few games and I'd like to talk about those.  That’s not a very long list, and I’m not very quick about getting through new ones I’ve started, so this will probably be a sparsely-attended thread.  However, I think the types of games I like tend to be pretty different from what most on this forum like, so hey, maybe you’ll see something cool!

Most of the games I play are old - old as balls - so chances are you’ve A.) decided a long time ago that the game about which I’m writing is not the kind of game for you and you’d never play it anyway, or B.) you’ve already played it.  If you’ve already played it, bring on the discussion!  If you're not into it, okay! (I don't have anything else to add; I'm not into rooty-tooty-point 'n shooty wartime games, or sports sims, so I probably would just respond to a thread about those with "Okay!", as I assume several of you will probably do with what I put here.  It's all good.)

There will probably be spoilers, albeit probably minor ones that won’t affect your enjoyment of your own playthrough.  I won’t tag spoilers like that specifically, so just assume that every time I write about a game, there will be at least one minor spoiler.  If I have to write about something critical which might actually ruin a game for someone (i.e. giving away an ending or a major plot point) I will be sure to add in spoiler alerts or whatever needs to happen.

Note: I am bad at writing reviews and critiques, so these will be more summaries than judgments, although there will be elements of both.

For every game, I’ll at least try to mention:

Title.  I mean, obviously.
Official Site.  If available. Else Steam, because that’s where I get pretty much everything.
Developer.  Which typically means little to me, because I haven’t played enough games to associate certain developers with really great games, or anything (there are a few exceptions), but I know it may mean more to more avid players.
Initial Release Date.  Self explanatory.
Genre. You’ll have to forgive me if I use the wrong word.  Video game genres are to me like genres of rock; there are dozens and sometimes the differences between two are minor and somewhat subjective.
Price. The normal price.  If it happens to be on sale when I make the post, maybe the sale price.
My Overall Rating.  Out of 10, compared to all other games I’ve played, plus pros and cons that led me to that rating.  Completely subjective.  Saljective.  Trademark it.

Three loud knocks. BANG. BANG. BANG. A man, clad in all black, knocks his cane against the iron door of the cathedral. The knocking of the cane, trimmed in plated silver over oak wood, echoes loudly in the quiet streets of the capital.

After the three bangs, a aged voice calls out "Who is there?"

The man in black responds, "His royal highness, crown prince of Caparetta. Royal prince of Mangou and Arraine. Pomainte, Hermark and Nadaronne. Of Lochut, Arterach, Montpensier, Lambersville, Hermark and Bronfurt. Knight of the Iron Crown, inspector-general of royal infantry, archduke Siegfried of Ladislaus."

From behind the great iron doors of the cathedral, the old monk responds "We do not know him." bluntly.

Again, three knocks. BANG. BANG. BANG. The knocks once again echo throughout the quiet streets of the city.

"Who is there?" repeats the old man from behind the iron doors.

"Archduke Siegfried of Ladislaus." repeats the man clad in black.

From within, the same words are repeated by the old man "We do not know him."

Defiantly, the man once again knocks his cane against the iron doors of the cathedral, silence briefly follows.

The old man picks up again, saying in his frail voice "Who is there?"

The man clad in black says in a much softer tone "Siegfried."

Silence follows the man's response, until the coarse sound of the iron locks of the gate being released can be heard. From within, monks carrying single wax candles open the two iron gates of the cathedral. As the iron gates are opening, the men at its gate proceed inside. Six of them carry a coffin, draped in the tri-colour flag of the Kingdom as well as an assortment of various flowers and wreaths, proceed inside.

The procession proceeded down the dark halls of the cathedral and as it did so the monks flanking the halls lit candles as the procession made its way down the long hallway. As the monks lit the candles, the tri-colour flags of the Kingdom that flanked each side of the cathedral were visible, draping down from the ceiling to the stone brick floor of Caparetta's oldest standing place of worship. As the procession proceeded to the front of the cathedral, the man carrying the decorated coffin stopped and together they brought it down over a stone slab, it was well decorated with religious inscriptions along its sides. As the men let the coffin down, the full procession began to fill the once empty hall of the cathedral. Men clad in black suits occupied the farthest side of the cathedral and at the front closest to the coffin of the crown prince mourners were clad in a wide variety of outfits, many with gold epaulets, gold and silver buttons, medals at their breasts, and sashes of different colours and designs - each representing a different noble house. Flanking the main hall to the cathedral were honour guards, clad in red and black tunics, they carried high halberds and white plumes draped down the back of their helmets.



Despite the pomp and circumstance of the affair, the mood was largely mellow, and few tears were seen in the polished faces of the nobility that had chosen to attend. The monks flanked the coffin of the crown prince, and at the forefront a man clad in the fine white robes of the clergy appeared, carrying a golden staff with etched patterns up and down it. The man began speaking, although to much of the audience his tongue was unknown. He spoke in an archaic Lanlanian tongue, unfamiliar to much of Caparettan society save much of the upper clergy and the religious nobility. The man in white blessed the man within the coffin, whose face and body could not be shown to the attendees due to the circumstances of his own end.

As the ceremony progressed, the man in white concluded his blessings and stood to the side and a figure clad in a pale blue tunic emerged, countless medals and decorations rested at his breast and a sash of yellow, blue and black hung across his torso. As he looked on at the audience, he moved his arms from behind his back and with his hands, which were clad in white satin gloves, he pulled out a small piece of paper with almost indecipherable and archaic writing on it.

"His royal highness, King Leopold of Caparetta, sovereign lord of Mangou, Arraine, Pomainte, Hermark and Nadaronne. Of Lochut, Arterach, Montpensier, Lambersville, Hermark and Bronfurt. Grandmaster of the orders of the Knights of the Purple Fleece, of the Knights of the Iron Crown and of the military order of Henri Ladislaus has instructed myself, crown prince Frederick to issue this statement." the man said in a most solemn and proud tone. "We sincerely regret that we are not present at the ceremony of our most beloved son and heir to the throne of our Kingdom. We should have liked personally to express to you our sincerest thanks for your sympathy in our keen sorrow, a sympathy which has greatly touched me. By your warm and sympathetic condolences you have given me renewed proof that we have the most ardently loyal of subjects, and that we may count upon you in every hour of grave trial. The attack directed against our poor son is the direct consequence of the agitation carried on by anarchists and uninformed members of our peasantry, whose sole aim is the weakening of our great house and the destruction of our Kingdom. It is no longer an affair of the single bloody deed of an individual but of a well organised conspiracy, of which all the threads reach to those who seek our society's collapse. Nevertheless it cannot be doubted that the event regarding the death of our noble son will nourish further crimes of this sort, and that the continuance of this state of things constitutes a constant danger to our house and to our kingdom's good health. The efforts of our government should in consequence be directed toward the isolation and the decimation of these anarchistic elements of our society immediately. If we are to ensure the continued prosperity of our Kingdom, we must ensure the safety of its ruling house - which is why we do announce our government's intention to begin immediately an investigation into the death of our son and into the rise of the anarchistic elements of our society, which are by no doubt motivated by the greed of the up and coming as well as that of those who we have rightfully wronged in the past decades of our most glorious reign." the man said. As he finished, he returned the piece of paper to his pocket and nodded to his audience. He stepped to the side and with his right hand he clasped the hilt of his cavalry sword and proceeded back into the mass of noblemen that occupied the front of the cathedral.