I'm just gonna bring up a topic I didn't mention in our previous discussions:

How committed are we to nation-wide, at-large elections for the Cosa?

It's just an idea but have we seriously considered creating provincial constituencies based on population and elect MCs through the provinces? I understand this would drastically reorient how elections are run and won, but it would inject much needed activity in our provinces and with a smaller electorate, candidates can be better vetted by the people they're asking for votes.

Quote from: Moinul Moin on Yesterday at 01:59:13 PM->Bangladeshi Chicken Biryani

Chicken Biryani is one of my favorite dishes from Bangladesh. It is something you will often find at family gatherings, weddings, celebrations, or simply when people want to make a special meal at home(In Bangladesh and India). There are many different ways to make biryani, but this is a simple Bangladeshi-style version that I enjoy.

->[Ingredients]

1.For the chicken:

* 1.5 kg chicken, cut into medium-sized pieces
* 200 g plain yogurt
* 2 tablespoons ginger paste
* 2 tablespoons garlic paste
* 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
* 1.5 teaspoons red chili powder
* 1 teaspoon cumin powder
* 1 teaspoon coriander powder
* 1 teaspoon garam masala
* Salt(1 or 2 spoon)
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 3 tablespoons cooking oil

2.For the rice:

* 500 g basmati(thick & Long rice)
* 2–3 potatoes, peeled and cut in half
* 2 bay leaves
* 4 cardamom pods
* 4 cloves
* 1 small cinnamon stick
* 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
* Salt
* Water for boiling

3.For the biryani:

* 3 large onions, thinly sliced
* Oil for frying
* 500ml warm milk(cow)
* A little saffron or saffron-colored food essence
* 2 tablespoons kewra water (Pandanus odorifer)
* 2 tablespoons Rose water
* 3–4 green chilies
* 2 tablespoons ghee(Clarified butter)
* Fresh coriander and mint

-->How to make it(Learnt from my mother)

First, I marinate the chicken with the yogurt, ginger, garlic, turmeric, chili powder, cumin, coriander, garam masala(mixed spices), salt, lemon juice, and a little oil. I usually leave it for at least an hour.
Next, I slice the onions very thinly and fry them until they become golden and crispy. These fried onions are called "beresta", and they add a lot of flavor to the biryani. I also lightly fry the potatoes and keep them aside.
I then fry the marinated chicken in a large pot over high heat. Once the chicken is partly fried and the oil starts coming out of the mixture, I add the fried potatoes.
While the chicken is cooking, I prepare the rice. I boil the rice with salt, bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and cumin seeds. I don't cook the rice completely at this stage. It should be about 70% cooked, because it will finish cooking later with the chicken.
Now comes my favorite part: putting everything together. I place a layer of rice over the chicken, then add some fried onions, green chilies, coriander, and mint. I add another layer of rice and repeat the process.
Finally, I mix a little saffron with warm milk and pour it over the rice. I add the kewra water, rose water, and ghee, then cover the pot tightly.
The biryani is cooked on very low heat for around 20–25 minutes. This slow cooking allows the rice to absorb the flavors from the chicken and spices.
When it is ready, I gently mix the rice from the bottom upwards so that the grains stay intact.
It is best served hot, and I usually enjoy it with some salad or raita.

And there is one thing I personally like to do after eating biryani: I drink Coke! It gives me a wonderful, refreshing feeling after a hearty plate of biryani.

For me, Chicken Biryani is more than just a meal it is one of those dishes that reminds me of home and special occasions in Bangladesh. The view:-

I am definitely stealing this recipe. Thanks for sharing!

Be a work horse not a show horse is my suggestion

I'd also like to volunteer

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on June 04, 2026, 06:14:08 PMMr. Speaker, this enquiry is for the Culture Minister, @Françal I. Lux , and is a follow-up to his reply from last month:

Quote from: Françal I. Lux on May 05, 2026, 10:24:33 AM

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on May 04, 2026, 10:58:48 PMMr. Speaker,

This enquiry is for the Culture/Finance Minister.

On April 14, Minister @Françal I. Lux informed the nation of his return to service. Minister, if you could please advise the Ziu on your plans for the Culture and Finance portfolios now that you are back.

Thank you for the question.

Mr. Speaker, my main priority for the next month is resuming my previous plans for the Culture Ministry. With the help of S:reu Malt and under the supervision of our Ladîntsch Naziunál, the Ministry of Culture will be sponsoring a translation project, first to update the Talossan version of the Organic Law, and, if all goes well, the gradual translation of the nation's statutes.

Minister, what updates are there to the translation project currently underway with MZ Malt and the Ladîntsch Naziunál?

Thank you for the question,

Mr. Speaker we have unfortunately encountered delays due to personal reasons, but I haven't lost hope and will continue to push for it to at least begin before the end of this month.

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on June 02, 2026, 08:57:19 PM

Quote from: Françal I. Lux on June 02, 2026, 08:45:18 PMWhere can I get the latest numbers on these?

Should be able to find this information in the new database here: https://database.talossa.com/citizenship

Appreciate it!

Where can I get the latest numbers on these?

Umm...are we sure this is a legitimate application? No offense, it's just an odd application that's all.

Quote from: Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP on June 01, 2026, 08:34:43 PMNot directly related to what's going on here right now, but since it seems like we'll be going ahead with cyclical party lists, I've added cyclical tie-breaks to my SPAV tabulator. I have yet to hear anything about it... feel free to tell me if I should stop referencing it here.

I've had a chance to try the simulator as well and I'm intrigued. I'll look more into this as a serious alternative to our current system. I agree with Baron Davinescu that we probably will have to wait to implement this reform until the next term, but let's keep the idea alive until then.

Quote from: Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP on June 01, 2026, 12:07:57 PMSad to see the issue of candidate-based voting not further acknowledged. Personally, I'm not willing to give up on this project just yet, as I still think it's worth considering.

I will also continue to advocate for a candidate-based voting system. As I've state before, I believe it would solve a lot of the issues we're having to grapple with in the current system. I am still uncomfortable with party lists on principle and would prefer political parties to be decentralized enough to let individual candidates take the lead in their own campaigns.

I also don't buy the argument that it's too hard so we shouldn't bother with it. If the right solution is a little bit more complicated than the current flawed system but actually solves a lot of the issues we all know exist, we shouldn't be afraid to implement it regardless of how it would impact us politically or ideologically because it's what's right for the nation in the long-term. It's also on us as elected officials to explain to the public thoroughly the change and why it's necessary. I believe our citizens are sophisticated enough to understand and would appreciate reforms that would actually empower them at the ballot box.

Quote from: Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP on May 27, 2026, 05:05:25 PM

Quote from: Françal I. Lux on May 27, 2026, 04:26:48 PMAs long as the voters can choose who they want as their representatives regardless of party affiliation, I would be ok with an open list voting system as a compromise.

I still think the easiest way of implementing this, without any weird edge cases from trying to marry candidate votes and party votes, would be to implement a system in which party affiliation is listed on the ballot but irrelevant to the apportionment method.

I would be in support of this method.

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC on May 27, 2026, 04:54:24 PM

Quote from: Françal I. Lux on May 27, 2026, 04:26:48 PMAs long as the voters can choose who they want as their representatives regardless of party affiliation, I would be ok with an open list voting system as a compromise.

There are several open list systems, but some only allow you to choose candidates from your preferred party list. I suppose you could have a system where you have a "party vote" and a "candidate vote", and your candidate vote could go to someone outside your preferred party; but that might have weird effects, like, URL voters making a concerted effort to push a Prog candidate whom they liked to the top of the Prog list, over the wishes of Prog voters. Would that be okay?

Sorry, I was not clear on my statement. I would be in favor of an open list system as a compromise given that voters' choice dictate the order of seat apportionment on the list.

As long as the voters can choose who they want as their representatives regardless of party affiliation, I would be ok with an open list voting system as a compromise.

Azul everybody,

As Minister of Culture, I would like to request this prestigious organization's assistance in an important project.

With the assistance of [mention]Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP [/mention],  [mention]Mximo Malt [/mention] would like to undertake the ambitious task of updating and revising the Talossan version of our nation's Organic Law, and, if all goes well, the even more ambitious task of gradually translating our civil code, El Lexhatx, into Talossan.

Due to the scope and nature of this undertaking, I thought it would be more fitting for it to be a collaborative project between the nation's premiere Talossan language experts with the sponsorship and backing of the Ministry of Culture.

Ideally, S:reu Malt would provide his revisions and translations piecemeal while the rest provide feedback and corrections until the work is done.

Quote from: Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be on May 06, 2026, 12:10:23 AMThis is just my two bence, but I would argue that the provincial seats in an MMP setup could satisfy this preference, no? Yes, it does still factor into a partisan distribution of seats, but hear me out:

* Talossa as a country does have a fair amount of its activity revolve around politics, regardless of what one may think of this.
* Quite a few Talossans prefer a political system that actually features, well, politics. Discussion, debate, and organization based on ideological and ethical stances, as opposed to politics-as-a-popularity contest. (Some Talossans, to be fair, clearly do not share this preference.)
* An electoral system that seeks to balance the evaluation of individual candidates and evaluation of ideological groupings would, to my eyes, function as a compromise between these two approaches to Talossan politics.
* If we have an MMP system and the party list seats are also chosen via an open-list system, that would be a massive shift towards an individualized approach to politics, but it doesn't completely abandon modern, ideology-based partisan politics, either.

Just to be clear, I'm not arguing against party politics at all, I'm just not a fan of lists in principle because, in my view, it robs the voters choice. As I stated previously, it forces voters to elect their representatives as a block and prevents them from scrutinizing individual candidates. Let's say I ideologically align with Party A, but there's one or two individuals on their party list I disagree with for whatever reason, why should I be forced to elect them into office? What if I want to split my vote because there's someone in Party B who I actually know will be a good MC despite some political disagreements we might have?

Again, with a 20-seat Cosa, I would argue it's even more important that voters get to scrutinize individual candidates and ascertain whether they'd be good, responsible and serious public servants. Having to rely on a party list prevents that from happening because the party itself can pave over whatever flaws their candidates may have. If someone running for office can't stand on their own two feet and articulate why they should be in the Cosa, or if they lack the commitment or time to truly be present and active enough, I'd argue they have no business running for office.

Quote from: Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP on May 02, 2026, 07:32:11 PMI personally champion a form of Sequential Proportional Approval Voting as a voting system that is partyless, fair, and easy to explain and implement (feel free to ask me if you want to hear details), but any reform that furthers the principles of transparency and returning power to the people will do. Conversely, any reform idea that seeks to systematically deceive voters and trick them into helping people into power against the popular will is dead on arrival.

I'd like to hear more about this and how we would implement it in Talossa.

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC on May 01, 2026, 09:21:30 PMIt's even less democratic when the party leader just picks the MCs, unrestricted by any list.

Isn't this, in practice, the current system we have now?

What I have in mind is simple: Anybody is free to associate with whatever party they want, but running in an election would be the individual candidate's choice, no lists needed, and the onus is on them to take lead in running their own campaign.

Since we're moving to a 20-seat Cosa, I would argue that individual candidates' ideas and principles should be scrutinized more during an election and voters should have a direct say in who's representing them instead of being forced to pick lists of people.

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on May 04, 2026, 10:58:48 PMMr. Speaker,

This enquiry is for the Culture/Finance Minister.

On April 14, Minister @Françal I. Lux informed the nation of his return to service. Minister, if you could please advise the Ziu on your plans for the Culture and Finance portfolios now that you are back.

Thank you for the question.

Mr. Speaker, my main priority for the next month is resuming my previous plans for the Culture Ministry. With the help of S:reu Malt and under the supervision of our Ladîntsch Naziunál, the Ministry of Culture will be sponsoring a translation project, first to update the Talossan version of the Organic Law, and, if all goes well, the gradual translation of the nation's statutes.

I'm not suggesting we abandon party politics and I'm not explicitly commited to STV, but I'd like for everyone to consider shifting elections to focus more on individual candidates running for office instead of accepting them in bulk on a party list.

We should give the electorate the option to choose which candidate(s) they want to represent them while also forcing the candidates themselves to actually campaign for votes instead of relying on the party to carry them.

How is it democratic when we allow parties to curate who the candidates will be beforehand then present a list of people to the electorate as if to say these are your options, now pick. If John Smith likes MC A from Party 1 but also MC B from Party 2, why shouldn't he have the option to split his vote? What if John Smith doesn't like MC C from Party 1 because, say, they're not a very active public servant? In a party list, he has no choice but to vote for that candidate because he has no other option since Party 1 best represents his vote.

If we allow individuals to run on their own merits, then candidates would be compelled to defend their own ideas, campaign for their own success, and it'd likely discourage anyone who isn't really serious or committed to public service from running.

This might be a nonstarter but does the system have to be party-focused? Have we considered transitioning to a candidate-centric voting system for the Cosa?

I would argue it would eliminate many of the issues we're having as far as accountability and party transparency. If we use a system like Single Transferable Vote for example, we can elect individual candidates based on their merits instead of voting for a party who then decides which candidates to give seats to. I imagine this would reduce the propensity of MCs to vote solely based on party interests as they would be directly accountable to the electorate and it would allow citizens to split their votes if they choose instead of being forced to side with one party and tacitly endorse everyone on the list regardless of preference.