Quote from: Mximo Malt on Yesterday at 08:00:42 AMHappy New Year and Feast of the Lord's Circumcision, Majestas! 🫡

Quote from: Wikipedia, Holy PrepuceThe abbey of Charroux claimed the Holy Foreskin was presented to the monks by Charlemagne. In the early 12th century, it was taken in procession to Rome where it was presented before Pope Innocent III, who was asked to rule on its authenticity. The Pope declined the opportunity. At some point, however, the relic went missing, and remained lost until 1856 when a workman repairing the abbey claimed to have found a reliquary hidden inside a wall, containing the missing foreskin. This was not the only test of the relic's legitimacy: as anthropologist Eric Silverman writes, "A common test for foreskinned authenticity [in medieval times] was taste. A physician, supervised by a priest, sampled the skin for the flavor of genuine holiness. The taster was called a croque-prépuce, or 'foreskin cruncher.'"

This is a real "Nixon Goes To China" bill; in the sense that it's something I would have liked to introduce ages ago, but the monarchist side of politics would have screamed bloody murder at me for being a republican vandal. So, kudos.

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on December 31, 2025, 05:33:21 PMHis Majesty also mentioned you'd like a copy of our speech ahead of time?

The Opposition needs to see the Speech from the Throne to prepare a respectful yet forensic Address-In-Reply. The OppLeader says that if you get it to him by Thursday next week that'll be plenty of time.

Quote from: Joseph Morris on December 31, 2025, 12:54:20 AM

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC on December 30, 2025, 11:43:44 PMWe need a new history of Talossa. One written without the outrageous political bias of all the previous ones.

Previous ones? Sorry, I'm a relatively new citizen, so I haven't heard about these, but they sure sound interesting

There are two major sources for our early history, both written by King Robert I:

- the 1992 History of the Kingdom of Talossa, which is a very indepth discussion of the Kingdom's first decade or so.
- Ár Päts, a much briefer historical document which was periodically updated until 2008. That said, as Talossan politics became increasingly bitter, King Robert regularly revised it to abuse and smear his political opponents. There is a great example, which I wrote about once, where I compared the same chapter about former Seneschál Tamorán dal Navă before and after he fell out with King Robert.

Quote from: Françal I. Lux on December 31, 2025, 09:02:09 AMWe seem to be lacking a comprehensive account of certain parts of the kingdom's history, particularly what happened from Ben's final years to Reunision and John's coronation.

I know AD has expressed frustration that the Republic's discussion group has gone offline, but the 2004-2020 Kingdom Wittenberg is still online and just requires people to actually read through it and compile the greatest hits.

Quote from: Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP on December 31, 2025, 08:21:17 AMI believe PMQs are usually answered spontaneously, instead of being sent the questions and having the answers prepped in advance.

This is inaccurate. PMQs in my country and I believe in Britain are submitted with a few days notice so that the Government can prepare a proper answer. That said, supplementary questions are extemporary.

Quote from: Mximo Malt on December 31, 2025, 04:59:35 PMI really hate that part about Ireland...

So do I, and so do many Irish, but this is what happens when, after independence, Ireland was still a poor country dependent on labour migration to the UK or the US and so speaking English was still an economic necessity.

My sympathy is still with Ireland's first ambassador to the League of Nation, who always addressed that body in French, because he could not speak Irish and he'd be damned if he'd speak English.

Quote from: Barclamïu da Miéletz on December 31, 2025, 11:41:55 AM

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC on December 30, 2025, 06:12:05 PMlike Russia trying to eliminate the Ukrainian language in occupied Donetsk

Irrelevant but any part of Ukraine east of the Dnepr speaks Russian arleady anyway, also inhabited by Russians. Ukrainian is spoken instead anywhere west of the Dnepr, also inhabited by actual Ukrainians.

This is not true at all, and in fact is Russian propaganda. Eastern Ukrainians are not "Russians" just because Russian (or surzhyk, Russian-Ukrainian pidgin) is their first language. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who comes from Kryvyi Riv in south-eastern Ukraine, speaks Russian as his first language. Most of Ireland speaks English as their first language but they kind of take murderous exception if you say they're English.

We need a new history of Talossa. One written without the outrageous political bias of all the previous ones.

The quot

Quote from: Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP on December 30, 2025, 06:07:33 PMeven in that sense, reducing the language to just a means of promotion is, in my opinion as a language nerd, doing it a massive disservice. And I also understand Sir Tomás' upset: I, too, wouldn't like to be told that I've spend literal years of my life studying and advancing a promotional tool.

The quote I remember from the time was Ben quoting from some fact-sheet he wrote in 1981 saying "Talossan is only spoken by inhabitants of Talossa", and using that as an argument suggesting that it was impermissible for anyone else, i.e. me, to learn or speak it.

This is language submitted to political/state objectives and I consider it improper, like Russia trying to eliminate the Ukrainian language in occupied Donetsk.

Quote from: Xheralt Del'Encradeir on December 30, 2025, 04:11:27 PMknowing who the first trans person he was ever exposed to was, back in the formative 1980's, one of the weird-even-by-other-pagan's-estimation pagans around the university

Ha ha, so you mean that one Wiccan who poisoned himself against that whole faith was also trans? No wonder he hated me with the heat of 1000 suns...

Quote from: Xheralt Del'Encradeir on December 30, 2025, 04:37:26 PMWhat are you afraid of?

I'm afraid, if Ben doesn't accept that he acted like an asshole back then, exactly the same thing will happen when he gets back. I know that people can change over decades; I certainly have, and I have acted like all kind of bodily orifices in my time, and I like to think I've changed my ways. But I would require long-term evidence of such behaviour before I can feel comfortable. Such as: "Landing Pier style access for a number of months, just to show he plays nice these days".

Talossa is of course a voluntary entity, and I'm sure a lot of people here might prefer to have Ben back than me around, and they might just get that wish. But this isn't a "Ben's going to overthrow the state" thing (although I believe there are some people who'd love the restoration of his monarchy!). It's a "Ben will make Talossan life intolerable for me, personally".

Quote from: Xheralt Del'Encradeir on December 30, 2025, 04:37:26 PMI haven't forgotten that MY previous efforts to rejoin, or even look in on, this Kingdom (Landing Pier style) were unceremoniously and silently rejected

I don't know what this is referring to.

Quote from: Mximo Malt on December 29, 2025, 02:38:29 PM

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC on December 29, 2025, 02:37:40 PM

Quote from: Mximo Malt on December 29, 2025, 01:30:47 PMI found a script of The Princess Bride in Talossan, would anyone be interested in seeing a fandub?

Fun fact: the translator of that text is now serving a long prison sentence for sexual assault of minors.

Am I supposed to not make one as a result, Madame Schivă?

No, that's not what I said, and you should probably keep a polite tongue in your head.

Quote from: Mximo Malt on December 29, 2025, 01:30:47 PMI found a script of The Princess Bride in Talossan, would anyone be interested in seeing a fandub?

Fun fact: the translator of that text is now serving a long prison sentence for sexual assault of minors.

Quote from: Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be on December 17, 2025, 10:45:13 PMAnd we should probably look at formalizing and empowering the offices of Tuischac'h and Mençei, to let them maintain better order in their chambers.

I'd like to invite the Túischac'h @Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP hold forth on this.

I was reading about how they do things in Kosova, and it strikes me that an "open list" system can only work if we're doing the Pseudo-Real Cosă (i.e. like, 2 seats maximum per MC). In that case, the simplest open list system is:

- you get to vote for ONE party, and in addition, ONE candidate within that party's list
- if the party gets fewer seats than they have candidates, the candidates with the top X popular votes get those seats
- if the party is entitled to have Y candidates holding more than 1 seat, those will be the candidates with the top Y votes.

Effective control by voters of who, within their preferred party, gets into the Cosă is a democratic advance.

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on December 28, 2025, 04:08:18 PMthis is just an effort at gamesmanship, to provide a cynical reason to kill a popular piece of legislation

Certainly, this legislation is popular with PA members.

But that argument comes quite close to an argument that our Senäts delegation are not fully entitled to vote their consciences on any piece of legislation. The counter-majoritarian nature of the Senäts is, we thought, precisely what you used to say was good about it.

There are a grand total of two choices to get any Government legislation passed this term:

1) the PA and the URL make a mutually satisfying deal.
2) the PA shames and condemns the URL for angry, cynical gamesmanship and illegitimate motives, and hopes at least one URL Senator will admit you're right and surrender.

Our party leader Mic'haglh is taking point on this issue and insha'llah he can make the deal with you before Clark time.

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on December 27, 2025, 05:37:23 PMI would love to talk about the specifics here. We might just agree and amend the bill if we could discuss it.

If you're Clarking it, then apparently not?

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC on December 22, 2025, 09:57:09 PMTbf, the point of the Senäts in the minds of its defenders is precisely to be countermajoritarian. It is supposed to *not* represent the majority, because "stopping the majority doing things" is seen as a benefit in itself.

Reposting this for no reason in particular :D

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on December 27, 2025, 02:02:25 PM. Presumably the URL is not again threatening to block the Public Process Act,

There seems to exist an inaccurate belief within the Progressive Alliance that the URL did not simply suffer an election defeat on the numbers, but that we suffered one morally, in that we are not entitled to use our blocking majority in the Senäts in the way that it seems good to us to do so.

Mic'haglh is promoting a compromise bill which would make the PPA's provisions acceptable to the URL. Now, I can foresee a situation where the PA rejects this, puts the PPA2 on the First Clark, and it fails in the Senäts. Then, Mic'haglh puts the IRCA on the Second Clark, and the PA shoot it down. So that's two Clarks lost and then the choices are some kind of compromise bill, or no reform this Cosă. Seems wise to do the compromise *now*.