One of the nice things about pro cycling footage are the helishots of various landmarks. Today's stage started near Cézembre which resulted in this gorgeous shot.

From Eurosport broadcast of 2025 tour de france.
Obviously not great quality because I recorded the tv on my phone. Go watch the actual tdf for better quality.

Follow the Talossan Cycling Association Tour here: https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=4219

Quote from: Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be on June 13, 2025, 04:18:02 PMWHEREAS, it is in the province's interest to maintain records of its legal proceedings, similar to the national Scribery or the Fiovan Provincial Chancery; and

WHEREAS, we do not have anyone who is currently and clearly tasked with doing this; then

I HEREBY PROCLAIM, under the authority vested in me as Governadeir by the Constitution of Belacostă, that the following be enacted:

• The Governadeir shall have the responsibility of maintenance of the province's body of laws, and shall be the authorized figure to edit the text and records of the same; and
• This legal compendium shall be titled the Riverside Register, because alliteration is cool; and
• The Provincial Council may designate this responsibility and authority to any provincial Minister as is their constitutional prerogative.

Given at the city of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, June 13th, 2025
Don Mic'haglh Autófil O.Be., Governadeir of Belacostă

In the name of King Txec I hereby sign this proclamation.
Done by my hand this 4th day of July in the year of the common era 2025, in the first year of the reign of our gracious sovereign King Txec, and of the independence of Talossa the 46th.

Glüc da Dhi, Viceregal Representative to the Free and Sovereign Province of Belacostă

Ugh. I totally forgot about this. My sincere apologies.

Quote from: Munditenens Tresplet on June 03, 2025, 11:21:45 AMI doubt the AI minister will have any powers that couldn't otherwise be controlled or monitored—probably would lack any actual powers.

Well if it didn't have any actual responsibilities, it wouldn't really be a minister would it?


Can't we just do the one where we change our laws to have someone marry the statute of liberty? At least that proposal was somewhat funny.

Quote from: King Txec on June 03, 2025, 04:30:01 AMI was assured that we would not have anything to do on our end, except allowing their AI to interact.

And subvert our democratic processes by making a chatbot minister presumably.

Anyway, I don't want to interact with AI. Interacting with fellow citizens is more than enough for me, because I value you all as human beings. (At least I assume you all are. To be fair the only one I'm 100% certain of is Lüc :p ) What is the main purpose of AI if not to copy our humanity and creativity and sell it to the highest bidder?

Quote from: Munditenens Tresplet on June 03, 2025, 01:54:29 PMI for one think the King should always do what he is doing here: Presenting an offer to the citizenry and the government in the name of transparency, and not making any decisions on behalf of the Kingdom as a single individual.

Agreed. I don't blame His Majesty for bringing this up, even though I do hope the answer of citizenry and government is a resounding "no thanks, leave us alone please".

Very cool. Enjoy your tour! (I visited Tallinn last year and I would love to go there again. Unfortunately its rather far away)

Congratulations to both!

Belated happy birthday mpf!

Quote from: Glüc on May 08, 2025, 05:06:08 AMso my advice to anyone who happens to see this: Do NOT pick Wout van Aert (unless you really like taking massive risks)

Eeeh, nevermind

I have read the responses with interest and also consulted with His Majesty.

I will be signing the legislation, with the caveat that my interpretation of title E section 2 is that it is unconstitutional for the reasons I mentioned and therefore null and void as long as the constitution or the law isnt amended. The constitution does take precedence. Royal assent for the law cannot make an unconstitutional section constitutional. Of course if this ever ends up having an effect on election results it is up to the courts to decide on the correct interpretation. Best to not let it come to this however.

I said earlier that I am inclined to approve of the legislation. The reason for this is that the one potentially unconstitutional section can be seen separately from the rest of the bill, which was passed by the provincial assembly. There is no reason to not enact the rest of the bill. And with regards to the offending section, as S;reu Autófil correctly states, the order of precedence is clear. If my interpretation is correct this simply means that the section is unenforceable.

In order to prevent future confusion or potential lawsuits the assembly is hereby strongly advised to either amend section E.2 or amend the constitution to resolve any contradictions.

QuoteTHE BELACOSTAN UNIFIED STATUTE (BUS) ACT

WHEREAS prior experience in both national and provincial administration would indicate having a single legal corpus is beneficial for provincial citizens and legislators alike, and

WHEREAS it would appear that at least one prominent Belacostan has attempted such an undertaking before, and

WHEREAS we're trying to keep our provincial renaissance going and this is a logical next step, then

BE IT RESOLVED that all previously-enacted Belacostan laws are hereby repealed, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following be enacted as the Belacostan Unified Statute, a single legal code for the Province, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it is the desire of the Provincial Assembly and Council that all further legislation take the form of Amendments to said Statute.

QuoteTITLE A: State
1. Subdivisions
    1.1. As per El Lexhatx and the Provincial Constitution, the Province is subdivided into two Cantons. The northern Canton is Mazzini and the southern Canton is Garibaldi, with the demarcation between the two running in an east-west line along the center of East Park Place across the entirety of the Province.
        1.1.1. The capital of the Province shall be Mazzini, with Riverside High School in that Canton serving as the provincial capitol building.
        1.1.2. This status as capital confers no special benefit and is merely for ceremonial and symbolic purposes.
    1.2. The province is further subdivided into Sixths, known in Talossan as "Sextieirs" and in Italian as "Sestiere".
        1.2.1. The Sextieir of Kenwood shall consist of all provincial lands north of the centerline of East Linnwood Avenue, extrapolated across the entirety of the Province.
        1.2.2. The Sextieir of Locust shall consist of all provincial lands south of the centerline of East Linnwood Avenue and north of the centerline of East Locust Street, extrapolated across the entirety of the Province.
        1.2.3. The Sextieir of Riverside shall consist of all provincial lands south of the centerline of East Locust Street and north of the centerline of East Park Place, extrapolated across the entirety of the Province.
        1.2.4. The Sextieir of Webster shall consist of all provincial lands south of the centerline of East Park Place, north of the centerline of East Bradford Avenue, and east of the centerline of North Oakland Avenue.
        1.2.5. The Sextieir of Prospect shall consist of all provincial lands south of the centerline of East Bradford Avenue and east of the centerline of North Oakland Avenue.
        1.2.6. The Sextieir of Lorentzio shall consist of all provincial lands south of the centerline of East Park Place and west of the centerline of North Oakland Avenue.
    1.3. The province is yet further subdivided into Wards, known in Talossan as Bairïu and in Italian as Rione.
    1.4. Geographic Assignment
        1.4.1. Citizens living within the territory of the Province shall be assigned to the Canton and Sextieir in which they reside.
        1.4.2. Citizens living outside the territory of the Province shall be assigned to the Canton of their choosing upon their naturalization as a citizen of Talossa and of Belacostă, or upon their reassignment to Belacostă from another province by the Chancery.
            1.4.2.1. Citizens who do not choose a Canton within two months of their assignment or reassignment to Belacostă shall be assigned by the Governadeir to the Canton with the smaller number of citizens currently assigned; should the Cantons be equal in population, this assignment shall be random.
            1.4.2.2. Extant citizens who have not yet received a Cantonal assignment will likewise have a two-month period to choose one, with said period beginning upon the effectivity of this Statute; citizens who fail to choose within that period will be assigned using the method described in 1.4.2.1.
            1.4.2.3. Citizens will be free to modify their Cantonal assignment within this two-month period.
        1.4.3. Citizens shall likewise be assigned by the Governadeir to a Sextieir within the Canton of their assignment, following the same method for Cantonal assignment.
        1.4.4. There shall be no limits to the population of a Canton or of a Sextieir, nor requirements that people do not join a Canton or Sextieir that has too many people in it.
        1.4.5. Dandelions shall be considered citizens of the Canton and Sextieir of their parents, and any Dandelion that arises to full citizenship shall be empowered to choose a different Canton and Sextieir as per 1.4.1., 1.4.2., and 1.4.3.
        1.4.6. Belacostans shall have an additional right to petition the Governadeir, no more than once per year, for their assignment to a Canton and/or Sextieir to be changed. Said petition shall specify a reason for changing the assignment, and the new assignment requested. The Governadeir shall have full discretion to grant the petition or refuse to do so.
        1.4.7. Assignment to a given Canton or Sextieir shall not be construed to affect the equal rights and privileges of all Belacostan citizens.
2. The tertiary language of the Province shall be the Italian language.
3. In the interest of streamlining national and provincial administration, it is the opinion of the Province that a merger on equal grounds with a neighboring province is desirable; for historical reasons, Florencia is considered the preferred partner.

QuoteTITLE B: Symbols
1. Flag
    1.1. The flag of the province is five units in height and eight units in length.
    1.2. The flag is composed of a field of Savoy Blue two units width in the hoist and a field of Bicoloreu Red five units width in the fly, separated by a wavy-edged field of white one unit in width.
        1.2.1. Savoy Blue is defined as #4B61D1 and shall symbolize the Manaweg and the connection to both the Italian heritage of the Province's territory and the many contributions by Italian-born Belcostans to the Province's history.
        1.2.2. Bicoloreu Red is defined as #E20308 and shall symbolize the Belacostan people and their tenacity.
    1.3. Centered in the red field shall be a circle of three white stars of five points each, tops pointing outward, evenly spaced such that one star is centered at the right-most point of this circle.
2. Holidays
    2.1. Lombardi Day, to be observed on Super Bowl Sunday, commemorating the longtime coach of the Florencia Packers, for whom the Super Bowl Trophy is named after.
    2.2. Constitution Day, February 22, to celebrate the promulgation of our provincial Constitution by King Txec.
    2.3. Mazzini Day, March 22, commemorating the birthday of the Italian patriot and politician for whom our northern Canton is named. This is Canton Mazzini's Cantonal Holiday.
    2.4. Cjovani Heritage Week, April 1 to April 7, commemorating the Cjovani Belacostans of Ohio and their unique contributions to our provincial culture and history.
    2.5. Founders' Day, to be observed the first Sunday after April 19, commemorating the establishment of Belacostă as a province of Talossa on April 20, 1982.
    2.6. Garibaldi Day, July 4th, commemorating the birthday of the Italian patriot and politician for whom our southern Canton is named. This is Canton Garibaldi's Cantonal Holiday.
    2.7. Province Day, December 28, encouraging the Belacostan citizenry to be involved in provincial life.
3. The motto of the Province is "Sürvixhilind Delmás l'Espuendă", or in English, "Standing Watch Along the Water's Edge".
4. The nickname of the Province is "The province so nice, they renamed it twice."

QuoteTITLE C: Honours
1. Order of Belacostă
    1.1. The Order of Belacostă is an order to be bestowed upon Talossan citizens who provide exemplary service to the Province.
    1.2. Recipients of the Order of Belacostă are entitled to use the title of "Don" for men or "Donna" for women.
    1.3. The Order of Belacostă is bestowed on the prerogative of the Governadeir.
    1.4. To falsely claim membership in the Order of Belacostă, or to use the title of "Don"/"Donna" without authorization, shall constitute a misdemeanor punishable prescribed by the Cort pü Inalt and/or by expulsion from the Provincial Assembly for the remainder of the present term.
    1.5. The Order of Belacostă is conferred in two grades.
        1.5.1. The upper grade shall be the Order of Belacostă, First Class, also known as the Commander of the Order of Belacostă.
            1.5.1.1. This grade shall entitle the recipient to the post-nominal "C.O.Be".
            1.5.1.2. This grade shall entitle the recipient to the wearing of a ribbon consisting from left to right of a thick stripe of Savoy Blue, a thin stripe of white, a thick stripe of Bicoloreu Red, a thin stripe of white, and a thick stripe of Bicoloreu Green, bearing upon it a golden oak leaf emblem.
            1.5.1.3. This grade shall only be awarded for extraordinary service to the Province, or for extraordinary service to the Nation by a Belacostan.
        1.5.2. The lower grade shall be the Order of Belacostă, Second Class, also known as the Officer of the Order of Belacostă.
            1.5.2.1. This grade shall entitle the recipient to the post-nominal "O.Be".
            1.5.2.2. This grade shall entitle the recipient to the wearing of a ribbon consisting from left to right of a thick stripe of Savoy Blue, a thin stripe of white, a thick stripe of Bicoloreu Red, a thin stripe of white, and a thick stripe of Bicoloreu Green.
    1.6. All prior recipients of the Order of Benito or the Order of Belacostă are hereby confirmed to have retained their membership in the Order as constituted under this Statute, including but not limited to:
        1.6.1. Sieu Garp Ian, Duke of Lupul (First Class)
        1.6.2. Istefan Perþonest (Second Class)
        1.6.3. Flip Molinar (Second Class)
        1.6.4. Timoþi M. Asmorescu (Second Class)
        1.6.5. Lüc da Schir (Second Class)
        1.6.6. Mic'haglh Autófil (Second Class)
    1.7. Membership in the Order of Belacostă may be revoked by a two-thirds majority of the Provincial Assembly in cases of flagrant fraud or conduct unbecoming to a member of the Order.
2. Styles
    2.1. The Viceroy shall be styled "[His/Her] Excellency, The Most Honourable [Name], Viceregal Representative to the Free and Sovereign Province of Belacostă".
    2.2. The Governadeir shall be styled "The Right Honourable [Name], Governadeir of Belacostă".
    2.3. Provincial Consuls shall be styled "The Right Honourable [Name], Consul of Belacostă".
    2.4. Members of the Provincial Assembly shall be styled "The Honourable [Name], [Assemblyman/Assemblywoman] of Belacostă".
    2.5. Citizens of the province shall be entitled to the post-nominal "Esq." during service as an Arbiter.
    2.6. No provision of this Title shall prohibit the use of any style or title awarded by the King, the Ziu, the Uppermost Cort, any other provincial government, political subdivisions thereof or in accordance with statutes governing the offices of the aforementioned bodies.

QuoteTITLE D: Judiciary
1. The Judiciary of the Province is hereby established as a system of binding, voluntary, and citizen-led arbitration.
2. In the case of a conflict over provincial law, the aggrieved shall publicly declare their grievance and the two shall find a mutually agreeable party to function as Arbiter.
3. An Arbiter may be any Belacostan citizen in good standing.
4. Should the parties be unable to agree on an Arbiter, the Governadeir shall be charged with finding an Arbiter, from outside the province if necessary.
5. Upon appointment of an Arbiter, each side shall plead their case. The Arbiter shall not issue a ruling until both sides of the case have been heard.
6. The Arbiter shall base their decision on appropriate provincial and national law as well as custom and judicial precedent with an eye toward fair play.
7. The Arbiter's decision is final and binding upon all parties, though all such decisions may be appealed to the national court system.
8. While conducting Judiciary business, the Arbiter shall wear a special hat of their own devising. For the interests of cultural legacy, the Province will maintain a registry of all such hats.

QuoteTITLE E: Elections
1. Should any ballot list the same choice in citizen for Provincial Consul more than once, only the highest choice shall be counted towards that citizen.
2. Should any ballot list fewer than three choices for Provincial Consul, the citizens listed shall be presumed to start with the first choice and descend from that point.
3. Citizens who claim a seat in the Provincial Assembly for the term may do so via any option made available for such purpose on a General Election Ballot as issued by the national Chancery; however, it is the request of the Assembly that such option note that citizens will need to be active on Wittenberg in order to make use of their seat.

In the name of King Txec I hereby assent to this bill.
Done by my hand this 8th day of May in the year of the common era 2025, in the first year of the reign of our gracious sovereign King Txec, and of the independence of Talossa the 46th.

Glüc da Dhi, Viceregal Representative to the Free and Sovereign Province of Belacostă

In 24 hours, teams representing all Talossan provinces will compete for eternal glory in the Talossan Cycling Association Tour.

Teams from all provinces you say? Well not quite, because no team from Atatürk has registered so far. Actually no team from Atatürk has registered ever...

I guess the citizens of Atatürk don't think their province is worth representing.


Or do they?
https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=4054.msg34027#new

On that note, I should probably add that apparently Wout van Aert has been ill on top of having a bad season and being basically a leadout for Kooij. Of course there is always some upside to him because he can score loads of points in a good three weeks, but there is no indication that this will be a good three weeks for him and then you're just wasting soooo many credits, so my advice to anyone who happens to see this: Do NOT pick Wout van Aert (unless you really like taking massive risks)


24 hours left to register  for TCAT (or change your team if needed)...

Thanks again Lüc for visiting and of course for setting up and editing this!

Fwiw I suppose I wouldnt be offended if people only listened to the first 10 minutes and skipped the 50 minute tcat discussion (although that would mean missing out on some useful information for your tcat teams ;) )

Looking at the last assembly election results it does appear that there were votes with fewer than three candidates that were counted as valid. I now wonder if counting these votes may have been unconstitutional