News:

Welcome to Wittenberg!

Main Menu
Menu

Show posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.

Show posts Menu

Messages - Mic’haglh Autófil, O.Be

#31
Wittenberg / Re: Talossan Space Agency proposal
January 07, 2025, 02:03:40 PM
Quote from: King Txec on January 07, 2025, 01:39:31 PMI love the idea. It's good to see new citizens bring new ideas. Knowing my brother, it's far more likely to be Monty Pythons inspired than any beverage though :-)

- Txec R

"The people called Extraterrestrials, they go to the house?"
#32
El Funal/The Hopper / Re: The MMP Cosa Amendment
January 05, 2025, 10:29:50 PM
Explanation of changes:

(1) modifies how Org.IV.2 awards the seats:
* Org.IV.2.1 is effectively the same, but uncouples the number of Cosă seats from the number of Senators (and does increase the minimum size of the Cosă slightly).
* Org.IV.2.2 covers the equal apportionment of provincial seats between provinces and lays out the minimum and maximum number of seats individual provinces may be apportioned.
* Org.IV.2.3 is largely the same information contained in the current iteration of Org.IV.2.2, tailored to fit an MMP Cosă situation.
* Org.IV.2.4 similarly is the current iteration of Org.IV.2.3.

(2) moves the current text of Org.IV.3 to its own subsection (Org.IV.3.1) and adds Org.IV.3.2 to mimic the method for filling Senatorial vacancies when filling vacant provincial seats.

(3) really just fixes a neglect-typo in Org.IV.5 that we have tolerated.

(4) provides for the eventual folding of Senators into the Cosă should their term not be expired when the Senate is abolished.

(5) is a measure intended to prevent "gaming the system". (Leaving provincial candidates off a party's candidate list would mean that, if they win, they do not count toward a party's total seats awarded, meaning a party could have used this method to be awarded more party seats than they would otherwise be entitled to.)
#33
El Funal/The Hopper / The MMP Cosa Amendment
January 05, 2025, 10:14:32 PM
WHEREAS, public pressure has been mounting for a transition to a unicameral Cosă; and

WHEREAS, it is desirable to retain a measure of representation for the citizens of each Province that is directly accountable to them; and

WHEREAS, this representation must be balanced with the need for proportional representation to provide for a legislature that reflects the will of the people; and

WHEREAS, mixed-member proportional representation is an electoral method suited for such a balance; then

BE IT RESOLVED, that the following Amendments to the Organic Law are made:

(1): Article IV, Section 2 is replaced in its entirety with the following:
Quote1. The total number of seats shall be 200, or another number which may be set by law, with the provisos that any such change will not take effect until the next election following the passage of a calendar year; and that this number may never be less than three times the number of provinces minus one.
2. At each General Election, each province shall be apportioned a number of seats in the Cosă, hereinafter referred to as "provincial seats". Each province shall be apportioned an equal number of whole seats. No province shall be apportioned less than 3% of the total number of seats in the Cosă, nor shall any province be apportioned less than one seat. No province shall be apportioned more than 15% of the total number of seats in the Cosă. Within these limits, provinces shall each be apportioned the maximum number of seats such that the total number of provincial seats does not exceed one half of the total number of seats in the Cosă.
3. The remainder of seats shall be apportioned between political parties, hereinafter referred to as "party seats". Each party shall receive party seats such that its total number of party seats and provincial seats held by provincial MCs affiliated with that party, taken as a share of the total number of Cosă seats, is as equal as possible to its share of the popular vote. Each party shall receive a whole number of seats, and in turn, each party shall assign these seats to individuals, in accordance with law. The Secretary of State shall employ whatever mathematical formulae and calculations in the apportionment of seats as are set by law, or, in the absence of such law, as will best reflect the intentions of this Organic Law. The Uppermost Cort shall be the final judge in case of mathematical disputes.
4. Only registered political parties may obtain party seats. Parties which win votes but are not registered may not assume their seats in the Cosă until they register. The process to register a party shall be defined by law. The Secretary of State may request from all parties a registration fee, to be set by law, to cover the cost of the election. This fee shall be uniform for all parties.

(2): Article IV, Section 3 is replaced in its entirety with the following:
Quote1. In the case of vacant party seats occurring between elections, the Secretary of State shall inform the King and the leader of whatever party held the vacant seat. The King shall appoint a replacement to each vacancy. If the seat belonged to a party with a functioning party leader, the King must appoint as a replacement whichever person shall be so designated by that party's leader. If there is no functioning party leader, or if the party leader refuses to designate a replacement, the King shall appoint the replacement according to his own best judgment.
2. In the case of vacant provincial seats occurring between elections, the executive of the province in question shall appoint a Member of the Cosă to serve the remainder of the term. If the provincial executive fails to appoint a Member within a fortnight of the vacancy, the King or his Cunstavál shall appoint the Member.

(3): Article IV, Section 5, which currently reads:
QuoteEach person holding one or more seats is a representative known as a "Member of the Cosa" (MC). MCs may not be removed from office except by a two-thirds vote by the Cosa and approval by the King. An MC vacates his seats if he fails to vote on two consecutive Clarks, or if he resigns from office or dies. The seats of any MC who is removed or vacates shall be reassigned according to Section 4, above.
shall be amended to read:
QuoteEach person holding one or more seats is a representative known as a "Member of the Cosă" (MC). MCs may not be removed from office except by a two-thirds vote by the Cosă and approval by the King. An MC vacates his seats if he fails to vote on two consecutive Clarks, or if he resigns from office or dies. The seats of any MC who is removed or vacates shall be reassigned according to Section 3, above.

(4): Article IV, Section 11, which is currently blank, is replaced with the following:
QuoteShould the Senäts ever cease to exist for any reason, including but not limited to abolition, all incumbent Senators shall be awarded their province's provincial seats for the remainder of what would have been their current Senatorial term of office, subject to the same conditions for removal as any other MC as in Section 5 above.

(5): Article IV, Section 13 is created to read:
QuoteProvincial MCs will not be eligible for award of any party seats during a Cosă term unless they appear on a registered party list for the most recent General Election.

Uréu q'estadra så:
Mic'haglh Autófil MC
#34
Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on January 05, 2025, 02:20:09 PM
Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN on January 05, 2025, 02:09:18 PMCan the Member please remind us what that work was, to save us looking it up?

Túischac'h, Absolutely, here is the former Acting Foreign Minister's reply from mid-December:

Quote from: Mic'haglh Autófil, SMC EiP on December 14, 2024, 04:18:11 PMEstimadăs Tuischac'h, I thank the Member for this question.

I have begun making inroads with members of the MicroWiki community this past week. MicroWiki is one of the larger communities of micronationalists on the Web, and I believe the potential there for international relations is quite high. Namely, I joined their Discord server with three goals in mind, once I was integrated better with the community:

* Establish bilateral relations with interested nations, preferably ones with a relatively noteworthy population.
* Look into the existence of regional micronational organizations (their Wiki does list at least two that are focused on the Great Lakes region)
* Look into the existence of global micronational organizations (preferably a pre-existing one, as opposed to founding a new one, as you may be aware this is seen as sort of reason for derision in the broader sphere).

While the Landing Pier idea has obviously not yet been implemented, I believe I can work something out there with the Secretary of State.


I will be continuing this work on the Ministry's behalf for the time being, despite no longer Acting as Foreign Minister.
#35
Quote from: C. M. Siervicül on January 05, 2025, 02:16:36 PM
Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN on January 05, 2025, 02:11:12 PMUnder the old laws, Dandelions were not in danger of "striking out" of citizenship. So, if their parents "struck out", they would be left on the rolls, with no way of contacting them.
Yes, but they still start "accumulating strikes" at 14, right? I thought "trapped" meant they were stuck on the rolls indefinitely but maybe I misunderstood.
I would argue that it seems unfair for them to accumulate strikes if we have no way to contact them. That would mean they are not receiving things like GE ballots, which would make it difficult for them to avoid accumulating strikes, no?

If, regardless of their age, they have not yet been taken off Dandelion status, then they are "still Dandelions", so to speak, meaning they should be exempt from strikes.
#36
I am pleased to report that the first batch of ID cards has been received by the printer. ETA for completion is mid-next-week.
#37
WHEREAS the structure of the Sovereign Province's government has proven increasingly unwieldy as time has progressed, and

WHEREAS streamlining these structures is advisable to ensure the principles of good and responsible government are upheld for the people of Belacostă, then

BE IT RESOLVED that the following document be adopted as the Constitution of Belacostă, rendering all previous provincial constitutions null and void, pending the result of a referendum and promulgation by the King or Cunstaval in accordance with Article IX, Section 4 of the Organic Law.

Quote
La Constituziun dal Provinçù Liveradă es Soveran da Belacostă

The Constitution of the Free and Sovereign Province of Belacostă
Article I: The State
Sec. 1. The Free and Sovereign Province of Belacostă is an autonomous and self-governing member of the federal Talossan nation.

Sec. 2. The full style of the state is "la Provinçù Liveradă es Soveran da Belacostă", or in English, "the Free and Sovereign Province of Belacostă". In either language, the short style of the state is simply "Belacostă".

Sec. 3. The sacred and irremovable territory of the Free and Sovereign Province of Belacostă shall consist of the cantons of Mazzini and Garibaldi, with the capital of the Province at Mazzini.

Sec. 4. The sole historic and national language of the entire Talossan people, and therefore of the  Province, is the Talossan language (el glheþ Talossan). The Belacostăn government shall also recognize English as a secondary working language, and may adopt tertiary working languages by law.

Article II: The Provincial Assembly
Sec. 1. The legislative power of the Province shall be invested in l'Aßemblatx Provincial, the Provincial Assembly. The Provincial Assembly is composed of all citizens of the Province who each claim a single seat at the beginning of a new session, and is considered the Province's supreme political authority. Each citizen may not hold more than one seat in the Provincial Assembly.

Sec. 2. The Provincial Assembly shall have power to pass any bill into law by a simple majority vote; a bill shall be introduced upon recommendation of at least two Provincial Consuls, and if the Assembly vote is successful, automatically becomes law. Votes on bills shall last seven days, but a vote may be closed early once enough votes have been cast to guarantee a bill's passage or failure. At the dissolution of the Cosă, the Assembly will be ceremonially closed to business until the next Cosă's first Clark.

Sec. 3. Citizens who have been naturalized and assigned to Belacostă during the current session of the Provincial Assembly may be admitted as Assembly members by a majority vote in the Assembly.

Sec. 4. Should any other province merge with Belacostă, all members of that province's legislature as then constituted shall each be granted one seat in the Provincial Assembly for the remainder of its current term.

Article III: The Provincial Council
Sec. 1. The executive power of the Province shall be vested in a three-member body known as el Cußeglh Provincial, the Provincial Council, which shall conduct its business collectively (i.e. by majority vote).

Sec. 2. The Provincial Council will be elected from among the citizens of the Province at each Cosă election, via a positional vote. Voters will name their first-, second-, and third-choice candidates. For each first-choice vote, the candidate shall receive three points; for each second-choice vote, two points; and for each third-place vote, one point. The three candidates with the highest point totals shall be elected to the Provincial Council, with any ties being broken by the number of first-choice votes received (and if necessary, the number of second- and then third-choice votes, with a coin flip being used past this if necessary). Provincial Consuls may choose to ceremonially represent any canton or sexteir of the Province, or to represent the Province at-large.

Sec. 3. The presiding officer of the Provincial Council shall be known as el Governadeir, the Governor. The first order of business of each newly-assembled Provincial Council will be to elect a Governor from among its members via a Motion to Appoint a Governor. The Provincial Council can replace an incumbent Governor via a simple majority vote on another Motion to Appoint a Governor (effectively, a "constructive motion of no confidence").

Sec. 4. The Governor shall be primus inter pares on the Provincial Council, and shall have no powers over his fellow Consuls save that of presiding over the Council's business. The Governor may issue proclamations that have the force of law, insofar as they do not conflict with either this Constitution or other provincial laws. Proclamations require the countersignature of the King or Viceroy to take effect, with the exception of proclamations to issue memorials, confer provincial honors, or clarify policy internal to the Provincial Council. Proclamations may be vetoed by a simple majority vote in the Provincial Assembly, and the Governor may not cast a vote on such veto motions.

Sec. 5. The Governor shall serve ex officio as the presiding officer of the Provincial Assembly.

Sec. 6. The Provincial Council shall have the power to appoint Ministers and delegate executive and administrative powers to the same. Ministers may be dismissed by either the Provincial Council or the Provincial Assembly. At the closure of a Provincial Assembly session, all Ministerial positions shall be vacated.

Sec. 7. The term of office of Provincial Consuls shall extend until the next Provincial Council is assembled. The composition of the Provincial Council cannot be altered between elections except by the death, renunciation, or resignation of a Consul, by their conviction by the Cort pü Inalt, or by a two-thirds majority in favor of a Motion to Recall a Consul.

Sec. 8. In the event of a vacancy on the Provincial Council between elections, the remaining two Consuls shall nominate a successor for confirmation by the Provincial Assembly. Should the Governorship fall vacant, the remaining Consuls shall elect a new Governor via the standard Motion to Appoint.

Sec. 9. Should any other province merge with Belacostă, that province's chief executive shall be granted a temporary, additional seat on the Provincial Council for the remainder of its current term. Any vacancies that occur on the Provincial Council that leave the number of Consuls at three or more shall be held as filled by one of the temporary Consuls.

Article IV: The Judiciary
Sec. 1. The Cort pü Inalt shall have original jurisdiction to try all cases arising under Belacostăn law.

Sec. 2. The provincial government reserves the right to form a judicial system to meet its needs pursuant to Organic Law.

Article V: Federal Officials
Sec. 1. El Cunstaval, the Viceroy, is the representative of the King of Talossa. The Viceroy is appointed by the King pursuant to Organic Law. While the King may freely appoint a Viceroy, it is the preference of the citizens of the Province that the Viceroy be a citizen of the Province for at least one year prior to appointment. The Viceroy may not hold a seat on the Provincial Council. Any bill adopted by the Provincial Assembly shall be deemed to take effect on the signature of either the King or Viceroy, or shall enter into force at the end of the month in which it is adopted if no action by either is taken on it. The King or Viceroy may veto a bill, but this veto may be overridden by a two-thirds majority of the Provincial Assembly.

Sec. 2. Belacostă's delegate to the Senäts shall be elected pursuant to Organic Law.

Article VI: Supremacy
Sec. 1. This Constitution shall be the supreme law of the Province; no provincial statute or Gubernatorial proclamation shall be permitted to contradict it as they are subordinate laws.

Sec. 2. Gubernatorial proclamations shall be subordinated to provincial statutes, and shall not be permitted to contradict the latter.

Sec. 3. In the case of any prohibited contradiction, the subordinate law in question shall only be held as void to the extent to which the contradiction exists.

Article VII: Amendments
This Constitution may be altered by a resolution of the Provincial Assembly, which must be approved by a two-thirds majority.

Article VIII: Statutory Adoption
Approval of this Constitution shall not be held to affect the continuing applicability of other provincial laws, save for any contradictions as outlined in Article VI.

Article IX: Ratification
This Constitution may be held as approved by a referendum in accordance with Organic Law, with the vote to last no less than two weeks. It will enter into effect at the next dissolution of the Cosă.

Uréu q'estadra så: Mic'haglh Autófil MA (PdR)
#38
Quote from: C. M. Siervicül on January 02, 2025, 05:36:19 AMOne neat thing about the timing of Flip Molinar Day is that the idiom "turn of the year" is used to refer to the end of one year and beginning of the next. Perhaps in Talossan English the term "flip of the year" will gain currency.

The correct response in Talossan English, I think, is to say that I mick this.
#39
Quote from: Carlüs Éovart Vilaçafat on January 02, 2025, 10:20:39 AMThis is a great start! I love the color recommendations on the wiki and the attempt to standardize the provincial banners, although I do prefer the lime green and sherbet orange of the original Maricopa flag image.

Great job!


- Green Town
I had a feeling that one might be controversial! Some of the colors I listed are derived from other ones -- for example, the orange is derived from mixing Bicoloreu Red and the listed shade of Gold.

Averaging RGB colors is a little like doing geometry. If you want to average two colors, you have to do it one at a time (R, G, then B). If one of them is A and one is B, the corresponding R/G/B coordinate for the resulting color C is basically found using the Pythagorean Theorem: (A2 + B2) / 2 = C2. Using this method, I have averaged the proposed colors with the current Maricopan flag colors and arrive at the attached, which I think does a good job of capturing the current flag while being a bit less...visually-jarring, you might say. (This isn't intended as an insult to the good people of Maricopa, as no province's flag is perfect.)

- TLF
#40
Quote from: Iason Taiwos on January 01, 2025, 12:21:47 PMI love the new flag design! (I uploaded the image of it to the private Belacosta Facebook group, with a link to this thread, if that's okay...)

It certainly is! I didn't mean to hijack my own thread, but I figured since flags were already mentioned it was at least sort of on topic. Still mostly looking for constitutional feedback, however...
#41
As described in the outlined plan for the replacement of our National Database, the Ministry of Technology is bringing forth options for the platform on which the new Database will be hosted. All are welcome to comment on either of the proposed alternatives, or make proposals of their own.

  • Option 1: Status Quo: For the purposes of comparison, the current Database is offered as a "solution".
    • Pros: Self-hosted, custom-tailored, already exists.
    • Cons: Poor user-friendliness, requires help from MPF for some tasks (expertise bottleneck).
  • Option 2: Django: Django is a Python framework that allows us to generate the database and server using models that we can create to represent whatever objects are necessary (citizens, bills, etc.).
    • Pros: Self-hosted, also very customizable, familiarity (Sir Luc has worked with Django before), allows us to write templates for user interface (improved usability).
    • Cons: Uncertain on how easy to port over current DB information, still requires some expertise.
  • Option 3: Google Sheets: While not a database tool in the usual sense, Google's spreadsheet editor can be used for more sophisticated data storage than most might think.
    • Pros: Free to use, server crashes unlikely, familiarity (I use Sheets for all sorts of personal projects), less specialized knowledge required for most aspects (easier for future generations of Talossans).
    • Cons: Not self-hosted, not a true database tool, may get into "spaghetti code" (spaghetti formulas) very quickly (that's a lot of VLOOKUPS).
#42
Only slightly related, but on the note of a new flag, I've mutated one of my previous proposals to arrive at the attached.

Blue: Water, naturally. You can't have a Beautiful Riverbank without it! This particular shade is actually Savoy blue, the color of the Italian royal House of Savoy, in order to maintain a connection with the Province's Italian roots while also not implying our water is green.

White: I actually tried using gold in this place but it felt a bit too busy in terms of color. Granted, our riverbank itself is mostly green (well, brown at this time of year), but we need a metal in this spot to make it look good.

Red: Bicoloreu Red for the People! Red in this case can also serve as a callback to both the Italian flag itself (both use red specifically in the fly portion of the field) as well as the Red Shirts of Garibaldi.

Three Stars: Could refer to the three members of the proposed Provincial Council model, the three names our fair province has had, or the three cantons that are lawfully ours just kidding, neighbors. These point to the right in order to avoid putting one star over the other -- the Governor would be first among equals on the Council -- and also to symbolize our province's looking to a brighter tomorrow (tying in well with the motto of our Medium Neighbor, Wisconsin: Forward)
#43
The Royal Academy of Vexillology has adopted a new banner, provisionally blazoned as follows:

A triangular swallowtail quarterly vert and gules, I. two trumpets in saltire or over a three-tailed banner palewise of the third.


Furthermore, the Academy's wiki page has been created, which may be found here.

- TLF, Provost
#44
As Provost I declare the name of this institution in el Glheþ Naziunal to be l'Academieu Rexhital Drapëuloxhanal.
#45
Belacostă / Re: The More Things Change
December 31, 2024, 10:54:27 AM
Oh, figlheu dal--

Evidently Breneir was born to be a Belacostan which is why we should remerge our wayward provinces, naturally