The Constitutional Committee Formed

On Friday, 2 July 2004, Michael Pope, Dean of the Provisional Council of the Republic of Talossa, formed a Constitutional Committee with the following leaders as members:

(1) Chairman: Michael Pope, Dean of the Provisional Governing Council; formerly Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Talossa for many terms.

(2) Member: Chris Gruber, Chief Justice of the High Cort; formerly Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Talossa; constitutional law expert.

(3) Member: Miestrâ Schivâ, recent citizen; one of the founders of the Free Commonwealth of Penguinea; Lawspeaker of the Althing, roughly equivalent to Speaker or President of (the Lower House of) the Parliament of Penguinea; constitutional law expert.

(4) Member: Jonathan Kelley, recent citizen; constitutional law expert.

"Art Verbotten", Justice of the High Cort, will serve as Technical Consultant on an as-needed basis.

The Committee is charged with working out the details of the proposed constitution and will present them, one piece at a time, to the Provisional Governing Council for debate and approval. Any section not approved shall go back to the Committee for a rewrite. When each component of the constitution is in place, the entirety will go before the people for a plebiscite.

(Reprinted from Micro-Nations.org)

Doctor Miestra Schivâ, Citizen Jonathan Kelly

Miestra Schivâ, a recent citizen of the Republic of Talossa, was informed on Monday, 28 June 2004 that she has been awarded her PhD, her dissertation, submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English Literature, having been approved. Her dissertation will be online soon at her homepage.

In the whole history of Talossa (from December 26, 1979 to June 29, 2004), Ms Schivâ has been the first citizen to get a PhD degree.

On Friday, June 25, 2004, Michael Pope, Dean of the Provisional Governing Council of the Republic of Talossa, put forward for naturalization the name of Jonathan Kelly, another former reject like Ms Schivâ some years ago.

On Tuesday June 29, 2004, the Provisional Governing Council confirmed Mr Kelly to be a citizen (No.17).

(Reprinted from Micro-Nations.org)

Historic Citizenship of Schivâ and Anglatzarâ

An event of historic proportions took place on Friday, 25 June 2004 in the Republic of Talossa.

On 23 June 2004, Andy Lowry, Provisional Immigration Minister of the Republic of Talossa, put forward for naturalization the name of Miestra Schivâ (real name: Daphne Lawless), who applied for citizenship of the Kingdom of Talossa sometime around June, 1997, and after waiting for one year, was rejected sometime around June, 1998, because of her clash with the King. She and the King have been enemies ever since.

On 24 June 2004, Michael Pope, Dean of the Provisional Governing Council of the Republic of Talossa, put forward for naturalization the name of Ián Anglatzarâ (real name: Johan Anglemark), who was a citizen of the Kingdom of Talossa from early 1998 till late 2000 or early 2001. He became a persona non grata. He and the King have been enemies ever since.

On 25 June 2004, the Provisional Governing Council confirmed Mr Anglatzarâ and Ms Schivâ to be citizens No.15 and No. 16, respectively.

The Republic of Talossa now has 16 citizens and the Provisional Governing Council has 16 members.

(Reprinted from Micro-Nations.org)

New Citizens, New Judge

On Monday, June 21, 2004, Michael Pope, Dean of the Provisional Governing Council of the Republic of Talossa, nominated "Art Verbotten" (real name: John Carl Eiffler) to be a Justice of the Provisional High Cort (=High Court). The Council confirmed him to the post on Wednesday, June 23, 2004.

The High Cort is now full-fledged: (1) Christopher C. Cruber, Chief Justice; (2) Uglhán Cruceatúl, Justice; and (3) John Carl Eiffler, Justice.

On Tuesday, June 22, 2004, Michael Pope, Dean of the Provisional Governing Council of the Republic of Talossa, put forward the name of Martì Páir Furxhéir (real name: Martin-Pierre Frenette) for naturalization. The Council confirmed him to be a new citizen on Wednesday, June 23, 2004.

Martin-Pierre Frenette is the Wittmeister (the Administrator of Wittenberg) and owner of Cablan.net, which hosts the Republic's Talossa.com website. (The Talossa.com domain is owned by Jeremiah P. Griffin, who is now the Republic's Foreign Minister.)

Now, the Republic of Talossa has 14 citizens (11 founding citizens plus John Carl Eiffler, Ronald Rosalez and Martin-Pierre Frenette). Now, the Provisional Governing Council has 14 members (the 11 founding Councilors plus the three new Councilors), because the Council is composed of all the citizens.

The mandate of the Provisional Governing Council is for 6 months, from June 1 to November 30, 2004.

(Reprinted from Micro-Nations.org)

We're Being Voyeurised

In all the history of Wittenberg X, never have we seen things like this:

RE: And..., posted by Ián Anglatzarâ on June 05, 2004 - 17:42.
Viewed 41 times.

Glad News at La Repúblicâ, posted by Grubi Cavéir on June 08, 2004 - 18:35.
Viewed 43 times.

R of T Adverts!, posted by Grubi Cavéir on June 08, 2004 - 19:04.
Viewed 46 times.

Foreign Relations, posted by Jeremiah on June 01, 2004 - 23:33.
Viewed 54 times.

What Talossa Means To Me, posted by Miestra Schivâ on June 08, 2004 - 19:27.
Viewed 66 times.

Proclamation of Independence, posted by The Republic of Talossa on June 01, 2004 - 13:00.
Viewed 131 times.

Compare that with the number of times any post made on Witt ere 1 June had been viewed, and you will know that there are a great many people watching Witt. Even one of the most obscure posts in post-revolution Wittenberg has been getting activity:

RE: PS:, posted by Lisa Skovalia on June 03, 2004 - 17:21.
Viewed 11 times.

Who, then, is lurking?

No doubt, citizens of the Kingdom of Talossa are taking a peek, as are, of course, the Republic's citizens and prospectives, but if the message from the former King of the micronation of Triparia is any indication, a great many people are interested in whether our enterprise will succeed or fail.

Anglatzarâ Loses Soup Privileges

After allegedly infuriating the Chief Justice of the Provisional High Cort, Ián Anglatzarâ has lost his soup privileges for a period of one year.

"His refusal to respond properly to my brilliantly-written post on immigration made me angry," said Chief Justice Chris GRuber. "So I whomped him with an Old testament-style punishment!" The Cort order reads:

As Chief Justice, I hereby order: No soup for you! One year!

Mr Anglatzarâ has not offered comment, but is reportedly rather upset, as it is rumoured he has a fondness for chowder.

For the original post , check out: http://www.talossa.net/wittenberg/show.php?fid=2&id=99

Schivâ Submits Application for Cit'ship

Today, the "notorious" Miestra Schivâ surprised the critics by submitting the required essay for Talossan citizenship, making an historic second attempt at cit'ship (although this time, two major things have changed ;-).

Submitted below is Ms Schivâ's essay, "What Talossa Means to Me":

Let’s start by saying what Talossa has meant to me. I quote from my initial citizenship essay, written June 1997:

A nation is a group of people bonded together by a common language, culture, tradition, territory, experience or custom, or combination of the above – it is a living, organic community of people who feel themselves to be part of a larger entity. […] I am forced, by virtue of living here [in New Zealand] to belong to a state. I can choose my own nation. I choose Talossa.

[…] My prospective adoptive nation has several points which elevate it over most neo-nations. Its proven long-term stability, with a history covering almost two decades […]; its vigorous and exciting political culture and free press, which allow many different creative egos to flourish; its beautiful lagnuage. But the one thing that sets Talossa above most other micronations is that it is (relatively) serious. While it started out as a game for bored, creative minds, unlike most other micronations it didn’t stay that way. Talossa is a community with shared culture and traditions. Thus, according to the definition above, it is a nation. I want it to be my nation.

Thus, if I become a citizen, my concern will be not so much with the trappings and ceremonies that (let’s face it) the "joke countries" have a massive surplus of – it will be with the things that make Talossa a real nation; its culture, communication and political life. I intend to learn el glheþ Talossán and use it and encourage other Talossans in its use; […] and I intend to work for a kinder and more inclusive Talossan political culture, with less personal vituperation and more options for participation. .[…] As far as immigration goes, my preliminary belief is the more Talossans, the merrier. Your mileage may vary, but that’s the great thing about Talossa. I look forward to robust debate.

[…] I respectfully ask you to grant me the chance to join with you in building the Talossan nation. I love the nation of my birth, and the nations of my ancestors, but Talossa is my nation of choice. I hope it chooses me.

I’ve quoted all of that essay which is still applicable today. Forgive this extensive quoting; the original essay was, unlike almost every other citizenship essay, not printed in the royal-controlled Press. So even the long-term among you will have never seen it before.

So, that’s what Talossa meant to me in June 1997. By June 1998, however, it meant something else. It meant the community that had rejected me; that had declared me a traitor without trial; that now had an official history in which myself and my friends starred as the worst monsters in recorded history. (Worse than the people who rigged elections and called other citizens "homo-nazis", even.) It meant a nation in which the King, founder, cultural guru and official historian was beyond any sort of democratic check and balance. Where the most arrant lies were told, and accepted as historical fact, about me and the people I cared for. It meant everything that my friends and I, when we founded the Free Commonwealth of Penguinea, wanted to avoid.

I am undoubtedly on the record as saying the most bitter things imaginable about the people who seemed intent on slandering me to the four corners of cyberspace. So, why in the name of all that’s holy am I back?

In some sense, because Penguinea was only a partial success. Several ex-members will have their own explanations for this, but to me in retrospect, it seems that it was because we forgot the first definition of "nation", as quoted above in my original essay – the importance of shared history and culture. The Penguineans shared political principles, and a determination to prove our detractors wrong, and that was about it. Our attempts at conlanging were not a success; and when we started attracting citizens who were politically apathetic, there was nothing to hold us together as a micronation any more. We tried turning into another kind of community, but that just split us down the middle even more. So, we are now not much more than a group of friends. And that’s good.

I value all the friendships I made through Penguinea. And I’m proud of what we accomplished– but it was only half the story. Our experience of how to politically organise a small community is, I believe, of great value to Talossa today. And if I were to add something to my 1997 list of things I wanted to do in Talossa, it would be make sure that the political processes of our new Republic are as democratic and accountable as feasible, that we will never have another monarch of any sort. But Penguinea never managed to gel as a culture. That’s something Talossa always "had" on us.

I believe that the foundation of the Republic is the rebirth of the true Talossan nation, which appeared to die sometime in 1997 – perhaps at the moment when its King declared that "with the strong showing of the [Opposition] in today's General Election, it should be pretty obvious to everybody that Talossa has clearly been admitting the wrong sort of people." (Støtanneu, 14/8/97). When "Talossanity" ceased to mean allegiance to a culture, but to a political point of view and a personality cult. When the "Berlin Wall" around its internet presence went up, and suddenly even those who wanted to talk to people who’d left the country were traitors. And it didn’t stop with us. Martin-Pierre Frenette, a while back, came up with a lovely long list of all the groups of people who’d been declared Enemies of the State (i.e. of its glorious, victorious monarch), and persecuted until they fled in disgust. That’s not how a nation works. Not a democratic one, anyway. It’s how a petty tyranny, a religious sect, or a mind-control cult works.

I remember reading that famous Wired article from a couple of years back, in which one person (Oplinger? Gruber? Can’t remember) said something like "once a Talossan, always a Talossan. It’s in your blood." At the time, I considered this scary – at the time, my definition of "Talossan" was "someone who puts up with Ben Madison’s bullshit and believes all manner of lies about me". Now, with the foundation of the free Republic, it begins to look hopeful. As if what I’d hoped back in June ’97 were indeed true – that Talossa is more than the whims of its King. That it’s a group of people bonded together by a common culture, tradition, experience, custom, history, and in some cases, territory and language. In short, that the Kingdom may well have been a mind-control cult; but that the Republic is, indeed, a nation. And that it's going to be a democratic one from now on.

For some inexplicable reason, it still feels like my nation. I’ve waited seven years to come home. I've changed in that time; so has Talossa. I hope you’ll accept me this time.

One other soul on Wittenberg (the mysterious "Art Verbotten") responded to Ms Schivâ, saying he is "most impressed" with the essay.

Our Republic: the first week

And we're still here and still truckin'!

Building the kind of Talossa Robert I was unable or unwilling to...

An interview with former Kingdom PM Jeff Ragsdale:

LR: What do you have to say, Jeff?

Jeff Ragsdale: I have mixed emotions. Keeping continuity with Ben and those we left behind was important, but the way Ben treated Eif and JJ, let alone Lisa and Coop, was beyond belief, not to mention the way he went after Gruber's private records! Those things, for me, were enough to break away, though it took the renunciations of Eif and Coop on 13 April to bring home to me just how truly serious things had gotten.

LR: Take us back to when Art Verbotten (aka Eif) renounced.

JR: I had been up all night doing Talossan stuff, took one last look at Witt, and came across Coop's message. Then Eif renounced, and the fan broke loose after that. But everything I mentined above was the straw that broke the camel's back, a process which, come to find out, goes, for some, back to when Ben drove Phil Ledgerwood off at the end of 2000 or 2001. For others, it goes all the way back, as I have found out for the first time just today, to when the Penguineans were driven off back in 1997.

LR: Now that M. Schiva has returned to Wittenberg, how do you see her role in all of this?

JR: Frankly, I don't know what to think. Years of engrained Talossan history seem to be turning inside-out and upside-down. I am not sure what to think. For years, Schiva, Gallagher, Johan, and others were THE ENEMY. Ben was there, the guy who started it all, the guru of the language, people, and history, the guy with a kind of cultural credibility no one in Talossan history will ever be able to match.

Look, Ben started all of this back in 1979. When he speaks about whatever, what green prospective newbie would not take what he says hook, line, and sinker? I know I did.

LR: Do you hate Ben, Amy, and Max?

JR: Not at all. It sickens me to no end that someone as brilliant as Ben and someone as passionate about life as Amy could both be so flawed.

LR: And you aren't?

JR: Uh... Actually, I am flawed, but in the Halloween Crisis and the fallout, I did not come close to showing as much paranoia and sheer dumbness as they. Nor was I vindictive?

LR: Don't you think "sheer dumbness" is a rather, low-class way to describe them?

JR: I wasn't describing them. I was describing their spurious conclusions based upon Chris' private records.

LR: I see. Sorry about that. But the Leon County records Ben looked into are public knowledge.

JR: But private in spirit... Private and off-limits in spirit any sort of records like that on anyone at all save to those who have been truly wronged, which it has been established that Ben and Amy were not. And I accept your apology [smiles].

LR: Why did Amy and Ben react as they did to Chris' 28 December, 2003 insult?

JR: Two things: 1. The domestic violence Amy suffered at the hands of someone a few years ago distorting, I believe, her and Ben's ability to objectively look at Chris' record and say "it was nothing, really" and 2. the fact that Chris struck a raw nerve with Ben. Add to that Ben's seeming inability to realize figurative language when he sees it, and you got a recipe for disaster which the Madisons cooked-up well-done.

LR: You committed High Treason against the King of Talossa.

JR: We all did! Every one of us who signed the Proclamation of Independence on 1 June, 2004 is a traitor in every sense of the word. But it must be realized that we felt that Robert I had lost his legitimacy to rule and that he was a king in name only and unworthy of any further allegiance. Thus, we quit.

LR: And took part of Talossa with you, or so you like to think. The Kingdom has not recognized your claims.

JR: And we do not expect it to. Ever. We and the Kingdom have gone our seperate ways, though when we renounced our citizenships in the Kingdom of Talossa, we did NOT renounce our friendships with citizens of the Kingdom save Ben, Amy, and Max, friendships which probably did not exist, anyway. certainly not for a long time...

LR: No open door for Ben to redeem himself, then? No grace? No hope?

JR: I don't know what Ben can do to make amends with me, much less Grubi, JJ, or Eif, to name a few, but if I were to not hold out sincere hope for a reconciliation, I would be saying the possible is, in fact, impossible. And that would be a lie.

LR: Many would disagree with you, and some might say you are becoming soft.

JR: I am being a realist.

New Writer Joins La Repúblicâ

Jeffrey Ragsdale, publishing mogul (Talossan National News, Oraclâ, Muc'haps!) has decided to join us here at the staff of La Repúblicâ. Mr Ragsdale's enthusiasm for reporting and analysing events in Talossa will make La Repúblicâ a bit more insightful. He brings with him over three years of journalism experience, including having published the timely (and comprehensive) newspaper of record Oraclâ.

Mr Ragsdale is the former Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Talossa.

Talossan High Cort's First Appointees

The High Cort of the Republic of Talossa has gotten its first two appointees. Chris Gruber and Uglhán Cruceatúl have been nominated by Provisional Government Dean Michael Pope for positions on the High Cort. The nominees were each approved by a 7-0 vote, installing them as the first Cort Justices of the Republic. Mr Gruber, who is the Republic's first Chief Justice, remarked, "This is a proud moment in my life. I hope that I can do my very best in this rôle, defending the interests of Talossa in a legal capacity."

The Proclamation Goes Forth

On 1 June 2004, at exactly 12:00 pm TST, the Republic of Talossa was formally established. On Wittenberg, a Proclamation of Independence was published, signed by the founding citizens of the Republic.

Whereas in the history of the sovereign nationette of Talossa we have long endured the foibles of our royal family, from quirky ancient histories to multiple miniature "revolutions", through Gloria Estefan revivals and street-naming, one thing has gone long untouched, unseen, unspoken: the king is incapable of allowing true alternate opinions from forming and taking shape within Talossa's borders, both physical and electronic. It is the right of Talossans everywhere to keep and preserve their peace, their liberty, their freedom, and, as such, we Talossans hereby stand together as one, united in our assertion that Talossa is a great community, much greater than the sum of its parts; a community wrought not by one man, but by all Talossans everywhere, throughout her history; a community that will survive on the blood, sweat, and tears of her people for-ever.

The Proclamation not only gave a broad description of the reasons for secession, but also gave an extensive list of grievances against the monarchy of the Kingdom of Talossa:

• He has investigated the pasts of various individuals, both citizen and prospective;


• He has accused citizens not only of committing crimes in Talossa, but of committing crimes outside Talossa, including violent crimes and he has offered no evidence to prove such crimes, but seeks to tarnish any reputation each Talossan has earned on their own;


• He has sought to drive citizens out of Talossa;


• He has sought the passage of bills of attainder, specifically targeting Talossans;


• He has instilled a horrid sense of suspicion amongst the Talossan citizens;


• He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good;


• He has conspired to work against other parties while laying accusations of conspiracy against these parties;


• He has refused to appoint a prime minister until installing his own long after the prescribed legal deadline and he has refused to follow the law of the land by announcing the continuation of the incumbent;


• He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his appointment of valid justices;


• He has sought a means by which he may circumvent the proper election laws;


• He has cast aspersions at the characters of democratically elected leaders;


• He has inexorably determined upon the ruin of our liberties;


• He has conspired to oust legitimately placed officials of state;


• He has acted in a manner of inconsistency, claiming illegality of actions he has previously supported;


• He has been complicit in sedition, and did overthrow a legitimate government;


• He has rescinded on promises of appointment to position for citizens;


• He has sought to remove the citizenship of Talossans through every means, including those means extra-Talossan;


• He has committed to the fraud of an electorate by casting illegal votes in the name of others;


• He has sought to harm the binds of friendship between Talossans by scheming to create allegiance to him and his station against all others;


• He has offered only puppets of state in the stead of popularly elected officials;


• He has accused many Talossans of crimes of treason, declaring that we are not Talossan, but traitorous;


• He has made himself unavailable to the officers and affairs of state;


• He has sought to re-write Talossan history by laying claims of illegality and impropriety where none existed;


• He has vowed never to offer reconciliation or to assent to such reconciliations;


• He has threatened the welfare of Talossan citizens, upon the arrival of certain citizens to these shores;


• He has exacerbated our calamities, by declaring that he will show us no mercy until he has reduced us;

Modeled on the American Declaration of Independence, various Declarations of American states, and the Irish Proclamation of Independence, the Talossan Proclamation established the Provisional Government, which is comprised of Michael Pope, Christopher C Gruber, Andrew Lowry, Jeffrey Ragsdale, Andrea Thompson, Lisa Skovalia, Gregory Tisher, Gjermund Higraff, Jeremiah P Griffin, Uglhán Cruceatúl, and Matthias Muth.

Welcome.

Welcome to the first news-blog in the Republic of Talossa, La Repúblicâ. We hope to be your source for timely, up-to-the minute news and analysis in the Republic, bringing you instant commentary to the events in the Republic.

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