Patria's Christmas message

Unlike the Queen, the Pope and other major players in the macronational world (even Canada's Not-so-Dear Leader Kim-Jong Harper), Patria does not deliver an annual Christmas message. Patria's Christmas message is short, simple, and remains the same year after year: We keep Krishna in Janmashtami. You can keep Christ in Christmas. This message is directed particularly at the greed-mongers who have over-commercialized and debased a sacred day.

The Occupy Castoropolis protesters, who had been camped out in Patria's capital city as part of the worldwide "occupy" movement until being forcibly evicted from Vivekananda Park in downtown Castoropolis earlier this month, managed to get a Christmas gift, as all charges against them were dropped. The Federal District of Castoropolis Court threw out the charges of public mischief, trespassing and nuisance, possibly sending the National Union a message that folks just aren't buying their "throw the bums in the slammer" attitude toward the Occupiers. No doubt the motley crew of hippies and leftist rabble will be back in the spring of 2012 to send another message to the so-called one percent.

As they say in Patrienish, Anandí Xrístnascí et noví anní suxníce!

Patria to sit on LOSS Court of Justice

The League of Secessionist States (LOSS) has nominated Patria to serve as a member of the LOSS Court of Justice, along with representatives from the Republic of Talossa and of Secundomia.

The Court rules on various inter-micronational affairs between LOSS member states, but does not rule on internal legal issues in Patria or other micronations. Note that Patria's legal system is not based on Anglo-Saxon/Anglo-American Common Law but on a Napoleonic-style civil code. If you are unfortunate enough to get arrested in Patria, note that you are considered GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT, particularly if charged with a heinous crime such as kiddie porn or statutory rape. Just be thankful that Patria has abolished the death penalty, despite the National Union's ongoing effort to bring back public executions.

In another legal issue (see previous blog entry), the Occupy Castoropolis protesters are still camped out in Vivekananda Park, having survived at least two attempts to evict them by Federal District of Castoropolis police, tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray at the ready. But they should be gone in a week or two, when it just gets too damn cold to camp out in tents. Yes, Patria does get snow and a real winter, as you might have guessed by the presence of the Patrienish Hockey League.

Occupy Patria, anyone?

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple months, you know about Occupy Wall Street and the proliferation of similar "occupations" throughout North America, Europe and much of the macro-world, whose alleged main purpose is to fight back against the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations (the so-called "one percent") over the democratic process, and the role of Wall Street in creating an economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession since the 1930s depression.

Yes, there is an "Occupy Castoropolis" in Patria's capital. You will find the bunch of unemployed losers, left-over hippies, 1960s flower children (or flower children wannabes who weren't yet born in the 38th Congress), blissed-out stoners, discredited union bosses, and other assorted leftist rabble camped out in Vivekananda Park (the grounds of Castoropolis City Hall), just across the street from the Patrienish Stock Exchange on the corner of 1st and Upsilon Street NW. If you need a map and some basic orientation to Patria's capital city. Expect them to be evicted and mass arrested sooner rather than later, possibly with the help of rubber bullets and tear gas, given that there is still a strong National Union law-and-order element in Castoropolis even though the NU no longer holds the majority of seats in the Federal District legislature.

Parvati explains what are the positive possibilities

Honorary citizen of Patria Parvati Devi spontaneously answers the question, "What are the Positive Possibilities?" For more, you can read her article (and many other excellent articles) at
http://www.parvatimagazine.com/

Along with being the title of this here blog, the Positive Possibilities were a key component of Patria's 2010 election campaign and were referenced in the 49th Congress Inaugural Address.

Congress is back in session

The 49th Congress has returned from summer recess to begin the Second Session (2·XLIX 2011-12), which will sit until June 2012. As stipulated in the Constitution of Patria, Congress meets annually on the third Monday in September, unless Congress appoints another day - usually the case when that third Monday in September coincides with the Jewish High Holy Days and/or Navratri.

The top item on the Second Session's order paper is (well, duhhh!) the crappy economy and the double-dip recession that is headed Patria's way.

Parvati launches online magazine

www.parvatimagazine.com is the place to click to read Parvati Devi's new monthly magazine. This is not a traditional dead-tree print periodical or a self-published zine (does anyone still publish zines? 1996 called and wants them back!), but a paperless online magazine.

Parvati explains how her magazine came to be:

When an idea keeps coming to mind, we eventually need to stop and listen. The voice of our soul often speaks to us in repetition until we heed the call. When our soul comes knocking at the door of our mind, we need to open and hear what it is saying.

That has been my experience since the early spring of 2011 regarding the idea of an online magazine. I was watching the success of my Ask Parvati blog rise and was pleased I was touching and communicating with people all over the world. Yet I was also aware that there are many people in the ecological and conscious community who support people’s growth in their own way. So why are we not working together to potentially better serve?

I reached out to friends and acquaintances who I knew were active in their field and who I thought might be interested in contributing to a volunteer-based, monthly on-line magazine that explored various themes. The response was very positive. Thanks to a group of wonderful writers and volunteers who share the vision, Parvati Magazine was born.

The theme of the inaugural October 2011 issue is "Activation". The magazine includes articles in a number of sections, such as living in the Positive Possibilities, yoga, wellness, arts/culture, fashion and business.

Yes, Patria knows what today is. Now can we move on?

Unless you have been living under a rock, you probably know that today is the tenth anniversary of the so-called "day that changed the world". The day that buzzwords such as "ground zero" and "global war on terror" entered the English language. The day that intense, insane demonization of a major world religion began to be whipped up. The day that made a hero out of a bumbling buffoon of a US President.

Patria remembers the innocent victims of 9/11, the continued pain of those who lost loved ones at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and over the skies of Pennsylvania, the heroism of the New York police officers, firefighters and other first responders, not to mention the sacrifices over the past decade of thousands of young American, Canadian and British lives in wars that can't be won, shouldn't be fought, and have driven the economy off a cliff to boot.

With no disrespect to anyone mentioned in the previous paragraph, Patria has had enough of a decade of self-flagellation for the 9/11 attacks and the "post 9/11 world" mentality of fear-mongering that has turned the US into a garrison state where freedom is sacrificed on the altar of "security". We don't have to forgive those who planned and executed the 9/11 attacks, we can even be happy that Osama bin Laden has been killed, but for f***'s sake, LET'S MOVE ON!

Yes, let us move on from 9/11. Particularly now that there are university frosh who were only third graders on this day in 2001. Soon there will be a generation of young adults who will have no memory of this day (for kids who weren't yet born or even remotely thought of on 9/11 there is a sickly super-patriotic coloring book!).

Patria supports the efforts of the so-called "9/11 truthers" and calls for free and open debate of what really happened ten years ago today, such as what role the Mossad played in the attacks. If 9/11 was not carried out as a false flag operation by the Mossad, surely Israel's elite spy agency knew what al-Qaeda was up to and were unwilling or unable to inform the US government, though they apparently managed to warn a handful of Jews working at the WTC to stay home on 9/11. Were the WTC towers actually brought down by controlled demolition, i.e. explosives pre-planted in the buildings? Many leading architects and engineers are not convinced that the impact of the planes and the fires fed by jet fuel would have been sufficient to bring a 100-storey skyscraper crashing down like a house of cards. Why are we told to believe that a rag-tag group of 19 Muslim men acting on orders from Osama bin Laden, armed only with box cutters, who barely knew how to fly Cessnas let alone pilot jumbo jets, were able to perpetrate such a crime right under the noses of the FBI, CIA, and the Mossad to boot? Is that any more believable than the lies we've been fed since 1963: how a single lone nutbar working at the Texas School Book Depository, acting only on a personal whim, using only a cheap mail-order rifle, was able to hit a moving target from a nearly impossible angle, firing a bullet that took a circuitous route through President Kennedy's body and then struck Governor Connally? Quite possibly, the official Report of the 9/11 Commission will find its place in the fiction section of Patria's public libraries, along with the Report of the Warren Commission.

On this day, Patria remembers another 9/11, 108 years to the day before the "real" one in 2001. On Sept. 11, 1893 Swami Vivekananda introduced Hinduism to the western world, speaking at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago. The following is an excerpt of Vivekananda's speech:

Sisters and Brothers of America,

It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions, and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects.

My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honor of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: "As the different streams having their sources in different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee."

The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: "Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me." Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.

Parvati performs a song she wrote for 9/11. While Parvati (the honorary citizen of Patria, best known for her North Pole trek in 2010) was at the piano, she was called to see the twin towers fall live. Filled with emotion she went back to the piano and this song "You Gotta Believe" was born. She sang this song at Madison Square Garden and is currently working on a studio release.

The Dalai Lama's 9/11 tenth anniversary message: "After Sept. 11 yearning for peaceful co-existence".

Finally to state the obvious, we didn't have Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Blogger, or other social media on this day in 2001. Ten years ago, it was still the heyday of Geocities web pages. Many internet users still made do with dial-up connections. You were probably still snapping pictures with a 35 mm film camera, listening to music on CDs and viewing VHS videos. Even cell phones were still pretty primitive a decade ago. Most of them didn't have cameras. Does anyone still use a Palm Pilot?

Patria to help advance and develop the League of Secessionist States

As Congress is preparing to return from summer recess (the Second Session of the 49th Congress will meet on Sept. 19), Patria has been appointed to the Committee for the Advancement and Development of the League of Secesssionist States (CADLOSS). Patria has been a member of the League of Secessionist States (LOSS) for many years, but the organization has become neglected, its website not being updated since the last decade and at last click having fallen into "404-not found" country.

The following is the text of the resolution that authorized the creation of CADLOSS:

1. WHEREAS the League of Secessionist States has experienced inactivity and a lack of vision in recent years;

2 . And, WHEREAS, the League seeks to develop its vision and maintain its relevance in the inter-micronational arena;

3. BE IT RESOLVED, that the League of Secessionist States does hereby establish a Committee for the Advancement and Development of the League of Secessionist States (CADLOSS).

(1) This shall consist of three to five members, to be appointed by the Secretary-General.
(2) It shall consult on the purpose, goals and mission of the League, the future and development of the League, the reactivation of the League and its continued expansion and on means for raising public awareness of the League's existence and activities.
(3) It shall, if necessary, propose amendments to the Charter clarifying the purpose, goals and mission of the League;
(4) It shall, furthermore, propose any other measures or resolutions necessary to reform or reactivate the League, which shall be set before the General Assembly.
(5) Finally, it shall consider the League's forms of media and communications, including the Yahoogroup, forum and website and propose changes, where necessary, to the means by which the League informs the public of its activities and the means by which the League itself functions and communicates.

4. This Committee shall be dissolved when the Secretary-General shall decide that it has fulfilled its mandate. It may be re-established in the future when and as necessary, by the Secretary-General, except if the General Assembly shall decree otherwise.

Nicholas J. Bridgewater
Secretary-General

Smoking as economic stimulus: start-smoking help line

While many countries, states and provinces have launched quit lines to help smokers kick the habit, such as the New York State Smokers' Quitline, Patria is taking the opposite tack. In the wake of the annual message to Congress urging that citizens of Patria take up smoking in order to stimulate the economy, Patria has launched a start-smoking help line: 1-800 NIC FITS.

1-800 NIC FITS. Because Patria is not stooping to the hypocrisy of governments that urge people to quit smoking but are only too happy to rake in tax revenue from sales of cigarettes.

1-800 NIC FITS. Because nicotine addiction can help to pull Patria out of recession and create jobs, from tobacco farmers to embalmers.

1-800 NIC FITS. Because every smoker who dies prematurely of lung cancer is less of a drain on the health care system.

1-800 NIC FITS. Because we couldn't have won World War II without nicotine addiction. Can you imagine Winston Churchill without a cigar?

Now before you fire off a comment such as "It's not helping kids, it's hurting them, Patria, and you shouldn't be talking about it on the blog man!", compare Patria's promotion of smoking as recession-fighting economic stimulus to Jim Rome's promotion of cockfighting as good, clean fun for kids and families. Do you really think that Patria wants anyone to kill themselves with this sick, smelly, filthy habit? If you don't get the jokes on the Jim Rome Show or in Patria, you have a problem with yourself.

Let us make a pledge to meet in September

The 49th Congress has gone fishin' until Sept. 19, 2011. Out of session. Seal that with a kiss!

Stern economic warning as Congress adjourns

Summer is here! The First Session of the 49th Congress (1·XLIX 2010-11) adjourned at 11:26 PM Patrienish Local Time today with the Speaker Pro Tem banging the gavel (a 19th century tradition) and blowing the vuvuzela (21st century tradition).

The First Session was declared adjourned for the summer recess immediately following the delivery of the Annual Message to Congress, which is Patria's version of the State of the Union address, though much shorter than the US President's annual speech. The 2011 message warned that Patria's economy is tottering on the brink of a double-dip recession and pointed fingers at the usual suspects: Chinese imports, globalism, offshoring, banksters, and even non-smokers. If you scroll down to the last paragraph, note a grisly last-ditch nicotine-fueled solution to help grow Patria's economy.

XLIX Con. Pat.

Annual Message to Congress (at closing of Session)

June 27, 2011

Om Sri maha-rajñyai namah, chid agni kunda sambhutayai namah. Salutations to the Divine Mother, who is the Empress of the Universe, who was born in the fire pit of Pure Consciousness. With the Divine Mother’s blessings, the 49^th Congressus Patriaë has come to the end of its first year in office.

As we all know, this Congress was elected and took office in the wake of the Great Recession, arguably far worse economic times than the 1930s. One year later, Patria’s economy is still fragile and far from fully recovered. We have found convenient outlets for our frustration at the failed economy and the wholesale export to China of Patria’s once-thriving manufacturing industry: the rise of the Diet Coke Party’s grass-roots less-government populism, the surge of protectionism and anti-globalism spearheaded by the SRM, the growing push back against the barrage of cheap made-in-China consumer goods, and the push to make the Patrienish Rupee the micronational reserve currency of choice, ahead of once-hard but now-cratering currencies such as the US dollar, British pound, Japanese yen or Euro. On this day two years ago, citizens of Patria – at least those who still held jobs – were urged to “stimulate the economy by going out this weekend and purchasing a new car, an iPhone, a plasma TV, a laptop computer, a new washer and dryer, or any other big-ticket item”. That exhortation still holds, for just as in 2009, consumer spending, particularly on made-in-Patria goods and services, is still as close as it gets to being the single magic bullet that will cure the economy, bring the jobs home and prevent a double-dip recession.

In just a few days, the unemployment data, the number of new jobs created, and other economic statistics for Second Quarter 2011 will be released. If, as is likely, they show that the economy has shrunk during the quarter, and there has been little or no job growth, we are halfway to recession number two. But whether the economy has merely hit a short-term rough patch or is on its way to a double-dip recession, it is still our patriotic duty to defeat the downturn through continued consumer spending, thorough non-violent resistance against the G8, G20, World Bank, IMF and other one-world-government globalist cabals who won’t have Patria as a member, through peaceful protests against offshoring and globalism, through boycotting the slew of Chinese junk, and through the efforts of this Congress to impose tariffs on imported goods and build an impregnable wall of protectionism in order to save Patria’s industries and jobs.

During the 2010 election campaign and one year ago on Inauguration Day, the Amrita Party, Chakra Party and several other parties represented on the floor of Congress spoke in grand and hopeful terms about living in I AM consciousness and being “open, ready, willing to be completely restructured around the Positive Possibilities”. But over the course of this session, attempts to open to the Positive Possibilities have largely failed. We are not being authentically ourselves, and sadly, due to the state of the economy we cannot be. In the face of soaring gas prices, shuttered factories, jobs offshored to China, India or the lowest bidder, worthless retirement plans and double-digit unemployment, there seems to be no way the members of this Congress and citizens of Patria can find their true voice, experience a true expression of life force, and tap into a sense of rooted, vital expansiveness. Doing so seems impossible, out of fear of losing what little financial security we have. For those who are still employed, all we can do to eke out a little existence in this economic wasteland is to be grateful we still have jobs, as poorly as they pay, as soul-destroying as they may be, as much as they encourage a phony culture of corporate conformity, and as much as they force us to check our true selves at the door, stuff down our joy, stamp out our true connection to who we are, and stay stuck in the realm of impossibilities as long as doing so pleases supervisors, co-workers, clients and customers while paying our bills and putting food on our tables. At best, a joyful, expansive life of real growth is a hobby to be enjoyed only on weekends, after hours and during what little vacation time our employers may deign to grant us.

Finally, there is a grisly, ghastly method of stimulating the economy and creating jobs, but one that might be considered as a desperate last resort to stave off the double-dip recession. Like Canada, the United States and most macronations, the government of Patria and the thirteen precinct governments take in a substantial amount of tax revenue from the sale of tobacco products. If people were encouraged to take up smoking or continue their smelly, disgusting habit rather than quitting, the flow of tax revenue into this government’s coffers would continue to fund social programs, public transit initiatives and infrastructure projects. Through nicotine addiction thousands of jobs would be created – not only in the tobacco farming and cigarette manufacturing industries, but steady, well-paying and virtually recession-proof jobs for florists, casket makers and funeral directors. The argument that smoking costs Patria billions of rupees in health care expenditures is a red herring. It is a generally known but politically incorrect fact that a 50 year old smoker who drops dead of a heart attack or lung cancer is less of a drain on the health care system than a 90 year old non-smoker bedridden in a nursing home or slowly dying of Alzheimer’s. Not to mention that the prematurely dying smoker does not drain the Social Security system of the old-age pensions that the millions of Baby Boomers who are now reaching retirement age are expecting to receive. Indeed, if we are so desperate to grow the economy, we should seriously consider smoking as our patriotic duty in the war against the recession, just as sending cartons of cigarettes to the troops overseas was “doing our bit for victory” in another war almost seventy years ago that virtually depended on nicotine for victory. If you don’t smoke, thank someone who does for helping to light up the economy. And if you are not willing to smoke your way out of recession, you should at least consider going out and buying a 40 ounce bottle of whiskey to enjoy responsibly or spending a Saturday night playing the slot machines. Along with the tobacco industry, Patria’s liquor stores and casinos are doing their part to fight the recession through the so-called sin taxes. This government needs the revenue generated by nicotine-addicted heavy-drinking compulsive gamblers in order to stay afloat. The practitioners of Sanatan Dharma, spiritual lifestyle and yoga sadhana did not bring Patria into recession, but neither are they helping to lift us out. It is too easy to point fingers at the banksters, greed-mongers and globalists in New York and London for dragging down Patria’s economy, when right here among us the yoga practicing, tea-totaling, tree-hugging vegan New Agers, buy-nothing renunciates and orthodox Hindus who don’t smoke, drink or gamble – let alone sufficiently spend on consumer goods – are not doing their fair share to bring Patria out of the economic doldrums.

As is traditional, this session is adjourned with a brief prayer:

Asato ma sad gamaya. Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya. Mrityor ma amritam gamaya.

Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.

"Under the power vested in me by the Constitution of Patria, I declare closed the First Session of the 49^th Congress, and call this Congress to re-assemble here on Monday, the 19^th of September 2011, to open the Second Session of the 49^th Congress".

New address for 49th Congress on Twitter

If you had been following the 2010 election campaign on Twitter, note that the name of Patria's 49th Congress Twitter feed has been changed. Patriavotes2010 is now twitter.com/Patria49thC

Left unanswered: Will we still be using Twitter, Facebook and Blogspot for the 2014 election? Or in about three years time will they go the way of MySpace, to say nothing of Geocities?

Beavers beat Barons for Kamala Cup

The Arboria Beavers are the champions of the Patrienish Hockey League (PHL) for 2010-11. The Beavers won the Kamala Cup (Patria's Stanley Cup) - their fourth since 2003 - by beating the Lazuria Black Barons 4 games to 2. As for the Castoropolis Centurions, they further solidified their claim of being the Toronto Maple Leafs of the PHL by finishing dead freakin' last and out of the playoffs for the sixth straight season. The last time the Cents saw any post-season action was in 2004-05, the year the NHL's season was killed by lockout.

2010-11 Kamala Cup playoff results:

Semi-Final: Centralia Crusaders (1) v. Lazuria Black Barons (4)
Game 1 at Centralia, Apr. 13 - Lazuria 4, Centralia 3 (OT)
Game 2 at Centralia, Apr. 15 - Centralia 5, Lazuria 2
Game 3 at Lazuria, Apr. 17 - Lazuria 5, Centralia 4 (2OT)
Game 4 at Lazuria, Apr. 19 - Lazuria 3, Centralia 0
Game 5 at Centralia, Apr. 21 - Centralia 5, Lazuria 4 (OT)
Game 6 at Lazuria, Apr. 23 - Centralia 6, Lazuria 5
Game 7 at Centralia, Apr. 25 - Lazuria 4, Centralia 2
(Lazuria wins series 4 games to 3)

Semi-Final: Caesarea Violets (2) v. Arboria Beavers (3)
Game 1 at Caesarea, Apr. 14 - Caesarea 4, Arboria 1
Game 2 at Caesarea, Apr. 16 - Arboria 5, Caesarea 2
Game 3 at Arboria, Apr. 18 - Caesarea 6, Arboria 3
Game 4 at Arboria, Apr. 20 - Arboria 7, Caesarea 5
Game 5 at Caesarea, Apr. 22 Arboria 3, Caesaera 2 (OT)
Game 6 at Arboria, Apr. 24 Arboria 4, Caesarea 1
(Arboria wins series 4 games to 2)

Final: Lazuria Black Barons v. Arboria Beavers
Game 1 at Arboria, Apr. 28 - Arboria 1, Lazuria 0
Game 2 at Arboria, Apr. 30 - Lazuria 2, Arboria 1 (OT)
Game 3 at Lazuria, May 3 - Arboria 2, Lazuria 1 (OT)
Game 4 at Lazuria, May 5 - Arboria 4, Lazuria 2
Game 5 at Arboria, May 7 - Lazuria 4, Arboria 3
Game 6 at Lazuria, May 9 - Arboria 2, Lazuria 1
Arboria Beavers win Kamala Cup 4 games to 2

Parvati on Rogers Daytime

Parvati Devi appears on Rogers Daytime (a Toronto-area cable TV channel, part of the mighty Rogers empire) to discuss her recent journey to the North Pole, where she gave the northernmost musical performance ever, in order to raise awareness of the melting polar ice caps and bring back the message.

Patria supports Libya's fight for freedom

As a member of the League of Secessionist States (LOSS), which is kind of like a United Nations for micronations, Patria has voted in favor of a resolution passed by the LOSS General Assembly supporting the Libyan people in their transition toward freedom and democracy:

WHEREAS, the Libyan people have shown their desire for freedom and democracy to all the world, wanting to force the tyrants who rule their nation from power;

WHEREAS, the League of Secessionist States upholds freedom and human rights for all peoples and nations and supports the principle of free and democratic elections;

WHEREAS, the Libyan people have shown that the Libyan dictator has always exerted a strong oppression against his people;

WHEREAS, the League of Secessionist States does not want bloodshed and does not accept the bombing of the people; And likewise, the League of Secessionist States supports the United Nations in its view that the Libyan dictator's actions against his opponents in Libya may amount to crimes against humanity;

And, WHEREAS, we desire to express our solidarity with the Libyan people,

WE, therefore, CONSIDER acceptable the UN resolution on a "no fly zone" (UN SC Resolution 1973) and the intervention of the "coalition" against the army of the Libyan dictator;

WE, furthermore, support the Libyan people in their journey toward freedom, respecting their freedom and determination.

Occasionally Patria, through LOSS, will take a position on macronational affairs ("macronation" refers to countries such as Canada, the United States, and about 190 others that are generally recognized as "real", in contrast to micronations such as Patria). As for Gaddafi, Qaddafi, or however you attempt to spell it, Patria can only wonder why he is still only a Colonel. Surely he could have promoted himself to Generalissimo when he had the chance, having ruled Libya for some 40 years.

Jungle Party: Smack-Off 2011

The Smack-Off is the single greatest annual event for Jim Rome's clones and the Jungle Party caucus in Congress. The winner of the 2011 Smack-Off is Brad in Corona. It is the second title for Brad in three years, having won the 2009 Smack-Off and earning a virtually automatic seat in the 49th Congress.

Final Smack-Off results, as determined by Jim Rome, J-Stew and the other members of Rome's production team, aka the XR4TI:

WINNER OF THE 17TH ANNUAL SMACK-OFF

BRAD IN CORONA (2 TIME CHAMP)

FINAL STANDINGS

1st BRAD IN CORONA

2nd Steve Carbone

3rd Iafrate

4th Vic In No Cal

5th Dan In DC

6th Jay Mohr

7th Mike In Indy

8th Mike In San Diego

9th Isreal In Los Angeles

10th Joe In The Oc

Other Participants

Jeff In Richmond

Trapper In Dana Point

Oren In Denver

Note that a number of Smack-Off invitees - including the winners of the Hack-Off and the Golden Ticket, did not call the show, or remained on hold when the show ended and thus didn't get on the air.

The Jim Rome Show, aka the Jungle, is Patria's leading sports talk show, where rapid-fire, hard-hitting sports commentary is combined with social commentary on what's jacked up with America. Syndicated throughout North America via the Premiere Radio Networks, in Patria the Jungle can be heard in Castoropolis on PMBC-1152. If your local radio station does not broadcast the show, bang the monkey (Jim Rome smack for aggressively contacting the station's staff) or become a Jungle Insider and never miss a take.

Parvati's guided meditation for Japan

Patria is fortunate not to be affected by deadly earthquakes, tsunamis and nuclear meltdowns. Japan, not so much. When we launched the Positive Possibilities store at our headquarters in Toronto on March 20, 2011, Parvati led a meditation for Japan, which we recorded. Please join us in sending the people of Japan and our planet much-needed healing by clicking here to listen to the meditation.

You can also download the meditation as a free mp3 file here.

Japan will also experience some much-needed healing later this year when Amma visits as part of her world tour. In response to the devastation caused by the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Embracing the World (the collective organization for Amma's worldwide charities) representatives have already traveled to hard-hit Sendai to provide food and water for refugees and to assess conditions on the ground. Embracing the World will soon be initiating a broader relief effort.

Amma's Japan site (mostly in Japanese).

Kupid's Play sounds the I AM revolution!

• Who is it for? Everyone.
• What is it? Impossibilities are not real.
• When is it? Now.
• Where is it? Everywhere.
• Why bother? It already is.
• How to do it? Drop the shit.

Parvati is known as a musical Renaissance woman, dedicated yogini, active humanitarian and environmentalist. And an honorary citizen of Patria to boot! Kupid's Play is Parvati's official record label, dedicated to promoting her I AM revolution. Cliquez ici et vive la Révolution!

PosPos store now live!

The Positive Possibilities Store has been officially launched and is online at a computer or smartphone near you! Your one-click shopping place for CDs, DVDs, t-shirts (made with 100% organic cotton), hoodies and other gear featuring Positive Possibilities' butterfly-like logo consisting of interconnected letter P's. They even have baseball hats. If anyone asks you which team you are wearing, you can say it's "The Team"!

All products are packed with recycled biodegradable materials. Proceeds support global eco-spiritual initiatives such as tree-planting and meditation centers in Canada and Patria.

Ask Parvati: Getting Unstuck and Finding Your Passion

Parvati Devi: Ask Parvati 1: Getting Unstuck and Finding Your Pa...:

"Getting Unstuck and Finding Your Passion, February 27, 2011 - Thank you very much for your submissions to this first in a series of ‘Ask Parvati' blogs."

Parvati has launched a weekly blog entry in which you can ask her for guidance on various life challenges. Sort of an I AM version of Ann Landers or Dear Abby. Your name and e-mail address will not be published.

Throughout the week, please send your questions to ask@parvatidevi.com. Submissions close on Thursday. Anything sent after that will be considered for the next week. Parvati will pick at random one question to answer and will post the answer on Sunday so everyone can enjoy and benefit.

Parvati's North Pole Journey: Epilogue

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey: Epilogue

"A week after my return: Friday, October 7, 2010 - COMING TO OUR SENSES - It has been about a week since I have been back from the North Pole. Though I’ve slept well these past days, I feel very tired and strangely, I think I feel something like culture shock. My heart is heavy having seen even more clearly and palpably the effect of human ignorance. Yet there is new life being born in me beneath the undeniable process of grieving I am experiencing. Perhaps that baby Inuit I felt wiggling in my soul while in the Arctic is shape-shifting into a wiser, more compassionate self..."

Which came first? Parvati's cocoon or Lady Gaga's egg. A side-by side comparison:

Lady Gaga born out of an egg? Parvati's been there, done that!

At the Grammy Awards, Lady Gaga got quite a bit of attention with her schtick of appearing to be born (or hatched) out of a reptilian egg. But North Pole trekker and honorary citizen of Patria Parvati actually did that first - in a more positive way, being born as Natamba from a cosmic spaceship rather than a lizard egg - with her original Yoga in the Nightclub opening act in 2007.



View Parvati's photostream on Flickr.

Parvati shares a dream of the Goddess that she had the night after returning home from the North Pole.

Parvati's North Pole Journey: fun times at Inuksuk High

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey - Day Seven

"Day Seven: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - Performance at Inuksuk High School IQALUIT - We fly back to Toronto today, but first, we have one last stop. I am scheduled to perform and Satish will present his fabric at Iqaluit's Inuksuk High School at 11 am. It is already 8 am. We must check out of the hotel and head up the hill for my sound check, costume change and walk through the show in a space I have not yet seen ..."

And so the North Pole adventure ends. But stay tuned for further re-blogs as Parvati and friends integrate their new-found love for the Inuit and deeper love for Mother Earth.

Congratulations t0 the Green Bay Packers, SUPER BOWL XLV CHAMPIONS! In Patria, like most of the world outside North America, "football" is usually understood to mean soccer. If there were a smash-mouth contact sport of Patrienish football, it would likely have more in common with Australian Rules football than the North American game.

View the Super Bowl ads that you may have missed.

Remembering Reagan on the Gipper's 100th birthday

Ronald Reagan would have been 100 years old today. Born in Tampico, IL on Feb. 6, 1911. A native of the Land of Lincoln, but moved to California as a young man to begin his acting career. Say what you want about the Gipper, but at the end of his presidency Mr. Reagan left the United States in better shape than he found it when elected in 1980. He was exactly what America needed after the failed Carter administration. From his first day in office, positive change had come to America, and even the Ayatollah in Iran knew it. (Read Reagan's first Inaugural Address). Indeed it was no coincidence that the hostages in Iran were released some time between "I, Ronald Reagan do solemnly swear..." and "...so help me God".

While Mr. Reagan may not be a "great" president in the same league as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and FDR, he is certainly right up there with the second tier of US chiefs, honorably mentioned (Iran-Contra notwithstanding) along with other strong presidents such as James Monroe, James Polk, William McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. He certainly did a better job than some of the other recent occupants of the White House, such as one whose last name is a synonym for "small tree" or "shrub". Even if Mr. Reagan may have been suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's during his eight years in office, at least he didn't screw around with a White House intern and allegedly use a cigar for a dildo. Quickly recovering from an assassination attempt also scores brownie points even among gun control advocating liberals. Arguably Mr. Reagan's greatest achievement - although it didn't actually happen until a year or so after he left office - was winding down the Cold War, challenging "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" and ratcheting up US military spending so much that the Soviet Union virtually went bankrupt trying to keep up.

The Reagan legacy is fondly remembered in Patria. The 1980s were a journey from darkness to light, from the stagnation, failed policies and failed hopes of the 41st Congress (1978-1982; Patria's version of the Carter administration) to the full self-sufficiency, stability and prosperity that flourished in Patria in the 43rd Congress at the end of the Reagan administration. And in between were the years of real growth and new frontiers of the 42nd Congress (1982-1986). After Mr. Reagan's passing in June 2004, Congress declared a public day of mourning and remembrance in his honor and Patria Post issued a memorial stamp. To be fair, Patria also did the same after the death of Pierre Elliot Trudeau in 2000.

Parvati's North Pole Journey: back to the metropolis formerly known as Frobisher Bay

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey, Day Six

"Day Six: Tuesday, September 28, 2010 - BACK TO IQALUIT - Satish, Sunanda, Rishi and I greet this, our last day in Resolute Bay, before sunrise. Out the breakfast room window, the wind blows powdered snow across the rocky ground and out over the frozen Arctic Ocean where yesterday we walked on icebergs. Today the sky is cloudy, still darkened by the remains of the night. Our bags are packed, awaiting us at the front door of the inn so that we may catch an early flight to Iqaluit today, en route back to Toronto..."

Satish, Rishi, Parvati and Sunanda at Resolute Bay airport.

"All I know for sure is, like a child who marks their growth with lines on the inside of a doorjamb, the growth of my Self is marked on the doorjamb of my life by this trip to the North Pole" - Parvati.

Parvati's North Pole Journey: One Earth Family on Amma's birthday

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey: Day Five

"Day Five: Monday, September 27, 2010 - One Earth Family - Far from feeling rested after the immensity of the work we did yesterday at the North Pole, we meet this day knowing that today will be just as full as the day before. Lisa and Louisa meet us at the Inns North where we are staying in Resolute Bay, soon after breakfast. Sunanda, Rishi and I meet these wise Inuit healers once again to reaffirm the need for all people of all races and creeds around the world to understand one another at this time more so than ever..."

On Amma's 57th birthday, Parvati and friends are back in Resolute and re-join Satish, who displays his giant green fabric banner containing handwritten messages by dignitaries from around the world as a call to ecological action in light of the melting polar ice. Later that evening, Parvati puts on another show, this time for about 50 people at the Inns North in Resolute Bay.

"In the language of love, music and interconnection, we are one human family, all children of the same Earth Mother". - Parvati

Parvati's North Pole Journey: Healing at the top of the earth

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey: Day Four, Part Five - Healing ...

" Day Four: Sunday September 26, 2010 Part Five HEALING HAPPENS IN THE UNSEEN Healing work happens in the unseen. It is a process of becoming still and surrendered, enough so that we align with a much greater truth, beyond our limited ego or will. In that state, we move from a monochrome, black and white reality to what I call ‘hyper-real’, a tapestry of Technicolor possibilities and infinite, co-creative abundance..."

"It is clear to me that we have succeeded in this mission to support healing the planet. It is clear to me that this trip, from beginning to end is Grace, orchestrated from far beyond, and so much bigger than us all." - Parvati

Parvati's North Pole Journey: Frozen music video shoot

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey: Day Four, Part Four

Day Four: Sunday September 26, 2010, Part Four - FROZEN MUSIC VIDEO SHOOT. "In the wind and -25C weather at the North Pole, Rishi unveils our video camera from beneath its own miniature “snow jacket”, while Sunanda sets up the tripod for the shoot. I take out my props, walk quickly through my routine now on snow, consider my performance flow, and check the lighting. The sun is fading fast but it will have to do..."

Despite frozen batteries, frozen fingers and frozen iPods, Parvati manages to perform her set of four songs. Up next, the healing work for Mother Earth.

Parvati's North Pole Journey: they're at the Pole!

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey: Day Four, Part Three:

"Day Four: Sunday September 26, 2010Part Three AT THE NORTH POLE It feels as though we have arrived on the moon. The plane seems even tinier now that we have touched down onto the vast field of pure white, untouched ice and snow. To the East, the wind has carved a few sculpted, hills made of solid ice. The snow extends as far as I can see, far out over the flat, vast ocean that is capped by solid ice, upon which we stand. The pale blue, expansive sky blends with the pale blue tinge of the snow, giving the impression of otherworldly groundlessness and infinite reach in all directions. ..."

With the temperature at a balmy -25ºC and very little daylight, can Parvati and friends manage to perform their songs, do their healing work for the earth and accomplish everything else they had planned to do at the top of the world? Stay tuned.

Halfway to the Palin adminstration

At the midpoint of the Obama administration, we can shudder at the thought of President Palin! But more likely, on this day in 2013 we will be hailing President Pawlenty, Romney or Huckabee as the Free World's new Chief. Don't kid yourself, Democrats and "progressives", Obama is one-term toast. Here in Patria, I like Obama, hope he does manage to win re-election in 2012, but just don't see it happening given the right-wing Tea Party-led revolt against him that has been brewing almost from the day he was elected, and given what he has accomplished - or failed to accomplish - in the first two years of his presidency, dragging down many Democrat members of Congress with him in the recent mid-term election. He couldn't even win the 2016 Olympics for his adopted hometown of Chicago!

Having shared that mini-rant, let's remember a stirring Inaugural Address delivered half a century ago today. Jan. 20, 1961... ask not what Youtube can do for you, ask what you can do with a Youtube clip!



Full text of JFK's Inaugural Address.

Parvati's North Pole Journey: arriving at the Pole

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey - Day Four, Part Two:

"EUREKA Around midday, we land to refuel in the Canadian weather station Eureka, official population seven. As the plane lowers to the ground, I notice unusual animals in the distance that look like prehistoric woolly mammoths...."

Parvati, Rishi and Sunanda arrive at the Magnetic Pole, dodge a herd of wild muskoxen, and put the jury-rigged Natamba wig to use.

Parvati says of Natamba: "Natamba to me is much more than an entertainment character. She represents the Cosmic Intelligence, the highest good in us all. The embodiment of I AM consciousness, she is a multidimensional co-creator of the most potent kind. On Earth to serve the evolution of all beings, it is perfectly fitting that ‘she’ will perform my songs at the North Pole. In effect, this is the journey of Natamba to the top of the world."

Parvati's North Pole Journey: Up up and away!

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey: Day Four, Part One:


"Day Four: Sunday, September 26, 2010 Part One UP, UP AND AWAY! The morning alarm goes off just a couple of hours after I had stretched myself out to sleep. I pop out of bed, surprisingly not tired. This is the day I have been preparing for. We are going to the North Pole so I can perform my songs there. Rishi will shoot the video, and then we will offer healing to our Mother Earth at the top of the world – all to help raise awareness that the polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate. I feel connected to warrior-like steadiness, ready to meet whatever this day may bring...."

Parvati, Rishi and Sunanda take off for the North Pole in a little Sea Otter plane. Invoking grace during the flight, reciting the Lalita Sahasranama (1000 names of the Divine Mother).

Parvati's North Pole Journey: Styrofoam, cat-5 internet cable and duct tape

Parvati Devi: Back from hiatus, and North Pole Journey Day Three...: "We return from visiting the thousand-year-old Inuit village that overlooks the Resolute Bay Memorial, ready to prepare for our final journey to the North Pole tomorrow morning. As Meghan's vehicle rolls up to the inn, Sunanda and Rishi jump out of the side of the van and immediately get to work setting up our tent. We need to test it in this weather and icy ground. It will be even colder at the North Pole and we will have little time or resources there to deal with technical difficulties. We must be ready..."

Thanks to Air Canada, an important piece of Parvati's gear - the wig that she wears during her performances as the multi-dimensional being "Natamba" who embodies the essence of I AM consciousness - is left behind in Toronto. But Parvati and friends are able to improvise a wig using what they have on hand: some styrofoam, mayonnaise tub lids, cat-5 internet cable and duct tape. Duct tape is arguably the most useful thing ever invented since the Industrial Revolution!

A new face in Washington, DC: Hansen Clarke

As the United States Congress meets for the first session of the 112th Congress, there is a new face in the House: Hansen Clarke, Democrat, representing Michigan's 13th District, which includes much of inner-city Detroit.

Mr. Clarke is part African-American, part Bangladeshi, born Muslim, converted to Catholicism, and even tried unsuccessfully to become a priest. He grew up in one of the toughest neighborhoods on Detroit's east side and dropped out of high school, but was saved by his talent for painting. He attended Cornell on an art scholarship, once defeated Ann Coulter in a campus election, and eventually became class president.

In the Democratic primary, Mr. Clarke knocked off long-time incumbent Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, the mother of former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who ran Motown like his personal fiefdom, hosted sex and drug orgies in the mayor's mansion, and is doing some jail time for obstruction of justice. Of course the 13th District is Democrat to the hilt, so Mr. Clarke didn't face much of a challenge winning the seat in the general election last November.

At Amma's public program in Dearborn, MI on Nov. 27, Mr. Clarke received Amma's darshan. Speaking on the occasion, he said “Amma is an extraordinary leader…in the political sense, in the global sense, in terms of worldwide influence. But what makes her so extraordinary, is that she is a leader who is also a personal friend to all of us individually. Let us pray that those of us, who were hired by you to serve, focus on love and peace…because that’s how we can have an extraordinary world to live in. And to me, that is what Amma is all about. ”

He is only a rookie Congressperson, joining several other Congressional frosh going to Washington for their first term, but with Amma's blessings this guy is going to rock the House!

Rep. Hansen Clarke and Detroit's new Renaissance - Newsweek.

Become a friend of Hansen Clarke on Facebook.

[Disclaimer: the above post is not an endorsement of any kind. Patria will occasionally profile lawmakers of macro-national legislatures.]