Leff in Laguna repeats as Smack-Off champion

Leff in Laguna is the winner of Smack-Off XXIII, the annual competition on the weekday CBS Sports Radio show hosted by Jungle Party House Leader Jim Rome (heard in Patria on PMBC-1152 and locally in the greater Toronto area on CKOC-1150 in Hamilton, ON), in which select listeners are invited to provide their best “Smack Talk”. Back-to-back titles for the Laguna Beach Bully, who won the event last year!

For the win, Leff was awarded the cash prize of US $5000 (about 217,000 Patrienish Rupees). Note that the Smack-Off prize is winner take all; second place receives nothing, not even a set of steak knives. Congratulations, Leff!

Top ten finalists of Smack-Off XXIII

Current and past Smack-Off participants make up the bulk of the Jungle Party caucus in Patria's Congress. With 28 seats in the 50th Congress (two more than the macho, law-and-order National Union), the Jungle Party is seeking to increase its standing in the 51st Congress when the election is held on April 21, 2018. Leff represents the precinct of Nova Columbia in the 50th Congress by virtue of having been a Golden Ticket recipient in the 2014 Smack-Off and is virtually certain to retain that seat in the 51st Congress, as Smack-Off XXIV will likely be held in July 2018, well after Inauguration Day.

Third Session wraps for summer recess, Campaign 2018 is underway!

The Third Session of Patria's 50th Congress (3·L 2016-17) adjourned today for the summer recess. The traditional Annual Message summarizing the activities and achievements of Patria over the course of the academic/congressional year (as well as a de facto launch of the 51st Congress election campaign and Patria's bicentennial celebration in 2018) was delivered by the Speaker Pro Tem. The Fourth Session (4·L 2017-18) will convene on September 18. Transcript of the Annual Message to Congress follows.

Bhagavan Kripalu manelo sharane. Aavi ubho chun huñ to tava charane. Divine Compassionate One, my refuge, I have come to stand forever at your feet. As the Third Session of the Fiftieth Congress began, so it ends: with salutations and prostrations at the Divine Mother’s lotus feet. With Her blessings, the Fiftieth Congressus Patriaë has served three quarters of its term of office.

As per tradition, the final act of Congress prior to the summer recess is the ratification of Patria’s fiscal 2018 budget. Once again to the dismay of Republicans in the US and National Unionists here in Patria, this budget contains appropriate funding for health care, infrastructure improvements such as power grids and sanitation systems, which in some parts of Castoropolis within walking distance of the Capitol still date from the 1890s, public transit as the Castoropolis Metro celebrates its centenary as the capital’s subway system, education from grade school to university and specialized technical training, restoration of temples, shrines and other heritage public buildings, as well as the various social programs that conservatives of all stripes dread, but that nonetheless help make Patria a better place to be than the United States under Donald Trump.

As we know, Patria takes no position on macronational affairs such as Justin Trudeau’s broken promise of electoral reform that would have put an end to first-past-the-post in Canada and the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. Nonetheless, let it be stated once again that Patria had never officially endorsed either Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton and would not have preferred that Ms. Clinton – an evil, amoral one-percent plutocrat if ever there was one – had been elected to succeed Barack Obama. Mr. Trump’s election and the embarrassment, bluster, lies and deception that have ensued since his inauguration on January 20 are issues for the American people to deal with. Patria is merely a bystander, unrecognized by Rex Tillerson’s US State Department anyway. 

On the first day of this session last September, Patria ratified the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary or MAPS treaty, intended to designate all ocean waters north of the Arctic Circle as a marine protected area free from natural resource exploitation, commercialization and military activity. MAPS is perhaps the best chance to protect one of the planet's most fragile ecosystems. It is Patria's goal that real-world macro-national governments such as Canada, the United Kingdom and even the United States will ratify MAPS in the near future. 

On February 13, Patria celebrated World Radio Day: a day that not only recognizes the value of radio in our daily life but serves as a call to preserve century-old terrestrial hertzian-wave broadcasting as an indispensible means of communication, particularly in times of war, revolution or natural disaster. In such times, it will be your battery or solar-powered radio – not your smartphone or tablet – that will serve as your essential source of news and information, beyond the reach of censors and impervious to power outages or collapse of the cyber-infrastructure. While lamenting the demise of international shortwave broadcasters, such as Radio Australia, which went dark at the end of January, Patria is committed to keeping AM or medium wave on the air as a vital piece of the broadcasting spectrum, providing full service and relevant made-in-Patria news, sports, entertainment and public affairs programming for all Patria. 

In the one year remaining in the 50^th Congress term of office, nationalism, populism, rejection of the elites and the plutocracy, as well as Patria First economic protectionism are far from taboo topics, particularly when advocated by the dissident left or alt-left. The streets and public squares, the halls of Congress, as well as the print and broadcast media in Patria will continue to serve as forums for non-violent dissident voices and unpopular or politically incorrect opinions. While remaining firmly committed to liberal social democracy, or democratic socialism such as propounded by Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn, Patria will not cave in to the politically correct thought police and cultural Marxists that proliferate among the mainstream or orthodox left. Patria was founded two centuries ago on the principles of constitutionally protected free speech, free thought, open debate, mature inquiry and peaceful protest. Cowardly attacks and assaults against anyone, motivated by a person’s race, religion, sexual orientation, political views or any other factors, will be vigorously prosecuted and dealt with to the full extent of the law. But the fear that anyone can be harmed by thoughts, arguments, historical monuments or even song lyrics is laughable. The Inner Realm is not a safe space to hide from so-called micro-aggressions and it is not a place for overly sensitive, easily-offended, thin-skinned snowflakes, particularly on college campuses. 

On the other side of this summer recess: the campaign for the Fifty-first Congress – election day is April 21, 2018 – and Patria’s bicentennial celebrations. How Patria’s bicentennial – using the hashtag #Patria200 – will be celebrated over the course of 2018 remains to be seen and will likely evolve spontaneously with little or no official government planning or funding of so-called bicentennial projects. There will certainly be no micronational World’s Fair on the scale of Expo 67 and no visits from iconic macronational heads of state such as Haile “Lion of Judah” Selassie and Charles “Vive le Québec libre” de Gaulle, who were eager to be seen with Canada’s then-Prime Minister Lester Pearson half a century ago. No flotillas of tall ships as on the Fourth of July 1976. But know this: Patria will not be rocking a catchy kiddie-focused song to celebrate the bicentennial such as Canada sang for its centennial in 1967. Rather than “Ca-na-da” or “Ontari-ari-ari-o” [Ontario’s centennial song, “A Place to Stand”], Patria will celebrate two hundred years as a united federation by making a joyful noise unto the Lord, coming before His presence – and of course, Her presence – with bhajans, kirtan and the chanting of mantras. From Om Namah Shivaya to Hari Bol and Jai Ambe, and of course Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya, Patria will sing the praises of the Devis and Devas, as well as the Kripalu lineage, whose blessings have allowed this Inner Realm to grow and thrive since 1818. 

As per unwritten tradition, the closing of the Third Session marks the unofficial start of the election campaign for the new Congress. As the race for the Fifty First Congress gathers steam during the Fourth Session, Twitter will once again be the primary means of campaigning by all of Patria’s parties. In the months leading up to Election Day next April, you can follow the campaign @Patriavotes2018. 

For those souls who have passed out of physical body during this session, such as those murdered by evil Islamic State cowards in London and Manchester, England, let us say lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu. Let us make a pledge to meet in September and seal it with Amma’s kisses. Om Sri Gurubhyo Namah. Hari Om.

Under the power vested in me by the Constitution of Patria, I declare closed the Third Session of the Fiftieth Congress, and call this Congress to re-assemble here on Monday, 18 September 2017, to open the Fourth Session of the Fiftieth Congress.

Lest we forget: Patria remembers Vimy Ridge

One hundred years ago, on the morning of April 9, 1917 some 15,000 Canadian troops opened fire on German positions at Vimy Ridge in northern France. Over four days of bloody fighting, the Canadians had overrun Vimy Ridge at the cost of more than 10,600 killed and wounded. The Canadians had succeeded where British and French troops had failed in almost three years of fighting in the so-called Great War. (As for the US, America entered the war only a few days earlier, when Congress ratified Woodrow Wilson's declaration of war against Germany.) The victory at Vimy was a defining event for Canada, considered by many to be a significant event in Canada’s progress to full independence from Britain that began with Confederation in 1867. For the first time, Canadians fought as Canadians and died for their fellow citizens in Canada, not for Britain or the "Empire". Even though the British High Command considered Canadian troops little more than expendable cannon fodder, those who served at Vimy considered themselves something more than colonial detachments from the UK fighting for the glory of the mighty British Empire. Over the past century, Vimy Ridge has become to Canadians what Gallipoli is to Australians and New Zealanders, i.e. an integral part of the national identity.

Patria does not glorify war, particularly a war as fratricidal and pointless as the First World War in which 18th century battlefield tactics met 20th century technology. Nonetheless, to recognize Patria's special relationship with Canada and to commemorate this defining moment in Canadian history as a truly independent country - on a par with Canadian citizenship being recognized as distinct from being a British Subject (1947), the adoption of the new flag (1964-65) and repatriation of the Constitution (1982) - Patria Post has issued a commemorative stamp (pictured above). The stamp depicts a painting of the battle, from a collection of First World War artwork displayed at the Canadian War Museum.

For all those who gave their lives at Vimy Ridge, and those who returned home with missing limbs and/or a lifetime of PTSD, in the muddy trenches from August 1914 to 11:00 AM on November 11, 1918, let us say lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu. Lest we forget. N'oublions jamais. Nijí bhulámi.

Such a stupid, needless war. All over the assassination of a lousy Archduke.

AmritaServe reaches out to villages for economic self-reliance

Amrita SeRVe is a new initiative championed by the Amrita Party's House Leader** that will help make small villages in Bharat Mata (India, birthplace of much of Patria's spiritual heritage) self-reliant and grow the local economy. Amrita SeRVe was launched during Amma’s 60th birthday celebrations in September 2013 and ushered in sustainable development in village clusters across India. Its work is aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It is focused on areas in which to begin a series of changes that starts from basic needs and then leads to a state of true empowerment. Amrita SeRVe’s vision is to teach villagers the skills they need to live in communities that are prosperous and self-reliant. These are places where people are healthy and educated and where they lead lives of dignity in a clean, pollution-free environment. Such self-reliance will lead us to vibrant cultures rooted in India’s age-old traditional wisdom. Because villagers are the providers of most of the nation’s food supply, these steps can lead to a sense of community and gratitude throughout the entire country.

You can like Amrita SeRVe on Facebook, follow on Twitter, or subscribe to Amrita SeRVe's e-mail newsletter.

Amma says "It is our villages that sustain us by providing those who live in cities with the nourishment needed in order to survive. However, today, we are just exploiting villages and casting them aside. It is time to acknowledge that our villages are our very foundation and move forward with one heart and one mind to protect and serve them."

Amrita SeRVe's activities focus on areas such as self-empowerment (e.g. teaching a system of simple yoga asanas for women and children as well as training villagers to become yoga teachers), health (fighting malnutrition by encouraging villagers to start kitchen gardens where they can grow vegetables for their own needs), education (to strengthen village schools, achieve zero drop-out rates, and provide opportunities for higher education), and of course environmental initiatives such as promoting the use of re-usable cloth sanitary napkins rather than environmentally unfriendly disposable tampons for women when it's "that time of the month".

While Patria is known for its bustling cities such as Castoropolis, there are many small towns and villages within the Inner Realm that do not always enjoy the amenities, advanced infrastructure, educational opportunities, standard of living, public transit and even the 50,000-watt blowtorch radio stations of the capital city. Amrita SeRVe is a project that the Amrita Party of Patria fully supports.

** Standard disclaimer for newbies to this site or to Patria: the Amrita Party of Patria has no macro-national (i.e. "real world") connection to Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi) or Amma's charitable, educational and other organizations in India and throughout the macro-world. Nor does Amma endorse any real-world political party or hold any real-world elected office.

World Radio Day 2017: "Radio is you!"

World Radio Day's official logo looks more like a Shivalingam than a mic!

As proclaimed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to mark the anniversary of United Nations Radio signing on in 1946, February 13 is celebrated as World Radio Day. The objectives of the Day, according to UNESCO, are to raise greater awareness among the public and the media of the importance of radio; to encourage decision makers to establish and provide access to information through radio; as well as to enhance networking and international cooperation among broadcasters. The slogan for World Radio Day 2017 is "RADIO IS YOU!"

Radio is still the most dynamic, reactive and engaging medium there is, adapting to 21st century changes and offering new ways to interact and participate. Where social media and audience fragmentation can put us in media bubbles of like-minded people, radio is uniquely positioned to bring communities together and foster positive dialogue for change. By listening to its audiences and responding to their needs, radio provides the diversity of views and voices needed to address the challenges we all face.

With the recent demise of Radio Australia, and the numerous other shortwave broadcasters who have gone dark in recent years, World Radio Day is a time to rally around this once-great broadcast medium that is very difficult to censor or jam, can be easily received in the poorest and most remote countries with little or no access to wi-fi, high-speed internet or even reliable sources of electricity, and will always come through in times of war, revolution or natural disaster. As a source of direct uncensored news from around the world, such as the democratic revolutions in Eastern Europe in 1989 that would lead to Patria's Dharmic Revolution, shortwave was "the internet before there was the internet".

Radio in Patria is a model of what radio should be. There are no plans anywhere in Patria to replace terrestrial AM and FM radio stations with digital or so-called "DRM", as is happening in Norway. There are many stations providing relevant local programming, including "all bhajans all the time" Hindu Dharma and Bollywood hits stations similar to Trinidad's Radio Jaagriti-102.7 and Lotus FM in South Africa. For those who like all-news, all-sports and all-talk (even right wing, National Unionist and pro-Trump talk), there are AM stations in Patria that could sound like dead ringers for US AM stations, some of which are affiliates of the Jim Rome and Rush Limbaugh shows. On FM in Patria you will find college and university stations on the traditional left end of the dial (88.1 to 92 MHz), classic rockers, oldies, New Age, classical, and almost any other format you can think of that would be scoffed at as an unprofitable niche in the US or not allowed by Canada's CRTC. In Patria's capital city there is a legendary AM blowtorch with a classic three-letter call (PMC on 846 kHz), whose format is still proudly "full-service": in-depth local and national news, sports coverage (e.g. Castoropolis FC and Caesarea United in the All-Patria Football Federation), talk shows hosted by or featuring as guests politicians from various parties (Amrita, Chakra, SRM, NU, Social Democrat, etc.), Sunday morning Hindu pujas, "trading post" programs (listeners call in offering services or items for sale) and a few music shows on the weekend when there are no live sports events. To virtually no one's surprise, PMC-846 has been the top-rated station in Patria's Capital District market for almost as long as anyone can remember.

Have an O'Keefe on Flag Day!

Today (Jan. 25) is Flag Day in Patria. On this day when citizens of Patria honor the simple tri-color flag of Patria, a co-incidental similarity to the flag is noted on the label of O'Keefe Ale, once the flagship product of Canada's now-defunct Carling-O'Keefe Brewery (merged with Molson's since 1989). Its slogan back in the 1970s Stubby bottle heyday was "the easy drinking ale", or in French "celle qui se prend en douceur".

The shield-toting knight in armor logo was also used on other Carling-O'Keefe products such as Old Vienna Lager back in the last century. Note, however, that the colors are reversed. The red is on the top and bottom quarters on Patria's flag. While O'Keefe Ale is virtually impossible to find in Canada these days, it is brewed under license in Patria and it is still one of the Inner Realm's most popular brands. But the colors of Patria's flag are displayed correctly on the label and the bottle cap of the brewed-in-Patria O'Keefe.

Hey Patria, have an O'Keefe!

Pray for success, hope for failure: Patria's message on Trump's inaugural

President Trump delivers his Inaugural Address

As Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States, repeating the oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States", Patria appreciates the peaceful and orderly transfer of power - a hallmark of American democracy since George Washington's first inauguration in 1789.  It is the tradition in Patria to respect the office of the US presidency (indeed, the office of any macro-national head of state) even if you dislike the person holding it. With that in mind, the Third Session of the 50th Congress issued a brief message on US Inauguration Day: Patria congratulates Donald Trump and Mike Pence on their inauguration as US President and Vice President. The Inner Realm prays for Donald Trump to have the strength to carry out the duties of the macro-world's most powerful elected office. Patria wishes the Trump administration the best of luck and every success over the next four years in his quest to make America great again. At the same time, Patria is hoping that Mr. Trump will fail: FAIL to build the wall on the US-Mexico border, FAIL to mass-deport Muslim Americans, FAIL to overturn Roe v. Wade, and that he will FAIL to divide the nation, whether men from women, Christians from heathen non-believers, native-born from immigrants, or those who didn't vote for him from those who did.

Full text of President Trump's Inaugural Address.