Amma celebrates Promethium birthday

Although the celebrations were not quite as massive as last year's Amritavarsham 60, or the humungous 50th birthday party that filled a cricket stadium to Test Match capacity in 2003, Patria's House Leader of the Amrita Party celebrated her 61st birthday (go ahead and google the reference. Surely you remember your periodic table from high school chemistry!) in the midst of Navratri -the nine nights devoted to worship of the Divine Mother - and the Jewish High Holy Days.

Party like it's 5775! Amma distributes the traditional Rosh Hashanah offering of apples dipped in honey (for a sweet new year).

In her birthday message, Amma said: "Devotion and compassion towards the poor and the needy go hand in hand. They are like two sides of a coin. We should look around us and reach out to people who need our help. If we are able to help even just one person, we can bring about a big change in their life. If my children can become ready to share their lives with the poor and the needy, that would be the best birthday present Amma could ever receive."

The celebrations include announcements of Amma's new charitable projects, a free marriage ceremony for impoverished couples, distribution of free clothing to the poor, and of course almost a full day of Amma’s darshan—her personal motherly embrace for each person attending the event.

Scots say "nae" to independence

In a referendum held on Sept. 18, the people of Scotland voted by a 55% margin to stay in the United Kingdom, where they had been since the Act of Union in 1707. As with all macro-national ("real world") affairs, Patria was neutral on the Scottish referendum. But public opinion in Patria was overwhelmingly in favor of the "YES" side, as a new and small nation with a flag that resembles Patria's. Vive l'Ecosse libre!

Note the extremely high voter turnout for the referendum. Canadians and Americans are lucky to have a 50% voter turnout for their elections. It was even higher than the voter turnout in Patria for the 50th Congress election (unofficially around 80%). Unfortunately, Scots living abroad were not eligible to send in absentee ballots. There are probably more Scottish immigrants in Canada and the United States than there are people still living in Scotland.

It's a moot point, but one wonders what Scotland's internet domain would have been if the yes side had won. .sc is Seychelles, .sd is Sudan, .sk is Slovakia, .sl is Sierra Leone, .so is Somalia. They might have been out of luck.

Back to school as Congress returns from summer recess

Patria's new 50th Congress has returned from post-inaugural summer recess to begin its traditional September-to-June session. As the Sergeant-at-Arms called out "The House shall assemble!" and the Speaker Pro Tem banged the gavel on the dais, the First Session, Fiftieth Congress (1·L 2014-15) was officially underway. A more liberal agenda on the order paper can be expected, given the Social Democrats' beefed-up representation and the National Union being reduced almost to fringe or niche status.

Along with the new session of Congress, a new academic year also begins. For incoming university and college frosh, most of whom were born in 1996, there are many things, such as VHS videos, electric typewriters and 35 mm film cameras, that they are too young to recall. Around this time each year, Beloit College, a small liberal arts school in Wisconsin, publishes a "Mindset List" providing a look at the cultural touchstones and experiences that have shaped the worldview of students entering colleges and universities in the fall. Following are some of the highlights of Beloit's Mindset List for the class of 2018:

• During their initial weeks of kindergarten, they were upset by endlessly repeated images of planes blasting into the World Trade Center.
• Since they binge-watch their favorite TV shows, they might like to binge-watch the video portions of their courses too.
• When they see wire-rimmed glasses, they think Harry Potter, not John Lennon.
• “Press pound” on the phone is now translated as “hit hashtag.”
• Celebrity “selfies” are far cooler than autographs.
• They have probably never used Netscape as their web browser.
• Hong Kong has always been part of China.

Read the full Class of 2018 Mindset List