Flag Day in Patria, but where is Canada's celebration?

Stand up for the flag of Patria. These colors don't run!

On Flag Day in Patria (the anniversary of the Act of Congress specifying the proportions of Patria's tricolour saltire and its shades of red and white), Patria wonders why there has been virtually no official celebration in Canada of the fiftieth anniversary of the Canadian flag that replaced the unofficial Red Ensign and the Union Jack. The decades-long debate to adopt a distinctive made-in-Canada flag - and to end Canada's status as the world's laughing stock for being the only sovereign country in the world without an official flag of its own - culminated in December 1964 with the adoption of the simple red and white maple leaf flag recognized the world over, particularly on the backpacks of low-budget travellers. Perhaps there will be some kind of official celebration on Feb. 15, the day in 1965 that the flag publicly flew for the first time, but it does not seem likely. It is no mere oversight. The Harper Government™ seems hell-bent on taking Canada back to the bad old British colonial days, e.g. re-attaching the "Royal" label to Canada's Navy and Air Force, not to mention toadying to the British royal family. The Harperites have thrown gobs of money at commemorating the bicentennial of the War of 1812, the centennial of the First World War and even the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta. But virtually nothing to celebrate a half century of Canada's own flag. To state the obvious, the flag was a Liberal Party creation, championed by then-Prime Minister Lester Pearson. Its predominant red colour is associated with the Liberal Party, while the Tories are blue (the opposite of the US, where Red = GOP and blue = Democrats). The Harperites consider themselves the descendants of the Diefenbaker Conservatives, even if Dief would probably turn over in his grave at that thought.

The Red Ensign. John Diefenbaker fought to keep it. Stephen Harper would like to bring it back.

Six months in office for 50th Congress as 2014 circles the drain

"Year in reviews" are the death and taxes of the last week in December. They proliferate on print, broadcast, online and social media. Most are quite lame, tired, uninspired, or even downright insensitive, as Facebook had to apologize to some users for its algorithmically-generated year in reviews that highlighted deceased loved ones and other personal tragedies. Although the standard Gregorian (A.D.) calendar is used in Patria, January 1 has little significance as the start of a new year other than on paper. For all practical purposes, the "year" in Patria begins in September, with the opening of the new session of Congress - not to mention Rosh Hashanah, Navratri and the kids going back to school.

Nonetheless, as 2014 circles the drain and the 50th Congress marks six month in office, there are a few notable events of the last twelve months in Patria:

• The election of 2014 that re-affirmed Patria's commitment to more liberal, progressive values and rejected hard-line "Patria first" economic nationalism as well as the National Union's manly values.
• Two days before election day, the Supreme Court of Patria threw out the ban on same-sex marriages, although no gay marriages actually took place in Patria in 2014. Patria is no longer a "safe place for social conservatives".
• Live kirtan performance by Krishna Das at Patria's 50th Congress-elect Inauguration retreat (aka Bhakti Fest Midwest).
• A memorable 50th Congress Inauguration ceremony. No one complained that the snobby, elitist Inaugural Ball was cancelled.
• Being with Amma for Guru Purnima on her summer tour a few days after the inaugural.

And so, onward to 2015. Happy new year to those who actually celebrate it. New Year's resolutions are incredibly lame. Virtually no one bothers with them in Patria. If you go to a gym in Patria during the first week or two of January, it won't be overcrowded with losers trying to keep their weight loss resolutions.

RIP, mate! Patria remembers Gough Whitlam.

Flags in Patria were lowered to half-mast today in memory of Gough Whitlam, Australia's 21st prime minister and a titan of the Australian Labour Party, who died at the age of 98.

Born in 1916, Mr. Whitlam served in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II. He was first elected to the Australian parliament in 1952. In 1966, as deputy opposition leader, Mr Whitlam visited Vietnam to tour the 1st Australian Task Force area. He visited again as opposition leader in 1968, and criticised the Gorton government’s successive troop increases at the behest of US president Lyndon B Johnson. Momentum for political change grew and Gough Whitlam seized on the mood, leading the ALP to the next election, in 1972, with the simple yet galvanising campaign slogan "It’s Time" - which was emblazoned on t-shirts worn by celebrities campaigning with the would-be PM.

The Whitlam government immediately moved to withdraw troops from Vietnam and release all draft-dodgers from prison. The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 and welfare payments were introduced to support mothers and the homeless. University fees were abolished and needs-based funding for government schools was brought in. Mr. Whitlam became the first Aussie prime minister to visit communist China, resuming relations after 24 years of diplomatic disengagement. He travelled widely, also visiting Indonesia, India, Japan, Russia, North America and Europe. He changed Australia's stance on apartheid South Africa at the United Nations, and banned that country’s sporting teams from touring.

But Mr. Whitlam's tenure as Prime Minister lasted only three years. In 1975 he was booted out of office on trumped-up charges by the Governor-General (the Queen's representative and mostly ceremonial head of state in Commonwealth countries such as Australia and Canada). "Well may we say God save the Queen, because nothing will save the governor-general", Whitlam famously said after being sacked.

Patria, need it be said, supports the efforts in Australia and Canada to sever the antiquated ties with the British monarchy and become republics, even if such a referendum was defeated in Australia in 1999 and is unlikely to ever take place in Canada. It should be noted that Australian Governors-General apparently have more cojones than their Canadian counterparts.

Below is one of Mr. Whitlam's campaign ads from 1972.

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

Patria remembers centennial of Great War

Canadian troops bring a wounded comrade through the mud of Passchendaele, 1917. Fortunately, Patria stayed out of this so-called "war to end all wars".

The centennial of the Great War was referenced in Patria's Fiftieth Congress inaugural address. But on the first weekend of August, Patria once again paused to remember the hundredth anniversary of the world (the mighty European macro-powers and their colonial empires, at least) going to war over the assassination of a stupid Austro-Hungarian archduke. On this week in 1914, the newly inaugurated Twenty Fifth Congress met in a Special Session held before the convening of the First Session in September (1·XXV 1914-15) in order to affirm Patria's neutrality in the conflict that would later become known as World War I.

They would still be dodging bullets and poison gas in the rat-infested mud-filled trenches four years later, as the 26th Congress was inaugurated during Patria's centennial year 1918. But by then, the USA had become involved, making the Great War a true World War.

To remember is to end all wars. Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu.

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