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Offline Markus

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Samantra, I love you!
« on: April 16, 2022, 12:57:10 PM »



Samantra, I love you! Is a popular weekly broadcast on Trinitas TV featuring some of the concerns present in Samantran society. It is targeted mainly for the Samantran audience.




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The curious case of international adoption cases
« Reply #1 on: April 16, 2022, 01:10:59 PM »

Samantra, I love you!: The curious case of international adoption cases


Context:

By late 1980 IVF (in vitro fertilization) was spreading in some of the advanced Mundus countries. The Samantran Orthodox adopts the official position to that is a capital sin and that IVF be banned in all its forms and for any reason.

Late 1990s: the highest secular court in the land rules that a Petrograd based clinic can perform IVF for a Samantran married infertile couple who had been trying to have children for more than a decade. The Holy Synod, which acts as the highest court in the land, overrules the secular court and permanently bans the practice.

Late 2000s: The Holy Synod rules that any Samantran who has performed IVF aboard is subject to prosecution for breaking the law against IVF. First criminal charges are filled.
 
Late 2010s: The Holy Synod withdraws the license of a Samantran bank and annuls its incorporation for having systematically ignored evidence that showed some of its clients used its services to transfer money aboard to pay for IVF.



Ivolgin and Arina are the two presenters of the "Samantra, I love you" Friday evening show



“Few things are nobler in life than giving children the opportunity to have parents and couples the chance to become parents. For the tens of thousands of Samantran married couples that cannot have children only one option remains: adoption. Adoption has been around for millennia and we can see examples in the Bible in the cases of Moses or Esther. And many choose to adopt from aboard. According to government statistics more than half of international adopts done by Samantran couples are with children born in Tamora.

Trinitas TV has talked to many couples who resorted to international adoption as a solution to become parents. Most couple we talked to have similar backgrounds and stories: they are in their mid to late thirties, well above average in yearly earnings, reside in the major cities of the holy kingdom and desired to have a baby child but could not for medical reasons.

Tania and Boris is one such couple. They both work for two of the largest 50 companies listed on the Petrograd Stock Exchange (PSE); They reside in the affluent northern district in Petrograd and have adopted Maria from Tamora since she was a baby.


Tania and Boris during their wedding in 2015

“We always wanted kids any we tried for years. We did everything we could, we tried every treatment and every prayer, went to all monasteries we knew, we tried everything. We eventually learned to accept that we had no chance to have them” says Tania.

“And then we adopted Maria since she was just a couple of days old.”



Maria during the Divine Liturgy

And Maria, who is now 10 years old, was very lucky. She performs excellent at one of the top schools in country, she takes regular swimming and equitation courses, has private tutors, was baptized in the Church and attends the Divine Liturgy with her parents every Sunday. In fact Maria has already won several distinctions at school for her excellent knowledge of our language and history. For all intents and purposes Maria is as Samantran as anyone who was born in our lands.

And yet there is a certain taboo about cases like that of Maria’s. There is a certain topic that her parents do not under any circumstances talk to the press. And that is her adoption procedure. For any questions we have we are immediately requested to talk to their family lawyer.


Typical Samantran lawyer with typical answers

“The adoption has been done in full accordance with international laws and Samantra’s legislation respecting the highest standards in the field” is the answer we always get from lawyers before we are stonewalled and are replied that the interest of the child is paramount and that privacy laws forbid them from providing more information.

What we observed in the weeks we have talked with many couples such as Tania and Boris is that all adopted children from Tamora have some things in common: they are all newly born babies, in perfect health and there is always a mention of Elysium, a Heyran city state bordering Tamora. The Heyran republic is famous for its opaque legislation so any attempt at getting information from them was futile.

In the next episode we will be speaking with a person that has made more than 20 formal complaints to the authorities asking them to investigate such adoptions for serious breach of national law. And in fact has even advocated for the extreme position of banning all international adoptions until an investigation is done in such cases. Why would a God fearing Christian attempt to rob children like Maria of their chance for such a bright future? What options does she offer to couples like Tania and Boris? And could she have a point?

That is what we will explore in our next episode of “Samantra, I love you!“. Until then we wish you a pleasant evening and God bless!”


Offline Markus

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Samantra, I love you!: Blood doesn’t turn into water
« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2022, 04:22:03 PM »

Samantra, I love you!: Blood doesn’t turn into water


Ivolgin and Arina are the two presenters of the "Samantra, I love you" Friday evening show


"In our previous episode we showed you just one example of the dozens we have had the pleasure of seeing about successful international adoptions. Today we will show you another perspective, that of the Sister Liouba, who over the last three years has made more than 20 formal complaints to the secular authorities asking for international adoptions to be investigated.

We went 50 miles north of Novyy Rim, to the Saint Josef Orphanage where Sister Liouba works and lives. She in charge of the whole place, where more than 150 souls ranging from 4 years old to 18 years old call the orphanage home and see Sister Liouba as the closest thing to a mother. Sister Liouba was kind enough to show us the place, what schedule the children have and how a regular day in their lives looks.


For us she is Sister Liouba but for the 150 souls under her care she is Mother Liouba

In the evening she also found the time to answer our questions about international adoptions and her quest against them:

-   Sister Liouba, as far as we understand you are firmly against international adoptions and have made over 20 formal complaints against the whole process. Can you tell us why you are against them?
-   If were are being exact that would be 24 formal complaints registered with the secular authorities asking them to investigate international adoptions. I asked the authorities to investigate because I suspect that something illegal is going on with them.

-   Such as?
-   Based on my experience and what Tamora is known for internationally I suspect these adoptions are somehow connected to Tamoran slavery.

-   That is a serious accusation to make.
-   I am not accusing anyone, I am asking to the authorities to investigate. 
 
-   And what did the authorities say?
-   That they will investigate, that they do not have enough to begin an investigation, nothing concrete.

-   I understand that you have also asked for international adoption to be suspended in the Holy Kingdom. What do you say to children who will miss an opportunity for a great life in Samantra and what alternative do you offer to the couples who want to adopt?
-   The children abroad are not my concern, my only concern is the children under this roof who need a mother and a father, and with each passing day their chances of being adopted are lowered because most couples want to adopt newly born babies, not 3 or 4 year old or God forbid 8 or 9 years olds. And if any of them have any special need nobody even looks at them.  So my alternative to the couples who would no longer be allowed to adopt from aboard would be for them to give a chance to these wonderful children. Samantran blood flows through their veins and blood doesn’t turn into water.

We spoke at length with Sister Liouba about her concerns regarding international adoptions and her determination to see them suspended. Not once were we under the impression that her crusade is driven by anything other than a love of the orphans under her care and a deep desire to see each and every one of them have a mother and a father. We also noted that her determination is absolute. Far from being discouraged by the passivity of the secular authorities, her determination only grows each day. If she doesn’t get a positive answer soon we are told she is determined to go to all the way to the state Duma to make her case heard. And if that doesn’t work, she is determined to request an audience with His Holiness the Patriarch in Novyy Rim.

“I will let the matter rest only when I see justice for these children or when I will no longer breathe and will see the King of Samantra (OOC: Jesus Christ) for my judgment.”

At the beginning of our journey we were certain that cases like Maria and her adopted parents represent the best possible outcome, we were reluctant to even listen to anyone who would try and stop other foreign children from experiencing the same love and opportunities Maria was blessed with. After talking with Sister Liouba and hearing her point of view our certainty was shaken. Blood doesn’t turn into water and as long as there are Samantran orphans up for adoption why should we look aboard? 

Should international adoptions be indefinitely suspended in the Holy Kingdom? Please send us a message on the number shown on the screen saying Yes or No. The results will be published during next week’s episode of “Samantra, I love you!”

Until then we wish you a pleasant evening and God bless!”
 

Offline Markus

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Samantra, I love you!: “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me.”


Ivolgin and Arina are the two presenters of the "Samantra, I love you" Friday evening show


"In our previous show we asked you, the public, if international adoptions should be suspended and 70% of you agreed. The number of people who sent messages and voted in our poll has surpassed any previous record on our TV channel proving the matter has touched deeply in our souls. With such a large majority deciding in favor of the suspension of international adoptions,  Trinitas TV decided to step up and join Sister Liouba’s fight. In the coming weeks and months we will be asking each and every member of the Duma where they stand on the issue and how will they vote if such a proposal will presented to the floor.

The unprecedented number of messages we received were mostly in support of Sister Liouba dedication and sacrifice for the orphans under her care but some of them presented criticism for us. One major criticism was that while we offered ample time to present the story of the adopted Maria but we offered no time to present the stories of the orphans at the Saint Josef Orphanage. Time is limited in our shows and deciding what to include in the 50 minute we have is always a tough decision. Nevertheless, we admit we could have made time to include at least one story from the lives of the extraordinary children in the orphanage. We understand this now and we will do better in the future. A few however have criticized us for our emphasis on the connection we as Samantrans have with the orphans as expressed by the quote “blood doesn’t turn into water”, to them we make no apology and pray to the Lord to give them wisdom.

Lastly, the show also touched the hearts of some who despite being physically more than a thousand miles away are as close to us as any family member. Our brothers in Christ from Zaporozh have offered to help by offering to take care of some of the orphans and thus staying truth to the Lord who said “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me.” The laws governing adoptions aboard by non Samantran citizens are complicated and are so for good reason. Yet a way was found so that the interest of the children trumped bureaucratic concerns.  Faced with immense national pressure, the secular government acted and the President of the Duma signed a presidential decreed allowing specifically and as a matter of exception for the adoption of the orphans at the Saint Josef Orphanage by citizens of Zaporozh. The presidential decreed was cosigned by the leader of the opposition who thus confirmed the emergency of the situation and the need for the presidential decree allowing it to come into force as soon as it was published in the Monitor of Laws.


The President of the Duma calling Sister Liouba to inform her that the presidential decree allowing the orphans at the Saint Josef Orphanage to be adopted by Zaporozh citizens is now law

While this doesn’t mean the situation of the orphans in the Saint Josef Orphanage has been resolved it is an important first step. Sister Liouba, together with the local authorities, will determine in the coming weeks if a suitable place will be found in Zaporozh for the children.

This week’s episode was supposed to present another topic but thanks to your input the last week’s show now has a different ending.

Until next week we wish you a pleasant evening and God bless!”

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One of the most discreet professions in Samantra: ghostwriter
« Reply #4 on: April 23, 2022, 07:53:19 AM »

Samantra, I love you!: One of the most discreet professions in Samantra: ghostwriter 


Ivolgin and Arina are the two presenters of the "Samantra, I love you" Friday evening show


"Denis has recently turned 50 and lives in a mansion at the outskirts of the port city of Lirom together with his family. He makes a six figure roubles/usd income per year and has saved enough to retire tomorrow if he wanted to. What does he do for a living? It’s not what you would expect, his profession is not one many Samantrans have even heard of: ghostwriter.

Have you read a contemporary memoir recently? Or politician’s speech that you really liked? Or a post on social media by one of Samantra's celebrities? Chances are the author is not who you think it is but a nameless ghostwriter, a person who helped or outright wrote the entire text in the name of the "official” author.



Patriarch Bartholomew (1954). According the historical accounts the His Holiness could change hearts and minds with a just a few words, all of them spontaneous. 




President of the Duma Yeva Litvin (2022) giving a speech after the Samantran people defeated the Separation of Incomes Act at the ballot box. Nowadays speeches are rehearsed for hours and are written by entire teams. But are they better? 


We talked to Denis about what it means to be a ghostwriter.

-  How does one become a ghostwriter? I never hear of anyone wanting to become one.
-   It is not something people dream of indeed. In order to become one you first have to be a good writer and one that has knowledge of history, the holy Bible and the traditions of the Church and preferably psychology. At least if you want to be successful.

-   Why would a ghostwriter need knowledge in those areas?
-   Because in order to write a good text whether it is a speech, memoir or something else one needs to make references that are relatable to the public. And in Samantra the public likes to hear religious and historical references. And psychology helps to better understand how people “work” and especially their feelings. It is the key to touch their souls.

-   What is one of the hardest parts of your job?
-   That you cannot really talk about your work especially if it is successful. You might have friends over for dinner and they might say something about how good your work is and yet they'll never know it is yours.

-   If we look at today’s speeches in the Duma, how many of them would you say they are written by ghostwriters?
-   There is no way to say for sure. Ours is a discreet profession but if I were to guess I would say at least 50% percent if not more.


Denis Utkin is the patriarch of his family. We will never know his “works” but chances are you heard or read at least some of them.


-   What does that say about our society? When those that are elected to serve do not speak what they write themselves?
-   I personally do not see a problem with it. In most of what we do in everyday we ask the help of professionals from anything to plumping and a haircut to health issues. Why would public speeches be any different? A friend of mine in the business says that we are not ghostwriters but translators. We put on papers what people think but cannot express in words. I’d like to think that thanks to my profession the quality of the speeches in the Duma has increased, that more people are interested in hearing the debates and, modestly aside, more of them are memorable.


-   I understand that you will be leaving the profession soon. What will you be doing next?
-   I plan to start a new career as a screenwriter. It is something I have considered for years but waited until the time was right. I believe that time has come.

Denis was kind enough to show us a perspective that maybe not all of us considered before so we now ask you: have ghostwriters improved our political discourse? Please send us a message on the number shown on the screen saying Yes or No. The results will be published during next week’s episode of “Samantra, I love you!”

Until then we wish you a pleasant evening and God bless!”

Offline Markus

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The overnight princess
« Reply #5 on: June 23, 2022, 09:01:53 PM »

Samantra, I love you!: The overnight princess 


Ivolgin and Arina are the two presenters of the "Samantra, I love you" Friday evening show


The latest news to make international headlines is the announcement from the First Empire of Rokkenjima that the Rokkenjiman Intelligence services have found the long lost sister of their former empress. Almost overnight, citizen Lucretia Marino became Princess Kyōko.  The story has fascinated many people in Samantra and abroad. After being adopted at a young age and raised by modest parents the 30 year old Lucretia became overnight one of the most influential individuals in the whole of the First Empire. Some governments like the Heyran Restoration* celebrated the news, others like our very own were bewildered, while some, rumors say, were not too pleased.

Pundits had a field day speculating every possible angle of what the mysterious appearance of princess Lucretia could mean for the foreign agenda of one of the most antagonistic countries toward the holy kingdom. What was rarely discussed however was the human element behind the story. What did the Marino parents think of all this? How are they feeling to see their daughter being reunited with her biological family? How do they feel knowing the biological family of their daughter is one of the most powerful and rich families not just in Rokkenjima but the whole of Mundus?


Lucretia Marino, now a Rokkenjiman princess, has become overnight one of the most influential people in Pyrena Castle, one of the most anti Samantran governments in Mundus, and one has to wonder who is set to lose influence because of this.



We do not have answers to those questions. In fact we have very little reliable information about princess Lucretia's past in relation to her adoption and new rumors appear every day. But we decided to talks to families that have adopted children and ask them what they think about the whole thing.

“I have mixed feelings. On one hand. I am obviously happy with the story and what it means for the Rokkenjiman princess but on the other hand it does make me sad. As an adoptive parent it would be heart breaking to find out all of sudden that you’ve been keeping your child away from a better life.” said one Boris, a father of two adopted children from Tamora.

“Personally, the last few weeks since the news broke were not the best. My daughter who is eight years old and adopted keeps asking me if she too could be a Tamoran princess. What can you answer to that?” said one mother of an adopted daughter who chose to remain anonymous.

Yvan and Anna, parents of three adoptive children had a different take “When we first heard the news we couldn’t help think of the Clysperi Pharaoh Hatshepsut and her adopted son Moses, like there was something more to it than meets the eye. Our children are all grown up now so perhaps for us it was easier but I would say the news is positive for families with adoptive children. It brings in the spotlight the role adoptive parents have in society.”

After our talks with adoptive parents, we couldn’t help but think what kind of leader Lucretia is likely to become. Most assume she will be an Anselmo but what if because of the nurturing of her adoptive parents she will be a “Marino princess”? And what would that even mean?

So now we ask you, how do you expect Lucretia to lead? You have two choices :  Anselmo (nature) or Marino (nurture). Please send us a message with your choice and the results will be published during next week’s episode of “Samantra, I love you!”

Until then we wish you a pleasant evening and God bless!”

*It is still common in Samantra to refer to Heyra by their old, pre Great War name.