We received a very interesting brochure in the mail from Viking Cruises. For starters, 2021 is gone from their dates. No surprise there. 2021 thru 2023 is when they are booking. That’s not unusual, especially when people still envision ships loaded with people, unable to dock anywhere last spring due to the coronavirus.
What we found extremely unusual was the following: One of the ‘featured’ stops, especially on their long ships are visits UNESCO sites. What the heck is that all about?
A quick investigation revealed that since 1984 UNESCO has been mired in scandals and corruption and is virulently anti-Israel. The 1984 scandal was that of nepotism, where well-paid jobs went to mistresses and family members. It has continued to be sketchy ever since.
So why is the Viking cruise line making special stops at UNESCO sites? This really smells and if you are actually planning to cruise somewhere, we strongly suggest staying far away from Viking.
The biggest problem with the new 250 person gathering edict in Quebec is the usual one: mixed messages from the government.
On Monday, Quebec’s Health Minister begged construction workers returning from vacation to get tested for the coronavirus if they think they may have been “less attentive” during their holidays. Less attentive means you have been in larger gatherings, oh, say about 250 people and not everyone was either wearing a mask or social distancing or both.
On the exact same day… Quebec’s top public health doctor defended proceeding with much larger public gatherings, saying the risk is “very acceptable.” In contrast Ontario, with far fewer COVID hospitalizations and deaths — is sticking with a limit of 100 people.
Our take on this is the following: 250 people does not open concerts, conventions, sports events, parades or raves. Movie theatres and houses of worship can open up but masks must be worn. Some say all the time, some say only when you are walking around. In most places that makes sense. Where the fan may be hit is places of worship.
People sing and are shedding virus loads while doing so. If no one is wearing a mask while at their place and singing away, you best be wearing a wetsuit or hold your breath until he finishes. And beware of wet talkers. You know the people who tend to spit while they talk? No mask and spitting while talking? No need to explain.
We signed Dr. Zuckor’s anti 250 people petition as did close to 7,000 people. Let’s see what happens with that one.
Joe Biden is still choosing his Vice Presidential running mate. Can we talk here? He has narrowed the playing field by limiting his choice to a woman of color. Her age comes a distant third. The problem is the front-runners all come with serious baggage. When people were polled they were asked what they associated with each name. Here ya go:
Susan Rice: Benghazi and the murder of American ambassador Christopher Stevens and 4 other American. Rice was interviewed a number of times and she kept saying that the attack started after terrorists saw a movie. Ridiculous.
Karen Bass: As Cuba began its nine days of mourning, she expressed her condolences to the Cuban people and the family of Fidel Castro. The passing of the Comandante was a great loss to the people of Cuba. You’re kidding? Castro was a dictator par excellence who murdered thousands of his own people.
Kamala Harris: She could be the worst of the bunch, pretending to be authentic when in fact she’s the ultimate opportunist. It’s one of the main reasons she had to drop out of the presidential race.
In 2015, when called upon by the Legislative Black Caucus to support bills that would have mandated that all police officers wear body worn cameras and that the Attorney General’s office investigate lethal officer-involved shootings, she declined.
She championed a law that went after the parents of chronically truant children and supported a system that locks up people who are too poor to post exorbitant money bail.
These policies were part and parcel of a system of mass incarceration that has deeply harmed poor people and communities of color.
There ya go. Elizabeth Warren is out. Stacey Abrams is unemployed and pretending to be governor of Georgia when in fact she lost the race. Why CNN keeps interviewing her is beyond our comprehension.
Biden is now caught between a rock and a hard place because he boxed himself in by saying he’s only picking a woman of color. One thing is certain. He’s not getting the best candidate.
Whoever is handling Donald Trump’s presidential campaign needs to take some advice from Biden’s people. Keep him locked up somewhere until November.
Trump gave a rambling, pretty well incoherent interview to CNN recently. While he may have done good things in the US and the alternative is way, way worse than him, his speaking skills leave much to be desired, especially one-on-one interviews. It was painful to watch.
Can we talk about the Quebec government not being able to come forward with a cohesive plan to get schools rolling in three weeks? It’s not like they didn’t know this was coming nor were they rushed to get this done.
Had they started speaking to principals and school officials say, in June, to see what they need too get the schools open perhaps they would not be scrambling now, looking like the keystone cops. Incompetence reigns in Quebec.
Ontario unveiled its plan almost two weeks ago. Parents need to know the lay of the land – if they need a babysitter, if they can go back to work, if they need to share caregiving with their spouse etc, etc. Here? Dead silence.
Those running our government in Quebec are deeply in over their heads and cannot seem too find even a window to shed some light on this subject. Try pulling up the shade.
There was a mammoth explosion in Beirut earlier today. It seems to have happened at the port in a storage facility containing very highly flammable material made up of benzene which reacts violently when mixed with other chemicals. As of this writing, terrorism is not ruled out.
It appears hundreds of people are missing or buried in the rubble. As well, all communication has been interrupted so people can’t reach each other. Apartments and buildings at least 4 km or over 2 miles away have been destroyed. It is total chaos there with a poor medical system before this blast.
Updated reports are saying that this doesn’t just look like a regular blast.
We received our monthly Conde Nast Travel magazine. Clearly people are not traveling now, but we learned a bit of what traveling will look like in the not-to-distant future starting with bathroom attendants on planes.
Yes Blanche, every time someone uses the loo on the plane, there will be a person designated to clean it. For us, that’s a good thing. After long-haul flights, those terlits were seriously disgusting.
As for wearing or not wearing masks, if you don’t want to wear one, skip the flying. Don’t book a ticket and then refuse to wear a mask as you will be dealt with by not only the airline you are flying but all American airlines. It seems you will be placed on a no-fly list for a long time.
As for others who refuse to wear masks when it is mandated by governments, stay home. Nobody needs your gnat-brained infantile temper tantrums to hold up one second of anyone’s time. And nobody is taking any of your ‘rights’ away. Of course it’s mostly Americans doing this because its appears they are allergic to following directions unless it is absolutely feel-good. Pea-brains.
Does anyone in the world give a rats about Ellen Degeneres? No.
We’ll talk…