He is just too old!

I find the Republican party totally abhorrent.

But that’s the not the worse thing, for the reality is they are not only hazardous to the American nation and democracy, but America has such international influence, that another Trump or similar madman, could cause world chaos.

So why is it that the Democrats seem so determined to give them the presidency in 2024? For if they run Biden again, that’s exactly what they will be doing.

For Joe is just too old.

Yes, I know America has something called ageism which liberals love to throw around, but as a senior citizen, I claim privilege.

I am not saying that Biden is not a good president. He certainly is when compared to the previous one.

But we old people need to acknowledge that while we like to tell ourselves that we don’t feel any different than when we were 30 or 40 or whatever, that’s just fooling ourselves.

I was a great driver and loved the road, but do you think I would take on the job of a ride share or school bus driver? Of course not, for I recognize that I no longer have the agility nor quick response capability to do such jobs safely or even stay on the road too long.

Biden is clearly aging fast in front of our very eyes and unless the Dems find someone suitable and soon, they will have served the majority of the people in the country badly.

Elections are all about popularity and the vast majority of people polled say they don’t want Biden as he is too old to run again. I agree totally.

Of course, a similar number say they don’t want Trump to run again, but even if he does (hopefully he will be locked up by 2024 for trying to steal an election!), he can be beaten by any good candidate.

For what good policies do Republicans have to swing the independent voters?

Absolutely none.

Another negative for the Biden rerun, is having Kamala taking over if he drops down dead or is incapacitated.

Harris is ineffective as VP for the only job she had was to deal with the border issue and look at the mess down there.

Anyway, she was not even popular with Democrats during the 2019 primaries, for whereas in February 2019 she had 12 percent of Democrat voters and after insulting Biden in the debates it rose to 15 percent, by December, she had to drop out as she only had 3 percent support!

Come Democrats, you can do better than that.

As it stands, the only person who seems anxious to take on Biden is vaccine denier, Robert Kennedy Jr. And although his only claim to fame is the Kennedy name, according to the Washington Post, he already has 19% favorability rating.

Cleary democrats are desperate for someone else if Kennedy can poll so well so quickly!

Anyway, in 1992, Democratic organizer extraordinaire, James Carville coined the phrase; ‘it’s the economy stupid’ and it's as true today as it was then.

That is also going to feature way up in the issues in 2024 and with a paltry 1% GDP growth in the last quarter, that’s no recommendation for Biden. And with the serious discussions at OPEC about replacing the US$ as their trading currency, bank failures, (First Republic Bank on the brink now) things do not appear too rosy for the US economy in the short run.

Democrats need to tell uncle Joe thanks very much for pulling back the USA from the edge of international isolation and madness in 2020, but with all the challenges ahead, the job has to be completed by someone younger.

Not him, not Kamala.

 

 

 

 

Gender again

Remember Caster Semenya?

I can never forget her as I was so incensed at how badly she was treated  by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)

You see, although Caster was born a girl and grew up as a woman, she had a  problem with the IAAF, as she is black.

And that gave the IAAF the authority to embarrass her internationally.

For the benefit of those too young to know about her, she was  the reigning Olympic champion in the women’s 800-meter in 2018. That’s when the IAAF, required that some female runners whose bodies produce high levels of testosterone, must take medication to lower those levels.

No, during the many years when very muscular female German and Russian Olympic participants were regular champions, the IAAF did not have a problem.

However Caster, a South African, became subject to constant scrutiny. As Wikipedia reports “her fellow athletes speculated about her anatomy, misgendered her, and argued that she shouldn’t be allowed to race against other women. Her career is a reminder that when people challenge perceived ideas about masculinity and femininity, their bodies can become fodder for public discussion — often against their will. The issue seemed to be that Semenya appeared masculine to some observers, and that she was fast.

Semenya went on to win gold in Berlin, but she was also subjected to a battery of tests by the IAAF designed to determine whether she should be allowed to race as a woman. The testing was leaked to the press, (my emphasis) and Semenya’s body was analyzed relentlessly by armchair gender experts around the world, as Ruth Padawer reported at the New York Times.

 The truth is, although Caster was born a girl and grew up as a woman, she had a higher testosterone level than other women and for years, as she was black, she was not only publicly dissected by the media, the Olympic Committee but also even stripped of medals she won in women’s events!

I cannot but remain angry about what was done to this black south African who did nothing to her body, when I see the nonsense taking place in the USA.

For the latest fad is that persons born male, change their gender yet are allowed to participate in female events and with their well-developed muscles, they are naturally winning.

No arguments, no testosterone treatment, nothing as they are white.

I am certainly not homophobic, and anything people want to do with their bodies is fine.

But when it affects others disproportionately, its a problem.

So, I am firmly with the Republicans on this issue. For they, on April 20^th, tabled and passed a bill called; “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act” which the Democrats voted against!

I cannot believe the Democrats have become so insensitive, as report after report shows that men who transition to women are making a mockery of female sports.

And it is dangerous too.

For just this week, a female volleyball player in North Carolina suffered a concussion and neck injury during a game when a trans athlete threw the ball into her face.

Caster Semenya was born a woman.

These modern-day pretenders who are demanding to play and win in women’s sports were born men. Its just not the same thing and I agree with the republicans that they should form their own trans league and not be allowed to participate in female sports.

What next?

There was an lady recently on Dr. Phil who was demanding that they term “mom and dad” be removed from the dictionary, as it was discriminatory!

Her argument? She is a lesbian and along with her partner she has a daughter who is feeling uncomfortable at school when the term is used, as she has a mom and mom!

This may sound hilarious, but as a social trend, it’s no joke.

 

 

So Entitled!

Is it because the USA has such powerful weapons why so may of its citizens all seem so entitled?

 This pervasive air of entitlement is constantly being massaged by the media too!

I am amazed by some recent pronouncements about how to deal with their latest drug of choice, Fentanyl. 

Yes, I get it, fentanyl overdose kills around 100,000 Americans each year.

But who is it that force feeds drugs to the American people?

I recall with great resentment the terrible days in my little island of Jamaica, when DEA agents would arrive in their planes and spray ganja (marijuana) fields, destroying farmer's vegetable and other crops in the process.

 For decades, some people in Jamaica had been enjoying their ganja and it never killed anyone. 

Then the Americans discovered it and it became a problem FOR JAMAICA!

 Now all over the world, the harmlessness of ganja is being recognized and its use is even being legitimized in state after state in the USA.

 Then they took on the Colombians.

 Colombian peasants had been chewing their cocoa leaves for decades, then someone discovered that it could be chemically altered to give young people a high.

Americans immediately took to it and it suddenly it became an international problem and they were all over Colombia spraying deadly herbicides.

 Now, the powerful USA is now contemplating….multiple bills to designate Mexican cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations” in order to broaden the actions that can be used against them."

That sounds ominous and naturally, President Lopez Obrador is not amused!

(Incidentally, Mexico is the USA's most important trading partner.)

 Look at this crazy bill introduced by Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw, which would give authorization for the use of military force against Mexican cartels, similar to those approved for Iraq and Afghanistan!

 Are these people crazy.

 They must be, for if you keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, you must be!

 When is the USA going to recognize that it is, its people’s insatiable demand for mind-altering drugs which is the problem, so they need to deal with that, instead of using their powerful military, DEA etc to terrorize militarily weaker nations?

I forgot, they are all powerful so they are entitled to demand that weaker nations solve their problems!

As a matter of fact, other nations including China and Russia have superior weapons, but you don’t see them threatening others because of problems they have at home with their citizens' crazy desires!

Yes, they flex their muscles for territorial reasons and most people are appalled at these actions. So, when they do, the USA and the rest of the world usually join in the  condemnation.

However, the USA sees nothing wrong when they flex their well-armed muscles because of their own idiosyncrasies.

The insatiable demand for mind altering drugs is a unique American problem as is this entitlement they hold so dear.

American politicians and media need to recognize this and stop driving the public into a frenzy on the basis that other nations are supposed to solve their problems.

With their overabundance of serial killers, mass murderers and generation after generation of young people always wanting to have some new mind-altering drug, the USA is clearly a very dysfunctional society.

However, the age of entitlement is over.

They need to deal with their internal shortcomings rather than continuing to terrorize their poorly armed neighbors for the things their citizens crave.

 

Last lick

We have now left the motherland and are on our way to Florida.

After flying 8 hours from Lusaka to Dubai, we had a long layover and took a tour to Lahbab Desert which is an hour and a half away.

And guess what? Met another Jamaican who had gone to Bali and Philippines and was also hanging out in Dubai during the long layover before heading to Miami.She is going back to Jamaica on Wednesday. 

So wonderful to see Jamaican young people traveling the world!❤️ She went on another tour but we headed to the desert.

There we got to ride the camels and frolic over high a treacherous sand dunes with an expert driver in an SUV.

Flying through the dunes felt at times like being in a roller coaster ride and others, like being on rough seas in a small power boat.

It was a lot of fun though.

On our return to Dubai we asked the young man to drop us at the famous Dubai Mall, a man-made beauty.

It’s really magnificent (and expensive!) and shows to some extent, what you can do when you have unlimited petro-dollars!

Now all I have is memories of the wonderful adventure we experienced over the past few weeks.

They will last me a lifetime 😊.

Picture Gallery 

 

Dubai international airport is the most humongous airport I have ever seen in my life! 

We took Uber from downtown and told the driver we were going on Emirates airline. Clearly he didn’t know about the airport either, but he can be forgiven as he told us he had only been in Dubai for six months. 

He is actually from nearby Indian Kashmir and incidentally, Dubai seems to have a huge number of Indians and Pakistanis working there.

Anyway he dropped us off at international departure only for us to discover that we had to take the Metro to get to Emirates’ gate!That’s how huge the place is and busy and expensive too.

But all’s well that went well and we had the experience of a lifetime every day everywhere.😊

Aid agencies and Africa

 There are so many ignorant people in this world that when you mention Africa, most think it’s a country, not a continent with 54 independent countries. 

Like on every continent, you will find a few countries at war causing thousands of its citizens to become refugees. Other countries on each continent have corrupt leaders, so the country is in dire straits and a few face other problems which severely affect thousands of its citizens.

So, Africa is not the only continent where you will find people living in severe poverty, which is what the western media always portrays.

You really can’t blame the media totally though, as for decades, Aid agencies like UNICEF, Red Cross etc, in their quest to get funds, have used the most terrible pictures of human suffering to paint a picture of Africa.

I have been to sections of 4 countries in Africa so far, and yes there is poverty and suffering, but you can find such images anywhere, including the rich USA.

What traveling to Africa has made me realize however, is how damaging the campaigns the Aid agencies have been using, are the entire continent.

 For it is their images of suffering which the media often portrays as the norm.

On the other hand, rarely do you see mention of how technically advanced and progressive countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa etc, are.

And did you know that in numerous regions throughout Africa, money is now virtually useless, as everyone at every level only use their phones for all  financial transactions?

They are way ahead of the west in this technology!

How many people know that Africa is home to the world’s oldest university?

Yes, there are pockets in Africa where without the help of Aid agencies, life would be intolerable for thousands of people but we also need to recognize that many so-called Aid agencies are just money making entities for greedy companies, countries and individuals anyway!

My beef is that rarely do you see the natural beauty of places on the continent being portrayed or hear news about how educationally/technologically developed some places are, 

And over the decades, some writers have even tried to move Egypt out of Africa, to maintain the propaganda about the non achievement/development of black people.

While I won’t go as far as saying all Aid agencies are working hand in hand with white supremacies to paint a picture of Africa as the Dark Continent or even made up of shit house countries, there has to be a better way of helping those who need it without maligning the entire continent!😡

Forever grateful

I can’t believe the adventure/trip of a lifetime is over already!

Omg, it took months to plan and work out the logistics but it seemed to be over almost a few days after we got here.

But really I am looking at it from the wrong perspective, for in less than three weeks, I experienced things that had previously been distant dreams.

Like seeing the magnificent Victoria falls which defies imagination, seeing a huge assortment of animals operating in their natural environment, visiting Robben island and walking the king of beasts. 

I really can’t believe I did it all in such a short time!

There is no way any of this could have happened without Wendy. 

She told us where to go, where to stay, how to travel and was in constant touch to ensure that we didn’t fall by the wayside. (We did though, despite her best efforts 😊, but that’s life.)

It was a fateful day when I overheard my daughter speaking to her and thought I heard that she was living in Lesoto.

Kids playing football at Rhys’ and Nyah’s school 

Immediately afterwards I called and asked if I could visit her. That’s when she told me she was not in Lesoto but Zambia.

 Never mattered to me seriously though which country she was in.  

I just wanted the opportunity to visit the motherland once again😊.

When she said I could come, I was on cloud nine and now,  the rest is history.

Hanging out with Bolt while waiting to go to airport.

As we are leaving later today, Wendy picked us up and while she worked on-line, we hung out at her home before heading to the airport.

She took a break and we went with her to pick up the kids and see a bit of their school.

Secret Service planning the route for USA VP’s  visit later in the day.

Kamala Harris is here today, and while we weren’t there for her arrival later in the day, we saw preparations being made.

Incidentally, the food in Zambia is very similar to ours and that is another reason why I felt so at home there.

A very favorite dish of all Zambian’s is Nshima. It’s made from corn and as a lover of our own turned corn meal, I had hoped it was the same thing, just by another name.

Nshima

It isn’t and I never liked it when I had it at a restaurant in Livingstone, but when Wendy’s helper Ruth cooked it, I went for seconds!😋

I don’t know how we can ever repay Wendy for this has been the trip of a lifetime and here we are at her home, heading shortly to the airport. 

Yup all good things must come to an end but the memories will last forever.

On our own

Day 2 in Lusaka was the first time Wendy trusted us to wonder around Lusaka on our own😊.

Goods on display at Kabwata Cultural Village

But she made sure she got us a taxi which was assigned to us for the entire day. 

At this section of the cultural Village there is living accommodation for vendors to rest or sleep.

She worries too much❤️

We started our exploring at Kabwata Cultural Village which has a wide assortment 

of arts and crafts.

A craft vendor with her 5 month old son

There are 73 tribes in Zambia and two families from each tribe is allowed to sell here, I understand. 

Just like in Jamaica, you should not accept the first price offered but bargain with the sellers to get the best deals.

With the lion in front of museum

One of the paintings in the museum.

The car freedom fighter Kenneth Kaunda, National Hero, used. A entire room is dedicated to the great man.

A versión of Drafts played with local products.

This monument in front of museum, honors an AIDS activist. It’s made from parts of the beds which some AIDS victims had used.

Lots of school children were at the museum

Next we visited the National Museum which I found impressive and educational, not only in terms of information, or even in describing the evolutionary process, but in general.

Unfortunately in those areas where they had displays recreating Village life, evolution , etc, no pics were allowed. 

I did get a mini lesson on how to create beautiful African designs using wax and stamps made from sponge. And learnt also that you can tell which tribe somene belongs to, by the pattern of their print outfit!

Next the driver took us to an area named Kamwara. It’s a nice residential area with a huge commercial section nearby.

A mosque at Kamwara 

He said that’s were the Indians who are Muslims have their homes and businesses. 

The business district reminded me of our own Princess Street in Kingston, as the roads are filled with people because the sidewalks are used to display the dry goods being sold in the shops.

This is the cathedral of Holy Cross. It is said to have been sometimes used to hide liberation fighters from various sections of Southern Africa.

As we drove in, we heard the most beautiful melody which our driver said was in the Loziy language, one of the seven official native languages.

Posing with the singers

It was three young ladies who work as the nearby court’s office, practicing during their lunch break. 

They really sounded good and we spent quite some time chatting with them.

I am really impressed with how Zambians drive in comparison to us. And guess what keeps them from speeding?

The cheap and effective ‘sleeping policeman!’

They are everywhere on the major roads. 

If we could even use them around schools, we could save lives. But Jamaica has no use for economical, effective solutions!

More pics at the museum 

Other stalls at Kabwata

This area so reminded me of Spanish Town Road in Kingston.