Greensboro, N. Carolina

Greensboro looks like an ordinary sleepy American city, but it is anything but that.

For it played an unforgettable and critical role during the Civil Rights Movement, which led to the freedoms we enjoy today.

So naturally, when we visited the city for a recent wedding, we had to remind ourselves of its role, by taking in the Civil Rights Museum there.

Greensboro was the site of the first sit in. That was in 1960 at a Woolworths lunch counter.

It all took place in this building, which actually houses the museum today.

The reception area of the building today.

However, in 1960, Woolworths was a popular department store  and the only one that had a luncheonette inside. 

But only whites could eat there!

However, four courageous young men decided in 1960, that it was time for a change, so they visited the cafeteria, sat down and ordered coffee. 

But of course they were refused service and ordered to leave.

In short, they refused to leave, remained there all day and returned every day for months on end.

When other conscious, young people from both black and white colleges and high schools heard about it, they joined in, prepared to be arrested.

 As money is always the main driving force, and the thousands of defiant protesters who spilled into the streets affected all businesses in the city, Woolworth and many others were forced to close.

That movement forced the hands of the authorities in Greensboro, so the successful strategy of sit-ins spread like wild fire throughout the racist USA.

 Hence we can enter any business place today and be served!

The story of that successful strategy to force desegregation is well told at the Civil Rights Museum. 

That was how desegregation was forced on the majority whites to change policies in schools, medicine, voting etc, all the areas that we participate in equally today.

Some of whom excelled in sports after desegregation.

A Nigerian king donated his crown to the  museum.

A klansman costume.

Statue of a young Thurgod Marshall.

The actual lunch counter as it was in 1960.

To appreciate where we are coming from, everyone should visit that museum.

Interestingly, when we took the tour, the vast majority of visitors were white.

I hope that trend continues, as the history presented there is really graffic and stark!

Democrats have it wrong

The late Jamaican reggae singer known as Prince Buster, certainly did not have Donald Trump in mind when he wrote," Hard man Fi Dead," some 60 years ago. 

              The Prince Buster classic.

 But this reggae classic fits Trump perfectly!

Many people throughout the world are really mystified how someone like Trump,  a man with the reputation for: cheating  small contactors and other persons including applicants to his university, misappropriation of foundation funds for his own use, sexually harassing and even raping women, and who was convicted of a felony by his peers,  and on an on, could get such an overwhelming mandate from the richest and most powerful country in the world.

And this mandate is such that those who warned that he could be a Hitler could be prophetic, for with him sweeping the presidency both in terms of popular vote and electoral college votes, sweeping the Senate and most likely the Congress and controlling the Supreme Court and lower courts ad infinitum, there is nothing to stop him doing anything he wants during the next four years.😡

What is sad, is that the Democrats could also be out of power for decades, unless of course, they wake from their stupor and stop blaming everyone but themselves.

Short-sighted Democrats who claim that they lost because Americans will never elect a woman, are overlooking the fact that Hilary beat him by three million votes in 2016 and only lost because of the weird electoral college system. And when they hold up the race  card, how do they explain how Obama, a black man, won in the USA, not once but twice?

There is even more stark information that they are misreading the facts when you look at voter turnout in the critical states; For example, Trump won Wisconsin by 23,000 votes but in Milwaukee, 93,000 black people did not vote!

He won Florida by 113,000 votes where 379,000 black people did not bother to vote. And that pattern is repeated all over.

So, are they really saying that those blacks who did not vote for Harris are racists?

The Democratic leadership needs to wake up and take full responsibility for their shortcomings.

For they are the root of all the evil.

Kamala ran a good campaign, considering the short time she had and the fact that as Vice President, she had to accept responsibility for all that went wrong under Biden.

But it was the powerful Leadership of the Democratic Party that kept others out of a primary to replace Biden when he broke his promise to serve only one term.

 Even I, a mere neophyte could see that Biden was fading fast, and I said just that in April 2023, in Joan, my views: He is just too old!.

But the leadership kept lying to the people until it was too late and they had to choose Kamala who had not even been a front-runner when Biden got the nomination in August 2020.

The Democrats have it all wrong for the exit polls show that the immortal words  uttered by James Carville;  “It’s the economy stupid,” is as true today as when he first uttered it.

The powerful and wealthy Democratic leadership can continue to drag down the Party by disregarding reality, although over 70% said they voted for change because they were finding it difficult to cope economically. And don't forget, Trump the master marketer, never failed to ask the question at his well publicised rallies: are you worse off today than you were four years ago?

In other areas, the democratic leadership is totally out of step with the majority, for most immigrants who became citizens after going through the long, tedious legal process to be able to vote, were turned off by the immigration policy which allowed people to simply climb a wall and get accepted in to the USA!

In places such as New York and Chicago, black Americans were also expressing disgust at how wall climbers were being given free housing, and debit cards, when their homelessness and dire economic situation was being disregarded by the Democratic elites.

Also, because the Democrats neglected its base made up of workers, unions such as the Teamsters, refused to endorse them for the first time in decades.

Then there was their strange stance on transgenderism which endorsed underperforming male athletes getting sex changes and destroying the hopes of hard working female athletes in just about every genre.

Sure, there is racism and misogyny in the USA, and small groups will always vote in line with their petty biases, but by ignoring the real issues, the Democrats will fade into oblivion and may even cause the fascism they shouted so loudly about, to become a reality.

In light of these realities, we can only hope that Trump’s promise during his acceptance speech on election night 'to help our country heal and to be the president every citizen' is not just words.

It’s difficult to see how it can be otherwise though, as these words are so much out of step with his character. Also the possibility of a 78 year old man really being able to change seems so impossible!

But as it stands today, we can only live in hope.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An outstanding performance

 If Ron DeSantist ever saw the Musical Memphis, now showing at Lauderhill Performance Center in Florida, he would have a heart attack and ban it immediately!

I ran into leading man Samuel Cadieux on the way out.

For according to him, performances like that which highlight the racist past in the USA should never see the light of day. 

I am sure, given the chance he would even ban Black History Month! 

That musical is very appropriate for this period though.

'Scrabble' Camille and I got there early

It's a story partly about forbidden love, set in Memphis, Tennessee during the 'jim crow' period.

The main setting is this bar on Beale Street 

The leading man is Samuel (above) and the leading lady, the super-talented Sydney Archibald, an African American actress, who is also a fantastic singer.

Because of the period in which it is set, it is full of white rage and violence against the couple, so there is no-make believe happy ending to that affair.

However it is a marvelous production with non-stop energy, fantastic music, dance, love, comedy, hope and passion.

Really an outstanding performance, even worth seeing more than once!😊

The exploiters contender

 The story of Africa has been one of brutality, racism and exploitation. This by rich countries which have vied over the centuries, to steal the wealth of this resource rich continent.

Not much has changed over the centuries except maybe the modus operandi of the vipers and an increase in the number of those who may wish to join the rape.

The most recent entrant into the band of potential pillagers is of course China.

They have not come with the violence of the previous exploiters though, but with apparent kindness.

I only hope African leaders have learnt from the experience of  others though and most recently, the Sri Lankan experience with China. 

They also need to pay close attention to the extreme racism Africans and other blacks are often subjected to in China! (During the pandemic, it was widely reported that several African ambassadors had to write to China’s foreign minister, calling for the “cessation of forceful testing, quarantine and other inhuman treatments meted out to Africans” and Uganda even expelled some Chinese from their country in retaliation!)

Interestingly, Zambia only recently discovered huge emerald reserves. 

That’s why I find this you tube discussion I just got, so interesting: https://youtu.be/EvW18HDsFyw.

It sure stirred up bad vibes!

Hopefully the Zambians have a similar wise warning proverb like ours in Jamaica which is :’tek sleep mark death’.

Of guns and conservatism

I find most members of the Republican Party in the USA (aka conservatives) very dangerous indeed. For if their philosophy is to be believed, when young children who are raped or been the victim incest, they must be reminded of the horror every day by being forced to carry an unwanted child for nine months.

On the other hand, if anyone wants an assault weapon to murder innocent children or anyone, they must be allowed to get it.

For why else would a civilian want an assault weapon except to commit mass murder?

I am not at all anti-gun, for in my book if someone wants to have a gun to protect themselves or their family, or to go hunting, they should by all means be allowed to do so.

However, there are guns for various types of activities. So, for example, some people tell me that assault weapons should be allowed for hunting. But my understanding of hunting is that it is a sport, so shouldn't the poor animal have some kind of a chance of survival?

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (in a 1994 debate,) "assault weapons are semiautomatic firearms with a large magazine of ammunition that were designed and configured for rapid fire and combat use."

I think the most relevant word above is combat, for that is really what they are designed for.

That means war.

Is it this love for weapons of war among a significant proportion of the Republicans in my book, which have caused America to start so many wars against far less armed nations too. For example, recent incursions into places like Iraq, and Libya.

It seems to me too, that American philosophy is really built on bullyism....... I have better weapons so I will kill you and take what you have.

Wasn’t that the entire foundation of the nation as they tried to wipe out the native Americans? And they have carried on that tradition over the years with non-whites being the targets under Jim Crow and ever since. (Heard of the Tulsa Massacre etc?)

According to the National Library of Medicine, assault weapons and other high-capacity semiautomatics appear to be used in a higher share of firearm mass murders (up to 57% in total)"

Would you believe the majority of decent Americans oppose having assault weapons in civilian hands?

 According to Gallup, between 57-61% of persons polled in the USA think assault weapons should be banned, but the legislators have consistently ignored these facts.

So why are most Republican legislators opposed to the banning of assault weapons when their constituents want them to be.

Corruption it would appear.

 In the USA, there is a well-entrenched method of bribing legislators called lobbying.

This is how Wikipedia begins its description of lobbying;

“In politics, lobbying, bribery, persuasion or 'special' interest representation is the act of a legally sanctioned attempt at influencing the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies.”

Among the richest organizations which use lobbyists in the USA; are gun manufacturers and the NRA (National Rifle Association). Why you may very well ask? The answer lies in the piece published by the Huffington Post in 2017 entitled "Assault Weapons Sales Boom Fuels Gun Industry Profits, And Tragedy." (It is interesting to learn via the History Newsletter, that the NRA opposed access and carrying of weapons in the 1960's when the Black Panters were the propoonents and whites were scared out of their pants by them!The NRA Supported Gun Control When the Black Panthers Had the Weapons - HISTORY)

 It is therefore my view that until the USA addresses the corrupt system of lobbying, they will forever be shedding tears and saying prayers for victims of mass murders, be they mere infants, Texas May 24th, black people two weeks before in Buffalo, or people in churches, cinemas, malls etc.

Yes, every country suffers from crime with which violence is often associated. For humans will forever reach for weapons with which to harm others, be they sticks, cars, guns etc.

 But must the USA continue to make it easy for anyone with a grudge to kill people by the dozens in the flash of an eye, simply because that is what the NRA and gun manufacturers want?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ukraine is different!

"When elephants fight it is the grass that gets trampled." African proverb

There has never been a truer word, and lest we are inclined to forget, the recent events in Ukraine have brought this wise proverb center page.

Although many of us never heard of Ukraine until February 2022, that country cannot be categorized as an 'elephant,' in world affairs. But, this war is really being fought by the USA, the European Union (EU) and Russia.... real big league!

Anyway, as the African proverb said, its the grass or the less wealthy countries that are suffering the most.

For while the price of energy is skyrocketing because of the war, wealthy countries are better able to deal with such spikes. And since energy costs affect most things, crippling inflation will be on the rise almost everywhere.

Ukraine has also been a very fertile agricultural country, producing significant amounts of sunflower oil, barley, corn and other basic foods.

Just think of our and other poor countries dependence on corn meal as a basic staple! Either it will soon be priced out of our reach or there will be a chronic shortage soon. When corn and other basics are no longer produced by in large quantities by Ukraine, starvation and famine will surely escalate in poor dependent countries.

Let me state up front though that I support the USA and EU getting involved in the Ukraine situation, as the concept of a larger well-armed country invading a neighbor cannot be tolerated in civilized society.

It should never have happened in Iraq in 2003 when the powerful USA, supported by Poland, Great Britain invaded that little country on a false pretext.

It should never have happened in Panama either when the powerful USA invaded to take out their leader Manuel Noreiga who had stopped colluding with the CIA.  Some records say some 15,000 Panamanian were killed in that exercise.

So yes, modern history is replete with stories of big bullies invading less powerful countries on spurious grounds. 

What we are seeing today though is the level of racism existing in many influential media houses in the western world. 

For never before have innocent war victims been so deservedly humanized as have the Ukrainians,  from where the suffering of ordinary people been brought into our homes so graphically and regularly.

Each time I see a report out of Ukraine, I have to ask myself what makes the pain and suffering of the Ukrainian people at the hands of the blood thirsty Putin worse than the pain and suffering of Afghan, Iraqi children in the past at the hands of the USA? 

But they are still just a small sample of the innocent women and children who have been forced to flee their homes daily, often with just the clothes on their backs, in the face of bloodthirsty dictators worldwide..

According to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, (UNCHR), there are today over twenty million refugees worldwide. Watching western television however, one would never get that impression, as no other race of innocent victims is being humanized anywhere. 

Only the Ukrainians need world sympathy and assistance one could easily conclude!

And are there really more Russian war criminals around than in other countries where innocent civilians are being wiped out ad infinitum?

Quite frankly, the only difference I am seeing every night is that its white Europeans who are suffering in Ukraine whereas in other conflicts it is 'people from shithole countries or as some may say "children of a lesser god."

As to the matter of international justice and punishing war crimes, Russia is one of the 144 countries that are members of the International Court of Justice, (an organ of the United Nations that deals with those matters) but neither the USA nor China are. 

Reform urgently needed

I have been most uncomfortable for years, living in a so-called independent country with the head of state being a foreigner.

Worse, the head of state is from the same institution that kept our ancestors as slaves for three hundred years then followed up with the vicious, racist colonial experience.

The fact that the modern-day British Monarchy, no longer has any real power in the island and hasn’t interfered in out day to day lives has not eased the discomfort and is irrelevant in my book.

It’s the symbolism that’s painful!

Oh no, I have not personally had a problem with Queen Elizabeth who has been very circumspect and whose tenure I could not find a fault with.

But believe it or not, she too is human and one thing all us humans all have in common, is that we die. 

So, I have been nervously watching the steady deterioration of her health with some trepidation, especially as now that at age 95 she has come down with covid.

As she too faces her mortality, she has been diligently putting the succession process in place, so on the 5^th February 2022, she made the most unpalatable statement (in my book).

“When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me,” she wrote. “[It] is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.”

OMG.

Charles King of Jamaica and Camellia the Queen!

Tell me I got it wrong.

Charles who drove princess Diana to an early death and Camelia who destroyed that young lady’s life  to become the King and Queen of Jamaica?

The fact is, that royal House is not an institution that can be admired in any way shape or form and when Elizabeth leaves, not only will that unsavory couple be our highest-ranking officials, but also carrying along a sibling who is, for all intent and purposes, an (almost) self-confessed pedophile!

No sir, Jamaica has to work urgently and quickly to move as far away as possible from that royal house.

Earlier this year, the prime minister established a new ministry, the Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs. One stated function was to prepare the country for Republican status, something successive PNP and JLP leaders have been promising for decades but doing nothing further,

Since the announcement of the new ministry, we have heard nothing further not even if a new expensive, fancy office has yet been acquired and furnished and how much it will cost us for this new (unnecessary) bureaucracy, much less what time-table has been set to get us out of this monarchy business and on the path to republicanism.

We, as an independent country, desperately need a head of state that we the people select and not another lazy, underutilized, unresponsive representative of the British royal family, who politicians  select on the grounds of religion or whatever.

 Has the new ministry been in consultation with the opposition to decide what the functions of our own president will be or are we going to just swop one ribbon cutter for another?

These matters need to be urgently put on the table and discussed publicly, not just presented to the public as a fait accompli.

We are a mature nation of almost 60 years and it's about time we at least get our governmental structure right.

The churches

When are we going start to investigate people establishing churches and holding up themselves as religious leaders?

Jamaica is a very ‘churchified’ society where parents drum into their children that ‘parson spreading the word of God’ etc. As a result of this blind stupidity, hundreds of children have been abused by pedophiles with a bible.

The church problem has become even more dangerous, as recently it was exposed that one church which was operated by a criminal who had been incarcerated in Canada.

He was also demanding human sacrifices.

Just as shocking, now that secret tapes are being played in the Clansman trial, it is being revealed that one parson was not only an alleged member of that bloodthirsty gang, but also actively engaged in endorsing murders, while gospel music blared in the background!

How much scarier must the Jamaican church community become before the authorities realize that they must regulate how churches are established and put in place, ‘fit and proper’ criteria?

I am not at all proposing a ban on freedom of religion, but if the churches are to remain tax-free influential organizations, they must be regulated so that the vulnerable, especially our children, are no longer being influenced by scammers and other criminals who walk around with a bible.

Charles own subjects dot want him! https://youtu.be/xPeCv9MxzJs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Protecting the unborn while neglecting the already born

The reason why I keep coming back to religion so  regularly, is because it has been used for so long as a cover to oppress people.

In the olden days, it was the principal tool to keep the enslaved and oppressed in line, the well-known ruse being, if they accepted the oppression their rewards would come in the afterlife.

As slavery was outlawed and most people became less naïve, the religious scammers evolved a bit and Bishop Tutu summed up the next step beautifully; “When the missionaries came to Africa, they had the Bible and we had the land. They said 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the Bible and they had the land.” Of course, you are aware that in South Africa, everything the apartheid government did was with the blessing of the Dutch Reformed church.

It was no different in other countries such as the USA and the Caribbean where slavery and later, white oppression, was the order of the day, for always, the slave masters had the full endorsement of the church.

Fast forward to my generation.

As far as I can see, the Christian religion is still mainly used as a tool to oppress the weak. Probably though, their favorite prey these days are women and children, because of their unequal physical strength!

So, while I have always been wary of Christians, the thing that drew me back to this topic today, is the most horrific story coming out of France about the sexual abuse of children by catholic priests. It stated in part; Clergy members in the Roman Catholic Church in France sexually abused more than 200,000 minors over the past seven decades, according to an estimate published on Tuesday by an independent commission that concluded the problem was far more pervasive than previously known.”

I find these reports about the catholic church especially painful, for while I don’t know much about their religious teachings and care even less, based on their operation in Jamaica, I have always been a big supporter of that denomination where through the efforts of representatives such as Father Holung, Sister Benedict and the Alpha institution,  it has only been surpassed by the Salvation Army, in assisting, uplifting and training the poor in my country.    

However, catholics internationally, are well known for their promulgation of the inferiority of woman and definitely, what we can do with our bodies, under the guise of protecting the unborn while abusing the already born.

What is happening in Texas too is a poignant example of how those who describe themselves as upright Christians, use their superior powers to oppress women, under the guise of protecting the unborn.

In this latest move, these Texan legislators too, have decided that women don’t control our own bodies, so government through them, can determine what pregnant ladies do with their’s!

I don’t know if it’s the nonsense about woman being created from Adam's rib which has driven this overreach in the Christian world, but whatever it is, it is nothing but another grab for power over us women in the name of religion.

For how is that these upright people in Texas, care so much about the recently conceived,(some are claiming that a human exists from the moment of conceptions!) when they display so little concern about the pligtht of pregnanat women and children  after they are born, especially minorities.

For according to the statistics, Black infants in Texas are twice as likely as white infants to die before their first birthday and maternal mortality is higher than the national average.

Protecting the unborn indeed while leaving those already here to suffer and die from their racist policies and neglect.

These religious zealots would be on firmer ground if they encouraged men to have vasectomies instead of  continually trying to take control of women's bodies!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJu_qutzS3Y

The case for republicanism

Jamaica used to be the most independent and progressive of what was known as the West Indies, but on the issue of becoming masters or mistresses of our own destiny, we are 
certainly falling behind. 

While we were the first of the former colonies in the Caribbean to declare independence from Britain, on the matter of totally breaking away from those who oppressed out ancestors for centuries, we are acting like morons. For the Queen of England remains our head of state although we have been independent for almost 60 years.

In the meantime Dominica, Trinidad, and Guyana have become republics and the prime minister of Barbados, announced that in November 2021 Barbados will also ditch the British monarchy as its head of state. 

Yes Barbados, which has always been considered more British than the British. 

The insignia given to black Governor's General by the Queen shows the Archangel trampling Satan who is black!

Even in white Australia, the topic has resurfaced, with ex-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, tweeting that in light of the very 'sad revelations' by  Megan and Harry in that famous interview with Oprah Winfrey, it should bolster the call to cut ties with the British monarchy.

In the meantime, Jamaica seems doomed to remain forever hanging on to the skirt tail of the British monarchy, even with a governor general representing the British Queen and wearing an insignia that depicts the archangel St. Michael trampling Satan, who is drawn with dark skin.

In light of the recent revelations where Megan and Harry confirmed what we should already have known, (that the British monarchy is a racist institution,) I again wondered out loud on facebook about when or if Jamaica will seek republican status.  The responses were many, swift and diverse. While most respondents rued the fact that we still maintain the royal family as the head of our country, one respondent declared that Jamaica will never change this situation as it is a racist country!

I had to disagree with that respondent, as I really don't believe that Jamaica is still a racist society although there is no doubt that we still have a number of racists among us. And we have a handful of monarchists too, (some of whom contend that such a move will spell economic disaster, although there is no evidence of this in the former west indies territories which ditched the monarchy.) who believe it would be a sin to remove the royal family😁 and replace the head of state with a local person.

Yes, mental slavery is still alive and well among a few.

 Let me make it clear that despite the fact that Queen Elizabeth is a descendent of those who committed the most serious atrocities against our ancestors, I have nothing against her personally. In fact, I dare say she has done her job with good grace, dignity and diplomacy. Even she however realizes that her type of character will no longer be displayed, once she steps down and her son, Charles takes up any role, including in the predominantly black commonwealth, so she is holding in for as long as possible. 

I am personally repulsed by even the thought that Charles, that despicable person, could become Jamaica's head of state and his wife Camelia, the first lady! For it is no secret that the cold fish Charles, drove Diana to her death.

In the famous interview, Prince Harry said that it was neither the queen nor her husband, who were upset that he and mixed race Megan may have a black child, but he refused to say who it was. In my book, such a petty concern, would fall right into Charles' character. Besides why else would he stop taking Harry's phone calls after he opted to stand up for his wife and child?

While I agree that the queen has been unobtrusive and diplomatic in her role, that second generation of hers, including Andrew, the alleged pedophile, have nothing to contribute to Jamaica!

You know, for around three or four decades, we have been debating this issue of republicanism, but both the JLP and PNP have been standing in the way of progress. For while both parties claim that they support replacing the monarchy, they cannot sit down and agree on the type of president we should have, executive or ceremonial. 

Good god, this is not rocket science. If the two parties were really in for of republicanism, they could take the gradual route Guyana did, or some variation. For Guyana first started with a ceremonial president to remove British, then moved on to the executive presidency.

It is totally disgraceful and demoralizing to majority of Jamaicans who do no to wish to have any further association with the despicable British royal family, the racist oppressors of our ancestors, that our politicians continue keep skirting around the issue.

https://youtu.be/oCqHflj4SNE

IF OBAMA HAD DARED TRY THAT!

America is a flawed democracy, yet despite that it has operated as the "policeman of the world," supposedly trying to make democracy worldwide practice.

The lack of democracy in the USA did not arise with the recent Trump instigated attempted coup in that nation's capital which saw a handful of racist thugs invading their parliament. The fact is, in the USA, the majority has never necessarily ruled, although that is what democracy is all about. So, in 2000, George W. Bush 'won' against Al Gore although he only got 47.9% of the votes cast while Gore got 48.4%. In other words, Gore got the majority of the votes cast, resulting in over half million more votes than Bush, but Bush became President. 

The same situation occurred in 2016, only the disparity was much worse. For in those elections, Hilary Clinton got in excess of three million votes more than Trump, yet he ended up as president. No wonder the autocrat Trump can insist he should remain president in 2020, although he got almost eight million votes less than Biden!

Trump is nothing but a fascist, potential tin-pot dictator though, for from 2016, he has consistently declared that if he did not win the election, it would be because of corruption! And he came back with the same song and dance in 2020, and this time it became a crescendo since November 3rd, because he was rejected at the polls. 

Amusingly though, he quickly accepted the representatives in his own party, who got elected in the states he was disputing and under the same system he calls corrupt.

I think Trump is the most corrupt politician in the history of modern America.

In his very first term, he was impeached, though not removed, for trying to strong-arm Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, to come up with fake information on his opponent Joe Biden, for use in the 2020 election campaign. Then after he lost the popular vote in 2020, the electoral college votes, every challenge in the courts, he tried to strong arm the Secretary of State in Georgia to find him votes to overturn the results in that state and find him some votes so he could be declared the winner there.

When all that failed, as a last desperate attempt, he ordered his Vice President to lie about the number of votes he earned from the electoral college, despite the fact that the Vice President had no such power, as his job was basically ceremonial, going no further than declaring how many votes there were coming from each state.

So, like a modern-day Papa Doc (former Haitian dictator), he turned to his thugs, the Proud Boys, urging them to turn to violence. Those Proud Boys, are a far right group of white supremacists, who he told on the 29th, September 2020, to "Stand back and stand by." 

Well on the 6th January 2021, they were given the command by the president of the USA himself which led to the violent assault on Capitol Hill. When the smoke cleared, one female insurgent was found dead, a policeman was killed, four others died from other causes, many were injured and pipe bombs plus a car with explosives found nearby.

When this pathetic failed coup was met with national and international condemnation and Trump censored by Twitter and Facebook, the barefaced president in his typical self-serving fashion, threw his stupid supporters under the bus, declaring; "Those who violently besieged our Capitol are the opposite of everything this administration stands for."

What a scandal. In a civilized country, Trump as the instigator of the riots he belatedly pretended to condemn, would be arrested.

Anyway, despite the USA having a flawed democratic system, they do have strong and tested institutions, the most outstanding in this situation being the courts. For at every level, despite the fact that Trump had appointed the majority of the judges, they stood up for the constitution. 

 But back to the failed coup; I have to wonder if General Michael Flynn had still been in the army, if that attempt to violently overthrow the democratic system in the USA might not have succeeded in at least starting a civil war?  For using tactics like those of their hero Vladimir Putin, Flynn could probably have been able to mobilize enough troops under his command to do some meaningful damage. For he had even suggested after Trump lost the November 3 election, that he should declare martial law and rerun the elections in the states he lost under military supervision! Although since Trump consistently used bone spur as a medical excuse to avoid military duty and called soldiers suckers and losers, between the both of them, they probably couldn't find enough white racists to sacrifice their lives for that loser. 

 But who knows, for although he is clearly delusional, he found millions of even more delusional Americans to vote for him!

 But I am straying into conjecture.

What the attempted coup in Washington on the 6th January 2021 further exposed, is just how racist a society the USA is.

Can you imagine if President Obama had become stark staring mad and had dared to mobilize a mob to take over the capital city after his second term had ended and he was obliged to give up power? I guarantee that not only would a significant number of his supporters have been shot on sight, but Obama himself would most likely have been lynched and so would any other black man that the white racists encountered for days and probably weeks to come! 

Although the democracy in the USA is very flawed as it can make the will of the majority irrelevant, Trump and his mob ha now taken away the ability of the Americans to ever again try and lecture any other county in the world about democracy!

But maybe that's not such a bad thing is it?

https://youtu.be/xpk-DCCgYqI

Impressions of Vietnam

Vietnam was never on my bucket list but when a planned trip to Kenya fell through, I said "what the heck, why not visit my friend's
courageous daughter Gabby in Vietnam. She had gone off to that country to teach English a year ago, although she never knew anyone in the region or a word of the Vietnamese language.

It was with some trepidation that I took the decision as I am quite a foodie and had often heard that they ate things that I would never consider digesting, like cats and dogs! "As I don't know the language, how will I know if I get my pets to eat?" I worried as I packed my bags with all sorts of junk food including barbecued pork rind!

Sadly, some beautiful scenery is barely visible because of the heavy pollution

I needn't have worried though, as when I finally expressed my fears to Gabby, she assured me that cats and dogs are delicacies there, so I would never get them to eat by mistake.

 I was even pleasantly surprised when during my visit I did notice that some people had pet dogs on leashes and even on their bikes, indicating that the trend to eat those animals was probably slowly, very slowly receding. During that same period when I was there, however, I only saw what could be considered, one pet cat, as it had a collar. I saw no stray cats.

The destination was far better than I expected in most ways but far worse in a few.

My biggest disappointment was the high level of pollution in the capital city, even following us to the beautiful countryside. One often hears about the terrible pollution in India and China but had never heard of it in Vietnam, so it came as quite a shock to see almost everyone wearing masks in Hanoi. I got one, but it didn't help much since the immediate effect was the severe stinging of my eyes.

I personally have never seen such a high level of pollution anywhere. It even blots out the sun completely many days. This is caused by the extremely highly developed manufacturing industry which apparently operates without any form of regulations.

My next shock was the absolute chaos in traffic in Hanoi.

That capital city has a population of some seven million people but it is rumored that there are six million motor scooters of all shapes and sizes.
(This of course makes it impossible to judge ones status or wealth by their mode of transportation as just about everyone in the city use bikes to get around.)

Many roads n the city have bike lanes, but very few riders use them. I have never seen such anarchy on the roads in my life. In fact, I would describe what I felt on the first few days as total culture shock as I saw riders, some even texting on their phones,  ride out in front of bikes, cars or trucks without appearing to look at all. It was not unusual either to see a bike with up to six persons on board, most being children and while the adults usually wore helmets, the children are never provided with any.

I must admit that after about three days, when I did drum up the courage to take a bike taxi with a Grab, rider (Grab is the Asian equivalent of UBER and they have both bike and car taxis,) I was pleasantly surprised to be supplied with a helmet.

The ride was not as scary I expected,  but on reaching my destination, my driver who was traveling behind a truck was nearly crushed as the truck driver stopped suddenly, then started reversing without checking if there was anyone behind him!

 My poor rider, he nearly had a heart attack.

What I found interesting too was the total absence of police or soldiers on the streets or anywhere, in a so-called communist state with an amazingly low crime rate.

This is a fairly clear sidewalk!

With the chaos on the roads,  I had expected to see regular, terrible accidents but amazingly, never saw one during the time I was there.  On one occasion, I did see one policeman trying to direct traffic during peak hour, (all day looks like rush hour anyway!) only to observe in amusement that the bike riders simply ignored him and did their thing while a few drivers obeyed his signals. However I hear that just about every car you see in the city, has a dent on the side and every rider has a muffler burn amusingly, dubbed the Hanoi kiss!

As to the treatment of pedestrians, Oh lord....they are of no value at all to those on wheels as no one pays any attention to any pedestrian crossing or traffic lights. In fact, I dare say, trying to cross a road in Hanoi appeared to me at first to be the ultimate challenge and almost like making a date with death! And where the sidewalks are in good shape  (not full of holes and broken slabs) they are captured by merchants or used as parking lots for the bikes.  So it's on to the streets for walkers.

Newlyweds pose in the street for photos

 I could not believe my eyes too when I saw sections of several sidewalks, both in and outside of Hanoi, with long beautifully decorated tents installed as reception halls for weddings. The Vietnamese seem to be great lovers as there are streets lined with nothing but flower shops and ever-present, are women with bicycles loaded with bunches of flowers which they sell on the streets and around the lakeside.

A dedicated bleacher!

 Although Vietnam describes itself as being socialist, it is among the most capitalist cities I have ever seen with every type of small business, especially food businesses. I am really surprised how slim everyone is!

And whereas one would expect a socialist society to be somewhat ordered, when it comes to town planning, the word that springs to mind immediately is anarchy. So it is not unusual to see the most fabulous building on the first few floors and literal shacks on their tops.

 Really weird.

Another practice I found culturally shocking was the widespread use of bleaching creams by Vietnamese women. It is as every woman there wants to be white.

 At first, when I saw women fully covered from head to foot as they rode their scooters, stupidly I thought they covered themselves up so if they fell, they would minimize the bruises. I was quickly disabused of this thought when it was explained to me that they remain fully clothed from head to foot in the boiling sun in temperatures in excess of 80 degrees because they fear the sun darkening their skin. It was uncanny, as uncanny as the habit of most young men growing the nails on their left hand to extraordinary lengths.

When I find out what's behind this practice, I will certainly let you know.

With bleaching being so prevelant, I should really not be surprised at the level of racism in the country, but I was, for this is 2018 and I had no idea racism could be so open in any country of the world still.

Shrine at Ho Chi Minh museum complex

Let me make it clear, I personally never experienced any form of racism and in fact, found everyone I encountered, extremely nice and helpful. But it is a well-known fact that visitors and residents never have the same experiences.

 I was really very appalled when my friend who works there, revealed that many employers will tell you up front that the salary scale for black people and whites are not the same. Blacks must, therefore, accept considerably less pay for doing the same job!

She also had the terrible experience of persons refusing to serve her in their establishments or telling her to leave because she is black. Yes in Hanoi in 2018.

Another shock I got, was the seeing the easy availability of all drugs, prescription and otherwise, by  simply going into the pharmacy and asking for it. I have no idea if Vietnam has a serious drug abuse problem, but I am sure the American druggists who are widely reported to be killing themselves with overdoses of prescription drugs, would have a ball in Vietnam where everything is so easily available!

Shrine at a local pagoda

As someone who loves to travel, I often find myself having to make it clear up front that when I write about a trek of mine, I pay more attention to the natural beauty of a country, rather than cultural practices or the type of government.

This is where I move from the negatives to the absolute beauty of what I saw in Vietnam.

 Despite being a communist country which long imposed on restrictions on religion, the government does not appear to prevent religious adherence, so pagodas (temples) with the most beautiful shrines are all over. I was really taken in by the way their elaborate shrines are cherished and protected.

Nowhere are they more cherished and on display than at the Bia Dinh Pagoda, in Ninh Binh province which was the ancient capital of Vietnam during the 10-11th century.

This sacred area which has both old and new temples, covers over 500 hectares in the mountains and forest, is a treasure trove of absolute beauty and great pride to the Vietnamese people.

(These photos cannot really depict the breathtaking beauty there but nevertheless, I must share them.)

Apart from the temples and pagodas, Vietnam has a proliferation of lakes which the government uses to establish fantastic recreation areas for the people. It is so pleasant to walk around these lakes and see people fishing or just hanging around with their kids.

Pollution in that country is really severe though and it affects the lakes as much as anything else. Unfortunately, therefore, while those lakes provide visual pleasure, I saw no one crazy enough to be swimming in any.

I am somewhat of a waterbird so always go on the tours involving the sea. Ha Long Bay was quite a hit for me.

This is  is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Gulf of Tangkia, which is approximately 175 km from Hanoi.

I found this area so beautiful that I dedicated an entire blog with photos to it elsewhere. (https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2018/10/unforgettable-beautyha-long-bay.html)

Another spectacular UNESCO protected area just minutes from Bia Dinh is Trang An in the Red River Delta. This area is said to have provided shelter for humans for 32,000 years and it is  where one of the King Kong movies was filmed!

"Awesome" was the word which kept springing to mind as we wended our way slowly past huge kast formations and under fabulous caves, in a canoe propelled by a lady no less.

With the immense beauty of their land and their rich history,  the Vietnamese people have a lot to be proud of and this pride is on display in the three museums I had the opportunity to visit in Hanoi.  My favorite was, of course, the Woman's museum for very view nations revere their women to the extent that they dedicate an entire great museum to them.

The similarity to craft in Latin America is striking

Here we learnt a great deal about the 78 tribes that make up the population, naturally, quite a few being matriarchal.

 As I observed their dress and traditions, I could not but be struck by the similarities between women in this region to those in Latin America. This reinforced in my mind, the long-held theory that the so-called new world was populated by people from south-east Asia, long before Europeans even thought about world travel.

I think it is the high level of respect with which women in Vietnam are awarded, that accounts for their extremely low crime level!

Ho Chi Minh

Naturally, there is an elaborate museum dedicated to Ho Chi Minh, and deservedly so. He is greatly revered in the country as demonstrated by the hundreds of students you see studying his life and works there, all of which are on full display in the museum dedicated to him.

 He was indeed a great hero. 

The third museum I visited was the History Museum and that too proudly displays the history and achievements of the people.

 Another brief, informative and entertaining aspect of the story of Vietnam, is depicted through world-class dance, music, and art at the show, the Quintessence of Tonkin.

Uniformed students pour into the Ho Chi Minh museum

This show is staged close to Duong Lam village which has a history of over 1200 years. This was really world-class choreography and state of the art technology and is performed entirely by the local people from the village.

My first visit to Vietnam may have been brief and while I have highlighted some culturally offensive aspects of life there, that beautiful country is now high on my bucket list for more intensive exploration.
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