Unsinkable Cruise Ship Industry

Most of us know about the original cruise ship disaster, the “unsinkable ship” struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage in 1912 and sank into the icy water, killing more than 1,500 of its 2,200 passengers and crew. That was the Titanic. Despite that event cruise ship travel has been a booming business. Statistics show the annual number of cruise ship passengers exceeds 20 million people.

Here is a list of the worst cruise events. The latest is a Princess ship with almost 200 ill passengers.

Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas: The ill-fated Royal Caribbean cruise ship returned home Wednesday with an ignoble mark. Nearly 700 crew and passengers fell ill. This is the highest number of sick people reported on any cruise ship in two decades, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show.

Carnival Triumph: What was supposed to be a four-day jaunt to the Caribbean became an eight-day nightmare when an engine fire left the ship floating in the Gulf of Mexico without power, air-conditioning, or a working septic system.

Carnival Splendor: Carnival’s Splendor suffered a similar fate as Carnival’s Triumph in November 2011. Both were stranded by engine fires, though the Splendor was left floating in the Pacific Ocean. After three days the Splendor and its 4,500 passengers were towed back to the San Diego Bay.

Costa Concordia: This Italian cruise ship ran aground on a reef off the coast of Tuscany, Italy, in January 2012 and toppled onto its side. Of the 4,200 aboard, 32 died and 64 were injured, according to the Associated Press. The half-submerged ship is still being removed.

Seabourn Spirits: In 2005, while 100 miles off the coast of Somalia, pirates in speedboats attacked the small cruise ship. The pirates fired on it with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades before the captain changed course and got away. None of the ship’s 300 passengers were hurt, and the ship made it to the Seychelles where the rocket damage was repaired.

Celebrity Mercury: More than 400 of the 2,600 passengers and crew onboard the Mercury were stricken ill in 2010 in what the Centers for Disease control deemed a norovirus outbreak. The virus caused widespread vomiting and other gastrointestinal ills on the ship, which left from Charleston, S.C.

Norwegian Dawn: At least 62 cabins were flooded when a 70-foot wave smashed into the Dawn, in 2005. About 300 of the ship’s passengers disembarked early, in Charleston, after the storm had passed.

S.S. Eastland: In 1915, just three years after the Titanic sank, the S.S. Eastland passenger tour ship rolled over while in port in downtown Chicago. More than 840 of its 2,500 passengers died in the accident.

Jefferson Statehood Project

Secession in the United States typically refers to state secession, which is the withdrawal of one or more states from the Union that constitutes the United States—but may refer to cleaving a state or territory to form a separate territory or new state, or to the severing of an area from a city or county within a state.

The people within the California / Oregon border region and surrounding rural counties are joining to form the State of Jefferson. In a unanimous vote on Tuesday, Glenn County Supervisors began the process of seceding from California and joining the State of Jefferson. Last September, Siskiyou County was the first to pursue withdrawal from California with Modoc County following their lead shortly after.

None of the southern Oregon counties have been reported tp have held similar votes. The Oregonian has given this idea a boost.

Christie Brinkley is 60 years Old!

It’s hard to believe.

Times have changed since Christie Brinkley first graced the cover of Sports Illustrated‘s swimsuit issue. But the supermodel, it seems, has not.

Plastic surgery is not the total answer.

More in this People Magazine posting.

State of the Union January 28, 2014

President Obama is an outstanding speaker. His ability to deliver “facts” is outstanding even if there are distortions.

The Associated Press provided an excellent review of some of those facts. However, careful review will help you realize that the facts are difficult to confirm or deny.

As with all state of nation speeches this one too will be forgotten by next Tuesday.

Marijuana

SHOCKING!!

Suspicious: This image of Brooke Shield’s allegedly smoking cannabis with hardcore punk artiste H.R was leaked on the internet

I have been a supporter of legalizing the use of all illegal narcotics for years. I have never used any of them. Actually the only thing I ever smoked was a pipe and I gave that up decades ago.

My logic is that all the efforts to discourage the use of marijuana, heroin, and other drugs have been a failure. Those that want those narcotics have no difficulty obtaining them. Society has spent millions of dollars jailing people for possession the drugs. Gangs and cartels have made millions of dollars distributing them and people who challenge the cartels are murdered. This is not just a Mexican problem. It is a world wide problem. FBI data reported in U.S. News: American police made a total of 12,196,959 arrests in 2011 for marijuana use.

This past week the issue of marijuana use arrived at my home. My daughter suffers with serious acid reflux disease. It has been an ongoing problem for the past 18 months. Her doctor told her that one way to reduce the nausea and heartburn symptoms is to smoke marijuana. Medical marijuana is legal in California. Those symptoms had been under control with a variety of medications. The medications have not been effective the past few weeks. Finally, out of desperation, I said why not try the marijuana. Instant relief was the benefit. Starting this past Tuesday night she has not pleaded with me to take her to the ER.

Here is the ultimate hypocrisy.

Obama is quoted as saying that marijuana is no worse than cigarettes or alcohol. Still, he remains opposed to a nationwide decriminalization of marijuana. CNN reports Marijuana is currently classed as a schedule 1 drug, the same category as heroin and ecstasy. The Denver Post reports “Attorney General Eric Holder says the Obama administration is planning to roll out regulations soon that would allow banks to do business with legal marijuana sellers.”

Is this a great country or what?

Organic Food – It’s all about the Money

From the USDA National Agricultural Library

“Organic farming entails:
• Use of cover crops, green manures, animal manures and crop rotations to fertilize the soil, maximize biological activity and maintain long-term soil health.
• Use of biological control, crop rotations and other techniques to manage weeds, insects and diseases.
• An emphasis on biodiversity of the agricultural system and the surrounding environment.
• Using rotational grazing and mixed forage pastures for livestock operations and alternative health care for animal wellbeing.
• Reduction of external and off-farm inputs and elimination of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers and other materials, such as hormones and antibiotics.
• A focus on renewable resources, soil and water conservation, and management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological balance.”

I am sure you understood the meaning of this double talk. I am especially fascinated with the meaning of “Use of biological control, crop rotations and other techniques to manage weeds, insects and diseases.”

COSTCO has jumped on the band wagon of organic foods. On my last visit they handed me their special offer valid from Jan 13 to Feb 9. It was a catalog of 26 items. All items are marked USDA ORGANIC.

Huffington Post has this headline “Organic Food Is Not Healthier Than Conventional Produce: Study.” The report said “Stanford University doctors dug through reams of research to find out – and concluded there’s little evidence that going organic is much healthier, citing only a few differences involving pesticides and antibiotics.”

“Consumers can pay a lot more for some organic products but demand is rising: Organic foods accounted for $31.4 billion sales last year, according to a recent Obama administration report. That’s up from $3.6 billion in 1997.”

No wonder COSTCO has decided to offer organic foods. It’s the money!

Winston Churchill 1899

“Individual Muslims may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world.”

This is amazing. Even more amazing is that this hasn’t been published long before now.

CHURCHILL ON ISLAM

Unbelievable, but the speech below was written in 1899… (check Wikipedia – The River War).

The attached short speech from Winston Churchill, was delivered by him in 1899 when he was a young soldier and journalist. It probably sets out the current views of many, but expresses in the wonderful Churchillian turn of phrase and use of the English language, of which he was a past master. Sir Winston Churchill was, without doubt, one of the greatest men of the late 19th and 20th centuries.

He was a brave young soldier, a brilliant journalist, an extraordinary politician and statesman, a great war leader and British Prime Minister, to whom the Western world must be forever in his debt. He was a prophet in his own time. He died on 24th January 1965, at the grand old age of 90 and, after a lifetime of service to his country, was accorded a State funeral.

HERE IS THE SPEECH:
“How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries, improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live.

“A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement, the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.

“Individual Muslims may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome …”

Sir Winston Churchill; (Source: The River War, first edition, Vol II, pages 248-250 London).

Churchill saw it coming……

The Drought of 2014

Most Californians already knew that there is a drought covering most of the state. California Governor Jerry Brown has named this rainless winter an official drought. The real purpose of the declaration is to obtain federal aid, reduce enforcement of some environmental regulations, and most importantly convince voters to approve an $11.1 Billion water bond proposal.

More than $13 Billion has been spent on California water projects since the year 2000. The newest bond proposal is not new. It has been bandied around for at least four years. The only reason there has not been a proposal on the ballot has been the serious economic conditions of this state.

This ballot measure, if it does appear, will not add one additional drop of water to the state’s water supply. There will be no more water for urban areas and no additional water for farming or live stock. This proposal will provide profits for construction companies.

Sacramento Bee reporter and columnist Dan Walters says this bond issue doesn’t address the issues. Traci Sheehan on the California Progress Report web site has identified all the newspapers that oppose this waste of money.

Fear of water rationing will be the tool of choice to convince passage of this boondoggle.

The Great Society

President Lyndon Johnson’s campaign rally cry was all about creating The Great Society. Within days of his ascendancy to office he told us about his “War on Poverty.” The census bureau says in 2012, the official poverty rate was 15.0 percent. There were 46.5 million people in poverty.

I have stopped going to the Town Hall meetings sponsored by my congressman. For him they are a great way of showing his constituency that he is really interested in the people he represents. I was at his last meeting that was held at the local high school. I learned nothing. Pocket sized booklets of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were free for the taking. These gimmicks have enabled him to be re-elected eight times.
The Declaration of Independence was the creation of the wealthy in 1776. The most famous signatory is John Hancock. Hancock was one of the wealthiest men in the Thirteen Colonies, having inherited a profitable mercantile business from his uncle. http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/. It is the wealthy that made this country grow and succeed.

However it is the middle class that made this country an inspiration for the rest of the world. Thus far the 21st century has brought about that groups decline in significant numbers. If this country is to continue to be a beacon the government must take all action necessary to ensure those in the middle continue to thrive. As of this date the current congress has failed to “insure domestic Tranquility” and “promote the general Welfare” as directed in the preamble to the Constitution.

Recent evidence of a lack of effort to “promote the general Welfare” is the absence of legislation that would protect jobs and encourage hiring. Who cares? Not the mostly well-to-do members of Congress. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 25% in 2013. And you thought the representatives were representing you. They are not! They represent their best interests. That would be the money men who contribute to re-election campaigns.

The unemployment rate dropped to 6.7% in December. Sounds good. It’s all about smoke and mirrors. The BLS wrote in its latest report in January wrote, “The number of unemployed persons declined by 490,000 to 10.4 million,” but the bureau reported that only 74,000 jobs had been created. How can this be? Simple. More people stopped looking for work and are no longer counted as unemployed. The unemployment rate is a feel good number that does not tell us the real employment situation.

This situation reminds me of George Orwell’s 1984. Lies and double talk. Two and Two could be Five. Especially if the government says so. Town Hall meetings and the unemployment rate are two of the many government efforts to make you believe that our elected representatives are making America a great success story.

Don’t you believe it!

It takes more than the ballot box to change a 317 million population nation. Demonstrations and marches are needed. How many will be willing to participate? Not enough to make the changes. And so we march along as the peasants (the federal government hates that word) doing the bidding of our masters.