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.

The Value of Blockerbuster Mergers

There is a value to mergers. They make companies larger and more powerful. The likely outcome is more revenue and higher net income. It is a share holders dream.

Historically the United States has taken the position that large mega companies that control an industry are not in the best interest of America. The Sherman Antitrust Act was passed into law July 2, 1890. The purpose was to prohibit monopolies. The most infamous of the trusts was the Standard Oil Trust, which was formed in January, 1882. At that time, Standard Oil and its affiliates controlled more than 90 percent of the oil refining capacity and most of the oil marketing facilities in the U.S. The trusts came to dominate a number of major industries, and were, in effect, monopolies.

This ground breaking piece of legislation was the result of intense public opposition to the concentration of economic power in large corporations and in combinations of business concerns (i.e., trusts) that had been taking place in the U.S. in the decades following the Civil War. Opposition to the trusts was particularly strong among farmers, who protested the high charges for transporting their products to the cities by railroad.

American Airlines & US Airways planes at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport — american airlines-us-airways-planes-at-washington’s-ronald-reagan-national-airport

So what do you suppose would happen if most of the airlines were consolidated into one carrier? There would be no reason to control the charges that the airline could impose. Even now the number of airlines has declined in the United States. There were nine major national airlines as recently as 2005, but only five remain today. American Airlines has acquired four other air carriers since 1971. The largest was TWA in 2001.

Continental Airlines merged with United Airlines 2010 to 2012. They retained the United Airlines name.

Between 2008 and 2010 Delta Airlines absorbed Northwest Airlines.

See a more complete list here.

What has happened to the cost of flying? The airlines have added numerous fees to hide the increased cost of air travel. Now there is a fee to check a bag. A fee for food (even chips or soft drink). Want to watch a movie? There is a fee. Some airlines are even charging extra for aisle seats.

So what do you expect the fares to be once this merger is completed? The average cost of a roundtrip domestic ticket — including baggage and reservation change fees — grew to $378.62 last year, up from $351.48 in 2008, when adjusted for inflation according to a report from the Associated Press.

Just imagine the cost of other items if there was little or no competition. Bank fees have increased simply because there is less competition. AT&T and Verizon dominate the telecommunications industry just as Time Warner and Comcast dominate the television service industry.

The justice department is finally stepping forward to protect consumers. Let’s hope this is the first of many more actions to protect consumer interests.

Best Place to Sit on an Airplane

The Boeing 777 crash in San Francisco brings one question to mind. Where is the best place to be seated to survive? ABC and CNN both say aisle seats near an exit. Popularmechanics.com had this seating chart on survival rates.

Los Angeles Photo Gallery

I have added some photos of the downtown area of the city. The motivation was my trip (journey) there this past week. The distance is about 30 miles via freeway. My choice of conveyance was the Orange Line Busway and the Red Line Subway. It was a short two block walk to my destination. The cost was $6.00 round trip and there was no parking fees. Signs on the street indicated parking from $10.00 to $38.50 a day.

The pictures were taken with Panasonic DMC-FZ28 and Panasonic DMC-FZ150 cameras.

Click on my Los Angeles Photo Gallery to see the downtown photos. Link is also at the top of this page.

Vampire’s Arrival Could Help Tourism

An Associated Press story by someone with an unusual name (by American standards), Dusan Stojanovic.

The article is abridged. Of course using the appropriate font.

Villagers in Zarozje, Serbia aren’t taking any chances now that Serbia’s most famous vampire, Sava Savanovic, is rumored to be looking for blood

ZAROZJE, Serbia – Get your garlic, crosses and stakes ready: a bloodsucking vampire is on the loose. Or so say villagers in the tiny western Serbian hamlet of Zarozje, nestled between lush green mountain slopes and spooky thick forests. They say rumors that a legendary vampire ghost has awakened are spreading fear – and a potential tourist opportunity through the remote village.

A local council warned villagers to put garlic in their pockets and place wooden crosses in their rooms to ward off vampires, although it appeared designed more to attract visitors to the impoverished region bordering Bosnia.

Many of the villagers are aware that Sava Savanovic, Serbia’s most famous vampire, is a fairy tale. Still, they say, better to take it seriously than risk succumbing to the vampire’s fangs.

Vampire legends have played a prominent part in the Balkans for centuries – most prominently Dracula from Romania’s Transylvania region. In the 18th century, the legends sometimes triggered mass hysteria and even public executions of those accused of being vampires.

Sava Savanovic, described by the Zarozje villagers as Serbia’s first vampire, reputedly drank the blood of those who came to the small shack in the dense oak tree forest to mill their grain on the clear mountain Rogatica river.

Milka Prokic stands at twilight on Friday with a garland of garlic and a wooden stake, in the village of Zarozje, near the Serbian town of Bajina Basta.

“If Romanians could profit on the Dracula legend with the tourists visiting Transylvania, why can’t we do the same with Sava?”

Richard Sugg, a lecturer in Renaissance Studies at the U.K.’s University of Durham and an expert on the vampire legends, said the fear could be very real. Stress can bring on nightmares, which makes people’s feelings of dread even worse. “The tourists think it is fun – and the Serbian locals think it’s terrifying,” he said.

London 2012

Although not yet completed, I have posted unedited pictures from my trip to London UK on Flickr. Their upload monthly limit has been reached. The tab is at the top of this page. Or click here:

Use this link

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48969186@N04/

Especially fun was the ride on the London Eye and the line to buy the tickets.

Shopping in London or Paris – It’s Really the Mall of America

We just visited London and Paris in the last week of August. To our surprise many of the stores are the same brands we see at our local indoor upscale malls. What a disappointment!

Steven Erlanger wrote about this very same disappointment in his September 14, 2012 piece in the N.Y. Times. His article titled “The Champs-Élysées, a Mall of America” points out that you can see the same old stores you saw back home on this boulevard that was supposed to be “the most beautiful avenue in the world.” The same stores are also seen on Oxford Street and elsewhere in London.

You know – the Gap, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M, and Tiffany & Company. The only stores missing were Macy’s and Neiman Marcus.

8-30 #34 Champ Elysee — Champ Elysee next to McDonald’s

Mr. Erlanger’s article included pictures of street vendors selling junk from sidewalk blankets outside McDonald’s. That is an accurate depiction. The above photo was taken by me on August 30, 2012.

There is a 15 minute wait for food service in McDonald’s and that busy store is short on available tables. A 50 something French woman standing in front of me said she loves McDonald’s.

Actually the variety of unique retailers was more interesting in Toronto’s Eaton Centre.

Women as Chattel

Men reading this column. Are you out of your F*#%$@g minds?

Many American Men are one step away from their Muslim Arabic brethren!

Oxford Street, London UK - notice women wearing burqa with face covering niqab — Oxford Street, London UK – notice women wearing burqa with face covering niqab

The world has been controlled by men. In the past women were considered chattel (things owned other than real property (real estate). Men decided every action and every behavior of the women in their lives. Thus An all-male panel testifying before Congress on birth control. The lingering behavior of an American congressional, all-male panel, that doesn’t include one doctor. When Democrats proposed women to be on the panel, they were told the women weren’t “qualified.”

On our journey to Europe we spent five nights in London. Our stay there was at the Cumberland Hotel. The hotel is a very short block from the Marble Arch and the Oxford Street shopping area.

To our surprise the hotel guests were at least 90% Muslim. At least one quarter of the women were dressed in burqas with the face covering niqab. For the most part the women on the lifts (elevators) looked at the floor during their ride to their rooms.

When we went to the London Eye the buying ticket line was a 30 minute wait. My wife did not need to accompany me in the line and she found a seat while I waited in line. Behind me were a couple from Saudi Arabia waiting to buy the tickets. I spoke to the husband but the wife never uttered a word during that wait accept her whispered words to her husband. We know the reason. Women are not to go unescorted anywhere and never speak to another man.

The women are treated like chattel in Arabic countries. Most of us say that is terrible. Many Americans say that is not part of our Western culture. However, some of us in the USA want to tell women how to care for their bodies. How to behave. How to dress. And most significantly decide under what conditions they can obtain an abortion.

Michael Hulshof-Schmidt’s WordPress blog tells of Lousiana’s “17th Century” attitude towards women of all ages. Mitt Romney says that he is in agreement with Paul Ryan on abortion/conception laws. Ryan would deny abortion under all circumstances and declare that an abortion is murder.

“Rick Santorum’s biggest financial backer — and in the world of big-money politics, this means this guy has bucks, which in the US means he has power — “joked” that women should use aspirin as birth control.”

What a great country! Freedom for all – as long as you are a man!!

London to Paris by Train

The ride to London’s St Pancras International Station was an easy 10 minute trip by coach (bus). Once inside the railroad station we walked through a shopping mall that was as nice as any enclosed suburban mall in the United States. We were advised by the Trafalgar tour guide that the cost of food on the train was relatively high. She suggested we buy a sandwich or wrap at the Marks and Spencer store (and we had thought M&S was merely a downtown department store).

My wife chose a wrap and I selected a sandwich. Along with a bottle of water our next stop was the rail station security. It was a replica of the security we had experienced at LAX. Once passed through that check point we presented our passports to French customs for entry and then seated ourselves until the train was available for boarding. It was all very modern with moving sidewalks and escalators to the boarding platform. Union Station in Los Angeles has a long was to go to catch up with this facility.

On the platform at London’s St Pancras International Station

The 306 mile train trip took 2 ½ hours on their high speed train. That included one stop in England. Websites say the train travels at speeds up to 180 mph. The train travels near that speed most of the way. It is a remarkable experience. There is nothing like this in the USA.

Leaders of the USA keep telling Americans that we are the extraordinary country but our visit to London and Paris tells a different story.