Tag: Tourism

Puerto Rico: Trouble In Paradise?

If you have never been to Puerto Rice then get off your ass and visit……it is the tropics, gorgeous beaches, friendly people and you do NOT need passport……..BTW it is a girl watchers paradise….just saying……

But what brought me out to post on Puerto Rico?  It seems they are having a bit of a monetary problem…..

There’s something about Puerto Rico that has caused many commentators to describe it as “America’s Greece,” and it definitely isn’t yogurt. Instead, it’s the terrible state of the US commonwealth’s economy, which has caused Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla to admit that its $72 billion debt is “not payable,” the New York Times reports. “This is not politics, this is math,” he says. The island’s rate of debt to GDP is higher than that of any US state, and its government could run out of cash as soon as July, triggering a government shutdown and other measures, reports the Wall Street Journal, which notes that Puerto Rico’s deep recession began after corporate tax breaks expired in 2006 and manufacturers started to leave the island.

The governor says Puerto Ricans are already struggling with issues such as government austerity, rising crime, and high unemployment and that it’s time for creditors to share the pain by deferring repayments. “If they don’t come to the table, it will be bad for them,” he tells the Times. “What will happen is that our economy will get into a worse situation and we’ll have less money to pay them. They will be shooting themselves in the foot.” Some 24% of Puerto Rico’s bonds are held by so-called “vulture funds” that specialize in high-risk efforts and have opposed efforts to restructure the debt, the Guardian reports. The Times notes, though, that many Americans may have Puerto Rican investments tied up in mutual funds and not be aware of it.

Wait a minute!  Is Puerto Rico a US “territory”?

This country can force feed our cash and stuff to Israel but it cannot find a way to help to help out in Puerto Rico?  Wassup with that?  We accepted this “territory” after the Spanish American War so we are responsible for its upkeep and security.

Time for this country to start acting like the country we were promised back in 1776 and stop helping only those countries that think killing is the only answer……or cut them loose and let them be their own nation.

Haaretz.Com War Tourism

A couple of years ago I wrote a piece about this group of re-enactors that were doing the Vietnam War……I though they were just sick….but I found another piece of news that I find utterly disgusting…….

War Tourism!

Read the article and tell me what you think of those that engage in such activity…….

 

Haaretz.Com.

A Vacay To Die For?

We all work lonbg hours and many days without ens or so it seems and we look forward to that magical time we call “vacation”……we pack up our stuff and head out for a grand time…..the mountains, the Riviera, Tuscany or Japan or…..well you have an ideal spot where4 you wish to get away from the grind of daily life…… and now for the meat of this post……

Some people have a disturbing idea of what a vacation should be……..

North Korea has detained a 24-year-old American man for improper behavior while he was being processed to enter the country as a tourist, state media reported today. The official Korean Central News Agency identified the man as Miller Matthew Todd—possibly putting his surname first—and said he entered the country on April 10 with a tourist visa, but tore it up and shouted that he wanted to seek asylum. The brief report said he chose the North “as a shelter.”

It said he was detained for “gross violation” of North Korea’s legal order and was being investigated. It gave no further details. In a statement issued yesterday, New Jersey-based Uri Tours, which identified the man as Matthew Miller, said it has “been working closely and continuously with all relevant government and diplomatic entities to resolve this matter in a speedy and favorable manner.”

North Korea?  Really?  Personally I think a vacation in Aleppo, Syria would be more interesting.  What type of sick person wakes up one morning and sez….”Golly I think North Korea would be a hoot for vacation?

Either this person needs a good psychological analysis or he is working for the CIA.

But wait!  There is more!  There is a company, Uri Tours, that actually books tourist for North Korea…….think about that for a minute.

Sorry, it baffles me that anyone in their right mind would consider North Korea the ideal vacation spot.

What say you?

Sad Economic Statement

From the VOMITORIUM:

We now return to our regular schedule……..shake, rattle and RANT!~

I live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and we have been a tourist destination for decades, especially now with all the casinos and such……and there other tourist destinations like Yellowstone, Statue of Liberty, ski areas of the West…….we like our sights and sounds……

But for the last several years there has been a slow decline of many our this country’s major cities…..sad indictment of this corrupt system, in my mind……but I read a story the other day that just made me want to puke…..and that is why I have put this in the VOMITORIUM…….

Detroit’s economy is famously not exactly booming, but the city does have one burgeoning industry: Tourism. Since the city declared bankruptcy, hotels tell the LA Times that they’ve seen more visitors coming intent on gawking at some of the city’s roughly 78,000 abandoned buildings. Restaurants in Corktown, which is strategically located near an abandoned train station, confirm that, and one tour guide the paper talked to said he’d recently upgraded to a 12-seat van. For $45, former aircraft mechanic Jesse Welter will lead visitors into derelict churches, once-luxurious high-rises, the deserted ballroom where the Who held their first US concert and more—often climbing fences or crawling on hands and knees along the way. It’s technically illegal, but police say they don’t mind. And visitors are impressed. “It’s really a once-in-a-lifetime thing you’re going to see,” said one British tourist. “You can really feel the history of a city. In Europe when things become derelict, they’ll demolish them.” Detroit hasn’t—in large part because it doesn’t have the money.

I can understand trying to find a way to make a buck….but this is a bit much for my tastes……and then there are those that gawk at the devastation of the inner city and marvel at the city’s woes……