unicorn

There are lists of those with serious mental health issues, restraining orders, and, of course, criminal backgrounds. In California, there is a 2-week waiting period after purchasing a gun before the purchaser can receive the gun he purchased, to give authorities the time to go over those lists. I support that measure. In many states, one can just go to a gun show and buy a gun on the spot, which I feel is a terrible policy. I very much oppose the NRA. That being said, it is simply a fact that gun ownership in Switzerland is many-fold (like 10X to 100X) higher than that of countless other countries with similar gun violence rates. Obviously, much work needs to be done in the US to cut down on gun violence. One can certainly argue how that's best done. However, it is simply false that civilian gun ownership leads to high gun violence rates. By the way, getting to the subject of the original posting, Mr. Rushdie was attacked with a knife. Just to get our facts straight, again. His attack had nothing to do with gun violence in the US, and much to do about the fact that he had a $4 million bounty on his head and was hated by many fundamentalist Muslims. I think this event had nothing to do with American being an unsafe place, and everything to do about someone who knew or should have known his life was threatened from showing up at a poorly-guarded event. Of course, whether or not American is an unsafe is a matter of opinion. However, the attack on Rushdie could have happened anywhere. I personally would have been more cautious had I been in his shoes.

It's still difficult to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon in much of the US (such as New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles). For what it's worth, most murders are among gang members, and murder rates tend to be highest in the parts of the US with the strictest gun laws. This might be because someone might think more carefully about shooting someone in a place like Texas, where anyone might shoot back. That being said, I support stricter gun laws, especially required background checks for criminal and mental health histories. All Swiss households have guns, yet their gun violence level is much lower.

These lists are very silly, because they only represent the values of the people who make up the lists. I, for one, would rather blow my brains out than live in Calgary or Toronto, but that's because I greatly value climate--but that's just me. I have a strong suspicion that whoever made up that list didn't include climate as a criterion--yet that's something of great value to a lot of people such as myself. I could hardly be happier living in Los Angeles, but, yes, you'll have a tough time if you don't have health insurance (as in most of the US, which is why I suspect no US city made the list). There isn't a fence or barrier separating Canada from the US. If most people preferred living in Calgary or Toronto, they'd vote with their feet. Yet almost all successful Canadians live in the US (Celine Dion, Justin Bieber, William Shatner, etc.), yet it's very rare for Americans to choose to live in Canada. This is the only "barrier" between Canada and the US (barring rivers, lakes):

Cuban Luis Daniel Gálvez is nice, too.

You zeroed in on the youngest contestants! 😉 My favorite might be Angel Olaya from Argentina....

Am I the only one who thinks Emma Thompson looks like Helen Mirren?

The lead, Daryl McCormack, is going to get some jizz out of me tonight...

I don't know about the situation in Thailand, but in the US, the virus has become extremely weak. The percentage of people hospitalized testing positive is nearly the same as the percentage of people in the general population testing positive (2-3%), and it is extremely rare for the virus to put someone in the ICU or worse, despite very high prevalence rates. The effectiveness of masking has also been quite questionable, since jurisdictions with masking requirements have not seen significant differences in transmission or prevalence compared to jurisdictions without masking requirements. In theory, masks should work (the filter droplets), but real-life statistics don't seem to support their efficacy. I believe we have come to the point where we should be paying far more attention to hospitalization, ICU, and death rates, and far less attention to "case" rates.

I had to look up Karen village. In the US, we're imagining this:

I feel cancelling the parade was a mistake. It's what the terrorist wanted. One can increase the security if needed, but the parade should have went on.

I'm a California Angel!

https://nypost.com/2022/01/19/folk-singer-hana-horka-dies-of-covid-after-exposing-herself-to-avoid-vaccine/?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_7005994 "The Czech musician’s passing was confirmed by her son Jan Rek, who told Prague Morning that she “preferred to catch the disease than get vaccinated.” Her fatal goal: to regain access to her favorite off-limits sources of entertainment. Per her son’s account, Horká, lead vocalist for the popular international band Asonance, had wanted a “recovery pass” to the sauna and theater in her native Czech Republic, where either proof of vaccination or a recent infection is required to access specific cultural venues, the BBC reported. Horká, who hadn’t gotten the shot, saw an opportunity for the latter after both Rek and his father caught the virus over Christmas despite being vaccinated. Instead of self-isolating, she deliberately hung around the infected family members. The vocalist revealed her COVID-catching scheme on social media, claiming she was recovering well from the disease. “I survived… It was intense,” Horká wrote in the post, according to local news outlets. “So now there will be the theater, sauna, a concert… and an urgent trip to the sea.” “Life is here for me and for you too,” she added. Two days later, the folk artist reportedly died due to coronavirus complications, with her son reporting that she “choked to death” within 10 minutes. ... [Her son] Rek has since blamed the anti-vaxxer movement for her loss, noting that his mom frequently shared anti-vaccine articles to social media."

https://pagesix.com/2022/01/26/howard-stern-meat-loafs-family-should-address-covid-19/?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_7020316 "Howard Stern wants Meat Loaf’s family to speak out about COVID-19 vaccines — and believes the late singer got sucked into a “cult.” The “Bat Out of Hell” singer died earlier this month at 74, reportedly of COVID-19. The late rocker had been vigorously opposed to masking and vaccine mandates. In a recent interview last summer, Meat Loaf griped that masks are “useless. They don’t do anything. They don’t stop you from getting COVID. They’re just a nuisance and make your nose itch and make it so you can’t breathe.” He added, “If I die, I die, but I’m not going to be controlled.” Speaking out about the performer’s death, Stern, 68, railed: “Poor Meat Loaf got sucked into some weird fucking cult. And somehow really believed that — he made a statement, ‘I’d rather die a free man than take that vaccine.’ And now he’s dead!” reports Uproxx. “I wish the family would come forward and say, ‘Ya know, when Meat Loaf was laying there in the hospital and he couldn’t breathe, he said, ‘I made a mistake,'” he continued. “‘I should have taken the vaccine.’ Like all these anti-vaxxers, they all say, ‘I made a mistake.'" The widow of Meat Loaf (né Marvin Lee Aday), Deborah Gillespie, issued a statement following his passing writing, “The grief I feel over the loss of my husband is gut-wrenching.” However, she didn’t specify how her husband of nearly 15 years died. This isn’t the first time the self-proclaimed “King of All Media” has bashed anti-vaxxers. Earlier this month, he went on a tirade about controversial tennis champ Novak Djokovic, who was thrown out of Australia after petitioning for an exemption to the country’s vaccination requirement for noncitizens. “That fuck-nut … Djokovic. The Joker, I call him the Joker,” the shock jock fumed. “What a fucking asshole.”"

A vocal opponent of Covid-19 vaccine mandates, singer Meat Loaf appears to have succumbed to the disease himself (death certificate hasn't been filed yet). As an obese 74 year-old, you'd think he would have chosen a wiser course, since he fit the profile as a prime risk for the illness. I have zero understanding of why entertainers think they're so much more knowledgeable about vaccine safety and efficacy than public health and medical experts. It's difficult to muster any empathy here. Hopefully his words and actions didn't lead to others losing their lives. https://www.tmz.com/2022/01/21/meat-loaf-dead-dies-singer/ "...Our sources say Meat Loaf has been outspoken about COVID, railing with folks in Australia recently about vaccine mandates..." https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/4509131/meat-loaf-died-catching-covid/ "...just months before his death he declared "if I die, I die - I'm not going to be controlled" when discussing Covid. In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published last August, he also labelled face masks a "nuisance".. ." Well, it looks like the only thing to control him was the virus... 🙄

Not that he's contagious any more, but to have lied on his visa application and to have promoted a false narrative regarding immunizations, I'm sure glad he received what was coming to him. He's a talented player with a despicable character, in my view... I'm glad he didn't receive some "exception" due to his fame. It would have sent the wrong message.

Oh, yes. It sure will.

I was once scammed by a business. When I documented the scam on a Yelp review, I received a threatening phone call from the business owner. I told him to go f**k himself and never call me again. I then amended my review to add the threatening call I received, and also alerted Yelp of the call, which subsequently flagged the business. I never heard from them again.

I received an ad for a service in the mail that really got me laughing! 😄 You can actually pay someone to clean your trash can! I can't imagine who would want to have this done. Just don't let it get dirty again! shinybinsusa.com It looks as though there are people who want this to be done monthly (???), but if you only want it done once, they charge $50 per bin!!! WTF?

One of the problems my sister had in finding someone to tutor her in Portuguese is that in the US almost anyone teaching Portuguese will be teaching Brazilian Portuguese. To become a Portuguese citizen, one has to take an oral test to ensure Portuguese proficiency (strangely, unlike many countries, no test on Portuguese civics or history!). I don't think they'd bar you for having a Portuguese accent, though. I know some basic Brazilian Portuguese and was frequently corrected when I visited Portugal. No one was offended, though. Since there are over 20 times as many Brazilians as there are Portuguese citizens, I'm sure the Portuguese are used to it. I asked them if the Portuguese language from Mozambique and Angola were closer to Brazilian or Portuguese and was told it was in between the two.

My sister moved to Portugal. All you need do is buy a $500,000+ home and live there, and you're on track to EU citizenship in some 5 years. The climate of Canada is so horrid, I can't imagine living there, except maybe Vancouver or Victoria. If you think you can learn Portuguese, Portugal is a great place to live. They're all fully vaccinated, have no problems with Covid or anti-vaxxer nuts, and the climate is decent. The only thing to be aware of is that the waters, even in the Algarve on the southern coast, are quite cold year-round. You have to be on the Mediterranean (Spain) to get warm waters, but I think immigration to Spain is more difficult than Portugal. I've thought of it myself.

Well, I do have a scholarship fund in my name to help university students who've suffered on account of their sexual orientation or gender identity, which is designed to last into perpetuity. I suppose the recipient many never bother to learn anything about me, but at least he or she will know my name.

I don't know how things are in Australia, but charities in the US are happy to help you navigating donations in ways which will lower your tax burden most efficiently. The laws are complex in the US, and these people know these laws well. An accountant can help you as well. I know that in the US, for instance, I have to pay heavy taxes if I donate from my retirement accounts before I turn 70. I have donated some from my non-retirement accounts, but hope not to touch my retirement accounts until I turn 70. If you donate to individuals with substantial sums, you know you will be fondly remembered for years to come. If you donate towards building schools, you can ask for buildings to be named after you, so that you will also be fondly remembered long after you're gone.

https://ourworldindata.org/covid-deaths-by-vaccination It looks like for those fully vaccinated and boosted, the death rate is about 1 to 5 in a million, unvaccinated some 20 times higher, albeit falling, perhaps due to their getting some immunity from infection, which may offer some protection?

I wouldn't say never. I'd go for usually. It's OK to out someone who profits from anti-gay activities and promotes an anti-gay agenda (for example the late Senator Daniel Craig and Senator Lindsay Graham).