sydneyboy1

This is Brazil.

Has anyone been to Taiwan lately? Has it improved?

Those hideous tattoos. A tragedy.

Thank you.

I recall when there was a local backlash against Brazil hosting circuses like the World Cup and the Olympics one of the main arguments was that the money should be more wisely spent on the health care system. Apparently it’s in a very poor state and with the additional strains placed on it by COVID it is in a very perilous condition indeed.

Good question.

Can someone give me a clear statement as to what the new Fragata is like? Layout, facilities, quality of boys. When did it actually open?

Ah the Sky Bar. I have stayed twice at the Hotel Unique and it certainly well named! A great hotel and the Sky Bar attracts some stunning looking people of all persuasions. I vividly recall an obviously straight guy talking to a girl sitting near me on one occasion and took a photo of her business card. I can say without exaggeration that he was the most beautiful man I have seen in my life. Memories!

It’s a classic illustration of the saying that it only takes one to make an evening. Unfortunately, on this occasion you were not the beneficiary, somebody else had the pleasure. People often comment that a sauna on a given night was “quiet” but you may find one gem. This has happened to me.

For safety Thailand is 10 (I have been there about a dozen times) Brazil is about -50 (I have been there exactly 9 times.) I normal circumstances, and the current circumstances are about as far from normal as you can get, the “action” in Brazil is like nowhere else. I have the fondest memories of Lagoa, Fragata, 117 etc. Let’s hope the good old days return in the fullness of time.

He has nothing to worry about, after all it’s just a little flu.

A tragic indictment of Boris Johnson’s incompetent handling of the pandemic.

Quite apart from all the issues raised travel insurance is another problem. Insurance policies do not cover Covid 19 and if you had the misfortune of catching the disease and needed hospitalisation you are on your own financially.

The Brazilian Supreme Court has overruled the President and ordered that cumulative statistics in COVID 19 infections and deaths be published.

There is a report in today’s Sydney Morning Herald that Brazil is no longer publishing a running total of Covid-19 deaths and infections. This almost defies belief. Can Brazil now claim to be a democratic country?

An interesting point. When Brazil was staging circuses like the World Cup and the Olympics I recall there was a major backlash with rational people arguing the money should have been spent on education and more importantly its apparently decrepit hospital system. With this system now stretched to its limit and beyond Brazil is not a country to get sick. Something to consider.

The United States has prohibited foreigners entering the US who have been to Brazil in the previous 14 days.

This is one of the lead items on news in Sydney tonight. Brazil now number 2 for coranavirus cases. One person is to blame.

The latest daily toll is 1100 dead. In one day. This figure in a country like Brazil would be a gross understatement. Truly appalling.

I don’t pretend to be a medical expert, but one thing the USA and Britain have in common is that they were very slow to act. The measures now in place are obviously strict but the way this virus spreads it’s a case of closing the door after the horse has bolted. As I mentioned in an earlier post Johnson was actually boasting about 7 weeks ago of shaking hands and socialising with sufferers. As for Trump, what is there to say? His bizarre inconsistent ravings have been well documented. As reported on the news tonight he has reached his all time low. Suggesting injecting sufferers with disinfectant. Americans come November you have your chance. How could anyone in their right mind vote for this man?

The ineptitude of this British response is breathtaking. Unlike countries such as Germany or Australia they have not engaged in widespread testing but only offered testing if someone was in hospital. Now realising their folly they have set a target of conducting 100,000 tests a day by the end of April. This is a somewhat optimistic goal given that 18,000 tests were conducted on Tuesday and the acting Prime Minister Dominic Raab boasted that they now had the capacity to conduct 40,000 tests a day. He was subjected to forensic cross examination on this in Parliament this week by the new Labour leader Keir Starmer. Only 18,000 3 days ago, the alleged capacity is 40,000 and 100,000 within a week. The acting Prime Minister was found seriously wanting when questioned on this by an Opposition Leader who is a QC and former Director of Public Prosecutions. Why is it that countries run by right wing ideologues USA, Brazil and the U K have been so thoroughly incompetent in dealing with this crisis?

Perfectly true but ask Boris Johnson what it’s like when the virus attack is nasty. He had the best medical advice available and when he was very ill his treating doctors made crucial clinical decisions that saved his life. Not to mention 2 nurses who were at his bedside around the clock for 48 hours. All this he now freely acknowledges. I can’t help but make the cynical observation if he would have had all this attention from the NHS if he had not been Prime Minister. It should also not be forgotten that he is still not back at work. i was watching a news bulletin last night on the medical front line of the virus in New York. One doctor who had just come off duty had pronounced 6 people dead on that shift. A number of medical professionals interviewed stated they had never see anything like it in their medical careers. It is not to be taken lightly.

You can add a third leader, Boris Johnson. There is much used footage of him at the end of February boasting at a press conference of shaking the hands of virus sufferers. There is nothing like catching the virus and nearly dying to make someone wake up to themselves. The virus has had a catastrophic impact in Britain and, very important, the official statistics as disastrous as they are, don’t include deaths in aged care facilities. Johnson has a lot to answer for.

A country with a President who still thinks it’s just the sniffles and wants the country to get back to normal.

I’m booked for late October but I don’t like my chances.