Sunday, July 5, 2020

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy . . .





Lockdown quotes: 

Residents and business owners in Melbourne’s virus-plagued hot spots are angry that they have been forced to go back into lockdown. 

Some quotes: 

“Trade had been improving but everyone forgot we still had the virus and started living their life as normal. I want (our community) to take this seriously, more seriously than they did before. We will stay open for takeaway and I want people who come in here to be a bit more careful. We will be living with this for a long time; it’s not easy.” 
- Rose Mehmet, bakery owner 

“It was already very frustrating to be inside our homes for three months and now we again have to live with this situation. It is really taking a toll on our mental health because everyone is getting frustrated while sitting inside their home. My message is to be patient, be supportive of each other and let’s hope it will be over in four weeks.” 
- Yasser Azeem, resident

“If people are stupid enough not to do what we we’re supposed to do, what do you expect,” 
- Spiros Strouzas, resident

Source: 
News.com 
July 1, 2020 


Bernie Ecclestone: 

Ex-Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has become a dad for the fourth time aged 89. His wife Fabiana Flosi, 44, gave birth to baby boy Ace in just a 25 minute labour. The baby boy is the billionaire businessman’s first son after having three daughters with his previous partners. His eldest, Deborah, 65, was born to his first wife Ivy Bamford before he had socialites Tamara, 35, and Petra, 31, with his second wife Slavica Radic. 


Source: 
News.com 
July 2, 2020 

By the way:

It reminds me of an old joke: 

An 80 year old man was having his annual checkup, and the doctor asked him how he was feeling. 

"I've never been better!" he boasted. "I've got an eighteen year old bride who's pregnant, and having my child! What do you think about that?" 

The doctor considered this for a moment, then said, "Let me tell you a story. I knew a guy who was an avid hunter. He never missed a season. But one day went out in a bit of a hurry, and he accidentally grabbed his umbrella instead of his gun. So he was in the woods, and suddenly a grizzly bear appeared in front of him! He raised up his umbrella, pointed it at the bear, and squeezed the handle. And do you know what happened?" 

Dumbfounded, the old man replied "No." 

The doctor continued, "The bear dropped dead in front of him!" 

"That's impossible!" exclaimed the old man. "Someone else must have shot that bear." 

"That's kind of what I'm getting at..." replied the doctor. 

Not sayng that’s the situation re old Bernie, just that it reminded me of that joke. 


Amerika zuerst: 

Donald Trump’s re-election campaign is selling merchandise bearing a symbol awkwardly reminiscent of one used by Nazi Germany. The symbol in question appears on a product called the “America First Tee” which retails for $US30. It features the words “America First” above an image of an eagle with its wings spread and its talons gripping a circular version of the American flag. 



The bald eagle was chosen to be the national emblem of the United States all the way back in the 1700s, when the fledgling nation first won its independence from Great Britain. The eagle is not usually shown in this position though, and for good reason. 

The Nazis used a symbol called the Reichsadler – Imperial Eagle, in English – as Germany’s official national insignia after an edict from Adolf Hitler in 1935. The Reichsadler featured an eagle with its wings spread, and its talons clutching a circular wreath with a swastika inside. It was a slightly tweaked version of the Nazi Party’s emblem, the Parteiadler (Eagle of the party), the only difference being that the Reichsadler’s head looked to the left, and the Parteiadler’s to the right. Here are images of the Reichsadler and Parteiadler:




The Nazi eagle was a prominent symbol in Hitler’s Germany, and a massive version of the logo lorded over the German Reichstag during the Second World War. 


Americans who would like to purchase Trump merchandise without any Nazi connotations have plenty of options. The campaign shop sells, among other things, a wooden train set, a Make American Great Again dog leash, several dozen hats of various colours, and even a baby-sized one-piece declaring “I cry less than a Democrat”: 


Source: 
News.com 
July 2, 2020 

By the way:

There have been comparisons in the past between Mr Trump and Herr Hitler: 



Donald Trump appears on the front page of the Philadelphia Daily News on Dec. 8, 2015. 

This is the first time, so far as I am aware, that the Nazi imagery has come from Trump's own people. Might I therefore suggest a campaign slogan: 
Ein Volk
 Ein Reich.
 Ein President. 


POTUS. Trump and Mt Rushmore: 

Whilst on the topic of Donald Trump, criticism has been directed at his Independence Day gathering and speech at Mt Rushmore yesterday for failure to maintain social distancing, lack of masks and for the content of his speech. As part of that speech, Trump was critical of protestors defacing and tearing down statues of Confederate leaders, those who have histories of being slaveowners and those who may have made comments about black people and indigenous persons out of step with current perspectives. Trump declared that images of Washington and Jefferson, slaveowners, and Roosevelt, who made derogatory comments about “Indians”, would never be removed from Mt Rushmore. 

The news article sourced, link below, also looks at Trump’s fascination with Mt Rushmore. 

This is from that article: 

Beyond the fireworks, the president has long shown a fascination with the monument and has even jokingly mused about having his own face carved into the mountain alongside the four towering carvings of the presidents historians rank among America's greatest.

“I’d ask whether or not you think I will someday be on Mount Rushmore, but, but here’s the problem. If I did it joking, totally joking, having fun, the fake news media will say, ‘he believes he should be on Mount Rushmore,’ Trump said at a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, in July 2017.

But South Dakota's Republican Gov. Kristi Noem said in a 2018 interview with a South Dakota newspaper that the president once raised the topic with her and that the president seemed “totally serious.”

“I said, 'Mr. President, you should come to South Dakota sometime. We have Mount Rushmore.' And he goes, 'Do you know it's my dream to have my face on Mount Rushmore?'” Noem recalled. 

Source 
ABC News 
July 4, 2020 

By the way:

There is at least one petition to have Trump’s face added to Mt Rushmore. The goal is 1,000 supporters, it has 39: 




Mastermind of Mt Rushmore sculptures, Gutzon Borglum, was heavily involved in the Ku Klux Klan 

Gutzon Borglum with an early model of Mount Rushmore.

Ever wondered what the back of Mt Rushmore looks like? . . . 



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