Indeed. One need only look at the other safari hotspots like Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana etc where entry is in USD; luxury safari lodges abound as do self drive with fully equipped 4x4’s and gear that would make a NatGeo expedition green with envy… if you can pay and most can’t. It’s still expensive here but a family of 4 can buy a wild card for roughly $100 and have unlimited access to any South African National Park for a year.
@Livvy the accommodation prices are the same for foreigners and locals and are cheap by the standards of the above mentioned countries which makes it accessible. A low to middle income earner can still enjoy a day out in the Kruger, for example, with a game drive included from on of the gates for a family of 4 for about $150 without any specialized vehicle. You wouldn’t even dream of that in the Serengeti, Chobe or the Mara. Of course, the luxury safari camps do exist here as well, just that it’s not the only option and Parks are thus accessible to most which gives them a certain pride in ownership rather than resentment at something they could never hope to see or experience. I
The $200m white house ball room that was no one’s business because it was going to be paid for with private money (that is actually worse than doing it through normal funding mechanisms), then cost $400m in tax payer funded money, now has a bill going through the Senate judiciary committee that is putting the cost at $1B of tax payer funded money
LOL ! I missed this, it’s not that old though. But hours you know, that turbo president moves so fast when he wrecks the world, at least he has energy to throw out random “Out of your ass” ideas as diktats faster than fast, I’ll give him that. https://x.com/mikenelson586/status/2051798741393293348
@Arminius depending on time zones, it could probably be covered by Taco-Tuesday, but I think it was mostly Wednesday this time around. But I will not bother to check and do the math. Wednesday is Tuesday-adjecant anyway, I suppose.
So before bed I’m listening to Rubio giving the WH press conference. To my , and all those reporters present , surprise and amazement , he’s telling us that the war actually ended at some ill-defined point in recent time. Furthermore , Operation Freedom , the latest attempt to open the strait has been a resounding success and of course could only have been accomplished by US military might and was an act of humanitarian benevolence. I wake up to discover the entire thing was called off just hours after Rubio spoke.
What fun ! What suspense ! I’ll be sure to tune in today to catch the latest instalment of The Trump Show.
Edit: For a less flippant and more informative look at the most recent developments , there’s this ;
And so Trumpwar,stumbles on,led by a lunatic who needs help and supported by yes people,no surprise the US is bound for hell in a handcart,but why do they need to takes the rest of the world with them.
This dream of escorting ships was never going to work,it was just grandstanding,they reckon they got 2 through,both allegedly American,what a surprise! Of course they had a choice,yeah right!
If a ship is damaged or sunk who is going to indemnify them.Can just imagine those all heart insurers saying of course we’ll pay.
Clearly Trump 1-0 blockade wasn’t working either!
I understand, that’s not how it’s done here, which is why I find it strange. For example, when foreign tourists go to Neuschwanstein Castle, there’s no extra charge just because they’re foreigners.
Indiana GOP primaries showing there are consequences for not obeying Trump. Five of the seven Republicans who defied hin on gerrymandering in December lost.
I don’t know there is a better way but it shows how disjointed our primary process is from the rest of our politics and how so much of our dysfunction comes from that.
I am not against tourist taxes because frankly certain areas are ghost towns at certain times of the year (due to second homes that then fuel the tourist trade in the summer).
I know there is some consideration of charging tourists for museums in the UK, while remaining free for the UK Nationals.
I am unsure really on that but then if it keeps them going?, i have no issue with the tourist tax mind in Berlin and as someone who lives in London and has parents in Cornwall, I understand places need to survive all year around and that tourism increases use of services and infrastructure such as energy, water and roads and transport.
I think certain Berlin attractions are free or discounted for German nationals if I remember, I didn’t much care really. You can make the point that a national is already paying tax hence they are funding them.
Has anyone been following this shit show about the DNC’s Presidential Election autopsy?
After the election there was a fairly contentious election for DNC chair that was somewhat surprisingly won by Ken Martin, the well regarded but not particular popular head of the Minnesota DNC chapter
He campaigned with a promise of full transparency into what went wrong in the election often criticizing the decision to not release the 2016 autopsy. The clear insinuation was he would commission his won autopsy (assumed that anyone who won would do so) and release it in full.
He has yet to release it and so has started getting criticism from within the party leading to lots of factional infighting and different divisions digging in assuming this proves their a priori theory on why Harris lost (he cannot release the report because it proves what I have been saying since October 24)
To try to get ahead of this he called up the Pod Saves guys to ask for the opportunity to explain what is going on and proceeded to have one of the worst car crash political interviews you’ve ever seen. He was condescending and totally unprepared to engage with what the actual concerns were. Which is a wild thing to happen for an interview you requested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8IwrO-03WU
Several people connected to the DNC have since started suggesting there is no actual autopsy to release. The story that appears to be forming is Martin didnt formally commission one, but had a friend do it as a favour, seemingly as a cost saving measure. That person was then not able to complete the work because of personal issues and Martin’s response was to try to release piecemeal parts of the unfinished product positioning them “targeted lessons” rather than admit what happened.
To be clear, the DNC is not the Democratic Party and it has a lot smaller of role in our politics, even in party politics, than is commonly understood. But this is still an absolute shit show.
I don’t really understand these reports anyhow, Labour do one after an election, if they win it’s ignored, if they lose it’s ignored. People have decided why you lost or won, if you have lost no one cares about the report especially if it contradicts the platform of the newly elected leader. Suppose it makes more sense where you don’t have that for 3 years in America.
The Republican one from 2012 famously concluded the party had become way too racist and it couldn’t win nationally unless it modernized and excise that from the party. And then Trump arrived and said “no, you just have have to tweak the racist messaging to get the latinos and asian on board with it as well.”
On a more serious note, part of why its so important in US politics is that there really is a void in leadership for the party whose candidate loses the election. These after action reports or autopsies are supposed to provide that focal point for people to move towards. I think in reality the divisions in the party right now are strong enough that even a well done independent report wouldnt pull the “its the oligopoly” crowd in the same direction as the “we’ve gone too woke” crowd.
