Ed Casabar @edcasabar@qoto.org

Letterman interviews Zelenskyy on Netflix. Inspiring, heart breaking, and a reminder that #Ukraine is not only fighting for itself, but for democracy. Very much worth watching.

https://www.netflix.com/title/81644272

#GloryToUkraine, #СлаваУкраїні, #RussiaIsATerroristState

Have a listen and share "Glory to Hong Kong".

Beijing is angry and pressuring Google to bury the song in search results. "Like" it on YouTube too.

Video of Glory to Hong Kong in Cantonese with 7.5m views:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUIDL4SB60g

English lyrics:

Why is this land flowing with tears again?
With rage, fears are crushed, in arms we stand
Keep your head high, refuse to stay silent, shout, scream
As we hope for freedom to return!

Why can’t this dread wither?
Why is it that our faith has never withered as well?
Our flesh sacrificed, our blood shall write this song
Free this land, stand with Hong Kong!

Stars may fall, and darkness may fill the air
But in the fog, a distant sound will heard

Defend liberty, gather all protesters
With courage and wisdom we are unbreakable

May a new dawn liberate Hong Kong
Band together brothers and sisters, for the revolution of our time!
May democracy and freedom reign eternally
Glory to Hong Kong!

Yay! First time fusion has been created in a laboratory. Not yet ready to save the planet from our dependence on fossil fuels and their emissions, but a huge step in that direction .

Live video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_y7Q3HrUYM

@ManicBookkeeper ,

Surprisingly, the very nice, modern, and Western-style hotel I stayed in for one night in Port Moresby, the capital city, had in-room WiFi and many other comfortable amenities.

In contrast, when I got to Goroka, my small hotel accomodations were very rustic, but I was lucky to have my own bathroom, shower. And most of the time, WiFi would work in the shared outdoor dining area.

Port Moresby, PNG’s largest city has a population of 400K. Goroka about 19K.

My Goroka tour guide and driver were very pleasant, helpful, and did use cell phones. I visited a several tribal encampments, which did not have electricity or running water. And unlike my photo series might suggest, the people in these tribal camps wore typical t-shirts, pants, shorts, albeit their clothing was worn and dusty given their living conditions (grass huts). Even the chief of one camp had a cell phone. The country is very mountainous, so not surprisingly, cell service is spotty.

More interestingly, I had spent about 2 weeks traveling around Australia, including the Outback, prior to flying from Cairns, QLD to Port Moresby, PNG. The Australians who heard that I was traveling to PNG all said the same thing - “It’s a dangerous place”. I always travel solo but have good street sense in general. Their comments made me a bit apprehensive, but I didn’t dwell on the possibility that I’d be robbed or harmed in anyway, since I’d always be with a guide in both cities.

That said, I did have three interesting experiences while in PNG. Of course, these are only examples and are not meant to be generalizations.

First, my very nice Port Moresby hotel remains the only hotel I’ve stayed in the world where two, machine gun-carrying men guarded the iron gates blocking the driveway into the hotel property. That was a bit disconcerting, and the advice from my driver was “do not leave the hotel after dark”. I didn’t, so instead invited my driver for dinner at the hotel that evening.

Secondly, considering all the warnings the Aussies had given me before arriving in PNG, at dinner, I asked my driver if he thought PNG was “dangerous or lawless.” He said that crime was bad in some areas, but he also mentioned their interesting laws.

They have a constitution, local laws, courts, and police, which help to maintain order. However, their laws also allow for disputes between two members of different tribes to be resolved by the chiefs and tribal elders of the two opposing clans. This is over and above any criminal penalties imposed by the official PNG courts.

Lastly, when I was being driven around Goroka, my guide, driver, and I came were stopped at military/police check point, manned by machine gun-carrying, men in street clothes. Only one was in uniform. My guide said “Let me do the talking”, which he did in their local language.

The policemen had stopped our car in the middle of this roughly paved road, and according to my guide, they were monitoring for inter-tribal violence during the festival. They held us for about 10 minutes while they checked my guide’s and driver’s papers.

One “officer” came up to my car window and asked for my identification and questioned me. Unfortunately, I was stupid and had forgotten to bring my US passport during this first day in Goroka. I gave him my Missouri state driver’s license. He looked at it strangely, but fortunately he accepted it as adequate identification. I don’t know if telling him I was a tourist from the US helped or not. Although I was apprehensive of what was going on, I didn’t really feel in danger, and took the attitude of “smile, and just be a polite tourist and answer their questions”.

They eventually let us go. I let out a sigh of relief that they didn’t ask me for my money to let us proceed or hold us longer because my guide’s and driver’s papers weren’t in order.

Photo 1 - Child outside of the encampment using a bicycle rim and stick as a toy as he walks barefoot across

Photo 2 - Tribal family just outside their encampment of thatched huts

Photo 3 - First time during my many travels that I’ve ever seen a reminder about betel nuts. In my room at a modern, Western-style hotel in Port Moresby. The one on the left says “No Betelnut Chewing”. The other “Non-Smoking Room”. Many of the locals start the habit of chewing betel nuts because they have stimulant effects like caffeine. It also produces dark saliva which can stain clothing, objects, and the chewer’s teeth.

#travel #photography #PapuaNewGuinea

@ManicBookkeeper

Thanks. It was an amazing place to do photography.

My Goroka Sing Sing Series
Photo 6 of 6

#Goroka, Eastern Highlands
#PapuaNewGuinea (PNG)
#travel #photography
#indigenous people

See Photo 1 of 6 for a description of the Sing Sing.

If you have questions about how to visit Goroka, let me know. It's a difficult place to get to, but a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

My Goroka Sing Sing Series
Photo 5 of 6

#Goroka, Eastern Highlands
#PapuaNewGuinea (PNG)
#travel #photography
#indigenous people

See Photo 1 of 6 for a description of the Sing Sing.

If you have questions about how to visit Goroka, let me know. It's a difficult place to get to, but a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

My Goroka Sing Sing Series
Photo 4 of 6

#Goroka, Eastern Highlands
#PapuaNewGuinea (PNG)
#travel #photography
#indigenous people

See Photo 1 of 6 for a description of the Sing Sing.

If you have questions about how to visit Goroka, let me know. It's a difficult place to get to, but a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

My Goroka Sing Sing Series
Photo 3 of 6

#Goroka, Eastern Highlands
#PapuaNewGuinea (PNG)
#travel #photography
#indigenous people

See Photo 1 of 6 for a description of the Sing Sing.

If you have questions about how to visit Goroka, let me know. It's a difficult place to get to, but a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

My Goroka Sing Sing Series
Photo 2 of 6

#Goroka, Eastern Highlands
#PapuaNewGuinea (PNG)
#travel #photography
#indigenous people

See Photo 1 of 6 for a description of the Sing Sing.

If you have questions about how to visit Goroka, let me know. It's a difficult place to get to, but a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

My Goroka Sing Sing Series
Photo 1 of 6

#Goroka, Eastern Highlands
#PapuaNewGuinea (PNG)
#travel #photography
#indigenous people

See Photo 1 of 6 for a description of the Sing Sing.

Every year, about 100 of PNG’s tribes gather to compete in dancing, singing, and drumming. I photographed this event a few years ago, and it remains one of the most mind-blowing displays of humanity I’ve ever seen and in the top three of the most remote places I've traveled. Each tribe dances into the festival grounds wearing an incredible variety of costumes made from feathers, fur, shells, their faces often painted in elaborate make up. Each tribe having its own amazing costume

Although the festival has become well-known, I would guess that less than100 tourists were present to witness this incredible event. It’s hard to describe the intensity of the singing and visual impact it has when you first see each tribe enter.

Prior to the start of the festival, I was in a handful of tourists that was taken to view the make-up and costume preparation of the Hagan Tribe, which had some of the most elaborate feathers and even bird wings in their head dresses (see photos 2, 3)

If you have questions about how to visit Goroka, let me know. It's a difficult place to get to, but a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Our planet desperately cleaner energy.

Per Washington Post, a "major scientific breakthrough" in fusion energy is being announced this Tuesday from the US Department of Energy. I can't wait.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/11/fusion-nuclear-energy-breakthrough/

The #Japanese custom of having special birthday celebrations for kids at the ages of 7-5-3 (shichi-go-san, #七五三) is based on East Asian numerology. The numbers are considered lucky. Kids are dressed in elaborate kimonos and brought to shrines for special blessings.

I took these two photos at Nikko, #Japan ’s famous Toshogu Shrine, a #UNESCO world heritage site.

Two, 3-year old girls and their families happened to be there while I was walking around as a tourist. I particularly like the one in which the little girl’s father has to carry her down a set of stairs as we left the temple, because her father thought she might fall while wearing her tall, red, wooden clogs.

#travel #photography #日本

@TransitBiker ,

I mean this sincerely, nothing against you, but who are we to judge who should have been released first? None of us average (American) citizens, including the Marine-first folks, is privy to the difficult negotiations between the Biden Administration and terrorist/fascist #Russia and their isolated, misinformed, and paranoid autocrat #Putin. It's clear that both #BrittneyGriner and #PaulWhelan were/are pawns in a difficult confrontation with that war criminal (Putin).

After reading some of the posts from the "Marine-first" camp, my guess is that their comments are a veiled attack against Griner because she's black and lesbian. I strongly doubt they speak for all Marines who serve or have served our country.

I don't go to Truth Social, but at least one political analyst I follow at the bird site, searched Truth Social, and until Griner was released, there was not any prior discussion about Whelan. To be fair, Truth Social wasn't launched until February 21, 2022 - by coincidence, 3 days before Putin started his war in #Ukraine. Whelan has been jailed by Russia since 2018.

Other facts about Whelan that many may not know, per The Washington Post.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/08/who-is-paul-whelan/

For those who don't subscribe to WaPo and can't get past their pay-to-view block:

1. He's a citizen of 4 countries - US, Canada, Britain, Ireland. IMHO, unusual and certainly uncommon.

2. After being court-martialed by the Marines, he became a corporate security expert, and had been for 10 years before his arrest in Russia,

3. He was in Russia for a wedding, and a flash drive containing "state secrets" was planted on him and then was caught "red handed", according to Russia's defense minister, Sergei Lazarov. Whelan was charged with espionage and in prison since 2018.

4. Whelan is being held in the notoriously harsh, forced-labor camp, 1K-17, 200 miles east of Moscow.

5. Since 2018 and prior to Griner's release, Whelan has described the conditions of 1K-17 in interviews with ABC, CNN.

Fortunately, above all those angry, Marine-first voices is the Whelan family, including his brother, who gave this very thoughtful interview on NBC supporting Griner's release.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayrlNuhhB-k