According to the Cambridge English Dictionary "beyond the pale" means that something is unacceptable. The behaviour of US president Donald J Trump, since he took up office for the second time a year ago, is totally unacceptable. He breaks the "rules" constantly; ignores the votes of the Senate and the Congress; tears up agreements on trade tariffs; cosies up to Vladimir Putin, president of Russia; threatens to pull out of NATO; ignores the views of Europe; and makes sure that papers relating to Jeffrey Epstein are heavily redacted to protect himself.
[Vektor Stock]
And now he has invaded a sovereign country (Venezuela); kidnapped that country's prime minister, Nicolas Maduro; and slung him in jail in New York.
Millions of people look on in shock and horror, powerless to do anything. But, perhaps there is something we can do, which is not illegal, aggressive or threatening ..... BOYCOTT US PRODUCTS!
[Metro]
The USA and I
I started my boycott last year in protest against US tariffs. I shall continue it from now on with even greater fervour. If you too are horrified at what Trump is doing, why don't you do the same?
I shall also boycott the country and will never attempt to set foot on American soil again.
[The Daily Orange]
I went for a month with my young family in 1986 and, although we enjoyed our stay immensely, there were things I didn't like about the place even back then, nearly four decades ago:
the blatant racism against Native Americans, African Americans and Mexicans, as well as darker-skinned people in general;- the food;
- the ridiculous licensing laws;
- the poor quality of many hotels;
- and compulsory tipping
[Harvard Gazette]
Nowadays, following two Trump presidencies, and the legislatures of Joe Biden and, some say, Bill Clinton, JC and even Barack Obama, the USA has become a lawless land again, reminiscent of the Wild West.
School shootings, police killings, terrorist attacks have all increased and fires (arson in many cases) burn land, crops and properties.
[The New York Times]
My Boycott
I no longer buy American clothes, preferring clobber from the Far East, which is readily available in Europe, although there are ethical issues attached to that, to be fair.
I do not use American airline companies and I have never owned an American car. And I certainly won't be buying a TESLA anytime soon.
As for food, nothing American gets into my shopping trolley.
I have stopped buying products made by HJ Heinz .....
..... although the ones we get in Europe tend to be manufactured in Wigan (UK), Paris (France) or La Rioja (Spain).
[Grocery Gazette]
There are plenty of near alternatives which are produced in the UK, France, Ireland and Spain. And they are invariably cheaper than the Heinz versions.
HP Sauce is nowadays owned by Heinz, but it is manufactured in Italy and Spain. So, it's ok to continue buying HP, isn't it?
US beers are virtuably undrinkable, so I never buy them anyway. Budweiser and Corrs, two big brands are not my cup of tea (beer?), although I do like Budvar (the original Budweiser) from the Czech Republic.
American wines, eg from California, are delicious, but expensive, so I don't buy them anyway. There are equally good wines from Europe, eg Spain, France, Italy, Germany and Luxembourg, as well as from countries like Hungary, Croatia and Greece.
McDonald's, Burger King and KFC are places I loathe, so never use them anyway.
[Peritaciones Mga]
Confession Time
- I have been using AirBnb and Booking.com to book accommodation, so I'll have to find a way around that.
I recently switched my internet provider to Starlink and signed a one-year contract. I subsequently found out that Starlink is owned by the ghastly Elon Musk, he of TESLA fame and of the Nazi salute at a Trump rally.
[Shop4Tesla]
But, Musk is South African, isn't he? So, that's OK, or is it?
By the way, I wouldn't accept a TESLA car if he gave me one free!
Links:
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Pictures:
Grocery Gazette, Harvard Gazette, Metro, New York Times, Peritaciones Mga, Shop4Tesla, The Daily Orange, Vektor Stock
Thanks:
Eye on Spain, Paul Whitelock, Secret Serrania de Ronda, The English Food Company, Wikipedia, www.help-me-ronda.com
Tags:
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