Trump Projected to Win... Again

Badiucao imagining what Kim, Xi and Putin are wishing for

It's 2.49am Eastern time and Donald Trump is on stage rambling about how he is going to make America great again, and how democracy is so beautiful, as he is poised to become the next president of the United States with 266 electoral votes, with four more to win.

For the Democrats it's 2016 all over again where Hilary Clinton suffered a shock loss, and now Kamala Harris. 

Analysts on CBC Radio are saying that President Joe Biden should be blamed for the result because he should have not run and given others a chance, that him holding on until after the first presidential debate showed he was egotistical and selfish.

Others said Harris didn't have enough time to tell voters who she is, and that she didn't clearly distinguish herself from Biden. For some voters it was the conflict in Gaza that hurt the Democrats versus Trump claiming he would make peace in a day.

For many it seems, the economy was top of mind, and high interest rates and tight budgets didn't help the Democrats, and voters remember Trump's presidency was in relatively good times and want to return to that. And so even women's rights on abortion wasn't enough of an issue to resonate with voters.

Some critics say the Republicans were more organised in getting voters registered compared to the Democrats even though Harris's team spent US$3 billion on her campaign, much more than Trump.

Canada is horrified by this impending result, and so is Europe. Ukraine won't be happy either, or Taiwan.

Political cartoonist Badiucao has drawn a cartoon of Kim Jong-un, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin praying for Trump to win, and they pretty much have their wish come true.

Will terrified Americans really move to Canada? Will women have to come up north to get an abortion? Will gay and trans people also come here too?

And will Trump go ahead with his Project 2025? Will he ban abortion nationwide? Will he kick out all illegal immigrants? Will he prosecute his enemies?

Some voters think the prosecutions and convictions against Trump were politically motivated...

Michelle Obama recently said in frustration: "We've got one candidate that's allowed to be lawless while the other one has to be flawless."

Harris unfortunately could not turn things around and could not even face her supporters tonight, who are grumbling that she didn't come out to thank them for voting for her.

She is probably overwhelmed that she actually lost... Democrats will be doing more soul-searching -- again...

Down to the Wire for Trump and Harris

Who will it be? Trump or Harris? American votes soon!

It has come down to this. The American people will finally begin voting for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump in the coming hours.

The differences between the two candidates are so stark that it's hard to believe there are still voters out there who are undecided.

And apparently the race is so close that it may take days or weeks to count every single ballot. 

While Harris made her last-minute pitches to voters, including an appearance on Saturday Night Live, Trump has already hinted that the Democrats are stealing the vote, which is completely unsubstantiated without evidence. But there are fans out there who totally believe him.

Some are voting Republican because they believe Harris condones what Israel is doing in Gaza, while some are voting Democrat because they are terrified that Trump may ban abortions nationwide.

Harris proxies are stumping for her in any way they can, even with a runny nose, in the case of Michelle Obama, while Pete Buttigieg has debated "undecided" voters one-on-one with facts and figures, leaving them angry that they can't stump him. No one from the Republican side has dared to do what Buttigieg has done. 

Meanwhile the rest of the world is on edge wondering what the outcome will be. A Trump presidency would not be good for Canada because he wants to impose tariffs on anything imported into the US. 

Everyone is feeling election fatigue, and anxiety leading up to tomorrow. An acquaintance recently asked if it would be safe to go to the US right after the election.

Who knows?!

Mushroom Spotting in the Forest

Spotted more of these mushrooms today

With fall in full swing in Vancouver, meaning lots of precipitation, mushrooms are popping up on lawns and especially in Pacific Spirit Park.

Each time I walk along the trails I see more mushrooms particularly growing on nurse logs, trees that have fallen and still have nutrients.

A vertical growth of fungi

Today I saw some people proudly showing off some big fungi they had picked, but no one should be harvesting any mushrooms from any provincial parks; while some might be edible, some may be poisonous!

Foragers don't like to disclose where they find their mushrooms, but I heard from a Vancouver chef that he finds matsutake mushrooms, as well as porcinis near Penticton and Hope. 

And if you see those big bright red mushrooms that look like they belong in a Super Mario game, don't pick them or eat them! They're definitely toxic!

Beware of Theft on Overnight Flights!

Be sure to lock up baggage in overhead compartments

A friend posted on social media that he and his family were robbed while on an overnight flight. 

Apparently it's not just one person, but several accomplices on the plane, where they wait until the lights are turned down and when the passengers are sleeping, go to the overhead compartments and take the victims' bags into the washroom to take cash, credit cards, or valuable items. Then they put the bags back into the overhead compartments.

In my friend's case, the airline staff witnessed the incident, and the suspect was arrested by airport security, but by that point, the money had already been passed on to someone else and not on the suspect.  

HK has seen a 164% rise in on board theft

The police told my friend that it is a syndicate operating from Macau, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Vietnam.

While my friend made a police report that took three hours, it is only then that the authorities can do something, but the suspect will probably be punished with a three-month sentence.

There has been a 164 percent increase in thefts on board flights to Hong Kong in the first eight months of the year. There were 132 recorded thefts (last year there were 92), and the largest case involved a passenger from Switzerland who lost a HK$4.16 million (US$535,320) watch on August 30.

Items stolen include cash, credit cards, luxury handbags, watches and jewellery. 

"Thieves usually search for and take valuable property such as cash, digital devices and luxury watches from unsecured baggage left unattended on passengers' seats or placed inside the overhead compartments," the Hong Kong Police force's spokesman said. 

Another source said the thieves worked in pairs, taking advantage of dimmed cabin lights and sleeping passengers.

Police advised travellers to be vigilant and keep and eye on their belongings and never leave items unattended. The force also urged passengers to check their belongings before disembarking and promptly report any lost items to flight attendants.

It was brave for my friend to post what happened to him, and warns others to be careful!

Fact of the Day: 2024 Treat Counts

At the start of the Trick-or-Treating last night

How much Halloween candy did you haul last night?

Conversely, how much did you give out?

Some interesting facts -- one media personality reported handing out 1,520 Halloween treats by 7.45pm, while a Simon Fraser University professor showed a picture of a clicker at 137 as the number of people that visited his doorstep.

The neighbourhood that gave out the most candy? 

Douglas Park at a whopping 3,050!

Halloween 2024 Report

An elaborate Halloween display

This year Halloween was... wet.

We started around 5.30pm and soon after it started sprinkling and that soon turned into rain.

Even though the kids complained about the precipitation, they were still very keen about getting candy. Lots of it.

Free hugs? Yikes!

One house handed out cans of soda, another a full-size box of Smarties. Most handed out chocolates by hand, one or two with a chute, and some just left a box on the front porch with a sign instructing children to take one each. The kids' bags got heavy quite fast, but they were reluctant to relinquish their bags of candy to their parents.

Some of the houses had fantastic decorations, lots of web-like cotton spread over shrubs, graves half opened with feet or hands sticking out, lots of skeletons hanging about. There was even one made of plastic milk jugs. So clever!

One had a pumpkin carved with a gerbil or hamster, while another had three intricately-carved gourds, one with a Celtic weave, an owl and a heart. "They did a lot of work," my nephew remarked about their pumpkins.

The other nephew is terrified of scary noises and refused to go to the houses that had eerie sounds coming out of them. But he would happily go to the other ones "that aren't scary". 

At one point we found shelter at a church that had police managing traffic at the intersection. We got some piping hot chocolate, and the kids got more candy and played with friends. There were other refreshments like hot dogs, mandarin oranges, tea, coffee, apples and popcorn.

Intricately carved owl pumpkin

While the kids played, some parents sat on folding chairs staring at their phones, while others chit chatted amongst themselves. It was a nice respite from the rain before we headed out again.

Amazingly the kids lasted for just over two hours and still keen on collecting more candy when we almost got home. One house had two skeletons dressed up looking out the window...

Fact of the Day: Cruising Record Numbers

Cruise season has ended with record number of passengers

The last cruise ship set sail yesterday, marking the end of the cruise season in Vancouver, and 2024 was a record-breaking year.

According to the Port of Vancouver, 327 cruise ships docked in the city and carried 1.32 million passengers between March 11 and October 29, breaking last year's record by more than 80,000 or 7 percent increase year-on-year.

An Economic Impact Study released earlier this year by the port authority found that passengers, crew and cruise lines spend more than C$1.1 billion locally annually, which includes passengers spending an average of $450 each on hotels, restaurants, shopping, tours and local attractions.

Meanwhile cruise lines spend as much as $660 million a year on goods and services, as many passengers embark from Canada Place in downtown Vancouver for cruises to Alaska, while the ships get re-stocked, re-fueled and maintained between trips.

That works out to each cruise ship injecting an average of $3 million into the local economy.

Vancouver has been a home port for Alaska for more than 30 years, but can the Port of Vancouver do something about the disembarking experience? Getting to the cruise ship is a great experience, but when about 3,000 passengers with their luggage stream off the cruise ship with no orderly process to get taxis or Uber, it's absolute chaos as I have experienced this first hand in June!

Another thing for the city to fix are the homeless and drug addicts wandering around Gastown and Chinatown who make it a terrifying experience for tourists...