In the aftermath of our recent election, referendums for possible provincial separatism are back in the news, this time led by Alberta. Having grown up as an anglophone in Montreal, I'm quite familiar with the tremendous stress and uncertainty that these cause. While I agree that the option for referendums are an essential component of modern democracy, I think the default rule of fifty percent plus one vote being enough to succeed to be nothing short of ridiculous. As far as

UnBoratistan and the Dangers of Scenic Scottish Sheep Pastures Flickr photo link Kazakhstan- can a "reasonable" white-skinned traveller really go there? And a non-Muslim (to say the least)? Do they actually have real hotels and roads? Is it safe? Can you speak freely? Will a vegetarian / pescatarian starve to death in the world's largest land-locked country? All questions demanding consideration when I first came up with the idea last spring after finding out that Air Asia ha

If you know where that is then consider yourself up one on me in geography, as I wasn't aware of this region until after arriving. Macaronesia is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the North Atlantic, off the coasts of Europe and Africa. There four groups from north to south- the Azores [2/3rds of the way from Newfoundland to Portugal] and Madeira archipelagos are both autonomous regions of Portugal, the Canary Islands are part of Spain, and lastly, the Cape Verde

'Round the World- Wales- Country #100! , and Laos too! - and, unfortunately, current events. Oct 2023 It's been several years since I've written one of these, but with a full day of travel from the very pretty UNESCO-heritage building-coded Laotian royal city of Luang Prabang back to our "home" in Penang, including a four and a half hour transfer in crowded BKK airport [new airport, old code transferred tho old airport remains in use], and a book that I'm not thrilled with [

whereby starting in 2027 the legal age for the purchase of cigarettes will increase by a year annually in that country, so that anyone born after Jan. 1, 2009 will never be able to legally purchase them, amounting to a lifetime ban.

Lost amid last month’s frenzied news regarding the latest COVID variant was a landmark announcement by the government of New Zealand of a bold new countermeasure aimed at the eventual eradication of an even greater killer: tobacco. In what is known as the “Smoke-Free Generation,” starting in 2027 the legal age for the purchase of cigarettes will increase by a year annually in that country, so that anyone under 18 will never be able to legally buy them, amounting to a lifetime