One last thing...

If the number of Americans who owned flags, voted; it would be a very different country!

Final Thoughts

At this stage, I am back in Australia with sun shining and crickets chirping; however, I did want to make some final comments about the world's only superpower:

1. What is with the imperial measurements? What is a quart, gallon or fluid ounce?
I think they are just being obtuse to hang onto these antiquated ways when the rest of the world has moved onto kilos and liters.

2. Who is in charge of the beer production?
Surely when beers were being handed out, the Americans must have been in the "john". It tastes alright but they seem to have forgotten to put any booze in. I think the average is about 2.4%.

3. What's with the 110v power?
Is this the only country in the world that uses 110v power? - I needed converters for everything that didn't have dual voltage transformers.

4. Why make all your money look the same?
You can't tell a one from a hundred, a Washington from a Franklin - it's bloody annoying. It's also one of the only countries I have been to that still has a one dollar bill.

5. Who died and left all these guys the cheap fuel?
$2.20 a gallon (four liters) or something like that. Istanbul is was over $2 a litre and Turkey is right next to all the oil. I am pretty sure they even pump it across the border and refine the the stuff.

The USA can send it across the world and still have it cheaper at the pump than milk.

That shits me. You take this rare commodity from deep within the ground, run it through a highly sophisticated refining process, ship it around the world and sell it at a pump. You get a cow, milk it and boil the crap out of it; and it is still more expensive than oil.

Anyway, that is a few things that have been on my mind about the USA.

In conclusion, it is a vast country with an unusual culture which intrigues me. I would like to go back one day to visit my family and all those places that have been made famous... next time.

Cheyenne Mountain

Luckily enough, by relation (and passing a security clearance), I got to visit the Cheyenne Mountain Air Defence Complex.

At the height of the Cold War, the chaps at the (poorly named) Department of Defence thought it would be a cracking good idea to their air defence complex inside a mountain.

After checking out a few places they decided on Colorado Springs. Excavation began by private contractors and then the navy came in to fit it out welded steel rooms.

The idea being that they place could keep running after the first wave of Russian missiles to make sure the Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) agreement could be maintained.

This of course seems highly adolescent these days and you could never do it again - you would never get the environmental permission, it infringes on the Native Title of too many people and, in today's money, it would cost around 20 billion big ones.

Regardless today it is still running and could withstand a fair amount of nuclear, biological and chemical battering. There is enough supplies to keep those inside safe from harm for about a month.

Since September 11th their brief has been expanded to include monitoring all domestic and international flights within all North American Airspace.

You drive up to the car park and get into a bus that take you the rest of the way up the hill. From there you get a briefing all about the history and workings of station. Then you head around to security where men with guns put you through metal detectors and make sure you are not carrying anything nasty including cameras and mobile phones (they seem a bit shy).

From there you get in another bus which drives you into a hole in the side of the mountain. This takes you about 3/4 of a mile down a tunnel where you get out and go through the huge blast doors.

Beyond those, is not a giant "Bat Cave" as you might imagine but a series of huge tunnels with about fifteen buildings on springs to prevent the place being shaken up by a possible blast.

There is a whole self contained community below with gym, fire trucks, hospital, water supply, generators and canteen.

We were even more fortunate to see the central command room - something out of "Dr. Stranglove": lots of computers, wood panelling and giant screens. I was shocked to see them watching Fox News.

It is definitely a high stress job for these guys. Anything that flies over North America has to be identified, tracked, its source found and a decision has to be made on whether it is going to go off bang.

Not for me, but I suppose it has to be done.

Photos from:
wikipedia
and
www.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/.../norad.html

Hockey

One night we drove up to Denver, through the snow to the Pepsi Centre - home of The Colorado Avalanches.



I have seen the game a few times on TV but it does not really equate to being there - the crowd, the vibe, the weak beer, the slap of puck on stick and of course the possibility of seeing two grown men knocking each other's teeth out.



Apparently you can do things on the ice that would land you in court if you were in the car park.

Great fun.

It is also the one sport in America where the white guys don't seem to get their arses kicked.

Colorado Springs

A nice little town (pop. 250 000) bordered on one side by the start of the Rocky Mountains with a very picturesque "down town" - old colonial houses on wide tree lined streets; made even more attractive by a fresh coating of pure white snow over everything.

It is also home to a disturbing number of Bible-Bashers and God-Botherers. Many cars I saw had the little fish insignia on the back and there were billboards with messages like:

"Abortion is always wrong!"

and

"Struggling with PORN? So are half the men in the church, call xxx"

Due to the amount of snow, I had very little chance to explore (next time) but it does seem like a very nice town to visit.

BBQ Time!!

Pulpit Rock

Tropical Storm to Blizzard

The next day we headed out from tropical Florida to the Denver airport, which had just reopened after the worse blizzard in thirty years.

Cast

Disney is the biggest single site employer is the USA.



Everyone who works there are called "Cast Members" - even the guys who clean the toilets.

From what they told me the money is crap but the perks are good.

Animal Kingdom

Xmas day.

A tropical storm bore down upon us.

Should we stay in or go to the last park.

Bugger it lets go.

As we pull into the massive parking lot (complete with its own transport system),

There is a notice on the radio to stay at home in the next county.

It poured down.

We went to the Lion King Show, one of the only ones indoors.

Then to the Expedition Everest roller coaster -maybe one of the best in the parks.

While waiting in line for the Lion King, in the pouring rain, a rousing round of Xmas carols broke out. The show itself was very impressive, there are definitely some very hard working performers.

It is the newest of the parks and the largest, devoted to animal conservation. It would have been nice to have more time to wander around.

Instead we headed back, some what, damp.

Disney - MGM Studios

Disney has nothing to do with MGM other than renting its name.

Walking through the park, there is an art deco theme that reminds you of an America from the 1920's-50's but without segregation, smoking and heroin syrup available over the counter.

Recommendations:

• Star Wars - Star Tours: looking very 1980's but still fun


• Tour of Terror: up and down ride, not for the weak hearted*


• Extreme Stunt Show: takes you behind the scenes on stunts and car chases


• Indiana Jones Stunt Show: good if you get picked as an extra


• The Great Movie Ride: composite of classic movies.

*See Incidents at Disney Parks

Epcot

It stands for
'Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow"

Other interpretations have been:
"Every Person Comes Out Tired"
"Every Pocketbook Comes Out Thinner"
"Evil Polyester Costumes Of Torture"
"Every Paycheck Comes On Thursday"
"Eisner Puts Cash On Table"
"Eisner's Personal Coin-Operated Toy"
"Eisner's Personal Cash On Tap"

Originally this was Walt's vision of a modernist and futurist city for about 20 000 residents that would be a universal prototype for urban planning.

After his death, the management decided that they were not really interested in running cities and turned it into a theme park instead.

Half the designers wanted it to focus on future technologies and the other half wanted it to be a type of "World's Fair". The result is that it is both.

The future technologies section is looking very 1982 (when it was opened) bordering on kitch.

The World Showcase includes: Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, United States of America, Japan, Morocco, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Personally, I think it should be named the Northern Hemisphere Showcase.

From the World showcase I recommend:

• The frozen margaritas in Mexico


• The pilsner in Norway


• The terracotta warriors at Chinese Pavilion


• The Becks in Germany


• The O' Canada show


• The food in Morocco


• The wine in France.

From the techno side I would suggest:

• Soarin': flying movie ride with smello-vision


• Mission Space: ride simulating a space travel


• Nemo and friends: if only for the aquarium at the end with manatees, dolphins and sharks


• Honey I shrunk the Audience: best 3D movie I have seen


• IllumiNations - Reflections of Earth: the nightly fireworks show.

Magic Kingdom

This is the place you will see on the post cards.

Cinderella's Castle, Adventure Land, Tomorrow Land, Main Street and so on.

It is more geared to the smaller children and it is quite long day out. Expect allot of walking and standing in queues.

The must see/do list includes:

• Space Mountain: roller coaster


• It's a Small World: quintessential Disney ride.


• Splash Mountain: looking a bit tired but worth a go.


• Evening fireworks: must be a couple of millions dollars go up every night.


• Evening Parade: in spectra-magic - or lots of little lights. Looking very dates but amazing.


• Thunder Mountain: roller coaster.


• Pirates of the Caribbean: animatronics at it's best.

For the "Happiest Place on Earth" I saw a fair number of highly distressed children and for that matter parents.

Be warned: it is a dry kingdom.

Disney World

If I wasn't invited to go, I would never have dreamt of going to Disney World or Disney Land, Euro Disney or the Hong Kong version.

Disney is on my boycott list: it is second largest media owning corporation in the world and has a very poor record when it comes to workers rights both internationally and at home.

I went with an open mind and enjoyed myself despite myself.

What can I tell you about the place.

It is clean, organised, efficient and has an amazing attention to detail. In short, it is how everywhere would (or will) look like when the Project for the New American Century gains world dominance.

It was the second of Walt's theme parks, which was opened five years after his death in 1966.

"In addition to the four main theme parks, the resort contains two water parks, six golf courses, a sports complex, an auto race track, twenty resort hotels and numerous shopping, dining, and entertainment offerings. It even has its own fire department. The 20,000+ acre property is the largest theme park resort in the world, although over the past decade significant amounts of acreage have been sold off for housing and other developments, including land now occupied by the Disney-built (but not Disney-owned) community of Celebration."

From http://www.wikipedia.org/

You would think that a theme park that opened thirty five years ago would start to look a shabby but the upkeep must be constant. Agreed some of the styles are looking pretty dated but they do a good job touching up the paintwork.

Incidentally, if Walt were alive today, he would not be able to freely walk around his own parks. As a chronic chain smoker he would have had to be confined to one of the "designated smoking areas".

As you cross the lake on the steam boat and see the great castle hove into view over the horizon you are stuck by the scale of the place.

As you go through the security bag search, put your magnetic strip ticket through the machine and place your finger on the pint reader you are struck by the scale of the operation.

As you walk through the gates you are struck by the fantasy of the place.

We watched the show at Cinderella's Castle which emphasised that you were in a place where dreams come true.

I dreamt of a world with fair and equitable treatment for all workers around the world - but I am not holding breath for that one.

Walt himself was not a big fan of labour unions. He testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee that four of his former animators were communist agitators.

Here is a letter I sent to the Disney Corporation:

October, 15, 2006.

Dear Sir / Madam,

I have been invited to spend the holidays this year at Disney World in Orlando Florida. I have accepted the invitation and look forward to an enjoyable time at your theme park; as I have enjoyed many Disney productions that have formed some of the most indelible memories of my youth.

At the same time I have some concerns about your international business practices, which would make it difficult for me to enjoy the experience with a clear conscience - it is your international labour practices that concern me the most.

I understand it is essential in this era of “globalization” to produce merchandise in foreign countries that can provide cheaper labour than in your home country in order to remain competitive. It is also positive to share your massive wealth with the poorer countries of the world, thus providing incomes to communities in need.

However, I also understand that some of your sub-contractors can be less than ethical in the ways that they provide low wages and keep production costs down that sustain the profits that you demand ($31.9 Billion last year, I understand).

In response to public pressure, it is gratifying to see that you adopted a “Code of Conduct for Manufacturers” in the mid-nineties and contracted external auditors to ensure that these standards are maintained.

The worrying thing for me, however, is the consistent reports of the continued maltreatment of workers from impoverished countries who (according to the Los Angeles Time of September 24, 2002) get paid $0.05 per garment. A Mickey Mouse Tee I just saw on your Online Shop was on sale for $14.99 reduced from $19.99.

There are other examples:

*A cut and run policy of closing plants instead of encouraging constructive change when faced with allegations of abuse – from the article “Disney is Targeted in Abuse Campaign” cited above.

*Poor and dangerous working conditions – from the article “Already old in Bangladesh: Coalition Bring Attention to Alleged Labour Abuses” in The Washington Post, September 2002.

*A factory fire at Chowdhury Knitwears which killed 51, including 8 children aged 10 to 14 years – from The National Labour Committee website of April 2001.

In light of these issues, I am sure that you can understand my dilemma. Consuming your products would be an implicit endorsement of such practices and I really do not endorse slave labour, which appears to be how you achieve your astronomic profits.

So, in order to fully enjoy my holiday experience, I was wondering if it would be possible for you to give me a written assurance that The Walt Disney Corporation, with all its resources is:

· not knowingly buying goods made under inhumane working conditions,
· ensuring that all workers receive fair and equitable treatment as well as a “living wage” throughout the world,
· and is doing its utmost to comply with its own International Labour Standards.

If you could spare a few minutes to do this for me, it would be greatly appreciated.
I look forward to your positive response with interest.
Yours sincerely,
A

I have yet to receive a response, but I will let you know.

Americans Speak

"Is anyone traveling with unaccompanied minors?"

Kennedy Space Center

I have never been a fan of the idea of space exploration, it always looked like a lot of money to spend when the only benefit to my life seems to be Teflon - which I have never liked. However, the KSC was truly impressive.

A lot of the displays focus on the heyday of the Amercian space programme when a huge amount of money was poured into beating the Ruskis in the space race. Now that the new enemy is allot more low tech there's less money for space.

You did get to see some interesting stuff about the International Space Station, including a replica of the zero gravity toilet - better them than me!

Americans Speak

""I wouldn't go to the middle east... it is like the stone age, worse than third world."

Happy New Year!!

Wishing ya'll a safe and happy 2007.

Love and Peace

Al


Photo thanks to: http://www.firephotos.com.au/