Marina Frapa, Port of Gruz, Dubrovnik

The long-awaited marina in the Port of Gruz, Dubrovnik, has finally opened. In fact it can claim to have opened last year, 2019, but it was mostly too late for that sailing season.

We had been watching its construction for around 2 years and then looked on for a further 2 years whilst apparently they got their paperwork in order. Such is often the way in Croatia it seems.

We finally decided to spend the night there and avail ourselves of the facility of being able to walk into Gruz, a popular spot for us and worth visiting for essential shopping if you know your way around. It is also only a short walk in the other direction to the resort town of Lapad.

There is no doubt that, like its original in Rogoznica, Marina Frapa is set up for luxury yachts. But due to circumstances, at least partly, out of their control, the designers of this large project have got several things wrong and I suspect that the result will be that it will remain under used. This Covid-19 year will not help a fair assessment. But the real issues apart from Covid are numerous.

Marina Frapa's position from a navigational standpoint is pretty much faultless. A short distance from the open sea and close to the Q quay, fuelling station (for shallow draft yachts), restaurants, hotels and shopping.

Berthing is to substantial concrete piers that have been built far to high for most sailng yachts. There is nearly alway a constant water movement from the port traffic which puts a strain on your nerves if not on the deck fittings.

The staff are professional and friendly but the price is high - a 43ft yacht is €120 per night which does include water, power, facilities and pool. The floor in the mens' showers was constantly wet and I saw no sign of an attendant.

Somehow the attempt at luxury is out of place in this central port marina unlike its sister in picturesque Rogoznica. I think a more utilitarian marina would be better utilised and sorely needed for stops in Dubrovnik.

covid information

The following is forwarded from Irene Ken a physician whose daughter is an Asst. Prof of infectious diseases at John Hopkins University. Informative medical science facts... 

In our community chat this useful excellent info helps all to avoid contagion 👾.  

 * The virus is not a living organism, but a protein molecule (DNA) covered by a protective layer of lipid (fat), which, when absorbed by the cells of the ocular, nasal or buccal mucosa, changes their genetic code (mutation), and convert them into aggressor and multiplier cells.

 

 * Since the virus is not a living organism but a protein molecule, it is not killed, but decays on its own.  The disintegration time depends on the temperature, humidity and type of material where it lies.

 

 * The virus is very fragile;  the only thing that protects it is a thin outer layer of fat.  That is why any soap or detergent is the best remedy, because the foam CUTS the FAT (that is why you have to rub so much: for 20 seconds or more, to make a lot of foam).  By dissolving the fat layer, the protein molecule disperses and breaks down on its own.

 

 * HEAT melts fat;  this is why it is so good to use water above 25 degrees Celsius for washing hands, clothes and everything.  In addition, hot water makes more foam and that makes it even more useful.

 

 * Alcohol or any mixture with alcohol over 65% DISSOLVES ANY FAT, especially the external lipid layer of the virus.

 

 * Any mix with 1 part BLEACH and 5 parts water directly dissolves the protein, breaks it down from the inside.

 

 * The virus is not a living organism like bacteria;  we cannot kill what is not alive with antibiotics, but the virus quickly disintegrate its structure with everything mentioned above.

 

 * NEVER shake used or unused clothing, sheets or cloth.  While the virus is glued to a porous surface, it is very inert and disintegrates only between 3 hours (fabric and porous material), 4 hours (copper), 24 hours (cardboard), 42 hours (metal) and 72 hours (plastic). If you shake or use a feather duster on above materials, the virus molecules float in the air for up to 3 hours, and can lodge in your nose.

 

 * The virus molecules remain very stable in external cold or air conditioners in houses and cars. Viruses also need moisture to stay stable, especially n darkness.  Therefore, dehumidified, dry, warm and bright environments will degrade them faster.

 

 * UV LIGHT on any object breaks down the virus protein. 

 

 * The virus CANNOT go through healthy skin.

 

 * Vinegar is NOT useful because it does not break down the  protective layer of fat on the virus.

 

 * NO SPIRITS, NOR VODKA, help.  The strongest vodka has 40% alcohol, and you need 65%.

 

 * LISTERINE helps if it has 65% alcohol.

 

 * The more confined the space, the more concentration of the virus. The more open or naturally ventilated, the less.

 

 *  Wash your hands before and after touching mucosa, locks, knobs, switches, remote control, cell phone, watches, computers, desks, TV, etc.  And when using the bathroom.

 *

 * Use MOISTURISER to humidify hands which tend to be dry from so much washing. Virus molecules can hide in the micro cracks of dry hands. The thicker the moisturizer, the better.  * Also keep your NAILS SHORT so that the virus does not hide there. 

TAKE CARE & STAY SAFE💕

Voting dilemma

I'm still a bit undecided about my vote direction this coming Thursday.

I've obviously taken into consideration what I consider to be the following swaying points on the two main parties.

On the one hand the Conservative Boris Johnson is a bit of a rascal  with the ladies and can sometimes bend the truth a bit, he’s also a bit posh.

And on the other hand..

Labours Jeremy Corbyn Invited two IRA members to parliament two weeks after the Brighton bombing.

Attended Bloody Sunday commemoration with bomber Brendan McKenna.

Attended meeting with Provisional IRA member Raymond McCartney.

Hosted IRA linked Mitchell McLaughlin in parliament.

Spoke alongside IRA terrorist Martina Anderson.

Attended Sinn Fein dinner with IRA bomber Gerry Kelly.

Chaired Irish republican event with IRA bomber Brendan MacFarlane.

Attended Bobby Sands commemoration honouring IRA terrorists.

Stood in minute’s silence for IRA gunmen shot dead by the SAS.

Refused to condemn the IRA in Sky News interview.

Refused to condemn the IRA on Question Time.

Refused to condemn IRA violence in BBC radio interview.

Signed EDM after IRA Poppy massacre massacre blaming Britain for the deaths.

Arrested while protesting in support of Brighton bomber’s co-defendants.

Lobbied government to improve visiting conditions for IRA killers.

Attended Irish republican event calling for armed conflict against Britain.

Hired suspected IRA man Ronan Bennett as a parliamentary assistant.

Hired another aide closely linked to several convicted IRA terrorists.

Heavily involved with IRA sympathising newspaper London Labour Briefing.

Put up £20,000 bail money for IRA terror suspect Roisin McAliskey.

Didn’t support IRA ceasefire.

Said Hamas and Hezbollah are his “friends“.

Called for Hamas to be removed from terror banned list.

Called Hamas “serious and hard-working“.

Attended wreath-laying at grave of Munich massacre terrorist.

Attended conference with Hamas and PFLP.

Photographed smiling with Hezbollah flag.

Attended rally with Hezbollah and Al-Muhajiroun.

Repeatedly shared platforms with PFLP plane hijacker.

Hired aide who praised Hamas’ “spirit of resistance“.

Accepted £20,000 for state TV channel of terror-sponsoring Iranian regime.

Opposed banning Britons from travelling to Syria to fight for ISIS.

Defended rights of fighters returning from Syria.

Said ISIS supporters should not be prosecuted.

Compared fighters returning from Syria to Nelson Mandela.

Said the death of Osama Bin Laden was a “tragedy“.

Wouldn’t sanction drone strike to kill ISIS leader.

Voted to allow ISIS fighters to return from Syria.

Opposed shoot to kill.

Attended event organised by terrorist sympathising IHRC.

Signed letter defending Lockerbie bombing suspects.

Wrote letter in support of conman accused of fundraising for ISIS.

Spoke of “friendship” with Mo Kozbar, who called for destruction of Israel.

Attended event with Abdullah Djaballah, who called for holy war against UK.

Called drone strikes against terrorists “obscene”.

Boasted about “opposing anti-terror legislation”.

Said laws banning jihadis from returning to Britain are “strange”.

Accepted £5,000 donation from terror supporter Ted Honderich.

Accepted £2,800 trip to Gaza from banned Islamist organisation Interpal.

Called Ibrahim Hewitt, extremist and chair of Interpal, a “very good friend”.

Accepted two more trips from the pro-Hamas group PRC.

Speaker at conference hosted by pro-Hamas group MEMO.

Met Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh several times.

Hosted meeting with Mousa Abu Maria of banned group Islamic Jihad.

Patron of Palestine Solidarity Campaign – marches attended by Hezbollah.

Compared Israel to ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah and al-Qaeda.

Said we should not make “value judgements” about Britons who fight for ISIS.

Received endorsement from Hamas.

Attended event with Islamic extremist Suliman Gani.

Chaired Stop the War, who praised “internationalism and solidarity” of ISIS.

Praised Raed Salah, who was jailed for inciting violence in Israel.

Signed letter defending jihadist advocacy group Cage.

Met Dyab Jahjah, who praised the killing of British soldiers.

Shared platform with representative of extremist cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Compared ISIS to US military in interview on Russia Today.

Opposed proscription of Hizb ut-Tahrir.

Attended conference which called on Iraqis to kill British soldiers.

Attended Al-Quds Day demonstration in support of destruction of Israel.

Supported Hamas and ISIS-linked Viva Palestina group.

Attended protest with Islamic extremist Moazzam Begg.

Made the “case for Iran” at event hosted by Khomeinist group.  

Photographed smiling with Azzam Tamimi, who backed suicide bombings.

Photographed with Abdel Atwan, who sympathised with attacks on US troops.

Said Hamas should “have tea with the Queen”.

Attended ‘Meet the Resistance’ event with Hezbollah MP Hussein El Haj.

Attended event with Haifa Zangana, who praised Palestinian “mujahideen”.

Defended the infamous anti-Semitic Hamas supporter Stephen Sizer.

Attended event with pro-Hamas and Hezbollah group Naturei Karta.

Backed Holocaust denying anti-Zionist extremist Paul Eisen.

Photographed with Abdul Raoof Al Shayeb, later jailed for terror offences.

Mocked “anti-terror hysteria” while opposing powers for security services.

Named on speakers list for conference with Hamas sympathiser Ismail Patel.

Criticised drone strike that killed Jihadi John.

Said the 7/7 bombers had been denied “hope and opportunity”.

Said 9/11 was “manipulated” to make it look like bin Laden was responsible.

Failed to unequivocally condemn the 9/11 attacks.

Called Columbian terror group M-19 “comrades”.

Blamed beheading of Alan Henning on Britain.

Gave speech in support of Gaddafi regime.

Signed EDM spinning for Slobodan Milosevic.

Blamed Tunisia terror attack on “austerity”.

Voted against banning support for the IRA.

Voted against the Prevention of Terrorism Act three times during the Troubles.

Voted against emergency counter-terror laws after 9/11.

Voted against stricter punishments for being a member of a terror group.

Voted against criminalising the encouragement of terrorism.

Voted against banning al-Qaeda.

Voted against outlawing the glorification of terror.

Voted against control orders.

Voted against increased funding for the security services to combat terrorism.

So it’s a tricky one really 🤷‍♂

I must go down to the sea again

I must go down to the sea again, in a modern high-tech boat, 
And all I ask is electric, for comfort while afloat, 
And alternators, and solar panels, and generators going, 
And deep cycle batteries with many amperes flowing.

I must go down to the sea again, to the autopilot's ways,
And all I ask is a GPS, and a radar, and displays,
And a cell phone, and a weatherfax, and a shortwave radio,
And compact disks, computer games and TV videos.

I must go down to the sea again, with a freezer full of steaks, 
And al I ask is a microwave, and a blender for milkshakes, 
And a watermaker, air-conditioner, hot water in the sink, 
And e-mail and a VHF to see what my buddies think.

I must go down to the sea again, with power-furling sails,
And chart displays of all the seas, and a bullhorn for loud hails, 
And motors pulling anchor chains, and push-button sheets, 
And programs which take full charge of tacking during beats.

I must go down to the sea again, and not leave friends behind, 
And so they never get seasick we'll use the web online, 
And all I ask is an Internet with satellites over me, 
And beaming all the data up, my friends sail virtually.

I must go down to the sea again, record the humpback whales, 
Compute until I decipher their language and their tales, 
And learn to sing in harmony, converse beneath the waves, 
And befriend the gentle giants as my synthesizer plays.

I must go down to the sea again, with RAM in gigabytes,
And teraflops of processing for hobbies that I like,
And software suiting all my wants, seated at my console
And pushing on the buttons which give me complete control.

I must go down to the sea again, my concept seems quite sound, 
But when I simulate this boat, some problems I have found. 
The cost is astronomical, repairs will never stop, 
Instead of going sailing, I'll be shackled to the dock.

I must go down to the sea again, how can I get away?
Must I be locked in low-tech boats until my dying day?
Is there no cure for my complaint, no technologic fix?
Oh, I fear this electric fever is a habit I can't kick.

The truth about Israeli boycott

A letter written by a non Jewish Professor to his students who voted to boycott Israel. Beit Ariel
It's a response from Dr. Denis MacEoin, a non-Jewish professor, to the motion put forward by The Edinburgh Student's Association to boycott all things Israeli, in which they claim Israel is under an apartheid regime. Denis is an expert in Middle Eastern affairs and was a senior editor of the Middle East Quarterly. Here's his letter to the students:

TO: The Committee Edinburgh University Student Association.

May I be permitted to say a few words to members of the EUSA? I am an Edinburgh graduate (MA 1975) who studied Persian, Arabic and Islamic History in Buccleuch Place under William Montgomery Watt and Laurence Elwell Sutton, two of Britain 's great Middle East experts in their day. I later went on to do a PhD at Cambridge and to teach Arabic and Islamic Studies at Newcastle University . Naturally, I am the author of several books and hundreds of articles in this field. I say all that to show that I am well informed in Middle Eastern affairs and that, for that reason, I am shocked and disheartened by the EUSAmotion and vote.

I am shocked for a simple reason: there is not and has never been a system of apartheid in Israel . That is not my opinion, that is fact that can be tested against reality by any Edinburgh student, should he or she choose to visit Israel to see for themselves. Let me spell this out, since I have the impression that those members of EUSA who voted for this motion are absolutely clueless in matters concerning Israel, and that they are, in all likelihood, the victims of extremely biased propaganda coming from the anti-Israel lobby.

Being anti-Israel is not in itself objectionable. But I'm not talking about ordinary criticism of Israel. I'm speaking of a hatred that permits itself no boundaries in the lies and myths it pours out. Thus, Israel is repeatedly referred to as a "Nazi" state. In what sense is this true, even as a metaphor? Where are the Israeli concentration camps? The einzatsgruppen? The SS? The Nuremberg Laws? The Final Solution? None of these things nor anything remotely resembling them exists in Israel, precisely because the Jews, more than anyone on earth, understand what Nazism stood for.

It is claimed that there has been an Israeli Holocaust in Gaza (or elsewhere). Where? When? No honest historian would treat that claim with anything but the contempt it deserves. But calling Jews Nazis and saying they have committed a Holocaust is as basic a way to subvert historical fact as anything I can think of.

Likewise apartheid. For apartheid to exist, there would have to be a situation that closely resembled how things were in South Africa under the apartheid regime. Unfortunately for those who believe this, a weekend in any part of Israel would be enough to show how ridiculous the claim is.

That a body of university students actually fell for this and voted on it is a sad comment on the state of modern education. The most obvious focus for apartheid would be the country's 20% Arab population. Under Israeli law, Arab Israelis have exactly the same rights as Jews or anyone else; Muslims have the same rights as Jews or Christians; Baha'is, severely persecuted in Iran, flourish in Israel, where they have their world center; Ahmadi Muslims, severely persecuted in Pakistan and elsewhere, are kept safe by Israel; the holy places of all religions are protected under a specific Israeli law. Arabs form 20% of the university population (an exact echo of their percentage in the general population).

In Iran, the Bahai's (the largest religious minority) are forbidden to study in any university or to run their own universities: why aren't your members boycotting Iran? Arabs in Israel can go anywhere they want, unlike blacks in apartheid South Africa. They use public transport, they eat in restaurants, they go to swimming pools, they use libraries, they go to cinemas alongside Jews - something no blacks were able to do inSouth Africa.

Israeli hospitals not only treat Jews and Arabs, they also treat Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank. On the same wards, in the same operating theatres.

In Israel , women have the same rights as men: there is no gender apartheid. Gay men and women face no restrictions, and Palestinian gays often escape into Israel, knowing they may be killed at home.

It seems bizarre to me that LGBT groups call for a boycott of Israel and say nothing about countries like Iran, where gay men are hanged or stoned to death. That illustrates a mindset that beggars belief.

Intelligent students thinking it's better to be silent about regimes that kill gay people, but good to condemn the only country in the Middle East that rescues and protects gay people. Is that supposed to be a sick joke?

University is supposed to be about learning to use your brain, to think rationally, to examine evidence, to reach conclusions based on solid evidence, to compare sources, to weigh up one view against one or more others. If the best Edinburgh can now produce are students who have no idea how to do any of these things, then the future is bleak.

I do not object to well-documented criticism of Israel. I do object when supposedly intelligent people single the Jewish state out above states that are horrific in their treatment of their populations. We are going through the biggest upheaval in the Middle East since the 7th and 8th centuries, and it's clear that Arabs and Iranians are rebelling against terrifying regimes that fight back by killing their own citizens.

Israeli citizens, Jews and Arabs alike, do not rebel (though they are free to protest). Yet Edinburgh students mount no demonstrations and call for no boycotts against Libya, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Iran. They prefer to make false accusations against one of the world's freest countries, the only country in the Middle East that has taken in Darfur refugees, the only country in the Middle East that gives refuge to gay men and women, the only country in the Middle East that protects the Bahai's... Need I go on?

The imbalance is perceptible, and it sheds no credit on anyone who voted for this boycott. I ask you to show some common sense. Get information from the Israeli embassy. Ask for some speakers. Listen to more than one side. Do not make your minds up until you have given a fair hearing to both parties. You have a duty to your students, and that is to protect them from one-sided argument.

They are not at university to be propagandized. And they are certainly not there to be tricked into anti-Semitism by punishing one country among all the countries of the world, which happens to be the only Jewish state. If there had been a single Jewish state in the 1930's (which, sadly, there was not), don't you think Adolf Hitler would have decided to boycott it?

Your generation has a duty to ensure that the perennial racism of anti-Semitism never sets down roots among you. Today, however, there are clear signs that it has done so and is putting down more. You have a chance to avert a very great evil, simply by using reason and a sense of fair play. Please tell me that this makes sense. I have given you some of the evidence. It's up to you to find out more.

Yours sincerely,
Denis MacEoin

New berth new friends

Stark choice

After the referendum the UK government faced a stark choice. Either they accepted the will of the people as had been promised or tried to go against the decision risking a serious chance of civil war.

Democracy is a dangerous and powerful force and it was this that the leaders in Brussels failed to appreciate when David Cameron asked for reforms that would have benefited every citizen of Europe.

If one wants to look for blame. The many crises in EU culminating in Brexit can all be laid at the door of The EU Commission.