Hasta La Gadget!

Three weeks ago, when I was briefly worried that Donald Trump could in fact be elected president, I began drafting a faux “apology” to the clown prince of politics.

My thinking was, hey, the guy has a chance to win, and he is such an unstable, vengeful, petty little man that, even if he and his people are utterly unaware of who I am, best not to get on his Russia-sized bad side in case he ever became the most powerful person in the world.

I was going to ask his forgiveness for calling him — as so many others have — a narcissistic, misogynistic xenophobe. I mean, after all, those words kinda sound made up, don’t they? Don’t be mad at me, Donald.

I was going to ask him to overlook my strong suggestions that he was insane and the seemingly very proud owner of so many personality disorders that we no longer could track them in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. (And although others had suggested his severe emotional pathology, I am pleased to say I was one of the early one, way back in the summer of 2015.)

But then, his implosions began to pile up even faster than they had in the primary season, and it became increasingly clear that, while anything is still possible, it is no longer reasonable to worry about Donald winning in November.

The turning point for me wasn’t his attack on the Khan family, as absurdly offensive as that was, but rather his response when he was asked if he had sacrificed anything, in response to Gold Star father Khizr Khan’s challenge that Trump had sacrificed nothing and no one. It bears repeating in full:

“I think I’ve made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I’ve created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures. I’ve done ― I’ve had ― I’ve had tremendous success. I think I’ve done a lot.”

I did a double-take. Did he hear the question? Does he know what the word “sacrifice” means? Did he have a mini stroke? Leaving aside how incoherent that statement was — and trying to decipher Trump’s incoherence is better left to code breakers from World War II — Donald on the topic of sacrifice was such a perfect encapsulation of the man’s mental and emotional deficiencies that I breathed a sigh of relief. Surely this guy can’t be elected, I hoped.

His comments about his own sacrifice reveal everything: His inability to talk about anything except his greatness and the failure of his enemies. His uncanny knack for being unable to express himself well, despite his obvious brilliance that he reminds us of daily. His belief that every offensive statement he makes is really just an opportunity to clarify how magnanimous he is.

Millions have and still will back his candidacy of fact-bending, name-calling and revenge for every minor slight. The legions who are scared — perhaps quite justifiably in their minds — that the country of their parents and grandparents no longer looks familiar to them. The Hillary haters. The just plain haters who see this puffy, inarticulate blowhard billionaire with a beautiful wife and cleaned up children, as a permissible, safe transporter for their hate.

Tom Friedman wrote on August 10, Trump is “a disgusting human being. His children should be ashamed of him.”

That’s a good start, Tom, but not nearly enough.

Trump supporters should be ashamed of him. They should be ashamed of themselves.

They should be ashamed for the old, bitter white man in North Carolina who sucker punched a young black man being escorted out of a Trump rally. They should be ashamed for the man who told Univision anchor – and American citizen – Jorge Ramos to “get out of my country” way back in August of 2015.

They should be ashamed that they are so in love with a man who defines anything decent and compassionate towards other human beings as “political correctness.”

They should be ashamed of backing a man with no filter, no decency, no empathy, no ability to apologize, to admit he was wrong. They should be ashamed of their complicity in trying to turn back the country 50 years, or more, of seeing diversity as a challenge to their lives, of believing illegal immigrants will doom the country, of shouting from the rooftops about the very rare, and tragic, crimes committed by undocumented aliens while ignoring Dylan Roof and James Holmes and Adam Lanza.

Donald has begun the self-destruction process that will likely last until November. But I’m no longer worried about the need to apologize to Trump. I’m now waiting for Trump to apologize to all of us.

Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar,rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims ― 1.6 billion members of an entire religion ― from entering the U.S.

Earlier on Huff/Post50:

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For me, it was love at first sight.

From the first morning I arrived in Belize, nearly 30 years ago, climbed down from the plane onto the runway, threw my backpack over my shoulder, pulled on my sunglasses, and walked across the tarmac in the direction of the one-room Belize City airport, I was smitten.

It was nothing I could put my finger on at the time. Just a feeling, like falling in love. You know it when it hits.

Belize City is referred to as the Calcutta of the Caribbean… a hell hole… a slum town. Those descriptions are not undeserved, but they refer not to Belize but Belize City and not to the heart and soul of this country but to the face of the town where, unfortunately, its international airport happens to be located.

Smitten as I was by the experience of being in Belize, even I, young and naïve as I was, recognized that Belize City wasn’t a nice place to be 30 years ago. This hasn’t changed, but it didn’t matter to me then and isn’t the point now. What won me over from that first visit was the simple, sweet charm and the raw, natural beauty of this country, which I sensed straightaway.

On that first visit, I met a handful of Belize expats with whom, over the years, I’ve developed friendships I treasure. Visit by visit, in the years to follow, they helped me to get to know this country founded by pirates and where independence and free thinking are prized above all else. These are qualities that I, too, value a great deal. Instinctively, I guess, putting my feet on the ground in this country for the first time, I knew that Belize and I were made for each other.

Belize is the quirkiest place I know. Belize City’s roadways are built around a system of roundabouts (thanks to her British colonizers), but shops alongside them sell rice, beans, and tortillas still ground by hand. Everyone you meet speaks English (it’s the country’s official language), but this belies the stories of their origins. The 350,000 people populating Belize today are descendants of migrants from Britain, yes, but also and more so the surrounding Central American countries. You’ve got Mexicans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, and Nicaraguans mixing with current-day generations of the Maya who originally inhabited this land, the pirates who came later, the Mennonite farmers who began arriving on the scene in the 16th century, the British who ruled until 1981, and each other.

Belize is a country of freedom-seekers. The pirates came to ply their pirate trading out of view. The Mennonites came from Germany and the Netherlands so they could be Mennonites without anyone bothering them. The British came so they could bank in private. And the folks from the surrounding countries who’ve sought out Belize over the past few decades typically have made their way across this country’s borders in search of safety.

Today, now, a new population of freedom-seekers is finding its way to these shores:

Us.

Belize is a nation of independent thinkers and doers, a country where you make your own way and where, while you’re doing it, no one is making any attempt to thwart your efforts.

Including the Belizean government. This is a poor country. The government doesn’t have enough money to get up to any real trouble. And, if they tried, the Belizeans wouldn’t allow it. The focus here is on very local-level government–addressing the crime problems in certain neighborhoods of Belize City, for example, or trying to dissuade the Guatemalan banditos who occasionally wander over into Belize in search of a couple of good horses to steal.

Check Your Worries At The Border

Arriving in Belize, stepping off the plane, and making your way to the one-room arrivals hall of the airport, you have a sense still today, just as I did 30 years ago touching down in Belize for the first time, of leaving the rest of the world behind. Belize and her people operate according to their own rules and mind their own business. The troubles, uncertainties, and worries that seem all-consuming Stateside and elsewhere in the world fade here. You’re faced with a land that remains a frontier, undeveloped and therefore oozing with potential.

Remember, this is also a tax haven, a place where your financial affairs are your own, and one of the best places in the world today to open an offshore bank account. Both these things are courtesy of the British, who created in Belize an offshore haven for themselves that we all can benefit from today.

Belize is one more thing — one of the most user-friendly options for establishing foreign residency. You don’t have to be physically present year-round in the country to qualify for permanent residency and to take advantage of the tax benefits of that status. Come to visit for as few as four weeks a year, and you’re good.

Where The H#&% Is Belize?

Belize has been attracting expats in the know from the U.K., the United States, and Canada for decades. Still, many would have trouble pinpointing the country on a map… and a lot of folks think it’s an island. (It’s not, of course, though it features a handful of Caribbean islands just offshore Belize City.) You can still buy T-shirts at the airport that say, “Where The H#&% Is Belize?” The good news is that the country is very close to the United States and very accessible.

Belize is easy to get to, and, once you’re here, it’s easy to make your way around and do whatever you’d like to do, thanks to the fact that the language is English.

The Many Faces Of Little Belize

Don’t be fooled because of its size. You can get from one end of Belize to the other in a half day by car or a half hour by plane (the country’s domestic air travel system is its most developed infrastructure). Despite this, Belize has many faces.

First is Belize City — poor, underdeveloped, and, in parts, unsafe. I don’t mind the place. Beneath the gritty surface, I detect a long-faded charm. Or maybe I project one. Either way, I enjoy passing through, but I know that, for many, the best part about traveling to Belize City is leaving Belize City.

Belize is perhaps best known and best loved for its Caribbean islands, especially Ambergris Caye, the largest and most developed, boasting both long beaches of soft, white sand and an established and growing community of expats and foreign retirees. This is the Caribbean at its best.

Belize’s long mainland coast is marked by two points of particular interest. South of Belize City is Placencia; north is Corozal. Placencia has grown up in recent years to become the mainland’s best-appointed beach town, catering to tourists and all the trappings that come with them. Corozal boasts easy access to Chetumal, across the bay in Mexico, which can be a big advantage in case of medical emergency. On the other hand, day-to-day, you’d likely feel secluded here. Maybe that’s a plus for you… maybe a minus.

The northern coast around Corozal sees about 50 inches of rain a year. The southern coast, Placencia and south, can see three times that much rain or more each year. Maybe that bothers you… maybe it doesn’t.

Inland is the Cayo District, a dramatically different region where life revolves not around the sea but the river. For some, river views don’t substitute for ocean vistas; others prefer them.

In other words, each region of Belize has its pluses and its minuses (scroll down to see all these places in a more detailed map of Belize). Island living is always more expensive than life back on the mainland, meaning Ambergris is the most expensive lifestyle choice in the country. Most expensive and also most developed and turnkey.

Cayo offers an opportunity to enjoy a healthy, fulfilling, back-to-basics, and self-sufficient lifestyle, thanks to its abundance of fertile land, water, and sunshine year-round. Cayo is also Belize’s most affordable lifestyle choice.

Infrastructure: Not A Strong Suit

Paved roads are a good indicator anywhere of where the path of progress is headed. The British left great legal, educational, and governmental foundations in Belize, but not much in the way of physical infrastructure. Considerable investment has been made in recent years to improve this country’s roads and bridges. Still, though (to help put things into perspective for you), Belize has but four highways. The most significant artery in the country is the Western Highway, which connects Belize City (the largest city), Belmopan (the capital), and San Ignacio (the largest town in Cayo).

Not only road infrastructure, but infrastructure in general is limited in Belize. This is a small country where the infrastructure is most kindly described as “developing.”

No infrastructure, limited services and amenities, and little market demand (meaning limited product supply) could be interpreted as negatives. However, in Belize, particularly in Cayo, these things are a big part of the appeal. Once you get to Cayo, you don’t mind that there’s no infrastructure. You don’t mind that the culture is more concerned with conservation than consumerism.

That is, you don’t mind… or, if you do, you’re not happy. If you’re interested in a lifestyle supported by the diversions and distractions of a big city, Cayo is definitely not for you and maybe nowhere else in Belize is either.

Ultimately, to determine whether or not Belize is for you and where specifically in this mixed-up little country you might feel most at home, you’ll have to get on a plane, as I did 30 years ago, and come see what’s what in Belize for yourself.

I began a love affair with Belize 30 years ago that has developed and deepened into one of the most important relationships in my life. I know Belize well, better than anyone else you’re likely to meet. I know the real Belize… and I love her just as she is.

Original feature: Everything You Need To Live, Retire, Or Invest In This Beautiful, English-Speaking, Caribbean Nation

Related Articles:

Self-Sufficient Living In Belize’s Cayo District

A Week In Corozal, Belize: Life At A Heavenly Pace

Cayo, Belize Is A Great Escape For Expats

Earlier on Huff/Post50:

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If you thought dry eyes were the worst that could happen if you sleep in your contact lenses every so often, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has news. The consequences can be a lot worse.

Approximately one in five contact lens-related corneal infections (i.e. those on the clear outer layer of the eye) resulted in serious damage to the eye, according to a new CDC report that analyzed 1,075 contact lens-related corneal infection medical reports sent to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 2005 and 2015.

Think permanent scarring, surgery or even vision loss, as this video from Time explains.

And one in every four infections occurred in contact lens wearers who reported totally avoidable behaviors like reusing cleansing solution or sleeping in their lenses.

“While severe eye infections are not common, they can lead to long-lasting damage,” Jennifer Cope, a medical epidemiologist at CDC who coauthored the new report, told The Huffington Post. 

Contact lens-related eye infections are often preventable.
Jennifer Cope, a CDC medical epidemiologist

Previous research from Cope and her colleagues showed that of a survey of 4,269 contact lens wearers from across the U.S. more than 99 percent reported one behavior that put them at increased risk for an eye infection or inflammation, such as sleeping overnight or napping in contact lenses, reusing contact solution, wearing lenses longer than recommended or swimming in lenses.

Other research has shown that even occasionally sleeping overnight in contact lenses increases an individual’s risk of an infection by more than six-fold.

The problem with sleeping in your lenses is that you deprive your corneas of oxygen, Rebecca Taylor, an ophthalmologist in private practice in Nashville, Tenn., and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, previously told HuffPost.

“It’s like having a plastic bag over your head when you sleep,” she said. “It’s not ideal for oxygen exchange.” 

To help keep your eyes refreshed and infection-free, Cope says remember these three rules:

1. Don’t sleep in your contacts without discussing it with your eye doctor first.

2. Don’t reuse contact solution.

3. Replace your contact lenses as often as recommended by your eye doctor.

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— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

It was eye-opening when we learned that artichokes are actually flowers. And that capers are pickled flower buds. But coming across what figs really are ― and the wasp that makes them possible ― has just made us question every truth we know in this world. 

In simple terms, figs are technically not a fruit ― they are inverted flowers. Fig trees don’t flower like apples and peaches. Their flowers bloom inside the pear-shaped pod, which later matures into the fruit we eat. Each flower then produces a single, one-seeded, hard-shelled fruit called achene ― that’s what gives the fig the crunch we know ― and the fig is made up of multiple achene. So when we eat a fig we are actually eating multiple fruits. 

But that’s not the end of the uniqueness that sets the fig apart.

Because fig flowers bloom internally, they need a special process for pollination. They cannot rely on the wind or bees to spread their pollen ― that’s where the fig wasp comes in. The fig cannot survive without the fig wasp to spread its genetic material, and the fig wasp cannot live without the fig, because that’s where it lays its larva ― this relationship is known as mutualism.

The female fig wasp enters the male fig ― we don’t eat the male figs, by the way ― to lay its eggs. The male fig is shaped in a way to accommodate the laying of wasp eggs. The female wasp’s wings and antennae break off when entering the small passage in the fig so once it’s in, there is no way out. It’s up to the baby wasps to continue the life cycle. Male baby wasps are born without wings, because their sole purpose is to mate with the female offspring ― technically their sister ― and dig a tunnel out of the fig. It’s the female offspring that make the journey out, bringing pollen with them.

If a fig wasp enters a female fig accidentally ― the ones we eat ― instead of a male one, there is no room in the interior for it to reproduce. And it cannot escape, because its wings and antennae have broken off. So the wasp dies inside, which is unfortunate but necessary because that’s how it delivers the pollen giving us the fruit we love.

Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean the crunch in the fig is a wasp carcass. The fig uses an enzyme known as ficin to break down the wasp into protein. So, yes, technically when you bite into a fig you are in fact eating fig wasps ― or at least what once was a fig wasp. Some vegans might choose to stay away from this fruit for this very reason.

Watch the video below from Brain Stuff to see exactly how the pollination process works. 

If that didn’t totally turn you off from figs, we have some great fig recipes for you below.

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