THE REPUBLIC OF CONGO VISITS PLANET EARTH AND HUMANITY

The latest country to visit this blog site is the Republic of the Congo, my 217th domain.  So you say, wait a minute, I thought there are only 192 nations in the United Nations, with Taiwan no longer a member, and neither the Vatican City nor Kosovo.  Incidentally, did you know that Switzerland only joined in 2002?

So I went to the Wikipedia Google Domain page and counted 203 countries, with Tunisia listed twice.  Then I clicked on the Flag Counter site and found 243 entities, so I have 26 locations left on my recruitment list.  THEY ARE LISTED AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POSTING, SO ANYONE KNOWING SOMEONE FROM THOSE COUNTRIES, PLEASE CONTACT THEM TO CLICK ON THIS BLOG PAGE.  

Anyway, today I report on the Republic of the Congo (sometimes the "the" is deleted), which gained independence from France in 1960, when Marxism became the form of government.  Some strange things have been experienced here.  Democracy arrived in 1992, and an unsettled peace began in 2003.  The chief of state is President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, who is 71, has more or less been ruling since 1979, when he was 35.  The next election will be held next year.  Government corruption is a a way of life.

Here are some interesting facts:

• About 70% of the population of 4.5 million live close to or in Brazzaville, the capital.  This city served as the symbolic capital of Free France between 1940 and 1943 during the Nazi occupation.  The city of Kinshasa (of the Democratic Republic of the Congo--yes, there is another country that surely sounds like this one--with a population of 9 million, is in viewing distance from Brazzaville, which was discovered by Pietro Savorgnan di Brazza, an Italian.)

• It is slightly smaller than Montana.  The equator crosses through the middle of the country.
• Pygmies still survive as slaves of the Bantu tribe, and there is constant warfare. 

• Republic of Congo neighbors are Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon and, mostly, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• They have a short coastline of 105 miles.
• Only 1.5% of their land is arable.
• Suffers from general pollution and the water is NOT potable.
• The official language is French.
• Religion:  50% Christian, 48% animist (followed by indigenous tribal peoples with varying mythologies and rituals, involving supernatural perspectives--not much different, actually, from all religions) and 2% Muslim.
• Life expectancy of 56, with the AIDS rate exactly 10 times that of the USA.
• GDP/capita is $4700 (U.S. is $53,000).
• They do export oil and gas.  There is potential for gold, iron and phosphates.
• 27 airports.
• Unemployment rate is 53%.
• Populations below poverty line:  47%.

There is no ebola in this country.  While the general wisdom is don't go to the Republic of Congo, if you do, there are luxury safari services:

Where  you can visit a gorilla reserve.  

One week would cost around $9000.  There are five star hotels available.  Here is a Wikipedia summary.  Visas are painful, but your tour service will assist.  While there are strict laws, 300 gorillas are butchered every year for bushmeat.  Crime?

Crime exists in Brazzaville. Several incidents of petty street crime against Americans occurred in 2011. Americans are not typically singled out by criminal elements but may become targets of opportunity, depending on their dress, actions, behavior, and level of perceived vigilance. Wallets should contain only a small amount of cash and be free of all credit cards.  Reports of violent crime in Brazzaville are not uncommon. There is a nationwide spike in crime around the holiday season in December.

They say that Casino Supermarket in Brazzaville is something to be experienced.

Well, anyway, the following domains have not yet visited Planet Earth and Humanity.  If you have any contacts, please ask them to ping on this page.

		Country		Visitors			Last New Visitor
1.			British Indian Ocean Territory	0			Never
2.			Central African Republic	0			Never
3.			Chad	0			Never
4.			Christmas Island	0			Never
5.			Comoros	0			Never
6.			Falkland Islands	0			Never
7.			Guinea-Bissau	0			Never
8.			Kiribati	0			Never
9.			Kosovo	0			Never
10.			Montserrat	0			Never
11.			Nauru	0			Never
12.			Niue	0			Never
13.			Norfolk Island	0			Never
14.			North Korea	0			Never
15.			Saint Helena	0			Never
16.			Saint Martin	0			Never
17.			Saint Pierre and Miquelon	0			Never
18.			Sao Tome and Principe	0			Never
19.			Sint Maarten	0			Never
20.			South Sudan	0			Never
21.			Svalbard	0			Never
22.			Tokelau	0			Never
23.			Turkmenistan	0			Never
24.			Tuvalu	0			Never
25.			Vatican City	0			Never
26.			Wallis and Futuna	0			Never

Mahalo.

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