The BulleTin • Sunday, May 30, 2021 C3
EXPLAINER
DEAR ABBY
Write to Dear Abby online at dearabby.com
or by mail at P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069
Dear Abby: My husband
has a close friend I’ll call “Al.”
(We are like family.) Over
the past five months, Al has
been seeing two women and
sleeping with both of them.
Neither one knows about
the other. He admits that
one of them thinks they are
in a committed relationship,
however, he refuses to choose
between the two. He actu-
ally plans the exact same date
so he can compare them! I
feel bad for them and want
to tell him what he’s doing is
wrong. My husband insists I
shouldn’t interfere. Al keeps
saying he wants us to meet
these women, and I just can’t
imagine keeping my mouth
shut. What to do?
— Right or Wrong in Virginia
Dear Right or Wrong: Al is
dishonest and lacks integrity.
He may be a close friend, but
that doesn’t mean you must
participate in the games he is
playing. A way to avoid that
would be to refuse to meet
them.
Dear Abby: One of the
things I always do when I
have my parents and my sib-
ling’s family over is play the
piano. My 80-year-old father
LOVES to hear me play. I am
an accomplished pianist and
I love to play difficult pieces.
During their most recent
visit, while I was “trying” to
play the Warsaw Concerto
for my father, my family was
talking over my grand pi-
ano, my niece was chasing
my grand-niece through
the living room and my sis-
ter-in-law was filming me,
which was chaotic and terri-
bly distracting. I think they
were rude and disrespectful.
How can I get them to stop
this kind of behavior without
sounding like a snotty jerk?
— Serious Musician in Colorado
Dear Musician: When you
wish to perform a concert for
your father, entertain your
parents APART from your
sibling and the kids.
Dear Abby: My husband
of 30 years died eight months
ago. It was a second mar-
riage for both of us, and we
each have two adult children.
Since the funeral, I have seen
his kids and grandkids only
when they need something,
like college tuition or car re-
pairs. (I knew it would hap-
pen.) They do include me in
events which require gifts,
probably because I continue
to be generous. Three other
grandparents are very in-
volved, which is fine, but I
feel awkward and not cared
about. My husband would be
so disappointed. How should
I handle this?
— Wistful Widow in Michigan
Dear Widow: Handle it by
facing reality. If you are in-
vited to an event you don’t
wish to attend, send the
“kid” or “grandkid” a nice
card with your congratula-
tions. If someone asks you
why, be forthright. Tell the
person you have realized
the only times you were in-
cluded are those that require
gifts. Then be quiet, hang
onto your sense of humor
and listen. It’s important that
you focus your attention on
moving forward in your life
and doing things that bring
you pleasure. Above all, do
not nurture relationships in
which you feel you are not
valued.
YOUR HOROSCOPE
By Georgia Nicols
Stars show the kind of day you’ll have
DYNAMIC | POSITIVE | AVERAGE | SO-SO | DIFFICULT
MOON ALERT: There are no restrictions to shopping or important deci-
sions today. The Moon is in Aquarius.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR SUNDAY, MAY 30, 2021: You have lots
of energy and wit! You’re bursting with life. You are friendly, enthusiastic and
have a great sense of humor. You are multitalented, and you multitask. In
this new year ahead, you will be more concerned with property, money and
even your body, because you want to build structure in your life, both inner
and outer.
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
You want to take it easy at home today. However, you also want to
help a family member in any way that you can because it’s important. And
you will. Tonight: Entertain family.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
Today, instead of trying to convince someone about your ideas, you
want to hear what they have to say. This is because you would rather get
along. Tonight: You will learn something.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
Whereas recently you have been ambitious to work for money (and
spend it), today you feel differently. You are more content. You might share
your wealth with someone in need because you feel sympathetic. Tonight:
Be generous.
CANCER (June 21-July 22)
Today your principal goal will be to help others rather than yourself.
This will give you a feeling of satisfaction and personal reward. Tonight: Work
for the highest good.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)
Today you might take a look at your life and the world around you and
see it without judging or condemning. Because of this, you might want to
become involved with a spiritual group. Tonight: Enjoy quiet time.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
It will please you to help a friend or a group today. It makes you feel
uplifted if you can lend a hand to a charitable organization because you feel
you are doing something worthwhile. Tonight: Trust your instincts.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
You will question your ambition today. You will wonder what is truly
worth working for. Instead of always working to get ahead, you realize there
are more rewarding goals. Tonight: Ponder what really matters.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
You want to stop chasing in all directions for thrills and adventure.
You want to use your energy to make a difference, especially to help those
who are suffering in foreign countries. Tonight: Explore new ideas.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Today, you have no wish to dispute inheritances or how to share some-
thing. Instead, you realize that the person who wants the least is the one who
is most content. Tonight: Use what resources are available to you.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Today, you want to make your peace with those who are closest to
you. You see that whatever differences you have are nothing in the bigger
scheme of things. Tonight: Strengthen your bond with someone.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
You’re happy with today’s energy because you are a person who
always wants to make the world a better place. Therefore, you will work
efficiently, either individually or with a group, to use your networking skills.
Tonight: Establish a plan.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
The plight of children, either close to home or far away, is something
that you are aware of today. If you can do fundraising or call attention to this
problem, you will. You see that what is done to help one is done to help all.
Tonight: You’re in touch with your creative energy.
Find it all online
bendbulletin.com
How vaccine passports for global travel will work
BY KELVIN CHAN
Associated Press
LONDON — Boarding pass, suitcase,
passport and ... digital vaccination certif-
icate?
Keen to avoid losing another summer
of holiday revenue to the coronavirus
pandemic, the European Union, some
Asian governments and the airline indus-
try are scrambling to develop so-called
COVID-19 vaccine passports to help
kickstart international travel.
They’re working on systems that would
allow travelers to use mobile phone apps
to prove they’ve been vaccinated, which
could help them avoid onerous quaran-
tine requirements at their destinations.
But the multiple efforts underscore
the lack of one central international sys-
tem to electronically verify vaccination
status. The projects also face technical
challenges in working together, while
questions about privacy and vaccine in-
equality linger.
Here’s a look at how vaccine passports
work:
Official efforts
The first part of a vaccination passport
is the user’s official or approved electronic
immunization record.
The European Union, China and Japan
are all working on their own digital vacci-
nation certificates for cross-border travel.
The U.K., meanwhile, updated its Na-
tional Health Service app last week to let
fully vaccinated users prove their status
when traveling abroad, coinciding with
an easing of travel rules.
Testing is under way for the EU’s dig-
ital certificate, which will also confirm
COVID-19 test results or recovery from
the virus and is set to go live by the end
of June, allowing residents to reunite
with friends and relatives living across
30 European countries. It’s still unclear
where and how exactly travelers in the
EU, which doesn’t have internal border
checkpoints, will have their certificates
checked. Officials in Brussels say that
will be up to individual countries. The
idea is that travelers will flash a QR code
on their phones so it can be scanned at,
say, an airport or train station, using an
official verification app that checks with
national databases, via an EU technical
“gateway.”
Travel apps
Travelers also need a smartphone app
to carry any eventual official vaccination
certificates. The EU’s project includes
open source technology European coun-
tries can use to build their own official
mobile wallets.
The International Air Transport As-
sociation, an airline industry group, has
its smartphone IATA Travel Pass, which
airlines including Qantas, Japan Airlines,
Emirates, British Airways and Virgin
Atlantic have signed up to. A rival ef-
fort, CommonPass, has gained traction
with carriers like Cathay Pacific, JetBlue,
United and Lufthansa.
What travelers want
Business travelers like British public re-
lations executive Richard Fogg welcome
vaccine passports. Fogg’s firm scaled back
plans to attend a major telecom trade
show in Barcelona next month, given
quarantine rules for people returning to
the U.K.
“Those 10 days of quarantine will have
negative business implications – there’s
no way around it,” Fogg said, while ac-
knowledging tradeoffs including con-
cerns about data privacy.
Eymeric Segard, CEO of Geneva-based
private jet broker Lunajets, noted travel-
ers already hand over passports with per-
sonal data on arrival.
What About Fakes?
Phony paper COVID-19 document
s sold by fraudsters have been a prob-
lem during the pandemic but developers
say digital versions have safeguards that
make them hard to fake.
IATA says it doesn’t verify test results
or vaccination status but acts as the con-
duit for registered labs to securely send
those details to travelers whose identity
the app can match to the person who
took the test or vaccination. The app
scans a traveler’s face using the phone
camera and matches it to passport bio-
metric details, and there are checks to
prevent someone else using their identity.
Security and privacy
Vaccination passports are a polariz-
ing topic, with online discussion high-
lighting unfounded fears that they’ll be
used to control people, restrict freedom
and erode privacy. Developers stress that
minimal personal data is kept on phones,
and the only thing that gets transmitted
are encryption keys allowing information
to be exchanged securely.
“If done correctly, this doesn’t bring an
additional level of privacy risk because
you’re just putting in a credential status
of yes or no,” said Kevin Trilli, chief prod-
uct officer at ID verification company
Onfido, which is working on vaccination
cards technology.
What about people who don’t have
smartphones? Or families that don’t have
a device for each member? IATA and EU
officials say they’re are working on solu-
tions, including paper-based options.