News blues…
The other pandemic: the surge in fake news:- ANC ward councillor Sfiso Mngadi has admitted recording a voicenote in which he shared multiple Covid-19, vaccine and 5G conspiracy theories.
“As leaders of eThekwini [Durban] we need to take action against this disease. It is not Covid. We are getting this thing from 5G towers, [some] installed during this period in preparation of the second wave.
“Maybe we as councillors need to call a special council meeting, take a decision that all 5G towers must be disconnected in eThekwini.
[and…]
“White people were vaccinated about five months ago. There was a truck that distributed the vaccine in boxes and white people from all over the province, including places like Ixopo and Vryheid, went there to receive these boxes. It was given to white people only.” - Take note: SA government has no plans to take SA into a hard lockdown.
Rumours circulating on social media suggesting the national coronavirus command council (NCCC), in response to the rising numbers of Covid-19 infections, will meet to discuss a stricter lockdown have been dismissed by government.
“That is fake news,” said presidency spokesperson Nonceba Mhlauli. - Trump claims US rising coronavirus death toll as ‘fake news’ (1:48 mins)
Healthy planet, anyone?
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| What kind of future are we handing our children and our children’s children? © Pat Byrnes, PoliticalCartoons.com |
The economy shed 2.2m jobs in the second quarter of 2020.Read “South African game reserves forced to cull animals as Covid halts tourism” Tourist lodges run out of cash to feed and care for the animals on their land and thousands of villagers lose their jobs.
The huge tourist industry – which employs around one in every 20 workers and provides just under 3% of GDP – has been devastated.
Once the December holiday season meant tens of thousands of foreign visitors spending hundreds, even thousands, of dollars every day. Now, with the rate of new infections in the country soaring as authorities struggle to check a second wave, no one expects the tourists to come back soon.
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On a lighter note, comedy wildlife photography finalists of 2020 Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
I’m one small step closer to making my new home a home. It feels satisfying.I met with two vendors, each bringing me one step closer to making my new home a lived-in home. Moreover, I’d given both vendors a window of time in which I’d be available: between 12:30pm and 1:45pm.
Atypical-in-my-experience, both vendors arrived soon after 12:30pm, the second arriving as I bid goodbye to the first.
The fencing guy – Gary - will install a gate to allow easier access to my front garden. I’d like the gate installed in a way that, when I’m sitting on my patio enjoying a “sundowner” (colonial sunset cocktail), I view more garden and less gate.
I’d have preferred no gate and no fence, but neighbors report that zebra, impala, Duiker, and warthog will step onto my patio to eat plants growing in the inner garden.
The second vendor – “Woofs” - tested my home for a wireless installation. Amazingly, the former renter never used the Internet. That’s atypical. A quick view of the list of secure connections indicates many neighbors access the Internet.
Next steps for my wireless connection: review the installation quote, sign the contract, pay, and “within a week” I’ll be listed as a secure connection, too.
Alas, both vendors stated they’d email me quotes “tonight” (last night), but so far nothing has arrived.
I’m not in a hurry as the earliest I’ll move is mid- to late February.
I plan to return to California “sometime in March” but who knows?
The second vendor – “Woofs” - tested my home for a wireless installation. Amazingly, the former renter never used the Internet. That’s atypical. A quick view of the list of secure connections indicates many neighbors access the Internet.
Next steps for my wireless connection: review the installation quote, sign the contract, pay, and “within a week” I’ll be listed as a secure connection, too.
Alas, both vendors stated they’d email me quotes “tonight” (last night), but so far nothing has arrived.
I’m not in a hurry as the earliest I’ll move is mid- to late February.
I plan to return to California “sometime in March” but who knows?
***
Prognosis on my mother’s health is not good. Anesthetic from surgery still has the upper hand in her system and she’s sleeping a lot. After a meeting with the matron yesterday, I was granted permission to visit (despite tight lockdown in the facility).I’ve not seen my mother for more than a week. I didn’t see her yesterday either: she was asleep.
I plan to schedule a Zoom call with her Friday and encourage distant family members to participate.
I plan to schedule a Zoom call with her Friday and encourage distant family members to participate.
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