Weekender

News blues

Who knew? “Face masks can make you more attractive"  (2:12 mins)
Maybe promoting these study results in the US would persuade anti-makers to mask up? Perhaps promote on online dating sites? Worth a try....

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When Covid-19 hit SA and stigmatisation was at its peak, many healthcare workers were shunned in their communities due to fear of the virus.
So when two Cape Town clinics started doing home visits to patients with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) — those most at risk of Covid-19 complications — some were reluctant to take part.
But thanks to healthcare workers’ perseverance, the crisis-management strategies they introduced to accommodate these patients has paid off.
According to a new study by the University of Cape Town (UCT), managing stable NCD patients at home rather than at clinics, is the future and should be retained even after pandemic.

Read more >> 

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The Lincoln Project:
Trump’s Judges  (0:40 mins)
Package deal  (0:55 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Stretching along the ocean floor for nearly 2 miles and
covered with rose-shaped coral, the reef is one of the largest
such discoveries at depths of more than 30 metres.
© Guardian News. Photograph: Alexis Rosenfeld/AP

The good news:

A huge coral reef has been discovered off the coast of Tahiti in the Pacific Ocean’s “twilight zone”, offering hope that more pristine ecosystems are waiting to be discovered at unexplored depths.
Stretching along the ocean floor for nearly 2 miles, the reef, covered in rose-shaped corals, is one of the largest such discoveries at depths of more than 30 metres, where sunlight levels are much lower.

Read more >> 
Least you forget: the bad news on coral reefs >> 

The view from Comb Ridge in Utah’s Bears Ears national monument.
Biden’s announcement served as a key victory for
environmental and Indigenous groups.
© Guardian News. Photograph: Reuters.

More good news, this time on restored environmental protections

Joe Biden restored environmental protections [back in October 2021] to three national monuments and their vast expanse of vital ecosystems and sacred Indigenous spaces, reversing cuts made by Donald Trump.
“These protections provide a bridge to our past, but they also build a bridge to a safer and more sustainable future,” said Biden. “One where we strengthen our economy and pass on a healthy planet to our children and our grandchildren.”
Biden signed three proclamations that increased the boundaries of Bears Ears to 1.36m acres, while restoring the Grand Staircase-Escalante to 1.87m acres – both spanning large swaths of southern Utah. He also reinstated protections for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine, about 130 miles off the coast of New England, and extended limits on commercial fishing. The proclamations unraveled moves made by Trump, in which he slashed 85% of Bears Ears, leaving wide swaths of the site vulnerable to mining and other commercial activities.

Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Trip to the beach delayed last week due to ill health will take place tomorrow. Looking forward to sharing photos.

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San Francisco Bay Area
Sunrise: 7:19am
Sunset: 5:21pm
Minutes of daylight increase each day. Hooray! Yet, in what ought to be wet winters in California, fires burn >> 

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 5:20am
Sunset: 7:00pm