Turn the tide

Worldwide (Map) 
30 June, 2022 - 546,208,900 confirmed infections; 6,334,200 deaths
24 June, 2021 - 179,530,600 confirmed infections; 3,890,200 deaths
25 June, 2020 - 9,409,000 confirmed infections; 482,190 deaths

US (Map) 
30 June, 2022 - 87,410,900 confirmed infections; 1,017,470 deaths
24 June, 2021 - 33,578,000 confirmed infections; 603,000 deaths
25 June, 2020 - 2,381,540 infections; 121,980 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
30 June, 2022 - 3,993,050 confirmed infections; 101,750 deaths
24 June, 2021 - 1,861,100 confirmed infections; 59,260 deaths
25 June, 2020 - 111,800 confirmed infections; 2,205 deaths

Post from 25 June 2020, “Mindboggling numbers” 

News blues

CDC and FDA approved vaccines by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech in children older than 6 months. Vaccinations begin this week >> 

***

As if dealing with continued waves of Covid-19 isn’t enough, the U.S. is facing a new outbreak — monkeypox — that highlights just how close the U.S. public health system is to its breaking point >> 

***

Dr. Fauci, the US's top infectious disease expert, has been struck by a phenomenon that appears to be becoming more common in the latest stage of the pandemic—rebounding bouts of COVID-19 after a course of the antiviral drug Paxlovid >>

Interview with Dr Fauci >> 

***

On war

More than 100 days of war in Ukraine – photo essay >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:
He wanted to help  (0:25 mins)
Weapons  (1:35 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Ocean Rebellion activists in Lisbon as UN declares ocean emergency. 
Photograph: Carlos Costa/AFP/Getty Images

Speaking at the opening of the UN ocean conference in Lisbon, Portugal, attended by global leaders and heads of state from 20 countries, UN secretary general António Guterres said: “Sadly, we have taken the ocean for granted and today we face what I would call an ocean emergency. We must turn the tide.”

Nearly 80% of the world’s wastewater is discharged into the sea without treatment, while at least 8m tonnes of plastic enters the oceans each year. “Without drastic action, the plastic could outweigh all the fish in the ocean by 2050,” Guterres warned.
“We cannot have a healthy planet without a healthy ocean,” he said in his opening remarks.

Read more >> 

***

Back in South Africa, energy parastatal Eskom passes the buck…

South Africa’s electricity crisis worsened on 28 June when Eskom announced it was moving from Stage 4 to Stage 6 load shedding … with Stage 4 being implemented again from 10pm to midnight.
“Load shedding will then be reduced to Stage 2 until 5am on Wednesday morning. From 5am until 4pm on Wednesday load shedding will be implemented at Stage 4. Load shedding 6 will then again be implemented at 4pm to 10pm tomorrow evening,” the power Utility said on Tuesday afternoon. “This is due to the unlawful and unprotected labour action, which has caused widespread disruption to Eskom’s power plants. This has compelled Eskom to continue taking precautionary measures to conserve generation capacity and safeguard plant from damage. There is a high risk that the stage of load shedding may have to change at any time, depending on the state of the plant,” it added.

Hmmm, “due to the unlawful and unprotected labour action”? So not gross incompetence and negligence?
Moreover, one needs a sophisticated tracking system to stay ahead of Eskom’s load shedding schedules.
Just to clarify, in “my” area (suburban KZN) Stage 4 load shedding means no electricity from 4am to 6:30am, and noon to 2:30pm, and 8pm to 10:30pm. That is 7.5 hours per day without electricity.
Stage 6 load shedding means, no electricity from 4am to 8:30am, and noon to 4:30pm, and 8pm to 10:30pm. That’s 11.5 hours per day without electricity.
Stage 8 load shedding means, no electricity from midnight to 2:30am, and 4am to 8:30am, and noon to 4:30pm, and 8pm to 12:30am. That’s 16 hours per day without electricity.
(Darn, those pesky “unlawful and unprotected labour actions”….)
Read more >> 

***

Every year, an estimated 33 billion pounds of plastic end up in our oceans, threatening coastal economies and endangering marine life. Fenceline communities near plastic production and disposal facilities are disproportionately impacted by pollution to their air, water, and land. And it's only going to get worse, as plastic production is expected to triple by 2050. Right now we have a real chance to make change in California with Senate Bill 54, which would require producers to reduce single-use plastic packaging and foodware by at least 25% by 2032.

Use your voice today and tell your legislators to pass SB 54 to protect our communities, ocean, and climate from single-use plastic pollution >>

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Today, dozens of brown pelicans feeding in shallow water off the beach.
This time of year, packs of adolescent Canada geese follow a handful of adult “babysitters” into the water, then onto and along the sandy beach, then onto the green lawns to graze. Feathered friends; a lovely sight.
After the heat of Texas, San Francisco Bay Area and my small island town are havens of temperature moderation: sunny 72 F/22 C degrees.
Perfect.

OMG! Re-evaluation happens

News blues

The following is a very important point of view shared honestly by someone who was instrumental in the radicalization of current anti-abortion dogma. Please watch!
Evangelical Christian Minister Rev. Rob Schenck courageously admits he lost his way with his fervent anti-abortion views and how such views  were co-opted by cynical Republican politicians. 

While many people - particularly women - were harmed by his extremism, Schenck admits, and worked through, his  erroneous worldview, In this interview, shares his path and his course-correction: “Fmr. Pro-Life Leader on Abortion Ruling: Our Movement Has Lost its Soul” >> (18:15 mins)

***

The Lincoln Project:
This was planned (1:25 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Texas. I just returned from a four-day visit to the over-heating state. Between 10:30am and 6:30pm, the heat is, literally, unbearable for humans and other mammals. 

What's more, masks-as-protection-against-Covid are rare in the Houston conurbation.
Texas is a reminder that it's difficult to assess where things  – social, cultural, economic, political, and climatic – are headed, not only in Texas, but globally. 

I fear things are headed nowhere good or life-affirming.

What are we humans doing?
Alas.
(Then again, the transformation of someone like the Rev. Rob Schenck (interview above) does offer some hope. I hope.)

***

SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 5:49am
Sunset: 8:34pm

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:54am
Sunset: 5:10pm

Mitigation

Worldwide (Map) 
June 23, 2022: 541,213,610 confirmed infections; 6,323,900 deaths
June 24, 2021: 179,530,600 confirmed infections; 3,890,200 deaths
June 25, 2020:     9,409,000 confirmed infections; 482,190 deaths

US (Map) 
June 23, 2022: 86.636.310 confirmed infections; 1,014,850 deaths
June 24, 2021: 33,578,000 confirmed infections; 603,000 deaths
June 25, 2020:   2,381,540 infections; 121,980 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
June 23, 2022: 3,986,900 confirmed infections; 101,650 deaths
June 24, 2021: 1,861,100 confirmed infections; 59,260 deaths
June 25, 2020:    111,800 confirmed infections; 2,205 deaths

Posts from:
June 23, 2021, “Moon rising” 
June 23, 2020, “Silver linings” 

News blues

Moderna and Pfizer vaccines now available for children older than 6 months >> 

***

Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 appear to escape antibody responses among both people who had previous Covid-19 infection and those who have been fully vaccinated and boosted, according to new data from researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, of Harvard Medical School.
However, Covid-19 vaccination is still expected to provide substantial protection against severe disease, and vaccine makers are working on updated shots that might elicit a stronger immune response against the variants.

Findings include, alas, that ‘COVID-19 still has the capacity to mutate further’ >> 

***

On war

Ukrainian High School Grads Pose For Heartbreaking Photos In War-Torn Homeland >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:
Lady Ruby  (1:45 mins)
Clear and present danger  (0:35 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - June 21, 2022  (2:05 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

The week in wildlife – in pictures >> 

***

The year 2020 was the hottest ever in the US city of Phoenix, in the state of Arizona. Imagine, 53 days topping 110 F (43 C) - the hottest, driest and deadliest summer on record. During that time, more than 200 people died from extreme heat – a jump of 60% in heat related deaths.
Heat mitigation - focused on trees and infrastructure, led by an urban forester - is now the name of the game for Phoenix city planners. This, however, is easier said than done.

Phoenix… published a tree master plan in 2010, pledging to increase canopy cover to 25% by 2030 (from an estimated 11% to 13% at the time). The city is not on track to meet that goal, and the target may eventually be revised to reflect the city’s broader sustainability and equity goals such as targeting under-shaded neighborhoods and public transit routes where people walk and wait.
David Hondula, the recently appointed director of Phoenix’s heat response and mitigation office, said, “Trees are an important part of the plan which residents have been asking for for years, but they aren’t a cure-all for the city. But if we could have 30% of a 20-min walking path shaded, it would provide health protection for most summer days”.

Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I love Oakland, a human-sized city. It has a mix of lovely old buildings, from “gridiron” to art deco and much in between. It is also trying to address congestion and the often negative influence of an influx of wealthy tech companies, yet maintain its humanity and address the socio-economic “diversity.”
Here are pix of one set of bicycle-ride programs, from Cycles of Change, to Bike Share, to Bike Share for All….

Bicycles ready for riders.
A rider pays a small fee, unlocks a bike, and rides.

The payment system works like any
parking lot or public transit payment system. 

***

Solstice 2022! 

SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 5:47am
Sunset: 8:34pm

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:53am
Sunset: 5:09pm

Solstice

News blues

© M. Wuerker, Politico 

After crowing about the wonderful weather in my town on the San Francisco Bay over the last few days, I take back my words. Today, Tuesday – summer solstice, 2022 was hotter than one usually experiences in this location: 98 F.

With a dome of heat over the San Francisco Bay Area, temperatures ... [soared] on the first day of summer, increasing the risk of heat illness and wildfires...
[Today was] slated to be the hottest day of the week with many interior valleys hitting anywhere between 100 and 105 degrees… warning that the "elderly, sick and homeless are most vulnerable" in the hot conditions.
…
[The weather service said] near-critical fire weather conditions are also expected due to the combination of dry offshore winds combined with lower humidity values. "This concern is greatest across the North Bay hills where the breeziest winds should exist".
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued a Spare the Air alert for Tuesday with unhealthy ozone, or smog, expected to build up [and cautioned] "Limit your driving to reduce air pollution…”.
Read more >>

***

Covid has disappeared from the news in the US. The UK Guardian, however, still publishes US Covid statistics. The news is not promising:

 Guardian News, June 21, 2022

***

On war

Russians casually slaughter three young Ukrainian men 
Photo essay: Mariupol – before and after

How to cope?

News blues

Covid schmovid. 

The pandemic moved into our lives, caused havoc ... and now we’ve adjusted. 

Sure, people, lots of ‘em, are still becoming infected, but hardly anyone bats an eye at Covid news anymore. 

An infected person is expected to “get over it” and, in America, that’s the name of the game for most things. (Well, except for Donald Trump-related things. Those just seem to go on foreverrrr!)
Now the glittery object attracting the American attention is the heat wave.
No, of course this heat wave is not in any way connected with the change in our planetary climate due to over-reliance on fossil fuels, plastics, pharmaceutical over-use, etc. 

Heavens, no! 

This heat wave is a standalone phenomenon. Ask any Republican politician – and many Democratic politicians, too. After all, nothing is connected to anything on this planet. 

Nah, climate change is all made up by the “radical left media”. 

That hundreds of homeless people died in recent extreme heat has to do with them not “pulling themselves up by their bootstraps.” Why should hardworking Americans fork out dough to care for the homeless?

Bah humbug!

America has no plan to deal with climate change - despite statistics indicating that excessive heat causes more weather-related deaths in the U.S. than hurricanes, flooding and tornadoes combined with the homeless the most vulnerable >> (Why does the richest country in the world have homeless?)

And the heat wave ain’t over yet. A second wave of stifling heat could break over 100 records as heat dome shifts eastward. The persistent heat dome which imposed oppressively high temperatures on the northern Plains and Midwest over the weekend will begin to shift further eastward this week, ending a short reprieve that many states in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic have had in recent days.
Read more >> 
The cost of staying cool in the sweltering heat and humidity that’s hitting large parts of the U.S. also presents high energy costs. "For low-income families, this is catastrophic." >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

The heat dome that’s killing Americans across the northern Plains and Midwest and moving east didn’t affect “my” portion of the country. The San Francisco Bay Area’s weather has been truly wonderful: warm, breezy, hospitable.
Having experienced consecutive days of 111 F weather last year, however, I can attest to the physical distress caused by excessive heat. This, despite living on my houseboat where I could leap into the river from the decks when the temperature overcame my fragile humanity. 
Without shelter or the ability to cool, hot weather is a death sentence.
I fear what future weather will do to living creatures of this planet.

Juneteenth

News blues

Juneteenth today. History of Juneteenth >>  (See Lincoln Project ad, below, too.)

***

According to a PNAS study, the US could have saved more than 338,000 lives and more than $105bn in healthcare costs in the Covid-19 pandemic with a universal healthcare system.

More than 1 million people died in the US from Covid, in part because the country’s “fragmented and inefficient healthcare system” meant uninsured or underinsured people faced financial barriers that delayed diagnosis and exacerbated transmission, the report states.
The US had the highest death rate from the virus among large wealthy countries and is also the only one among such countries without universal healthcare. It spends almost twice as much on healthcare per capita as the other wealthy countries, according to Kaiser Family Foundation data.
“The current healthcare system in the US is economically inefficient and leaves millions of Americans without adequate access to medical treatment,” said Alison Galvani, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Modeling and Analysis at the Yale School of Public Health and the lead author of the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Read more >> 
I know a little about America’s “fragmented and inefficient healthcare system” that “leaves millions of Americans without adequate access to medical treatment.” I’ll get into it in the next weeks.
America. Land of gross inequality.

***

On war

Ukraine. How will this country and its people ever recover? Photo essay >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:
Juneteenth (1:25 mins)
Meidas Touch Work together!  (8:40 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

$44 trillion.
According to the World Economic Forum, $44 trillion is how much of the world’s total economic output is dependent on animals and ecosystem.

Insects pollinate commercial crops, coral reefs protect coastal buildings, wetlands purify water, and all of those services — and more — help fuel economic growth.
If the economy is embedded in nature, then the global decline of wildlife and ecosystems is a risk for companies and investors alike. If insects vanish from farmland, say, farmers might have to pay to import pollinators or produce less, which hurts their bottom lines. That’s one reason why WEF ranks “biodiversity loss” as the third most severe risk to the economy over the next decade, after failure to act on climate change and extreme weather.
“The risk of continued biodiversity loss is profound,” Sarah Kapnick, a scientist and strategist at the banking giant JP Morgan, wrote in May, “not just for nature but for financial stability.”

Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Summertime… and the milkweed’s in blossom

caterpillars are eating… 

and the monarchs reign… 

(sing to the tune of Summertime)

Summertime… and the milkweed’s in blossom

caterpillars are eating…

and the monarchs reign… 

The monarch has four distinct life stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult. Watch >> 

***

SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 5:47am
Sunset: 8:34pm

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:52am
Sunset: 5:08pm

Catching up

Worldwide (Map) 
June 17, 2022 - 538,260,000 confirmed infections; 6,316,775 deaths
June 17, 2021 – 1.77,120,700 confirmed infections; 3,835,000 deaths

US (Map) 
June 17, 2022 - 86,154,500 confirmed infections; 1,012,900 deaths
June 17, 2021 – 33,500,000 confirmed infections; 600,700 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
June 17, 2022 - 3,983,700 confirmed infections; 101,600 deaths
June 17, 2021 – 1.774,500 confirmed infections; 58,225 deaths

Posts from:
June 17, 2021, “Heavy heart” 
June 18, 2020, “He speaks” 

News blues

“Fauci ouchie”! Dr Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to President Biden and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has Covid, a mild case, thank the gods.
Read more >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:
40 Feet  (0:47 mins)
Clear and present danger  (0:35 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - June 14, 2022  (2:05 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

I thought I’d misheard when I first learned the Men on the Moon – first people to land on the moon back on July 24, 1969 – left bags of garbage behind when the departed  I’d been astonished at the temerity – and lack of, well, respect. 

Who visit a unique place and leaves garbage?
Humans. That’s who.
Turns out that was the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.

More than half a century of lunar exploration has left its mark on the moon… the relentlessly grey surface is littered with clapped-out robots, spacecraft parts, moon buggies (including one with a bible on the dashboard) and technical equipment.
Scattered around the Apollo landing sites are other items that were never meant to come home: a falcon’s feather, a javelin, bags of human waste, a family photo and an aluminium figure, the Fallen Astronaut, which lies on its side near a plaque bearing the names of 14 men who died in the pursuit of space exploration.
In all, the lunar junkyard holds nearly 200 tonnes of human objects. The dusty remains of five Saturn V rocket stages from the Apollo missions are the heaviest single items. Then there are the wreckages of spacecraft that smashed, or were crashed intentionally at the end of their missions, into the lunar surface. There are a dozen 1960s Soviet Luna probes; nearly twice as many US Rangers, Lunar Orbiters, Surveyors and more recent observatories; at least four Japanese spacecraft, and other robots sent from Europe, China and India. In April, the mangled remains of the first private moon mission, Israel Aerospace Industries’ Beresheet probe, became the latest addition when the lander’s gyroscopes failed.

Read more >> 

Alas, we humans aren’t satisfied with leaving garbage on our moon. Now, we’re leaving trash on Mars.
The Nasa team member likely responsible for leaving the debris was “surprised” to see the images. He said, “That shiny bit of foil is part of a thermal blanket – a material used to control temperatures.… My descent stage crashed about 2 km away. Did this piece land here after that, or was it blown here by the wind?”
Hmmm, someone needs to explain to this space cadet that “pieces” travel thither and yon when they’re abandoned.
Out of sight, out of mind?

The image [of the shiny bit of foil] has reignited concerns that space exploration risks contaminating the pristine Martian and lunar environments. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 created an obligation under international law to avoid the harmful contamination of outer space, the moon and other celestial bodies, but some argue that the law is not detailed enough to ensure protection. However, in the case of the Perseverance litter, Prof Andrew Coates, a space scientist at UCL’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory, said: “The good news is that everything is sterilised before it goes to Mars, and the space radiation environment helps during the nine-month trip to Mars as does the harsh surface environment.”

“Everything is sterilized”?
So, leave trash everywhere and anywhere – as long as it’s “sterilized”….(Moreover, how does one sterilize poop?)
Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Goldilocks weather: not too hot, not too cold. Juuust right!

Afternoon meditation on the beach.

Happy Canada geese

SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 5:46am
Sunset: 8:33pm

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:52am
Sunset: 5:07pm

Subversion on display

News blues

In the US, Covid is totally not news these days. Instead we have almost unbelievable accounts of how The Donald and his gutless minions subverted the election process, and attempted to overthrow the US system. Lots of hours devoted to this… and one wonders how many Americans actually care.
I do.
My friends and family do.
Twenty million Americans watch… 

Will anything change? 

Will Trump be held accountable by the Department of Justice. 

Enquiring minds wanna know....

I’m not holding my breath. 

Want to watch? Search on your computer or phone: “hearings”, or “select committee hearings”, or “capitol attack investigation”, or anything similar.

Not a big fan of (former president) Ronald Reagan, I nevertheless found Meidas Touch’s presentation by son Ron Reagan -  a Republican - worth watching: “Ron Reagan SLAMS GOP as Traitors for Supporting Insurrection in EPIC rant" (5:15 mins)

***

The Lincoln Project:
Apparently inebriated (0:31 mins)
Comic relief and a trip down memory lane with my all-time favorite LP ad, Nationalist Geographic (0:56 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Gorgeous day on the island. Birds are singing, Canada geese are snoozing, shorebirds are feeding… Life is good.

"Monkeypox" be gone!

News blues

A group of scientists from Africa and elsewhere are urging the scientific community and world health leaders to drop the stigmatizing language used to differentiate monkeypox viruses, and are even advocating renaming the virus itself.
In a position paper published online, the group proposed abandoning the existing names for monkeypox virus clades — West Africa and Congo Basin — and replacing them with numbers, saying the current names are discriminatory.
“In the context of the current global outbreak, continued reference to, and nomenclature of this virus being African is not only inaccurate but is also discriminatory and stigmatizing,” the more than two dozen scientists wrote.

Read more >> 

Beyond a name change, and as authorities say the outbreak is containable and poses a low risk to the general public, here are ways to protect yourself and others from this potential new whatever-it-will-be-called scourge >> 

***

Returning to Covid…
According to experts, the current Covid-19 wave in the U.S. is noticeably different than past ones — and might even be the start of our "new normal." Here's why >> 

…and in China, Beijing warns of 'explosive' COVID outbreak while Shanghai conducts mass testing - “connected to a bar” - and to contain a jump in cases tied to a hair salon. 

Read more >> 

***

On war – and culture war

Ukraine: destruction in pictures >> 
The dire truth is that Kyiv’s fighting strength is stretched, and even Russia could benefit from a pause in fighting.

***

Cynical comic relief – and a question: Could real life in the form of his past and the country’s present be catching up with The Donald? He’s spent a lifetime getting away with egregious financial behavior. Is that beginning to change?
Recently, Memphis City Council Member Martavius Jones stated, "[Trump's] notorious for not paying [his bills]."
Jones and other “Memphis politicians object to police escort at an upcoming Trump rally, citing unpaid bills. They do not want Memphis eating the costs of the rally >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

A slowed down Sunday. Baking healthful bread rolls, eating well, walking, walking, walking….

***

Heat wave across much of the US and the SF Bay Area is overcast:
Sunrise: 5:46am
Sunset: 8:31pm

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:50am
Sunset: 5:07pm

Humans. Gotta luv ‘em

News blues

Midnight Sunday, June 12, sees an end to the requirement for travelers to test negative for Covid-19 before entering the US. This, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention begins a "new phase" of the pandemic:

"Widespread uptake of highly effective Covid-19 vaccines, the availability of effective therapeutics, and the accrual of high rates of vaccine- and infection-induced immunity at the population level in the United States" have all helped lower the risk of severe disease and death, the CDC said.
… That means flights departing to the US from a foreign country at or after that time no longer have to present a negative test result or documentation of recovery in the past 90 days from Covid-19. … Foreign arrivals to the US will still need to be vaccinated. The vaccination requirement for foreign arrivals has not changed.
The CDC also continues to recommend wearing masks in indoor public transportation settings but masks are no longer required.
The rule change applies to air travel. Land border and ferry port arrivals are unaffected by the rule change...

Read more >> 

***

“An ongoing outbreak of monkeypox was confirmed in May 2022,
beginning with a cluster of cases found in the UK.
The first recognised case was confirmed on 6 May 2022 in an individual
with travel links to Nigeria, but it has been suggested that cases
were already spreading in Europe in the previous months.”

***

A pox on vile and greedy monkey business: 

US Attorney in New Jersey said Paul Andrecola, 63, of Maple Shade, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to one count of "knowingly distributing or selling an unregistered pesticide in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), one count of wire fraud, and one count of presenting false claims to the United States."
… Buyers included a medical clinic in Georgia, a police department in Delaware, a Virginia fire department and "numerous" US government agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs….

Read more >> 

***

Monkeys vs hamsters? “Cocoa Krispies-loving hamsters could be key to cracking long COVID” >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:
Cheney to Republicans (0:30 mins)
Carnage and chaos  (0:45 mins)
And they came  (0:41 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Animals are vital to the functioning of the biosphere in innumerable ways. Their interactions with plants, fungi and microbes sustain the conditions on which we, along with all other life, depend. For example, the great whales that sit at the pinnacle of marine food webs are linked to some of the most fundamental processes that shape conditions in our world. They eat other marine creatures, including krill, and in the process take nutrients from deeper water to be released via their faeces into the ocean, where they fertilise blooms of planktonic algae.

Read “Our entire civilisation depends on animals. It’s time we recognised their true value” >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Tales from the bus. The bus ride to work in the early morning – few passengers - stands in sharp contrast to the bus ride home in the afternoon. 

The morning ride’s colorful character is an elderly masked lady who croons in Chinese. Before she offboards at 28th Street, she carefully uses slivers of newspaper to touch anything: the stop pullcord, the stop button, handrails…. While her crooning is disconcerting, I admire her vigilance against infection.
The afternoon ride home is a marvel of views into the diversity of human expression. 

Recent examples:
One elderly lady strenuously objected at any opportunity to the bus schedule. Fiercely, she’d pull her mask away from her face, scream that the bus was “40 minutes late”, then release her mask to pop back in place over her mouth and nose. So coordinated was this pulling and popping that it appeared a well-honed behavior.
Another elderly lady  boarded the bus shouting a variety of political slogans she’d updated for the current moment. My favorite? “No nukes! No fentanyl!”
Oh, we have grumpy bus drivers who say little that’s not, well, grumpy. We have determinedly happy bus drivers who yell out “have a good day” each time passengers disembark. 

We also have passengers who are kind to other passengers. One man hopped off the bus before it departed the stop to retrieve another elderly woman’s purse (why so many elderly ladies?). She’d forgotten it on the street in her haste to board the bus carrying a huge bag of groceries.

Riding the bus: a niche world expressing human peccadillos.
Gotta love it!

Phish food

Worldwide (Map) 
June 9, 2022 - 534,061,700 confirmed infections; 6,306,200 deaths
June 10, 2021 – 174,500,000 confirmed infections; 3,759,200 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 82,656000 confirmed infections; 1,8040100 deaths

US (Map) 
June 9, 2022 - 85,324,615 confirmed infections; 1,010,800 deaths
June 10, 2021 – 174,500,000 confirmed infections; 3,759,200 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 19,737,200 confirmed infections; 342,260 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
June 9, 2022 - 3,971,000 confirmed infections; 101,397 deaths
June 10, 2021 – 1,713,000 confirmed infections; 57,320 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 1,039,165 confirmed infections; 28,035 deaths

Posts from:
June 10, 2021, “Renewings” 
December 31, 2020, “TGIO” 
Day 77, June 11, 2020, “Embers, ashes, and flames” 

News blues

Subvariants spread while the administration takes away $10 billion from existing pandemic funding, half of which will go to finance updated vaccines — when those become available — and the other half will pay for treatments, including the Pfizer drug Paxlovid.
Read more >> 

***

In South Africa, Gauteng has the majority of the new Covid cases (32%) followed by the Western Cape (23%), Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal (11% each), Free State (7%), Mpumalanga, (5%), Northern Cape and North West (4% each), and Limpopo (3%).
There were 85 new hospital admissions in the past 24 hours, bringing to 2,285 the number of people now admitted in hospitals with Covid-19.
Read more >> 

***

Covid infections continue, but humans pay less attention to the data. Institutions such as Johns Hopkins University & Medicine’s Coronavirus Resource Center continue to provide expert insight. Learn more from a recent Q&A, “The Future of the Pandemic Initiative” 

***

Monkeypox is of increasing concern – more than 1,000 cases outside of Africa , but what is it? (1:40 mins)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that new genetic sequencing data indicate there are at least two distinct monkeypox outbreaks underway outside Africa — a surprise finding that one official said suggests international spread is wider, and has been occurring for longer than has been previously realized.
Three of 10 viruses the CDC has sequenced from recent U.S. monkeypox cases — two from 2021 and eight from 2022 — are different from the viruses that have been sequenced by several countries involved in the large outbreak that is spreading in and from Europe.

A pox on monkeypox! Read more >> 

On war – and the Culture War

Photos and news from Ukraine battle fronts >> 

***

According to US Congress’s House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), if “everyone had just prayed more, 19 children and two teachers might not have been massacred by a gunman in a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school last month.” 

Yes, “thoughts and prayers continue”… >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:
It’s not a joke  (0:20 mins)
Make up your mind (1:15 mins)
Mark Meadows unlocked  (1:30 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - June 7, 2022  (2:22 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Sometimes ice cream is the only antidote to the craziness “out there”. 

My fav? Phish food.

Covid schmovid

News blues

Move over, Covid pandemic… for war, crazy politicians, guns, shootings, massacres, more crazy politicians, looming famine, outrageous inequality, scorched earth tactics….
We’re living in a world gone mad, falling apart at the seams, heading towards calamity.

***

On war

“Russian … using scorched-earth tactics” >> 

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The Lincoln Project: Retire  (0:55 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Recent posts have mentioned the murders of noisy crows in the park near my home. (“Squawk-fest”  and “Keep the bribes comin’" ). Turns out crows have a very legitimate reason for squawking: they’re baby-sitting. 
Talking about birds, check out these Australian budgies  and English parakeets.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Linda, a woman I met by chance last Sunday, revived my flagging respect for American womanhood. That sounds pompous – or worse – but, in general, I find American woman not prepared (as opposed to unprepared) to carry large rocks around a garden.
I was out walking when I spotted Linda, not a young woman, placing rocks the size of watermelons, one by one, around the building’s entryway lighting system.
We chatted and I commented on her hard work. She explained that she’d dug the rocks out of a back section of her apartment building, piled them in the wheelbarrow, and pushed the heavy load to the front of the building with the aim of beautifying the entryway.
Amazing.
I commented on how unusual it was to see an American woman doing such hands-on work. (It’s the kind of thing I do – love to do – in South Africa. Here, my apartment dwelling lifestyle disallows such gardening.) Linda explained that she’d once been married to a Ukrainian gardener and they’d worked happily in the gardening business until he’d died. (Gardening hadn’t killed him, cancer had. Alas.) During that time of her life, she’d learned about – and how to use – her physical strength.
Linda. A gal to admire.

***

SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 5:47am
Sunset: 8:29pm

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:49am
Sunset: 5:07pm

Summer's here

News blues

Remember the ivermectin-as-savior-against-Covid craze? During the years 2020 through 2021 that I spent locked down in South Africa, the use of ivermectin as antidote to Covid was widespread. That was the period before vaccines became available, but continued after vaccines were introduced, too. Many people swore – and still swear – by this anti-bacterial medication used to de-worm animals. 

Alas, recently, “the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) terminated its [ivermectin] controlled access programme with immediate effect after seeing no credible evidence to support a therapeutic role for ivermectin in Covid-19”  >> 

I suspect the pro-ivermectin folks will ignore and disbelieve the “no credible evidence” data and continue to seek out the med. Some will blame Bill Gates… or George Soros… or Dr Fauci … or “pedophiles” … or Democrats … for the lack of evidence. 

Such is the state of the human mind these days.

***

On war – and the Culture War

According to Jillian Peterson an associate professor of criminology at Hamline University, and James Densley, a professor of criminal justice at Metro State University, [American] mass shooters overwhelmingly fit a certain profile … which means it’s possible to ID and treat them before they commit violence.

Their findings, published in the 2021 book, The Violence Project: How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic, reveal striking commonalities among the perpetrators of mass shootings and suggest a data-backed, mental health-based approach could identify and address the next mass shooter before he pulls the trigger — if only politicians are willing to actually engage in finding and funding targeted solutions.

If only…. 

The lives and safety of our children and grandchildren depend on "if only...."

Read more >> 

***

Photos from 100 days of war in Ukraine >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:
Think again  (0:33 mins)
Two Faced Elise  (1:00 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Enjoy murmurations >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Summer began in the United States this week. May 31st is both a public holiday – Memorial Day – and recognized as the beginning of summer. Appropriately, the public park next to which my apartment resides, is hosting the first of many gatherings. Today's gathering includes microphones and music although today’s musicians sound like they’re having more fun fooling around than presenting polished voices. I'm enjoying it anyway. Laughing, out of tune singing, more laughing, the sounds of kids running around… 

Ah, welcome summer.

SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 5:47am
Sunset: 8:27pm

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:47am
Sunset: 5:07pm

Mood iodine

Worldwide (Map) 
June 2, 2022 - 531,473,220 confirmed infections; 6,298,100 deaths
June 3, 2021 – 171,746,400 confirmed infections; 3,693,300 deaths
June 5, 2020 - 6,635,004 confirmed infections; 391,180 deaths

US (Map) 
June 2, 2022 - 84,540,520 confirmed infections; 1,008,150 deaths
June 3, 2021 – 33,308,000 confirmed infections; 596,000 deaths
June 5, 2020 - 1,872,660 confirmed infections; 108,220 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
June 2, 2022 - 3,960,450 confirmed infections; 101,219 deaths
June 3, 2021 – 1,669,300 confirmed infections; 56,610 deaths
June 5, 2020 – 40,792 confirmed infections; 850 deaths

Post from June 3, 2021, “Bliss, sort of” 
Post from June 5, 2020, “Covid-19 lost in the shuffle” 

News blues

America is averaging about 94,000 new cases every day, and hospitalizations have been ticking upward since April, though they remain much lower than previous peaks.
But Covid cases could be undercounted by a factor of 30, an early survey of the surge in New York City indicates. “It would appear official case counts are under-estimating the true burden of infection by about 30-fold, which is a huge surprise,” said Denis Nash, an author of the study and a distinguished professor of epidemiology at the City University of New York School of Public Health.

Read “We’re playing with fire” >> 

***

The Lincoln Project: Pay attention  (0:59 mins)

War: incompatible with a healthy planet

Vietnam. US military. Iraq. Veterans. PTSD. And now Ukraine Yet another lesson on the devastation visited upon our planet's environment by war Exploding chemical plants have become a frightening reality for Ukraine’s citizens since Russians invaded their country. This is just “one example of the staggering toll that war is taking on the nation’s environment. Rockets are polluting the soil and groundwater; fires threaten to expel radioactive particles; and warships have reportedly killed dolphins in the Black Sea.”

Read more  >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Today, a break in the monotony of my workday routine (bus to work … work, work, work … bus back home… ): I experience my first computer tomography procedure, aka CT scan, the updated version of CAT scan when I accompanied a friend.
The odd part of CT scans? Iodine is pumped via IV into client’s vein to allow the scanner to capture/scan “anything untoward”…. My brain muddled iodine with indigo and I imagined my friend's blood tinged with a lovely shade of blue. Alas, that wasn’t to be as the iodine used in CT scans is colorless.
Riffing off iodine, I remembered and have been listening to Duke Ellington’s “Mood Indigo”. 
All’s well that ends well….

Whadya mean reinfection?

News blues

This Covid graph shows your chances of reinfection within nine months

Aubree Gordon, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan, …estimated each person would catch Covid again around every three years.
She said: “Barring some intervention that really changes the landscape, we will all get SARS-CoV-2 multiple times in our life.”
This is roughly in line with how often people become reinfected with flu viruses and the seasonal colds which make a reappearance every winter.

Read more >> 

***

Efforts to update Covid vaccines can't keep up with changes in the virus. New variants appear to be even more immune-resistant than the original Omicron strain, raising the possibility that even retooled vaccines could be outdated by the time they become available this fall >> 

***

On war

Photos from the front lines in Ukraine >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:
Donald Trump Visits The NRA  (1:12 mins)
The Republican Army  (1:15 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - May 31, 2022  (2:02 mins)
Doug Mastriano is Dangerous  (0:58 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

The Bramble Cay melomys became the first mammal lost to the climate crisis >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Ditto: Bus to work … work, work, work … bus back home. Walk, walk, walk… it’s sunny and breezy out along the bay.
The murder of crows assaults my hearing. But what would I – and the beach, the bay, the environment – do without them? They belong here. Same as I do.