Mothers Speak about War and Terror: November 2022

Thursday, November 10, 2022

Veterans Day 2022

Worldwide (Map)
November 10, 2022 – 634,056,770 confirmed infections; 6.60.235 deaths
November 10, 2021 – 251,624,400 confirmed infections; 5,076,300 deaths
November 12, 2020 – 52,070,000 confirmed infections; 1,274,000 deaths

US (Map)
November 10, 2022 - 97.961.940 confirmed infections; 1,074,300 deaths
November 10, 2021 – 46,793,200 confirmed infections; 759,100 deaths
November 12, 2020 – 10,258,100 confirmed infections; 239,700 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal)
November 10, 2022 - 4,031,625 confirmed infections; 102,365 deaths
November 10, 2021 – 2,924,625 confirmed infections; 89,435 deaths
November 12, 2020 – 740,255 confirmed infections; 19,951 deaths

Post from:
November 11, 2021 “Veterans Day”
November 11, 2020, “Veterans Day”

News blues…

An uptick in sore throats, coughs, and fevers are telltale signs that flu season has arrived in the United States. But this fall, those common symptoms might be a sign of something more sinister: Public health experts warn we are likely facing a "tripledemic," the convergence of flu, COVID-19, and the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

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The Lincoln Project:

Donald Trump v. Marco Rubio (1:20 mins)
Who we are (1:55 mins)
The Red Mirage (1:00 mins)
Never (0:30 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Pumpkin pollution? Tossing jack-o-lanterns in landfills generates harmful methane gas. There's a better way to get a second life out of your decorative gourds.

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COP 27 is on the go. Here’s my view of COP 26 from November 13 last year >>

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

It’s been a long week. Long. Cold. Rainy.
The good news: one more chemo session to go. Next week, Thursday. Then a few days of malaise before Mary bounces back.

More good news: Mary has a date for the post chemo CT scan. December 14. A day or so later we will know the results of four sessions of chemo. That is, we will know the results that the CT scan can capture. The reality of mesothelioma is there are always microscopic “nodules” – read malignancies – ready to blossom that, to all intents and purposes, do not meet the scan's "eye". That is, according to her oncologist, scans can only capture the signs of new growth when that new growth reaches about a centimeter in size.

It's what you can't see that'll kill ya!

Thursday, November 3, 2022

New vistas in reality

Worldwide (Map)
November 5, 2022 – 631,240,410 confirmed infections; 6,594,475 deaths
November 4, 2021 –248,312,000 confirmed infections; 5,026,000 deaths
November 5, 2020 – 48,136,225 confirmed infections; 1,225,915 deaths

US (Map)
November 5, 2022 - 97,610,630 confirmed infections; 1,071,630 deaths
November 4, 2021 – 46,261,150 confirmed infections; 750,580 deaths

November 5, 2020– 9,487,470 confirmed infections; 237,730 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal)
November 5, 2022 - 4,028,655 confirmed infections; 102,312 deaths
November 4, 2021 – 2,922,800 confirmed infections; 89,220 deaths
November 5, 2020– 730,500 confirmed infections; 19,585 deaths

Post from:
November 4, 2021, “What a difference…”

5 November, 2020, “Counting Chickens Thursday”

On war… and culture war
Crowdfunding campaigns have been powering the Ukrainian military since the early days of the war.

The fundraising appeal for the armoured vehicles – tagline “Grab them all” – had only been launched …[hoping] that the $5.5m (£4.8m) required for the major purchase would be secured within a week.
Within nine hours, half of the funds had been pledged by donors, ranging from private individuals to big Ukrainian corporations and smaller high street firms, such as the bedding company World of Mattresses.
[T]here was no need to continue pumping out the calls for cash, and the social media memes that had made much of the conceit of the coming battle between Spartans and Persians, a wry nod to the Iranian kamikaze drones that have been plaguing Ukrainian cities in recent months.

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The Lincoln Project:

President Biden speaks on democracy (2:15 mins)
Time for a change (0:55 mins)
Denial (0:55 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Despite a pledge to reduce use of plastics, a study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the United Nations Environment Programme revealed that some companies – including Coca-Cola KO.N and Pepsi – are using more virgin plastic than ever and are almost certain to miss a target to make plastic packaging more sustainable by 2025.

The headline pledge was that 100% of plastic packaging would be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025, but this goal will “almost certainly be missed by most organisations”, the environmental group’s report said. Nestle said these targets were hampered by a lack of government recycling infrastructure globally, noting that it had reduced the amount of virgin plastic it uses by 8% since 2018.
Mars said it is making progress in tackling plastic waste and investing hundreds of millions of dollars to redesign thousands of packaging components.
Pepsi and Coca-Cola did not respond to requests for comment.
Greenpeace said the report is evidence that voluntary corporate targets have failed and called on the U.N. to forge a treaty that forces governments and companies to use less single-use plastic packaging.
“This underlines the need for governments to ensure that the global plastic treaty … delivers major reductions in plastic production and use.”

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Mary is making a slow but sure comeback. The reality of mesothelioma and its long-term consequences in her life are slowly sinking in.
“It’s five months since my diagnosis, surgery, and first foray into chemo. It’s rough. I thought I’d sail through and come out smarter and stronger. Now? I’m done with chemo session 3, awaiting chemo session 4, and I’m not sure I can do this for the rest of my abbreviated life.”
Mary has been blessed with good health all her life. I remind her that she can cope with this as she’s coped with other obstacles in her life. She agrees and adds, “But let me feel out this new direction. It’s not something I ever thought I’d deal with. I’m disappointed in myself but I’m also trying to face a reality that’s, well, very real.”
She’s right.
All I can do is support her.

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Flu season

News blues

Covid has not disappeared “like a miracle” (as predicted by The Donald during his disastrous term). It’s no longer getting much attention, despite the approaching winter months in the US and the confluence of winter flu.

COVID-19 infections have run into an early flu season and an usual surge of respiratory infections in young children to create what some experts are calling a “tripledemic.”
Northeastern University experts explain what is behind the triple whammy, why it’s hitting now— and why next year might not be as bad.
“I think it’s going to be a rough winter,” says Brandon Dionne, associate clinical professor at Northeastern University’s School of Pharmacy. “There’s lots of factors at play.”
But chief among them is what experts are calling the “immunity gap,” the lack of regular exposure to viruses that helps rebuild the body’s immune response to individual viruses.
“People were taking all these precautions in the past few years that were really mitigating the spread of all respiratory viruses,” Dionne says.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

It’s been a rough few days post chemo. Mary stayed in bed from Saturday afternoon until today. She was feeling better yesterday but not well enough to spend much time away from bed. Falling over was replaced by “mere” feelings of light-headedness followed by needing to sit down. All accompanied by muscles spasms in her back. These latter likely associated with lack of exercise.
What to do but ride it out?