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…” 

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.
Read more >> 
***
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.”
Read more >> 

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.

No comments: