Attention requested

News blues…

President Cyril Ramaphosa and health minister Zweli Mkhize's tease at dropping to level 1 lockdown and easing restrictions further.

According to Ramaphosa, some of the proposals are from religious leaders who are requesting an extension in the number of people who may attend gatherings… the sports sector, the entertainment, hotels and tourism industry had also submitted proposals.
“We are considering all of that as we do an evaluation of where the infection rate is. We will be able to give consideration to all of these proposals and get advice,” said Ramaphosa.  “This is where we will need advice from the Medical Advisory Committee as well as from our [National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure] NATJoints, which is the real engine of monitoring our coronavirus approach.

This, even as SA records 113 new Covid-19 deaths and approaches more than 650,000 confirmed infections. The recovery rate is close to 573,003 or close to 89 percent.  The latest pandemic update confirmed the death of 97 more patients in the past 24-hours: 17 from KwaZulu-Natal, 21 from Gauteng, seven from Eastern Cape, four from Free State, one from Limpopo, 26 from Mpumalanga, 15 from North West and six from the Western Cape.

Healthy futures, anyone

All the world’s people must begin to grapple with the reality of climate change. That we’re amid climate change is the reality that must shift from the ideological to the practical, despite denier politicians, denier corporations, denier citizens….

After touring the fire damage in the North Complex Fire near Oroville in Northern California, Governor Gavin Newsom was in no mood for one of his usual, careful media statements. “If you do not believe in science,” Newsom said bluntly while standing in the ashes of what once was a Butte County forest, “I hope you believe observed reality.”
“The hots are getting a lot hotter and the wets are getting a lot wetter. The science is absolute. The data is self evident. We have to own that reality and we have to own the response to that reality.”
Last year by this time, 118,000 acres had burned, he observed. This year, it’s over 3 million acres charred. The state is currently battling five of the 20 most destructive fires in the last century. The debate is over in terms of climate change. If you don’t believe that, just come to the state of California.”

Last week, it was predominantly California that suffered devastating wildfires. This week, it’s the west coast, from southern California to Washington, with Oregon and Oregonians experiencing fire nightmares. 
Cry, beloved west coast.

Deadly wildfires raging Friday in Oregon, Washington and California made two major West Coast cities — Portland, Oregon, and Seattle — the places with the worst air quality in the world.
Portland had an air quality index of over 200 on Friday — more than that of any other major city in the world, according to IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company that operates a real-time air pollution monitoring platform.
Seattle ranked second, with an AQI of around 190. 

My hometown-away-from-home, the island city of Alameda in the San Francisco Bay, recently experienced an AQI of 235.
All Bay Area friends, within the inner bay, and outside it, report ash falling like snowflakes, and cooler than usual temperatures. But no rain.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Anyone who is a daughter knows the kind of tension common among mothers and daughters. I’m no exception. Lockdown in SA initially exacerbated the tensions between me and my mother. Moreover, I’ve little in common with her chosen lifestyle – multiple dogs, domestic workers, huge house and garden. To me – independent, focused on art and ideas – that lifestyle is enigmatic, cumbersome, confining….
Yet, here I am, the “go-to” person expected to maintain this lifestyle. It’s a challenge to which the pandemic and Lockdown has added layers of complexity.
Over the last 170 days, my mom left the house once: last week, a trip to the vet’s clinic to put down her three elderly dogs. She’s unfamiliar with the lengths to which the public and neighbors conform or not, to pandemic regulations. Nor is she invested in ensuring her domestic workers conform. That was left to me. And, when I instituted regulations to ensure safety, especially the safety of my 87-year-old mother, my efforts were undermined, even chastised. This sticky situation was exacerbated by domestic workers reluctant to accept and conform to Lockdown regulations in general and more so to those of the household.
Next week, however, things look up: one domestic worker – the most reluctant – leaves my mother’s employ after 38 years.
Next day, I move my mother’s good to her new home in the Care Center.
Day after that, I move my mom and her dog.
Then, preparation for sale of house begins….

Rain dance

© Associated Press
Click to enlarge

California’s winter rains usually end in March or April and begin again in October or November – although these days that varies. This year, that schedule is catastrophic. 

With more than 14,000 firefighters battling hundreds of fires around California and more than 2 million acres already burned, let’s dance, pray, beg for rain.

News blues…

After a typically dry summer, California is parched heading into fall and what normally is the most dangerous time for wildfires. Two of the three largest fires in state history are burning in the San Francisco Bay Area [population more than 7 million].
A three-day heat wave brought triple-digit temperatures to much of the state during Labor Day weekend. But right behind it was a weather system with dry winds that could fan fires. The state’s largest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, was preparing to cut power to 158,000 customers in 21 counties in the northern half of the state to reduce the possibility its lines and other equipment could spark new fires.
Randy Moore, regional forester for the Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Region that covers California, announced campgrounds at all national forests in the state also were closed. “The wildfire situation throughout California is dangerous and must be taken seriously. Existing fires are displaying extreme fire behavior, new fire starts are likely, weather conditions are worsening, and we simply do not have enough resources to fully fight and contain every fire.”
Record-breaking temperatures were driving the highest power use of the year, and transmission losses because of wildfires have cut into supplies. Throughout the holiday weekend, the California Independent System Operator that manages the state’s power grid warned of outages if residents didn’t reduce their electricity usage. 

*** 

With scores of pharma companies working on a vaccine against Covid-19,  spokesperson for AstraZeneca, the company working with a team from Oxford University, explained the trial has been stopped to review the “potentially unexplained illness” in one of the participants.

The spokesman stressed that the adverse reaction was only recorded in a single participant and said pausing trials was common during vaccine development.
“As part of the ongoing randomised, controlled global trials of the Oxford coronavirus vaccine, our standard review process was triggered and we voluntarily paused vaccination to allow review of safety data by an independent committee.”
“This is a routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated, ensuring we maintain the integrity of the trials. In large trials illnesses will happen by chance but must be independently reviewed to check this carefully. “We are working to expedite the review of the single event to minimise any potential impact on the trial timeline. We are committed to the safety of our participants and the highest standards of conduct in our trials.”
The vaccine had been expected to be publicly available as early as January.

On the other hand,

Pfizer and BioNTech are confident they can have a vaccine against the novel coronavirus ready for regulatory approval by the middle of October or early November, [said] BioNTech CEO and co-founder Ugur Sahin. "It has an excellent profile and I consider this vaccine ... near perfect, and which has a near perfect profile."
US drug giant Pfizer and German firm BioNTech say they plan to provide 100 million doses of their vaccine candidate, BNT162, by the end of the year, and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021. How are vaccines tested? 

In the pre-clinical stage of testing, researchers give the vaccine to animals to see if it triggers an immune response. 

• In phase 1 of clinical testing, the vaccine is given to a small group of people to determine whether it is safe and to learn more about the immune response it provokes.
• In phase 2, the vaccine is given to hundreds of people so scientists can learn more about its safety and correct dosage.
• In phase 3, the vaccine is given to thousands of people to confirm its safety – including rare side effects – and effectiveness. These trials involve a control group which is given a placebo.

Take aways?
Excessive heat. Excessive fire danger. Excessive death and illness. Who knows what will happen next?
One thing for sure: we’re living in unprecedented times. But we’re doing it. We will survive. (Let’s hear it, Gloria Gaynor.  (3:12 mins)

***

The Lincoln Project: Fallen Heroes  (2:00 mins)
Radicalize  (0:55 mins)
Trump is not like you  (2:15 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Hard day in the house, sad day, too. Three dogs down. Yes, three elderly, incontinent dogs but my mom loves ‘em. Now they’re elderly, incontinent doggie angels in doggie heaven. Happy sad? 

The move is moving along. This time next week, my mom will start another phase of her life. She’ll adjust and, I believe, even enjoy the company once she settles in.
And I’m saying a   L O N G  goodbye to the plants I’ve nurtured in the garden lo, these many months.

Altered realities

A cartoon message
 for Trump supporters. 
Click to enlarge.

The plus side of no Internet connection for a week?
Not tuning in to the Republican National Convention.

News blues…

California fire map and tracker 

California fires live updates 

 ***

Interview with Mary Trump: 'Repulsed And Heartbroken' After Uncle's RNC Speech | MSNBC (7:20 mins)

New York Times opinion writer at large, Charline Warzel writes about Trump’s convention,

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned covering the daily information wars of the Trump era is that a meaningful percentage of Americans live in an alternate reality powered by a completely separate universe of news and information.
Some are armed with their own completely fabricated facts about the world while others, as the journalist Joshua Green wrote in this section in 2017, rearrange our shared facts “to compose an entirely different narrative.” There is little consensus on the top story of the day or the major threats facing the country. You will have noticed this if you’ve ever watched a congressional hearing and flipped between CNN or MSNBC and Fox News. The video feed is the same but the interpretation of events is radically different.
Personally, I’ve never seen a clearer demonstration of the Two Universes phenomenon than this week’s Republican National Convention.
For three nights, in a shameless display of loyalty to President Trump, the party has conjured up what my colleague Frank Bruni described as an “upside-down vision” of the world. Theirs is a universe in which the coronavirus pandemic is largely in the rear view (on Aug. 25, 1,136 Americans died from the virus) and where, according to Representative Matt Gaetz, radical Democrats threaten to “disarm you, empty the prisons, lock you in your home and invite MS-13 to live next door.” A universe where the existential dangers of climate change pale in comparison to those of cancel culture — even as the West is ravaged by blackouts and wildfires and the Gulf Coast is slammed by a devastating hurricane.

Hear, hear, Charlie!

***

Catching up on political ads
The Lincoln Project:
Decency  (0:55 mins)
Protect  (0:55 mins)
Concoctor  (3:15 mins)
Goodyear  (0:25 mins) 

Don Winslow Films: The Real Kellyanne Conway (All’s I can say is, WOW! Kellyanne Conway’s daughter speaks out.)   (1:25 mins)
Really American: Polluter in Chief  (1:37mins)
Longtime Republican and Trump Voter: Voting for a Democrat For The First Time  (5:55 mins) (Editorial comment: sharing this guy’s view despite not agreeing with his pick of all his presidential candidates. He, however, is showing common sense for this year’s election.)
Second Trump DHS Official Comes Out For Biden  (2:15 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

First full day re-connected to the Internet so, between forays into the garden to dissuade monkeys from further “exploration” of seedlings, and sharing time with my mother over cups of Rooibos tea, I plan to catch up on what’s happenin’ in the world….

Relief!

After a week without Internet, I’m back in business. What a relief!
What hasn’t changed is the trend for Covid-19 infections and deaths that continue to climb.
Worldwide (Map) 
August 27 – 24,206,820 confirmed infections; 826,59 deaths
August 20 – 22,174,000 confirmed infections; 782,000 deaths
August 13 – 20,621,000 confirmed infections; 749,400 deaths
US (Map)
August 27 – 5,824,200 confirmed infections; 179,756 deaths
August 20 - 5,500,000 confirmed infections; 171,850 deaths
August 13 - 5,198,000 confirmed infections; 166,050 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal)

August 27 – 615,700 confirmed infections; 13,502 deaths
August 20 – 592,150 confirmed infections 12,265 deaths
August 13 – 569,000 confirmed infections 11,010 deaths

***

What else is new on the Covid-19 front?

South Africa’s chief Covid-19 scientist, Professor Salim Abdool Karim has confirmed that Covid-19 reinfections can occur within months.  “There is now clear evidence of two separate viral infections [in a single person],” he said as the news emerged from Hong Kong on 25 August. In July 2020, news reports suggested a case of reinfection in South Africa, but this was not confirmed by research.
After travelling to Spain, the Hong Kong resident contracted a second viral strain 4.5 months after first being diagnosed with Covid-19. “Antibody responses can decline and reinfections can occur,” said Abdool Karim in a briefing with doctors on Monday night.

Be careful out there….

News blues…

Hurricane Laura passed by Houston, Texas but it’s on track to wreak storm surge damage 30 miles inland of Texas and Louisiana. Up to 10,000 people evacuated in east Texas. They can now return home.
What's more, my family on the Gulf Coast near Houston is safe, too.

*** 

Friends in parts of California say smoke pollution has decreased from the records set earlier in the week. Fires, however, continue unabated.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, more than 1.1 million acres have been destroyed – with total acreage burned larger than the state of Rhode Island. California is also experiencing two of the three largest fires in its history. 

Cal Fires map 

*** 

The Lincoln Project: 
Adultery  (1.00 mins)
Daughters  (1:00 mins)
VoteVets - A Real Commander-in-Chief  (1:17 mins)
Country First  (0:55 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

In June I planted seeds with the goal of getting a head start on a veggie garden. All winter, I babied the seeds, nurtured them, talked to them as they sprouted.
They did so well that, over the weekend, I transplanted snap peas, pole beans, zucchini, and onions seedlings from the cold frame into what I’d hoped was a monkey-free section of the garden. That is, not in the area dedicated to veggies, but amid flowers, shrubs, and indigenous plants. This, to hide them from monkeys and prevent damage.
Alas, today, monkeys uncovered my attempts to disguise. They pulled out snap peas and pole beans seedlings. I’ve attempted to replant, but I fear the seedlings will not recover.

Additionally, a dog dug up succulents I’d nurtured in pots since autumn. Back then, they were mere leaves or stem cuttings that I hoped would germinate. They did. Until today.
Succulents are hardier than veggies; perhaps there’s hope. 

It’s also true that, as I’ve worked towards moving my mother – and one dog - into a retirement care center and taken steps to sell this house, my relationship with the garden has morphed.
I love gardening. Living on a houseboat presents limited opportunities to garden.
While in South Africa, I take full advantage of the garden.
This year, as I created a cold frame, used it to germinate seedlings, prepared the garden for winter, I’ve known I’d likely not benefit from my efforts. 

Since I’ve never sold property in South Africa, I’ve discussed how to do so with the lawyer. I seek a realtor referred by the lawyer to smooth the process.
Simultaneously, I’m in two minds about garden mishaps with monkeys and dogs. One part of me is frustrated at ongoing damage. Another part tries to shrug it off. After all, the new owners may not even appreciate vegetable gardens… goldfish in ponds, succulents…
Nevertheless, I’d like to hand over a healthy garden, one the new owners will enjoy for years to come.

Monkeys stymie that effort. 

“What we do, echoes through generations”

Oh, how I miss Barack Obama! A man of intellect, intelligence, moral generosity, and a sense of humor. Downright presidential! Addressing the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Obama said, “What we do, echoes through generations.”
Indeed.
Watch/listen to his full speech  | NBC News (19:25 mins)

News blues…

Debris piles burn as the
LNU Lightning Complex fire
burns through the area on
Wednesday in Fairfield, California.
Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
click to enlarge.

Air Quality Index  – purple! 

Fires! 

Wildfires continue to sear through California,  forcing thousands out of their homes and taxing the state’s firefighting capacity amid a heatwave and the coronavirus pandemic. One grouping of fires – the LNU Lightning Complex north of the Bay Area – grew rapidly overnight, doubling in size to about 131,000 acres by Thursday, and burning through more than 100 homes and buildings. The fires have so far destroyed 175 structures, including homes, and are threatening 50,000 more… In all, 33 civilians and firefighters have been injured...
As the flames edged toward the Silicon Valley city of San Jose, they blackened the skies and spewed up what was perhaps some of the worst air quality in the world. Ash blanketed many Bay Area neighborhoods, and health officials asked residents to stay indoors, warning that the combination of smoky air and Covid-19 make those with respiratory conditions doubly vulnerable.
Big Basin Redwoods state park, California’s oldest state park and home of some of its majestic redwoods, sustained “extensive damage”… with several historic buildings destroyed.
About two dozen major blazes and several smaller fires have eaten through brushland and dense forests, wildlands in the Sierra Nevada, southern California, and regions north, east and south of San Francisco. Evacuated residents now number in the tens of thousands…
The coronavirus pandemic has also complicated the government’s ability to safely evacuate and shelter residents. … California has been struggling to get a handle on a recent surge in coronavirus cases, and crowded shelters could exacerbate the spread of Covid-19 among evacuees.

*** 

Not to be ageist but… something funny to lighten the mood:

How old is Biden?
Well, he is older than 94 percent of all living Americans, and older than 96 percent of all people alive on the planet, according to demographic data compiled by the United Nations.
He is already older than 27 presidents were when they died — including 14 years older than Franklin D. Roosevelt and 13 years older than Lyndon B. Johnson.
When Biden arrived in the U.S. Senate at age 30 on Jan. 3, 1973, he joined six senators who were born in the late 1800s. Of those 100 people — all of them men, and only one not white — he is one of just 13 who are still alive today. Read, “Joe Biden: An old man trying to lead a young country.”  

***

Lookit! An anomaly is today’s polarized politics: A Congress that does its job!

The Brazilian Congress has decided that the use of masks is mandatory  in closed places like commercial establishments, many workplaces, religious temples and schools. In a joint session of both houses — Senate and Deputies Chamber — the legislature overturned President Jair Bolsonaro's veto on such requirements.
In votes on Wednesday, senators and deputies also upheld the right of mayors and governors to fine those who disobeyed the requirement.
The Congress also overturned Bolsonaro's vetoes of a law that sets out the federal government's duties to protect indigenous people during the pandemic. The legislators upheld aspects of the law assuring universal access to drinkable water, emergency access to beds in hospitals, the acquisition of ventilators and the delivery of free food to indigenous people and communities of slaves' descendants.

Maybe the actions of Brazil’s Congress will rub off onto the Republican-controlled Congress of the United States?
Nah Hopeless to expect US Congressional Republicans action toward funding unemployed Americans and struggling health care workers and centers, providing affordable health care, taxing corporations, addressing long term effects of climate change….

*** 

Daily Maverick interview with journalist Andrew Harding, author of These are not gentle people 

A non-fiction crime drama that intimately explores South Africa’s divisions and questions the idea of truth in an unequal society. These Are Not Gentle People began in 2016 when Harding went to court in Parys, Free State, after a group of white farmers were charged after they caught and brutally assaulted Samuel Tjixa and Simon Jubeba, accused of attempting to rob an elderly white farmer in the area. Both men died.
Harding was immediately struck by the different versions of the story. Two black men had been accused of trying to rob a white farmer and other white farmers, who live in fear of violence, caught them and meted out punishment.

***

Sarah Cooper riffs on Trump at the 2020 Democratic National Convention  (1:15 mins) 

Really American: Rigger in Chief  (1:30 mins) ***

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

For the past six months, I’ve sought a care center that would meet the needs of my 87-year-old mother. Back in May, Lockdown prevented a planned visit to a community with grounds large enough to host wild African animals: impala, warthog, blesbok, zebra….
After Lockdown Level 2 was announced, I re-contacted the care center matron and arranged a visit. I learned from her that, if the place met my mother’s needs, she could potentially bring one of her six dogs to live there, too.
Great news!
I quickly followed up and took my mother and Jessica, her dog, for a visit.
The gods smiled upon us: we were welcomed by a herd of 7 zebras grazing on the extensive lawns. Another zebra grazed between the parking lot and the residential building. (My mother loves animals.)
Since Jessica, like all my mother’s dogs are not leash-trained, I worried Jessica might create a bad first impression. Instead, she followed us into the building and made herself at home. She met Bella, the white husky who lives, and introduced herself to residents.
I was amazed – and proud of her.
As the matron showed my mother her choice of rooms - one large (and more expensive), and two small - I watched my mother for signs of distress, or distaste, or reluctance.
Instead, she, like Jessica, was amenable to moving.
We’ve a long way to go, but we made a start.
Observation: when one is in the moment of a big and ultimately successful event, one tends not to recognize that moment until later. Today, I recognize that yesterday’s event went very well. I put a lot into it and, so far (11 hours later) it appears that it’s “all systems go!”
But…
Am I’m spinning my wheels? Will she’ll change her mind – again?
That’s my experience: my mother changing her mind, acting as if something that happened never actually happened, and recently, when stressed, saying, “Oh, I wish I could just die. That would take care of everything.”
Challenging being involved in this transition. I feel that no matter what I do, my efforts are dismissed, undermined, diminished.
As “they” say, “story of my life”. My “problem”? Being a feisty daughter in a sexist culture?
I was tempted to end this post with a trio of emojis expressing laughter, tears, and craziness.
Far better to end with an apt quote: “What we do, echoes through generations…”