“Certain little tiny fish”

A Trump believe it or not. Trump tweeted about California. Not, as one might feasibly hope, about cataclysmic fires and emergency funding for victims of the fire. No, he tweeted about, well, nutty stuff:

California is gonna have to ration water. You wanna know why? Because they send millions of gallons of water out to sea, out to the Pacific. Because they want to take care of certain little tiny fish, that aren't doing very well without water."

“Certain little tiny fish”? 

Hmmm, enquiring minds wanna know more….

News blues…

Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnel (left) – aka “Moscow Mitch”  –  appears shocked! shocked! that Americans intuitively grasp The Donald is not the guy we want to lead our democratic republic.  

***

Three new lockdown changes for South Africa. In a series of gazettes recently published, the rules around grants, sports and events were updated to clarify existing regulations and allow for the further reopening of some sectors. 

***

RVAT: Super-Spreader-In-Chief   (0:28 mins)

The Lincoln Project - fund raisers:

***

Donald and Boris  (1:32 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Cars, planes, trains: where do CO2 emissions from transport come from? 

Transport accounts for around one-fifth of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions [24% if we only consider CO2 emissions from energy].
How do these emissions break down? Is it cars, trucks, planes or trains that dominate?
This chart shows  global transport emissions in 2018. (Data sourced from the International Energy Agency - IEA).
Road travel accounts for three-quarters of transport emissions. Most of this comes from passenger vehicles – cars and buses – which contribute 45.1%. The other 29.4% comes from trucks carrying freight.
Since the entire transport sector accounts for 21% of total emissions, and road transport accounts for three-quarters of transport emissions, road transport accounts for 15% of total CO2 emissions.
Aviation – while it often gets the most attention in discussions on action against climate change – accounts for only 11.6% of transport emissions. It emits just under one billion tonnes of CO2 each year – around 2.5% of total global emissions [we look at the role that air travel plays in climate change in more detail in an upcoming article]. International shipping contributes a similar amount, at 10.6%.
Rail travel and freight emits very little – only 1% of transport emissions. Other transport – which is mainly the movement of materials such as water, oil, and gas via pipelines – is responsible for 2.2%.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Two days of sunshine – and an intense painting schedule – gave over to rain late last night. With the exterior of the house almost complete – some clean up remains – we turn to prep the interior.
Photos for marketing come next. After that, we simply wait for buyers to fall into our honey-trap!
My mother met with the realtors and signed necessary documents to proceed with the sale of the property. What a relief!

***

Spring has arrived and settled in.
Chard seeds, started in the cold frame then transplanted into the garden, grow fast. As I pass their patch in the garden, I can reach out and snack on the fresh new leaves. Ditto with the flatleaf parsley that grows abundantly, too. (I substitute parsley for lettuce in salads. It’s more nutritious, has a stronger, more pleasing flavor, and grows faster.

***

After nightfall, a chorus of frogs serenades spring, from the basso profundo croaking of guttural toads to tender tweets from, well, not sure what kind of frogs but many sopranos, interspersed with tenors. A lovely sound salad.

Desperately seeking …

I’m generally pro-Ramaphosa but I’m beginning to waver.
Where is he these days?
Why no regular presidential updates to the nation?
Our president appears to … disappear … when people need lockdown updates.
I understand he’s “consulting” with:

• Tourism industry leaders 
• Opposition party leaders 
• Church leaders 

He’s also got his hands full with Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma desire to impose full prohibition on wayward South Africans’ use of tobacco and alcohol.
Still, there’s room for flexibility.
A sweet spot exists for introverts like Ramaphosa and extroverts like New York Governor Andrew Cuomo updating New Yorkers and Americans on television almost every night, Donald Trump admitting that he’s popping hydroxychloroquine pills and refusing to wear a mask  and Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro’s jet skiing , cooking out, and joking about the mad “neurosis” of Brazilians worried about the virus.
My advice to South Africa’s president?
Find a comfort zone that includes a once-a-week pandemic update; 30 minutes a week will go a long way.
Enquiring minds, and all that…

***

The Lincoln Project is a Republican-centric outfit concerned about the direction of the US under current leadership. Not Republican, I appreciate the Project’s efforts.
Earlier this week, I received a Project email listing three politicians and asking which We, the People, would like the Project to target.
I chose Senator Mitch McConnel… aka “Moscow” Mitch McConnell  and “Midnight” Mitch.
Yesterday, I received another email:

… we asked for your advice on which of Trump's enablers we should feature in our next ad.
It was...a landslide: 91% said Mitch McConnell.
So, we’re starting work this afternoon on a new ad.
But, let's be clear-eyed about something: Mitch McConnell is not like Donald Trump. In some ways, he's worse: calculating, methodical...intelligent.
McConnell may be Trump's Enabler-In-Chief, but he has also built himself one of the most powerful and ruthless campaign empires on the map.
Taking on the Majority Leader of the United States Senate is a seriously bold move, but it's one we're ready to make…

I can’t wait.

Senator and Trump Enabler Lindsey Graham is a target, too.
This 81-second ad spot, produced by the new Democratic LindseyMustGo super PAC, slams Senator Lindsey Graham as “spineless,” “shameless” and “dangerous” and calls for him to be voted out of office in the November election.
Further reasons Lindsey Graham’s gotta go… 

***

Need more levity? Enjoy Matt Wuerker, Politico editorial cartoonist and roaster-in-chief …

News blues…

Rick Wilson, well-known Republican Party campaign strategist and a co-founder of The Lincoln Project, is author of Everything Trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever. I’ve never read the book although I agree with the sentiment.
There are times when pity and glee come together to produce an emotion best described as, “Yikes, poor old Trump has an unerring instinct for choosing the wrong option!”
Early in his campaign for president, Trump and white evangelical Christians joined forces. A poll found overwhelming support from white evangelical Christian voters, with 75 percent approving of the president.

Religious leaders pray 

with Donald Trump after 

he signed a proclamation 

for a national day of prayer.  

©  Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP

Click to enlarge

Trump basks in this approval and, always aiming for biggliest, he continues to claim that "no president has ever done what I have done for evangelicals, or religion itself."
Trump appointed right-wing Christians to his cabinet - Pence,
Redfield, Pompeo, Barr, et al.  Among his most ardent supporters is Jerry Lamon Falwell Jr., son of pastor, educator, evangelist, activist Jerry Lamon Falwell Sr., American Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and conservative activist (with a net worth of US$10 million upon his death). Junior Falwell is president of private evangelical Christian Liberty University in Lynchburg, one of the largest evangelical Christian universities in the world and one of the largest private non-profit universities in the United States.
Backfiring?  Trump’s recent demand that churches and other houses of worship reopen for services amid the coronavirus crisis may come back to haunt him.
Deeming religious services “essential” and threatening to override governors who ignored his orders for health and safety reasons, Trump’s support led the pastor of a small church in Arkansas to conduct services. Both he and his wife contracted Covid-19, and

ended up spreading [the virus] to 35 others who attended events at their rural Arkansas church - identified only as “Church A” in a rural Arkansas county of 25,000 people.
An additional 26 cases in the community occurred among people who had contact with those who participated in the church events, according to the study “High COVID-19 Attack Rate Among Attendees at Events at a Church — Arkansas, March 2020.”
The report found that more than a third of 92 people who attended events at the church from March 6 to 11 contracted confirmed cases of COVID-19, and three later died. The pastor, the first known case along with his wife, led a Bible study group at the church before he developed symptoms….
The contagion study released just as Trump is demanding that churches reopen.

***

Take a  deep breath and try to relax during this pandemic. For, No One Knows What’s Going to Happen. Stop asking pundits to predict the future after the coronavirus. It doesn’t exist.”

The best prophet, Thomas Hobbes once wrote, is the best guesser. That would seem to be the last word on our capacity to predict the future: We can’t.
But it is a truth humans have never been able to accept. People facing immediate danger want to hear an authoritative voice they can draw assurance from; they want to be told what will occur, how they should prepare, and that all will be well. We are not well designed, it seems, to live in uncertainty. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

The day began with ongoing bank-centric frustrations: continued inability to send Instant Cash to the gardener who is under lockdown in distant Mpophomeni Township. (See yesterday’s post for backstory. )
The most recent email received from the bank’s Instant Money department explained:

Thank you for the response, unfortunately due the account the OTP that gets sent to you from bank and not from the instant money department. We will not be able to fix the problem on our side because we do not have access to your profile, which can only be accessed by Transactional Banking customer care.

Frustrated, I responded to that email:

I went to the bank yesterday where I was told only YOU guys could fix it. Now you tell me only THEY can fix it.
This does not make sense.
Could you phone the person I'm trying to pay and explain to him that, THIS time I cannot pay him because … well, of all the reasons you’ve given. Olsen Z is his name and he’s a husband and father of two small children that he's trying to feed while under lockdown. His phone number is 072 xxx-xxxx. Also, please explain to him that the last time I managed to pay him with your bank’s Instant Cash feature didn't really happen, that that was a figment of our imagination...
Thanks for your help! Have a good day!

Anxious to alleviate Olsen’s money worries, I tried again, two hours later, to send him Instant Cash.
Out of the blue, the transfer worked!
I messaged the gardener his passcode then sighed with relief!

The mysterious nature of how, why, and when these supposedly logical systems operate suggest intervention not by high-end technology but by moody genie. One day the genie feels generous and happy and grants favors such as Instant Cash. The next day? Nah! The genie is not in the mood.

Another sigh of relief today as I cancelled my mother’s Telkom account. (See post “Filling gaps?” for backstory )
This saga, however, will continue for 60 more days: 30 days for Telkom to cancel the account; another 30 days for Telkom to send the “final statement.” After 8 weeks with, essentially, no phone service, my mother will be billed for two more months of non-existent service.

***

Repatriation flights update:

Health Alert: Announcing Additional Repatriation Flights via Amsterdam – U.S. Embassy Pretoria, South Africa (May 21, 2020)
     Location: South Africa
     Event: The South African Ministry of Health has confirmed 18,252 cases of COVID-19 within its borders.
Announcing KLM Special Repatriation Flights from Cape Town and Johannesburg to Amsterdam
We have been notified that KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, in coordination with the Dutch Embassy in South Africa, is coordinating two special repatriation flights departing on May 29 and 30. U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents are eligible for this flight solely for the purpose of transiting through Amsterdam. Non-EU and Schengen state citizens must have an onward ticket from Amsterdam in order to board this flight, unless you have a residency permit for an EU or Schengen state country.
Please note, U.S. visa holders of any kind will not be eligible for admission to the United States after transit in the EU.
Flight information:

• Flights will depart from Cape Town on Friday, May 29, and from Johannesburg on Saturday, May 30 to Amsterdam.
• To book a ticket, you must contact KLM directly. Bookings can only be made through KLM’s Sales and Service Centre via phone at: +27(0)10 205 0101, daily between 09:00 – 16:00. You do not need to notify us that you purchased a ticket; we will coordinate with the airline directly.
• U.S. citizen and LPR passengers are eligible to transit through the airport but will not be allowed to enter the Netherlands and must have a connecting flight.
• Passengers will be responsible for onward travel to their final destination in the United States.
• For any questions regarding price, payment, baggage allowance, seats, and other flight details, please contact KLM directly.
• You do not need to email the U.S. Mission to South Africa to request a “laissez-passer” travel letter; these will be distributed as soon as possible after KLM sends us a confirmed passenger list.
• KLM has a final manifest, passengers will receive all information about the assembly point, time schedule, and other relevant info from the Dutch Embassy. We thank you for your patience and ask that you do not email asking for this information.

You will be responsible for finding your own transportation to the required assembly point.

And, there is the rub: getting to Johannesburg’s Tambo International. Moreover, assuming I can figure out the six- to seven-hour one-way car trip to Johannesburg, how do I return to San Francisco from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport?
If one must be stuck in an airport, Schiphol is the world’s most user friendly. Unlike other airports, it provides chaise longues for all weary travelers to nap, not only those with private business club access.

I need more information from KLM before deciding on whether to depart or not.
So far, none of my calls have been answered.

I’ll keep trying but hope fades….

Read   Week 1 |   Week 2   |  Week 3  |  Week 4 |  Week 5  | Week 6  |  Week 7  |  Week 8  |  Week 9 

See photos  Spying on Garden Creatures 

Watch  Videos of Garden Creatures

Week 3 - Day 19, Tuesday April 14

Question of the Day: Whither Democracy?

 No truly “fair and balanced” person can watch the president of the United States and not worry. Check out this April 14 press briefing  and this one, “Presidential authority is total” ...
Methinks the prez doth protest too much. He’s losing whatever marbles he had, he’s on the ropes (talking of ropes, Florida deems wrestling “essential business.”)
Be afraid. Be very afraid. The Trump/Moscow Mitch duo hath cometh – and hath bamboozled.
It’s a formidable opponent for generous-spirited people everywhere.

Jailbirds flying the coop?

• Paul Manafort, set for release from Rikers prison in November 2024, seeks early release citing risk from coronavirus. 
• Ditto, Bernie Madoff, 81-year-old financial fraud schemester par excellence.
• Ditto, Michael Avenatti, convicted extortionist, busily working himself out of jail for 90 days. The Trump nemesis faces two more criminal trials.
• If I was a betting woman, I’d bet Harvey Weinstein is leveraging the coronavirus pandemic, too. And Bill Cosby. Cushy mansion/house arrest, instead?
• No ruling has been issued on a similar motion from twenty-eight-year-old Reality Winner, former intelligence analyst. Given the politics, I’d bet Winner, “leaker”/ whistleblower of a top-secret report on Russian election interference, is refused. She’s sentenced to prison for more than five years…and I’d bet she serves ‘em all.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I’ve alluded to KZN’s astonishingly fertile soil, that I can pluck a stem and push it into the earth and, pronto, it sprouts.
Last year’s veggie garden presented both the up- and downside of fertility.
Upside: already rich soil, amended with rich compost, and potatoes, onions, and squash volunteer with gusto. Initially, starter plants - tomatoes, spinach (chard in California), strawberries, thyme, oregano, basil, and Thai basil - appear willing to flourish.
Downside:

The enthusiasm of beans, peas, and lettuce is quickly dampened by uMswenya. Cutworms.
California’s dry summers, wet winters, and clayey soil present few opportunities to understand cutworms. Sow bugs, yes: similar color and shape and, like cutworms, they roll/curl.
KZN’s wet, hot, humid summers present perfect umswenya conditions. Add beans, peas, dill, lettuce, rhubarb… and the gross, juicy pests thrive just below soil surface. They demolish emerging sprouts and stems leaving only tiny scattered flecks of green.
I engineered seedling collars out of discarded toilet roll tubes cut in half. Unfortunately, collaring constrains plants and they grow spindly.
My revenge? Popping unswenya.
This year, only volunteer squash survived cutworms. Instead, they fell victim to marauding monkeys.
Takeaways? 1) How do farmers cope? 2) Do creatures like umswenya and monkeys account for Africa’s incredibly rich, fecund soils not developing as the world’s breadbasket?

***

I’m the only South African I know who sleeps (or admits to sleeping) under a mosquito net.
Divebombing and sucking mosquitos are annoying but manageable. I dab smelly, homemade cannabis oil on the bites. (Lockdown means not worrying about wafting cannabis aroma.)
Alas, the manufacturer and dispenser who supplied me last year has moved on. I’m not sure how to replenish my supply but I’m using what remains, mostly on spider bites.
Despite consistently checking for spiders inside gum boots, shoes, waders, and outside gear, spiders express their displeasure at my presence. This year, they’ve dined on my right calf, left foot, sternum, and left wrist. The latest assault left a large red splotch with two tiny, raised bite marks on my right front hip.
If I don’t scratch, the angry red bumps disappear after eight to ten days of generous dabbing.
The odd thing? Unlike mosquitos, I’ve never actually caught a spider in the act, nor even found one on my person.
Why blame spiders? Couldn’t aliens from another planet be conducting experiments?
Well, I encounter spiders and evidence of spiders: on plants, on walls, and webs slung between plants and anywhere I walk.
When I encounter aliens, it’ll be time for me to burst out of lockdown, damn the consequences.

A positive note: finally snagged a shot of a dragonfly near the pond. (Still no sign of goldfish.)





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