News blues
Yesterday was the first anniversary of Trump and the Trumpies attempting a coup in the US Capitol. Here’s the actual, real, and legitimate US vice prez and prez – Harris and Biden – addressing the nation >> (33:04 mins)Here, too, is comedian Stephen Colbert’s memories of the day a year ago when “the fecal matter truly hit the oscillator”… (10:43)
And from Mary Trump: “He must be feeling the walls closing in…” >> (6:06 mins)
It’s been a year of Trump and Trumpies pushing “Stop the Steal” and The Big Lie about his failed re-election. (Genesis of The Big Lie in “real life”.)
Amid the libraries-worth of journalism written since then, politically centrist journalist Jennifer Rubin presents an important opinion piece: “Trump idolatry has undermined religious faith”,
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Back to Covid: Has Omicron peaked or plateaued in some regions? Experts say there are early, tentative signs that the omicron wave has peaked, or is plateauing, in the places that were among the first to be hit hard by the variant. Despite the mixed messaging, confused communication, and often conflicting information presented to the public about Covid-19, the pandemic, and the many viral mutations, thoughtful humans still seek further information. Lucky for us, researchers oblige. Next week we might have information that conflicts, but here’s the current knowledge on symptoms and severity of Omicron – at least for this week.
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The Lincoln Project: Biden (1:55 mins) Which is it, Ted? (0:45 mins)
Healthy planet, anyone?
Life on vanishing coasts – photo essay >>***
“Postcards From a World on Fire” >> ***
More calls for the US to address its plastic waste:
Environmental organisations across Latin America have called on the US to reduce plastic waste exports to the region, after a report found the US had doubled exports to some countries in the region during the first seven months of 2020.Read more >>
The US is the world’s largest plastic waste exporter, although it has dramatically reduced the overall amount it exports since 2015, when China – previously the top importer – said it “no longer wanted to be the world’s rubbish dump” and began imposing restrictions. Elsewhere around the world imports are rising, and not least in Latin America, with its cheap labour and close proximity to the US.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
The past seven months in California have been disorienting, partly because the pandemic began while I was gone and American culture moved on, partly because this is my first winter in California in four years and, cold weather coupled with Omicron, produces involuntary isolation.Amid what feels like waves of crazy – mounds of conspiracy theories, lies, and corruption, and unimaginably large numbers of Americans remaining in Trump’s conspiracy cult of the absurd, do I perceive a glimmer to push back from Biden and Attorney General Garland? Both men, heretofore appearing like deer-in-the-headlights, issued strong statements yesterday.
What will today and tomorrow bring?
One issue? American perception. One article on Garland, for example, states, “Garland is under increasing pressure from the left.” In fact, Garland is under pressure from all Americans concerned about the country’s direction. That this is described as “the left” is an indication of how far right the country has become over the last decade.
All in all? Life and living is increasingly precarious these days.
One issue? American perception. One article on Garland, for example, states, “Garland is under increasing pressure from the left.” In fact, Garland is under pressure from all Americans concerned about the country’s direction. That this is described as “the left” is an indication of how far right the country has become over the last decade.
All in all? Life and living is increasingly precarious these days.
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Sunrise: 7:24am
Sunset: 5:06pm
Cold, foggy, and drizzly.
Howick, South Africa:
Sunrise: 5:07am
Sunset: 7:03pm
Still raining ….
