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| Omicats, |
January 20, 2022 - 338,550,400 confirmed infections; 5,568,100 deaths
January 21, 2021 – 96,830,000 confirmed infections’ 2,074,000 deaths
Total vaccine doses administered: 9,735,432,750
US (Map)
January 20, 2022 – 68,636,640 confirmed infections; 858,120 deaths
January 21, 2021 – 24,450,000 confirmed infections’ 406,100 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal)
January 20, 2022 – 3,564,600 confirmed infections; 93,571 deaths
January 21, 2021 – 1,370,000 confirmed infections’ 38,900 deaths
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.*
A year ago we had hope for change. This year, not so much.
Sorely disappointed and horrified are those of us who wished Trump would disappear, gracefully or not, and fiddle with some sort of legacy. (A legacy library? Nah. The guy is proud of not reading - except for the bible, that is.) These posts from this time last year – The vulgarian has left the building and Pardonathon? present some hope that he'd disappear. Alas, he’s still around, still squawking about his stolen second presidency, still grifting although the walls appear to be closing in on him. (Will he face some sort of justice? Hmmm, I am hopeful but doubtful. He is, after all, the Trumpster, king of the cons. He could slime his way out of this, as he’s slimed his way out of everything previous to this.
Sorely disappointed and horrified are those of us who wished Trump would disappear, gracefully or not, and fiddle with some sort of legacy. (A legacy library? Nah. The guy is proud of not reading - except for the bible, that is.) These posts from this time last year – The vulgarian has left the building and Pardonathon? present some hope that he'd disappear. Alas, he’s still around, still squawking about his stolen second presidency, still grifting although the walls appear to be closing in on him. (Will he face some sort of justice? Hmmm, I am hopeful but doubtful. He is, after all, the Trumpster, king of the cons. He could slime his way out of this, as he’s slimed his way out of everything previous to this.
A reminder: Today in 2009, Barack Obama was inaugurated as president of the US. I miss Obama, a man with a sense of humor and integrity. Ah, the good old days.
* The more things change, the more they stay the same.
News blues
In South Africa, the national state of disaster has been extended by another month to February 15. Read more >>***
Can Omicron Cause Long Covid? It is too soon to know, scientists say, but mild initial illness may not signal reduced risk.CDC: What We Know about Omicron – from spread to treatments, we have the tools >>
***
The Lincoln Project:Tribute – Martin Luther King (1:30 mins)
Last Week in the Republican Party (2:00 mins)
Healthy planet, anyone?
The following is timely although not surprising.The cocktail of chemical pollution that pervades the planet now threatens the stability of global ecosystems upon which humanity depends, scientists have said.Read “Chemical pollution has passed safe limit for humanity, say scientists Study calls for cap on production and release as pollution threatens global ecosystems upon which life depends” >>
Plastics are of particularly high concern, along with 350,000 synthetic chemicals including pesticides, industrial compounds and antibiotics. Plastic pollution is now found from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans, and some toxic chemicals, such as PCBs, are long-lasting and widespread.
The study concludes that chemical pollution has crossed a “planetary boundary”, the point at which human-made changes to the Earth push it outside the stable environment of the last 10,000 years.
(More on toxic pollution below.)
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
I changed my walk routine yesterday and, instead of my usual along the beach ritual (obsessively counting masks discarded along the route) I visited the former Naval Air Station.I know the base well. For at least a decade, I’ve served on the RAB – Restoration Advisory Board for citizen “oversight” of the cleanup of toxics used during the base’s heyday. My overlong sojourns in South Africa, plus the pandemic mitigated against our usual monthly face-to-face RAB meetings during which Navy personnel and contractors describe the progress of the cleanup. Over the past two years, meetings were either cancelled altogether or, most recently, conducted virtually. While I participate as I can online, I’ve not visited the base to walk since I returned last June. This, despite the installation of a second ferry terminal at what’s known as Seaplane Lagoon.
I love exploring this approx. 2,000 acre installation, all landfilled, with San Francisco Bay and Oakland Alameda Estuary waters bordering three sides.
These days the base slowly converts open-though-concreted spaces into apartment buildings.
(This, despite RAB members contending the ground under the sites remain too contaminated with toxic TCE and jet fuel. How do the powers-that-be respond? They explain that building restrictions include not building residences on first floors. Rather, locate businesses on first floor: “everyone knows” humans spend less time in shops than they do at home. The conclusion: no “serious” contamination likely.) And they’ve built in building codes to ensure all first floor businesses maintain strict guidelines for adequate ventilation.)
Would I purchase or rent a second or third floor apartment here?
No. I understand that entities such as the Navy and City Hall accept that cancers and environmental illness from toxics strike human beings. Their data and numbers describe how many cancers are “acceptable.” An extra cancer here or there? Ah, that falls within the “acceptable” rate – unless it’s your kid/loved one….
Would I purchase or rent a second or third floor apartment here?
No. I understand that entities such as the Navy and City Hall accept that cancers and environmental illness from toxics strike human beings. Their data and numbers describe how many cancers are “acceptable.” An extra cancer here or there? Ah, that falls within the “acceptable” rate – unless it’s your kid/loved one….
But I digress….
Yesterday, I parked my vehicle near our city’s western City Hall office and walked a section of the base.
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| Pan American World Airways is long gone yet its legacy lives on. Pan American World Airways fabled China Clipper left Alameda Marina on November 22, 1935 [its inaugural flight] bound [for] Manila via Honolulu, Midway, Wake, and Guam. The inauguration of ocean airmail service and commercial airflight across the Pacific was a significant event for both California and the world. Read more >> |
I can drop by anytime during business hours for a free test.
That’s what I’ll do when I prepare for my upcoming departure for SA.
Notice the lawn area on the left middle ground of this picture? Below is a close up of that lawn.
An historical fact shared by a friend, former corpsman (a medic) in Vietnam during that disaster that will not be found in the history books.
During his brief stay at this naval base, this then-young-man and fellow Vietnam-bound troops, sat around on the lawn and smoked clouds of pot. That this was risqué – the base commander’s office faced the lawn – only added to their high.
Today, the Canada geese appreciate the well-kempt lawn… and don’t bother with history.
Sunrise: 7:20am
Sunset: 5:19pm
KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 5:18am
Sunset: 7:01pm
A friend who works on an agricultural spread in KZN reported that the ongoing rainfall endangers the region's crops: corn/mealies growing but no cobs set, potatoes rot in the ground: “massive financial loss looming….”
***
On January 18, the first day they were offered, I online ordered my free 4 packs of Covid-19 tests. They’re supposed to arrive within 7 to 14 days. The countdown is on….***
Foggy in San Francisco Bay todaySunrise: 7:20am
Sunset: 5:19pm
KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 5:18am
Sunset: 7:01pm
A friend who works on an agricultural spread in KZN reported that the ongoing rainfall endangers the region's crops: corn/mealies growing but no cobs set, potatoes rot in the ground: “massive financial loss looming….”
