Do-over?

President Ramaphosa hints at reviewing Lockdown levels and, perhaps, dropping to level 2; Looking forward to that.
Nevertheless, this twenty-fifth week of Lockdown presents a new batch of weirdness, including exposure of the moral bankruptcy of our collective political institutions…

News blues…

What was Donald Trump’s solution to Bob Woodward’s 2018 book, Fear: Trump in the White House, an unflattering portrait of the current White House residents?
Agree to many hours of interviews with Woodward for another book, Rage, due out on September 15. Trump’s incomprehensible solution – a do-over - did not go as he’d hoped. Instead, Fear ignited further controversy after Woodward released audio recordings from the interviews. 
President of the United States Donald Trump clearly states his awareness of the dangers posed by Covid-19 – and his solution: to lie about it. Thus began the tragic comedy of fatal errors and lies that has lead, so far, to more than 190,000 dead Americans dead and more than 6.3 million confirmed infections. (“UnAmerican")
Trump’s excuse for his lies and lack of effective action? “I don’t want people to panic.”(Covid-19)  
From the virus’ “miraculous” disappearance, to endangering children (“they’re immune”), culture wars about wearing masks, undermining science and scientists, the man is scrambling to stay ahead of an accumulating mountain of lies.
But this is the essence of Trump. 

On the other hand, it could this his solution to quelling the days-long furor of Americans angry at Trump’s view of military personnel: “losers,” “suckers,” “dopes,” “babies,” and “I don’t get it. What’s in it for them?’
It is possible. That’s the way The Donald rolls…. 

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Daily Maverick webinar: The Rise and Fall of the ANC Youth League.  Hosted by Gregory Nicolson with Rebone Tau and Prof Somadoda Fikeni

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The Lincoln Project: Parasite  (0:56 mins)
Unfit  (2:00 mins)
EXCLUSIVE CLIP "THE TRUMP APPEAL" – Project co-founder George Conway discusses what's going on in Donald Trump's head  (2:04 mins)
Vote Vets Maine Ad – Marty  (0:55 min)
RVAT: Max is disgusted with Trump's lack of character, so he's going against his party and voting Biden  (3:32 mins)
Meidas Touch: Pretend President: Trump Downplayed the Pandemic (0:53 mins)

Healthy futures, anyone

The good(ish) news:

Up to 48 bird and mammal extinctions have been prevented by conservation efforts since a global agreement to protect biodiversity, according to a new study published in the journal Conservation Letters. It estimates that extinction rates for birds and mammals would have been three to four times higher over that period, which was chosen because 1993 is when the UN Convention on Biological Diversity came into force.
Since then, 15 bird and mammal species have become extinct or are strongly suspected to have disappeared. But researchers say that between 28 and 48 bird and mammal species were saved.

The bad news:

Wildlife populations are in freefall around the world, driven by human overconsumption, population growth and intensive agriculture, according to a major new assessment of the abundance of life on Earth.
On average, global populations of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles plunged by 68% between 1970 and 2016, according to the WWF and Zoological Society of London (ZSL)’s biennial Living Planet Report 2020. Two years ago, the figure stood at 60%.
 The research is one of the most comprehensive assessments of global biodiversity available and was compiled by 134 experts from around the world.
It found that from the rainforests of central America to the Pacific Ocean, nature is being exploited and destroyed by humans on a scale never previously recorded.

With all the chaff swirling around the political environment these days, it’s tough to find the kernels of truth about the ongoing degradation of our planet. Here’s a list of five lies uttered to conceal truth…. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Two days ago, local residents got an urgent warning: “Umngeni Water will be doing their maintenance upgrade in the Howick Reservoir Pipeline and as such there will be a TOTAL SHUTDOWN of water on Tuesday 08 September 2020.” Naturally, residents – including in this household – took this warning seriously. We stored water in kettles, pots, and buckets.
The water never shutdown.
Eskom, too, warned of scheduled load shedding. That never happened either.
Will either or both suddenly shut down without warning? It is possible.

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Big day: I drove to the local city – 20 miles away – to purchase and set up delivery for a bed base (aka “box spring) for my mother. Her new home is small, and this bed base has three drawers on either side. It’ll give her better storage capacity. One of the perks of living on a houseboat as I do: exquisite eye for best use of space, and saving space.

I’ve not been in the city since my I picked up my mother from the hospital several weeks ago. It was strange driving with hundreds of other drivers and vehicles racing robots (“traffic lights”) and one another. Today's errand, though, has been a long time coming: delivering for recycling several dozen empty bottles of my mother’s favorite wine at an off-sales liquor store.
I parked outside the security gate exactly at opening time: 9am.
I waited. And waited. At 9:10am I phoned the store and was told “the security guard will come open the gate.” I waited. And waited some more. At 9:20am I exited my car – parked over the pedestrian pavement (“sidewalk”) – and approached security guards at the exit gate. 

One asked, “Do you have a license?” I told him I had a driver’s license. He ignored me. The other guard asked, “Do you have a license?” I asked what license he had in mind. “Liquor license.” I confirmed I had no liquor license. Then I realized: liquor stores are closed Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays across the land.
I’d carried several dozen empty wine bottles without remembering this salient fact about Lockdown. The two guards and I laughed at my mistake.
I’ll drive back there again on Monday.