Countdown, 1

This strange and challenging year comes to a close with strange and challenging events…. Do We the People of the world have the will, the know-how, and the selflessness to steer a different direction for our mutual survival?
That is the question....

News blues…

South Africa surpasses milestone of 1 million cases of Covid infections. 
The world surpasses 80 million infections.
The US surpasses 19 million infections, almost double the infection numbers of India, the country with the next highest rate at 10 million.

***

• The president of the United State has, over his term, siphoned off more than US $10.5 million into his personal business.  
• As of Dec. 27, 2020 the same president of the United State has played golf 306 times since becoming President.  This, after chastising Obama for golfing far fewer times over two terms in office. 
• The same president of the United States has overtly ignored a raging pandemic, and potential mitigation measures. As of today

…there have been nearly 19 million recorded COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and more than 331,000 deaths nationwide.
December marked the deadliest month in the United States since the coronavirus pandemic began, with more than 63,000 COVID-19 deaths recorded nationwide during the month so far. 
April held the previous monthly record for the highest number of COVID-19 deaths, with at least 55,000 reported. The U.S. saw a steep incline in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the spring, followed by a sharp decrease over the summer. Those numbers began to increase again in the fall and have continued to surge into the winter.

*** 

© Meidas Touch

The Trump administration highlights the weakness of the American political bureaucracy. 

For now, the systems is holding (the dismissal of Trump’s claims of election fraud) but it is teetering. 

Trump has shown how to successfully manipulate a system whose “checks and balances” are designed to forestall such manipulations. 

With Joe Biden, the “go along to get along guy,” there is no reason to assume the next administration will do anything to check the flagrant abuses of Trump and his enablers.
The US system may be designed for checks and balances, but it depends solely on the combined and concerted will of Congress to ensure the system works. 

There’s no reason at all to expect the will of the current Congress to implement consequences and strengthen democracy.

On the positive side, at least humor remains. Thank you, Meidas Touch.

  

Healthy planet, anyone?

Hopeful directions:

The Air Company, based in New York, makes vodka from two ingredients: carbon dioxide and water. Each bottle that’s produced takes carbon dioxide out of the air. It has been chosen as one of the finalists in the $20m NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE, which aims to incentivise innovation in the field of carbon capture, utilisation and storage.

More news of hopeful directions >> 
On the other hand, “'It's as if we've learned nothing': alarm over Amazon road project.” 
Our planet is in desperate need of common sense, logic, and a change of direction. 

We’re running out of time….

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

It was too hot yesterday for outside activities. Turns out if was also too hot for inside activities. For several hours in the afternoon, Eskom failed to supply electricity. Eskom’s designed-to-inform app failed to inform, too.