News blues
Covid-19: Eight common questions answered about the Delta variant***
Fauci: Delta Variant Will Soon Be Dominant U.S. Strain. Get Vaccinated.
The White House’s chief medical adviser urged unvaccinated Americans to get shots as a far more serious and transmissible variant of the coronavirus spreads. ***
If you’re American (or interested) see how vaccinations are going in your state and county***
Africa. As the more contagious delta variant starts to spread across the least-vaccinated continent, cases are rising, hospitals are being overrun and deaths are mounting. With little prospect of a significant proportion of Africans being vaccinated in coming months as rich nations continue to hoard shots, epidemiologists expect another wave of disease will follow before the end of the year. That carries the risk of more vaccine-resistant variants developing, endangering not just Africans but also the rest of the world.Read more >>
“This third wave is going to be devastating because in Africa and South Africa we couldn’t get access to vaccines when we needed them most,” said Tulio de Oliveira, director of Krisp, a South African genetic-sequencing institute. “If we don’t get vaccines in the next couple of months we risk another devastating wave, not only in numbers but in lives.”
Africa remains woefully under-vaccinated, with only 1.1% of the continent’s 1.2 billion people having gotten a jab compared with about 50% of the populations of the U.S. and the U.K. that are fully inoculated. Only 50 million of the more than 3 billion doses of vaccines that have been administered globally have been in Africa, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and the effects of that are becoming apparent.
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The Lincoln Project honors Independence Day (0:55 mins)Healthy planet, anyone?
Every human being on earth is caught in the repercussions from the over-use-of-plastics. There’s little effective will from those over-producing plastics to cut back. Now, there’s a call for a global treaty to end production of ‘virgin’ plastic by 2040.Perhaps such a treaty will work. After all, this survey suggests a small majority believe there is still time to avert climate disaster…
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Our World in Data: “The world is making progress on clean water and sanitation, but is far behind its target to ensure universal access by 2030.” Here’s hopin’ ….
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
A developing ritual: early each morning me and my feather duster circumnavigate the boat and discourage spiders. During spring, summer, and fall, local spiders work hard at replicating the species and its up to us – me and my feather duster – to maintain balance.I admire spiders’ dedicated persistence, but I prefer my water-bound days free of entanglements with sticky webs. Removing webs from the boat – exterior and interior - the plants – tomato, cucumber, parley, mint, and an array of succulents – and furniture – chaise longue, table, BBQ equipment – calms.
Moreover, clearing spider web requires I present an assertive physical presence on the finger pier between my boat and that of my starboard neighbor. He’s turned into the rundown marina equivalent of a “get off my lawn” sub-urbanite. Well, a suburbanite expect for the frequent aggressively loud rap music and wafts of ‘herb’. And verbal abuse. The verbal abuse is new, and hurled at me from his mosquito netted enclosed bow.
His abuse included the useful information that, “no one here has got your back…” This is something I already know for, in essence, he means, “you’re in a predominantly male environment, you/your independence pisses us off, and no man here has got your back.”
Naturally, as a woman who has learned to look out for herself, I wrote up a summary of the incident and the background and emailed it to a friend, explaining, “This email labeled Record 1 as I expect more such incidents. Those will be labeled Record 2, Record 3, etc., as required.
Be prepared. That’s my motto, ironically echoed by Boy Scouts of America. Y’know, the lads who too often grow up to be men like my neighbor.
On the other hand, this dragonfly – probably a male - resting on the inflatable today, is an example of glorious nature.
Moreover, clearing spider web requires I present an assertive physical presence on the finger pier between my boat and that of my starboard neighbor. He’s turned into the rundown marina equivalent of a “get off my lawn” sub-urbanite. Well, a suburbanite expect for the frequent aggressively loud rap music and wafts of ‘herb’. And verbal abuse. The verbal abuse is new, and hurled at me from his mosquito netted enclosed bow.
His abuse included the useful information that, “no one here has got your back…” This is something I already know for, in essence, he means, “you’re in a predominantly male environment, you/your independence pisses us off, and no man here has got your back.”
Naturally, as a woman who has learned to look out for herself, I wrote up a summary of the incident and the background and emailed it to a friend, explaining, “This email labeled Record 1 as I expect more such incidents. Those will be labeled Record 2, Record 3, etc., as required.
Be prepared. That’s my motto, ironically echoed by Boy Scouts of America. Y’know, the lads who too often grow up to be men like my neighbor.
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Dragon fly on, my hearty! You’re a nice start to the day.
Today is another holiday day, a holiday day in lieu of yesterday’s holiday day that fell on a Sunday. American workers, often over-workers, have fewer vacation days and fewer days off from work than workers in the workplaces of any other Western countries.
I say, enjoy! One day of reprieve from work is better than no day of reprieve from work.
