Guttered

Worldwide (Map) 
April 28, 2022 - 511,746,700 confirmed infections; 6,228,600 deaths
April 29, 2021 – 149,206,600 confirmed infections; 3,146,300 deaths

US (Map) 
April 28, 2022 - 81,189,400 confirmed infections; 992,800 deaths
April 29, 2021 – 32,229,350 confirmed infections; 574,350 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
April 28, 2022 - 3,776,300 confirmed infections; 100,351 deaths
April 29, 2021 – 1,578,500 confirmed infections; 54,290 deaths

April 28, 2020 post: “Chomping at the ‘net” >> 
April 29, 2021 post: “Consequences” >> 

News blues

A Florida judge’s ruling on mask mandates – to get rid of them – can impact humans today and into the future.

The decision by Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, a judge appointed to the Federal District Court in Florida by former President Donald Trump, is part of a larger effort by conservative judges nationwide to rein in federal administrative agencies. Experts in those operations, working under the direction of Congress, write many of the rules that govern our lives.
If Judge Mizelle’s ruling is upheld, Gostin and Hosie warn, “the C.D.C. will be seriously hobbled and a ruinous precedent will be set for the entire federal regulatory apparatus.”
Which is why they write that even if you’re completely fed up with masking up, you should be distressed about Judge Mizelle’s decision.

Read more >> 

***

The Covid outbreak in China quickly moves toward city-wide testing >> 

***

Dr Fauci: The U.S. is no longer in the “full-blown” pandemic phase. He reports the U.S. is no longer seeing “tens and tens and tens of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths” from COVID-19. But…
Read more >> 

***

The Lincoln Project: Last week in the Republican Party - April 27, 2022  (2:15 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Trash it or recycle it? How plastics keep us guessing >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Freedom Day yesterday, International Worker’s Day on Sunday and recognized as a public holiday on Monday. In April, the 18th was Family Day, the 15th Good Friday, and in March the 21st was Human Rights Day. Plenty of holidays – no official businesses open – in this part of the world.
Mollified: while unscrewing screwy screws does not a carpenter make, I’m mollified that the window frame I replaced after re-puttying the pane, did not fit because of long-term issues with fitting, not my lack of carpentry skills. In other words, an actual carpenter found that the frame was warped and, on querying the domestic worker, learned the window didn’t close properly “before.” I’m still not a carpenter, but I am mollified.

***

An exchange/barter arrangement to clear this house’s roof gutters of debris, moss, and sprouting flora went awry. Perhaps my expectations were “too American”, that is, if one has already received the bartered item, one performs the work in a timely manner or presents a reason why the task is delayed and reschedules. Perhaps if I were “more South African” I’d recognize that, well, things get done – eventually – when the planets and stars align perfectly, one “feels” like doing it, etc., etc. Clearing gutters is particularly important when rainfall exceeds expectations, and a house has a tendency towards dampness. Debris overloaded gutters means heavy rainfall simply overflows and floods verandahs and walkway and further damages already damp walls.
Yes, I tend towards over-independence – if you want something done, do it yourself. And, yes, after weeks of watching gutters overflow, over-independence won out over self-protection: do not climb rickety ladders to clean gutters yourself. Happily, I found a happy medium and climbed rickety ladders to clean the roof gutters I could “easily” reach.
I cleaned 5 of 8 gutters of a thriving compost of moss, mud, and organic materials that went, fittingly, into the compost pile.
Now I must find someone with the tools and the courage to tackle the five remaining, more precarious and more densely-packed gutters.
The joys of maintaining an elderly house. Not!

***

My afternoon walk around the neighborhood presented Willem mowing communal lawns and verges. I’d never seen him before but wished him “a happy Freedom Day”. He responded and I took the opportunity to introduce myself. Since he was friendly, I took the opportunity to ask if his property had flooded recently. (This info could help with my plea to roads dept to unblock culverts.) 
Willem was a font of local knowledge: no trees grew in the area when he moved into the area in 1974; the stream was more of a river back then and otters cavorted along the river/stream banks. I also learned how and after whom the road was named, how mowing communal verges encourages homeowners to mow their own lawns, and the history and habits of various homeowners.
Today, I awoke with the realization that Willem could make an ideal accomplice in my plan to reintroduce an otter family to the stream. Moreover, he could encourage his neighbors to alter their section of the stream to encourage otters, too.
Perhaps the neighborhood’s joint efforts for otters and other water creatures would encourage the local animal rehab group to release otters into the stream.
One can dream.

***

Some sun though cold…
KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:26am
Sunset: 5:27pm

San Francisco Bay Area
Sunrise: 6:16am
Sunset: 7:56pm

5G. Golly gee!

KwaZulu Natal is many things… including a mishmash of misinformation and hysteria amongst those who believe that 5G towers are spreading coronavirus, that vaccines will “infect” their blood with “demons,” and that a combo of 5G, coronavirus, vaccines, electricity transmission lines, etc. herald the imminent apocalypse… 
The targeted “bad guys” at the center of many conspiracies circulating in South Africa? 

Bill Gates and Anthony Fauci. George Soros, too, although he’s more demonized in the US than he is in South Africa.
Interestingly, few South Africans recognize Mark Zuckerberg, his name, his social media platforms, or his outsized role in social media. This, despite WhatsApp - and Facebook - being social media platforms of choice for “everyone” in SA with a mobile phone .
Conspiracy theories swirl more than ever as news circulates about users having to opt into WhatsApp’s updated privacy rules by 6 February  
As increasingly bizarre conspiracy theories multiple exponentially, Telegram is promoted as the alterative social media platform. In the US, however, Telegram (along with Gab, CloutHub, and MeWe) are described (by “normal” people) as “a haven for MAGA extremists and far-right message boards such as 8kun (formerly 8chan)).
Positioned with one foot in California and one foot in KZN offers a fascinating peek into human complexities, conspiracy theories and all.

News blues…

Eish! Hasn’t he left yet?

(Above) This week’s New Yorker magazine says it all.

Next week’s prescient New Yorker cover.  

***

As Donald Trump prepares to scuttle out of Washington, DC, he’s said to be selling pardons, for up to $2 million each. 
Hey, Donald, haven’t you heard? “You’re fired!”

***

The Lincoln Project: The Liar's Guide to Mendacious Hypocrisy  (2:06 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Will Neptune’s balls save us?

Underwater seagrass in coastal areas appear to trap plastic pollution in natural bundles of fibre known as “Neptune balls”, researchers have found. 
With no help from humans, the swaying plants – anchored to shallow seabeds – may collect nearly 900m plastic items in the Mediterranean alone every year, [according to a study] in the journal Scientific Reports.

My concern about miracle cures, whether Neptune’s balls or any other?
Humans tend to decide “someone else” is taking care of the planet's plastics problem and nothing more effort is required of them.
Friends, that’s far from true.
Much of the plastic dropped in recycling bins isn't being recycled. 

In 2014, 22 percent of PET plastic collected for recycling was exported out of the United States. Plastic production surged from 15 million tons in 1964 to 311 tons in 2014 — an increase of more than 2,000 percent. 

According to the EPA, of the 267.8 million tons of municipal solid waste generated by Americans in 2017, only 94.2 million tons were recycled or composted. Sixty-six percent of discarded paper and cardboard was recycled, 27 percent of glass, and 8 percent of plastics were recycled. 

Recycle, recycle, recycle and learn if plastic is recycled productively in your neighborhood. 

Your efforts, small or large, are vital. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Heron Pond is one of four small lakes spaced, ladder-like, in a shallow valley near my section of my soon-to-be-new home. Over the weekend, while circumambulating Heron Pond, I learned anyone can fish for bass in any of the small lakes – Heron, Stork, Robin, and Duck.
Traditionally, fishing has not been my choice of pastime. I have accompanied a friend into California’s Sierra foothills to fly fish trout. LINK He practices catch-and-release so I wasn’t faced with the dilemma of watching a pretty trout lose the struggle for breathe on a riverbank.
While he fished, I explored tide pools, scrambled over rocks, and admired rock formations.
The idea of sitting on the bank of Heron or other pond appeals. I’d probably not bait the hook (what if a bass bites?), but holding a fishing rod/pole would provide cover for sitting near and staring into water.
Or I could watch for fish eagles These amazing predators frequent these ponds. I watched two circle overhead and one dive to the pond surface. 

Vegetation blocked my view of whether her/his dive was productive.
Next time, I’ll carry a camera

***

Sore throat update: My infected throat is neither noticeably better nor worse. I continue to steam and gargle salt water. I took advice from the doctor’s office to use a throat spray and to try a different over-the-counter lozenge or syrup.
While I’m willing to go with medical advice, to date my flesh is unwilling to comply.

Farewell to arms

News blues…

Oh, oh! Trump has touched a nerve. Could Jeffrey Goldberg’s article in The Atlantic, “Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’”  do in the prez?
Has the Trumpster met his match in the US military?

When President Donald Trump canceled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018, he blamed rain for the last-minute decision, saying that “the helicopter couldn’t fly” and that the Secret Service wouldn’t drive him there. Neither claim was true.
Trump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain, and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day. In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed.

“A Retired General CRUSHES Donald Trump For Calling Fallen Soldiers ‘Losers’”  (4:50 mins)

VoteVets:  Gold Stars  (0:57 mins)
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow shares author Mary Trump’s story of Donald Trump’s view of the military.  (5.24 mins)

This week’s batch of political ads hammer Trump’s disloyalty to the US military and its personnel.
Not someone who likes to listen to or make predictions, nevertheless I predict The Donald will come to regret his disregard and his disrespect of The Troops.
To Americans, Trump’s attitude to women, Ukraine, impeachment, the presidency, the coronavirus, nationalists, inciting violence, can be flicked off as trivial.
His attitude to the US military? Nope. It is a giant strategic error that will sink his re-election efforts. There’s no coming back from this. 

 
Meidas Touch: Vote Out JQNI  (o;29 min)
Draft Dodger Don: Trump Hates Our Troops  (0:54 mins) 

RVAT: Republican Voter: Voting for Biden to Save American Democracy  (6:02 mins)

*** 

Despite Trump’s woeful showing in polls, the American presidential election process offers plenty of quirks. It’s not, for example, a direct democracy where majority votes determine the winner. It’s a republic bolstered by an Electoral College designed to “manage” the process and, to my mind, ensure direct democracy, aka the “popular vote” can be (has been) thwarted. Here’s why and how Joe Biden could face an uphill battle in the US election.

Healthy futures, anyone?

Dear SA  is a “legally recognized public participation process that allows citizens to co-form policy at all levels of government.” Most recently, the Department of the Environment, Forestry and Fisheries invited members of South Africa’s public to amend the Environment Conservation Act Plastic Carrier Bags and Plastic Flat Bags Regulations.
Sign before the invitation closes on September 7 (so far only 5863 signatures) 
Background: 'War on plastic' could strand oil industry's £300bn investment. Major oil firms plan to grow plastic supply to counter impact of shift against fossil fuels . 

© ‘Energy companies must no more
be allowed to flood the oceans
with polyethylene than
they should be allowed
to pump the atmosphere
full of greenhouse gases.’
Photograph: Dan Clark/USFWS/AP 

An editorial in the Guardian news responds: 

Reports of plans by the oil industry to expand the supply of virgin plastics by a quarter over five years, while putting pressure on countries such as Kenya to lift restrictions on their use, show how urgently this needs to change. Plastics are not a byproduct of the fossil fuel industry. They are a product of it. The expansion of plastics manufacturing, on which companies including Saudi Aramco and Royal Dutch Shell plan to spend about $400bn (£300bn), is part of the industry’s coordinated response to the reduced demand for fuel brought about by the shift to renewable energy and electric vehicles.

Reduce, reuse and recycle has long been anti-waste activists’ slogan, and it still serves a purpose. Encouraging people to stop consuming stuff they don’t need, to pass unwanted objects on, and recycle rubbish rather than send it to landfill are all worthwhile goals. The trouble is that it isn’t working. Currently, about 8m tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean every year, with the latest research suggesting that this quantity could triple in 20 years. A new approach is required that retains a strong emphasis on personal and collective responsibility (which help keep beaches and parks clean), while sharply increasing pressure on politicians and businesses.

That Guardian photo shared above? I’m not sure where it was taken but I can attest to it being no exaggeration, and not a one-off.
In 2000, I traveled to Midway Island, north of Hawaii, with the Oceanic Society, to aid research on spinner dolphins.
Midway is a breeding ground for Laysan albatross and our group visited the atoll at the end of the breeding season after the healthy birds had departed. Only sick, dying, and dead birds remained. Too many of the dead birds echoed that photo: starved to death from ingesting too many BIC lighters, bits of colored plastic, small plastic containers, etc. 

A healthy Laysan albatross 

It’s estimated about five tons of this sort of plastic is fed to chicks each year at Midway Atoll alone. The volume of plastic in a chick's stomachs causes death by dehydration as well as by sharp plastics fatally puncturing portions of the digestive tract.

***

As a ceramic sculptor, I focus my art on alerting viewers about the dire shape of our planet due to heedless misuse of its bountiful resources.

(c) Jabula-arts
Click to enlarge. 

This piece is from my “Heedlessness” series – so named after a line from Rumi’s poetry: “Heedlessness is a pillar that supports our world….”   
This piece maps the Great Pacific garbage patch, and the pelagic critters dependent upon healthy oceans. The life raft – embedded in the headdress – is a common motif in my work.

 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Delving into a whole new arena of South African culture: weapons, arms, ammunition.
Keeping in mind America’s pro-gun, shoot-first-ask-questions-later culture, I warily drove to the local gun shop carrying three of my mother’s elderly weapons: a pellet gun, a single-barrel shotgun, and a Berretta pistol/handgun, along with her gun licenses. My goal was to learn how guns are managed here and either to sell or consign the gun shop to sell the weapons, or hand them over to be neutralized.
At the gun shop, the gun expert called the local police station to confirm the licenses had been issued “after the new law went into effect.” They had. But the police also had a record of my mother owning a 38 revolver.
I called my mother from the store and learned that that revolver had been stolen seven years ago. She couldn’t remember if she’d reported the theft.
Problem # 1: According to the police, she had not reported the theft – and must do so. Daunting thought: besides more bureaucracy, my frail 87-year-old mother – as the owner of the weapons – must go in person to the police station… which means wearing a masks and waiting outside in the coronavirus-socially-distanced line, in the hot winter sun.
Apparently, not reporting the theft will create a paper trail nightmare for her relatives (me!) after she passes.
Problem # 2: Word on the street states never surrender weapons to the police as “the police” are likely to sell the guns to “bad guys” to perpetrate bad deeds.
Urban legend? Shaggy dog story?
Who knows?
If the paperwork associated with surrendering weapons is anything to judge by, Problem # 2 never happens. Nor is it something within my control. My job is to take my mother and her guns to the police station, stand in line, do the paperwork, hand over the guns, and return my mother to her home. 

Nevertheless, the frequency with which I’ve heard this warning, however, makes me wonder about the underlying truth.
In the end, it’s yet another reason to avoid the arcane world of guns and gun-ownership.