Phish food

Worldwide (Map) 
June 9, 2022 - 534,061,700 confirmed infections; 6,306,200 deaths
June 10, 2021 – 174,500,000 confirmed infections; 3,759,200 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 82,656000 confirmed infections; 1,8040100 deaths

US (Map) 
June 9, 2022 - 85,324,615 confirmed infections; 1,010,800 deaths
June 10, 2021 – 174,500,000 confirmed infections; 3,759,200 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 19,737,200 confirmed infections; 342,260 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
June 9, 2022 - 3,971,000 confirmed infections; 101,397 deaths
June 10, 2021 – 1,713,000 confirmed infections; 57,320 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 1,039,165 confirmed infections; 28,035 deaths

Posts from:
June 10, 2021, “Renewings” 
December 31, 2020, “TGIO” 
Day 77, June 11, 2020, “Embers, ashes, and flames” 

News blues

Subvariants spread while the administration takes away $10 billion from existing pandemic funding, half of which will go to finance updated vaccines — when those become available — and the other half will pay for treatments, including the Pfizer drug Paxlovid.
Read more >> 

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In South Africa, Gauteng has the majority of the new Covid cases (32%) followed by the Western Cape (23%), Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal (11% each), Free State (7%), Mpumalanga, (5%), Northern Cape and North West (4% each), and Limpopo (3%).
There were 85 new hospital admissions in the past 24 hours, bringing to 2,285 the number of people now admitted in hospitals with Covid-19.
Read more >> 

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Covid infections continue, but humans pay less attention to the data. Institutions such as Johns Hopkins University & Medicine’s Coronavirus Resource Center continue to provide expert insight. Learn more from a recent Q&A, “The Future of the Pandemic Initiative” 

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Monkeypox is of increasing concern – more than 1,000 cases outside of Africa , but what is it? (1:40 mins)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that new genetic sequencing data indicate there are at least two distinct monkeypox outbreaks underway outside Africa — a surprise finding that one official said suggests international spread is wider, and has been occurring for longer than has been previously realized.
Three of 10 viruses the CDC has sequenced from recent U.S. monkeypox cases — two from 2021 and eight from 2022 — are different from the viruses that have been sequenced by several countries involved in the large outbreak that is spreading in and from Europe.

A pox on monkeypox! Read more >> 

On war – and the Culture War

Photos and news from Ukraine battle fronts >> 

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According to US Congress’s House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), if “everyone had just prayed more, 19 children and two teachers might not have been massacred by a gunman in a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school last month.” 

Yes, “thoughts and prayers continue”… >> 

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The Lincoln Project:
It’s not a joke  (0:20 mins)
Make up your mind (1:15 mins)
Mark Meadows unlocked  (1:30 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - June 7, 2022  (2:22 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Sometimes ice cream is the only antidote to the craziness “out there”. 

My fav? Phish food.

Too subtle?

News blues

It’s getting increasingly difficult to find Covid news. The news that is published tends towards repetition, along the lines of numbers of infections up but no reliable data available: “The real COVID surge is (much) bigger than it looks. But don't panic” >>

Occasionally a lone voice, such as the UN’s environment chief warns that nature is sending “us” a message about the connection between the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing climate crisis:

…humanity was placing too many pressures on the natural world with damaging consequences and warned that failing to take care of the planet meant not taking care of ourselves.
… the Covid-19 outbreak was a “clear warning shot”, given that far more deadly diseases existed in wildlife, and that today’s civilisation was “playing with fire”. They said it was almost always human behaviour that caused diseases to spill over into humans.
To prevent further outbreaks, the experts said, both global heating and the destruction of the natural world for farming, mining and housing have to end, as both drive wildlife into contact with people.

Read more >>

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On war – and “the culture war”

Progressive pranksters Jason Selvig sarcastically thanks NRA president Wayne LaPierre for consistent offering of “thoughts and prayers” to victims and families – and all Americans. Selvig suggests even more thoughts and prayers will stop future massacres that Republican politicians refuse to legislate again. Look and listen >>  (2:18 mins) Perhaps too subtle?

Ukraine – photos from the war zone >> 

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The Lincoln Project: Trump's Texas Speech in 90 Seconds  (1:30 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I’ve lived in this island town for more than 20 years and never seen the beach as crowded as it was yesterday. (True, I don’t gather stats on crowd size, so it is possible that, behind my back, larger crowds have gathered….) Yesterday, a dozen parasailers readied equipment on the beach while dozens more sailed in the bay. Kite flyers were out in force, too, taking advantage of the breeze, as families and friends BBQ’ed and socialized along the beach and in the park.
Lovely to see people shucking off the scary experiences of the past 3 years and opting for social enjoyment.

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Heading towards midsummer’s day in the SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 5:49am
Sunset: 8:24pm

Heading towards midwinter in KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:45am
Sunset: 5:08pm