International intrigue

Our world shrinks by the day, scientists (for those who believe scientists) grow smarter by the day, yet the vast majority of humans stay stuck in the same old thinking we’ve enjoyed for millennia. This disconnect could be humanities’ undoing.
As the Covid-19 virus continues to mutate, experts believe it’s probably becoming more contagious, and cases US have started to rise once again, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/24/coronavirus-mutate-contagious-study-us-cases POTUS (President of the United States) ignores 32-plus million infections and more than 200,000 dead and calls coronavirus “harmless.” 
That Trump is Trump is irrefutable; he ain’t gonna change.
Why people continue to believe him is mysterious. It appears that won’t change either.
Humans. Go figure.

News blues…

Finnish dogs respond to the call of the wild coronavirus

Four Covid-19 sniffer dogs have begun work at Helsinki airport in a state-funded pilot scheme that Finnish researchers hope will provide a cheap, fast and effective alternative method of testing people for the virus. 
A dog is capable of detecting the presence of the coronavirus within 10 seconds and the entire process takes less than a minute to complete, according to Anna Hielm-Björkman of the University of Helsinki, who is overseeing the trial. She said, “It’s very promising. If it works, it could prove a good screening method in other places” such as hospitals, care homes and at sporting and cultural events.

Healthy futures, anyone?

Lake Chad, in the Bol region,
200km from Chad’s
capital city, N’Djamena,
lies on the borders of
Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon.
Photo: Sia Kambou/AFP/Getty

Chad halts lake's world heritage status 

In a letter leaked to the Guardian, Chad’s tourism and culture minister wrote to Unesco, the body which awards the world heritage designation, asking to “postpone the process of registering Lake Chad on the world heritage list”. The letter says the government “has signed production-sharing agreements with certain oil companies whose allocated blocks affect the area of the nominated property”…

The letter asks Unesco to “postpone the process” in order to “allow [us] to redefine and redesign the map to avoid any interference in the future”.

The request follows a multiyear process involving the governments of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria to jointly nominate the Lake Chad cultural landscape to the Unesco world heritage list. It has been nominated as both a natural and a cultural site.
… “It is important to recall that the goal of the inscription of a site on the world heritage list is to ensure conservation of its outstanding universal value for future generations,” a spokesperson for the Unesco world heritage site centre said. “A suspension of the inscription process is not contemplated among the possibilities offered by the provisions of the world heritage nomination process”.
If Chad decides to go ahead with oil exploitation, the process would have to be cancelled all together, Unesco said.

***

Scientists take temperatures of butterflies to uncover climate threat 

***

In context, consider current CO2 levels in our atmosphere
Weekly averages
19 September 2020: 411.47 ppm
This time last year: 408.48 ppm
10 years ago: 387.00 ppm
Pre-industrial base: 280
Safe level: 350
Atmospheric CO2 reading from Mauna Loa, Hawaii (part per million). Source: NOAA-ESRL. 

Read more about CO2 levels.

***

Some of the best reporting the environment comes from the Guardian News . Usually, I’d not promote a news or other outlet on this blog, but these are perilous times…

41 days to save the Earth …
… the Guardian is all in. Are you? On November 4, a day after the presidential election, the US will formally withdraw from the Paris agreement on constraining global heating. It’s urgent that we tell the world what this means, and the Guardian is pulling out all the stops to do so. Will you help us by supporting our journalism?
With millions are flocking to the Guardian every day, financial support from our readers is crucial in enabling us to produce open, fearless, independent reporting that addresses the climate emergency. It helps sustain the freedom we have to present the facts comprehensively, explain the details as they unfold, and interrogate the decisions made.
The Guardian recognises the climate emergency as the defining issue of our times. That’s why we have pledged to give climate change, wildlife extinction and pollution the sustained attention and prominence they demand, as a core part of our journalism.
At this pivotal moment for our planet, our independence enables us to always inform readers about threats, consequences and solutions based on scientific fact, not political prejudice or business interests. This makes us different. And we are equally determined to practice what we preach: we have divested from the oil and gas sectors, renounced fossil fuel advertising and committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.
We believe everyone deserves access to information that is fact-checked, and analysis that has authority and integrity. That’s why, unlike many others, we made a choice: to keep Guardian reporting open for all, regardless of where they live or what they can afford to pay. Our work would not be possible without our readers, who now support our work from 180 countries around the world. Every reader contribution, however big or small, is so valuable for our future. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

***

The Lincoln Project:

We, the people, will reject Donald Trump’s presidency on November 3rd. There will be no Trump coup in this country.
The American experiment, which has endured since 1776 — through civil war, world wars, and depressions — will not yield to a dime-store Mussolini who is faithless to his duty and is the worst president in American history.
He will be repudiated and humiliated by history’s judgment. It is our job to make that happen.
Donald Trump is threatening the peaceful transition of power because he is losing and he is weak. Let us finish him off.
Peaceful Transition  (0:25 mins)
Nobody  (0:25 mins)

Meidas Touch: Arizona Knows Honor  (0:58 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

32 degrees Centigrade (90F) here today. Tomorrow: 34C (93F). And, it’s only September.

***

Late yesterday South Africa time, I received a text message from an acquaintance – I’d believed a friend-in-the-making - at the marina where my houseboat is docked: “Do you know they moved your boat?”
I did not know “they” had moved my boat – from a covered slip (out of direct sun and direct rain) into an open slip.
It was 11am or so in California (SA time is 9 hours ahead of California) and I called the office. I talked to Peter - the brother of Rob, the major share owner - and he promised Rob would call me. I’ve met neither Peter nor Rob as they only recently purchased the marina.
I was asleep an hour or more later when Rob called. He explained the covered slip cost US$100 more per month than I was paying so, without telling me, they moved my houseboat into a cheaper slip. None of their cheaper covered slips accommodated my boat’s width (“beam”).
I purchased my houseboat in July 2019, 13 months ago. For eight of those 13 months Covid-19 has locked me down in South Africa. I’ll be in SA for at least another four months, engaged with selling my mother’s house, her move and wellbeing, etc.
Marina-owner Rob also asked me how I learned about the move “so soon.” I mentioned that person I’d considered a friend-in-the-making. By the call’s end, Rob had led me to believe he’d look into a solution that would protect my boat from the full onslaught of sun and rain – despite my state of unemployment/lack of income due to pandemic.
That remains to be seen.
I filled in the person I’d thought a friend-in-the-making about my call with Rob.
Yikes!
He was angry. Accused me of using him as “a source of information,” called me a “snitch,” implied I’d exposed “a confidential source.”
Oh, oh. In what strange inter-cultural predicament have I landed?
Just what I do not want nor need: international intrigue. Another saga.

Sundowners

Whither coronavirus, you ask?

Worldwide (Map)
September 24 – 31,780,000 confirmed infections; 975,100 deaths
September 17 – 29,902,200 confirmed infections; 941,400 deaths

US (Map)  
September 24 – 6,935,000 confirmed infections; 201,880 deaths
September 17– 6,630,100 confirmed infections; 196,831 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal)
September 24 – 665,190 confirmed infections; 16,206 deaths
September 17 – 653,445 confirmed infections; 15,705 deaths

News blues…

Across South Africa in the last 24 hours, 1,906 people have tested positive for Covid-19. While SA’s infection rates continue to climb, the country is now 9th on the Johns Hopkins worldwide list  of most infected countries. Most recently, Spain surpassed SA’s numbers and rose to 8th place.
Positive news from the Western Cape

The number of active cases of Covid-19 in the Western Cape slipped below 2,500 on Thursday.  At the height of the provincial outbreak at the beginning of July there were more than 17,600 active cases and nearly 1,900 people in hospital. These figures were down to 2,492 and just over 600 on Thursday, meaning active infections in the province are 35.3 per 100,000 people.
The per capita active infection rate in Cape Town — once the epicenter of the national epidemic — is even lower, at 30 per 100,000.

***

European countries experience a second wave. Coronavirus world map: which countries have the most Covid cases and deaths? 

***

Dr Fauci “klaps” back. (For readers unfamiliar with South African idioms, “klap” is the Afrikaans word for hit back or fight back. It’s also used to describe a strenuous effort, as in, “I’ll klap that job, one way, man!” Translation into American: I’ll make short work of that job.
Watch Dr Fauci klap Congressman Rand Paul who maneuvers- and fails - to get the last word for a photo op. 
Way to go, Dr Fauci!

***

Barton Gellman’s recent article in The Atlantic,The Election that could Break America, paints an alarming election scenario 

The [election] contest will be decided with sufficient authority that the losing candidate will be forced to yield. Collectively we will have made our choice—a messy one, no doubt, but clear enough to arm the president-elect with a mandate to govern.
As a nation, we have never failed to clear that bar. But in this election year of plague and recession and catastrophized politics, the mechanisms of decision are at meaningful risk of breaking down. Close students of election law and procedure are warning that conditions are ripe for a constitutional crisis that would leave the nation without an authoritative result. We have no fail-safe against that calamity…[and] blinking red lights.

Time for Americans to engage their inner patriot and demand – and vote for – democracy over authoritarianism. There’s no time like the present.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

A conundrum: how to stage for sale one large property, full-of-“stuff” being held to use after the purchase of a small property? With limited help and limited funds to hire help?
And drive up and down to my mom’s new home in the Care Center to accommodate her need to keep her dog healthy? If Jessica, the dog, refuses to eat for a couple of days, I’m asked to purchase appetite stimulating meds for the dog. I order meds. Meanwhile, the dog – inevitably – starts eating again. 

The more things change, the more things stay the same. 

***

I thought I’d hired a skilled painter to handle the more complex areas of the house’s façade. Since she lives far from this house, we’d agreed she’d stay overnight until the job was finished. She’d bring her two dogs. Then she thought about it and decided her dogs and my mother’s three dogs that remain here, would fight. She cancelled the job. Then she thought about that – and decided she’d leave her dogs at home and drive here each day.
I’m grateful she’s coming to paint.
I do not understand the … canine fetish … that drives South Africans to prioritize dogs over making a living – or living independent of dogs.

***

With the change in weather, ending a lovely spring day next to the garden pond, sipping a “sundowner” (a cocktail in the English colonial tradition), and chatting with monkeys. Well, “chatting” is a stretch of my imagination. I invite monkeys to chat, but none have accepted my invitation – so far.
Hope springs eternal and I’ll keep trying. Already I see signs that the more mature monkeys are tempted: they sit, scratch, stare, sometimes even wander into the garden as I cajole.
Wouldn’t monkeys look great sipping on sundowners?

Licensed!

News blues…

In the latest polls US presidential candidate Joe Biden leads presidential incumbent Donald Trump 51 percent to 44 percent. https://edition.cnn.com/election/2020/presidential-polls
My only comment? How can 44 percent of the United States voting public still support Donald Trump? More than 7 million American infected with Covid-19, and 200,000 plus dead.
It is inconceivable that any human, never mind 44 percent of ‘em, could vote for a man devastating the United States with his lies.
***
The Lincoln Project:
Meidas Touch:
Joe Knows How  (0;25 mins)
Bye Kayleigh  (0:55 mins)

RVAT: As Bill watches Trump dismantle checks and balances across the board, he prepares to vote Biden. (3:45 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Big day: due to pandemic, my car license (“car registration” in US) lapsed at the beginning of May. Allowances were made to accommodate drivers’ lapsing licenses due to Covid-19. I experienced police at roadblocks making gentle suggestions about renewal – “do it as soon as possible” - instead of issuing tickets. (Municipality offices, the police station, too, have shut down several times during Lockdown due to detection of Covid-19 infections among employees. Shut downs last for two or three days while office undergo “deep cleaning.”)
Three weeks ago, I visited the municipality to renew my license. I learned I could get an appointment to renew.
Today was the day, at 11:00am.
I dreaded the visit, largely because the first time I visited that office – three years ago, to transfer my vehicle into my name – it took six visits to accomplish my goal. I’d never done it before, could find no directions on how to do it, and anyone I asked gave conflicting directions. The clerks behind the thick glass were impatient and unhelpful. In short, licensing my car annually has been stressful. Moreover, the transaction is in-person only - no online service and no functional post office to deliver pertinent and timely documents. 

While anxious, I hoped that today’s 11:00am appointment meant a quick in and out – with license in hand.
First surprise: I was fourth to join a line of socially distanced customers seated outdoors under a tree. Within 10 minutes the line was a dozen customers long. We all had appointments for 11:00am.
I tried alleviating my anxiety by reading my Kindle library book on my cell phone. Alas, I reread the same page several times before realizing I was eavesdropping on the conversation among the three people in line ahead of me.
The man dominating the conversation explained he carried vehicle license renewal paperwork for 8 other people… then interspersed his monolog with his schtick of rhetorical negativisms: “how many more years does the white man have in South Africa? He answered his own question: "20? Nah. Less." 
Then he threw in comments about “cannibalism” and how “it is not over yet” ...and followed this up with dour jokes themed on how “they” are “not on the ball”.... that “we will end up in chaos”... how he hoped “we don’t end up like Zim” [Zimbabwe] “but we’re heading there...” After that, he segued to public officials’ salaries. “They [the village mayor] make about R120,000 [US$7272] per month, a million a year” … “for doing nothing, and taking no responsibility.”
He offered insight into how “they” are “talking about taking away/doing away with peoples’ pensions... Oh well….” 

I’d arrived at 10:35 for my 11:00am appointment. I checked the time: 11:30am. I saw no discernable progress getting customers into or out of the office. 

Meanwhile, our voluble companion had moved onto sharing his plan for his old age: suicide. 

He explained he already had the means in his possession: a two-phase poison. “I’ll add it to my orange juice one morning…. No trace will be found which means my life insurance policy will be paid. It’s all about quality of life... I’ve had a good life. I got nothing... so bugger all to lose which is nice... I’ve no medical insurance. Few years ago, I had a heart attack and they took me to Edendale Hospital [a free government-run hospital]. It was like being in the heart of Africa. But they fixed me up. It cost me nothing. And I feel better than ever! Even my eyesight improved.”
11:55am.
Then two of us were called inside the office.

After sanitizing hands, having temperature taken, and filling in personal details and signing the Covid tracing document, I settled in to wait.
Three clerks served a waiting group of 6 socially-distanced customers.
Now the topic of conversation was “that horrible man” waiting in line outside, how he had paperwork for 8 vehicle owners… and how the staff intended to make him wait until the end of the work day (2pm at the municipality)…
Customers who’d experienced “that horrible man” laughed at the notion of keeping him waiting….

Soon, I faced the thick glass window and the clerk. Within six minutes, I paid my fee - no late fee - tucked my paperwork into my backpack, and departed.

Best of all: next year I'll renew my license by August 31 instead of April 30. Six months reprieve.

Bliss. 

Equinox

The past winter – my first in South Africa in decades – I recorded daily sunrise and sunset schedules.  
July 1, 2020 the sun rose at 6:53am and set at 5:11pm.
Today, September 22, 2020 the equinox, the sun rose at 5:45am and will set 5:54pm.
Fiat lux. (“Let light be made,” aka “let there be light”.) 

Perhaps We the People need more balance in how we pay attention to micro- and macro-cosms? An Equinox of Daily Living?

News blues…

Trump's Total Failure: Francis Ford Coppola On His Old Classmate  (4:40 mins)
It’s not an exaggeration to say the political struggle in the US is for the very soul of the nation. What kind of nation – therefore world – will emerge after the election? It really is up for grabs.
For decades, Americans took our version of democracy for granted. Many didn’t bother to vote or to struggle against the authoritarian direction Republicans slowly instituted. 

Let's pray it's not too late. After praying, let's get out there and work for a better outcome. 

Healthy futures, anyone?

First, the bad news: “I lived the climate crisis every day of my childhood. This November, I'll vote on it.”
And the “we’ll get to it sooner or later” news: Botswana says it has solved mystery of mass elephant die-off.
 Now the good news, aka, “who-knew?” news: the sacred giants of the dung-beetle world  

***

The Lincoln Project:

It’s critical we defeat Trump and Trumpism in November. His enablers in the Senate are just as guilty for aiding and abetting this criminal administration as Trump himself.
Let’s ensure South Carolinians know: It’s America, or Trump.
Lindsey's lack of integrity once before, and now, thanks to you, his race is a dead heat as voters are now finally recognizing the extent of his cowardice.
To ensure Lindsey’s defeat, we have to expose his depravity — and we’re using his own words to do it:
“I want you to use my words against me...You can say 'Lindsey Graham said let’s let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination.'"
Lindsey Graham can not, and will not, stand up for principle—or even his own word.
He has abandoned his duty and neglected South Carolinians, all while cowering to Trump and his cruel, antidemocratic agenda.
Once Trump entered the White House, Lindsey’s fidelity to his principles—and his oath—vanished.
Time and time again, Donald Trump has proven to be horrifically unfit and dangerous—and at every turn, Lindsey has done nothing but give Trump cover, accommodate his corruption, and evade any accountability.
Lindsey is petrified at the threat of a Trump tweet. Let’s remind him who he answers to.

Accountable  (0.25 mins)

Is Jamie  Harrison the guy who can vote Lindsey Graham out?  (5:35 mins) 

It’s up to you, South Carolinians. To quote Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, “Make it so.”

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Back in July, I posted the beginnings of a saga involving my mother’s long term domestic worker’s son, a lay about, make-no-effort-to work drunk. Miffed at being dislodged from his comfy spot his mother had organized to bum off my elderly mother, I had him ousted, legally. Nevertheless, his mother – my mom’s domestic worker - continued surreptitiously to let him enter and exit the property each night. After security cameras showed this, I locked the upper gate and kept the only key. Thwarted and in a drunken rage, he threatened to kill, rape me, etc. (he’d served prison time for rape). I had him served with a restraining order. When his mother departed her job and this area last week, I expected he’d leave with her.
Alas, “best laid plans,” etc., etc. The saga continues: yesterday, I learned he’s still here, somewhere in the village.
Why?
Who knows? Not on my account, I hope.
His mother sends him money for food.
I informed our security service so they’re aware I’m still under threat of physical harm.

***

Oakland, California lies on San Francisco Bay, adjacent to Alameda, the delightful island city I lived in for the last 20 years. When I’m not in KwaZulu Natal, I work in Oakland, too.
Architecturally, Oakland is fascinating: art deco buildings interspersed with modern, postmodern, Chinese, and everything in between.
Recently, a friend wrote me about this city:

Did you know all of Downtown Oakland is completely shut down? From Jack London Square [the waterfront] all the way to about 21st Street almost all the shops are boarded up in covered up with Black Lives Matter murals. It's wild! You can't smash any more windows because there aren't any Windows left to smash. I look at it as a rebellion against corporate repression. They left standing a couple of the smaller shops, but obliterated all the banks, the CVS, the Walgreens, Target - virtually anything that looks look like a chain store - is gone. There would be no reason for anyone to go to downtown to shop for anything because there's nothing there. For whatever reason, what's left of Jack London Square is still intact. It's just all along Broadway that is decimated.“

I’ve an ongoing project photographing changes in rural and urban environments, both in my small part of KZN and in California, including Oakland. Before I departed California in January, I and a friend spent the afternoon walking Downtown Oakland and Chinatown while I photographed most recent changes. So much has changed there - driven by the tech industry (Uber, for example, headquarters in Oakland) - that we got lost in Chinatown.

These photos – none of which are mine – show the area over time. 
Now? Photos taken during Black Lives Matter protests:
Set 1.  

Set 2.

I see these photos and remember the times I’ve spent in Oakland, working, enjoying city life, sightseeing, and protesting - the invasion of Iraq, the ongoing war and trauma to American troops and Iraqi civilians, etc.

I miss it. 

I want to be there.

ngiKhathele

After a weekend prepping my mother’s large house for sale and ngikhathele - (Zulu) I am tired!

And it ain’t over yet.
Did I bite off more than I can chew?
Possibly.

News blues…

The big news in South Africa? Level 1 is on! Be careful out there: Covid-19 infections and fatalities continue.  Wear your mask, wash your hands, socially distance, but go to work, travel….
Talking about travel, yesterday I heard an unfamiliar sound overhead: an aeroplane/airplane. Haven’t heard an aeroplane since Lockdown began. What’s more, it looked like SAA – even though that airline is teetering on the edge of closure due to corruption-inspired bankruptcy.
If SAA can fly high, so can I. So can you!

*** 

A tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, RIP: How she spent her last weeks. 

***

Other news out of the US is too depressing, too much same old/same old Trumpie, just too much alarm to share.

***

In South Africa, the barely functional post office does not have to pay retirement funds to post office retirees.

The post office retirement fund has failed in its court bid to force the SA Post Office (Sapo) to continue making contributions to the fund despite the tough financial situation the postal agency finds itself in due to Covid-19. Last week the high court in Pretoria dismissed the fund's case with costs. In her judgment, Judge Elizabeth Kubushi said the economic downturn resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic was of a magnitude that no-one could have predicted.
The fund took Sapo to court after not receiving members' contributions for May, June and July. In its arguments, the fund said its concern was that the member contributions are deducted from their salaries but not paid into the fund.
The fund argued that the benefit of pension contributions is a legal obligation which must be complied with, adding that according to the fund rules, this must be done monthly.
In response, Sapo agreed that it should have paid the contributions as it was supposed to, but said under the current conditions it would not have been possible.

***

Jerusalema – the ultimate: African animals join in… (4:31 mins)

Healthy futures, anyone?

Along with fear and uncertainty, it was clear Covid-19 and its accompanying PPE would create a giant pile of plastic discards. This is the quintessential paradox of modern life: that which makes life safer and more convenient also destroys the ecosystem, even the planet.
As Rumi said, “heedlessness is a pillar that sustains our world….”

“Cleaning volunteers asked to record plastic PPE found on UK beaches: Beach clean organiser wants to assess amount of masks and gloves discarded during coronavirus crisis.”
 Volunteers in this year’s Great British Beach Clean are being asked to record the personal protective equipment (PPE) they find, to get a clearer picture of the volume of plastic masks and gloves discarded during the coronavirus pandemic and their impact on the environment.
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS), which organises the annual September event, is urging people to organise their own surveys with smaller groups of friends, family and “bubbles”, in line with government guidance.
“It’s likely we’ve all seen masks and gloves littering our local area, whether that’s on the coast or on our street” said Lizzie Prior, MCS beachwatch officer. “Much like other single-use litter, face masks and plastic gloves put our seas and marine life in danger. PPE can be mistaken for food and ingested by marine life or trap animals in the elastic straps of face masks as we’ve seen recently. It’s so upsetting to see another form of single-use litter polluting the UK’s beautiful beaches, and we’re determined to ensure this doesn’t become a new normal.

***

The Lincoln Project:
The Notorious RBG  (1:12 mins)
Goodness  (0:55 mins)
If Trump is re-elected, he’ll rip the Constitution to shreds. He’s told us so.  (1:20 mins)

Trump has turned the US into a “shithole country”… That’s about the only thing he’s succeeded in doing in this entire life. What a legacy.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

That plan for my Sunday that I expressed in yesterday’s post - stay home, work in the garden, don my waders and remove fast growing pond weed, and attend to my compost pile? None of that happened. Instead, I prepped my mom’s large house and began to box her now semi-abandoned property – bed linens, clothes, and pots, pans, other kitchen impedimenta.
My mother’s remaining longtime domestic worker is here working, too. Due to privacy, I’ve hesitated to share names, but it’s appropriate to recognize Martha’s efforts. She’s a trooper and I’m glad she’s working alongside me.
Martha, as usual, will prepare breakfast for the remaining two dogs – and for Jessica, the dog that accompanied my mother. I’ll drive Jessica’s breakfast to the Care Center. Yes, for now Jessica has hot food delivered. I thought that life would become easier with fewer dogs around, but no – it gets more complex and more resource intensive.

Early voting begins

The Lincoln Project lawn signs. 

Polling booths open in certain areas of the United States for early voting. Voters claim they’re stimulated by the recent death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “I’m voting for the future lives of my children,” one woman said.
In Virginia, Trumpies grouped in front of the polling area, waving flags and shouting. Unprecedent behavior outside pollling booths….
Will voting make a difference in how Trump, Trumpies, and the Republican-majority senate approach the nomination for the next justice? That is, will they respect the "will of the people" and allow the process to unfold in respectful order? 

Nah!

News blues…

The unbecoming fight for the next Supreme Court justice is on.
Judaic tradition mourns for seven days. Islam tradition mourns for three days. Christian tradition mourns for seven days (up to 40 days for Orthodox).
Mourning Ruth Bader Ginsburg and reviewing her extraordinary life is being shoved aside and replaced by a distasteful Trumpie-flavored squabble.

Jerusalema

The Jerusalema dance challenge continues…. People all around the world are sharing videos of their unique teams dancing to the hit song Jerusalema by South African musician Master KG, featuring the voice of songstress Nomcebo Zikode.
Ghana Army  (1:25 mins)
The Novices of Daughters of St Francis of Assisi (FSF) at St Leo Formation House - Izotsha - Umzimkulu Diocese  (5:25 mins)
Jerusalema Master KG Top best dance challenge World Wide  (12:15 mins)
Interview with South Africa’s Master KG on the massive global hit  (12: mins)

***

The Lincoln Project:
Accountable  (0:25 mins(
Hypocrisy Incarnate  (1:18 mins)
Meidas Touch: Demand Decency  (0:45 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

After days of moving my mother into the Care Center, I plan to stay home, work in the garden, don my waders and remove fast growing pond weed, and attend to my compost pile.
I will also sort through what likely will be the first of two rounds to auction my mother’s personal property.
Keeping "RBG" in mind, I celebrate the spring and welcome the first monsoonal rainfall.
Lots to do.

American Calamity!

Five fifty a.m. Saturday morning, I checked the news on my smartphone. Calamity! Ruth Bader Ginsburg (“RBG”) succumbed. After years of fighting cancer, the trooper died.
I’m surprised at how devastated I am.
Today, I wish I was in the US, among people who know and understand what the passing of this really terrific human woman means.
This brief posting honors RBG. 2020 Liberty Medal Honoring Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Jerusalema

Amid death, live! President Ramaphosa advised South Africans to dance amid the pandemic (socially distanced, of course). I add, dance to celebrate RBG’s amazing strength.
The Jerusalema dance challenge has taken social media by storm – and touched hearts around the world (including mine; how wonderful people can be when we put our minds to cooperating as a collective). People all around the world are sharing videos of their unique teams dancing to the hit song Jerusalema by South African musician Master KG, featuring the voice of songstress Nomcebo Zikode.
Start here: a description and meaning of the Jerusalema challenge by KP Hospital  (7:03 mins) in South Africa, where it all started, Barberton High School  (3:50 mins) and Plettenberg Bay  (3:50 mins)

Also, Transylvania  (2:12 mins)
Jerusalem  (3:15 mins)
10 Best (so far) Jerusalema Dance Moves | WORLDWIDE  (12:05 mins)
More dancers and dance moves tomorrow….

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Today, I mourn … and feel… life…

Jerusalema

New week, big numbers: more than 30 million people around the world infected with Covid-19, close to one million dead.
Horrific.

Healthy futures, anyone?

First the good news: Dolphin numbers up in Hong Kong after Covid crisis halts ferries 

Large numbers of dolphins returned to Hong Kong waters within weeks of the Covid-19 crisis shutting down high-speed ferries, and researchers are now calling for protections before the ferries resume.
Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, also known as Chinese white dolphins and pink dolphins, are native to the Pearl River estuary, but typically avoided the waters between Hong Kong and Macau because of the high volume of high-speed boats.
But researchers say that with the pandemic drastically reducing water traffic, including the suspension of ferries, dolphin numbers in the area have risen by 30% since March.

Wildlife photos to start your weekend off right 

Then the bad news: Birds 'falling out of the sky' in mass die-off in south-western US 

Flycatchers, swallows and warblers are among the species “falling out of the sky” as part of a mass die-off across New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Arizona and farther north into Nebraska, with growing concerns there could be hundreds of thousands dead already, said Martha Desmond, a professor in the biology department at New Mexico State University (NMSU). Many carcasses have little remaining fat reserves or muscle mass, with some appearing to have nose-dived into the ground mid-flight.
“I collected over a dozen in just a two-mile stretch in front of my house,” said Desmond. “To see this and to be picking up these carcasses and realising how widespread this is, is personally devastating. To see this many individuals and species dying is a national tragedy.”

The world fails to meet a single target to stop destruction of nature – UN report 

The world has failed to meet a single target to stem the destruction of wildlife and life-sustaining ecosystems in the last decade, according to a devastating new report from the UN on the state of nature.
From tackling pollution to protecting coral reefs, the international community did not fully achieve any of the 20 Aichi biodiversity targets agreed in Japan in 2010 to slow the loss of the natural world. It is the second consecutive decade that governments have failed to meet targets.
The Global Biodiversity Outlook 5, published before a key UN summit on the issue later this month, found that despite progress in some areas, natural habitats have continued to disappear, vast numbers of species remain threatened by extinction from human activities, and $500bn (£388bn) of environmentally damaging government subsidies have not been eliminated.

***

The Lincoln Project: Plan  (0:57 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

We end this week with short, unexpected – that is, unannounced - electrical power outages. No explanation from Eskom for several varying length outages last night. No notice on Eskom’s app about what’s happening. We are in the dark!
A side effect of the outages - darkness then power surges as power comes back online? Alarm systems, ours and that of dozens of residences in the area, strain. Ours beeps intermittently and persistently for no apparent security breech. I’ve figured out how to quell the sound, but it is disconcerting: how does one know when the beep portends trouble?
This week, President Ramaphosa advised this nation, enjoy your weekend – and dance the Jerusalema challenge.  (3:54 mins)

Alas!

Another week of pandemic, but Lockdown eases in South Africa. As of Sunday, we the people of South Africa go to Level 1, with restrictions eased. Alas, many countries are experiencing a second wave. 

Things don't look good anywhere. I began this post early this morning but put it aside to fulfill other obligations. Coming back to it at days end, the number of infections and deaths have increase. 

Below, the numbers from this morning – 6 hours ago – shown in “(x )” and italics.
Worldwide (Map) 
September 17 – 29,902,200 confirmed infections; 941,400 deaths)
(September 17 – 29,764,000 confirmed infections; 939,450 deaths)
September 10 – 27,766,325 confirmed infections; 902,470 deaths.
US (Map)
 September 17– 6,630,100 confirmed infections; 196,831 deaths
(September 17– 6,631,650 confirmed infections; 196,800 deaths)
September 10 – 6,360,000 confirmed infections; 190,820 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal)  
September 17 – 653,445 confirmed infections; 15,705 deaths
(same numbers/not updated)
September 10 – 642,431 confirmed infections; 15,086 deaths

News blues…

President Ramaphosa addressed South Africans last night with good news: as of 20 September, we’re going to Alert Level 1. This includes:

• Further easing of gatherings - up to 50 percent of “normal capacity of a facilty” up to 250 people indoors and 500 outdoors.
• Keep wearing masks, sanitizing hands, keeping social distance
• Funeral capacity up to 50; vigils not permitted
• Exercising, etc., up to 50 percent of venue capacity – subject to social distancing
• Sporting event restrictions remain
• Voting – subject to health protocols, as are jails, schools, etc.
• International travel: gradually and cautiously easing restrictions after Oct 1 2020 with continued restrictions for countries with high rates of infections; Main airports only: Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town; travelers must hold negative test result not older than 72 hours; No test? Required to remain in mandatory quarantine at travelers own cost; Showing symptoms? Quarantine until repeat tests are negative;
• Visa applications open and longterm visas will be reinstated;
• Curfew hours: midnight to 4am
• Alcohol for home consumption purchased between Monday to Friday from 9am to 17:00pm; Onsite consumption at licensed establishments with adherence to curfew
• Economic sectors open but careful!
• Wear masks, socially distance, wash hands, ventilate all buildings
• Let’s rebuild economy and restore growth and jobs.

Ramaphosa addressed Gender Based Violence (GBV) as a crisis made worse by the pandemic.
He also advised South Africans to celebrate upcoming Heritage Day as a time to enjoy family and to reflect on the journey we’re on with Covid-19, to remember those lost, to rejoice in our national heritage, celebrate the global phenomenon Jerusalema – and to sing, dance with “good moves”, and to rollup our sleeves to restore national prosperity and development.

Gosh, the man is presidential. What a novel concept for my American self! 

Watch Ramaphosa's address to the nation. (36:00 min) 

Compare the President of the United States on masks, etc. response to how humans can protect themselves from Covid-19 (if they feel like it). Trump contradicts and demeans CDC director  (10:00 mins)

***

The Lincoln Project urges:

There is a critical shortage of poll workers.
Due to Trump’s catastrophic failure in stopping the spread of coronavirus, there will likely not be enough poll workers for this election. Insufficient staffing could cause polling locations to close, leaving many people unable to cast ballots.
If you are able and comfortable, we highly encourage you to sign up to serve your community as a poll worker and help ensure every voter is able to cast his or her ballot securely.
Donald Trump's failures and attacks on our election are an existential threat to our republic.
In sowing distrust of our electoral processes and encouraging his supporters to vote twice and police voting locations, he seeks to intimidate voters, cast doubt over our free and fair elections, and claim an illegitimate win.
We cannot let Trump steal this election by defrauding our country. Serving your community and our country as a poll worker is an act of patriotism; there's nothing more American than helping protect democracy. Having fully staffed polling locations is absolutely critical for the security of our election during the most consequential vote of our lifetimes. 
Signing up to be a poll worker is fast and easy—you can get started right here.  

***

RVAT: Paul has a question for Christians who support Trump.  (2:23 mins)

***

An alert travel advisory received from the US Embassy in South Africa

The Department of State revised its Travel Advisory for South Africa on September 15, 2020. 

The Department continues to advise travelers to exercise normal precautions in South Africa. Reconsider travel to South Africa due to COVID-19.  Exercise increased caution in South Africa due to crime, civil unrest, health, and drought.
Read the Department of State’s COVID-19  page before you plan any international travel.   The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 3 Travel Health Notice for South Africa due to COVID-19. 
South Africa has lifted stay at home orders and resumed some transportation options and business operations.  Visit the Embassy's COVID-19 page   for more information on COVID-19 in South Africa. 

Violent crime, such as armed robbery, rape, carjacking, mugging, and "smash-and-grab" attacks on vehicles, is common. There is a higher risk of violent crime in the central business districts of major cities after dark.
Demonstrations, protests, and strikes occur frequently. These can develop quickly without prior notification, often interrupting traffic, transportation, and other services; such events have the potential to turn violent.
Parts of South Africa are experiencing a drought. Water supplies in some areas may be affected. Residential water-use restrictions are in place in Cape Town and other municipalities. Read the country information page. 
Please see our Alerts  for up-to-date information. If you decide to travel to South Africa:

• See the U.S. Embassy's web page   regarding COVID-19.  
• Visit the CDC’s webpage on Travel and COVID-19. 
•  Avoid walking alone, especially after dark.
• Avoid visiting informal settlement areas unless you are with someone familiar with the area.
• Do not display cash or valuables.
• Drive with doors locked and windows closed.
• Always carry a copy of your U.S. passport and visa (if applicable). Keep original documents in a secure location. 
• Conserve water and follow local guidance on water use for tourists and Save Like a Local.
• Check the City of Cape Town website  for up-to-date information and guidance on how to manage water consumption.
• Monitor water levels at the City of Cape Town’s Water Dashboard.
• Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
• Follow the Department of State on Facebook and Twitter.
• Review the Crime and Safety Report for South Africa.
• U.S. citizens who travel abroad should always have a contingency plan for emergency situations.

• Review the Traveler’s Checklist. 

Yikes, I’d be discouraged from visiting a country with this many cautions – if I wasn’t already Locked down here!

***

AMERICAN? VOTE IN UPCOMING ELECTIONS
If you have not received a requested absentee ballot in time to return it to your state, you can use The Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) as a backup ballot to vote for federal offices. The FWAB is available online at this link:  https://www.fvap.gov/eo/overview/materials/forms.

Hard copies of the FWAB are also available from your nearest U.S. Consulate. If your state absentee ballot arrives after sending in the FWAB, fill out and send in the official ballot as well. Your state will count only one. The Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot – FWAB States administer elections in the United States and send absentee ballots to voters away from their voting residence.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

My mother’s first full day at the Care Center. I phoned in the morning and she reported all went well overnight. Important to note that Jessica, the dog, was well rested, too.
Care Center misplaced the forms I’d filled out back in March when I first attempted to get my mother into care. Then the pandemic scuppered all plans. Soon as Level 2 was reached, I approached the Center again. That was 6 months ago. So, re-doing all forms again.

49 more days

49 more days left to the US presidential election. But Trump, if he loses the election, hangs around until January 20 – his window-of-opportunity to further punish Americans, this time for voting him out.

News blues…

Trump visited Sacramento, California and, with his usual wisdom, advised “forest management” is at root of California’s devastating fires, that dry trees become “like matchsticks” and must be “removed” from forests. (BTW: Most US forests are on land owned by the federal government – which makes “forest management” his bailiwick.) According to Trump, “raking forest floors” is correct forest management – the PM of Norway told him that.
Still in Sacramento, in the context of acknowledging California’s soaring temperatures but avoiding the topic of climate change, Trump tackled the weather, predicting: “It’ll start getting cooler. You just watch.”
According to The New York Times, “Mr Trump and his senior officials have regularly mocked, denied or minimized … human-caused climate change … and has sought to zealously rollback [environmental] regulations.”

***

Scientific American breaks its own record and steps into the fray. After 175 years of Scientific American not endorsing a presidential candidate, the respected magazine – and scientists – endorses Joe Biden for president.  (3:30 mins)

***

The Lincoln Project:
Trump NO Nos Quiere YouTube  (1:17 mins)
Don Winslow Films: How we got here  (2:20 mins)
RVAT: President Trump couldn't care less about our military heroes (5:00 mins)
And, on the topic of political ads… Donald Trump et al blow it: 

MSNBC’s The ReidOut, “Campaign Ad Slammed As Overtly Racist”  (1:58 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Today, I delivered my 87-yr-old-mother and her chosen dog, Jessica, to her chosen retirement center. This move has been month’s in the making – plans interrupted by the pandemic, my mom changing her mind, then changing it back again, repeating that…
Finally, after we paid the deposit and first month’s rent, the household got on board behind the decision. We retrenched (“laid off”) a long term employee but retained another to help prepare the house for sale.
Today has been a long time coming.
Tomorrow, we pivot: 1) ready the house for sale, 2) possibly purchase a unit in a lovely “estate” (akin to a “gated community”), 3) figure out when – and how – I can return to California without exposing myself to Covid-19 or climate change fire-related health hazards.
But first, tonight is a moment to breath deep, pat myself on my back (no one else in the extended family will do so) and feel grateful that my mom will adjust into a new, safe, people-and-animal-filled life for her remaining days.
Amen.

Getting there

The Johns Hopkins Covid-19 Dashboard  has been one of the most reliable data providers for coronavirus infections, trends, and deaths. This week’s numbers are rising fast to what, six months ago, was inconceivable: 30 million infections – and 100,000 dead.
Sobering. Terrifying.

News blues…

According to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s report recently published report,  

In only half a year, the coronavirus pandemic has wiped out decades of global development in everything from health to the economy. Progress has not only stopped but has regressed in areas like getting people out of poverty and improving conditions for women and children around the world.
“In other words, we’ve been set back about 25 years in about 25 weeks,” the report says. “What the world does in the next months matters a great deal."
Global action to stop the pandemic would prevent illness and deaths caused by Covid-19, but there's more at stake: The crisis sets back strides made in global poverty, HIV transmission, malnutrition, gender equality, education and many more areas. Even if the world manages to get the coronavirus under control soon, it could take years to claw back lost progress.

***

The Lincoln Project:

Broke  (0:55 mins)
Don the Con  (0:58 mins)
School  (0:25 min)
RVAT: Nebraska Republican: I Remember a Very Different GOP  (1:50 mins)
Brian can't vote for Trump for two reasons: he destroyed fiscal conservatism and he's a moron.  (0:50 mins)

***

This is a favorite Lockdown interaction: “Father & Son" (Cat Stevens Lockdown Parody  (3:15 mins)
Like The Kiffness? Take a tour of Dave Scott’s pandemic compendium. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Three weeks ago, my mother was offered a choice of a large room or a small room for her upcoming life in a local up-market Care Center. She chose the smaller.
I begged her to reconsider, take the larger room, choose comfort over cost. Yes, the larger room was more expensive. But she and her large, hefty mongrel, Jessica, would have space to relax in the larger room.
I couldn’t convince her.
Then, yesterday, fewer than 24 hours before moving, she changed her mind. Suddenly, she wanted the larger room.
I tried. I contacted the Center manager. The larger room had been snapped up by a decisive couple. More power to them.
At the Care Center today ("100% lockdowned due to Covid-19"; masks compulsory at all times)  to set up my mom’s small room, I peeked into the larger room as passed: the decisive couple resident there now looked very settled and comfortable. 

I’m pleased I planned my mom’s move over two days: first day to set up the room; second day to drive her and Jessica there, a hassle-free, leisurely settling in.
For, “what can go wrong, will go wrong.”
The delivery of her new 6-drawer “bed base”/box spring was unsuccessful; something about not having received payment despite me having paid.
The team hired to set up her television arrived four hours after their scheduled appointment due to “unexpected delays.”
Had I decided to fit the move and the relocation into one day, my mother and Jessica would have spent all day waiting - and still not have had a bed in which to sleep.
Hoping for better service tomorrow.

Eyes on POTUS

POTUS in San Francisco -
and no one can find him! 

Orange on orange. Oh no! The president visited San Francisco to offer aid and maybe make fun of the Democrat politicians running the state a little bit. But as soon as he stepped off Air Force One, Secret Service lost their visual on him, his soft, persimmon-hued skin blending in perfectly with the fiery hellscape around him. 

"Anyone got eyes on POTUS?" a frantic Secret Service agent shouted into his radio. "We've lost him! Repeat, we've lost him!" 

President Trump was completely invisible from the moment he arrived. 

News blues…

Level 1 anyone?

Just as spring is in the air, so too is the anticipation for further relaxation of lockdown regulations with a move to the risk-adjusted level 1 expected soon.
With the National State of Disaster for Covid-19 extended by a month on Thursday, expectations are for President Cyril Ramaphosa to address the nation in the coming days. 

***

The excuses Republicans, Trumpies, and Republican propaganda trumpeting machine Fox News’ maintain for Trump not arming Americans with the truth to fight Covid-19? “The fog of war.” An “epidemiological Pearl Harbor.” Oh, and Dr Fauci. And China (“Chayna!”) More excuses to come. Brace yourself…. 
Nevertheless, a real question remains: Why did Bob Woodward sit for so long on the audio tapes of Trump’s interviews? Was it, like John Bolton, to sell his book? Or because he’s a journalist embargoing information, including journalistic ethics to protect sources? If so, does that apply to current circumstance? Isn’t there an over-riding responsibility to the people of the world?

***

Science Writer at The Atlantic, Ed Yong’s August 2020 article, “How the Pandemic Defeated America: A virus has brought the world’s most powerful country to its knees.” 
Ed Yong interviewed on MSNBC, discussing the American response to COVID-19.  (2:04 mins)

***

Cross cultural political ads. Political ads are not confined to the US election. South Africa creates fine political commentary, too. Meet The Kiffness  (4:25 mins)
Another Kiffness product, off topic on the pandemic but timely.
Julius Malema (Jerusalema Parody)  (1:52 mins)
Background: Economic Freedom Front (EFF) frontman Julius Malema took offense at an advertisement published by Clicks. (Clicks is similar to US’s Longs or CVS chain of stores.) The ad shows “dull and damaged” and “frizzy and dull” over images of black women with “normal” and “fine and flat” used over images of white women. Describing the ad “insensitive and offensive,” EFF organized a violent invasion of Clicks stores.
“Mzansi” is a colloquial name for South Africa and also refers to aspects of South African arts, culture and leisure, etc. 

RVAT: Hardcore Conservative: Now Voting for Biden  (3:58 mins)
Young Business Owner: Flipping from Trump to Biden  (4:45 mins)
113 Reasons REPUBLICANS Aren't Voting for Trump in 2020  (11:25 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Another trip to the local city to recycle wine bottles I couldn’t recycle last week due to Lockdown’s rules about alcohol consumption.
Another day to try – gently – to persuade my mother to attend to what she wants to pack. Diplomacy is not easy.
Stressful week ahead.

Fool’s paradise

A banner protests President Donald Trump’
 pandemic and climate change response
 at RNC HQ, 24 Aug.
© JEMAL COUNTESS VIA GETTY IMAGES 

Trump’s latest surreality? Comparing his response to Covid-19 to PM Winston Churchill’s response to the Blitz of WWII.
One problem?
Trump got it wrong - again.
Trump said of Churchill, “He always spoke with calmness. He said we have to show calmness.”
Churchill may have spoken “with calmness,” but he was forthright and truthful with the British people. According to historian Jon Meacham, author of Franklin and Winston,  Churchill said, “The British people can face any misfortune with fortitude and buoyancy as long as they are convinced that those in charge of their affairs are not deceiving them, or are not dwelling in a fool’s paradise.”
Trump’s response? Covert, deceitful, denying, and patriarchal: hiding of the truth from Americans so as not to “cause panic” – as if child-like Americans must be protected from the truth.
A fool’s paradise is Trump’s favorite paradise.
A sample of what Twitter users had to say about Trump and Churchill:

• Winston Churchill never, NEVER, said that the Blitzkrieg was a hoax, or that he took “no responsibility at all.”
• And he certainly wasn't put off by the rain. [A reference to Trump refusing to attend Belleau Wood as rain would muss his hair.]
• Or that his followers should disregard the blackout orders and keep their lights on proudly for freedom.
• “No the Nazis aren’t coming. Relax. It’s a hoax. And besides if Hitler does show by April the heat will drive him out. Like a miracle, all the Nazis will just disappear.”

Am I uncharitable towards Trump - again? Perhaps it’s a case of mistaken identity and Trump, notoriously imprecise, was referring, not to Churchillian, the statesman, but chinchilla, the rodent?)
Surprisingly, there are people out there who favorably compare Churchill and Trump. A motivational speaker and diehard Trumpie authored a book promoting Churchill and Trump as “defenders of Western Civilization.”

News blues…

More Trumpian imprecision: In a series of expensive ads posted on Facebook and Instagram, the Trump campaign claimed President Donald Trump had been nominated for the Noble Peace Prize – for achieving “PEACE in the MIDDLE EAST!” 

Two problems:

Problem 1: There is no such prize as the Noble (it is the Nobel)… 

Problem 2: unfortunately, the Middle East is as unpeaceful as ever.

***

More accurate political ads
RVAT: Gulf War Vet Tears Trump Apart  (3:20 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Yesterday-today-and-tomorrow shrub

Rain predicted on Tuesday and Wednesday, moving days. I’ve hired two movers for Tuesday’s transport of my mom’s small collection of furniture and large TV. This being South Africa, a seat-of-the-pants country, should I remind the movers to bring tarps for cover. Or should I trust movers will do so? Hmmm. 

***

Spring is springing. As I write, perfume of the yesterday-today-and-tomorrow perennial shrub wafts through the garden. The brunfelsia pauciflora, a species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae, the nightshades, is another exotic carried to South Africa from Brazil. Other common names include, morning-noon-and-night, Kiss Me Quick, and Brazil raintree.
My mother transplanted this shrub from her former home.
I might graft a segment to grow in my new South African home. A fitting legacy.

Attention requested

News blues…

President Cyril Ramaphosa and health minister Zweli Mkhize's tease at dropping to level 1 lockdown and easing restrictions further.

According to Ramaphosa, some of the proposals are from religious leaders who are requesting an extension in the number of people who may attend gatherings… the sports sector, the entertainment, hotels and tourism industry had also submitted proposals.
“We are considering all of that as we do an evaluation of where the infection rate is. We will be able to give consideration to all of these proposals and get advice,” said Ramaphosa.  “This is where we will need advice from the Medical Advisory Committee as well as from our [National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure] NATJoints, which is the real engine of monitoring our coronavirus approach.

This, even as SA records 113 new Covid-19 deaths and approaches more than 650,000 confirmed infections. The recovery rate is close to 573,003 or close to 89 percent.  The latest pandemic update confirmed the death of 97 more patients in the past 24-hours: 17 from KwaZulu-Natal, 21 from Gauteng, seven from Eastern Cape, four from Free State, one from Limpopo, 26 from Mpumalanga, 15 from North West and six from the Western Cape.

Healthy futures, anyone

All the world’s people must begin to grapple with the reality of climate change. That we’re amid climate change is the reality that must shift from the ideological to the practical, despite denier politicians, denier corporations, denier citizens….

After touring the fire damage in the North Complex Fire near Oroville in Northern California, Governor Gavin Newsom was in no mood for one of his usual, careful media statements. “If you do not believe in science,” Newsom said bluntly while standing in the ashes of what once was a Butte County forest, “I hope you believe observed reality.”
“The hots are getting a lot hotter and the wets are getting a lot wetter. The science is absolute. The data is self evident. We have to own that reality and we have to own the response to that reality.”
Last year by this time, 118,000 acres had burned, he observed. This year, it’s over 3 million acres charred. The state is currently battling five of the 20 most destructive fires in the last century. The debate is over in terms of climate change. If you don’t believe that, just come to the state of California.”

Last week, it was predominantly California that suffered devastating wildfires. This week, it’s the west coast, from southern California to Washington, with Oregon and Oregonians experiencing fire nightmares. 
Cry, beloved west coast.

Deadly wildfires raging Friday in Oregon, Washington and California made two major West Coast cities — Portland, Oregon, and Seattle — the places with the worst air quality in the world.
Portland had an air quality index of over 200 on Friday — more than that of any other major city in the world, according to IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company that operates a real-time air pollution monitoring platform.
Seattle ranked second, with an AQI of around 190. 

My hometown-away-from-home, the island city of Alameda in the San Francisco Bay, recently experienced an AQI of 235.
All Bay Area friends, within the inner bay, and outside it, report ash falling like snowflakes, and cooler than usual temperatures. But no rain.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Anyone who is a daughter knows the kind of tension common among mothers and daughters. I’m no exception. Lockdown in SA initially exacerbated the tensions between me and my mother. Moreover, I’ve little in common with her chosen lifestyle – multiple dogs, domestic workers, huge house and garden. To me – independent, focused on art and ideas – that lifestyle is enigmatic, cumbersome, confining….
Yet, here I am, the “go-to” person expected to maintain this lifestyle. It’s a challenge to which the pandemic and Lockdown has added layers of complexity.
Over the last 170 days, my mom left the house once: last week, a trip to the vet’s clinic to put down her three elderly dogs. She’s unfamiliar with the lengths to which the public and neighbors conform or not, to pandemic regulations. Nor is she invested in ensuring her domestic workers conform. That was left to me. And, when I instituted regulations to ensure safety, especially the safety of my 87-year-old mother, my efforts were undermined, even chastised. This sticky situation was exacerbated by domestic workers reluctant to accept and conform to Lockdown regulations in general and more so to those of the household.
Next week, however, things look up: one domestic worker – the most reluctant – leaves my mother’s employ after 38 years.
Next day, I move my mother’s good to her new home in the Care Center.
Day after that, I move my mom and her dog.
Then, preparation for sale of house begins….

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…. 

***

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

***

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.

***

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.

Cooperation

Smoke from multiple wildfires
burning in California and Oregon
hung above a layer of fog
in San Francisco.
Click to enlarge. 
Photo: Jessica Christian /
The Chronicle. More photos 

The sun came up as usual, but in California it hid behind a thick blanket of smoke, fog, haze, and muck. Headlights and porch lights stayed on all day. Flashlights came out at high noon.

The ominous shroud was a product of the plumes of smoke billowing from the historic number of wildfires burning across the state, as well as Oregon and Washington. Wind conditions overnight pushed smoke into lower elevations, filtering sunlight and producing dark tints of red, orange and gray. Still, air quality remained mostly unchanged.
The orange dimness confused almost everyone and everything — from the Bay Lights display on the Bay Bridge, which is supposed to turn off a half hour after sunrise, to pets acting unusually standoffish to folks who spied the early-morning darkness, figured their alarm clocks were wrong, and rolled over and went back to sleep.
Hours after sunrise, dawn remained something of an oversight. At high noon, the heavens grew darker instead of lighter. The surreal replaced what passes for the real. 

***

Worldwide (Map)  
September 10 – 27,766,325 confirmed infections; 902,470 deaths
September 3 – 26,940,000 confirmed infections; 861,870 deaths
New daily cases: 232,982; new daily deaths: 4,737

US (State by state map)
September 10 – 6,360,000 confirmed infections; 190,820 deaths
September 3 – 6,114,000 confirmed infections; 185,710 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal)
September 10 – 642,431 confirmed infections; 15,086 deaths
September 3 – 630,596 confirmed infections; 14,390 deaths
SA dropped from 5th highest infections rates in the world to 8th highest, surpassed, this week, by Peru (696,190) Colombia (686,850), and Mexico (658,299).

News blues…

Is South Africa slowly beating Covid-19?

The statistics are as confusing as they are potentially enlightening. “We are seeing that we have had what seems to have been a peak, and now we have the daily numbers of cases being reported overall in [Africa] going down,” the World Health Organisation Africa regional director Matshidiso Moeti is reported to have said recently.
However, tracking the arc of the virus in Africa has been and remains a challenge. Could it be possible that the continent has actually passed its Covid-19 peak? Can anyone now or in the near future speak with conviction of the true toll of Covid-19 on the continent?
Poor data management or just a Covid-19 enigma? discusses the trends and statistical enigma, and encourages readers to understand that the “positive” news of Covid-19 easing and that the return to normalcy should be treated with some degree of caution.

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize suggests, the declining number of infections in SA may move the country to Level 1 soon.

“We can safely say we are over the surge. June, July and August were the worst months, as predicted by our models. However, we found that not as many people as the model suggested would be affected… A number of factors could be attributed to the declining number of infections.”
“A major factor is that we embarked on containment measures, and there may well be other factors in the environment here. We are very grateful for the support we got from South Africans to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus.”
Asked when the county could move to level 1 and what measures would be put in place, Mkhize said President Cyril Ramaphosa would give an indication in a few days.
“We are still discussing all the issues. The president will give us a sense of direction, but we will be preparing to start easing to the next level.” 

***

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has admitted that, back in February 2020, he knew the dangers of Covid-19. He elected to hide that information from Americans as, 

“I want to show calmness, I’m the leader of this country,” Trump told Hannity on Wednesday after the accounts were published. “I don’t want to be jumping up and down, I don’t want to scare people. I want people not to panic. And that’s exactly what I did.” 

Hmmm, if I wasn’t scared before this revelation (I was), I’m scared now. Of the virus, yes, but more scared because this man remains in a position he’s demonstrably incapable of mastering.
Moreover, Trump’s former lawyer and fix-it guy, Michael Cohen recently tossed out a “theory”: Trump will resign if he loses the presidential election and pave the way for Vice President Mike Pence to pardon him for any federal crimes he’s supposedly committed. 
Sounds like Trumpian logic….

***

The Lincoln Project: LPTV – The Breakdown (56:00 mins) Vote Vets
POW  (1:00 min)
A Real Commander-in-Chief  (1:20 mins) 

Usually, this segment shares ads developed to address the current moment: 1) Republicans and former Republicans offended by Trump and Trumpian rhetoric and urging voters to elect the opposition’s candidate, and 2) points of view outside of the “normal” mainstream of American socio-political culture. The following 2 ads fit the latter category.
We're Listening | Joe Biden For President 2020   (1:00 min)
Eject and elect  ((0:30 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I accept that I’m in KZN, under Lockdown. There is no part of me that is glad I’m not in California, suffering from catastrophic fires. Indeed, disaster, catastrophe, and stress,

may actually lead to greater cooperative, social, and friendly behavior…. This more positive and social response could help explain the human connection that happens during times of crises, a connection that may be responsible, at least in part, for our collective survival as a species. 

I watch from 14,000 miles away, listen to family and friends struggle with conditions of pandemic and environmental disaster, and I worry. California is weeks away from rain. How will Californians survive?

***

Eskom. Don’t gotta love it, but do gotta live with it. Today, Eskom messaged customers: “No load shedding scheduled, but possibility exists that Stage 2 could trigger at short notice. We’ll let you know immediately if anything changes.
If Stage 2 triggers, power in this neighborhood is expected to shut off from 22:00 – 00:30 (10pm – 12:30am). That’s manageable. If it goes according to “possibility.” The only thing consistent about Eskom and load shedding is the inconsistency.

***

Here, at home, we’re three dogs down, experiencing cool weather with comparatively clean air.
Packing up the household continues….