Inching closer

The US and the world inch closer to seeing the back of Donald J. Trump and his devastating mal-influence. 

Now that the Electoral College has concluded it’s tally, and (a handful of) Republican Congress people have conceded Biden’s status as president elect, one can only hope that the Trumpster and his grift will exit stage right….

News blues…

Twenty-four hours, 7,500 new Covid infections and 200 deaths in South Africa. The bulk of the deaths in in the Eastern (95) and Western (70) Cape. KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 23 of deaths, Gauteng 10 and Limpopo and the Free State six each. 
We’re inching toward a million confirmed infections.
Tighter lockdown restrictions in place locally, too (see below).

***

From The Lincoln Project:

Our Republic’s institutions — from the courts, to election officials, to the Electoral College — held firm through the most critical stress test in over a generation.
Yesterday, members of the Electoral College met in their respective states to cast their official ballots. Without so much as a single faithless elector, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were duly elected President and Vice President.
The weeks since the election have served as verification for everything we believed and said about our current president and his enablers.
Trump’s attempted coup will go down in history as one of the most un-American, anti-democratic, destructive, and shameful undertakings by a sitting president.
This attack was a close call for democracy and our Constitution. Fortunately, the election itself was not particularly close — or we could be confronting a coup on the precipice of victory.
While Joe Biden’s and Kamala Harris’s triumph and the new chapter for our country should be celebrated, we cannot avoid the unvarnished truth — Trump Republicans are willing to discard democracy and the will of the American people when it becomes politically advantageous for them to do so.
Luckily, we know their names.
And the American people will know their names, and what they signed their names to.
We, The Lincoln Project, will ensure it.
As it has become increasingly evident that Trumpism has metastasized throughout Republican Party ranks, we are steadfast in our determination to expose and defeat every last one of them.

Amen!

Healthy planet, anyone?

Ten thousand years of undisturbed nature will soon be open to the highest bidder, starting at $25 an acre

On 6 January, the [US] Bureau of Land Management, directed by the Trump administration, is scheduled to hold a virtual oil and gas lease sale – an “aggressive, competitive exploration and development program” – for drilling in Alaska National Wildlife Refuge - ANWR. More specifically, in the 1.5m acre coastal plain, the refuge’s biological heart: the birthing grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd, the prime denning area for the Beaufort Sea population of polar bears (a threatened species, numbering only 900), and the breeding sites for birds that every year fly across oceans and continents to raise their young on undisturbed, flower-embroidered tundra.
Ten thousand years of natural beauty and balance – America’s last great wilderness – will soon be “open” to the highest bidder, beginning at $25 an acre. The winner could initiate seismic testing: shaking the earth with massive vibration trucks, awakening polar bears in their dens. If the testing shows a strong promise of oil (which is presently unknown), they may build an industrial complex of roads, well pads, desalinization plants, airstrips and pipelines, all tied into Prudhoe Bay, some 80 miles to the west. If not, the seismic testing alone will produce many scars visible for decades.
How can this happen? Easy.
On the final page of the massive 2017 feed-the-rich federal tax bill, the Alaska senator Lisa Murkowski added oil and gas exploration as a “purpose” of ANWR.

Read the article “America's last wilderness is about to go to the highest bidder for oil drilling” 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

When it comes to virulent infection, timing is everything….
I’m preparing to move into my new home in a secure community – aka “the Valley” - that also houses the Care Center in which my mother – and her dog, Jessica – are resident.
Yesterday, the day after President Ramaphosa tighten Covid-related restrictions on all South Africans, “the Valley” leadership shut down access to visitors. This, due to an increase in infections.
Luckily I’d hurried to the office last week - the day after I was handed keys to my new home – to register my new status as owner. Had I not done so, “visitor” status would have barred from entering the grounds.
I’m pleased the community is vigilant against the virus and I’m dismayed that, for the duration, I’m permitted to visit my mother in the Care Center only once a week. Since she’s experiencing significant “adjustment issues” (“I can’t stay here,” she complains), I’ll stand outside and chat with her through the window.
I hope I can continue to walk the dog, too. I’ll meet Jessica at the back gate and take her for a short walk that includes a “roly poly.” I’d hate to deny her the pleasure of flopping onto her back and groaning with delight as she kicks her legs and twists and turns on the grass.
***
Happily, the Covid-19 notification app I added to phone reports, “no exposure found: according to your recent interactions with people using this app, you have not come into close contact with someone who uses the app and has tested positive for Covid-19.”
Nice to know. Best not to think about the app’s big weakness: effectiveness relies on a critical mass of users. How many, besides me, currently use this app?

Inquiring minds wanna know….

Update U/SA

News blues…

As vaccinations begin across the US, Perry Wilson, a physician, clinical researcher, and epidemiologist, congratulates the 95 percent efficacy of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines.
“It is unprecedented and “better than any of us hoped for.”
He also warns, “We need to be careful. We need to temper our enthusiasm with the acknowledgment that the vaccine is a weapon we may not be fully prepared to wield. A lot can still go wrong.”
Here are 9 things that can go wrong, according to Dr. Wilson who encourages, “By worrying together, we can prevent much of this from happening”:

1. Unexpected long-term side effects (probability: low)
2. There won’t be enough vaccine for everyone (probability: low)
3. Vaccination becomes politicized (probability: low)
4. There won’t be enough vaccine supplies (probability: medium)
5. People won’t get both doses (probability: medium)
6. Doctors will bend the truth to help their patients get a vaccine faster (probability: medium)
7. Vaccines will exacerbate inequality in the health care system (probability: high)
8. A false sense of security develops (probability: high)
9. Anti-vaxxers amplify and misrepresent side effects (probability: almost certain)

Read the details >>  

***

According to research published by a team with New York University,  “SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, leads to neurological injuries in roughly 1 out of every 7 people infected.”

Those injuries run the gamut in severity, from temporary confusion to seizures and stroke. And they can occur without the virus appearing to directly enter the brain or the nervous system, suggesting many neurological injuries associated with COVID-19 are a secondary effect of becoming really sick with the virus, which can lead to problems like oxygen loss and blood clots.
To that end, the researchers behind the NYU study have argued their findings show that doctors who treat patients with serious COVID-19 must be aggressive in getting oxygen levels stable. If they cannot, the brain may pay a steep price. 
…Symptoms and side effects can include encephalitis and inflammation of the brain, chronic cognitive deficits, neurological symptoms such as headaches and dizziness, and mental illness that could include anxiety, depression or insomnia.

Will this info convince the most anti of the anti-maskers to mask up? 

***

President Ramaphosa addressed the nation last night. (Be patient. It takes 7:10 mins to crank up; be entertained with background noise and sound checks until our president appears.) My favorite part of Ramaphosa’s public addresses? He greets the wide range of South African ethnicities in her/his/our own language.)
Summary: more than 8,000 cases in 24 hours. Soon SA will hit a million confirmed infections.
SA has entered a second wave. Rate of increase requires us to act together. Daily average is 74 percent higher than previous 7 days. Deaths increase by 50 percent to 150 death/day.
Four provinces E and W Cape, KZN and Gauteng…. Among young people, 15 to 19 yrs old. Contributors to rise in infections:
Social gatherings and parties
No social distancing. Venues are overcrowded, inadequate ventilation, no sanitizers available, no masks worn, alcohol use high.
Increased travel – few prevention measures. The more we travel the greater the potential for spreading the virus.
Safer to socialize with immediate family than with others.
Observe basic and easy to follow directions.
No longer see the point in observing safety measures/precautions.
Festive season poses great threat – traditionally time for gatherings, travel, relaxing.
Must go back to observing safety measures.
Take extraordinary measures with a view to saving lives and protect business.
Takeaways:

• Hotspots: Sarah Bartman and Garden Route districts now restricted areas.
• “Festive season” is a risky time and response of gov’t and NCCC:
• Nationwide restriction from midnight tonight
• Stricter enforcement of Level 1 including drivers and operators of public transport must wear masks
• Stores, etc., obliged to ensure customers wear masks
• Employer must ensure masks on all employees
• Will be liable for fine or 6 months imprisonment Super spreaders: gathering may not be attended by more than 100 indoors, outdoors 250 – total must not exceed more than 50% capacity of venue, and ventilation, wear masks, use hand sanitizers
• After funeral gatherings prohibited
• Beaches and parks to close for duration of Dec 16 to Jan 3, Eastern cape, Garden route. KZN beaches and parks closed Dec 16, 25, 26, 31 plus Jan 1, 2, 3. Beaches in North and Western Cape remain open.
• Festivals prohibited at beaches and parks; 9am to 6pm open, monitored daily
• Poor compliance = closing or limiting access

NCCC on standby for monitoring throughout season; leave “tempered” and on standby
To prevent burden on health system:

• Alcohol: curfew from 11pm to 4am; non-essential establishments close at 10pm before enforcement of curfew
• Curfew includes Christmas and New Year’s Eve Retail sale of 10 am and 6pm M – Thursday; Tastings at wineries okay
• No consumption at public spaces
• Review in new year based on condition of infection
• National lockdown was designed to restrict infection and give us time to deal with and to delay pandemic
• We must act based on best scientific evidence
• 38,000 health workers tested positive; 5000 admitted to hospital; 331 deaths
• Must support and protect health workers
• Season must be both festive and safe – keep celebrations small, avoid crowds, well ventilated
• Masks cover nose and mouth
• Limit travel
• Limited number of contracts at least one week before travel, immediate family
• Isolate if any symptoms and seek medical attention

Vaccine: SA participating with WHO Covaxx
Vaccinate “certain groups” early next year
Next weeks will be our greatest test to do things differently: requires us to give up short lived pleasures, play your part, follow precautions…
Let us welcome the new year united as resolute nation.

***

The Lincoln Project’s Steve Schmidt on Trump Coup - Star Wars  (1:42 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Our planet still has secret places… and heretofore unknown species. Let’s hear it for “sky islands” – isolated hotspots of evolution…. 

An “ecological Swat team” has discovered 20 previously unknown species in the misty cloud forests and cascading waterfalls that flank Bolivia’s Zongo valley.
Among the animals found were a minuscule 10mm-long frog, a pit viper, two metalmark butterflies and an adder’s-mouth orchid. The pristine forests are just 30 miles (48km) from the capital, La Paz, but the expedition also rediscovered the devil-eyed frog, seen just once before, and a satyr butterfly not seen for nearly a century. Alongside these were threatened species including the spectacled bear and the channel-billed toucan.
The high, steep-sided peaks of the Andes harbour enormous biodiversity because movement between them is difficult for wildlife and results in isolated hotspots of evolution that are known as “sky islands”.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I’ve been intending to turn in my mother’s weapons – a Beretta pistol, a single barrel shotgun, and a pellet gun. (A 38 handgun was stolen from the house several years ago.) I keep putting it off as I’m intimidated by the idea of standing in line outside the police station holding these weapons and a pile of paperwork. 

Then I asked my brother if he’d do it (since he knows the weapons, the process, etc.) I’ve filled in the paper work for him and he agreed to do it – more than a month ago. 

Today is the day. Not to be skeptical but…

***

My increasingly frail mother fell yesterday. Apparently, the staff tried to reach me on the phone although I received no calls nor any sign I’d missed calls. Tough not to trust one’s phone connection. Instead, I received an email at 3:00am this morning. I’ll head up to the Care Center today.
“Old age is not for sissies!”

Vaccine!

A UPS truck backs into
the loading dock at the Pfizer Inc.,
manufacturing and storage facility
in Portage, Michigan, USA,
 13 December 2020.

News blues…

Word spread quickly yesterday that President Ramaphosa would address the nation last night (Sunday). Soon after, another message explained he’d delay his address until tonight. With SA’s current daily rate of new infections at 7,999 (Saturday/Sunday), I suspect the president will impose further Covid-related restrictions for “the festive season.”
The year of living dangerously.

***

Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini, of the tiny absolute monarchy Eswatini, tested positive for COVID-19 four weeks ago. Hospitalised in South Africa, he died on Sunday of Covid. He was 52. 

***

Is living with Covid-19 rewiring our brains?
I talk regularly to family and friends in the US. Some – Lockdownees – suffer more than others from isolation. Intellectually, we know the pandemic is altering our psyches. Now, research supports this awareness.
The loss of the connecting power of touch, for example, can ‘trigger factors that contribute to depression – sadness, lower energy levels, lethargy. The pandemic is expected to precipitate a mental health crisis, but perhaps also a chance to approach life with new clarity. 
This is both necessity and choice. Choose “to approach life with new clarity.”

***

Researchers at Yale University found that Covid-19 patients had large numbers of misguided antibodies in their blood that targeted the organs, tissues and the immune system itself, rather than fighting off the invading virus.
Dramatic levels of “friendly fire” from the immune system may drive severe Covid-19 disease and leave patients with “long Covid” – when medical problems persist for a significant time after the virus has been beaten…. 

***

The Lincoln Project: Fool me  (0:25 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Go out an spot a bird…

A new study  reveals that greater bird biodiversity brings greater joy to people, according to recent findings from the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research. In fact, scientists concluded that conservation is just as important for human well-being as financial security… and determined that happiness correlated with a specific number of bird species.
"According to our findings, the happiest [humans] are those who can experience numerous different bird species in their daily life, or who live in near-natural surroundings that are home to many species," says lead author Joel Methorst, a doctoral researcher at the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center, of the Goethe University in Frankfurt.
The authors calculated that being around fourteen additional bird species provided as much satisfaction as earning an additional $150 a month.
According to the study authors, birds are some of the best indicators of biological diversity in any given area because they are usually seen or heard in their environments, especially in urban areas. However, more bird species were found near natural green spaces, forested areas and bodies of water.
In the U.S., birding has become a more common and accessible hobby during the pandemic. 
…"Nature conservation therefore not only ensures our material basis of life, but it also constitutes an investment in the well-being of us all….”

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Psychotherapeutic therapy – “counseling” – is culturally mainstream is many parts of the western world. Ironically, whether one “buys into” the benefits of “talk therapy,” acceptance of the service remains generational. Within western culture, middle-aged and younger people accept that this therapy is useful. Older generations? Not so much. With this cohort, a mindset remains that “only crazy” people require such help.
My mother belongs to the latter group, the Silent Generation: “those born from 1925 to 1945 – so called because they were raised during a period of war and economic depression. The label reflected the counterculture of a rebellious generation, distrustful of the establishment and keen to find their own voice.”
Initially an eager resident in a Care Center my mother now “hates” the place. She refuses to socialize (I’m not one for “natter…”) and finds fault everywhere: “the vegetables are hard,” “the dog is unhappy,” “not enough tea,” … “the staff is rude….”
Initially, she agreed to “talk to someone” and benefited from these short conversations. Then she learned she was paying for a service. Now? Despite the psychotherapist accommodating my mother with half-hour visits at half price, my mother decided “it’s too expensive.” Ironically, she eagerly pays for a vet to attend a dog’s prickly-heat allergy but will not pay for her own “prickly” emotional adjustment to being a frail, in-constant-pain, 87-year-old.
Me? Besides “talking” to my own psychotherapist about how to handle challenges with my mother, I find pleasure in talking to plants… and birds… and frogs… and monkeys…

Consider the lilies

News blues…

Grim data. 

• South Africa suffers more than 200 Covid-19 deaths and 8,300 new cases in 24 hours 
• USA surpasses 300,000 confirmed Covid deaths  and more than one million new infections in the first five days of December.

Let’s leave it at that for today.

***

The Lincoln Project: Silver Alert  (0:23 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

The catastrophic Covid-19 pandemic also offers a chance to reset humanity’s approach to the future. It’s entirely unclear whether We the People have the will or the gumption to force our reluctant elected officials in that direction. First order of business, however, is to inform yourself and to make pragmatic reality-based decision.
Food for thought: According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s latest Red List, an inventory of threatened species, more than 35,700 species — representing almost 30% of all plant and animal species evaluated — are currently threatened with extinction.

These include all of the world’s freshwater dolphins, almost one-third of all oak trees and 40% of all amphibians.
At least 31 species have been declared extinct… [including] several freshwater fish species endemic to Lake Lanao in the Philippines, which, according to the IUCN, were killed off in part by overfishing and the introduction of predatory species to the lake. Three Central American frog species have also been declared extinct.
“The growing list of extinct species is a stark reminder that conservation efforts must urgently expand,” Bruno Oberle, IUCN’s director-general, said in a statement. “To tackle global threats such as unsustainable fisheries, land clearing for agriculture, and invasive species, conservation needs to happen around the world and be incorporated into all sectors of the economy.”

Interested in knowing more about how to secure a healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable future – unmarred by ever-more health crises and other disasters? The World Economic Forum offers a place to start …. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

No shortage of water in this part of the country as summer thunder storms continue to gift the Midlands.
The garden pond thrives, as do the kingfishers dining on freshwater critters – frogs, crabs, and indigenous fish (no sign of any goldfish I added last summer).

(Left) The lilies are blooming. Actually, these lovely yellow lilies are exotic to KZN. We’ve tried to clear them from the pond, but they’re hellbent on surviving. 

(Right) Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea, the lovely sky-blue lily is South Africa's most commonly grown indigenous water lily.

Notice

Two o’clock this morning, I received a notice from Eskom (SA’s national electricity providing parastatal) that load-shedding is back on across the country. Our freedom-from-the-tyranny-of-electricity begins this weekend from 6am to 8:30am and 2pm to 4:30pm. No time to prepare, just wake up to no electricity, repeated early afternoon. (Ah, life in SA returns to new-normal. I feel so at home.)
I also received a notice to download a Covid-tracker app that alerts a user about rises in Covid infections in the user’s locale. I downloaded it (do so at your own risk) from discv.co/COVID19Hotspots.
A third notice on my phone declared SA will return to Lockdown Level 4 on December 16. A hoax? Who knows? December 16 has been a public holiday from way back. During my youth, Dingaan Day recognized a triumph of the Voortrekkers against the Zulu army led by Zulu King Dingaan at the 'Battle of Blood River', now it’s The Day of Reconciliation. Time will tell whether is also Hoax Day.

News blues…

According to the CDC director, the US will likely have more daily Covid-19 deaths for the next 60 to 90 days than died on 9/11. That’s more than 3,000 deaths a day. For that atrocity, the US went to war and remains at war. For Covid, nah, not a prob, let’s convene super-spreader events and undermine US-style democracy.

***

Food for thought: Steve Schmidt, former Republican, continues to examine current events and dangers to the American system  (3:09 mins)

Another look at Whackidoodleitude

It’s clear whacky ideas and conspiracy theories currently are transcendent in the US. A pastor in this video clip actually says, “I’m forty-four years old and there’s never been a pandemic in my lifetime. There isn’t one now either." Take a look….  (5:28 mins)

***

The Lincoln Project: Mitch’s Tears  (0:55 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Neighborhood monkeys’ summer schedule includes invading the garden early, before the alarm is disarmed. Today, before 5am, a wave of the small furry critters pours over the walls and fences and made for the bird feeder and for my veggie garden. (Monkeys, I’ve discovered, love to snack on green onions!) I did my duty as Neighborhood Crazy Lady and thwarted their monkey plans. After disarming the alarm, still wearing pajamas, I dashed outside waving my arms and yelling. A bracing way to awaken my sleepy blood.
I’m really going to miss the little buggers when this house is sold, and I move to my new place. No monkeys at that community, only zebra, warthog, impala, blesbok….
Prior to lockdown, on a walk along that community’s Game Trail, I chatted briefly with someone about his enjoyment at seeing wild animals, including African wildebeest (buffalo). I thought he’d misidentified a blesbok for I’d never seen a buffalo on any of my many walks along Game Trail. Searching with binoculars revealed the usual zebra, blesbok, impala but no wildebeest. 

Yesterday, driving a new route through the community, I spotted a small herd of wildebeest grazing contently, not in the residential area, but in an adjacent area.
I look forward to more discoveries.
I’m blessed to have decided to move to an area that presents a safe, sanitized version of African wildlife, right on my doorstep. Not even Amazon Prime could deliver that!

MIA

Day 260 Friday, December 11 – MIA

News blues…

Oh, oh! In the past 24 hours, South Africa recorded more than 8,100 new Covid-19 infections, and 173 deaths. Ninety deaths occurred in the Eastern Cape, 52 in the Western Cape, 13 in Gauteng, 10 in KwaZulu-Natal and eight in Gauteng.
Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said, “We wish to reiterate our plea to South Africans to heed the threat of the rising numbers of Covid-19 cases identified. There is clear evidence of an exponential rise in transmission and this is cause for serious concern.” 

***

The Covid-related death toll in the US, meanwhile surpasses its World War II combat fatalities. 

Healthy planet, anyone?

The US is currently MIA as a signatory to the Paris climate agreement, but that isn’t stopping the 54 cities that are on track to meet the targets. Let’s join the mayor of Paris to praise an “important milestone” on fifth anniversary of the landmark agreement.

More than 50 of the world’s leading cities are on track to help keep global heating below 1.5C and tackle the worst impacts of the climate crisis, according to a new report. 
From mass tree-planting in Buenos Aires to new public transport networks in Mexico City, 54 of the world’s leading cities are now rolling out plans that will cut their greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris agreement, according to a new study by the C40 cities network. 

Fifty-four sane cities! Perhaps there’s hope for our planet after all!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

A word about masks and mask-resistance so prevalent in the US.
A friend in California notes that no one attending children’s soccer games in local parks wears masks or face coverings to inhibit the spread of Covid.
Outraged by the anti-mask mentality, my friend called to complain to the local parks and recreation department. The park’s department representative, however, agreed with my friend’s assessment. She explained that the department regularly posts signs urging the wearing of masks in public.
Local anti-makers tear down the signs.
The department is creating sturdier signs that they intend to embed in concrete.
One hopes that might help. It is, however, common sense and respect for others that’s missing-in-action in the current US. Addressing that is immensely more difficult.  

Wear a mask!

Worldwide (Map)  
December 10 – 68,849,000 confirmed infections; 1,568,750 deaths
November 12 – 52,070,000 confirmed infections; 1,274,000 deaths
October 15 – 38,426,375 confirmed infections; 1,091,250 deaths

US (Map) 
December 10 – 15,385,00 confirmed infections; 289,500 deaths
November 12 – 10,258,100 confirmed infections; 239,700 deaths
October 15 – 7,911,500 confirmed infections; 216,860 deaths

Deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. have soared to more than 2,200 a day on average, matching the frightening peak reached last April, and cases per day have eclipsed 200,000 on average for the first time on record, with the crisis all but certain to get worse because of the fallout from Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s.
Virtually every state is reporting surges just as a vaccine appears days away from getting the go-ahead in the U.S. 

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
December 10 – 829,600 confirmed infections; 22,580 deaths
November 12 – 740,255 confirmed infections; 19,951 deaths
October 15 – 696,420 confirmed infections; 18,155 deaths
Covid-19 infections have surpassed the 4,400 mark daily for the past three days in SA.
Mkhize: Expect faster rise in COVID-19 cases in second wave 

Stay safe – wear a mask, any mask, just cover your mouth and nose and try to protect yourself and your fellow humans…

News blues…

Global Home Care Services Market to Reach $1.8 Trillion by 2027 

***

Yesterday, I happened to pick up an unfamiliar local weekly print paper. The solitary Letter to the Editor caught my eye: it was a pro-Trump misinformation screed.
My first reaction? Counter the lies with my own Letter to the Editor.
Years of being attacked as a “socialist,” a “radical,” and someone who ought “to kill myself out of shame,” while volunteering a GI Rights counselor and an anti-Iraq-and-Afghanistan-war activist, urged caution.
I asked a local friend if she knew or had heard of the Letter’s author. She had: he’s an elected official of a local chapter of a predominantly white rightwing political party. Freedom Front Plus, is the fifth largest in the country with 2.38 percent of the national vote, up 0.9 percent since 2014.

Remember when, back in 2018, Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump suddenly began, briefly, talking about “land seizures” and “white farmer murders” in South Africa?
That was Trump complying with the FF Plus’s request that Trump highlight the issue. Since the issue suited Trump’s divide-and-conquer tactics, he dived “into controversy over South Africa's land policies and farmer killings.” (9:00 mins)

South African politicians rebutted Trump’s tactic. 
Nary a word about that from Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump. 

When reality and facts do not match ideology, toss out reality.

It would have been nice to rebut misinformation in the local rag, I’m glad I resisted. 

Note: yes, South African farmers, white and black, are murdered. That the majority of murder victims are white lies in the reality that whites are the majority of owners of large farms.

Healthy planet, anyone?

Human-made materials now outweigh Earth's entire biomass. Production of concrete, metal, plastic, bricks and asphalt greater than mass of living matter on planet. 

… research shows that human activity including production of concrete, metal, plastic, bricks and asphalt has brought the world to a crossover point where human-made mass – driven mostly by enhanced consumption and urban development – exceeds the overall living biomass on Earth.
The amount of plastic alone is greater in mass than all land animals and marine creatures combined….
On average, every person in the world is responsible for the creation of human-made matter equal to more than their bodyweight each week [according to] the paper published in Nature. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

After much drama, uncertainty, and arguing with lawyers, I was handed keys to my new, small home. From now on, I spread my finite energy between selling my mother’s large house and continuing to manage her affairs, visiting and caring for her, and moving into my new home, extending the small garden, and admiring the wild animals.
How long before I’ve normalized this idyll and begin to complain about those darned zebra, impala, warthogs, and birds eating my plants? Or bemoaning the lack of monkeys?

“Republican wack pack”

Here, the queen assumes the year 2020 is over and that the worst has passed.
Not so, your highness. 

Eleven more days present Donald Trump, a desperate man trying desperately to stave off the inevitable, wiggle room to bring down the system of governance that voted him out of office.
The United States heads towards, not only pandemic disaster, but the disaster of doing too little, too late to stop a crazy man. 

In 2012, Americans such as Steve Schmidt began warning  about the appearance on the political scene of Donald Trump and the “Republican wack pack,” (aka “an autocratic cult of personality.” An interview worth watching – 18:30 mins.)
If you think we’ve reached bottom with the Trumpster and Trumpism, think again. The cult may be gasping for oxygen, but the Republican wack pack is headed up by powerful politicians determined to weaken essential American-style democracy.  (5:40 mins)

News blues…

Trump acolyte, Covid denialist, and anti-maskist, Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis, stands accused of sending armed officers to raid the Tallahassee, Florida home of Rebekah Jones.
Jones is the former Florida official who says she was ousted from her job managing the state’s COVID-19 data for refusing to censor and alter case information. 

After her ouster in the spring, Jones went public with allegations that her superiors had told her to put misleading and false information on the public-facing COVID-19 dashboard, which people could use to track data about coronavirus infections in Florida.
The information they asked her to post would have over-counted the number of COVID-19 tests performed and under-counted the total number of cases, she said, as Florida rushed to reopen its economy. She also said she was asked to remove evidence of people testing positive for the virus in January.
… FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen disputed Jones’ claim that the officers [invading her house] pointed guns at her and her children. But Jones’ video indicates that they may have pointed weapons in her family’s general direction. When the officers enter the house, one demands her husband come downstairs while another points what appears to be a firearm directly to the top of the staircase.
Jones said she’ll return to work running her dashboard on Tuesday.
“If [DeSantis] thought pointing a gun in my face was a good way to get me to shut up, he’s about to learn just how wrong he was,” she tweeted. “I’ll have a new computer tomorrow. And then I’m going to get back to work.”

***

The Lincoln Project: Pence  (0:34 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

• Earth photo essay
• Our global fire crisis is the sign of a dying biosphere. But we can take action.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

A pandemic positive: picking up a plethora of new skills. I did not choose these roles. They – through circumstances – chose me.
I’m delving into the sad ins and outs of early dementia in the elderly. I’d prefer to do without this skill. Words of warning: as a member of collective humanity, you will, come face-to-face with dementia in someone you love. Prepare for that, now.
Pool Gal: After waiting three months for Pool Guy Richard to show up to troubleshoot the small pool, he arrived, looked it over, removed the apparently dysfunctional “creepy” suction system, quoted “R2,500 or more” to finish the job, then tucked the “creepy” under his arm and departed. 

Five days and many phone calls later, he returned the creepy. In the interim, the gardener and I experimented with “fixing” the filter system. No dice. Despite tardiness and lack of specificity in tasks required or associated costs, Pool Gal must defer to Pool Guy’s expertise.
Recycling Carpenter is a role I relish since I relish creative reuse. I’m rising to the challenge of recycling odds and end to build a garden worktable for my new home. A perfect-enough discarded kitchen counter top, two recycled “legs” and a recycled former dog bed all go into the mix. 

Photos forthcoming….

Denial is a river in Egypt

Have We the People reached the point at which “real” reality begins to inform our day-to-day actions?
A range of powerful and complex emotions - such as desire, need to be right, greed, pride, revenge, need for status, shame, humiliation - exert a strong influence over humans’ ability to interpret facts.
The worsening coronavirus pandemic highlights the reality that:

… fact-based decision-making hasn’t made as much progress in society as it deserves because many decisions are overwhelmed by emotions. Our overall progress as a society, however, is predicated on our learning how to control emotions and make decisions based on “real” facts [as opposed to “alternative facts]. Add in other psychological dynamics such as ideology (which substitutes belief for facts), inertia (change requires significant energy), momentum (the desire to will obstacles out of our way), impulsiveness (wanting it now!) and stubbornness (no one will change my mind), and we can easily relegate facts to a far, obscure corner [of our minds].  

News blues…

The three Ws: Watch your distance; wash your hands; wear a mask. Informative updates on coronavirus from an European perspective.  (11:50 mins) 

***

Canadian Premier's harsh holiday message, “If you don’t think Covid’s real, you’re an idiot!“ (3:33 mins)

***

Powerful reality check by MSNBC’s Stephanie Rhule on her COVID-19 Diagnosis: I Did All the Right Things, But I Still Got the Virus  (6:20 mins)

***

Donald Trump’s ever-widening reign of inhumanity continues. His finals acts in office include pardons for his crooked cronies (Mike Flynn, Roger Stone, Joe Arpaio, et al), decidedly questionable pardons among a long list and, now, an execution spree (“killed more death row prisoners than the U.S. government has done in the last five decades”) that are also super spreader events.

The decision by the U.S. government to move full steam ahead with federal executions in the face of a raging pandemic has attracted scant attention, despite the fact that it is dramatically out of step with state prison practices and opposed by a growing number of law enforcement officials and advocates for incarcerated individuals.
Since coronavirus lockdowns began in mid-March, executions by state governments have essentially come to a halt because of the health risks involved. Only two people on state death rows have been executed, Walter Barton in Missouri on May 19 and Billy Wardlow in Texas on July 8.
In contrast, the federal government has executed eight people, with five more people scheduled to die before President Donald Trump leaves office. Brandon Bernard is set to be executed on Dec. 10, Alfred Bourgeois on Dec. 11, Lisa Montgomery on Jan. 12, Cory Johnson on Jan. 14 and Dustin Higgs on Jan. 15.
Since it reinstated capital punishment at the federal level this summer, the Trump administration has killed more death row prisoners than the U.S. government has done in the last five decades combined. 

Donald Trump spectacular and brazen vindictiveness is so apparent that humans cannot directly cope. We appear, so far, stumped, opting for denial over evidence.
How much longer will We the People allow Trump, his cronies, and the Republicans that enable him to continue on this path?

Healthy planet, anyone?

A change of pace: celebrate our ancestors and an example of “what you do today matters tomorrow”: Astonishing rock paintings discovered in Colombia hold a lesson for today’s rainforest. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Spending more time in South Africa this year than I’ve done in the last 40 years has advantages. One advantage is an unfolding awareness of seasonal change.
These days, for example, neighborhood monkeys invade this garden – balancing precariously on overhead cable, scaling garden walls and fences, and squeezing through the security gate - before our security system disables at 5:30am. This means, instead of my usual monkey-deterrent behavior – running outside wielding a stick and yelling, “go home, monkeys! Scoot monkeys!”, I yell from behind the burglar guards. Hardly incentive for monkeys to abandon the chance to snack on green onions, tender zucchini, crunchy new potatoes….
Moreover, “go home monkeys”? 

This IS their home. They’ve as much right to snack on Earth’s bounty as I do, perhaps more since no grocery stores cater to their culinary needs.

"Infamy, infamy, they've all got it in for me"

As our world sags under an astonishingly contagious virus, Donald Trump continues to ignore reality, instead whining continually along the lines of, “Infamy, infamy, they've all got it in for me". (See below.)

News blues…

In the US state of Michigan, the forces for crazy upped the game over the weekend: “Supporters of President Donald Trump amped up their efforts to intimidate M
ichigan officials this weekend, gathering with firearms outside Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s home on Saturday to protest the battleground state’s election results…” 

In the US, the combination of crazy coupled with access to guns is a potent combination for violent wackiness.
The prez, it is worth repeating, does nothing, says nothing, and shows no intention of doing or saying anything, about the pandemic… other than tweeting that his clown-show lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has contracted Covid-19:  

Rudy infected with Covid
Perhaps not wearing a mask
and gulping air is partly to blame?
Iconic Rudy Giuliani

"Rudy Giuliani, by far the greatest mayor in the history of NYC, and who has been working tirelessly exposing the most corrupt election (by far!) in the history of the USA, has tested positive for the China Virus. Get better soon Rudy, we will carry on!!!"

By the way, “Carry on” also refers to a long and successful string of comedic movies :

The stock-in-trade of Carry On humour was innuendo and the sending-up of British institutions and customs, such as the National Health Service (Nurse, Doctor, Again Doctor, Matron and the proposed Again Nurse), the monarchy (Henry), the Empire (Up the Khyber), the armed forces (Sergeant, England, Jack and the proposed Flying and Escaping), the police (Constable) and the trade unions (At Your Convenience) as well as camping (Camping), foreign holidays (Cruising, Abroad), beauty contests (Girls), caravan holidays (Behind), and the education system (Teacher) amongst others. Although the films were very often panned by critics, they mostly proved very popular with audiences.
In 2007, the pun "Infamy, infamy, they've all got it in for me", spoken by Kenneth Williams (playing Julius Caesar) in Carry on Cleo, was voted the funniest one-line joke in film history.

Healthy planet, anyone?

The pandemic will leave behind a very different world from that of a year ago. Thousands of people have died; entire industries have been brought to the brink; welfare states have been shaken. In the coming years, the major challenge facing all public leaders will be charting a path of recovery through the devastating human, social and economic marks that Covid-19 has left on our societies.
But rather than redoubling on the fragile world of the pre-pandemic age, we should be taking advantage of this moment to build one that is more just, balanced and sustainable.
Cities will play a key role in this process. Barcelona and its metropolitan area want to lead the response to one of the toughest situations that humanity has faced in modern times. Achieving this will mean tackling two interrelated challenges. We need to continue the fight against the climate crisis, spurred by the European Green Deal. And we will need to boost the post-Covid economy through green technologies, sustainable industry and transport. ...
Read “Cities can lead a green revolution after Covid. In Barcelona, we're showing how…” 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Reorienting the brain: strong memories from my childhood in the Valley of a Thousand Hills include hot summer days concluding with fierce afternoon thunderstorms. Perhaps the storms were more intense because we lived on the edge of a valley, what was referred to as “the highest point.” The standard signifier or this status was a black and white plaque – no words – affixed to a five-foot metal pole embedded in a bucket of concrete buried above the slope into the valley/escarpment.
Being caught in a storm, while riding horses, or swimming in dams, or exploring the veld was deeply thrilling and satisfying. Thunder, lightning, and drenching rain reminded me that I was part of an amazing world worth celebrating as the spirit moved me: running, singing, and dancing amid the wildness.
During yesterday’s thunderstorm – lighting flashing directly overhead and buckets more rain – I realized that living for decades in California has impeded me not at all of the need to celebrate our planet’s vitality.
My brain rejoices as it reorients and my voice, if not my body, follows: I sing my appreciation.

Day of rest

News blues…

Pandemic news is exhausting. A day of rest is in order – after a data-driven reality check. 

South Africa:
Confirmed Cases: 796 472
Confirmed Deaths: 21 289
Confirmed Recoveries: 716 444 

Source: Data courtesy of the Data Science for Social Impact Research Group at the University of Pretoria. Sourced from Department of Health Statements and NICD and Daily Maverick.

United States:

“I have federal agents that protect me. So they drive me to work, they stay here, they make sure that nobody tries to break in [to my home] and, as Steve Bannon would like, have someone behead me. I don’t socialise. It’s my wife and I and the federal agents." 
                                                        Dr Anthony Fauci 

                                                                                               
Source: Sources: State and county officials
Graphic: Jiachuan Wu / NBC News

Healthy planet, anyone?

Are Tides And Waves The Missing Piece Of The Green Energy Puzzle?  Solar and wind are energy powerhouses until the sky is dark or the air is still. An ancient source of energy — the tides — could soon offer a predictable alternative.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

While not recovered yet, I am recovering from 3 days of grim achiness. 

Another day of rest should perk me right up.

uyagula

Feel sick during this Covid pandemic and, naturally, one suspects the onset of Covid-19. Thursday evening my body began to ache – neck, back, hip joints, and a thumping headache. 

Friday morning, I reviewed the list of Covid symptoms. My temperature was normal, no sore throat, no fever, no chills, no fatigue, no dry cough. The only symptom was body ache. No Covid toes. Judging by the wonderful wafts of jasmine and yesterday, today, and tomorrow blossoms, my sense of smell wasn’t affected. I had not contracted i-coronavirus, but a simple case of uyagula (“ya-goola”/sick).

News blues…

Notoriously recalcitrant with facing Covid realities, people of the United States are facing lockdowns that other countries, South Africa, for example, implemented months ago.
Governor of my home state, California, Gavin Newsom, yesterday announced a Regional Stay Home Order, where all sectors other than retail and essential operations would be closed in regions of the State where less than 15 percent of ICU beds are available. 

Health Officers announced the San Francisco Bay Area will implement the Regional Stay Home Order earlier, stating that more aggressive action is necessary to slow the surge and prevent our local hospitals from being overwhelmed. The new restrictions will go into effect in Alameda County on Monday, December 7, at 12:01 am and remain in place until January 4, 2021.
Under the Regional Stay Home Order, all private gatherings are prohibited and the following sectors must close:
• Indoor and outdoor playgrounds
• Indoor recreational facilities
• Hair salons and barbershops
• Personal care services
• Museums, zoos, and aquariums
• Movie theaters
• Wineries
• Bars, breweries, and distilleries
• Family entertainment centers
• Cardrooms and satellite wagering
• Limited services
• Live audience sports
• Amusement parks
The following sectors will have additional modifications in addition to 100% masking and physical distancing:
• Outdoor recreational facilities: Allow outdoor operation only without any food, drink or alcohol sales. Additionally, overnight stays at campgrounds will not be permitted.
• Retail: Allow indoor operation at 20% capacity with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores. Additionally, special hours should be instituted for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems.
• Shopping centers: Allow indoor operation at 20% capacity with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores. Additionally, special hours should be instituted for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems.
• Hotels and lodging: Allow to open for critical infrastructure support only.
• Restaurants: Allow only for take-out, pick-up, or delivery.
• Offices: Allow remote only except for critical infrastructure sectors where remote working is not possible.
• Places of worship and political expression: Allow outdoor services only.
• Entertainment production including professional sports: Allow operation without live audiences. Additionally, testing protocol and “bubbles” are highly encouraged.
Finally, glimpses of sanity…

*** 

The Lincoln Project: 

Don’t go back  (0:25 mins)
Pulpit  (0:25 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

This is the year Americans learned how a food system reliant on industrial agriculture, near monopolies and exploited laborers breaks down. Just two months into the pandemic, the meat industry in the most powerful nation in the world was buckling.
Big questions: Can this food system be fixed?
Can farmers create a food system that works with the earth, not against it?

For all the consumer-facing, shrink-wrapped elegance of the modern food system, the pandemic has exposed its fragility.
Alongside the public health crisis, poverty and food insecurity have skyrocketed this year. As of July, 29 million Americans said they “sometimes or often” did not have enough to eat.
At the same time, Americans were confronted with images and stories of farmers forced to dump milk, destroy crops, and euthanize their livestock as processing facilities and restaurants shut down. 

***

It’s not just the food system. It’s all systems with profit-first motives.
The biggest petroleum corporation in the world, Exxon, faces $20 billion hit from 'epic failure' of a decade ago. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Today, I remain uyagula, but less achy, and slightly less headachy. Now I worry about what might happen if I contracted Covid. My travel health insurance ran out months ago and my US-based health insurance is valid only in the US. I’ve no backup health insurance. This would mean any serious ill health would require going into debt for private hospital care or, horrors, partaking of the free but notoriously poor government health system. (One is advised to bring one’s own sheets and blankets for a stint in state hospitals – and to carry them with you to the toilet. Leaving bedclothes on the bed, even briefly, runs the risk of returning to a bare bed, bedclothes stolen. 

Shaggy-dog story? 

Am I willing to risk it?

Presidential update

I continue to marvel at how President Ramaphosa addresses South Africans: respectfully, honestly, directly, without threats of violence or calls for mayhem. In the era of Trump, this is refreshing leadership.

News blues…

President Ramaphosa updated South Africans on the country’s response to the pandemic and laid out how we intend to cope over the next month.  (25:30 mins)
Summary:
President Ramaphosa began with heartfelt appreciation for South Africans who observed five days of mourning for those dead from Covid-19 and from gender-based violence (GBV)
His update on worldwide Covid numbers – SA has dropped on the list from 5th to 14th – included the realities of a resurgence of infections across the country that is exacting a heavy toll: 887,200 people infected since March, with a recovery rate 92%, and 21,803 deaths.
There’s a marked rise in new infections and more infected people in hospital. We went from 1,500 new cases per day, to 2,900 the last week of November to 4,400 new as of yesterday (December 2)
Three areas of the country suffering particularly:
Nelson Mandela Bay

Sarah Bartman area 

The Garden Route (due to the interprovincial movement of seasonal workers) 

Eastern and Western Cape showing an increase in deaths
Rise in transmission rates due to:

• interprovincial travel
• people gathering in large groups – and in poorly ventilated venues such as for funerals and “after tears” parties
• increases in alcohol-related trauma admissions to hospital that divert capacity of hospitals and hospital staff to cope with Covid. Many people are NOT wearing masks or practicing proper hygiene and social distancing

The main problem is that people are not complying with current restrictions and basic prevention measures
The plan to deal with the resurgence includes:

• Creating more capacity for hospitals
• Expanding public health
• Increasing awareness campaigns
• “Overall, however, we must change our behavior. The resurgence is like a bush fire: we must quickly extinguish flare ups before they develop into an inferno.”

In order to keep the economy open, we will implement measures: In Covid hotspots: we must track new cases day by day, increase the rates of testing, track positivity percentage, and deal with active hospital admissions, and track deaths

NCCC declares hotspots to practice new restrictions as of midnight:

• Curfew – 10 p to 4 am – no one outside residences, except essential workers
• Alcohol sold only between 10am and 6pm, Monday thru Thursday
• No consumption of alcohol in public spaces, including beaches and parks and in gatherings
• Restrictions on gatherings, including religious: no more than 100 indoors and 250 outdoors, and not to exceed 50 percent capacity anywhere
• All “after tears” gatherings prohibited
• We seek to take steps that are absolutely necessary. The summer season may go ahead in Eastern Cape with the risk adjusted plan approved, including:
• Strict adherence to health protocols, PPE, access to water
• NO initiation schools allowed for the interim in an effort to contain spread and save lives
• National State of Disaster extended to 15 January, 2021
• Level 1 remains throughout the country
• Everyone must play her/his part, respect rules, measures, and protocols; breaking rules will have consequences
• – Taxis: all passengers must wear masks
• Full compliance with curfews

Our only viable defense is vaccine
No one will be left behind
WHO global access to COVAX – countries shall pool resources to ensure equitable access
SA’s Solidarity Fund will make available ZAR327 million to procure vaccines
Currently there are three trails of candidate vaccines and we’re awaiting confirmation that they’re safe, effective, and suitable for South Africans
We, people, remain out own best protection:

• Through wearing a mask in public and staying safe
• Practicing social distancing
• avoiding gatherings
• Washing/sanitizing hands

The safety messages must sink in so download app (1 million downloads so far)
Avoid danger by avoiding complacency, particularly during coming festive season. This is a time for caution
Large gathering are super spreader events so take precautions to avoid spreading the virus
Let there be no relaxing on these measures and do not let down your guard with this coronavirus
Let us recommit ourselves to this fight for our lives, take steps now, stand together, and work together.

*** 

The Lincoln Project: 

On the Ballot  (0:59 mins)
Whispers III  (1:32 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

How Covid sowed the seeds of food security in Johannesburg
During South Africa’s strict lockdown, groups of activists decided to distribute parcels of vegetables as wells as seedlings and gardening materials to hundreds of vulnerable households. A photo essay… 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Covid careful Santa (“Father Christmas”) greeted me at the local grocery store.

Fatal “individualism”

Worldwide (Map) 
December 3 – 64,469,710 confirmed infections; 1,492,100 deaths
November 5 – 48,136,225 confirmed infections; 1,225,915 deaths
In 29 days, an increase of 16,333,485 confirmed infections and 266,185 deaths

US (Map)  
December 3 – 13,920,000 confirmed infections; 273,370 deaths
November 5 – 9,487,470 confirmed infections; 237,730 deaths
In 29 days, an increase of 4,432,530 confirmed infections and 35,640 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
December 3 – 796,475 confirmed infections; 21,710 deaths
November 5 – 730,500 confirmed infections; 19,585 deaths
In 29 days, an increase of 65,975 confirmed infections and 2,125 deaths

News blues…

A Brookings Institute survey of Americans asked about why they choose not to wear a mask to slow the transmission of coronavirus, finds “individualism” a key component of resistance:

 © National Panel Study of COVID-19 

… 40% of Americans who do not wear a mask say this is because it is “their right as an American to not wear a mask.” This modal response was followed by Americans who say they do not wear a mask “because it is uncomfortable” at 24%. The data reveals that a combined 64% of Americans believe that their right to not have to be inconvenienced by wearing a mask or scarf over their face is more important than reducing the probability of getting sick or infecting others.

Read the article: “American individualism is an obstacle to wider mask wearing” 

***

Further health-oriented Covid restrictions coming up in South Africa with the  health department recommending to the national coronavirus command council (NCCC) that the government:

• reduce the maximum size of indoor gatherings
• implement an earlier curfew overall 
• put in place a 10pm curfew in Covid-19 hotspots around the country 
• restrict alcohol sales from Monday to Thursday, and 
• declare bars and taverns close by 9pm.

Healthy planet, anyone?

For extended periods over the past two years, Eskom’s [South Africa’s parastatal electricity supply commission] Kendal Power Station has been found consistently exceeding particulate matter atmospheric emissions of up to 10 times the allowable limit.

Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Barbara Creecy has revealed that summons was served on Eskom on 27 November notifying it of the decision by the senior public prosecutor to pursue a criminal prosecution in respect of air pollution by Eskom’s Kendal Power Station. This includes a charge of supplying false and misleading information in reports prepared by management at Kendal Power Station to an Air Quality Officer, which is a criminal offence listed in Section 51(1)(g) of the Air Quality Act.

 ***

“…The state of the planet is broken," said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in a speech on Wednesday. He issued a searing indictment of humanity's "war" on the environment and urged everyone to prioritize "making peace with nature."

"We are facing a devastating pandemic, new heights of global heating, new lows of ecological degradation and new setbacks in our work towards global goals for more equitable, inclusive and sustainable development."
The UN chief laid out in stark terms the damage already done to the environment and warned that countries risked losing the opportunity afforded by the coronavirus pandemic to reset their priorities on climate change and environmental protections if they do not act now.
Guterres highlighted two authoritative new reports - one from the World Meteorological Organization  and the other from the United Nations Environment Programme  - "spell out how close we are to climate catastrophe…."

***

New Zealand declares a climate change emergency as Jacinda Ardern calls climate change “one of the greatest challenges of our time” and pledges carbon-neutral government by 2025.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Rain, rain, rain… and vegetation shooting up. Grass must be cut at least once a week, bamboo seemingly grows inches overnight, trees, flowers, weeds bloom thither and yon.
All this 29-degree-southern-hemisphere fecundity disorients a 38-degree-northern-hemisphere Californian….
I’m adjusting – and enjoying the adjustment.

Running on empty

Events around the world, from dire coronavirus realities, including lack of responsible mitigation efforts, to ongoing revelations of Trump & Co corruptions and grift, humans are running on empty. 

News blues…

South African nurses say they are emotionally and physically drained as they battle on the Covid-19 frontline.

Sister Lama Peega, who works at Carletonville district hospital on the West Rand, said, “Some among us fell along the way. We buried them because of Covid-19.”
She said they also faced a challenge of nurses being off from work because they tested positive for Covid-19 and were required to isolate for 14 days. “The burden on those who were at the frontline became even greater. We had to work overtime throughout to cover other wards. I am working at the theatre section [as a midwife]. When I am off, I would be requested to assist in Covid-19 wards….” 

***

A new report examined blood donations in nine states between mid-December and January. Some showed evidence of coronavirus antibodies.

The coronavirus was likely in the U.S. as early as mid-December 2019, roughly a month before the first COVID-19 case was confirmed, according to research published on Monday.
A study of blood samples from 7,389 routine donations to the American Red Cross between Dec. 13, 2019, and Jan. 17, 2020, found evidence of COVID-19 antibodies in 106 specimens, according to researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The donations were made in nine states ― California, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin. Donations with antibodies reactive to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, came from all nine. 

Healthy planet, anyone?

A story of cranberries, one of only three fruits native to the US, with blueberries and Concord grapes the other two.
Native people cultivated cranberries up and down the Eastern Seaboard for centuries. Cranberries, grown in bogs primarily in New England and Wisconsin, depend on plenty of water, cold winters, and mild summers. The cranberry

is the result of millions of years of evolution, thousands of years of human consumption, 200 years of intentional cultivation and dedication. But how the viney plants will fare in the future is far from certain. In New England as elsewhere, climate change is shifting many of the conditions under which the plants thrive, from warming winters to changing summers. The changes are making them harder to grow and putting a question mark next to the iconic, beloved crop’s future.
Growers that love their crop and the scientists that help them are working to figure out solutions, and the situation isn’t yet dire. But … “we don’t really have a Plan B….” 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

We continue clearing out and auctioning my mother’s effects from her large house.
One item, a large, heavy, one-piece wet bar presented our moving team with a conundrum: too large to pass through the upstairs passageways. (We concluded it had been built in place, with nary an eye to moving it, ever.) Our team, two auction house movers, our gardener, domestic worker, and me consulted (in Zulu, so I followed via hand gestures)… then, together, we tried, this way and that, to make headway. Alas, no dice. The gardener hatched a plan: lower the bulky piece by rope over the verandah wall, slide it down a long ladder, then lower it onto the truck bed. While in theory, a good plan, I was skeptical: “what can go wrong, will go wrong…” Happily, I was wrong.
After a couple of small adjustments to the plan… this photo essay captures the maneuver.
Creativity + Courage + Willingness + Strength = Success! 

 

Virus pandemic as forest fire

Trump’s Covid-19 Failures Miss Key Lessons From 1918 Pandemic  (6:55 mins)

News blues…

US daily Covid-19 hospitalizations are inching closer to 100,000 - the highest they've ever been.  (2:22 mins)

***

What Needs To Happen Before The COVID-19 Pandemic Is Considered Over?

There needs to be a whole new approach to confronting the virus before the pandemic can be considered over or resolved, said Daniel B. Fagbuyi, an emergency room physician in Washington, D.C. That starts with leadership and a more coordinated, national pandemic plan.
“It is clear that the pandemic response and messaging has been mediocre,” Fagbuyi said. The cessation of this pandemic clearly begins with national leadership change, a change of the old guard and a visionary that embraces science.”

…Steps that will bring the coronavirus pandemic under control and how long it might take to get back to "normal."  

Healthy planet, anyone?

Something a little different in this segment today: a celebration of artists over 12,500 years: “Tens of thousands of ice age paintings across a cliff face shed light on people and animals….” 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

After four decades of living in California – dry summers and cold, wet, dark winters – I’m rediscovering KZN weather: warm, wet summers and cold, dry winters. I love KZN weather.
My attempts over the past couple of years to grow veggies failed because I misunderstood my garden nemesis: the cutworm.
Destructive cutworms attack seedlings at or just below the soil surface. The trick to avoiding that damage? Sew seedlings early-to-mid August, before the rains begin late September, early October. August, of course, is also the time neighborhood monkeys are most hungry. Seedlings that avoid cutworms encounter monkeys. Not a single beet/beetroot I planted survived the monkeys. All beets were uprooted, ditto green onions. Potatoes take a beating but thrive. Zucchini (“baby marrows”) do better as monkeys gnaw the young fruit while still on the plant. Half a zucchini is better than no zucchini – and just as delicious – and I gleefully harvest them.