Hotspot!

News blues…

The lead article of a local weekly print newspaper this week, titled “Umngeni: Covid-19 Hotspot,” reports uMngeni District (in which I reside) “boasted the most Covid-19 cases” [in KZN province]. “The district has seen the highest number of deaths throughout KZN during this second wave.”
The front-page article enumerates how local funeral parlors and undertakers are feeling the strain and experiencing “an increase of more than 80% [funerals overall and] “some 30% more funerals during the week than before Covid.”
Moreover, “fetching a body takes a maximum of 20 minutes…but now they spend more than on hour on one body because of [Covid] protocol.”
The article ends, “We all see what is happening out there but being stubborn or stupid won’t help us. Let us all pray and make sure we protect ourselves and those who are close to us.”
Amen!

***

The Donald reverts to type. With six bankruptcies in his past, The Donald is setting the stage to not pay his consigliere Rudy Giuliani. Surprised? Nope. It’s the Way of The Donald. Don’t say Rudy didn’t know… It couldn’t happen to a more deserving duo. 

Look on the bright side, Rudy: you're not special - the amount The Donald owes you pales in comparison to the amount he owes many others. Moreover, you must know you risked not getting paid by a guy who seldom pays anyone.

***

The Lincoln Project: Defund the GOP  (0:59 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Research suggests that at least one type of plant – the french bean – may be more sentient than we give it credit for: namely, it may possess intent. 
… Intrigued by the ability of climbing beans to sense structures such as garden canes and grow up them, [scientists] devised an experiment to investigate whether they deliberately aim for the cane, or simply bump into such structures as they grow, and then turn them to their advantage.
… they used time-lapse photography to document the behaviour of 20 potted bean plants, grown either in the vicinity of a support pole or without one, until the tip of the shoot made contact with the pole. Using this footage, they analysed the dynamics of the shoots’ growth, finding that their approach was more controlled and predictable when a pole was present. The difference was analogous to sending a blindfolded person into a room containing an obstacle, and either telling them about it or letting them stumble into it.

{I’m tempted to make a sarcastic joke about a French bean showing more logic than your average American human….)

***

In general, not one for seeing omens, here's food for thought: 

One of the ravens at the Tower of London is feared to have died, in a potentially gloomy omen for Britain. It means that the tower is close to having fewer than six ravens, a level that would spell doom for the kingdom, according to legend. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Last week I admitted that I’d become more alarmed at the increasing rates of Covid infections in the area, and that I lacked medical insurance .
More than 6 weeks ago, I’d emailed a “medical plan” company requesting information on securing a medical plan, but I’d heard nothing back, beyond an acknowledgement of receipt of emails.
Today, however, a form letter from that company:

The number of COVID-19 infections have increased significantly in the second wave all over the country.
To limit the impact of infections on our members and staff, we have opted to close all [company name] walk-in centres from 15 January 2021. The walk-in centres will re-open on 1 February 2021.

While I am careful, always wear a mask in public, ensure the required social distance, and always sanitize, I also regularly enter grocery stores, both for groceries and to receive cash back to pay the gardener. (He lacks a bank account for electronic fund transfer.)
I awoke after midnight last night with a terribly sore throat.
Soon after that, I emailed the handy man who’d worked at my place yesterday morning and who intended to return today to complete other tasks. I informed him of my ailment and delayed completion of the remaining work.
Could I have contracted Covid somewhere, somehow? Examining my behavior and activities it seems unlikely but…
I’ll carefully monitor my health today.
I’d waited a month, since before Christmas, to have someone remove a section of fencing around my new apartment. I made peace with my decision to remove the fencing and, potentially, allow warthogs and impala enter the inner garden and eat garden plants. The work is finally done. I can now step from my small patio onto a set of flag stones I laid, then into the semi-private garden. Oh, joy!
Ironical if I contract Covid… and become a statistic. But which statistic? Another infection? Or another death? Enquiring minds wanna know….

“The beat goes on…”

Worldwide (Map) 
January 14, 2021 – 92,314,000 confirmed infections; 1,977,900 deaths
December 17 – 73,557,500 confirmed infections; 1,637,100 deaths
November 19 – 56,188,000 confirmed infections; 1,348,600 deaths
Five countries doing well against Covid: New Zealand, Senegal, Iceland, Denmark, and Saudi Arabia. 

 
US (Map)
January 14, 2021 – 23,071,100 confirmed infections; 384,635 deaths
December 17 – 16,724,775 confirmed infections; 303,900 deaths
November 19 – 11,525,600 confirmed infections; 250,485 deaths
“The death toll from Covid-19 has now passed 380,000 across the US, according to Johns Hopkins University – closing in fast on the number of Americans killed in the second world war, or about 407,000…” California is among the hardest-hit states. 

 
SA (Coronavirus portal)
January 14, 2021 – 1,278,305 confirmed infections; 35,140 deaths
December 17 – 873,680 confirmed infections; 23,665 deaths
November 19 – 757,145 confirmed infections; 20,556 deaths
“SA recorded 806 new Covid-19 related deaths in the past 24 hours, its highest ever single-day deaths so far.” 

News blues…

The Lincoln Project

A day of firsts:
The first President to be impeached twice.
The first time a party’s caucus has been unanimous in voting for impeachment (222-0).
This goes along with the most votes for impeachment from the President’s party (ten Republicans) in history.
Ten.
Ten Republicans upheld their oaths, put country first, and voted for impeachment—and 197 voted to protect a broken man who launched an insurrection to overturn an election he lost.
All eyes are now on the Senate, but Mitch McConnell—despite signaling his support for impeachment—seems unlikely to bring the chamber back in session before Inauguration Day.
Notably, Senators-elect Warnock and Ossoff (D-GA) will likely be sworn in, so Trump’s second impeachment trial will take place with a Democratic majority. Our coalition’s efforts to defeat Trumpism in Georgia could not have proven more consequential.
To be clear though, Trump’s second impeachment is no celebratory occasion.
Today is a sad day, in an impossibly sorrowful time, for our country.
A full week after siccing a violent mob on the Capitol, the President has been impeached for inciting an insurrection—yet he remains in office.
Our Republic still stands, but her foundation—democracy—has been battered and tarnished.
And the assailant, and his co-conspirators in the Sedition Caucus remain in power.
In the wake of the MAGA insurrection, accountability comes first and foremost.
It is undoubtedly a good thing that President Trump has been impeached for his role in orchestrating this heinous terrorist attack.
But the fact that 197 House Republicans voted to protect the man who just ambushed the very institution they are a member of is a stark reminder of the profound rot in today’s Republican Party.
In the days and weeks to come, we will continue to learn more about the attack on our Capitol. Who incited, who abetted, and who comforted the attackers will be known.
And we will be right here, ready to expose evildoers, traitors, and seditionists, and ready to fight for our Republic.

Healthy planet, anyone?

Political officials at EPA have overruled the agency’s career scientists to weaken a major health assessment for a toxic chemical contaminating the drinking water of an estimated 860,000 Americans, according to four sources with knowledge of the changes. 
The changes to the safety assessment for the chemical PFBS, part of a class of "forever chemicals" called PFAS, is the latest example of the Trump administration's tailoring of science to align with its political agenda, and another in a series of eleventh-hour steps the administration has taken to hamstring President-elect Joe Biden's ability to support aggressive environmental regulations.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

My mother’s physical rehabilitation continues to improve. Alas, Covid continues to spread in the care center. Last week they found one case within the population of elderly. This week, another case.

***

Back in the day, a mixture of beetroot, olive oil and spinach was touted by “some” SA government officials as a way to “strengthen” the immune systems of – even cure - AIDS sufferers. 
These days, it’s not beetroot, or olive oil, or spinach but bananas.
A quick search on You Tube will reveal a cornucopia of coronavirus-fighting foods and food supplements.
Good nutrition is essential to essential to health. True.
Fresh veggies and fruit are delicious, nutritious, and health preserving. True.
Will they prevent Covid-19. Hmmmm.
But why risk it?
I examined the bananas (full of potassium and other nutrients) at the grocery store and brought three home. Two remained, along with three white peaches, in the fruit bowl when I drove out the security gate. Jessica The Dog was in charge of our downstairs living area.
I returned two hours later to learn three monkeys had invaded the house - again. They’d ripped through the fruit, torn open a large bag of my mother’s favorite biscuits, even scratched through the container in which I collect food scraps for composting.
Where was Jessica the Monkey Discouraging Dog during this monkey enterprise? Sunbathing.

“Shoulda known better”

© Huffington Post/Huffpost 

“…new polling showed that nearly two-thirds of likely U.S. voters believe the lame-duck incumbent [president] is directly to blame for the deadly violence.” 
That leaves as many as 37 percent either believing he’s not to blame or, worse, having “no opinion.”
Here, diehard Trumpies impenetrable belief about Trump and the election.  (4:43 mins)

News blues…

Further reason to be optimistic about the withdrawal of people of integrity from the drug of Republicanism:
Former Secretary of State, General Colin Powell said of Republicans, “they should have known better” (5:44 mins)
More Republicans – likely seeing the writing on the wall for their political careers – trend in the direction of supporting Trump’s impeachment. 

***

The Lincoln Project

The President is a traitor and an ongoing threat to American democracy.
Republicans who disagree must be fundamentally dishonest, unserious, or anti-American.
Let’s state it in plain English: the President of the United States, after falsely declaring an election was stolen from him, sicced an armed, violent mob on the Capitol during a joint session with the Vice President present.
This was no Constitutional assembly. These terrorists were not petitioning for a redress of grievances.
This was an attempted coup d'état against the United States government, orchestrated by President Trump, and abetted by the Sedition Caucus.
We still have many more questions than answers about this assault on our democracy—who impeded the National Guard from entering the District, and why? What was Trump’s true intent? What were the ultimate goals of the insurrectionists seen with firearms, zip ties, and nooses?
It seems that the more we learn about January 6, 2021, the more shocking and appalling it becomes. We were just seconds, and just inches away, from a total decapitation of the Federal Government.
First, second, and third in the line of presidential succession—Vice President Pence, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and President pro tempore Chuck Grassley—were all present, and were all targets of the terrorists.
We will learn much more in the days to come. But first, it is paramount for our national security, and to reaffirm the peaceful transfer of power, that we depose President Trump as soon as possible.
Reporting on Mike Pence’s thinking indicates the 25th Amendment will not be used—so impeachment for inciting an insurrection is the next best route.
As calls for removing Trump quickly spread through Washington, many Republicans—themselves largely in the Sedition Caucus—have rejected the idea for the sake of “unity.”
To them, I ask, what better way to unify the country than a bipartisan impeachment and removal of a treasonous demagogue? Rather—what is unifying about allowing crimes against our very Constitution to continue to go unpunished?
We cannot set a precedent in this country that a failed coup attempt is excusable conduct for the President.
Congress must act on the House’s impeachment articles expeditiously. Every minute the President remains in office is a minute too long for our Republic.
It’s time to remove Trump from the seat of our government. And it’s time for the Sedition Caucus to pay for crimes against our country.

Healthy planet, anyone?

A coalition of more than 50 countries has committed to protect almost a third of the planet by 2030 to halt the destruction of the natural world and slow extinctions of wildlife.
The High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People, which includes the UK and countries from six continents, made the pledge to protect at least 30% of the planet’s land and oceans before the One Planet summit in Paris…. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

The sun shines and it’s time to begin moving “stuff” to my new place.
I’ll not physically move there until this house is sold – at least another 60 days – but there’ll be less stuff cluttering the house when potential buyers view. At least that’s my thinking.

***

I’m more concerned than ever about my mother’s state of physical and mental well-being under tight lockdown at the Care Center. I’ve not seen her since she fell and broke her leg, 28 December. Lockdown presents little chance of seeing her.
Today, I intend to deliver a cell phone that will allow her to receive and listen to WhatsApp audio recordings. Only issue? She’ll need to figure out how to activate the files. That’s a challenge she didn’t rise to before her move to the Care Center. I hope her isolation from family stimulates her to attempt it again – and succeed this time.

Topsy Turvy

What becomes more obvious about our topsy turvy world is the intricate layers of ideology that weave around the reality of close to 91 million humans infected with, and close to 2 million deaths from Covid-19. 

There are the "no such thing as Covid" crowd, the anti-maskers, the "they're taking away our freedom" crowd, the Trump-ubes-alles crowd, the anti-vaxxers.... the list goes on. 

One of the my more disorienting but positive facets is optimism about a handful of Republicans who are breaking with the Republican Party line. .
The Lincoln Project , co-founded by former Republicans, quickly emerged as opting, not for business-as-usual Republican ideology, but for truth over lies, human decency over power-grabs, democracy over fascism, and integrity over Trumpism. The Project used a typically American way of making its points: humor and irony.

News blues…

Muscleman, actor, fellow immigrant, and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently shared a heart-felt message following this week's attack on the US Capitol. More than 4.5 million viewers have watched this honest and revealing 7:36 minute clip.
What is Arnie referring to? This…  (10:47 mins)

***

On the frontlines of Covid: How do you persuade 67% of South Africa to receive two doses of a non-compulsory Covid-19 vaccine – when almost half the country, according to a recent poll, says they won’t take it?  
Ramaphosa tries to convince the skeptics ...

Healthy planet, anyone?

Birds’ eye view – these birds of a very colorful feather will blow your mind 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

The Rain, rain, and more rain.
The culvert is still blocked. The garden floods further. The mosquito population explodes. 
Yesterday, the gardener and I explored the blocked culvert.
My goal was to convince him that he and a friend of his choosing could manually dig out the culvert. His goal? Avoid taking on the job.
Our first discovery: someone had dumped a large load of garden waste – bagsful of mowed grass clippings and dozens of pruned tree limbs – along the stream bank. Clumsily, we made our way over that illegal dump to one of the culverts (the other is so completely blocked that trees have taken root in the debris).
With the streambed almost completely submerged beneath debris, water in and around the culvert is stagnant.
Clearing even one culvert will be a far larger job than I’d thought during my recent exploration. 
The NPA officers and service crews are due back at work next Monday.
I’ll be there with more letter and more photographs and more advice and more encouragement to urge officials to attend to the blocked culverts. 

I’ll also approach my neighbor with wetlands to add his voice to my request for service.
If only there was a mosquito abatement program in this area. Or even a department of health interested in addressing mosquito-borne diseases. 

Alas, Covid usurps attention from minor issues such as flooding and mosquitos.

Covid closing in…

News blues…

KZN now has the second highest rate of Covid infections in the country, surpassed only by densely population urbanized Gauteng province.
Meanwhile, the post-holiday surge is on in the US 

***

As the world watches the US fracture into further factions, an ABC News/Ipsos poll indicates how few Americans are coherent in their view of The Donald.

The majority (56%) say Trump should be removed from office, while just 43% believe he should not be removed. 

“Just 43%”? That’s an amazingly high percentage of Americans believing the US can afford to keep him in office.
These numbers do not bode well for the next few weeks, never mind the future of democracy in that country.

Healthy planet, anyone?

For nearly three months I lived in virtual confinement with the occasional visit to the corner shop being my only respite – my only chance to see people …
The only thing that pulled me out of my doldrums was nature: from my small terrace, watching the daily flights of various birds of prey, including black and griffon vultures, lifted me no end. As did a male spotless starling, whose home territory included a television aerial on a nearby rooftop. I watched him claim his coveted song post, singing his heart out, attracting several females, mating with one of them and eventually bringing his family back to the aerial where it all began. There was something very satisfying about seeing nature unfold in daily episodes.

Read “Amid the gloom of lockdown, I have taken solace in nature”  >>

***

It is "doubtful" that the Amazon forest could remain resilient into the future given the layers of threats facing it. 

A new report for Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development  concluded that the Amazon rainforest will collapse and largely become a dry, shrubby plain by 2064. Development, deforestation and the climate crisis are to blame….

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Closing in: One upside of “being American/a visitor” to KZN? 

Not having a wide circle or acquaintances and friends offers a smaller probability of exposure to Covid.
I stay in touch with the acquaintances and friends I do have via phone and WhatsApp audio messaging. Many of them, embedded in communities, report surging infections among their acquaintances and friends.
One alarming story tells of residents of a retirement community leaving the facility to spend three days with family over the festive season. One person returned with Covid. Now the entire facility – up to 20 people, all elderly - are infected.
While total lockdown in the care center in which my mother resides means neither I nor any of her family may visit, at least my mother will not be exposed to Covid. Her current state of health, post-surgery after a fall, would never allow her to fight off the infection if exposed.
I continue to pursue ways in which we can contact my mother despite lockdown preventing face-to-face visits.
Last week’s first Zoom call was cancelled due to my mother’s ill health. We’ll try another video call on Wednesday.
After the failed Zoom call, I sent my mother an audio recording via a staff member’s cell phone. That worked well enough that I’ve decided to return the cell phone that I’d purchased for my mother and that she’d given up on, saying it was “too hard to use.”
I hope she’ll find hearing and/or seeing family on her own cell phone enticing enough to overcome her antipathy of cell phones.

Catch our collective breath

© M. Wuerker

Ten days before Donald Trump is out of the White House and the US has a chance to regain a semblance of balance. Given The Donald’s penchant for the unexpected, the outlandish, and for inciting violence, let’s catch our collective breath and focus on something more easily understood: Covid-19.

News blues…

California:
Health authorities reported Saturday a record one-day total of 695 coronavirus deaths as many hospitals strain under unprecedented caseloads.
California’s death toll since the start of the pandemic rose to 29,233, according to the state Department of Public Health’s website. 
Meanwhile, hospitalizations are nearly 22,000, and state models project the number could reach 30,000 by Feb 1.
South Africa:
My Covid-alert app reported, early this morning, more than 21,000 infections over a 24-hour period in South Africa. On the positive side, Irish health officials believe three cases of another new variant found in South Africa had been contained after…

confirming the first cases of the more infectious variant found in South Africa on Friday in people who had travelled to Ireland from South Africa over the Christmas holidays.
[Irish health] officials … said on Saturday they believe three cases of another new variant found in South Africa had been contained. 

***

Now This | Trump Supporter Calls C-SPAN in Tears Over President's Lies (2:02 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Despite a 7% fall in fossil fuel burning due to coronavirus lockdowns, heat-trapping carbon dioxide continued to build up in the atmosphere, also setting a new record. The average surface temperature across the planet in 2020 was 1.25C higher than in the pre-industrial period of 1850-1900, dangerously close to the 1.5C target set by the world’s nations to avoid the worst impacts.

Read “Climate crisis: 2020 was joint hottest year ever recorded” >> 

***

Photo essay – a reminder of who and what else depends on a health planet 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Last year's potato crop -
before monkeys....

Lifestyle of the potato: While I understand how to prepare potato “eyes” for planting, I’ve never planted potatoes. All potato plants that grow in this KZN garden are volunteers. (Also true of tomatoes, varieties of squash, onions, and strawberries in this garden. I’ve given up on harvesting tomatoes as they suffer from assorted blights, viruses, and bugs soon as the fruit appears.)
This year, monkeys have been particularly destructive, pulling up plants and biting, once, into a fruit before discarding it and picking and biting into another.
Potatoes may appear prosaic and they’re cheap and abundant in grocery stores, but fresh, plump, garden-grown potatoes offer a certain .. je ne sais quoi. 

Alas, this year, the few I harvested were asymmetrical and knobby with a more-dense-than-usual texture, and full of “eyes.” (Eyes develop into more potato plants.) 

 I cooked and ate them anyway.
I intend to grow potatoes in my new garden, along with basil, chard, parsley, onions, cilantro/coriander, and strawberries.
My new neighbors advise that monkeys do not frequent that neighborhood, but warthogs do. Warthogs offer the additional hassle of being diurnal, that is they forage both day and night.
Something to look forward to – at least until the novelty of warthogs in my garden wears off.

***

The garden pond’s runaway exotic lilies are blooming. They’re a lovely yellow (indigenous lilies are purple) and, as exotics, have few natural predators. By this time of year, they quickly overrun the pond and must be removed.
The gardener hates entering the pond – “inyoka” – snakes, he claims – so I don waders and gloves to extract lilies. I place piles of lily debris on the banks and the gardener strews them along a path. Theoretically, the layer of dry lilies discourages weeds and creates a walkway in the lower section of the garden.
As for snakes in the pond, in three years I’ve seen one, a Common Brown River snake. Scary, but non-venomous. 

Fact? Or Fake?

Breaking news: Mexico declares it WILL pay for the wall. 

Canada wants a wall, too. 

(That’s a joke! These days, hard to tell fact from fake.)

News blues…

US president MIA as more than 4,000 Americans dead in one day from Covid-19. Additionally, my Covid-alert app reported, early this morning, a 24-hour increase in infections of more than 22,000 South Africans. 

We’re in the thick of things, folks. Wear your mask, wash your hands, and stay home….

***

Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican, arch-Trump supporter, Trump golf companion,  and chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee faced furious Trumpies at a DC airport Surrounded by a cadre of security guards, Trumpies followed Graham down the hallway, calling out “traitor” and “you know it was rigged!”  (0:58 mins)

***

More fact? Or more fake?

Reports of a highly contagious new variant in the United States ... are based on speculative statements made by Dr. Deborah Birx and are inaccurate, according to several government officials. 
The erroneous report originated at a recent meeting where Dr. Birx, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, presented graphs of the escalating cases in the country. She suggested to other members of the task force that a new, more transmissible variant originating in the U.S. might explain the surge, as another variant did in Britain.
Her hypothesis made it into a weekly report sent to state governors. “This fall/winter surge has been at nearly twice the rate of rise of cases as the spring and summer surges. This acceleration suggests there may be a USA variant that has evolved here, in addition to the UK variant that is already spreading in our communities and may be 50% more transmissible,” the report read. “Aggressive mitigation must be used to match a more aggressive virus.”
Dismayed, officials at the C.D.C. tried to have the speculative statements removed, but were unsuccessful, according to three people familiar with the events.
C.D.C. officials did not agree with her assessment and asked to remove it but were told no, according to one frustrated C.D.C. official, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
Dr. Birx could not immediately be reached for comment.

Yesterday, I was forwarded a long, highly inaccurate text from “Robert F. Kennedy, Jr,” that began, “To all my patients…” The screed combined many of the usual conspiracy theories – Fauci and Gates responsible for experimental vaccine technology to “take away ‘our’ freedoms,” vaccine interferes with human DNA, “genetic manipulation” that cannot be “undone,” etc….
I responded with, “Ag nee, man… please do not forward this to potentially gullible people ….”
The person who had forwarded it to me responded, “I thought it might be wrong, but….”
It’s the “but” that intrigues. In this day and age, why forward anything you preface with a “but”? 

***

Understatement of the moment? This reporter finds it “troubling” that the US president has been sidelined by his cabinet who “flatly refuses to follow [his] orders”… Also “troubling,” Nancy Pelosi has been “assured” that Donald Trump “does not have access to the nuclear codes”  (4:28 mins) 

***

Now This | Tensions Rise in the House During Post-Riot Debate  (6:02 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Currently, “healthy planet” is an oxymoron. Back tomorrow?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

After much rain in the past weeks, the stream in the lower garden is overflowing. I donned my gumboots to explore and noticed water level at the top of culverts designed to drain water. 

One culvert on the other, public side of the road is completely blocked, the other almost completely block with mud and debris. 

This is yet another, ongoing maintenance issue. 
On 10 April, 2019 I’d approached the local provincial authority and presented the following letter, with photographs:

Dear NPA Representative,
A small stream runs along the edge of my property. The stream enters two culverts under the public road (soon after the tar road becomes a sand). These culverts are blocked with silt and debris and are filling in fast. I suspect that this year’s coming rainy season may completely block the culverts and cause flooding.
I respectfully request that these two culverts are cleared of silt and debris as soon as possible to prevent flooding and property damage to all properties along the stream. I’ve enclosed two photos taken in January 2019 that show the degree of silt and debris buildup. Thank you for seeing to this potential nuisance. 

Within days, a grader arrived to scoop out debris. The driver of the grader soon explained that the grader scoop couldn’t reach the debris therefore there was little he could do to alleviate the blockage. Instead, he dumped more mud and debris into the stream. Then he and his grader departed. 

On 7 January, 2021, I hand delivered another letter to same local provincial administration office, indeed the same provincial administration officer:

Dear NPA Representative,
Back in April 2019 I alerted your office that the culverts near [our property] was blocked.
A driver on a bulldozer was sent to clear the blockage. Unfortunately, the bulldozer actually further blocked the culvert with debris.
Today, January 7, 2021, our garden is flooding as the culvert can no longer cope with the amount of water coming down the stream.
Our side of the culvert is free of debris. The public side of the culvert is almost completely block. I know as I looked at it yesterday. I believe a crew of workers must work by hand to clear the culvert. It cannot be cleared by bulldozer but it must be cleared SOON.
Compare the photos below tot those I took in 2019 and you’ll see how much the situation has deteriorated.
Thanks for your prompt attention to this potential nuisance and your help in getting at least ONE OF THE CULVERTS CLEARED.

Since pictures are worth 1,000 words, I presented the following:

2 culverts on 10 April 2019.

2 culverts on 7 January 2021.

Backed up water cannot flow through culverts, 7 January 2021.

Stream overflow, 7 January 2021. 

The flooded area made worse since Eskom chopped down trees and failed to remove the debris. (For background, read, “Meanwhile, back at the ranch” post of 18 August 2020.)  

The NPA officer I talked to 7 January explained that their work crews were “still on holiday” and won’t return until at least 16 January (I hope he meant 2021, and not 2022 or 2023.) 

Mosquitos are ecstatic with excess water as it offers further opportunities to breed. (Perhaps parent mosquitos hand out maps to direct blood-thirsty young to an endless supply of American blood.)  

Fallout!

Rioters clash with police 
as they try to enter the Capitol on Jan. 6.
(c) Pacific Press via Getty Images.

News blues…

In the face of a global pandemic that has killed close to 87 million people, Dr Fauci reviews the challenges to deliver vaccine in the US, the world's hardest hit nation.  (8:00 mins).

The US is also in political turmoil.
Five are dead and at least 50 security officers confirmed injured in the attempted insurrection. Some Republicans continue their denial of root causes. Nevertheless, heads are beginning to roll.

The egregious denialists:

• “GOP congressman blames 'ANTIFA fascists in backwards MAGA hats' after Trump supporters storm the Capitol” 

Republican Congressman Mo Brooks of Alabama falsely claimed that supporters of President Donald Trump who stormed the Capitol building on Wednesday were actually left-wing protesters… ANTIFA fascists in backwards MAGA hats.

• And, Texas AG promotes the theory that Capitol violence was false flag staged by 'bus load of Antifa thugs' 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton promoted a tweet from far-right Investors Business Daily writer Paul Sperry, claiming that a "former FBI agent" has confirmed the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters was a "false flag" engineered by a "bus load of Antifa thugs."

• Yet more “false flag” blaming of Antifa and progressive groups.  (20:00 mins)
• Meanwhile, Capitol police chief resigns 
• Trump cabinet members and staff resign  ... and the fallout continues with further resignations in the White House  (7:20 mins)
• Manufacturers Call on Armed Thugs to Cease Violence at Capitol  
• Some of America's top businesspeople are threatening to cut off funding to those who egged on the insurrection. 

***

After their post-election slump, a re-energized Lincoln Project:

Yesterday’s insurrection was horrifying—but not surprising.
Our seat of government—our shared halls of democracy—was invaded, occupied, and vandalized for the first time since the War of 1812.
For a moment, American democracy fell to an insurrection incited by the President of the United States.
Worst of all—this was predictable. What we witnessed yesterday was abhorrent, but it should have surprised nobody who has paid attention to the last few years, or months, or days.
This did not occur in a vacuum. Violent insurrections don’t appear out of thin air.
Every Trump Republican is culpable—but none more so than the seditionists (six in the Senate, over 100 in the House) who, even after the Capitol was invaded and then secured, continued to attempt to disenfranchise millions of Americans by opposing the counting of legitimate Electoral College votes.

The Senate Sedition Caucus: 

Ted Cruz (TX) 

Josh Hawley (MO) 

Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS) 

John Kennedy (LA) 

Roger Marshall (KS) 

Tommy Tuberville (AL) 

We have sounded the alarms over the dangers of Trump’s demagoguery and populism for years.
We knew that every time one of his lies was parroted by a sycophantic enabler, the base of delusion and deceit grew.
Yesterday was the completely inevitable outcome of this demagoguery and deceit.
For some, yesterday was a wake-up call—that there is a price to pay for toying with, and undermining, the U.S. Constitution.
For us—it was an affirmation of everything we stand for.
Trump Republicans must pay a price.
Seditionists must pay a price.
Enemies of our country, foreign and domestic, must pay a price.
We won’t back down. 

***

Now This | Sen. Elizabeth Warren: Trump is a 'Lying Coward'  (4:40 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

The impact of the coronavirus on nature 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

It’s tough trying to maintain someone else’s property and preparing it for sale. There have been no views of the property in 2.5 months – not too surprising. This is, after all, the “festive season” during which potential properties purchasers don’t buy. Moreover, the pandemic depresses the economy and potential buyers watch their budgets.
For a short while, I fancied myself “pool gal” – as it appeared I’d solved the ongoing issue of the swimming pool filter’s apparent malfunctions.
The filtering systems appeared to work well for several days. I collected fallen leaves and debris from the water as well as removed handfuls of frog eggs. I cleared the filter baskets and discharged dirty water. Nevertheless, alas, while the pump sounds like its doing it’s filtering, water is not circulating through the filter.
I’m stumped.
I will not request a consult from the “pool guy” – I hired. After all, it took 3 months for him to show up last time and, when he did, he was dismissive, rude, and overcharged. Yet, based on experiences to date, I quaver at having to find someone else to carry out the needed work.
There’s also the basic stupidity I display with some of these maintenance chores. For example, after the CCTV system stopped working (it coincided with Eskom’s visit to butcher tall trees in the garden) I hired a security system consultant to figure out why the system wasn’t working. He did. The electrical plug wasn’t correctly inserted into the outlet. 
Such missteps convince me that my “lifestyle” choices are correct: dwell in a small, low maintenance home (in California I live – or lived – in a houseboat) and concentrate on living in the moment. For example, discover the lifestyles of bugs, birds, and birds. In other words, as far as possible, enjoy life’s free moments free of the burdens of maintenance.

Over-the-top whackidoodle-itude!

© A pro-Trump mob breaks
into the U.S. Capitol.
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Watch (mask-free) far-right Trumpies storm US Capital building and enter Congress! (4:50 mins)
One unarmed woman, so far unidentified, was shot and killed, her alleged shooter “a senior U.S. Capitol Police officer.” 

Meanwhile, Covid-19 marches on….

Worldwide (Map) 
January 6 – 87,157,000 confirmed infections; 1,882,100 deaths 

December 3 – 64,469,710 confirmed infections; 1,492,100 deaths
November 5 – 48,136,225 confirmed infections; 1,225,915 deaths

US (Map)  
January 6 – 21,294,100 confirmed infections; 361,100 deaths 

December 3 – 13,920,000 confirmed infections; 273,370 deaths
November 5 – 9,487,470 confirmed infections; 237,730 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
January 6 – 1,150,000 confirmed infections; 1,30,525 deaths 

December 3 – 796,475 confirmed infections; 21,710 deaths
November 5 – 730,500 confirmed infections; 19,585 deaths

News blues…

KZN in Covid trouble (3:49 mins)

***

I ran into a caregiver in the grocery store and, as we caught up on news since our last meeting, she said she would not take any coronavirus vaccine offered in South Africa. This, because “it takes years to ensure vaccines are effective. This coronavirus vaccine has no history.”
She’s not alone in this point of view.

Only 53% of South Africans would want to take a coronavirus vaccine if it was available, an Ipsos/World Economic Forum survey has found. Two causes of this low percentage are worries about potential side-effects, and people being against vaccines in general….
…in December 2020, just 53% of South Africans said they totally agreed that if a vaccine was available, they would take it. By comparison, in October, 68% of South Africans surveyed said they would take the vaccine. In August, the number stood at 64%.
According to the survey, with multiple answers allowed, reasons for people not wanting to take a vaccine were worries about potential side effects (65%), not being sure it was effective (24%), there not being enough of a risk of contracting Covid-19 (17%), against vaccines in the first place (23%), don’t have time for it (5%), and other reasons (18%). Five hundred South Africans who were more urban, educated and/or more affluent than the general population were sampled for the survey.

Read the Ipsos/World Economic Forum report >> 

In the US, the results of a survey of 2,730 consenting US adults, aged 18 years and older, with a response rate of 39% and a …

… sample weighted to be demographically representative of the US population, [suggested that] overall, 61.4% (95% CI, 60.0%-63.0%) of respondents indicated they would likely get a COVID-19 vaccine. Republicans and Independents were, however, significantly less likely to get vaccinated than Democrats (Republicans, 44.3% [95% CI, 41.7%-46.8%]; Independents, 58.4% [95% CI, 55.5%-61.1%]; Democrats, 76.6% [95% CI, 74.7%-78.5%]), and Black respondents were significantly less likely than non-Black respondents to get vaccinated (43.6% [95% CI, 39.2%-48.2%] vs 63.7% [95% CI, 62.3%-65.2%]).

Read “US Public Attitudes Toward COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates" >> 

***

After a very close race, two Democrats were elected in the US state of Georgia. This puts the US Congress and it’s ability to legislate in a different position to what it has been for the past four years – and where it was during the Obama presidency. With the US Senate now evenly distributed between Democrats and Republicans – 50/50 – Vice president-elect Kamala Harris becomes a tie-breaker, if needed. .
One hopes that all the bills “Moscow” Mitch McConnell has refused to bring to the floor will resurface.
One hopes better days are ahead.
The Lincoln Project celebrates the results of Georgia’s election:

We did it, again.
Georgia once again rejected the politics of racism and bigotry.
Georgia said ‘no more’ to gross abuses of office and Trump loyalism.
Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff will soon be sworn in, bringing the U.S. Senate to a 50-50 partisan split—the slimmest of Democratic majorities, with Vice President Harris casting any tie-breaking votes.
50-50 is no blank check. Every individual Senator in the majority will have extraordinary power over what passes the upper chamber.
But reaching this point—McConnell out of power, and two of Trump’s most sycophantic enablers removed from office—is as critical for crushing Trumpism as it is for Joe Biden’s ability to lead and heal this nation.
It goes without saying—our work is far from over.
Today, we expect over 100 Republican House members and at least a dozen Republican Senators to back the latest and most shameless attempt to overturn the will of the American people.
By objecting to the certification of Electoral College members, Republican seditionists will assert that it is up to Congress, not We the People, to determine who the next President of the United States will be.
Every member of the Sedition Caucus will be named.
We will ensure that their remaining time in office is as politically painful as possible.
The votes they take today to subvert the Constitution and the will of the people will follow them around for the rest of their miserable lives.
We guarantee it.
People, revel in the joy and excitement of these two monumental wins.

Healthy planet, anyone?

Every year, between October and December, 8–10 million straw-coloured fruit bats descend on the park to feast on an abundance of fruit. From west Africa, over the forests of the Congo basin and on to Zambia, the bats migrate thousands of kilometres over savanna and open land, dispersing seeds into deforested areas, and reforesting and regenerating landscapes on their journey. Scientists are still trying to fathom why these fruit bats, or “flying foxes”, gather at Kasanka in numbers not seen anywhere else. Each night they leave their evergreen swamp fig roosts to fly up to 55 miles (90km) in search of wild berries and fruit….
[But]
…With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the bats have faced a new threat from humans seeking to attack them. “These bats are being persecuted because of ongoing publicity about their role as virus hosts. Their importance completely outweighs the potential threat,” says Dechmann, adding that their role in transmitting viruses such as Covid-19 directly to humans has not been scientifically proved.

Read “Why the world's biggest mammal migration is crucial for Africa – a photo essay” >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Eskom resumes load shedding. Our schedule is generous: electricity scheduled to go off between 22:00/10pm and 5:00/5am. I awoke at 12:50am and it was off. Awoke again at 3:50am and it was back on. Go figure.

***

Yesterday, I shared misgiving about the precarious health situation I face if Covid finds a path into my lungs/body. Consequently, I began paying more attention to recognizing symptoms. This video helps. It is short and to the point.  (1:31 mins).

Reality checks

As second wave Covid shuts down countries (UK) and counties (San Francisco Bay Area) we the (smart) people hunker down.
Since going out and about could be fatal, it’s tempting simply to shut down, navel gaze, and become engrossed in one’s own small world.
Instead of feeding feelings of guilt, I searched online for other pandemic bloggers. See below - Healthy planet, anyone? - for bloggers working to ensure others’ health and safety during horrific times.

News blues…

The big day has arrived for Georgia and the US. The outcome could not be more important to how president-elect Joe Biden is able to steer the US away from evolving Republican madness. 

If Georgians - traditionally a "red state", that is strongly Republican - elect the two corrupt Republican candidates to Congress, the US is – in my opinion – essentially stalled. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnel (“Moscow Mitch”) can, and will, thwart any essential forward momentum proposed by Democrats.
Trump, meanwhile, continues to whine about “election fraud” while “working tirelessly” to improve his golf swing while ignoring the reality of the pandemic. 

***

The Lincoln Project Traitor  (1:06 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Pandemic-related blogs and vlogs:

• The fun, friendly, garden wildlife-focused Lockdown Diaries of a Wildlife Cameraman – Warwick Sloss  (3 episodes so far). 
• Médecins Sans Frontières/ Doctors Without Borders (MSF):
  Staff blogs  | Fighting an epidemic in a pandemic  | Patient blogs  

***

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

With a deadly pandemic raging, I faced the reality of my precarious position as “sout pilitjie” (Afrikaans for “salt penis” refers to those straddling Africa and Europe so that the penis hangs in the ocean).
I’m set up not to survive medically in SA. 

To summarize: 1) I remain in SA, first, because of forced by the lockdown travel ban then because lockdown forced me to recognize my mother’s situation and its fallout was no longer tenable, 2) while here, I have no close, personal support system nor, more importantly, no medical support system, 3) I have no health insurance here (my CA insurance isn’t valid in SA and my travel insurance ran out months ago), 3) I have little practical knowledge about how to recognize if I – or anyone, including our domestic worker – contracts Covid. (The domestic worker has access to national health care plan, albeit iffy, under current pandemic conditions), and 4) I have no idea what to do or how to care for myself - or her - if needed.
Yesterday, I reached out to the medical professionals I’ve met while setting up a long-term plan for my mother’s care. They advised that, 1) “treating your symptoms should be your focus,” 2) if I contracted Covid and my health allowed it, I should “tell your doctor or pharmacist your symptoms and they will advise on appropriate medication and if a scrip is required”, 3) order pharmaceuticals and food online for delivery, 4) hire the care giver I’d hired for weekly visits to my mother; we know and like one another and she’s experienced at helping homebound Covid sufferers.
I also “consulted” the Internet and discovered “Practical strategies if you test positive for COVID-19 (or are in contact with someone who tests positive)”  (38:00 mins) It’s long and more technical than I require, but it offers useful, current, information. (Many YouTube clips on selfcare for Covid, but are more than two months old while Covid morphs week-by-week.)

***

I’d not heard “all year” from my son and his family in the Harris/Galveston County area of Texas, south of Houston. Both he and his wife are health care providers so on the front lines. Finally, he texted that their area is “getting swamped.” The Moderna vaccine reached them, however, and both have been vaccinated.

***

After weeks staying at the house, our domestic worker will take today off. She will purchase fencing for her own home “in the village.”
This endeavor requires vigilance against exposure to Covid while 1) taking taxis to the store to purchase fencing, then from the store to the urban taxi rank, then at least one more taxi for the 30 to 40 minute drive to the village about 40 kms away. She’ll spend most of the day in village (some socializing expected as she’s not been home for nine months), then she’ll return here via two or three more taxis.
I know she’ll be vigilant. I pray she’s more vigilant than the new highly contagious strain of coronavirus.

Mayhem …

Five days into the new year and chaos and mayhem reign.

News blues…

The other pandemic: the surge in fake news:

• ANC ward councillor Sfiso Mngadi has admitted recording a voicenote in which he shared multiple Covid-19, vaccine and 5G conspiracy theories. 
  “As leaders of eThekwini [Durban] we need to take action against this disease. It is not Covid. We are getting this thing from 5G towers, [some] installed during this period in preparation of the second wave.
  “Maybe we as councillors need to call a special council meeting, take a decision that all 5G towers must be disconnected in eThekwini.
  [and…]
  “White people were vaccinated about five months ago. There was a truck that distributed the vaccine in boxes and white people from all over the province, including places like Ixopo and Vryheid, went there to receive these boxes. It was given to white people only.” 
• Take note: SA government has no plans to take SA into a hard lockdown.
  Rumours circulating on social media suggesting the national coronavirus command council (NCCC), in response to the rising numbers of Covid-19 infections, will meet to discuss a stricter lockdown have been dismissed by government.
  “That is fake news,” said presidency spokesperson Nonceba Mhlauli. 
• Trump claims US rising coronavirus death toll as ‘fake news’  (1:48 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

What kind of future
are we handing our children
and our children’s children?
© Pat Byrnes, PoliticalCartoons.com

Covid devastates SA’s wildlife tourism industry. KZN especially hard hit.

The economy shed 2.2m jobs in the second quarter of 2020.
The huge tourist industry – which employs around one in every 20 workers and provides just under 3% of GDP – has been devastated.
Once the December holiday season meant tens of thousands of foreign visitors spending hundreds, even thousands, of dollars every day. Now, with the rate of new infections in the country soaring as authorities struggle to check a second wave, no one expects the tourists to come back soon.

Read “South African game reserves forced to cull animals as Covid halts tourism” Tourist lodges run out of cash to feed and care for the animals on their land and thousands of villagers lose their jobs.

***

On a lighter note, comedy wildlife photography finalists of 2020 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I’m one small step closer to making my new home a home. It feels satisfying.
I met with two vendors, each bringing me one step closer to making my new home a lived-in home. Moreover, I’d given both vendors a window of time in which I’d be available: between 12:30pm and 1:45pm.
Atypical-in-my-experience, both vendors arrived soon after 12:30pm, the second arriving as I bid goodbye to the first.
The fencing guy – Gary - will install a gate to allow easier access to my front garden. I’d like the gate installed in a way that, when I’m sitting on my patio enjoying a “sundowner” (colonial sunset cocktail), I view more garden and less gate. 

I’d have preferred no gate and no fence, but neighbors report that zebra, impala, Duiker, and warthog will step onto my patio to eat plants growing in the inner garden.
The second vendor – “Woofs” - tested my home for a wireless installation. Amazingly, the former renter never used the Internet. That’s atypical. A quick view of the list of secure connections indicates many neighbors access the Internet. 
Next steps for my wireless connection: review the installation quote, sign the contract, pay, and “within a week” I’ll be listed as a secure connection, too.
Alas, both vendors stated they’d email me quotes “tonight” (last night), but so far nothing has arrived.
I’m not in a hurry as the earliest I’ll move is mid- to late February.
I plan to return to California “sometime in March” but who knows?

***

Prognosis on my mother’s health is not good. Anesthetic from surgery still has the upper hand in her system and she’s sleeping a lot. After a meeting with the matron yesterday, I was granted permission to visit (despite tight lockdown in the facility).

I’ve not seen my mother for more than a week. I didn’t see her yesterday either: she was asleep.
I plan to schedule a Zoom call with her Friday and encourage distant family members to participate.

“Call it Covid”

We begin the first work week of 2021 with not-good stats.

News blues…

The number of Covid-19 cases in SA is now at 1,100,748, afte3r 11,859 new cases. The death toll sits at 29577, after 402 new fatalities.
This, as KZN;s daily rate of infection edges toward 6,000.

***

MSNBC data.

These astonishing numbers as the lame duck US president continues to obsess about losing the election and becomes more whacky by the day as his whims are ignored.

[Trump] attacked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for having a “ridiculous method” for counting the number of infections and deaths. 
“When in doubt, call it Covid,’” Trump tweeted, appearing to suggest that was the CDC’s stance on recording pandemic-related statistics. “Fake News!”
But some public health experts say the number of COVID-19 cases is actually likely underreported since many people infected with the virus may be asymptomatic or show only mild symptoms and not seek treatment.

Lordy, isn’t it time this lame duck flew off to a different swamp?
The lame duck is still more obsessed with overturning election results than he is with the infection devastating the U.S. Audio excerpts from a phone call during which he tries to bully Republicans to go along with his version of election fraud…. 

Healthy planet, anyone?

New Year’s day protest in
Howick West against Eskom’s 
spotty delivery of electricity. 

Electricity in my neighborhood went off due to a drunk driver crashing into a transformer. Other parts of KZN, though, reported outages, too – many of which were “business as usual” Eskom outages not scheduled in the EskomSe Push app. From Howick West (pictured) through Hillcrest (Valley of 1,000 Hills, near Durban) outages were the norm.
Background on SA’s energy crisis:

The South African Energy Crisis is an ongoing period when South Africa experiences widespread rolling blackouts as supply falls behind demand, threatening to destabilize the national grid. It began in the later months of 2007 and continues to this day. The government owned national power utility and primary power generator, Eskom, and various parliamentarians attributed these rolling-blackouts to insufficient generation capacity. With a reserve margin estimated at 8% or below, such "load shedding" is implemented whenever generating units are taken offline for maintenance, repairs or re-fueling (in the case of nuclear units). According to Eskom and government officials, the solution requires the construction of additional power stations and generators.
Read more >> 

FYI: World Bank data on electricity supply of countries around the world. 

***

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I’m always interested in what’s happening in the world. So much so that, curious, I departed SA as a young woman to explore the world. (As required by then-SA's patriarchal gov’t, my father had to sign a waiver allowing me to leave the country as I was under 21 years old.)
Cultures and intra-and intercultural communication intrigues me (my BA is in intercultural communication.) Lots more to share about this, but for now, an interesting item of to go/take away food found in local grocery store: Pizza Tikka Chicken.
Who’da thunk Italian cuisine could meld with Indian cuisine?
The dough is not up to basic standards but the flavors works!
If pizzas can meld interculturally, so can people. 

No?

***

Jessica The Dog has settled back into her home. Despite advancing age and arthritis, she’s game to chase monkeys (they taunt her by staying just out of reach) and roly-poly on the lawn. 

She appears to have decided I’m her vice-pack-leader since THE pack leader – my mother – is out of sight. This is a new role, not one I relish.
I avoid the responsibility pets impose on my life. My last pet, a decade ago, was a cat left with me by my daughter. Cats are more my speed: independent, self-absorbed, curious (like me?).
Dogs require regular doses of affirmations – “what a good, dog,” “who’s a fine girl?” etc., ad nauseum - and are underfoot (Jessica, glued to my hip, recently caused me to trip while pulling on my shoes).
What’s going to happen to Jessica – and Pixie and Ozzie – when this house is sold?
A friend is interested in adopting Jessica. She already has 3 dogs and lives in a small house with small garden. I’m concerned about elderly Jessica fitting into that scene. 

One the other hand, my mother’s desire is that I “put down” (euthanize) the dogs. After that, I’m expected to combine their cremains with hers- and her cremains collection - when she passes. 

Not a joke.
My mother stores 8 or 9 boxes of cremains – boxes made of fine wood with brass latches – in her small room at the Care Center. The boxes are set out like other old ladies set out photographs of family.
My job is to ensure all cremains are mixed together and deposited at the property where my mother spent ssix decades of her life.
One problem – other than the request’s macabre nature?
The property belongs to a corporation and, while the land is fallow – I’d be trespassing if I crept onto it to deposit a large bag of cremains.

Resolute 2021

© Far side – Gary Larsen

News blues…

Americans and their guns! New Year's Eve celebratory shootings result in victims, including the slaying of a 4-Year-old child.  

***

Abdo Sayid at 4 years old
was only 14 pounds. 
Photo: Giles Clarke/U.N. Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof reminds us of that we’d prefer to ignore. By suppling military equipment and bombs, the US supports the bombing of Yemen. By supporting Saudi Arabia’s attacks on Yemen, the US supports the starving of children.
This means, Americans, that our tax dollars are used to starve children like Abdo Sayid.

Kristof writes:

That’s a photo of a 4-year-old boy, Abdo Sayid, who weighed 14 pounds when he was brought to a hospital in Aden, Yemen, to be treated for starvation. I wondered whether to run the photo with this newsletter, and with my column today. 
There’s an argument that such photos are “poverty porn,” reducing humans to two-dimensional “victims.”
I decided to include the photo. Because I think it’s important for the world to see the consequences of indifference to the growing threat of starvation in poor countries around the world, as a pandemic of hunger follows the coronavirus pandemic. My new column cites a report indicating that an additional 10,000 children are starving to death each month because of the pandemic, and these are preventable. I’m a believer that photos galvanize us and awaken our consciences in ways that words sometimes don’t.
Abdo died soon after reaching the hospital, but his family and the doctors were eager to have the photographs circulated because they want the world to know of such suffering — in hopes that awareness will lead to more help to prevent other kids from dying unnecessarily.
So my column today explores the global, indirect consequences of the pandemic, including people dying of AIDS and tuberculosis because they can’t get medicines, or children going blind because vitamin A supplementation is disrupted, or 2 million additional girls enduring female genital mutilation because campaigns against the practice have slowed. People in poor countries aren’t so much dying of the virus itself, but they are suffering enormously because of the indirect consequences of the pandemic — and because rich countries and the World Bank aren’t doing enough to help. Please read the column. 

***

Healthy planet, anyone?

Need ideas for New Year’s resolutions that go beyond “getting more exercise” and “losing weight”?
Do your part in shaping a healthier planet and brighter future for all.
Ways to protect our planet :
Climate

Climate change is perhaps the greatest challenge humanity as ever faced.
It affects every corner of our planet – from the poles to the tropics, and from the mountains to the oceans. People and nature worldwide are already feeling the effects: water supplies are shrinking, extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity, forests are burning, and coral reefs are dying.

Food security

The food system is the single biggest threat to nature today.
It uses most of our natural resources - 69% of all our water and 34% of our land. It has caused 75% of deforestation, 30% of topsoil erosion and contributes at least 24% of greenhouse gas emissions. And yet, we don't even eat all the food we produce - around one third of it is lost in the supply chain or thrown away.

Oceans

The ocean supplies half the oxygen we breathe, and provide food and livelihoods for more than a billion people.
They are also home to a wondrous array of wild species, from tiny plankton to the biggest creature that’s ever existed – the blue whale. But the ocean is in crisis. Centuries of overuse and neglect threaten to leave us with a vast blue wasteland.

Freshwater

Almost half the world's population will face severe water scarcity by 2030 without urgent action
Water is our most precious resource. We can't live without it, there's no substitute for it, and there's only so much of it to go round. Of all the water on Earth, just 2.5% is fresh water, and most of that is locked up in ice or deep underground. We rely on freshwater for farming, industry, and for the sustenance of 7 billion human beings and all life on land.

Forests

Human actions have already led to the loss of around 40% of the world’s forests.
We all need healthy forests. They help keep our climate stable, absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. They regulate our water supply and improve its quality. They provide a home to more than half of all species found on land, and we rely on them too! Over 1 billion people live in and around forests, depending on them for fuel, food, medicines and building materials.

Wildlife

The population sizes of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles today have dropped an average of 68% since 1970.
Maintaining the complex balance of animal life on Earth ensures the health of the natural systems we depend on for water, food, clean air, fertile soils and a stable climate. We need to reverse this loss of nature and biodiversity to create a future where wildlife and people thrive again

Read “Go from zero to planet hero this 2021" >> 

***

Our lives depend on a healthy planet:  Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health

Every day we depend on biodiversity (the sheer variety of life found on Earth) to keep us alive and healthy. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the foods we eat and the medications we take are all by-products of a healthy planet.

Read “Our lives depend on a healthy planet” >> 

***

Healthy people, healthy planet: the search for a sustainable global diet
By 2050, an estimated 10 billion people will live on Earth. To provide them with a healthy diet, eating habits need to change.
Read “Healthy people, healthy planet: the search for a sustainable global diet” >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Despite best intentions, rain prevented me transplanting indigenous plants into my new garden at my new home. With a let up in rain today, I will dedicate myself to creating a wonderful garden. A New Year’s resolution!

So this is 2021?

Hmmm, so far 2021 is not going well. A drunk driver drove into a neighborhood Eskom transformer. Knocked out electricity early afternoon, 1 January. Sixteen hours later the outage remains in effect.
Heavy rainfall since 31 December means garden and – as I discovered to my dismay – many battery operated items are water-logged.
I’d packed my car with gardening items to take to my new place and transplant while the soil is damp and easier to dig.
Alas, my car wouldn’t start; battery had some life but not enough to start the engine. (I’d pulled the car out from under the carport so that rain could cleanse it of excess dust. Perhaps that was the problem? Some necessary part got wet? That doesn’t make sense but who knows?)
I searched for the jumper cables that belong to this household. Alas, my brother, naturally, has commandeered them and they’re at his house, a 30-minute drive away. Moreover, he’s under quarantine and couldn’t return them anyway.
I transferred all items from my car to my mother’s car, that does start.
Alas, the electricity-powered security gate didn’t work. Usually, battery power kicks in when electricity is off and, after a pause, gate opens and closes with a signal from the remote. Today? No such luck. The security gate battery appears flat, too.
What else can a girl do but have a cup of tea – and a hunk or tow of dark fruit cake.
I pray my array of battery charged items – phones, laptop – last for the duration or the power outage.

***

Two hours later electricity back on. Time to boogey….