Exemplars of absurdism

“I recently thumbed through “The Plague,” to see if Albert Camus had intuited anything about the rhythms of human suffering in conditions of fear, disease and constraint. Naturally, he had. It was on April 16 that Dr. Rieux first felt the squish of a dead rat beneath his feet on his landing; it was in mid-August that the plague “had swallowed up everything and everyone,” with the prevailing emotion being “the sense of exile and of deprivation, with all the crosscurrents of revolt and fear set up by these.” Those returning from quarantine started setting fire to their homes, convinced the plague had settled into their walls."

We’ve hit a pandemic wall: New records show that Americans are suffering from record levels of mental distress. 

Healthy futures anyone?

I recently “had my say” on South Africa’s Nuclear Regulation Act. Take a look and, if South African, have your say. 
South Africa taking on another nuke power station is, well, an exemplar of absurdism. Why purchase – with the country’s demonstrably corrupt tender system and little technical knowhow – a power system that provides mountains of toxic waste?
No nuclear waste has ever been successfully (sustainably) managed anywhere in the world.
Why nuke power in an era when the world must go in a sustainable direction?

African prosperity will not come by it being shackled to the outdated dirty energy infrastructure of the past. Rather than trudging behind in the 50-year-old footsteps of European countries, Africa needs to leapfrog to the clean, cheap and renewable technologies of the future. This is how Africa will catch up with its global neighbours. Africa is blessed with more sun, wind and geothermal energy than anywhere else on the planet, but that fact does not help the GWPF or the coal industry.
Not only are wind and solar increasingly becoming the cheapest forms of new electricity across the globe, but they are also inherently more agile and versatile than grid-reliant fossil fuels. Pastoralists in remote parts of Africa in need of electricity will not be served waiting for hulking great power grids to be built, cutting a swathe across Africa’s precious natural landscape. They would be better off with solar mini-grids and wind turbines supplying energy exactly where it is needed most.  

***

Mauritius environment minister Kavy Ramano and fishing minister Sudheer Maudhoo concur, “We are in an environmental crisis situation… This is the first time that we are faced with a catastrophe of this kind and we are insufficiently equipped to handle this problem.” 

The problem? A breach in the vessel MV Wakashio, carrying 200 tonnes of diesel and 3,800 tonnes of bunker fuel.

The ministers said all attempts to stabilise the ship had failed because of rough seas and efforts to pump out the oil had also failed. Ecologists fear the ship could break up, which would cause an even greater leak and inflict potentially catastrophic damage on the island’s coastline. The country depends on its seas for food and for tourism, boasting some of the finest coral reefs in the world.

It’s not rocket science: We the Critters of this planet all depend on our oceans. (Way back in May 2010, Greg Moses wrote “Oil Wars come home to roost."  It’s more relevant than ever. )
What can you do? Start small with an easy-to-accomplish step:
Call on world leaders to protect Antarctica and deliver the largest act of ocean protection in history. Only one Antarctica 

*** 

A line from the movie, “Cry, the Beloved Country, about apartheid South Africa: “In South Africa, the law and justice are distant relatives – and they haven’t been on speaking terms for decades.” 

Update that for this moment and substitute the law and justice with Trump and responsible leadership. Trump is a dangerous clown but he is merely the current instrument with which American right-wing politicians hammer home their philosophy expressed by Grover Norquist: “I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.”
And right-wing Republicans accuse “The Left” of anarchism? 

It's a complex history with a simple plot line: subjegate The People by impoverishing them, taking away possibilites of health care, decent and affordable education, minimum wage....
How the pandemic defeated America. 

This is not a blanket condemnation of all Republicans. The Lincoln Project, for example, is made up of Republicans of a different feather (at least during this season of Trump disasters).
Republican Vets Against Trump  (1:00 mins)
Meidas Touch:
Leave Me A Loan: Trump's PPP Scandal Exposed (1:16 mins)
Trump Hoaxed America  (1:00 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Overnight temperatures dropped to 2C/ 36F – that means below zero in our valley wetlands. And that means, ice in my watering can this morning. In anticipation of freezing temperatures, last night I wrapped vulnerable plants.
I watch the days getting longer by mere seconds, longing for the return of spring and summer. This time last month, the sun rose at 6:53am and set at 5:12am; today, it rose at 6:37am and will set at 5:29. Getting there, slowly but surely.

***

The latest threat to healthy seedlings and flourishing vegetable gardens?
Monkeys.
I discovered the hard way – solid evidence – that monkeys, curious rather than malicious, pluck seedlings out the ground and toss ‘em. 

I’d be less chagrined if monkeys ate seedlings – it’s winter and they’re hungry.
But, wanton destruction?
Exemplars of absurdism.

Reaching out

Click to enlarge 

Reaching out during times of stress can be lifesaving. 

The conundrum: doing it in a way that preserves health, safety, and well-being.
It’s a mess out there. Do your part.
Pandemic toll: this week’s numbers compared with last week’s:

• August 6 – 18,753,000 worldwide confirmed infections; 706,800 deaths
• July 30 – 17,096,000 worldwide: confirmed infections; 668,590 deaths
• August 6 – US 4,824,000 confirmed infections; 158,250 deaths
• July 30 - US: 4,451,000 confirmed infections; 151,270 deaths
• August 6 – SA 529,900 confirmed infections; 9,298 deaths
• July 30 - SA: 471,125 confirmed infections; 7,498 deaths

KZN rising...
Click to enlarge.

US CDC’s interactive map of Covid devastation across that nation. 
Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Monday, “The number of new coronavirus cases in the U.S. needs to get below 10,000 a day by the fall in order to maintain some control over the pandemic.” Over the past week, there has been an average of over 60,194 cases per day

News blues…

Repetition helps drive home reality:

The human destruction of natural ecosystems increases the numbers of rats, bats and other animals that harbour diseases that can lead to pandemics such as Covid-19, a comprehensive analysis has found. The research assessed nearly 7,000 animal communities on six continents and found that the conversion of wild places into farmland or settlements often wipes out larger species. It found that the damage benefits smaller, more adaptable creatures that also carry the most pathogens that can pass to humans. In June, experts said the Covid-19 pandemic was an “SOS signal for the human enterprise”, while in April the world’s leading biodiversity experts said even more deadly disease outbreaks were likely unless nature was protected.
…David Redding, of the ZSL Institute of Zoology in London, who was one of the research team (results published in the journal Nature), said the costs of disease were not being taken into account when deciding to convert natural ecosystems: “You’ve then got to spend a lot more money on hospitals and treatments.” A recent report estimated that just 2 percent of the costs of the Covid-19 crisis would be needed to help prevent future pandemics for a decade. 

***

Give sustainable peace a chance … and critters may make a comeback

New Guinea has greatest plant diversity of any island in the world, a study reveals.   New Guinea is home to more than 13,500 species of plant, two-thirds of which are endemic, according to a new study that suggests it has the greatest plant diversity of any island in the world – 19% more than Madagascar, which previously held the record.
Ninety-nine botanists from 56 institutions in 19 countries trawled through samples, the earliest of which were collected by European travelers in the 1700s. Large swathes of the island remain unexplored and some historical collections have yet to be looked at. Researchers estimate that 4,000 more plant species could be found in the next 50 years, with discoveries showing “no sign of levelling off”, according to the paper published in Nature. New Guinea is home to more than 13,500 species of plant, two-thirds of which are endemic, according to a new study that suggests it has the greatest plant diversity of any island in the world – 19% more than Madagascar, which previously held the record.
Ninety-nine botanists from 56 institutions in 19 countries trawled through samples, the earliest of which were collected by European travellers in the 1700s. Large swathes of the island remain unexplored and some historical collections have yet to be looked at. Researchers estimate that 4,000 more plant species could be found in the next 50 years, with discoveries showing “no sign of levelling off”, according to the paper published in Nature. 

***

Poop-spotting: Poop reveals presence of new penguin colonies in Antarctica

Satellite images have revealed 11 previously unknown emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica, boosting the number of known colonies of the imperiled birds by 20 percent. The discoveries were made by spotting the distinctive red-brown guano patches the birds leave on the ice. The finds were made possible by higher-resolution images from a new satellite, as previous scans were unable to pick up smaller colonies.

***

For your viewing pleasure:
Hummingbird pool party  (0:47 mins)
The Lincoln Project’s Secretary Of Failure (0:56 mins)
Meidas Touch: Trump Donors: Don't Be Don's Next Con  (1:00 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I spent my childhood in a section of rural South Africa 55kms/35 miles from my current location. Due to short-term visits to KZN, and now the pandemic, I’m both isolated and constrained in finding a local network of friends and supporters. In short, I’m isolated in my mother’s household and in the town where she chose to purchase a dwelling large enough to house her 12 dogs.
We barely have a social community. Those in our circle are predominantly people I’ve contacted as health care providers. Thankfully, I’ve developed a couple of friendships with generous spirits who have offered a lifeline: valuable advice and emotional support.
Yesterday, after court, the effects of this isolation became clear.
My security team suggested following my vehicle home – “just to show I have security and that it’s not easy to mess with me.” I was reluctant – they’ve provided support beyond the call of duty and I hated to take more of their valuable time. Nevertheless, I agreed to drive in convoy: me in the middle.
Alas, I quickly lost the vehicle I was following. Instead, I followed a different, barely similar, vehicle driving in the opposite direction.
That’s what weeks of stress does to the human head.
After arriving at home – again in convoy – I realized it is time to reach out for professional support. I contacted a well-regarded local psychologist. Today, I plan on visiting her, clarifying my thinking, talking through current circumstances, and seeking advice on solutions to dilemmas.
Before visiting her, though, I plan to visit Karkloof Conservancy for another form of clarity: a glimpse of migrating wattled cranes. 

 Video clip of cranes at the conservancy.  (0:33 mins) 

 South Africa’s wattled cranes remind me of life in California’s Sacramento River Delta. Thousands of sandhill cranes migrate to the delta each winter. Many flocks are easily heard and seen a short walk away from my houseboat. 

Nature soothes. If given the chance, nature heals, too. 

Gee Bee Vee

GBV: gender-based violence.
South Africa has one of the highest, if not the highest, rates of gender-based violence in the world. It’s prevalent and normalized such that one can be involved in GBV and barely recognize it. 

Happily, if one spends the time, asks for and follows advice, is supported in following through, one can succeed at least in receiving legal protection.

News blues…

Article from Mountain Echo
newspaper of Underberg
Page 5 of 8
Click to enlarge and read.

Open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa on farm murders:

Mr President, 

On September 26, 2018 you spoke to financial news service Bloomberg on the sidelines of the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York. In the interview, you said that there were “no killings of farmers… white farmers in South Africa.” In fact, farmers (black and white), farm workers (black and white), and visitors to farms (black and white) were being killed, and are still being killed today. These murders often involve the most terrible torture of the farmers and farm workers, their parents, their wives, and their children. What you said then was false. You in fact contradicted yourself in that 2018 Bloomberg interview, because in November 2017, in the NCOP you said: “We condemn the farm killings that continue to take place in our country, because we can never justify any form of taking of life. The farm killings must be brought to an end.”
We are not sure of your motivation in denying to the world 10 months later that these heinous murders, tortures and kidnappings were taking place. We, as the Official Opposition, ask that you, Sir, put this matter to rest once and for all. In 2018, when you made this claim, there were 54 farmers and farm workers who were horribly murdered on South African farms and smallholdings. There were 394 vicious attacks. Farmers and farm workers in South Africa, instead of being supported as workers within a Strategic Asset, feel today that they have become persona non grata as the Police Strategy fails them year after year. In 2017and 2018 combined there were 136 murders on farms, a figure which contradicts what you announced to the world. This year, during this lockdown period, we have seen a large increase in attacks on farms and smallholdings… (Read the full letter, page 5.) 

Glad you’re not a farmer? 

The bad news: In South Africa, you are most likely to be killed not on a farm but in public. 

Between April 2019 and March 2020, a total of 7,735 attempted murder and 30,272 assault GBH cases were reported in a public space.
Police minister Bheki Cele said gender-based violence (GBV), political killings and farm murders were some of the most stubborn crimes plaguing the country.
Overall, 5,522 people were murdered at residences, while 853 were murdered at shebeens and 467 at business premises.
The statistics further showed that 232 people were killed in modes of transport, 166 were murdered on a farm or smallholding and a total of 88 people were murdered at a lake or river. The recent murder of an elderly couple and their daughter on their farm in Hartswater sent shock waves across the country. Danie, 83, and Breggie Brand, 73, and their daughter Elzabie, 54, were found dead in open fields in the Taung area on Tuesday. Five suspects have appeared in court for the brutal murders. Shockingly, 33 people were murdered at a petrol station while a further 60 attempted murder and 269 assault GBH cases were opened.
Last year, people including taxi bosses, gang “bosses” and a lawyer were gunned down at petrol stations across the country.

My own confrontation with a drunken male, also a convicted rapist, threatening me with death, rape, and mayhem completed another phase. See that story below. 

First, a little levity:
Every day, thousands of YouTube viewers eagerly await a uniquely compelling feature of the 2020 election cycle: ads from The Lincoln Project.
Here, Trump endorses:
Steve Daines  (1:33 mins)
Dan Sullivan  (2:16 mins)
Susan Collins  (2:15 mins)
Assorted musical interludes
"Vote Him Away #2 (The Liar Tweets Tonight)"  (2:40 mins)
Don Caron parodies:
Spreadin through the air (with David Cohen)  (2:40 mins)
Battle Hymn of the Republic - Modified for Relevance   (4:44 mins)

But it’s not all song and dance. The Lincoln Project and other groups (Meidas Touch, Sarah Cooper, Now This, Randy Rainbow, et al) engage serious topics to educate Americans about the perils of another four-Donald-Trump-laced years.
Lincoln Project co-founder and conservative lawyer George Conway – aka “the man married to White House counsel Kellyanne Conway” – recently wrote:

Trump must face retribution after he’s voted out of office… For the sake of our constitutional republic, he must lose, and lose badly. Yet that should be just a start: We should only honor former presidents who uphold and sustain our nation’s enduring democratic values. There should be no schools, bridges or statues devoted to Trump. His name should live in infamy, and he should be remembered, if at all, for precisely what he was — not a president, but a blundering cheat.”

Hear, hear, George Conway!
Still need convincing? The following exclusive interview could be a parody, but, alas, this is the real, live, actual president of the United States with AXIOS’s Jonathan Swan. It’s 37-well-worth-watching minutes of eye-opening Trump (il)logic, off topic ramblings sprinkled with power-of-positive-thinking-ism, and, yes, plain, old-fashioned lying.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Yesterday afternoon I fetched my mother from her overnight ordeal in the hospital. (Backstory ) She was discharged early due to her age – 87 – in face of Covid-19.
Her severe nosebleed has been staunched and medical hardware inserted into her nostril. She’s weak, exhausted, and her face is swollen from hardware, but she’s happy to be home. Her many dogs are just as happy to have her home.

*** 

Today’s law and order/crime watch theme was stimulated by my day in court. (Backstory 1 and Backstory 2)
Thinking (erroneously) that arriving early to the local Magistrates Office would get me in and out within a “reasonable time”, I arrived 20 minutes before doors opened. One and a half hours later I was still waiting – outside (a pandemic precaution), masked, and shivering with cold.
Half an hour later, the man threatening me arrive and we were signed in and allowed to proceed to the initial holding area.
I had not expected the defendant to show up. Since he had, I figured he must have an effective rebuttal….
Faced with the magistrate’s first administrator, the defendant claimed he “did not understand the charges," nor the documents, nor did he speak English.
Problem is, after we'd laid a trap to counter the efforts of his mother, my mother's domestic worker, who had been hiding him, the security team had escorted hin to the police station where they'd explained the charges - in English, with his agreeement. 

I texted them to confirm: Had he not signed documents declaring he understood English and understood the documents?
Indeed, he had. “It’s a delaying tactic,” they texted me back, along with the name of the Detective Warrant Officer who'd processed the defendant.
Additionally, they texted me that two members of the security team would join me at the magistrate’s office, in case their evidence was needed.
By the time they arrived, I’d already been waiting four hours. Together, we waited another hour and a half. 

After being introduced to the magistrate,  she explained the process; an interpreter translated into Zulu for the defendant. 

Forty-five minutes later I had papers in hand confirming the defendant must stay away from me and from my mother’s property, refrain from talking, harassing, threatening, and approaching me -  for the next five years. Failing that, he spend three years in prison.
I’m tempted to write, “finished and klaar” but nothing really is, is it?

Yet, I got on the official record that my mother’s longtime domestic worker may no longer sneak her son through the armed security system onto my mother’s property. (She’d ignored the previous written warning from my mother’s lawyer and perfected this habit, particularly, but not only when I was absent.)

A shout-out to Specialized Security Systems – “Triple S” – for outstanding service and support and for going several extra miles in assisting me in this ordeal. I’ve never been supported by any company on anything in the way Triple S has supported me in this.
Special shout-out to Cheyne and Dennis. Can’t thank you enough for your help!

Cliché USA

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Even The Donald sees the writing on the wall – and is grasping at straws. Time to pay the piper….
Now that I’ve exhausted the clichés appropriate to this moment, I’ll move on to … 

News blues… 

Joe Heller (c) 2020 Hellertoon.com
Click to enlarge. 

Ironic that I’m preparing to vote absentee from South Africa in the US election. South Africa has a barely functioning postal service, but I can still vote from here (see below for details). 

The US Postal Service has problems, but mail is sent and delivered well enough that Trump can’t allow it to do its job. Apparently, he and his enablers will attempt to collapse the USPS to ensure the disenfranchisement of Americans looking for alternatives to Trump and Trumpism.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington warned Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, that: “Recent actions” taken by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who was appointed by Donald Trump in May, “will delay prioritizing mail delivery,” which threatens voting by mail…. The number of Americans voting by mail is expected to surge across the nation as voters seek to avoid the risk of catching COVID-19 at the polls. Yet DeJoy is slashing overtime for mail carriers and prohibiting employees from making late delivery trips, which will slow the mail… DeJoy, who has no experience in the agency, is a prominent Trump donor and the former lead fundraiser for the Republican National Convention. “We have an underfunded state and local election system and a deliberate slowdown in the Postal Service,” Wendy Fields, the executive director of the Democracy Initiative, told The New York Times. Trump is “deliberately orchestrating suppression and using the post office as a tool to do it.” 

Remember, the United States is a constitutional republic with some decisions - often local - made by direct democratic processes and others - often federal - made by democratically elected representatives. 

The president is actually elected by the Electoral College, not necessarily directly by the popular vote.
It’s complicated, but briefly: The Electoral College forms every four years for the sole purpose of electing the president and vice president of the United States. Each state has electors based on its total number of representatives in Congress. With 538 total electoral votes, each elector casts one electoral vote following the general election. The candidate gaining more than half – 270 – electoral votes wins the election.
American voters in each state cast hardcopy ballots – in person, by mail, absentee…. The vote is counted and, in nearly every state, the candidate who gets the most votes is supposed to gain that proportional number of electoral votes in the Electoral College - and win.
However, candidates can win the popular vote yet lose the election. Hillary Clinton, in fact, won the popular vote by 3 million but lost in the Electoral College. (Al Gore has a similar history although his case was decided by the US Supreme Court.)  

*** 

Meidas Touch:
Trump has no healthcare plan  (1:00 mins)
Evict Trump from the White House  (1:00 min)
Lincoln Project Ad Slams Trump’s COVID-19 Response | NowThis   (3:20 mins)

Healthy futures anyone?

Focus on Denmark. 

Denmark’s groundwater is one of the cleanest in the world for a reason. According to the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it’s the result of the country’s consistent efforts to purify the country’s wastewater and protect its aquatic environment with the help of more than 1,000 water-treatment plants. Perhaps partially due to the expenses associated with maintaining so many treatment plants, Denmark’s water prices are fairly high, but ultimately, that’s a good thing. Similar to how carbon taxes work, the country’s high water price deters its citizens from using a surplus amount, which allows the cycle of clean water to flow interrupted. Denmark is also home to the “world’s greenest city,” Copenhagen. There are so many things we can learn from this eco-friendly city, starting with its famous landmark, CopenHill, aka Amager Bakke.
CopenHill is a power plant that converts waste to clean energy to produce heat and electricity for tens of thousands of local households, but that’s not all it does. It also functions as an artificial ski and snowboard slope! Copenhagen also makes it easy for its citizens to use eco-friendly forms of transportation. All the city’s buses are electric. One can rent inexpensive electric bicycles as well as ride on electric, solar-powered boats in some of the purest waterways in the world.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Last night, my elderly mother purposefully used the internal alarm system. I’d purchased it despite her poo-pooing the need for such a system – “I’ll never need it!” she said.
At 8:35pm, she triggered that alarm. I phoned her and heard a muffled call for assistance. One domestic worker and I opened the multiple burglar guards and doors and discovered my mother hunched in her bed and covered in blood. Dogs competed for space around the cumbersome bed set up and licked at blood splattered on the floor. My mother was suffering a severe nosebleed. She’d suffered another, less dramatic bleed two weeks ago and her doctor’s office staff suggested we “wait and see.”
EMTs arrived and worked on her for an hour before deciding to take her to a not-so-local hospital.
Since then, I’ve had one constructive conversation with a nightshift “Sister” (“charge nurse”) who told me, “she’s fine; she’ll be admitted after we get a bed and the doctor sees her.”
Several subsequent calls dead-ended in a “full mailbox” message.
Most recently, I was told, “she’s had her breakfast and she’s still waiting for a bed.” And, “no visitors allowed due to Covid.”
I asked Sister to relate a message, “The dogs are fine.”

*** 

Vote! US Consulates in South Africa explain how:

Act early and take the necessary steps to vote in the 2020 U.S. elections!
In order to vote in the November 2020 elections, all overseas U.S. citizens need to request a ballot through their state’s online portal or complete a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) in 2020. Whether you are a first-time voter or have already received ballots and voted absentee in past elections, you must complete this process each year to participate in elections as an overseas absentee voter.
Registering to Vote and submitting a ballot is fast, easy, and can be done from anywhere in the world! Follow a few simple steps to vote in the 2020 U.S. elections: 

1. Register to vote: Start by confirming your voter registration with your state. Some states require absentee voters to register annually, so you may need to re-register. Go to FVAP.gov to connect to your state’s voter portal to register to vote, request a ballot, and more.
2. Request Your Ballot: Most states provide the option to request ballots through their state election portals, which you can easily access via FVAP.gov. You can also choose to complete a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). The completion of the FPCA allows you to request absentee ballots for all elections for federal offices (President, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives), including primaries and special elections, during the calendar year in which it is submitted. FPCA forms that are correctly filled out and include a signature and date are accepted by all local election officials in every U.S. state and territory. FVAP’s easy online assistant can assist you with completing the FPCA. Whether you request your ballot through your state’s portal or the FPCA, we encourage you to select the option to receive your ballot electronically (by email, internet download, or fax) when available. This is the fastest way to get your ballot and ensures you have it in time to return a completed form before your state’s deadline.
3. Receive and Complete Your Ballot: States are required to send out ballots 45 days before a regular election for federal office, and states generally send out ballots at least 30 days before primary elections. Most states allow you to confirm your ballot delivery online.
4. Return Your Completed, Signed Ballot: Some states allow you to return your completed ballot electronically. If your state requires you to return paper voting forms or ballots to local election officials by mail, you can do so through international mail, professional courier service, or through the U.S. Embassy’s diplomatic pouch. The diplomatic pouch provides ballot mail service from embassies and consulates to a U.S. sorting facility. You will need to place your ballots in postage paid return envelopes or in envelopes bearing sufficient U.S. postage, in order for them to be delivered to the proper local election authorities once received by the U.S. sorting facility.
If you plan to use the diplomatic pouch, drop off your completed voting forms and ballots addressed to your local election officials at the U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban by October 1, 2020 during the following hours:

U.S. Consulate General Johannesburg

9:00-15:00 Tuesday-Thursday \ Email questions to: VoteJohannesburg@state.gov 

U.S. Consulate General Cape Town

9:00-15:00 Monday-Thursday \ Email questions to: VoteCapeTown@state.gov 

U.S. Consulate General Durban

10:00-15:00 Tuesday-Thursday \ Email questions to: ConsularDurban@state.gov 

Address and other contact information for each Consulate is below. Please note that all visitors to the Consulates must wear appropriate PPE. It can take up to five weeks for mail to reach its destination if sent by an embassy via diplomatic pouch. All overseas U.S. citizens are advised to submit their forms and ballots accordingly. Ballots will be received and forwarded whenever submitted, including after October 1, 2020, but you may want to consider using a courier service if submitting your ballot close to or after the stated delivery time for pouch mail.

For more detailed information please visit our U.S. Citizen Voting Page.
Researching the Candidates and Issues: Online Resources. Go to the FVAP links page for helpful resources to aid your research of candidates and issues. Non-partisan information about candidates, their voting records, and their positions on issues are widely available and easy to obtain online. You can also read national and hometown newspapers online, or search the internet to locate articles and information. For information about election dates and deadlines, subscribe to FVAP's Voting Alerts (vote@fvap.gov). FVAP also shares Voting Alerts via Facebook (@DODFVAP), Twitter (@FVAP), and Instagram (@fvapgov).

USA! USA!