In the dark!

After a short reprieve, Eskom – and South Africa – offers lack of energy, again. 

In my area, we fluctuate between Stages 3 and 4 – that is, no electricity from 2am to 4am, then 10am to 12:30pm, and 6pm to 10:30pm. (Can’t figure out the difference between these schedules. I guess it’s an Eskom thing.)
Back in 2019, President Ramaphosa said Eskom would be “unbundled” into three separate firms responsible for three different business areas: generation, distribution, and transmission. Alas, this process of unbundling process will “take until 2022”. 

Don’t hold your breath. In the meantime, 

Eskom has failed to meet some of the conditions attached to the R59billion it received from the government last year to service its debt through the special appropriation bill.

Hmmm, well, I guess Eskom knows what it is doing. NOT. Moreover, we’re heading towards summer. Who needs electrical light when we have universal light?

News blues…

With 193 police officers dead from Covid-19, South African has its first police hospital: 160 beds for personnel struck with coronavirus and based at the Tshwane SAPS Academy.

While the new hospital fits into the force's long-term plans for its members, its first duty will be to assist officers who have been exposed to the coronavirus.
Deputy police minister Cassel Mathale said, “We have been compelled to respond decisively and innovatively to curb the rapid spread of this pandemic and to ensure that we protect our front-line workers … to continue to deliver much-needed services to our citizens. What we are witnessing today is a step in the right direction.”

Healthy futures, anyone?

First, the bad news. Back in May, more than 350 elephants mysteriously died in northern Botswana’s Okavango Delta – a mass die-off clustered around waterholes. Scientists, nonplussed as to why, described the event as a “conservation disaster”.

Three months later, most surviving elephants have fled. Last week a plane flew over the Okavango Panhandle, an area in the north-west of the delta where most of the deaths occurred, and eight elephants were spotted, when normally you would see hundreds. Dr Niall McCann, director of conservation at UK-based charity National Park Rescue said, “It is understandable, I’m sure you or I would flee if all our friends and relatives were dying, and that’s what the elephants appear to have done.”
Elephants are now reported to have started dying in a similar way in neighbouring Zimbabwe. At the time of writing, 22 have died, with numbers expected to rise. Dr Roy Bengis, retired chief state veterinarian of the Kruger national park, says …it is unclear if there is a link between the two incidents. 
There have been many competing theories about the cause of the deaths in Botswana. Human-elephant conflicts are common in the Okavango delta, an agricultural area home to 15,000 elephants and 16,000 people but poisoning or poaching are unlikely to be to blame. Cyanide was ruled out because no scavengers died and tusks were left intact … Pesticides and anthrax were tested for and also ruled out.

Now the good news:

The population of ibex recently introduced to the French Pyrenees is thriving more than a century after the native species was wiped out in France. 

Officials have counted 70 newborn ibex this year at the Pyrenees national park and nearby Ariege regional park in the craggy mountains that separate France and Spain.
The French population now stands at some 400 animals, though they are not the original Pyrenean Ibex, the last two of which in France were shot and killed in 1910.
The new animals are western Spanish ibex, another subspecies of the Iberian ibex that began to be brought over from a Spanish reserve in 2014.
Recognisable by their long, curving horns, the ibex is a wild goat can easily scamper up cliffs in search of grass, leaves and moss.
“In relation to the initial goal of establishing a viable core population, for now we can say the operation has been a success,” Jerome Lafitte, head of fauna operations at the Pyrenees park, told Agence France-Presse. Matthieu Cruege, director of the Ariege park, said: “These are majestic animals, and it really is exciting when you’re able to see them.”

Daily Maverick webinar: Economic State of Play: South Africa’s Debt Tale of Woe.  Hosted by Sasha Planting with Nazmeera Moola and Mamokete Lijane 

***

Political ads: enjoy ‘em while you can. That vigilant guardian of democracy, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says, “This election is not going to be business as usual. We all have a responsibility to protect our democracy. That means helping people register and vote, clearing up confusion about how this election will work, and taking steps to reduce the chances of violence and unrest.”
[Sarcasm alert] Gosh, thank you, Mark Zuckerberg. With you reducing the chances of violence and unrest. I feel so much safer.
Meidas Touch: Had Enough Trump?  (0:52 mins) (And, oh, yes, I've had more than enough Trump, thank you very much!)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I’m working with and around Lockdown Level 2 to ensure a relatively calm move for my mother on September 16.

I’ve reserved a mover. I’m scrounging boxes from local stores and used 5 of them to carry donations of ceramic ornaments to the local SPCA. more ceramic ornaments to go. I’ve run Blue Book-like valuations on my mother’s Toyota for sale. Today, I’ll pick up boxes and I’ll drive 2 rifles and one Beretta pistol – and licenses – to the local gun shop to sell on consignment.
I’m also looking at properties for sale in the around – just in case, a “chip off the old block,” I decide to change my mind about fleeing this country and, instead, decide to remain. That is, not remain remain but live part of each year here and there, California. Hey, changing my mind willy nilly is part of my DNA: like mother, like daughter.
[Sarcasm alert]. Why not sign up for semi-darkness generously served up by Eskom?

Killing ‘em softly

© Tom the Dancing Bug
Click to enlarge.  

South Africa remains at Lockdown Level 2. My small sampling of local peoples’ infection mitigation efforts: compliance with wearing masks. 

America never locked down and Americans show spotty compliance with wearing masks. (No incentives – other than staying alive - and no repercussions for failing to do so.) 

Some Americans protect themselves and others by wearing masks, others refuse to wear masks (it “infringes on our freedoms”).
Residents of both countries, however, appear subliminally to agree: “been there, done that.” 

Widespread perception? The pandemic as almost over. 

It is not. 

***

Compare today’s numbers with those of a month ago: 

Worldwide (Map)
September 3 – 26,940,000 confirmed infections; 861,870 deaths
August 6 – 18,753,000 confirmed infections; 706,800 deaths
US (Map)
September 3 – 6,114,000 confirmed infections; 185,710 deaths
August 6 – 4,824,000 confirmed infections; 158,250 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal)
September 3 – 630,596 confirmed infections; 14,390 deaths
August 6 – 529,900 confirmed infections; 9,298 deaths

News blues…

While KwaZulu Natal now has the second highest rates of infection in South Africa – 113,237 or 18 percent of all confirmed infections: 

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize announced on Monday night that [countrywide] 1,985 new infections had been recorded in the past 24 hours. This is after 2,505 new cases were confirmed on Sunday night and 2,418 on Saturday night.

***

Remember all the Trumpie finger-pointing at China (“Chayna”) as the source of America’s Covid-19 problems? Not so. Majority of cases in the US have “viral lineages …in Europe”.
A new study, “Phylogenetic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 in the Boston area highlights the role of recurrent importation and superspreading events” claims a Biogen conference held in Boston, MA on 26 February 2020

... turned into a superspreading event, seeding infections that would affect tens of thousands of people across the United States and in countries as far as Singapore and Australia.
The study ... gives an unprecedented look at how far the coronavirus can spread given the right opportunities. …Researchers analyzed the genetic material of the viruses infecting the patients’ cells. …All told, the scientists analyzed the viral genomes of 772 people with Covid-19 between January and May…. Most of the viral lineages in Boston have a genetic fingerprint linking them to earlier cases in Europe. Some travelers brought the virus directly from Europe in February and March, whereas others may have picked up the European lineage elsewhere in the northeastern United States.

Read “One Meeting in Boston Seeded Tens of Thousands of Infections, Study Finds.”  

Hmmm, maybe it came from … Norway?  (lily white, forest raking…). 

***

Meanwhile, reports from the White House suggest Trump and aides are resigned to, and okay with, the virus’ inevitable spread. 

Internal struggles among medical advisers have divided the White House [with] …resistance from the top down. Now, with two months to go until the election, the White House is focused on reopening the economy and mitigating the virus to a limited extent, or just enough to keep hospitals from being completely overwhelmed.
They're doing it with the imprimatur of newcomer adviser Dr. Scott Atlas, a neuroradiologist whose voice within the White House is drowning out task force members the public had come to know and trust. Task force meetings are growing more infrequent, ostensibly because its head, Vice President Mike Pence, is often out of town on campaign trips.
… The internal goal is to keep things just under control until a vaccine comes out, two senior administration officials said. "You can't stop it!" one senior official said of the internal thinking on the virus. 

***

The political ads keep coming…
The Lincoln Project: Ratings  (0:55 mins)
Meidas Touch:

Trump’s Mental Unhealth with Bandy Lee  (2:25 mins)
I’m voting for Joe  (1:00 mins)
Vote Vets – Losing  (1:20 mins)
Really American: In Trump’s America  (0:50 mins)
Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT): Vietnam Vet and Counterterrorism Official Knows Trump is Not Good for the Military or our Country  (6:00 mins)
The Daily Show: How Holy Is Donald Trump? (4:44 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

The apricot tree shows signs of spring with a sprinkling of pink blossoms.
Masked weaver birds are in full nest-building mode.
With some decisions made and confirmed – Care Center’s deposit and first month’s rent paid – next big step: euthanizing three old dogs. These dogs are old, obese, and incontinent. They haven’t a hope in hell of being “re-homed.” Moreover, my mother’s plan for her dogs? Rather than rehome them with people she doesn’t know and wouldn’t trust to care “properly” for her dogs, she’ll euthanize, cremate, and save the ashes until she passes. At that point, yours truly is instructed to combine my mom’s and the ashes of dozens of former dogs and transport them to her previous rural home. That the land now belongs to a corporation is a minor issue. I’m instructed to “just dig a hole and slip the bag into the ground.” I balked at euthanizing the two younger, healthy, continent dogs. I’ll seek new homes for them. 

How hard can it be?

Then and now…

News blues…

With all the Trump craziness, it’s easy to forget: 

California’s fire woes continue…. 
Ramaphosa’s political woes continue…  
Zuma rears his head…. 
Coronavirus still has the upper hand… 

***

The Lincoln Project: Ratings (0:55 mins)
Meidas Touch:

Trump’s Mental Unhealth with Bandy Lee  (2:25 mins)
Trump Terrorism (1:00 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

The US Embassy published another series of repatriation flights, one or two for almost every day of September. 

For details contact: 

https://za.usembassy.gov/ 

Tel: 012-431-4000 (outside South Africa: +27-12-431-4000) 

Johannesburgacsmessage@state.gov 

***

I’m taking to heart Kate Murphy’s essay “We’re All Socially Awkward Now” as she tackles an overlooked side effect of the pandemic: awkwardness. She writes: 

Social skills are a muscle, and right now they’re atrophying. Our personalities are getting flabby.
“The signs are everywhere… people oversharing on Zoom, overreacting or misconstruing one another’s behavior, longing for but then not really enjoying contact with others.”
Kate takes an everyday interaction and breaks it down into countless decisions — each decision a chance to get it wrong, each one an atom of anxiety. “Social interplay is one of the most complicated things we ask our brains to do.” You’ve got to “get the timing and pacing right, as well as titrate” — I love the choice of that word — “how much to share and with whom.”

Definition of titrate:
In chemistry: ascertain the amount of a constituent in (a solution) by measuring the volume of a known concentration of reagent required to complete a reaction with it, typically using an indicator.
In medicine: continuously measure and adjust the balance of (a physiological function or drug dosage). Example: “each patient received intravenous diazepam and pethidine, the doses being titrated according to the response"
A few years ago, Kate wrote a popular essay about attachment theory that began:

We humans are an exquisitely social species … thriving in good company and suffering in isolation. More than anything else, our intimate relationships, or lack thereof, shape and define our lives.”
Intimacy is on the rocks right now. Kate’s advice is to cut one another — and ourselves — some slack. And she has guidance to share from people who’ve survived much more extreme bouts of isolation, like in polar outposts and solitary confinement.

Kate Murray’s column resonates as isolated, locked down, implementing huge changes in the life of my elderly mother, I reached out for advice and support, not from family, but from professionals and new acquaintances … and “share” (over-share?) via this blog.
As I’ve intimated elsewhere in this blog, I left South Africa at 19 and since then, apart from the last 8 months, have never again lived here.
Looking back, I understand that my youth made me determined to grow as an adult, and to do it elsewhere.
My real home in South Africa was the wonderfully rural and relatively safe outdoors of the Valley of a Thousand Hills. The people I grew up with – aka “family” - was a collection of 2 adults and three children who shared DNA, not a nurturing, emotional support system.
Along with the stress and turmoil of my current life in South African, a great gift is the opportunity to look back and understand the context of “then” and “now.” The day by day posts shared in the blog allow me to share multiple perspectives, grope through the past with the present as context, maintain level-headedness despite fear, stress, longing – and respect my mother’s humanity as equal to my own.
It’s fascinating, humbling, frustrating, and very human.
I accept the challenge and intend to do it justice.

Coming to terms

Sixty-something days to the election and, to date, the 2020 election campaign cycle has racked up a bill close to US $10 billion.
Imagine if, instead of the awful Citizens United decision,  Americans outlawed outrageous spend on political campaigns and diverted that money - US$10 billion–and-growing - on making health care affordable, or addressing homelessness, or improving education, or offering free, mandatory classes on critical thinking to all Americans.

News blues…

In 2019, it was … unusual… for Speaker Pelosi, of the US House of Representatives, to disallow the president of the United States to deliver The State of the Union address.
That was then. 
Now, a governor of an American state begs an American president not to visit! And mayors of American cities throw down against a president for inciting violence… 

Governor Tony Evers of Wisconsin urges Trump to “reconsider” his upcoming trip to meet with law enforcement and survey the damage following demonstrations against police brutality and systemic racism. Evers writes, such a visit,

… “may only delay our work to overcome division and move forward…. Kenosha and communities across Wisconsin are enduring extraordinary grief, grappling with a Black man being shot seven times and the loss of two additional lives at the hands of an out-of-state armed militant. I along with other community leaders … are concerned about what your presence will mean for Kenosha and our state…[that] “your presence will only hinder our healing….” 

Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian said the timing is wrong for Trump’s visit on Tuesday. “I think that you have a community that’s in the process of trying to heal… It just seemed to me, and I think others, that it would be better for us to get them to actually heal up the process of what’s going on and start dealing with the concerns that we have that need to be addressed.”
He added that he could not comment on the details of President Trump’s visit because it was under the workings of law enforcement and not his office, but he said that this is not the time.

Portland Oregon Mayor Ted Wheeler took on Trump in an impressively passionate rebuttal of Trump’s incitement.  (12:00 mins) 

So far, Trump’s ignoring these requests and said,

…he would go to the region,  even though he was unwelcome, in his latest effort to cast himself as the “law-and-order” president going into the November election. The White House has said he will use the visit to support local law enforcement and “survey” damage after anti-racist demonstrations, but the move mirrors his administration’s efforts to cast such protests as violent riots rather than calls for change.

Buckle up….

***

Trump’s latest election ploy? “Swift boating” Joe Biden. 
 

***

Reality raises inconvenient truths.
Remember: the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally that gathered in South Dakota earlier this month? How cyclists scoffed at wearing masks?
So far, more than 100 attendees have tested positive for COVID-19 after they returned home to their respective states.

Benjamin Aaker, president of the South Dakota State Medical Association, said it’s almost impossible to track the true impact of the rally in spreading the virus.  Many more unidentified positive cases likely exist for every confirmed positive, he told The Washington Post. Those unidentified positive individuals will likely proceed to infect others in their communities, but it’ll be impossible to trace the resulting community spread back to its ultimate source in Sturgis.
According to an analysis of anonymous cell phone activity shared with The Associated Press by Camber Systems, which specializes in aggregating cell data for health researchers, 61% of all the counties in the U.S. have been visited by someone who attended Sturgis.

Remember: the 2½-hour long final night of the Republican National Convention with Trump on the South Lawn of the White House, addressing an in-person audience of 1,500 largely maskless supporters?

Most attendees sat inches rather than feet apart and sweated profusely in the August heat as they clapped, whistled and chanted, “Four more years!”
The fervor was infectious at this potential super-spreader event, where supporters flouted CDC recommendations to hear Trump recite his dream list of successes, one of which was how wonderfully he’s combated the pandemic.

Remember:Reality is a hard task master.

*** 

Don Winslow Films: An Open Letter to Republicans   (2:20 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I’m gear up for an emotionally taxing roller coaster ride: “retrenching” (“laying off”) my mother’s long time employees, accompanying my mother to euthanize three elderly, incontinent dogs and adding their cremains to her collection of cremains (at least two dozen dogs plus cremains of a few people), hiring someone to move big items to her new care center abode, setting up the place for her to move into, and settling her in. After that, packing up and disposing of her remaining goods (giving away, donating, and auctioning), cleaning, patching, painting before “staging” her house for sale, hosting potential buyers, and staying sane for the “3 to 4 months” it takes to process paperwork through a moribund bureaucracy further impeded by unanticipated shut-downs due to coronavirus. Then, it’ll be December – “the festive season” – an inauspicious time to purchase a ticket and fly back to California – mid-winter.
The good news? 

1) While taxing and ultimately do-able, days will be graced by the beauties of emerging spring. 

2) An opportunity to grapple with who I am, where I came from, where I'm going, and how to make the most of what I learn to fully enjoy the rest of my days on planet earth.