Human hearts?

News blues…

One might despair of the lack of … humanity … humans display - and the seeming abundance of corruption lurking in the human head/heart.
Goings on during a global pandemic display a host of humanities worst “shadow” characteristics - more than enough to give some human hearts heart burn:

• Amid many other cases of corruption – SA health minister Mkhize and close associates have allegedly benefited from COVID-19 tenders that the Department of Health had issued at more than R82-million. 
• Despite recommendations from the US CDC for a combination of evidence-based strategies to reduce transmission of COVID-19, US politicians recommend the opposite 
• Significant amounts of fake vaccine have been uncovered in at least two countries – South Africa and China  – 
• Investigation uncovers countries “either less than transparent or in denial about the scale of the [Covid-19] problem” hide pandemic data. 

Take heart though. Some countries are doing well with vaccinations.

The next challenge is finding humane ways to share vaccines across borders, continents, and hemispheres.
From a recent policy paper published in The Lancet:

The COVID-19 pandemic is unlikely to end until there is global roll-out of vaccines that protect against severe disease and preferably drive herd immunity. Regulators in numerous countries have authorised or approved COVID-19 vaccines for human use, with more expected to be licensed in 2021. Yet having licensed vaccines is not enough to achieve global control of COVID-19: they also need to be produced at scale, priced affordably, allocated globally so that they are available where needed, and widely deployed in local communities. In this Health Policy paper, we review potential challenges to success in each of these dimensions and discuss policy implications.

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Tracking Covid-19 vaccinations worldwide 

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Remember The Lincoln Project? Here's another obituary...  (5:27 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

As countries locked down to control the rapid spread of Covid-19 and consequently reduced human mobility (‘anthropause’) — a unique opportunity emerged to gather far reaching insights into human–wildlife interactions in the twenty-first century.
Anecdotal observations indicate that many animal species are enjoying the newly afforded peace and quiet, while others, surprisingly, seem to have come under increased pressure.
Nature ecology and evolution’s addresses findings: “COVID-19 lockdown allows researchers to quantify the effects of human activity on wildlife” to review this ‘anthropause’. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I continue to run around in a tizzy - like a chicken without a head, or feathers, or chicken feet. (Cultural humor: bagsful of chicken feet are a popular food item in the refrigerator section of most South African grocery stores. Where do so many feet they come from? I assume from people like me running around in a tizzy….)
Yesterday I:

• went to the dentist. (South Africans complain about the “exorbitant expense” of dentistry. Yet, American dentistry is far more expensive. In the US, one x-ray, or a cleaning, costs far more than what I paid for two fillings.)
• met with my mother’s financial adviser and was provided further perspectives on possible directions to protect my mother and her future.
• met with a real estate management company to gather information on the potential for renting my mother’s house – since no sale is imminent.
• talked on the phone with the matron of two other care centers to gauge the feasibility of moving my mother away from the current center. (The latest eye-opening action? Someone decided to cut my mother’s hair. I know my mother would not have consented as her long, thick hair is her most prized vanity. Now, she’s lost not only her dog (the primary reason I’d placed her in that facility was because they agreed to take her dog), she’s also deprived of self-agency and her dignity.)
• met with the real estate agent that I trust more than any other and, to stimulate a purchase, lowered the house’s asking price, and phoned our neighbor who, during the house’s sole mandate period, showed interest in viewing/purchasing the house. He will view the house today. (A businessman, he intimated he’d pay cash although would not involve a real estate agent (to avoid the 6% commission). Yes, that requires extra vigilance, but I have a plan….)

It’s a busy time.
The best news? My California-based daughter’s recent vaccination against Covid allows her to consider visiting me. Yes, I worry about international travel and the potential for further exposure to the virus, but oh, she’d be so welcome.

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With daylight savings time approaching in the US, my season-watch obsession continues:
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 6: sunrise 5:53am; sunset 6:25pm.

One year of Covid

© Mike Lukovich

News blues…

What’s up with them crazy ‘Mericans, anyway?

According to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Kansas... the 24 counties with mandatory mask mandates saw an overall decrease in COVID-19 cases, while the 81 counties that opted out of the mask mandate continued to see increases in cases.

Today, despite warnings from experts across the nation, the trend is for “red states” (predominantly Republican-dominated states), always resistant to mask-wearing, push against continuing mask mandates.
Dr Fauci’s warning on governors deciding to ease coronavirus restrictions, even completely lifting mask mandates, amid the pandemic. (3:35 mins)

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In South Africa, after a year of Covid, some sobering and not-so-sombre facts on the pandemic:

• The first Covid-19 case was recorded on March 5 2020. The patient was a 38-year-old male who had travelled to Italy with his wife as part of a group of 10 people who had arrived in the country four days earlier.
• On March 28, the health ministry announced the first Covid-related death. On January 13 2021 the country recorded its highest death toll in a single day - clocking in 806 new Covid-19 related deaths in 24 hours.

More facts on this topic. 

South Africa’s year of Covid in pictures 

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Tracking Covid-19 vaccinations worldwide 

Healthy planet, anyone?

(c) Our World in Data

Disclaimer:

I spent my adolescence, teenage years, and early adulthood, first, as a fruitarian then as a vegetarian. Oddly, when in South Africa, I occasionally eat chicken and, about once every two months or more infrequently, lamb chops. This year, under lockdown, I’ve eaten more lamb chops – about 8 - than I’ve ever eaten in my life.
I never eat pork. (A favorite childhood activity was watching – “helping” – staff clean then butcher and segment pigs grown and slaughtered on “the farm.” I was fascinated by the view of pigs’ interiors but eat them? No way..)
I seldom eat beef and, when I do, it’s usually while in South Africa.
Seldom eating meat presents an opportunity to notice the impact meat has on digestive system and my wellbeing when I do eat it.
I do not suffer digestive maladies. I notice a meat-based meal staves off hunger longer than a plant/cereal-based meal.
For me, an occasional meat-based meal likely is positive for my overall health. (Feel free to disagree. Healthy disagreement fosters enlightenment.)

 
With that disclaimer out of the way, Our World in Data presents fascinating information on the impacts, real and potential, of how adopting a plant-based diet could reduce global agricultural land use – from 4 billion to 1 billion hectares  (a size comparable to the entire United States and Brazil).
If you are a regular meat eater, how would you feel about adopting a predominantly plant/cereal-based diet?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

As of today, all, even the wishy-washy, property deals concerning the sale of my mother’s house are off the table. I’m back at square one.
It is worrisome, particularly as my mother’s care expenses have escalated alarmingly over the last weeks: health insurance increased by more than R1,500/ month; Care Center rate increased by more than R3,500/ month. Running two households on one fixed income is no longer feasible.
I continue to seek advice from an assortment of professionals: other care providers, realtors, lawyers, and, today, I meet with my mother’s financial advisor.

***

A good day to obsess about the sun’s trajectory as autumn/”fall” approaches:
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
Feb 27: sunrise 5:48am; sunset 6:32pm.
Feb 28: sunrise 5:49am; sunset 6:31pm.
March 1: data missing due to failed battery on my iPhone 6SE. (Curse you, Apple! LOL!) March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 3: sunrise 5:51am; sunset 6:28pm.
March 4: sunrise 5:52am; sunset 6:26pm.

On the cusp of Week 50

Tomorrow is the beginning of a new week on some level of Lockdown – and Week 50. In two more weeks, South Africans will have endured a year of Lockdown.
Vasbyt, mense!

The numbers of confirmed infection and death continues to rise:
Worldwide (Map) 
March 4 – 115,175,000 confirmed infections; 2,600,000 deaths
February 4 – 104,367,000 confirmed infections; 2,268,000 deaths
December 31 – 82,656000 confirmed infections; 1,8040100 deaths

US (Map) 
March 4 – 28,770,000 confirmed infections; 518,400 deaths
February 4 – 26,555,000 confirmed infections; 450,680 deaths
December 31 – 19,737,200 confirmed infections; 342,260 deaths

SA (Tracker)  
March 4 – 1,516,265 confirmed infections; 50,366 deaths
February 4 – 1,463,016 confirmed infections; 45,344 deaths
December 31 – 1,039,165 confirmed infections; 28,035 deaths

Graphic: Pieter van der Merwe – Source: Dept of Health 

Tracking Covid-19 vaccinations worldwide 

News blues…

A landmark report from the World Obesity Federation prompts calls for governments to urgently tackle obesity, and prioritize overweight people for vaccinations. The report reveals countries with high levels of overweight people, such as the UK and the US, have the highest death rates from Covid-19.
World’s highest Covid death rates are in countries with majority-overweight populations. 

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Prof Tulio de Oliveira of the KwaZulu-Natal Research Informatics and Sequencing Programme (KRISP) revealed, during a virtual media briefing on the latest scientific results on the Covid-19 variant, that those infected with 501Y.V2 (discovered in December) may have immunity against reinfection.

“… One thing that we see from these new results is that the plasma collected from people infected with the variant have good neutralising activity against itself as well as the first wave virus, but actually other variants of concern.
“What it means is that people infected may have immunity against the variant and other lineages but it also means that we know that immunity can decrease over time … in no way are we saying that these people should not vaccinate…” 

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Police in China and South Africa have seized thousands of fake doses of Covid-19 jabs, global police organisation Interpol said on Wednesday, warning this represented only the “tip of the iceberg” in vaccine-related crime, AFP reports.

The Lyon-based Interpol said 400 vials - equivalent to around 2,400 doses - containing the fake vaccine were found at a warehouse in Germiston outside Johannesburg in South Africa, where officers also recovered fake masks and arrested three Chinese and a Zambian national.
In China, police successfully identified a network selling counterfeit Covid-19 vaccines in an investigation supported by Interpol which has 194 member countries, it said.
They raided the manufacturing premises, resulting in the arrest of some 80 suspects and seized more than 3,000 fake vaccines on the scene.

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Healthy planet, anyone?

Use lockdown to entertain and educate about our amazing planet. A quick browse of what Netflix offers for “your edification and your delight”:

• Our Planet
• A Life on Our Planet
• Absurd planet
• Night on Earth Tiny Creatures
• Dancing of the Birds

Don’t have Netflix? Presupposing you have access to Internet, a quick browse of what You Tube offers:

• Our Planet series (Frozen Worlds, Coastal Seas, High Seas, Jungles, Fresh Water, From Deserts to Grasslands, etc.)
• The Story of Earth and Life
• The Whole History of Earth and Life
• The Earth in 2050

… and the shows go on….

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

The culvert curse cont’d:
Yesterday morning I was excited to see a backhoe arrive  and the prospect of cleared debris from two culverts. I imagined the culverts magically appearing and one long, happy tributary flowing unimpeded into the Umngeni River.
Alas, not so fast! That dream is dashed.
Behold! The results of March 3, 2021 culvert clearing… (compare to photos through the last 3 years...)

 Shows house side of road with 2 culverts
(compare to photos taken over the last 3 years...)

House side of stream with water receding due to partially cleared culvert 1 

Environmental damage as byproduct....

Culvert 1 still 80 percent blocked but at least water can flow through 20 percent now cleared.
Culvert 2 (circled in red) should be visible to the right of culvert 1. It has, however, been completely blocked with debris. No one would ever know that debris hides a culvert.
Archaeologists in 1000 years MIGHT find it again but it’s lost to your “average” South African!

Backhoe residue.

I imagine history will repeat and, in 5 more years, more maintenance will be required. 

What to say? 

This is the result of NO PLAN and an ad hoc just in time response. 

NO supervision. 

N0 post-work review. 

NO consequences for shoddy work.
I’m sorely disappointed - and demoralized.
Moreover, I pay “rates” (“property taxes”) for such slovenly results.
The silver lining?
I’ve been worried for 3 months about when I get my first “rates” bill for my new home. I’ve heard it can “take months” and that, eventually, I’d likely have to approach the over-crowded Municipality (and run the risk of Covid infection). Waiting for the bill, however, could mean months of ever-increasing debt – plus interest and penalties – culminating with a suddenly-due bill of accumulated debt. By the time the bill arrived I’d be over my head in debt.
Moreover, in what form would the rates bill arrive? In the post? But SA post office is moribund if not totally dead. (I've not seen my mother's water bill for 4 months; I pay an amount each month that may, or may not, have a basis in reality. Who knows what the actual debit - or credit - is?)
Seeking my rates bill, I’ve been regularly dropping by my post box in the Body Corporate (“HOA”) office.
Yesterday: No rates bill. Indeed, no post at all.

Then, returned to my mother’s house, I checked my email and – astonishingly - two rates bills resided in my email in-box. 

One was for my mother. One was for me: was my rates bill. Some enterprising official had reviewed the transfer documents and found my email address. Then, s/he and actually emailed my rates bill.
I was shocked! Wonderfully, happily, shocked.
What’s even more shocking? How excited I am about getting a bill!

I'm learning: in South Africa, everyday life is a game of "win some/lose some"....  

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Meantime, summer is passing - and I'm tracking the sun’s rising and setting schedule:
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
Feb 27: sunrise 5:48am; sunset 6:32pm.
Feb 28: sunrise 5:49am; sunset 6:31pm.
March 1: data missing due to failed battery on iPhone 6SE. (Curse you, Apple! LOL!) March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 3: sunrise 5:51am; sunset 6:28pm

March 3: sunrise 5:51am; sunset 6:27pm

Ho, ho, the backhoe

News blues…

Post-Ramaphosa’s easing pandemic restrictions to lockdown alert level 1:

Co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma says, “All district municipalities must, after consultation with its local municipalities in its area, alert communities within that district of the increasing number of infections that could lead to that district being declared a hotspot,”
“Industries, businesses and entities, both private and in the public sector, must operate within the alert level 1 regulations as gazetted. All people attending gatherings should endeavour to limit exposure to Covid-19 by adhering to all protocols and regulations.”
Dlamini-Zuma called on citizens to observe all the necessary Covid-19 health protocols and remaining restrictions to avert a possible resurgence. 

SA's Western Cape premier Alan Winde also urged residents on Monday not to be complacent under level 1 lockdown as this could lead to a third wave of Covid-19 infections, adding that the provincial government would still be on high alert and will continue to monitor the pandemic and track areas of concern.
“All of these changes require us to act with even greater responsibility. Covid-19 is still with us and we cannot rule out the possibility of a third wave. The responsibility rests with all of us — the Western Cape government, residents and businesses — to ensure we save lives and engage in safe economic activity which saves livelihoods."

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Vaccine Refusal: It’s not just one problem — and we’re going to need a portfolio of approaches to solve it.

One-third of American adults said this month that they don’t want the vaccine or are undecided about whether they’ll get one. That figure has declined in some polls. But it remains disconcertingly high among Republicans, young people, and certain minority populations. In pockets of vaccine hesitancy, the coronavirus could continue to spread, kill, mutate, and escape. That puts all of us at risk. Last week, I called several doctors and researchers to ask how we could reverse vaccine hesitancy among the groups in which it was highest. They all told me that my initial question was too simplistic. “Vaccine hesitancy” isn’t one thing, they said. It is a constellation of motivations, insecurities, reasonable fears, and less reasonable conspiracy theories.
Read more >> 

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Tracking Covid-19 vaccinations worldwide 

Healthy planet, anyone?

Our amazing world:

Bioluminescence – the production of visible light through a chemical reaction by living organisms – is a widespread phenomenon among marine life but this is the first time it has been documented and analysed in the kitefin shark, the blackbelly lanternshark, and the southern lanternshark. 

Read >> “Deep-sea sharks glow in the dark” 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

The culvert curse cont’d: “Two ladies” came to the house yesterday, to understand the scope of what I’ve dubbed the culvert curse. Since I would be gone part of the day, I’d asked the Zulu gardener to explain the problem, in Zulu, to whomever showed up.
The gardener’s explanation included the reality that two culverts are blocked, one so utterly blocked that it’s disguised by healthy trees, vegetation and weeds. He also pointed out where, last year, their helpful grader and driver had deposited further debris into both sides of the culvert.
The “two ladies” told the gardener they’d “be back on the morning.”
Skeptic that I’ve learned to be, I asked, “do the “two ladies” plan to be back to look further or do they plan to bring a work crew with him?”
The gardener, experienced in the ways of South Africa, shrugged his shoulders.
The good news? A backhoe, driver, and two workers arrived. They’re been clearing the streambed for more than an hour now (so far, no tea breaks). 

Say no more? A thousand words in a few pictures.

One backhoe arrives...

A second backhoe arrives - very promising....

One backhoe departs, one backhoe remains - and ...
begins clearing the stream bed.

Tomorrow, photos of the results....