Land of the Free (to infect yourself and others)

REUTERS/ALYSON MCCLARAN
Health care workers stand in the street in
counter-protest to hundreds of people
who gathered at the state Capitol to
demand the stay-at-home order 
be lifted in Denver.
Click to enlarge.

Let’s honor healthcare workers in Colorado with the courage of their convictions.
Protesters calling for an end to Stay-at-Home orders faced obdurate health careworkers who didn’t give an inch. Hooray!

Not to get bogged down in ideology but … in America, buzzwords “free” and “freedom” too often are used to batter thoughtfulness and to deny intellectual complexity and human capacity.
What would this woman hanging out the window of her RAM 1500 SUV (retail price -US$80K to US$90K / ZAR1,440K to ZAR1,620K) say about other, equally valid ways of expressing “free” and “freedom”? (The healthcare workers right not to be abused, for example?)
What about rapper Joey Bada$$’s musical version of Land of the Free? Joey's expression of creativity coupled with his point of view would, I’d bet, horrify that irate RAM passenger, protester, and Freedom-lover to the extent that she’d denigrate and diminish Bada$$’s right to freedom of expression.
Noam Chomsky’s view might addle her brain (it does mine…).
Living as a humane human is complex. Is negotiating humane humanity way too complex for too many of us humans?

***

Cancelled!

The second leg of next month's return flight from London to San Francisco was cancelled. No news about the first leg. If it’s not cancelled, I could choose to sit at Heathrow until another flight to California is scheduled. How long could that be?

Serendipitously, an email from the US Embassy in Pretoria arrived with news: “The repatriation flights organized by the U.S. government have departed and no further U.S. government-coordinated flights are planned.” But:

The High Commission of Canada in South Africa has notified the embassy of a planned repatriation flight that will depart Johannesburg on Friday, April 24 for London Heathrow Airport (via a stop in Cape Town to pick up additional passengers), and will allow U.S. citizens to join the flight, if space permits.

The email continues:
• This flight ends in London, U.K. and it will be up to you to book any onward flight. Neither the U.S. government nor the Canadian High Commission can assist with booking onward flights from London.
• You must be eligible to enter the United Kingdom to participate in this flight. The U.S. Mission to South Africa is unable to advise the United Kingdom’s entry eligibility criteria.
• The cost of the flight must be paid directly to the Canadian High Commission in order to reserve your seat. The estimated cost for the flight is $1,600 CAD (US$1,138/  ZAR20,484) for economy and $3,050 CAD (US$ 2,170/ZAR 40,771) for business class; however, this is subject to change.
• Seat allotment and boarding is at the discretion of the Canadian High Commission, not the U.S. Mission to South Africa.
• You must be eligible to enter the United Kingdom to participate in this flight. The U.S. Mission to South Africa is unable to advise the United Kingdom’s entry eligibility criteria. Please visit the country information page on travel.state.gov for guidance.

I’m tempted. But sit at Heathrow for the foreseeable future? Cheapest fish and chips cost £25 pounds there…and its ordered online from your table. On the trip to South Africa, crowds of people vying for fish and chips meant I couldn't get a table. I imagine that won't be a problem this time given how few passengers are transiting. Come to think of it, it's likely the restuarant would be shut, too.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

A WhatsApp voice message arrived today about Microsoft Patent 060606/Body interfaced digital currency. I noticed the semi-disguised 666 mark-of-the-beast in the patent number, listened to the first 30 seconds to ascertain I had the gist of where the 3-minute long harangue of whackadoodle-itude was headed, then deleted it.

Click to enlarge.

Worse news than that Bill Gates is trying to infiltrate my body with evil?
The message came from someone I consider a good friend and seemingly mentally balanced.
Is this a sign of pandemic stir-craziness? Or are hidden gems of my friend's personality shining through?



Read Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4

Monkey Bidness

Click to enlarge

Neighborhood monkeys stimulated today’s header and theme.
The American term, “bidness” defines a street hustle, a shady and mostly illegal business venture, and all things opposed to a legitimate business.
Oversight chafes Bidnessman Donald J Trump, always has, always will.
He’s a fella with a murky past - and murkiness is his best pal...
He quickly removed the federally appointed inspector general,
Glen Fine, from monitoring the first US$2 trillion coronavirus “relief” package, put in his own guy, ("suitably experienced") Environmental Protection Agency inspector general, then neutralized him, saying, he, Trump would oversee the effort.
There’s nothing like mounds of apparently free money to stimulate giant clusterf**ks – and the goldrush is on.
This starter list could stimulate you to learn more about the greatest heist in history. Search using any terms you like to uncover more Trump-related corruption … and prepare yourself best you can. It's gonna be a long, hard slog to get out of the mess we're in - a lot will  fall on people least able to withstand the fallout….

• There’s No Real Oversight of the $2 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Law
• Trump team’s use of big insurer to dispense recovery funds comes under scrutiny 
• Big Pharma Prepares to Profit from Coronavirus  
• The $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill was just the beginning of a Washington lobbying bonanza — but lobbyists are rushing to get a piece of the action in case it evaporates with a cratering economy. 
• Corruption has crippled SA's capacity to fight coronavirus, lives will be lost

Amuse-bouche

A single, bite-sized palette-freshening hors d'œuvre to rid the taste of corruption.
Talent will shine in the darkest of times. Thanks, Michael Gene Sullivan

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Neighborhood monkeys aggressively prepare for winter. Late afternoon yesterday, as I mowed the lawn – again – mature monkeys oversaw the tree-swinging antics of young monkeys. I’m not sure where monkeys usually sleep but last night, unusually, monkey grunts and squeals continued until after dark.
This morning, monkey grunts and squeals welcomed the rising sun.
Through the burglar guards surrounding my dwelling, I captured two short vid clips  (forgive the lack of editing).

I’ll keep trying for shots of young monkeys enjoying life. I’d love to share how young’uns aim for a nearby tree, leap into the air, grasp what looks like a mere frond of another tree, and gracefully bounce from tree to tree with the greatest of ease.
Trees as alive with monkeys as a flees infesting a dog’s coat.
Meanwhile, lions and other wild animals relax in South Africa golf club during lockdown.
Enjoy your day.
My day includes The Revenge of the Lawn (Richard Brautigan).


Read Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4

(un)Comfortably Numb

Courtesy Tom Janssen
Click to enlarge

Sunday. Formidable Mother Nature has given me permission to rest.
I’m pulling a mask (homemade) over my brain for one day… after a brief scan of more awful news from around our suffering planet:

• Hunger Protests and looting have broken out around South Africa.
• U.S. Food Supply Chain Is Strained as Virus Spreads 
• Coronavirus broke the global food supply chain. It may never recover

Together, at Home

Then there's Together, at Home, the effort by Global Citizen to recognize healthcare workers, support stay-at-home and lockdown orders/requests, and to come together as one people across the globe. 

Latest research on virus

• Antibody study suggests coronavirus is far more widespread than previously thought
• Coronavirus: five months on, what scientists now know about Covid-19
• The coronavirus outbreak is part of the climate change crisis
  

Numbers tell a story:
Global confirmed infections: 2,329,655
Global confirmed dead: 160,721
US confirmed infections: 735,086
Next closest number of confirmed infections: Spain with 194,416

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I donned waders and climbed into the pond to clear out the ubiquitous spear-like leaves of the yucca aloifolia.
Turns out this plant is indigenous, not to South Africa, but to the US Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.

While in the pond, I thinned pond weed, plucked another batch of the pest invasive lilies, and checked for goldfish. Nine days... and I’ve  spotted not one.
Hope springs eternal.
Mother Nature smiled.



Read Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4

Whackjobbery!

Click to enlarge

Yesterday’s post introduced the Lincoln Project  - tagline: Dedicated Americans Protecting Democracy.
(Read We are Republicans; We want Trump Defeated)

Last night, MSNBC’s Ari Melber interviewed  Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt for an astonishingly hard-hitting 9-minute overview of Baghdad Don’s three-plus years in office.
Baghdad Bob, Americans remember, was the infamous Iraqi denialist and spinmeister during the US invasion of Iraq.

Truth in advertising: I identify as neither Republican nor Democrat. Nevertheless, I’ve waited for Americans, any Americans, to quit the handwringing about Trump and actually do something constructive about removing him from office.
That he’s finally offended a cohort of powerful Republicans enough to act is icing/frosting on the (fruit)cake of irony.

Click to enlarge.

Take heed, though.
Trump supporters a la Tea party protest across the country against stay-at-home orders.
Isn’t that like demanding your own personalized dose of Covid-19?

Of this photo Steve Schmidt tweeted,

this Josh Bickel of Columbus Dispatch [Ohio] photo is worthy of a Pulitzer. It absolutely and perfectly captures the whackjobbery of Trumpism and the grievance of people who have surrendered any vestige of common sense or normalcy to the altar of freak show politics and the dogmas of political cultism.

Only 199 more days of Trump’s reign….

Best not to count chickens though. Trumpist Republicans in Congress will pull out all the stops to corrupt the November election, from disenfranchising voters, to refusing mail-in ballots despite the pandemic, and everything in-between.
Despite “whackjobbery”, Trump’s approval numbers sag further each day. (Still, 40+ percent approval?) See Pollster Nate Silver’s polling data.

***

South Africa’s select team on the pandemic functions at a high level …and insists on truth: South Africa, they agree, cannot escape the worst of the epidemic. This is because "it is a completely new virus, there is no vaccine, we have no immunity and it affects white and black, old and young… everyone".
They’ll do what they can do to prepare.
You do what you can, too: stay home/ shelter in place, wash your hands, socially distance, wear a  mask (and disinfect it regularly).

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I dashed out to the store early this morning to replenish our pantry.
Who’d a thunk grocery shopping provided entertainment and diversion?
I’ve started a cold – I hope it’s a cold! – so I hurriedly fulfilled the shopping list while noting more-than-bare but less-than-full shelves of fresh fruit and veggies. Other shelves were full. Cigarettes unavailable. Liquor store shut. (Funny how lockdown stimulates a longing for a rum and soda with mint and ginger… or a gin and tonic ….)
Apparently, food shortages loom:

Concerns are rising that South Africa will experience a sharp increase in crime and social unrest as desperation over food supplies spills into streets and shops around the country. According to a senior police official, who briefed News24  over concerns raised during high-level government meetings this week, it was only a matter of time before protests and looting erupted on an unmanageable scale. 

***

Back home, behind the security fences and gates, I prep the garden for winter.
Fall/autumn is early. Winters at this elevation feature plant-killing frost so I’m preparing by spreading grass clippings around plants, distributing rich soil coughed up by moles, and composting leaves and pond weed.
I’m making the most of lockdown – even enjoying it. Gardens are treasure troves of new discoveries.

Remember Scruffy, the blind-in-one-eye, totally deaf dog who barks every 7 to 9 seconds?
Today, Scruffy’s several-hour long barkathon ended after my mother - the dog lover – intervened.
“Scruffy,” she told me, “can’t climb stairs anymore.” She followed this pronouncement in her inimitable style of telling rather than asking. “Someone will have to carry him up and down the stairs.”
Hmmm, I'm the Someone who leads end-of-day dog walkies around the garden.
Someone’s exercise regime just added a component: weight (and) resistance.


Read   Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3   |    Week 4

Oh, the irony, the irony

Forgive me, Conrad and Coppola for riffing off Heart of Darkness/”Apocalypse Now”….
South Africa’s efforts against the coronavirus pandemic have been noted as “world class.”
United States federal government’s efforts?
Not so much.
The eloquent victims: 671,000-plus confirmed infected and close to 40,000 dead Americans. The United States host more than three percent of the global infected (2,158,250) and more than two percent of the global dead (145,533).
Six months ago, who’da thunk it?
Cosmic irony? Donald J Trump dismissing people from “sh**hole countries” not “like Norway”.

To some, even bad news is good news and no news is bad news. It isn’t news that Jared and Ivanka (Javanka) are clueless and self-centered.
So, what’s news? Not that Trump never learns from his mistakes. Nevertheless, it is mind-boggling that he learned nothing from his first round of impeachment. Legal minds, all greater than mine, plus uber-smart Neal Katyal  point out the Trump’s defunding of WHO is an impeachable offense. (Yesterday’s post discussed WHO in some detail).  Moreover, it’s the same category of offence that impeached him for his withholding funds from Ukraine.

Only 200 more days of Trump’s reign….

Former Republican Party members named on by-line of this Washington Post op-ed created the Lincoln Project to defeat Trump at November’s election. (FYI: George Conway is spouse to Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway.)
In the op-ed, the group states,

Publicly supporting a Democratic nominee for president is a first for all of us. We are in extraordinary time, and we have chosen to put country over party – and former VP Joe Biden is the candidate who we believe will do the same.

Steve Schmidt said on MSNBC last night,

The Republican Party that we all belong to, that we fought for, is dead. It’s a remnant of the past. It’s not coming back. It’s been utterly corrupted by Donald Trump and Trumpism and that is bad for the country… We’re in the middle of the defining event in American Life in our lifetime…. It will take an act of monumental leadership to pull this country back together, to unite it, to heal it, and to lead a recovery that will be difficult to come out of… Joe Biden is the guy to do it.

Note: I’d link to the op-ed, but the Washington Post has a paywall. It’s not Fake News but Natural Selection Due to Capitalism.
PS: I'm not sure  milquetoast Joe Biden is the guy to do it.  Hypersmart Elizabeth Warren could do it, but she's too scary smart - and too female - to too many Americans to be allowed the opportunity.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I’m impressed with how President Ramaphosa and his team of experts handle the growing pandemic. They deserve recognition for their “world class” levels of performance.
Perhaps efficient performance a la Ramaphosa et al, will trickle down, too.
South Africa’s state and provincial bureaucracies sorely need trickle down efficiency – and competence. So does my bank….
After four years of online banking and occassional use of the Instant Cash feature, suddenly I couldn’t use it to pay the gardener. Lockdown means the gardener shouldn’t have to depart his township and run the gauntlet of police roadblocks to and from his house to collect his pay. After several failed attempts, I used precious airtime funds to call the bank. I learned that my years of paying bills online hadn't happened, indeed, that I have no online payment rights.
Why? No one knows?
The outcome? The gardener must wait up to seven days for the bank to activate/reactivate my online payment rights. The 25-minute call consumed all my airtime. Since mine is the only phone in the house that works (more on that in an upcoming post), I must run the gauntlet of police roadblocks to purchase more airtime.
Is Kafka reaching for his pen from beyond his grave?

Goodbye Week 3, hello Week 4 of Lockdown.

Transition to the weekend with this photo of a “ladybug” (in US)/ “ladybird” (in SA) feeding on black aphids cultivated by ants on a young lemon tree.




Read Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3

You can't make this stuff up - Part 2

(c) Mike Luckovich

Today was initially scheduled to mark the end lockdown.  We're going another two weeks, until end of April. Then what?

Global confirmed cases of Covid-19 infection beyond two million, 640,000 plus in US alone.
The US economy is in shambles, the global economy is following suit.
But fear not. The poster children for nepotism are on the case as Trump appoints Javanka to Council to Reopen America.

After several hours of giddy optimism about demonstrably good South African leadership on the pandemic (read yesterday’s post), I made the mistake of continuing to track news from around the world.
Congo’s news sobered me up.
Another Ebola outbreak in the eastern city of Beni as cases of Covid-19 erupt around the country. With more than 2,000 deaths from Ebola in the past 18 months, hand washing and social distancing is entrenched among Congolese. As they do their rounds, community health workers educate about coronavirus by word of mouth but fears mount.

Five-plus million Congolese and millions more people around the world depend on support from World Health Organization.  The same WHO that Prez Trump/US is threatening to defund to the tune of US$237 million in assessed fees, plus US$656 million in voluntary contributions. Voluntary contributions are “earmarked for programs including polio eradication, health and nutrition services, vaccine-preventable diseases, tuberculosis, HIV — and preventing and controlling outbreaks.”

WHO works around the world, including South Africa. (What WHO does.)
Makes more sense to me to trim US military budget - Fiscal Year 2019, approximately $693 billion (US$693,058,000,000 or ZAR12,952,333,401,010,91) – and concentrate on life and health instead of oppression and death. But then, I’m anti-war not pro-business and that makes all the difference.

Moreover, the great irony is Trump defunding the WHO is largly designed to deflect scrutiny of his own administration's slow response to the outbreak. That's Trump the Businessman for ya!

Other women, actual leaders with, y'know, actual qualifications and stuff, are doing a disproportionately great job at handling the pandemic. So why aren't there more of them?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Earlier this week, I mentioned an autumn chill in the air. That’s borne out by two photos of … snow dusting the Drakensburg.

Drakensberg from Rosetta (click to enlarge)

Drakensberg from Kamberg (click to enlarge)

California is warming up. Yesterday’s temperature along San Joaquin River, in Sacramento Delta, where I dock my houseboat, was 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.6 C).
Cliff swallows likely are arriving from South America to rest and nest (one couple nests above my boat’s pontoons). Hummingbirds are wondering where I am and why I’m not filling their damned feeders.
I miss it.

Read Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3

You can’t make this stuff up

On top of all his miscommunication, false starts, repeated mistakes, false information, and butt-saving messaging, Donald J. Trump decided to delay, even further, mailing Americans coronavirus-related stimulus checks.
Why?
So checks can be printed with his name.
Twitter users ripped that action.
Then, as if punishing Americans wasn't enough, he went on to punish the whole damned planet: Trump Defunds World Health Organization In the Middle of a Global Pandemic
He attacked the WHO for its delayed response and unwillingness to confront China … without acknowledging that he’s guilty of the exact same things.

Week 2, Day 8 Friday April 3 post  suggested someone step up to Trump at a podium, switch off his mic, and escort him offstage. No one in his orbit is brave enough to do that. The US Constitution, however, provides a direct and effective measure: The Twenty-fifth Amendment (Amendment XXV).

Amendment XXV summarized: If the President becomes unable/unfit to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President becomes the President. This can happen for a short while, if the President is sick or disabled …or permanently.

Sticking point?
Congress determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.
Right now, the House of Representatives is majority Democrat while the Senate is majority Republican. Republicans support Trump, no matter what. This means more hopeless partisan division and inaction… while humans die by the thousands.
Postscript: Concerned Americans frown with consternation at VP Pence becoming P.
I’ve frowned, too. Mr. Pence showed little ability as governor of Indiana to make decisions based on peoples’ health needs and currently shows particularly sycophantic obeisance to Trump.
I’m certain he’d dump the obeisance and jump at a chance at the presidency. He’d do better than Trump in that role – at least through the end of this disastrous administration. (That I’d ever suggest Pence step into the presidential role shows the level of Trump-induced calamity.)
As long as no one in government implements the amendment, Americans will continue to die while Trump hogs the mic.
Roman Emperor Nero, meanwhile, grins with delight: finally, history will ignore his fiddling while Rome burned. Donald J Trump has become history’s biggest bungler.

Lockdown works in South Africa

Hooray for South African leaders taking control of the pandemic.
Monday April 13’s “public engagement with experts” Prof Abdul Karim, SA Health Ministry’s Zweli Mkhize, and others laid out strategies to confront South Africa’s coronavirus challenges.
The first five to seven minutes of MP Mkhize’s introduction covered the latest numbers - tests, confirmed infections, deaths - and how numbers are generated. Except for 15-minutes of bad audio for two call-in experts, the conference (more than two hours long) was informative and a pleasure to watch. Great going South Africans!
Prof Karim’s take-aways regarding personal protection, in order of importance:
1) Wash hands
2) Social distancing
3) If you wear a mask – non-medical, cotton masks are fine for laypeople - remove it very carefully. Touching inside the mask could distribute virus and contaminate. Disinfect in hot water.

Webinars to the rescue!

Courtesy Zapiro. click to enlarge.

Days dragging by?
Daily Maverick’s Webinars make lockdown more bearable.
Link and listen to yesterday’s Climate Crisis in the time of Covid-19 webinar, with Mary Robinson and Kumi Naidoo, hosted by Rebecca Davis.

Link and listen to today's Covid-19: The Status of the Pandemic in Lockdown Week 3.
Maverick Citizen Editor Mark Heywood with health experts Professor Wolfgang Preiser and Dr Indira Govender.
Takeaways:

• high confidence that SA’s confirmed numbers of infections are accurate BUT it’s about who gets tested and when testing occurs.
• To avoid overwhelming the health systems, SA is going to have to create parallel health services specifically for Covid-19 – or risk infecting non Covid-19 cases with the virus. (It hasn’t hit the rural areas – yet!)

Trajectory of the virus in South Africa:
Prof Preiser: there will have to be measured relaxation of lockdown rules; we’re behind the curve with the worst yet to come; some habits will have to change for good.
Dr Govender: this is long term challenge with no return to “normal”… we can’t go back to overcrowding … and we need contingency plans to quickly contain Covid-19 hot spots as they crop up.

Sign up for tomorrow's webinars, Thursday 16 April at 12 pm. FutureNow: Face the Covid Reset. Daily Maverick Associate Editor Ferial Haffajee in conversation with John Sanei discusses life after the Covid-19 pandemic.  Register here  (If you register then miss the live webinar, you’ll be emailed a link to watch later.)

***

Word from the urban streets

A domestic worker required emergency dental care at a Pietermaritzburg clinic, 22kms away. She departed early, traveled in a public taxi, and passed through roadblocks by indicating her swollen jaw.
Coincidentally, her sister passed through a different roadblock early in the day and on foot. She was detained and spent hours sheltering from the rain in a police vehicle. She was released, unharmed, at 4pm, the beginning of afternoon commute.

Meanwhile back at the ranch…

Risking police roadblocks in this small rural neighborhood, I stepped outside the gate today: my first walk in 18 days. I delivered to elderly neighbors masks my mother had sewed. How to make a mask
It was déjà vu all over again. The same dogs barked in the same gardens – passing the chore of barking to the set of dogs in the next garden as I passed. The same glorious plants bloomed. Few neighbors in sight.
Last year, a friend and I walked regularly in the neighborhood. Then a pair of young thugs hijacked, assaulted, and robbed my friend's elderly husband as he walked. He recovered but we lost our nerve.


Read Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3