Apathy

News blues

Shanghai, China’s biggest city and metropolis of 25 million people, will lock down its eastern half from Monday until Friday. The phased lockdown is expected to curb the Omicron-fueled Covid-19 outbreak and has in recent days become the leading hotspot in a nationwide outbreak that has hit China with its highest caseloads since the early days of the pandemic.
Read more >> 

***

Americans have been deeply divided ideologically about a multitude of issues - healthcare, immigration, voting rights, gun reform, climate change, on and on – for years. The pandemic has exacerbated rifts, pushing Americans further apart on key pandemic response efforts. Last year,

[s]urveys from Pew Research Center,  found that in the early months of the pandemic, about 6 in 10 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents believed the virus was a major threat to the health of the U.S. population, compared to only a third of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents. That 26-point gap would ultimately grow to approximately 40 points by the fall…

Read “For red and blue America, a glaring divide in COVID-19 death rates persists 2 years later” >> 

***

On War:
War makes unpleasant bedfellows…
South Africa as a political entity has been sitting on the fence regarding Russia’s invasion and crimes against humanity in Ukraine. Now, it may become clear why this is so: the confluence of Escom’s decades-long mismanagement (Escom, remember, is SA’s coal-driven electricity parastatal), the potential for Russian-built nuclear power plants in our future, and Russian natural gas. And, “daar lê die ding” - Afrikaans for something like “that’s the thing” or “the truth is revealed”….

Amid a war in Ukraine and soaring gas prices, South Africa wants to urgently secure access to vast amounts of natural gas.
Gazprombank, owned by Russia’s state-owned gas supplier, confirms it is considering a bid for what is potentially a multibillion-rand contract — which, if awarded, would raise questions on whether South Africa’s stance on Ukraine is being influenced by its thirst for gas.
The Central Energy Fund (CEF) released a tender last month, looking for a gas aggregator to help secure liquified natural gas (LNG) for various gas-to-power projects planned for the Coega special economic zone in the Eastern Cape.

Read more >> 
And more >> 
And yet more >> 

Healthy planet, anyone?

© Joel Pett | Copyright 2022 Tribune Content Agency

 Shawn Heinrichs grew up along South Africa’s coasts. His protective instinct for life beneath the waves inspired a career investigating its mistreatment by humans and campaigning for change.”
Today, he photographs oceans and ocean creatures and says, “'Apathy is one of our biggest problems'”.
See his photos >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Readers may know my penchant for Marmite. For the gustatorily ill-informed, Marmite, it is a black, salty goop invented by German scientist Justus von Liebig and originally made in the UK. South Africans who enjoy eating this black goop spread it on bread, toast, savory biscuits, etc.
Marmite threads through my memories of childhood so I overcome the gross factor and tuck in. For example, I attended an all-girl high school as a “day scholar” (not a “boarder”) and wore uniforms with a tie, brown lace up shoes with bobby socks, etc., etc.
One memory of those days involved the trays of Marmite sandwiches (“sarmies”) set out for “boarders” for a first “break” snack. I and a girlfriend – also a “day scholar” - found it the height of daring to sneak up on the trays and snatch half a marmite sandwich. We’d scarf up the morsel, only half conscious that the snatching added to the taste.
Oh, what daredevils! Good times! 
Marmite was on my grocery list today.

Alas, no Marmite.
Marmite is made from brewers’ yeast. Apparently, the pandemic played havoc with SA’s Marmite production affected by shortages of brewers’ yeast and the shortage continues. Plenty of Bovril on store shelves. Bovril is a salty, black goop but it doesn’t entice.
Back in October of last year, makers of yeast-extracted Marmite said production was to start up again. No sign of the goop at Pick n Pay.
Boo hoo!

***

The goodish news?
The hard work I’ve mentioned over the last weeks is paying off. I’ve accomplished much. Not so the electrician who, despite his statements to the contrary, has still not installed the pre-paid electrical meter downstairs. A month ago he assured me he’d have installed both meters within two weeks. That hasn’t happened. Indeed, I’m troubled by the dearth of completion on any of the jobs he’s working on at this house. (The laundry washing machine unexpectedly burned a fan belt that’s been extraordinarily difficult to replace. It’s an older workhorse of a machine, so I wait and wait and wait…. Maybe, like Marmite the fan belt shortage is a product of the pandemic, too?) 

The workload is exhausting – cleaning in preparation for painting, painting, cleaning up after painting… weeding the pond… harassing the culvert/road workers … weeding the pond... sorting through “stuff” … keeping the house running… this, that, and the next thing… 

But we’re getting there!

***

Crisp evenings and nights signal autumn here: 

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:08am
Sunset: 5:59pm

San Francisco Bay Area
Sunrise: 6:58am
Sunset: 7:29pm

Not easy

News blues

With America in a pandemic lull, communities across the country are choosing to shut down COVID testing and vaccination sites, even as experts warn that another wave could be on the horizon. 

Read more >> 

***

Shanghai, China’s financial hub of 25 million people, has quickly become the epicenter of China's worst coronavirus outbreak, posting its highest-ever daily caseload this week.
Read more >> 

***

On War:
Tens of thousands gather in London to show solidarity with Ukraine >> 

***

The Lincoln Project: Be not afraid (1:53 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Even prior to his words shared here, Senate Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse would have made as good a president of the US as anyone in the political class, certainly better than 99.9 percent of that class. He’ll never get the chance. Alas, his views on US climate policy are good, including his opinion that, to date, US climate action has been ‘a calamity’ >> 

***

Amory Lovins, nicknamed the “Einstein of energy efficiency”, and adjunct professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, has been one of the world’s leading advocates and innovators of energy conservation for 50 years. He wrote his first paper on climate change while at Oxford in 1968, and in 1976 he offered Jimmy Carter’s government a blueprint for how to triple energy efficiency and get off oil and coal within 40 years. He says,

“Solar and wind are now the cheapest bulk power sources in 91% of the world, and the UN’s International Energy Agency (IEA) expects renewables to generate 90% of all new power in the coming years. The energy revolution has happened. Sorry if you missed it.”
But just as with the 1970s oil shocks, the problem today is not where to find energy but how to use it better. The answer, he says, is what he calls “integrative, or whole-system, design,” a way to employ orthodox engineering to achieve radically more energy-efficient results by changing the design logic.

Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Same old, same old.
Up and at ‘em.
Trying to kick back on this so-called Day of Rest.
Not easy to do.
Alas.

Tired!

News blues

Covid in the UK:

Swab tests suggest about one in every 16 people is infected, as the contagious Omicron variant BA.2 continues to spread.
That's just under 4.3 million people, up from 3.3 million the week before.
The figures for the week ending 19 March, are thought to give the most accurate reflection of what's happening with the virus in the community.

Read more >>

***

On War:
The Times' Marcus Yam, no stranger to war photography, gives a first-person account from Ukraine >> 

***

Meidas Touch
Republicans exposed as traitors  (1:33 mins)
Ted Cruz gets HUMILIATED during Confirmation Hearing  (3:33 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

It is inevitable, but still creepy:

Microplastic pollution has been detected in human blood for the first time, with scientists finding the tiny particles in almost 80% of the people tested.
The discovery shows the particles can travel around the body and may lodge in organs. The impact on health is as yet unknown. But researchers are concerned as microplastics cause damage to human cells in the laboratory and air pollution particles are already known to enter the body and cause millions of early deaths a year.
Huge amounts of plastic waste are dumped in the environment and microplastics now contaminate the entire planet, from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans. People were already known to consume the tiny particles via food and water as well as breathing them in, and they have been found in the faeces of babies and adults.
The scientists analysed blood samples from 22 anonymous donors, all healthy adults and found plastic particles in 17. Half the samples contained PET plastic, which is commonly used in drinks bottles, while a third contained polystyrene, used for packaging food and other products. A quarter of the blood samples contained polyethylene, from which plastic carrier bags are made.

Read “Microplastics found in human blood for first time. Exclusive: The discovery shows the particles can travel around the body and may lodge in organs” >> 

Abandon hope, all ye who read here: “UN ocean treaty summit collapses as states accused of dragging out talks. Conservationists despair at ‘glacial pace’ of negotiations to protect wildlife and oversee fishing amid high seas’ ‘governance vacuum’”

And, if that’s not enough to worry about, a new investigation by Consumer Reports describes dangerous chemicals found in food wrappers at major fast-food restaurants and grocery chains. Fast-food wrappers and takeout containers at major food chains contain dangerous chemicals known as PFAS.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Tired, tired, tired. 
Tired of painting. 
Tired of clearing pool and pool filter of bamboo and avocado leaves. 
Tired of prepping rental property. 
Tired of being tired.
The good news is the local lap swimming pool is open again, and has been for a week. Truth is, I’m too tired to swim. 
Now that’s tired!

The beat goes on

Funny signs from © Happy Land 

Worldwide (Map) 

March 24, 2022 - 475,487,400 confirmed infections; 6,104,200 deaths
March 25, 2021 – 124,894,200 confirmed infections; 2,746,000 deaths

US (Map) 
March 24, 2022 - 79,844,400 confirmed infections; 974,830 deaths
March 25, 2021 – 30,011,600 confirmed infections; 545,300 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
March 24, 2022 - 3,705,700 confirmed infections; 99,895 deaths
March 25, 2021 – 1,540,010, confirmed infections; 52,372 deaths

 
Note:
The US has still not reached the 1 millionth confirmed deaths rate. A feat indeed.
South Africa hovers on 100,000 confirmed deaths. 

Unfortunately, ‘confirmed’ numbers do not reflect anything near actual numbers. It is likely the world will never know numbers of confirmed infections and deaths from Covid-19.
Post from one year ago, “One down, one to go?” >> 

News blues

President Ramaphosa updated South Africans on current Covid—19 situation  and the (slight) changes to Level 1 restrictions. (15:50 mins)
Editorial note: skip to about 8:00 mins for the nitty gritty on changes.
And… the pushback…

The high force of SARS-CoV-2 infections in SA, and the 300,000 excess deaths that have been mostly attributed to Covid-19, is indicative of the failure of the government-enforced regulations to prevent significant numbers of infections in South Africa.
These regulations, such as lockdown strategies, limits on gatherings, curfews, social distancing and mask mandates, at best drew out the initial period over which roughly the same number of infections would have occurred.

Read more >> 

***

The World Health Organization (WHO) says several European countries lifted their coronavirus restrictions too soon. The result? Sharp rises in infections probably linked to the new, more transmissible BA2 subvariant.
Read more >> 

***

Covid-19 cases are rising again in Europe. They’re outright exploding across much of Asia. The United States, however, is in a Covid lull, having just come down from the winter’s omicron outbreak.
It’s an uneasy time. On one hand, it’s likely the worst of the pandemic is over, at least in terms of severe illness and death. But on the other hand, we have to ask: Do these upticks in the rest of the world foreshadow America’s future?

Read more >> 

***

South Korea struggles as Covid-19 cases top 10 million - nearly 20% of its population - and crematoria and funeral homes are overwhelmed. 

Read more >> 

***

On War:
More than 10 million displaced. Photos from Ukraine >> 

***

The Lincoln Project: Kid Rock  (1:13 mins)
Josh Mandel: Ohioans or Trump?  (o:46 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - March 23  (1:50 mins)
Bringing humor to the day with signing punny funs – oops, I mean funny puns >>  (7:50 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Eyes on wildlife: photo essay >> 

***

As climate breakdown takes hold across the globe, more people are likely to be affected by extreme weather, including flash floods, heatwaves, more violent storms and coastal storm surges, made worse by sea level rises.
About a third of people around the world are not now covered by early warning systems, but in Africa the problem is greater, with about six in 10 people lacking such warnings. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had recently found  half of humanity was “in the danger zone” for climate breakdown. That so many people were still not covered by early warning systems is “unacceptable”, said António Guterres.
Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

The beat goes on. Painting, repairing, and, finally, untangling the house’s electrical wiring and systems. The hodge podge of an electrical system that was certified when this house changed owners should never have passed. I assume the certification was purchased under the table, a ‘not uncommon’ transaction in South Africa. (One example of common fraud >>.)  The net haul for fraudulent certifications when transferring ownership of higher ticket items such as houses and commercial buildings must be worth the risk to fraudsters. After all, it’s taken almost ten years to untangle the mess in this house’s electrical system. And, if I were not obsessive about fixing it, it’s likely no one would have noticed – until an electrical fire ignited.

***

Perfect equinox today:
KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:05am
Sunset: 6:05pm

The Opposite is true in
San Francisco Bay Area
Sunrise: 7:06am
Sunset: 7:24pm

Discoveries

News blues

Deltacron – the new hybrid version of the coronavirus combines the delta and the omicron variants of the virus. What to know >> 

***

On history Yesterday, 21 March, was the public holiday of Human Rights Day in South Africa. It’s also close to or on the spring equinox.
I asked several South Africans what, if anything, was the focus of Human Rights Day. Or is it a day to recognize humans and their rights. All shrugged. Being a curious curmudgeon, I tackled the Internet. Human Rights Day:

Human Rights Day is a national day that is commemorated annually on 21 March to remind South Africans about the sacrifices that accompanied the struggle for the attainment of democracy in South Africa.

And

The day is linked with the Sharpeville Massacre of 21 March 1960, when 69 people died and 180 were wounded after police opened fire on a group protesting against apartheid pass laws. It is intended to commemorate those ordinary people who united to proclaim their rights.

This is more like it. Sharpeville, a day and a place that lives on in infamy.

***

On War:
Photos from Ukraine >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:

Ohio GOP Debate - Any Questions  (0:35 mins)
The Union  (1:20 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Celebrate wildlife – in pictures >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I’ve muttered deprecations each time I’ve opened the door to my late mother’s fridge. The door’s design is unfamiliar: no door or pull handle in sight. Made no sense, but I figured my mom had opted not to purchase a handle when the fridge could be opened with fingers pulling at the door “seam”. 

Odd, but no more odd than other decisions people make. 

Then, a foray into purchasing a box of frozen fish revealed the fascinating truth. Not much of a frozen food purchaser or eater, I'd had few reasons to open the freezer section before. If, however, I’d opted for frozen food earlier, I may have saved myself much muttering about painful fingers and odd decisions. How,?
On placing the frozen fish package into the freezer section of the fridge, I tugged at the clearly visible groove that runs horizontally along the top of the door. I returned to opening the “regular” fridge by tugging along the door “seam”… and grunting my dissatisfaction with sore fingers. 

Then, a ray of light! An "ah hah" moment. 

The fridge door is opened with a similarly designed groove that runs horizontally along the bottom of the door. Imagine! An invisible door opener! Such a design concept.
It is in such moments that one recognizes the impact of a blind spot, the years of complaining about an unsupported assumption. Such recognition humbles. And frees. My fingers are gleeful, too.
Time to re-examine other assumptions. Where to begin?

Over the rainbow?

News blues

About three weeks ago, COVID case rates in the United Kingdom made an abrupt about-face, spurred on by a more transmissible Omicron subvariant called BA.2. (So far, there is no reason to believe the new subvariant causes more severe disease.) Case rates are rising, too, in Switzerland and Greece and Monaco and Italy and France. Given that BA.2 is already present in the United States, The Washington Post reports that epidemiologists and public-health leaders suspect that North America will be next. After all, the paper said, “in the past two years, a widespread outbreak like the one in Europe has been followed by a similar surge in the United States some weeks later.”

Read “Another COVID Wave Is Looming. How bad will it be?” >> 

Dr. Fauci, the chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, also is concerned about current case increases in Europe, which usually predict a rise in the U.S. a short time later >> 

***

America’s Flu-Shot Problem Is Also Its Next COVID-Shot Problem.  

***

In South Africa, the Department of Health has called for public comment on new regulations under the National Health Act to replace the state of disaster Covid regulations. Once approved, the Department of Health said regulations will be implemented without being tabled in parliament (as they’re subordinate legislation already delegated to the minister). 

New regulations (sound a lot like the old regulations):

• all people entering or exiting South Africa during a pandemic should present negative PCR tests not older than 72 hours in the event they do not have a vaccination certificate.
• continued restrictions will be placed on night vigils and after-funeral gatherings 
• Indoor and outdoor gatherings may be occupied up to 50% of the venue capacity, provided valid vaccine certificates are produced. For gatherings where no valid vaccine certificates are required, artificial limits of 1,000 and 2,000 people will apply for indoor and outdoor gatherings, respectively. 
• Social distancing of one metre must be maintained
• Face masks will be compulsory for indoor gatherings, people cannot enter public premises or make use of public transport without a mask.

The regulations also leave the door open for other restrictions, labelled as ‘advice giving’ between different departments. This advice can relate to curfew, national lockdown, economic activity and the sale of alcohol, among others.  The Minister and Health Department have called for public comment by April 15.

 Needless to say, there’s pushback.
 A local community group, ‘Dear South Africa', reports “ We have filed legal papers and are going to court to end the State of Disaster and regulations, to make sure that no one can abuse the tyrannical powers afforded by the Disaster Management Act ever again.”

Daily Maverick reports,

Extending the national State of Disaster for the umpteenth time has bought the government time to shift Covid-19 lockdown extraordinary measures into regular, ordinary law. South Africa’s constitutional democracy now is at a dangerous tipping point.

Read “We’ve got the power: Government hangs on State of Disaster to keep control” >> 

***

On War:
Photos from Ukraine >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:

Pop up fact check  (0:56 mins)
The Parties on Putin  (0:55 mins)
Last Week in the Republican Party (March 15) (2:05 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

A widely used kind of recycled plastic bottle passes more potentially harmful chemicals into their contents than newly manufactured bottles, researchers have warned.
Researchers from Brunel University London found 150 chemicals that leached into drinks from plastic bottles, with 18 of those chemicals found in levels exceeding regulations.
And they found that drinks bottled using recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) can contained higher concentrations of chemicals than those bottled using new PET, which suggests that problems with the recycling process may be causing contamination.
They are calling for more careful recycling methods to remove the potentially harmful chemicals.

Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Wake up at 3:30am (unplanned and not desired but…), read until 5:00am, coffee, don work/paint clothes, then paint walls…and paint…and paint. In between, I drag pond weed from the pond, check on blocked culverts, strategize with the electrician – the electrical system in this house is a nightmare.
I also force feed one of the two of my late mother’s dogs her meds. This dog breeds cysts all over her body. One on her neck regularly burst and bled. Ugh! Awful. 

A trip to the vet surgically removed these “knobs”, each incision requiring six or seven stitches. The dog’s recovering, thanks to pain pills and antibiotic she’s force feed twice a day.
Ugh!
For someone neutral on dogs – neither a dog lover nor hater - taking on someone else’s dogs is a “learning experience.” Dorothy put it well when she told Toto, “I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” (But nor am I over the rainbow!)

***

San Francisco Bay Area
Sunrise: 7:12am
Sunset: 7:20pm

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:02am
Sunset: 6:10pm

No nukes!

Worldwide (Map) 
March 17, 2022 - 463,665,500 confirmed infections; 6,058,000 deaths
March 18, 2021 - 120,740,000 confirmed infections; 2,672,000 deaths
January 14, 2021 – 92,314,000 confirmed infections; 1,977,900 deaths

US (Map) 
March 17, 2022 - 79,631,710 confirmed infections; 968,330 deaths
March 18, 2021 – 29,550,000 confirmed infections; 537,000 deaths
January 14, 2021 – 23,071,100 confirmed infections; 384,635 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
March 17, 2022 - 3,696,850 confirmed infections; 99,730 deaths
March 18, 2021 – 1,531,000 confirmed infections; 51,560 deaths
January 14, 2021 – 1,278,305 confirmed infections; 35,140 deaths

Blog post from this time last year, Dilemmas 

News blues

The above image summarizes the proportion of each named variant present in
worldwide sequenced samples on a weekly basis.
These data help public health officials and government leaders track changes
 in the presence of variants of concern to help inform their communications
 to the public and design mitigation efforts.
Read more >> 
© Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center

***

Israel has detected cases of a new COVID variant that is a hybrid of Delta and Omicron. According to national broadcaster Kan, the variant surfaced in swab samples that were sequenced in labs. A limited number of cases have been detected among people who returned from Europe, and there is no community spread.
Read more >> 

China Covid cases surge with millions in lockdown (2:29 mins)

U.K. and Europe are suffering rising COVID-19 infections two weeks after the United Kingdom dropped its last remaining Covid-19 mitigation measure — a requirement that people who test positive for the virus isolate for five days. Cases and hospitalizations climb once again. 

Read more >> 

***

On War:
Photos from Ukraine >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:

Leader of Peace  (2:16 mins)
Last Week in the Republican Party (March 15) (2:05 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Say what? South Africa plans to shift from coal to nuclear 
Gotta say, I tremble at this news. A country that cannot systematically provide fossil-generated electricity (or drain two culverts in 6 years) has no business even contemplating nuke energy. No wonder President Ramaphosa sits on the fence with Putin’s deadly invasion of Ukraine. He will allow Russians to build nuke plants here. 

Terrifying.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Light at the end of the culverts?
Six years of kvetching may finally come to resolution. But don't hold your breath.

I celebrate receiving the following message from my local councilperson:

Hello, the roads and storm water drains manager was on site this afternoon for inspection. [The director] has instructed his teams to get down there and excavate the silt. Bongeka the roads manager has said she will also write to Blake this evening of her findings.  She agrees there are three parts to the problem. The water coming from the D road, the blocked pipes which on removing of excess soil and silt will unblock these. She noted the amount of water in your property and took photos.

I want to believe. I want this to be true. I need this.
Lord, make it so!

***

The last season the US practices daylight saving time?
Don’t say the US Congress gets nothing done. Last Tuesday, the Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 that would make daylight saving time permanent across the U.S. beginning in 2023. Approved by unanimous consent but requires House approval and President Biden's signature to become law.

San Francisco Bay Area
Sunrise: 7:16am
Sunset: 7:18pm

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:01am
Sunset: 6:13pm