Tested - again

News blues

News free day! 

Take a break. 

Stare at your bellybutton... and chuckle at The Lincoln Project: The GOP isn't interested  (1:00 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

If you’re in a fragile state of mind today, skip this article. 

If you have the fortitude…

Global heating is causing such a drastic change to the world’s oceans that it risks a mass extinction event of marine species that rivals anything that’s happened in the Earth’s history over tens of millions of years, new research has warned. Accelerating climate change is causing a “profound” impact upon ocean ecosystems that is “driving extinction risk higher and marine biological richness lower than has been seen in Earth’s history for the past tens of millions of years”.

Read “Global heating risks most cataclysmic extinction of marine life in 250m years” >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Had yet another Covid test today, my second test at the same pop-up facility located outside a local hospital. I displayed my vaccination card with my long list of vaccination details. I’m eligible for the second booster on return to California, too. 

The list is a statement on inequality: I’ve had 3, soon 4, Covid vaccinations. Too many people around the world (who seek vaccinations) await their first jab.

***

Immediately after being robbed upon 4 February arrival at Oliver Tambo Airport, I alerted my CA credit union about the loss and requested they replace my credit/debit cards. Done. (Local Standard Bank was less hospitable and I had to drive half an hour to another branch for one measly debit card and an interaction not tinged with suspicion.) I was unable to replace my stolen California phone SIM card with my years old California phone number, my CA driver’s license (acts like SA ID card), or my public transportation debit card, along with library cards and sorted other cards. All must be and will be replaced upon return. 

Upon arrival in CA, my immediate needs include US dollars to pay for public transportation (my dollars were stolen). I NEVER ask anyone to pick me up at SFO, a thirty-minute drive from home under best traffic conditions, but at least 2 hours under “normal” conditions of 6pm Bay Area traffic. I need a alert the person to pick me up at the train station nearest my home (no public phones anywhere anymore). All this with a brain foggy after a 32-hour, southern to northern hemisphere economy class trip.
No phone. No cash. One large bag, one small bag, and one smaller backpack (that, since being robbed, I’ve learned to wear as a front pack).
Oh, joy!

***

International Workers’ Day tomorrow, 1 May… also observed 2 May. 

Irony? A unneeded holiday for South Africa's official unemployed - up to 36 percent of the working-age population.

***

Results of having a long Q-tip poked down my throat and up my nose, seeking coronavirus?
Negative.
Yay!

Up ticks

News blues

In the United States

… the national seven-day average of new COVID cases hit nearly 49,000 up from about 27,000 three weeks earlier. The uptick is likely being driven by BA.2, the new, more transmissible offshoot of Omicron that’s now dominant in the United States. BA.2 does seem to be troubling: In Western Europe and the U.K. in particular, where previous waves have tended to hit a few weeks earlier than they have in the U.S., the variant fueled a major surge in March that outpaced the Delta spike from the summer.
… so far, the official numbers in the U.S. don’t seem to show that a similar wave has made it stateside. But those numbers aren’t exactly reliable these days.

Read more >> 

***

Africa, too

… is seeing an uptick in Covid-19 cases – largely driven by a doubling in cases reported in South Africa, according to the World Health Organization. New Covid cases and deaths on the continent have increased for the first time after declining for more than a month.

Read more >> 

***

The Lincoln Project: Laughing (0:55 mins)

***

On war…

Ukraine – photo essay - April 29, 2022 >> 

Healthy planet, anyone?

© Adam Zyglis | Copyright 2022 Cagle Cartoons

Will the fossil fuel and petrochemical industry respond to California’s attorney general’s sweeping investigation into their alleged role in the spread of rampant plastic pollution?

AG Rob Bonta said that the investigation will focus on what he called a “half-century campaign of deception” and that it will target companies “that have caused and exacerbated the global plastics pollution crisis.” Plastic pollution has long been a tentpole environmental issue, with conservationists decrying the spread of plastics to the remotest corners of the Arctic, into the planet’s geology and in the bodies of everything from the stomachs of sea birds to human lungs.

Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

This time next week I should be back in Californy…
Tick tock...

Tick tock...

 
Autumn in KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:26am
Sunset: 5:26pm

Spring in San Francisco Bay Area
Sunrise: 6:15am
Sunset: 7:57pm

Guttered

Worldwide (Map) 
April 28, 2022 - 511,746,700 confirmed infections; 6,228,600 deaths
April 29, 2021 – 149,206,600 confirmed infections; 3,146,300 deaths

US (Map) 
April 28, 2022 - 81,189,400 confirmed infections; 992,800 deaths
April 29, 2021 – 32,229,350 confirmed infections; 574,350 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
April 28, 2022 - 3,776,300 confirmed infections; 100,351 deaths
April 29, 2021 – 1,578,500 confirmed infections; 54,290 deaths

April 28, 2020 post: “Chomping at the ‘net” >> 
April 29, 2021 post: “Consequences” >> 

News blues

A Florida judge’s ruling on mask mandates – to get rid of them – can impact humans today and into the future.

The decision by Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, a judge appointed to the Federal District Court in Florida by former President Donald Trump, is part of a larger effort by conservative judges nationwide to rein in federal administrative agencies. Experts in those operations, working under the direction of Congress, write many of the rules that govern our lives.
If Judge Mizelle’s ruling is upheld, Gostin and Hosie warn, “the C.D.C. will be seriously hobbled and a ruinous precedent will be set for the entire federal regulatory apparatus.”
Which is why they write that even if you’re completely fed up with masking up, you should be distressed about Judge Mizelle’s decision.

Read more >> 

***

The Covid outbreak in China quickly moves toward city-wide testing >> 

***

Dr Fauci: The U.S. is no longer in the “full-blown” pandemic phase. He reports the U.S. is no longer seeing “tens and tens and tens of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths” from COVID-19. But…
Read more >> 

***

The Lincoln Project: Last week in the Republican Party - April 27, 2022  (2:15 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Trash it or recycle it? How plastics keep us guessing >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Freedom Day yesterday, International Worker’s Day on Sunday and recognized as a public holiday on Monday. In April, the 18th was Family Day, the 15th Good Friday, and in March the 21st was Human Rights Day. Plenty of holidays – no official businesses open – in this part of the world.
Mollified: while unscrewing screwy screws does not a carpenter make, I’m mollified that the window frame I replaced after re-puttying the pane, did not fit because of long-term issues with fitting, not my lack of carpentry skills. In other words, an actual carpenter found that the frame was warped and, on querying the domestic worker, learned the window didn’t close properly “before.” I’m still not a carpenter, but I am mollified.

***

An exchange/barter arrangement to clear this house’s roof gutters of debris, moss, and sprouting flora went awry. Perhaps my expectations were “too American”, that is, if one has already received the bartered item, one performs the work in a timely manner or presents a reason why the task is delayed and reschedules. Perhaps if I were “more South African” I’d recognize that, well, things get done – eventually – when the planets and stars align perfectly, one “feels” like doing it, etc., etc. Clearing gutters is particularly important when rainfall exceeds expectations, and a house has a tendency towards dampness. Debris overloaded gutters means heavy rainfall simply overflows and floods verandahs and walkway and further damages already damp walls.
Yes, I tend towards over-independence – if you want something done, do it yourself. And, yes, after weeks of watching gutters overflow, over-independence won out over self-protection: do not climb rickety ladders to clean gutters yourself. Happily, I found a happy medium and climbed rickety ladders to clean the roof gutters I could “easily” reach.
I cleaned 5 of 8 gutters of a thriving compost of moss, mud, and organic materials that went, fittingly, into the compost pile.
Now I must find someone with the tools and the courage to tackle the five remaining, more precarious and more densely-packed gutters.
The joys of maintaining an elderly house. Not!

***

My afternoon walk around the neighborhood presented Willem mowing communal lawns and verges. I’d never seen him before but wished him “a happy Freedom Day”. He responded and I took the opportunity to introduce myself. Since he was friendly, I took the opportunity to ask if his property had flooded recently. (This info could help with my plea to roads dept to unblock culverts.) 
Willem was a font of local knowledge: no trees grew in the area when he moved into the area in 1974; the stream was more of a river back then and otters cavorted along the river/stream banks. I also learned how and after whom the road was named, how mowing communal verges encourages homeowners to mow their own lawns, and the history and habits of various homeowners.
Today, I awoke with the realization that Willem could make an ideal accomplice in my plan to reintroduce an otter family to the stream. Moreover, he could encourage his neighbors to alter their section of the stream to encourage otters, too.
Perhaps the neighborhood’s joint efforts for otters and other water creatures would encourage the local animal rehab group to release otters into the stream.
One can dream.

***

Some sun though cold…
KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:26am
Sunset: 5:27pm

San Francisco Bay Area
Sunrise: 6:16am
Sunset: 7:56pm

MORE Covid?

News blues

Expert sounds alarm on fifth wave after Covid-19 curve turns upwards in SA More subvariants! As the World Health Organization tracks two new coronavirus subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5 more cases of these found in countries other than South Africa.
Professor Adrian Puren, the head of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), said recently, “The public should exercise caution in interpreting these data as there may be changes in test patterns. An early warning indicator, wastewater detection surveillance, shows an increase in Gauteng. He added that there was no clear evidence that Omicron was being displaced as the significant circulating variant. NICD reported that 10.6% of Covid-19 tests were positive in the past seven days, which was 2.6% higher than the previous week. 

Read more >> 

***

The Lincoln Project: This woman votes  (0:23 mins)
Meidas Touch: Texas Paul REACTS to Marjorie Taylor Greene Lying Under Oath! (3:12 mins)

***

On war…

Published: 23 APR 2022 © Zapiro

The Fight Against the GOP's Culture War  (7:25 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Three reasons ANC is stuck on nuclear power for South Africa’s power future:

Mantashe was enthusiastic, indicating the government was still intending to go ahead with the nuclear build process. Just to be clear, we are talking about a build programme that is likely to cost somewhere in the region of R1-trillion.

Read more >> 

I'm in the process of introducing South African anti-nuke power activists to Dr. Ramana, Professor and Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA) at Canada’s University of British Columbia. Dr. Ramana is also Director of the Liu Institute for Global Issues and the Acting Director (2020-2021) of the Centre for India and South Asia Research (CISAR) in the Institute of Asian Research.
My goal? Dr Ramana has agreed to write an article, maybe more, about the impact on South Africa of building nuclear power plants. His prognosis? Not good! And, for many of the reasons presented in the article above. India-born Dr. Ramana is very familiar with the impacts and costs of nuke power on developing countries.
Exciting!
Stay tuned!

***

Take a break from bad news on the planet and focus on wildlife: a photo essay >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Yet more on Escom/Eskom… as economists at the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) noted recently that South Africa hit a new record of 22,000MW of generation capacity unavailable last week, with a ‘staggering’ 17,000MW of this being unplanned.
“Worryingly, in its assessment for the winter period, Eskom anticipates between 37 to 101 days of load-shedding, the latter in an extreme scenario. If it can limit unplanned breakdowns to below 12,500MW, it could avoid load-shedding,” the BER said.
Fear not, though. President Ramaphosa finds it ‘difficult and unacceptable’ that South Africa continues to face ongoing load shedding, that rolling blackouts are costly for the economy, causing significant frustration and hardship for all citizens and businesses, and that his government now working to ensure it comes to a permanent end. 

***

Puttied my first window on Friday. To clarify, noticing badly cracked or missing putty in a window frame, I removed the window frame, the pane of glass, and the old putty. After that, I puttied the groove into which I replaced the pane of glass and also applied fresh putty.
It turned out not too bad. It helps that putty has a similar consistency to clay with which I’m intimately familiar; putty, however, is stickier, less obliging, and harder to remove from hands.
Yesterday, I applied wood preservative to the frame and, soon as it was dry, I happily replaced the window into the frame, the screws placed in exactly the same screw holes.
Alas, something is off. The window doesn’t fit snugly into the frame. Grrrr!
Story of my life: in theory it “should work”, in reality it hardly ever does. As a wannabe carpenter… or plumber… or “pool gal”… or lily pond maintainer … or roof gutter cleaner… I’ve great respect for expertise… and know enough to recognize I display far more willingness to try than ability to do.
Expertise?
None here!
Sad.

Sad.

Day of semi rest

The Lincoln Project does its thing.
A reminder: The Lincoln Project was formed in 2019 by former and incumbent Republicans who had, previously, worked hard to prevent the election of Democrats to public office. During the 2020 presidential election, however, founders of the Lincoln Project aimed to prevent the re-election of Republican Donald Trump and to defeat all Trump-supporting apologist Republicans in close races running for re-election in the United States Senate. Since that time, the Project’s ads have focused on Republicans and the Republican Party’s trend to the extreme right. 

Latest ads:
Kevin McCarthy is a Liar  (1:18 mins)
Former President Obama on challenges to democracy (2:03 mins)
Meidas Touch:
Profanity alert as Texas Paul reacts to leaked Kevin McCarthy tapes! (2:39 mins)
And more profanity as Texas Paul reacts to “Turd” Cruz and his “furry porn fetish”  (2:40 mins)

***

On war…

Rape as a weapon of war >> 
Ukraine – photo essay >> 

Healthy planet, anyone?

Take a break from bad news on the planet and focus on wildlife: a photo essay >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Puttied my first window on Friday. To clarify, noticing badly cracked or missing putting in a window frame, I removed the window frame, the pane of glass, and the old putty. After that, I puttied the groove into which I replaced the pane of glass and applied fresh putty.
It turned out not too bad. It helps that putty has a similar consistency to clay with which I’m intimately familiar; putty, however, is stickier, less obliging, and harder to remove from hands.
Yesterday, I applied wood preservative to the frame and, soon as it is dry, I will replace the refreshed window.
You go, girl!

***

Some sun, some rain…
KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:23am
Sunset: 5:31pm

San Francisco Bay Area
Sunrise: 6:21am
Sunset: 7:53pm

A titan passes

News blues

A day late and a dollar short: Earth Day – missed it! It shows up on calendars in SA but holds with no ceremony nor receives official recognition.
In the US, Earth Day is a big thing – well, not big enough for a day off work and certainly not big enough to do anything serious about addressing our slowly suffocating planet or climate change….
(FYI: Wednesday is Freedom Day in South Africa and, yes, it’s a public holiday. Grocery stores will remain open, all other stores and offices closed.) 

Editor's note: This is a special cartoon Gary drew for Earth Day 1990,
as part of a project in which many cartoonists participated to bring
more awareness to the state of the environment.
© The Far Side,  Gary Larsen

***

Back in California, George Baxter Humphreys passed away. His obituary presents details about the man and his life that I never knew, but I knew him as a gift – knowledgeable, courageous, curious, generous with his knowledge and time, and dedicated to both educating residents and ensuring our town was as safe from toxic contamination as is possible under the circumstances. I also knew him as a gifted and patient watercolorist and artist. 
George served on the town’s Restoration Advisory Board from its inception in 1997 until now. 

A RAB  is designed to act as the local citizenry’s oversight group that ensures – as far as possible – the clean up and removal of toxic contamination, In our case, the clean up and removal of toxic contamination produced by decades of military and navy activities.

George fulfilled his role as RAB president, co-president, community member and as informal outside educator. I visited his home several times on RAB business, learned a lot from him, and was impressed and amused at his RAB filing system: boxes and boxes containing years of RAB documents piled up in his large kitchen and his small office.
Past posts on RAB and RAB activities:
Plus ça change… 
Play ball! 
Consequences 

Most impressive about George, vis a vis The RAB, was his activist heart. IMHO, it is unusual for someone with his professional education and background to engage with exposing systemic wrongs. He was a mainstream (white) man who questioned US Navy personnel about their assertions regarding health and safety measures – or the lack thereof – as they “cleaned up the base.” Many times US Navy personnel and contractors modified their assertions and their clean up actions based on George's professional feedback.

We’ll miss you, George. Thank you for your service.

Relief (not!)

Click to enlarge and enjoy
© Zapiro

News blues

In the US, the change in reported COVID-19 cases per 100k people in the last two weeks >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:

McMorrow fights back (1:42 mins)

Ron DeSantis: bad for business  (1:00 mins)

***

On war…

Ramaphosa and Zelensky finally talk about Russian aggression >> 

Zelensky’s post-talk tweet: “Had a phone conversation with @CyrilRamaphosa. Told about our resistance to Russian aggression. Discussed the threat of a global food crisis, deepening relations with the Republic of South Africa and cooperation within international organizations.”

 
Ramaphosa’s post-talk tweet: “I had a telephone conversation with President @ZelenskyyUa of Ukraine to discuss the conflict in Ukraine and its tragic human cost, as well its global ramifications. We agree on the need for a negotiated end to the conflict which has impacted Ukraine’s place in global supply chains, including its position as a major exporter of food to our continent. President Zelenskyy anticipates closer relations with Africa in future.”

 
“…deepening relations with the Republic of South Africa and cooperation within international organizations…” and “…closer relations with Africa in future”?
Sounds good.
But ...how tight is Putin’s grip on African leaders? Who, for example, is pushing nuke power in South Africa? Putin and Russia, that’s who. At least they’re the frontrunners, along with China – second in line but so-so on nuke power these days  - also, South Korea, France, and US. 

US isn’t going overboard for nuclear power anymore, plus, for US, I suspect nuke power would require way too much effort, given South Africa’s lack of knowhow and the minimal overall economic benefit to the US.)

So. We shall see how much closer and how much deeper relations become between presidents in the future.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

More kvetching about Escom/Eskom:

[The parastatal power company] Escom forecasts more load-shedding in the winter season, with the power utility saying there could be as many as 101 days of power outages — something that it calls an “extreme case” scenario.
The “best case” scenario (if there is such a thing regarding the major inconvenience of load-shedding) is that Eskom might throw South Africa into darkness for 32 days during winter.

Read more >> 
Oh, great! Cold, dark winter made colder and darker because, after a decade of loadshedding, Escom – a power generation company - still hasn’t figured out how to deliver consistent power?
Just in Time – JIT* -  for me to abandon ship… back to drought- and fire-ridden California. She’s got a ticket to ride  ….
[*JIT? Just in time… A form of management – usually managing an inventory of consumables but sometimes of emotions - that requires suppliers and supply chains to produce materials just as production is scheduled to begin, no sooner. 
The goal? 
Lean and mean production machine that meets demand with zero storage costs. 
Managing emotional inventory, however, means recognizing emotions, applying limits - neither ignoring nor overly expressing feelings of frustration, irritation, and anger, nor making dramatic snap decisions – and, importantly, knowing when to ride!]

***

This week’s posts focused on corruption. There is another aspect: when fed up – or broke – residents do not pay their utility and rates (property tax) bills. Each month this year, uMngeni Municipality has sent out the following notice with their invoices: 

Click to enlarge

As fed up as I am with “service delivery” – the lack thereof – I pay my bills. The idea of purposefully putting myself into a position where I'd have to interact regularly with any South Africa bureaucracy as an individual is, well, laughable. If, however, a concerted effort by a nationwide community of protesters arose that was dedicated to fight corruption in government, I’d join. The ‘popcorn’ protests that spring up here and there are ineffective against SA’s entrenched corruption. 
A nationwide effort, though? Hmmm....

***

Disney in hot water: Least favorite governor Florida’s Ron DeSantis has it in for Disney, threatening to strip the company of its 55-year-old special status that allows it to operate as an independent government around its Orlando-area theme park.
This, over the DeSantis-inspired measure that bans schools from teaching young children about sexual orientation or gender identity.

After DeSantis signed the bill into law earlier Monday, the Walt Disney Company wrote in a statement that its "goal" was to get the law repealed or defeated in the courts.
DeSantis said Disney "crossed the line" with that statement. On Thursday, DeSantis went further, suggesting Disney's "special privileges" could be lifted.

Read more >> 
Wanna-be-Donald-Trump Ron DeSantis doesn’t care who he takes down in his struggle to be anointed the next Donald Trump. Kids? Dime a dozen. Transgender? Way too many of ‘em already. Teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity? Bah humbug!
(Read the downside of DeSantis' effort to Floridians >>) 

I support Disney in repealing or defeating DeSantis’s inhumane trend.
My gripe about Disney? The apparent impossibility of unsubscribing from its email lists. Specifically, its National Geographic for children’s email list.
I subscribed two children to that magazine. They liked it – until they outgrew it. That happens. Children grow and outgrow. Disney specializes in children so it must know that.
Yet, it’s taking months of frustration to stop Disney sending me annoying offers to re-subscribe, or buy this, that, or the next unwanted publication. A simple “unsubscribe” link isn’t offered on their emails, so I tried their Contact Us link. That consistently presents the error page, “our system is currently unavailable. Try again later.”
Frustrating.

***

Sunny yesterday. Showers predicted today and for the next 3 days…
KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:22am
Sunset: 5:32pm

Rain, finally...
San Francisco Bay Area
Sunrise: 6:24am
Sunset: 7:51pm