Worldwide (
Map)
October 13, 2022 – 623,005,700 confirmed infections; 6,562,000 deaths
October 14, 2021 – 239,341,600 confirmed infections; 4,877,540 deaths
October 15, 2020 – 38,426,375 confirmed infections; 1,091,250 deaths
US (
Map)
October 13, 2022 – 96,831,600 confirmed infections; 1,0634,000 deaths
October 14, 2021 – 44,694,200 confirmed infections; 719,760 deaths
October 15, 2020 – 7,911,500 confirmed infections; 216,860 deaths
SA (
Coronavirus portal)
October 13, 2022 - 4,021,750 confirmed infections; 102,200 deaths
October 14, 2021 – 2,914,000 confirmed infections; 88,500 deaths
October 15 – 696,420 confirmed infections; 18,155 deaths
Post from:
October 14, 2021,
“Leadership”
October 15, 2020,
“Scamdemic”
News blues
Considering another trip to South Africa in the next months, I’ve begun looking into country-by-country Covid travel advisories.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it will assess the level of Covid-19 infection in each country and post notices only when there are new variants or other situations that would change its travel recommendations.
Here’s hopin’
Read more >> ***
On war… and crowdfunding a war
Ah, the genius of people under enormous life-and-death pressure!
Certainly, the power of crowdfunding put to great use!
A crowdfunding appeal that was launched after Russian attacks on cities across the country on Monday has raised $9.6m (£8.7m) in 24 hours for the purchase of kamikaze drones for the Ukrainian armed forces.
An initial 50 Ram II drones, unmanned aerial vehicles with a 3kg explosive payload, designed and built by Ukrainian companies, will be bought with the money, along with three control stations.
Read more >> ***
The Lincoln Project:
Pucker up, J. D. (1:09 mins)
Republican Socialists (0:26 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - October 11, 2022 (2:10 mins)
Healthy planet, anyone?
Dr Wendy Schultz, futurist and co-author of the report titled Law in the Emerging Bio Age says. “There is a growing understanding that something very different has to be done if our children are going to have a planet to live on that is in any way pleasant, much less survivable.”
Schultz and co-author Dr Trish O’Flynn call to enshrine rights for the natural world.
I’m for that.
Are you?
Here’s more: O’Flynn, an interdisciplinary researcher who was previously the national lead for civil contingencies at the Local Government Association, says legal frameworks should be “fit for a more than human future” and developments such as genetic modification or engineering. This means covering everything from labradors to lab-grown brain tissue, rivers to robots.
Ecuador and Bolivia have already enshrined rights for the natural world, while there is a campaign to make ecocide a prosecutable offence at the international criminal court. The report for the Law Society, the professional body for solicitors in England and Wales, explores how the relationship between humans and mother earth might be recalibrated in the future.
Personally, I think this is a grand plan…that might take decades to implement. For one thing, the United States does not recognize the jurisdiction of the legal body that is the international criminal court. As long as the US, currently the most influential country on the planet, is not onboard, few other countries will pay much attention. People, however, should continue to push for such a legal framework. Perhaps then politicians would change their stripes and blend with the trend? (Hmmm, just a guess but … nah!)
Read more >> ***
Staying on topic…
Earth’s wildlife populations have plunged by an average of 69% in just under 50 years, according to a leading scientific assessment, as humans continue to clear forests, consume beyond the limits of the planet and pollute on an industrial scale.
From the open ocean to tropical rainforests, the abundance of birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles is in freefall, declining on average by more than two-thirds between 1970 and 2018, according to the WWF and Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) biennial Living Planet Report. Two years ago, the figure stood at 68%, four years ago, it was at 60%.
Read more >>Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
These last 7 post chemo days have been the worst for Meso Mary. (Let’s hope they remain the worst and nothing in the future competes.) Nausea was an issue but the main issues were weakness, dizziness, general malaise, and passing out briefly before falling to the floor.
Mary fell three times, the first time heavily on her left hip – bruising it – and subsequently falling on the same hip but not as heavily.
After the second fall, she decided to lower her center of gravity and crawl instead of walk.
It’s terrifying to see someone one loves reduced to crawling along the floor to ensure she doesn’t fall and hurt herself.
Yes, Mary could have simply stayed in bed. Indeed, she stayed in bed for much of three days, but that's impractical, well nigh impossible, when one has been directed to drink more than 2 liters of liquid per day. What goes in, must come out....
Mary is stubborn (one of her best features when on a project; not such a great feature after chemo treatment). She refused the oncology nurse’s advice to go to the hospital emergency room reasoning, “at least not now. I’ll go if needed. For now, it’s not worth the stress of getting there, waiting in a room potentially with Covid sufferers, and accepting advice that will include ‘hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.’ Why don’t I simply stay home and hydrate?”
Good points.
She took her own advice and took it easy, working slowly on personal projects, and eating nutritioius meals.
I fully support her. I have full confidence that she’s making the right decisions based on her situation and needs.
At the same time, I’m becoming more enraged at Mary’s reality.
Imagine. Being fatally attacked by asbestos “hidden” in materials that Mary used and uses to share her creative gifts, asbestos not only
known but purposefully
embedded by manufacturers into materials
because it’s cheaper than removing it and therefore means making more profit for manufacturing companpies.
Outrageous... and I intend to publicize the outrage.
***
Sometimes the good balances out the not-so-good.
Good: we took a short walk in the park where I photographed this red tailed hawk with its dinner, a ground squirrel.
Not-so-good: being dinner.
I’ve never been allowed this close to a bird of prey before. This one clearly wasn’t ready to abandon its gustatory pleasure to avoid the close observation of two intrigued and puny humans.
 |
Red tailed hawk
© S. Galleymore |
***
Continuing with cool in and around San Francisco Bay Area ...
SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 7:16am
Sunset: 6:34pm
KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 5:22am
Sunset: 6:07pm
