Dire straights

Trump was impeached for a second time. He made history. It's never happened before. Whether the Senate convicts him and removes him from office after he leaves to prevent him from ever running for office again, or whether NYS or Georgia are successful in prosecuting him for fraud or trying to overturn a fair election remains to be seen. In any case, Deutsche Bank is distancing themselves and probably going to call in his loans. He will never get credit again. 

Meanwhile, the world surpassed 2 million dead from Covid-19 while the US reported more than 100,000 Covid-19 hospitalizations for the 40th day in a row. Biden unveiled his vaccination rollout plan and it is sound. It is all surreal. And now, 400,000 dead in the US and more to come. 

And there are 25,000 National Guard troops in Washington DC and 9-foot high fencing with barbed wire around the Capitol building. None of this would have been predicted a year ago. 

God bless America and keep it the Land of the Free. 

New Year's Day 2021

Here comes the sun - 1 January 2021

The dawn of the first day of 2021 was tinted with a rosy glow and full of promise. The weather was benign with a chill -- but no ferocity. We'd had a week of awful rain and wind, so this respite was welcome.  

Our Christmas had been a rather quiet affair, with only Alex's mother here with us. Christmas Eve we'd had a leg of lamb from the farmer who rents our islands. It was delicious. Lots of presents from family and neighbours but no visits. Christmas Day I cooked my half-price turkey which I had soaked in brine for several hours. It was the best turkey ever. I am now a complete convert to brining. 

We'd seen our nephew Cormac before Christmas and again with his girlfriend Louise on Stephen's Day outside at Ross House where they'd been helping his grandmother with some gardening chores. Such a nice young man and woman. No one can now go inside her house as she is very vulnerable. 

Alex and I had gone walking on the Greenway in Mulranny in a bitter cold gale that day. We thought it would be protected but it wasn't. 

Little did we know that on the morning of January 2 we'd be hearing that several friends had tested positive for Covid-19. I knew of four cases among acquaintances in England but these are the first known to me personally in Ireland. The pandemic has exploded with all the gatherings for the holidays. God help us in the days to come. It was certainly the strangest year of our lives. 

 

Over the horizon shortly after 9 am Jan 1

Mid-day on the 30th Jan

Snow-capped Holy Mountain on New Year's Eve, Jan 31

 

 

 

 

All the rest are from Jan 2 at the top of our land 

Millions in the US travel for Thanksgiving

As coronavirus cases close in on 13,000,000 in the US, millions of Americans have been taking to the roads and the skies for Thanksgiving. Traditionally, the highest travel volume period of the year, pandemic concerns have not deterred many even when Fauci implored people to stay home.  Hospitalizations and deaths from the highly contagious virus are skyrocketing and the National Guard has been called in in some places to help carry away the dead. I have no doubt that the surge in cases is a direct result of people congregating at rallies held by the Superspreader-in-Chief without masks or distancing precautions just before the election. 

Today, Wednesday, millions of Americans will travel for Thanksgiving despite some of the worst daily COVID-19 figures since the pandemic began. According to Johns Hopkins University, the United States reported 2,146 deaths on Tuesday — the highest daily death total since May and higher than any other country. The nation also reported 172,935 new coronavirus infections, and the number of hospitalizations hit a new record of 88,080. The number of deaths per 100,000 population now stands at 802, among the highest in the world. 

Millions are expected to ignore holiday guidelines against travel this week, and experts have warned that could cause infection numbers to explode.  Jonathan Reiner, CNN medical analyst, has predicted that Thanksgiving could become “the mother of all superspreader events.” We'll see in 2-3 weeks' time. 

As US Tops 12 Million Coronavirus Cases, Air Travel Is Busiest Since March | TODAY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5PDe25qYsw 

Atomic Bombs and Pandemics

This week is the 75th Anniversary of the dropping of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, where 100,000 people died. Between Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it is estimated that 129,000–226,000 were killed. Maybe because it was men who dropped bombs that killed instantly, the atrocity committed by Americans for 'just cause' seems so catastrophically evil.  

Less than a month ago, I reported 12M cases of confirmed Covid-19. Now it's up to 18M and almost 700,000 dead. Yet, the fact that this virus, which behaves so unlike anything previously known to man not unlike the atom bomb of the microbial world, has killed so many over the course of six months is hard to get my head around. It has made it almost impossible for me to write anything but factual pieces and blogs. Everything else seems so pointless. 

Coronavirus Cases:

18,069,950

view by country

Deaths:

689,755

Recovered:

11,363,390

A sobering note on my birthday

COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

I haven't written much since the start of the coronavirus or Covid-19 pandemic. I've been telling myself it's because I've been so busy helping the yachting community get home or at least to safe harbour through the Ocean Cruising Club. The truth is that I haven't been motivated. It seems that there is little reason to be productive when the world is crashing down around us. Today we've surpassed 10M confirmed infected with coronavirus and >500,000 dead of Covid-19. With 5.5M recovered that leaves 4M people sick throughout the world. Probably ten times more can be assumed not to have been diagnosed. 

Then again, the weather is Ireland has been so great that we've spent an inordinate amount of time outdoors. We've had a prolonged drought during which I went kayaking daily on the Bay. Now the weather has broken and we've had a ridiculous amount of rainfall over the past three days, 75 mm yesterday alone. So maybe that will encourage me to sit still and get back into doing what I have been intending. 

I'm 66 today, a nice round number. I will fill out my Free Trave Scheme form but I don't intend to use it just yet. Had it been before pandemic, I would have taken a train ride to Belfast where I haven't been yet. It will have to wait. Hopefully, a vaccine will become available within the next six months or so. Hopefully it will confer long-lasting protection. Hopefully, we'll have access to it. Hopefully, I'll get to take that train ride. 

For now I'll just go wash my hands while singing happy birthday to myself twice -- the length of time it takes to kill all the pathogens that hands carry. 

Last updated: June 29, 2020, 09:52 GMT

Graphs - Countries - Death Rate - Symptoms - Incubation - Transmission - News

Coronavirus Cases:

10,267,270

view by country

Deaths:

504,757

Recovered:

5,568,672