July 11, 2021
High summer in California. Hot days due to a high pressure ridge in our region. In parched California fires are already ravaging forests. And Covid is becoming a problem in our state again. When I read that LA county has had over a 1000 new cases in the past 3 days my heart sank. There are too many unvaccinated people out there and this does not bode well for the weeks ahead. Ouch!
Sydney, Australia reported 70 new positive cases today. South Africa's lockdown has been extended - obviously - their numbers are climbing. In the UK, new daily cases now just over 30,000.
Hogging headlines around the globe today is the Euro 2020 Soccer finals. In a tight match between Italy and England, Italy squeezed out a win in penalties. Gloom fell over the UK, which hosted the game, while Rome partied.
July 12
Biggest news on this Monday is the distressing situation in South Africa. Former "corrupt to the core" president Jacob Zuma was arrested for contempt of court when he refused to appear on a corruption charge. This sparked an eruption of violent protests in Zulu strongholds - KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. It boggles the mind that such a pathetic specimen could have such a passionately loyal following. Ah yes, the comparisons to Trump are unavoidable. Freight trucks on the main freeway out of Durban were set alight. Cars were stoned. Grocery stores looted. And they threaten to continue until their "hero" is released. Commercial centers in affected cities were shut down. Videos of looters grabbing goods from stores went viral. President Ramaphosa addressed the stunned nation at prime time, assuring an appropriate response. The army has been deployed. Arrests will be made. Vandalism and violence will not be tolerated. When I spoke to Mum on the phone this morning she was in shock and deeply disappointed. My brother too, was shattered. Mainly, he wondered about the future for his two school age boys.
Meanwhile Covid cases in South Africa are soaring. Currently over 20,000 recorded new daily cases. Hospitals are filling up. And now, with pharmacies vandalized, vaccinations are once again hampered. I'm so heartsore about this.
Global Covid news is once again turning bleak as the Delta variant wreaks havoc. In the US we are definitely looking at another wave due to vaccine rejection. For a week now the average number of new daily cases hovered around 20,000. In my county daily new cases have risen from single digit to double digits.
The UK government is sticking with the decision to fully reopen on July 19. Though new daily cases continue to rise - over 30,000 - hospitalizations are expected to be low due to a largely vaccinated population. The mindset now is on how to live with the virus.
European countries have started to see a reversal in their progress. New daily cases now climbing in France, Portugal, Greece, and Spain. It's so disappointing to see this happening.
July 13
Woke up to more horrific news from South Africa. The unrest has escalated to an alarming scale. KwaZulu-Natal is ungovernable. I watched SABC video footage of looters grabbing appliances and all manner of goods from warehouses and stores lining Umgeni Road. Police sirens could be heard but no arrests were made. It looked like anarchy. More video footage of vandalizing and looting in Soweto where again there was no police intervention. By day's end many of Durban's shopping centers and malls were burned to the ground.
Today, much anger was directed at President Cyril Ramaphosa. Why did he not take action? Yesterday he announced the deployment of the army. But the opposition party, EFF, immediately objected strongly. A political problem demands a political solution they declare. The head scratcher is what is that solution? The situation has moved from protesting Zuma's arrest into plain old criminality. When I spoke to my brother today he was absolutely crushed. He said they had heard gunshots during the night. "I've never seen anything like this in my life before," he said. Heartbreaking.
July 14
It was a calmer day in South Africa today. Looting still going on in isolated spots, but a less frightening scenario. Explanations for a reluctance to declare a State of Emergency and restraint from the army were offered by news analysts. Civilized governments do not attack civilians. A bigger concern was whether government could count on support from agencies normally used in lawless situations. The responsibility to quell the violence fell on neighborhood watch communities. At certain hotspots military personnel were deployed to help the police. Thank goodness the worst is over. Now they can return to urgent pandemic matters.
On a brighter note Daryl and I attended our first concert since our time in Sydney back in 2019. The summer festival of the Music Academy of the West is in full swing. Hahn Hall provided an intimate setting for Rachmaninoff's Trio Èlègiaque and Mozart's String Quintet in G Minor which were masterfully performed. Prior to the concert we dined at Oliver's in Montecito. Narrowing down options from their entirely plant-based menu was tricky. Artichoke cakes, jackfruit tacos and a flatbread topped with creative and flavorful stuff made for a truly satisfying meal. The vegan key lime pie for dessert was most impressive. An evening out, which required elegant attire, was such a special thing.
July 15
Mopping up operations in a stunned South Africa today. Sporadic looting and destruction still happening. Scanning SABC news clips today the focus turned to an analysis of what really happened and why. Theories abounded - from simple economics to ANC divisions to a counter-revolution. The country was a tinderbox.
I landed on a piece from an online publication called The Daily Maverick. Professor Jane Duncan posed questions about why government institutions failed to kick in at a crisis moment? How did the Intelligence agencies not prepare for what was a clearly orchestrated attempt to destabilize the economy? She pointed out that ever since Zuma's ousting there've been extreme violent acts such as blocking the N3 with burning tires. This main transportation artery prevents essential goods from reaching much of the country. Other analyses I read pointed out that 9 years of Zuma's corruption and criminality hollowed out the nation's democratic institutions. And this was why the violence of the past days rapidly escalated and devolved into chaos.
In summary, what really happened was that while Jacob Zuma was under investigation for his many crimes while in office, he planned his revenge. If he was going to be taken down, the country had to go down with him. So, when he turned himself in after refusing to appear in court and then resisting arrest, he'd already lined up instigators to go on the attack. Those who became obscenely rich when Zuma was president (from money meant to feed and shelter a nation) were only too willing to obey their master. Instigators lined up support and off they want, destroying vital infrastructure. The police force and the military stood back. How many of them were more loyal to Zuma than to the Ramaphosa government? And when the warehouses and grocery stores were vandalized the province's poorest helped themselves to all the goodies normally unattainable to them. Expensive sofas, state of the art appliances, TV's, food of their fantasies, etc., etc. News reporters had their cameras on the looters while reporting on live TV. The entire nation watched in horror. Was this their country?
July 19
Monday. The start of a new week. Last week was the week from hell. Awful stuff occurred all over the world. The president of Haiti was assassinated and now this impoverished nation is in chaos. In Cuba the people went on protests against the Communist regime. Germany experienced its worst flooding in decades when about 200 people lost their lives in the area close to Belgium. South Africa experienced its share of catastrophe which claimed close to 200 lives. Indonesia is experiencing a humanitarian crises from Covid and is currently the worst affected country in the world.
The Delta variant continues on its rampage around the world, leading to new waves in countries that were close to declaring victory. The UK, which fully opened up today, is dealing with a surge similar to winter (over 50,000 new daily cases), except hospitalizations and deaths aren't a concern yet. Here in California we are definitely on our 4th wave. Sigh!!! After months of glee at declining new cases, now we're seeing huge climbs. In the past 3 days the state has clocked over 4000 new positive cases. Daily new cases in the US are now close to 30,000. It's the unvaccinated who are affected. That's half the country. And because there are no longer mitigation strategies it's become a lot easier for the virus to spread. Hopes for that predicted bright summer are on the wane. And who know what awaits us in the fall and winter!
Sydney, Australia still in lockdown. Their vaccination rate has vastly sped up. They'll soon catch up and exceed ours.
I'll end this post with good news. Last week we attended 4 Music Academy of the West concerts. Twice, we had preconcert picnic dinners with our dear friends. The pretty gardens of the academy campus provided a delightful setting for lighthearted conversation. Saturday's concert, performed by an orchestra rather than the mostly quartets and quintets at Hahn Hall, was at the Granada Theatre downtown. This gave us the opportunity to enjoy the vibrancy of the newly designed State Street - now a promenade - on a summer weekend evening. We dined at a new Italian restaurant called Opi'z where standard fare was turned into fine food by superior ingredients and creative cooking methods. At the Granada it really was a special moment to be part of an audience in a big performance hall. Of course, with Covid numbers on the rise again, we aren't entirely at ease in an indoor space with a crowd, so we masked up. Excellent conductor. Communicated with the audience with body and feet in a humorous way. The sublime music of Wagner's Siegfried Idyll and Brahm's Serenade #2 were balm for our battered spirits.
