From  Worldometer  (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):           DAY    USA    WORLD      Brazil      India      South Africa 2020 June     9     1093     4732         1185        246       82 July    22      1205     7128         1293      1120     572 Aug    12      1504     6556        1242        835     130 Sept     9      1208      6222       1136       1168       82 Oct     21      1225      6849         571        703       85 Nov    25       2304    12025        620        518      118 Dec     30       3880    14748       1224       299      465 2021 Jan      14       4142      15512       1151         189     712 Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107      398 Mar      2       1989     9490        1726       110      194 April     6        906    11787         4211       631       37 May     4        853     13667        3025      3786     59   June    1        287    10637         2346      3205      95  July    7         251      8440        1595        817     

So what's happening with COP26 in Glasgow?  Here is one accomplishment:   40 countries pledged to abandon coal power .  About time, right?  Well, no.  First of all, this is less than half of the represented countries.  Also, missing are China, the USA, India and Australia.  I'm afraid this will be the story of this gathering.  You can  blame Joe Manchin and the butterfly he killed . Travel+Leisure's November issues in the past featured  Trips of a Lifetime .  Editor  Jacqui Gifford  indicated they switched this year to  Invest in Travel, Invest in You .  I interpreted that focus to mean travel is not an unnecessary luxury.  Every trip you take will last you a lifetime.  Throughout your life, these experiences will accumulate in  your memory. Many of you invest in education.  A degree does a lot for job security and life enjoyment.  Some invest in stocks.  If you do well, you thus have more money for your  spending pleasure and retirement. For example, just a tea/coffee mug

My one editorial of the day.  We will soon be into March.  You would think that vaccinating a group of 6.5 million people ( 2% of the population )--those who work in K-12 schools in the USA--should be a national priority.  It is not because old people and other frontline workers were deemed more important.  Now, while this makes some sense, the next group should have been those associated with schools.  He won't, but if President Joe Biden were to today proclaim that, for the good of the nation ( meaning our economy, but also education ), K-12 teachers and related workers should be next in line for the Johnson&Johnson ( one shot, with a good chance to be approved around the end of the week ) vaccine, immediately after Easter ( April 4 ), it will be safe to open schools.  While somewhat short, a two-month period will be adequate under these extraordinary circumstances to finally prepare the current class for next fall.   One more unexpected shortfall about vaccines.   To develo

I woke up this morning, and there was nothing of any urgency or attraction on television.   News channels had the full Merrick Garland hearing for Attorney General.  He will be confirmed.  Hardly worth watching.  Looks like the Supreme Court did Donald Trump a favor by not announcing their verdict that he would need to provide his tax returns to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., until today.  Trump's niece has already provided some details, but not everything.  No worthy sports program.   No tsunami heading for Hawaii, making local stations repeat old news. I noticed My Fair Lady on TCM had around half an hour left.  I have NEVER just seen the end of any of my favorite films.  But, with nothing else of interest, I did.  This was the restored 50th Anniversary version.  Can you believe that this flick was released in 1964, 57 years ago?  Rotten Tomatoes bestowed 95/90 ratings. When the author of Pygmalion , George Bernard Shaw passed away in 1950, Gabriel Pascal asked