This is Naked Capitalism fundraising week. 453 donors have already invested in our efforts to combat corruption and predatory conduct, particularly in the financial realm. Please join us and participate via our\u00a0donation page, which shows how to give via check, credit card, debit card, PayPal, Clover, or Wise. Read about\u00a0why we\u2019re doing this fundraiser,\u00a0what we\u2019ve accomplished in the last year, and our current goal,\u00a0continuing our expanded Links.<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Patient readers, I\u2019m a little behind the eight ball on schedule, here, but I will certainly get to Kamala\u2019s visit to the spice store! \u2013lambert<\/p>\n
By Lambert Strether of Corrente<\/p>\n
Look for the Helpers<\/p>\n
During a typhoon (DK):<\/p>\n
During the super typhoon #Yagi in #Vietnam, many car drivers drove very slowly to shield motorbikes and people from the strong wind (because the strong wind trapped them on the road or on the bridge, they could be blown away if they tried to move). Wanted to hug everyone tightly. pic.twitter.com\/rW8ZfYCank<\/p>\n
\u2014 Phan Kim Thanh \u2077 ( \u00b4\uff65\u03c9\uff65) ~ \u13ca ( \u2022\u1dc4\u025e\u2022\u1dc5 ) (@Alzheimer_13) September 8, 2024<\/p>\n
I was pleasantly surprised to hear the other day how many people helped persons with baby carriages up stairs; my faith in humanity was somewhat restored. Has anybody ever seen similar behavior in the US? Of course, we don\u2019t have typhoons, but tornadoes and hurricanes; it might not be possible to give the same sort of help. <\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
My email address is down by the plant; please send examples of there (\u201cHelpers\u201d in the subject line). In our increasingly desperate and fragile neoliberal society, everyday normal incidents and stories of \u201cthe communism of everyday life\u201d are what I am looking for (and not, say, the Red Cross in Hawaii, or even the UNWRA in Gaza). \u2013><\/p>\n
Politics<\/p>\n
\u201cSo many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.\u201d \u2013Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
2024<\/p>\n
Less than one hundred days to go!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s RCP Poll Averages:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/RCP_2024-09-06.png\")
<\/p>\n
I would say the bloom is off the rose for Harris, except for an upward blip in Georgia. Looks like the enormous liberalgasm afte the Convention was confined to party loyalists. The Kamala campaign must be sore as boils Trump is within striking distance, let alone tied with them. What could account for it? Perhaps that\u2019s why the pivot to RussiaGate. Remember, however, that all the fluctuations \u2014 in fact, all the leads, top to bottom \u2014 are within the margin of error. <\/p>\n
\u201cToplines: September 2024 Times\/Siena Poll of Registered Voters Nationwide\u201d [New York Times]\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/siena_change.png\")
<\/p>\n
If this is a \u201cChange vs. more of the same\u201d election, and the voters want change \u2014 how could they not? \u2014 then Kamala is in real trouble. <\/p>\n
\u201cNew Poll Suggests Harris\u2019s Support Has Stalled After a Euphoric August\u201d [New York Times]. Commentary on the Siena poll (above). \u201c[T]he poll nonetheless finds that [Trump] has significant advantages in this election \u2014 and they might just be enough to put him over the top. He\u2019s more popular than before. Overall, 46 percent of likely voters say they have a favorable view of the former president. That\u2019s down a tick from our last national poll, when 47 percent had a favorable view, but it still makes him more popular than he was in 2016 or 2020. He has an advantage on the issues. We asked voters a two-part question. First, what\u2019s the most important issue to your vote? Second, do you think Ms. Harris or Mr. Trump is better on that issue? By that measure, Mr. Trump has a five-point lead on the issue that matters most to voters, whatever that may be for them. He occupies the center. A near majority of voters say Mr. Trump is \u2018not too far\u2019 to the left or right on the issues, while only around one-third say he\u2019s \u2018too far to the right.\u2019 Nearly half of voters, in contrast, say Ms. Harris is too far to the left; only 41 percent say she\u2019s \u2018not too far either way.’\u201d \u2022 The 100-days election works against Harris, too. If she stumbles, badly, once, she could be a goner. From these numbers, the Trump campaign has laid a very solid foundation. (Maybe voters apply a \u201cTrump Discount\u201d to compensate for the puffery. If he says \u201cKamala\u2019s a communist,\u201d they discount that by, say, 90%, and still come out with the result that she\u2019s left. Of course, it\u2019s ludicrous to think Kamala\u2019s anything like a communist \u2014 do you hear her calling for working class control of the means of production? \u2014 but nevertheless, the charge sticks, even given the discount.)<\/p>\n
\u201cHarris falling behind among male voters in key states\u201d [The Hill]. \u201cNew polls show Vice President Harris faces a major challenge in winning over male voters and is losing men by a bigger margin than she\u2019s winning women in key states such as Pennsylvania, Nevada and North Carolina\u2026. Trump\u2019s campaign has tried to exploit the gender divide by saturating battleground states with advertising focused on the economy, inflation, illegal immigration and crime, designed to appeal to younger male voters. \u2018It\u2019s battle of the sexes,\u2019 said Ross K. Baker, a professor of political science at Rutgers University, regarding the trend of male voters turning toward Trump and away from Harris. \u2018The feeling is that for every advance women make, men necessarily lose.\u2019 \u2018In some instances, the statistics bear out this apprehension among men,\u2019 he added, pointing to the declines in the number of men attending college as well as some of their earning power.’\u201d \u2022 Important that this is swing state data. I wonder what\u2019s happening with the marginal women who are swinging toward Trump and not Harris. <\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Kennedy (I): This is absolutely terrific:<\/p>\n
#MAHA Shake@DaRealAmberRose pic.twitter.com\/p5ivjPA98k<\/p>\n
\u2014 Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) September 8, 2024<\/p>\n
As readers know, I love stupid humor. And this is really stupid!<\/p>\n
Our Famously Free Press<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump\u2019s real Project 2025 was written for him in Moscow by Vladimir Putin\u2019s men\u201d [Will Bunch, Philadelphia Inquirer]. \u2022 I read the whole thing. Yes, Project 2025 was written by Heritage Foundation goons and not in Moscow by Putin\u2019s agents (let\u2019s not be sexist, mkay?). Bunch is recycling RussiaRussiaRussia, Now With Influencers!\u2122. It\u2019s as if Bunch thinks conservatives can\u2019t come up with bad ideas all on their own. Or oppo. Unlike AIPAC influencers, of course, who have nothing but good ideas and never do oppo (and if you want to see an example of an effective, professional foreign influence operation, one that actually drives US policy and defeats US politicians, see Mearsheimer and Walt\u2019s \u201cThe Israel Lobby,\u201d which makes everything liberal Democrat demon figure Putin has done look like the pissant, minor league diddleysh*t that it is). Sheesh.<\/p>\n
Syndemics<\/p>\n
\u201cI am in earnest \u2014 I will not equivocate \u2014 I will not excuse \u2014 I will not retreat a single inch \u2014 AND I WILL BE HEARD.\u201d \u2013William Lloyd Garrison<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot; includes many counties; Wastewater Scan, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); \u201cIowa COVID-19 Tracker\u201d (in IA, but national data). \u201cInfection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts\u201d (especially on hospitalization by city).<\/p>\n
Lambert here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To update any entry, do feel free to contact me at the address given with the plants. Please put \u201cCOVID\u201d in the subject line. Thank you!<\/p>\n
Resources, United States (Local): AK (dashboard); AL (dashboard); AR (dashboard); AZ (dashboard); CA (dashboard; Marin, dashboard; Stanford, wastewater; Oakland, wastewater); CO (dashboard; wastewater); CT (dashboard); DE (dashboard); FL (wastewater); GA (wastewater); HI (dashboard); IA (wastewater reports); ID (dashboard, Boise; dashboard, wastewater, Central Idaho; wastewater, Coeur d\u2019Alene; dashboard, Spokane County); IL (wastewater); IN (dashboard); KS (dashboard; wastewater, Lawrence); KY (dashboard, Louisville); LA (dashboard); MA (wastewater); MD (dashboard); ME (dashboard); MI (wastewater; wastewater); MN (dashboard); MO (wastewater); MS (dashboard); MT (dashboard); NC (dashboard); ND (dashboard; wastewater); NE (dashboard); NH (wastewater); NJ (dashboard); NM (dashboard); NV (dashboard; wastewater, Southern NV); NY (dashboard); OH (dashboard); OK (dashboard); OR (dashboard); PA (dashboard); RI (dashboard); SC (dashboard); SD (dashboard); TN (dashboard); TX (dashboard); UT (wastewater); VA (dashboard); VT (dashboard); WA (dashboard; dashboard); WI (wastewater); WV (wastewater); WY (wastewater).<\/p>\n
Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (Government of Canada).<\/p>\n
Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux us\u00e9es); BC (wastewater); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).<\/p>\n
Hat tips to helpful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, KF, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, square coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3). <\/p>\n
Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Look for the Helpers<\/p>\n
Mask blocs are great, and kudos to those who set them up:<\/p>\n
We are working together to source Aura masks! This is an exciting collaboration where half the fun has been in getting to know each other \ud83d\ude04 We haven’t won the auction that we’re aiming for yet, but we will likely need at least $4000! pic.twitter.com\/0XGV1d1hkE<\/p>\n
\u2014 Charlotte Mask Bloc (@CLT_Mask_Bloc) September 7, 2024<\/p>\n
Maybe set one up in Nassau County? Just a thought\u2026 <\/p>\n
Airborne Transmission<\/p>\n
\u201cUpper-room ultraviolet light and negative air ionization to prevent tuberculosis transmission\u201d [PLOS Medicine]. From 2009, still germane. From the Abstract: \u201cWe evaluated the efficacy of upper-room ultraviolet (UV) lights and negative air ionization for preventing airborne TB transmission using a guinea pig air-sampling model to measure the TB infectiousness of ward air.\u201d But: \u201cUpper-room UV lights and negative air ionization each prevented most airborne TB transmission detectable by guinea pig air sampling. Provided there is adequate mixing of room air, upper-room UV light is an effective, low-cost intervention for use in TB infection control in high-risk clinical settings.\u201d \u2022 Underlining that UV alone is not sufficient.<\/p>\n
Transmission: Covid<\/p>\n
Because of course:<\/p>\n
Oh no, it happened. Someone posted about their whole camp having the \u201cBurning man flu\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Miles W. Griffis (@mileswgriffis) September 8, 2024<\/p>\n
Airborne Transmission: Mpox<\/p>\n
\u201cContact Tracing for Mpox Clade II Cases Associated with Air Travel \u2014 United States, July 2021\u2013August 2022\u201d [Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, CDC]. This sounds re-assuring, but here is the key paragraph: <\/p>\n
CDC adapted the mpox community exposure risk assessment\u00a7 to define an exposure risk zone for aircraft contact investigations. In general, air passengers seated within a 3-foot radius (one seat in any direction) of the potentially infectious person on flights of \u22643 hours\u2019 duration or within a 6-foot radius (two seats in any direction) on flights of >3 hours\u2019 duration were considered to be in the exposure risk zone.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s not how airflow in airplanes works (CDC is still in the grip of droplet dogma, where coughing is seen as the key mode of distance, and hence a radius is established for how long the droplets will be \u201cin the air\u201d). Sadly, I do not have the study that shows this to hand \u2014 it\u2019s in that thread somewhere \u2014 but bug me about it if you want it.<\/p>\n
Vaccines: Covid<\/p>\n
\u201cThe gut microbiota modifies antibody durability and booster responses after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination\u201d [Journal of Translational Medicine]. From the Abstract: \u201cThe findings of this study underscored the potential interaction between the gut microbiome and the longevity\/boosting effect of antibodies following vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. The identification of specific microbial associations suggests the prospect of microbiome-based strategies for enhancing vaccine efficacy.\u201d \u2022 Interesting!<\/p>\n
Elite Maleficence<\/p>\n
CDC messing about with maps, again:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/cdc_ww_map.png\")
<\/p>\n
A map I never link to, for obvious reasons (nobody travels or lives in a State, with respect to Covid; they travel to or live in a city or town, a place with a wastewater plant).<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Lambert here: The figures look mildly encouraging for now, but I would expect an immediate worsening after Labor Day travel kicks in, along with grade schools, high schools, and colleges starting up. Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n
TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/p>\n
Wastewater<\/p>\n
\u2605 This week[1] CDC August 27<\/p>\n
Last Week[2] CDC (until next week):<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3.png\")
<\/p>\n
Variants [3] CDC August 31<\/p>\n
Emergency Room Visits[4] CDC August 31 <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-3.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-ed-natl.png\")
<\/p>\n
Hospitalization<\/p>\n
\u2605 New York[5] New York State, data September 6:<\/p>\n
National [6] CDC August 17:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-2.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl.png\")
<\/p>\n
Positivity<\/p>\n
National[7] Walgreens September 3:<\/p>\n
Ohio[8] Cleveland Clinic August 24:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/covid-cleveland-positivity-.png\")
<\/p>\n
Travelers Data<\/p>\n
Positivity[9] CDC August 19:
\n Variants[10] CDC August 19:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers.png\")
<\/p>\n
Deaths<\/p>\n
Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11]CDC August 31:<\/p>\n
Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12]CDC August 31:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-deaths-ed.png\")
<\/p>\n
LEGEND<\/p>\n
1) \u2605 for charts new today; all others are not updated.<\/p>\n
2) For a full-size\/full-resolution image, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Windows) on the chart thumbnail and \u201copen image in new tab.\u201d<\/p>\n
NOTES<\/p>\n
[1] (CDC) This week\u2019s wastewater map, with hot spots annotated. Keeps spreading. NOTE The date seems to be wrong, but the number of sites has changed so this is new.<\/p>\n
[2] (CDC) Last week\u2019s wastewater map.<\/p>\n
[3] (CDC Variants) KP.* very popular. XDV.1 flat.<\/p>\n
[4] (ED) Down, but worth noting that Emergency Department use is now on a par with the first wave, in 2020.<\/p>\n
[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Flat, that is, no longer down.<\/p>\n
[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). The visualization suppresses what is, in percentage terms, a significant increase.<\/p>\n
[7] (Walgreens) Big drop, but all those white states showing no change: Labor Day weekend reporting issues?<\/p>\n
[8] (Cleveland) Dropping.<\/p>\n
[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Down. Those sh*theads at CDC have changed the chart so that it doesn\u2019t even run back to 1\/21\/23, as it used to, but now starts 1\/1\/24. There\u2019s also no way to adjust the time range. CDC really doesn\u2019t want you to be able to take a historical view of the pandemic, or compare one surge to another. In an any case, that\u2019s why the shape of the curve has changed.<\/p>\n
[10] (Travelers: Variants) What the heck is LB.1?<\/p>\n
[11] Deaths low, but positivity up. If the United States is like Canada, deaths are several undercounted:<\/p>\n
Tara Motarity has confirmed our fears.Most provinces are only reporting about 20% of covid deaths.Maybe even less.Which suggests the deaths are close to 5 times to 6+ times the reported figures.Nova Scotia has reported 270 so far this year. It’s actually 1,325-1,700 so far. pic.twitter.com\/6xF6SREyKB<\/p>\n
\u2014 Dr.Robert Strang (@DSlayer520) September 2, 2024<\/p>\n
[12] Deaths low, ED up.<\/p>\n
Stats Watch<\/p>\n
There are no official statistics of interest today.<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Supply Chain: \u201cThe largest dockworkers\u2019 union in the U.S. is signaling that it\u2019s more focused right now on preparing for a strike than on getting to the bargaining table\u201d [Logistics Report, Wall Street Journal]. \u201cThe International Longshoremen\u2019s Association concluded meetings last week aimed at finalizing plans for the union\u2019s first walkout targeting East Coast and Gulf Coast ports in 50 years. \u2026[T]he expiration of the current contract is now just three weeks away and no negotiations on a new agreement are on the calendar. Union President Harold Daggett says the ILA won\u2019t sit down with employers unless they agree to a 77% pay increase over six years, a big jump over the 32% wage gains that the union for West Coast dockworkers won last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manufacturing: \u201cMachinists union agrees on tentative contract deal with Boeing\u201d [Seattle Times (PI)]. \u201cBut many workers said the deal falls short of their demands, leaving the possibility of work stoppage on the table. The 11th-hour agreement \u2014 reached at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, with the news publicly released a couple of hours later \u2014 will avoid a strike if a majority of the union\u2019s members ratify the deal, as recommended by International Association of Machinists District 751 President Jon Holden, who led the negotiations. The contract offers workers a 25% general wage increase, enhanced retirement benefits, fewer hours of mandatory overtime work and increased parental leave. And, in what could prove a historic element of the contract for this region, Boeing offered a first-of-its-kind commitment that if it launches an all-new plane in the next four years, that jet will be built in the Puget Sound area by the local workforce.\u201d \u2022 Why not a seat on the board? Or two seats? And 25% looks a little ambitious beside the ILU\u2019s 77%,<\/p>\n
Tech: \u201cMI6 and CIA using generative AI to combat tech-driven threat actors\u201d [The Register]. \u201c\u2018We are now using AI, including generative AI, to enable and improve intelligence activities \u2013 from summarization to ideation to helping identify key information in a sea of data,\u2019 the pair wrote in the Financial Times. \u2018We are training AI to help protect and \u2018red team\u2019 our own operations to ensure we can still stay secret when we need to. We are using cloud technologies so our brilliant data scientists can make the most of our data, and we are partnering with the most innovative companies in the US, UK and around the world,\u2019 they added.\u201d \u2022 Let me know how that works out\u2026 <\/p>\n
Tech: Business model:<\/p>\n
What a beautiful business\u2026 zero venture capital, most successful creator platform by a mile \u2026 pic.twitter.com\/eDyEkT4mZJ<\/p>\n
\u2014 sam lessin \ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f (@lessin) September 8, 2024<\/p>\n
Entertainment: \u201cThe Palace Coup at the Magic Kingdom\u201d [New York Times]. Or, as some like to call it, Mauschwitz: \u201cFor a company that bills its theme parks as the \u2018Happiest Place on Earth,\u2019 Disney\u2019s corporate headquarters have long been anything but \u2014 a hotbed of intrigue and power struggles. Chapek\u2019s former chief of staff told people the company\u2019s sixth-floor executive suite was a \u2018snake pit.\u2019 Iger ascended almost two decades ago, after a power struggle between Michael Eisner, a long-serving CEO, and Roy E. Disney, Walt Disney\u2019s nephew and a Disney board member. By that time, Eisner had already elevated and then dispatched two handpicked successors, Jeffrey Katzenberg, who became co-founder of DreamWorks, and Michael Ovitz, once the most powerful agent in Hollywood. Iger, who started his career as a weather forecaster on a cable channel in upstate New York, had vowed to never follow in Eisner\u2019s footsteps.\u201d \u2022 Nice people!<\/p>\n
Entertainment: \u201cDisney-obsessed couple lose lawsuit to get back into exclusive Club 33\u201d [Los Angeles Times]. \u201cAs members of Disney\u2019s exclusive Club 33, Scott and Diana Anderson visited the two Anaheim theme parks 60 to 80 times a year. The private club, with its wood-paneled trophy room and other amenities, was the center of their social life. They brought friends, acquaintances and business associates. As a couple, they went on the Haunted Mansion ride nearly 1,000 times. The club\u2019s yearly dues were $31,500, and with travel and hotel expenses, the Arizona couple were spending close to $125,000 annually to get their Disney fix. All of it came to an end in 2017, when Disney revoked their membership in the club after an allegation that Scott Anderson was drunk in public. Diana Anderson, a hard-core Disney aficionado since childhood, called it \u2018a stab in the heart.’\u201d Skipping the details, which include a defense that Anderson\u2019s seemingly drunken behavior was caused by \u201cvestibular migraine.\u201d Concluding: \u201cMy wife and I are both dead set that this is an absolute wrong, and we will fight this to the death,\u201d Scott, who owns a golf course in Gilbert, Ariz., told The Times. \u2018There is no way we\u2019re letting this go.\u2019 He said the lawsuit has cost him about $400,000. \u2018My retirement is set back five years,\u2019 he said. \u2018I\u2019m paying through the nose. Every day, I\u2019m seeing another bill, and I\u2019m about to keel over.\u2019 He said he will appeal. His wife said she wants to keep fighting. \u2018I\u2019ll sell a kidney,\u2019 Diana said. \u2018I don\u2019t care.’\u201d \u2022 Nice people!<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 43 Fear (previous close: 39 Fear) [CNN]. One week ago: 62 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Sep 9 at 12:45:32 PM ET.<\/p>\n
Rapture Index: Closes down one on Oil Supply\/Price. \u201cOil demand is dpwn\u201d [sic] [Rapture Ready]. Record High, October 10, 2016: 189. Current: 181. (Remember that bringing on the Rapture is good.) \u2022 Hard to believe the Rapture Index is going down. Where are there people getting their news? <\/p>\n
Gallery<\/p>\n
A \u201csunny nook\u201d (except outside):<\/p>\n
A Corner of the Garden in Rueil pic.twitter.com\/VloOvDt64j<\/p>\n
\u2014 Edouard Manet (@artistmanet) August 28, 2024<\/p>\n
Zeitgeist Watch<\/p>\n
\u201cChurches Take Homeschooling in a Surprising Direction\u201d [The American Conservative]. \u201ct is hardly news that homeschooling has taken off around the country, especially since Covid. Over the last year alone, according to the Census Bureau\u2019s Household Pulse Survey, the number of US homeschooled students has gone from 3.6 million to 4 million\u2014an 11 percent increase. Less well-known is the role America\u2019s churches have played in not only facilitating the spread of homeschooling but in helping to make it a far more collaborative and even highly structured activity. By providing groups of homeschool families with a space that goes largely unused during the week and a small supervisory staff, many parishes have successfully combined online curricula with an environment more typical of a conventional public or private school\u2026 Exactly how many churches across the country offer such organized forms of homeschooling is hard to say, because only Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Tennessee, and Washington explicitly grant area churches or parochial schools the right to supervise homeschoolers.\u201d \u2022 The least TAC could do is mention ventilation\u2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cFive Geek Social Fallacies\u201d [Plausibly Deniable]. \u201cGeek Social Fallacy #1: Ostracizers Are Evil. GSF1 is one of the most common fallacies, and one of the most deeply held. Many geeks have had horrible, humiliating, and formative experiences with ostracism, and the notion of being on the other side of the transaction is repugnant to them. In its non-pathological form, GSF1 is benign, and even commendable: it is long past time we all grew up and stopped with the junior high popularity games. However, in its pathological form, GSF1 prevents its carrier from participating in \u2014 or tolerating \u2014 the exclusion of anyone from anything, be it a party, a comic book store, or a web forum, and no matter how obnoxious, offensive, or aromatic the prospective excludee may be. As a result, nearly every geek social group of significant size has at least one member that 80% of the members hate, and the remaining 20% merely tolerate.\u201d \u2022 Hmm.<\/p>\n
News of the Wired<\/p>\n
\u201cCough or sneeze? How the brain knows what to unleash\u201d [Nature]. \u201cDoes a whiff of pollen trigger a sneeze or a cough? Scientists have discovered nerve cells that cause one response versus another: \u2018sneeze neurons\u2019 in the nasal passages relay sneeze signals to the brain, and separate neurons send cough messages, according to a study performed in mice.\u201d But: \u201cDoes a whiff of pollen trigger a sneeze or a cough? Scientists have discovered nerve cells that cause one response versus another: \u2018sneeze neurons\u2019 in the nasal passages relay sneeze signals to the brain, and separate neurons send cough messages, according to a study1 performed in mice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Let us continue with our catbirds!<\/p>\n
Bird Song of the Day<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Gray Catbird, Indian Springs Wildlife Management Area; along Blair\u2019s Valley Road, Washington, Maryland, United States. \u201cAdult Gray Catbird singing from roadside vegetation.\u201d Sounds like a duet:<\/p>\n
Not to be confused with a catbus:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Catbus_My_Neighbor_Totoro.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
(By Studio Ghibli.)<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Look for the Helpers<\/p>\n
During a typhoon (DK):<\/p>\n
During the super typhoon #Yagi in #Vietnam, many car drivers drove very slowly to shield motorbikes and people from the strong wind (because the strong wind trapped them on the road or on the bridge, they could be blown away if they tried to move). Wanted to hug everyone tightly. pic.twitter.com\/rW8ZfYCank<\/p>\n
\u2014 Phan Kim Thanh \u2077 ( \u00b4\uff65\u03c9\uff65) ~ \u13ca ( \u2022\u1dc4\u025e\u2022\u1dc5 ) (@Alzheimer_13) September 8, 2024<\/p>\n
I was pleasantly surprised to hear the other day how many people helped persons with baby carriages up stairs; my faith in humanity was somewhat restored. Has anybody ever seen similar behavior in the US? Of course, we don\u2019t have typhoons, but tornadoes and hurricanes; it might not be possible to give the same sort of help. <\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
My email address is down by the plant; please send examples of there (\u201cHelpers\u201d in the subject line). In our increasingly desperate and fragile neoliberal society, everyday normal incidents and stories of \u201cthe communism of everyday life\u201d are what I am looking for (and not, say, the Red Cross in Hawaii, or even the UNWRA in Gaza). \u2013><\/p>\n
Politics<\/p>\n
\u201cSo many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.\u201d \u2013Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
2024<\/p>\n
Less than one hundred days to go!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s RCP Poll Averages:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I would say the bloom is off the rose for Harris, except for an upward blip in Georgia. Looks like the enormous liberalgasm afte the Convention was confined to party loyalists. The Kamala campaign must be sore as boils Trump is within striking distance, let alone tied with them. What could account for it? Perhaps that\u2019s why the pivot to RussiaGate. Remember, however, that all the fluctuations \u2014 in fact, all the leads, top to bottom \u2014 are within the margin of error. <\/p>\n
\u201cToplines: September 2024 Times\/Siena Poll of Registered Voters Nationwide\u201d [New York Times]\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If this is a \u201cChange vs. more of the same\u201d election, and the voters want change \u2014 how could they not? \u2014 then Kamala is in real trouble. <\/p>\n
\u201cNew Poll Suggests Harris\u2019s Support Has Stalled After a Euphoric August\u201d [New York Times]. Commentary on the Siena poll (above). \u201c[T]he poll nonetheless finds that [Trump] has significant advantages in this election \u2014 and they might just be enough to put him over the top. He\u2019s more popular than before. Overall, 46 percent of likely voters say they have a favorable view of the former president. That\u2019s down a tick from our last national poll, when 47 percent had a favorable view, but it still makes him more popular than he was in 2016 or 2020. He has an advantage on the issues. We asked voters a two-part question. First, what\u2019s the most important issue to your vote? Second, do you think Ms. Harris or Mr. Trump is better on that issue? By that measure, Mr. Trump has a five-point lead on the issue that matters most to voters, whatever that may be for them. He occupies the center. A near majority of voters say Mr. Trump is \u2018not too far\u2019 to the left or right on the issues, while only around one-third say he\u2019s \u2018too far to the right.\u2019 Nearly half of voters, in contrast, say Ms. Harris is too far to the left; only 41 percent say she\u2019s \u2018not too far either way.’\u201d \u2022 The 100-days election works against Harris, too. If she stumbles, badly, once, she could be a goner. From these numbers, the Trump campaign has laid a very solid foundation. (Maybe voters apply a \u201cTrump Discount\u201d to compensate for the puffery. If he says \u201cKamala\u2019s a communist,\u201d they discount that by, say, 90%, and still come out with the result that she\u2019s left. Of course, it\u2019s ludicrous to think Kamala\u2019s anything like a communist \u2014 do you hear her calling for working class control of the means of production? \u2014 but nevertheless, the charge sticks, even given the discount.)<\/p>\n
\u201cHarris falling behind among male voters in key states\u201d [The Hill]. \u201cNew polls show Vice President Harris faces a major challenge in winning over male voters and is losing men by a bigger margin than she\u2019s winning women in key states such as Pennsylvania, Nevada and North Carolina\u2026. Trump\u2019s campaign has tried to exploit the gender divide by saturating battleground states with advertising focused on the economy, inflation, illegal immigration and crime, designed to appeal to younger male voters. \u2018It\u2019s battle of the sexes,\u2019 said Ross K. Baker, a professor of political science at Rutgers University, regarding the trend of male voters turning toward Trump and away from Harris. \u2018The feeling is that for every advance women make, men necessarily lose.\u2019 \u2018In some instances, the statistics bear out this apprehension among men,\u2019 he added, pointing to the declines in the number of men attending college as well as some of their earning power.’\u201d \u2022 Important that this is swing state data. I wonder what\u2019s happening with the marginal women who are swinging toward Trump and not Harris. <\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Kennedy (I): This is absolutely terrific:<\/p>\n
#MAHA Shake@DaRealAmberRose pic.twitter.com\/p5ivjPA98k<\/p>\n
\u2014 Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) September 8, 2024<\/p>\n
As readers know, I love stupid humor. And this is really stupid!<\/p>\n
Our Famously Free Press<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump\u2019s real Project 2025 was written for him in Moscow by Vladimir Putin\u2019s men\u201d [Will Bunch, Philadelphia Inquirer]. \u2022 I read the whole thing. Yes, Project 2025 was written by Heritage Foundation goons and not in Moscow by Putin\u2019s agents (let\u2019s not be sexist, mkay?). Bunch is recycling RussiaRussiaRussia, Now With Influencers!\u2122. It\u2019s as if Bunch thinks conservatives can\u2019t come up with bad ideas all on their own. Or oppo. Unlike AIPAC influencers, of course, who have nothing but good ideas and never do oppo (and if you want to see an example of an effective, professional foreign influence operation, one that actually drives US policy and defeats US politicians, see Mearsheimer and Walt\u2019s \u201cThe Israel Lobby,\u201d which makes everything liberal Democrat demon figure Putin has done look like the pissant, minor league diddleysh*t that it is). Sheesh.<\/p>\n
Syndemics<\/p>\n
\u201cI am in earnest \u2014 I will not equivocate \u2014 I will not excuse \u2014 I will not retreat a single inch \u2014 AND I WILL BE HEARD.\u201d \u2013William Lloyd Garrison<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot; includes many counties; Wastewater Scan, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); \u201cIowa COVID-19 Tracker\u201d (in IA, but national data). \u201cInfection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts\u201d (especially on hospitalization by city).<\/p>\n
Lambert here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To update any entry, do feel free to contact me at the address given with the plants. Please put \u201cCOVID\u201d in the subject line. Thank you!<\/p>\n
Resources, United States (Local): AK (dashboard); AL (dashboard); AR (dashboard); AZ (dashboard); CA (dashboard; Marin, dashboard; Stanford, wastewater; Oakland, wastewater); CO (dashboard; wastewater); CT (dashboard); DE (dashboard); FL (wastewater); GA (wastewater); HI (dashboard); IA (wastewater reports); ID (dashboard, Boise; dashboard, wastewater, Central Idaho; wastewater, Coeur d\u2019Alene; dashboard, Spokane County); IL (wastewater); IN (dashboard); KS (dashboard; wastewater, Lawrence); KY (dashboard, Louisville); LA (dashboard); MA (wastewater); MD (dashboard); ME (dashboard); MI (wastewater; wastewater); MN (dashboard); MO (wastewater); MS (dashboard); MT (dashboard); NC (dashboard); ND (dashboard; wastewater); NE (dashboard); NH (wastewater); NJ (dashboard); NM (dashboard); NV (dashboard; wastewater, Southern NV); NY (dashboard); OH (dashboard); OK (dashboard); OR (dashboard); PA (dashboard); RI (dashboard); SC (dashboard); SD (dashboard); TN (dashboard); TX (dashboard); UT (wastewater); VA (dashboard); VT (dashboard); WA (dashboard; dashboard); WI (wastewater); WV (wastewater); WY (wastewater).<\/p>\n
Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (Government of Canada).<\/p>\n
Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux us\u00e9es); BC (wastewater); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).<\/p>\n
Hat tips to helpful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, KF, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, square coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3). <\/p>\n
Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Look for the Helpers<\/p>\n
Mask blocs are great, and kudos to those who set them up:<\/p>\n
We are working together to source Aura masks! This is an exciting collaboration where half the fun has been in getting to know each other \ud83d\ude04 We haven’t won the auction that we’re aiming for yet, but we will likely need at least $4000! pic.twitter.com\/0XGV1d1hkE<\/p>\n
\u2014 Charlotte Mask Bloc (@CLT_Mask_Bloc) September 7, 2024<\/p>\n
Maybe set one up in Nassau County? Just a thought\u2026 <\/p>\n
Airborne Transmission<\/p>\n
\u201cUpper-room ultraviolet light and negative air ionization to prevent tuberculosis transmission\u201d [PLOS Medicine]. From 2009, still germane. From the Abstract: \u201cWe evaluated the efficacy of upper-room ultraviolet (UV) lights and negative air ionization for preventing airborne TB transmission using a guinea pig air-sampling model to measure the TB infectiousness of ward air.\u201d But: \u201cUpper-room UV lights and negative air ionization each prevented most airborne TB transmission detectable by guinea pig air sampling. Provided there is adequate mixing of room air, upper-room UV light is an effective, low-cost intervention for use in TB infection control in high-risk clinical settings.\u201d \u2022 Underlining that UV alone is not sufficient.<\/p>\n
Transmission: Covid<\/p>\n
Because of course:<\/p>\n
Oh no, it happened. Someone posted about their whole camp having the \u201cBurning man flu\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Miles W. Griffis (@mileswgriffis) September 8, 2024<\/p>\n
Airborne Transmission: Mpox<\/p>\n
\u201cContact Tracing for Mpox Clade II Cases Associated with Air Travel \u2014 United States, July 2021\u2013August 2022\u201d [Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, CDC]. This sounds re-assuring, but here is the key paragraph: <\/p>\n
CDC adapted the mpox community exposure risk assessment\u00a7 to define an exposure risk zone for aircraft contact investigations. In general, air passengers seated within a 3-foot radius (one seat in any direction) of the potentially infectious person on flights of \u22643 hours\u2019 duration or within a 6-foot radius (two seats in any direction) on flights of >3 hours\u2019 duration were considered to be in the exposure risk zone.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s not how airflow in airplanes works (CDC is still in the grip of droplet dogma, where coughing is seen as the key mode of distance, and hence a radius is established for how long the droplets will be \u201cin the air\u201d). Sadly, I do not have the study that shows this to hand \u2014 it\u2019s in that thread somewhere \u2014 but bug me about it if you want it.<\/p>\n
Vaccines: Covid<\/p>\n
\u201cThe gut microbiota modifies antibody durability and booster responses after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination\u201d [Journal of Translational Medicine]. From the Abstract: \u201cThe findings of this study underscored the potential interaction between the gut microbiome and the longevity\/boosting effect of antibodies following vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. The identification of specific microbial associations suggests the prospect of microbiome-based strategies for enhancing vaccine efficacy.\u201d \u2022 Interesting!<\/p>\n
Elite Maleficence<\/p>\n
CDC messing about with maps, again:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A map I never link to, for obvious reasons (nobody travels or lives in a State, with respect to Covid; they travel to or live in a city or town, a place with a wastewater plant).<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Lambert here: The figures look mildly encouraging for now, but I would expect an immediate worsening after Labor Day travel kicks in, along with grade schools, high schools, and colleges starting up. Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n
TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/p>\n
Wastewater<\/p>\n
\u2605 This week[1] CDC August 27<\/p>\n
Last Week[2] CDC (until next week):<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Variants [3] CDC August 31<\/p>\n
Emergency Room Visits[4] CDC August 31 <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hospitalization<\/p>\n
\u2605 New York[5] New York State, data September 6:<\/p>\n
National [6] CDC August 17:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Positivity<\/p>\n
National[7] Walgreens September 3:<\/p>\n
Ohio[8] Cleveland Clinic August 24:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Travelers Data<\/p>\n
Positivity[9] CDC August 19:
\n Variants[10] CDC August 19:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Deaths<\/p>\n
Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11]CDC August 31:<\/p>\n
Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12]CDC August 31:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
LEGEND<\/p>\n
1) \u2605 for charts new today; all others are not updated.<\/p>\n
2) For a full-size\/full-resolution image, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Windows) on the chart thumbnail and \u201copen image in new tab.\u201d<\/p>\n
NOTES<\/p>\n
[1] (CDC) This week\u2019s wastewater map, with hot spots annotated. Keeps spreading. NOTE The date seems to be wrong, but the number of sites has changed so this is new.<\/p>\n
[2] (CDC) Last week\u2019s wastewater map.<\/p>\n
[3] (CDC Variants) KP.* very popular. XDV.1 flat.<\/p>\n
[4] (ED) Down, but worth noting that Emergency Department use is now on a par with the first wave, in 2020.<\/p>\n
[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Flat, that is, no longer down.<\/p>\n
[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). The visualization suppresses what is, in percentage terms, a significant increase.<\/p>\n
[7] (Walgreens) Big drop, but all those white states showing no change: Labor Day weekend reporting issues?<\/p>\n
[8] (Cleveland) Dropping.<\/p>\n
[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Down. Those sh*theads at CDC have changed the chart so that it doesn\u2019t even run back to 1\/21\/23, as it used to, but now starts 1\/1\/24. There\u2019s also no way to adjust the time range. CDC really doesn\u2019t want you to be able to take a historical view of the pandemic, or compare one surge to another. In an any case, that\u2019s why the shape of the curve has changed.<\/p>\n
[10] (Travelers: Variants) What the heck is LB.1?<\/p>\n
[11] Deaths low, but positivity up. If the United States is like Canada, deaths are several undercounted:<\/p>\n
Tara Motarity has confirmed our fears.Most provinces are only reporting about 20% of covid deaths.Maybe even less.Which suggests the deaths are close to 5 times to 6+ times the reported figures.Nova Scotia has reported 270 so far this year. It’s actually 1,325-1,700 so far. pic.twitter.com\/6xF6SREyKB<\/p>\n
\u2014 Dr.Robert Strang (@DSlayer520) September 2, 2024<\/p>\n
[12] Deaths low, ED up.<\/p>\n
Stats Watch<\/p>\n
There are no official statistics of interest today.<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Supply Chain: \u201cThe largest dockworkers\u2019 union in the U.S. is signaling that it\u2019s more focused right now on preparing for a strike than on getting to the bargaining table\u201d [Logistics Report, Wall Street Journal]. \u201cThe International Longshoremen\u2019s Association concluded meetings last week aimed at finalizing plans for the union\u2019s first walkout targeting East Coast and Gulf Coast ports in 50 years. \u2026[T]he expiration of the current contract is now just three weeks away and no negotiations on a new agreement are on the calendar. Union President Harold Daggett says the ILA won\u2019t sit down with employers unless they agree to a 77% pay increase over six years, a big jump over the 32% wage gains that the union for West Coast dockworkers won last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manufacturing: \u201cMachinists union agrees on tentative contract deal with Boeing\u201d [Seattle Times (PI)]. \u201cBut many workers said the deal falls short of their demands, leaving the possibility of work stoppage on the table. The 11th-hour agreement \u2014 reached at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, with the news publicly released a couple of hours later \u2014 will avoid a strike if a majority of the union\u2019s members ratify the deal, as recommended by International Association of Machinists District 751 President Jon Holden, who led the negotiations. The contract offers workers a 25% general wage increase, enhanced retirement benefits, fewer hours of mandatory overtime work and increased parental leave. And, in what could prove a historic element of the contract for this region, Boeing offered a first-of-its-kind commitment that if it launches an all-new plane in the next four years, that jet will be built in the Puget Sound area by the local workforce.\u201d \u2022 Why not a seat on the board? Or two seats? And 25% looks a little ambitious beside the ILU\u2019s 77%,<\/p>\n
Tech: \u201cMI6 and CIA using generative AI to combat tech-driven threat actors\u201d [The Register]. \u201c\u2018We are now using AI, including generative AI, to enable and improve intelligence activities \u2013 from summarization to ideation to helping identify key information in a sea of data,\u2019 the pair wrote in the Financial Times. \u2018We are training AI to help protect and \u2018red team\u2019 our own operations to ensure we can still stay secret when we need to. We are using cloud technologies so our brilliant data scientists can make the most of our data, and we are partnering with the most innovative companies in the US, UK and around the world,\u2019 they added.\u201d \u2022 Let me know how that works out\u2026 <\/p>\n
Tech: Business model:<\/p>\n
What a beautiful business\u2026 zero venture capital, most successful creator platform by a mile \u2026 pic.twitter.com\/eDyEkT4mZJ<\/p>\n
\u2014 sam lessin \ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f (@lessin) September 8, 2024<\/p>\n
Entertainment: \u201cThe Palace Coup at the Magic Kingdom\u201d [New York Times]. Or, as some like to call it, Mauschwitz: \u201cFor a company that bills its theme parks as the \u2018Happiest Place on Earth,\u2019 Disney\u2019s corporate headquarters have long been anything but \u2014 a hotbed of intrigue and power struggles. Chapek\u2019s former chief of staff told people the company\u2019s sixth-floor executive suite was a \u2018snake pit.\u2019 Iger ascended almost two decades ago, after a power struggle between Michael Eisner, a long-serving CEO, and Roy E. Disney, Walt Disney\u2019s nephew and a Disney board member. By that time, Eisner had already elevated and then dispatched two handpicked successors, Jeffrey Katzenberg, who became co-founder of DreamWorks, and Michael Ovitz, once the most powerful agent in Hollywood. Iger, who started his career as a weather forecaster on a cable channel in upstate New York, had vowed to never follow in Eisner\u2019s footsteps.\u201d \u2022 Nice people!<\/p>\n
Entertainment: \u201cDisney-obsessed couple lose lawsuit to get back into exclusive Club 33\u201d [Los Angeles Times]. \u201cAs members of Disney\u2019s exclusive Club 33, Scott and Diana Anderson visited the two Anaheim theme parks 60 to 80 times a year. The private club, with its wood-paneled trophy room and other amenities, was the center of their social life. They brought friends, acquaintances and business associates. As a couple, they went on the Haunted Mansion ride nearly 1,000 times. The club\u2019s yearly dues were $31,500, and with travel and hotel expenses, the Arizona couple were spending close to $125,000 annually to get their Disney fix. All of it came to an end in 2017, when Disney revoked their membership in the club after an allegation that Scott Anderson was drunk in public. Diana Anderson, a hard-core Disney aficionado since childhood, called it \u2018a stab in the heart.’\u201d Skipping the details, which include a defense that Anderson\u2019s seemingly drunken behavior was caused by \u201cvestibular migraine.\u201d Concluding: \u201cMy wife and I are both dead set that this is an absolute wrong, and we will fight this to the death,\u201d Scott, who owns a golf course in Gilbert, Ariz., told The Times. \u2018There is no way we\u2019re letting this go.\u2019 He said the lawsuit has cost him about $400,000. \u2018My retirement is set back five years,\u2019 he said. \u2018I\u2019m paying through the nose. Every day, I\u2019m seeing another bill, and I\u2019m about to keel over.\u2019 He said he will appeal. His wife said she wants to keep fighting. \u2018I\u2019ll sell a kidney,\u2019 Diana said. \u2018I don\u2019t care.’\u201d \u2022 Nice people!<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 43 Fear (previous close: 39 Fear) [CNN]. One week ago: 62 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Sep 9 at 12:45:32 PM ET.<\/p>\n
Rapture Index: Closes down one on Oil Supply\/Price. \u201cOil demand is dpwn\u201d [sic] [Rapture Ready]. Record High, October 10, 2016: 189. Current: 181. (Remember that bringing on the Rapture is good.) \u2022 Hard to believe the Rapture Index is going down. Where are there people getting their news? <\/p>\n
Gallery<\/p>\n
A \u201csunny nook\u201d (except outside):<\/p>\n
A Corner of the Garden in Rueil pic.twitter.com\/VloOvDt64j<\/p>\n
\u2014 Edouard Manet (@artistmanet) August 28, 2024<\/p>\n
Zeitgeist Watch<\/p>\n
\u201cChurches Take Homeschooling in a Surprising Direction\u201d [The American Conservative]. \u201ct is hardly news that homeschooling has taken off around the country, especially since Covid. Over the last year alone, according to the Census Bureau\u2019s Household Pulse Survey, the number of US homeschooled students has gone from 3.6 million to 4 million\u2014an 11 percent increase. Less well-known is the role America\u2019s churches have played in not only facilitating the spread of homeschooling but in helping to make it a far more collaborative and even highly structured activity. By providing groups of homeschool families with a space that goes largely unused during the week and a small supervisory staff, many parishes have successfully combined online curricula with an environment more typical of a conventional public or private school\u2026 Exactly how many churches across the country offer such organized forms of homeschooling is hard to say, because only Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Tennessee, and Washington explicitly grant area churches or parochial schools the right to supervise homeschoolers.\u201d \u2022 The least TAC could do is mention ventilation\u2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cFive Geek Social Fallacies\u201d [Plausibly Deniable]. \u201cGeek Social Fallacy #1: Ostracizers Are Evil. GSF1 is one of the most common fallacies, and one of the most deeply held. Many geeks have had horrible, humiliating, and formative experiences with ostracism, and the notion of being on the other side of the transaction is repugnant to them. In its non-pathological form, GSF1 is benign, and even commendable: it is long past time we all grew up and stopped with the junior high popularity games. However, in its pathological form, GSF1 prevents its carrier from participating in \u2014 or tolerating \u2014 the exclusion of anyone from anything, be it a party, a comic book store, or a web forum, and no matter how obnoxious, offensive, or aromatic the prospective excludee may be. As a result, nearly every geek social group of significant size has at least one member that 80% of the members hate, and the remaining 20% merely tolerate.\u201d \u2022 Hmm.<\/p>\n
News of the Wired<\/p>\n
\u201cCough or sneeze? How the brain knows what to unleash\u201d [Nature]. \u201cDoes a whiff of pollen trigger a sneeze or a cough? Scientists have discovered nerve cells that cause one response versus another: \u2018sneeze neurons\u2019 in the nasal passages relay sneeze signals to the brain, and separate neurons send cough messages, according to a study performed in mice.\u201d But: \u201cDoes a whiff of pollen trigger a sneeze or a cough? Scientists have discovered nerve cells that cause one response versus another: \u2018sneeze neurons\u2019 in the nasal passages relay sneeze signals to the brain, and separate neurons send cough messages, according to a study1 performed in mice.\u201d<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Contact information for plants: Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) find out how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. From TH:<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
TH writes: \u201cAnd what self-respecting Botanical Garden (in this case, San Diego\u2019s) doesn\u2019t have a lovely tranquil \u2018stop and meditate awhile\u2019 pond? This one stands complete with lovely yellow blossoms sprinkled across its surface, a plethora of lush green plants along its borders, muddy green frogs that so blend with the water-color that all one sees of them is their big yellow eyes, and a small convention of hovering dragon and damselflies.\u201d This looks lovely and peaceful, and I wish I were sitting beside that pond right now.<\/p>\n
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