This is Naked Capitalism fundraising week. 1311 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 donation 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, more original reporting.<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Bird Song of the Day <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Gray Catbird, Lord Stirling Park, Somerset, New Jersey, United States.<\/p>\n
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In Case You Might Miss\u2026 <\/p>\n
Latest Trump assassination news (what a world).
\nBoeing managers and executives laid off.
\nDiddy had better make sure the CCTV works at all times.
\nThe philosphy game.<\/p>\n
* * *<\/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
Trump Assassination Attempts (Plural)<\/p>\n
\u201cN4T Investigators: Several Trump supporters seated on stage during Tucson rally experience eye injuries\u201d [KVOA]. \u201d It\u2019s a mystery at a Donald Trump rally that left multiple people with eye injuries and few answers. The News 4 Tucson Investigators spoke exclusively with six people who were seated on stage behind the former president during his rally in Tucson last week. Three of them agreed to on camera interviews\u2026 All of the people we spoke with experienced eye irritation and sought medical attention. One of them is Mayra Rodriguez, who became a prominent figure within the Republican party after becoming a Planned Parenthood \u2018whistleblower.\u2019 Rodriguez used to be a Planned Parenthood Director but made a notable transition into a strong pro-life advocate and supporter of Donald Trump. Rodriguez said her presence behind Trump at his Tucson rally was ironic because she was seated behind former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during an event in 2016\u2026. The N4T Investigators spoke with a brother and sister that were seated near Mayra, they did not want to be identified. \u2018It kept getting worse and worse, my eyes were watering a lot, my nose started running then I started feeling my face get really flushed and my neck felt like it was on fire and it just progressed from there,\u2019 the sister said. Her brother told us, \u2018It was all focused on my eyes, my eyes were red like hell you know, it\u2019s unbearable. I couldn\u2019t handle it.\u2019 The other supporters who did not agree to on camera interviews told us about very similar injuries. One woman who is a local realtor said she had to cancel all her showings over the weekend because she couldn\u2019t see well.\u201d I don\u2019t know where else to file this, so here it is. But: \u201cOn Tuesday after repeated inquiries from the N4T Investigators Trump Senior Campaign Advisor sent us the following statement: \u2018The Trump campaign has been collecting information. We remain committed to the countless patriots that attend our high-energy, high-impact rallies across the country.’\u201d \u2022 So we\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow the Trump campaign has been forced to adapt to assassination threats\u201d [WaPo]. \u201cLess than two weeks after an assassin\u2019s bullet grazed Donald Trump\u2019s ear this summer, he was held backstage at a Nashville event for more than an hour because of a potential security threat\u2026 The delay was emblematic of a growing burden that the alarming threats to Trump\u2019s life have become for him and his campaign.\u201d I\u2019m not saying anything about causality, but the net effect is exactly like lawfare: A campaign\u2019s most valuable resource is the candidates time, and these \u201cthreats\u201d suck it up. More: \u201cEvents have taken far longer to plan because of limited resources. Bulletproof glass now boxes him in at outdoor events. Campaign officials have been warned by the government about the possibility of poisoning threats [see above] that could target the former president. His team has gotten nervous about drones targeting him at golf courses and at outdoor venues after hearing briefings from the Secret Service.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201c17% Say America Would Be Better Off If Trump Had Been Killed\u201d [Napolitano News Service] (about). Rassmussen online poll, so take with a truckload of salts. \u201cSeventeen percent (17%) of voters believe America would have been better off if former President Trump had been killed in last week\u2019s attempted assassination. That figure includes 28% of Democrats who say that America would have been better off if Trump had been assassinated. Another 24% of Democrats were not sure. Fewer than half (48%) of Democrats could bring themselves to say that America would not be better off if the opposing party\u2019s candidate for president had been assassinated. Scott Rasmussen, president of RMG Research, said \u2018It is hard to imagine a greater threat to democracy than expressing a desire to have your political opponent murdered.\u2019 Despite two assassination attempts in two months, just over half of all Democrats (51%) don\u2019t see a need to increase Trump\u2019s security detail. Among all voters, 62% think Trump\u2019s security should be increased and 32% disagree. Forty-nine percent (49%) of Democrats think it\u2019s at least somewhat likely that Trump himself or the Trump campaign was involved with the assassination attempt, with 21% saying it was very likely. Fifty-two percent (52%) of Republicans think it\u2019s at least somewhat likely that the Democratic Party or the Harris campaign was involved, with 28% saying it\u2019s very likely.\u201d \u2022 Even if you move the decimal point one place to the right (51% to 5.1%) these numbers are still pretty alarming. The one that worried me the most is this one: \u201cForty-nine percent (49%) of Democrats think it\u2019s at least somewhat likely that Trump himself or the Trump campaign was involved with the assassination attempt, with 21% saying it was very likely.\u201d this is pure CT (which is something only Republicans are supposed to be vulnerable to). I\u2019ve never seen any evidence of this at all, and I do try to keep track (only the odd \u201cmust have\u201d-style tweet).<\/p>\n
2024<\/p>\n
Less than sixty days to go!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s RCP Poll Averages:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/rcp_2024-09-13.png\")
<\/p>\n
A few polls post-debate, but as of this reading little change. To be fair, it might take some time for sentiment to settle; and the winning margins may at this point be so minute as to be undetectable. Still, the Democrats must be very puzzled to have virtual unanimity across the political spectrum that \u201cHarris is the one\u201d \u2014 it was a tidal wave, after the debate \u2014 and yet the election is a virtual tie. How can this be? Perhaps a few more Republicans, generals, or celebrities will turn the tide.<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t let randomness make a fool of you\u201d [Nate Silver, Silver Bulletin]. \u201cAn election is not just an incredibly important story but a story that many people understandably feel incredibly emotional about. The extremely partisan political climate in the United States makes all of this worse and enables people to rationalize a lot of abusive behavior. Polls and models become a vehicle for what psychologists call transference: basically, people displace all their anxieties about the election onto the forecasts and the people who design them\u2026. On Twitter in particular, there can be complete context collapse. People treat probabilistic predictions as deterministic ones, e.g. if Trump goes from a 48 percent chance of winning Wisconsin to a 52 percent chance, you\u2019ll get a lot of Nate Silver is calling Wisconsin for Trump!!! even though the forecast expresses a high degree of uncertainty and nothing in the model has really changed. And that\u2019s on a good day. \u2026. On November 5th, we\u2019ll all wake up with a lot of uncertainty about who will win. And we might go to bed with a lot of uncertainty, too: if recent American elections are any guide, the outcome could take several days to resolve\u2026 If you enjoy what gamblers call the sweat, navigating the vicissitudes of these slightly changing probabilities, I get it, and the model is here for you. But if you don\u2019t, there\u2019s another option beyond voting, donating and volunteering: chilling the eff out\u2026. So lead your best life, and have the serenity to accept the things you cannot change.\u201d \u2022 Yep.<\/p>\n
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\n* * *<\/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
Airborne Transmission: Covid<\/p>\n
\u201cSuperspreading of SARS-CoV-2 at a choir rehearsal in Finland\u2014A computational fluid dynamics view on aerosol transmission and patient interviews\u201d [PLOS One]. \u201cCOVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the role of aerosol transmission and the importance of superspreading events. We analyzed a choir rehearsal in November 2020, where all participants, except one who had recently earlier recovered from COVID-19, were infected. We explore the risk factors for severe disease in this event and model the aerosol dispersion in the rehearsal room\u2026.. Modeling indicated infection risk levels of 70\u2013100% after one hour; the risk would have been considerably reduced by wearing high-filtration respirators. Age and pre-existing comorbidities predicted more severe disease. The high incidence of illness may be partly attributed to the relatively high median age of individuals.\u201d \u2022 Or filters, or open windows, or even some sort of RV. Remember the Skagit Valley Choir study? Time is a flat circle\u2026<\/p>\n
Immune Dysregulation<\/p>\n
\u201cTuberculosis case discovered in Union County high school student; hundreds could be exposed: Health Department\u201d [Queen City News]. \u201cThe Union County Public Health Department is investigating a case of active [tuberculosis (TB)] involving a student at Porter Ridge High School in Indian Trail. The student is following appropriate protocol for active cases. \u2018Tuberculosis is a bacterial disease that mainly affects the lungs, and causes a chronic cough,\u2019 said pediatrician, Dr. Carlos Paxtor. Health officials say at least 270 individuals may have been in contact with the student and are encouraged to get tested. TB can spread through the air when a person with an active case coughs, sneezes, sings or talks. Union County usually sees around four TB cases annually. In terms of is transmissibility, it\u2019s not even on the same scale as COVID. \u2018It\u2019s not a good thing to have tuberculosis. It\u2019s one of the most feared conditions that we see in third world countries, but in our country here in the United States, we do have the ability to fight this very, very well,\u2019 Paxtor said.\u201d \u2022 But why? \u2018Tis a mystery!<\/p>\n
Elite Maleficence<\/p>\n
More absurdities from the UK:<\/p>\n
Amazing moment at #CovidInquiry as Chair holds up two face masks one surgical and one FFP3 and asks Dr Susan Hopkins of @UKHSA surely the 2nd is more secure and she replied no. This is #farce and tragedy and explains why #PublicHealth has failed #CovidIsntOver \ud83d\ude37<\/p>\n
\u2014 Joseph Healy (@Verde1957) September 18, 2024<\/p>\n
If there\u2019s any live coverage of this event besides on the Twitter, could some kind soul let me know?<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/p>\n
Lambert here: First time in a long time I\u2019ve seen national trends downward for both positivity and hospitalization. Even if wastewater still looks pretty ugly, that\u2019s very good news. I assume that what\u2019s going on is the end of the Summer Vacation cycle of infection, and there will be a short lull until the beginning of the Back to School cycle. If not, that will be a very good sign.<\/p>\n
Wastewater<\/p>\n
This week[1] CDC September 9<\/p>\n
Last Week[2] CDC (until next week):<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-1.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-ww-natl.png\")
<\/p>\n
Variants [3] CDC September 14<\/p>\n
Emergency Room Visits[4] CDC September 7<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-variants-natl.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png\")
<\/p>\n
Hospitalization<\/p>\n
\u2605 New York[5] New York State, data September 18:<\/p>\n
National [6] CDC August 24:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-10.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-1.png\")
<\/p>\n
Positivity<\/p>\n
National[7] Walgreens September 16:<\/p>\n
Ohio[8] Cleveland Clinic September 7:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-2.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh.png\")
<\/p>\n
Travelers Data<\/p>\n
Positivity[9] CDC August 26:
\n Variants[10] CDC August 26:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-1.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-1.png\")
<\/p>\n
Deaths<\/p>\n
Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11]CDC September 7:<\/p>\n
Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12]CDC September 9:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-death-positivity-natl.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/covid-cdc-death-ed-natl.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) Definitely down. NOTE Statewide, there is an uptick. Not in New York City, Long Island, or Mid-Hudson.<\/p>\n
[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). The visualization suppresses what is, in percentage terms, a significant increase.<\/p>\n
[7] (Walgreens) Big drop continues!<\/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.<\/p>\n
[12] Deaths low, ED up.<\/p>\n
Stats Watch<\/p>\n
Employment Situation: \u201cUnited States Initial Jobless Claims\u201d [Trading Economics]. \u201cThe number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the US dropped by 12,000 from the previous week to 219,000 on the period ending September 14th, significantly below market expectations of 230,000, and reaching a new 4-month low. Despite this decline, the claim count remained above the averages seen earlier this year, as the US labor market has softened since its post-pandemic peak [sic], although it remains historically tight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manufacturing: \u201cUnited States Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index\u201d [Trading Economics]. \u201cThe Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index in the US rose to 1.7 in September 2024, recovering from -7 in August and beating forecasts of -1.\u201d<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Manufacturing: \u201cPassengers describe injuries from Delta flight with cabin pressure issues\u201d [KSL]. \u201d Two Delta Air Lines passengers say they are still recovering from a pressurization issue on a plane that caused bloody noses and busted eardrums. Caryn Allen said it didn\u2019t take very long for other passengers to notice something was wrong with Delta Air Lines Flight 1203, which was flying from Salt Lake City to Portland. \u2018I looked over at my husband, and he had both of his hands over his ears, you know, kind of leaning forward,\u2019 Allen said\u2026 Another passenger, Jaci Purser, said it felt like somebody was stabbing her in the ear. She felt her ear pop from the pressure in the cabin, then bubble. \u2018I grabbed my ear, and I pulled my hand back, and there was blood on it,\u2019 Purser said. Purser said the airline paid for a Lyft ride to the hospital. Purser was diagnosed with a ruptured eardrum.\u201d \u2022 I wonder if Delta paid for the eardrum. And you\u2019ll never guess the type of plane: Boeing 737-900.<\/p>\n
Manufacturing: \u201cBoeing accused of being \u2018unprepared\u2019 for federal mediation as strike continues\u201d [Guardian]. \u201cIAM Local 751 went into negotiations with Boeing and a federal mediator on Tuesday, but talks reportedly did not initially go well with union officials accusing the company of coming into the negotiation unprepared. \u2018We will not mince words \u2013 after a full day of mediation, we are frustrated. The company was not prepared and was unwilling to address the issues you\u2019ve made clear are essential for ending this strike: Wages and Pension,\u2019 the union\u2019s negotiating committee said in a letter to members. \u2018The company doesn\u2019t seem to be taking mediation seriously,\u2019 the negotiating committee said. \u2018We are fighting for what is right and just \u2013 for what we have earned over the past 16 years.’\u201d And: \u201cBruce McFarland, an instrumentation technician who has worked at Boeing for 36 years, explained he waited to get hired for a year after leaving the military because of how coveted jobs at Boeing were. That is no longer the case, he said, and the company now has difficulty hiring and retaining workers\u2026 If the company wants to be world class, it needs to start treating its workers as world class. The days are over of us just rolling over. We did that eight years ago, and we\u2019re not doing that again. We\u2019re not backing down.’\u201d \u2022 Again, why aren\u2019t seats, plural, on the Board a demand? Do we have a machinist in the readership who can answer?<\/p>\n
Manufacturing: \u201cBoeing lays off thousands of executives, managers, non-union contractors amid strike\u201d [UPI]. \u201d Boeing said Wednesday it is temporarily laying off tens of thousands of managers, executives and non-union contractors as the strike by 33,000 International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union members continues.\u201d \u2022\u00a0Presumably the managers and executives are at-will employees? Why not just fire them?<\/p>\n
Manufacturing: \u201cHow much trouble is Boeing in?\u201d [The Economist]. \u201cPay is at the centre of the latest dispute. Boeing offered its employees a 25% rise over four years; its workers are demanding 40%. That would be less of a problem for the company than it sounds\u2014assembly accounts for a small fraction of the total cost of producing its planes, and wages are a small fraction of that.\u201d More: \u201cBoeing may take comfort in its vast backlog of orders for passenger jets. But Airbus\u2019s is far bigger. The European firm is likely to manufacture around 770 planes this year, and its share price is close to its pre-pandemic high. Airbus also recently announced that it would launch a new aircraft by the end of the decade. Boeing may not be at risk of collapse, but the longer it takes to spin up its engines again, the further behind it will fall.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manufacturing: \u201cThe Boeing strike has already cost the company and its workers $572 million \u2013 and the pace of losses is climbing\u201d [CNN]. \u2022 So take that pencil-necked MBA dude Brian West out of the loop and give the workers what they want. Why is this so hard?<\/p>\n
Shipping: \u201cFrom Dream to Disaster: The Heartbreaking Saga of a Vintage Cruise Ship\u201d [gCaptain]. \u201cThe advertisement was easily overlooked\u2014a dilapidated cruise ship for sale on Craigslist in 2008. But for Chris Willson, a tech entrepreneur from Utah, it was a siren\u2019s call. That simple click led him into a 15-year odyssey of passion, toil, over $1 million in expenses and ultimate sinking heartbreak.\u201d \u2022 A hole in the water\u2026. <\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 68 Greed (previous close: 56 Greed) [CNN]. One week ago: 44 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Sep 19 at 1:18:48 PM ET.<\/p>\n
Gallery<\/p>\n
Klimt!<\/p>\n
Gustav Klimt (1862-1918)
“Spruce Forest I” (Tannenwald I), 1901 pic.twitter.com\/y5P9DhEsvh<\/p>\n
\u2014 Olga Tuleninova \ud83e\udd8b (@olgatuleninova) December 7, 2023<\/p>\n
Class Warfare<\/p>\n
\u201cDiddy \u2018as bad as Epstein,\u2019 says officer who saw his sex rooms, hidden cameras during Miami mansion raid\u201d [New York Post]. \u201cOne of the Department of Homeland Security agents who helped raid Diddy\u2019s Florida abode claimed that the music mogul had rooms that were clearly \u2018dedicated to sex\u2019 with cameras all around. \u2018So if you were in those sex parties, you were being recorded from every possible angle, including angles you wouldn\u2019t have known about,\u2019 the source said\u2026. \u2018He also was able to watch the action remotely on his phone, cast it onto a TV in another part of the house,\u2019 the source said. \u2018He didn\u2019t have to be in the room when the sex was happening, although he frequently was.\u2019\u2026 Authorities say that some of Combs\u2019 alleged victims are cooperating with authorities.\u201d \u2022 Hmm. So, just out of curiosity, where the only men on tape the service providers Diddy hired? Commentary:<\/p>\n
The dynamics of Epstein, Diddy, Weinstein and others are the same. Powerful people use mass rape and trafficking as a weapon, and counter to cliche, they CAN all stay quiet \u2014 for decades. <\/p>\n
Another example \u2014 Craig Spence:<\/p>\n
\u2014 Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) September 18, 2024<\/p>\n
(Not sure on Kendzior as a source, but she seems to be right here.) These are not nice people at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cDepartment of Labor Recovers $109K in Back Wages, Damages from Employers Who Denied Full Wages to 359 Workers at 5 New Orleans Restaurants\u201d [Department of Justice (JB)]. \u201cThe department\u2019s Wage and Hour Division determined Bobby Hebert\u2019s Cajun Cannon, the Hideout Bar, Mambo\u2019s, Oceana Grill, and the Olde NOLA Cookery deducted the cost of uniforms, order errors, liquor shortages, customer walk-outs and customer credit card disputes from employees\u2019 wages in violation of federal regulations. The investigation recovered $109,154, including $54,577 in back wages and an equal amount in damages \u2013 for the tipped servers and bartenders. The investigations are part of an ongoing enforcement initiative by the division to identify violations in the restaurant industry and recover back wages. If warranted, the division will recover damages and assess civil money penalties.\u201d \u2022 Oddly, no mention of this in the Times-Picayune that I can find<\/p>\n
\u201cTribal Nations & Eco-Feminist Provisioning With Josefina Li\u201d [Money on the Left]. Li went to UMKC. \u201cEconomics is not a study of scarce resources among competing ends, but rather a study of social provisioning, that is how society organized themselves for social provision, and that includes social reproduction.\u201d \u2022 Yep. <\/p>\n
Provisioning housing, for example. Or not:<\/p>\n
Particularly cruel because RVs commonly house families with children. <\/p>\n
It’s often their last ditch effort with their last life savings to keep a roof over their head, and instead of helping \u2013 the government will tow and destroy the RV, rendering them completely unsheltered. <\/p>\n
\u2014 Housing 4 All is Hot (@ahouse4all) September 18, 2024<\/p>\n
News of the Wired<\/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 SC:<\/p>\n
SC writes: \u201cHere is a \u2018quickie\u2019 from another project, a \u2018custom growing\u2019 request that I took up out of interest in the \u2018propagation how to\u2019 as well as the neat DIY herbal medicine aspect.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1_2024-08-15-C-citratus-at-25wks-Aug2024.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/2_20240815_C-citratus-tea.jpg\")
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SC further commments:<\/p>\n
For several years I\u2019ve been starting significant numbers of plants from seed for my own use and to give away in hope of encouraging people whose schedules permit to get into gardening. Early this year a friend who has been a regular distributee conveyed a contact\u2019s request for Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), which can be made into an herbal infusion with anti-inflammatory properties (interestingly, one of the active components of LG is quercetin, which may have antiviral benefits. Also interesting, I have seen reports that ingesting lemongrass tea can make a person less palatable to mosquitos). This is a new plant to me; the idea of DIY herbal medicine is intriguing. The plant is easy to start from seed, though the germination rate, at ~30%, was disappointing and well below what the seed seller\u2019s information led me to expect. My friend accepted a few plants and potted them up in outdoor soil. The pictured plant, started in late February and photographed in early August, is very large and robust compared with the ones I have kept, which I left in growing medium amended with slow-release fertilizer. The second photo is of a pot of Lemongrass tea. The species cannot survive Northern winters and the pictured plant will need to be overwintered indoors; it can be pruned back before bringing indoors and the harvested leaf will make quite a bit of tea.<\/p>\n
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